#carl mcdowell

[camyfilms]

KILLER QUEEN 2020

I'm no math major, but I do know that out of the 8 of us, 73% are dead, which leaves 49% alive, and only 6% will make it out of here.

[music-wrestling-nascar-fangirl]

@userblaney @rosenqvists @acunasmvpszn

Carl talking to Martin and Jimmie during the drivers meeting earlier today. I miss him being at the track every week 😭

[closetofcuriosities]

A Clockwork Orange - 1971 - Dir. Stanley Kubrick

[nofatclips]

orffesque three by Role Mach from the album Orffesques & Fugues

[argocitycosplay]

Cyborg 3 : The Recycler

The Cyborg trilogy Cyborg three starts off with an armored transport truck traveling through rocky wilderness, in a world that looks a great deal more like the one were familiar with from the first cyborg would be rather than the second one. I’m looking forward to Malcolm McDowell (don’t get your hopes up though, it’s a glorified cameo) in this, and seeing that John Carl Buchler created the…

[toonabby]

Happy (late) 35th birthday, Naomi Oozora

Characters pictured above from left to right: (BOLD text means Star-Making Role)

Satanichia "Satania" McDowell Kurumizawa from Gabriel Dropout

Hana Uzaki (Monica Rial) from Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out!

Jahy (Lisette Monique Diaz) from The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated!

Kiriha (Sarah Wiedenheft) from Tsugumomo

Ruti (Tia Ballard) from Banished from the Hero's Party

Samidare Asahina (Ariel Graham) from Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer

Chio Miyamo (Mikaela Krantz) from Chio's School Road

Inari from Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha

Midori Kohakobe (Emily Neves) from Call of the Night

Susanna "Sue" Hopkins from Genshiken: Second Generation (Replacing Yuuko Gotou)

Keiko Tomioka (Rachel Michelle Thompson) from Remake Our Life!

Kanon Konomori from Wataten!

Chieri Ogata from THE iDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls

Tamamo Cross from Uma Musume Pretty Derby

Perseus from Azur Lane

Patricia Abelheim from Atelier Ryza

Characters not pictured (in order of the work's release year):

Duvalie (Eden Riegel) from The Legend of Heroes series

Yuragi Hakoniwa from Noucome

Jessica Shannon (Danielle Judovits) from Marvel Disk Wars

Karen Bombardier (Molly Searcy) from Chaika: The Coffin Princess

SG-1000 II from Sega Hard Girls

Bal-chan from Robot Girls Z+

Noriko Mizuyama from Momokuri

Tellu (Laura Post) from Sailor Moon Crystal III (Replacing Chieko Honda)

Falcon and QJY-88 from Girls' Frontline

Yuma Kusanagi from Matoi the Sacred Slayer

Black-Tailed Prairie Dog (Sarah Wiedenheft) from Kemono Friends

Ylgr (Megan Hollingshead) and Lethe (Kristen Day) (from Path of Radiance) from Fire Emblem Heroes

Charlotte Anana (Madeleine Morris) from One Piece(*)

Yuki from PriConne (Princess Connect! Re:Dive)

Nikola Graf (Kate Higgins) from Valkyrie Chronicles 4

Michi Edogawabashi from Pastel Memories

Pan Dina (Nadine Russell) from Kandagawa Jet Girls

Marisa Kirisame from Touhou Spell Bubble

Mafuyu Kogarashi (Madeline Dorroh) from Maesetsu!

Sakuna (Laura Post) from Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin

Fenneca (Carling Doubt) (yes THAT'S her name) from Bakugan: Geogan Rising

Amanozako (Deva Marie Gregory) from Shin Megami Tensei V

Mogumogu Chō Higashisakura from Hanabi-chan Is Often Late

Lopomon from Digimon Survive

Ripple from Reborn to Master the Blade

Sayuri Osanada from Rokudo's Bad Girls

Panda Yanagiba from World Dai Star

Shizuka Futari (Robin Clayton) from Sasaki and Peeps

(*) = Debut episode

[jerseyluck]

Suicide Squad (1987) #4 Readthrough

Well, after last issue’s cosmic flavored story with The New Gods, this single issue is more of classic frame-up story against a racist-Green Arrow expy.

          The issue starts with William Hell fighting crime in Central City (which because of Crisis is left without a hero) with arrows. But we quickly see the flaws in his methods, when he only captures the people of color and lets white criminals get away as long as they join his White Pride hate group. (Yup, this is a politically charged issue that is still relevant today.) We also get Hell in his secret identity as a businessman (William James Heller) who supports racist organizations.

          Waller finds out this information from one of the support staff (Black Orchid). So, she decides it is up to Suicide Squad (with guest member Chronos) to stop this man and his movement before it escalates to a race war.

          And then we get to the action of the issue which is of heist-like. The hints of Squad’s plans are already there from the 1st section of the book. We then get Captain Boomerang and Bronze Tiger committing a crime to gather the attention of William Hell. Hell is tricked into letting Boomerang join his organization.

          The action heats up when a fake William Hell (Deadshot) interprets a meeting that Hell’s civilian identity is holding. Deadshot gives a speech about how it isn’t race that separates people and how it will take the lower class to combine together to fight the upper class.

          The actual William Hell (a rich racist) can’t stand this speech and comes out and challenges Deadshot as a fake. And the way the Tells decide to tell which one was is the real is through the classic William Tell scenario. That’s right, they are going to shoot an arrow through an apple on Captain Boomerang’s head.

          Deadshot, of course, manages to shoot an arrow through the apple. However, when Hell shoots it goes over his head. Deadshot takes the momentum from this action and exposes William Hell as William James Heller. And to make things worse for Heller, a member of his hate group shoots Deadshot.

          And now for the reveal: the person who shot Deadshot was Rick Flag. The reason why Hell’s arrow missed was that they used Chronos’s device to stop time and Bronze Tiger deflected the arrow away from the apple. The team celebrates that Heller’s identity is burned as the media thinks Hell was actually Deadshot. And while they can’t arrest Heller, the man lost his influence in the media.

          This is another issue proving that Ostrander is one of the smartest writers in the business. He’s very careful with the danger that Heller can do with racist attitude. And he kinda of sees that racism won’t change but it requires community action.

And we finally get an issue focusing on Deadshot and he comes off as the coolest man in the world. The one issue one might have been how they try to tie-in Heller’s past with Deadshot’s backstory. It fine but a bit unnecessary to the story

But it isn’t just Ostrander who is making the story work. McDowell, Bob Lewis, and Carl Gafford do some amazing artwork in this issue. There is some A+ work in the way they play with the lines with William Heller.

[lesbianmariuspontmercy]

1 and 24 for the book ask!! :D

Thank you! I track these things obsessively. I've read 28 full length books! And I've DNF'd 12 books.

thanks for asking!

Here's a list of both:

Read (bold = favorite)

Patricia Wants to Cuddle - Samantha Allen

Negative Space - BR Yeager

The House in Abigail Lane - Kealan Patrick Burke

Crying in H Mart - Michelle Zauner

Different Seasons - Stephen King

The Fall of the House of Usher - Edgar Allan Poe

Sorrowland - Rivers Solomon

Found: An Anthology of Found Footage

Scanlines - Todd Keisling

This is Where We Talk Things Out - Caitlin Marceau

The World Cannot Give - Tara Isabella Burton

Sharp Objects - Gillian Flynn

Fluids - May Leitz

The Elementals - Michael McDowell

Educated - Tara Westover

Say Nothing: A True Story of Memory and Murder in Northern Ireland - Patrick Radden Keefe

Little Fires Everywhere - Celeste Ng

Psychic Teenage Bloodbath - Carl John Lee

Good Omens - Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman (reread)

Mister Magic - Kiersten White

The Last Days of Jack Sparks - Jason Arnopp

The Bayou - Arden Powell

The Iliad - Homer

Helpmeet - Naben Ruthnum

The Weight of Blood - Tiffany D. Jackson

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier - Ishmael Beah

Suffer the Children - Craig DiLouie

Intercepts - TJ Payne

and i'm hoping to finish at least 5 more books, but we shall see! (Les Mis, The Once Yellow House, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Penance, and Pet Sematary)

as for DNFs;

Ghost Wall - Sarah Moss: Too tedious even for me

Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay: I feel there's more up to date feminist literature to read

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes - Catherine Lacey: as a Mexican, the way she talked about death and corpses left a bad taste in my mouth.

Kentukis - Samanta Schwelbin (Little Eyes in the translation): Gave up on this author, the stories went nowhere at all.

Heaven - Mieko Kawakami: I felt this book was going to leave me with nothing

Sleeping Giants - Sylvain Neuvel: This is just the set up for something very NGE and I didn't wanna commit to a saga

Anybody Home? by Michael J Seidlinger: Tries too hard

Ugly Girls - Lindsay Hunter: Wouldn't give me what i was craving atm

The Children of Red Peak - Craig DiLouie: Too infodumpy

Brutes - Dizz Tate: Wasn't providing what I needed

A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers: cringe

Stolen Tongues - Felix Blackwell: A creepypasta turned book that extends too much, weird treatment of Native American characters.

[brookstonalmanac]

Birthdays 6.13

Beer Birthdays

William S. Gosset (1876)

Constant Vanden Stock (1914)

Charles W. Bamforth (1952)

Ashley Routson (1983)

Five Favorite Birthdays

Kat Dennings; actor (1986)

Chris Evans; actor (1981)

Dorothy L. Sayers; English writer (1893)

Ally Sheedy; actor (1962)

William Butler Yeats; English poet (1865)

Famous Birthdays

Tim Allen; comedian, actor (1953)

Luis Alvarez; physicist (1911)

Don Budge; tennis player (1915)

Fanny Burney; English writer (1752)

Doc Cheatham; jazz trumpeter (1905)

Christo; artist (1935)

Vieira da Silva; artist (1908)

Paul De Lisle; rock musician (1963)

Ralph Edwards; actor (1913)

Bobby Freeman; singer (1940)

Red Grange; Chicago Bears RB (1903)

Heinrich Hoffmann; artist (1809)

Ben Johnson; actor (1918)

Laura Kightlinger; comedian (1969)

Paul Lynde; comedian, actor (1926)

Malcolm McDowell; actor (1943)

Ashley & Mary-Kate Olsen; actors (1986)

Basil Rathbone; actor (1865)

Brande Roderick; model, actor (1974)

Carl Schmidt; German chemist (1822)

Winfield Scott; civil war general (1786)

Stellan Skarsgard; Swedish actor (1951)

Joseph Stella; artist (1877)

Samuel A. Taylor; playwright (1912)

Richard Thomas; actor (1951)

Nautica Thorn; porn actor (1984)

Leeann Tweeden; model (1973)

Si Zentner; jazz trombonist, bandleader (1917)

[nobodyuknowz]

So sick of your shit, 2024. First Carl Weathers and now John Amos?

...and how is Bill Cosby still alive?!...

Fuck you, I'm out. I'll be down at McDowells, under a pile of Big Mick wrappers.

[ulkaralakbarova]

Two street basketball hustlers try to con each other, then team up for a bigger score. Credits: TheMovieDb. Film Cast: Sidney Deane: Wesley Snipes Billy Hoyle: Woody Harrelson Gloria Clement: Rosie Perez Rhonda Deane: Tyra Ferrell Robert: Cylk Cozart Junior: Kadeem Hardison George: Ernest Harden Jr. Walter: John Marshall Jones Raymond: Marques Johnson T.J.: David Roberson Zeke: Kevin Benton Dwight ‘The Flight’ McGhee: Nigel Miguel Willie Lewis: Duane Martin Self: Bill Henderson Self: Sonny Craver Self: Jon Hendricks Tony Stucci: Eloy Casados Frank Stucci: Frank Rossi Duck Johnson: Freeman Williams Eddie ‘The King’ Faroo: Louis Price Himself: Alex Trebek Reggie: Reggie Leon Etiwanda: Sarah Stavrou Tad: Reynaldo Rey Lanei: Lanei Chapman Real Estate Agent: Irene Nettles Tanya: Torri Whitehead Alisa: Lisa McDowell The Bank: Dion B. Vines Malcolm: David Maxwell Tournament Announcer: Bill Caplan Tournament Referee: Richard James Baker Big Guy’s Girlfriend: Amy Golden Little Guy’s Girlfriend: Jeanette Srubar Sponsor: Zandra Hill Sponsor: Fred P. Gregory Pickup Truck Driver: Carl E. Hodge Ruben: Ruben Martinez Oki-Dog Businessman: Gary Lazer Yolanda: Donna Howell Jake: Don Fullilove Jeopardy! Announcer: Johnny Gilbert Dr. Leonard Allen: Leonard A. Oakland Rocket Scientist: Allan Malamud Dressing Room Staffer: Jeanne McCarthy Cop: John Charles Sheehan Leon: Gregg Daniel Gambler: Carl A. McGee NBA Announcer: Chick Hearn NBA Announcer: Stu Lantz Ballplayer: Ronald Beals Ballplayer: Joe Metcalf Ballplayer: Mahcoe Moore Ballplayer: Mark Hill Ballplayer: Eric Kizzie Ballplayer: Chalmer Maddox Ballplayer: Leroy Michaux Ballplayer: Joseph Duffy Ballplayer: Pete Duffy Ballplayer: Gary Moeller Ballplayer: Daniel Porto Ballplayer: Lester Hawkins Ballplayer: Jeffrey Todd Film Crew: Producer: Don Miller Director: Ron Shelton Producer: David V. Lester Editor: Kimberly Ray Director of Photography: Russell Boyd Editor: Paul Seydor Costume Design: Francine Jamison-Tanchuck Production Design: J. Dennis Washington Art Direction: Roger G. Fortune Executive Producer: Michele Rappaport Casting: Victoria Thomas Unit Production Manager: Ed Milkovich Set Decoration: Robert R. Benton Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Gregg Rudloff Makeup Department Head: Stephanie Cozart Burton Hair Department Head: Sterfon Demings Makeup Artist: Patricia Messina Hairstylist: Kenneth Walker Second Assistant Director: Robert J. Metoyer First Assistant Director: Richard Alexander Wells Sound Editor: Patrick Bietz ADR Editor: Barbara J. Boguski Sound Editor: Robert Bradshaw Sound Re-Recording Mixer: David E. Campbell Sound Editor: Larry Carow Foley Editor: Bill Dannevik Foley Editor: Michael Dressel Supervising Sound Editor: Gordon Ecker Supervising Sound Editor: Bruce Fortune Sound Mixer: Kirk Francis Foley Editor: Leslie Gaulin Sound Editor: Howell Gibbens ADR Editor: Holly Huckins ADR Mixer: Doc Kane Sound Editor: John Kwiatkowski Sound Editor: Kimberly Lowe Voigt Sound Editor: Anthony Milch ADR Editor: Michele Perrone Sound Re-Recording Mixer: John T. Reitz Foley Editor: Steve Richardson Sound Editor: Steve Schwalbe Foley Editor: Shawn Sykora Sound Editor: Richard E. Yawn Stunts: Gary Baxley Stunts: Simone Boisseree Stunts: Mike Johnson Stunt Coordinator: Julius LeFlore Stunts: Scott Leva Casting Associate: Jory Weitz Costume Supervisor: Betty Jean Slater Camera Operator: Mike Benson Steadicam Operator: Michael Meinardus Gaffer: Patrick Murray Grip: Mark Pearson Grip: Ty Suehiro Grip: Clay H. Wilson Grip: Edmond Wright Movie Reviews:

[daggerzine]

Window Shopping with The Garment District: An Interview with Jennifer Baron (interview by Eric Eggleson)

If you’re a Ladybug Transistor fan like I am, then the name Jennifer Baron should sound familiar. She has been a part of it since the beginning. But what I didn’t know was that she has another musical outlet with her amazing band The Garment District. Thankfully, Gary Olson(see previous Dagger interview) told me about her new album. I had a chance to catch up with her and find out more.

Here’s the opening track from The Garment District’s new album:

What do you think of the current music scene? Any new bands we should know about? Some newer and newish contemporary music that is frequently on my turntable and in my ears: Surface to Air Missive, Carl Didur, Zacht Automaat, The Frowning Clouds, Traffik Island, ORB, Locate S,1, Gloria, Etran de L’Air, Paint, Large Plants, Euros Childs, Emma Anderson, Heather Trost, flypaper, Colored Lights, Cindy Lee, Brigid Dawson & The Mothers Network, The Murlocs, Cindy, Jacco Gardner, Tim Presley, The Cromagnon Band, Licorice Root Orchestra, Bong Wish, The Orange Alabaster Mushroom, Cut Worms, Hot Apple Band, Liam Hayes, Belbury Poly, Samantha Glass, Jackie McDowell, Chris Cohen, Golden Apples, Cory Hanson, The David Tattersall Group, Mike Donovan …

What is your musical background? Do you have any musical training? I create music as The Garment District and am also a founding member of Brooklyn’s The Ladybug Transistor (Merge Records). As The Garment District, I write and arrange the music, play multiple instruments, and write the lyrics. When I was in elementary school, I took piano lessons from a woman who lived on our street, and I still have some of my Leila Fletcher Piano Course Books. I dabbled in guitar lessons in Amherst, Massachusetts, while attending Mount Holyoke College and was also a DJ at WHMC 91.5 FM South Hadley, one of the oldest broadcasting facilities in the U.S. run by women. Really, I learned to play music in a self-taught experiential way, like the musicians I admire most, by starting a band. For me that was in Brooklyn, playing guitar in Saturnine. Soon after, I helped form The Ladybug Transistor, quickly learning to play bass for our tour with Sportsguitar in Switzerland, which flipped a musical switch to permanently be on in my psyche and life. As The Garment District, I have previously released albums on Night-People Records and Kendra Steiner Editions, as well as a single for La Station Radar (France) that features a remix of my song “Nature-Nurture” by Sonic Boom (Spacemen 3, Spectrum, E.A.R.). I have also contributed songs to compilations on Moon Glyph, Crash Symbols, Crafted Sounds and Kill Collector Culture. I’m ecstatic to have my brand-new full-length album, Flowers Telegraphed to All Parts of the World, released on Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records after knowing Mike Turner through Athens, Georgia, and Elephant 6 bands, for many years. It has been such a meaningful way to reconnect, and a deep honor to be label mates with The Primitives, The Wedding Present, Great Lakes, Fred Schneider, Outer World, Swansea Sound, Katie Lass, and many others. It was a dream come true to have the expertise of Warren Defever (His Name Is Alive) oversee the vinyl production and cut the lacquers for the new LP at Third Man Pressing in Detroit. I also love having opportunities to merge music with other art forms I am passionate about, especially film and video, which I have been invited to do through the Pittsburgh-based SYNC'D series. For both in-person and online events, I composed original soundtracks (ranging from 1-5 minutes) for the series, which pairs filmmakers and video artists with musicians for live shows and online broadcasts. My music has also been featured on the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine's Pitt Med Podcast, and I contributed music and photography to Brooklyn-based ESOPUS magazine. In the art realm, I have also contributed an audio installation, a cassette tape and photography for group exhibitions curated by designer Brett Yasko at SPACE Gallery in Pittsburgh. In Spring 2023, I was invited to create a special DJ set for the opening celebration of “The Velvet Underground & Nico: Scepter Studio Sessions” exhibition at The Andy Warhol Museum and play my grandparents’ collection of tamburitza 78s at the Maxo Vanka Murals Community Block Party in Millvale, PA. 

Lucy and Jennifer (photo by Nicole Czapinski)

List all of the instruments you play. With The Garment District, I play keyboards live (Wurlitzer electric piano, synthesizer, melodica). On the new album, Flowers Telegraphed to All Parts of the World, I play a variety of organs and synthesizers, electric piano, guitar on several songs, bass on some songs, melodica, glockenspiel and percussion, and sing backing vocals throughout. With The Ladybug Transistor, I play bass, guitar, keyboards, and melodica live. 

What instrument do you begin writing songs with? (guitar, piano, etc.). I write music and make demos at home typically using my Roland JX-3P synthesizer, Hohner organ, Rickenbacker 360, and Hammond M3 organ. I love the raw somewhat warbled vibe of demos and the sensation that the construct of a song is amorphous or precariously trying to hold itself together as it emerges, and the way demos can reflect the creative process. Whether I make demos using my Boss digital 8-track recorder or iPhone, I try my best to save them (I’ve even been revisiting and digitizing old Ladybug Transistor and Frock 4-track sessions!). Most of the songs on the new Garment District album emerged as demos I recorded at home, playing the core keyboard parts, and mapping out song structures, vocal melodies, lyrics and ideas for instrumentation and arrangements. I love having analog instruments around the house to encourage a spontaneous writing process, inspired by where an instrument takes you as much as by lighting, ambient sounds, time of day, seasons, and shifting vantage points. Many are incorporated into the new album: Vox Super Continental organ, Wurlitzer electric piano, Hammond M3, vintage Casios, Fender Vibrolux Reverb amp, Rickenbacker 360, and melodica. Adding to these, I was fortunate to be able to incorporate a range of analog synthesizers on loan that I consider to be the holy grail in terms of the golden age of the analog synthesizer universe, like a 1970s Roland 505 Paraphonic, Roland System 100, Farfisa Syntorchestra, and a Sequential Pro One, plus 1960s and 1970s guitar pedals I borrowed from Gregg Kostelich of the garage rock band, The Cynics.

I love both experiences of creating intimate, experimental and spontaneous demos at home, and then seeing how they evolve into a permanent piece of recorded sound within the studio setting. I am especially motivated by layered melodies that come to me when experimenting with instruments, making demos, and working in the recording studio. To me, there is a kind of alchemy inherent in the art form of music, that can emerge when a song takes an unexpected direction, but remains true to its core, such as being anchored by a melody, an instrument, a rhythm or an arrangement. I am drawn to the duality of producing and arranging music, but also being open to letting the creative process itself, and the limitations or potential of instruments, guide your vision -- not always being totally in control of the final result because it’s being created in a very particular context, time, and place. A central, guiding inspiration for me comes from nature, swimming, and observing the world around me through photography.

Lucy and Jennifer (photo by Nicole Czapinski)

Here’s another video from the new album:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXCRv4XxgSA 

Were you in any other bands? In the 1990s, I cofounded the Brooklyn band Saturnine (Dirt Records).

Saturnine at the Bloomfield Bridge Tavern (RIP) in Pittsburgh, 1990's

Here’s a Saturnine video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jW03_LtH5fo  

In Pittsburgh, I also played organ and percussion with The New Alcindors, with whom I recorded an album at the legendary Castle Recording Studios in Nashville. My current bands are The Garment District and The Ladybug Transistor. 

Do you have a day job? Yes. I work as a writer and an editor, and I also am a writing tutor for teens. My professional experience includes working in art museums and co-running arts and community events. 

The Garment District live in Pittsburgh at the Andy Warhol Museum

(photo by Sean Carroll)

When did you realize how important music was in your life? Music surrounded us from our earliest days. My mom would sing Peter, Paul and Mary's "Stewball" (she went on to name her first dog after the song and he was the most loving majestic creature) to us as one of our lullabies. Growing up, our house was filled with LPs, CDs and radios, and our car had a tape deck for our many road trips to see our relatives in Philadelphia and at the beach in New Jersey (where my brother Jeff and I were born). Our parents’ record collection supplied some of our very first and favorite toys, so we were fortunate to have a private listening library to explore. So many memories of gazing at fantastical album covers: The Beach Boys, Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Jefferson Airplane, Donovan, Leonard Cohen, The Byrds. My mom taught a high school English course called “Poetry & Rock Lyrics” and I loved writing song lyrics out on index cards used to decorate her classroom.

Our home contained mind-blowing concert posters by legendary Fillmore West artist Bonnie MacLean, including a hypnotic Pink Floyd poster. Our mom grew up in Philadelphia with Bonnie’s sister Valerie and told us stories about Fillmore posters and postcards arriving at their Penn State dorm room. We also had the lyrics to Dylan’s “Sad-eyed Lady of the Lowlands” written out in calligraphy and framed hanging in our house, so that gives you an idea of the backdrop that led to having music of the 1960s and 1970s in our DNA. Watching shows like “H.R. Pufnstuf” (RIP Marty Krofft) and “The Electric Company” and singing along to “Free To Be … You And Me” and “Puff, the Magic Dragon” cemented the power and value of music in our lives and definitely planted the seeds for the kind of music I make along with a particular creative aesthetic and cultural mindset. As kids, my brother and I would make up our own radio shows, playing the parts of DJs and performing commercial spots, recording them onto Maxell tapes. Our first records bought for us by my mom were songs like “The Muffin Man,” which fueled my interest in offbeat folk music and melodies. As a family, we have attended many concerts together over the years: Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Richard Thompson, Bert Jansch, Bruce Springsteen, The Replacements -- and it is a special bond to share with your parents. I think that empowered and inspired us to see many seminal concerts as teenagers at storied Pittsburgh venues like the Syria Mosque, Electric Banana (all-ages nights), Graffiti, Sonic Temple, Civic Arena, the Beehive and more.

Riding the T Downtown to shop at the iconic record store Eide’s for albums by New Order, The Smiths, the Go-Betweens and on and on, was a rite of passage and a teenage pilgrimage in a pre-digital era where gathering in public spaces to share the thrill of discovering new music was transformative. My deep love of music in a vast array of style and genres is something I do not separate from any aspect of my life or my identity. I have always been fascinated and moved by music because it is an art form that you cannot see or touch, yet it can transport you so powerfully through places and times and thoughts and feelings. It is both time-based but also beyond time, both fleeting and permanent, if that makes sense. 

The Ladybug Transistor live at the Andy Warhol Museum in 2023.

What artists have influenced you? On any day, I am listening to a vast range of music: 1950s-1970s psychedelia, pop, garage, freakbeat, and folk-rock; 1950s-1960s rocksteady and ska; early electronic; free jazz; 1980s hip hop; 1970s-80s pop and new wave from the U.K., Scotland, New Zealand, and Australia; soundtracks … I am deeply inspired by creative mediums beyond music: film, design, photography, material culture, especially from the 1960s-1970s. Film is extremely inspiring to me, especially 1970s filmmaking, British folk and Italian giallo. I am also very drawn to instrumental and interstitial music because it allows listeners to access visceral worlds through non-verbal communication. From Library Music to free jazz to Jamaican Rocksteady to early electronic music to albums by Yellow Magic Orchestra, Les Rallizes Dénudés, Manuel Göttsching, Delia Derbyshire, Jack Nitzsche, Hailu Mergia, Alice Coltrane, Harmonia, Broadcast and the Focus Group, and so much more. 

If you could work with any other artist (dead or alive), who would it be? Lee Hazlewood, Yoko Ono, Peter Weir, Alice Coltrane, Remy Charlip. 

What was the first CD/record you ever bought? Among the first albums we bought (literally the very first were the brightly colored plastic records for our Fisher Price Record Player my mom bought for us) were compilations of hits and novelty songs from the 1950s-1970s. I have such vivid memories of singing along to songs like The Coasters’ “Yakety Yak” (1958), Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs “Li’l Red Riding Hood” (1966) and Napoleon XIV’s “They’re Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!” The combination of catchy melodies, interesting arrangements and evocative narrative imagery certainly sparked our childhood curiosity and imagination. 

What was the first concert you ever went to? Peter, Paul and Mary with my mom at The Stanley Theatre in downtown Pittsburgh. 

Who plays on your latest album?  Where did you find them? Family and friends (new and old) and members of The Garment District live band are featured on the new album. One extremely rewarding aspect of recording the new album was working with my cousin Lucy Blehar, who is a vocalist. I have always been drawn to the concept of family bands (I play in The Ladybug Transistor with my brother Jeff) and what can arise between relatives who collaborate on creative endeavors. For the two of us, we are able to sing backups and harmonies and double certain melody lines together. We share a very close bond personally, so the recording process was a very organic and fulfilling way of enjoying the studio environment together. This continues my family’s music-making heritage, as our grandfather, great-aunt and great-uncles on my dad’s side performed in Croatian tamburitza orchestra family bands in the Monongahela Valley towns Braddock and Rankin, and in Benwood, West Virginia, often for boarders who worked in area steel mills. To have Shivika Asthana (Papas Fritas) play drums on several songs on the new album is deeply special to me and to the identity of the drum sound. Our bands played shows together in the past, including at The Knitting Factory in NYC. It has been a tremendous joy to reconnect through music and the indie craft scene now that we both live in Pittsburgh. Another meaningful thread on the new album that also connects several dots, is one of the drum kits we used – a beautiful sounding 1966 Slingerland belonging to Laura Rogers (our bands, Saturnine and Ruby Falls, also played shows together in NYC and I am close with Laura’s sister and former bandmate Jennifer, who also lives right near me in Pittsburgh!). Though its provenance has not been confirmed, Laura was told that the kit, which she bought from a collector in Detroit, was used on the Nirvana “Unplugged” recordings. I love that our lives have intersected in these ways. It is also incredibly special to me that the new album features horns by my Ladybug bandmate and close friend Gary Olson on trumpet as well as Ladybugger Kyle Forester (whose solo band we just played with in Brooklyn in November) on saxophone. So, Flowers Telegraphed to All Parts of the World brings together people I adore deeply, whose gifts and energy helped the music come to life, including Dan Koshute (guitar, vocals), Corry Drake (bass), Sean Finn (drums), Shivika Asthana (drums), Alex Korshin (vocals), Nathan Musser (violin, cello) and David Klug (drums). And my constant close listener: my husband Greg Langel. 

Who is in your backup band when you tour? The current Garment District live band features Corry Drake (bass), Mike Kelly (guitar), Sean Finn (drums), Alex Korshin (vocals), and Erik Cirelli (guitar). We just performed in December for the new SYNC’D Presents series at one of my favorite Pittsburgh venues, Spirit. The event included an incredible liquid light show accompanying the music in real-time created by Billy Gruber, who runs SOS Lightshow in Dayton, Ohio. On January 28, we are thrilled to be opening for William Tyler & The Impossible Truth at Bottlerocket Social Hall. Past live show highlights for The Garment District include performing at the VIA Music & New Media Festival, The Andy Warhol Museum Sound Series and Silver Studio Sessions; Ladyfest, Deutschtown Music Festival; and Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Music SPACE series; opening for Parquet Courts, Julia Holter, Soft Moon, A. Savage, Jack Cooper, The Essex Green, Jenny Hval and Mr. Airplane Man; performing at the Carrie Blast Furnaces National Historic Landmark for the THRIVAL Festival; playing in an abandoned 1900s-era Czech Church on the Allegheny River for the SYNC’D series; and filming a live video segment at the Mattress Factory museum (where I used to work) for Doug Aitken’s Station to Station project. 

Where can people find your music? The vinyl and digital LP is available from Happy Happy Birthday to Me Records. The LP is also available in shops, with U.S. distribution through Midheaven Mailorder / Revolver.  https://www.hhbtm.com/product/flowers-telegraphed-to-all-parts-of-the-world/

Distribution for the new LP overseas is through: UK: Plastichead     Germany, Austria, Switzerland: Cargo     Border Music: Scandinavia     Goodfellas: Italy     Australia/New Zealand: Planet MGM/Groove Merchants     Benelux: Suburban   All of my current and past releases are available digitally through Bandcamp. My music is also available for listening on all streaming platforms (please support independent musicians when you can!) 

Video still of Jennifer by Sandy Loaf.

Are CD releases a thing of the past? Not in my particular world. Based on the number of people who purchased (or requested) CDs on our Ladybug Transistor tour in November, I would say no. I still have most of my CDs from the 1990s and we often listen to them on car trips. A few years ago, I actually released a CD of all-instrumental solo music, “Luminous Toxin,” via Kendra Steiner Editions, the Texas-based experimental label run by acclaimed writer Bill Shute.

How was the concert in Norway? (Egersund Visefestival) Absolutely dreamy! After having the magical experience of performing at the Egersund Visefestival in 2019 (where we joined Elf Power, Robyn Hitchcock, Emma Swift, The Essex Green, I Was a King and others), we were invited to return to the sublime southwestern coast of Norway for this past summer’s festival. It was especially fulfilling after the frightening pandemic years. In July, we performed at the festival along with Teenage Fanclub, Elf Power, The Minus 5, The No Ones, Colored Lights, The High Water Marks, Euros Childs, Honey Radar, The Rishis, and more. It was also the international premiere of the new Elephant 6 documentary, so there was a screening and panel discussion (that my brother Jeff participated in with Hilarie Sidney and Andrew Rieger). A blissful experience and also a total whirlwind of activity, including marathon rehearsals in a historic Norwegian house, sneaking in crisp lake swims, and not sleeping much during the midnight sun! One of many highlights was getting to play melodica (me) and flute (Sasha) with Peter Buck and Scott McCaughey during The No Ones' closing set.  Since we had our November 9 show at The Andy Warhol Museum scheduled well in advance, we decided to book a Fall mini-tour for November 2023. It was truly a dream to be back on stage and in the van  (aka a massive sprinter!) with Gary, Sasha, Julia, my brother Jeff, plus Derek Almstead on drums and Ake Strömer (of the incredible Strömer Mutroniks) helping us with driving and merchandise sales. The shows at Public Records in Brooklyn and The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh were particularly moving and thrilling, with sooo many old and new friends (we missed you, Tim!) and family members in attendance. It was fantastic to be back at Schuba’s again in Chicago and see Eric and his daughter. One unexpected highlight was discovering how incredible the Bell’s Brewery venue and facility are in Kalamazoo! We hope to be back on tour again in 2024. 

Sasha Bell and Jennifer on stage with No Ones at Egersund.

Tell us about your involvement with the Elephant 6 film? I contributed some archival footage that is used in the documentary, from our extensive late 1990s U.S. tours with Of Montreal. The digitizing continues! I also participated in post-screening Q&As with Derek Almstead when the film premiered in Pittsburgh at The Harris Theater in September 2023. 

Will you be touring your new album? I absolutely hope to soon, and would love to see Dagger readers out there along the way. The Garment District has only played locally so I look forward to more shows and some touring. Stay tuned please and stay in touch! 

What are your future plans? It has been a true joy to rebuild the live band after overwhelming pandemic interruptions. I look forward to performing more regularly and celebrating the new LP. I plan to continue my cross-country collaborations with artist Nicole Czapinksi, who created the music video for “Left on Coast” (filmed at an abandoned Nike Missile Site in Western Pennsylvania). Nicole would love to project live visuals, responding to our music in real-time using techniques we experimented with in the video. Likewise, I expect to continue collaborating with Asheville, North Carolina-based artist Peter Speer, who I have known since our shared NYC days, who created the music video for “Following Me,” our cover of the 1967 song by The Human Expression. I have started conversations with Pittsburgh artists Johnny Arlett, Michi Tapes and Sandy Loaf about working on new music videos for The Garment District. This winter, I will be contributing a track to a compilation planned for 6612 Tapes, the label run by Elephant 6 co-founder Hilarie Sidney (The High Water Marks, The Apples in Stereo), with all proceeds going to a blue candidate in a vulnerable state during the 2024 U.S. election. I have some new Garment District demos emerging and hope to be back in the studio soon! 

I hope you enjoyed learning more about Jennifer as much as I did. We can only hope she will bring her band out on the road in the future. It was such a fun time seeing The Ladybug Transistor in Chicago. Here’s hoping a new year will bring a new tour.

www.thegarmentdistrict.bandcamp.com

www.hhbtm.bandcamp.com

www.mergerecords.bandcamp.com

[tenaciouspostfun]

Stories

Submitted



Theater Review



Off Broadway

"Ode To The Wasp Woman" at Actors Temple Theatre is a very up and down play that has as many good things in it as it does pitfalls. The story has its premise in four actors who died prematurely. Sean Young who plays Susan Cabot, Douglass Everett Davis is George Reeves, Payton Georgiana is Barbra Payton and Josh Alscher is Alfalfa from "The little Rascals" fame.

Rider McDowell has written this interesting play that points to the difficulty of making it in Hollywood; once you make it, if your lucky enough, it is staying on top that becomes the real challenge. As a childhood star, Carl Switzer could not find success beyond The Little Rascals, George Reeves was typecast and had difficulty getting any jobs after his role in "Superman". Both Switzer and Reeves would die from gunfire. In the case of Barbra Payton and Susan Cabot, their lives would take a turn for the worse because of life circumstances.Payton would face sexual abuse as a thirteen year old and her wild ways led to her downfall once she became a starlit. In Cabot's case, her world would fall apart when she delivered a baby that would be a Dwarf. Obsessed with making her son, Timmy taller by using human growth hormones, it drove him insane at the same time. He would eventually kill his mother in a fit of rage.

Rider McDowell who wrote and directed this play has some inconsistencies in both. Some of the blocking in this play are questionable, as is the sound in the play. Where simple movements become overdone, the prerecording in the play were awful. The lighting was very supportive throughout the evening (Maarten Cornelis) and the costumes were well done by Pearl Gopalani. In Christian Fleming's scenic design, the constant changing of the room was a distraction to the flow of this production.

While there were four stories, two were exceptional; the first (Alfalfa) and the third (George Reeves). Payton Georgiana and Anna Telfer were outstanding as were Davis and Alscher. As the lead bill Sean Young at times struggled with her lines and her acting consistency.David Wenzel was consistent in his various roles as was Rita Louise. Jonathan Hartman was erratic in his performance throughout the play.

As a former investigative reporter, Rider McDowell gave us that feeling in his play. He approaches the writing with a macabre angel to it. The lives of the actors before us are laid out as a TV police show with not a lot of emotion from the actors which stems from the shows direction. In the shows 120 minutes we get a potpourri of the four actors lives and not a lot of depth to them.

"Ode" was a very mixed bag... it brought back the old time actors which had a good vibe to it and yet it just didn't go deep enough into the lives. A good example of this is the writing on actor Barbra Payton. We get a small feel into her abuse as an adolescent but writer Rider McDowell only scratches the surface as to how it affected her in later years. We see that she became a B actor, was that solely of her bad choices in picking movies? Was it because she lacked talent? We are told she is blackballed after coming out with an affair with Bob Hope but we never fully are told the whole reason as to why she went into abject poverty and self destruction.

Sean Young, Actors Temple Theatre, Off Broadway, New York City, Barbra Payton, George Reeves, Superman, Hollywood Land, WPIX Chanel 11, Sweeney Todd, Will Swanson, Some Like it Hot, Hamilton, The Lion King, Harry Potter, Aladdin, Spamelot.

Words: 618

[closetofcuriosities]

A Clockwork Orange - 1971 - Dir. Stanley Kubrick

[hollywood-love]

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