Monday, September 17, 2012

Goodbye Scissors





In the tradition of my Goodbye Pencil Sharpener and Goodbye Stan, Sexually Abiguous Cockatiel posts, I've had to bid adieu to an old friend, a pair of yellow and white scissors that I've had since second grade. I took them to college and they were amazingly useful for crafty projects (they cut paper with out cutting you!). My roommate and I bonded that we both had brought the same pair of kid's scissors to college.

The college years have since passed. The time had come where the safety scissors no longer cut, and I got a pair of fancy titanium scissors for the holidays, which cut like butter and are guaranteed for 10,000 magical slices. So I bid you a fond farewell, friend, you've served me well. May you rest in peace, dreaming of classrooms full of screaming second-graders, and piles of colored construction paper, miles high.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Tame Your Man Tug-of-War


Promo image for TAME YOUR MAN, which I'm raising money for through Kickstarter. Consider donating even a small amount today, every bit helps! I can't guarantee the final project will have a tug of war, but it will involve a whole lot of music, and a whole lot of rope.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tameyourman/tame-your-man

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Tame Your Man & Kickstarter

I've written a new piece for piano, electronics, and...a bondage artist! You read that correctly. It's called TAME YOUR MAN, and will premiere in Boulder, CO on November 9th and 10th. It's my first work to try and integrate my ideas about sexuality, power, pleasure, and surrender into a 'classical' piece. Despite it being a very personal work, I think the piece will speak to a lot of people--you might not like bondage but you might enjoy the music. You might not be into classical music all that much but you like the intrigue of a professional bondage artist who's going to tie up the pianist to the piano while he plays. Or you might like neither of those things but you really like theatre, or supporting entrepreneurial ventures! Sometimes it feels like a risky work to undertake, especially at an academic institution. Am I giving away too much personal information by writing this piece? Is the value of the music on par with the interesting visual aspects? But surprisingly, the faculty have been some of the most supportive voices behind my work, and that makes me realize I'm attempting a good thing here.

The performance is free to the public, and will be recorded and videotaped! But to really make the work a success, I'll need the support of readers like you to help raise the remaining funds for the show, paying for my performers, and professional editing and documentation of the performance.

I've started a Kickstarter campaign that runs through October 4th. Kickstarter is a great website to raise funds, but it's all-or-nothing! If I don't raise all the money, none of my 'backers' get the awards that they've selected for their potential donations. So consider donating today and be a part of the TAME YOUR MAN team!


http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tameyourman/tame-your-man
 

Sunday, September 09, 2012

Palm Tree Stirrer

Given to me on my artist residency- a tropical drink stirrer at the one bar in town- which happens to be a Tiki-themed bar, complete with an outdoor thatched-roof hut, and a skull-and-crossbones flag beckoning guests further inside to the main "Pirate" Bar.