ISSUE 123 | MARCH 2024 GRAHAM FRANCIOSE, QUIET THE ROAR HIDDEN DRAGON: JONNY DESTEFANO DECEPTACON: KRYSTI JOMÉI FROSTED FLAKES: JULIANNA BECKERT SHERE KHAN: KAYVAN S. T. KHALATBARI LADY OF THE FOREST: CRISTIN COLVIN NIGHT VISION: MARK MOTHERSBAUGH RAJAH: MEGAN ARENSON FRONT COVER: REDMER HOEKSTRA, PANDA WWW.REDMERHOEKSTRA.NL BACK COVER: MBL, MEGALODON TOOTH & CLAW: GRAHAM FRANCIOSE, ZAC DUNN, MANDY HECK, BRIAN POLK, S. PUTNIK, HANA ZITTEL, ERIC JOYNER, NICK FLOOK, JOEL TAGERT, ELISE TRIVERS, JASON WHITE, DAVE DANZARA, TOM MURPHY, MOON_ PATROL, PETER KORNOWSKI CAMOUFLAGE: REDMER HOEKSTRA, CHRISTOPHER CHANG, VON RYTIS, ARTHUR BALITSKIY, CURTIS TUCKER, BRENT BROZA, BOBBIE WATSON WHITAKER, BRUCE CONNER, ANDI TODARO, COLIN PARSON, KYLE SINGER, DOUGLAS SCHENCK, TILLER DITTLO, LAUREN YS, JAIME MOLINA, PEDRO BARRIOS, MARC BILLARD, LUMONICS LIGHT & SOUND GALLERY, AISLYNN MILLS, LUKE HUXLEY, ALISON HICKS, MBL AMBUSH: MARIANO OREAMUNO, HANA ZITTEL, DS THORNBURG, PHIL GARZA, ZAC DUNN, MAGGIE D. FEDOROV, CRISTIN COLVIN, CONRAD FRANZEN SUPPORT OUR FRIENDS AND BENEFACTORS: DENVER THEATRE DISTRICT, SOLAR SIGNS: ART PROJECT BY BEATIE WOLFE & AARON ROSE, MEOW WOLF, MUTINY INFORMATION CAFE, APOTROPAIC BEATNIK GRAFFITI: MARK MOTHERSBAUGH, BLANK INDUSTRIES, BENNY BLANCO'S, ROOTS RX, MONKEY BARREL, ASTRO TOURS, OFF THE BOTTLE REFILL SHOP, FRONTIÈRE NATURAL MEATS, TOXOPLASMA ARTS FOLLOW US – IG: @BIRDY.MAGAZINE | FB: @BIRDYMAGAZINE BE IN BIRDY – ART + WORDS + COMEDY + ET CETERA: BIRDYMAGAZINE.COM/SUBMISSIONS MAILED SUBSCRIPTIONS + SINGLE & BACK ISSUES + MERCH: BIRDYMAGAZINE.COM/SHOP ADVERTISE IN BIRDY + HELP US GROW: BIRDYMAGAZINE.COM/CONTACT-US/#ADVERTISE BIRDY IS AN ENDANGERED EXPERIENCE, SUPPORT US MONTHLY ©2024 BIRDY MAGAZINE, THE TALL GRASS HAS EYES 1
The cryptos conundrum of existence, belief, gentrics and context. What lies beyond what our eyes can see? Is it something that must be certain? Is it something that is actually there at all? When we first ventured into the forest to forage and gather the resources to sustain us and continue the journey we were not alone. Entering the macrocosm, one is aware of the immensity of life in all directions vibrating in one singular breath. The sounds of the smallest to the largest creatures are what guided those steps across dirt and leaves in search of something that we could not see. We were certain that it was indeed there, otherwise it wouldn’t have made sense to be in that context in the first place. In that most primal moment of conquest for survival we knew nothing but hunger and fear. Fire would protect, warm and ward off the tiny and No. 123 ART BY VON RYTIS
massive creatures that would come invariably equally curious about us as well. These creatures of all sizes differed from us in another crucial way. They were not in a state of fear. They only know the unknown and are not cursed with the self-awareness to contemplate the infinitesimal mystery beyond all that our eyes can behold. They moved in the same context in parallel. Not with minds of heart that knew anything other than being. Not fear or courage, not joy or pain, not hunger or starvation. The cycle of exploration from the mighty rift of origin would play out in the same manner until disease, climate, conflict and the topography pushed our factions to all corners of the rock. This motion from one place to the next could be sparked for innumerous reasons. But in all cases, the destination, path and fate were unknown. This uncertainty was a constant. It took brave and courageous hearts to spear the WOOLLY MAMMOTH or to stand up to a SABER-TOOTH that pounced upon us. But these moments of distress and valor resulted in a genetic courage that allowed us to learn how to overcome our fears and make choices that perpetuated our existence. Prior to the advent of religion of faith being organized and defined by culture and language emulsifying into a roux, the sublime existed in minds only. The unbelievable things could only be seen and imagined. There was no standard or set of stories that created the context of these forces we believed in but could not see. Even the fire that warmed us seemed to be a living thing as well. This curiosity to know the unknowable is part of the curse that drove us further and further into the unknown. There was always more land and animals and space to see. The ends of the Earth seemed boundless and the stars above like specks of pollen floating in a pond. We knew so little that all we did know was that we were real and that there were very real things that we simply couldn’t see that could and would eat us, just as quickly as we would eat them. THIS IS THE STATE OF NATURE. We live our entire lives in the modern state of nature where we have removed all the simplicity that has allowed the luxury of not knowing the fear of those who took the brave steps to propel our DNA to this point. They didn’t know they were doing brave and miraculous things. They only made simple choices as we do as well. The choice that we make in FAITH is something that should bring JOY and UNITY. As we all know, this is simply not the case. The most bloody of all ideas is the highest and most sacred form of truth that we walk into the darkness clutching tightly. This endless quest by those in power to control people through belief has been constant in our context. Those who write the story are the same ones who can dictate the next chapter. This autonomy of narrative is the central message in all FAITH. The core of the thing is a path and following that path requires adherence to ideology and context. The world that we live in is still a place with millions of species that science confirms are very unknown. For this reason it’s imperative to speak on CRYPTIDS. Online sources define this word: Cryptids are animals that cryptozoologists believe may exist somewhere in the wild, but whose present existence is disputed or unsubstantiated by science. This is not strange at all. There are knowns and unknowns. However, it’s our choice to believe in anything in our AUTONOMY. The very starting point from which almost all choices are made. It may seem like a long stretch, but our FAITH in simple commonly held ideas that we take completely for granted is UNIFIED FAITH that humans in modern society adhere to globally. These are super basic standards that all religions agree upon. DON’T KILL PEOPLE. DON’T STEAL. DON’T LIE. The extent to which any society seeks to control these maxims determines how permissive or suppressive a culture can be. But regardless of the severity of adherence to ideology, the tacit belief in the unknown is as woven into us as these basic rules all humans understand. The moment of Genesys in this all to me is the control of the unknown. GOD is not a known thing. YET, the vast majority of humans believe in some form of this idea. Since the dawn of time, humans have feared the other creatures we shared the context with. Tales both factual and less so would spread like jam on buttery toast. These tales would evolve as living things as well, passed from head, heart and tongues into the ether. The creatures that we feared most were often not the ones that we could ever see until it was too late. All over the world there were different creatures who adapted to ascend to the apex. We would dream of them and fear them in the waking world as well. In time that fear could turn to respect and even mutual adoration. These things that we could not see were very real. GOD is something that we cannot see but most would agree is real. It is beyond evil to suggest that BIGFOOT, YETI, SASQUATCH, YOWIE, DOBHAR-CHÚ, LOCH NESS, CHUPACABRA, LEVIATHAN simply do not exist. To suggest that humans all around the planet all have different mystic creatures that are woven into the fabric of their society. Despite the scientific maxim of proof, I would argue that even pure science must venture into the unknown to prove or disprove anything. That step in any direction would not occur without a belief in something that doesn’t exist or has not been proven to be at all. We all come from somewhere. That place has a creature. Everywhere does. It’s as much part of us as the place itself. If we choose to live in a world where these things do not exist, what is left to know? If the place that lies just beyond the horizon is no longer something that sparks our curiosity we shall perish into primordial ooze from which we crawled. The hunger that we still know is not in our bellies now that they are full of factory produced proteins. In the modern age, the great hunger we know and that the most powerful people seek to control is the image of that which we cannot ever see or know. Believe in whatever you choose to be the version of the truth that you choose. Tell the myths you feel represent you and where you are from. These myths are the most important resource we possess in many ways. No one would ever admit it, but if the power were suddenly turned off and never came back on, we would be wise to take our stories to keep us safe and brave as we once again plunged into the state of nature to face the big bad things that we cannot see in the darkness. Maybe they will be friendly and want to come along as well? All things are unknown. GODZILLA SLEEPS TONIGHT SO WE CAN LIVE TODAY. (12.22.23 | 5:54 A.M.) FOLLOW FOR MORE WORK: IG: @UZIEGO TUMBLR: @WTFCRAIGSLISTNYC ARTHUR BALITSKIY
MANDY HECK, CAIRNS BIRDWING BUTTERFLY - @ABUNDANCEILLUSTRATION
I HAVE THE MIND OF AN APE AND SO MANY QUESTIONS THAT IT CAN’T ANSWER BY BRIAN POLK CAN YOU IMAGINE THE SHAME OF SEEING YOUR TWEET ON ONE OF BUZZFEED’S “82 OF THE ABSOLUTE DUMBEST THINGS PEOPLE POSTED ON THE INTERNET LAST MONTH” ARTICLE? I always wonder if the authors of these absolute dumbest tweets ever notice their own work, slap themselves on the forehead and say, “Holy shit, that’s me!” And if so, do they realize they most certainly lost that particular online argument? Because a lot of times the less-educated people double-down on wrong assertions despite the fact that the information they’re disputing is easily verifiable. The best example of this is when Americans misunderstand geography. They’ll say things like, “There’s only five continents: America, Africa, London, India and Hong Kong.” And when others correct them, they don’t get embarrassed, and they don’t have enough intellectual curiosity to inspire them to Google the continents. Instead, they generally say things like, “Well, that’s how we see the world from America, BIH!” So when they’re publicly named and shamed by BuzzFeed, I would like to think they: 1) Ultimately realize how wrong they are; 2) Try to educate themselves as a result; And 3) stop arguing with anyone about anything. Of course, that’s giving them a lot of credit for thought processes they’re most likely incapable of. I suppose incorrectly talking shit on the internet keeps these people indoors and away from the rest of us, so that’s a plus. WHAT DO YOU DO ABOUT YOUR RELATIONSHIP WHEN YOU COME TO A POINT WHERE ALL YOU HAVE IN COMMON WITH YOUR PARTNER IS A SIMILAR TASTE IN TIKTOK VIDEOS? After a long day of work, sometimes it’s nice to come home to your loved one and see what they hearted on TikTok and Instagram No. 123 during the day. “Did you see any funny dogs while you were pooping at work,” you ask. And sure enough, they did! “Oh yeah, look at this one,” they say. Then after you show each other your vids, you don’t really have anything else to talk about. At that point, you both just stare at your phones and find other posts that you can both relate to. It really drives home the point that long-term relationships aren’t easy. And the longer they last, the more weird and complicated they become. It’s almost as if marriage (or living in sin for a couple of decades) is an antiquated institution that needs to be reevaluated and retooled to meet the demands of our modern reality. Also, you should probably talk about TikTok preferences on the first date, since the last thing you want to be stuck with is a long-term partner who isn’t social media-compatible. I’M WRITING THIS ARTICLE AT A BAR IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY, AND THE BARTENDER HAS NOT BEEN BY TO TAKE MY ORDER YET When I sat down at the bar, the server noticed me and gave me a glass of water. This is usually when I place my order, since I always drink the same booze. But she said, “I’ll be with you in a moment.” That’s server talk for, “I’m too busy to take another drink order right now.” So now I’m just waiting for the current rush to subside so I can get a nice tall glass of booze. I’ll keep you posted. AS A PEDESTRIAN WAITING TO CROSS THE STREET, I HATE IT WHEN MOTORISTS DON’T YIELD, BUT THEN I FEEL GUILTY WHEN THEY DO I’m a neurotic pedestrian for this reason. When a motorist doesn’t yield to me, I think pretty fucked up thoughts about them. I wonder
where they got their fucking driver’s license in the first place. (I mean, what, are they just giving them away these days?) But then when a motorist stops, I feel bad for inconveniencing them. I give them an ostentatious “thank you” wave and try to get across the street as fast as possible. There’s just no winning in my head. DON’T EVER ASK YOUR EX-LOVER TO PROOFREAD YOUR MANIFESTO — ESPECIALLY IF THE RELATIONSHIP ENDED ON BAD TERMS This was one of those “Live and Learn” moments that we all experience at various points in our lives. THE BARTENDER JUST TOOK MY ORDER, SO I WILL BE RECEIVING MY DRINK SHORTLY, JUST IN CASE YOU WERE STILL INVESTED IN MY CURRENT STATE OF AFFAIRS So my server handled the rush like a badass, apologized to me for the wait and then served me my booze. So now, I have a booze and I’m better for it. I HAVEN’T HAD GOOD CHEX MIX IN AWHILE Remember when bars served snacks like Chex Mix? I mean seriously, I can’t even remember the last time I had some good Chex Mix. It has to be at least a decade. You know what? Let me count the years. Let’s see, it was when my grandma was still alive, so some time before 2010. It wouldn’t have been ’08 or ’09 because I was in New Mexico for the holidays those years (and the holidays were when she always brought us that good-ass Chex Mix). Was I in town in ’07? Let me think … Yeah, I’m pretty sure I was. So that’s, 10 plus three plus four. 17 years! Fuck, that’s way too long to go without Chex Mix. I suppose now I have figured out how to make it, which I can’t see myself doing. This is probably why it’s been so long since I had Chex Mix in the first place. SOMETIMES I’LL BE DOING OKAY UNTIL SOMEONE ASKS ME IF I’M OKAY AND THEIR QUESTION FORCES ME TO THINK ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT I AM OKAY AND ALL OF THE SUDDEN I’M NOT OKAY My dog died recently and a lot of people asked me how I was doing. At first, I was genuinely touched at their concern for my well-being. But after a while it got tedious. Once I got to the point where it didn’t hurt so much, I would go about my daily routine and just kind of forget about my dear departed little buddy (or at least, he wouldn’t be at the forefront of my thoughts). Then someone would come up and ask how I was holding it all together, and their question tore me apart all over again. It forced my brain to go, “Hmm, how am I doing? Oh yeah, shitty.” Obviously, I don’t want to tell everyone to stop inquiring about my current mental state, but I could also use a break, you know? Sometimes social situations are too delicate to navigate and you just have to pretend it all makes sense. Thank goodness there are good bartenders out there. SPEAKING OF, THE BARTENDER IS ABOUT TO ASK IF I WANT ANOTHER DRINK, AND I DON’T INTEND ON SAYING NO What service! 7
One of the era’s most prolific conceptual artists and composers Mark Mothersbaugh has been making postcard art every day for the past 50 plus years. And this is on top of composing and scoring over 150 films, television shows, video games and hundreds of commercials and interactive pieces through his multimedia studio, Mutato Muzika. All the while making music and performing with pioneering band, DEVO. After he thought he was told that his “potscards aren’t art,” Mark set out to create books that explained his favorite medium and practice with one out now: Apotropaic Beatnik Graffiti. Released by Blank Industries, the neodada Beatnik stream of consciousness poetry and graffiti book represents one human’s shamanistic observations of life in a wiggly world, and it’s all centered on eyes. We had the opportunity to catch up with Mark and his artist-in-chief, Siena Goldman aka S. Putnik. Krysti Joméi: I ordered the first edition as a present for Jonny. Mark Mothersbaugh: Sorry, it didn’t come for Christmas. You should just say you want a refund now. Krysti: Yes! I want a refund from the artist. (laughs) Mark: I’m delighted that we’re doing this. Jonny DeStefano: Thank you Mark. So let’s talk about APO-TRO-PAIC Beatnik Graffiti. Krysti: We’ve been practicing that — A LOT. Mark: So you know I draw postcards every day. You’ve been a supporter of that by publishing them in your magazine, which delights me to no end. The two things I enjoy most are getting up in the middle of the night and making a card and showing up at the studio before everybody else is here and writing a piece of music that’s not even going anywhere. It's just gonna be in my car and that's it. So five or six years ago, I said something like, “I do art every day” to somebody, and they said to me — or at least I thought they did because I have tinnitus issues because of Devo — “Those postcards aren’t art.” And it No. 123 was somebody that had watched me do them every day for a long time. And I was like, wow, that's interesting that somebody that knows me really well had that take on it and it made me think, Well, I want to do a book about the cards to explain them. That was how it started. I wanted to take all these cards and present them like a diary — one man’s observation of planet Earth. I used to give away these cards and they’re different every time. Sometimes they’re on top of an actual old postcard or sometimes they’re on paper that I pre-prepared with images, collages or things. And they always were a way to store pieces of information that I observed or overheard or thought about or had a nightmare about or was bored out of my mind and just started drawing something. And I was kind of surprised. I didn’t even know what I was doing when I started and it came out to be something by the end. And I had started putting them in red binders. You’ve seen pictures I think? Krysti: Yeah! At Myopia [Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, 20142015]. Your postcard room. Mark: Before I did the Myopia show, it had never occurred to me to take those books and open them up so public people could walk in. The idea was shocking to me and I resisted it for a while, but Adam [Lerner] [former Director of MCA Denver] was insistent on it. He is a very amazing human and he curated the show. But when I saw them laid out like that it made me think about them in a different way. It even changed my art a little bit because it was so private before that. I said and drew things that I wouldn’t want anybody to see. I was in shock when we were setting up the show the first day. I started pulling [binders] PHOTO BY CURTIS TUCKER
BEYOND THE STREETS (2018), PHOTO BY BRENT BROZA - BROZAPHOTO.COM | IG: @BROZAPHOTO out, thinking, Nobody should see that. They would definitely get the wrong idea. And though this should be at the end of the story, when I told that person who said to me, “Those postcards are not art,” that’s why I was doing these books [Mark's bigger book in progress and Apotropaic Beatnik Graffiti], they went, “I never said that!” And I thought, Oh, shit, I probably should have asked them to repeat that instead of just being in shock when I thought they said something they didn’t say. But it did make me start wanting to put together this bigger book. And I thought, I’m going to go through all these [red binders] and start pulling images out of them. And at first I was going to do it properly archived by time. Then I realized I’m at odds with our part of the universe. There’s a part of me that’s really pissed off that we’re in a part of the universe where time just flows one direction. You know, it’s not that way everywhere. Somewhere in the universe there’s a bow tie right here, a knot, like a birthday bow and you could go phew — 1976 — vroom back again — oh, 2007, oh — here we are again — 1842 — and you could go off on these loops and come back. For a long time, I’ve always wished I was in that part of the universe instead. Well I told a publisher who had been calling me what I was doing and they said, “You don’t make any money on coffee table books.” They wanted to do black and white pages so it was cheap to print. And I go, “I’m not trying to make money on it, I just wanna have this idea out there.” I just wanna explain why I have this storage container at a warehouse that’s 20 feet long and 8 feet high. And the walls have 700 red binders that each have 100 pieces of art that I’ve done in them. Because I don’t know what’s gonna happen to them if I like, walk home off a stage next year with Devo and impale myself on something and I’m laughing about it saying, “Oh, fuck, I died with a yellow plastic Devo suit on!” I’m going to think, I wonder what’s going to happen to those cards if nobody’s really looked at them or has any idea that there’s a reason for them. Maybe they’ll just all end up in a dumpster. So I thought, I’ll just do Blurb books. It doesn’t have to have pages with black and white words on it. It can be all imagery and all pre-existing statements, phrases, poetry, observations, illustrations, collages, collected imagery, all this stuff that I’ve been doing for myself. But there are limitations to what you can do with Blurb. So I thought it’s going to be four editions, this 1,600 page, 11-inch by 17-inch size book, and they’re going to be expensive. So I’m putting this book together and it just coincided with this guy I knew, John [Bakasetas], who called me up one day and said, “Hey, I’m doing my first book with a photographer from LA. She shot the LA punk rock scene between the late 70s and early 80s.” Siena Goldman aka S. Putnik: Melanie Nissen. Mark: He says, “I was wondering if you have recordings of Devo at Starwood. She took a lot of pictures at the Starwood and I have three other bands like Go-Go’s, Germs, and the Dils. And she said, ‘I’d like it if each of you did a song to put on an EP and in the back of the book.’” And I was like, “Oh yeah, that sounds interesting.” So John happened to be bringing over the book one day and he was totally jazzed. And Putnik and me loved it. And I go, “You’re gonna laugh, but I’m making a book right now,” and we showed him. We had about a third of this big book in progress, like 600 pages. And he said, “Let me put out your book.” I’m like, “Don’t get involved, this one’s a weirdo book. I’m making them one at a time because not many people are gonna understand it or be interested.” But he says, “I want to do it.” And I go, “Well, I’m not going to hold you to it. But I will keep you up to date with what we’re doing.” While I was working on the book, after he left, I thought, Wow, what if he really got it printed instead of Blurb? I collect books, catalogs, comics, a lot of things from older times. And I remember seeing these catalogs that came out in the 20s and 30s that had over 1,000 pages in them. They were beautiful books and they had this spine that was separate from the back part of the book, so I said to John, “Hey, if you’re really serious about this, would you do a little research and find out if there are printers that can still do a spine like that?” And I showed him what I was talking about. And he got on the project really fast and came 9
EXPLORING IMAGERY ... SELF PORTRAITURE ... PAPER INVENTORY back and said, “Yes, I found people that can print and bind in that fashion. And you could have a 1,600-page book if you really wanted to.” With that, we’re working towards that book. And while we were putting it together, I found that there were like, seven or eight volumes [of red binders] that each had 100 cards that looked really similar, that were all eyes — it was after Myopia that I started doing a lot of eyes. And I remember there was this period in time about 14 years ago where I had taken this plaster [eye] medallion, a wall hanging that I’d found at a botánica store in downtown LA, like probably ’77 to ’79. I used to be fascinated with those kind of shops and I loved going in and there’d be incense, or candles that you burned if you had like a lazy husband, or if you had a cheating wife, or if you wanted to make more money, or if your car wasn’t running properly. You could buy these things that would channel energy towards these different places in your life to help you solve problems. And there were these eyes that protected you from the evil eye, from evil doers and malevolence. And you would take an eye and hang it maybe on your front door or above your bed. And you would have it as an apotropaic element. And I loved all that stuff, but I’d found these [medallion] eyes that were really detailed. Like this is what the plaster eye looks like (shows the front cover of Apotropaic Beatnik Graffiti). It’s a lure to get somebody to buy the book — it’s three-dimensional and shiny and fun. S. Putnik: And it’s staring right at me. Mark: It’s the basis. And so I wrote things and I drew things around them, like, um ... Jonny: Stream of consciousness. Mark: Yeah. So there’s text and it’s all kind of abstract. During the time period I was doing these two books, I was thinking about Beatniks because I remember when I first started working with Jerry Casale, writing music with him, his lyrics back then, to me, sounded like Beatnik poetry. And when I was a kid, I just missed the Beatnik thing. I was in high school in the late 60s, and I remember driving up to a house that was a Beatnik pad in downtown Akron, close to Akron U. And you’d hear music inside, it might have been bongos and a guitar. And you knew they had espresso in there. Maybe they had marijuana. But I didn’t even think about that stuff then. I was like too intimidated when I was in high school to go into one of those places. And then when I went to Kent State, there was one right across the street from the main entrance to the campus. And people would go in and sit around, drink coffee, talk about books, politics, all the things that a good Beatnik does. And I liked them because to me, Beatniks were the first art movement, book movement, intellectual movement post atomic bomb in the U.S. And they were like, “We fucked up. We went too far.” They were pre-Devo. I think a lot of our concerns about humans were very similar to Beatniks and the Beat world. And so I became interested in this similarity between Beatniks and punk rock about the same time I was doing these books. And there were people — like Jerry would argue with me. He’d say, “No, the difference between Beatniks and punk is punk is stupid for the most part.” I go, “It’s not all No. 123 stupid though. You have to admit that.” And punk does have things in common with Beatniks as far as rejecting society and things like that. It made me set out to look for the similarities and in the process, I realized this guy that I’d known since 1977 had done a San Francisco fanzine called Search & Destroy, which I think was the best punk rock review magazine. His name is V. Vale. I just happened to be talking to him a couple years ago about Beatniks and punk. And he goes, “I’ll tell you a connection. I don’t know if you know this, but two people gave me money to start Search & Destroy — Alan Ginsburg and Lawrence Ferlinghetti.” They each gave him a hundred bucks and that’s how he started the magazine. So I started looking at these pages, the ones with all the eyes, and I thought of them as little like Beatnik. And they’re kind of graffiti too, because I blew the eyes up poster size for my first Beyond the Streets show (2018) and then I painted on top of the paper. I did like 20 of them. I really got into this imagery and I thought, It’s taking a while to get this big book done. I could put this eye book together really fast. Because if I took five of those red binders that are these eyes, that’d be 500 images with stories on them. And that could be an interesting book. And so we kind of mocked it up and liked it so much. I said, “John, we’re going off track for a minute. But here’s another book.” And then he could afterwards like chicken-out of the bigger one that’s going to be expensive to print up even in small numbers. So we printed, like 1,500 copies of [Apotropaic Beatnik Graffiti]. S. Putnik: We got V. Vale to write for it. Mark: V. Vale wrote an introduction, his is so sweet. S. Putnik: It’s a “how-to” read this book. Mark: I asked a couple other people to write forwards too and one of them was Ian Svenonius, who wrote the first book I read after I got out of the hospital. I volunteered to be a guinea pig for COVID back before they had any way to treat it. And so I went into intensive care and had a terrible experience. But when I came out, I read Psychic Soviet by Ian Svenonius. S. Putnik: I gave it to you (laughing) Mark: (laughs) Putnik gave it to me. And because I liked the book so much, I asked him to write something. And his introduction is really nice and totally different than Vale’s. And then I asked a third person, Bob Lewis, who was around in the very early days of Devo. And he helped come up with the term Devo. And de-evolution existed of course, because ever since Darwin came up with evolution, there were religious people that freaked out and then made jokes about de-evolution. And there’s always been this thing between science and faith. I think they both need to work together a little more, because both elements have definite use in the human experience. But to this day, they’re afraid of each other. It’s kind of interesting. V. VALE AND WILLIAM BURROUGHS (1982)
Jonny: I wanted to say when I was a a teenager I ordered What I Know (1987). But I remember [the book cover] was like a keyhole with an eyeball through it. And by just seeing [Apotropaic Beatnik Graffiti] opened up. It’s two eyes looking at the reader. Just like What I Know, I can’t help but think it’s you, observing the world, recording, looking at us. Mark: You know, eyes have always been an issue with me. It’s a tossup, whether it was beneficial or mostly worked against me. I couldn’t see further than 6 inches of the big E on an eye chart. I got all the way through first and second grade, without anybody realizing that. And everybody just thought something was wrong with me. There was, because I couldn’t see anything. People take their vision for granted. About a month before second grade was over I walked out of an optometrist’s office and he had given me glasses that made everything in focus. I mean it was shocking. Between walking out of this place and my dad driving to my parents’ house, in that 10 minutes I saw things I’d never seen in my whole life. I saw the roof of a house. I saw smoke coming out of a chimney. I saw clouds. I saw the sun. I saw birds flying. I’d never seen that. I only knew the part of a tree that was down where I was and I’d run into it when I was playing in the yard. But I never saw what a tree looked like with leaves. It was mind-blowing. I was so happy and so amazed that I just started drawing things I had seen for the first time. And I remember this teacher who didn’t know what to do with me, she was at wit’s ends because she would say, “Alright Mark, add up the numbers on the blackboard.” And I go, “What’s a blackboard?” And all the kids would laugh. Then she go, “Alright smart guy, go stand in the corner.” How do they know the right answer to that question? I was just totally made to be confused and I had no idea how kids knew what to say. The next day I’m back in school and I’m drawing a tree, because I had just seen trees, and [that teacher] was standing behind me, Mrs. Savory. She said, “Mark, you draw trees better than me.” And it was the first nice thing, positive thing any school teacher had ever said to me. It was the first time somebody wasn’t saying, sit up or shut up or write this, add this up or read that or do this, and they’d be mad. I know about wearing a dunce cap and getting spanked in front of the other kids as an example of how not to behave. So I got these glasses, it was so awesome. She said this and I went home that night and dreamt I was gonna be an artist. I knew when I was in second grade that’s what I was gonna be when I grew up. But the trade-off was that back in the 1950s, what you got for a pair of glasses to cure incredible myopia was basically two Coca-Cola bottoms and you looked like you had some space age goggles on. And I was like one of the littlest kids in the whole class, and I remember this girl in second grade said to me, “Why is your head shaped like a light bulb?” And I went, “What?!” and ran to the bathroom and looked in the mirror and I was like, Oh my God! My head IS shaped like a light bulb! Because I had a giant head and a tiny body. I just always felt like a space alien after that, but I got these glasses and adding that to having this big egg head, it was just like having a kickme-sign attached to you. So I fought with teachers and all of the other students my whole kindergarten through 12th grade. That was just my lot in life. And it wasn’t until I got to college that I became invisible. There was like 10,000 people at Kent State and I just blended in. I was just an anonymous person and that was so great. And I got to study art there. It was a total fluke. And that was a very happy time of my life. But eyes have always been important to me because of the early days of my life. And it was kind of weird, when we were putting together Apotropaic Beatnik Graffiti, I remember thinking, I wonder if I put a hex on myself when 11 I did all these eyes? Because when I got COVID, they didn’t know what else to do, they didn’t have medicine as it was the very early days, so as they were putting me on a ventilator— [He was hit in the eye causing him to lose vision in that eye]. But I came to the conclusion that no, maybe things would have been worse if I wouldn’t have done this book. Because I think even while I was in intensive care, these red books that were on shelves back in my warehouse were like watching out for me. They kept me from getting any worse. So when we started putting this book together, I thought, These pages could be useful to people too. Somebody could say, “I don’t like the way somebody's energy is going towards me,” and take a page and pull it out of the book and tuck it inside their shirt. Or put it in their wallet and carry it around with them. Krysti: You were mentioning how because it’s non-linear, it’s meant to just be opened it up randomly. The first thing that came to mind was that it’s kind of like a Bible in a sense, or one of those poetry or even self-help books that you’re meant to just open and find these nuggets of wisdom. And you we were saying it’s meant to be interacted with, to have pages even taken out. I love that concept. It’s not just a book, it’s a tangible— S. Putnik: Functional. Krysti: Yeah! And it ties back to your love of tangible art, like your postcards. Mark: You know, maybe I can get you guys to help me talk to a couple of the bigger hotel chains about letting us replace the Gideon Bible with Apotropaic Beatnik Graffiti. (laughs) Krysti: (laughs) It’s like a tool you can use. And I love that because we make Birdy for that reason. Mark: Quite honestly, I imagine there’s probably 1,500 people that’ll like this book. So I'm hoping they’re the ones that buy it. (laughing). S. Putnik: My dad will. Jonny: We love it. Mark: And I like people that like to experiment in this medium, because books are at a weird time right now where they’re both endangered, and open for reinterpretation on what a book is. I hope people like this. SELF-PORTRAIT, FIRST PAIR OF GLASSES (2015)
Krysti: I mean, I might be the biggest eye nerd other than you, Mark. I had a pretty big obsession to the point where all the parents that knew me and who got magazines when I was little would save eye pictures for my eye wall. Mark: Oh you’re kidding! An eye wall. I love that. Krysti: So EYE am the fan of this book. Mark: Well, EYE, EYE, EYE. (Holds up the book cover over his eye). Eyes are a pretty primal element and lucky for us, whoever is responsible, nature, science or religion, or God, whoever did it, gave us two eyes so that you could kind of fuck up a little bit and go, “Oh! I just got an arrow in my eye. Oh, the other one works fine.” Jonny: I feel like you’ve made your eyes a superpower. I remember the “Satisfaction” video and you were wearing those goggles. To me, it was the coolest thing. S. Putnik: It’s actually interesting because eyes have always been a big deal to Mark because of his childhood, because of his eyesight. He’s talked about when he would take his glasses off the world would look totally different and blurry and then he would put his glasses back on and the world would look like a fish eye lens. So he’s always had these weird morphed kinds viewpoints throughout life. And then especially me going through all of his artwork from when he was my age to now and he’s drawing all these characters with eyes or like one of the eyes exploding or something is happening with one eye. I think that he kind of predicted his fate during COVID. I pointed that out to you. Mark: Damn it. No one to blame but myself. Hey! That could be the next album title. First dibs. Or that might just be a song? Jonny: Love it. Also, to speak to the graffiti aspect of your book — I feel like Adam Lerner and people have acknowledged how you are an originator through posting your vomit stickers and potatoes in the early days of Kent State. I feel like Apotropaic Beatnik Graffiti is interconnected in that you’re speaking to your own place in history. And I like that you’ve tied Beatniks into it because I feel like Beatniks are rebels, and there’s an apotropaic element to them where they were rebelling against oppression, they were protective and they inspired all the artists, like Warhol and all the way up until now. And you were a big part of all that — artistically, musically. So I like how the title speaks to who you are. Mark: You know, Devo — although we were calling humans the one species out of touch with nature and the one that was damaging the rest of the planet — we also had an optimistic side. We didn’t think it was going to turn out the way it’s been turning out in the last 10 years. We thought people were going to be able to go, “Oh, wait a minute. Let’s turn this plane back. So it’s flying level again.” It’s kind of crazy how close you can get to really stupid things happening on this planet. S. Putnik: Devo was right. Mark: Unfortunately. We weren’t supposed to be. But I think this book just follows in that. Although it’s talking about warning off evil energy, it’s also turning that stuff into a positive. You’ll just have take a look at it yourself and tell me what you think when you get it. S. Putnik: I feel like Devo, or the concepts of Devo, can go two ways. It could be really negative or it could be really hopeful and optimistic. And I feel like Mark’s artwork has this big sense of hope throughout all of it. Mark: It’s the Booji Boy side. LIMITED COPIES ARE AVAILABLE OF APOTROPAIC BEATNIK GRAFFITI (W/ EXCLUSIVE FLEXI DISC): APOTROPAICBEATNIKGRAFFITI.BIGCARTEL.COM SEE MORE OF MARK’S WORK ON HIS SITE: MARKMOTHERSBAUGH.COM AND ON INSTAGRAM: @MARKMOTHERSBAUGH No. 123 "SATISFACTION" | PHOTO BY BOBBIE WATSON WHITAKER BOOJI BOY, PHOTO BY BRUCE CONNER
By Hana Zittel Two Sherpas by Sebastián Martínez Daniell, Translated by Jennifer Croft (2023) The immensity of Mount Everest and the consuming shadow of imperialism are melded with the micro-story of an ascent gone awry in Sebastián Martínez Daniell’s latest novel. Two Sherpas are guiding a young Englishman on his climb when he stumbles and falls 10 meters. He lies motionless and the Sherpas must decide what they will do next while navigating the complex pressure of potentially losing a tourist on this journey. Intertwined with their contemplation, Martínez Daniell delves into the inner thoughts of “the young Sherpa” and “the old Sherpa.” The younger Sherpa dreams of a future career in naval engineering or perhaps international politics, thinks of his school’s production of Julius Cesar — where he will open the show as Flavius, and of the death of his father. Meanwhile, the older Sherpa was not born near the mountain and dwells on his past and journey to his current role. Sections between the Shzerpas’ internal lives are broken up by chapters on the imperial history of Mount Everest, shedding light on the racism and exploitation perpetuated by tourists summiting this peak. Martínez Daniell covers the Western obsession with claiming the mountain, exploring events like British millionaire Lady Houston’s funding of the first flight over Everest in 1933 to “establish a symbol of the supremacy of the United Kingdom over the colonies.” He moves to recount the first successful summit in 1953 by Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay, a Sherpa from Nepal, led by Colonel John Hunt of England, with both Hillary and Hunt awarded with knighthood and Norgay notably receiving a lesser honor. Martínez Daniell additionally covers the 2014 Everest avalanche that killed 16 Sherpas. Denied the request to cease expeditions for the remainder of the year by the government of Nepal, combined with the families of the dead receiving a pittance for the incident, the Sherpas go on strike, much to the dismay of self-interested tourists. “On seeing that the Sherpas didn’t want to go back to work, desperate, the tourist pleaded with the intermediary: ‘And … can’t you talk to their owner?’ The word he uses is owners. He says it in English.” Martínez Daniell’s novel is a sparse venture into creative nonfiction nimbly navigating the micro and macro worlds of the highest peak on earth while grappling with the complexities of humanity, politics and oppression. Constantly creating binary explorations, Two Sherpas is a unique literary force. As Martínez Daniell’s third novel, it’s preceded by Semana and Precipitaciones aisladas, both available only in the original Spanish. The Lost Soul by Olga Tokarczuk, Illustrated by Joanna Concejo, Translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones (2021) Nobel prize winning author Olga Tokarczuk ventures into the medium of graphic storytelling with the gentle fable, The Lost Soul. A man goes about his busy life until he is startled awake, panicked and unable to remember his own name. When he goes to the doctor he learns that he has simply lost his soul and that his quick movements through the world and busy life are the cause of it being left behind as “souls move at a much slower speed than bodies.” To find it, he must return to where he was a few years ago and wait for his soul to return. Accompanying Tokarczuk’s sweet, minimal fable of stillness and the value of slow living are detailed pencil drawings on graph paper. Telling their own simultaneous story alongside the words, Joanna Concejo skillfully builds in more and more color as the story moves, culminating in a vibrant ending explosion of a full, radiant garden. An elegant and slight addition to Tokarczuk’s massive accomplishments, The Lost Soul radiates beauty in its simplicity. No. 123
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ERIC JOYNER, NIGHT ALIENS - ERICJOYNER.COM
NICK FLOOK, THE ISLAND OF RUINS - @FLOOKO
Just Another Vortex Hi there, excuse me! Are you from around here? Just so. I am Josson of Thain, protector of the Westerling Woods. You mean all this burned area here? Just so. Great! I mean, not great that your home burned down — sorry to hear that — but great because the thing is, I don’t think this is where I’m supposed to be. Yes. Your clothing is very strange. A matter of taste, I guess. Where I’m from, robes made of — I’m going to say moss? — aren’t exactly in. My robe is made of cassomint vines. It’s what all my people wear. Or wore. Oh, I don’t mean it as a judgment. It looks great. Very, um, period appropriate. Also it really goes with your skin, which looks like bark. So, vines, bark, two great tastes that taste great together. Just so. But you are wearing strange armor and a glass bowl on your head. Right, exactly. It’s a spacesuit. I would take it off, but your atmosphere might kill me. Which brings me back to the point, which is, I think I was caught in a sort of supernatural storm? You know, like a big vortex out of the sky, a lot of lightning and thunder and whatnot? I got stuck in it and now I’m here, which, again, I’m sure is a very nice planet or plane or whatever, but I’d rather just go home. So any ideas? Perhaps. Come, I will show you. … Wow, seems like we’ve gone from burned to melted, huh? Except for that one tower. Just so. There dwells the sorceress. Aha! That sounds promising. Did she have something to do with this? Just so. Until last night this was Harrowhold, a great keep. And then— A big vortex out of the sky? A lot of lightning? Just so. It touched the earth here, a hurricane of utter destruction. All perished. Wow, that’s terrible. So did you lose anyone, like, personally? All my people. I am now the last of my kind. Oof. Jeez. So this sorceress — hey, look! There she is now! Nice! Hello! Hey! What, not even a wave? Seems rude. She is a demon from another world. Only by diverting the river was I able to subdue her dark power. Got it. Though it does make it a bit difficult to have a conversation. What kind of conversation? Well, I figure, if she called the vortex in the first place, maybe she knows something about it. Maybe she can bring it back and uh, you know, send me home. Hey! Hey, let me down! You would have her call the storm again? Are you too a demon? No, I just — jeez, you’re strong — wanted to have a conversation — could you let go, please? You’re crushing— Urk. Oof. Jeez. Sorry to shock you like that. Little electrical self-defense measure in the suit here. Don’t worry, you’ll recover in a bit. Now, I’m going to go have a talk with the sorceress. How — the lake — Well, I figured I’d walk. I am wearing a spacesuit, after all. Completely waterproof, with its own air supply. Kind of like a heavy scuba suit. Sorry again about your home and your people and shocking you nearly unconscious. Best of luck. … Knock knock! Hi! How did you get in here? The front door, actually. Though I did have to cut through the hinges with a plasma cutter. Sorry about that, though I figure since it’s underwater already, it’s probably not seeing a lot of use. Who are you? Uh, my name’s Cory, but … have we met? You look really familiar. I doubt it. Wait, wait … Gliese 10! Right? There was this party in a crystal palace kind of place? Great DJs, but really crowded? You were with my friend Erika. Oh. Right. Good memory. Never forget a face. What was your name again? Naala. Naaaala, right. How you been? I’ve been a little bit trapped on this very backwards planet, actually. I know the feeling. Speaking of, you wouldn’t happen to have summoned some kind of vortex here, did you? Because I got caught up in one, and when all the lights went out I ended up in the valley over there. Well, a girl has to get home one way or another. Sometimes your friend teleports you, other times you have to gather seven magic crystals and summon an interplanar vortex. Totally. Though it didn’t work, did it? Or, it sort of worked in reverse, in that I’m here, and you’re not there. Clearly. But I have some thoughts about that. Great! Please share. I was having problems triangulating, because other than myself there’s not a lot of material from our home dimension to work with. But now that you’re here, I think I can fix the problem. Awesome. Where do we start? Why don’t you lie down on that platform over there? That stone platform? Yes. The one with the carved skulls and dried blood? Exactly. It doesn’t seem exactly sanitary. Perhaps, but you are wearing a spacesuit. I just have to ask, does this procedure involve sacrificing me in some way? Maybe a little. A little bit sacrificed? Yes. Don’t worry, you’ll barely feel it. Could you let me go, please? Jeez, how are you all so strong? You’re going to make me— Urk. Yeah. Defense mechanism, you get it. So, um, good luck getting off this planet and all. Maybe I’ll see you at a party sometime. … You have returned. Yeah, turns out Naala is, um, pretty intense, you know? I did try to tell you. Yep, yep. So … is there anywhere to eat around here? Seems like I’ll be staying a while. 19 by Joel Tagert
No. 123
ART BY JASON WHITE
Astro Tours BIRDY MARVELS AT THE UNIVERSE THROUGH TELESCOPES WITH ASTRONOMER AISLYNN MILLS UNDER THE STARRY NIGHT SKY IN BOULDER, CO. No. 123
On a cold January eve, we — the Birdy crew — made our way from Denver to Boulder Valley Ranch trailhead right as the sun was setting with one mission: to stargaze. We found a nearly empty lot except for a large van decorated with glow-the-dark stickers and dim red lights parked alongside tables displaying astronomical machinery and gadgets. Three state-of-the-art telescopes were silhouetted against the darkening horizon, the most notable being a 16-inch Dobsonian, standing taller than us depending on its position. A row of red cozy camp chairs completed the scene. Decked out in a warm almost space-esque jumpsuit and headlamp, astronomer Aislynn Mills greeted us before we took our seats. Astro Tours is Colorado’s hands-on night tour of the sky using telescopes, lasers and binoculars guided by local, passionate astronomers. Participants experience a one-of-a-kind opportunity to see planets, constellations, nebula, clusters, galaxies and sometimes shooting stars with their own eyes. Providing realtime education about our planet and place in the universe, their astronomers intertwine the wonders of the stars with the magic of storytelling. Most importantly, their mission is to bring the cosmos to people to share a unifying perspective that we inhabit this small planet together. Aislynn starts the tour by explaining the three different types of twilights: civil, nautical and astronomical, the one we were starting to experience, where the sun is 10-20 degrees below the horizon and we can start to see the brighter objects and some of the fainter ones in the sky. She pauses to hand each of mini squeeze keychain with a micro red light. “These are red lights. We use red light because it has the longest wavelength, so it has the lowest energy and it doesn’t hurt our eyes once they get adjusted to the dark, or what we call our ‘night vision.’ If you look at white light, like your phone, after you get your night vision, you lose it instantly and it takes around 20 minutes to get that back.” Not even five minutes in and more “wows” have escaped from our mouths than we can count. After going over the basics: the shape of the earth, the direction it’s moving in (which we all failed to guess correct the first time) — she explains that, “We’re actually moving towards the east at 800 mph. So if the Boulder Reservoir is two miles due east from this trailhead, we will occupy that bit of space the reservoir is in nine seconds. If that doesn’t have you dizzy yet, don’t worry. The night is young.” 25 A S T R O N O M E R A I S L Y N N M I L L S
Founder Luke Huxley started Astro Tours after he came back from a yearlong stay in Australia where he worked doing outreach for observatories with the astronomer known as Space Gandalf. Luke was struck by “How the night sky is something shared across all cultures, how we all look up at the same stars. How we all travel around this planet as it rotates once a day, and orbits the sun once a year. It’s a journey we’re all on together.” When he came back to the States, he couldn’t find an organization that was aligned with the experience he had just had and with his values as an astronomer. So he decided to create one of his own. “I decided to bring this experience to people who might not have had the opportunity to look through a telescope.” Luke explains that Astro Tours partners with diverse groups and events, non-profits and people of all ages, with multiple programs a week, year-round. “We aim to inspire the next generation of astronomers, and more importantly, communicate why astronomy is not just about distant celestial objects but a reminder of how interconnected we are.” Before we moved on to the moment we’d been waiting for — looking through those high-powered telescopes — Aislynn had one last important task for us. “I like to start the night by making some observations, making some measurements of the sky, because we’re going to take into account what we’re looking at right now. And then we’re going to come back later at the end of the night and make those same measurements again and see how they’ve changed. I like No. 123 to start off in the east. Let’s see what we have with these clouds — we can see part of Orion right now. Can you see my laser?” We could, and it felt like a Star Wars moment. We used our hands to take measurements from the horizon up to her laser which was circling the double star, Rigel, at the foot of Orion (which turns out to be a winter constellation). It took about three handprints. Now it was time to view one of Orion’s shoulders. “That right here is Betelgeuse (pronounced like the classic horror comedy). If you’re looking at it and thinking it has a bit of a red color, that’s because it’s a red supergiant. And we’re hoping that in our lifetime, we’ll see it go supernova.” She explains that it may already have happened. Because Betelgeuse is 700 light years away, so the light we were seeing is from 700 years ago. Our brains felt like they were about to go supernova with awe. Astro Tours is also changing the landscape for tourism. In a world increasingly impacted by human activity, preserving the natural beauty of our environment is more crucial than ever. “We believe in sustainable tourism. This means our operations are designed to have a minimal environmental footprint,” says Luke. Each of their stargazing sessions is conducted with the utmost respect for the natural environment from the locations they choose for their services and tours, to their transportation and production practices, to the education and information they provide to guests. As DarkSky Advocates, their commitment extends beyond their tours. They A S T R O N O M E R L U K E H U X L E Y G U I D I N G A T O U R
advocate for dark sky preservation, raising awareness about the importance of reducing light pollution to protect our skies through community engagement and education. We use Orion to locate Aldebaran in the zodiac constellation of Taurus before viewing the open star cluster Pleiades, or the Seven Sisters, Jupiter, and the “heavenly twins” of Gemini: Castor and Pollock. “One thing I didn’t mention was how we get our zodiac,” Aislynn uses her laser to demonstrate. “We can draw a line across our sky — if you imagine where the sun set behind the mountains — up from the sun all the way up to the moon, continue this line up to Jupiter, and then all the way across the sky to where Gemini is over here. And then draw that line down into the horizon underneath the earth and back up to where the sun was and where the moon is. This is called the ‘ecliptic,’ or the plane of our solar system. And that is where we will always find the planets. So that’s how we get to the zodiac signs, because year after year, people were looking up at the sky and seeing these bright objects — the planets — move through the same constellations. That’s why you'll never hear of somebody saying their zodiac is Cassiopeia, because we will never have a planet in this constellation.” Astro Tours believes that connecting celestial objects to their mythological and historical significance makes for a more engaging and enriching experience. Astronomy folklore is a tapestry rich with stories and myths with each constellation holding tales as old as time. Storytelling is also a tool to promote accessible education, as it provides a hands-on learning experience for guests. Their stories dually promote diversity with their tales spanning cultures and continents. We continued spotting more objects through the evening with our viewings dotted with stimulating conversations about the four Galilean moons and planetary rings, rock formations and chemical compositions, UFOs and satellites and space junk, nebulas and galaxies, and even the ongoing debate about Pluto. And it left us feeling like everyone should have this chance to know more about our sky, our planet and our place in the universe. That quote from Carl Sagan, “Even through your hardest days, remember we are all made of stardust,” just really made sense after this experience. Astro Tours gives more than just an educational tour. They create a sense of community and unity. As Luke says, “We want to highlight how small our planet is in the grand scheme of things and how this shared experience can bridge gaps between us. It’s about more than just looking at stars; it’s about recognizing our shared humanity and our collective journey on this Earth.” BOOK YOUR ASTRO TOUR TODAY AVAILABLE IN COLORADO AND NOW ARIZONA: ASTROTOURS.ORG ASTRO TOURS HAS MUTLIPLE TOURS A WEEK, YEARROUND. OUTSIDE WITH NO HIKING REQUIRED. FOR ALL AGES AND ALL PEOPLE.
DAVE DANZARA, JOE STRUMMER - @LOSTINTIMEDESIGNS
BY TOM MURPHY NEW STANDARDS MEN – AGAINST OUR VANISHINGS Comprised of two extended tracks, “Thundercloud in Aquamarine” and “Boney Lunar Dust,” this most recent release from New Standards Men with contributions from Iowa-based avant-garde jazz duo, Sex Funeral, seems to begin each piece with bleak, deep drones slowly rippling out of a place of stasis and emotional paralysis. Both also appear to be a musical acknowledgment of how finding hope and inspiration takes work — often seemingly slow and unglamorous work — that can, when sustained and following diverse pathways, build into something with great momentum. In each case here that build, cast in percussion, guitar drones and flares, saxophone and synth, attains a state of cosmic joy through the sheer organic development of an improvisational composition. Think Pink Floyd’s “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun” as rendered by Mahavishnu Orchestra in the instance of the first track and Boards of Canada crafting a tribute to Anthony Braxton with the second. The record is a manifestation of the Latin phrase “Illegitimi non carborundum” in musical form, grinding back with sustained and steady inspiration. PALE SUN – TIDES If this band’s 2016 album Darkmoonwhiteout was a momentous drift into space rock bliss, this one leans into the mysteries of the world around us, drawing on that more earthbound sense of wonder and reflection for its echoing and iterative repetitions, like ripples in water. The bass serves as a driving, sinuous pulse while the drums guide the paces with expressive accents. Guitar tones flake off like snowfall or motes from a fire, or the fragments of sunlight on the ocean reflecting back in paradoxically infinite yet consistent variation. The production is intentionally more lo-fi like a bedroom recording. And because of that, the colossal live sound of the band attains an intimate feel that serves Jeff Suthers’ understated vocal performance well, even as the essential energy of each song is preserved. Fans of Bailter Space’s willingness to span crashing space rock freakouts with pastoral soundscapes and the melancholic end of a Flying Saucer Attack, will get lost in these 11 tracks, the significance of which is an Easter egg for those in the know. QUITS – FEELING IT Seeing Quits live can be a thrilling bludgeoning via bursts of cathartic vocals, contorting rhythms and an avalanche of crushing, discordant sounds in which the experience in toto informs the interpretation of the music. This record is a bit of a different animal even though the performances reflect what you can expect to witness at the show. The dark poetry of the lyrics is more immediately explicable, even if its social commentary and psychological insight is couched in stories. The utility of the words are a tonal complement to the scorching and seething gyrations of where guitar, bass and drums intersect to effect a transformative catharsis from music that doesn’t shy away from reflecting the ugliness of human society. It’s a vehicle for transcending how daily reality can drag you down. These songs are a counter to retreating into dissociation from everyday life by living through it and finding glimmers of meaningful experiences that make it all worth it, rather than focusing on the ample excuses for sinking your spirits, thus the title of the album. If the horrifyingly beautiful music made by bands on Amphetamine Reptile and Touch and Go Records is your thing, you owe it to yourself to give this record a listen. VATICAN VAMPS – S/T Listening through this album it’s tempting to immediately compare it to seemingly obvious touchstones like Arctic Monkeys or even The Walkmen. But there’s something darker to the band’s sound and its icy synths place it more in the realm of post-punk. The emotional immediacy of the vocals and the group’s knack for tasteful bombast means the songs straddle the realms of harder rocking Britpop and pensively observant melancholia well. Vocalist Nat Lord-Nelson’s time spent living in Europe manifests in not just song titles like “Berlin Is Haunted” and “Salford Love Psalm,” but also in the eclectic and sophisticated yet coherent style of the tracks, along with a distinctly American confidence in the often wonderfully brash and always exuberant performances. FOR MORE, VISIT QUEENCITYSOUNDSANDART.WORDPRESS.COM
MOON_PATROL, TIGRE! TIGRE!
SEA TURTLE AUTOPSY Floating up against the bars that keep sea creatures from the circulator, a Kemp’s ridley, from what we could tell at the distance, flippers in position as if navigating the Bay. An autopsy would be required to hypothesize the cause, laying the body out, cutting through the bridge connecting the carapace to the plastron, lifting it from pectoral and pelvic girdles to assess the lungs, three-chambered heart in its pericardium, digestive and reproductive organs, the cloaca, which kisses another’s to mate. Maintenance was not authorized to remove the grate. We did not succeed in scooping with a stretcher on a rope. The species rare, endangered, it would have to be reported, the state decide what needed to be done. What is an animal? What is death? Who is a turtle? Who are we? If we were capable, what would we say? How would we introduce? Would we understand? The being swimming away from us on a parallel sea. REMEMBERING Part of us streams with the overflow, over the top, into the whirlpool’s churn, & away downstream. Part sinks, Collecting with tannins & sediment upstream. Whoosh & shush of pines, plank bridge across the feeder stream, trail to rocks on the side of the dam. In wet years, climb down to feel the spray. In dry, cross the spillway below the mossy top. POETRY BY ALISON HICKS
PETER KORNOWSKI, DISAPPEARED
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