We’re starting off with a little help for our friend!
Friday:
I AM THE KING: A Benefit for Brad Deason:
A party/silent art auction benefit for our boy Brad Deason, in order to help out with some of his medical bills after surgery. It’s also First Friday in Hampden!Confirmed contributing artists (more TBA):
Josh Sisk
Ben Claassen III
Nolen Strals
Jim Lucio
Joe MacLeod
J.M. Giordano
Luster Kaboom
Jeremy Crawford
Abby Logsdon
Kara Mae Harris
El Jefe Design
Daisy Lacy
Kimberly Dorn
60 bugs
Jaime Zollars
Ex-Boyfriend
Dina Kelberman
Lil’ Dana Murphy spinnin’ rekkids.
Silent auction will start at 7pm & end around 9:30pm.
Atomic Books
3620 Falls Rd.
Baltimore, MD 21211
After givin’ a little bit, let Hampden give something back. Stick around for The Water’s CD release show!
Instrumental-Rock Duo THE WATER celebrates the release of their debut full-length SCANDALS AND ANIMALS
available January 31st on SCENIC ROUTE RECORDS.
Stay for special guests YEVETO!
FREE!
Doors @ 10pm
ALL AGES
Golden West Cafe:
1105 w.36th St.
Baltimore, MD 21211
Yep! ’bout that time again!
Time to Mod up at Save Your Soul
DJ NAME NAMES aka DC punk legend IAN SVENONIUS (ex Nation of Ulysses, The Make-Up, Weird War, current Chain & the Gang) joins hosts ROBERT FEARLESS & KING GILBERT for the greasiest dance party in town! PLUS! Baltimore’s own XANDER CHRISS spins the 9p-10p.
Lith Hall
851 Hollins St.
Baltimore, MD 21201
If you’re closer to DC, we’ve got a treat for you. Balladeer Kathleen Edwards is rockin’ it out at the 9:30 Club. Check it:
At the beginning of the week, we asked friends, followers and “LIKErs” to come up with the top ten Best of Black Cinema. This is the result. Let’s get down baby….
10. Do the Right Thing (1989 dir. Spike Lee). Lets face it. This is the movie that white America fears. Lee uses a microcosm of BK as a metaphor for our national racism. You can never stop watching this movie. And if you’ve never seen it, shame the fuck on you…
Mookie rules!
9. Glory (1989. dir. Ed Zwick) Believe it or not, finding a film that focuses on black history is not as easy as you’d think. For every one Glory or Red Tails, there’s a bunch of Driving Miss Daisys (Bagger Vance anyone?) which makes this film all the more important. Zwick does not shy away from the racism inflicted on black troops, a new concept during the Civil War, as well as the privations of war in general. Oh yeah, it’s got Denzel so yeah. There’s that! This is a must see. And if you don’t drop a tear at the end, you’re a cold mutha fukka…
8. Remember the Titans (2000. dir Boaz Yakin) say what you want about Disney, but this movie had to be made and they have a knack for making good sports films. Titans stars Denzel (who pretty much pwns our list) as head coach Herman Boone who takes over a Virginia high school football team its first year after desegregation. You can feel the hate for Coach Boone in this story.
7. In the Heat of the Night (1967. dir Norman Jewison) Because of this scene (check Sidney’s shrug at the end):
6. Shaft (1971. dir Gordon Parks) While director Marvin Van Peebles’ Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song may have opened the door to black cimema, Shaft’s director and Life Magazine photojournalist Gordon Parks opened the door for black photographers everywhere. This is his first film and it was a HUGE hit. Parks broke boundaries in both the photographic and cinematic arts. Without Shaft, Parks’ name could have faded into history. Incidentally, Shaft was created by a white dude who has since been honored by the NAACP for the creation of the first real black private eye. Shaft started as a book series by author Ernest Tidyman. Check it here.
5. Richard Pryor Live on the Sunset Strip (1982) This live concert film by one of America’s greatest comedians launched a thousand funny careers from Eddie (watch the clip and think of Eddie’s red jump suit in Delirious) to Chris. Pryor never did find a niche in films, although Blue Collar is one of his best, but when you watch him on stage on the big screen you’re watching an American genius at work.
4. Wild Style (1984. dir. Charles Herndon) We’re always surprised at the yung’uns who have never seen THE movie about the birth of hip-hop and street art. Before Beat Street and Breakin’, Wild Style featured legends like Grand Master Flash, Coldcrush Brothers etc.. WS should be shown in every music history class. It’s a little hammy on the drama, but it’s THE film to check out if you’re interested in the beginning of the hip-hop nation.
(one of the greatest rap b-ball battles ever)
Fuck it. We’ll give Wild Style another shout. SO much love here:
3. Killer of Sheep (1979. dir Charles Burnett) Burnett is the James Baldwin of filmmaking. This is one of the most important black films ever made. It’s focus the black Los Angeles ghetto of Watts in the mid-1970s. Not to be missed if you’ve never seen it.
2. Boyz in the Hood (1991. dir John Singleton) NWA. South Central LA. Cube. Gangs. It’s all here. Boyz ripped open the reality of what was going on in S.Cen and exposed it to the nation. Truly one of the most important films about a community ever made. It’s STILL hard to watch. Classic.
1. Malcolm X (1994. dir Spike Lee) No matter what you think of this film in terms of historical accuracy, you cannot not help being blown away by the performance of Denzel Washington as the polarizing black leader. If anything, this film and the controversy surrounding it will have you picking up Malcolm X’s autobiography and getting the real deal. It’s sad that there are no other definitive films about other black leaders…
And just because. A relevant message from Chuck D and friends.
Bmore punk/trash/rock-a-killy band Murder will be celebrating their new album drop on Sat. night at Golden West. The group, Adam Savage, Dan O, Noel Conrad (of Lady Piss etc..) and Ray Peters are one of the few Bmore punk acts that have their shit together. Their lyrics are tight and fucking mean something and Savage’s voice has a classic sound that we can’t really put our finger on, but it’s great.
But don’t take our word for it. Blast this at work and piss people off.
The show also includes DOUBLE NEGATIVE a hardcore confusion punk band that began in January 2006 by singer KC, bassist Kamph Tapes, drummer Walsby, and guitarist Epic Warfare. They are signed on Sorry State Records. We’ve toured in and around the East US coast & the middle part too, Toronto, England, Holland, Belgium und Germany. Give them a listen:
Tix here: http://sonartoo.thundertix.com/orders/new?performance_id=83933
(our links are down for some reason. Please cut and paste for a bit. Thanks, the Managament)
MANNNNNN, is THIS going be a fun party. You have the optical antics of photo/videographer Zach Morehouse, Ruben Brown, & Tommy McConlogue of STUDIO 3D; the audio antics of the Monkey Hustle crew (MIKIE LOVE & JNO) and the EDIBLE antics of MAMA SARAY ISRAEL all together in one place. That would be the Depot. And that would be tmorw night. Be there.
THE DEPOT
1728 N. Charles Street
9pm Sharp, till 2am Dull
FREE
The past week saw the drop of a new collab by one of our fav local pop artists, LazerLibby, of the duo Lazer Bitch and hip-hop artist Baltimore Ray. This is one of the better collabs we’ve heard in awhile.
Give it a listen.
We’re admittedly a LITTLE late to the game on this next track, but we’re hoping that our UK bretheren and um…sisteren would give it a listen.
Last week, the new (and completly awesome) Lower Dens track, Brains was sprayed all over der internetten. We dig and so will you. We’ve also included a good lil’ mixer from Den’s lable Ribbon Music.
Brains: Lower Dens – Brains by Ribbon Music
The Baltimore Rock Opera Society is one institution that we at Gutter would gladly cross the river STYX like a Bat out of Hell on a Crazy Train to defend. Srsly though. If you’ve never been to a BROS concert, or witnessed the madcap antics at Artscape, then your miserable hipster life is meaningless.
Got this from BROS HQ. Help a BROS out, son!:
“Attention brethren! Baltimore Rock Opera Society is gearing up to produce it’s most bowel-releasingest rock theater production to date, and we need your help! BROS is searching far and wide to recruit creative types to lend a hand in all aspects of ValHELLA, a Norse mythology-inspired ragnarokoperetta. Say what? ValHELLA tells the story of three demigod brothers and their role in ragnarok, the downfall of the gods that created the world we live in today–all in 90 minutes. That’s right, BROS is finally packing the epic into a sittable time frame. If you want to be a part of it, the following departments want to hear from you:
Prop building
Animation & Special Effects
Set building
Costumes
Backstage crew
Front of house crew
If any of this describes what you’re into, or even if you can help in a way we haven’t thought of yet, please contact Mungo at johnny@baltimorerockopera.org and let him know what you’re interested in doing. All work will be done on a volunteer basis, but you’ll be able to share plenty of Natty Boh and receive our eternal gratitude.
More info at
Peace Out.
