Whats on this month at The Globe?

Thursday 24th Sept
Ghostboy with friends
Doors open at 7pm
Tickets $10 at the door or $11.50 through Oztix (http://globetheatre.oztix.com.au/default.aspx?Event=12476)

Friday 25th Sept
The Melodics
Doors open at 7pm
Tickets $12 at the door or a little more through Oztix

Saturday 16th Sept
Metal for the Masses: A Farewell Momento, Never World, This City Ignites, They Still Exist
Doors open 7pm
Tickets $12 at the door, little more from Oztix

Sunday 27th Sept
Funk’n Soul’d Out: Anarchist Duck, The Handlebars, Funky Junk Music Club
Doorsa open 6pm
Tickets $12 or a little more through Oztix

The mighty Small Change Press roll out the red tongues of three of their finest tomorrow at Brisbane Writers Festival. If you are in town, come along and make some (poetic) noise and get behind the poetry programmed as part of BWF 2009. If we all get behind it, they may just program more of it in 2010.

So here’s what’s happening:

BWF & Small Change Press presents:

Julie Beveridge, Nathan Shepherdson + Graham Nunn & Sheish Money with MC extraordinairre & co-founder of Small Change Press, David Stavanger.

Come and experience the wild and whirling words of these poets as they transform their poems into columns of air ready to be devoured by your hungry ears.
 
Date: Friday 11 September
Time: 5:15pm – 6:15pm
Venue: The Studio, State Library of QLD (SLQ)
Cost: Free

Earlier in the day, you can also catch FLIGHT.

FLIGHT = something is not quite right. QLD performance poets (and Charles Ulm disciples) Ghostboy & Pascalle Burton + guest pilot The Stress of Leisure present FLIGHT: their well feared Q150 experimental spoken word theatre in-flight entertainment for the first time in 2009 ,as part of the Brisbane Writers Festival. Proudly co-funded by Brisbane City Council’s Creative Sparks. 130pm-230pm @ BWF: Aud 2, The State Library of QLD. Remember – no two flights can ever be the same.

And later on you have the choice of Poetry in the Red Chamber featuring Hinemoana Baker, Bronwyn Lea, William Barton, John Bennett & Rosanna Licari. 6:30pm – 8:30pm, Old Parliament House, Red Chamber.

or

Heat 2 of the Australian Poetry Slam @ Brisbane Writers Festival (The Studio, State Library of QLD). Sign up 730pm / slam 8pm. MC Ghostboy with Tessa Leon + feature band The Stress of Leisure.

So get your poetry boots on and I’ll see you there!

Well the ALS 2009 Tour rolls on, and the 4th leg of the tour took me too the cooler climes of Melbourne town. The big difference on this leg of the tour was that guitar-slinging Rock Pig, Sheish Money was along for the ride. Now Sheish and I have played lots of local gigs, but outside of QLD and Northern NSW, the other states have so far missed out on the Nunn/Money experience. So I have to say… we were fairly excited!

Friday kicked off with the launch of Overload 2009 at the Fitzroy Town Hall, MC’d by poetic raconteur, Myron Lysenko. A truly beautiful venue and great space to mingle with the Melbourne poetry crowd. I was really impressed by the passion of the Mayor who delivered the best speech I have ever heard from a politician at such an event. You really got the sense that she was right behind the festival. After the speeches, The Heart Chamber featuring Matt Hetherington, Tom Joyce, Lia Hills, Marian Spires & Michelle Leber performed a set of love poems. Matt Hetherington’s poem , When I Am Not With Her There Where She Is, the absolute stand out and one of the best contemporary love poems I have read in the last decade.

So with the room feeling the love, Santo Cazzati hit the mic dressed in checked suit and matching hat with all the energy of a box of snakes, promising us to keep us safe from the Fitzroy Ghouls as he lead the poetry crawl, Takin’ it to the Streets. And we were off…

First Stop Dantes.

Kicking  things off was Gabrielle Everall (WA), who I had seen perform last weekend in Perth. Gabrielle delivers her words in a darkly musical voice. Her poems brimming with equal parts beauty and menace. Her set was followed by fellow West Australian, Vivienne Glance and the man who is on a quest to become Australia’s first poet laureate, Ben Pobje. So with the first leg of the crawl setting the bar high, the crowd was whitled into action, and set off to Southpaw in pursuit of Santo Cazzati and the offerings of poems by Anthony O’Sullivan, Jenny Toune, Kimberley Mann & Sam Byfield. Sadly, Sheish and I had to miss Stop Two to rush back to The Nunnery, get our gear and head off to Blue Velvet to sound check for the the third and final stop for the night.

Third Stop Blue Velvet.

With the sound check done and the crowd squeezing in to the lounge-room sized back room, we hit the stage to open proceedings. No intros, no talking, just the sparkle of Sheish’s big red Kasuga brightening my poems. This was the teaser for Saturday night’s set, so we played only three poems Nomads, Ocean Hearted & Seeing a girl off in a summer storm. The room feel into that deep silence, and for those few minutes, the world seemed to close its eyes. We looked at each and smiled, eager to play an extended set tomorrow night. We were then followed by the be-helmeted Alex Scott and Bribane’s surrealist wildcard, Ghostboy. A Ghostboy set is something to behold. The crowd is just as much a part of the show as the man/ghoul/poet himself. Tonight Ghostboy tied one woman to a chair and incited another pair of ladies to passionately kiss on the carpet. He was on, the crowd lapped it up and he lapped the cheeks of several men in the audience.

We had taken to the streets and the streets had embraced us.

Saturday was the big one… tonight Sheish and I stretched our poetic riffs at the Bella Union Trades Hall, sharing the stage with tap-dancing poet Jenny Toune and the mighty Sean M. Whelan & the Interim Lovers. Jenny kicked things off with a show that blew away all my expectations. I have to admit, when I read tap-dancing poet, I wondered whether one of the art forms would suffer, but within minutes, she put all those concerns to rest. She had the moves and the words to make the stage light up. It was a great opening set and a real pleasure to have seen.

Sheish and I were up next, and champing at the mic. From the moment we plugged in, it felt good. We opened with Gutter & Edge which is on the forthcoming CD and the sound, lights and crowd were all in sync. From there we kicked in to Save Me/Lessons, Sheish showing off his full-throated growl, with me stepping in and out to punctuate the verses. It was then in to the newer poems,  Sentinel and And What Voice Says. The dark guitar loop and lead flourishes giving And What Voice Says a whole new life. Sheish then pumped straight into the big open chords of Grounded before channeling Bootsy for a funky version of Oooo… We then reinterpreted old favourite In Devotion to Life’s Sordid Affairs and closed the set with Sheish tearing into the mic with his song Poetry and this Lost Shark, dropping in Point Danger between verses. It was a tight set, the interplay was good and we walked off stage, only to be called on for an encore. This is where the true brilliance of Sheish comes into play. I named a poem and he just knew the right chords… it was off the cuff, it was spontaneous and it was right. We walked off into bright lights of the Bella feeling good.

And to round off the night Sean M. Whelan & the Interim Lovers took to the stage unveiling a new set of poems, which reinterpret the Lewis Carrol classic, The Hunting of the Snark. Whelan is a gifted poet and performer. Tonight he swayed with the band’s subtle movements and writhed as they reached crescendo. The poems, never overshadowed by the band and the band… well, I was mesmerised. In fact I could have watched/listened to it all again. I look forward to seeing this project evolve.

And with MC Steve Smart, bringing the night to a close, we all stumbled off into glorious Lygon Steet for more wine, pizza and endless conversation.

During my time at Overload I also had the pleasure of seeing Eric Beach at The Dan; Santo Cazzati, Steve Smart & Carmen Main, Eddy Burger and Jo Truman & Warren Burt at Glitch Bar and launching Maurice McNamara’s debut collection, Half-Hour Country at Dantes (more about that soon).

There is something incredibly special that happens when poets come together… and this Lost Shark was once again, honoured to be a part of the poetry community. Sheish and I tip our hats to James Waller and crew for all their hard work. I hope you guys are still revelling in it.

To keep up to date with all the Overload events visit Overland and be sure to leave a comment.

NB: All photographs taken by Michael Reynolds… one of this world’s true gentlemen.

Don’t forget that SpeedPoets takes over The Alibi Room tomorrow for their annual Open Mic Championships… should be a great afternoon. Check out all the details tomorrow as well as lots of other upcoming gigs.

Sunday August 2
 
This is the big one folks! SpeedPoets fires up for its yearly Open Mic Championships, so make sure you are at The Alibi Room (720 Brunswick St, New Farm) from 2pm to put your name down to be in the running for some cool prizes including $100 first place, $50 second place + a whole range of giveaways. But most importantly, we want you there to share the spoken word love.
 
The rules of engagement are simple:
 
* There are 20 places available in the Open Mic Championships
* Sign on will take place at The Alibi Room between 2:00pm – 2:30pm or until the 20 places are filled
* Each poem read/performed must be the poet’s original work
* Each poet has 3 minutes to read/perform their poem (one poem only)
* If the poet goes over the allocated time, they will be notified and given 30sec to finish their poem.
* The poet may not use props or musical accompaniment.
* 5 poets will be selected to read in a second round
* Poets selected for the second round will be allocated 6 minutes to read two (2) poems
* If the poet goes over the allocated time, they will be notified and given 30sec to finish their poem.
* Judges will then select a first and second place (with prizes for the runners up)
 
Please note: these rules may be changed at the organisers discretion and judges decision is final. No discussion will be entered into.
 
And to add to the fun, our monthly riff generator, Sheish Money will be bringing some friends from his band Namedropper along to play a set of songs from their forthcoming CD.
 
As always there will be free zines and the monthly raffle. Entry is a gold coin donation. Don’t miss it!!!
 
SpeedPoets, 2pm Sunday August 2, The Alibi Room (720 Brunswick St New Farm)
 
 
 
Thursday August 6
 
Put some poems in your pocket and head on over to Cafe Checoco (Hardgrave Rd West End) for Poetry Soup. Plenty of Open Mic and jamming opportunities for all comers! The gig kicks off at 7:30pm and is a free event.
 
 
Wednesday August 19
 
THE SUITS SLAM OFF

ouTsideRs cordially invite you to THE SUITS

+ the AUSTRALIAN POETRY SLAM – BRISBANE HEAT 1

 ‘One of the most bizarre and brilliant live music events Brisbane is likely to witness this year.’ ouTsideRs Time Off review 

‘An idea that is not dangerous is not worthy of being called an idea at all.’ Oscar Wilde 

Following on from blowing Hunter’s Ghost at The Globe, Beau Brummel’s beckoning you to get your best suit on (bathing/business/birth/track, what have you) and get ready to kiss buttons as we present our second MASSIVE ouTsideRs show of 2009, stuffing David Byrne shoulder pads and Poetry Slam into the Ladies’ Lounge that is The Troubadour. Funded by the fine croupiers’ pockets via the Gambling Casino Benefit Fund, this night will be a three-piece American box cut with the best BrisVegas wordsmiths venting their hearts and words on lapels for all to wear and hear! 

Featuring track-suited drop six house band & their John Butler award winning hip-hop soul Impossible Odds,  the contemporary double breasted chicanery of MAJIK BOX and QLD slam spoken weird suit-master of ceremonies Ghostboy with well groomed word mannequins  Tessa Leon & Pascalle Burton….plus the usual ouTsideRs dandy madness! 

And this show sees the start of the Australian Poetry Slam presented by The State Library of QLD -  in true two-tone style, tailored lines and all. Two minutes to “hit The Troubadour mike and let the words take flight” as part of Australia’s biggest spoken word competition – where the audience is the judge! It’s a Rat Race, the first 20 to sign up on the night will compete. For full event & slam details head to: www.slq.qld.gov.au/poetryslam. 

ouTsideRs/Australian Poetry Slam Heat 1
The Troubadour
Wed 19th August
8pm doors / 8:30pm start
$5 entry / prizes for best use of a tie… Suits you, Sir, oooh!
www.outsiders.com.au

Brisbane’s ouTsideRs collective are putting on their dancing shoes and stepping out to The Globe Theatre this Saturday night for their first 2009 show – Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride.

So I donned my raincoat and caught up with self-confessed Spoken Weird artist, Ghostboy to ask about the show, the influence of Hunter S. Thompson, Slam and abstractions… he had plenty to say.

You describe yourself as a Spoken Weird artist. Give us the low down on that.
 
The “low down” is an excellent day beat in Kings Cross where cheap artists can blow their horns.  Most poets are into the “beats” as they wanted to do their father, yeah? Mine was too short, so I read a little Ginsberg and did myself instead.
 
“Spoken Weird” is a term that captures what has been described as my “righteous anger”, my need to touch people (not just with words), my sister surrealism, and my total lack of connection to the spirit or intentions of either the current spoken word or poetry “scenes” and hence those terms. I feel like an other, outside the scenes and inside the host body (poet/ex-wife David Stavanger) whose kidney I rent = alter ego is the loneliest number.  The phrase comes from a wonderfully sexually charged and highly unreliable Melbourne musician Yilton Kreen, and I co-opted it as a way to feel like my artistic highway was full of the right hitchhikers and detours – you want a lift with me, you better bring a towel.
 
It also speaks to the irreverence I feel for (and seek from) poetry/spoken word yet rarely seem to encounter – I seek the mad joy found in the abandoned ones, the ones who just experiment with life and breathe it into the mike…very very rare, like me wearing beige or enjoying a poetry open mic.
 
“Spoken Weird” also best captures my work with my lovers and muses Golden Virtues: part words / part song, out front of the strangest punk kabaret musikale beast to come out of QLD since Lady Florence….this project is really starting to explode, with upcoming gigs at the Melbourne Fringe and our first aural infection underway in the studio, and is now the Virtues only focus as a band which is taking it down to new heavens (and they are so raw / sexy / talented,  and open to sharing a stage or skirt with me too). www.myspace.com/ghostboywithgoldenvirtues 
 
 

Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride is the first ouTsideRs gig since the monthly event wound up late last year. So what can one expect when they do buy their ticket?
 
The return of the wildest free form show in Australasia. Acid droppers & drop outs welcome. The first Ghostboy with Golden Virtues live show since the infamous bed breaking finale at Woodford including new tracks and strokes for all the different folks. We will be shitting on the chest of fun – my chest will be proffered to all takers with quality shit on offer. We will also be launching our first video clip for Wolfish on the night directed by Jacob Schiotz shot gonzo style in New Farm Park. James Cruickshank (The Cruel Sea) in solo Hells Angel mode – he is worth washing your hands for and not touching your joystick on a Sat night alone! Mz Hinemoana Baker is making a guest appearance (hopefully in cabaret song mode – wait & see);  & the lovely Pascalle Burton debut balling her new set based on jazz, sex and her deepdeep love of scrubs. Throw in our MC Tessa Leon (back from SA for this), twin security guards Sezsu on the door and the the usual ouTsideRs surprises = including the make-up of the HS Thompson Orchestra (think then excuse yourself from the room, wash your bottom twice and smile) -  and you would have to be a horny monk with a new whipping boy to miss this one.
 
 
 
 
The event will be held on Hunter S. Thompson’s birthday. How has the great man of Gonzo influenced your own work?
 
I am new to HS Thompson  words as I can’t read, but not his spirit. However, I was once in love with a Mexican salsa dancer who took me down south to Playa de los Muertos, where we made love fortnightly and he read me Fear & Loathing through the cone of the his Bullmouth Helmet while we ate bbq’d iguana and threw the stereo into the mouth of cortez.
 
I will hand over to Pascalle here from ouTsideRs, as she is the most hunter hearted lady I know, and she had this to say:
 
Hunter S Thompson is one of those word artists that when you meet them for the first time, whole planets are opened up.  He was fearless, and full of fear. He was wild and exciting. He was smart. So smart you wonder how all the politics, sport, literature, music, art and humour didn’t make him explode. He drove fast through the American Dream and didn’t mind calling out ‘Swine!’ through a megaphone at any given moment. But this was not a man who wanted to throw acidic insults at just anyone – he had an incisive sense of right and wrong and who was worth fighting for. His internal compass was rarely swayed and very often prophetic. And if he was in your corner, he knew all the hooks and punches to guarantee a knockout victory.  Like all of us, his version of truth was his own. Unlike most, he had fun riffing on reality and raving lunacy and was interested in the repercussions of his rantings. Some people have a lot to say but say it weakly. Some have a way with words but not much to say. Here was a man with a desire to go fast and hard into the fire with a deep love of words at his core.
 
I love this: Some people have a lot to say but say it weakly. Some have a way with words but not much to say. So much is instantly revered today in poetry/spoken word – too many fucking worshippers, not enough goddesses (and devils!!!). 
 
 
 

You are also heavily involved in the Australian Poetry Slam. I recently read that Slam has become a brand name, not an attitude anymore. The motto: I WANT TO BE A NONCONFORMIST JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE. In another article, Slam founder, Marc Smith said, now there’s an audience, and people just want to write what the last guy wrote so they can get their face on TV. Well, O.K., but… this show wasn’t started to crank out that kind of thing.
 
Got to respond to this first -  you can read lots of things about slam, as much has been written: good and bad. The fact is, get to a slam (and actually enter) and then form your own view, all views entitled. The motto of slam was never to not conform or conform (what a wank of a quote), just to entertain and invite all to participate. Slam as an attitude – no, slam is just a show not a t-shirt. It is not a form, not a style, it is not a brand – though here I agree, some see slam as a career opportunity rather than a calling. Lets just call it = slam is just a great show, using a certain format with limitations and restrictions on some poetic forms and expression, with different flavours and intention wherever you go which won’t speak to all. Poetry open mics are just a community service where poets rarely listen and celebrate the ordinary way too much but they offer a sense of belonging somewhere and word virgins get a chance to start the walk to the actual bedroom. There is nothing more to either, the general quality of the art at both can be substandard and on occasions stunning (as are lovers and takeaway Chinese) yet both are vital and needed to keep fostering new voices and putting the artform into the public and media consciousness.
 
The actual audience cares little for such discussions – increasingly, neither do I. And I am not just heavily involved in the APS, that is just the end result of having been at the heart & groin of slam in QLD since its real emergence as a viable and relevant form via ouTsideRs in 2005. I just got called to slam, like herpes,  then had had the opportunity to work closely with my slam mentor and soul friend Marc “So What” Smith (US) – the true founder /forefather and social activist of the slam form. I have hence developed a deep respect for & understanding  for both him and the initial intentions of this important form of art entertainment, particularly in its vital confrontation of traditional poetic live forms & performance and in breaking down the notion of “passive audience” and concepts of direct inclusion of all in some form of poetry.  I am most proud of being one of the few Slam MCs who has never compromised his/her slam approach or philosophy regardless of the context or gig – I have pissed plenty off and lost opportunities at times for it… shit happens but my head is always high. Crazy Elf in Melbourne deserves credit here in this respect too…another true slam warrior, we have great fun MCing slams at Woodford together.
 

Where do you think Slam is at in Australia?
 
It is becoming a beast that some want to tame and sell at the market, as has happened in the USA. The Australian Poetry Slam is great in that it is a national event creating big media attention for the form and providing paid work to spoken word artists – it also (particularly in QLD) is taking slam to regional areas where there is barely even a regular writers group or open mic. However, the big prize money and size of the spotlight can also encourage a homogenised form, where the artist sets aside their natural instinct to try and strategically please or shock the crowd – better to slam off for a Culture Club LP or some tinned sardines, but the same thing can be said about most poetry journals, where form and aiming for their peers or the editor’s stamp of approval seems to ride over risk and originality.  Both lead to boredom and breed familiarity, which some seem to dig as it can be comforting like warm milk and nan’s cookies but personally often the most innovative work scores badly or doesn’t make it into the big poetry mags: that’s where you will find me, yawping loudly on the edges stroking my 2nd chin!
 
As for QLD – I, as did Marc, believe it is one of the most vital and unique slam cultures in the world – it is not just  about winning; it dosn’t promote a particular style -  it is an avante garde fire forum where we make all welcome (and uncomfortable), even those that just walked in to use the toilet (best beat in Brisbane is an ouTsideRs toilet after the 3rd act – take a kranksky and a napkin, and don’t forget to wash their face). 
 
 

* What is the most significant abstraction in your life?
 
Plagiarism. Hey, you naughty Mr Shark , you stole this from Michael McClure Personal Universe Deck – you need to credit the questions we fear sir.

(Consider this Shark’s fin slapped… an oversight in my original email G’boy, but you know this Shark wears spectacles and loves a good reference – see below for full details)

Architecture – I am hugely invested in how we are built and why the buildings collapse. Who is the writer you see when you look away from the mirror?  How many times can a man come? When does an alter ego become a citizen not just a skin tenant?

* Question taken from Cinnamon Turquoise Leather: (A Personal Universe Deck), Michael McClure, Talking Poetics from Naropa Institute
 
 

And finally, is it true poetry started in your right testicle?
 
No, David’s right testicle. He was experiencing alot of swelling and couldn’t come for weeks. The first doctor thought he may have delusions of testicular grandeur; the second just wanted to take his gloves off and touch it. Finally, I made my way up into his singular kidney (David has a drinking problem – he hates water) and set up my first milk crate studio in 2005. Better than the last one – was stuck in the bowel of Warren Beatty, man he was full of shit. Ishtar for f&*^&sake!! That was me he was channeling in his fantastic portrayal as a hip hop politician in the 1997 film Bullworth – I can’t wait to move on from this dud root of a poet to a strong Dutch sailor or a small dog in a big kennel. Woof!

The Psychiatrist
                   by Ghostboy

The Psychiatrist can prescribe you pills.
The Psychiatrist can give you a script
or several pills dependent on the diagnosis.

they can give you pills to stop worrying
pills to start having an erection again
pills to stop obsessive thoughts and irrational beliefs
such as the world is going to end or the sink is dirty
like a big wet asshole.

When you leave the office
the psychiatrist starts smiling and swallows several pills
then smiles some more. it collects ties from around
the world and often dreams of showing these
to its patients but fears they will not understand
as the patients are all crazy.
 
The Psychiatrist can give you a title.
The Psychiatrist can give you a new name
so that when you start barking on the train
you can introduce yourself on your own terms.

when you are at its desk
it will not smile but will frown
if you say you are not happy:
if you say the pills make you feel
small it will only write more.

The Psychiatrist is a doctor.
The Psychiatrist can take your pulse
or remove your kidney should the
situation arise. More likely they will
take your money and tell you
you should  be okay in 12 months
but something will always be
wrong with you.

This Sunday, April 26, Brisbane’s surrealist spoken word ringmaster Ghostboy will gather a few of his f(r)iends together for a stripped down afternoon of poetry and performance at Brisbane Square Library. It’s all happening in the Sound and Vision Lounge on Level One from 12:00pm – 2:15pm as part of the monthly Acoustics on Sunday gigs.

First up in the three prong poetic arsenal is local rhyme-spittin’ genre bender DarkWing Dubs. DarkWing got the room stomping at the last SpeedPoets with his unique blend of sci-fi spoken word & hip hop.

Next up is an up close and personal set from Ghostboy and his muse, the delightful Skye Staniford. Ghostboy’s shows have been known to move people in ways they never knew possible.

Here’s a clip of Ghostboy doing his thing at The Globe Theatre in Brisbane: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7QGczPoJhI

And to round things off, Sheish Money & I will be performing tracks from our forthcoming album ‘The Stillest Hour’. You can listen to a track from the new album here: http://www.pool.org.au/audio/graham_nunn/in_devotion_to_lifes_sordid_affairs

This is bound to be an afternoon of words to excite more than your ears.

Love to see you there…

Friday April 17
 
Contraverse launches into 2009 at The Book Nook, Boundary St. West End from 7pm with Round Robin Open Mic and a feature set from Miss Ruby Fizz herself, Zenobia Frost. Entry is free.
 
 
 
Saturday April 18
 
Words or Whatever is Brisbane’s newest gig. All the Spoken Word, Slam, Hip-Hop and Subversion takes place from 6:30pm at Black Star Cafe, 44 Thomas Street, West End. The April gig features performances by LESSONMC, SURREAL, MANTIST, TRIKS & CHARLIE CHOCOLATE. Get along and check it out!
 
 
 
Sunday April 26
 
Acoustics on Sunday

Sunday 26th April, 12 noon – 2:15pm in the Sound and Vision Lounge, Level One Brisbane Square Library. The live sounds keep coming! Some of Brisbane’s finest singer songwriters will be performing in the library on the last Sunday of each month and for the month of April, don’t miss the original sounds of:
 
GHOSTBOY & FRIENDS

Join local performance artist & surrealist spoken word ringmaster Ghostboy as he directs a stripped down eye into the void with his muse & sister singer-songwriter Skye Staniford (Golden Virtues/ We All  Want To). And to round it all off square, he will also present two of  his underground f(r)iends in local sci-fi hip hop genre bender Darkwing Dubs as well as Graham Nunn & Sheish Money – poetry’s answer to the ocean call.

Acoustics on Sunday @ Brisbane Square Library, April 26, 12:00pm – 2:15pm featuring Darkwing Dubs, Ghostboy & Skye Staniford + Graham Nunn & Sheish Money. Entry is Free!

Sunday April 26 
 
Ahimsa House proudly supports the local community-based poetry group in West End—The Kurilpa Poets. The next gig is Sunday, 26th April 2009. Time: 02—04.30 PM at – The Emma Goldman Room – at Ahimsa House, 26 Horan Street West End (opposite the West End State School). 
 
Our feature poet for April is Brent Downes. Brent is a dynamic, innovative, gifted and talented poet, writer, artist and performer from Brisbane. Brent can be found loitering with creative intent at most of Brisbane’s spoken-word events. He is the new MC and host of the long running, avant-garde West End poetry group, Contraverse.
 
In November 2008 he launched his first book of poetry Coat of Arms. This first, seminal book decisively probes modern, urban, romantic, lyrical, expressive, and conversational themes. His poetry fearlessly explores subjects you may or may not hear in a confessional! Hypnotic, cryptic off rhymes, off beat suburban lines, music for the end times, whispered declarations of post-coital love, yelled portents of sex and apocalypse, the last taste of wine on your lips—all pepper his provocative and enigmatic verse. Don’t miss a stellar performance from one of the young lions of the Brisbane poetry scene!
 
For more information please phone Vij Chandra on 0411 033181, or e-mail a message to kurilpapoets@yahoo.com.au
 
 
 
Tuesday April 28
 
Poetry on the Deck
 
Queensland Poetry Festival, QLD Writers Centre & Riverbend Books are proud to present the second Poetry on the Deck event for 2009. Join us on the Riverbend deck and enjoy the rural sounds of Longreach poet, Helen Avery (Seduced by Sky) alongside established local voices Rosanna Licari and Philip Neilsen (Without an Alibi) and emerging poet, Sophia Nugent-Siegal (Oracle).
 
Date: Tuesday 28 April
Location: Riverbend Books, 193 Oxford St. Bulimba
Time: Doors open for the event at 6pm for a 6:30pm start
Tickets: $10 available through Riverbend Books and include sushi and complimentary wine. To purchase tickets, call Riverbend Books on (07) 3899 8555 or book online at http://www.riverbendbooks.com.au/Events/EventDetails.aspx?ID=2199
 
The first event for the year was a huge success, with tickets selling out quickly, so book early to avoid disappointment!
 
 

Saturday May 2
 
Bruce Dawe launches A Good Harvest (Post Pressed, 2009) by celebrated Queensland poet, Maureen Freer. The launch will feature readings of Maureen’s poetry by Ross Clark. Drinks and nibbles will also be served.
 
Where: In the Red Chamber, Parliament House
When: Saturday May 2, 2-4 pm.
All welcome. Free.

Maureen Freer is one of  this state’s best-known and loved poets. Indeed, as Bruce Dawe has said, ‘She is one of our most immediately accessible poets, and one who has established a firm reputation over many years’. She has received a number of awards including the Premier’s Poetry Prize 1987 and the Order of Australia for services to Australian literature, 1984. She was Chair/Convenor of the Brisbane Writers Festival from the early Warana days for fourteen years, and also chaired the 1982 Commonwealth Writers Week.

Maureen was the first person to organise a poetry reading in the Red Chamber — featuring Tom Shapcott, Bruce Dawe, David Rowbotham, John Blight and Rodney Hall. It’s appropriate, then, that what is probably her final collection of verse is launched there also.

Sunday May 3

SpeedPoets is back for Round 3 of 2009! Be there as Brisbane’s longest running spoken word/poetry event takes over The Alibi Room (720 Brunswick St. New Farm) on Sunday May 3 from 2:00pm – 5:00pm. The May event features the delicate beauty of Ichabod’s Crane: http://www.myspace.com/ichabodscranemusic. This Brisbane ensemble conjures the sounds of horses being ridden on sand and snake tails speeding beneath gumboots… music to be shipwrecked to! There will also be live sounds from the SpeedPoets poetic riff generator Sheish Money, giveaways, free zines and two rounds of Open Mic. Entry is a gold coin… See you there!

SpeedPoets, Sunday May 3 @ The Alibi Room, 720 Brunswick St. New Farm. 2:00pm – 5:00pm.

then get along to…

The launch of The Voyage, a poetry chapbook concerning the adventures of Zenobia Frost with illuminations by Bettina Walsh.

Time: 7:00pm
!Metro Arts Basement
109 Edward Street, Brisbane
Featuring [~support act TBA~]
$5 entry / free drinks and nibblies
http://zenobiafrost.wordpress.com/

Presented by SweetWater Press

Another fundraiser for the Bristol Festival tonight, this time at the Black Swan over in Easton. Usual massive line up of musical goodness, but with a whole load of live painting as well.

Names confirmed so far are Ghostboy, 45 RPM, DVS1 & Stars, Eveson, Kev Munday, Lulu, Windy, DBO and MD, and you never know who else will turn up at a night like this. Certainly interesting to see Ghostboy getting involved, not seen him at something like this before.

Here’s the wall they got for painting…

…and here’s the flyer if you’ve not seen it out and about already.

SpeedPoets rolls around again on Sunday April 5 and this month’s music feature is Brisbane songbird Skye Staniford. Skye is a member of local music outfits,  ‘We All Want To’ and ‘Golden Virtues’, who regularly collaborate with Brisbane’s Ringmaster of Debauched Cabaret, Ghostboy, so I asked her the big question… Where do the Words Come From?

Her reply…

In bursts from my mind. Past, present and imagined love. Being. 

Beautiful, tell me more, I said… and she did:

Influences

I’m influenced or inspired by many things I come across. It’s a recurring process:

1. Come across ‘thing’. IE: book, album, sauce.

2. Get caught up in the moment of ‘thing’. IE: adopt language of book, begin singing in same style as on album, start putting Worcestershire Sauce on everything.

3. Initial hit of thing wears off. IE: finish book, get bored of album, start questioning the versatility of Worcestershire Sauce.

4. Some element of ‘thing’ weaves its way into me forever ie: A love and gift for using Nadsat, a love and gift for singing harmonies (thanks Simon, thanks Garfunkel), a love and gift for preparing and consuming  an incredible Bloody Mary, and we all know who the star of that show is…

It’s all about the ‘thing’.

The writing process

The pen is romantic but the keyboard is swift. Writing the words and working out how to express what I’m feeling and wanting on the guitar is a very strange ‘thing’. Explain I cannot. I have to jump on any desire to write straight away or it vanishes. I rarely practice. I don’t sit down and go ‘ok, I’m going to write a song now’. When I have done this in the past, the songs have been shit. I’m not extremely prolific but I’d like to think that means I’m a quality over quantity kind of girl.

The importance of voice

I’m a flautist and singer who smokes. I spent a large part of my childhood in hospital, hooked up to machines, with acute athsma. So aside from being insane, I will say that I don’t value and respect ‘the importance of voice’ enough.

Recurring themes

Longing and dysfunction. Satisfaction and contentment. Caring too much or not enough. Infected tattoos.

How have my feelings about lyrics, changed since I first started writing?

I used to be able to hammer out a stream of consciousness filled with mistaken rhyme. I also used to go night swimming on mushrooms. I’m more careful these days – less is definitely more.

Find Out More:

http://www.myspace.com/skyestaniford

GOLDEN VIRTUES BIO

“ Brisbane ’s premier folk and roll outfit” – RAVE MAGAZINE

 Here we have a spearfishing guitarist. He can find a feast on any suburban street. Where we see pavers Reece sees starfruit. Background: Garage, Punk, Stoner Rock. Foreground: Words, Voice, Guitar, Bass, Harmonica. 

Coming up like a hurricane is our Shakespearean Siren and calligraphic enigma. An olde world, r-rolling violinist; Hannah Jane sings sweeter than syrup and looks like a wrapped present in any garment. Background: Classical, Gypsy, Folk. Foreground: Words, Voice, Violin, Guitar, Keys.

To her left we have a wandering minstrel. All legs and mellow, Robbie is a teleported-from-the-seventies cat, a melody-mining machine who loves on the frets like he loves vintage vinyl. Background: Prog Rock, Psychedelic, Experimental. Foreground: Voice, Bass, Guitar, Mandolin.

Then there is the ale-sipping chanteuse Skye, who sings off headlands and relates to the pied piper. She wants to eat a devilled egg and lay across your piano. Background: Blues, Doo Wop, 90’s Rock. Foreground: Words, Voice, Flute, Guitar, Bass, Tambourine.

Lastly, a true gentleman. Radovan holds his knife like a jazz drummer and plays a mean slide ukulele with a ripe pear. A Serbian pimp daddy with the crib to prove it, he reigns on sticks and mallets but draws the line at brushes. Background: Metal, Hip Hop, Heavy Rock. Foreground: Drums, Percussion

Catch Skye live at SpeedPoets when it returns for its second gig of 2009 on Sunday April 5. It all happens at the The Alibi Room, 720 Brunswick St, New Farm from 2pm. The gig will also feature local spoken word/hip-hop artist Dark Wing Dubs and Pru Gell (Northern Territory). There will also be live sounds from the SpeedPoets engine room of Sheish Money, free zines, giveaways and the hottest Open Mic section in our fine city. Entry is a gold coin donation. See you there!

SpeedPoets: Sunday April 5, 2pm – 5pm @ The Alibi Room, 720 Brunswick St. New Farm.

Interesting show starting this weekend with lots of Bristol names in it, interesting choice of venue too for those who know the Bristol graf history connected with it. Here’s the chat.

1LOVEART.COM London Shows February 2009

Sun 22nd – 25th February 2009 – Westbourne Studios, 242 Acklam Rd, W10 5JJ.

‘The New Originals’ will be bringing new work to London town in February, with a group show and afternoon shin dig and fantastic new work - to warm your cockles on Sunday 22nd February at Westbourne Studios, Notting Hill.

Sunday 22 Feb From 3 – 6 pm
New and original urban art from;

Dora
Paris
Milk
Motorboy
Starchild
Sickboy
The Art Tart
Felix FLX Braun
Eelus
GhostBoy
KGuy
Floyd
Nick Walker
Tmajik
Jim Starr
DM
Gastro
LL Brainwashed
Michelle Barker
Alison Black
Hine
Simon Mills
Richard Heslop
Rachel Bright
3 Megabits
Paul Whitfield

More Artists to be confirmed…

Sat 28th Feb – 22nd March 2009, Upstairs at The Nellie Dean – 89 Dean Street, W1D 3SU

A smaller selection of work from the ‘New Originals’ will be showing at the Nellie Dean.

EDIT: turns out they sent the wrong link for the show over, for those interested it’s actually www.1loveart.com

It’s Friday evening… time to enjoy the gift of laughter, friends, poetry. I received this gift from David Stavanger and wanted to share it with you. Let your hair down and enjoy!

MANIFESTO for Another Lost Shark’s beard

he arrived at the café
late for their meeting
with fresh hair growth
around his chin and top lip

he was the kind of man
who grew facial hair
like a part-time actor
                     lacking conviction
                     preparing to play
an underground communist writer
based in eastern Mt Gravatt
in a low budget Australian comedy
destined for the small screen world
of SBS after midnight

having said that
the goatee sat with his glasses well
                     brought his eyes back from exile
                     readied his mouth to conquer the suburbs
spoke of a time
where he may have woken each day
alone
with a red glint in one eye and a
strange manifesto
                     thumbed through
ready on the bedside table

About David:

David Stavanger’s poetry has been published. Occasionally, not widely. His work has been described as “unabashedly feral”. He agrees with that, in principle. His facial hair has been described as “sharp and grizzly bear”. He prefers women without claws. His new collection of poetry And the Ringmaster Said… was released by Small Change Press in 2008. He has a spoken word AVO out on his performance poetry altar ego Ghostboy aka ‘the beast that eats the front row’.

Find out more:

www.myspace.com/davidstavanger

藤井樹的母親是一家電影公司的宣傳部部長，工作十分繁忙，別人都下了班，她還要出外搞首映之類的活動，很多時要到深夜才能拖著疲憊的軀殼回家。不過她愛子之切卻是眾所周知的，每次公司有好的片子，她就會帶同兒子一同看首映，順便共渡天倫。

「藤井部長，快五點半了，快回家陪你的心肝寶貝吧！」她的助手今天就這樣提醒她。
「對，謝謝你。」藤井母親看看錶，把一疊文件交給助手。「請你幫我聯絡其他報館吧，我明天一早會向他們發宣傳稿。老闆真的非常看重這部片子啊，他今天已第四次千叮萬囑，說要在每一份報章雜誌看到我們排山倒海的宣傳云云。」 藤井母親輕輕嘆了一口氣。
「明天再應付他吧，你今晚玩得開心點，我會聯絡那些報館的了，放心去吧。」
「給那班記者一點甜頭就可以了，你知道他們都只是想拿幾張免費戲票而已。」 藤井樹的母親臨走時再三交帶後才捨得離開公司，開著她的小跑車回家。

車上的音響播著那聽了過百遍的久石讓電影音樂專輯，這些旋律除了每天陪她上班下班外，還是她回憶的配樂。她與藤井樹看過的宮崎駿動畫，會隨著音樂一部一部的出現在她的腦海中。從《風之谷》、《天空之城》到《千與千尋》及《貓之報恩》，一一見證著兒子的成長過程。

「樹，今天上學開心嗎？」藤井母問坐在她身旁又年長一歲的兒子。
「沒甚麼。」藤井樹習慣性地別過臉望向窗外，口中喃喃的說：「籃球隊為我弄了個蛋糕。」

「是嗎？那太好了。」藤井母心想，這孩子總是要裝出一副滿不在乎的樣子。「是吉田信和橋本堯他們吧，下次讓我向他們道謝。」
「唔。」藤井樹仍漠漠的望向車外。「我們去哪裡？」
「那小酒吧叫EnerG，在市中心幾間戲院的中間，公司上月在那兒搞過party，蠻好的。」藤井母向他瞇了一眼。「你夠歲數了，很快輪到你帶媽媽出外見識見識了！」

藤井母和兒子也沒有再多言，大家都被久石讓的音樂帶進了無邊的思海之中。很快，他們的黃色小跑車來到市中心，藤井母純熟地駛進了一條小巷，控制盤一扭、空檔、拉手制、熄匙。「到了。」她說。

那家小酒吧就在幾間戲院的中間，一點也不起眼，途人要格外留神才看到牆身的塗鴉寫著EnerG的字樣。小酒吧的門口在二樓，藤井樹一邊跟著媽媽，一邊打量牆上的噴畫，「媽媽怎麼帶我來這樣的地方？」他暗自籌算。

「Miss Fujii, Welcome.」一踏進門口，一位束馬尾的女孩就先給藤井母一個熊抱，然後帶著好奇的口吻說：「So this is your son?」女孩從頭到腳打量藤井樹，藤井樹被看得很不自在。「樹，這是Kate，她爸爸是這兒的老闆。」藤井母再說：「她懂得聽中文的。」

Kate笑了一笑，伸出手，「Hi, nice to meet you, Shu.」藤井樹這時才認真看清楚她的面容，Kate是名中外混血兒，比他還要高一截，在化妝品下仍可見她清秀的五官。「嗨。」藤井樹淡淡的說。

Kate帶他們來到靠窗的四人座位，這兒地方不大，幾張餐桌已經坐滿了，播著techno的音樂，人不多感覺卻很熱鬧。「Help yourself. I’ll go check on dad and be right back.」然後就朝廚房離去。

「還有其他人要來嗎？」藤井樹問。

–Ghostboy 2–

If any of you are in QLD and looking to take in some amazing art between Christmas and New Year, you should come on up to the Woodford Folk Festival.

I am reading in the Arti Arti space with the lovely Julie Beveridge on Saturday December 27 at 8pm.

This is a gig presented by Small Change Press and Mc’d by that poetic chameleon Ghostboy.

Other poets to feature in the Arti Arti space include Sean M. Whelan, Matt Hetherington, David Stavanger, Rob Morris, Pascalle Burton, Nathan Shepherdson and Sezsu.

So if you are looking for a bit of spoken word to spice up your silly season, get on up to Woodford… would love to see you there! All events start at 8:oopm and the Arti Arti tent runs from Dec 27 – 31, 2008.

Couple of months old now, these photos, meant to blog them before. But kind of an interesting thing. Down Picton Lane (between Picton Street and Cheltenham Road). This big Sweet Toof piece was there for quite a while, along with some other similar bits here and there.

It was peeled off over the summer though, and seems it had preserved behind it some other bits from back in the day.

No idea about the basketball stencil…

…might go along with the Nike trainer near it?

Interesting to see another Dissident stencil surviving from a while back, likewise one of the early Ghostboy stencil tags too. ‘All of your door are belong to I’ is probably more of a one off though…

It’s been a fair while in the writing, and in a way has needed to be written for even longer, but in just a few weeks Felix ‘FLX’ Braun’s book, ‘Children of the Can – 25 Years of Bristol Graffiti’, will be published. Happily, this blog’s been given a sneak preview, and it really is awesome.

So, the basics. It’s 288 pages, hardback cover and a big thing too, something like 50cm across when opened out, so the photos (and there are around 1000 of them, nearly all full colour) are there in a quality you’re just not going to see anywhere else. More important in a way, with such a long history in the Bristol Scene, Felix has had access to some pretty choice photos from the personal collections of people like Banksy, Nick Walker and John Nation amongst many others, so the content ranges right back to the start of it all, and the vast majority has never been seen before.

Still though, this book’s not just a coffee table book like so many others, indeed that’s kind of the point behind it, as over many months Felix has spent time with over over 40 different Bristol graffiti artists, talking to them about everything from their work to the scene as it was then and is now. As a result, the book’s a proper and coherent history of the last 25 years of Bristol graffiti, where it came from, the stages it went through, right up to what it is today. Each interview hangs together as a coherent chapter, but together they’re woven together perfectly to create the overall narrative of this part of the city’s history.

It’s all too easy to say Bristol’s a great place for graffiti or street art, but reading the book it really hits you how genuinely great it is, how the Bristol graffiti is at the end of the day united by difference, how all the different artists have done so many different things over the years, followed different styles, yet all within the same area, often at the same time.

So, in a change from the previous few months, it seemed time to turn the tables and interview Felix himself about the book, it’s writing and the Bristol graffiti scene generally. Thinking he’d got the model pretty right in researching the book, what follows is the result of a chat in a pub over pints, mixed in with some exclusive snaps from the book itself…

Bristol Graffiti: So, let’s start at the start then, what it’s all about?

Felix Braun: Well, it’s a 25 year history really, written by an artist that’s still painting. I had wanted to write the book for a while, but it all started thanks to Cheba, who introduced me to his boss, Richard Jones from Tangent Books, when we were painting together at the Bristol launch of ‘Banksy’s Bristol – Home Sweet Home’ at the Apple (blogged here at the time). Tangent Books have helped me realise my original vision of it, (although i probably would have liked to have added an extra 32 pages), but they’ve stuck with me, stuck with it, and it’s grown. It was originally going to be much smaller, originally i had plans for 12 artists to be interviewed, but ended up interviewing 41.

BG: – It’s interesting it’s finally happened, as I’ve heard various people over time wondering who’s actually going to be the one to write a proper book on all of this.

FB: – Yeah, that’s the other important thing, I wanted all this to be documented, and that’s the other meaning of the book’s title, it’s for the kids of the artists to grow up and read it and have a record of what their dad or whoever did. It’s like 3D said when i interviewed him ‘How many people are lucky enough to have a book made about the best years of their lives?’ It’s a privilege, and this book in a way is like my little gift back to all the people that I grew up with and I painted with, and for those following on from them too.

Inkie outlining at the 1989 World Graffiti Championships in 1989 (pic by Scarce)

BG: – So how’s it been, writing a book? Enjoyable?

FB: – Yeah. At Times. It was really really hard work, but an amazing insight, there was a lot of stuff I didn’t know actually, because I had 10 years out myself. I went off to college, got into making music and so on, and didn’t start again until the time of Walls on Fire, in 1998.

BG: – Did you stop painting because of Operation Anderson and all that went with it then?

FB: – No, not really, I’d stopped illegal painting by then anyway. It was because I was into other things. The book was a chance to fill in the gaps in my own memory, and through it I’ve made so many friends, getting to know other writers and getting inside people’s heads. Like with TNP for example, it took me months and months and months to get them to speak to me, and it was done under very strict conditions, because people who are out there hitting trains have got so much more to lose than someone who’s moved up to London now and is out there doing prints and doing gallery shows. My status as a writer has allowed me unprecedented access into people’s lives, and it’s also added to my understanding of the mindset and what motivates it.

Also being older, and looking back and seeing more the socio-political context in that sense, that’s kinda allowed me to be in a position to make some informed comment on graffiti and what it means, why it’s important, why it needs to carry on happening, and why cities shouldn’t be clean. At the end of Rowdy’s chapter, he says ‘when you’ve got no tags, then you’ve got to worry, because you’re looking at some kind of Orwellian sort of city’. Graffiti’s a sign that a city’s healthy, and that it’s got its own mind.

That’s why people of a certain sort of mind start to notice it, the more colourful and artistic it gets, the more it wins people over, and therefore hopefully there are people who are going to read this book who know nothing about graffiti, and it will be their introduction to it. They might live in a city and  start to understand through this book why people do it.

BG: How was it, tracking down and interviewing all these different writers and artists?

FB: Some people took longer to track down than others, some people answered their own questions before I’d even asked them, but most of them were really good fun, and like a night out really. It was great hanging out with people I didn’t necessarily know that well before I started interviewing them, but I certainly got to know them better by the end. I got really wrecked with certain people, and was having to listen back to recordings of interviews over pub clamour, rewinding it over and over again the next day to transcribe quotes. For me, the biggest challenge was the transcribing, and then editing 12,500 words of interview into 2000 words of chapter. Being a two finger typist, transcribing all of it was a mission.

Some of the unseen Banksy photos in the book

BG: Is there stuff you’ve left out, deliberately or because you’ve had to?

FB: I’ve left out references to beef, to arguments, because I think that the infighting between graffiti artists is only interesting to graffiti artists, and probably then not even to half of them. I think what people have in common, and what’s provided a thread throughout the whole story of the scene, is much more interesting than people’s differences. I mean, those that know will know, it’s coded but it’s in there, there are certain photographs of certain people’s pieces over certain other people’s pieces that those around then will spot, but it’s not really relevant or interesting to most people.

Apart from that the book’s completely and utterly no holds barred. There’s lots of swearing, it’s not appropriate for children, there’s some fairly grizzly anecdotes. There’s drugs and violence and agony and ecstasy, and there are some people who’ve written their own pieces about very very difficult times in their lives, with the art more there as a background to it.

BG: – Is there anyone you missed out, anyone you wish you could have got hold of?

FB: Well, no, but Andy Council said that he didn’t really want a spread, and he’s done so much good stuff in the last year or two, and before that too, but there’s been so much good recent stuff, that I really wish that i’d been able to find another couple of extra pages for him. It would have been great to have given him more space, he’s a great guy, and a great artist, and I think he stems from the same root as the rest of us.

Apart from Andy, I’d have liked to have had sections just of tags, just of dubs and throw ups, just sign offs, dedications and the like. That was in the original plan, and it’s ended up more as chapters on artists, and I think that a lot of people have missed out as a result of that, people who aren’t necessarily hugely prolific, but have made an impact. But you can’t cover everyone, and I know that I’m going to get grief for omissions and I’m ready for it.

BG: So the book’s about the last 25 years, what do you think’s going to happen in the next 25 years?

FB: In the short term, when the bubble bursts, and people stop looking at graffiti or street art (or whatever you want to call it) for the wrong reasons – for money or as an investment – then there will be a reassessment of what ‘real’ graffiti has done to explore the role of type and the letter form as an icon in art. We might start getting real graffiti recognised as fine art rather than having to compromise, well not compromise, mutate. I think at the end of the day graffiti will carry on, it’s been going on for thousands of years. Visually, who’s to say? I think if I could predict what it would look like it would be quite boring. Infinite possibilities…

Chaos painting at Barton Hill Youth Club 1990 (pic by John Nation)

BG: Do you think the book itself might have an impact on the graffiti scene in the future?

FB:  Well, the book’s there to open up a treasure chest, and if it encourages the next generation to go out and paint, then great. If people say to me the book encourages illegal graffiti, then I’d say yes, it does encourage illegal graffiti, come back and talk to me when you’ve stopped war and violent crime, and then we’ll talk about how serious a crime grafiti is. Anyone who wants to come and talk about this, i’ll debate with them face to face on the subject, because I think it’s futile the way they police it.

BG: Do you think things have changed, that graffiti is more accepted now than it was before?

FB: Yeah, definitely, but at the same time there’s a double standard, a contradiction within the council, where certain people’s work will remain intact, because it attracts people to the city, in the same way as Massive Attack or Roni Size or Tricky have perpetuated people’s idea of Bristol and brought in students and money and so on. The council are aware of these things, but they don’t ever do anything to support it whilst it’s happening. On the continent there’s an understanding of graffiti as an artform that Bristol City Council doesn’t have. The city hasn’t got a graffiti problem, the council’s got a problem with graffiti. Go and look at places like Sao Paulo in Brazil and then come and talk about Bristol having a graffiti problem. There are bigger things to prioritise, bigger problems the city’s got right now.

BG: So the law on graffiti is out of date now?

FB: Yeah, it is. Because it’s a visual crime, graffiti is an easy target. If you go and wipe out all the graffiti, it’s a very easy way of saying you’re reducing crime, whilst if people are sitting in their homes taking drugs then it’s seen as less of a problem. It’s ridiculous, and there’s a real problem, a contradiction in it all. Because of the nature of the art, you can’t wipe out the illegal aspect and leave the legal aspect, because then it becomes sterile, and graffiti on canvasses isn’t graffiti, it’s graffiti-style art on a canvas. When it loses that energy, when it loses that street style vibe, then where does it go? So there’s always going to be that contradiction, and if it didn’t have something to rail against, then it wouldn’t be what it is.

BG: It evolves over time too doesn’t it, punk initially was one form of rebellion, but then other forms of music grew from that.

FB: Yeah totally, that’s something that 3D says in his piece, that it was this new kind of rebellion that was more fun, less po faced than punk. You had a whole load of subcultures around that time when it all started that were very serious and po faced. Then hip hop came along and was rebellious, but it was also a great laugh, it was about partying and having a good time and colour and dance and movement and sound. That’s why graffiti writers are basically big kids, because they like hanging out and painting pretty things on a wall, you know, hanging out in a gang with their friends that they call a crew.

‘It’s no great crime’ by 3D in 1983 (pic by Beezer)

BG:  I was talking to a graffiti writer a while back who was excited to go and see the Marcel Duchamp exhibition when it was in London, which isn’t necessarily the first thing you’d expect from someone who does graffiti. Do you think the wider art scene, fine art so on, has had an influence on the graffiti scene?

FB: Yeah, of course it has, because when graffiti started in Bristol, it was just teenage kids. Then as the art form grew up, you had people coming into it who grew up and went to art college and brought outside influences into it from other places. Especially the TCF, who brought a completely different dynamic to it all in Bristol, because they were coming from an art school background, and i think that’s great, it’s benefitted it no end artistically. Because if it’s self referencing all the time, it gets stale. I love the old stuff, but at the same time, I love the typographic stuff, or Xenz’s frescoes, or whatever. The best art has to do that to keep growing, otherwise it just ends up like a one eyed inbred child doesn’t it.

Mr Jago and Xenz in the book

BG: So, got a launch party planned for the book then?

FB: Yeah, definitely, there will be some large scale live painting going on in the centre of town,  then a launch party on the 4th of December. Negotiations about where it might be are still going on, but it’s looking like a location that’s pretty relevant to the subject of the book and the history of Bristol graffiti itself.

BG: So, live painting by 3D, Nick Walker and Banksy then?

FB: *laughs* Painting side by side? I doubt it. I have invited Banksy, but whether he’ll come or not I don’t know. He’ll probably turn up disguised as a woman or something…

‘Children of the Can : 25 Years of Bristol Graffiti’ is out at the end of November ‘08 through Tangent Books. You can pre-order your copy here, and in the meantime, check out Felix’s blog about the book at http://childrenofthecan.blogspot.com

Was amused to find this down in St Werburghs the other day, a van with some stencils by Ghostboy.

Flying pigs, pretty well done, used to see them around here and there too a few years back if memory serves.

The reason it was amusing was I remember it being done back on April 30th 2005 around 9pm (if the timestamp on the photo is correct). Was done outside St Werburghs Community Centre during an art show and general event down there, pretty sure there were some Ghostboy pieces in the show amongst others, can’t remember the exact lineup though.

Here’s a photo of the painting going on, it’s lasted pretty well over three years then…

Everyone knows this piece, not least as it always seemed to be popping up in Facebook groups and the like as people excitedly thought they’d found a Banksy. Was done in 2005, or maybe even 2004, so pretty old and had a good innings.

This was taken in March 2005…

…but it seems it’s gone now. Shame in a way as the space it was in framed it well. Still, nothing ever last forever.

The Bell is a pretty wicked pub down just off Jamaica Street. Perhaps because it’s just by Screen One print house, or perhaps because it’s just a very cool pub, it’s long been a hangout for graf and street artists in Bristol.

There’s a good bit of graf inside, that will get blogged here in due course (the tagging in the toilets is a bit of ‘who’s who’ at times), but the outside of it has seen its share of work as well.

This piece on the front of the pub has gone now, though you can still just about make it out. It was up around Christmas last year, at the same time as it appeared in the ‘12 Days of Xmas’ show at Bridewell Police Station. Ghostboy and Ozzy Mandust collaboration, ‘Toffs Love A Bit Of Claret’ if memory serves.

This piece was round the back of the pub around the same time, a wicked tribute to Ireland from Messrs Dicy and Feek of the TCF.

It’s now been replaced with another piece by Sepr, semi-official decorator of the area round Stokes Croft.

Phewf, the Bank Holiday weekend’s not even over, and already there’s more Bristol graf goodness to be taking yourself along to!

First up, there’s the new show at Guerrilla Galleries this Thursday (8th May), featuring loads of different artists, including Cheo, China Mike, Deadgirl, Ghostboy, Mr Jago, BS51, Lokey, 45RPM, Sepr and many more. Going to be bringing you preview photos of that one in advance all being well, check back here in a couple of days…

The very next day, Friday the 9th May, there’s a night down the Thekla that, amongst other things, will bring you live painting from Lokey, Cheba and Nikill, check the flyer.

If you’ve still got anything left, then head on over to the Tobacco Factory on Saturday the 10th May where, as part of a wider load of events Cheba, Lokey (and possibly Cheo too) will be doing yet more live painting from 3pm til 7pm. Weapon of Choice resident Betamax will be on the wheels of steel for that one too. Can’t think of many better ways to spend a Saturday avo.

Speaking of Weapon of Choice, that’s rolled around again this month too, the following Tuesday 13th May, usual bizniss, this time Seza and Soker doing the honours with the paint pens.

Ain’t Bristol cool?

By the way, for those of you after some work by the ever painting Mr Cheba, his wicked little print, Chebastein, is now available from Tangent books too..

Should have blogged this before really, but sure those of you in Bristol would have heard about it anyway.

There’s a fundraising night on tonight for the People’s Republic of Stokes Croft project, down at (the new) Jesters on Cheltenham Road.

There’s going to be bands, fun, cavorting and general goodness, as well as some live painting and, i hear, an auction of some pieces too.

Wandered past earlier today, and bumped into Flx, who was painting the building next to Jesters along with Sepr, (i think) Soker, and others. Early stages when i saw it, but was looking like turning into a pretty cool piece already. Will go back and get a shot when it’s finished too…

This was a shot taken around 1pm ish, i think…

And these two must have been around half 2 or so…

It’s been needing to be done for ages this one…

Whilst i think of it, here’s the only piece of note that was done on this same wall, a Ghostboy from back in 2004, photo taken early 2005…

If you’re in the area tonight, head on down!

A friend sent me this the other day, and it made me smile. It’s quite old, from back in 2006, but it seems Ghostboy once listed the entirety of Bristol on Ebay. Have a read for his thoughts on why it should be sold and what it’s worth.

Beind these boards on Cheltenham Road by Bath Buildings was an old garage. When the garage closed, it got colonised by the ‘Art Space Life Space‘ lot. When they got kicked out, and building work started, the boards got decorated as part of the early PRSC work (a large ‘AAGH‘ being one of the pieces there).

Then, seemingly because of this, the developers replaced the boards with shiny custom made ones with pictures of how amazing the ‘eco home’ development that’s allegedly going to be there will be. You know the score, lots of shots of young couples being happy, in a way that you only ever see in such photos, rather than, for example, in real life.

Being shiny and gloss finish, these boards have resisted most attempts at graf since, even a sprayed ‘we want art, this is boring’ plea. But today, noticed some stickers applied to them, which were comedic, apt and by Ghostboy.

Close up of the little tombstone legend…

Close up of the top left of the shot, seen these stickers before, up on the Golden Lion on Gloucester Road, dunno if they’re Ghostboy too…