Conrad Zero - Gothic Writer / Musician / Demonologist

Animator vs Animation II

2008-07-09T14:17:00.001-05:00

This is awesome:

Art Is Resistance
-Zero

The Britney Effect

2008-07-09T11:54:00.002-05:00

Here is an interesting study which looks at how people determine what music is 'popular' and what is not:

http://www.livescience.com/health/060209_hit_songs.html

Interestingly, the findings were that people decide what is popular by looking at what other people think is popular.

I mentioned this in a previous blog post, I'm just glad someone else did the research to back me up.

Art Is Resistance
-Zero

Book Review: "War for the Oaks" by Emma Bull

2008-07-07T10:19:00.005-05:00

This book has been on my list for a while now, as research for my own writing. I was talking with Roger at Magus Books, and asked him if he knew of any books similar to my "Demonslayer's Handbook" - an urban fantasy set in modern-day Minneapolis. He suggested Emma Bull's "War for the Oaks". (Careful, the Wikipedia entry is laden with spoilers.

Emma Bull writes in the introduction of "War for the Oaks" that she doesn't read author's introductions until after she's finished the book. After reading her own introduction, I would agree. I wish I hadn't read her introduction before reading the story. Sadly, I cannot tell you why without spoiling the book for you. You can choose whether or not to learn from my mistake, and I'll try to judge the book without any bias from the intro.

"War for the Oaks" is deeply steeped in Minneapolis, and in music. Emma Bull's taste in music is great, she constantly drops band names and song references throughout the story. Same with locations; you won't forget the story takes place here in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul. The story bounces around to some of the best locations in town.

"War for the Oaks" is heavily steeped in the 80's. Fashions that are laughable today are considered quite stylish for the time period when the story took place. Jean jackets with turned-up collars, and high-tops? Yikes. Been there, worn that, stole back the pix and burned them. It made me realize that unless you want your story tied down to a specific time period, you should be less specific with your fashion descriptions. But, "War for the Oaks" nails the fashions of the 80s perfectly.

The story revolves around the main character, Eddi McCandry, but thankfully is not told in first person. Eddi is chosen as a magical saviour in an upcoming war and assigned a Faerie bodyguard. In the first half of the book, the "War" is only a minor backdrop; shadowed by the relationships and band drama surrounding Eddi. She resigns herself to her fate as the chosen one, and goes about constructing a new band amidst shifting relationships, and coming to terms with the bodyguard who won't leave her side. The second half of the story gets more involved with the actual war, some of which spills into the real world, and climaxes with a classic showdown/duel of Good Vs Evil at First Avenue!

Emma Bull does a great job of making the other-world characters feel other-worldly. Their method of speech is proper Victorian, and their manners and customs are notably different than that of humans.

As far as *research* goes, I'm glad I read "War for the Oaks". It was enlightening to see how another author approaches shifting between different realities, and descriptions of Minneapolis areas. Her writings on band politics and technology are accurate, which makes sense, since Emma Bull was in a local band or two.

As far as *entertainment* goes, "War for the Oaks" is a good story for those who want a Disney faerie tale crossed with 1980's Minneapolis urban fantasy.

Art Is Resistance
-Zero

The Legend of Old Gregg

2008-07-07T09:17:00.004-05:00

"The Legend of Old Gregg" was brought up last weekend. After a bit of sifting on youtube, there are plenty of references to the show, plenty of clipped-out highlights, and most of them misspelled the name as "Old Greg". But I was able to track down the original show, which is divided into 4 pieces. The whole thing clocks in around 27 minutes. If you don't have that much time, check for "Old Gregg" on youtube, and see what all the fuss is about. After watching it, you will understand how Bootsy Collins got the Funk, and you'll know what people mean when they yell out, "I'm Old Gregg!"...

PART ONE:

PART TWO:

PART THREE:

PART FOUR:

Art Is Resistance
-Zero

Go Indie! Or, how the RIAA is like a spouse who attacks you with a kitchen knife

2008-07-02T01:53:00.000-05:00

Every now and again, I flip back through the archives here at conradzero.com, and yesterday I came across this easily forgettable post from a year ago. Back in March 2007, Gizmodo announced their position on the RIAA's unethical tactics, and posted an accurate and meaningful manifesto which called the RIAA out on their own bullshit.

If you are a musician, or even a music fan, you owe it to yourself to know the truth, and at least skim through the manifesto. You should understand who the RIAA are, and what they are doing. Once you know what they are doing, you won't need to be told that it's unethical. You'll understand why established bands like Nine Inch Nails are leaving their labels. You'll understand why new bands like Jagged Spiral have no interest in being 'signed'.

The RIAA served their purpose when we had nothing else, but for years they have actively fought against using the internet as a method of music distribution, and when they finally (begrudgingly) put their music up on the internet, they poisoned it with DRM.

This is the point where we don't need the RIAA anymore.

The parting could have been avoided if they simply gave the customers what they wanted (and were more than willing to pay for,) internet distribution of music that we could purchase and play on our own terms. They wouldn't give it to us, and the internet opened another method of music distribution, so this is the point where we say "Goodbye RIAA, it's been great! So long!"

The parting could have remained amicable if the RIAA hadn't decided to become unethical. Unfortunately, the RIAA decided to rewrite and twist the laws of this country to their own ends, and to start unfairly suing their own customers and innocent people.

So this becomes the point where we don't need OR WANT them anymore. This is the point where we say, "Piss off RIAA, you really screwed up that relationship! Fuck you!"

What saddens me most is that all this bullshit gets between the musicians and the consumers. The desperation of consumers to get at music they want is being held up by the greed of the RIAA to restrict access, and control how consumers use the product they sell.

It didn't have to be this way, but the RIAA made their choice. They went to the Dark side. They chose...poorly.

It doesn't have to continue to be this way, but that's for YOU to decide.

What can YOU do about it? Simple. Don't endorse the behavior. Don't fuel the RIAA's efforts. Now that the RIAA's antics are public knowledge, people don't have the right to be ignorant. Anyone purchasing music from the RIAA labels is endorsing, enforcing, and promoting this behavior. Likewise for artists who sign contracts with RIAA labels.

Trust me, there is SO MUCH independent music out there, that the RIAA labels and artists could all die today, and you wouldn't miss them for long. Finding the music you like is half the fun. Check out local bands, and "indie" labels. Look at myspace, pitchfork, Hype Machine and such. If you like music, there's plenty to pick from, lots of it better and lots of it worse than what the RIAA provides, and much of it is in your hometown!

If you want music to thrive, the best thing you can do is to give your money directly to the artists - go to their shows, go to their websites, and buy the art directly from them. The worst thing you can do is give money to the RIAA. Don't fall for I-Tunes. Don't fall for Rhapsody, Zune or Napster. Support websites that support independent artists:

emusic
mp3tunes
Magnatune
Garage Band
CD Baby
Yes, even Amazon.com.

If you know of others, please comment them!

Art Is Resistance
-Zero

Loss of Reference

2008-06-29T22:32:00.005-05:00

There's a piece missing. That seems to be the problem.

Anyone in the world who can find the "audio in" jack on their soundcard can record, edit, and upload their songs to the internet. Any fool with a video camera and i-movie can make a video. Anyone with a library card has access to a word processor, and the internet.

Welcome to 2008. No flying cars yet, but much of the known world can access the media created by anyone else in the world.

The part that is missing is in-between. Now people have access to all the media in the multiverse, but it seems like a lot of people don't know what to listen to, what to watch, what to read...

...because they don't know what they like...

...because they don't know what other people are watching, reading and listening to.

Stupid, right? Well, there's people who like songs because they like them, and there's people who like songs because other people like them.

You might have heard the term "Pop" before, it's actually short for "Popular", like the cute, blonde girl in your school who is always picked for things: Homecoming Queen, Student Council, 'Most Likely to Succeed', and of course, 'Most Popular'. There's people who like her because they actually know her and think she is a likable person, and there's people who like her because other people like her, because it is the popular and accepted opinion to like her, because it would make you an unpopular minority if you chose Not to like her.

TV shows? Movies? Music? Books? Religion? Politics? Same thing.

The difference is that some people actually have some facts to base their opinion on. There are people who take perceptive observations before coming to a judgement, and there's sheeple who need to check with everyone else before making their decision.

Which brings me back to my point: with all the media in the world a few mouse-clicks away, what do you listen to? What do you watch? What do you read? There used to be a 'man' who was more than happy to decide for you what was popular, in the form of your local papers, radio and TV stations: The Man. The Reference.

But that Reference is gone, and there are far too many sources scrambling to replace it. So do we go by Myspace friends or Facebook? Amazon or Rolling Stone?

There's a piece missing. That seems to be the problem.

Or, is it?

Art Is Resistance
-Zero

Review of the 2008 Flight of the Valkyries show

2008-06-29T20:16:00.005-05:00

An impossibly amazing set of performances by the female-fronted bands attending the second Flight of the Valkyries show at Station-4.

It seems that every time there's an event at Station 4, I get to the event late. The only exception was the Jagged Spiral show a couple months ago, which is a good thing, because I was in it. Here, I thought the event started at 6PM, but it actually started at 3PM, and so I managed to miss Aria Sharp, Something to Fear, Earthen and Dendura. My loss.

However, I did get to meet Nathan Block, also known as 'The SwordLord' and the promoter of much of the harder edged music that comes to town. It was an honor to meet him and shake his hand. There was enough free stuff handed out by the bands that the $20 cover was well worth the price. I only wish I had gotten there sooner. Station 4 is a great venue for gigs like this, the only thing better would have been an outdoor show with awesome weather! Maybe next year???

Here are the bands from FotV I did get to experience:

Visideon - Visideon played the First FotV in 2007, and were invited back for this year's show. They're a great band, definitely worth hearing, I especially liked the vocals. Many metal bands (especially female-fronted ones) push vocals down into dog-barking obscurity or up into piercingly high-pitched screams, both of these techniques are spices to me, best used sparingly, and Visideon understand that. They call their music, "Classical Chording meets Heavy Guitar", add in some Angelic singing and synth-playing and you've got Visideon. Keep an eye on this band, and get out to see them while you can, they might not remain local for long!

Benedictum - The highlight of the evening, Benedictum (San Diego, CA) really stole the show for me. Their power and energy were set to 'Uber' and their lead singer, Victoria Freeman channelled and focused all of it. She really pulled the audience into the show, running into the crowd, even taking her wireless mic to the other side of Station 4 to make people watching from the "safe seats" feel like they were in the front row! And any band that can pull off a cover of Accept's 'Balls to the Wall'? Wow, these guys are really amazing!

Shadowside - South American Female Fronted Power Metal? Hell yeah! Shadowside was astonishing and beautiful onstage. Check out their myspace page to hear a band that pushes all the power, energy, and intensity of Iron Maiden into their music.

Unexpect - This year's headliner was Unexpect, a seven-piece band from Montreal. Now lots of bands use the term 'progressive' in their band descriptions, and I've pretty much crossed that word out of my dictionary, since it's been misused into meaninglessness. Everybody who writes a song with a bridge or a time-change in it calls themselves 'progressive'. But I might have to pull that word back out, because Unexpect is really, truly avant-garde. The SwordLord had this to say about them: "Think Cirque de Soleil goes black metal amidst an acid-trip version of The Dark Crystal", and I can't think of a better description. The nine-string bass guitar was a trip! I have to admit, their music was a bit over the top for me, chaotic and hard to get ahold of, the same way I feel about 'System of a Down'. Each member of the band is hyper-talented, but I think they are trying too hard to be different. For me, it was like listening to three bands at the same time, but check out their myspace and hear for yourself.

All in all a great festival, Minnesota is lucky to have an event like this here, and The SwordLord enjoys pointing out that it is the ONLY festival of this kind in the United States! Hopefully he will bring it back again, and it will grow in popularity.

Art Is Resistance
-Zero

48 Hour Film Fest Awards Ceremony

2008-06-26T23:59:00.002-05:00

In about 2 minutes, the 48 hour film fest awards for Minneapolis will go live, and you can see this years winners. I just got back from the awards ceremony, and I can give you a 2-minute heads up that "Birthmarked for Death" took best Picture, and a handful of other awards.

The group team Chiaroscuro was up against had 3 films go to the finals, so it's no surprise that our effort "Fort World" didn't make it to finals, but it's nothing to be ashamed of, we had some great company and great competition.

...next time....

Art Is Resistance
-Zero

48-Hour Film Festival 2008

2008-06-18T23:07:00.004-05:00

Tonight, Team Chiaroscuro got to view their latest work of art on the big screen. Our entry for the 48-Hour Film Festival premiered tonight, alongside a gaggle of some well-done works.

It was a crazy weekend.

Friday 7:30PM. The genre we drew was 'Film de Femme' which aside from being a blatantly sexist genre, is also pretty open to interpretation. The prop was a fish, of all things, and the line of dialog was "You look very familiar".

The group assembled over pizza and beer, and began brainstorming ideas. We tossed around a lot of great ideas, and I think it was the wide-openness of the genre that made it difficult for us to dial in on any particular one. It might have been easier to start with more limitations, but by 9:30 we had a plot roughed out. As part of the script-writing team, I helped to flush out a script by midnight, a heartbreaking work of staggering genius called 'Fort World'.

Saturday Fucking Early AM - I joined the team (late: typical) and began designing the set, which was the interior of FortWorld. I swear, when we got done, it looked like the inside of the bottle from "I Dream Of Jeannie" After shooting started, I headed back home and helped my friend Reid Rejsa put together a few foley sound effects. I actually had time for a nap before the gang came over laden with video. Things were going swimmingly. Josh and I sat down to pick through some music, and "The Sarahs" began slicing and dicing the video...

...when the power went out.

Saturday 10:00 PM - I called the power company, and was informed that power wouldn't likely be restored for 4 hours. So the Sarahs pulled the video workstation, and took it to their place. I went to bed eventually, around 3:30 AM, and still powerless.

Sunday 8:00 AM - Still no power. I pulled my entire goddamned studio apart and fit it into the trunk of a 96 Saturn, and lugged the whole thing over to Josh's place. While I put the foley FX into place, Josh and Colin came up with some quirky musical pieces to slip in. A little touchup on the audio, and we pressed a DVD around 5 on Sunday, leaving us 2.5 hours to turn it in.

Tonight, we got to see FortWorld on the big screen, and I was pretty impressed. Team Chiaroscuro certainly has made some progress since our 2006 submission; this year's entry was much more ambitious. Aside from the power outage, there were no major technical glitches.

The whole project makes me want to do more small film projects, but one thing at a time. I already have one live performance to focus on... plenty of time for video later...

Art Is Resistance
-Zero

Theatre - Stare Down: A Tarantino Make 'Em Up

2008-06-05T16:36:00.003-05:00

My opinion about Quentin Tarantino is that he couldn't direct a hooker into bed.

So it should be fun to see how much better an improvisation of his movies is, compared to the real thing.

Stare Down: A Tarantino Make 'Em Up - A one-hour improvised Quentin Tarantino movie, on stage and in your face. Fridays, July 11, 18 and 25 7 p.m. at the Bryant-Lake Bowl, 810 W Lake St.

Tickets $10, $8 for students and Fringe button holders.

Call (612)825-8949 for reservations.

Art Is Resistance
-Zero

Vita.mn Presents - Design Fiesta

2008-06-05T13:44:00.002-05:00

The annual Design Fiesta blossoms once again at the Soap Factory. More than 40 vendors selling their arts and crafts, alongside DJ's A-Ray and TalkRadio are sure to make this FREE event a fun one. Food and Beverages available for purchase.

Open to All Ages!

Price: Free

When
Jun 7, Sat. -- 12:00 pm to 6:00 pm

Where
Soap Factory
518 2nd St. SE.
Minneapolis, MN
612-623-9176
http://soapfactory.org/

Art Is Resistance
-Zero

2008 National Conference for Media Reform

2008-06-02T14:47:00.003-05:00

It isn't often that Minneapolis gets to host events like this. If you care about the state of media, here is the place to share ammunition for the revolution...

http://www.freepress.net/conference

Art Is Resistance
-Zero

The Effects of media consolidation on [put genre here] Radio

2008-06-02T13:28:00.003-05:00

A recent article written for the Future of Music Coalition left me with mixed feelings.

The Effects of Media Consolidation on Urban Radio by Eric K Arnold analyzes how the Telecommunications Act of 1996 has impacted "Urban Radio". Don't worry, I didn't know what it was either. Here is the definition directly from Mr. Arnold's article.

"Generally speaking, urban radio is defined as programming whose primary demographic targets people of color living in urban areas."

Anyway, you could already guess the impact of governmental decisions on American business. Do you think it made things better or worse for big businesses? Do you think it made things better or worse for artists and small/indie businesses?

The effect is summed up in the first paragraph of the article:

"Let's cut to the chase: urban radio sucks. You know it, artists know it, and programmers know it too. It offers little room for creative programming, tends to favor established artists at the expense of new voices, and kills any halfway-decent song that does manage to land in rotation by playing it as much as three times an hour. Most of all, urban radio sucks because it rarely meets the needs of the local community from which its listeners are drawn. "

I agree wholeheartedly with all of this, *BUT* try this simple test: Reread the quote and replace the words "urban radio" with your own favorite genre of music. Country? Metal? Adult Urban Contemporary? It doesn't change the truth of the quote, does it? The bigger truth is that All Terrestrial Radio Sucks, for the exact same reasons. The problem isn't limited to Urban Radio at all.

So I have to take issue with Mr. Arnold's narrowing of the problem to how it only affects his chosen genre of music. Don't get me wrong, the article is truthful and accurate. But the conclusion we are left to draw is that the deregulation of terrestrial radio has ruined it for Black Urban America. It's not wrong, but it is being narrow minded at least.

So I'm all for whatever positive change can come from his article, and he mentions several things that YOU CAN DO to make things better, but I have a hard time endorsing discrimination, especially from a 'journalist' who should know better.

One thing Mr. Arnold does not mention regarding Things You Can Do to help is to grow some balls and not sell out if you are running a radio station. This is a part of the problem that cannot be overlooked. The stations that cared about the needs of the local community and used to play local music are gone because the owners sold off to the large corporates, or they tried to compete/cash in and started playing what everyone else was playing, to get a piece of the bigger pie. Either way, they had the option to continue playing independent music BUT THEY CHOSE NOT TO.

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 made it possible for large corporate radio stations to make buyout offers to the smaller independant stations, but did not force any of them to sell out. The owners and operators who sold out are more guilty than the government for what happened. You can look them up in the phone book and ask them why they didn't stand up for [fill in the genre] radio. Another thing you can do is open a radio station that plays local music. Then, when the big media moguls come around and offer you a fat wad of cash for your radio station, you can see what it's like to be in their shoes and see what kind of decision you would make.

Art Is Resistance
-Zero

Punctuation Story

2008-05-21T22:31:00.003-05:00

It took some sushi, ginger ice-cream and a couple "Tiger" beers at Sushi Tango to unearth a handful of old TV mysteries like this one. Anyone else remember this bit?

Art Is Resistance
-Zero

Fearless Filmmakers - 5 June 2008

2008-05-16T01:25:00.001-05:00

Strap In, Strap On, and Show Up at the St Anthony Main Theatre on June 5th for the next edition of Fearless Filmmakers. This one features "Mondo Bondo" by Tony Cane-Honeysett, and lets you Urban Kinksters release your inner freak (or possibly tie it down in an uncomfortable position for a while). Either way, should be an informative show.

The afterparty should be interesting as well.

Where: St. Anthony Main Theater (612) 331-4723
115 Main St NE
Minneapolis, MN 55413

When: Thursday, June 5th -- Event begins at 8:00 PM.

Who: Q and A will follow the screening with Emmy Award winning director Tony Cane-Honeysett (The Royal Academy)

What Else: Official After-Party to follow at a SECRET LOCATION revealed at the screening. After Party features free parking, free schwag bags filled with kinky goodness, live bondage exhibits, Fearless happy hour drinks all night, and the chance to experience the kinkier side of Minneapolis. Admittance with theater ticket only!

Tickets for this event are available at St Anthony Main Theater. Tickets will be available for pre purchase on May 28th. Check http://stanthonytickets.com to pre-purchase as this event will likely sell out. Ticket prices are $9 General Admission, $7 Students.

Art Is Resistance
-Zero

Trajan, The Movie Font

2008-05-15T11:01:00.002-05:00

Food For Thought for movie graphic designers, concerning the Trajan Font.

Art Is Resistance
-Zero

NIN - The Slip. Free. Now. Go.

2008-05-07T15:50:00.005-05:00

Looks like Mr. Self-Destruct has been busy. Nine Inch Nails just released *another* new album called "The Slip". I don't know when it came out, I'm only hearing about it through the grapevine, and I'm a registered member at nin.com!

Go to this website and enter your e-mail, you will receive a download link that once activated is good for one hour. Tell Trent I sent you. And ask him if he's cleaning out the studio or something, because with the Ghosts double album coming out LAST MONTH, that's quite a bit of music in a damn short period of time.

Did I mention it's free?

Art Is Resistance
-Zero

Start Seeing Scarlet

2008-04-28T00:10:00.003-05:00

No one seems to know what this is about

http://www.scarletseries.tv/

On the surface, it looks like an ad for a TV show called Scarlet.

Or, is it? There's NO listing in the TV guide, even though the show is supposed to air this week (either tonight 28 Apr according to the website, or 30 Apr according to the trailer).

An ad for Scarlet also appears in the lastest Entertainment magazine. But none of the press mentions a station affiliation. Better yet, the commercial for Scarlett is appearing on MULTIPLE TV stations.

Strangeness.

The consipiracy thickens when you check the Yahoo Groups Discussion of Scarlet. Some people suggest there is a connection to the release of a series of LG televisions with the same name, but there's no proof.

Smells like some kind of viral marketing to me. Keep your eyes peeled, and comment back if you find anything...

Art Is Resistance
-Zero

Amazon Goes to the Dark Side...Kind of...

2008-04-20T21:38:00.007-05:00

Getting your book printed is easy. I just did a blog post about Print On Demand technology, and you can read about that here.

Getting your book printed is easy. But getting it to the people, you are gonna need some help. For marketing and distribution of books today, Amazon.com is king - and according to Writers Weekly, the King just laid down the law:

Thou shalt have no other POD service providers before me.

Now if you want to release your POD book on Amazon, it must be printed on *their* POD service provider, called BookSurge. Of course, the whole POD industry is in an uproar because Amazon realized they could in-source the POD publishing themselves.

No.
Fucking.
Shit.
Sherlock.

Let's see, people step up and start offering POD, and a route to Amazon for independent authors. They start making a bazillion dollars, proving a huge ROI. Amazon says, "Thanks for verifying there's a market, now we'll do it ourselves. Blow us."

The only surprise here is that anyone is surprised.

You can listen to Amazon.com corporate execs blow smoke up your ass here. They claim it's all about making the process faster which is complete and utter bullshit. PODs can take the order from Amazon and ship direct to the customer, so 'making the process faster' is a flat-out lie. But there's no lie about how much $kaching$ Amazon is going to make.

Be careful, some people are mistakenly proclaiming that this means you have an "Exclusive" agreement with Amazon, (meaning you can't release your book through other POD publishers or other distribution methods) which is NOT true. Mark Jeffrey at the Huffington Post, for example, clearly DID NOT read the entire release from amazon which can be found here.

The agreement is Non-Exclusive, meaning you can still send your POD works through other POD presses, but if you want to sell those copies through Amazon, you will have to have a minimum quantity (as few as five copies) printed and sent to Amazon for stocking through Amazon's "Advantage Program". You can also release POD through Amazon/BookSurge, AND through as many other POD or traditional publishers as you like. You just can't tie Amazon orders to your POD publisher anymore. You wanna do POD on Amazon? You gotta use BookSurge, and you are going to pay whatever they want.

Sounds evil, but it's just a smart business move for Amazon to eliminate the middlemen. A clever businessperson would have seen this coming. Another clever businessperson would see this as the opportunity to step in and take the place of the 'Old' Amazon business model. Those people who were riding the POD gravytrain and are out of business because they put all their eggs in the Amazon basket can shut the fuck up and take this time of unemployment to take a class on simple business economics and examining market trends...

Art Is Resistance
-Zero

Review of Voltage 2008

2008-04-14T02:50:00.003-05:00

It was about ten years ago that Anna Lee and her sister moved in next door. Xtina and I were living in South Minneapolis at the time, and I remember looking out the window, and seeing these two young and industrious former Fargoians hauling furniture into their new place. I helped them with the bedframe as Xtina put together some kind of neighborly gift for the "new kids on the block". Candles so they would always have light, Wine so they would always have drink, and Bread, so they would always have food, Condoms so they would...well, I don't remember exactly, but something like that.

Well, that was ages ago, and now look, our little Anna, all grown up...on the cover of the Star Tribune and Vita.mn...[sniffle]... I proclaimed Anna Lee as Fashion Maven of Minneapolis long ago, and its high time the rest of the world found out. But since no one reads my blog, at least now she's finally getting the press she deserves.

Now, before any of you mock my rock-hard hard-rock sensibilities because I've attended every Voltage fashion show...be not fooled. Voltage is a mash-up of a fashion show and a 'best new bands' night, and I'm mostly interested in the bands, but I'm all for Anna's vision, and I want to see her succeed, so color me supportive. Just keep in mind that my own wardrobe hasn't changed much since the 90's so I'm not really any kind of fashion authority, and my opinion should be considered more Proletariat than Bourgeoisie.

Here are the bands that played at Voltage 2008:

ZibraZibra - Listening to this band was like being trapped inside an Atari 2600 that was run by the Village People. I'm not saying that's a bad thing. Their outfits were designed by Ivan Idland, and were an accurate representation of the band's music: gaudy, stunning, and outlandish.

The Haves Have It - Impressive. Think Jagged Spiral crossed with Heart. Three-piece band with female lead guitar/vocals, female bass player and male drummer. Catchy, punchy pop. Their new release "Friction" just came out last month, and I Have to Have it. I voted The Haves Have It as my pick for "Audience Choice Awards". Maybe they'd be interested in playing a show with Jagged Spiral down the road... Their outfits by EM/MA were cut as high as the price of gasoline, and smokin' hot.

Bella Koshka - I've seen Bella Koshka a few times before, and purchased their aptly named debut, "Slow Dancing on the Ocean Floor", so I already knew they were good. Technical problems with computer loops during the show taught them the hard way what Greazy Meal meant when they said, "...get on stage and push Play? No Way!" Funny thing is, the Owls learned this same lesson at the first Voltage show when their drum CD skipped and completely wrecked their song. Aside from the glitch, their show was top-notch. Strangely, their outfit design by Ann Alyse Clothing was kinda boring. What happened to the cool outfits they were wearing on the cover of Vita.mm?

MC/VL - I think it's poetic justice that the Beastie Boys get ripped off like this. Lots of fun N-R-G and running around, including running into the audience. Xtina even got to participate in one of the songs! Their outfits by Erin Smith were a nod to the Licensed to Ill era just like the music; Members Only Jackets?!! Ha! and oversized fake 'bling' before it was even called that. Good times. If you didn't like Early Beasties, you won't like MC/VL. I thought they were great fun.

White Light Riot - The Minneapolis Darlings who made the "Best New Bands of 2006". I hadn't heard from WLR since they held an industry party for the record labels to come paw at them. They were by far the Best Dressed Band of the evening, looking quite dapper (and warm) in Olde English Velvet outfits designed by Elizabeth Chesney. A trip-up stole some of their energy about 5 sec into their set, but he got it back towards the end of their set. A good show. I'm told their CD recordings are better...have to check that out.

Birthday Suits and only "Birthday Suits", not "The Birthday Suits". A two-piece band; drummer and guitarist playing minimalist pseudo-punk. While Birthday Suits guitarist made better use of the stage than Gay Witch Abortion, the guitarist's tone and singing voice were both tinny. When you choose not to have a bass player in the band, you need something on the bottom end to hold it together. GWA know this and dial in some wicked tone on the guitar (Check out "Action Cop" on their myspace), Birthday Suits provide some overdubbed bass on their recorded works (check out "Cherry Blue" and "Flying Man Y2K" on their myspace) but their live show doesn't, and suffers for lack thereof. I can't recall their outfits by Dan Patrick, other than they truly were wearing clothing and not their birthday suits....

Overall, the band choices were all pretty safe, a good mix of musical styles to go with the various fashions. I would say this was the best production for Voltage yet, but since there's only been three of them, that's not high praise. The honor is that Voltage is still going strong, and still turns a crowd and a ton of sponsors. Anna Lee knows that Voltage on it's own isn't enough to shake the foundations of the local fashion industry, so she's been quick to tie it to other MNFashion events: the "Fashion Weekend" and the "MNFashion Flash" contest. Voltage is a stepping stone to an even bigger vision from the fashion maven, and it should be interesting to see how it all pans out.

Art Is Resistance
-Zero

Why so serious?

2008-04-11T01:45:00.004-05:00

Care to play a game?

http://www.clowntravelagency.com/

Easy sure, and been done better before, but still...

Art Is Resistance
-Zero

P.O.D. = P.O.S.?

2008-04-08T02:14:00.001-05:00

Before you think I'm about to rail on the group POD (Short for Payable On Death) I'm not. They are P.O.S., but they aren't my subject here.

The POD I'm talking about is Print On Demand and sometimes incorrectly called "Publish On Demand", this is the replacement for what used to be called the "Vanity Press".

Back in the day, anyone with personal issues, a typewriter, and a couple grand to blow could become a 'published' author. Simply take your maysterpeasce to the printer, and pay them to make you a book. Easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy, right?

Right.

So, you ended up with a truckfull of books that sat in your garage. You gave one to your mom, sold a handful to any friends and family you could guilt into a purchase, gave away more copies as Christmas Presents, and a year or two later you had....

...a truckfull of books sitting in your garage.

Fast-Forward to 2008, and although we don't have any fucking flying cars yet, we have made some fabulous advances in print technology. Some printers decided to make short runs of books available, as little as ONE copy. Submit your book over the interwebs, and order as many as you need, as often as you like, when you need them. And thus, POD was born.

So now anyone with personal issues, a personal computer and a couple hundred to blow can become a 'published' author, and they still have room in the garage for their car.

Now, authors ('real' authors, mind you) who went through the traditional route of agent > publisher > editor > marketing... would argue the self-published author is as much an "Author" as someone who purchases a medical degree online is a "Doctor".

And publishers? Wow, don't even get them started.

I attended the Authors Book Fair as the Bloomington Art Center last weekend, and got to hear a panel of publishers rail on POD publishing. You can imagine what they had to say. They railed on the quality, and their mantra was, "You get what you pay for." They cried about how the POD business is cutting into the Publishers market.

But then they proceeded to tell us how our books weren't going to be published without some sort of track record, and a marketing plan, and some visionary (or what *they* thought was visionary) manuscript.

What I didn't hear was the side of the POD businesses, who likely weren't invited to attend the presentation.

So, let's add this up - Independent artists, working around the existing system, directly targeting their audience through the internet with crappy quality product, and undercutting an industry which makes money by selling someone else's work?

Whoa! I thought we were talking about books, but it seems we've ended up talking about the music industry...

So getting a book deal with a publisher is pretty much like getting a record deal with a major label. Even the contracts and advances are based on the same business model. Because they have the money and distribution connections, they make the rules, and they pick what they think will sell. The hand full of successes cover the losses of the hundreds of other artists who "fail".

Meanwhile, the internet comes along, and I discovered that the Major Publishers are simply another middleman. Indie Publishers might be a different story, the way there are still some Indie Record Labels that are worth their salt.

For a while there, I was torn about how to proceed with The Demonslayer's Handbook, I was waffling about getting an agent and all that, but making the mental connection between the publishers and the RIAA made this decision a little easier.

I still need more info, but I don't think I need an agent. My options now are a little clearer.

I can choose to Print On Demand. This would be like running my own business, something I continue to do, so invoicing, book keeping, and filling out a Schedule C don't frighten me. This is probably the best option for me at this time.

I can choose to approach smaller Independent Publishers on my own. I'm not likely to find one interested enough in my book, but it's worth getting a couple form rejection letters to put up.

Art Is Resistance
-Zero

Redefining The War on Emo

2008-03-28T10:44:00.006-05:00

No one should be surprised that Emo's have come under attack.

It appears that Emos in Mexico are falling prey to ALL other subgroups, or more correctly, mankind as a whole; "...punks, rockabillies, goths, metalheads and basically anyone who’s not emo."

If you got Rockabillies picking on you, you're pretty low on the totem pole.

I think it's some kind of strange quirk of human nature to group together against anyone who is different, and the Emo's "helpless and hopeless" attitude certainly qualifies. I don't really want to empathize with them, but I've been on the receiving end of the violence, so I know what it's like to take the long way home just so you don't run into 'trouble'.

Perhaps it's part of the Earth's natural healing system? Perhaps humans just have an innate need to act out aggression towards others, and what safer target than Emo kids? It could even be as simple as Jagged Spiral say in their latest song, "God Hates Emo".

Regardless, as much as I rip on Emo, I'm taking this opportunity to clarify my position: I've nothing against Emo Kids. I'll continue to make fun of them the way I would make fun of anyone else, and the way they are free to make fun of me; the way my sister and I continue to harass each other to this day.

HOWEVER(part 1)

I don't endorse violence against Emos. They are free to dress and act however they like. You are free to make fun of them. They are free to tell you to fuck off if you don't like it. Ad nauseum...

HOWEVER (Part 2)

Before you think Mr. Zero has grown a bit soft, let me lay your fears to rest. The Emo genre of music, and it's brother Screamo, are atrocities not only to music, but humanity. Therefore, the War against Emo stops here, and starts anew as The War On Emo Music.

Thanks to J-man for the story link.

Art Is Resistance
-Zero

Movie Review: The Deaths of Ian Stone

2008-03-25T01:47:00.005-05:00

This film is one of the "Films to Die For" from the 2007 Horrorfest. The main character, the aptly named Ian Stone, dies over and over, eventually realizing that each of his bleak existences (and deaths) are being arranged by some outside force. It's a Gothic cross between Groundhogs Day and The Jacket, with a splash of The Matrix for good measure.

Not really a must-see, pretty much average in all respects, although the sfx were well-done, and more importantly, not overdone. (Except maybe the masks towards the end...)

I tried watching the "Miss Horrorfest 2007 Pageant" in the DVD bonus features, but it's all apparently online for free, and I'd say it's hardly worth the price. Like hockey or football, it's something I'd rather experience than watch.

Art Is Resistance
-Zero

Movie Review: Gabriel

2008-03-25T00:07:00.005-05:00

Don't believe the mediocre rating on imdb.com, Gabriel is a pretty amazing film. Great storyline, and fantastic set design, on a budget and tight schedule no less. Ah well, what movie doesn't cry about budget restrictions when they *only* have two-hundred grand to make a feature film? Ha! In Australia, no less.

The story takes place in Purgatory, where a group of angels is sent from heaven to battle against a group of demons for dominance of this middle-ground. The angel Gabriel arrives only to find that the angels who came before him are doing Very Poorly: those who haven't succumbed to their pathetic humanity have disappeared completely, and several powerful demons are in complete control of purgatory.

Fans of gothic films like Blade Runner and The Crow should definitely see this film. And filmmakers will want to watch the "behind the scenes" on the DVD, which are Real Behind The Scenes, and not Production Crew Kissing The Director's Ass.

It was great to see the guy who wrote the music score for the film whine about getting ONLY ten grand and a year to do it! They should have talked to me, I scored a feature film in a month, on a budget one-ten-thousandth of his!

Art Is Resistance
-Zero