Stephan Moore & Scott Smallwood present Final Goodship Tuesday. Out Now from Wow Cool.
About Us
Wow Cool is a studio and label based in Cupertino, California. Artists include: Marc Arsenault, Brown Cuts Neighbors, Steven Cerio, evidence, Simon Gane, God Hates Computers, nickname: Rebel, and Offset Needle Radius.
Newave! is a 892 page monster collection of 80's minicomix. Art by Marc Arsenault, Sam Henderson, Ion, Wayno and scores of others. Available Right Now!
Today (Sunday March 14, 2010), San Jose’s beloved childrens’ playground and zoo, Happy Hollow reopened after a nearly two year renovation and closure. Clearly the star of the show was the installation in the entry courtyard of sculptures by Tom Otterness. “Another World”, a series of over a dozen cast sculptures installed in the entryway to Happy Hollow comes with a special coloring book. You can color it and relate your story and send it back to Tom in Brooklyn and receive a plaster sculpture back (Tom’s studio copies your book and the returns it to you). The offer is open to any age.
I first encountered Tom Otterness’s work in the 1983 show and catalog at Tony Shafrazi Gallery “Champions” which also featured Jean-Michel Basquiat, Ronnie Cutrone, Keith Haring, Futura 2000, Kenny Scharf and others. It was an attempt to unite this set of mid-80s New York artists, and even then, Tom Otterness was a clear outsider. (an odd aside, an instructor of mine at SVA once told me that I reminded her of Tom). This is one of Otternesses largest collections of public art (probably the largest on the West Coat), and well worth a visit. It stands as a fair substitute for the old playground fairytale exhibits at Happy Hollow (See my photos of the old Happy Hollow on flickr)
I have to admit to not being the biggest fan of the new Happy Hollow, and was quite fond of the many dilapidated playsets of the HH of old that have been retired. I think the could have managed to go more the route of Oakland’s Fairyland in keeping the old, but moving forward.
Some tips when visiting Happy Hollow.
Bring your own food. The stuff they sell is crap.
Expect the usual idiocy of any parking experience in San Jose.
There is a big area between the playground and Hallow Zoo that contains the old Crooked Man slide. Avoid this, as the house is now boarded up. No sliding will occur.
It’s not there for you, it’s there for your kids. Let them dictate how much fun it is.
Does anybody out there have visual documentation of shows and other live Brown Cuts Neighbors interventions? 1989-91 most desired, but other eras good too! i got all the audio, and Marc’s digitizing ALL the public access episodes from over the years… its the visual documentation of live performances and happenings that i have very little of…. We’re gonna use this stuff and you’ll get credit if you contribute. xoxoxox Jason
The Art of Zines show opened at Anno Domini Gallery in Downtown San Jose this past Friday. Stacked on shelves along the walls are dozens of zines from all over, including many titles from Wow Cool and old familiar favorites like the latest issues of Fluke, Cometbus and Doris. Stop by if you can. The show runs through March 13th, 2010. Long time friends of Wow Cool will no doubt recognize the late James Kopta on the cover of “That Dog Drives a Go Cart” on the poster art for the show. See some photos from the opening: My Photos | Cherri’s Photos | Brian’s Photos
In preparing for a guest spot on Don Campau’s radio show No Pigeonholes I decided it would be a good idea to go back through my ridiculously large archive of tapes from the 80’s and 90’s. I slotted a bunch of them (there are sooo many missing from this set, including much of the upstate New York bands, seminal industrial releases, and much Bay Area stuff) into a 100 spot wooden case I grabbed from the local goodwill. It’s an impressive testament to a DIY time gone by.
I feel that this assemblage hints at a need for something to be done with the collection. No idea what. Maybe Don can help me work it out. In the meanwhile, please tune in to 91.5FM in the Bay area (or listen online at http://www.kkup.com/) Sunday, December 13th, 2009 at 3pm (Pacific). View the case of Brown Cuts Neighbors tapes I’ll be bringing to the session. I’ll be mainly playing CDs and vinyl. Tune in if you can.
I appreciate the above portrait of Mike from the Yes Men much more now then when I took it six years ago. Alot has happened since. Now this pretty clearly represents where the Yes Men are at. It’s so obvious I wouldn’t do the same shot now.
The Yes Men Fix the World opens local to the larger part of the Wow Cool crew at the Roxie in San Francisco on October 30th, 2009. There is some danger of hijinks occurring.
The Yes Men are anti-corporate pranksters who create phony Web sites to get themselves invited to high-level corporate conferences and media events – where they give hilarious, Swiftian analyses that unmask global injustice and satirize human rights abuses. They are the 21st century’s answer to Timothy Leary’s proselytizing for acid and Ken Kesey’s busload of hipsters. The big difference is that they care less about changing minds than changing policy. But announcing, as spokespeople for Dow Chemical, that they will at last take full financial responsibility for the victims of Bhopal, they create a media sensation that embarrasses the real powers that be. And, outfitted in their wacky “survival ball” getups, the Yes Men address a room full of straight-laced suits who don’t think there’s anything funny about going to insane lengths to assure one’s personal safety in the event of any and all calamities. The Yes Men don’t exactly speak truth to power. But their hearts are in the right place — right next to their funny bones. Written, directed and produced by Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonnano. Co-directed by Kurt Engfehr. Running time: 87 mins.
Genius NYC indie promoter Todd P hosted a great end-of-summer bash at Broadway Backyard in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn last weekend and I brought my camera. Against a backdrop of the M and J train line and a martial arts school converted from a bank (with a memorable mural), Hot Box, Talk Normal, Teeth Mountain and Lightning Bolt entertained, thrilled and all that kind of crap.
Found this great version of Torgo’s severed head on flickr pretty much randomly. It’s next to either Don Van Vliet (Captain Beefheart) or one of the Thompsons from Tintin. More than you want to know about Torgo can be found on Dial H for Blog.
I’m now imagining that Simon Pegg and Nick Frost take over the Tintin movies and they use the tagline, “It’s Hot Fez!” to promote it. The first true believer who can remind me what damn book the Thompsons wore fezzes in wins a no prize.
If you like big rusty metal dinosaurs, then you will want to check out this photo set on flickr of Mike and Nick from CALMS and nickname: Rebel exploring the “Spanish Town” shops on Route 92 in Half Moon Bay, California. We were headed to the marina to shoot a video of the nickname: Rebel song “Rescue Boat” and joked that it should be just like the 1975 film of the Land that Time Forgot. We came pretty close.
Mostly noise show. July 28, 2009 at El Rincon on 16th Street, San Francisco, CA. Featuring CALMS, Cruiser, Hora Flora, Vibrating Garbage, Amphibious Gestures, Lung Transducer and Nerfbau.
Oakland, California. A lovely flickr set with a couple of videos from this last weekend. A magical fairytale land, originally built in 1950 and very well maintained and smartly updated. Pay a visit…
On September 29th Shout! Factory will release Ciao My Shining Star: The Songs of Mark Mulcahy, a tribute to former Miracle Legion front man Mark Mulcahy. The album features a collection of some of today’s greatest recording artists performing versions of Mark Mulcahy’s songs. Mulcahy’s wife, Melissa, died suddenly in September 2008, and proceeds from the sale of the album will go to Mulcahy to help him continue his music career while raising his 3-year-old twin daughters.
The album features 21 exclusive recordings by Thom Yorke, Michael Stipe, Dinosaur Jr., Mercury Rev, The National, Frank Black, Vic Chesnutt, Frank Turner, and Josh Rouse, among others. In addition, a further 20 tracks, from artists such as A.C. Newman, Buffalo Tom and Laura Veirs, will be available digitally. To coincide with the release, there will be two concert events, one in London and one in New York, details TBA.
Mulcahy was the front man and main songwriter for alternative rock band Miracle Legion in the 1980s to mid 1990s. Shortly after their demise, Mulcahy formed Polaris, the house band for the mid 1990s alternative television series The Adventures of Pete & Pete (1993–96) and perhaps best remembered for the song “Hey Sandy,” which was featured in the opening credits of the show.
Mulcahy has opened up for many notable artists, including Oasis and Jeff Buckley, and has received homage from Radiohead front man Thom Yorke, who dedicated a song to Mulcahy at a show in Boston. Nick Hornby wrote an essay on Mulcahy’s song “Hey Self-Defeater” (from the album Fathering) in his book 31 Songs.
Mark and his music is an old friend to those of us from the upstate New York/Berkshires/Five Colleges region. This is a heartbreaking loss and everyone here at Wow Cool HQ extends good feeling towards Mark. His is a voice so rare, it deserves the very best. Mark your calendar. grab one of these disks. UPDATE: Stereogum has posted cover art and a preview of Thom Yorke’s version of All for the Best.
UPDATE: Thom Yorke’s version of ‘All For the Best’ will also be released as a limited 7″ single backed with Mark Mulcahy’s ‘Ciao My Shining Star’ to be released on September 7, 2009. Via At/Ease
Tiena has been the premier events list for the New York State Capital District for over a decade. It’s members come from a wide range of artistic disciplines, interests, hobbies, activities and pathologies. This new tiena SoundCloud group was created to preserve an audio record of the activities by those involved.
Anyone who is, or has been a producer of any kind of sounds in the Albany/Schenectady/Troy area is invited to contribute. You do not have to be on the tiena list to participate. No previous SoundCloud experience required.
In other news… Anyone out there who takes photos and is a fan of Neil Gaiman’s book American Gods is invited to join a group I started on flickr called (wait for it…) American Gods House. I guarantee that the group description is very entertaining.
Opening this Saturday, May 2, 2009 at Artbreak Gallery, 195 Grand Street, 2nd Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11211. Exhibit runs through May 29. Gallery open Thursday through Sunday, 1-7 pm.
Featuring altered doors By:
Billi Kid, Blanco, Broken Crow, Buildmore, Cake, C.Damage, Celso, Cern, Chris RWK, Deeker, Destroy & Rebuild, Feral, Goldenstash, Yassy Goldie, Imminent Disaster, Infinity, Kngee, LA 2, Matt Siren, Morgan Thomas, Peru Ana Ana Peru, Plasma Slugs, Royce Bannon, Skullphone, The Dude Company, Stikman, Veng RWK, Windowzoo and featuring a slide show by Luna Park.
A set of photos from the amazing show by Schlong at El Rio in San Francisco, March 14, 2009. Many exciting tidbits and narrative to be found in the descriptions… well, two or three things… Go to teh flickr now to see it!
Peter Barvoets – long-standing Brown Cuts Neighbors official scientific consultant – has joined flickr and has posted some of his amazing shots of early electrical wonderment.
LookSeeSeen flickr Photoset Look See Seen homepage Scott Smallwood’s Electrotherapy – A CD of electronic sound compositions based on recordings of early 20th-century electrical devices, including induction coils, an ultra violet ray oscillator, a diathermy machine, and a sectorless wimshurst machine. These devices are part of Pete’s collection. on Deep Listening.
UPDATE Feb. 24, 2009: You can vote for this photo as Your Best iPhone Art over at Wired.com
Back in May I got to visit the famous Monroeville Mall, just outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the shooting site for George A. Romero’s film Dawn of the Dead. I have finally taken the time to sort through the video (above) and stills I took. Aspiring filmmaker tip: Baby strollers make really bad steadycams. The place does not look all that different. It’s a shame the carousel wasn’t there back in ‘78. The Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood playground is also a new addition. I actually bought a Dawn of the Dead DVD at the Borders bookstore nearby. Find out more about the mall and the shooting of Romero’s zombie classic at MalloftheDead.net.
It’s done! I’ve posted about 200 photos up to flickr of my absolute best shots from last weekend’s 2008 Tiger Claw Elite Championship. Go check out those, and past years shots now! I’m gonna go sleep.
I wish I’d taken the time to find out who this is, but I was on the way out the door when I took the shot.
Unfortunately my visit to APE this year will be forever colored by the dreary drive to it–which included some most certainly dead people in a very grisly road accident that was followed by further delays due to a submerged section of the I-280. By the time I got to the show–nearly an hour later than expected–I just felt sick. The venue–the Concourse, where My Bloody Valentine (and old BCN pal Suzanne Thorpe!) had played a couple months before–also suffered from a leaky roof, which I personally witnessed and more than one exhibitor commented on (not ideal circumstances for a printed matter-type show). Despite all this I had a grand time and was excited to see many old friends and colleagues. I was also sad I did not get to see a few people who I somehow missed or would be there on Sunday. Picked up some great books. There is just so much great art coming out now. It’s crazy! Got some cool books by Jim Mahfood and Brandon Graham (ok, new to me). Tons others. Good feeling all around.
The first batch of my many, many shots from last weekend’s Disney’s Martial Arts Festival are up on flickr. These are all of Tiger Claw Elite Champion performers. Shot at the nighttime show on the main stage of the Milk House at Disney’s Wide World of Sports in Walt Disney World, Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Saturday, October 25, 2008. See the set!
Print
