We’ve done Top Music Makers Of 2011, my Favourite Things Of 2011 and my Favourite Magazine Covers Of 2011. I thought I’d see out the year 2011 with a post spotlighting some of my favourite gig posters of 2011 [source & more info for posters/designers]. I saw some really great shows this year, some of my favourites included: Kyuss Lives!, Le Butcherettes, Jhonny Russell & the Mystery School, Regurgitator, Ouch My Face, Catcall, Pangaea and Pow Pow Wow. I’m looking forward to see lots more live music in 2012 and to discovering lots of new bands. A band called Indian Handicrafts has come to my attention of late – check them out here!

Top to Bottom (Bands + Designer): Wild Flag by Ron Liberti; B-52s by Scrojo; Bjork by Horse; The Melvins by Justin Kamerer; Gogol Bordello by Luke Drozd; Primus by Todd Slater; Omar Rodriguez-Lopez & Zechs Marquise by T-bone & Aljaxx; Jane’s Addiction by Aaron Gresham; Flaming Lips by Scrojo; Ween by Justin Hampton; CSS by The Bubble Process; Le Butcherettes by Andi Good; The Bronx-Japanther-Mariachi El Bronx-Dead Country by David Watt.

Have a super fun & safe New Year!

I’m a huge fan of Carolina Echeverri’s art and of the inspiring lady herself – she’s one of the coolest people I’ve never met (in person, yet!). US art magazine Juxtapoz is also a big fan, making one of Carolina’s photographs ‘Pic of the Day’ at Juxtapoz mag online. She has also worked with many of my favourite bands and friends’ bands such as The Bronx, Bad Religion, Tiger Army, Devotchka and more as the Head of Marketing & PR at Epitaph/Anti Records in Europe. She recently left the world of Epitaph to move to Denmark, her days are now filled with managing Dutch quintet Alamo Race Track and the Danish painter SCRMN as well as focusing on her beloved art.

Tell me a little bit about yourself.
I’m a 31-year-old Colombian expatriate who lived and worked in Amsterdam submerged in a world full of the best musicians and artists one could hope to work with. This last June I decided to run away with the Danish circus and I now awake every morning in lovely Copenhagen, next to the man I love, still spending every awaken hour of my day with my hands in the art mud, either as a music manager, a painter’s manager or on my own art and photography.

When did you start down the creative path?
This is always an interesting question, and I would like an answer that I’ve always been on the creative path, and so are most of us. When it was a conscious decision to make art versus an intuitive need? I’d say very early teens. It took years after settling in the Netherlands before I could get my head around to sitting and grabbing materials again. For years I kept all art inside my home, for inner purposes and myself only, but it was only a few years back – influenced by my man – that I decided to make my art a formal débutant.

Do you have any ‘official’ qualifications? Do you think having formal training is important to what you do?
[Laughs] I am afraid I don’t, I actually have an International Business degree. I know, doesn’t sound very art nor punk, but good warriors fight from the inside. I think my vote goes to the party whose beliefs include that craftsmanship can be taught, but artists are born.

What makes your artistic style different?
It’s my style on the basis that it’s my own sentiments, needs, expressions and memories collaged in techniques (sometimes straight forward ones, sometimes mutated and hybridized to fit my demands). I find it a bit difficult to say it’s different as the context of different can be rather skewed. Different from whose? People out there? But who ARE these people? Do you know all these people? Do I know all these people? These artists? It’s hard to say when we know so very little about the world we live in. I am of the belief that the bits we do know we recycle to our own manner, they make imprints in our brain and they come out slightly changed from our hands and mouths. Can things be then the same? Or the opposite, can they ever be really different? …… it’s a very tough question. A good question. What do you think?

What do you do to nurture your creativity?
Live, every day at a time pretty much. For me it’s important to spend enough time by myself to listen internally to what’s going on inside, which I find hard to do in this day and age. Silence awakes the soul sometimes as much a music does, so both are basic creative engines for me.

Going to exhibitions and museums also really gets my head and heart going; I get extremely inspired by staring at other people’s great works of art. Hammershøi, Nadar, Bellmer, Kahlo, Ray, Botero, etc, etc….

What’s your favourite thing you’ve created so far?
There isn’t just one, I really like the “Cowboys, Egyptians and Us” and “Klamperborgvej” photos, but I also love the Memento Mori I transfer collage. At the same time I must admit I am always more excited about the stuff I’m cooking in my head more than the ones that are already hanging.

Is your art inspired by music?
As I said before they are creative engines, I need them as sun and water, but my inspiration doesn’t come for music per se, it’s a mood setter. THE moodsetter.

What do you listen to while creating your pieces?
Usually music that can strongly swing my emotions. A lot of Tom Waits, a lot! The Cramps, Nick Cave, (The/El) Bronx, Wilco, Son House, Whitmore, Califone, Face To Face, Sparklehorse, DeVotchKa, Tiger Army, Alamo Race Track, Sage Francis, Social D and sometimes, if the day is right some Chopin every once in a while…

Who do you look up to in the creative world and what is it about them that appeals to you?
Botero for me is a great inspiration, it might be a countryman thing, but he can like no other painter alive for me do beautiful images, highlighting sarcastically the message and still be romantic, political, satirist and dark, even when the images are so colored. As a famous artist (Now that Twombly has passed I think he is in the Top 4 best-selling living artists today..) he has given a lot to his country, in unaccountable forms, he is very much Colombian in his passion and humbleness.

As a photographer I think Ray and Nadar are right at the top, with both expression and experimentation. Musicians, all the above, I love and look up to, I respect them for many different reasons but I think if you read the names you know the common thread that carries them all….it’s an unforgiving honesty in their art, a fighters approach and relentless talent in their specific fields, as different as they may be.

What motivates you to do what you do?
Pure need of expression, it needs to leave my body and be itself before I drown in it. Or the need to captivate something so beautiful my head will never comprehend enough in its greatness to be able to duplicate in memory.

What sites do you have bookmarked/subscribe to for an inspirational fix?
I don’t really use them as inspiration, but I like reading Boing Boing and the Guardian and NYT’s Cultural section.

What projects are you currently working on?
I am currently working on a museum exhibition of my European cemeteries pictures in Medellin Colombia (where my paternal family is from). There cemeteries are also national patrimony displaying one’s art, history and culture, my aim is to show the 19th century European counterparts to the people in lovely Medellin.

I also just got asked to do a project, a “still life” to be broadcasted in a cultural, political and technological local TV show in Amsterdam. I’ll be recreating it to be broadcasted live and discussed in their program. It’s very exciting as it’s a great Colombian video artist living in the Netherlands who asked me, Raul Marroquin, feel free to look him up!

For more of Carolina’s art!

CREATE FOREVER!!

THE BRONX [Hysteria extract]

BIANCA: I read somewhere that growing up you had one of the guys from Los Lobos as your next-door neighbour?

MATT CAUGHTHRAN: Yeah, actually my first girlfriend is the cousin of David Hidalgo. I met David and Vince his son through her and we became best friends growing up and we still are ‘til this day. It was weird, you always kind of look back at key moments in your life that changed the course of your existence and meeting those two guys was definitely a pivotal moment for me. It definitely set me on the path to being a musician.

Notes: I’m a long time Bronx fan. From the first note of the Bronx I I’ve been hooked. I also adore drummer Jorma’s ex-band Death On Wednesday. Frontman Matt Caughthran is one of my favourite people ever—I have so much time for that guy—he’s got such a big heart, is super thoughtful and our conversations are always interesting and meaningful. For the Hysteria feature we chatted one afternoon/evening recently after he had been in the studio working on new Bronx and El Bronx records. The interview has a little insight into that. We also chat about the Bronx’s feeling of ‘liberation’—now free to release their records independently once more; Australia and songwriting & lyrics.

The Bronx will be in the country shortly playing at the Melbourne Arts Festival (October 23, Forum, Beck’s Festival Bar) as El Bronx. They return in March 2010 for the Soundwave festival. I can’t wait! Primus, Queens of the Stoneage, Social D etc…

There’s also an in-depth conversation with Matt in an upcoming issue of the Conversations With Punx limited edition zine series.

If you like what you read, pick up a copy of Hysteria…
Gratitude,

“To me, making a tape is like writing a letter — there’s a lot of erasing and rethinking and starting again. A good compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do.” ~High Fidelity.

As a teen I’d sit in my bedroom at night and listen to the radio. I’d sit beside my mum and dad’s cassette player, fingers on the play and record buttons, ready to capture a song I like the sound of. I’d then take them (along with my meagre CD collection) and compile them into mixtapes for myself. On the weekends you could often find me holed up in my bedroom making them. I’d make a mixtape for ANY occasion! I was (and still am) the biggest music dork. I liked to make themed mixes or mixes that were perfect for different emotions. I even made cover art for them.

Once I started going to all ages shows I made friends that shared my enthusiasm and love for the art. When I started making zines and corresponding (by post—this was way before internet became a household thing) with other zine makers we used to send each other mixes of our favourite tunes—still to this day one of my favourite mixtapes was sent to me by Cade who did a hardcore punk zine from Australia called Circle One. The man has great taste!

I have always enjoyed receiving mixtapes from others. It’s one of the best ways to discover awesome new (to you) music. More often than not if someone has gone to the trouble to make you a mix they’ve put a lot of time and effort into it, they’ve taken care to choose some of the best material from artists they love (you’re getting a personal introduction to the act). It’s always been refreshing to be exposed to music I wouldn’t necessarily seek out myself.

Mixtapes have been made and celebrated in both the punk rock and hip hop communities for years. Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Afrika Bambaataa, Kool Herc were all mix tape creators ‘back in the day’. DJ Roofeeo the drummer for one of my favourite bands the MFDS has recently made a rockin’ mixtape for download here. Another of my favourites Kanye West made the Can’t Tell Me Nothing.

For more info on mixtapes click out the Wikipedia entry.

Now without further ado, I give you the very first (there will be many, many more! I’m going to make it a regular thing!) ConversationsWithBianca.com Mixtape with beautiful art by my partner in crime Jhonny Hobo (among many things Jhonny is one half of Hobo DJs you can peep a sample of their work here)…

MISS BIANCA’S DIGITAL MIXTAPE 1

Messer Chups – Flash Of The Night

Hobo Obituaries – Sad Trumpet

The Bronx – False Alarm

The Death Set – Around The World

Operation Ivy – Sound System

Uffie – Pop The Glock

The Roots – Don’t Feel Right

Moby featuring Gwen Stefani

Santigold – Creator

Deltron 3030 – Positive Contact

Gogol Bordello – Start Wearing Purple

Shmoe – Knees Up

Rancid – Red Hot Moon

M.I.A – Jimmy

Death On Wednesday – Stranded

Felinedown – Devil’s Playground

The Bouncing Souls – Anchors Away

N*E*R*D – Wonderful Place

What are you guys listening to? Send me mixtapes & new music! Hope you’ve found something new (to you) in my mix. Please support the artists do see them live, buy some merch and music… as I’ve said many times before “we have too much to lose as a society, economy & culture if we do not ensure Creators’ efforts are rewarded” your mission if you choose to accept: really & truly support the music you ♥ & artists that create it!

Hugs & hearts,

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I love the weekend! It’s one of my favourite times of the week! I have all day to work on the things I love most and I get to hang out with my wonderful little family. Pure and total bliss!

Things to do with your weekend:

Start something you’ve been meaning to do forever. Whether that’s organising your desk (post coming soon!), cleaning out your wardrobe, painting a picture (with your sunglasses on!), learning a new language, writing a long lost friend, calling your parents, going on that nature hike, researching your business idea… Don’t wait one minute more! Go for it! Get motivated! You don’t want to miss your ship do you?

We all gotta make our decisions or take a back seat every time / And when you can’t figure out what you wanted / And you’re sick of playing of everything is fine / You don’t know what it is but you want it / You’re on your way there once you set your goals / Set your goals – CIV

Make a mix tape. It’s something hip hoppers, punkers & indie lovers have been doing forever! I used to LOVE when more people made mix tapes; for the most part I think it’s becoming a lost art form. Lucky for me I have awesome friends that still like to swap tunes (old school cassette style even!) with me. I’ve found out about so much rad music that way. It’s how I first heard of Bad Brains, A Tribe Called Quest, Spank Rock and so much more! I like to make mix tapes according to my moods. I have tapes that cheer me up when I’m down, tapes to lighten my mood and that are super fun for when I’m feeling angsty; I even have tapes for my more mellow moods that I listen to while I drift off to sleep.

A pal of mine, James, used to do a CD swap night at his bar once a week where you’d come in for tacos & beer and exchange mix CDs with other people there. Such a lovely idea. For more on mix tape culture check out the books: Mixtape: The Art of Cassette Culture (it has a foreword written by Thurston Moore) and Love is A Mix Tape. Send me a mix tape! Or even better learn to make mash-ups! My Honny is a mash-up king (listen to the below)…

If you like what you hear contact Hobo DJs (hoboobituaries@gmail.com) for a FREE mash-up party CD featuring over an hour & a half of awesomeness!

Volunteer. Do something to help someone else. Helping others helps you, it helps you to be less self-absorbed and the connections built through acts of kindness builds community and can give you a feeling of contentment & achievement. My lovely friend Craig Fairbaugh volunteers and promotes the Burrito Project.

“Tommy Towne and his buddy —they’re super bleeding heart liberals that want to make a difference in this world—got the idea to make a difference through a grassroots level in their community. They decided to make a really easy form of food, a burrito, put them in their backpacks and went riding through Skid Row in downtown L.A., handing them out to all of the homeless people. I wanted to get involved because I thought it was one of the coolest things that I’d ever heard of. It’s a way to show people that you can help someone so easily. Not being able to eat is one of the worst things in the world. You can make a huge difference.” ~Craig Fairbaugh (extract from my book).

My bud, Heidi Minx has taken volunteering to the next level by starting Built On Respect. She travels to India where she works within the Tibetan community helping folks learn sustainable business practices/models, teaches English and works with a free art school that helps keep traditional Tibetan art alive.

Go see live music. When was the last time you got out of the house, away from your stereo/IPod, television, gaming console, computer and went and saw a live music act? Nothing quite beats seeing a rockin’ live act. When you’re at a gig (I feel) you get to be a part of something really special. I find it can be a quite spiritual/ritualistic experience. I often marvel at the fact that when a show happens there’s an energy that is created by the people there—the performers and the audience—that wasn’t there before. Being front and centre at a show watching one of your favourite acts can encourage you to totally be in the moment, be truly present.

From my own experience going to gig I know that the minute the first chord is struck I can forget about the daily grind and relax and enjoy myself. I always find people complaining to me about there not being any good music out there, these are usually the people that stay home and aren’t out there even looking. There’s plenty of good music you just have to open your eyes, ears, mind and heart! I also find that a lot of musicians complain about people not coming to their shows yet they never go to a show unless their own band is playing… which = lame. Stop complaining and start supporting, peel yourself off that couch! One of my favourite bands to see live ever is Deathcage from Sydney, Australia.

Photo courtesy of Deathcage

Other notable ways to spend your weekend:

Have a fiesta at your house! Invite all your friends, dress in theme and gather around to smash the Piñata! Yay for sweet candy treats! Nachos! Sombreros!

Read a book (some suggestions can be found here). The older I get the shorter my attention span seems, so I tend to end up reading a million books at once, jumping between them. I just can’t get enough information. Sometimes I feel like a big sponge just sucking it all up. Any recommendations? I also adore comics! My collection is all bagged and boarded up (ha… ha).

Eat ice-cream with someone super sweet. Another favourite activity is getting ice-cream (chocolate-chip cookie dough yum!) with one of my homies and sitting and watching people go by while we chat and gawk! ha ha…

Make some iced herbal tea. I love, love, love the tea from Australian company T2. Their site has tips on brewing tea, what tea suits you & tea for you according to the Zodiac. Right now I’m crushing over the following tea flavours: Bright Night, Detox, Turkish Cherry & China Jasmine. I love nothing more than brewing herbal tea, adding a mother-load of ice and fresh herbs like mint from my garden and organic lemon on a hot summer’s day (which we’ve been experiencing here in Australia over the past few days). I love hot tea too! It’s so comforting. Plus tea also has a number of health benefits.

MISS B RANDOM STORY: I remember when I was eighteen going to see Good Riddance and Sick Of It All play in my hometown, before the show GR’s Russ was drinking chamomile tea for his throat… we chatted over a cup. At the time I thought it was really strange, I had the really retarded, narrow-minded view that drinking tea was not punk rock… thankfully I’ve become a lot wiser since then and realised how silly thinking like that is. Many years later I would find myself including herbal tea in little care packages I’d put together for touring pals, I once gave Nick 13 some chamomile tea & an Australian slang dictionary!

Take a road trip. I love hoping in the car on a Sunday morning and taking a trip somewhere. I love traipsing through the forest or exploring beach coves and little hidden spots of natural beauty. Australia is full of them. One of my favourite spots in Natural Arch it’s one of the best places in Australia to see a glow worm colony—it looks like a million stars in the sky. It always takes my breath away when I visit there. I feel when I get out in nature I come back to the city feeling a little more in touch with the planet.

Partake in city beautification. Make your neighbourhood pretty by learning stencil art. There’s a straight forward tutorial here to get you started. Maybe you could create something and take part in Stencil Fest!

I remember being super excited after I brought The Bronx’s first album and it came with a Bronx stencil. I got to stencil my own Bronx tee shirt. Get your creative on!

Photo by Robyn Gallagher

Photo by Adrienne Serra

Photo by Solid State

Hope you all have a great weekend! Be excellent to each other & do something fun!

PS- If you’re in my ’hood on the Gold Coast this weekend come hang with me & my family Hobo Obituaries at the Gold Coast City Art Gallery from 2pm. It’s all ages & free. Music, art & good people… what more could you ask for to make the perfect weekend?!

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