Three Imaginary Girls - Theater

Celebrate SIFF's Grand Reopening of the Uptown with Favorite Films {10/20-10/27}

Imaginary Amie — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 19:59:53 +0000

I would like to take this moment to announce that I think SIFF purchasing the Uptown Cinemas and rescuing them from languishing in certain doom is the best thing that they have ever done, ever. EVER.

Okay, now that I have that out of the way - let's get to the good stuff. The Uptown is having its Grand Reopening this week! Starting Thursday, 10/20, there will be a serious of Sing-Alongs (Hedwig, Purple Rain, and Grease) as part of the Heineken City Arts Fest, and then they're gonna show a whole bunch of awesomeness -- officially known as Uptown Cinema Classics -- starting on 10/23.

You can view the full schedule here, but the films I'm most excited about are West Side Story, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, The Royal Tennebaums, Pee Wee's Big Adventure, LA Confidential, and The Godfather. They'll also be rounding out the week with Bob & the Monster (which we heartily recommend you get tix to!). Even better: all these films are only $5 - OR FREE with a same-day receipt from any Queen Anne area business. omg. what.

Anyone up for drinks at The Mecca followed by a film?

Get lectured by Chris Estey & Lindy West and perhaps get served an audience participation snack

imaginary liz — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 17:17:20 +0000

On Monday, July 18, 2011, Seattle will get to partake in a new McSweeney’s-esque lecture series show that’s touring (and sweeping) North America entitled Trampoline Hall.

The Trampoline Hall premise is to challenge not only the (locally notable) lecturers, who are dared to speak in detail about topics of their own choosing *and* outside their area of expertise, but for the audience who get to participate in a post-lecture Q&A. The end result is a sure-fire evening of hilarity that’s filled sold-out halls in Toronto (where it began) and across the US.

The Seattle stop at Town Hall next week will feature lectures by TIG’s very own Chris Estey and the Stranger’s Lindy West and set concept by Michael Hebb. From what I know of Mr. Estey and Mz. West, there are few things they know little about and infinite ways they can use words to entertain. With those two on the mics, the evening is going to be a hoot -- even if one of them decides to chat about something from an MBA workbook.

Also noteworthy, per the Facebook page, all audience members are asked to please bring an (edible) ingredient to the show. These ingredients will be cooked together, onstage, and fed to the audience after.

Recommended Theater: Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog @ACT {1/28-2-12}

Imaginary Amie — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 01:29:42 +0000

"We do the weird stuff!"

OMG, you guys. I missed this the last time around and I am SO EXCITED that it's come back! Just to catch you up (in case you don't know what the hell Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is), back in 2008 during the WGA writer's strike, Joss Whedon wrote an awesome musical tragicomedy web series starring the equally awesome Neil Patrick Harris, Felicia Day and Nathan Fillion.

It's so popular with Whedonphiles (AKA: Browncoats...*coughcough* that's my nerd showing) that a bunch of peeps all over decided to rework it as a play, and LUCKY US - The Balagan Theater is putting it on at ACT in Seattle from January 28-February 12!!!!

For a small taste, check out the trailer for the web series here to get ready for the play. I'm betting tickets are going to be scarce, if not sold out, soon - so grab them while you can and get ready to laugh, cry, and you know, probably sing-along.

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
ACT
700 Union Street
1/28-2/12 @8pm
Adults: $25 ($30 for February 11-12)
17 & Younger: $20
Students: $20
Day-of-show: $20

GREASE is the Word: Recommended Weekend Theater {1/7-1/9}

Imaginary Amie — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 17:39:41 +0000

{Go Greased Lightnin' Go photo by Joan Marcus}

I am bursting with excitement because the one musical that I have always been fond of is coming to The Paramount Theatre this weekend! I’ve never seen a live production of Grease, so I’m looking forward to seeing Danny, Sandy, Kenickie, Rizz (< my favorite) and the rest hit the stage to sing and dance—and duh. I’ll be singing and dancing in my seat right along with them.

In addition to this looking like a pretty slick show, the cast holds kind of a hilarious surprise: Carmine Ragusa – Eddie Mekka, AKA: The Big Ragu (!!!), Shirley’s boyfriend on Laverne & Shirley, plays DJ Vince Fontaine. I can’t lie; my L&S fangirl heart is all kinds of excited about that.

Grab your tix online now, put your hair in a ponytail, throw on your circle skirt and cardigan, and practice your “A-wop-bop-a-loo-bop A-wop-bam-boom” - and I’ll see you there!

Tonight's Recommended Event: E-mails from My Parents

Imaginary Amie — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 21:37:52 +0000

Tonight, Wednesday 11/17, my friends over at The Beta Society are putting on a show that could potentionally rival the ever-popular Salon of Shame called E-mails from My Parents.

Rather than read your own embarassing journals, why not share the most embarassing e-mails, voice mails, or even videos from your parents? I mean, they've embarassed you enough, right? Why not turn the tables?

Head over to Central Cinema from 7-8:30pm tonight and experience dramatic re-enactments of parental tomfoolery, live readings of e-mail, and actual videos from the 'rents. I can't think of a better thing to do on a rainy, cold night - can you? Tix are $7 at the door, and the usual CC food & drink menu will be available.

Recommended Imaginary Things to do this Weekend

Imaginary Amie — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 20:48:20 +0000

There’s a ton of awesome stuff happening in Seattle today, tomorrow and Sunday—so rather than pick just 3 films to recommend, I put together a master list of everything I’d do if I had the time and money.

FILM
Starting on Sunday, Central Cinema is showing two of my favorite Halloween-y films: Beetlejuice and Poltergeist! NWFF is showing some great cinema this weekend also—the haunting documentary I Am Secretly An Important Man, and the slick Hong Kong action flick Vengeance. I heartily recommend both, but they’re so different, it’ll obviously depend on what kind of mood you’re in.

THEATER
Evil Dead: The Musical continues its strong run this weekend (they’ve extended shows out until November 20th) over at Arts West, but make sure you get your tickets ASAP. Everytime I try to pick a time to go, I get a “sold out” message, which makes me have sad face.

OTHER GEEKERY
The EMP/SFM is showing off Battlestar Galactica props (including full-size spaceships!!!), costumes and more from both the original 1978 series, which I was a HUGE fan of, and the newer 2003 incarnation that has like 1 bazillion fans. Battlestar Gallactica: The Exhibition officially opens Saturday, 10/23—but there is a preview tonight at 7pm for members.

And over at the Pacific Science Center, they’re preparing for a massive Harry Potter exhibit with costumes and props like HP’s iconic wand and eyeglasses, Gryffindor school uniforms, the giant SPIDER, and lots of interactive stuff fit for magic-obsessed muggles. Harry Potter: The Exhibition opens Saturday, 10/23 and runs through January 30, 2011.

A review of Cancer: The Musical (yes, seriously)

imaginary victoria — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 09:29:32 +0000

The flyers and descriptions for Cancer: The Musical don't hide much -- in fact, they give the whole story away:

You're gonna die. Sorry for your loss. Oh well, let's pretend we're Scientists. How do we, as Scientists, measure Loss scientifically?? And more importantly, where's the punchline? This solo show by Montana von Fliss (Scientist) will ask these questions and using the scientific method, carefully sidestep them. Through the story of caretaking for her dying dad, experience the joyously comedic approach to the ultimate end that is Cancer: The Musical (WARNING: may or may not contain actual musical).

Having driven by a poster in Capitol Hill, my initial query to Google wasn't about going to see the show, per se -- my curiousity was peaked, but at first I was just inquiring as to who had put forth such an appaling concept out into the stratosphere. Upon pushing the search button, however, I had an immediate change of heart and knew I had to get to the first performance I could.

The results were as follows:

Win tickets to see our new BFF Janeane Garofalo at the Moore Theatre on May 8

imaginary liz — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 13:41:15 +0000

One of the things that binds us all as card-carrying Seattle swanksters is that we all want to be best friends with Janeane Garofalo. You *know* that we'd all get along famously, making our way through the hipster jungle texting escape plans to meet up at the nearest Tea Express to split pot of earl gray and review the evening's near hits and misses. We'd sarcastically laugh under our breath up until the tearistas kicked us out and we'd quote the Old 97s on our way out the door. Or something low key and outrageously fun like that.

Next Saturday our almost-BFF will be in Seattle to film her next live DVD release over the course of two shows (7p and 9.30p) on Saturday, May 8 at the Moore Theatre. That's how much she loves us! She wants *us/Seattle* to be a part of her next DVD!

Three Imaginary Girls would like to help bring us all together by offering you a couple seats to one of her May 8 shows. To enter to win a pair of tickets email us at tig @ threeimaginarygirls.com with a subject line letting us know which timeslot you'd like to go like so: "BFF@7p" or "BFF@930p" (you can enter to win tickets to both time slots). The deadline to enter is 9a May 4, 2010.

The Soft Rock Kid at ACT Theatre - February 19th - 27th

Imaginary Muller — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 09:07:02 +0000

Soft_Rock_Kidsm.jpg

I got this e-mail from Mark Siano recently about his final production as Mark Siano and the Freedom Dancers. This show looks really cool so you should check it out!

Next Friday we are opening the REALLY BIG SHOW! Holy Wow! You gotta see this thing, it is the most entertaining, energetic, and ambitious show I've ever been a part of. Comedian Mark Siano (that's me! I'm switching to 3rd person, look out) and the funny and foxy Freedom Dancers present their grand finale SOFT ROCK performance, The Soft Rock Kid (February 19-27), in the beautiful ACT Falls Theatre.

The Soft Rock Kid
February 19-27: Fri. 8pm; Sat. 8 pm and 10:30 pm
Tickets: $20

In three short years this Soft Rock dance, music, and comedy troupe has gone from zeroes to heroes, routinely packing the house and selling out the Re-Bar, Chop Suey, and the Triple Door. This greatest hits show tells the story of the origin of Soft Rock and The Freedom Dancers through a hilarious parody of the 80s classic film The Karate Kid. With high-energy dance moves, enthralling sing-alongs led by the Comfort Band, and pitch perfect comedy timing, The Soft Rock Kid is a must see musical juggernaut!

...

The gorgeous ACT Falls Theatre seats nearly 400, so if you could bring everyone you know and forward this to another thousand or so people, you can have my first born!

You can get tickets here.

{Photo of Mark Siano and the Freedom Dancers by Hot Avocados Photography, from the TIG Flickr pool.}

I got this e-mail from Mark Siano recently about his final production as Mark Siano and the Freedom Dancers. This show looks really cool so you should check it out!

Recommended Saturday Fun: A Very Alan Thickemas

Imaginary Amie — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 18:31:40 +0000

This sounds pretty awesome, you guys. Grab some friends and some $10 tix online, head to the Central Cinema this Saturday, December 12 at 9pm and show that smile again (yes, I actually just wrote that)…

My friends over at The Beta Society have put together the perfect holiday activity for those of us who grew up watching Growing Pains and loving "The Thicke" (I cannot convey the depths of my teenage crush on Kirk Cameron, but I will say that show totally jumped the shark when they added the curly red-headed baby sis), or just generally love the cheesiest bits of the 80s.

The Return of Slashacre: blood, guts and....comedy

Imaginary Amie — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:34:11 +0000

So I pulled up this press release today intending to write about The Return of Slashacre and how awesome I think it's going to be when I zeroed in on this flier's photo of Andras Jones and made a HOLYSHIT discovery: I met this guy at a friend's birthday party last week, totally thinking to myself that he looked really familiar the whole time, and now (inside my head, thankfully) I'm like; "Omgoomgomgomg OMG that guy is Rick, the martial arts boyfriend in Nightmare in Elm Street 4: The Dream Master!!!!" It's probably a good thing I didn't realize this while talking to him, or my Elm street fangirl mode would have kicked in and the guy would have thought I was a complete idiot, droning on about Freddy and dream powers and how did you wield those weapons so expertly anyway?* Not that Renny Harlin's entry in the series is some kind of masterpiece, but it's still ridiculous enough to be highly entertaining.

The Year of Magical Thinking at the Intiman Theater

ChrisB — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 17:14:33 +0000

Joan Didion is not the most empathetic of writers. In her studies of the 1960s and 70s, Slouching Towards Bethlehem and The White Album, she treats her counterculture subjects (hippies, Black Panthers, The Doors) with disdain and in her novel Play it as it Lays, she treats her fictitious characters with brimming contempt. Her words are often exact and exacting, completely rational.

The tagline for the Intiman Theater’s production of Didion’s own adaptation of her 2005 memoir The Year of Magical Thinking says “It’s okay to lose your mind; you’d be crazy not to”. Here is a memoir of remarkable honesty and empathy while she navigates her own emotions while her daughter is hospitalized with pneumonia and her husband, the writer John Gregory Dunne, died of cardiac arrest – both within a few days of each other. Didion’s daughter Quintana died shortly after she finished writing her memoir, so it is left out of the book, but is dealt with in the stage adaptation she wrote.

The Intiman’s production of The Year of Magical Thinking stars Judith Roberts as Didion and was directed by Sarna Lapine. It’s a 100+ minute, one person play that is held together by the chronology of Didion’s thoughts. There is some light humor here, especially with Didion having to deal with an unsympathetic hospital while Quintana is hospitalized and not wanting her to wake up to seeing news of her father’s death on CNN. For the most part, though, this is a very serious work held together by the mind of a great writer trying to navigate her own thoughts while not sure how she should react. She searches for guidance in self-help books, but finds the literature wanting.

When Roberts’ Didion was thinking aloud about her husband’s death and being in denial about it (she refused to give up his shoes because he would need them later), I couldn’t avoid drawing the comparison to the anti-heroine in the novel Play it as it Lays, whose abortion was treated with such nonchalance.

Judith Roberts handled the material well, maintaining the attention of her audience while expecting them to listen to her talk about death and denial and every subject in between for an hour and forty minutes. My thoughts drifted in an out throughout the play but I think that is natural and somewhat expected. Still, it is not unlike being through a twelve-step program for grief, albeit being led by and walking through it with one of this country’s best living writers. It’s not an ideal journey, but Joan Didion knows that, and most importantly, she understands.

(Photo by Chris Bennion)

Bumbershoot preview: The Beta Society

Imaginary Amie — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:48:46 +0000

The Beta Society’s been getting a ton of press lately, so no doubt you’ve heard of them – they’re the group of friends who rented an 80s style mansion so they could live together 24/7 for the express purpose of creating stuff. What kind of stuff? It’s a little hard to explain (and much better to see live), but basically they make hilariously great films and sketches, and when they do it live, they put it all together in a sketch-style variety show that includes both.

"Headmasters" Celene Ramadan, Annette Auger, and Jessica Aceti are the awesome chicks that formed The Beta Society in 2008, and in addition to running a kick-ass group of Betas, they’re just an awful lot of fun to be around (back in the day when I was a frequent improv/comedy/theater-goer, I got to know Ms. Ramadan pretty well, so I totally know. Seriously. They all rock!). Some of my favorite bits include a fascination and collaboration with Alan Thicke (yes, that guy from Growing Pains), and the fact that they made their own feature-length horror parody called Junkbucket:

Don’t miss ‘em, you guys. There’s nothing else quite like this in Seattle.

{The Beta Society performs at Bumbershoot on Monday, September 7 from 1:14-2:15pm on Comedy Stage West. Photo by Cory Gustason.}

The Year of Magical Thinking - now at the Intiman

ChrisB — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:58:32 +0000

The last time I was really, really starstruck was in late 2005. I went to the Seattle Public Library to see my favorite living American writer, Joan Didion, read from her new-at-the-time memoir The Year of Magical Thinking. I was so nervous to meet my literary heroine that I'm sure I was shaking throughout the time standing in line and when I finally got to the front to have my book signed, I'm sure I couldn't mutter "it's nice to meet you and I love your writing". I'm sure I got through half of that.

The memoir was the story of how her husband, the writer John Gregory Dunne, and daughter Quintana both died within a very short period of time. Shortly thereafter, Didion adapted her book into a one-woman play for the stage and when it premiered on Broadway a few years ago, Vanessa Redgrave played Didion.

The Intiman Theater began showing their production of The Year of Magical Thinking on August 21 and it will run through September 20. I'm planning on seeing it Wednesday night, so I'll try to come back with a review after. In the meantime, the play is directed by Sarna Lapine and features the actress Judith Roberts playing Didion.

For more information, including purchasing tickets, visit the Intiman's website.

Bumbershoot preview: Charlyne Yi & Patton Oswalt

Imaginary Amie — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 20:24:10 +0000

I’ve probably raved enough about Charlyne Yi, but here I go again: in addition to crafting one of my favorite movies of the year, she’s also an adorable performance artist. Her shows reportedly mix music, magic and personable jokes – but since they mostly take place in and around LA – I’ve never been able to see them. Fortunately for me (and everyone else!), she’s performing at Bumbershoot this year.

As promised on her YouTube page:

"There will be music, joke-telling, story-telling, tatty-telling, scary stories, stories that you can pass on to your children's children... and more!"

So…I don’t really know what to expect, but I hope it’s something like this:

She’s paired up with Patton Oswalt – who, since I’m a novice when it comes to stand up, I totally knew NOTHING about until Ratatouille (he voiced Remy). After we watched it, my boyfriend said “You don’t know who he is???” and proceeded to download every video he could find and play them for me. And I admit, the dude’s pretty funny, even outside his adorable rat persona. He was on Dollhouse too, and hey, if you appear on a Joss Whedon show, chances are I’m gonna like ya’ (HI fellow WHEDONVERSE fans!).

Bumbershoot preview: Blood Squad

Imaginary Amie — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 18:04:04 +0000

Everytime I try to get tickets to see Blood Squad, they're sold out - so obviously my only chance to see them is at Bumbershoot this year.

This smart 4-person improv group develops shows based solely on slasher films - something I can totally get behind, and I bet you can too.

Taking queues from Friday the 13th, Halloween and Nightmare on Elm Street (mostly the hilariously bad sequels like F13 part 2, H20 & Dream Warriors), Blood Squad continually creates entertaining shows - I hear raves about them all over town, all the time. They don't use any fake blood or props, relying instead on narration, lighting effects and on-stage action to deliver the goods.

I can't wait to see them. Sounds like a lot of fun!

{Blood Squad is at Bumbershoot on Sunday, Sept. 6 from 4:45-5:45, Comedy Stage West}

Imaginary Interview: Radio8Ball

ChrisB — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 18:47:07 +0000

“Synchronicity is the star of Radio8Ball” was what the program’s host, a musician and actor named Andras Jones, declared when I saw his program at the Little Red Studio a few weeks ago.

The idea behind Radio8Ball is that audience members write down questions that they are pondering and several are drawn randomly throughout the course of the evening. Jones discusses the question with the audience member and then a wheel is spun, and will land on a number that corresponds with a song by the show’s musical guest, who will then perform the song and Jones, the audience member and the artist will discuss how the song answers the question that the audience member was thinking about.

It’s a really amazing show that is carried by Jones’ charisma and intelligence, as well as the musical guests who appear on the show. The next episodes of Radio8Ball feature the Radio8Band (which is discussed below) and We Are Golden, on August 26 and September 2, respectively. There will also be a performance of Radio8Ball at Bumbershoot on Monday, September 7 (at Theater Puget Sound at 4:45pm). I spoke with Andras Jones, as well as Radio8Ball band member and frequent returning champion Jon Auer (who I have, full disclosure, known as a friend for several years), as well as Radio8Ball sponsor Dibspace’s founder Dominic Canterbury over drinks at Liberty Bar on Capitol Hill last week.

When I was at the Radio8Ball show about six weeks ago, you said that the star of the show is synchronicity. What do you mean by that?

Andras Jones: It’s really the star of the show is the format of the show. You ask me a question and then doing something that randomly selects some piece of pop culture, in our case we use music to answer that question. When you engage the synchronicity with the question synchronizes with the song and everyone in the room is paying attention to the synchronization that happens. I say it during the show that synchronicity is not something that is happening sometimes, it’s happening all the time, it’s just sometimes we notice it. There’s something about this game and asking questions and picking things at random and seeing how they connect. The more people who are in the room and the more attention there is, the more that happens. It’s pretty cool on the radio and it’s really cool in a room full of people.

Your run of shows at Little Red Studio is nearing its end and then you’ll move to Theater Off Jackson in the International District. Will that be right after Bumbershoot?

AJ: No, we’re doing Bumbershoot on September 7, with the Radio8Band and then we do two more shows at Little Red and those will be great. They’re with Jes Raymond and The Moore Brothers. The Moore Brothers are San Francisco guys and they’re awesome. There is also the show on the 26th, which is next week with the Radio8Band and then the next week, on September 2, we have We Are Golden with Sarah Rudinoff, who is also playing with the Radio8Band at Bumbershoot.

The Radio8Band, who I’ll talk about now, features Jon Auer from The Posies and Big Star and who is with us here; and Scott Taylor, who is sort of my secret weapon from Olympia and is a left-handed genius boy but has great harmonies, a singer, multi-instrumentalist, and our drummer is Chad Austinson (from the band Congratulations). They play songs that have been performed on Radio8Ball in the past. They are a cover band that is performing only songs by the other indie songwriters who have played on the show. They’ll be covering songs by people like Bart Davenport, Rachel Ries, Ian Moore.

Jon Auer: Michael Jackson.

AJ: He was awesome on Radio8Ball.

JA: He was really into synchronicity. The Police record.

AJ: Actually, I would love to hear a Michael Jackson version of the song “Synchronicity [II]”.

JA: Right, with him singing that line “packed like lemmings into shiny, metal boxes” in an Off the Wall falsetto. Don’t stop until you get enough on that one, right?

AJ: That’s why Jon Auer is a perfect artist for Radio8Ball, because his mind is so rampant and encyclopedic. That’s one of the factors that ends up playing out stage when he’s the artist. The artist changes the vibe of the show, so when the synchronicity is the star, the other star is the artist. It’s a very interesting showcase for the artist to perform in because they get paid attention to and they really set the tone for the whole show. Jon, the first time you were on the show, you didn’t really know what you were in for. You had seen it, but what was the experience?

JA: It was a couple of years ago. At this point, I have a pretty long-standing history with Radio8Ball and I heard about it through the grapevine and there was a nice little piece in The Stranger a couple years back. It was back when you were at the Capitol Hill Arts Center and it just sounded very intriguing. My motivation for doing it was out of a) it was something different to do and it was something in my career that I hadn’t done before and b) it sounded like a fun idea. I wasn’t quite prepared for how addictive it was to have one of the lyrics to one of your songs used for an interpretation to a question to the universe, if you will. That was a really cool jolt and I got hooked on it. It started as a fun thing and I recognized the whole synchronicity but it was something I just wanted to do. How many times have I done it?

AJ: Twice at the Capitol Hill Arts Center, once in LA, once at The Triple Door. Actually, I think it’s three times at Capitol Hill Arts Center, so it’s five times you’ve done the show. Plus, you’ve been on the radio a bunch, including down in Olympia when I was on KAOS. You and Andrea Wittgens, and you’ve done more shows than her, have been the two artists that have been on the show the most.

JA: The funny thing is that my initial approach was, I’m a believer in synchronicity, but I think I come to the show more as the guy making a snide commentary about synchronicity - but I will say that when it does happen and it does occur, it is pretty hard to dismiss. When that person asked that one question and somehow and spun the wheel and it lands on what could seemingly be the only answer for that song. That’s the moment I’m a believer, but I do have a lot of fun with it because I can provide a foil for someone like Andras.

Speaking of stars of the show, one of the big reasons I’m involved with it is because I like Andras Jones. Beyond as a performer, he does this because he loves it. He wasn’t doing on the radio on KAOS all those years because it was about making millions of dollars. He does it because he believes in it and has kept it alive through all of these incarnations. I am an Andras Jones fan as well.

When I was at the Little Red Studio for your show a few weeks ago, I noticed that people are really listening closely to the songs. It’s not normally how I listen to a song for the first time. I listen for a chorus or a hook, but here, people are listening intently for meanings in all of the verses.

AJ: I will say that one of the things that really inspired the show was being a frustrated singer-songwriter who went out, and unless you went out and happened to be playing at Largo (a famous LA club known for being completely silent when performers are on stage)… well, I remember going to see very successful artists playing in really cool venues and there will be people as loud as this room is right now. I don’t know what drove me crazier when they were doing it during my show or at a show that I really wanted to listen to. We’re doing it as a way to force people in a way that they don’t feel like they’re being forced. You don’t have to yell at them, you don’t have to be like Largo and hold a stick and say “you’re not going to talk”. It’s not even out of respect for the artist, it’s because they are interested. People ask questions like “is my relationship going to work?” and you can see that people really want to know the answer. It’s like talking during a therapy session, you just don’t do it. You’re really right there. To me, that’s my favorite part of the show, where the audience sits there and listens to an artist like Jon Auer and Raina Rose. Even an artist like Jon, who people pay attention to and listen to all the time, it’s just a different thing. People are hanging on every word. I believe every songwriter deserves a good listening and they really sound better when you’re paying attention.

Let’s talk about Dibspace, because Dominic is here with us, too. When I was at that show, you mentioned that you were looking for sponsors and was that how you found Dominic and Dibspace?

AJ: Yeah, pretty much. To me, this is the most fun kind of the sponsor. Everyone wants to make money and I’m a big fan of US currency but this is just so much more fun. He’s inventing his own money and has a system for delivering it in a way that really works. One of the Sacred Ushers of the show said I had to check it out and I thought it was going to be a weird “hippy dippy” thing, but I went and checked it out and found that everything I could need to make a movie or TV show, I could make here. What there isn’t, I could fill in. We met here, at Liberty Bar, and pitched the idea to Dominic as using Dibspace to create a show for no money. It’s a great advertising method. It ultimately creates a DibSpace economy.

Dominic Canterbury: What Andras presented to me was this idea of bringing in the music community and production community, a creative community and rather than have them sitting around with nothing to do with their time, have them start to collaborating with them. If we could get them to use this currency, they could start trading with each other for their own project. You could have a musician hiring other musicians and a recording studio, but using an alternative currency.

What Andras pitched to me that got me excited was the idea of reenergizing the music community. Right now, they are lagging because US dollars are kind of scarce right now, but we are enabling them to work with one another in getting this whole community on board here. It’s all outside of the US dollars.

AJ: Plus, I promised I could get Andy Dick (on Radio8Ball).

Have you?

AJ: Well, yes and no. He’s an old, old friend of mine and has been on the radio show many, many times.

We’re adding this section which is a celebrity Skype segment and the technology is there to do it super-cheap. We’re going to have Andy Dick on his computer Skype in and ask a question and show him on the wall and he picks a number between one and eight and that starts off the second act. So, at [this] week’s show, we’re going to test it with Dominic Skype-ing in and asking a question. By the end of run at Little Red, I really want to have Andy Dick as part of it, because he’s a dirty whore, in the best way.

JA: Andras is an “idea man”. He’s always had these ideas and has been able to put them together. “Celebrity Skype”? What a great idea, and the first I’ve heard of it.

Where did the idea for Radio8Band come about? Who said “why don’t you cover songs that have been on Radio8Ball before?

AJ: Honestly, it’s because this guy, Scott Taylor, we have this band called My Brave Face.

JA: You know the My Brave Face thing, right? [Andras] plays Elvis Costello and Scott plays Paul McCartney.

AJ: We do all of the songs that Elvis and Paul wrote together. We do them as if Paul had joined the Attractions, they had kicked Bruce Thomas out, and had gone out and toured with those songs. It’s the thing he would do now, but before he figured out he could tour with Burt Bacharach or Allen Toussaint. I’m really bad about figuring out songs, but I wanted to learn the songs that are played on the show as a way of getting to figure out the songs.

It became clear that that became an idea in Radio8Ball, but it didn’t make sense to have me singing it. So we brought in someone like Jon, who it may be hard to get the same excitement because, for example, I think (Jon’s song) “Six Feet Under” has come up in every show. I love interpreting it each time, but to put Jon in a different situation, to learn these different songs. Plus, “Six Feet Under” may come up again because it’s in the setlist. By the way, do you remember when it came up last time? At The Triple Door?

There was a little girl who was nervous about her first day of school and she was moving to a new school, from preschool to kindergarten.

JA: Oh yeah. That came up and I was like “do we have to?”

AJ: Those are the amazing moments.

JA: There was another moment that I want to relate. We were on the radio, was it on KAOS in Olympia? I posted on one of my websites that I was doing it and one of my fans from Iowa got online and streamed it. She was one of the people who called in. I had a song called “Josephine” and she called in to ask, because she was pregnant, and she called in to ask if she should keep the baby. The answer to her question was my song “Josephine”, which was a song I wrote about how my father was given up for adoption at the age of six months and didn’t know her and she died before he ever got to meet her. This was the answer to question. That was the thanks she got for taking the effort to stream the show and call in.

But I do still know her and she ended up having the baby and everything was fine. It proves that that even though it’s about synchronicity, it’s also about looking at life in a different way. It could be a catalyst for any way that you want to take it. That’s why I like it.

AJ: Both of these things are things that I really love about the format. It possibly goes towards the truth that may be difficult to look at. If week keep it light enough and fun enough, you can go…if I remember about “Josephine,” that was about the fears and thoughts and concerns that she was having. It doesn’t always say “this is how it’s going to go” but it says this is what you’re thinking and all of a sudden you’re going to hear it in a song, and it’s beautiful. Your own voice in your head could be horrible, but the synchronicity is finding yourself in somebody else’s songs. It ends up being a place where you can hear some scary stuff without it being that scary.

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“Synchronicity is the star of Radio8Ball” was what the program’s host, a musician and actor named Andras Jones, declared when I saw his program at the Little Red Studio a few weeks ago.

Bumbershoot preview: Scream your face off at The Scream Contest

Imaginary Amie — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 16:34:15 +0000

In addition to all the fabulous bands at Bumbershoot this year, how about exploring the 100s of others things going on?

The first thing that caught my eye on the schedule is The Scream Contest, because it involves screaming your head off, and something called the SCREAM-o-METER. How can that not be tons of fun?

You sign up to read a short radio theater scene that ends with lots of murderous screaming, and then judges consult the aforementioned SCREAM-o-METER to decide who wins! I’m not sure what your prize is, but I know at least a few people who’d love to participate (especially after a spell in the beer garden). I'm considering it my chance to see if I'd make a good Scream Queen - you know, in case Sam Raimi calls me for his next film.

Presented by Performance Space 122 NYC: Seattle Edition, with lo-fi NY band Japanther.

The Scream Contest takes place Saturday, September 5 and Sunday, September 6, from 8-10pm.