Hi-REZ launch performance
So we’re in the final few days before our first performance in response to the Maxo Vanka murals in Millvale. I thought I would share with you some of the local press that has been circulating and creating buzz for the event and further explaining the project. Also, while there will undoubtedly be many ways to see/hear the event after it has happened, for those of you in town who want to see it live and kickin’ here is the venue info one last time:
1) November 7th at 6:30 PM at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, as part of exhibit “Paintings and Works on Paper, Maxo Vanka”
2) November 14th at 3PM at the site of the Social-Realist
Maxo Vanka Murals: St. Nicholas Catholic Church, Millvale PA
(The church is located at 24 Maryland Avenue, Millvale, PA 15209)
And now for articles:
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette— a mention in on of the city’s larger newspapers.
Hughshows— a great local blog with wonderful photography
Pop City— online magazine covering all things new and innovative in the ‘Burgh
Pittsburgh City Paper— we made it to the Short List! Find us under Nov. 7 in this list of highlight events from Pittsburgh’s free paper.
Back to the grind of putting together the best performance we can for you! You can expect greater explanation of our piece and our thought process behind it to come soon—expect notes on utilizing more minimalist instrumentation, a diagram of how the work correlates with the murals, and how each of us relates to the work personally. For now, I’ll leave it a bit of a mystery. Can’t wait for you all to hear our new creation, it has been quite a fun, frantic, and fruitful experience.
love,
maura
The Paris of Appalachia
So we just finished our mini-tour with Elsinore, but I wanted to backtrack a moment and give a little update on some of AC’s other activities. We continue to be hard at work on new tunes as well as re-vamping our stage set-up and costuming (photos to come!). The rest of the Fall looks packed with shows so there will be ample opportunities to refine/showcase all of these new developments.
In our off time, however, I was feeling a need to take greater part in the local art scene. So I thought to myself—I know a fair amount of fun, creative people. And they know even more fun, creative people. What if there was an opportunity for all of these awesome, like-minded people to meet for free and in a completely casual environment? Also, how could I make an event where I could bust out my multiple tea sets, love of finger food, and perhaps my taste for bourbon? The answer: A Pittsburgh Salon.
So a Salon I threw, at the tale end of August. I provided food, beverage, a table where people could leave promotional info or skill share items, and atmosphere, of course. The lovely guests were just to bring themselves and any additional guests they desired. We also had an optional item share as a “getting to know you” activity—bring one lightly loved item you no longer have use for and trade it for someone else’s lightly loved item, all while chatting and comparing funny origin stories.
I think for a first outing it was a mighty successful one. It was kept casual—no facilitated discussions on Pittsburgh art—but that didn’t seem to matter as that appeared to come up naturally in conversation all over the room. There were also lengthy discussions on astrology, the dynamics between people when working in a kitchen, and the thought process for picking tattoos.
I intend to put together more of these shindigs, which is part of the reason I am posting about this first attempt here. I think Pittsburgh’s art scene is awesome and I want to do what I can to create moments that act as catalyst, connecting people who would work well together or sparking conversation that challenges the listener to do more. Or to have simply a time set aside for people to recharge their creative batteries, which is how I felt afterward.
Next up in the blog world will be some recapping of the mini-tour and photos of our new stage additions. Until then, cheers to new adventures and new friends.
love, maura
So we had an awesome time playing an 80s cover set a few weeks ago at Arsenal Lanes. The event was organized by DJ Zombo and had five bands playing all New Wave (including his group, Action Cats. Do I smell some rivalry coming on…?). I thought I’d share an overview of our set through a handy playlist. Plus, we had so much fun with these songs, some of them may become a part of our regular rotation—best to become familiar with them now before you hear our own twists on them.
Local Blogs: Take 2
Music blogs that highlight local artists and upcoming shows from both national and local acts are great for everyone—they give music lovers access to tons of information in one location and cut down on the leg work of finding worthy events to go to, as well as give musicians an outlet to gain further attention and get to know other bands that may be compatible partners for upcoming gigs. But what if you’re a musician looking for advice, including answers to questions such as “How does one actually GET attention from bloggers?” Whether you’re a veteran or a newbie to the world of independent music, with the rate at which local scenes and global technology change new questions can arise just as quickly as old ones are answered. Lucky for you (and me), Grassrootsy is here.
Grassrootsy is run and written but local artist Joy Ike. Grassrootsy tags itself as “grassroots marketing for independent artists.” Personally, when I hear the word marketing I imagine pie charts and bullet points and prepare myself to sort through posts based strictly on what I need so as to avoid boring myself to tears by going through every last one. But while all posts on Grassrootsy work toward the goal of relaying tactics and tips for better marketing, she manages to do so in a warm, friendly manner with relate-able topics and with great variety in the style of posts and subject matter. Some posts do offer advice in list format—for example her most recent post on making the most out of a coffee shop gig—but she also opens her blog to the community, taking questions from other artists such as this one from The Beggar Folk of Lancaster, PA.
Which brings me to what I really enjoy about this site. Far from being preachy or a music-focused version of Dear Abby, Joy is down to earth and never comes across as “the expert” or self-promotion obsessed. All advice offered is earned either through time “in the trenches” or through the help of other artists big and small. And the site, while also a means of getting to know more about Joy and her experiences, is ultimately about community and the principle of if you’ve got it, share it. Musicians, just like in our high school days, too often can be placed into one of many camps, from the hobbyists to the professionals, the competitive to the sheepish, the popular to the zealously outsider. Grassrootsy finds itself in the admirable position of the professional without pretension who doesn’t see sharing information as a means of losing ones competitive edge. And in that spirit I wanted to point others her way.
As usual, got ideas of other local music amazingness I should check out? Please feel free to send it this way (you can direct messages to actioncamp@gmail.com with “Live Blog” in the subject). Stay tuned for the next installment of the Live Blog!
love,
maura
