The longer I’ve performed, the more serious I’ve gotten about dedicating a pair of shoes to a costume and not wearing them with anything else, no matter how strong the temptation.
Once you cannibalize a costume for another costume, you begin the descent into costume hell — “Is the whole costume in the bag?” is not a question you want to be asking in a dressing room right before a show, or even on the subway on the way to the venue.
Who wouldn’t want to learn fan-dance techniques from Michelle?
Every year at The Burlesque Hall of Fame Striptease Reunion, several performers bring numbers constructed to tribute their favorite superstars of classic burlesque. Sometimes they are recreations; sometimes they are simply inspired by and include elements of movement, costuming, and/or lore associated with those performers.
A long line of Justice fans, and those “just there for the DJs,” braved the freezing-cold weather during the delayed entry into the Metro to attend the Chicago premiere of Justice’s documentary, A Cross the Universe, at a special midnight screening on Friday, November 14.
I am pretty lame about my hair, seriously. When I was in high school–I had curly hair in the 70s, not a good thing–I hated my hair as only a high-schooler can. It took me years to learn to just tolerate it, and when I worked in strip joints I was constantly flinging it around so no one could really tell what it looked like. Now I rely mostly on hairpieces, and if I’m not wearing one, my hair is usually what I call “put away,” in a ponytail or bun.
Doomsdayer’s Holiday is the new release by Portland’s instrumental rock band Grails. Fusing Indian music, 1970s film noir, and psychedelic sounds into heavy acoustic and electric rock, Grails is a wonderful anomaly. I recently spoke with guitarist Alex Hall, who created the artwork for the album.
Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth) and music critic Byron Cooley have created the definitive chronicle of the late ’70s New York art-rock scene. Together they skillfully depict the culture, politics, and environment that formed the still-obscure and quietly influential bands of that era.
Jeff Koons is the ex-Wall Street broker come wildly successful kitsch artist that critics around the world hate to love.
Previously married to Ilona “Cicciolina” Staller, a Hungarian pornstar who became a member of Italian parliament (true story), Koons is likely best known for his Statuary, Kiepenkerl series in which he cast several different inflatable toys in immaculate stainless steel. Pieces from this series are included in a current survey of his work at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago—his first solo US exhibition in 16 years.
Cinephiles of the world rejoice! The second annual Serbian Film Festival kicks off this week in Chicago, featuring fifteen features, shorts, and documentaries from legendary and up-and-coming Serbian talent. Over the last two decades, Serbia has built a name for itself in world cinema, proving to be a fertile and fearless region for uncompromising and guerilla filmmaking.
In this unique book/3-CD album, a collective of musicians and artists have come together to document the legacies of each U.S. president with original artwork and alt-country/folk songs. Each commander-in-chief has his own few pages with artistic portraits and original lyrics from the accompanying CDs which feature many musicians, such as Bill Callahan (Smog), Mark Kozelek (Sun Kill Moon, Red House Painters), and Alan Sparhawk (Low), among others.
On September 13-14, 2008, over 70+ artists invade Morrison, CO for the largest music festival in the history of Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Enter to win two tickets now for 5 stages of non-stop music featuring Devotchka, Atmosphere, TV on the Radio, Del the Funky Homosapien, Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, CSS, The Whigs, and many more.
Korean artist JooYoun Paek – known for such projects as Zipper Orchestra and Pillowig – has done something pretty incredible in her new project, Fold Loud. In it, she has combined music and origami together, harboring a very original idea. By folding different flaps of paper and touching them together, one can make electrical contacts, creating and controlling music.