Check out the conversation that followed the Dirty Opera screening of John Carpenter’s They Live at The Claremont 5 Laemmle in California. Should you have read Lethem’s treatise on the film or heard Fairey discuss the film in relation to his art, this roundtable offers yet other ins and angles to both of them and the film. Dirty Opera is a non-profit run by Eddie Gonzalez, Dimitri Coats and D Callaci which has a myriad of upcoming events in the fall. Follow us on Blah and Blah Blah and Blah, hunh, Blah.
Son of Buzzi Record out now. Second track/video premieres on Austin Town Hall
Heimweg Mondlicht Am Strassenrand from the new Son of Buzzi CD “Ein Hase Ein Phonix Ein Schwan is another sublime beauty that dovetails between heavier workouts and meditative psalms that make up the whole of the record which streets on May 16th. Sebastian Bischoff’s guitar playing is soulful, often minimal, allowing for the sound of his guitar to resonate, taking flight in Michael Potter’s equally intuitive arrangements. Check out the video directed by Dennis Callaci that premiered today on Austin Town Hall. The record is out today.
Robert Scotellaro’s From the Book of Atmospheres is out now on Bamboo Dart Press
From the Book of Atmospheres by Robert Scotellaro is a collection of micro and flash stories that explore life at a slant. Often surreal/fabulistic, there is a universality that threads their fabric in unexpected ways. In these tales, imagination is a welcomed guest. And it is clear that light and dark can, in easy union, inhabit these small but flexible spaces.
There is an ethereal, almost otherworldly, quality about Scotellaro’s surreal collection of micro stories. One story is a tale about a woman whose husband is possessed by a “cliché demon” and speaks only in timeworn platitudes. Yet another, a political parable of our time, rues the day when the meek finally do inherit the earth and vengefully vent their long-simmering resentments. Throughout this fabulous book, Scotellaro illuminates the odd and the mysterious by deftly plumbing, in ever-so-brief fictions, the atmospheres that envelop the incongruous and offbeat dimensions of the real. From the Book of Atmospheres is a masterwork.
—Brad Rose, author of Lucky Animals and I Wouldn’t Say That, Exactly.
Robert Scotellaro’s From the Book of Atmospheres is available everywhere today as well as direct from us.
Shepard Fairey & Jonathan Lethem Tickets for screening of They Live have sold out
The Dirty Opera screening at The Claremont Laemmle 5 on Tuesday April 29th at 7:30 PM of John Carpenter’s They Live has sold out. After the screening, Jonathan Lethem & Shepard Fairey will be joining us for a Q&A about the film. In the event that any ticket do open up, you can check here,
In the clip above, shot at Shrimper headquarters, Jonathan Lethem discusses the cultural touchstone of the iconic sunglasses in the film and their relation to late eighties pop culture.
Robert Scotellaro’s Second Bamboo Dart Press book due shortly
Robert Scotellaro’s From the Book of Atmospheres is out on April 25th. “The spirit of my father was trapped inside my ballpoint pen,” Robert Scotellaro starts one of his truly delightful new stories. “Must have slipped in when I was changing the refill.” Hilarious, inventive, audacious, Scotellaro’s quick fictions pack a real punch, whether they involve a Peruvian language based on the word “llama,” or a guy in a Fat Elvis band being dumped by his girlfriend for somebody in a Skinny Johnny Cash band. And that father whose spirit is trapped in a fountain pen? Surely not the same father whose wife takes his temper in for an ultrasound, dragging their son along. Robert Scotellaro’s wit and creativity are all over the thirty-two gems that make up From the Book of Atmospheres.
—Charles Rammelkamp, author of Presto and The Trapeze of Your Flesh
Check out the trailer below. Preorder is up and running now.
Dirty Opera presents a screening of They Live with Jonathan Lethem and Shepard Fairey
Thrilled to announce news of the non-profit Dirty Opera that Dimitri Coats, Eddie Gonzalez and I have formed. We will be bringing music, art, films and other events to the greater Pomona Valley area. Our first entry is a screening of John Carpenter’s They Live at The Claremont Laemmle 5 on Tuesday April 29th at 7:30 pm. There will be a Q&A panel discussion with artist Shepard Fairey and author Jonathan Lethem immediately following the film. Tickets are moving fast, Reserve your seats for this one-night-only event!
Check Lethem discussing They Live and Shepard at Shrimper HQ
Son of Buzzi Magnet video premieres
Zurich’s Sebastian Bischoff is Son of Buzzi, a self taught finger style guitar player whose unique manner of playing is compounded on his new record by the world of producer Michael Potter. Check out the first music and video from his Ein Hase, Ein Phonix, Ein Schwan record below with a piece written by Bill Meyer.
The CD is out May 16th on Shrimper and available to preorder Here and Here.
One Shrimper is not for Trump’s tariffs
AP reporting this morning:
After decades of plunging prices and a dwindling workforce, Shrimpers are cheering President Donald Trump’s tariffs
Yo, fellow shrimpers, you are letting me down over here. I am sure Donny can afford a gilded washing machine with a 30% tariff paid for by our tax dollars, that he will turn a blind eye to the bill for labor that the great unwashed leave next to his freshly laundered Chunky Dumpy Humpies (POTUS brand cloth diapers) but shrimpers don’t have that luxury. Let’s get together and discuss. I have this incredible new record by Fake Nudes that Bill Chen and I want to share with you over our next meal on our working class rafts.
Bill Chen Vs. Dennis Callaci Radio Show on KSPC
My dear pal Bill Chen and I do a weekly radio show on KSPC 88.7 FM in Claremont every Wednesday from 9am to noon, you can catch the last two episodes on the KSPC site, or listen live on line, or if you are in the area, on your moped.
New Son of Buzzi record on Shrimper announced
Zurich’s Sebastian Bischoff is Son of Buzzi, a self taught finger style guitar player whose unique manner of playing is compounded on his new record by the world of producer Michael Potter. Previous outings on Cardinal Fuzz, Stoned to Death and Dadaist are comprised of his instrumental guitar pieces sometimes coupled with synthesizers or his no-input mixer to create other worldly ambience and noise. Bischoff’s compositions capture the resonance of the instruments used and importantly, that of the environment he records in, be it a kitchen, an abandoned balcony or in the case of this record, a hut.
Son of Buzzi’s latest album, Ein Hase, ein Phönix, ein Schwan was recorded on guitar in December of 2024 inside a hut in the Ticino Mountains in Switzerland alone over a long weekend. The electronic accompaniments were recorded in Zurich and arranged together with Michael Potter (The Electric Nature). The title cut evolved over a series of Bischoff’s tour of USA, and defines the marriage of the impressionistic with the concrete on this gorgeous album of alchemy and transformation that engulfs the senses as the slow reveal of these unique pieces unfold.
The limited edition CD is out May 16th and is available to preorder here and here.