11/2 REVOLUTION LIVE: Day
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11/3 RESPECTaBLE STREET: aTTILa, JyNx, wE’RE wOLVES, LOST TREES, aND wLaL REVOLUTION LIVE: MaDISON BEER CRaZy UNCLE MIKE’S: ROOSEVELT COLLIER fT BLaqUE DyNaMITE GRaMPS: fROZEN SOUL, SaNGUISUGaBOGG, VOMIT fORTh, INNOCULaTION KyI: wICKED PLayGROUND 11/4 REVOLUTION LIVE: ISaIah RaShaD 11/5 RESPECTaBLE STREET: VIOLET SILhOUETTE, GULf BLVD, SUPER PaSSIVE REVOLUTION LIVE: GaLaCTIC PROPaGaNDa: LOChNESS MONSTER, wORLD I SEE, SEEK aSyLUM, 500 BLK, LOyaL TO a faULT MaThEwS: TaSTy VIBRaTIONS CULTURE ROOM: G. LOVE & SPECIaL SaUCE CRaZy UNCLE MIKE’S: ThE fLyERS aRTS GaRaGE: aNN haMPTON CaLLaway 11/6 REVOLUTION LIVE: 100 GECS MaThEwS: PROJECT x BaND
CULTURE ROOM: SEBaSTIaN BaCh, KaLEIDO CRaZy UNCLE MIKE’S: ThE fLOaTING BRaINS GRaMPS: whITE RING, fLOORLESS, PhaNTaSMaN 11/9 RESPECTaBLE STREET: NORTh By NORTh, DIRTy RIVaLS, SOLaR REEf, DRIVING ON SUSPENDED 11/10 RESPECTaBLE STREET: aMIGO ThE DEVIL, TEJON STREET CORNER ThIEVES, IV aND ThE STRaNGE BaND REVOLUTION LIVE: LaRRy JUNE MaThEwS: KRaZy TRaIN KyI: BaNaNa ChaNT 11/11 CRaZy UNCLE MIKE’S: xPERIMENTO GRaMPS: fIRSTwORLD 11/12-1/29 SChMIDT GaLLERy: faU faCULTy aRT ExhIBITION 11/12 REVOLUTION LIVE: GhOSTfaCE x GZa x RaEKwON MaThEwS: ShOVELhED CULTURE ROOM: (hED) P.E. aRTS GaRaGE: CJ ChENIER & ThE RED hOT LOUISIaNa BaND fILLMORE MB: ROSaRIO fLORES fUNKy BISCUIT: JOhN PaPa GROS BaND KELSEy ThEaTER: SOLEZZ
11/13 faTVILLaGE: SMaLL PRESS faIR ’21 REVOLUTION LIVE/STaChE: BLaCK MaRKET fEST fT afROBETa, GaLaCTIC EffECT, ROxx REVOLT aND ThE VELVETS, TIMOThy EERIE, SONIC GRaffITI, hOLLy hUNT, aUDIO CRISIS, REaL PEOPLE, SEIZURE MaChINE, ThE BOaS, ThE CREaTURE CaGE, ThE CURLIES & aMBORIJaNI, ZEROSUM, NUya, LONE wOLf OMB, aKTaS LUNa, fLIPP_ER, DJ RIPPIN KITTIN, DJ SwEETSwIRL MaThEwS: KRaZy TRaIN CRaZy UNCLE MIKE’S: JUKE fILLMORE MB: CafE TaCVBa fUNKy BISCUIT: Shaw DaVIS & ThE BLaCK TIES PROPaGaNDa: DEaTh Of a DEITy, BOTTOMfEEDERS, hEaVy//hITTER, TRaChEOTOMy, ChILDREN Of ThE fLESh 11/14 MaThEwS: ThE CRaVENS aRTS GaRaGE: JOhNNy RawLS fUNKy BISCUIT: VaNESSa COLLIER
11/19 DNTN wPB: SUNSET SILENT DISCO RESPECTaBLE STREET: NITZER EBB MaThEwS: SPIDER ChERRy CRaZy UNCLE MIKE’S: GUaVaTRON aRTS GaRaGE: SaRa GaZaREK qUaRTET fUNKy BISCUIT: JORDaN RIChaRDS 11/20 DNTN hOLLywOOD: aRTwaLK MaThEwS: BaRK BaCK VI REVOLUTION LIVE: waTERPaRKS CRaZy UNCLE MIKE’S: SOUThERN BLOOD aRTS GaRaGE: hOTEL CaLIfORNIa (EaGLES TRIBUTE) fILLMORE MB: aLINa BaRaZ KELSEy ThEaTER: RUST MaRKET 11/21 REVOLUTION LIVE: CaPITaL INICIaL CULTURE ROOM: TECh N9NE, RITTZ, KING ISO, MaEZ 301, JEhRy ROBINSON
11/24 MaThEwS: SONS
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11/26 RESPECTaBLE STREET: TaKE ThIS TO yOUR GRaVE MaThEwS: ShaKE BaND/RaGE aGaINST ThE MaChINE CRaZy UNCLE MIKE’S: GIRLfRIEND MaTERIaL aRTS GaRaGE: MaRLOw ROSaDO LaTIN JaZZ ENSEMBLE
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11/28 RESPECTaBLE STREET: EVERyTIME I DIE, ’68, CaNDy aRTS GaRaGE: PEaCE Of wOODSTOCK GRaMPS: wINGTIPS, DONZII, OBSIDIaN, fLOORLESS, VIOLET SILhOUETTE KELSEy ThEaTER: LIVE VOLTaGE
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12/3 RESPECTaBLE STREET: PUREhONEy PRESENTS hOLLOw DaZE x fT LO fIVES, ThE DREaMBOwS, BRETT STaSKa aND MORE!
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REVOLUTION LIVE: DaRK STaR ORChESTRa MaThEwS: 56 aCE BaND CRaZy UNCLE MIKE’S: ThE fLyERS aRTS GaRaGE: aMBER wEEKES & TRIO
12/4 MaThEwS: BREwaPOLOOZa: 4 yR aNNVERSaRy MUSIC fESTIVaL REVOLUTION LIVE: DaRK STaR ORChESTRa CULTURE ROOM: PERPETUaL GROOVE PROPaGaNDa: BaD LUCK, INSIDE JOKES, LOyaL TO a faNLT, SEVEN fLy, a DECaDE aT SEa
12/5 RESPECTaBLE STREET: KOffIN KaTS, SKINNy JIMMy STINGRay CULTURE ROOM: ThE DRIVER ERa, ThE wRECKS KELSEy ThEaTER: aMERICaN fLOyD (PINK fLOyD TRIBUTE)
12/8 RESPECTaBLE STREET: haPPy fITS, MaGS, SNaRLS
12/10 NORTh BEaCh BaNDShELL: NORTh BEaCh MUSIC fESTIVaL fT PIGEONS PLayING PING PON, SPaffORD (x2), MOTET, MaRCO BENEVENTO, TaUK, aqUEOUS, GhOST-NOTE, ERIC KRaSNO & ThE aSSEMBLy, KaRINa RyKMaN, hOLLy BOwLING, BRaNDON “Tax” NIEDERaUER, BRENDaN BayLISS & JENNIfER haRTSwICK, hEaVy PETS, ELECTRIC KIf, JUKE, TaND RESPECTaBLE STREET: BaSSTILLa MaThEwS: SwITCh N’ whISKy CULTURE ROOM: LOVELyThEBaND & SIR SLy, CaNNONS aRTS GaRaGE: NESTOR TORRES KELSEy ThEaTER: ThE MOTOwNERS
12/11 REVOLUTION LIVE: STRaNGELOVE: DEPEChE MODE ExPERIENCE w. ELECTRIC DUKE DaVID BOwIE TRIBUTE MaThEwS: SPRED ThE DUB RESPECTaBLE STREET: EMO NIGhT BROOKLyN KELSEy ThEaTER: ThE fRaNK BaNG 5
12/12 RESPECTaBLE STREET: NICK ShOULDERS, ThE COPPERTONES MaThEwS: ThE haPPINESS CLUB BaND aRTS GaRaGE: SOLID BRaSS
12/17 DNTN wPB: SUNSET SILENT DISCO RESPECTaBLE STREET: D.R.I, INTENT, KILLED By fLORIDa, STRaIGhTJaCKET aRTS GaRaGE: DICK LOwENThaL BIG BaND fILLMORE MB: LaSSO fUNKy BISCUIT: MIKE ZITO GRaMPS: ShOw ME ThE BODy
12/18 DNTN hOLLywOOD: aRTwaLK RESPECTaBLE STREET: MaSS fT DJ DaNNy BLED REVOLUTION LIVE: POUya MaThEwS: ThE fLyERS aRTS GaRaGE: TITO PUENTE JR.
12/19 CULTURE ROOM: CIRCLE JERKS, MUNICIPaL waSTE, NEGaTIVE aPPROaCh
12/24 RESPECTaBLE STREET: LITMaS fEaTURING L’ExqUISITE DOULEUR, wE’RE wOLVES, LOyaL TO a faULT, ThIRST, ThE wORLD I SEE, IRRa’S ONE, SENDwaR, 500 BLK
12/30 MaThEwS: JOSE aLMONTE fILLMORE MB: UMPhREy’S MCGEE
12/31 MaThEwS: 59 ShOP, SONS Of a TRaDESMaN CRaZy UNCLE MIKE’S: KRaZy TRaIN fILLMORE MB: UMPhREy’S MCGEE
Carolina Gutierrez
sPF‘21
by Amanda E. Moore
It’s no secret to locals that Fort Lauderdale is an art and culture hotspot. But others are taking note. Nylon calls the city “Florida’s best kept secret for art” and Matador Network dubs it “South Florida’s most underrated art scene.” Residents enjoy everyday access to it in mixed-use spaces such as downtown’s FATVillage Arts District, which hosts creators working in art and design as well as business and technology.
One of FATVillage’s most popular attractions is the Small Press Fair, returning in November for its sixth edition as SPF ‘21. Launched in 2016, SPF Fort Lauderdale showcases the latest in print, book and zine making. And with pandemic precautions in place, founders Ingrid Schindall of IS Projects and Sarah Michelle Rupert of Girls’ Club are excited to welcome attendees and artists back in person to network, collaborate, buy and sell, and just explore SPF’21 - @SPFFTL their favorite medium. “So far, I haven’t seen a virtual substitute for the sheen of hand printed ink on a print or the smell of paper that wafts up while turning a page,” Schindall tells PureHoney. “So we’re glad to bring people back together to celebrate all things print, book and zine.” At an event best experienced hands-on, SPF ‘21 presents new and returning exhibitors, interactive workshops and, in what has become SPF’s most exuberant print demonstration, a massive steamroller pressing out gigantic woodblock prints. There will be artworks on display from David Wolske, Spacealphabet & Billbilliambilly, Radiator Comics and many more. And for anyone who can’t stop by, SPF ‘21 will carry over some of the last year’s workarounds, including online programming and a live Instagram broadcast at @spfftl. It was a sign of printmaking’s growing appeal that SPF ’20 still went ahead as a six-hour live Webcast with exhibitors and participants logging in from across the country. “During the pandemic, many artists lost access to community presses and studios so they have had to find creative ways to keep in touch and collaborate from a distance,” says Schindall. SPF ’21 will present these makers at their resilient and imaginative best, and with their works close enough to touch. SPF ‘21 runs noon-6pm Saturday, November 13. FATVillage in Fort Lauderdale. SPF-FTL.com
fau faculty
exhibition by Olivia Feldman
Daniel Bolojan, Machine Perceptions: Gaudi + Neural Networks
Every other year, select faculty at Florida Atlantic University get their time to shine in the setting where they teach. Starting on November 12, the Biennial Faculty Art Exhibit headlines a diverse exhibit slate at the campus’s Schmidt Center Gallery in Boca Raton by presenting the work of more than 20 FAU educators.
Representing printmaking, ceramics, painting, video, photography and other media, many of these artist-instructors have group and solo exhibitions featured in national and international venues. They appear in major museums and in private collections. The biennial unites them in celebration of the university’s combined artistic and academic talents. Of course there is a teaching component. “It’s more for the students to understand what their professors are making, to understand what they’re working on a little bit more, Natalie Luong, exhibition assistant at FAU Galleries and biennial co-curator, told PureHoney. From associate Professor Annina Rüst, who teaches game development, programming and electronics at FAU, comes “Pac-Mom,” a digital game displayed on an iPad inside a wallmounted anti-theft case. Rüst’s works often address political issues within tech culture, including online privacy and gender representation. Daniel Bolojan, an assistant professor in the School of Architecture, will present “Machine Perceptions: Gaudi and Neutral Networks” in two media: digital print and video installation. The work represents explorations in computation, neural networks, machine learning and generative design undertaken through his own Nonstandardstudio. There are unearthly ceramics by assistant professor Thomas Stollar and enigmatic images by associate professor and head of photography Sharon Lee Hart. Assistant professor Joseph Velasquez, who teaches printmaking, will showcase a set of stacked paneled boxes with relief and screen printing entitled “Impressions and Reflections.” Earlier this year, Velasquez curated “Corridos Visuales,” an FAU exhibit featuring Latinx printmakers from the U.S., Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. Participating artists include faculty from FAU’s Department of Visual Arts and Art History, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College and the School of Architecture within the College for Design and Social Inquiry. The Florida Atlantic University Biennial Faculty Art Exhibit runs November 12-January 29 at FAU’s Schmidt Center Gallery & Public Space, Boca Raton. Opening reception is 6:30pm on November 12. Admission is free. Masks are required. fau.edu/artsandletters/galleries
The first glimpse of Brett Staska in the video for his new song “Still on My Mind” is a Snapchat-ish blur. But he comes into quick focus inside the narrow camera frame crooning the first lines of this lovelorn pedal-steel ballad. A rangy figure with a distant gaze holding a microphone near his heart, Staska has a model’s chiseled looks and an outdoorsman’s tan. He’s wearing a terracotta suit and a bolo tie, and he’s a portrait of quiet reflection under the wide brim of his cowboy hat. This echo of a bygone era would be right at home in a David Lynch “Twin Peaks” roadhouse. But it’s mostly a product of Staska’s sun- and wave-dappled South Florida. Even in a country-western setting, Staska — an avid surfer — adds subtle surf-rock touches. “I am heavily influenced by beach culture when it comes to songwriting,” Staska tells PureHoney. “Over the years I’ve learned to find inspiration in my surroundings, not just in musical taste. Florida, believe it or not, can be inspiring in that way. Endless content. Plenty of good songs are just waiting to be written.” Jakob Takos
The non-Florida contribution came literally from the other side of the world. Staska was recording in Loxahatchee with musicians Efrain Chura and Chris Denny when he noticed an ad on his Facebook feed for Jy-Perry Banks, a renowned pedal steel guitarist based in Sydney, Australia. On a whim, he hired him “and sent the tracks to Sydney to add some twang,” he says. Banks’s label “was so stoked on how the tracks came out that they asked me to join the roster,” he says. Staska now has a distribution deal with Australia- and New Zealand-based Heartsville Records. “All from a targeted Facebook ad,” he says. “Funny how some things work out.” With Florida-based Stoke Surfboards as a partner in music and surfing, Staska is working on a full-length album, and plans to tour the West Coast and Australia next July. “If I get to travel and surf while sharing my music with others along the way, then I already feel like the luckiest man in the world,” he said.
BRETT STASKA
Catch Brett Staska live December 3 at Respectable Street with Lo Fives, The Dreambows and more and then December 17 at Boonie’s Wild West, a very cool, real deal Loxahatchee honky tonk, 6pm! BrettStaska.bandcamp.com | by Abel Folgar
BL_NK STUDIOS
Jesse Henderson
by Amanda Moore
MICHAELA KYLE & GINA WHITE Alongside the Southern Boulevard overpass at Georgia Avenue, where downtown West Palm Beach turns industrial, you’ll find the city’s newest art collective, The Peach, which opened in September in a row of converted garage bays. Inside one of the bays you’ll find artists Michaela Kyle and Gina White and their BL_NK Studios. Having known each other for years, the duo told PureHoney they jumped at the opportunity to reserve Studio 1 at the invitation of The Peach’s manager, artist and fellow tenant Craig McInnis, and its owner, arts and nightlife entrepreneur Rodney Mayo. Two artists with distinct styles and a shared goal to “foster creative opportunity for the community,” White and Kyle joined a “squad of dedicated creatives who are focused on bringing new life to the local art scene,” said White. Even a glimpse through the doorway of BL_NK is tantalizing: A feeling of unlimited possibilities peeks right back from the lively artistic workspace. When PureHoney arrived for an interview, White rose in greeting from a blue velvet couch. Her fine-art/pop-art hybrid works sprawled across the surrounding walls, interspersed with Kyle’s more traditional illustrations and paintings of human experience. Lounging beneath one of her most recognized works — one of her popular, large-scale wallpaper people — White occasionally parried invitations to sum up the studio, the artists, their styles, their mission and anything else of interest. “The questions give me anxiety,” she protested. “I’m just trying to
make some paper dolls.” But she graciously hung in there, fielding questions from the comfort of the duo’s “creatively inspired home away from home,” as they call it.
White and Kyle also followed up by email with answers attributed to both of them. The following Q&A has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
GINA WHITE produce.
What experience is BL_NK Studios striving to provide its visitors? BS: We hope visitors experience an authentic connection to our love of art through the work we
Who are a few of BL_NK Studios’ creative influences? White: My biggest creative influence has always been my dad and his carpentry skills. He taught me the value of making something wonderful out of a few scraps of material which today is clearly reflected in my recent collection of work. PH: Any art trends that BL_NK Studios plans to experiment with in the future? White: There are a couple of art trends that I’m experimenting with currently: Three dimensional installations and something I call “ancient figure discovery,” where I strive to make new pieces feel like other worldly antiques through the use of various techniques. What is BL_NK Studios most excited for in the upcoming months? BS: We have been surprised and simply stunned at the amount of press, attention and recognition MICHAELA KYLE “The Peach” has received following our grand opening in September and are very excited to be involved with multiple exhibitions outside of BL_NK Studios that have been offered as a result of such a hugely successful debut. One being Michaela’s work that she has been invited to feature, as a locally inspired artist, at the Norton Museum of Art’s upcoming exhibit, “Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera and Mexican Modernism from the Jaques and Natasha Gelman Collection.” Does BL_NK Studios have any events on the horizon? BS: As a part of The Peach collective, we plan to open our doors to the public each month for a three day weekend celebration of art, music, great food & community. Soon, we will also host workshops and events for anyone interested in expanding their creative skills and networking exclusively at BL_NK Studios.
Follow BL_NK Studios on Instagram at @ bl_nk.studios and www.thepeachwpb. com/artist/bl_nk-studios Individually follow their work at @michaela.does and @the.art.of.gina.white
Atiba Jefferson
CIRCLE JERKS by Tim Moffatt
Some bands exist to make art. Some seek political change. Some just vent. Circle Jerks, the pioneering L.A. hardcore punks, did and still do all of the above in advocating for a total abandonment of rules and societal regulations.
CIRCLE JERKS Guitarist Greg Hetson would never play songs like, say, “World Up my Ass,” in his other band, Bad Religion. But Circle Jerks founder and frontman Keith Morris is exactly that guy, and was from the start, bristling with outspoken views on, well, whatever. In his autobiography, “My Damage,” Morris explained himself:“My vibe was to just move forward at a really cool pace.”
Morris and Hetson are joined on the band’s first tour since 2011 by a veteran rhythm section of bassist Zander “The Snake” Schloss (The Weirdos, Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros) and drummer Joey Castillo (The Bronx, QOTSA, Danzig, BL’AST!, Wasted Youth), making this an epic lineup of capable punk lifers. Municipal Waste and Negative Approach open the December 19 show at Culture Room in Fort Lauderdale, while Adolescents and Bouncing Souls provide backing on other dates. All this fervor supports the newly reissued 40th anniversary edition of the album, “Group Sex,” which the band describes with name-checking exuberance: “[P]ackaging by Robert Fisher, designer of Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind,’ a bonus recording of a 1980 rehearsal, a 20-page booklet including unreleased photos and anecdotes from Tony Hawk, Mike Patton, Shepard Fairey, Ian MacKaye, Lars Frederiksen and many others.” The official bio goes even farther: “The long list of those influenced by the legacy of the Circle Jerks ranges from Butthole Surfers to Red Hot Chili Peppers – with notable fans being Dogtown skateboarders, Chuck Berry, Alice Cooper, Elton John, Johnny Depp, Guns N’ Roses, and Philip K. Dick.” With that kind of fandom it’s a wonder they ever went away. But the return timing is good: The world a decade later is not what it was, and hardcore punk makes more sense in a post-trump pandemic society that can’t agree on anything. So let’s make slam dancing crucial again. Half of you will hate that and half of you won’t, and something tells me that’s totally fine with the Circle Jerks. Circle Jerks with Municipal Waste and Negative Approach play 7pm Sunday December 19 at Culture Room in Fort Lauderdale. cultureroom.net
D.R.I.
D.R.I.
by Tim Moffatt
DRI aka Dirty Rotten Imbeciles hail from Houston, Texas and from the Reaganera America whose elders viewed punk and metal as outbreaks to be curbed. It was the ’80s, and you couldn’t look strange without being labeled a devil worshipper: See Judas Priest being tried (and acquitted) in a civil trial of abetting a 1985 suicide pact with “subliminal messages” supposedly buried in their recordings.
The unholy union of metal and punk, forged in thrash and embodied by the likes of D.R.I., was arguably a response to the rise of an activist religious right. (Florida death metal was soon to follow with Morbid Angel, Death and Obituary.) The crusaders who were turning over every rock looking for the Devil instead found disaffected youth who now had a common enemy. Employing the speed and anger of hardcore punk, and the crunching riffs of metal, DRI came to the rescue of reprobates and degenerates everywhere. They’ve hit roadblocks since their founding in 1982 — cancer sidelined guitarist Spike Cassidy for a time in the 2000s — but they’ve always bounced back. Even without an album of new songs since 1995’s “Full Speed Ahead,” they tour often and play to energetic crowds. That’s the thing with organic movements: The harder the man pushes to quash the rebellion, the more credence it gains. Telling those damn kids to shut up is underlining the idea that you’re fearful and easily manipulated, and therefore not to be trusted as an authority. There are some religious leaders, often hypocritical, known to obsesses in great detail over other people’s “naughtiness”. Meanwhile the Good Book contains zombies, demons, cannibalism and the Devil himself. What’s more metal than that?! It might not be wrong to thank modern Christianity for helping to birth a genre. DRI and their Stygian peers arose out of a Satanic panic, a rebellious anti-cult of butt-heads calling out what they saw as evangelical buffoonery. And thank the Dark One, because the world is so much more fun with big dumb riffs, cold beer, denim vests and headbanging. D.R.I., with Intent, Killed by Florida and StraightJacket, play 8pm Friday December 17 at Respectable Street in West Palm Beach. 18 and over. sub-culture.org/respectable-street
SHOOTING BLANKS by Abel Folgar
What is art? And more importantly, when is the best time to exhibit it? There’s an easy answer if you’re HoundsTooth Cottage, the art collective and record label operated by Maitejosune Urrechaga and Tony Kapel, the husband-and-wife duo from poshpunkers Pocket of Lollipops: The “what” is up to you, and the “when” is right around Art Basel 2021. Say what you will about the fair and its encroaching hipster presence, but Art Basel continues to draw crowds from all over to Miami, and it’s the uninvited locals who have hammered out the personality traits that make the event relevant. A HALF-COCKED counterprogramming case in point is HoundsTooth Cottage presents “Shooting Blanks: The Art of ‘Half-Cocked.’” HoundsTooth Cottage, in collaboration with the artist organizations Clandestina Miami and Together, will activate a space at the 7 Seas Motel beginning on November 22 with an eclectic mix of art, music, performance centered on a thematic, immersive look at the 1995 cult classic underground music film, “Half-Cocked.” A true-ish story with a documentary air and untrained actors playing themselves, the film follows a group of music and art scenesters from a Louisville, Kentucky party house who steal a van full of musical equipment and go on tour. Made by a husband-and-wife team who, like Urrechaga and Kapel, are themselves artist and musicians, “Half-Cocked” is an adventure in off-the-rails, multidisciplinary creativity. Kapel, also a photographer, feels the same need today to record his creative surroundings. “The music scene is always changing, the art community is always changing,” he tells PureHoney. “If it isn’t documented from the inside sharing out, then those looking in could be limited on where to look.” “Shooting Blanks” offers screenings of the 1995 film; photographs and ephemera from its writer-director husband and wife team, Suki Hawley and Michael Galinsky; and art from cast, crew members and artists connected to the Louisville, Kentucky scene documented in “Half-Cocked.” The 7 Seas Motel gallery will feature works by more than 20 artists, and additional film screenings from independent film studio Rumur.
TONY & MAITE Galinsky, a photographer and musician, happened upon the Louisville scene while on tour with his band Sleepyhead. “On our first tour, I met most of the people who would end up being in ‘Half-Cocked,’ and over the next couple of years, I made several trips that retraced the route of that first trip,” Galinsky tells PureHoney.
Upon returning to New York City, he connected with Hawley, then studying film, and the two set out to make a movie. Between the electric charm of Louisville’s scene and the connections Galinsky had made there, the seed for a documentary-like film was planted. Imagine the youthful ennui of Jim Jarmusch’s “Stranger Than Paradise” and the punk-fueled, devil-may-care attitude of Bruce McDonald’s “Hard Core Logo,” with everyone traveling the kind of trail blazed by Jack Kerouac in “On the Road,” and you’re in “Half-Cocked’s” ballpark. Ably acted by actual members of post-rock outfit Rodan, among others, the movie is more than a fictionalized doc; it’s a capture of a moment in a wildly creative, reactionary, independent and nurturing scene in Kentucky’s biggest city. “While the film starts in Louisville, and it focuses on the wildly creative people who were involved in the Rocket House, it’s really meant to capture the spirit and feeling of the much larger community of lesser-known bands and artists that flowed between a network of towns,” Galinsky said. According to Hawley, the loose script served as a guide for the musicians to play “versions” of themselves and the biggest difficulty was to get them to act as if though they’d never played an instrument before. Galinsky will also present his book, “The Decline of Mall Civilization,” a candid document for a bygone era of American consumerism. Kapel initially contacted Galinsky for an interview on the HoundsTooth Cottage show on internet radio station Shake 94. As it turned out, Galinsky was also responsible for the cover of one of Kapel’s favorite 90’s album, Unrest’s compilation “B.P.M. (1991-1994).” “The impetus for making the film was to highlight and celebrate the amazing creativity we saw in the music scene through a teen riot/coming of age tale,” says Hawley. “Interestingly, that’s also the impetus for the HoundsTooth show, meant to honor and celebrate the intense creative lives that the people who surrounded the making of ‘Half-Cocked’ have pursued.” HoundsTooth Cottage presents “Shooting Blanks: The Art of Half-Cocked,” Nov. 22-Dec. 5 at the 7 Seas Motel, 5940 Biscayne Blvd., Miami. houndstoothcottage.com
sunfest gets local by Joe Capozzi
1909 Music Accelerator at Kelsey Theater SunFest, the arts and music festival that draws 100,000 people to the downtown West Palm Beach waterfront each spring, is opening its arms to local musicians like never before. Founded in 1982 as a community event, SunFest has grown into a major player on the festival circuit, with its maze of art booths winding down Flagler Drive and especially for the national acts that play the downtown waterfront stages. A sample of past performers since live music was added in 1997 attests to the festival’s drawing power: Kendrick Lamar, The Pixies, Phish, Carrie Underwood, Ed Sheeran, Bob Dylan, Sheryl Crow, Jackson Browne, Nick Jonas, Fall Out Boy, Duran Duran, Weezer, Wilco and Diplo, among others. Local bands vying for a chance to be seen and heard have gotten a share of stage time, too, but not nearly as much as they’d like from a multi-day event that brings huge crowds to their backyard. “We’ve got great music. We have SunFest,” Danielle Casey, co-founder of a local nonprofit called 1909, told PureHoney. “Why can’t we showcase the talent that we have?’’ That challenge is being answered through a new venture that pairs SunFest with Casey’s organization — which supports South Floridians working entrepreneurially in fields such as music, art, fashion and tech — and another partner: the West Palm Beach rehearsal and recording studio Melody Ave. Together they are launching the Fresh Local Artist (Fla) Series, a renewed effort to champion the homegrown music scene with SunFest providing a major platform. As the festival prepares to return in April following last year’s pandemic-induced cancellation, organizers are taking applications from local bands and musicians through a new online portal designed by Melody Ave founder Steven Spencer. Each application functions as a virtual audition, with applicants required to provide links to their music videos. Clips of live performances are “strongly recommended,” the application form says. Organizers say the new portal is a more locally targeted recruiting tool than SunFest previously had when it partnered with ReverbNation, an online networking and marketing platform for independent musicians across the country. Applications are open through November 19. Volunteers from SunFest and 1909 will review the submissions and extend offers to play to at least eight to 12 bands, said Casey. While eight to 12 is about the average number of local bands that have played SunFest each spring over the last 20 years, organizers are also considering adding a Fresh Local Artist Stage for 2022, which would create even more slots. “That’s something we are working on,’’ SunFest executive director Paul Jamieson told PureHoney. “If we can do that, we will have more local bands. But to say that now would be a bit premature.’’ The new partnership grew out of a local musicians’ forum hosted by 1909 at the West Palm Beach nightclub Voltaire in 2018. That gathering prompted musicians Markis Hernandez, Kevin Ohm and Daylen Brinkley to establish a monthly meeting for them and their peers to brainstorm ways to help local musicians thrive. They invited Jamieson to one of their first meetings in 2019 and, with him present, aired their concerns. “We had a really raw, good, transparent conversation about SunFest in general and the problems we saw with it,” said Casey, whose nonprofit also hosted that meeting, “and the problems we continue to see with organizations like that not supporting local bands in a way we thought could be so much better if they tapped into the tech talent.” While the hour-long meeting was amicable, Jamieson said he sensed the musicians’ frustration. “What they had to say made a lot of sense,” he said. “We did this because we listened to them. We felt it was the right thing to do, we are trying to be more responsive to them. We certainly want to be more connected to the local music scene.’’ Local musicians, including some who’ve grown used to complaining about SunFest, are now applauding Jamieson for working with them, and they are sounding confident that the Fresh Local Artist Series will be more than a rebranding. “They’re putting a spotlight on local music like they’ve never done before, which is a big deal,’’ said Ohm. SunFest usually announces its musical performers in late January or early February, but lingering pandemic complications have prompted organizers to hold off for now on scheduling a 2022 lineup reveal. “We’re very actively working on it and very actively booking bands, spending money, doing marketing,’’ Jamieson said. “We are certainly aiming for it to come.’’
SunFest 2022 runs April 28-May 1. Applications for the Fresh Local Artist Series are open through Friday, November 19 at sunfest.melodyave.com