Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
Case 2 is a smaller one that's near the entrance of the Giant Robot Installation at the Japanese American National Museum Biennale 4. I'll try and explain what everything is. From upper left: 1. Yoskay Yamamoto made a pewter version...
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For the bunch of you who went to the Biennale 4 and didn't examine the Giant Robot Store Installation. Here's one angle of it. There are tons of details within so I'll make an effort in the next few days...
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The Bear and Little Nun was a last-minute addition to the Save Music in Chinatown 3 lineup. But the experimental/soulful duo is a perfect fit for the benefit not only because Mark Baar and Noni Rigmaiden are Castelar parents but also because of roots in O.G. Chinatown punk rock and modern Shanghai club culture (with Atlanta and Bay Area jazz and R&B connections, to boot). Their special set on Sunday, May 18 and Human Resources will be their live debut. Your duo seems pretty unlikely. Can you talk about your totally different backgrounds and how you got together? In many ways I think we are a most likely duo. But I do admit that our chances of meeting were a kind of serendipitous event. I write experimental music and came out of L.A. punk rock in the late ’70s but quit that style of music when hardcore hit in the early ‘80s and got into noise and artsy music. Noni came from a musical home, sang in church, and had huge voice but was into punk rock up in Oakland as a teen. The she went to CalArts to broaden her already amazing vocal chops. We just did our searching in different decades. I had been looking for a woman to sing on an electronic instrumental album and, of course, this being L.A., the more I looked around the more I was sure I was never going to meet her. Then, on the first day of this school year, there were Noni and Zara. They had just moved to Chinatown from Atlanta so her daughter could be in the Chinese immersion program at Castelar, which my son attends. I had no idea she was in the Atlanta or Bay Area jazz and R&B scenes with major players, and that she is this intensely trained yet profoundly original soulful singer who loves experimental and crazy instrumental music yet is very approachable. So one day I said something about music and she said something about music, too. And from there she came over and listened and l was blessed. Noni gets music–all kinds of music—and loves it in the same way I do. So it works great. Noni always lets me be me; I am odd and play my stuff and she just blows it up with her voice. And we both write lyrics, too, and we get each other. Everything happens just as it is supposed to. What’s it like to dive back into making music after taking a lengthy detour through food and business? Is there anything familiar about it or is everything brand new? I am that nerd that has always played–no matter what instruments I have around in my life. When I opened restaurants and clubs in Shanghai for a few years, I took a Strat, an interface, and a computer, and my son. I worked seven days a week and still played and made music. For years I didn’t think it was possible to do anything with...
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Back in the stone age/print era, we used to have a section of Giant Robot mag where we would invite friends and family to share My Perfect Day. Sometimes they were were artists, musicians, or filmmakers providing a glimpse into their awesome lives. More often they were regular dudes like you or me, simply enjoying and showing off their beloved hometowns.
I’ve been blogging a lot about the rad bands that are playing our next DIY punk matinee (The Chuck Dukowski Sextet, California) as well as how it’s going to benefit public schoolkids in Chinatown by paying for their music education. So you already know about it being a killer show for a great cause. But it’s also important to me is that people come to the neighborhood where my grandparents, in-laws, and now my daughter have spend time and have a rad day.
Holy crap! I still can’t believe Chuck Dukowski Sextet is going to play our next Save Music in Chinatown punk rock matinee/benefit show. I’ve never met the original bass player for Black Flag in person–although I’ve talked to him on the phone and seen him play a few times (pics below)–so it was a long shot when I asked. But not only were he and his wife/partner/collaborator/inspiration Lora Norton down but he added that they were fans of GR magazine and loved Chinatown, too. Yes, I have been stoked ever since. To get all of you as amped up for the show as I am, here’s a quick Q&A with Chuck and Lora about their post-punk jazz combo, family, art, and Chinatown. MW: So amped that your combo will be playing our benefit for kids in Chinatown. Can you tell me about the Sextet’s impressions on the neighborhood? Memories of music or otherwise? CD: I’ll always remember playing The Hong Kong Cafe with Black Flag. It was an important rite of passage. At the time The Hong Kong was the place that you really strived to play. I remember seeing The Germs, X, The Plugz, and so many great bands in Chinatown. The whole plaza became a punk rock mecca. If people couldn’t afford to get inside, they would hang out outside where they could still hear the music. I always made of point of paying to see bands because I wanted to support everyone’s efforts. Back then almost every band you saw was really good. LN: Chinatown is one of the best places in Los Angeles. Just recently, Chuck and I went to an opening at Shepard Fairey’s gallery on Sunset and we went to eat at Ocean Seafood on Hill. We often have Dim Sum there, too. I bought a beautiful and weird sculpture of rats and peaches at Wing Hop Fung on Broadway. That is the best store! I love the architectural aesthetic of Chinatown; it’s so over the top. I am glad to see all the art galleries but I wish they still had venues for bands! MW: I saw that the CD6 played Historical Monument #157 recently, which is just north of Chinatown on Broadway. How was that spot? That gig? LN: We had a great time at HM157! It is a beautiful old Victorian mansion with colored glass windows and a lovely big porch. I am an architecture nerd so it was a real joy to play the spot. When I was a teenager no one dared to have shows somewhere so pretty and fragile. The audience would just destroy things. It is life affirming that young audiences can dig heavy music yet not thrash their environment. And I have the best time playing with young bands. I feel very lucky to play in a band with my oldest son and that his generation embraces us. MW: It seems like the CD6 just starting to play out a bunch of shows. Do you get into...
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