Save The Date: June 13 for BODY POLITIC

The Brooklyn Art Collective and REPUBLIC are pleased to present The Body Politic, a group exhibition, curated by BKAC co-directors Tyler Wriston and Ian McGillivray, along with independent curator, Christine Spangler.

The Body Politic will open at Jungle on June 13, 2009 and will feature live performance art as well as musical performances by:
Anamanaguchi, Buke & Gass, and ASARansom;
Dj sets by Neon Coyote, and Dj C-lo

Doors open at 6pm. After Party starts at 9 $7
Bands at 9:30
Plus FREE bracelets from Wrecords by Monkey for 1rst 40 people.

In a contemporary climate of conceptualism, art making can often appear wrought with intellectual, philosophical or technological demands. The Body Politic presents a tangible and universal anchor through which artists are able to examine their own consciousness and culture: the human body. The phrase "body politic" has historically served as an analogy in which the human body is used to represent a larger political, philosophical or social whole. In this group exhibition, artists survey the anatomy, physicality, biology, and substance of the human body; its functions and failings, its fervor and vivacity, in order to further extrapolate this idea.

Participating artists include Michael Alan, Matt Brennan, Kate Burnet & Dan Woerner, Bill Durgin, Jason Ferguson, Lisa Kellner, Ryan Ketchum, Ian McGillivray, Jennifer Mills,Leemour Pelli, Matthew Purdy, Diana Schmertz, Mireille Vautier, and Bohyun Yoon.

Jungle is located at 286 Meserole Street, Brookyln, NY 11206 L Train to Montrose Ave.

Huge Success! REACHING OUT: GISIMBA ORPHANAGE

REPUBLIC and Create For a Cause transformed Le Grand Dakar on Friday, May 29th for the charity event, REACHING OUT: GISIMBA ORPHANAGE. In addition to the usual fine drinks and cuisine, by Le Grand Dakar's Master Chef Pierre Thaim, for one night it was the place to be with amazing music and dance entertainment, along with the impressive art and merchandise up for auction.

The live drum core, Indoda Entsha, filled not only Le Grand Dakar with traditional African beats but the whole block could feel the energy in the air. All who were lucky enough to see through the many bodies that filled the intimate space felt the African dancers' passion when they stepped up to jump and gyrate.

Guests were able to relax and enjoy the delicious pri-fix menu prepared specifically for the event along with the vast variety of specialty cocktails and beers. Le Grand Dakar donated $175 to the cause by generously giving 10% of the proceeds from every order that night.

One of the most unique and successful parts of REACHING OUT: GISIMBA ORPHANAGE event was the silent auction that began when the doors opened and just finished Tuesday at midnight. With the proceeds from the auction and with the personal and private donations added in, the grand total donation going straight to the children at Gisimba Memorial Center is $2,542. REPUBLIC is proud to have exceeded our personal goal and hopes to work with Chrissie Lam and Create For a Cause again in the future.

It was a wonderful evening—filled with mingling and laughter, dancing and eating. Most importantly, the local Brooklyn community is now more aware of the troubles still affecting Rwanda and were able to help enhance the future of these bright and special children.

Again, thank you all for coming out and not only showing your support for REPUBLIC and Create For A Cause, but for opening up your hearts to the children at Gisimba Memorial Center.

REACHING OUT: GISIMBA ORPHANAGE SILENT AUCTION ONGOING UNTIL JUNE 2

REPUBLIC and Create For A Cause's charity event, REACHING OUT: GISIMBA ORPHANAGE was a huge success and we want to thank you all for coming out and supporting the efforts to help raise money for the children at Gisimba Memorial Centre. One of the main efforts in reaching our donation goal was the extensive silent auction. It's still open until Tuesday, June 2 and you can check out the items here (with the current bid information) or on Chrissie Lam's website, Create For A Cause. In order to make bids on any of the items that catch your eye, email Chrissie at Chrissie@createforacause.com.

We really hope you'll participate because all proceeds go straight to Gisimba Memorial Centre to help fund the children's education, food, and health care.

REPUBLIC T-shirt and Limited Edition Poster
Valued at $30
Starting Bid: $10
Current Bid: $20

"Relics" by Jason Voegele
oil on panal 12 x12 inches
Valued at $600
Starting Bid: $200

Men's ELGIN Watches made by M.Z Berger
Valued at $225-$350
Starting Bid: $75 (per watch)

Women's ELGIN Watches made by M.Z Berger
Valued at $225-$350
Starting bid: $75 (per watch)

Record Bracelets by Monkey

Valued at $50
Starting bid: $15

Nadia: Chartreuse, Peach, Black, Blue by Jazz-minh Moore
oil on panel 5 x 5 inches (each)
Valued at $700
Starting Bid: $250

FROM TOP LEFT TO TO BOTTOM RIGHT:

1st Edition of "Longing for Darkness" by Peter Beard
Kamante's Tales (Out of Africa)
Valued at $150
Starting bid: $70
Current Bid: $100

Steve Alan Gift Basket:
Woman's Gift Basket includes: Jewel green silk shirt (sm),
Plaid PJ pand and solid woven shirt set (sm/md)
Valued at $400
Starting Bid: $100
Men's Gift Basket includes: Stripe woven long sleeve woven shirt (md),
olive chino pant (32 waist), chambray short sleeve woven shirt (XL)
Valued at $450
Starting Bid: $100

American Eagle Gift Basket:
Woman's Gift Basket includes: aerie shimmer body cream and sparkling body mist,
$10 gift card, Ben Lee cd, small white cotton mini with
smocking and eyelet details (md), lowrise, bootcut
navy favorite trouser (8), pink slubby scoop neck
long sleeve t-shirt (sm)
Valued at $200
Starting Bid: $50
Current Bid: $52
Men's Gift Basket includes: leather wallet, $10 gift card, vintage
fit plaid long sleeve shirt (md), graphic
t-shirt (md), Lowrise slim straight leg denim
jeans (32x32), Metal dogtag necklace
Valued at $200
Starting Bid: $50

The General Greene Restaurant Gift Card
229 Dekalb Ave. Brooklyn Ny 11205 (718) 222.1510
$100 Value
Starting Bid: $45
Current Bid: $50

Gift Card for 1 hour massage with Sam Cagnina
$150 Value
Starting Bid: $70
Current Bid: $120

Bidonville Coffee and Tea Gift Card
47 Willoughby Ave. Brooklyn Ny 11205 (718) 855.4515
$50 Value
Starting Bid: $15
Current Bid: $20

Jusami Children's T-Shirts
$50 Gift Certificate
Starting Bid: $25
Current Bid: $35

YOLELE! Recipes From the Heart of Senegal by Pierre Thaim
Valued at $30
Starting Bid: $20
Current Bid: $25

"Smokescape" by Tyler Campbell Wriston
16 x 20 inches c-print
Valued at $550
Starting Bid: $250
Current Bid: $600

"Rembrandt Light" by Tyler Campbell Wriston
16 x 20 inches c-print
Valued at $500
Starting Bid: $200

"Not Pretending" by Lincoln Mayne from the series "Why We Cry"

Mixed media on panel 16 x 16 inches

Valued at $2,500

Starting Bid: $700

"Rwanda Wooden Bike" by Chris McNally

water color on paper 11 x 14 inches

Valued at $500

Starting Bid: $200

"Young Heroes" by Collin Sekajugo

A depiction of tradition dance performed by young men for the King of Rwanda

Valued at $700

Starting Bid: $300

Current Bid: $600

"Love" by Bryan Collins

Ink on paper, 22 x 30 inches

Valued at $500

Starting bid: $200

Current Bid: $250

If you like any of these unique and inspiring artworks or would love to get your hands on some of the stylish clothes, authentic accessories or great deal gift cards, please email Chrissie Lam at Chrissie@createforacause.com and place a bid. Put the item in the subject, then your bid in the body along with your phone number. Don't forget to check back with her to see if there has been another bid after yours.

REPUBLIC and Create For A Cause greatly appreciate any participation in our silent auction. Again, thanks to everyone who made it out to the REACHING OUT: GISIMBA ORPHANAGE event last night. We are extremely grateful and look forward to seeing all of you again at our future events.

June 4: The Stumping Grounds Exhibition

REPUBLIC is very pleased to be producing in part, the event, The Stumping Ground, at Pochron Studios on June 4th.  One of our outstanding event photographers, Allison Joyce, is one of the five featured photojournalists exhibited.  

Over the course of the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election 18 individuals ran for the nation's highest office. Many of whose campaign's started and ended in Iowa. Keith Bedford, Michal Czerwonka, Allison Joyce, Eric Thayer, and Joshua Lott's photographic coverage began in the summer of  2007 when the five of them moved to Iowa's capital of Des Moines.  Nearly all of the candidates, both Republican and Democratic, set up offices, had staff on the ground, or had visited the state in their quest to become President, and the photojournalists covered all 18 candidates from their start to their finish. Each set out to search for images that were often overlooked. To that end, they began www.thestumpinggrounds.com, to not only focus on the candidates, but the faces in the crowds, the hangers on, the staffers, the rallies, and the just plain odd. New photos was posted for each day of the election on the site starting in June 2007, up until election night. After the Iowa Primary, the photojournalists traveled to many other states like New Hampshire, South Carolina, Ohio, Wisconsin etc., often as a group, still working towards the ultimate goal of covering the entire election together. In the end they were able to finish the election the same way they began, as a small group of photojournalists, working, traveling and living together, witnesses to a historic chapter in our country's history. Beginning in Iowa, through Chicago on election night and finally Washington D.C. during the inauguration, they covered it all and achieved their goal.

For those of you who will be in NYC June 4th, please join stop by Pochron Studios in D.U.M.B.O, at 20 Jay Street (11th floor), between 6 pm and 11pm, for The Stumping Grounds one night only gallery show.

Status Update(d)-Samantha

An Xiao Twitters by her post cards

Sharon Butler in front of Van Aelst's "T-shirt Messages"

Status Update(d): Samantha attended the technological art exhibition on May 14th

Emerging social networking resources like Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter.com, are becoming useful for more than image browsing the late night stints of your peers or stalking the where-abouts of your latest love interest. The work of a dozen artists who use a variety of budding technologies to make their art is currently on display at the New Haven based research lab, Haskins Laboratories.

Matt Held, whose work was appropriately featured on the event flyer, showcased a fascinating project. His mission began in November when Held launched the facebook  group “I’ll have my facebook portrait painted by Matt Held.” Now exceeding 3,300 “friends” his work has begun to sell rapidly.

One of Held’s 200 muses, New York based artists An Xiao was there in high spirits with her texting thumb ready as she showcased her work, “Nothing to Tweet Home About (Self Portrait in Postcards).” Although incredibly enthusiastic, the work evoked a sense of dry reality as those familiar and undeniably addicted to the trend (myself included) realized the disconnect between older forms of communication and technologically simplified messages. Xiao explains, “The easier the communication device, the more trivial the message being sent.” Exemplifying the message further, she was sending postcards to Haskins Laboratories throughout the duration of the show, and twittering about the Status Update!

Xiao, along with artist/panelist Sharon Butler, of Eastern Connecticut State University, suggested that the best Twitterers were indeed people who saw the medium as an outlet for performance. During panel discussion, she and Haskins' CEO, Philip Rubin, encouraged attendees to "Please keep your cell phone on." Twittering was always encouraged.

The question was on every body’s mind: ‘What are you doing right now?”

Other participating artists include: Cat Balco, Jeremiah Teipen, Rachel Perry Welty, Katie Ring, Len Zimmerman, Kevin Van, Greg Garvey, Heather D. Freeman, Keith Johnson, and the curators themselves Debbie Hesse and Donna Ruff (of the Greater New Haven Arts Council).

For more information on the Status Update event and the artists, visit New Haven Independent

Regular Viewing Hours for Status Update are 10 am to 4 pm until August 1, 2009

Haskins Laboratories: 

300 George Street

New Haven, CT 06511

REACHING OUT: Gisimba Orphanage

REACHING OUT: Gisimba Orphanage
May 29th, 2009 to Midnight
Le Grand Dakar
285 Grand Street, Brooklyn (between Clifton Place and Lafayette)

In the summer of 2008, Chrissie Lam, the founder of Create for a Cause, volunteered at Gisimba Memorial Center in Kigali, Rwanda to work with over 20 children who have been orphaned by genocide, HIV/AIDS and malaria. The picture she paints of her experience there is of a bright hope in the midst of a chaotic and bleak future for the youngest of Rwanda's generations. Filled to capacity, the center is now only able to take in children under special circumstances, receiving about five per year. All of the children are required to go to school and a large number go on to study higher education, making them more able to build normal lives once they become old enough to transition our of the orphanage. The orphanage and its school also prepare the children to reinvest their skills and knowledge back into their communities and to contribute to the hope of a better future for a new Rwanda.

Inspired by Chrissie Lam and the Gisimba Memorial Center, REPUBLIC is proud to present REACHING OUT: Gisimba Orphanage.

As the first in our ongoing REACHING OUT program of recurring charitable fundraising projects, REPUBLIC and Create for a Cause are working together to involve our local communities and New York City, at large, in a campaign to keep Gisimba Memorial Center equipped with the basic necessities it requires to stay in operation. That includes our help in providing the children who live there with education, food, and health care. The proceeds from the campaign will also be distributed through the Memorial Center to support sustainable revenue-generating projects within the Kigali community, such as livestock and agricultural programs.

Friday, May 29th at Le Grand Dakar Restaurant in Clinton Hill Brooklyn, REPUBLIC will host and extraordinary evening of celebration and fundraising with dance performances and music by Indoda Entsha percussion ensemble, food and drinks by Master Chef Pierre Thaim, along with a silent auction and an exhibition of photography by contemporary Rwandan artists.

Come with a full heart but an empty belly! Your financial contribution to this important cause does so much more than help the Gisimba Memorial Center, it also helps to further the reputation of our own community as an example of brother and sisterhood throughout the world. Beyond the frustrations and trials of our individual daily lives, this is an opportunity to reflect on how blessed we truly are and to reach out to the less fortunate with just a small helping hand. Not to pull them up, but to give them the tools to pull themselves up. If we all reach out just a little, we can all make a mighty difference that creates real help and change for the orphans of Rwanda, and for ourselves.

All monetary and silent auction donations are greatly appreciated. REPUBLIC will be collecting donations throughout the entire month of May and into June. Checks should be made out to "Fractured Atlas" with Create for a Cause in the memo line and be sent to Chrissie Lam; auction items should be mailed to Jason Voegele.

For more information about May 29th, making donations, or to learn more about REPUBLIC and our charitable projects, you can reach us online at www.republicbrooklyn.com or call 508.737.7921.

Donation Checks by Mail:
Chrissie Lam
298 Mulberry St. Apt. 7L
NYC, NY 10012
www.createforacause.com

Donation Items by mail:
Jason Voegele

251 Washington Ave. Apt. 2R
Brooklyn, NY 11205
www.republicbrooklyn.com

MAY 7th = Success!

REPUBLIC would like to offer a whole-hearted thank you to all of the amazing people who came out to support the launch of our website and spectacular art exhibition this Thursday in Brooklyn, down under the Manhattan bridge overpass, at 20 Jay Street. A special thanks to Flora, from Julie Pochron Studios, for her extraordinary generosity, and Julia, from Water Street Restaurant and Lounge, for the perfect swirl of decadence and class at the after party.

Pochron Studios, ideally situated on the top floor, provided a breath-taking view of Manhattan and the bridges; but that was not the only attraction: the art works from the Formation exhibit were all top notch. Lenny Reibstein’s oil paintings and ink sketches were well received, along with Isaac Palatt’s oil on canvas piece. The dialogue created by Jazz-Mihn Moore’s oil on birch panel trilogy, and her acrylic, ink, rain, resin on birch panel piece was vast. Eunkang Koh’s gouache ink pieces were greatly admired, but Joshua Johnson’s Anatural sculptures and William Rhodes’ found object sculptures added the perfect touches to the beautiful space.

The weather was superb, the moon was full, and our new website is now live and ready for visitors, so stop by republicbrooklyn.com often to check for updates on our exciting new events we have planned for May and June. Save the date for Reaching Out: Gisimba Orphanage on May 29th at Le Grand Dakar on Grand St. in Clinton Hill. The traditional live music and dance is set, and a menu has been arranged and the night is guaranteed to satisfy. You'll want to show up with your heart full and your belly empty. All month long REPUBLIC, in cooperation with Create for a Cause and Fractured Atlas, is raising funds for the Gisimba Memorial Center in Rwanda and this event will be the most fun you have ever had doing something so right for the world.

REPUBLIC couldn’t have asked for a better reception and we look forward to your continued support in the future.

REPUBLIC Web launch video

Site Launch Approaches!

That's right boys and girls, the REPUBLIC website is about to launch. Konah and Drew have spearheaded the design and build of the site, and they are working their big, fat fingers right down to the bone to get it all up and running by Thursday (take note, fellas). We are all ecstatic to become a better functioning part of the interweb as we expand past our humble blogspot beginnings.

Be sure to mark the launch event on your calendar and get down to DUMBO, where you can check out the site, peruse some fantastic works of art, and meet all of the wonderful people who are trying to make this baby happen. It looks like Thursday will be a beautiful spring evening, so there will be no excuse!

Status Update - Samantha

The Arts Council of Greater New Haven, in collaboration with Haskins Laboratories, presents Status Update at Haskins Laboratories, 300 George St., 9th floor, New Haven. This exhibition will be on display from April 29 to August 1, 2009. Regular viewing hours are Wednesday through Friday, 10 am to 4 pm. An artists’ reception is scheduled for Thursday, May 14, from 5 to 7 pm, with a panel discussion at 5 pm. The public is invited to attend.

Curated by Debbie Hesse and Donna Ruff, Status Update explores the use of emerging social networking technologies in art. Featuring works by Kevin Van Aelst, Cat Balco, Sharon Butler, Heather Freeman, Greg Garvey, Matt Held, Keith Johnson, Katie Ring, Jeremiah Teipen, Lee Walton, Rachel Perry Welty and An Xiao.

As part of the May 14 artists' reception for Status Update, Sharon Butler (Two Coats of Paint) has organized what is sure to be a compelling panel discussion featuring Matt Held, Paddy Johnson, Sharon Kleinman (editor of Displacing Place: Mobile Communication in the Twenty-first Century), An Xiao, and other social networking platforms such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter offer artists unique forums for communication and expression.
Be part of the conversation!

Philip Rubin, chief executive officer and senior scientist at Haskins Laboratories, a nonprofit research institute that studies speech, reading, and related technologies, talked about the connection between the research conducted at Haskins Laboratories and Status Update.

“One area of interest to us is … literacy in a digital age,” Rubin said, "Haskins Laboratories always been interested in what exists at the intersection of human communication, literacy, and technology." Rubin also says, "With funding from The Teagle Foundation, Haskins Laboratories is developing plans for a project that will explore the impact of social networking tools, technologies, and practices such as Facebook, hand-held devices, and text messaging on how we read and whether or not the act of reading has changed."


The artists’ reception is Thursday, May 14, 5-7 pm and the panel discussion is at 5 pm.
The exhibition runs from April 29-August 1

108 @ Santos Party House 04.25.09 - Drew

108 is a hardcore band founded in 1991. Their music reflected the Hare
Krishna faith of its members. Their name comes from the number of
beads on the Japa mala, or mantra counting beads.

After splitting from the Zack De La Rocha-fronted band Inside Out,
guitarist and Hare Krishna devotee Vraja Kishor das (aka Vic DiCara)
formed 108 in 1991. While recording an EP, Rasaraja dasa (aka Rob
Fish) joined on vocals. Following in the footsteps of the Cro-Mags and
Antidote, they made sure to place their Krishna Consciousness at the
forefront of their music.

Their first records, Holyname and Songs of Separation, were released
on Equal Vision Records. These releases were followed by their
participation in two documentary films, 108: The Final Tour and
N.Y.H.C..

Following a prolonged break-up where DiCara relocated to India to
become a monk, they planned to reform at Hellfest in 2005. Due to
legal issues, that festival was cancelled at the last moment but 108
successfully re-booked special gigs in Philadelphia. They have
remained together since then, self-releasing a collection of demos and
b-sides followed by a new full-length recording entitled "A New Beat
From a Dead Heart" with Deathwish Inc.

Visit 108 here

SAVE THE DATE! MAY 7th WEBLAUNCH EVENT @ POCHRON STUDIOS IN D.U.M.B.O.!

SAVE THE DATE!
MAY 7, 2009
REPUBLIC WEBLAUNCH
http://www.republicbrooklyn.com
POCHRON STUDIOS
20 Jay St. 11th Floor
Suite 1100
D.U.M.B.O. Brooklyn, NY 11201
718. 237. 1332
http://www.pochronstudios.com


Save the Date!
FORMATIONS

Spring is the season of luscious colorful rebirth and heavy rains that fertilize the earth and the human spirit. There is something so enchanting about the first spring sunshine and the anticipation of resplendent green all around inspires the sincerest forms of creation. In that spirit, REPUBLIC presents Formations.
If REPUBLIC is the meeting of varied minds that transcend the sum of its parts, then the first stage in harnessing such a unique array of talents is to make a plan for construction. In conjunction with the launch of our new website: http://www.republicbrooklyn.com, Formations presents the idea that throughout Spring the world is focused on building new things out of the remains of what has passed. It is a time to pay special service to those artists who have concentrated their gifts on the idea of building upon the foundations of fundamental ideas that are ripe for reinterpretation by a new eager generation. On May 7th 2009 at the Pochron Gallery in D.U.M.B.O., REPUBLIC brings you an exhibition that will stroke your joy for spring by exciting you with color, form and energy.
The event begins at 6pm, when the website goes live. Drinks, T-shirts, and posters are available and profits will benefit our May 29th collaborative fundraiser with Create for a Cause .

For more information about the artists involved, Create for a Cause, or REPUBLIC, please contact jason@republicbrooklyn.com or call 917. 478. 7513 or visit http://www.republicbrooklyn.com.

Pochron Studios is located at 20 Jay St. 11th Floor, Suite 1100 in D.U.M.B.O. Brooklyn NY. (G-Train to York St. stop)

Trash Talk: Now On Tour With The Bronx - Drew

East of Eden Ep Out Now: Featuring Keith Morris of Circle Jerks Fame.


Trash Talk is the next great hope, poised to become the next chapter
in essential fast punk/hardcore scene.

They smashed into the scene in 2005, with a seven song demo cassette, released on the Sell Our Souls label from Spain. In 2006, the band
released their debut 7"EP on the same label, as well as a split 7"EP
with Steel Trap on the Spiderghost Pressgang label.

In early 2007, Trash Talk blew minds with the release of their
"Walking Disease" 7"EP/CDEP on the Rumble and Six Feet Under labels.
"Walking Disease" showcased Trash Talk as their most musically frantic
and lyrically dark band to date. They’re taking their hi-speed intensity to awe-inducing levels and conjuring the ghosts of Negative Approach, The Suicide File, early Agnostic Front, and more.

Trash Talk released their 7"EP, "Plagues" on Malfunction in early
2008. A CD version featuring their classic, "Walking Disease" EP and
"Plagues" EP titled, "Plagues...Walking Disease" was released a short
time later. The band now releases these recordings and future
recordings under their Trash Talk Collective label.



4/16/09 - Columbus, OH @ Ravari Room w/ The Bronx
4/17/09 - Baltimore, MD @ The Ottobar w/ The Bronx
4/18/09 - Edison, NJ @ Stelton Baptist Church w/ Let Down, Swamp Thing and Disaster*
4/19/09 - West Chester, PA @ The Note w/ The Bronx
4/20/09 - New York, NY @ The Bowery Ballroom w/ The Bronx
4/21/09 - Dix Hills, NY @ The Doghouse w/ Thieves and Assassins*
4/22/09 - Hoboken, NJ @ Maxwell’s w/ The Bronx
4/23/09 - Boston, MA @ The Great Scott w/ The Bronx
4/24/09 - Providence, RI @ Jerky’s w/ The Bronx

Urban Canvas - Samantha

An evening of art and philanthropy in which guests will have the opportunity to purchase artwork, while meeting some of Ugallery.com’s artists. 20 percent of the proceeds from all sales will benefit UJA-Federation of New York. In addition, guests will learn about the Dignity Through Art program, run by F.E.G.S. Health and Human Services System, a UJA-Federation beneficiary agency. There will be art on display by artists in the Dignity Through Art program, which will be available for purchase, as well. A percentage of the proceeds will go directly to the artists themselves. There is no cost to attend this event. It's from 6:30 to 9 at Openhouse Gallery, on 201 Mulberry Street NY. Space is limited.

Tillie’s of Brooklyn presents: Indoda Entsha Percussion Ensemble - Jay

In the small brightly lit Clinton Hill coffee shop, Tillie's, last Friday night, close to thirty people were moved by the equally bright live sounds of this African rhythm influence percussion group. Indoda Entsha, with their organic and almost improve style, jammed out for almost two hours. There was never a dull moment in the set that included some spoken word and some ad-lib native dancing from one of the three polyrhythmic dance members of the group. The performance finale was a head to head djembe battle between two members. Check out their Myspace for an MP3, it’s killer and makes you want to move. I look forward to having them perform at Le Grand Dakar for REPUBLIC’s Reaching Out: Orphans of Rwanda on May 29th.

Brooklyn Masonic Temple: Danger Party This Friday 04.17.09 - Drew

It's an old-school underground party brought to you by the Danger List (part of Complacent Nation), which collaborates with art and political collectives to create everything from politically-charged artistic parades to parties.

The party's messages are generally: "Forget about the bad times and consumerism, let's just unite to party." In this one, if you arrive early/dress as a banker, you are eligible for a "stimulus package."

This was the party that paid you back with a half dozen dj's—from Dirty gospel, to brilliant house, to dark techno.

Featuring: King Britt, Justin Carter, Twilight Tone, Reverend Vince,
Derek Plaslaiko, Zemi 17, David Last & Yusuke Yamamoto, and more.


Plus, fire/ice and end-of-the-world performances by: Reverend Billy, The Lady Circus, Josh Kalin, Chika Imagima, Jessi Klien and more...

Wild acts of abandon and low-down dirty bands led up to a late-night surprise that stimulated even the brokest.

The best corporate dressed won the ultimate Bailout Package:
A year’s supply of alcohol was awarded to the "Baddest Banker.”
Attendees dressed/acted the part: naughty, clever, and notoriously nihilistic.

All this was nestled within the cavernous rooms and secret niches of the Brooklyn Masonic Temple, a historic fortress of hidden passageways and lost-world charm.