PUDDING IS LARD AGAIN

Ambergris shows in February

2012-02-12T22:22:00.000-08:00

Monday Feb. 13- Otto's Shrunken Head, 538 E. 14th Street, 10 PM (Court Stenographer/ Young Sherlock Holmes)

Friday Feb. 17- Uncanny Valley, 26-09 Jackson Avenue, Long Island City, Queens

Saturday Feb. 18- Southfirst Gallery, with Gay Shapes, 60 N. 6th Street, Brooklyn

Sunday Feb. 19- Cakeshop, With Amil Byleckie Band, 152 Ludlow Street. 8 PM , http://cake-shop.com/show-calendar/

Saturday Feb. 25- Bohemian Grove, with Flaming Dragons of Middle Earth!!!!! Dreebs, Chatlogs, more... 64 Grove Street, Brooklyn

THE LAUGHING DOUGH

2012-02-01T09:05:00.000-08:00

Matthew Thurber/ Elwyn Palmerton drawings show is now up at Southfirst Gallery.

On Saturday, Feb. 18, there will be a performance by Gay Shapes in the gallery.

Here is a video of a performance from the opening.

AMBERGRIS LP

2012-01-17T13:53:00.000-08:00

Hello- the new Ambergris LP record, "Anti-Matter Alma Mater" has been loosed upon the world!from Feeding Tube Records.

The A side is a radio-play style recording.
The B side is a suite of songs about the perils of astral travel.
It is a re-release of a cassette tape from 2009.
It comes with an informative liner note insert.
check out a.....
VIDEO PREVIEW !!!!

???????????????

2011-11-26T19:29:00.000-08:00

ARE SNAKES NECESSARY? issue #1

This ZINE is coming out for the Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival.

32 pages of BW prose typewritten on the Olympia M-R12. Includes:

-An essay in appreciation of Daniel Pinkwater

-An interview with J.Chastain

-Movie reviews, mostly Sci-fi

-AAAAAND an Ambergris CD of morbid improvised music : "Gothic Songs"

$6 !!!!!!! (8$ ppd)

(this is the pasteup)

I will be signing 1-800-MICE and this at the Picturebox table on Saturday, Dec. 3

from 2:30-3:30 and 6-7 PM

AND

On Sunday Dec. 4 at 3:00 I will be performing with a new scroll as part of the Brick Theater's BCGF- Related "Pictures and Performance: A Melodrama" event.

HIP HOP HURRAY!!

FREDERIC MAGAZINE and SMOKE SIGNAL

2011-10-30T10:58:00.000-07:00

Hi-----

I have some drawings in the latest Frederic magazine from France. It is edited and produced by a whole cabal of guys named Frederic, hence the name.

There is an exhibit at Galerie Jean-Marc Thévenet up right now to accompany the exhibit.

ALSO---this has been out for a little while but I wanted to mention: the new issue of Smoke Signal, edited by Mr. Gabriel Fowler of Desert Island Comics, has a 6 PAGE story written by me and illustrated by Benjamin Marra. It is a parody of the movies "Transformers 3" and "The Tree of Life" and therefore is titled "The Treeansformers of Life". Please check it out!

2011-10-20T05:55:00.000-07:00

APPLES, COMPOST, LIBRARY

2011-10-12T21:57:00.000-07:00

New INFOMANIACS strip up

MICE VIDEO: BOOK AVAILABLE

2011-09-27T18:19:00.001-07:00

RAP preview is live!

1-800-MICE is now available from Picturebox and in bookstores.

MICE BOOK TOUR

2011-09-22T12:47:00.000-07:00

HI!!!!I AM GOING ON TOUR!!!!PLEASE COME OUT!!!!!!

2011-09-21T17:40:00.001-07:00

2011-09-19T21:49:00.001-07:00

1-800-MICE at SPX!

2011-09-07T10:07:00.001-07:00

HI------
The collected 1-800-MICE, published by Picturebox, is finally debuting this weekend at SPX, in Bethesda, Maryland. I can't believe it's finally concluded and available...at one point I didn't believe I was ever going to be able to finish it. I'm over the moon with how it turned out, beyond excited to be able to present it to you Dear Reader.... so please check it out if you can.....

ALSO, I was honored to get the chance to design the SPX exhibitor badges this year- here they all are. I based them on imagery from old convention photos from the 1970's.

Hope to see you there.

THE LIFTED BROW

2011-08-25T17:32:00.000-07:00

I drew the cover to the new issue of the Lifted Brow, which is a splendid magazine from Australia. Its based on proposed theater sets by Sebastiano Serlio from the 1400s. The "tragic scene", on top is a background made up of palaces and temples for the aristocracy who would be appearing in serious tragedies. The "comic scene" below depicts the public square, inns and bars for the ordinary citizens who would appear in comedies. Anyway the Lifted Brow is a great magazine.

SMELL TEMPLE

2011-07-24T18:00:00.001-07:00

Gekiga

2011-07-19T23:41:00.001-07:00

SMELL TEMPLE

2011-07-03T19:41:00.000-07:00

Smell Temple, a zine of science fiction movie reviews and other issues, written by IMA PELICAN, will be a recurring feature upon this blog. Following is the first bonus 2 for 1 entry.

ART SALE BLOWOUT

2011-06-22T12:28:00.000-07:00

The flat file needs to go on a diet! I'm having a super wipeout spring cleaning art sale.

"De-accessioning" as they say in the museum world. Send me a note at diamondsnout@hotmail.com if you are interested in one or more of these pieces. Deals on multiple purchases certainly possible. All artwork is signed on the front or the back. Prices include shipping. Thanks!

Violent Flesh, 2008

Original artwork for Vice magazine comic

14 1/2 x 11 1/2"

$400

Visitor, 2009

Ink, watercolor on paper

19" x 13"

$400

Health is Wasted on the Dead, 2008

ink and watercolor on paper, 14 x 11 1/2"

$400

Alba Dream, 2007

artwork for Colt .45 ad campaign

11"x 17"

$300

Bathroom Myth, 2010

12" x 8 1/2 "

ink and watercolor on paper

$300

The Believer, original art from music issue, 2006

10 1/4" x 12"

Ink, watercolor on paper

300$

Flume Ride, 2009

Watercolor on paper

8" x 11"

$300

DJ Tuxedo Laughing Gas, believer comic strip, 2009

ink, watercolor on paper

7 1/2" x 10"

$200.00

Utz, 2011

Ink, watercolor on paper

13" x 13"

$300

Never Trust a Hippie, 2007

Original artwork for Colt .45 ad campaign

Ink, watercolor on paper

12" x 15"

$300

Mad Men, 2011

Original artwork for Believer comic

Ink, watercolor on paper

9 1/2" x 8 1/2"

$300

I'm Listening, 2006

11 1/2" x 9 1/2"

Ink, marker on paper

$300

Live Beak, 2006

Pencil, watercolor on paper

8" x 7 1/2"

$200

Robot Gardener, 2007

Original artwork for Walrus Magazine illustration

Ink, watercolor on paper

$200

Where the Wild Things Are, 2009

Original art from movie promotion

Ink on paper

9" x 12"

$300

Echo Noctur, 2004

Ink on paper

12" x 9"

$300

Mudlike, 2005

Ink on paper

14" x 11"

$300

Mongoose, 2009

Appeared in Smoke Signal

14 1/2" x 9 1/2"

Ink on paper

$300

Stereogum, 2009

Original artwork for flyer

Ink on paper

12" x 8 1/2"

$300

Netflix Bacteria Vampire, 2009

Ink on paper

11" x 8"

$300

Dirt of Time, 2010

11 1/2" x 8 1/2"

Ink on paper

$200

Perfume Comb, 2011

Ink on paper

12" x 8"

$200

First Name Bruce, 2010

Ink on paper

12" x 8 1/2"

$200

Elliot Gould, 2010

Ink on paper

12" x 8 1/2"

$200

Dislocation Toupee, 2010

Ink on paper

12" x 8 1/2"

$200

Who, 2010

Ink on paper

11 1/2" x 9"

$200

Void, 2010

Ink on paper

11 1/2 x 9"

$200

Oval, 2010

Ink on paper

11 1/2" x 9"

$200

Circle, 2010

Ink on paper

11 1/2" x 9"

$200

007, 2010

Ink on paper

11 1/2" x 9"

$200

Package Deals, 2011

Original Artwork for NYTimes Illustration

Ink on paper

12" x 9"

$200

Very Tall Woman, 2009

Ink on paper

8" x 5"

$200

I Hate God, 2009

Ink on paper

8" x 5"

$200

Yanni, 2003

Original art for WFMU

Ink on paper

11" x 9 1/2"

$200

Saucy Holoween, 2010
Pencil on paper
12" x 8 1/2"
$200

Cats, 2007
11" x 8 1/2"
pencil on paper
$200

What Was Fresh, 2007

11" x 8 1/2"
pencil on paper
$200

What, 2009
Ink on paper
9" x 11 1/2"
$200

Linguige of Storch, 2009
Ink on paper
9" x 11 1/2"
$200

Top Hats, 2009
Ink on paper
9" x 11 1/2"
$200

The Natural, 2009
nk on paper
9" x 11 1/2"
$200

In Crime's Magic Chimney, 2007
Ink on paper
10" x 7"
$100

Bird, 2007
In Crime's Magic Chimney, 2007
Ink on paper
10" x 7"
$100

Mestizo Thing, 2007
Ink on paper
11" x 8 1/2"
$100

Ambergris show tomorrow

2011-06-10T19:23:00.000-07:00

Performing Anti matter Cabaret at the magical hour of 12 midnight!

Rubulad Proudly Presents:

On SATURDAY, June 11^th:

Rock & Roll High School!

at St. Cecilia’s, Greenpoint (Rubulad is still on the road, and we're super-excited about this venue. St. Cecilia's is a former Catholic school built in the 1800s that we've transformed into an anything-goes party space. It's is our kind of venue, with tons of rooms to discover over multiple floors and a bizarre micro-sanctuary where you can worship to the beat of our classic DJs. It's our friends, our bartenders, our security, all the way, which means more fun for you.)

band room:

Lovestruck

Saadi

Not Waving But Drowning

and more…

djs:

Dave the Spazz (WFMU)

Shakey

Barney Iller

Mojo

cabaret room:

The Drunkard’s Wife

Ambergris

Get Schooled with Tonya Soloman and Audrey Crabtree

dj/soundman Greything

and much, much more…

plus:

G Scopitronics Non-Stop Film Festival

Hot F***ing Tamales

Light Circus Extraordinaire by Norm Francoeur

New art and shadow puppet show by Pierre Pressure and Doc. Lance Boyle.

Dreams and Aspirations Vending Machine by Yung O.

Dress: extreme high school type (geek, jock, stoner, punk, cheerleader, goth, raver, etc.)

Our rules apply.

(except smoking in yard, pls.)

9:00 pm doors, 10:30 pm show, dancing till 4:00…

10 beans before 11:00 pm or way late; 15 beans in costume all night (and this is a costume everyone has [but if you have to explain it, it’s not a costume]); 20 beans without costume.

1 Monitor Street: L train to Graham Ave. Walk North on Graham toward BQE, right on Richardson. St. C’s is at Richardson and Monitor.

http://maps.google.com/maps/place?ftid=0x89c2594ddffd7d1b:0x93da68abc8ba0bfc&q=1+Monitor+St,+Brooklyn,+Kings,+New+York+11222&hl=en&sll=40.720373,-73.941768&sspn=0.006295,0.006295&ie=UTF8&ll=40.724901,-73.94906&spn=0,0&z=16

Please forward wildly.

what you might see

2011-06-02T19:07:00.001-07:00

The Thrilling Conclusion

2011-05-29T16:22:00.001-07:00

SNAKE MUSIC

2011-05-10T16:27:00.000-07:00

The new Ambergris album "Snake Music" is now available on CD-R, in handmade packaging with a spraypainted stencil cover and enclosed lyric sheet. These are the best Ambergris songs ever made, hearkening from the period of 2009-2010 when the band performed as a two-piece with Gabe Fowler. Many classics of the "Anti-Matter Cabaret" tradition are included here such as "Cat's Blood Miso Soup", "Air Conditioning Repairmen", "Robot Maid", and "Commit Suicide". The home recording production, due to the introduction of computer technology, has grown lush but never indulgent, with the lyrics and melody always the first concern. Influenced by sources as diverse as Gilbert and Sullivan, Flipper, Monotrona, and Greek Rembetika music, "Snake Music" is a guaranteed delight for any listener.

Edition of 100

Potlatch, I Gather # 005

$8.00- including shipping

or: mail $$$ to

Matthew Thurber

PO BOX 330940

Brooklyn, NY 11233

http://www.1800mice.com/music.html

Blog

2011-04-15T11:49:00.000-07:00

MISDIRECTION....

2010-11-03T20:37:00.000-07:00

Please go to these locations:
For news pertaining to the general goings-on of Matthew Thurber, 1-800-MICE, Ambergris, Potlatch I Gather Books on Tape, etc:
http://www.1800mice.com

For somewhat regular essays and serialized fiction:
http://www.pictureboxinc.com/blogs/muk-luk/

SHHHH!!!!

2010-08-13T10:22:00.001-07:00

I have a two page comic in this swell comic book edited by David Schilter from Latvia.

Its a murder mystery..........

The theme of the book is music and all the contributors are also musicians.....

The "S" is pronounced "SHHHHHH"!

Ordering info at komikss(at)gmail.com.

ESCAPE FROM PLANET SPACE STATION

2010-08-02T22:28:00.000-07:00

WITH ALL MY MEAGER POWER I COMPEL YOU TO TURN TO FACE THY MASTER

http://escapefromplanetspacestation.blogspot.com/

AMBERGRIS SHOWS IN JULY

2010-07-16T07:46:00.000-07:00

Its too hot to think!

Time for some Anti-Matter Cabaret!

Hell YES!!!!

Wednesday 7/21

at THE SILENT BARN, Ridgewood NY

Amil Byleckie Band

Ambergris

Big Digits

Polite Sleeper

Wednesday 7/28 at THE RENDEZVOUS, Turners Falls, Massachusets

PHANTOM BRAIN EXCHANGE

Ambergris

Lo-Res Peppers

Lecture by Maria Danielson

DJ Abby Banks

TUBE ON TUBE

2010-06-27T00:27:00.000-07:00

The "Moon Tube" videos are now all uploaded onto YOU TUBE and thanks to all the wonderful actors who participated in the making these films!

Starbucks Wizard

Moon Musk

Jill's Art Gallery

The Day The Internet Died

Mystery Colostomy

Roman Dog

Also, A DVD version is available if you would like to buy the whole schebang. I can promise you extensive liner notes! Detritus... Scraps of fabric!

$12 including shipping.

CHEAP NOME

2010-06-23T21:49:00.000-07:00

Jason T Miles and Tony Remple co-edited this publication with a couple of my drawings in it. Its all B/W comics and art, and is extremely cohesive as an anthology. Here is a link to more details about it and how to order.

GO TO NOME

Also Please check this out if you are in Vancouver! I have two pieces in the show.
http://thecheapershow.com/

Moon Tube Screening this Tuesday at Cinders

2010-06-12T10:21:00.001-07:00

MICE REVUE

2010-06-03T22:05:00.000-07:00

A NICE REVIEW OF MICE
by Rob Clough,
Champion of "Peromyscus leucopus"
to you and I,
the common house mouse.

NEW TAPE AVAILABLE: PETERS HOUSE MUSIC/DIM DIAMOND

2010-05-14T13:36:00.000-07:00

Potlatch, I Gather Tapes #003

Peter's House Music/ Dim Diamond split cassette

C-50, Numbered edition of 200

Color risograph insert

Artwork by Matthew Thurber

$6.00/plus $2.00 shipping

This split tape documents the solo musical journeys of Peter Schuette and Aviram Cohen from the NYC band Silk Flowers.

PETER'S HOUSE MUSIC is a humorously forthright exploration of electronic dance music. Although completely acceptable as club music and for art openings and romantic occasions, it satisfies in another way with strange, wobbly compositions and sudden left turns. Not unlike the feeling of zooming your car in the OutRun videogame off towards distant and unattainable mountains, PETER'S HOUSE MUSIC will surely entertain you even as it disorients.

DIM DIAMOND presents an austere landscape over which drum machines march like robotic pilgrims, carrying briefcase aquariums to the shrine of throbbing gristle. Above this bleak and tasty horizon swoop beautiful echoplex and tone generator satellites guided by the hands of a master. Aviram Cohen's long running solo act is cherished by those lucky enough to have seen one of his rare performances, and this instrumental composition will leave you begging for more!!

Or send check payable to Matthew Thurber at:

Potlatch, I Gather
PO Box 145
Van Brunt Station
Brooklyn NY 11215

AMBERGRIS FILM FACTORY

2010-05-07T10:11:00.000-07:00

This post is to document some of the goings on during the week of April 18-24, where I was an artist in residence at Family bookstore's space in Tribeca, called Thirty Days NY.

Prior to the shoot I worked on scripts for a week or so and came up with six short films (and one monologue which was discarded), and a plan to shoot one film per day.

The films are:

STARBUCKS WIZARD

MOON MUSK

JILL'S ART GALLERY

THE DAY THE INTERNET DIED

MYSTERY COLOSTOMY

ROMAN DOG

I was inspired by:

-Silent films such as the one-reelers busted out in hours from Mack Sennett's studio
-George and Mike Kuchar movies like "Sins of the Fleshapoids", shot in corners of apartments
-Carlos Gonzales' immediate and improvised videos
-Michel Gondry's film workshops at Deitch Projects
-Kaboom! Press' 2 films, "The Baxters" and "Death Beach", both made in a month each

The limitations of the project were the duration of the shoot and the fact that it had to be made all indoors in the space provided This was a limitation I imposed upon the project to make it adhere to the silent-film style.

Although this residency had my name on it, it should definitely be considered a collaboration with Rebecca Bird, who essentially art directed the project. She designed and painted many of the backdrops, and made the incredible costumes for the film: The Flying Fox, the Moon Rogue's meat suit, Merlin's costume, and many others. As well as acting in two or three of the movies, she put an enormous amount of work into these movies.

The amazing Massachusets band Fat Worm of Error kindly stopped by and lent their time to the project, generating material for the soundtrack, a theme song, and interstitial Greek Chorus style performances.

Screening details coming soon, and while the film is being edited please enjoy these production photos.

MORE PHOTOS HERE

MOCCA 2010 and other news

2010-04-06T08:21:00.001-07:00

I will be exhibiting at the Picturebox table at the MOCCA fair, New York City, April 10th and 11th. I'll be signing 1-800-MICE #4 and will have the new collaborative zine with Marc Bell, Kelp Stingray, for sale, my recent poster for Triple Canopy, and whatever else I can think of. Hope to see you there.

MoCCA Festival 2010
Saturday and Sunday
April 10 & 11, 2010
69th Regiment Armory
68 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY

ALSO UPCOMING:
-An artist residency at Family Books' pop-up space in Tribeca, from April 18-24.
Details here:
http://www.thirtydaysny.com/

-AMBERGRIS performs April 16 at Rubulad (infamous art party in Brooklyn)

AND

COMING SOON.....

WHAT PRICE PERFECT CREDIT?

2010-03-15T19:02:00.000-07:00

Alan the moving man with a van appeared with a strange large boxy vehicle. I moved the painting down to the street level with Krunch, my co-worker. Alan's truck looked like an ice wagon from 1948. He walked around to the back and untied the rope holding the doors closed.

"I like this truck. It looks old." I said.

"Its not that old," he said. "Air Force," by way of explanation. We put the Rappenburg silkscreen inside, hoisting it bodily and setting it face up into the plywood chamber. Then I stepped over a crumpled Starbucks cup into my seat. "What made you choose my company?" he asked.

"I liked the picture on your webpage," I responded.

There was a space heater at the bottom of the pile of garbage that filled up his passenger side. I had to wedge my shoes into the pile in order to find purchase there. There was a tin of sardines on the dashboard. An electrical outlet covering glued to a photograph of someone who looked quite old, perhaps from the 19th century.

Then I noticed the third passenger in the car. A man with a very long beard smiled at me from inside the glove compartment, which was open and stuffed full of all kinds of rubbish. His jaws were moving up and down. He seemed to be enjoying the very last bites of an apple core.

We rattled down the street along gilded pastures of concrete.

"Potamkin's out of business," he noticed. "The car dealership over there."

"Potamkin- are they Russian? Like Battleship Potamkin?" I wanted to know if he was Russian. It wasn't obvious though he had a European accent of some kind.

"I don't know, what is Battleship Potamkin?" Perhaps he was playing dumb.

He turned out to be a fairly easy person to talk to, and every time the van passed by a McDonald's a gleam flashed over the seats and we two riders until I noticed that the man was weeping!

"The Christian Scientists control everything," he said, wiping a tear away on his sleeve. "They're so powerful these days. But they have some good teachings too. They went through the whole bible underlining all the parts that have to do with health."

"Look! There's one of their offices now!" he yelled as we passed a shabby storefront which read in tarnished letters, Christian Scientist Reading Room. "They teach you some good things, such as how to take care of yourself, financially. I'm learning from them how to bring my credit card debt under control. But Mary Baker Eddy- she founded the religion. Her spirit is very powerful. Its kind of like a swooping, predatory thing, like a UFO that flies over the countryside, shooting out rays. They've found cattle that have been skinned alive. Her ghost looks like a huge white flying wig. Am I making sense to you?"

"Yes, yes, it makes sense---its like a photon cannon. You get perfect credit but at what price?"

अ पार्टी!

2010-02-19T12:46:00.001-08:00

Impossible Geometries

A benefit party for the new home of Triple Canopy, Light Industry, and The Public School

177 Livingston Street, Brooklyn, NY · 8 pm · $5-20, pay-as-you-wish · February 20, 2010

Triple Canopy is pleased to announce the opening of an office space and venue at 177 Livingston Street, in downtown Brooklyn. The 5,000-square-foot storefront will be operated in partnership with Light Industry and The Public School New York and will regularly host artist talks, screenings, workshops, lectures, classes, and performances. 177 Livingston will also host a library of books, magazines, artist publications, and film, video, and sound work, which will be open to the public starting in March. (Visit the 177 Livingston website for more details and a calendar of upcoming events.)

On February 20, Triple Canopy, Light Industry, and The Public School will throw a benefit party to celebrate the opening of 177 Livingston and help the organizations cover the costs of building out the space's interior, which was designed by Rachel Himmelfarb and Gabriel Fries-Briggs with support from Common Room.

The evening will begin at 8 p.m. with readings by Ed Park and Lynne Tillman. Next, there will be a rare stateside presentation of Lis Rhodes's Light Music (1975, pictured above). Rhodes's double projection is a seminal exploration of 16-mm optical sound—the on-screen abstraction is "read" by the projector as audio—and a classic of British expanded cinema. The "Anti-Matter Cabaret" of Ambergris and a set by the avant-pop ensemble Skeletons will follow, as will DJ sets by Josh Kline and Gary Murphy & Tim Lokiec.

Readings at 8, film at 9, music at 10

Ed Park is the author of the novel Personal Days and a founding editor of The Believer.

Lynne Tillman is the author of five novels, three collections of short stories, and three nonfiction books. Her most recent novel, American Genius: A Comedy, was published in 2006 by Soft Skull Press.

Lis Rhodes has been at the forefront of British experimental cinema since the early 1970s, working as part of the London Filmmakers' Co-op and later cofounding Circles, the first organization in the UK dedicated to distributing artist's film and video made by women. She lives and works in London and teaches at Slade School of Fine Art.

Ambergris is a band conducting spelunking tours into fluorescent lagoons of narrative imagination. Citing influences from Gilbert and Sullivan to Flipper, Ambergris has performed its "Anti-Matter Cabaret" in locations such as the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, Issue Project Room in New York, and the Fumetto Festival in Lucern, Switzerland.

Skeletons is a New York-based avant-pop ensemble. The band's sixth full-length record, Money, was recently released on Tomlab.

Light Industry is a venue for film and electronic art in Brooklyn, New York. Developed and overseen by Thomas Beard and Ed Halter, the project has evolved into a series of weekly events, each organized by a different artist, critic, or curator. Conceptually, Light Industry draws equal inspiration from the long history of alternative art spaces in New York as well its storied tradition of cinematheques and other intrepid film exhibitors. Through a regular program of screenings, performances, and lectures, its goal is to explore new models for the presentation of time-based media. Bringing together the worlds of contemporary art, experimental cinema, new media, documentary film, and the academy (to name only a few), Light Industry looks to foster an ongoing dialogue among a wide range of artists and audiences within the city.

The Public School is a school with no curriculum. It has chapters in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Brussels, Paris, Puerto Rico, and other cities around the world. Via the Public School New York website and its discussion boards, members collaboratively generate ideas for free reading groups, skill-based workshops, seminar-style discussions, lecture-driven classes, and participatory projects. The Public School is not accredited, it does not give out degrees, and it has no affiliation with the public school system. It is a framework that supports autodidactic activities, operating under the assumption that everything is in everything. The Public School is a project of Telic Arts Exchange.

Common Room was established in 2006 as a space for collaboration with a focus on the built environment.

Very special thanks to Katie Dixon and The Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, Sébastien Venuat, and Brooklyn Brewery.

Homeopathic Magic (Law of Similarity)

2010-01-20T08:38:00.000-08:00

http://www.puddingislard.blogpot.com/

STEVE FINGERMAN'S BAD ATTITUDE!

2010-01-08T12:12:00.001-08:00

WASSSSUPPP???? Steve Fingerman here with a churlish sneer. I'm ready to blast your brains, e-strangers! Happy new year Music Heads!

I am celebrating my 12th year as a professional in the music industry. Those of you familiar with my long running music zine Sound Sickle or my radio show "Steveway Army" might know what to expect during my hopefully regular postings here. This is my first foray into the "blog world" and I hope to bring all the attitude and bluster it takes to keep this blog competitive... that's Fingerman style!

Anyway I'm going to get right down to business with some quick updates on the state of the music industry in 2009, a forgettable year we might collectively refer to as "The Year of the Distortion Pedal." Personally I would prefer that the pedals you stomp on all day long be bicycle pedals! At least you'd be getting somewhere that way!

Perhaps as a mass-mind metaphor for the political inaction and general torpor of today's youth, the echoing swirl we find all cool white bands enveloping their songs inside, has already proved to be a no-escape cocoon for tuneless fools. And there are thousands of these bands! Don't believe the Skype!!!!

These observations are drawn from my quick perusal of a sampling of these groups which have appeared like whorls of tumor on the sacred fleshscape of the noblest art form, MUSIC. I have quickly sorted through some of these new bands so you don't have to waste your time, and can spend it instead listening to snow shovels grinding against concrete, buzzing fluorescent tubes, or (my favorite) the soft hiss of hamsters burrowing in newspaper piles.

SURFER BLOOD-Borrrring! sounds like the Cars with TONS of echo (or is it reverb) on the vocals. Maybe more than any other band! Except My band: The Echoes. I just made that up. Check us out at some open mic nights in Bay Ridge soon. But back to the rock: this is happy major key music for college students with melodies very indebted to Vampire Weekend and Animal Collective.

TURBO FRUITS- Perhaps slightly better than Surfer Blood. A bit more raucous. Lots of 1-4-5 melodies, distorted vocals. This is really (just) Pop Music, with lots of male falsetto. That could be a noble pursuit for the previous century. But come on! Its 2010, Obama is in office, its time to reclaim the future! We need music for people flying down white corridors with computer monitors for heads. We need music for cancer and molecular activity. SO SPEAKETH STEVE!!!!

BEACH FOSSILS- Innocuous Pop music, sort of Joy Division esque bass. Jangly guitars, echoey vocals, borrrring!

DOUBLE DAGGER- Is this screamo? Two chord songs with some very typical humorless vocals and a spoken word breakdown about gentrification! This reminds me of the 90's. Remember Cap'n Jazz? Evergreen? Moss Icon? Or the projects that involved hardcore people and were supposed to be cool, given the seal of "hardcore" authenticity, but seemed ill constructed and confusing. Remember Iceburn? Rodan? The Rachels? Steve does. This band will doubtless join them in the Earnest hall of punk rock fame.

REAL ESTATE- this band is from New Jersey. Their song "Fake Blues" is good. I give it a 7 on my Stevometer. Kind of reminds me of SONIC YOUTH! A Psychedelic layer of gauze has fallen over everything. The future is so hard to see....

DRINK UP BUTTERCUP- This band is ambitious! Are they trying to be the next SPARKS? Good singing and melodies??? Well, pretty good anyway.

DIE HARD- Pop punk with stupid earnest vocals. I can't even make it to the chorus! Click it off! Apparently this band is playing in New York today...my advice is, save your money and stay home drinking beer and rubbing your ear against the carpet!

ZOMES- Another band from Baltimore who are popular perhaps because of their great graphic design! The cover rules! The music appears to be lo-fi miniatures constructed with organs, guitars, and a lot of tape hiss. Well, Baltimore is a TOUGH town. Its Okay with Steve if people can't afford computers to record on and have to use children's tape recorders instead. Or perhaps its an aesthetic decision? I apreciate that, as I am a fan of ragtime and other music recorded in the 1910's and 20's where a popular production strategy was to deploy a LOT of tape hiss!

SO COW- This is a guy from Ireland covering different songs by artists, playing with a guitar, recorded with a bass and drums. Its all pretty straightforward. Steve says: this is Okay and this guy would do great at a coffee shop almost anywhere!

JEFF THE BROTHERHOOD- This sounds like popular, skater, Dinosaur Jr. type 90's music and is pretty good for rock music. And I'm SURE these guys get the girls. I have nothing against that, believe me! But perhaps the dire economics of our times is causing bands to go hit the road and play zillions of shows before they have any really interesting ideas. I guess the Beatles did that when they were just a quartet of loveable hunks. I'm sure it would be fun to see a band in a bar again, But I've been trying to cut costs way down, (including probably living in my car for a while) and going out to bars and partying, dear readers, is a luxury I can not afford!

JOANNA NEWSOM- At last, some banjo music, not a moment too soon! But why is the MP3 clip on her record label so short? I only heard about 20 seconds??? Well if you want a full review, please feel free to send full length LPs to:

STEVE FINGERMAN

c/o "PUDDING IS LARD"

PO Box 145

Van Brunt Station

Brooklyn NY 11215

SO SPEAKETH STEVE!

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2010-01-08T11:14:00.001-08:00

I Heard the Owl Grew My Name

2010-01-05T13:09:00.000-08:00

The Barnyard reeked of Flame. The thoughtless casino met it halfway. We spearred by the wheatfield. Into the tarragon we filtered. An owl grew my name. It was plucked from beyond by the hand of a Starbucks Union organizer. The night was cherished by all. The pseudonym removed all containment.

Turtle Whacker Spread

2009-12-27T13:30:00.000-08:00

STAR FARMER

2009-12-18T09:15:00.000-08:00

View Episode 1 Here

Review of Sherlock Holmes tape

2009-12-14T17:45:00.000-08:00

on the Cassette Gods blog:

"it is something I've returned to again and again whenever I'm sick of music."

http://cassettegods.blogspot.com/2009/12/ambergris-sherlock-holmes-and-large.html

NOTES ANDE RECOLLECTIONS OF THE NIGHT WHEN I...THE TIME WAS....I WAS GROWING EVER...

2009-12-09T12:00:00.000-08:00

BROOKLYN COMICS AND GRAPHICS FEST

2009-12-03T09:20:00.001-08:00

Hope to see you at this exciting all day event on Saturday. I will be signing 1-800-MICE and whatever else from 2-3 PM, and performing in the evening at Death By Audio.

2009-11-28T08:24:00.000-08:00

SIR ARCHIVE CONAN DOYLE

2009-11-24T01:10:00.000-08:00

Inju Kaboom of Kaboom! Press (and The Baxters, Death Beach)played the "Sherlock Holmes and the Large Door" tape on her radio show, "Great Debris"!

Here it is, archived forever or at least until tomorrow

feed://www.whfr.org/podcast/programs/great-debris/

check out www. kaboompress.org

Its Elemental.

2009-11-16T15:23:00.001-08:00

Drawn as a commission copyright Marvel Comics.

Good Pelican

2009-11-13T12:48:00.000-08:00

Mongoose

2009-07-29T22:15:00.000-07:00

B-B-Q

2009-07-27T09:11:00.001-07:00

"Star Farmer" debuts at this animation show!

2009-07-23T10:14:00.001-07:00

Two years ago Raven Burnett, Rebecca Bird and I worked on two episodes of what was planned to be a vast animated sci-fi miniseries about a man and his goat abducted by aliens, called "Star Farmer". It was going to be aired on a big corporation's new web channel. The channel went belly-up before its launch... That was in early 2008. Files were left hither and thither...anyway, I finally finished the sound for this screening....so this is the real debut of STAR FARMER! Please check it out in Los Angeles. It will be up on Youtube shortly afterwards.

Converse All Stars

2009-07-08T10:04:00.000-07:00

A fiery discussion of the fine points of comix writing will no doubt ensue here!!!

Telling Stories: Fiction in Comics
Saturday, July 11 @ 2pm at Union Pool, Brooklyn
484 Union Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11211
(one block from the Lorimer-Metropolitan G and L stop)

Jessica Abel (Artbabe, La Perdida), Jason Little (Shutterbug Follies) and Matthew Thurber (1-800-Mice, Kramers Ergot) will talk about the nature of narrative and fiction in comics. We’ll consider forms of storytelling that comics can adapt, and others that comics can
generate.

Then stick around to get a book signed, hit the taco truck, and sip a summer drink with our featured cartoonists.

This event is part of “Conversational Comics,” a three panel series at Union Pool. Join us again on August 15 to hear Austin English, Lisa Hanawalt & Dash Shaw talk about drawing for comics.

This panel discussion will be moderated by series curator Bill Kartalopoulos (The New School, Print Magazine).

$5 suggested donation. All proceeds go to benefit the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.

For more information on the series, please visit the CBLDF

Tribeca Hot Times

2008-10-21T08:34:00.000-07:00

The Partners of the Atom

2008-10-07T20:46:00.000-07:00

The Partners of the Atom, two scandalous spreadsheets, went leaping toward the future, and what they reclaimed in numbers they more than made up for in energized experience. Their days were numbered, and their dolls were shit. The vapours of the ferris wheel bla bla bla....

A knock at the door.

Sherlock turns his head to see what will happen. The diamond ivory snake, its him at last, the dimples in his childlike face so watery, he is here with a Krys-knife to bloody Holmes. Holmes leaps straight up and flies in an L shape all around the room, landing on the chandelier like a disgusting fly, with penile face form.

An abandoning of basic pretense for most futile nonsense is what we see here in Holmes' dorm room. A study of the moon with its bloody mood. a chart that he pulls out with basic stories written on them. The first story is stored flat and it goes something like this:

"The Partners of the atom were two rotten shitty dukes with their faces rotted off who haunted the edge of the parking lot, clutching muddy homework pages in their hands. They had come to community college to improve themselves, but they would not find their first class. Now time was passing, as noted by the folksinger student sitting on the grass on the top of the hill."

Mother's Powerful Jazz Band

2008-09-27T22:20:00.000-07:00

I made up the title. Somebody else made up the story. Apparently this happens every single day.

Drill Sergeants

2008-09-03T21:34:00.000-07:00