Corey Helford Gallery in Culver City, California will be hosting Animal Kingdom, a solo art exhibition featuring original paintings and rare prints by SHAG (aka Josh Agle). The opening reception is Saturday, February 11, 2012 from 7 PM to 10 PM and the exhibition will be open through February 29, 2012. Arrested Motion has posted several more preview images from the show.

via Arrested Motion

images via Arrested Motion

A few weeks ago, I started a beginner’s stand up comedy class at San Francisco Comedy College and learned that comedian Will Franken has taken on a teaching gig there. I also learned that he will be starring in Meme & Pepe = Bebe, his new one man show that happens one-night only on Friday February 17, 2012 at the Purple Onion in San Francisco’s North Beach. Tickets are available now. Comedian Shane Koon opens the show.

Entirely brand-new material with bits ranging from “The Memorial Service For Joy Has Been Cancelled Because Joy Came Back From The Dead” to “The Laziest Drag Queen In The World” to the Oprah Winfrey-produced, Jodie Foster-directed, Oxygen Network Satire: “Cassie’s Story”.

What will you say when your grandchildren ask you, “Where were you in the big Will Franken finally returns to the Purple Onion show on February 17th, 2012?”

Hopefully you’ll be able to respond honestly with, “I was there, grandson or granddaughter — I can’t tell what your gender is, cause it’s so far in the future that everybody’s wearing gray unitards — but, yes, grandson or granddaughter, I was there at the Purple Onion that night.”

“Gee, grandfather or grandmother — I can’t tell what your gender is either cause it’s so far in the future, our eyes are hazed over with this slick Vaseline like substance — but was it really true that Will Franken hadn’t returned to the Purple Onion since September 10th the year prior?…

Will Franken is a favorite here at Laughing Squid and he has previously performed at our events including our 8 1/2 Year Anniversary Party and our 10th Anniversary Party.

Here’s Mr. and Mrs. Mistermissus, a short film that Franken and Koon created to promote Meme & Pepe = Bebe:

photo by Lisa Miyako

Relighting Old Flame with New Matches is the 2012 theme of Six-Word Story Show on Love & Heartbreak, the annual storytelling event from SMITH Magazine. The event happens at 92YTribeca in New York City on Tuesday, February 14, 2012 starting at 7 PM (happy hour at 6 PM). The evening concludes with “a ‘Six-Word Slam’ in which anyone in the audience can share a Six-Word Memoir.”

Whether you’re spending the evening with that special someone, taking a stand against a Hallmark holiday or looking to meet a like-minded story lover, come out for a night of SMITH Magazine’s Six-Word Story Show on Love and Heartbreak. The line-up of storytellers includes DJ Spooky, Rachel Shukert, Deborah Copagan Kogan, Saïd Sayrafiezadeh, Robin Gelfenbien, Mark Lukach, Shubha Bala, and singer Tara O’Grady, all of whom start with six words and then tell the true tale behind the mini-memoir.

Following his blog instead of him.
Arranged marriage now sounding pretty good.
I blame it all on Mad Men.
Hired me. Fired me. Married me…
Butterflies still keeping after 30 years.
I’m six words away from divorce.

image via SMITH Magazine

Pac-Van by Jonathan Bergeron

Castlevania by Jayson Weidel

Super Mario by Olly Moss

Life Wasted by Alan Hynes

Gallery1988 Melrose is hosting Multiplayer X2: Posters inspired by classic video games, a group show featuring the art of over 30 artists. The show opens Friday February 10, 2012 and runs through March 3, 2012. The opening reception begins at 7 PM on February 10, 2012. You may remember last year when Gallery1988 Venice hosted Multiplayer, the gallery’s first show of video game art posters.

images via 411posters, Alan Hynes, Gallery1988 and Oo-De-Lally

Digital director of The Onion and comedian Baratunde Thurston has authored How To Be Black, a “humorous, intelligent, and audacious guide that challenges and satirizes the so-called experts, purists, and racists who purport to speak for all black people”. Baratunde was recently interviewed by Terry Gross on NPR Fresh Air and then featured on NPR Books where he says, “I hope to expose you to another side of the black experience while offering practical, comedic advice based on my own painful lessons learned.”

Thurston is also currently touring the world and making appearances to promote How To Be Black. He will be presenting How to Read the World, the opening keynote address at SXSW Interactive 2012 on March 10, 2012 at 2 PM.

If You Don’t Buy This Book, You’re a Racist.

Have you ever been called “too black” or “not black enough”?

Have you ever befriended or worked with a black person?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, this book is for you.

Raised by a pro-black, Pan-Afrikan single mother during the crack years of 1980s Washington, DC, and educated at Sidwell Friends School and Harvard University, Baratunde Thurston has over thirty years’ experience being black. Now, through stories of his politically inspired Nigerian name, the heroics of his hippie mother, the murder of his drug-abusing father, and other revelatory black details, he shares with readers of all colors his wisdom and expertise in how to be black.

Beyond memoir, this guidebook offers practical advice on everything from “How to Be The Black Friend” to “How to Be The (Next) Black President” to “How to Celebrate Black History Month.”

Actor William Shatner will be starring in Shatner’s World: We Just Live In It, his one-man show beginning with two preview shows on Broadway on February 14 and 15, 2012. Opening night is February 16, 2012 and the nearly two-hour long show runs for 19 performances until March 4, 2012 at the Music Box Theatre in New York City. After the Broadway run, Shatner is taking his show on the road to various U.S. cities. Tickets are on sale now.

In SHATNER’S WORLD…a one man force of nature delivers a larger than life performance complete with his laugh-out-loud humor, signature storytelling and select musical selections in his inimitable style.

Through anecdotes, songs, jokes and even some poignant moments, you will experience William Shatner ‘s phenomenal path from classically trained Shakespearean actor to cultural icon, brilliantly creating the larger-than-life and most important character he has ever played, William Shatner.

In Unreal Estate, Austin-based serigraph artist Tim Doyle re-imagines familiar locales from popular culture in a series of hand-printed screenprints and original art. Spoke Art Gallery in San Francisco, California is hosting a solo exhibition of these pieces beginning with the opening reception on February 2, 2012 from 6 PM until 10 PM. The show runs through February 23, 2012.

From Moe’s Tavern to the Bluth Banana Stand, Doyle’s realistic and illustrative reinterpretations of television’s most iconic places is a captivating voyage. In the artists words, “Unreal Estate’ is a collection of locations that many of us know and have been to on a weekly basis at times, but can never actually visit. These places are in our memories transmitted and entrenched there through a cathode-ray tube. Some of us have been going to these places for decades, some of these places were taken from us, way too soon.”

For these pieces Doyle moved away from his usually big bold colors and comic-book line quality to create a more illustrative style, with muted tones and colors that reflect a mood or time of day. He attempts to preserve and honor the non-physical spaces found in this show with the same care and intention given to iconic real world locations. This series is one artist’s intensely personal journey through a world which is universal to us all.

images via Spoke Art Gallery

Digital music service Spotify is organizing Music Apps Hack Weekend February 24-26 at SPiN Ping Pong Club in New York City. The event celebrates the launch of the Spotify Apps API and features a $10,000 grand prize.

The focus of our 48-hour event is to develop innovative products on Spotify’s new app platform. This is your chance to showcase your talent and channel your creativity towards building the next generation of music apps powered by some of the most powerful and robust APIs around.

For the first time ever, we will be welcoming product and marketing executives from CW, Doritos, McDonald’s, Mtn Dew, Showtime and State Farm who will be deeply integrated into the on-site environment and provide inspiration for the weekend’s hacks and prizing for the most innovative products.

Join us for fun, nerdery, drinks, food, ping pong, music, swag, and more.

via Andrew Mager

When the new section of the High Line in New York City was getting ready to open in June 2011, Korean-born artist Hyemi Cho worried that she would lose her privacy due to the proximity of her apartment to the new span. Instead of giving into the fear, she painted art for her window that gave the illusion that she was peeking out and waving from behind the curtains. The art has been a hit because it takes the urban park’s visitors by surprise and she has now created additional window paintings for her apartment to further the fun. In addition, she is also creating paintings for other buildings along the High Line. These fun “voyeuristic” paintings have been temporarily removed so that they can be part of Cho’s first solo exhibition, High Line and Personal Stories, at the Nancy Margolis Gallery from January 26, 2012 through February 25, 2012.

…I imagined myself cautiously peeking through my curtain looking outside, seeking the sky and river I used to love to see. I thought, “I am a painter. Why don’t I paint the reality of life and put it out to the public.” In this way, I would (re)solve the restriction of my freedom and my frustration of this invasion of my privacy.

The window paintings have brought me, now an animal in a zoo, delightful interactions with people on the Highline. Everyday, I see people laughing at the paintings and photographing them. Sometimes, I actually peek out and wave my hand, the real life recreation of the painting. The surprise on their faces turns to excitement and they wave back, saying “hi” with their hands. I see that my paintings are a good surprise and make people smile and laugh.

via High Line

photos by Hyemi Cho and Meg Kinney

Artist Alex Gross has created a new series of mixed media pieces that alter the photographic images of antique Cabinet cards for Product Placement, his upcoming solo show at Jonathan LeVine Gallery in New York City. The show’s opening reception is Saturday, February 25th, 2012 from 7 to 9 PM and the show runs through March 24, 2012.

via Arrested Motion

images via Arrested Motion and Alex Gross

Writer and director Kevin Smith will be hosting Kevin Smith: Live From Behind Featuring “Jay and Silent Bob Get Old”, a unique three hour live event held at Scotiabank Theatre in Toronto, Ontario. Kevin (“Silent Bob”) will be onsite at the theatre with Jason Mewes (“Jay”) for a live podcast titled “Jay and Silent Bob Get Old”. After the podcast, movie theatre audiences across Canada and the United States will be invited to ask questions in a live interactive Q&A. The event happens on Thursday, February 2, 2012 and tickets are available now.

The 10th SF MusicTech Summit is less than a month away. Held twice a year in San Francisco, the Summit is a connection point for the traditional music industry and the cutting edge of music technologists. Online music services, performing artists, instrument makers, music journalists, record labels big and small, and everyone in between come together to talk about the state of the art and business of music.

The folks who run the conference have generously offered a special discount code for Laughing Squid readers to get tickets at 20% off. Just use the code promolaughingsquid.

On February 13th at San Francisco’s Hotel Kabuki, the SF MusicTech Summit will bring together 1000+ visionaries in the music/technology space, the best and brightest developers, entrepreneurs, investors, service providers, journalists, musicians and organizations who work with them at the convergence of culture and commerce. This one-day conference, which has been called “the best music and technology conference” by Mashable’s CEO and founder, Pete Cashmore, features 75+ prominent speakers, new technology demonstrations, great networking opportunities, and packed cocktail parties.

The long list of speakers for the February show includes representatives of companies like Spotify, BitTorrent, and Topspin, and such musicians as David Lowery (Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker), Martin Atkins (Public Image Ltd., Ministry, Pigface, Killing Joke), and the band Pomplamoose.

Below are sounds and images from the last Summit in September of last year. Including an interview with Joe Satriani(!)

photo by Brian Zisk

The NYC Idiotarod 2012, a costume-mandatory shopping cart race, takes place on January 28. The Idiotarod is based on the Urban Iditarod organized by The Cacophony Society, which first struck San Francisco in 1994.

The Iditarod is the famous long-distance race in which yelping dogs tow a sled across Alaska. The IDIOTAROD is pretty much the same thing, except that instead of dogs, it’s people, instead of sleds, it’s shopping carts, and instead of Alaska it’s New York City. Teams of five will race for cash prizes and glory.

via Winkel & Balktick

Here are a few photos from last Wednesday’s opening of Coffee Common x NYC at A Startup Store. Check out the Coffee Common website for more info about what they are up to and plans for future events.

Coffee Common brings together world-class baristas and roasters with shared values, to create unique experiences that introduce people to the nuanced joys of exceptional coffee. We believe that great coffee is, at its best, a collaboration of an empowered coffee farmer, an artisan coffee roaster, a dedicated barista, and an enlightened consumer. We believe that great coffee requires study, experimentation, craftsmanship, and humility. These diverse roasters and baristas, who by most definitions would be considered competitors, come together as a community to proselytize the simple truths around coffee. We look forward to pouring you a cup of the most complex and extraordinary beverage in the world.

Thanks to my friend Sean Bonner who works with Coffee Common for the head’s up, it’s a really great concept.

photo by Scott Beale

Artist Michael Wertz of Oakland, California has illustrated and authored Dog Dreams, a beautiful board book of letterpress images for kids and adults. The book “imaginatively reveals the hopes, wishes, and ambitions of over a dozen dozing canines through playful imagery and rhyming text”. On January 19, 2012 at 7:30 PM, Bookshop Santa Cruz in Santa Cruz, California will host a singing and book-signing event with Wertz and the band, The Mutts (featuring Suki O’Kane and Andy Cowitt).

The idea for Dog Dreams came to me while watching my (then new) dog Olive sleep on the couch next to me. She twitched, huffed, barked, and jerked her way through a series of (seemingly) thrilling dreams. I’m pretty sure she was dreaming the typical dog dreams: squirrels, cats, and ball. But who knows? Maybe she was dreaming of a trip to Paris – or of flying like a bumblebee. Maybe she was simply sitting for tea in the shade of her favorite tree. This book is about this – as well as a little taste (for kids) of what it might be like to be a grownup.

You may recognize Wertz’s art from the stamps he’s created for The Elsewhere Philatelic Society and the art for their SFMOMA ArtGameLab participatory exhibit, The Peculiar Scholarship of Dr. Bedcannon. He is also known for creating many of the posters for the band, Camper Van Beethoven.

images via Gingko Press and Michael Wertz

Decentralized Dance Party and Newmindspace present Boombox Party NYC, a spontaneous dance party where participants carry boomboxes, tune into the master broadcast, wear full business attire and in this case, dance in the streets of New York (secret location not yet disclosed). This event is slated to occur Saturday, January 21st, 2012 at 9 PM. As of this writing, the organizers are still looking for additional boombox and cash donations to make this event happen. A fundraising page has been created on IndieGoGo to collect monetary donations. This event is part of Decentralized Dance Party’s Strictly Business Tour which will continue to tour the United States throughout the spring.

It consists of thousands of Party people, carrying boomboxes, and a DJ who wears a backpack, containing an FM radio transmitter.

All the boomboxes are tuned into the DJ’s master FM broadcast, resulting in a mobile, synchronized sound system. This portable dance Party roams the night, generating complete awesomeness, street by street and block by block, onto buses and subways, into public fountains and beyond. Inevitably interfacing with the public, together we create an infectious epidemic of fun. A roaming Party adventure that lasts all night long!

The theme for Boombox Party NYC is “strictly business”:

This is the Strictly Business Tour. That means you MUST wear Business Attire (suits, ties, cufflinks, glasses, nice shoes, sexy skirts, gel that hair, etc) and bring along as much business paraphernalia as possible (wheeled office chairs, briefcases, rolodexes, calculators, coffee machines+mugs, water coolers, filing cabinets, etc.

Filmmaker Todd Bieber (Encounters with Orphan Monkeys, Vigilante Gardener, Brooklyn Found Film) has written a new stage show titled Commercial Interruption which chronicles the true stories behind Todd’s secret past life as a local “shitty” commercial producer. It happens January 18, 2012 at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York City .

True story… I used to make embarrassingly bad local commercials in rural Pennsylvania. And I was great at it. Hear the true stories, watch the final commercials, see the outtakes, and find out how these ridiculously horrible commercials got made.

For two years Todd Bieber lived a secret life. A bizarre legal contract forced him to make shitty local commercials in rural Pennsylvania and he’s never told anyone about it until now. (Though chances are you’ve seen his handy work – as it aired up and down the east coast) From directing a ten-year-old dressed as James Bond to turning a car into a photoshopped helicopter – come hear the true stories about how Todd got into (and eventually out of) the seedy underworld of local televisions commercials. Watch the final commercials, see the outtakes, and find out how these ridiculously horrible commercials got made.

image via Todd Bieber

Coffee Common is a united group of dedicated coffee roasters and baristas that collaborates “to proselytize the simple truths around coffee”. From January 19 through January 22, 2012, Coffee Common is hosting Coffee Common X NYC, a public event at A Startup Store in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City “to make delicious coffee and help people understand how they can too”. Tickets for this multi-day event are $5 and available online.

Demand for quality coffee is on the rise, but a market filled with strange devices and alien vernacular can sometimes be intimidating. Luckily its easier than ever to find great coffees and to help you navigate all of this, Coffee Common has assembled crew of local and international baristas seeking to distill it all down so each attendee walks away equipped with the fundamentals of delicious coffee.

A Startup Store is “a new story-based retail concept” from entrepreneur and consultant Rachel Shechtman which operates as “a retail environment that has the point of view of a magazine, changes like gallery, and sells things like a store”.

photo by Brian W. Jones

As a longtime fan of musician Thomas Dolby, I was thrilled to learn that he will soon be kicking off his 2012 Time Capsule Tour. The tour will feature music from his current album, A Map of the Floating City, and begins in Austin, Texas at South by Southwest (SXSW) on March 16, 2012 and continues on through North American cities until April 2012. One great thing about this tour is that Dolby is bringing along a “Time Capsule” road trailer where he’ll give folks an opportunity to “make their own fully produced and effected digital 30-second video clip” of messages to the future. Clips are automatically uploaded to his YouTube channel and prizes are given for most viewed clips.

More on that from the tour’s press release:

The Time Capsule is a chrome- and brass-plated road trailer that seats three. With handcrafted leather and wood fittings, and complex electrical wiring that could have been designed by Nikola Tesla, it resembles a Jules Verne/HG Wells-inspired time-travel machine. Inside is a high-tech video recording suite that allows a music fan or guest artist to upload a personal video message to the Future. The Time Capsule will be parked in the street outside each venue on Dolby’s month-long North American tour, and in front of select local radio and TV stations. It will capture hundreds of 30-second clips over the course of the tour, assembling them into an online video montage.

Fans will be able to walk up and step into the Time Capsule to make their own fully produced and effected digital 30-second video clip. The clips will then be automatically uploaded and viewable on a brand-new YouTube channel along with the individual user’s own Facebook and Twitter pages. The most viewed clips will win prizes. Dolby’s label Lost Toy People Records is in discussion with several potential sponsors for the project.

“If you had 30 seconds to explain to an alien visitor what went wrong with our civilization, what would you say?” said Thomas Dolby. “Our species may not be around on this planet much longer, so you might as well leave a welcome message for the next guys!”

Here’s a live music video of his single, Spice Train:

images via Thomas Dolby

California-based print-maker and ceramics artist Kristina Ayala of Pufferfish Press creates all kinds of great art pieces featuring squids. Her squid artwork will be shown starting on January 29, 2012 at women-owned tattoo studio and gallery, Mermaids Tattoo in San Francisco, California. Also check out her Etsy shop, Pufferfish Press.

Hybrid Thinking is a group exhibition at New York City’s Jonathan LeVine Gallery curated by Marc Schiller and Sara Schiller of Wooster Collective. The show runs from January 14 through to February 11, 2012. The opening reception for Hybrid Thinking is Saturday, January 14, 2012 from 7 to 9 PM.

In the curators’ words: “Hybrid Thinking refers to the current zeitgeist of our time: disparate cultures coming together to create something completely new. Though from distinctly different cultural backgrounds, these artists share an understanding of our cities, of the human condition and our complex relationship with nature.”…

For Hybrid Thinking we’ve brought together six preeminent emerging artists from around the world… Dal, from Beijing, China (now based in Cape Town, South Africa); Herakut, the amazing duo based in Frankfurt, Germany; Hyuro, from Buenos Aires, Argentina, currently based in Valencia, Spain; Roa, based in Belgium; Sit, from the Netherlands; and Vinz, born and based in Valencia, Spain.

images via Wooster Collective

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery and Alamo Drafthouse Cinema are collaborating again this year to showcase the best 5-minutes-or-less “off-centered” films at the 2012 Off-Centered Film Fest. This year’s theme for submitted film shorts is “Western off-centered” and each entry must “somehow feature Dogfish Head beer”. Filmmakers are encouraged to submit their films now (deadline: March 5) to be part of the festival which happens April 19 through 21, 2012 in Austin, Texas.

You’ve had our off-centered ales. Now make the movie.

Every spring, Dogfish Head hooks up with the folks behind Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Austin, Texas, to put on the Off-Centered Film Fest.

It’s simple, really. You give us five minutes (or less) of film, and we’ll give you a shot at glory. The best films will be shown at the festival, and the top three will share a big pile of booty.

Don’t have high-end gear? Film it on your phone. Can’t write good dialogue? Shoot it live and call it gritty. The OCFF is a showcase for the up-and-comers, the independent-minded, the Davids of the world facing down the mighty Goliaths.

So, what are you waiting for? Crack open a cold one, pour it into a snifter, and let it come up to cellar temperature while you storyboard. Sip. Brainstorm. Sip. Cast. Sip. Make that film. Good luck. Cheers.

For inspiration, here is the 1st place winner from the 2011 competition, Off-Centered:

My good friend Maggie Duval at Plutopia Productions has just announced plans for the 2012 FutureMusic Summit, a three-day “sense” event that promises “full-blown world-class concerts, symposia, interactive displays and demonstrations and workshops”. Headlining the event is Paul D. Miller, aka DJ Spooky (The Book of Ice), who will be performing with Belgium’s Telos Ensemble.

This immersive three-day gathering happens at the beautiful Round Top Festival Institute in Round Top, Texas from Friday, May 11, 2012 at 5:00 PM until Sunday, May 13, 2012 at 12:00 PM. A full schedule of concerts and events can be found at the FutureMusic website.

The event will combine full-blown concerts in the Institute’s world famous 1,100 seat Festival Concert Hall, as well as smaller performances, interactive displays and demonstrations on the Plaza and symposia and workshops across the Institute’s 200-acre campus.

The content will embrace new movements in music, the convergence of technologies and experimental music making and performance, the relationship between machine, music, and physicality, augmented instruments, the emerging DIY trend and new creative techniques, transmedia performances, future business models and much more.

The star of Plutopia 2010, (DJ Spooky) with the Telos Ensemble, will perform a breathtaking program of ground-breaking remixes, to include his Arctic Rhythms, Steve Reich’s City Life, J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations, and Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik.

DJ Spooky

photo by Scott Beale

San Francisco-based DJ Toph One, aka Christopher Evans, was seriously injured in a hit-and-run bicycle accident this past weekend. According to The Examiner, he has been recovering in the Intensive Care Unit at San Francisco General Hospital with a broken pelvis.

Online donations are being gathered by his friends to help him with recovery expenses. In addition, two fundraising benefits are planned in San Francisco. The first benefit show takes place on January 20, 2012 at The Public Works SF at 9 PM and features sets by J Boogie, Jimmy Love, B Cause and more. The other benefit happens on January 22, 2012 at 8 PM at Som Bar and features “an all-star DJ lineup” with Sake One, DJ Stef, and more.

Anyone with information about the case is encouraged to call the Police Department’s anonymous tip line at (415) 575-4444 or send a tip by text message to TIP411

image via DJ Toph One’s Facebook page

They Might Be Giants (TMBG) kick off their 2012 United States tour on the Conan show on January 26, 2012 which will feature music from their two new albums, Join Us and the companion rarities album, Album Raises New and Troubling Questions. Their first public performance of this tour is on January 27, 2012 at the Rio Theatre in Santa Cruz, California. Special musical guest Jonathan Coulton opens for TMBG in the majority of the U.S. cities.

To celebrate the announcement of their tour, TMBG released this “dramatic video” which follows the construction of a giant pink papercraft life-sized monster truck hearse set to When Will You Die? from TMBGs album Join Us. For fun, they have provided free detailed instructions on how to make your own gigantic or table-top sized monster hearse at home.

The video tracks the creation of an 18′ paper and wood replica of the DayGlo pink monster hearse that graces the cover of They Might Be Giants’ album “Join Us.” World-renown graphic artist Paul Sahre created the original cover, and after designing a 3D scale model of the hearse in .pdf form decided he wanted to take this project to another level. So he set his laser printer to 3400%, and then set himself and his design staff to work to create the most monster of model monster trucks. The result is a viral video that must be seen to the end.