Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
Wendy and I flew into Portland, had dinner with my old college friend and his family, and then rolled up to the Land Gallery where we immediately ran into even more friends: artists transplanted from Los Angeles Souther Salazar and Monica Choy, musicians from Brooklyn Aaron Hartman and Alicia Jo Rabins. Portland may be a small town but I guess the world has become even smaller…
Like me they traveled to Portland’s Mississippi district to attend the opening night of Tae Won Yu’s art show, REMAKE: The World in Paper. As fans of his album cover art for Built To Spill and Versus might guess, Tae’s paper constructions are as whimsical as they are meticulously crafted. Wendy and I couldn’t not buy a print.
The art was amazing but the other reason we flew up from Los Angeles was to see Tae play in his new duo, Poses, with fresh drummer Victoria Salvador. As Paul Weller went from the harder-rocking Jam to the more soulful Style Council before finding middle ground in his solo career, Tae has gone from the art-punk Kicking Giant to the R&B-tinged KG to something in the middle with Poses. Fans will not be disappointed and, yes, he is still a rock ‘n’ roll animal. And who is that setting up in the top right photo?
Before they played their songs at today’s noontime free in-store at Amoeba Hollywood, Wayne Kramer and Billy Bragg talked about Jail Guitar Doors. The organization was started in England by Bragg, with the intent of raising money to give guitars to prisoners. Not so they’ll be musicians when they are released but so that they have a creative outlet for the rest of their lives. Of course, its namesake is a song by The Clash, and when Bragg was telling the MC5 guitarist about the cause and the tune, Kramer’s response was something like, “That song is about me!” Bragg was embarrassed but excited when the Detroit musician agreed to sign on to spearhead the U.S. arm of the group. When the British punk/folk singer relayed the story to Mick Jones, the singer of “Jail Guitar Doors” didn’t even remember that Kramer was in it!
Before they played their songs at today’s noontime free in-store at Amoeba Hollywood, Wayne Kramer and Billy Bragg talked about Jail Guitar Doors. The organization was started in England by Bragg, with the intent of raising money to give guitars to prisoners. Not so they’ll be musicians when they are released but so that they have a creative outlet for the rest of their lives. Of course, its namesake is a song by The Clash, and when Bragg was telling the MC5 guitarist about the cause and the tune, Kramer’s response was something like, “That song is about me!” Bragg was embarrassed but excited when the Detroit musician agreed to sign on to spearhead the U.S. arm of the group. When the British punk/folk singer relayed the story to Mick Jones, the singer of “Jail Guitar Doors” didn’t even remember that Kramer was in it!