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Show reviews: Save Music in Chinatown 3 with Chuck Dukowski Sextet and California, more California, The Shrine, ARCTIC, Survival Knife…

smic1-long

Holy crap, our third Save Music in Chinatown benefit concert for music education at Castelar Elementary came and went and it kicked ass! The co-headliners Chuck Dukowski Sextet (above, featuring the legendary bassist of Black Flag) and California (with members of Jawbreaker and Green Day) were stellar but first there was Bitter Party (below).

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Giant Robot Time: 5.16.14 – Yoskay Yamamoto solo exhibition opens Sat. 5.17 at GR2!

Yoskay Yamamoto – House of Daydreamers May 17 – June 4, 2014 Reception: Saturday, May 17, 6:30-10 PM Giant Robot is proud to present an exhibition by Yoskay Yamamoto – House of Daydreamers. Yoskay Yamamoto is a treasure in Los Angeles. As thoughtful and charming as his presence at various exhibitions, he’s also a developed creator. His painted imagery is unmistakable and his 3d work which is often hard carved is whimsical and precious. Yamamoto will be creating numerous flower sculptures along with paintings, and as usual, will create an enchanting installation. Yoskay Yamamoto was born in Japan, attended school in Santa Barbara, and is a self taught artist living in Los Angeles. Join him and many of his friends at his exhibition reception. Music will be provided by Kalin Charles.   Event   GR x Krom Krom Kendama Night Thursday, May 22, 6-9 PM Meet the pros who are coming from Denmark: Thorkild May, Philip Eldridge, and Mathias Steen. They’ll dazzle, teach, demo and have contests. The last kendama night at GR was amazing and this one will be even greater. Giant Robot had visitors from San Diego and Last Vegas on a weeknight! This one will be a blast too. Come down. We’ll have Krom kendamas for sale and they’ll be available to sign them! Planters Eggling Just crack it open and water! Cube Figures GIGO Blocks Mix-up parts from multiple figures for added fun! Single Planters Foodie Garden A growing kit for food lovers, chefs, and gardeners alike! Self-Watering Mini Planters Shippon The cutest mini planters ever are back! Kendama Krom Come play with the pros at GR x Krom Kendama night!     Meet the Bear and Little Nun (Save Music in Chinatown) By MARTIN 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). >> Meet Bitter Party (Save Music in Chinatown 3) By MARTIN This quartet is also uniquely appropriate for the benefit concert, taking inspiration and energy from Taiwanese and Vietnamese immigrant culture as well as the contemporary art scene. Here’s what the members have to say… >> Giant Robot Talks at SFSU, OMCA, JAMsj By ERIC I don’t get to San Jose often, but it was nice to be able to visit a place that seems so close to home. >> Taught a College Course – Achievement Unlocked By ERIC The class is actually about zines. The history, the reasons why, how to make zines, skill development, and putting together a zine fest. It was an unusual class that used academic readings and placed students in non-academic situations outside of classes and campus – the “valuable shit.” >> 2015 Sawtelle Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90025 2062 Sawtelle...
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chuck dukowski · human resources · martin wong · Music · MW · News · save music in chinatown · the bear and little nun ·

Meet the Bear and Little Nun (Save Music in Chinatown)

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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bitter party · Music · MW · News · save music in chinatown ·

Meet Bitter Party (Save Music in Chinatown 3)

bitter

The Chuck Dukowski Sextet and California have serious roots in L.A. punk rock. They come from Black Flag and Jawbreaker, respectively, and represent critical and cool moments in the DIY music scene in Chinatown and L.A. in general. But don’t show up late to Sunday’s Save Music in Chinatown 3 matinee and miss Bitter Party. This quartet is also uniquely appropriate for the benefit concert, taking inspiration and energy from Taiwanese and Vietnamese immigrant culture as well as the contemporary art scene. Here’s what the members have to say:

Wendy Hsu (electronics, keys, guitar, vox)
Nathan Lam Vuong (violin, viola, vox)
Linda Wei (bass, vox)
Carey Sargent (drums, guitar, vox)

How did Bitter Party get together? Can you talk about the band’s academic and conceptual roots?
Wendy: We met through events at Concord (an arts space in Cypress Park) and bike repair at Flying Pigeon. Over time, we realized our mutual love for bitter melons and bitter drinks like IPAs and Chinese herbal tea. Our name Bitter Party actually came from the parties that we had with friends where we ate lots of bitter things to rejoice summer abundance and companionship. Beyond that, bitterness refers to the melancholy war-era and postwar music that fuels our musical energy. As a band, we come together, or “party,” to remember our past and to provoke a communion over of tribulations.

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