Send an email to motorcityblog@earthlink.net for your chance to win limited cassette of their new album
Formed back in 1990 at a Metro Detroit Area high school by
founding member Matt Schwarz and original drummer Dave McWilliams, QWW was
soon joined by Brent Sulek on guitar and a string of bass players, each more
handsome and talented than the last, culminating in Jordan Frank joining
back in '94. The band centralized in Ann Arbor in that same year before
deciding to head to Chicago in '99. Unfortunately Dave was unable to make
the move and parted ways after 10 long years, and there was much crying.
Fortunately Doug Walsh, a drummer in a rival Detroit band, joined after
months of intense backroom power games. When his 10 year shift ended, Tom
Giers took up the sticks. This time no backroom dealings were necessary,
only the promise of massages and bi-monthly "tantric cleansings". The years
in Chicago have produced two full-lengths (Taro Sound in 2004 and an as-yet
unnamed LP to be released in Feb. 2013), an EP and a soundtrack for Buster
Keaton's silent film "The General". Prolific? No. But in the cosmological
grand scheme of things, it could be argued that it is at least a predictable
constant.
From it's earliest days Quasar Wut-Wut has displayed a sort
of bi-polar existence: being studio rats employing countless hours
experimenting with songcraft and sound while at the same time putting on a
no-fuss stage show with reckless abandon. Onstage they come off as restless
and exhilarating, almost as if they are there to wash off the cabin fever of
their studio lives with some cathartic performance.
Quasar Wut-Wut's
music can range from challenging experimental to tight and hook-ridden.
Lyrically dark but sonically thrilling, it plays like a dense and frantic
soundtrack. Frenetic guitar lines give way to swells of odd grandeur;
inspired playing finds manic grace inside folds of loose-limbed indie
pop.
If you are looking to check out a new detroit area venue and some new music while you are there head on down to the Crimson Lounge this Sunday night for a show with 8MM
The Crimson Lounge is located at 13634 Sibley Rd, Riverview, MI. (734) 283-3100
8MM Announce Inaugural East Coast
Tour Between The Devil And Two Black Hearts First Edition Vinyl Available November 30th “Weight Of
You” Selected For Dead In 5
Heartbeats Soundtrack
8MM, the husband/wife duo featuring
Grammy-nominated producer/mixerSean Beavan (Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn
Manson, No Doubt) and Stop Staring! celebrity
modelJuliette Beavan, is getting everything set for their
introductory East Coast tour. After wrapping up a West Coast run in support of
their new album Between The
Devil And Two Black Hearts, they’re ready to hit the highway after
a three-week break. The tour kicks off in Cleveland on Friday November 30th and
concludes in NYC at Piano’s on Friday December 7th.
In conjunction with this leg of their national tour,
the band will be releasing the first edition ofBetween The Devil And Two
Black Hearts on 12” red vinyl
on November 30, 2012.
In addition, Sean and Juliette are getting in the holiday spirit by releasing
the re-mastered version of their holiday album On A Silent Night,
which includes Christmas classics such as “Santa Baby”, “Blue
Christmas”, and “Have
Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” along with their original “On A Silent Night”. It can
be purchased via bandcamp (http://8mmofficial.bandcamp.com).
Since the release of their fifth studio album, 8MM
has been endorsed by Skullcandy headphones, Youngblood cosmetics, and Peter Grimm hats. In addition, their
song “Weight Of
You” has been placed on the
soundtrack for the independent film Dead In 5
Heartbeats. The movie is based on founding member of the Oakland,
California chapter of the Hell’s
Angels Motorcycle Club Sonny Barger’s novel.
It was shot on-location in the state of Arizona over a 24-day period and
real Hell’s Angel Club members played the fictional motorcycle
club members.
8MM is Juliette Beavan (vocals) and
multi-instrumentalist Sean
Beavan (vocals,
guitar). Between The
Devil And Two Black Hearts was released on September 15, 2012 via ChelseaGirl Records.
TOUR
DATES
Nov 30th - Cleveland, OH - The Phantasy Nite Club Dec 1st -
Dayton, OH - South Park Tavern Dec 2nd - Detroit, MI - Crimson Lounge Dec
4th - Columbus, OH - Double Happiness Dec 5th - Chicago, IL - Ultra
Lounge Dec 7th - New York, NY - Piano's Dec 14th - LA - The Roxy Theater
- 8MM's Fourth Annual Holiday
Show!
This
heartwarming comedy depects humorist Jean Shephard's recollections of being a
kid in the 1940s and the special Christmas that brought him the ultimate
longed-for gift, a regular Red-Ryder air rifle.
In the midst of a 25-city national tour on its way to the Great White Way of Broadway for a revival starting in April 2013, the musical Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical brings its tale and tunes of madness to the Fisher Theatre for one week only, Nov. 27 thru Dec. 2, 2012.
Unlike previous musicals I've seen this year - the dour Green Day-spawned American Idiot and the wonderfully campy hair-metal celebration Rock of Ages (which was far better than the movie) - I went into Jekyll & Hyde totally cold without the slightest idea of what was coming other than Skid Row front man Sebastian Bach did a stint on Broadway in the titular roles and it was a modest success, nominated for several Tony Awards. I didn't know any of the songs or how the story based on the classic Robert Lewis Stevenson novella of worse living through chemistry would play out. I've never seen the Frederic March or Spencer Tracy movies, but I'm pretty sure Bugs Bunny did a cartoon version.
Set in 19th Century London, Dr. Henry Jekyll - played by the never-going-to-lose-this-prefix former American Idol contestant Constantine Maroulis - is attempting to cure his mentally ill father, believing a potion of his creation could separate the evil from the good in people, ushering in a era without war and suffering. (Who knew hippies started in 19th Century London?) When the hospital's board refuses to let him experiment on a patient, he decides to experiment on himself. What could possibly go wrong? That's right, folks! The murderous Mr. Edward Hyde - Jekyll's bad news evil twin who occupies the same skin - stalks the London night committing mayhem. Hydejinks ensue.
Musicals live and die by the quality of their songs and while the show unfolded I thought the tunes were competent enough, but sitting here a couple of hours later, I can't recall a single melody, though my companion thought "A New Life" stuck for them. (It's really not helping that the trailer for Les Miserables I watched 12 hours ago is tromping through my mind.) There's no "Music of the Night" or "I Dreamed a Dream" or even anything as good as in the overrated Rent. It was all well-sung, but there's little there there. The book doesn't help much either in setting up the relationships and motivations. Most of the exposition is crammed into the lyrics and it makes the already thin songs clunk at times.
More problematic is Maroulis in the titular roles because he's simply not good enough an actor to convey the tortured-but-mild Jekyll and the sinister Hyde. He sings well, but his Hyde is too sketchy and totally lacks menace, coming off like a gothy Hot Topic clerk who watched A Clockwork Orange and The Crow and thought trying to act that way might impress the chicks. I couldn't place what bothered me about his performance in the first act, but it came to me in the second as I realized that he was the only person on the stage who didn't seem to be in the show with the commitment of the rest. He was a Tony-nominee for Rock of Ages, so it's probably just a problem of being a poor fit for the material, cast for his supposed sex appeal more than anything. (The way he looks in the trailer below is totally unrelated to how he is in the show.)
Not a poor fit at all and the hands-down star of the show is Deborah Cox as Lucy, the lady of the evening whom attracts the attention of both sides of Dr. J. I was totally unfamiliar with her - as I said, I went in stone cold, reading none of the press materials or articles - and initially thought she was playing Emma, Jekyll's fiance, who was actually the Julie Andrews-esque Teal Wicks. But then came Cox's introductory number, "Bring On the Men," and I realized why her name shared the marquee.
Originally a successful R&B singer, she has great presence on stage (though you have to work with the dissonance of a latte-skinned Canadian playing an illiterate Cockney prostitute) and her voice - that voice! - is simply tremendous, turning every song into a show-stopper. (One song - can't recall which it was - had a sorta fake ending which prompted the audience to applaud, only to have to stop for the final bars before they could really cut loose.) She sounds like a less-bombastic Whitney Houston and had a subtlety and dynamism which elevated the material to such heights it almost seemed worthy of her. Every forgettable song soared and by the end I wished it had been a one-woman show called Lucy: Portrait of an Sexy Illiterate Cockney Prostitute.
Back on the downside, the production seemed drab and dingy; fitting, I suppose, for the seedy streets of Victorian London, but it came off more like being cheap and uninspired. There's some cool use of video projection towards the end of the show, but it's too little, too late.
The fundamental problem with Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical is that it can't escape it's origins which smack of trying to replicate the smash success of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera without the indelible songs and story. Add in an out-of-his-depth lead and there's not much to recommend catching this show - we saw some people leave at intermission and not return - but if you ever get a chance to see Deborah Cox perform, don't miss it. She's slated to star as Josephine Baker in a show on Broadway in 2014 and it may not be too ridiculous to suggest that the Tony Award for that year can already be engraved.
A really good concert is coming up Saturday, December 8th. The Pike Room, Pontiac Michigan will have one of this generation's greatest guitar players, Tyler Bryant and his band the Shakedown rocking the place -- an understatement!
At 15 Tyler won the Robert Johnson Foundation's New Generation Award. In 2011 he was the opener for Jeff Beck. His band includes Graham Whitford on guitar (son of Brad Whitford from Aerosmith), and Caleb Crosby on drums who is right in the pocket and fun to watch. They are tight, young, fun, and all extremely talented.
I love going out for live music. Any given month is filled with four nights out to some of Detroit's best music venues. Having said that, one of the best concerts this past year was seeing this band play the Pike Room in early spring. Tyler attracts quite a wide range of people; young and old, blues, rock and country music lovers, and he amazes them all.
Tyler's last visit to Detroit I wrote a review for the Motorcity Blog. A few weeks back, they contacted me and said, " we know you enjoyed Tyler's show, would you be able to cover the Saturday, December 8th show for us. We can even comp you a pair of tickets." Sweet, and thanks! But I have already bought two for this show. MotorCity Blog, do me a favor, pass them on to someone who new that would enjoy them as much as me. Watch this 21 year olds many You Tube videos. I think you will agree with me that Tyler and the Shakedown bring something special to the stage. And we are very lucky to have them visit here soon. Interested in a pair of tickets? Contact the Motor City Blog. Interested in a great night out, and want to support an up and coming band? Buy a ticket or two. They are something like 15 bucks. Take your girl, your buddy your mom. Whoever. Everybody there will have a great time.
Hostage calm has been tagging along with Streetlight Manifesto
on there North American tour. Last Wednesday they stopped by Clutch Cargos in
downtown Pontiac.
The show was awesome!
Hostage Clam, a punk rock band started off the show, with
there up beat songs they really got the crowd hyped! But sadly as they kept
playing the energy of the crowd went down. One other thing this band brought
with them was a message about same sex marriage. Front man of the band Cmar
explains, “This show will be FREE, and it will be a demonstration in
celebration of this monumental accomplishment for the LBGT rights community and
for our state. Let this be a way for our punk community to show our support:
support for individuality, equality and the ideals that are foundational to the
hardcore scene. We will have donations set up for Freedom to Marry. Let's use
the success and example of our state to fuel the national movement for equality
growing across this country.”
Streetlight Manifesto’s crowd was INTENSE! I have never seen so many people moving at once! Every where I looked people were skankin’ and moshing, it was crazy. At the end of the day everyone was sweaty and gross and in need of a shower from all of there rocking out.
Wild Bill Ketelhut provides the "blog" to this anti-blog
Wild At Heart
I made it through Thanksgiving without gaining a pound which is always a nice thing to say after the holidays, esp when you get to be my age. Didn’t do much except watch sports (don’t get me started on the Detroit or Dallas games), watching Season 1 of “Teen Wolf” (this actually surprised be by being an actual good show despite being on MTV and nothing like the movies I grew up on) and eating some great turkey with all the homemade trimmings (and don’t forget those leftovers).
I did get an opportunity to see one first run film this weekend which I hadn’t planned on but the previews of “Lincoln” were just too interesting to pass up. Besides I have always loved Spielberg and Daniel Day-Lewis (ever since he blew me away in “My left Foot”). Day-Lewis has always been known for becoming the characters he portrays on the screen and I cannot think of a better presidential portrayal by an actor (and there have been some recent good ones). His Lincoln (I am so glad Liam Neeson dropped out) portays both his physical weekness and mental strength as a man who is up in years and weary of the struggles for the nation but still has the resolve to inspire men to his cause. It is an amazing performance that will surely get him at least a nod come Oscar time.
Equally intergral to the movie are impressive performances by Sally Field as First lady Mary Todd Lincoln and Tommy Lee Jones as the radical Republican Congressional leader Thaddeus Stevens. While I never think of Sally as a great actor, she is perfect here playing the somewhat complex Mrs Lincoln who has dealt with the loss of a son in the great war and a recent accident which left her at times emotionally fragile but with an underlying moments of strength (like when she goes after Stevens at a dinner party or later gives an emotional boost to her husband). Jones does a great job bringing forth a character who doesn’t always agree with the president but allows himself to be open to what it takes to further his cause on supporting abolition despite feeling that the president might not be truly on his side in this fight. Both actors deserve consideration for Oscar nominations here.
The film is also packed with a number of great performances , too numerous too mention, but not seem to fall on a false note in this epic. The only real battle footage is at the beginning where we see a Northern Black army fighting fiercely against a white Southern army mainly to showcase the main theme of equality of race. The rest of the focus is on the political struggles for the president to find the extra 20 Democratic votes needed in the House Of Representatives to pass the Emancipation Proclamation. Much like today, we see the fights between the two parties of separate ideas and what it sometimes takes men to do to sway the opposition from promised posts to other methods.
The plays between the two parties is very interesting and reminds me of the current election for the disrespect and annimocity the two sides seem to have for each other when they should be focusing on the common good. Maybe our "leaders" should make sure to see this while they are mucking about with the impending fiscal cliff. It is interesting to watch a film that makes politics almost exciting and it is a good primer to take students to go see and then talk about later.
This should be a big film around Oscar time and despite a few storylines that tend to drift, the main focus of Lincoln’s fight for this passage is just increible to behold. It is definitely my favorite Presidential film and should be seen on the big screen if for nothing other than Day-Lewis’ amazing performance. A big A+ in my book.
Catching topics, here is a list of some recommended shows for the week. Sunday seems to be the big rocking night though the California Guitar Trio is amazing (and you get to see some great art at the same time).
Saturday (12/01) – California Guitar Trio @ Detroit Institute of Arts, Billy Talent @ St Andrews Hall, Thornetta Davis @ Detroit Public Library (Downtown Branch)
Sunday (12/02) – Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band @ The Magic Bag, Robert Cray Band @ Royal Oak Music Theatre, New Found Glory @ Magic Stick
Monday (12/03) – Theory Of A Deadman w/Big Wreck @ WFCU Centre (Windsor), “Monster Energy Outbreak Tour” w/As I Lay Dying @ Royal Oak Music Theatre
The Smiths United have paying tribute to the Smiths and
Morrissey for the past couple years and over 20 shows that bring together
fervent Smiths followers and casual 80’s music fans to dance until their hearts
are content. This Friday is another Smiths United show, but not just another
show, because they are all special. This one, November Spawned A Monster, is a tribute festival with
local bands paying tribute to REM, Siouxie and the Banshees and a new late add
to the show.
Christopher George, lead singer of the Smiths United and the
impetus for the show, spent a few minutes with me last week explaining the whys
and whatfors behind the show:
MCB: Where did the idea for this week’s show come from?
CG: I wanted to something similar to the old days of
Lollapalooza when great bands like Janes Addiction and all the bands we liked
used to play. It’s too cold to do something outside this time of year, so my
idea was a multi-band festival with all tribute bands. It’s been a very
interesting ride so far.
MCB: How did you locate the bands for the show?
CG: The guys in the REM band (Rapid Eye Movement) got a hold
of me through Chris Henderson, their guitar player who is friends with our guitar
player. They just got their band together and wanted to play some shows so I
checked them out and that started this whole idea. Dave Johnson who plays
guitar in the Blueflowers mentioned to me he was in a Siouxie and the Banshees
tribute (Playground Twist), so it all fell in line.
MCB: And one more tribute band?
CG: Well we were going to have a Joy Division tribute, but that
fell through. Then there was going to be a Sex Pistols tribute but that didn’t
work out either. Now we have a duo called Thumbs Up playing and they are a
Velvet Underground tribute.
MCB: Well that’s cool because Velvet Underground are
kind of responsible for a lot of alternative music we heard in the 80’s.
CG: Yes, and it works out for what I was going for the
night, a chronological order of bands and when they came out.
MCB: With your Smiths United set do you have any new songs?
CG: Yes, we have 4 or 5 new songs in the set and we brought
back a few we haven’t played in a while. The ones people keep asking why we
weren’t doing anymore (laughs). It’s going to be a different set, a little more
diverse and a little more Morrissey.
MCB: And you have a new bass player?
CG: Yup, third one! This one is a friend of mine, Max, who
has played with me before so it’s nice to have somebody I know in the band.
MCB: What time does the show start?
CG: Doors are at 8pm and the first band will start at 9pm, there’s
a lot of music to fit into one night and we’ll just keep trucking right through
it.
The Smiths United with Rapid Eye Movement, Playground Twist
and Thumbs Up is Friday at the Magic Bag, tickets are $10.
If you like gaming and indie pop, the Crofoot was the place
to be as Fusion Shows and PikoPiko Detroit put on The Blizzard an 8-Bit Dance
Party, music festival and game tournament. The extravaganza featured rap
artists and rock bands on the Crofoot stage, 8-Bit artists on the Pike Room
Stage and a Nintendo 64 tournament all under one roof.
I spent most my time enjoying the main stage acts. Rap artist
Red Pill kicking off the show. His rapping was aggressive and self-deprecating
with a sense of humor.
Red Pill
Next up was Flint Eastwood, a local band that is making
quite a buzz. They packed a whollap of sound as lead singer, Jax, really knows
how to get the crowd moving. Their sound is a mix of punk with a grand
Spaghetti Western influence. They have an ep coming out in January and are
definitely a band I’ll see again.
Flint Eastwood
Sky Fox is a pop punk band from Denver that played some real
catchy songs.
Sky Fox
MC Lars, a hip hop artist that was one of the early rappers
to hit the nerdcore scene, took the stage with just his laptop and some visuals but quickly won the crowd over with frequent audience participation. At one
point in the show he did some true freestyle as he rapped about various things the
audience had in their pocket.
MC Lars
The final and headline act was I Fight Dragons which are
known for bringing 8-bit rhythms and gaming into their tuneful pop songs. While
the lead singer complained of a cold the audience would not hear any of it and
cheered them on to a full set and encore.
Celestial Encounters of the Earth Kind: The Future Is Now!
The maiden voyage of the new North End Studios time machine has finally arrived from the future with the NEW SOUND for the NEW AGE. You can bare witness to these audio explorers from tomorrow as they chart previously undiscovered sonic territory. Be amazed as they defy your previously held notions of SPACE and TIME. The sonic assault will be accompanied by a psychedelic light show and mind-bending visualizations by Prism Views. You don't even have to take drugs- WE ARE THE DRUG! Time and space tacos will be served after midnight, provided graciously by the Dunch Club [on.fb.me/S8hEoh]. If we make enough loot to fix our flux capacitor soon enough, Celestial Encounters could become a regular event. For just $5 you can witness travelers from the future make history this Saturday at North End Studios! Do it yourself - Bring Your Own Booze!
North End Studios
5101 Loraine St
Detroit MI 48202
LORD SCRUMMAGE /// COYOTE CLEAN UP /// APHASIACS /// DAKOTA BONES /// SOLID LIQUID /// PRISMVIEWS
With the MC5 and other local groups, Detroit was the origin of High-Energy music, but other bands -- such as New York’s Blue Öyster Cult and Captain Beyond from Los Angeles -- soon picked up on it. (BÖC used to perform “Kick Out the Jams” by the 5.) These bands typically featured superior musicianship and complex songs, but nothing good ever lasts, so eventually the guitar demons atrophied, and the style split into punk rock and metal. With the advent of the hair bands and clown bands of the ‘80s, hard rock had lost whatever significance it may have had for adult audiences.
What’s worse, the record industry began promoting younger-and-younger acts so as to appeal to teens, the demographic that buys the most product. Continued listening to whatever was popular when you were eighteen became the norm.
Now, sophisticated rock by accomplished musicians has triumphantly returned. Baby-Boomers and Gen Xers can put away their cherished old albums in favor of something new that’s just as fierce. If there’s any justice in the world, and if grown-up bands playing for grownups has a future, Ferndale’s Bars of Gold will be the Next! Big! Thing!
As with all the superior bands in history, BoG can best be appreciated live. (One live show by the Rolling Stones is worth all their albums.) If you have an appetite for guys who can really get it on with a guitar, this is your band, but the frosting on the cake is Marc Paffi, one of the strongest frontmen in music today.
Best of all, the band excels at the long form. The problem with many pop acts performing live is that they play one of their three-minute songs well enough, but then, the energy level falls back to zero. BoG pumps the energy up, and, because their material features a lot of changes and development, they can keep the tune going at length without becoming repetitious in the manner of those West Coast jam bands.
Another mark of a quality group is versatility, and too many bands perform material that pretty much all sounds the same. Bars of Gold play hard-driving rock, but some of their songs feature a banjo, which lends a country flavor. At one point in their show, drummer Brandon Moss comes to the front to tell a poetic story, while the band improvises a subtle accompaniment -- that’s also a country-music tradition.
He might be the first to scoff at such a notion, but Marc Paffi is really a soul singer. He is more James Brown than Bono, and he employs many old R&B devices such as frequently planting the microphone stand in the middle of the audience and exhorting the assembly, pacing back-and-forth like a preacher (the message being, It's time for sonic fornication!).
Bars of Gold have picked up the magic baton right where the MC5 and BÖC dropped it, and they are now the Kings of High Energy -- faster, louder, more sophisticated than any other band out there. Their Friday, November 24 performance at Small’s certainly got the crowd going. Opening acts — the aptly-named Meadower and Ypsi's Lightning Love (whose singer, Leah, could be the next Leslie Gore) — provided a pleasant and enjoyable pop prelude, but their music could happen anywhere sunny. BoG is a genuine soot-covered Detroit band.
You need to see this band live. Until then, check out at http://www.facebook.com/BARSOFGOLD or http://myspace.com/barsofgold
St. Andrew's was on fire last Saturday, and one of the most popular indie bands, JEFF The Brotherhood, were there to prove it. When opener Fidlar started jamming, it was too hard to not pay attention. Their loud, overbearing punk rhythm became obvious in the middle of their set, and nothing was going to be changed. Fidlar also has a new album out on Burger Records that you should check out because it's awesome. The obvious best band was Nashville based rockers JEFF The Brotherhood, and the floor almost collapsed under the weight of their gigantic riffs. They jammed through a quick set of past hits and new jams from their new Dan Auerbach produced hit album, Hypnotic Nights. JEFF is made up of two brothers, Jake and Jamin (None of them named Jeff) and they've been at it for around 10 years. Jake also runs Nashville based record company, Infinity Cat Recordings….I hope you get it, these guys are the real deal.The crowd erupted when their played their smash hit, Sixpack, and zoomed through a crazy 15-20 minute cover of Wicked Lady's 'I'm A Freak' If you haven't heard JEFF before, go check them out next time they come to town, you won't regret it.
Gwen Joy is an artist who specializes in colorful folk art paintings.
Life experience is her subject matter which is translated in a lyrical/mythical fashion.
Follow Gwen's snazzy street reviews weekly here on
Motorcityblog Reach her directly at www.GwenJoy.com
>>Fri. 12.14.2012
>>
>>
>>The Elizabeth Theater
>>(Located above The Park Bar)
>>2040 PARK AVENUE
>>DETROIT, MI 48226
>>
>>DOORS: 9PM
>>COVER: $10 before 10pm
>> $15 after 10pm
>>
>>
>>Detroit’s female inmate variety troupe returns for the holidays with a brand new live entertainment experience. It’s “Christmas in the Clink” as the girls along with Warden Degliobeezi bring “The Greatest Gift of All” to the Elizabeth Theater located above The Park Bar in downtown Detroit. A true holiday hullabaloo featuring Burlesque, Sideshow, and all sorts of song and dance silliness, The Warden promises to deliver Christmas fuzziness to all who attend. Also, wear your worst holiday threads because The Warden’s own mother, Momma Degliobezi, will be holding her famous “County Wide” Christmas sweater contest. So much fun, so many wonderfully talented women, and maybe, just maybe a visit from Santa himself! Who will receive “The Greatest Gift of All”?
>>
Gwen Joy is an artist who specializes in colorful folk art paintings.
Life experience is her subject matter which is translated in a lyrical/mythical fashion.
Follow Gwen's snazzy street reviews weekly here on
Motorcityblog Reach her directly at www.GwenJoy.com
Louis Icart Erotica is a concise and valuable art book that was written and complied by Bill Holland. Bill Holland is an antique and art dealer who specialized in Icart etchings. After over thirty years in the business he currently sells antiques at a Sunday only market. In this collection his meticulous care, vast knowledge of art history particularly of Icart's and Max Parish's art, and expert placement of Icart imagery makes this a superior Icart collection. This is a true delight and quite a bargain. The book contains two hundred and ninety nine color pages of Icart's etchings. I love the lovely pastel yellows, blues, and pinks in his palette. Along with the imagery is text about the artist's life and interesting cultural tidbits. This book is recommended for history and art buffs, lovers of antiques, and anyone with an appreciation of the female form. This book masters the art of sensuality and it is achieved with no nudity.
In Tramp Art: Another Notch, Folk Art from the Heart Clifford Wallach documents the art of artists who live on the edge of society. Over 600 color photographs capture the intricate and stunningly detailed picture
frames, mirrors, boxes, furniture, and other unusual pieces. This folk art pieces are created from discarded wooden cigar boxes by untrained artists using simple tools and
recycled materials. The book is aptly titled One Notch at a Time because this art can often be extremely time consuming to make. After examining the photos, the time and creative spirit of these works is a bold testament to their value. Wallach expertly shares the history and timeline of the tramp art movement and the artists' lives and work in this collection. The artwork has a naive spirit similar to African art or Native American art. One object used continuously is the cigar box. Its intriguing to see these common objects transformed into otherworldly art objects. Extremely detailed and showing art objects rarely seen this book is paramount to those devoted to folk art, anthropology, and history.
Clifford Wallach says it best," So here I am writing again that in a way tramp art is not tramp art but rather a humble art form made by humble hands from humble materials for all of us to enjoy."
I will be reviewing books by Schiffer Publishing every month. For more
information please visit http://www.schifferbooks.com/newschiffer/.
