Never Be Sad with Alexis Mackenzie

THE BOVIOUS : Fear not reader, tomorrow night (and a month of days posthaste) your face has an opportunity to view Alexis Mackenzie's new solo show, "Never Be Sad" at Parklife in San Francisco. For the familiar (and from the example attached), there is a clear movement from the fantastique one-acts of melded menagerie that have become the signature of her aesthetic. But, this is not a molting to worry over as her phantasmagoric touch is not lost it has just risen, sprouted, mutated....you get the idea. She is doing the thing that all artists hope for but often miss in their narrative arches : actual growth. And in "Never Be Sad", Alexis has deftly lined her bastion with a cryptic libretto of multiple movements, all expertly tightened across her collection of spectral pulp and pages. It's exciting, energetic work and you would best be served by seeing it in person if you can.

TOTALLY EERIOUS : A piece of the the press release from Parklife, verbatim, just in case my above was a little over the realm - Alexis Mackenzie’s dreamlike collages intertwine the style of early 1900’s Dadaist Max Ernst with a strong botanical element to create strangely powerful scenarios. Benign elements such as flowers, human and animal figures, and other assorted Victoriana graft together symbiotically in tableaux which seem to deal simultaneously with both evolution and entropy. The resulting images pay homage to the Surrealist importance of the subconscious, where the meaning is left deliberately ambiguous.

WORMS : And so, the heavy handed boyfriend acts like an adjective acquaintance, dually writing double barreled, demanding you buckle to the truth and suckle from it's run-off. The opening is from 7 to 10 and Parklife is at 220 Clement Street in the shrouded city of San Francisco.

Get Ready, Jungle Heat.

INDULGENCE : The most rote lesson of my 30s is that the triplicate lengths of land splitting memory, coincidence and time is.........off putting. Or maybe it's exciting. Or maybe it just infects the most uncanny spot of a brain that overanalyzes the world-feed to fit a teeming comfort suit, fleshed with all of the fiction I model myself into and after. (Which cryptic or not, makes little sense. But I will keep it in because.....the internet). I know the revelation of "growing older" is a boring stop for those who have or always daywalk civilian and responsibility, but I am usually horrified by how lives can end up falling all over themselves if you keep your neck out long enough. And with that half thought here is what I am really writing about......

THE NIGHT CORRIDOR : Please link, read and worship in front of Jen Hanley's blog, Sleep Deprivation & Stories of My Bullshit Youth (or if you are needing the url : www.gnarlitude.com). When we were brats sweating in Florida, Jen was a crust punk and I was a loud mouth creep. Now that age is cresting through wrinkles, Jen is a specific and seasoned enthusiast for every peak/valley inside fashion (& whatever else inks her tank). And.......I am still a loud mouth creep. Whatever. But from that early bond we recently reconnected and found that we haven't moved much past our youthful interests, just filled them in with the essential bells and whistles for Adult Years.

GRISTLES : After the reconnect, Jen asked if I would redesign the SD&SOMBY header to match her aesthetic excitement (which, again, can be seen when you finger fumble this link). Other than our shared history, I liked the idea of matching my design with her stapled in sincerity. But my main motivation was I connected with her version of where things belong, the similar notes that mash about unrelated counter cultures and the lathering that goes along with every beat of it. She can really get you primed for items in and out of your own preference or personal style and I think that's cool. So, look at her blog and check the sidebars for other places she contributes her writings and observations.

Cult Ritual.

A PUCKERED NAPE : Below is one of the three front faces of the first Cult Ritual LP out now on Youth Attack. This, of course, is the one I designed.

THE STAIN TRAIL : I can't tell if any well proportioned listeners of punk music will take to Cult Ritual's leveling use of the form as a prison for flayed ideas & quartered mangles of nihilism, anger, manipulation........but I would like to think it's at least possible. For me, 30 some odd years after....let's say....Black Flag angsted about the West Coast, a hardcore band should be less about how well you beat your instruments up and more about how horrible you sand the genre's primal elements across any listener's tuned appreciation. It's about making sure it feels like everything is about to break into pieces, blow the seams, boil the body. It's about about gutting and slicing the lively parts & wearing them for a cannibal night in fear. It's about muddled mastery and enthusiasm for atmosphere over etched regurgitation. Or maybe, I am projecting to wide a net for something so rooted in being a mannered, musical troglodyte. Regardless, I am obviously about to say that I feel Cult Ritual is occupying a ferocious spot in all of that well-trodden land, giving credence to my "yes" of designing a record cover for them.

POST ENNUI : Cult Ritual are currently out abusing the gap between performer/patron and by checking this list you will opportune a moment to wet clothes over their slick bodies in this summer suntime. Plus, in hopes of satiating the eager lives of play money, the band travels with a Wagnerian lot of in (and out of) bloodline ephemera, so get cash ready and help them move their bolted van along the decks of America's basements and youth spots.

DOOMRIDE Bags from EXORCISE! Finally Available. Finally.

So, here's the complaint : when the fresh cracking June sun starts heating deep your nervous system, moving moisture from the inside meat to the outside shell......it's terrible. Actually, nature is a terrible idea. Especially for those of us who are steady, corny and pretentious in black, the summer is a chateau of suffering and not the ironic kind that our posturing desperately tries to relate to the world. And not unlike most things served in this jerk lunch, there's little anyone can do about it, except be as solar effacing as possible with the commentary shedding some comfort to the subconscious.

Anyway.....
I would like to think I can make that personal account of heat hate feed right into the fact that I am writing up this commercial for the new IT'S THE TOTAL DOOMRIDE! tote bag, but....well, I can't. So, let me just say in plain words again : the IT'S THE TOTAL DOOMRIDE tote bag is finalized, finished and ready for your whatever dollars. This is the first item in my new EXORCISE! product line and basic English would have me tell you that it's mainly inspired by my love of old WW2 exploitation films (or Men On A Mission films as Tarantino would say) like Salt in the Wound, The Dirty Dozen (not really exploitation but.....), Castellari's Inglorious Bastards, etc. etc. etc. with a little dose of G.I.S.M. enthusiasm sprinkled in. You may remember me sprouting this image as a graphite drawing last year when it started travelling with the DRAW! Travelling Art Show, which the original piece is still mixed up with.

This "Endless Bummer" version is available in white ink on black tote for as long as the small quantity I had made exists. There may be more made after in numerous colorways, depending on if I think I am as popular with the kids as I would hope to be.

CLICK HERE TO BE TAKEN TO THE STORE FRONT.

HALLOW by Mark McCoy : Friday the 13th!

HALLOW by Mark McCoy
Opening Party Friday March 13 from 7pm to 10pm
Hope Gallery, Echo Park, Los Angeles

I always say this, all the time to anyone who will listen : Mark McCoy is one of my favorite artists, ever. He's a polymathic and confidently driven artist, successfully upturning multiple means of communication to project what his bio states as an exploration of "identity formation, socialized sexuality, and psychological ramifications of developmental behavioral patterns." Heavy for sure, but just shows that he is conscious of what he is doing, from low to high and is a great example of what I feel has become the newish lore of our generation : smart kids who like dumb stuff. Sure it's dark, sure it's occasionally loud, sure it hits you on a base level with it's design, violence and/or titillation....but if given the chance the work can be busted open to reveal an intellect and excitement unplaced in normal interpretations of these types of images.

To get the non-punk kids up to speed, McCoy's most recognizable work is the graphic design done for the numerous bands he has fronted and/or the records he has scattered out through his label, Youth Attack Records. A few years ago on a quest to fully realize what he was doing past the monochrome that populated parts of sweaty hardcore kid's record collections, I asked him to see what he had, was working on, etc., etc. We went through a lot of his work as he was in the process of trying to get a portfolio of his extended abilities online. I was not fully ready for what he showed me : transgressive collage work, phantasmagoric polaroids and these carefully rendered ink drawings of melded nudity and mashed architecture. At the time, I am sure I embarrassed both of us with my enthusiasm, but it felt like I was seeing something that needed to be represented publicly. 

There was a Myspace page for them, they ended up in some group shows and now, flash forward to this moment : he has a show opening tonight, March 13th (Hope Gallery in the Echo Park area of Los Angeles) called HALLOW that features 9 brand new, large, intense drawings (and a 2xLP of music that corresponds with the art) that I KNOW he has been laboring over for quite some time now. In order to not a miss a beat or get something wrong, here is Hope Gallery's press release :

Hope Gallery is excited to present an exhibition of new work by the New York City-based artist Mark McCoy. Entitled HALLOW, the exhibition runs from Friday March 13th through April 11th 2009. Hope Gallery is located at 1547 Echo Park Ave in Los Angeles.

HALLOW is a collection of ink drawings on paper depiciting a sprawling ethereal dimension of decaying corpses, architectural disassembly and alchemical transmutation. With a delicate handling of coarse subject matter, McCoy investigates man's profound desire for self-destruction and champions the concept of Death as a vital developmental process in reaching a higher understanding of the Self.

To accompany HALLOW's visuals, McCoy has created an audio soundtrack 2 x LP for the exhibition. Each musical composition corresponds to a drawing featured in the show, the side of each disc showcasing a consistent breakdown of structure mirrored by an intensifying sense of isolation and reverie.

This is McCoy at a new level, so if you have a moment tonight (or over the next month and are in L.A.), I urge you to stop in and see his show. It's a full production of doom and despair filtered through a controlled and knowing hand.

Here is a few links :

Mark McCoy

Youth Attack Records

Hope Gallery

Two Happenings, One Terraformed Continent.

Thursday March 5th, 6pm to 9pm

Long Live the Ephemeral curated by Ryan Jacob Smith

Fontanelle Gallery. Portland, Oregon.

Ryan Jacob Smith bubbles up and brings together a disparate, mangled menagerie of artists who have made minor and major strides in making artwork for many rock bands and their consumer/consumable parts. A daunting task, but Ryan has really pulled tight a nice survey of some of us. There is me, Mark McCoy, Sam McPheeters, Seripop, Brian Roettinger and a mishmash of other quality "image" makers. It's up all month at the gallery, with an opening party of Thursday March 5th from 6 to 9.

Here is a link to the show's press release!

Friday March 6th, 7pm to 9pm

Hereafter by Alexis Mackenzie

Threadless Gallery, Chicago.

Alexis Mackenzie will be exhibiting a full and frankenstein'd battalion of her freshest work at the Threadless Gallery in Chicago. Her phantasmagorical constructs will be bustling their ambience all of March, but if you breathe the wood paneling of Chicago then you ought to crawl your self to the opening on Friday, March 6th and project your enthusiasm for monumental, nonfinite artwork.

Here are some links for Alexis :

Work

Interview

Moist, Mammal Movements Arriving.

A pre-warning if you will, settling my soft hammer nicely into the queue of your late March thoughts : the Steak Mtn. / Horsebites art extravaganza MOIST. MAMMAL. DOOM. is rapidly approaching the greater Amish Americas sooner than maybe Dick and I want to really be ready for. The show slips from our siamese birth canal on April 3rd and then runs our reputations to a fine powder for 27 days at The Metropolis Gallery in beautiful Lancaster, PA. I can't say what Minino will be bringing to the table, but prepared to see some familiar (read : old) work and some slight, experimental failures (read : disappointing for anyone expecting to see Against Me! styled art) from my half of the marriage. Once I figure out how to get images of the new stuff, I will begin putting some of it here and there so you can either get juiced or bummed. Closer to it's nudity, I am sure both our self serving publicity machines will make sure you sarcastically know where, when and why it is happening.

Also, for those that are sort of interested (read : my relatives who need to have what I do validated by hearing "Steak Mountain" said on a major cable network), Gabel was interviewed on Steven's Untitled Rock Show, where he gives the mysterious Steak identity a much appreciated shove into traffic. WATCH IT HERE!

Exorcising Funeral Moons.

I'm back. It's a fresh fleshed greeting from the gutter grave of a terrible year. Alright, it's boring to say that last year was terrible, because really, all the negative kids say that and from me I am sure it is just rout snore fest. So, the year was actually fine, like all humans it had ups, downs, bigger bummers, a few blood boils and the general growth that any jerk with a brain can count on. So, who cares. Let's get down to business.

.......yes, thank you, you're right, it's factual, no kidding, sincerely, indeed there is a new Steak Mtn. webstore that has been created, brought to life, revived from a dead idea, etc. and it is called EXORCISE! Eventually it will be filled to the gills with un-band related Steak gear of many genres and races : shirts, tote bags, original drawings, printed matters....you get the idea...it's not high concept, it's commerce so all the usual buying stuff suspects will be accounted for. Right now as a test run, Nathan and the Merchline squad have created the site and I slipped them some of the limited prints from two years agos collab squeezefest : The '64 Death Pack. I realize the prices are steep, but realize that you might want to get in on the ground level with some of these prints cause Gabel, Bowen and Horsebites are only getting more popular and exciting to the kids with money to burn and having these will be a collectors something at some point. Look out soon for a limited edition shirt of my ADULTS ONLY! drawing and rocksteady colored totebag of IT'S THE TOTAL DOOMRIDE. I am sure I will be sending out a commercial for you to read about when they are available for you's to buy. BUT REMEMBER : EXORCISE!

Also, please note I have done a new Steak signature shirt for SHIRTKILLER. If you remember correctly, as you should, I ran freely into a overprinted frenzy with them for the Octoskull design a year or so back. I have returned to their fold with a shirt of my FUNERAL MOON drawing. They are taking pre-orders now and should begin printing and sending things off in the next few weeks, follow the link to get yourself outfitted with all the black metal breakfast table irony.

Here is an image of it :

Fake Problems "It's Great To Be Alive" : Return to the Youth S(m)ell.

Men, Kids & Womens :

This is the recently committed (02/17/09!!!), totally OK'd for public consumption design for Fake Problem's upcoming LP, "It's Great To Be Alive". 

I will sinfully mention that I am particularly proud of this one. I will also mention to this speckled room of spectators that I distinctly wanted to design something that frankenstein'd two of P. Saville's woefully fantastic covers for New Order : Power, Lies & Corruption and Technique. Unbeknowst to most scientists, scholars and this Steak Mtn., all you get when you try that out is a Depeche Mode record cover......but who cares. I like it, they like it and considering this potentially will be viewed alongside Flogging Molly coasters...er, I mean record covers.....magically turns this into the fucking Mona Lisa. 

"It's Great To Be Alive" will be seen as the walkabout of their career, so keep your eyes pegged on their Myspace page for touring updates, blog posts & comments made by perniciously teen'd youth who want to touch Derek Perry's undercarriage.

Mark McCoy's WOUND Show opens in Philadelphia. GO!

I have not been able to fully write about my love for McCoy's recent volume of transgressive collages, aptly titled WOUND. It is expressive, uncomfortable & brimmed with abject tension. Mark's art is so multifaceted & amazing. He is one of my main inspirations, work ethic and applied aesthetic : you can't tell what he will do next or what style he will be carrying on with, but it is always fresh, mind melting & energetic. I am not sure if the book can still be purchased from Heart Worm, but I recommend you get on it before it costs a million kid dollars on ebay. 

But, what I am really writing this post about is that he has a show opening tomorrow night, in Philadelphia, at a place called Juanita and Juan's featuring work from the WOUND book. All the show information is on the above jpg. If you are in Philadelphia, PLEASE go out and support Mark & then go home and take a shower....because you might feel sort of Port Authority men's room grimy after looking at the guignolistic, moreauvian images he has to offer.

Pettigrew On Steak Mtn.

There is a new interview with me....or rather Steak Mtn., which I suppose is me....alright : me. An interview with ME, Christopher Norris, Steak Mtn. over at the Alternative Press website. The address on the direct spot it is at is : CLICK HERE. Due to my respect & enjoyment of the man asking the questions (Jason Pettigrew, long time supporter of Steak stuff), I have given pretty right on, truthful answers......in some cases too truthful or at least too truthfully laced with dimmed malice. 

So, once again, move on : if you are a familiar with this blog, then I understand if you want to skip the read, as it seems in the past year I have doled out the self important spurters every few months or so. BUT, at least give Pettigrew's personal accounts of music and pop culture a tap, he has a fluid and well plied writing style that needs more eyes scanning it.

Light Yourself On Fire "Intimacy" : Buy Metal.

Gimped in the visionary gear of tactile thunder, Light Yourself on Fire's newest EP "Intimacy" peppers your soft parts with an electric pummeling played endlessly through an audible and fisted fast forward button. Lipped in literary personality, smashed forward by concrete hands, LYOF have served numerous years in "underground" bands like Reversal of Man, Scrog, and Omega Man. They produce the sort of metal blitzkreig that leaves all vacuumed until it's final thud and garble shuttles forth your bodies juices and ooze. 

And in a familiar turn of movement but not aesthetics, I did the design for the whole record. A sort departure from my recent rash of hand drawn goofs, I looked well into my enthusiasm for vintage movie admats to make a slice and diced behemoth of primary synchronicity (see image). The vinyl, CD and download have been available for about a month from Chicago's Seventh Rule. Do your delicate nature a favor by rubbing it raw with the ripped expressions of instruments that fear nothing.

Tom Gabel "Heart Burns" Cover Art

Somewhere nestled deep in the leaflets of daily sonics, city-sized traveling duties & the forever folding forth of his band's creative future, Tom Gabel has found enough time to write/record a small army of songs for his first solo record, "Heart Burns".

I just finalized the cover art for it, Sire is slathering all seven songs deep into record collections October 28th & Gabel is playing a spiced number of lo fi shows in the Fall to promote it. 

Here is the cover :