reluctance: pesky sequence

Rowan Lipkovits (

reluctance) wrote,
@ 2007-10-15 15:38:00

pesky sequence
How on earth am I supposed to promote 57 Varieties tomorrow when I still haven't gotten my head together enough to recount my exploits and tall tales from Portland? Maybe I should just dictate accounts as they happen to me (not necessarily the buzz-killer one might expect in the bedroom, I recall Dan Savage confiding that blow-by-blow running narration is the soul of talking dirty) and leave the fragments for my biographers to assemble.

I, uh, was intending to say something about the tendency to enshrine past positive experiences (ohh, Mistigris; ohh, my first girlfriend; ohh, the Sugar Refinery; ohh, the Living Closet) to the exclusion of potential future ones, but somewhere along the line I got derailed by obligatory blue wordplay. It happens like that more often than not! Maybe someday I'll start a paper journal and actually fully express a complete thought without interrupting myself with purportedly entertaining parenthetical asides for a supposed audience. (Shortly after my prosthetic hands are installed, winces the scrivener.)

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promote 57 Varieties tomorrow

reluctance
2007-10-15 11:00 pm UTC (link)

rats! it looks like the vintage ad clipped for me is the one thing that's been thrown out of the house over the last seven days. Guess that's what I get for putting my shit near someone else's stuff.

I am feeling a bit foolish at having carefully preserved the fragments that broke off. Sure, I can composite these in Photoshop! It will just be a bit more of a memory exercise than anticipated.

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	unkle_social 2007-10-15 11:29 pm UTC (link)
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HOLY SPIT!

reluctance
2007-10-15 11:44 pm UTC (link)

No, no wait... that's drool.

My heart leaps at the notion that this, the Butchershop's best exhibition (and, barring my mangling of "Friday I'm In Love", one of 57's best installments) has been pulled out of the realm of the put-off-indefinitely. Again, I'm just unwilling to move on. But c'mon -- who willingly moves on from candy trains? That's a tough act to follow.

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	candy trains? reluctance 2007-10-15 11:54 pm UTC (link)
	And for those who for whatever misguided reason aren't keeping atop your flickr account but do read the comments in my journal, I'm obligated to repost this link: DON'T EAT THE PICTURES! NO NO NO! (Reply to this) (Parent)

	bluebear2 2007-10-16 12:16 am UTC (link)
	The wall thing is just amazing. Did you play any of those songs where it sounds like a train? (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	Did you play any of those songs where it sounds like a train? reluctance 2007-10-16 01:00 am UTC (link)
	Instead I performed an ode from Sesame Street regarding edible art (as linked immediately above); however when our steel guitarist is around we Creaking Planks do a jaunty number called "Honolulu Bound" (still, I think, up on the page) with a faux-train introduction. (Doubly faux since, uh, you cannot ride a train to Hawaii.) (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	Re: Did you play any of those songs where it sounds like a train? mrputter 2007-10-16 07:25 pm UTC (link)
	> cannot ride a train to Hawaii Perhaps not, but that doesn't mean you can't ride a train in Hawaii... (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	Re: Did you play any of those songs where it sounds like a train? mrputter 2007-10-16 07:27 pm UTC (link)
	(and indeed, once upon a time, to Honolulu) (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	and indeed, once upon a time, to Honolulu reluctance 2007-10-17 01:46 am UTC (link)
	the great thing about the internet is that it is just big enough that someone is prepared to set you straight about pretty much anything you might assert. The earth is a sphere? Actually, it's more pumpkin-shaped. Not to be mistaken, the corrections are interesting and educational. It just reminds me of being very careful saying anything around Jeremy. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	The wall thing is just amazing. reluctance 2007-10-16 01:01 am UTC (link)
	PS, the artist's name is Kristi Malakoff... she's going places. I think that show got us coverage in the Globe and Mail. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	Did you play any of those songs where it sounds like a train? :2 reluctance 2007-10-17 09:55 am UTC (link)
	And depending on the timing of things (had you turned up by then? I suspect so!), you got a command live performance of that number tonight! (Reply to this) (Parent)

	greenriver 2007-10-15 11:40 pm UTC (link)
	I wanna come to 57 varieties tomorrow! (Reply to this) (Thread)

	I wanna come to 57 varieties tomorrow! reluctance 2007-10-15 11:45 pm UTC (link)
	How can I help make this happen? (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	Re: I wanna come to 57 varieties tomorrow! greenriver 2007-10-16 03:06 am UTC (link)
	I just have to clear it with my friend who has probably never set foot in Spartacus! (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	Re: I wanna come to 57 varieties tomorrow! bluebear2 2007-10-16 10:52 pm UTC (link)
	It's easy. There are stairs, you go up them and there ya are. I'm excited. Two cool groups on the same night. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	Two cool groups on the same night. reluctance 2007-10-17 01:49 am UTC (link)
	Even including my magical musical tapeworm, we are rarely considered a group so much as a hybrid. Actually, we may have another Plank on-site, but I wouldn't count count on it. (Hence, I have to be prepared to be at least a little entertaining all by myself! Horrors!) (Reply to this) (Parent)

	have to clear it with my friend who has probably never set foot in Spartacus! reluctance 2007-10-17 01:47 am UTC (link)
	Any friend worth having needs to have gone through Spartacus at least once! Rope them in by promising a private tour of the most exclusive and underground art gallery in the city. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	Re: I wanna come to 57 varieties tomorrow! reluctance 2007-10-17 09:57 am UTC (link)
	Thanks for coming! Even if it turns out that Spartacus' gallery is lofty and spacious compared to some garrets in his experience, I hope you and your friend found some food for thought in the performances or between-performance conversational interludes. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	skygoodwill 2007-10-16 03:25 am UTC (link)
	Ah wordplay, how I love it so. How are your hands doing by the way? (Reply to this) (Thread)

Ah wordplay, how I love it so.

reluctance
2007-10-17 01:44 am UTC (link)

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, but all play and no work keeps Jack from getting anything done. Unfortunately I can't seem to turn it off. (When writing articles, I first indulge every perverse angle... then cordon them off in parentheses... then omit all parentheses in the final draft. That's the only way I can ever come in under the word count and still have anything actually engaging the topic.)

How are your hands doing by the way?

My large, strong hands are well-suited for any and all applications not involving the holding of a stylus. Endorsing cheques remains a pain ("fortunately" not something I have so many occasions to do) and I imagine that trying to play games on the Nintendo DS would make me cry hot tears.

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1is_many
2007-10-17 07:28 am UTC (link)

Ah, LC...dost thou remembrify the wonderful ukelele man, singing songs about Waylon Jennings, who single-handedly saved a particularly turgid LC night? That Ru had seen, strolling down the street, and begged him to come and play, not a few minutes before he hit the stage and laid waste with his mighty lyric and awesome pickings? who rained fiery melodic destruction upon the venerable W.I.S.E. Hall, for all of maybe fifteen minutes, before slipping quietly off into the night. Ah. Yes.

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dost thou remembrify

reluctance
2007-10-17 10:09 am UTC (link)

There were two kinds of LC magic: the kind you planned and micromanaged and in short worked very hard to deliver, and the kind that spontaneously fell into your lap. The latter kind was always the better of the two, and the ukulele man ("Dana"?) was an exemplary member of the species -- my best memory of the night and one of my best memories of the whole series.

who single-handedly saved a particularly turgid LC night?

The rigorously mixed contents of LC nights ensured that there was generally something a given person was likely to love and something they were likely to hate. A given night might have overall come across as lacklustre but I still think that upholding its formula was important and generally conducted successfully: no such place for cross-pollenation of genres and styles has regularly been conducted on such an accessible scale since, while locally venue after venue has been closed down. I think really there is more need for the LC now that ever before... there just aren't enough people remaining willing to make it happen without getting paid to do so 8)

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1is_many
2007-10-17 06:55 pm UTC (link)

Indeed, I would agree wholeheartedly...generally, the LC nights were quite amazing, very strong, with only the occasional slightly weakish performance, like some of the spoken word-but then, I'm a biased and nasty critic when it comes to poetry. I found it endlessly amazing that even a lackluster evening, would inevitably present an outstanding gem-such as Dana (and many others).

Also great, was the overall levels that LC over time, managed to hit. New acts getting introduced on a reasonably regular level, and known acts providing a bit of foundation. Many fond memories. BTW, I'm given to a bit of hyperbole, a great way to present a story, os it made sense to attempt to provide a contrast-the evening wasn't quite as lackluster as I presented.

That being said, I have a question-you mentioned that fifty seven varieties was monthly-is it indeed monthly, and on the same tuesday each month?

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the LC nights were quite amazing, very strong, with only the occasional slightly weakish performance

reluctance
2007-10-17 09:22 pm UTC (link)

shh, my qualifying your turgid remark allows me to formally if diplomatically suggest that not every act (huh, at times most certainly including myself!) was not ready for prime time yet 8)

like some of the spoken word-but then, I'm a biased and nasty critic when it comes to poetry

Poetry is notoriously subject to the vagaries of personal taste, but I did my best to stack the decks with slam poets, who engineer their works precisely to appeal to masses. And of course nothing helps one appreciate that so much as a set by a non-slam-poet muttering "bear with me" and muttering away from the mic into the folds of their diary.

Complicating things were some of my stricter principles -- like getting the most use of people who came to us asking about performing before going out and soliciting more. Eventually I broke performers down into a half-dozen categories to ensure a mix for every night, and the only variety we were regularly overstocked with were the female folkie singer-songwriters (so much so they were dismissed with an acronym -- GWGs, girls with guitars. "Sorry we can't book you, we're already full up with GWGs for the next 2 years!")

even a lackluster evening, would inevitably present an outstanding gem

Every night would have highs and lows, and when we were really cooking perhaps the low point of a high night would beat the high point of a low night... but even at the worst (ahh, Momentum literary cabaret at Pandora's Box) I think people still got their money's worth. It was a magical perpetual motion machine of culture allowed to produce its magic courtesy of the fact that everyone involved was willing and able to do it for free. (Except for the house. And the sound. And the posters. And, eventually, all organizers 8) It still blows my mind that I announced a free set by the Be Good Tanyas to a packed Church of Pointless Hysteria before they broke.

New acts getting introduced on a reasonably regular level, and known acts providing a bit of foundation.

Another part of my magic booking formula -- establishing golden ratios of proportions for new acts vs. old favorites. Ideally we'd be presenting emerging artists since established ones could put together shows for themselves -- bands with followings don't need to rely on volunteer efforts to thrust them into prominence 8)

BTW, I'm given to a bit of hyperbole, a great way to present a story, os it made sense to attempt to provide a contrast-the evening wasn't quite as lackluster as I presented.

I've noticed you have a tendency to employ conventionally negative words to express positive feelings (like the old Yo, that's bad! Man, that's wicked! Did you see that? It's sick! It's dope! It's downright ill!) When you described the Planks as "a refreshingly bad band who lovingly destroy every cover they play" it took me a while to conclude that you approved 8) (truly, that's a sound bite for the old press kit!)

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	not every act (huh, at times most certainly including myself!) was not ready reluctance 2007-10-17 09:25 pm UTC (link)
	the case against parentheses: drawing out your sentences to such an extent that by their conclusion, you can no longer remember what the appropriate conclusion to your set-up would be. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	a non-slam-poet reluctance 2007-10-17 09:26 pm UTC (link)
	shorter sentences and a proofread would likely also have kept me from using the word "muttering" twice in a six-word window 8) (Reply to this) (Parent)

you mentioned that fifty seven varieties was monthly

reluctance
2007-10-17 09:24 pm UTC (link)

is it indeed monthly, and on the same tuesday each month?

It certainly strives for consistency. It ran monthly at the Butchershop from April 2004 until it was shut down just after two years later, then had a couple of months on and off as we sought a new venue. Once we landed at Spartacus a couple of factors complicated our traditional 3rd Friday regularity (greatest among them the fact that as a member of a gigging band with Joey Only's Outlaws, suddenly I was regularly being double-booked on Fridays with engagements in other cities and provinces!) For the series 3-year-anniversary this past April I switched it to the third Tuesday of every month and that has worked much better in terms of my being around to run the thing! Unfortunately it didn't really find its footing in the distracting summer (culminating in a no-show in August... mirroring a miserable one in June 2004) but following two consecutive strong months now I'm confident we're back in business. In three and a half years there have been 38 installments in 42 months (there have now been more 57 Varieties than Living Closets!), so that's a pretty good track record. I'm thinking of running the series to a total of 57 events (to terminate sometime in 2009) and reflect that over that period I will have achieved in five years what T-Paul would have had in just over a single year of his Thundering Word Heard. (Ah, but I can do it without talking trash out front about all the performers while they're on stage. Of course, perhaps I'm only granted that luxury of abstraction courtesy of the four weeks' recovery period between each show.)

I WILL be out of town on the third Friday of next month (greetings from... Regina!), but I'm hoping to line up some guest hosts (my heart's set on a tag-team of Warren and RC) to keep the home fires burning.

Ah, Rowan. Ask a question, get a book! I exceeded the maximum comment reply length on my own journal. (Hence, this has been split in two 8) Heck, my replies are longer than my posts!

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1is_many
2007-10-18 05:27 pm UTC (link)

And it made me laugh into my coffee! Hmn...yes, I had meant my Creaking Planks mini review to be positive, and I thought my impression was at reasonably close to well, something resembling...argh, run on sentences...anyways, a strong component of the Planks charm is a bit more than the music, and musicians. It's the approachability, the openess, the changing line-up, and very much the atmosphere-I did years of public speaking, and yes, I can perform, I know how to set up a dynamic, or whatnot, I can rock with the slammers (Salmon Slam, favourite slam memory.), so I really like it when I see people 'on stage' (kind of hard to accuse the Planks of being on stage, when I haven't seen them onstage, well, yet. They might well have been.) being just people. And not doing folk music! And not doing the rockstar 'look at me, look at me! To the point where I get all embarrassed, if I wax a little fannish. Darn. Now you know, and the magic will be ruined. Nah, probably not.

Anyways, now I know the time and place, so, one last question (oh man, more comments? Eek!) do you have some sort of booking policy, or is it first come, first perform, or the usual open mic sign-up with whoever is brave enough? Yes, I feel like assaulting, er, presenting people with some kinda garbage-not poetry though. Maybe a nice stand up routine. Kidding. No funny acts. Anyways, reply at your earliest inconvenience and thanks yez and all that.

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