BLACK MIRROR AT FAU James MacDevitt
In “Black Mirror,” the Netflix series, we see technology reflecting our darker selves. In “Black Mirror and Other Third World Reflections,” a new exhibition at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, the framework is war — a generational, 12-year civil conflict in El Salvador that killed 75,000 people and displaced more than one million. The fighting ended in 1992 but as Beatriz Cortez “Black Mirror” exhibition curator Claire Breukel tells PureHoney, for Salvadoran artists, whether they left or stayed, “the impact of war is still felt.” The postwar artists of “Black Mirror” use multiple media to reflect on immigration and social and political disparities, and offer alternative readings — not all of them dark — on the status quo, pop culture, architecture and the human experience. In an email Q&A, Breukel discusses the creativity that flowered even in a climate of protracted political violence and through “a vast and far reaching diaspora within the USA.” How have you found, if at all, that Salvadoran artists differ from those who have also endured war in what would be typically considered “Third World” countries? What seems to be unique to El Salvador’s civil war is both its immense duration as well as the problematic involvement of the USA and then USSR funding oppositional forces. That said, I am no expert on the war, but I can share that everybody I have met in and from El Salvador has in some way been impacted. Today, El Salvador’s landscape is also (stereotypically) associated with gang violence, migration and a trade alliance with the USA that is lop-sided. It is also however home to vibrant culture and dramatic natural landscape. Artists working now reflect all of these themes, and are interested in exploring their lives in post-postwar contemporary El Salvador or, for those living in the diaspora, forging a new relationship with El Salvador. Is there a stark difference between the artwork being made pre-war and post-war? During the war there were two prevalent thematic streams of art making: Those that explored the devastation of war showing its perils, and those who chose to paint pastoral scenes, still lives and other pleasantries in order to provide an escape to the devastation that surrounded them. Post-war there was a perceptible break from these approaches. Artists began working in diverse media also including installation, video, and more. Thematically, more than just a shift in taste, there was a change in psychology which reflected the need to express multiple realities and approaches to dealing with the sociopolitical condition postwar and defining the “new” postwar present. This break can be seen in the work of Ronald Moran, Walterio Iraheta, Mayra Barraza and Simón Vega, among many others. Post-War, artist collectives such as Adobe and Hetero formed and sparked active dialogue around redefining the contemporary condition, and in doing so, initiated experimental projects and programs.
KILL YOUR IDOL
Today, with more than twenty five years distance from the war, the impact of war is still felt, yet the creative approach to topics has diversified, and there are so many more contemporary artists actively working within the country, and within the diaspora. “Black Mirror,” the television show, is about technology’s effect on modern life. How does this exhibit use that premise to reflect “Third Ronald Moran World” ideologies in contrast to “First World”? There is nothing more contrasting than “First World technological aspirations and the reality of living in the ‘Third World.’ ” In this show we re-appropriate the term “Third World” to acknowledge the socioeconomic disparity that does still exist between these communities. We also invite a renegotiation of what “Third World” means positively. This concept is best encapsulated in the work of Simón Vega who, in many of his works, remakes to-scale space crafts in the NASA and Soviet Union space programs using found objects, tropical plants, sound recordings, drawings and more, collected from the local and urban environment. These symbols of the space conquest are transformed into outlandish, satirical sculptures that are ironically ephemeral and also functionless. Yet they are in and of themselves fantastic in “tropical” character. Do South Florida’s ties to Latin America give this exhibit more resonance? FAU has an incredibly diverse student body, many of whom are immigrants from Central and Latin America, and many from El Salvador. I know this exhibition will connect with many of their experiences, and will hopefully spark much-needed dialogue. “Black Mirror and Other Third World Reflections” is on view Feb. 1-Mar. 16 at Ritter Art Gallery and Feb. 15-Apr. 6 at Schmidt Center Gallery in Boca Raton. Admission is free. fau.edu/artsandletters/galleries/exhibitions/blackmirror2019/ ~ Tim Moffatt
RAD SHOWS, ALCOHOL, ETC. OPEN TIL 5AM DAILY 222 ESPANOLA WAY MIAMI BEACH SUB-CULTURE.ORG/KILL-YOUR-IDOL
Volker Schan
LEE SCRATCH PERRY Even at his most plain-spoken Lee “Scratch” Perry is cosmic.
“I just take up a pen and start to hear the words coming from the clear blue sky,” Perry tells PureHoney in a brief but eventful email exchange about his creative process. “So I know what to think, I just communicate with the sky, and I start to see everything, I just communicate with the earth, and I start to feel everything.”
Born in rural Kendal, Jamaica, Perry has thrived on innovation and eccentricity all his adult life. At age 82, this progenitor of dub and reggae is as timeless as he is revolutionary. In a career of more than 60 years and counting, Perry’s ambitious LEE SCRATCH PERRY vision has touched millions, and shaped some of the most influential reggae recordings ever made. As an artist, he was an early adopter of sampling and disses — check out the caterwauling baby on “People Funny Boy,” his witty score-settler against a former studio boss. As a producer he is recognized as one of the pioneers of reggae sound, and of reggae music’s instrumental companion, dub, along with fellow studio wizards Osbourne “King Tubby” Ruddock, Errol Thompson, Herman Chin-Loy and Augustus Pablo. If reggae is music’s tree of life, dub is its foundation of root and stem and branch — a cellular core capable of infinite variation. Characteristically, dub takes an existing song, strips it down to its instrumental base and rebuilds it — often beyond recognition. In this sense, Perry is dub personified — bold, unusual, unpredictable. Perry began his sonic adventures working on a budget, but with a wealth of imaginative capacity. Through all of his immense success, that DIY spirit and resourcefulness remain. He’s celebrated now for his musical contributions on both sides of the microphone as he’s moved back and forth between soundboard and stage. Finishing the thought about his method, he says, “I just communicate with the Sun that rises from the East and I start to see everything and I write it in a book or in my computer.” Audiences at his live performances get to see and hear the results manifest, and leave imprinted with an out-of-this-world experience. Lee “Scratch” Perry performs 10pm February 15 at Respectable Street in West Palm Beach, $25-$30. leeperry.bandcamp.com ~ Freddie Zandt
FAUX FEROCIOUS rock voltaire How heavy does musical pedigree weigh on folks who are born to rock in the most rocking of towns? How do you stand out without becoming a flash in the pan? There are plenty of pitfalls that can occur and many more that could deter musicians from their pursuits. How do you manage to rock so that your brand of rock stands like a mighty cairn over the rest of the rockers? FAUX FEROCIOUS
For starters, you don’t try to reinvent the wheel. You drop the gimmicks and you let the rock ’n’ roll be your spiritual guide down the avenues and dusty roads before you. Such is the case for the mostly-Nashville outfit Faux Ferocious; ignoring whatever weight might be imposed upon them by the city’s proud musical history, this quartet is playing their rock and playing it well. They met in college and have been rocking ever since. Starting with the Memetic Society label release of their debut single in 2011, “5 No 2 No 3 No None,” Faux Ferocious have grown over a handful of albums and singles, fine-tuning their clean blend of punk rock attitude via psych, blues, shoegaze/drone, post-punk and ambient noise. Even if the overall aesthetic of the band hearkens to a bygone era of one-hour drive-thru Fotomats, shag-rugged mini-vans and lo-fi region rock, the joke’s in name — there’s nothing ersatz about the wildness that they bring to the table. It helps that the element of trust that gels the band is cemented in the obvious strength of their friendship. That kind of shit comes through like gangbusters and makes their music even more compelling. To stand out in and outside of the Nashville music scene, you’ve gotta have the chops and the charisma. You’ve gotta have the kind of swag that respects that which came before you and enough gumption to bring something significant back to it. You’ve gotta rock with the best and stand above the rest of the rockers. These guys are doing that well and they’ve got rock for years to come cuz the weight is no weight at all! Faux Ferocious play 8pm February 8 at Voltaire in West Palm Beach. fauxferocious.bandcamp.com ~ Abel Folgar
VOLTAIRE: Vachon Kennedy presents RAW
RESPECTABLE STREET: Thoughts, Loyal To a Fault, SuperGold, TC Williams
RESPECTABLE STREET: The Basement Presents
ROBOT BREWING CO: BRUH- Nujabes & J. Dilla Tribute
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 30 DADA: 432 Vibes KILL YOUR IDOL: Off Orbit
BREWHOUSE GALLERY: Think & Drink Trivia KELSEY THEATER: Joyce Manor, Jeff Rosenstock, Remember Sports
THURSDAY, JANUARY 31
DADA: MIXTAPE | New Dawn Fades ARTS GARAGE: Arts Garage Poetry Open Mic Night MATHEWS BREWING CO: Crazy Finger Trio CWS: Guavatron KILL YOUR IDOL: Karaoke with Shelley Novak BREWHOUSE GALLERY: All Arts Open Mic
FEBRUARY 8 VOLTAIRE: The Darling Fire, Kids, InMotion, The Polaroid FRIDAY, VOLTAIRE: Faux Ferocious (Nashville), TBA Notebook DADA: Red Light Motel DADA: MIXTAPE | H.R. Giger
KILL YOUR IDOL: Bermuda Beach & No Wave
KILL YOUR IDOL: Karaoke BREWHOUSE GALLERY: All Arts Open Mic MATHEWS BREWING COMPANY: Crazy Fingers Trio
ARTS GARAGE: Jazz Goes to the Movies with Ann Hampton Callaway REVOLUTION LIVE: Nirvanna (A Tribute to Nirvana) with Audioecho (A Tribute to Chris Cornell) CWS: Nyne2Five MATHEWS BREWING CO: Fireside Prophets
RESPECTABLE STREET: Dark Water Rebellion ROBOT BREWING CO: Preservation Road
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1
VOLTAIRE: Marbin (Chicago), Ben Delaurentis RESPECTABLE STREET: Emery & Oh, Sleeper
DADA: Dark Water Rebellion & Slip Mahoney HONEY: Ginuwine ARTS GARAGE: Utopian Rive Art Opening, Dr. Lonnie Smith Trio
ROBOT BREWING CO: The Deep Web, Paper Giants MATHEWS BREWING CO: Hell & Hollar REVOLUTION LIVE: Saved By The 90’s (90’s Tribute) CWS: Bryce Allyn Band STACHE: Sun Ghosts
FILLMORE MIAMI BEACH: Franco Escamilla BREWHOUSE GALLERY: Johan Dano & The Love KELSEY THEATER: Drag Show
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 2
RESPECTABLE STREET: Meta4Machine & Safehouse
ROBOT BREWING CO: 90’s Culture x Frontrunner Entertainment Pop Up
BREWHOUSE GALLERY: New From Bree HAROLD’S COFFEE: Silky Milky Sugar, The Polaroid Notebook KELSEY THEATER: Innocence Project Floria
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 9
RESPECTABLE STREET: Millionyoung, Afrobeta, Symbols VOLTAIRE: TCHAA, Dance Floor Sessions: KASHA, Michael Mayo ROBOT BREWING CO: FAU Arts In Medicine Variety Show CWS: Spred the Dub
VOLTAIRE: Deb Silver Jazz 7-10pm Sushi Sessions, DFS MATHEWS BREWING CO: Krazy Train DADA: Steve Pomeranz Band Saturdays: KASHA, Michael Mayo 11-4 HULLABALOO: Ella Herrera Band FILLMORE MIAMI BEACH: Jaquees & friend CWS: Marcus Amaya MATHEWS BREWING CO: The Dog Hearts Band DADA: The Holidazed HULLABALOO: The Ricca Project KILL YOUR IDOL: Immersed Music ARTS GARAGE: Sultans of String STACHE: Spred the Dub
ROBOT BREWING CO: Daryl Hance Powermuse with Toledos
KILL YOUR IDOL: Breaks Yo! ARTS GARAGE: Jazz Goes to the Movies w Ann Hampton Callaway PGA ARTS CENTER: U2 Tribute with SloFunkPump BREWHOUSE GALLERY: The String Assassins KELSEY THEATER: The Long Run Eagles Tribute
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 10
VOLTAIRE: Ray’s Downtown, DJ Ray & Friends
ARTS GARAGE: Harold Lopez- Nussa MATHEWS BREWING CO: Altered Roots Duo CWS: Victoria Cardona (A.M.) / Basement Presents Funk Brunch (P.M.) BREWHOUSE GALLERY: Blues Jam DADA: Karaoke SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3 CWS: Nyne2Five (A.M.) / The Basement Presents Funk Brunch (P.M.) KILL YOUR IDOL: Gameshow Sundays DADA: Karaoke MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11 KILL YOUR IDOL: Gameshow Sundays VOLTAIRE: Go Funk Yourself hosted by DJ Nikitin DADA: Open Mic MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4 REVOLUTION LIVE: Sevendust with Tremonti, Cane Hill, Lullwater + Kirra KILL YOUR IDOL: Drag Mondays DADA: Open Mic TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12 BREWHOUSE GALLERY: Acoustic Soul KELSEY THEATER: Kiss Alive
VOLTAIRE: Yum Yum hosted by DJ Infante KILL YOUR IDOL: Drag Mondays
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 5
VOLTAIRE: SQUID: Chico (Nashville), Fat Sun, The Creature Cage DADA: Spoken Word Open Mic KILL YOUR IDOL: Open Jam
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6
THE GROUND AT CLUB SPACE: Peter Murphy DADA: Yazmani
VOLTAIRE: Harrison Carter
KILL YOUR IDOL: Ladies Night with Chico
RESPECTABLE STREET: The Basement Presents BREWHOUSE GALLERY: Think & Drink Trivia
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7
FILLMORE: Duran Duran VOLTAIRE: SQUID! Local bands drink 50% off! RESPECTABLE STREET: Gutter Demons, Adam Sheetz ARTS GARAGE: Arts Garage All Arts Open Mic Night DADA: Comedy Open Mic KILL YOUR IDOL: Open Jam
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 13 VOLTAIRE: Cat Eye Club FILLMORE: Red Velvet
DADA: Adonis of Guavatron KILL YOUR IDOL: Sofilla BREWHOUSE GALLERY: Think & Drink Trivia
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14
VOLTAIRE: Love in the Dark w. SoulFam ft Moodswing, Josh Miles & Summer Gill, ETC
FILLMORE: Marko RESPECTABLE STREET: The Dating Game Valentines Day Edition
KILL YOUR IDOL: Karaoke with Shelley Novak MATHEWS BREWING CO: Crazy Finger Trio DADA: MIXTAPE | Bizarre Love Triangle BREWHOUSE GALLERY: All Arts Open Mic REVOLUTION LIVE: Vince Staples with Buddy CWS: Johan Danno
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15
VOLTAIRE: Talking Heads & Police Tribute by Leaders of the Shift RESPECTABLE STREET: Lee Scratch Perry & Subatomic Sound System REVOLUTION LIVE: Lettuce with Roosevelt Collier
FILLMORE: David Bisbal
DADA: Irie Vibes MATHEWS BREWING CO: The Helmsmen KILL YOUR IDOL: AmericanGrime’s Proper CWS: Fusik
ROBOT BREWING CO: Bitter Blue Jays, Koffin Varnish BREWHOUSE GALLERY: Citizen Badger ARTS GARAGE: Isle of Klezbos
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 16
VOLTAIRE: POCKIT, Dance Floor Sessions: KASHA, Michael Mayo
REVOLUTION LIVE: Ordinary Boys (A Tribute to The Smiths + Morrissey) CWS: Spider Cherry DADA: The Hunt HULLABALOO: The Dead Beat Daddies MATHEWS BREWING CO: Crazy Fingers KILL YOUR IDOL: Keep It Deep Miami ARTS GARAGE: Otis Cadillac and the El Dorado’s ft the Sublime Seville Sisters
MATHEWS BREWING CO: Crazy Finger Trio ARTS GARAGE: 3rd Thursday: Art Meets Music CWS: Mitch Herrik DADA: MIXTAPE | Ritual Noise BREWHOUSE GALLERY: All Arts Open Mic
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22
VOLTAIRE: The Heavy Pets RESPECTABLE STREET: MASS: Dark Music O’MALLEY’S: Attila, Bloodbather, Vatican MATHEWS BREWING CO: Franscene
ROBOT BREWING CO: Soul Fam Sessions CWS: Bobby Lee Rodgers DADA: Soul of Brass KILL YOUR IDOL: Shameless Burlesque STACHE: Fusik BREWHOUSE GALLERY: Bryce Allyn Trio KELSEY THEATER: Bi-Polar Surfer Movie
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23
VOLTAIRE: MRKIII, Dance Floor Sessions: KASHA, Michael Mayo ROBOT BREWING CO: Guavatron, The Reality, Custard Pie DADA: No Name Ska Band MATHEWS BREWING CO: Justin Jeffreys, Spred the Dub HULLABALOO: Markis Hernandez Trio KILL YOUR IDOL: The Wire ARTS GARAGE: Lenore Raphael and Doug MacDonald CWS: Tasty Vibrations
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24
VOLTAIRE: Mardi Gras 2 of 3 w JM & the Sweets
ARTS GARAGE: Ian Maksin MATHEWS BREWING CO: Bryce Allyn Duo DADA: Karaoke KILL YOUR IDOL: Gameshow Sundays CWS: Victoria Cardona (A.M.) / Basement Presents Funk Brunch (P.M.)
ROBOT BREWING CO: Spiral Light- A Tribute to the Grateful Dead
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26
BREWHOUSE GALLERY: Rust Market, Holy Dances KELSEY THEATER: Murial Anderson
VOLTAIRE: Mardi Gras 1 of 3 w JM & the Sweets
ARTS GARAGE: Jazz Gals meets Broadway MATHEWS BREWING CO: Mona Lisa Tribe CWS: Marcus Amaya (A.M.) / The Basement Presents Funk Brunch (P.M.) BREWHOUSE GALLERY: Nip & Tuck DADA: Karaoke KILL YOUR IDOL: Gameshow Sundays
VOLTAIRE: Vibes hosted by Underkut DADA: Open Mic KILL YOUR IDOL: Drag Mondays
VOLTAIRE: SQUID! Obsidian, The Coven, Darkhearts ARTS GARAGE: Arts Garage Jam Session DADA: Comedy Open Mic KILL YOUR IDOL: Open Jam
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27 DADA: Aixa Baez
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 18
VOLTAIRE: RAW: Neo Soul RESPECTABLE STREET: The Basement Presents
DADA: Open Mic KILL YOUR IDOL: Drag Mondays
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28
VOLTAIRE: Mixed Match hosted by Mr. Palm Beach
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19
VOLTAIRE: Brook Pridemore (NY), Yankee Roses (GA), Turtle Grenade, Ryan Carney KELSEY THEATER: Copeland, From Indian Lakes, Many Rooms
FILLMORE: Meek Mill
DADA: Comedy Open Mic KILL YOUR IDOL: Open Jam
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20 VOLTAIRE: Comedy Night!
DADA: The Star Sisters KILL YOUR IDOL: Jessica Morales
RESPECTABLE STREET: The Basement Presents BREWHOUSE GALLERY: Think & Drink Trivia
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21
VOLTAIRE: FUNKTION w Public Sounds Collective KILL YOUR IDOL: Karaoke with Shelley Novak
RESPECTABLE STREET: Reaches
PROPAGANDA: Old Wounds & Revenge Season
BREWHOUSE GALLLERY: Think & Drink Trivia
VOLTAIRE: Paleface, Beartoe, Adam Sheetz, David K DADA: MIXTAPE | Pictures of You KILL YOUR IDOL: Karaoke With Shelley Novak MATHEWS BREWING CO: Crazy Finger Trio CWS: 432 Duo STACHE: Marcus Amaya
ROBOT BREWING CO: Preservation Road BREWHOUSE GALLERY: All Arts Open Mic
FRIDAY, MARCH 1
VOLTAIRE: McFarland
SUNDAY, MARCH 3
VOLTAIRE: Mardi Gras 3 of 3 Spred the Dub
FRIDAY, MARCH 8
VOLTAIRE: Scott Yoder (Seattle), Plastic Man (Italy), Pearl & the Oysters, DirtBike
FRIDAY, MARCH 15
VOLTAIRE: The Sh-Booms, The Haunted, Hurricane
DURAN DURAN, fillmore
DURAN DURAN
No less an observer than David Bowie reportedly once said, “Disco never sucked in the U.K.” Maybe what he had in mind were bands like Spandau Ballet and Duran Duran leading the New Romantics wing of the ’80s dance-music Britpack. Among the crop neo-romantic scenesters who claimed Bowie as a big influence, Duran Duran were far and away the best known — early chart toppers and telegenic darlings of the burgeoning medium of music video.
By 1984 these stars of audio-visual bonbons such as “Rio” and “Hungry Like the Wolf” had utilized MTV and the band’s own fashion-industry ties to achieve superstar status — until fashion, as fashion does, betrayed them. As the ’80s wound down so did Duran Duran, shed by their audience like a jacket with pointy shoulders. The teased-hair titans of new wave and pop metal were cleared out by a vanguard of hip hop and grunge, and it all seemed very over for the boys at the shoot: frontman Simon Le Bon, sibling instrumentalists John and Roger Taylor, and keyboardist Nick Rhodes. Then came a self-titled rebound in 1993 — sometimes called “The Wedding Album” — and a luminous single, “Ordinary World,” that lofted Duran Duran into the rare air of pop fandom plus critical reappraisal. A big deal in two decades, Duran Duran now belonged to an elite confederacy including the likes of Depeche Mode and The Cure, meaning they could have gone on touring on their laurels and playing hits to affectionate audiences night after night. But Duran Duran have kept on creating, trying on new genres and expanding on their foppish new wave charms. They’ve put out as many albums since 1993 as they did to that point, and 41 years into their existence they can boast a diverse group of descendants on the sound-and-style continuum, from Gwen Stefani and Beck to Barenaked Ladies and P!nk. Side projects and outside interests have come and gone, but in the end it’s always back to what Le Bon boldly called “the band to dance to when the bomb drops.” What’s not to like about that? Duran Duran play 8:30pm February 12 at the Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theater. Tickets start at $179. duranduran.warnereprise.com ~ Tim Moffatt
TINDERBOX CIRCUS SIDESHOW Once upon a time human strangeness was a form of entertainment. Its attractions went from town to town, arriving by caravan shrouded in mystery under banners depicting bearded ladies, conjoined twins, dog boys and other curiosities bestowed by nature on a shockable world. Backlash against for-profit exhibition of people with physical, mental or behavioral rarities put an end to so-called “freak shows” — a win for those unable to consent to their exploitation but maybe not for anyone competent to decide whether to capitalize on their uniqueness. What lives on is a tradition of peculiar talents such as those celebrated in the Tinderbox Circus Sideshow, a traveling revue from “from the dark hills of Kentucky,” per their Twitter bio, “sharing memories you’ll carry TINDERBOX CIRCUS SIDESHOW with you whether you want to or not.” Tinderbox pairs old-fashioned fire-breathing, sword-swallowing, piercing and glass-walking with burlesque and other, more non-traditional displays. Basically, if you can think of it — and even if you can’t — Tinderbox probably has someone who can do it. The Tinderbox sideshow was established in 2010 by Zak Crouch, a.k.a. Captain Darron von Awesome, and Kayti McMyermick a.k.a. Trashique Tinderbox, who’ve been performing feats of amazement and artistry for more than 20 years. While elements of such of shows aren’t right for every audience, Tinderbox takes pride in tailoring itself to the audience it has — an adaptability that might be beyond the reach of other companies and less seasoned performers . A perusal of the Tinderbox sizzle reel shows some certainly audacious acts that would have never occurred to this viewer had they not been documented on video. But that’s their job — to surprise, amaze and bewilder those of us without the fortitude to attempt, say, extreme waist-cinching, climbing a ladder of machetes, or a turn at “The Knife Song” game. Normally one would have to drive across the state to Gibsonton for sideshow diversions — a stop on the winding “weird Florida” trail that inevitably ends in spooky old Cassadaga. But if you don’t have the time, Tinderbox is bringing the idiosyncratic magic and wonder right to you. Tinderbox Circus Sideshow is 8pm March 2 at Respectable Street in West Palm Beach, $10, 21+. tinderboxcircussideshow.com ~ Tim Moffatt
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SWEAT RECORDS RECORDS
FEBRUARY 1
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FEBRUARY 3
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THE BASEMENT PRESENTS
THE BASEMENT PRESENTS
BRYCE ALLYN BAND MARCUS AMAYA NYNE2FIVE (A.M.) /
FUNK BRUNCH (P.M.)
FUSIK
SPIDER CHERRY MARCUS AMAYA (A.M.) / FUNK BRUNCH (P.M.)
FEBRUARY 7
FEBRUARY 21
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FEBRUARY 10 VICTORIA CARDONA (A.M.) /
FEBRUARY 24 VICTORIA CARDONA (A.M.) /
FUNK BRUNCH (P.M.)
FUNK BRUNCH (P.M.)
GUAVATRON NYNE2FIVE SPRED THE DUB THE BASEMENT PRESENTS
FEBRUARY 14
JOHAN DANNO
MITCH HERRICK BOBBY LEE RODGERS TASTY VIBRATIONS THE BASEMENT PRESENTS
FEBRUARY 28
432 DUO
“Fake (Fake) Records (Records) … ” Now that we’ve got your attention we hope you’ll take that aural echo from “Hip Hop” by Dead Prez as your forever cue to think of Sweat Records Records, the label named very unmistakably after Lauren Reskin’s companion store. “Thank you, I will be singing that in my head for forever,” an amused Reskin tells PureHoney. “We are happy being part of the repetitive tradition of Duran Duran, Talk Talk, etc.” Owner and co-founder of retail Sweat LAUREN RESKIN AT SWEAT Records in Miami, longtime champion of all things musical in the 305, “Lolo” is stepping into production with Sweat Records Records — SRR for short — and there’s nothing fake about it: The label’s first single, a cover of Selena’s “Como la Flor” by local acoustic duo Dracula, was named one of 2018’s best songs by NPR. “We were 100% surprised about that nod,” says Reskin. “That their performance rose through such incredibly tough competition to get there, especially with us as a brand new independent label, shows how much it’s resonating with people.” In the early aughts Reskin promoted beloved Miami dance punks Awesome New Republic through an earlier imprint, Sutro Records. That project provided a blueprint, with lessons learned and an SRR team consisting of managing store partner Emile Milgrim and creative industries lawyer Vivek Jayaram. Imbuing SRR with her boundless energy and belief in homegrown music, Reskin has an ambitious slate of releases teed up including a Dracula LP, a record by all-girl, power-pop-fuzz band Las Nubes (formerly Smvt), a fulllength by sonic evolver Richie Hell and a never-before released 12-inch of Miami freestyle legend Debbie Deb. In “Hip Hop,” Dead Prez argue for artists to control their work and be wary of labels. But if SRR embodies Reskin’s independence and love of the scene, it should be a happy home for talent. “We want to build a solid, musically excellent roster of artists and releases that defy expectations about South Florida,” she says, “and launch careers in the music industry for our artists.” Dracula performs on Feb. 15 at the III Points festival in Miami ($72 - $205) and opens for Andy Shauf at The Ground at Club Space in Miami 8 pm Feb. 21 ($17 - $25). miamidracula.bandcamp.com ~ Abel Folgar
Fiit Lady FRIDAYS
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CALL 561-408-1001 FOR TABLE RESERVATIONS 114 S. NARCISSUS AVE • WEST PALM BEACH CAMELOTYACHTCLUB.COM
MARBIN groove voltaire Israel-born, Chicago-based Marbin plays a mind-bending mix of psych-, prog- and rock-inflected jazz, honed over more than 1,000 live dates since the band landed in the U.S. in 2011. The brainchild of guitarist Dani Rabin and saxophonist Danny Marckovitch, Marbin has been evolving its nonvocal fusion music for the better part of a decade, deploying jagged, tenacious instrumentals to communicate stories in sound to a diverse and growing fan base. MARBIN Marbin has put out an audacious seven albums of new music since 2009, and two “More and More” compilations just in the last year. The band’s latest, “Israeli Jazz,” dauntingly threads blues influences through Marbin’s trademark technical proficiency on the title track and the 10-minute “Pirate Punch.” The scholarship in the playing also comes across in dozens of Facebook band instructional videos, most focusing on Rabin’s notably noodly style of guitar, which seamlessly toggles between fast-paced shredding and melodic patterns. In an interview with PureHoney, Rabin offers a characteristically learned definition of fusion: “I think it’s a kind of music that has the same exact process as jazz but adopted the sonic texture of rock and abandoned the swing groove as a default.” Regarding his affinity for teaching, Rabin explains matter-of-factly, “I guess for me it all started from being fat when I was a kid. It makes you want to show people something you know or do, rather than what they see when they look at you. After I became good at what I do, teaching became as natural as playing because all it is, is verbalizing a process. “How’s that for honest?” Rabin says. You’d be right to infer from Marbin’s intricate, individualized sound and Rabin’s unvarnished takes that these guys haven’t sought anyone’s counsel but their own on career matters. Asked what he thinks about the music industry, Rabin says, “I never met it. “All I saw,” he continues, “was a few rich hot girls, rappers and county stars in magazines and a few management companies that turned scamming bands into a business.” His parting bit of advice is also his experience: “If you want to get something done, do it yourself.” Marbin performs 8pm Feb. 1 at Voltaire in West Palm Beach, $5-$10. marbinmusic. bandcamp.com ~ Freddie Zandt
RICHARD SHERFEY
FEBRUARY 1
SAVED BY THE 90’S (90’S TRIBUTE) FEBRUARY 4
MARCH 8
SEVENDUST FEBRUARY 8
THE INFAMOUS STRINGDUSTERS
NIRVANNA
(A TRIBUTE TO NIRVANA) WITH
AUDIOECHO
(A TRIBUTE TO CHRIS CORNELL) FEBRUARY 14
VINCE STAPLES WITH
BUDDY
FEBRUARY 15 WITH
(A TRIBUTE TO BILLY JOEL)
THE INTERRUPTERS
TREMONTI, CANE HILL, LULLWATER & KIRRA
WITH
MARCH 3
THE STRANGER
LETTUCE
ROOSEVELT COLLIER FEBRUARY 16
ORDINARY BOYS
(A TRIBUTE TO THE SMITHS & MORRISSEY) MARCH 1
PINK TALKING FISH
(A TRIBUTE TO PINK FLOYD & TALKING HEADS)
MARCH 9
MARCH 10
TRAVIS GREENE & MOSAIC MSC MARCH 13
KURT VILE & THE VIOLATORS WITH
THE SADIES
MARCH 16
TREVOR HALL WITH
DIRTWIRE
MARCH 24
SWITCHFOOT
COLONY HOUSE & TYSON MOTSENBOCKER WITH
MARCH 27
GORGOL BORDELLO
TICKETS AVAILABLE AT WWW.TICKETMASTER.COM 100 SW 3RD AVE. FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 33312 WWW.JOINTHEREVOLUTION.NET
The first time I met Richard Sherfey my band was touring through Athens, Georgia. It was a bit cold but as a bunch of Florida boys we were very excited for an opportunity to wear leather jackets in an appropriate setting. We met at a spot called the Globe, talked about mutual friends, and music, and beer. When the check came, well it didn’t, Richard had taken care of it as he continued to do throughout his life in one way or another. --- That night we got wasted. Richard used to run what we would not so kindly refer to as a “shiny shirt bar.” An upstairs venue bumping the latest hits of the mid 2000s to drunk undergrads spending their parents dime on shots of Soco and lime, fast poured rum and cokes, and cheap light beer. The craft beer boom was just around the corner, Richard knew that too. We didn’t fit in until the bar closed at 2am. Then it was just us. Then we fit in. We took turns playing records, and of course, drinking. RICHARD SHERFEY Then I heard his record, and I heard his voice for the first time. “Holy shit. This is you??” I owed him an apology, music wasn’t a spectator sport for Richard it was full contact. For many years a living magic trick he’d pull out once in a while and put it back in it’s box where it shook violently until it’s next appearance. He embodied the character of the drunken preacher to tell, or shout, a story of belonging. Half the time that was water in his wine bottle. And well, half the time it wasn’t.
He had a keen mind for business even though he grew to distance himself from that side in the past couple years. We went back this summer and visited one of his friends, now managing his own bar. I could see, Richard taught him everything he knew. He was proud, and joyful, but never wanted to go back. He was giving, sometimes too much. Once in a while he’d drink too much wine and ask me to punch him in the face. “I just think all of my buddies should know how to throw a good punch.” I never did it but it was a sign, admittedly an odd one, that he would gladly hurt for you. We both grew up deeply religious in a personal sense. When I was young I had an alter in my room, lined with prayer cards and candles. I thought of heaven and hell in real physical senses, God and the devil and the litany of saints below them waging war for our souls. It’s heavy stuff for anyone, forget a kid. Richard had a different path but we felt the same things, parallel lines with distance between pointing in the same direction. He studied religion, I studied philosophy. We talked about these paths and experiences, his struggle with spirituality and reason, doubt and belief. He struggled with dichotomy and the anxiety it brought. His favorite professor, Danny Goodman, told him something that he passed on to me: that these dichotomies are two sides of the same coin, and it’s more important to keep it flipping. Richard was constantly flipping that coin. Good friends work in tandem like bungie cords, pushing and pulling where needed, forming a safety net when one friend falls too low. You learn your strength, and you learn those around you. In the darkest time of my life I told my counselor that Richard was my “Goldilocks Friend”, not too hot or cold. His advice, his support was never too weak or overpowering. Just right. And now, as you know, that union is gone. If you’ve ever had a group text go permanently silent or a shared calendar removed you know that odd modern feeling, that something can be here and gone at the same time. Richard didn’t limit his study, or his search, to traditional channels. He found knowledge and insight everywhere; music and lyrics, podcasts, walks, and good conversation. In the past couple years he took and dramatic and focused approach to that journey. To be frank, we debated and disagreed on a lot of the process of that journey throughout the past couple months. Richard loved mythology and symbolism as much though, and his path included all of rigors Joseph Campbell, The Bible and Lord of the Rings taught him in kind. He was looking for transcendence beyond the on/off switch of belief. I choose to think he found it. At the very least it made him happier while he was here, almost surprisingly. I rarely saw him in a bad mood during his final months, that depressive batting average was far better than mine. At the same time he knew what was happening inside his own body better than any of us could. His joy and his journey was a choice, his physical body was not. Richard had been staying with me for a couple weeks, working on some new songs. Last week we hung out with some good friends and we got into it a little bit. Sherf told me, “I think I know why you and I are disagreeing so much. I’m happy as a passenger in the universe and you’re really concerned about being a driver.” I got a little upset, “OF COURSE I AM. Are we at least on the same road?” We still laughed about it. No one was really convincing the other. When we’d get too caught up in the “rightness” of searching we would remind ourselves of that great Dawes song, “It’s like trying to make out every word / When we should simply hum along.” Richard took up a mantra in his final months, both/and. It was part Søren Kierkegaard, part Elliott Smith. But it was mainly a conviction that both answers can be right and at the same time there is no answer at all. He can be right, and I can be right. That real, deep truth is big enough and kind enough to allow for that quantum state of possibility. His stance was never prescriptive, only descriptive, just his journey. He wanted you to have your own. My journey is forever impacted by Richard Sherfey. My hands on the clutch are loosened, and though stepping on the gas is simply in my nature, the destination isn’t quite as important, only the direction. I am devastated by the loss of my dear friend, I am immmensely grateful that I had these years with him. I am both/and. A couple nights later I left for the holidays early in the morning, 4am. I accidentally woke him up. “Hey buddy.” / “Hey man. I’m heading out, you’re welcome to crash in my bed.” I know there’s an odd morbidity that goes along with this but I’m so glad that’s the last thing I shared with him, a place to rest. He would have done that, and so much more for me. He has. A friend reminded me of a quote by William James, “The best argument I know for an immortal life is the existence of a man who deserves one.” To me at least, his journey isn’t over. Faith and doubt are sides of the same coin. You are the driver and the passenger, the bow and the arrow. It doesn’t matter who saves your soul, Jesus or Rock n’ Roll. And there aren’t many problems that can’t be solved over a glass of dry red wine. He was a little bit of everything, he was/is both/and. ~ Mike Dunn