Old School Kung Fu Fest: the aftermath
April 22nd, 2013 by Mr. C
(Our friend Earl at the Old School Kung Fu Fest ready to trade fisticuffs w/ anyone named Twister!)
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The Old School Kung Fu movie fest courtesy of Subway Cinema & Anthology Film Archives came and went like Wong Fei Hong’s famous shadowless kick! It was a weekend worth of condensed old school injected kung fu flavor totaling to a modest 7 films including the secret screening on Saturday night which ended up to be Bloody Parrot from Shaw Brother Studios. In effect all the movies were of the midnight variety edition ranging from the classic Shaolin, Wutang, Tibetan Lama Pai, & Ching Dynasty conflicts to the more esoteric black magic, sexploitation, & exploitation variety to the other end of classic balls to the wall modern HK action! We caught 6 out of the 7 screenings and had to tap out of Sammo’s/Lau Kar Wing’s – Odd Couple due to brain malfunction because of 2 days worth of mind melting HK madness! This compact festival dedicated to all things kung fu, boobs, black magic, & femme fatales was much fun indeed! From the background music of the Wu Tang Clan playing between screenings to the enthusiasm of Subway Cinema when introducing the films being screened, I hope they continue the Old School Kung Fu movie tradition! Below is a lightweight capsule mention of the screenings that we attended.
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Shaolin and Wutang (1983)
It was nice to stroll down memory lane with this classic movie as Shaw Brother fame – Lau Kar Fai represented Shaolin, the great Adam Cheng represented Wu-Tang, & last but not least the evil Ching Lord was played by everyone’s favorite bad-guy in Shaw Brother period piece movies – Johnny Wang Lung Wei! The Ching lord and his goons add more fuel to the fire in the already intense conflict between Shaolin and Wutang. The Excellency has a one track mind to learn the famous Chin Kang fist form from Shaolin and the Bagua Wutang Sword routine in order to reign supreme in the Martial Art World! Evil! The 35mm print of this screening was immaculate and it was very nice to see this movie in all its Cantonese glory though I’m pretty sure the voices were dubbed over again in cantonese because it didn’t sound like Adam Cheng or Lau Kar Fai. If that was the case, that would seem weird because the cast and director/star were all cantonese. This film was filled with comedy, full of revenge, & excellent display of chinese kung fu! Adam Cheng techniques flow like the wind while being graceful and Lau Kar Fai has that look of intent to kill which is native to his Hung ga 5 animal style! I had forgotten how good this movie really is! Recommended!
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Shaolin Temple against Lama (1980)
This was a Taiwanese martial art treasure as Alexander Lo Rei who played a Prince that is trained in the Tibetan Lama Pai fighting art is fooled by the Black Faction sect into fighting against the Shaolin Temple in order for this deceitful clan to gain a stronghold into overthrowing the Chinese Han. The Black Faction attempts to turn Lo’s Lama Pai sect against the Shaolin so they can eradicate each other! How rude! The Black Sect gets nasty when they hire the Persian Killers to wipe out Shaolin and the Prince’s clan! The production value of this film was low, the martial art execution was high, and the plot was well..not much to it. The costume and dress of some of the villains reminded me of rejects from KISS with the shoulder pads minus the makeup! The action was slightly sped up but the execution of fight was amazing combining the traditional arts with the acrobatic! Alexander Lo Rei is definitely not a joke and the final fight sequence against the man with the “Iron Skin” was something else. It’s a clobber-fest and we recommend it! The print at the screening was in 16mm format on two reels and rather faded. Since Anthology only had one 16mm projector, they had to stop for a few minutes to thread & queue up the 2nd reel. It was great to hear the film in it’s native tongue instead of dubbed in my opinion!
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Bloody Parrot (1981)
This was one wild Shaw Brother film as I am still scratching my head trying to understand what was going on. The Bloody Parrot that wasn’t a parrot tinted with a hue of sexploitation and a lot of horror. Vomiting and some insane autopsy’s with exploding fluids from organs seemed to dominate the screen. There was this common goal of finding the missing treasure and pearls but I wasn’t totally clear on the intentions as demons, witchcraft, revenge, & a bloody parrot entered the scene. Oh yeah and I can’t forget to mention the use of a human face shaped as a frisbee weapon! I think I just gave up in trying to understand the film half way through and just enjoyed the weirded out visuals of darkness as a whole! I enjoyed it as working canvas of exploitation art as they would say! Also of note the director: Hua Shan also had a hand in making Super Inframan so that should give you some hints on the mindset and insanity we’re dealing with. If you can find the movie in any form, go see it! The screening we went to was a faded 35mm print but still enjoyable. It added more camp to the film!
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The Dragon Lives Again (1977)
Wow, what can I say about this film! It’s a Bruce Lee exploitation film (Brucesploitation) packed to the gills with insanity! The accompanying english dub adds even more silliness and fun into the equation! The opening film caption “Dedicated to the millions who love Bruce Lee” starts us off with this reboot or reincarnation of the Little Dragon. Bruce Leung Siu Lung plays Bruce in the afterlife in some alternate universe run by some Hollywood minions who despise Bruce Lee – the man, the myth, the Legend. The ladies on the other hand want a piece of Bruce in every which way they can often disrobing and trying to sex the Dragon up! The Exorcist leads the charge to eradicate Bruce in their bizarro world with the help of the Godfather, Zatoichi, Dracula, Emmanuele, Clint Eastwood, James Bond, and a band of zombies & mummies for backup. The dialogue, interaction, and background extras in the film were truly off the wall to the infinite degree. On Bruce’s side would be his right hand men of Popeye, Caine from Kung Fu, and the one armed swordsman! Bruce’s ultimate goal is to get transported back to earth and be far far away from this underworld of Hollywood stars! Bruce Leung Siu Lung’s martial art skills is worthy to play an offbeat clone of Bruce Lee but his onscreen acting I’m not so sure. Find this film, see this film, and get drunk watching this film!
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Red Spell Spells Red (1983)
This horror-exploitation film did not disappoint! A Hong Kong film crew goes to Malaysia to uncover a coffin of the wicked Red Dwarf in order to get video footage for their story. What they didn’t know is that they also unearthed a demon that would haunt them. Part of the film crew stays in Malaysia to visit the Borneo Long house for more video footage and this is where they all come face to face with the evil forces! A sorcerer, plenty of scorpions, sacrificial animals, and witchcraft are a plenty to move the story along. A human torture device on a spinning wheel also was a visual I could not get out of my mind. The indigenous location of the film and the tribal element of the setting added to the mystic of this evil legend! Tibet was also part of the story but I think Thailand was used as the film location to depict some of the temples & buddhist ceremonies that were portrayed in the movie. An amazing scene with a flood of scorpions crawling on a sorcerer with fire in the background along with the perspective of the camera spinning around to evoke a dizzying spell to the viewers was intense! HK filmmakers seem to love to go to Southeast Asia (Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam) for inspiration when blackmagic is in the mix. I was keeping my ears and eyes open for the Phillipines as a possible setting for this film shoot like in the case with the movie Boxer Rebellion which seemed to use the Phillipines (cost) and filipino actors to portray the indigenous sorcerers and demons. Watch this film and be plenty creeped out afterwards! A nice thorough shower is needed after such viewing!
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Angel Terminators (1992)
In the shadows of Michelle Yeoh and Cynthia Rothrock in YES MADAM, Sharon Yeung and Kara Hui Ying Hung provided an updated tag team duo in Angel Terminators. Sharon and Kara played renegade HK cops in search of a Triad kingpin. Non-stop balls to the wall action led by the female Jackie Chan – Sharon Yeung would be the highlight of this film as stunts like scaling walls, jumping from buildings, negotiating a mountain, and plenty of high flying kung fu action will dominate this one. Femme Fatale Michiko provide the muscle as the hench lady and other HK heavies like Dick Wei, Mark Houghton, & Bruce Fontaine display their martial prowess against the dynamic duo! The final fight is not to be missed as things go out in a normal HK bang! This film is serious throughout with no comedic elements to it. There is no bobbing and weaving with Angel Terminators just straight up power punches originating from the hip and waist! According to Subway Cinema there were no english subtitled versions of this film so they had the translations done. Grady Hendrix was on hand at the screening to manually run the subtitles on Powerpoint! Go see this if you can! Bodies are flying everywhere!
Tags: old school kung fu festival
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THE REVENANTS and KALIFORNIA – Kino! 2013: New Films from Germany
April 18th, 2013 by chocko
Die Wiedergänger (The Revenants)
Director: Andreas Bolm
This film clocks in at about an hour and halfway through I was searching for a narrative or a hint of reason to be watching this movie. The opening shots features breezy, lush forests with the gentle sounds of birds chirping and traffic in the distance. There is a scene where a boy is walking through a cornfield and through the woods. Two other characters: a chain smoking older woman and her pony-tailed husband chopping wood are introduced along with a sloppy two-piece band playing rock songs in the forest. Through the voice-over narration and radio transmissions we learn that the population is living in a danger zone and must evacuate. The boy appears again building what appears to be a shelter. The couple spend some time driving in the dark. There is little to no dialogue in this movie to explain what is going on. The voice-over narrates a story that sounds interesting…why is the movie not about that? Instead what you get are bunch of slow-paced scenes, shot beautifully and perhaps would work better as a series of photographs.
Kalifornia
Director: Laura Mahlberg
Kalifornia is a charming short film about an old Russian man named Pavel who lives in a mobile home out in the quiet German countryside. He calls his friend about his decision to pack and head out for California. Nothing much happens in this film, but Pavel runs into characters along the way: a man with a broken scooter, a burly truck driver and a taxi driver who pokes fun at the film’s protagonist. The film also looks great, wished it was longer! This movie will be shown with the film mentioned above, The Revenants. Check out the trailer to Laura Mahlberg’s Kalifornia HERE.
Die Wiedergänger (The Revenants) and Kalifornia are part of the Kino! 2013: New Films from Germany series hosted at MoMA in NYC from April 18–24, 2013. The short films screen on Saturday – April 20, 2013 at 4:00 p.m. and Wednesday – April 24, 2013 at 4:00 p.m. The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is located at 11 West 53rd St. in New York City.
Tags: Die Wiedergänger, german film, Kalifornia, kino!, moma, the revenants
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FORGET ME NOT : Kino! 2013 – New Films from Germany
April 17th, 2013 by Mr. C
Director: David Sieveking
Genre: German documentary
I was a bit weary when I read a brief synopsis of this film about a son documenting his mother Gretel’s advancing stages of Alzheimer’s. We all have dealt with this disease first hand or know of someone who has and we know it’s not easy seeing a loved one slowly lose their grip with reality. The documentary honestly sounded like a depressing film and a subject matter that has been taken to the hoop one too many times. Instead, Forget Me Not was a nice homage to the Director’s mother in living life to the fullest while being dealt with a card that attempted to create distance between Greta & her family from her soul. Yes, it was a stone-cold look at the reality of growing old with alzheimer’s but Greta and her family do it with dignity, love, and much filial pride. Along with the honesty, came a shocking unveiling of family history between the director’s mother and father (Greta and Malte). This element in itself is what separated other growing old films with Forget Me Not. We will learn that Greta and Malte will use the term liberal as a common denominator and essence in their lifestyle whether personal, socially, or politically. David (Director/Son) documents his mom’s day to day living with this illness and basically discovers another life that his parents have been living. This discovery strengthens the family ties even further though it might have put a burden, guilt, and heavy heart to some. This documentary is no doubt a bit more complex than what meets and reads the eye. Forget Me Not takes a personal look at celebrating life no-matter what skeletons may shake your existence. The story is a reflection of illness, love, & responsibilty while staring death in the face.
Forget Me Not is part of the Kino! 2013: New Films from Germany series hosted at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in NYC from April 18–24, 2013. It screens on Saturday – April 20, 2013 at 1:30pm and Wednesday – April 24, 2013 at 7:00pm
Tags: documentary, german films, kino!, moma
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Cherry Blossom Festival at Branch Brook Park/Newark/NJ
April 15th, 2013 by Mr. C
(Cobu Taiko Drum and Dance Troupe)
It’s always a treat when we stay put on the Jersey side of things instead of venturing out to NYC and such was the case last Sunday with the 37th annual Cherry Blossom Festival held at Branch Brook Park in Newark, NJ! This annual Bloomfest is a special day to celebrate the arrival of spring under the beautiful manicured awning of Cherry trees that are blossoming in their pink petal glory thoughtfully sprinkled throughout the Park. In conjunction with enjoying the beauty of sakura, the festival also embraces Japanese culture with live demonstrations & performances such as Taiko drumming, Traditional Japanese dance, Traditional Tea Ceremony, poetry readings, Samurai arts, Aikido, & Japanese modern/traditional fusion dance. Bloomfest also keeps the children busy by providing the kids with fun activities such as face painting, arts & crafts, kite flying, rock climbing, & bungee cord assisted jumping! Best of all – the Cherry Blossom Festival is FREE!
(10tecomai: Yosakoi Dance project Team)
Graffiti heads and street art aficionados can get their eye candy fix for the art form at the nearby Keystone building, a paperboard box company in the Northeast section of Branch Brook Park. The back of the building of Keystone is where you will find the canvas for the other kind of urban blooming known as aerosol art.
Cherry Blossom Festival or not, Branch Brook Park has to be experienced in order to be appreciated. Did you know that the same conglomerate that designed Central Park & Prospect Park – The Olmsted Firm was commissioned to design Branch Brook Park as well? Go and discover this park in NJ. It’s waiting for you!
(Traditional Japanese Dance)
(Mary Kao teaching the art of origami)
(Bocce being played by the locals at Branch Brook Park)
(Japanese Tea Ceremony)
(the future of Taiko drummers in the making while practicing on the trees!)
(Young ladies promoting Kyoto travel)
(10tecomai: Yosakoi Dance project Team)
(Glass bead blowing)
(Winner of the poster/cherry blossom theme competition)
(Graffiti behind the Keystone Box Company adjacent to the park)
(Ikebana Flower Arrangements)
(Cobu Taiko Drum & Dance Troupe)
(Richard Reiter on the percussions)
Tags: bloomfest, branch brook park, cherry blossom festival
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They’re baaack! — OLD SCHOOL KUNG FU FEST — I love Kung Fuuuu!
April 2nd, 2013 by Mr. C
(all images courtesy of Subway Cinema)
(all images courtesy of Subway Cinema)
To all my Fu heads in the NJ/NYC area and those willing to travel from afar for this excellent event, it’s time to block out the weekend dates of April 19-21! Subway Cinema is throwing down some old skool is TOO COOL fists of fury movie screenings at the OLD SCHOOL KUNG FU FEST at Anthology Film Archives! The 35mm film selections are not an end all – be all – list but rather it’s an eclectic, modest, and fun pickings from the kung fu basket! A total of 8 films which includes Odd Couple, Shaolin and Wutang, Shaolin Temple Against Lama, The Dragon Lives Again, Angel Terminators, Red Spell Spells Red, and a ‘secret’ selection only known by the asian movie gods at Subway Cinema. We are planning to attend all the screenings but we are really looking forward to catching Sammo Hung & Lau Kar Wing in the hokey – Odd Couple. Sammo and Lau Kar Wing puts on a great display of excellence with the traditional weapons of chinese kung fu in the broadsword and the spear. Another fun and wacky film on our hit list to watch on the big screen is the Bruce Lee exploitation (Brucesploitation) film starring Bruce Leung in The Dragon Lives Again. Where else can you find the ghost of Bruce Lee go to battle with the likes of James Bond, Clint Eastwood, The Godfather, the Priest from the Exorcist, Dracula and even Emanuele! Angel Terminators is also another fun femme-fatale piece with classic non-stop HK action in the form of some very badass ladies! One of my favorite HK films ‘Lady is the Boss’ starring leading lady Kara Hui Ying Hung teams up with Sharon Yeung as they play renegade cops in search of a triad boss who is aided by another kick ass chick – Michiko Nishiwaki supported by none other than everyone’s favorite bad guy – Dick Wei! So yeah, we’re really looking forward to catching up with Angel Terminators!
Check out the schedule below or go directly to their website for the latest info at Subway Cinema. See y’all at the Fu Fest at one of our favorite grassroots/alternative/retro movie theatres in the NYC – Anthology Film Archives! POW-BAM-BOOM!!!
The Old School Kung Fu Fest is organized by the same guys running the New York Asian Film Festival (www.subwaycinema.com) in memory of one of Subway Cinema’s own – Daniel Craft.
OLD SCHOOL KUNG FU FEST
April 19 – April 21
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the movie theater…the Old School Kung Fu Fest is back! The New York Asian Film Festival’s wildly popular celebration of kung fu movies from the 70s and 80s that pop your lock, rattle your chops, and put the pain inside your brain has returned after a 10-year absence to send your kung fu knowledge back to school. This time the spotlight shines on some of the biggest stars in some of their rarest movies. We’ve got Gordon Liu (36TH CHAMBER OF SHAOLIN), Sammo Hung (Jackie Chan’s “big brother”), Kara Hui (Lau Kar-leung’s female star of choice), Bruce Leung (KUNG FU HUSTLE), and even Bruce Lee (after a fashion). With prints loaned from the vaults of the American Genre Film Archive and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office New York, prepare to earn your Master’s Degree in Kick Ass-ology!
Organized by the New York Asian Film Festival (www.subwaycinema.com), featuring old school curatorial skillz by Grady Hendrix and Goran Topalovic. In memory of our friend Daniel Anderson Craft. Special thanks to Jerry Ma of Epic Proportions (www.epicprops.com) for another kick-ass poster design. Daniel would’ve approved!
Unless otherwise noted, the 35mm prints were provided by the American Genre Film Archive (www.americangenrefilm.com).
THE ODD COUPLE
April 19 at 6:15 PM
April 21 at 9:15 PM
SHAOLIN AND WU-TANG
April 19 at 8:30 PM
April 20 at 2:00 PM
THE DRAGON LIVES AGAIN
April 19 at 10:30 PM
April 21 at 1:00 PM
SHAOLIN TEMPLE AGAINST LAMA
April 20 at 4:00 PM
April 21 at 7:15 PM
ANGEL TERMINATORS
April 20 at 6:00 PM
April 21 at 5:15 PM
SECRET SCREENING – ONE SHOW ONLY!!!!
April 20 at 8:00 PM
RED SPELL SPELLS RED
April 20 at 10:00 PM
April 21 at 3:15 PM
Tags: film festival, kung fu films, old school kung fu festival, subway cinema
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All Hail BRUTE FORCE!
March 30th, 2013 by chocko
“Brute Force” (2012), trailer
Director: Ben Steinbauer
We first met Brute Force a.k.a. Stephen Friedland after a short documentary about him a couple months ago at Maysles Cinema in Harlem, NYC. The short doc focused on the artist who came to the brink of stardom in the late 60’s with his Apple Records song “King Of Fuh” which got him admirers such as George Harrison and John Lennon of The Beatles. Apple Records put the “Fuh King” song on the shelf due to it’s obscene lyrics and Brute Force left the music business and worked as a paralegal in NYC. Bar None Records rereleased hs 1967 Columbia debut, “I, Brute Force – Confections of Love,” in 2010 and Apple Records released “King Of Fuh” on a 2010 “best of” compilation. The audience at Maysles Cinema were treated to a set of funny songs by Brute Force and and his daughter Lilah, aka Daughter of Force. The man definitely is an entertainer…he started off his show with some yoga poses including the “doggie surrender pose” and played some hilarious, catchy songs including “Tapeworm Of Love”- a melodic punk song, “To Sit On A Sandwich,” the mighty and majestic “King of Fuh” and the eco-friendly “Pamela Sweet Dreamer” which features some crystal clear falsetto vocals. The man writes awesome, witty songs!
The Planet Chocko Crew got a chance to meet with Brute Force a couple of weeks later at Veselka in NYC where we chomped on stuffed cabbage and pierogies and talked a bit about the usual topics: the environment, heavy metal music and sitting on sandwiches. Our conversation went all over the place. One moment we’re asking him about his place of birth, Jersey City and then he starts talking about Area 51 – home of captured space ships and aliens. It is hard to keep up with him and I suspect he is from another planet too. We initially talked about his performance at Maysles and he seemed a bit apologetic for picking on members of the audience that got up to leave in the middle of his set. “If you let anger creep in, it really turns off everybody. People are not there to feel anger, but be entertained. If you’re going to make anger or arrogance part of it, it best be funny.”
Brute talked about his famous doggie surrender yoga pose which he does at shows. It’s an unflattering pose which has Brute on the floor with an exposed belly with arms and legs raised. He then discussed the animal world and egolessness. “Giving up your ego, you’re communicating on the most primitive level with the immediate goal to raise consciousness.” He cites his song “Pamela Sweet Dreamer” which is about ecology and a lady who collects aluminum cans.
He then gets distracted by the quote on his teabag, “The great and glorious masterpiece of man is to live with purpose” a quote from the French Renaissance writer Michel Eyquem de Montaigne. This must have sparked up a memory of getting married in 1969 and moving to Ojai, California in the valley. “I used to grow great marijuana when I lived in California. Those were the days, my friend.” He got really into it, describing drying plants and using cow dung as fertilizers. He began to talk about water and felt it has a consciousness of its own. Brute Force then schooled us on The Gaia Theory and the idea that our planet is an organism.
We tried to get him to talk about music and asked about his song “To Sit On A Sandwich” which was inspired by a picture of a beautiful model sitting on a hamburger. “That song was heavy funny – absurdist lyrics, funny, satirical, mocking civilization yet funny and melodic.”
The question about the origin of his name came about. Brute Force recalled joining the doo-wop group The Tokens (The Lion Sleeps Tonight) in 1964 playing keyboards. The time came to record his own stuff. “We were recording in the city and we were recording a song called ‘The Fall’ which is a dance song (he then starts singing at the table). I’ve been searching for a pseudonym for myself which will lead to the topic of identity. The name Stephen Friedland did not satisfy the description of a rock artist. I came up with Crude Brute. The Tokens were there and Jay Siegel blurted out ‘Brute Force’ and that was it.”
The anger and rage inside of Brute Force starts to reveal itself. “If I had chosen to stay with the name Stephen Friedland, I would have been shown more respect by the public relations people at Columbia (Records) who wrote complete bullshit about me in their press reports.” When “The King Of Fuh” record became censored, and after noticing it wasn’t in the market and nobody was playing it, Brute stepped away from music from the 70’s to the mid 90’s and only listened to classical and country music. Nowadays he still enjoys Bob Dylan, Carole King and Randy Travis. He also really digs heavy metal bands like Metallica.
Mr. Force also recalled his father who came from Russia in 1910, became an attorney and was in New Jersey legislature in 1930. His father built a home in Deal, NJ-right on the sea. He then tells us of the time a younger Brute Force and a friend, Ben Schlossberg participated in an expedition to swim across the Bering Strait from Alaska to Siberia. The concept behind the expedition was “to create a ‘Swim-cident’ to draw attention to the closeness of hemispheres, thereby the closeness of the people.” This was during the time of The Cold War and the Vietnam War.
Brute Force then schooled us on the the fantasy of nationality and his idea of one borderline, the edge of Earth. He also shared one of his favorite ideas, “the endlessness of your mind and that your mind is connected to the universe and the universe is in my estimation, an endless system.”
We ended the conversation with talking about the short documentary “Brute Force” by Ben Steinbauer (Winnebago Man). Brute said the production is still in effect, there’s so much more footage and they need to gain distribution. Definitely see the documentary if you get the chance. It is a charming portrait of a misunderstood, creative and funny musician who almost got really famous. His music is worth checking out. Buy his albums immediately. You will not be disappointed. Be on the lookout for Brute Force shows in the NYC area. Go to his shows and be prepared to laugh and have a good time. Thank you Brute Force!
CHECK OUT SOME VIDEOS BELOW:
Brute Force performing “Hello” and “The World is Filled With So Much Bullshit” at Maysles Cinema (Thanks pcimprezzive!)
Brute Force performing “King Of Fuh” at Maysles Cinema
Brute Force performing “Pamela Sweet Dreamer” at Maysles Cinema
Brute Force on Zacherle’s “Disc-O-Teen” show (1967)
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Tags: brute force, king of fuh, stephen friedland
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Olek: THE END IS FAR – art exhibit at Jonathan Levine Gallery
March 24th, 2013 by Mr. C
It came down to the wire but we did end up making it to Olek’s exhibit – The End is Far at the Jonathan Levine Gallery on the last day of her installation and live performance! The show started on February 23rd and ended last Saturday. Olek is a crochet artist who is known to yarn bomb objects that we see in our daily travels like shopping carts, bicycles, cars, sculptures, and of course – people by covering them up in camouflaged crochet patterns. The camouflage just doesn’t stop on everday outdoor objects – no – Olek takes this to the inside of her living space – her apartment as witnessed by her previous exhibits such as Knitting is for Pussies. We covered that exhibit briefly HERE in October/2010. We also captured a few of her works on the streets of NYC HERE. Olek has also covered up public art sculptures such as the Astor Place cube and the Bull on Wall Street.
With her latest exhibit – The End is Far, Olek crochets us a story of her trying experiences in London in 2011 & a new resurrection in 2012 with her travels and works in Hong Kong, Poland, & Brazil collaborating with like minded, creative, & strong women. The End is Far is an installment and symbol of strength & femininity. Boxing gloves, skulls, skeletons, and a living room with a dining set filled with china, fruit bowls, goblets, and two WOMEN are covered in yarn to tell us a story. We loved all the messages scattered throughout all the panels in the exhibit. Enjoy the visuals, enjoy life, and enjoy the people around you!
Jonathan Levine Gallery
529 W 20th St #9
New York, NY 10011
(We were greeted at the exhibit by a mermaid on a swing.)
Tags: art, crochet, olek, yarn
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Red Horse at City Winery
March 23rd, 2013 by Mr. C
Red Horse – the collective folk music trio of Lucy Kaplansky, John Gorka, & Eliza Gilkyson played at the upscale and rustic venue – the City Winery where the posh and privileged intersect with the die-hard fans of the said performers. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the passions of a full-service winery that crafts their own spirits from grape to bottle – gently aged in barrels stored in the bowels of City Winery’s basement, but listening to your favorite band play live at this space sometimes leaves a lot to be desired. The constant chatter, wine glasses & beer bottles clinging & clanging – the whispers and outbursts not related to the performers or the music, & the constant pacing of the staff really starts to annoy me. Then you have the clumsy Chocko and Mr. C waiters/waitresses/busperson shattering plates and glasses on the floor as they hurriedly try to clear your table in order to whisk you a fresh round of drinks. I think the most optimal spot for listening and watching a show at CW is front and center of the stage. Any seat behind the sound board puts you in glass shattering siberia!
(John Gorka)
(Lucy Kaplansky)
(Eliza Gilkyson)
Despite my bitter lemons, the chino-mex-filipino line cook staff of Planet Chocko huddled around a table and enjoyed the tunes coming out of Red Horse’s mouth! Yu understan’ the wordz comin’ out of my mouff!? With his typical self-depracating humor, John Gorka did a fine job introducing his bandmates! Lucy the psychologist from Chicago turned greenwich village fast folk performer 29 years ago and Eliza the new age folk technician from L.A. belting out a mix of ballads, poetic lyrics, and rally cries against the government! I really love the different styles of these 3 especially when they combine forces. The individual vocals of Gorka’s majestic & clear baritone voice, Eliza’s haunting melodic tones, and Lucy’s touching lyrics delivered with her tender melodies all stand alone as separate knockout punches! As a unit, they often deliver rich sensual harmonies and backgrounds that compliment each other very well. Their self-entitled album Red Horse has each one of them perform a song written by the other two as well as performing one cover song, and one song of their own. It was great to hear a few different songs on their setlist that was not on the album such as Lucy Kaplansky’s ‘Ten Year Night’ & ‘Scavenger’, John Gorka’s ‘Down in the milltown’ & ‘Ignorance and privilege’, and Eliza Gilkyson’s ‘Beauty Way’ & ‘Slouching towards Bethlehem’. The three performed a fun set at the City Winery but not without some hitches like when John Gorka seemed to forget a few words in ‘These walls could talk’ and a few off key guitar chords on the miniature G-sharp guitar. But who’s keeping track when wine glasses and serving plates are playing their highest note when they meet the City Winery floor! John Gorka closed out the night with an inspirational rendition of Curtis Mayfield’s – “People get ready”.
(Red Horse performing Curtis Mayfield’s – People get ready at the City Winery)
SETLIST
I am a child
wild horse
scavenger
Forget to breath
These walls could talk
Blue Chalk
Walk away from love
Down in milltown
Ten year night
Beauty way
Ignorance and privilege
Sanctuary
Slouching towards Bethlehem
Don’t mind me
Wayfaring stranger
People get ready
Tags: eliza gilkyson, folk, john gorka, lucy kaplansky, red horse
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St Louis Record Store Crawl
March 20th, 2013 by chocko
VINTAGE VINYL (6610 Delmar)
On a recent trip to St. Louis, MO to go hang out with Julie of Waves On The Sea at a Tegan and Sara show, Chocko made a short list of record stores to check out while in town. Before going to the concert at Pageant in a neighborhood known as The Loop, I walked to Vintage Vinyl located among an eclectic mix of thrift shops, restaurants and a comic book shop. Vintage Vinyl is a very overwhelming place with seemingly endless aisles of records and CDs. There’s a lot to soak in…lots of great signage, Steve Keene paintings, movies and posters. I was strapped for time, so I picked up a few things. One of the albums I picked up was “The Grimy Awards” by ILL BILL (me and the clerk geeked out just a bit) – highly recommended hip hop with lots of guest vocals including Jedi Mind Tricks and HR of Bad Brains. “Inner City Rockers” by THE RETROS on BDR Records – this album blew me away…punk rock from the St. Louis circa 1979. Loaded with catchy tunes. These guys were like the Buzzcocks of the Midwest! I listened to this nonstop after I bought it and now I have to track down every BDR Record for more independent music from the 70’s and 80’s straight outta St. Louis. I also picked up 1990:The Bronx Warriors on DVD, a movie from 1982 which stars 70’s Blaxploitation icon, Fred Williamson. I started watching it and looks pretty dreadful-cheesy Rambo looking characters, bad acting, all set in a bizarre future where the Bronx is overrun by motorcycle riding gangs on a rampage.
EUCLID RECORDS (601 East Lockwood)
The following day I drove to Euclid Records and after stepping in, was instantly greeted by the friendly clerks behind the counter. I gravitated towards the bargain bins along the windows and afterwards zig-zagged around two huge rooms of records, CDs, movies, magazines and limited edition concert posters. Euclid puts out their own music including a live in-store/45 rpm series which features music recorded at the store. Euclid Records has another location in New Orleans and in two months, their present St Louis store will be moving about a mile away to 19 N. Gore Ave. in Old Webster. This place is a highly recommended place to shop. I dug into the Used DVDs Bin and grabbed 2 movies: Laura – Classic Film Noir starring Gene Tierney and Donkey Skin – A French fairy tale movie filmed in 1970 starring Catherine Deneuve. I also picked up some Used CDs including a compilation of Rockabilly Classics and one by The Pristeens – a female fronted band Mr. C and I saw many times back in the day at NYC’s Coney Island High and Continental. I picked up another BDR Records release (the obsession continues!), The Welders 4-song 7″. The Welders (1975-1981) were an all girl punk band from St. Louis influenced by bands such as the NY Dolls and The Runaways. They looked like The Switchblade Sister with guitars. Hot Stuff! They reunited in 2009 for a 30th Anniversary show. They still got it…hope they play again soon!
RECORD EXCHANGE (5320 Hampton Ave)
Next up was Record Exchange which is home to 10,000 square feet of music and memorabilia, in an old building which was formerly a library. This store is the place to be for used records and so much more…movies on DVD and VHS, used CDs, cassette tapes and even 8-tracks. Vinyl collectors will have their minds blown but don’t expect new stuff at the store…second-hand items reign supreme at Record Exchange. The woman behind the counter was very helpful, shared stories and showed me a photo album of the store in its many incarnations. Many of the photos feature Jean Haffner who founded The Record Exchange in 1977 with his own personal record collection. The record store is a labyrinth of fun with surprises and dusty relics around every corner. I picked up a stack of $1 singles by the register including Promo singles by Killer Mike, Capone-N-Noreaga and “Touring” by The Ramones. I only learned about it later, but hiding behind an army of Elvis cut-outs, there is a 45 room on the second floor…nothing but 7″ singles (Shangri-La!). I shall return!
APOP RECORDS (2831 Cherokee St)
Apop Records is a hip record store located on a cool street in the Benton Park West neighborhood. There are a lot of Mexican storefronts and places to eat in the immediate area of the store including a bakery and a bicycle shop on the same block. As soon as I walked in I started digging in the punk music shelves and worked my way to the ‘zines and local music section. There are lots of records and books to look through but don’t expect to find a lot of mainstream music here. Apop specializes in the bizarre, indie and underground scene for sure. There are two pinball machines in the back of the store, obscure Blowfly and punk records on the wall, magazines and books…I could be in that shop for hours just browsing and hanging out. I picked up a local ‘zine After Hours which features lots of deep thoughts and poems by Matt Questionmark and illustrations by Lauren B. I also picked up an old issue of another local ‘zine Freezerburn which features cartoons and manifestos by Mister Ben. Issue 19 comes out later this month! As far as local music, I picked up an album by STL hardcore savages, Shaved Women. Holy sheet these guys rule. Brutal, crushing cinderblock-to-the-face hardcore punk! Chocko likes!
TED DREWES (6726 Chippewa St.)
Ted Drewes is a highly recommended spot for frozen custard, regardless of the weather. I got a Christy which is a sundae with a warm brownie on the bottom with custard, caramel and hot fudge on the top. Before dropping off the rental car and hopping on a plane, I stopped by the Loop one more time. I ate a quick meal at Seoul Taco. Damn good! Then paid my respects to the St. Louis native son and Rock and Roll pioneer Chuck Berry. Took a quick photo of the 8 ft. bronze statue on Delmar and ran into Vintage Vinyl one more time for some Chuck Berry music and more BDR Records. I wish I was in town for Chuck Berry’s concert at Blueberry Hill. Long may he rock and duck walk! Hope to be back in STL again soon.
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Tags: apop records, bdr records, chuck berry, euclid records, record exchange, record stores, st. louis, stl, ted drewes, the retros, the welders, vintage vinyl
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Photos From Outer Space 3
March 7th, 2013 by chocko
Here is another edition of Chocko wandering around town in paparazzi mode. Noomi Rapace made an appearance at Apple in Soho in NYC to promote her new movie Dead Man Down which reunited her with Niels Arden Oplev, the director of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo which features Noomi’s breakthrough role as Lisbeth Salander. My favorite parts of the discussion came from the q+a with the audience. Noomi talked about how her role in Prometheus gave her nightmares about being impregnated with alien babies and she also revealed how she intensely prepares for her movie roles. Thai kick boxing every day for seven months to prepare for Prometheus. Damn, girl! Noomi begins filming the movie, Animal Rescue with actor Tom Hardy next week in Brooklyn.
Filmmakers Joshua Green, Capella Fahoome and Ramona S. Diaz also stopped by Apple Soho to discuss Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey. Their documentary tells the story of Filipino singer, Arnel Pineda’s rise to rock-n-roll fame as the new lead singer of Journey. The movie opens this weekend in select cities. The filmmakers will be present for Q&A’s during the opening weekend at The Quad Cinema in NYC.
Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Garcia stopped by New Museum to discuss hip hop in 1993 and share stories from their influential hip hop radio show on Columbia University’s WKCR which aired from 1990 to 1998. Stretch and Bobbito introduced the world to hip hop artists who were unknown at the time, such as Jay-Z who only had a 12″ record deal and is doing better now, Nas, Big L, Black Moon, Wutang Clan and the Notorious B.I.G. It was cool to be in the audience and listen to stories about artists such as Wutang Clan strongarming their way into the studio to get “Protect Ya Neck” played and an unsigned Biggie Smalls who almost stopped rapping after losing an on-air demo battle to a group called The Bronx Zoo. Stretch mentioned that the shows will be archived and accessible in one form or the other soon. He is presently working on a series of music documentaries focusing on overlooked 90’s albums such as “The Infamous” by Mobb Deep. Bobbito has a documentary Doin’ It In The Park: Pick-Up Basketball, NYC which is due out later in 2013.
Geneviève Castrée stopped by Desert Island in Brooklyn to sign her first graphic novel, SUSCEPTIBLE published by Fantagraphics Books. Geneviève is a talented cartoonist and musician who was born in Quebec and now lives and works in the Pacific-Northwest. The crowd at Desert Island was treated to a slide show featuring drawings from Castrée’s new book while she provided the funny insight and commentary. The occasion also marked the independent comic book shop’s fifth anniversary.
Legendary horror punk band, MISFITS signed their new album DEA.D ALIVE at Forbidden Planet. The new release on Misfits Records is a live album which features material from the post-Glenn Danzig era of the band. Chocko is a huge Misfits fan, but I have to say the sound on this album stinks like a mummy’s buttocks. I’ve heard bootlegs from old VHS tapes sound better than this new album. If it is a live album, it sounds like it was recorded from outside the venue. I will say, the artwork is fantastic! Pictured from left to right: Eric “Chupacabra” Arce, Dez Cadena and Jerry Only rocking the devil lock. Which one of you dudes smudged all my autographs? Shout-out to Dez for signing my Black Flag albums!
Skyzoo signing his album A Dream Deferred a couple months ago at the New Era Flagship in NYC. This would have been a dope event if Skyzoo performed a couple songs like the flyers advertised. The album is NICE.
Rachael Rakes (left), the Assistant Curator of Film at the Museum of the Moving Image, moderated a Q&A with Park Chan-Wook (middle) director of Oldboy. Park made a recent appearance at the Museum Of The Moving Image in Queens to promote his latest film, Stoker. If you’re a fan of the Korean director’s previous films or if you just want to catch a creepy, revenge movie…definitely go see it. You will enjoy it immensely. Astoria, Queens is no joke. After the event, it was a bummer to find that the Planet Chocko spaceship parked on 37th St. had been broken into. The lock on one of the doors was sloppily busted up and some space suits from the trunk were stolen. Be careful out there fellow astronauts!
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Tags: Bobbito Garcia, Geneviève Castrée, misfits, Noomi Rapace, Park Chan-Wook, photos, skyzoo, Stretch Armstrong
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The Sketchbook Project — part deux
March 5th, 2013 by Mr. C
The collective unconscious of Mary, Lisa, Ti Hua Chocko, and I gathered at the opening night of the Sketchbook Project 2013 on the 1st leg and eventual homebase of the sketchbook tour at the Brooklyn Art Library last Friday. We were there to check out each others’ submission and to just browse through random sketchbooks from those who participated in this project. What we ran across was amazing! We saw some uber creative artwork fortified in pencil, ink, cutouts, foldouts, paint, glue, yarn – all in different forms of texture & color. Some were zine like while others were more of the traditional black & white sketches. Some had comic book like storyboards and some were covered in fabric. Others had the elemental & detrimental workings like an elementary school artist – ahem- like myself. One sketchbook was ode to the Hunger Games while another was documenting video camera locations on a college campus. We touched & viewed artwork submitted from all over the world including Japan, Brazil, London, Dirty Jersey, & Planet Brooklyn.
(my take on Usagi Yojimbo)
(hopping vampires inspired by Hong Kong cinema)
Regarding our sketchy-sketchbook offerings, Ti Hua Chocko had the rad bubbly like cartoon drawings from outer space and Mary had some colorful artwork that blended the abstract with a more personal & reflective look at the world offering inspirational images to cherish the gift of life. My submission on the other hand was none of that – rather a random collection of drawings with skills equal to that of a 10 year old with a fondness for killer samurai rabbits, a chubby rabbit inhaling instant ramen, & chinese vampires inspired by the hopping vampire genre in Hong Kong cinema! I actually haven’t drawn like this since — never! It was fun working that side of the brain for once instead of my robotic side. Some of my tattered art samplings are scattered throughout this writeup. Sorry to have made you look.
(chubby rabbit slurping some instant ramen)
So yeah, take part in the Sketchbook Project! And make sure to visit the Brooklyn Art Library for your stationary needs while skimming through some really cool sketchbooks! If it’s physically impossible for you to make it out to the Brooklyn Art Library, checkout the digitized sketchbook offerings HERE. It was fun being part of an art community of 75,000 strong. Where else can I boast that my artwork lay stacked next to real artists, copywriters, art directors, & graphic designers!
Brooklyn Art Library
103a North 3rd Street
Williamsburg-Brooklyn, NY
(burning of the U.S. dollar and of the ‘Hell Note’ type)
Tags: art community, sketchbook project, sketchbook project 2013
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The Sketchbook Project 2013
March 1st, 2013 by chocko
Chocko has done it again…managed to last minute doodle his way into The Sketchbook Project, a global art project that involves creating art in sketchbooks and having your work exhibited across thousands of miles to different cities in North America and eventually finding its permanent home to be displayed at the Brooklyn Art Library. Here are some samples from Chocko’s sketchbook. As you can see, all it takes is some creativity, pencils and ink. definitely take part in the 2014 Sketchbook Project and be a part of the traveling library of artist’s books. It only costs $25 to get a sketchbook mailed to your house. Pick a theme, draw and create and mail back your sketchbook by the deadline. Don’t wait, participate!
The drawing on the left is from a DVD sitting on my shelf. House Party is one of my favorite comedies that came out in the 90’s. The movie starred rappers Kid and Play. There were a couple sequels, but the original one is the best. The drawing on the right is The Gill Man from the classic Univeral Studios horror movie The Creature From The Black Lagoon. The man who portrayed The Gill Man, Ben Chapman Jr. signed a photo for me at a convention and included “Aloha.” I remember chatting with him and we talked about Hawaii. Rest in peace, Mr. Chapman.
On the left is a drawing of Leela from one of my favorite animated television series, Futurama. Looks like Leela forgot to wear clothes. On the right is a drawing of Cannibal Fuckface I ripped off from a cover of the sick and violent graphic novel series, Prison Pit by Johnny Ryan.
I started this one and it was supposed to be a scene in a cafe but then I just got lazy and got inspired by a particular scene from the Crumb documentary. If you want to see more, hustle over to the Brooklyn Art Library and check out the 2013 sketchbooks from March 1-3, from there they go on the road and will be stopping in Austin, Atlanta, Toronto, Chicago, Portland, San Francisco and Los Angeles! Check out more of Chocko’s sketches in (book 193.79-10) also look out for Mr. C’s world premiere sketchbook. More info on that later. Thanks again to Mary (she did a sketchbook too!) for convincing me to do this again. Check out her new blog titled Make Life Your Goal where she shares photos and tales of her many adventures and reviews her favorite places to eat and drink!
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Tags: 2013, art, artist, draw, sketch, the sketchbook project
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