Sept. 2016
FREE #79
Outside the Walls: Three public art projects to go to
BIG 3
NIGHT TRAIN
This month, rather than picking a singular exhibition to highlight, I’d like to invite readers to go out and think specifically about public art, what defines it, and what makes it powerful. In particular, three recent artist-driven projects show a desire for increased local access to art outside of traditional institutions, work that, in fact, requires separation from interiors to be successful. For that is the tricky aspect of “public art” – is it just work that has been moved outside, or should it directly engage passers-by in either a participatory or challenging manner? Large, spectacle-driven installations make up so much of our public art, but do they leave a lasting impression on the community? With these questions in mind, I encourage you to go out and see the following work. Emergence: What does hope look like? is the result of Chanel Thervil’s public art residency at the Boston Center for the Arts. A question and response project, Thervil invites public participation to develop a collective voice of hope. Public Trust, an interactive artwork created by Paul Ramirez Jonas, will be occurring throughout September between three Greater Boston locations. Ramirez Jonas will be working with performers and volunteers to share conversations on the meaning of a promise in the turmoil of this election season.Finally, The Meeting House, by Los Angeles artist Sam Durant, staged in Concord MA, considers a difficult past and present built upon slavery and its many unheard voices. This text-based installation will also include a series of programs to build a dialogue and connect communities.
NIGHT TRAIN Saturday, 9/3, 7:00PM ‘til morning – $12 from Harvard Film Archive - It is very difficult – and this author has tried – to call to mind a number of great films that don’t feature a train at least once. It’s harder still to provide examples of films that are not enhanced, brought more to life, by the iron horse. The Harvard Film Archive knows this, and as such have dedicated their annual all-night marathon this year to movies which center around trains. The six films span the majority of film history, from the beloved Howard Hawks deep cut Twentieth Century to the forever-doomed-to-be-underrated Snowpiercer. In between are films from the United Kingdom, India, and a downtown-bound Pelham subway car. The movie camera has formed an eternally fruitful bond with trains. Perhaps the bond draws from the license the train gave to artists, from the Lumiere brothers on down, to play around with depth and framing. Or it could be in the train’s physiology, all linear and mechanical motion, flattering cinema’s unparalleled potential to replicate moving bodies both metaphorical and literal. Or maybe the camera loves the train because they are two modern era machines in symbiosis, each responding to the unique needs of a modern society. The train, by its very nature, brings people from disparate places into places they need to be, much like the narrative of a film inducting a viewer into a sustained internal world. And both the camera and train do so in flickering motion, passing by and moving away. Anyway, while that idea is getting workshopped, you should def go to this event. Twelve bucks for six good movies is a steal.
- Maggie
- Nate Fisher
D-SAGAWA interview
PURE IMPACT
1. Members: Jess:Vocals Jon: Bass Mark Useful: Drums Larry: Guitar
with Ghost Hello to new readers and old. (Hi Elaine!) Back at it after a brief hiatus... It’s PURE IMPACT! Friday September 2nd there’s an all local benefit gig with Sunshine Ward/Ancient Filth/St.Ripper/Rejiem and more at Harvard Square’s Democracy Center. Also at the DC Sept. 4th is the return of the Boston Punk Flea Market featuring local vendors including M39, Twerps Records, Life Is Posers, Last Revolution distro and more selling records, zines, leather gear and anything else PUNK! Stick around after and check out the New Band Showcase with 5 brand new Boston area Punk bands. All Ages/$5! Wednesday Sept. 21st, PDX’s PMS84 and NYC’s Conspiracy play the Middle East Upstairs with boot stompers Savageheads, Contingent and Cinderblock. Sept. 23rd we have Philly’s Pollen and Green Beret (details TBA). September 25th at the Cambridge Elks marks the latest installment of Boston’s biggest underground/DIY music and art market, the Black Market, co-organized by The Boston Hassle and Ignore Rock’n’Roll Heroes. Stick around after to catch Japanese garage-Punk veterans The Slomotions downstairs!
NOTES FROM THE CREW
2. Influences: Green Beret, Bloodkrow Butcher, Zipperhead, Anti Cimex, Mob 47, Anti System, Riistetyt, D-Clone, Disclose 3. Lyrical content: The lyrical style is inspired by Mayhem’s Deathcrush Album, ‘Dead’ Era Mayhem and also how pissed off Jess is 4. Releases: We currently only have one demo out on m39 Distribution called I want To die Suffering 5. Future: For the future we have a couple splits planned with Disclone from Austria and Boston Locals Life Asylum as well as another EP and a weekend tour 6. Closing Statement: In closing, my whole life is a dark room. Slug life. Got a Punk gig or event you want featured in Pure Impact?
TAKEDOWN FEST
Takedown Music and Art Festival! featuring Palehound, Hello Shark, Nat Baldwin, Brett DesChenes, & Peter McLaughlin Trio, Sam Moss, Dr. Gasp, Heavy Pockets, Soft Eyes, Lisa/Liza, Footings, Comma, The Landladys, New England Bluegrass Band + so much more! @Rock Maple Woods Farm, Strafford, NH, 12pm, All Ages, $Donate$ Grab your sunglasses, pack a cooler, and get ready to carpool, ‘cuz Summer ain’t over yet, folks. This month we suggest you head up north to Strafford, NH, where the 7th annual Takedown Music and Art Festival is set to go down on Saturday, September 17th. Of course we champion any amalgamation of music, art, and good vibes, and as the season winds down, there is no better place than Takedown. In their own words, “The Takedown Music Festival honors the woods, it praises music, it uniquely frames performance and visual art, but above all it celebrates the relationship of these creative expressions with community.” C’mon, how are you not sold already? Well, let me give you a little more of a run down on the tunes: Ex-Boston bedroom rockers Palehound, the ethereal Soft Eyes, Portland avant-garde folksters Lisa/Liza, NH alt-rockers Footings, Boston singersongwriter Sam Moss, pop punkers Heavy Pockets and soooo many morrreee. Plus aerial performances (whatever that entails), puppet shows (fun for all ages, natch) and local art installations facilitated by our brothers in arms at Wrong Brain. Srsly ppl….hitch a ride. - Michael Achille
PLACES YOU CAN HANG: BOCA STUDIOS John Shakespear The north-of-Boston district known as Camberville is home to no shortage of practice spaces, recording studios, and practice-spaces-that-are-also-recording-studios. Some, like Central Square’s WEMF, are vast labyrinths made up of separate spaces. Others give smaller number of artists more space to spread out and create a community. Boca Studios, nestled in East Somerville near McGrath highway, is one such rad Place You Can Hang. The studio was founded by Mathieu Cunha and Parker Crane and built from scratch (with a little help from friends) in 2014. Today, the space is run by audio engineer Dan Thorn, who regularly records artists of all genres and keeps everything running smoothly for the several bands that using it for weekly rehearsals. Amps, guitars, synths, reel-to-reel tape machines, and an old Teischord organ line the walls and shelves along with posters commemorating past shows by Boca’s bands. There’s a PA system and a wide array of microphones. For a reasonable rate, the space is open to new bands who want a place to rehearse or record, as well as engineers who are interested in using the studio’s gear. Thorn says that the studio is designed to let artists “seamlessly integrate their rehearsal and recording processes.” “So many musicians want to record themselves, and know how to,” he explains, “and I want to maintain a cool and well-equipped practice space with better tools for either self-recording, or recording with an engineer, than individual bands might otherwise be able to access.” If you’re interested in checking out Boca, or becoming a part of it, get in touch via the studio’s Facebook page or email Dan at contact@bocastudios.com.
Welcome back to September reality! We’ve got updates…. First, we have revived our READER SUPPORT campaign, which failed when the start-up that hosted us failed – so now we’re hosting it our own damn selves! Please visit bostonhassle.com/supportthecompass and sign up to give as little as $2 a month to ensure the production of this independent arts rag does not end abruptly with moths flying out of our empty pockets. Help! Ya. Second, we started a label! Hassle Family Tapes dropped a compilation of Hassle volunteers’ noise, rock, pop, and nonsense called SPF420 last month, and we’ve still got copies available. The sky’s the limit really, so holler if you wanna help run a label! Third, we got some fresh blood and it’s spilling all over the place! Earlier this year, Maggie Jensen joined the Hassle family as the Editor-in-Chief of our arts section. She’s changing the face of our org to better see and spew about art happenings in town. We are also bolstering the ranks of our shows crew and fundraising team, now is a good time to join as things coalesce. However! Still seeking an editor-in-chief of the website, an incredible opportunity to manage a powerful platform for independent culture in our city and beyond. Step up. Volunteers make this all of this happen and you could be one of them.
Sam P
And lastly, Hassle Fest 8, our annual fall festival, is coming together nicely with SILVER APPLES, GIRLPOOL, and WOLF EYES on the hook thus far. Stay tuned for more, particularly about our fundraising efforts. Help us make this fest a reality and get all these sick bands paid! Have fun out there, and thanks for reading the rag!!
This newspaper is an ongoing project of BRAIN Arts Organization, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Please consider donating to, volunteering, or otherwise supporting us: Brain-arts.org :: bostonhassle@gmail.com