Andy Warhol remains one of the most important artists of the 20th century for his body of work, his influence on art and commerce, and his cultural philosophies, giving a unique insight into how the idea of celebrity both real and perceived could (and ultimately would) drive American culture.

While so ubiquitous today, themes such as the spectacle of fame, media and of our society’s patterns of consumption pervaded his work, with Warhol’s personal iconoclastic status during his own lifetime being beyond illustrative of his complete fascination with celebrity.

Warhol’s collective, punctuated by his original Factory studio of the 60s, remains in our memory as the ultimate symbol of his philosophy — the intersection of celebrity, art, music, poetry and excess, ideas that were embraced by his superstars, those who were closely involved with the collective.

In her own words, D.C.-based musician Edie Sedgwick is the transgendered reincarnation of a vacuous Andy Warhol Superstar who died of a barbiturate overdose. The brainchild of artist Justin Moyer (Antelope, Supersystem) takes a biting look at our societies celebrity condition today as we experience the culmination of many of Warhol’s philosophies on media manifest.

Through a multimedia experience comprised of video, performance and song, Sedgwick’s work picks at our obsession with the spectacle of media, of fame and voyeurism, all offered up by a gender-fucking mouthpiece highlighting the totality of performance in all our lives.

This week, you’ll get a chance to catch Edie Sedgwick as a part of the New York Night Train Happening at Civilian Art Projects on Saturday, June 27th, featuring Kid Congo Powers, Exactly, go-go dancer Anna Copa Cabanna, Hula-Hoop Harlot Melissa Anne, and DJs all night long. 11pm / $10 / 21+

Over the last few months, those of us who never had the opportunity to experience Frodus the first time around have gotten another chance. Sparked by a convergence of events (among them, a couple of reissues and an economic crisis that they might have predicted over a decade ago), the time seemed just right to regroup. Once again, they are bringing their signature blend of a melodic, mathy, post-hardcore assault to the masses.

Frontman Shelby Cinca, a sometime contributor to AON, and drummer Jason Hamacher took us through the Frodus story, from their humble beginnings in high school in Northern Virginia in the ’90s to their mythical existence amongst a generation that would only come to know them through the internet.

The band has since regrouped, having recruited bassist Liam Wilson from The Dillinger Escape Plan, and have played a handful of shows that have reminded dedicated fans of the void left behind in the 10 years of Frodus’ absence. An indelible impact marked by Frodus head tattoos on at least a few fans.

Cinca is moving to Sweden this month, a country that has been very kind to Frodus. Playing with bands like the Refused and Division of Laura Lee, releasing records on swedish labels, and playing multiple tours over the years, the country has become an adoptive home for the band.

But before he leaves, you’ll have one more chance to experience the band as they headline a final show at the Black Cat with The Van Pelt and Guiltmaker this Saturday, June 20.

Special thanks to Blacklab Films and Eric Hunsaker for providing us with the awesome live footage from Frodus’s first reunion show at Murky’s in Arlington, VA.

Tom McBride is a traveling man. Originally from Boston, the singer-songwriter spent also some time in Nashville before laying down roots around these here parts.

From the sound of his songs, it seems his time in Tennessee served him well — influencing the band’s blend of folk, pop, rock, americana and soul. After self releasing an EP called Headed For in 2007, he invited some DC-area players to round out his band. The result is The Whig Party, a tightly knit group of musicians with clear chemistry.

“Cutting up LA”, the first single off of their latest album Like a Lion, is a really upbeat number I’m sure goes over really well with the crowds at their live shows.

You’ll have a chance to find out next week when they play IOTA on Friday June 26th. Meanwhile, the band is hosting an album release party at Local 16 this week. Hang out and drink with the band during a special happy hour from 6-9 and get yourself a copy of the new record.

These days, it can be difficult to imagine music separated from it’s accompanying visual image.  Whether through videos, album art, or web presence, there’s great importance placed on developing an aesthetic that makes a statement that can speak to what an artist is about. Even when artists claim to eschew or act against any deliberate imagery, that act or supposed lack there of serves in defining their visual statement.

One of the more interesting mediums for exploring this imagery is also the one that has the longest history. The story of creating modern printed posters for promoting shows or events extends back to at least the 19th century when mass printing techniques allowed for wide reproduction.

Jump forward to today — when computers and internet are serving as a pretty significant aid in both facilitating the design process itself and fostering growth of a design community.

Festivals like South By Southwest or sites like Gig Posters allow for ideas to spread and provide an opportunity for fans and artists to connect with likeminds from all over the country and beyond.

Civilian Art Projects latest show, Paper Jam: The Art and Grime of the East Coast Rock Poster, is celebrating this very idea. On a slightly more localized and regional level, Civilian is highlighting the work of established and emerging artists side by side, showcasing a range of styles created by a selection of east coast postermakers.

As show curator Anthony Dihle states, “Most of the work is home-brewed by the artist and merges the illustration of sound and lyrics with the requisite need for a poster to simultaneously advertise a show and commemorate it.”

Indie artists and DIY attitudes have certainly taken a position of dominance in dictating pop culture, for better or for worse–since the further it travels, the more it morphs into something else. There is of course a pretty deep rabbit hole we could go down on the co-opting of culture and the effect it has on art, but will save for another day. Let’s focus on the better part for now and enjoy the art.

The opening reception for Paper Jam is this Friday, June 12 from 7 to 9pm and features the following artists: Ana Benaroya, Jordan Bernier, Rick Bowman, Chris Cernoch, Kate Crosgrove, Anthony Dihle (Dirty Pictures), Jefferey Everett (El Jefe Design), JP Flexner, John Foster (Bad People Good Things), Jeff Fry, Tim Gibbon (Dynamite Printworks), James Heimer, Edward Kelley, Daniel Kent, Chris Kline, Nick Kulp (Undercover Zero), Large Mammal, Robb Leef, Drew Liverman, Magick Outlaw, Nick Pimentel (Planaria Design), Gregory Pizzoli, Post Typography, Brian Potash (Devilish Ink), Public Domain, and Warm.

Paper Jam runs through June 27th.

At some point during the afternoon yesterday the weather turned from beautiful to bullshit.  Of course, there was no way that we were going to be allowed to have a prolonged stretch of spring. Even before the rain you could feel the swamp trying to fight it’s way up through the pavement. This is DC afterall, where you can never trust the weather to be on your side.

You can trust however, that the combination of gross humidity and rain that never seems to end means that summer is just around the corner.

And who better than our pals at Sockets to lace us with a soundtrack for playing hookie from work. So check out this awesome mini-mix, for stream and download below, and start planning how you are going to spend your mid-week day off.

Or, why wait until next week when you can just skip work tomorrow and call it a long weekend? This mix features some of the Sockets allstars, including Maximillian Dunbar of Food For Animals, Chris Grier who has an upcoming release on the label, and the Fly Girlz, who are just blowing the eff up it seems. Also, a tune from Hume, who you might recognize from their AON Session which went up last month. Tracklist after the jump! [Read more →]

Every spring, for many years now, a strange and eclectic horde has made its annual pilgrimage from wherever around the globe its happenstance members may reside, to a somewhat painful little patch of Brooklyn, NY, called Williamsburg. They descend upon this spot to partake in a festival immersed in audio, but strangely enough, not quite falling under the category of “music.” Even stranger to most people would be the antithetical name for such an event: No Fun Fest. These last two curiosities stem from the fact that No Fun is a festival of noise, a genre typically not known for it’s dance parties, nor it’s sing-alongs.

The brainchild of sound artist Carlos Giffoni, who also runs the record label of the same name, No Fun Fest is a place where noise enthusiasts of all kinds, (yes, noise, like any other “musical” genre, spans many spectrums, and has many subsets), can go to see performances by some of the most creative people in the movement. Finding myself spread, like a rancid marmalade, across this spectrum, I too followed the fold and attended No Fun Fest 09.

Let me first briefly say that I intended to film most of the fest in the same way that I did during SXSW, but apparently I am part of the evolved species in a land of dinosaurs. Shortly into the first night I was informed that filming was prohibited (and as the list of prohibitions went on, it was a good thing No Fun was in the title, because surely that would not have been allowed either).

This, (though I may be wrong), was not the policy of either No Fun Fest organizers, nor of Giffoni himself. But rather an antiquated law instituted by the Williamsburg Hall of Music. Forgive me for sounding “post-modern” here, but the only purpose I can find for this, would be to intentionally hurt the artists involved. In an era where paid advertising and promotion are actively blocked out by the average person, but fan promotion, which by the way is free, going viral can make a career, I feel that policies like this are asinine to say the least. I was, however, able to get three short videos before reaching the end of the venue’s patience.

What I did instead was utilize my poor iphone like a Swiss army knife. Using it to take, (sadly unprofessional I know), photos, and record audio (which I also believe was not allowed, but was harder to detect). Since I have already mentioned the limitations in using such a device, let me add that they are meant to supplement the writing, thereby giving the reader a fuller sense of the weekend.

On the first evening I arrived in time to hear the artist Raglani weave together a subtle tapestry of sound that engaged the audience and set the tone, (I suppose pun intended), for what was to come. The next set was supposed to have been from the popular Karl Bauer project, Axolotl, but when instead Chris Corsano came out to perform, the theme of randomly changing schedules throughout the weekend set its course. [Read more →]