BIG HEAVY WORLD NEWZRAG #21 August 12, 2001
The news of www.bigheavyworld.com and the music of Burlington, Vermont
Here's the INDIECON SPECIAL EDITION of our modest little 'rag... a heads-up that next Saturday is a very special day indeed for anyone with love for our local music scene. Grok the IndieCon info below, and welcome yourself to the first year of an event we hope to make an annual beacon of inspiration to friends, fans, and musicians of all stripes. Remember to toss your Vermont music news our way at groundzero@bigheavyworld.com and we'll stuff this rag with your good luv.
STUFF INSIDE:
INDIECON THIS SATURDAY: MUSIC, FILMS AND A COMMUNITY FORUM!!!
A SPECIAL INVITATION FROM JIM BRANCA & FRIEND
BHW THANKS!
BIG HEAVY WORLD RECORD LABEL NEWS:
CHAINSAWS.AND.CHILDREN'S ELECTROHELL ROLLS ON...
FOR THE MUSIC MAKERS AND DREAM WEAVERS:
CONGRATS TO 242 MAIN
BHW BULLETIN BOARD: ENTER THE FRAY
-----
LOCAL MUSIC NEWS:
BHW'S INDIECON THIS SATURDAY 8/18: FILM, MUSIC, AND CIVIC SLAPDOWN
INDIECON August 18 at the new FlynnSpace (downstairs from the Flynn Theatre, 147 Main Street in Burlington, VT). From 1pm to 1am we'll be hosting an unprecedented event connecting musicians, fans and the City of Burlington in a spirit of informed debate and celebration of our cherished local music scene. Check this:
>***<
1:30-2:15
First, Andrew Huff from CEDO (the Community and Economic Development Office) will explain HOW BURLINGTON CITY GOVERNMENT WORKS... in terms we can all understand. Point being to give all of us the power to change the way things work if we happen to disagree with the system.
>***<
2:30-4:30
Then, a moderated panel of the people closest to the subject of ALL-AGE SHOWS IN DOWNTOWN BURLINGTON will give us the behind-the-scenes scoop. New city rules have altered that landscape a little bit... we'll hear why from City Hall, and discuss what's good, what's bad, and what could be changed (if necessary) to improve the situation. Confirmed panelists include Asst. City Attorney Gene Bergman, Club Metronome/Red Square Owner Jack O'Brien; Julia Austin from Zola Turn; Chris Valyou from Wreckinghorn; Richard Bailey from 242 Main, former Club Toast owner Justin Wygmans, Jimmy Swift from First Night Burlington (and formerly with Discover Jazz), City Councilor William Keogh, and Lt. Walter Decker from the Burlington Police Department.
>***<
Then: TWO INDEPENDENT MUSIC DOCUMENTARY FILMS: 'THE TARGET SHOOTS FIRST' AND 'N.Y.H.C.' ('New York Hard Core').
5:00-6:15PM
THE TARGET SHOOTS FIRST
2000 Chris Wilcha
Winner of the 2000 Best Documentary Feature award at the Slamdance and South by Southwest film festivals, THE TARGET SHOOTS FIRST examines the gap between corporate America and the disillusioned youth market it is trying to exploit. From the offices and corridors to the conference rooms and cafeterias, first time director Christopher Wilcha provides an all-access perspective in this satirical coming-of-age video diary. Fresh out of college in 1993, Christopher Wilcha took a job as a junior marketing executive at the giant music mail-order company Columbia House. His sole qualifications for the job? An ability to tell the difference between Bad Brains and Bad Religion and a knowledge of the band Nirvana, whose Nevermind was climbing the charts and changing the buying habits of young music fans. Besides enthusiasm, he came to work with something most people don't bring to the office: For every day of his two-year stint at the company, Wilcha recorded the goings-on with a camcorder. He taped everything in the workplace, from the company Christmas bash to the summer picnic and all of the meals, meetings and office parties in between. The Target Shoots First was culled from over two hundred hours of Hi 8 footage he collected while an employee of the Sony owned company.
"A brilliant, lively documentary. A funny, sharp eyed look at cubicle culture, the comodification of punk rock and the angst of a young slacker" - Shawn Levy, The Oregonian. "A witty, audacious and fascinating look at the music industry." Peter Margasac, The Chicago Reader. "A hilariously acidic, all-access indictment of corporate culture." - Maureen Callahan, SPIN Magazine. "Delicately explores corporate politics, the concept of selling out and ageism, among other topics." Stephen Holden, The New York Times. "A hilarious diary of life among the out-of-touch." Amy Taubin, The Village Voice
6:30-7:45PM
N.Y.H.C. (NEW YORK HARD-CORE)
A documentary about New York's rawest underground music scene
1999 -2001 Velebit Productions.
Sick of all the attention being paid to punk rock and so-called "alternative" music, producers Frank Pavich & Stephen Scarlata wanted to show what the true alternative was. What true underground music is. What better world, than the hard-core scene of New York City. This music is created by the fans for each other. Hardcore, an offshoot of punk rock, can't be found on the radio or on MTV. This is the rawest and realest thing out there. And here it is - N.Y.H.C. - a fair and non exploitive look at this underground phenomenon.
Focusing on seven of the most prominent and diverse bands in the New York scene, N.Y.H.C. is an in-depth look into a world seldom seen before. The hard-core world encompasses people from all walks of life, from Bronx inner-city youth, to Long Island suburbanites, to Hare Krishna devotees. N.Y.H.C. is nothing you would expect it to be.
Velebit Productions has spent four long years crafting this project, and it is presented in association with executive producer Anthony Edward's (ER). An 87-minute documentary featuring music and interviews with MADBALL, VISION OF DISORDER, 25 TA LIFE, CROWN OF THORNZ, 108, NO REDEEMING SOCIAL VALUE, DISTRICT 9, ROGER MIRET of AGNOSTIC FRONT, JIMMY G. of MURPHY'S LAW, JOHN JOSEPH of the CRO-MAGS, and others.
Check the IndieCon web page (below) for details about these critically acclaimed movies. (They DON'T suck).
>***<
Then Seven regional bands all lay down their own law at a Queen City rockout:
8:00PM
GNUTAR
Alternative newbies (their debut).
8:40
CANDID DAYDREAM
Rock, pop, jazz, funk and a dash of hip-hop from Syracuse NY.
9:20
SUICIDE SPRING
2001 advance buzz homebrew high school band search winners!
10:00
SKASQUATCH
Ska with attitude.
10:40
DYSFUNKSHUN
Punk rap crossover rockers.
11:20
5% JOE
Pop rockers with a punk edge.
12:10AM
THE HALOGENS
Fine Americanized brit-pop.
>***<
Come help us break in this cool shiny art space, get a civic education you can and WILL use, suck up some indie film culture, and glom some of Burlington's finest music, all in one place, in one day. Grab tix for $10 at the Flynn Box Office (Call 86-FLYNN). It's ALL AGES (duh), and proceeds will help us keep this kind of event coming. The whole story is coming together at http://www.bigheavyworld.com/events/indiecon/. Sponsored by ADVANCE MUSIC CENTRE, 99.9 THE BUZZ, ORANGE RECTANGLE LABS, BURLINGTON PARKS AND RECREATION, BURLINGTON CITY ARTS, EGAN MEDIA PRODUCTIONS, and THE COMMUNITY JUSTICE CENTER.
-->That's the end of IndieCon info!<--
A SPECIAL INVITATION FROM JIM BRANCA & MARNIE CLELAND:
Dear Friend: We'd both like to tell you about a powerful and unique commitment we have made in the battle against AIDS. We both have been training hard to take 5 days out of our lives to ride a bicycle 400 miles from Montreal to Portland Maine, with over 4,500 other people in an event called the "Pallotta Team Works Canada-U.S. AIDS Vaccine Ride." We are riding to raise money for three maverick scientists and their groundbreaking research teams in their search for an AIDS Vaccine. To support their work, We've both agreed to raise $3,400 each in donations between now and the beginning of the Ride on Sept. 5th, and we need your help. Worldwide, over 18,800,000 people have died of AIDS. Over 34 million people are HIV positive, and 3 million of these are children aged 15 and younger. Globally, 15,300 people become infected with the HIV virus every day. In Botswana, the life expectancy has dropped the last 10 years from 61 to 35, due to the AIDS epidemic. This disease has killed over 430,000 people in the U.S. alone in the past 19 years. Perhaps someone you know is HIV positive, or has passed on from complications due to AIDS. With statistics like these, if you do NOT currently know someone whom AIDS has tragically affected, chances are you WILL. We have both come a long way in our lives health-wise, but we are for sure, far from "elite athletes" and certainly are somewhat overwhelmed at the prospect of a 400+ mile bike trip. (In our first 10 miles of training together we experienced 4 falls, one flat tire, and Jim knocking Marnie off her bike - landing both in the bushes!) We are progressing steadily though, and as this is a "ride" and not a "race" the real competition is within ourselves - body, soul and in our ability to meet our fundraising goals. We know that with your friendship, encouragement, and financial support these goals can be achieved. We are holding a special presentation/concert/reception to let our friends know more about the "Canada-U.S. AIDS Vaccine Ride" and how they can help. Sunday August 12 from 6-8pm, First Congregational Church, 38 S. Winooski Ave., Burlington, VT 05401. 802-862-5010, www.firstchurchburlington.org. It would mean a lot for us to have you there. Thank you so much in advance for your generosity, and for fighting first, the disease of cynicism and apathy that runs wild these days. Together we can make a difference. Together we can help find a vaccine. We look forward to seeing you, feel free to bring a friend. Sincerely, Marnie Cleland & Jim Branca PS: If you cannot make the event, but would like more information, and/or a donation form please contact us at 802-868-9919 or mcleland@surfglobal.net THANK YOU!
BHW THANKS: To those of you who attended the HELLBENDER, THANK YOU!!! You made the night amazing - so much solid support for the bands made the show a wicked spectacle. And we especially thank the bands that gave it up for us, performing to benefit Big Heavy World and keeping us around for another Hellbender next year... CHAINSAWS.AND.CHILDREN, TORSION, PRISONER 13, MORE MACHINE THAN MAN, SERENADE TO NOTHING, DAY OF RECKONING, AND S.T.M.P. Our volunteer production crew busted balls all night: Sarah Leib, Mark Bock, Jesse Krembs, Joe Beaulieu, Justin Gonyea, Mike Williams, Elise Pecor, Erin, Manu Sachdeeva, Clay Awodey, and all the Unreal Tournament players who hauled their own computers in to create the bloodsport spectacle for all of us. Thanks to Mike Bean and the Clown Crew for premiering the Proven Ground video at the show, and to our sponsors Advance Music Centre and 99.9 The Buzz who made Hellbender possible. Higher Ground treated us and the bands like royalty and we always have thanks in our hearts for the venue and its staff. Thanks to Kevin Murrihy at the Buzz for stuffing the Homebrew studio full of rowdy rockers who say "Shit!" a lot ;) and to Cherie Tartt for not leaving permanent scars on Kabal's ass when Torsion appeared on the Cherie and Yolanda Show to promote the event. To everybody who contributed good energy to the show, thank you too. It should be obvious that Big Heavy World and our projects wouldn't exist without the support of bands, fans, friends, and businesses who give a shit about local music - you breathe life into us and we're NOTHING without you.
-----
CHAINSAWS.AND.CHILDREN'S ELECTROHELL ROLLS ON...
From Los Angeles to Las Vegas they've thrown tripwires with abandon and rained fire from the skies, burning through most of their cross-country ELECTROHELL Tour. Next up: 8.30/ Boston, MA (Linwood Grill); and 9.05:/ New York, NY, (CBGB'S). C. U. There.
-----
FOR THE MUSIC MAKERS AND DREAM WEAVERS:
CONGRATS TO 242 MAIN
Congratulations to Richard Bailey, Simon Brody, and the Burlington Parks & Recreation Department for working out a plan to keep 242 Main open for all! When confronted with a huge fiscal challenge the Boyz wit da Noize came through with a plan that keeps the doors open. Send your props to Richard at bail242@aol.com or Simon at booking242main@aol.com!
BHW BULLETIN BOARD: ENTER THE FRAY
The lucky ones that have known about the Big Heavy World Bulletin Board at http://www.bigheavyworld.com/bulletinboard/bulletinboard.html have had it all to themselves for a while now, slinging arrows of both the Cupid and Mordor variety on every subject. Maybe it's worth checking out. I mean, if you've got an opinion and it's worth anything... ;)
-----
ABOUT US: BHW is Vermont's tech-heavy music cheerleader, promoting local artists through emerging technologies and publishing http://www.bigheavyworld.com, the comprehensive online guide to regional music known as "Burlington's Urban Scene Web Site". We also run an expanding record label with releases from Burlington's alt-rock kiddies Chin Ho! And the techno-core harbingers of doom chainsaws.and.children. Contact us at 802-865-1140, groundzero@bigheavyworld.com or P.O. Box 428 Burlington VT 05402. The Big Heavy World Web site is made possible by our generous annual sponsors: WBVT UPN (wbvt.com), Magic Hat Brewing Company (magichat.net), Chek.com, SoVerNet (www.sover.net), Scully Interactive (www.scullyinteractive.com), and Small Dog Electronics (smalldog.com).
Reply with "remove" in the subject line to be nuked from this list. We'll take you seriously. But damn, we'll miss you!