Why would ya wanna shut this party down?

There is a new set of mind-blowing photos up from the Wormwood (by Octopus Pi) just gone (APRIL 7) which are testament to the uniqueness, beauty and experimentation present at the monthly event.

The photo above is something new Alex and I are experimenting with using analogue practise and manipulating it using digital video editing and effects.

Check out the photos- if you've been you get it, if you haven't then surely you feel you may have missed out?

Dreaming about the next one...

APRIL Wormwood

Inside liquid light projections beam odd shapes and twisted dyes drowning out all static white surfaces. 

Psychedelic music is given colour, each act evoking a different ambience. 

Yonic Transformation projections are bowed to like goddesses of shape, light and colour. 

Inner anguish, drips in illusory manifestations- the walls ooze emotion. 

Visual and Sound become Sensory dreamscapes.

Jamming with the space, the hand that will perhaps rescind its supportive base.

So again, Wormwood (held monthly at UTS bar The Loft) is threatened with expulsion and so again we must fight to continue to deliver amazing musical acts and performances and experiment with new ways of getting people to come together to share an experience. Wormwood has always been about stimulating the mind to allow it to open up and liberate it of its fetters. It is in no way a regular underground music gig with predictability and the shackles of tradition.

Curator Kimberley Galceran has always tried to bring together visual, sound and abstract elements that respect the audience's desire to have their senses and emotions catered to and inspired- not just their basic passive desire to see a good band or act. It is about collaboration- how can separate entities or groups merge their diverse works together in one space to accomplish a myriad of interpretative perceptions and experiences for the people in that space? It is an ongoing experiment, it needs more time to flourish and evolve.

But this is Sydney. And in Sydney, you have to fight for any opportunity to do something different and exciting.

Join the group, and  look upon the Octopus Pi blog (even just for its tripped out design) to keep up to date and receive the call for help if there needs be.

Also read this interview with Ms Galceran by Dripping Acid Airwaves which concludes where I'd like to conclude:


Remember what the white rabbit said – Feed your head!

Wormwood closing

Wormwood December 2; The Final Wormwood?, At least for the year. I've spoken of Wormwood before and how important I think its ethic is.

I was trying to give Kimb (aka Octopus Pi, aka Wormwood pioneer) a quote to help her case to keep Wormwood at the Loft next year which is undergoing new management. I came up with a pretty long quote/rambling:

wormwood is basically the only free gig with experimental, garage and psych music that offers a total sensory arts experience in syd. its gaining momentum and if ticketed would be sold out. it aims to pioneer the way media, music and experimental arts collide. It is about responsiveness and interactivity but also indulgence and being treated to some magic all care of sydney's most pioneering creators.

something that makes it special is the space: the loft. the way its physicality allows for a free flowing journey, offering different yet correlating atmospheres in its different nooks, surprises around each corner, up each stair, above star gazers heads, hidden in the faerie tree, balancing over the balcony, within each fire set green drink... It is the Wormwood home, the welcoming space that so comfortably houses all these creative forces and whilst Wormwood could, of course, adapt, there would be a sorely missed sparkle.


Something new this Wormwood was a collaboration with Mersey Sound Collective- a spoken word micro-event hosted in the secret room up the top of the Loft. Though the musical disruption from outside proved hazardous, this was a beautiful experience especially for us Punk Monks who had the chance to work our liquid light with a different medium. Playing with our artworks for poetry was incredibly carthatic- we are used to moving to a rhythm and beat provided by songs that start and finish sometimes rendering it more of a decoration than a contribution. Moving to the rhythm and beat of poetry is more fluid, you can evoke emotion and imagery and move slowly and more calculated- it's extremely evocative and meditative and is something I'd like to explore more. 


*The footage from this Wormwood says more than the quick snaps I hastily took whilst running from one projector to the next through masses of absinthe toting wormees. We'll try get it up in due time, times have been busy but it should be a treat.

wormwood'd (2)

The October Wormwood has just passed and with it comes the sad news that there will probably only be 2 more. I guess Sydneysiders are accustomed to their favourite gigs and art events being shut down just as they're getting attached or further down the track when it has become an integrated part of their lives. Wormwood has given consistently rad psychedelic and garage music on a monthly basis since early this year and for free. Thrown in with live DJing (how nice it is to continue rocking out in between sets to craftily selected tunes), live doodling and portrait drawing, hair art (yeah you coulda gotten a cool X or something shaved in your hair last time- I got a triangle..) and we have tried our best to offer some delectable delights for the eyes with our liquid light projections. 

Anyyywayyy, this was my second go at liquid light and I feel I have earned my scouts badge. After some home tutorials from the wizard Alex, I am starting to really understand how it all works. My favourite technique is the galaxy technique with swishing blue-greens and bright bubbles. Alex and I projected form the sky onto the faerie tree whilst Kate wowed inside. We also brought with us a magical film with clips from the secret creek when we took a retreat a few weeks ago. Swaying tyre swings, gargling waterfalls and meditative reflections- next time we might treat you to the amazing frog sounds emitted from the film. 

So now you know, the rumour is only 2 more Wormwood:: absinthe and psychedelia extravaganza's to go. Come play.

Wormwood'd

Stepping aside from all this artRiot rioting, I'd like to reflect on a gig we did, not long back, called WORMWOOD. It's not just a gig, it's a bit of a project for us, a canvas for experimentation and getting to know some awesome musical, visual and creative artists and thinkers. Our first Wormwood, actually #3, had us with three old school projectors- one behind the bands, one highlighting the mysterious staircase and an "apprentice" projector outside under the sprinkles open for the audience to dip their toes in the magic.

This is great for Punk Monks Vic, Clare and Jay who unlike the very talented alchemists Kate and Alex are just beginning our relationship with the overhead projector. I can conclude that it is very very messy, something will always get broken and that surprisingly less dye = brighter colour! If you want an acid trip sans acid then spend a night mixing oil, detergent and food dye in glass containers on top of a brightly burning light box and shine it onto a wall somewhere.

Ongoing monthly, we'll play with how we may extend the projections using ideas of shadow, audience + other performers interaction and playing with different surfaces for blasting with colour. Perhaps we'll introduce some video. If you were there and you have some ideas/feedback- welcome. Otherwise join us for the next one.

The very exciting lineup includes:

BANDS

The Walk on By
Crab Smasher
Jusgo Mosh

DJs
Lucas George (Whipped Cream Chargers)
Simo Soo

LIVE PROJECTIONS
Punk Monk Propaganda

POETRY
Mersey Sound Collective

HAIR ART
Creon - have faith! get your head shaved/cut by Creon!

GREENTOOTH
Turn your bluetooth on! We'll be sending "Fortune Cookies" out on the night!

Join the Wormwood group and ATTEND the event on FB. And hey guys: ITS FREE. Just bring some change to buy some absinthe and get that nice dreamy buzz going- not that you won't have enough help from all the sensory stimulation on the night.

green liquid light faerie rings

Absinthe + Psychedelia ? Music + live art ? Your Jive? Ours too!

Absinthe is a magical spiritual beverage made of the flowers and leaves of anise, fennel and wormwood. It's highly alcoholic inducing sensory bliss which will heighten the kaleidoscopic stimulation already present for you at WORMWOOD.

Punk Monk are joining in Green Faerie Kimberley Galceran's vision of monthly interactive events based on collective collaboration and creative vibes. Hosted at The Loft, a liquid light projectionists wet dream (tall white walls for canvas), we'll be experimenting with some of our inky techniques and developing some ideas each month in this new playground.

Thursday Sept 2:

Edgar J Hooves artistic immortalisation of your experience through live portrait scribblings

Punk Monk Propaganda creating live ink-bath projections

The Bang Bang Twins as psychedelic green fairies

Charlotte - poetry / spoken word

Whipped Cream Chargers, Strangers & Pregnancy - music for the masses

DJs Jack Shit & Catinabox - even more music for the masses

Absinthe - as always!

in coming months: Meme Me, Mersey Sound Collective, The Walk on By, StupidKrap, Psychonanny and the Babyshakers, Piano is Drunk, Jusgo Mosh... and.... you??

Contact the organisers: filthypillow@gmail.com.