UP IN THIS ISH Our New Approach: Reader Support Thanks for picking up Compass #49! This here tabloid has been compiled, created and distributed to the people of Boston on the first of the month, every month, for nearly four years running. Even after expanding to 8 pages (and now covering more independent culture in Boston than ever) we remain a FREE resource to the people of New England. Initially the few original founders of the Compass paid for the production entirely out of pocket. These days there’s about a dozen of us sharing the financial burden. While advertising and sponsorship efforts have helped, they still only amount to only a third of our monthly printing costs. So to keep this thing going into 2014 we introduce our new approach: Reader Support!
We believe that there are enough Compass readers and believers out there that if even just a portion of them contributed (as little as $2 a month) that the newspaper could actually be paid for directly by the people who it is made for. If you use this sheet as a resource and anticipate its arrival month after month we urge you to consider signing up. This is without a doubt the easiest and fastest way to help. It’s a truly exciting realization to think that we think can ensure the existence of this thing by combining the efforts of the community that it represents! Help ensure the survival of this rare beast and help it realize its potential to enhance the cultural landscape of our city/region/world. Please consider contributing and keep on reading the rag! find our Patron21 icon on the front page of www.BostonHassle.com – Sam Potrykus
Art Blast Nadeem, Lectures, (danger)awesome; Time................................ pg 2
Film Flam Lars von Trier, The Sci-Fi ‘Thon, & Unforgettable Cinema ........ pg 3
The Tardy Eagle Tips for Dealing with Cabin Fever ................................................. pg 6
Boston Hassle Synthetic ID, Grass Is Green, Bill Orcutt and more . ................................ pg 7
The Boston Counter Cultural Compass is produced by the Boston Hassle www.bostonhassle.com
Submit Your ZINES To The Compass
Next month TREAT YO SELF night cools it’s promiscuous heels and settles down @Tasty Burger in Harvard Square. This is the second of our ongoing collab with EYE DESIGN’s monthly creative industry night featuring some of the illest bands and artists in the area. On Friday 2/28, we’ll be featuring artwork from a bevy of zines that will be available for pick up or purchase at the event. But how can we feature the best zines in town if we don’t know about yours??? Deadline for submissions is Friday 2/14. Email us at CompassArtBlast@gmail.com -CEEK
Behold The Wonder The Harvard Film Archives
Boston Hassle Volunteer Orientation February 4th!
The Hassle will be holding a general volunteer orientation for brand new volunteers, explaining the several areas where help is wanted and how YOU can get involved with our expansive music and arts organization. Some of these areas in which you can contribute and gain valuable skills include newspaper production, web development, music/art/film writing, audio/visual/show production, fundraising, and so much more. Possible school credit may be rewarded too if you’re in it. Visit our HQ in JP Tuesday February 4th at 7pm and join our posi posse of culture mongers. -JW/SP
Listen To BACKWOODS on WMBR Every Single Week
Pretty sly of Speedy Ortiz to release a song called “Everything’s Bigger”, the first single off their latest Real Hair EP. The thing rips like Katy Perry, soaring through banging chromatic riffs, powering vocalist Sadie Dupuis’s cryptic parables. People wanna talk shit about how Speedy “sounds like the 90s” but this new EP straight up sounds like Speedy Ortiz - building on the catchy and dissonant dialectic of last year’s well received releases. Believe the hype & get it before it sells out February 8th @Tasty Burger in Harvard Square presented by Boston Hassle. -JF
Avi Jacob Makes His Quintessential Soul-Folk Album
Boston songsmith Avi Jacob offers up his soul with a foundation of rootsy American folk. Perfect music for a living room show or backyard hootenanny, this is just the setting in which Avi cut his teeth. It’s been a transformative time for this Whitehaus extended-Family member and these songs reflect the raw emotion of it all. Recently establishing roots in Charleston, SC you can find him between here and there casting his cool, alternative web of folk rock for anyone who wants to get caught up in it. “So Hard To Reach You” out now on Whitehaus Family Record. -SP
One of the best things going for this city’s cinema scene is the Harvard Film Archives. In addition to screening greats from the world’s acclaimed cinema giants, in quite a cozy theater, the HFA brings in the people who have made these films a reality. This month they have influential greats such as French filmmaker Alain Guiraudie (Stranger By The Lake, The King Of Escape), 16mm hero Timoleon Wilkins (Drifter), musician and composer Herbie Hancock, and possibly even Harmony Korine making appearances. Jump on the Red Line to Harvard Square and you’re 5 minutes away! -AS
New CULT & LEPER Record Out Feb. 14th
Jamaica Plain’s Cult & Leper stun old and young with their wild brand of revved up synth pop. Rich with bold vocals, celestial synth/guitar shredding and a penchant for 80’s pop, Cult & Leper generously shower you with heavy grooves and proggy washes. Look here for impressive musicianship, solid songwriting, and an ambitious sense of style. This dreamy, party odyssey is called Twin Knobs Power City. Available on CD and cassette via Burlington and Boston labels and features art by Nick Rocco! Catch their release show Friday 2/14 @Some Bitchin’ Club in Allston-SP
JP’s State Of The Neighborhood 2014 Forum February 27th
We highly encourage everyone in Boston to get involved in or at least be aware of the ever-shifting state of their neighborhood. In Jamaica Plain they have the State of Our Neighborhood forum, a community conversation about JP today and the neighborhood we want in ten years. The 2014 forum is Thursday February 27th 6-9pm @Kennedy Elementary in Hyde Square. This year will focus on creating Racial Justice and Equity with breakout groups on gentrification, food justice, health equity, and fairness for local businesses. Be part of the conversation! And bring a neighbor! -SP
Brattleboro’s FUTURE COLLECTIVE Opens Their Own Space: The Future
The Future Collective, Brattleboro, Vermont’s highly active artist collective, announces its acquisition of a community arts space at 17 Elliot Street! This is hugely exciting news for all champions of independent art in New England, we’re personally ECSTATIC for them. The collective will use it’s space as a not-for-profit art gallery/performance space, and for community workshops, meetings and events. FC has been organizing events and fundraising for the arts since 2012 and will do wonders with their own space. Drop em a line or or plan a visit to The Future: thefuturecollectivebrattleboro at gmail -SP
SPEEDY ORTIZ’S New EP Drops February 8th
Pretty sly of Speedy Ortiz to release a song called “Everything’s Bigger”, the first single off their latest Real Hair EP. The thing rips like Katy Perry, soaring through banging chromatic riffs, powering vocalist Sadie Dupuis’s cryptic parables. People wanna talk shit about how Speedy “sounds like the 90s” but this new EP straight up sounds like Speedy Ortiz - building on the catchy and dissonant dialectic of last year’s well received releases. Believe the hype & get it before it sells out February 8th @Tasty Burger in Harvard Square presented by Boston Hassle. -JF
Boston Hassle Seeks Grant Writers!
Join us in our nonprofit’s mission to make Boston a cooler place for all. Boston Hassle is seeking savvy writers to help with research and drafting grant proposals. We’d like to raise funds for more fests, a permanent All Ages space and to continue exposing exciting, independent and under-heralded artists in the Greater Boston area. It’s not just about making these things happen, it’s about establishing a sustainable infrastructure for Boston’s music and art community so they KEEP happening. We’re a 100% volunteer-run so the position is unpaid but it’s invaluable experience and a rare opportunity to work for a nonprofit on the ground floor ! -AC