Yuh Shop in de Yard?

All Yuh went the Alice Yard shop or what?

I went... with The Doll and Maro. So I am about to be real honest. Forgive me. It seemed to me more like an exhibition of work rather than a shop. I was feeling a little odd thinking that the things were for sale and knowing what was for sale... there were tags and so on but it seemed more like art gallery than shop. Yuh get me? I dunno if I am saying it clearly enough.

The RMR paintings were really good. I liked them especially the Viva La Revolution Panday one with the hinges. Marlon Darbeau had more than one set of work on sale. His Irritant pillows from the En Route Installation he did last year and some of the Playful Things pillows from Erotic Art Week 09. Then he had what I would think was dropping into the category of Exhibition work ... some cocoyea brooms that looked like if you touched them an alarm would go off a metal cage would descend around you and the Secret Service would come rushing out of the 12theband band room screaming "step away from the greatness m'am. Hands in the air!' His work is way too good and way too perfect to even imagine you can touch it. Especially after hearing about the sitting in the gallery trimming the brooms and the dipping just the tips in paint... OH LAAAD! He too perfect with his work. I'm too intimidated to touch it lest I fuck it up and turn into the skinny indian ting that fuck up a Darbeau works... NOT ME!

The only real store looking part was a black room (formally the room right before the kitchen) with a silver-esque floor. There were these cute key chains there made from wood with these face painted on I really loved those. Ashraph had some work on sale as well.. and well you know I LOVE ASHRAPH! His Fancy Sailor was my favourite... Richard Rawlins had some Artzpub Publications there for sale as well that was also where Marlon had his pillows. The whole Shop should have looked like that part.

Anyway so I stole some picture off of Alice Yard's blog... Georgia Popplewell took them... it's me and Maro trying to figure out if the painting we were looking at ... if it was painted in front of us or if it was another one... Maro was right.

Oh and Tans... she was actually with me this rounds!

The Alice Yard Shop

So The Yard... how many times have I spoken about the place? MANY!

This Saturday they are have a lil shopping experience. Yuh come dong buy some bess stuff and see some bess people. Man like Marlon 'Star Chile' Darbeau will be there with work on sale. It's Christmas and it seems to best to avoid the malls at ALL COSTS! (pun intended) Well that is unless you love a lil carbon monoxide poisoning and traffic for so!

You want to know some more? Go check out the Alice Yard blog for more information and GO SUPPORT THE ARTISTS AND DESIGNERS!

STOP!!!... K. Now go...

So what to do on a Saturday night? Feeling like a REAl loser cuz my 60-something year old parents going to some party and my brother is going out too. Having spent the entire day putting up Christmas decorations I figured I deserved to leave the house at least once for the day/night.

I end up going to hear a band in the yard... Alice Yard.

The band... STOP.motion had it's launch in the yard that night and I knew would know some people there but I wanted to hear the band perform. I had been privy to a video of the singer singer and to be honest I wasn't too sure about it BUT i was assured that cameras draw nerves so i said to myself (what a wonderful world) I would go hear the band. I am always open to hearing music.


STOP.motion is:
Megan Gill - Vocalist
Aaron Low Chew Tung - Lead Guitarist
Amanda Manmohan - Bassist
Damir Ali - Rhythm Guitarist
Mathew Edwards - Drummer

Aaron and Damir I have met before. they are both the 'little friends' of Ayo Ouditt who was the longest standing intern in CMB. Damir was also an 'intern' of sorts at Random Design Studios and somehow got the name 'Uncle' from me. Aaron was always the driver... picking up Ayo all the time.
Amanda is the 'little sister' of Maarten Manmohan the co-owner and Sound Engineer at Random Design Studios and i think if the 'thing' has strings on it...she could play it.
I don't know Megan but I have heard Dion Howe refer to her as some sort of like his little sister sort of status and I met Mathew in a hot minute in the yard on Friday night.

I liked the band. I did. With a little bit of extra pep talks and more exposure they could mash way a place. Megan's voice has a sort Micheline vibe... but it's not the same... so I can't say it's unique since it reminds me of someone... so I'll drop it down as sounding semi unique. Something about the entire vibe and maybe it was the kinda chiffon business draped everywhere reminded me Fleetwood Mac BAD! and Meagan would be Stevie Nicks.

I have to say though... *AHEM* I absolutely HATE when people go to see bands and talk through the ENTIRE performance... WHAT DE HELL YUH GOING FOR THEN? If you want to claim it was to support you aren't supporting you are being disrespectful blabbing for the whole thing talking and laughing hard. They are a new band so it's not as if you 'know all the songs already'. Give them some encouragement and SHUT UP AND LISTEN! JAYSAS! It is very distracting for the performers and if you went there to talk yuh shoulda stay outside or home and save the clean panty. Idiots.

Wuh yuh say bout dat Tans?

Look!

Look what Wendell McShine posted on my wall... (apparently he downloaded Issue 10 of the Draconian Switch. Have you?)

He Popping up on yuh Internet too!

SOOOOOO...
If you actually downloaded the Draconian Switch Issue 10 which features artist Wendell McShine the Trinidadian based in Mexico and you saw the Editor's note...*gasp*... you would have heard about the Artzpub Produced film by Darryn Boodan and Tracy J Hutchings on the street artist MANF. I believe I say that nobody knows what he looks like... cuz nobody knows what he looks like. The man does move swifter than a planass after a domestic dispute.
The black shadow men just show up... they just SHOW UP... and is like they lurking like some kinda cyclopse boogie men on the nations walls. However! The lil film is COMPLETE! Yes it is so you can go look at it at the link I have here ----> http://www.vimeo.com/7916956

Then you will find out NOT what he looks like or sounds like for that matter but is like you get to read the transcripts of an interview with the Phantom. And you find out his art really is what he calls Fossils.. go look at the ting nuh man...

You too Tans... (gyurl you come like the Snuffy of my Blog oui! HAHAHA!)

Dave O God-Oh Gold Williams saves the Que....

By now it should be absolutely no secret that I adore and respect Dave Williams above all else. The man is a genius in my book. My idol. My mentor. My critic. My adviser and even my friend. (just this week I told him about a situation I am in and he drew an entire flow chart for me as to what is going on what will happen and what I will try to do why it probably won't work and what I need to accept as the truth)
I LOVE HIM! When I first met him 5 years ago I felt like I had to be in some kind of twilight zone because I have absolutely no right ... me... little junior writer me... had no right sitting next to and working with HIM. It has been nothing short of a blessing.

Seeing Dave dance is something that I have blogged about before. The world... well the Commonwealth world got to experience it yesterday as Dave Williams performed at the opening of the CHOGM 09... as he performed for the Queen. Even the Queen was blessed by such an experience.

This time in gold not the red used for the CoCo performance Dave performed for two minutes and was the very first performer for the Cultural Presentation... the only solo performer... and as far as I saw... the best performer of the entire thing. The show.. I have very mixed views on it. I was at least once mortified by what was going on on the stage... MORTIFIED... at times I was interested in what was going on... I mixed views on the presentation... I think I said that before.

Anyway here are some pictures... taken from a tv screen... and for pictures taken off a tv screen the bess. I have also ninja-ed a clip from you tube.

I am so in awe of this man's talent and 'normalcy' that I am more than glad that the Commonwealth and its Ceremonial head could also be blessed by the Dave O God-Oh experience.

Even though you had no TV to see and you were going by the Facebook status updates Tans... I KNOW yuh with me on this one...


Look ting tuh see!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9c1ow-qxOjA

Issue 10

Ok so I'm the Guest Editor of the 10h Issue of the Switch. This issue has gone Multi Media peeps!
It features Artist Wendell McShine and writers Dave Williams, Tracy J Hutchings, Darryn Boodan, Sophie Wight and myself.

The Bonus Book looks behind the scenes .. well the emails of Mariel Brown as she made her Documentary The Solitary Alchemist (Barbie Jardine)

Check it out!

www.artzpub.com