ENDED! WIN TICKETS to GANG GANG DANCE in SEATTLE! [10.14.11]

October 5, 2011 in Music

CONTEST HAS ENDED!


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The first time that I saw Manhattan‘s GANG GANG DANCE perform was in 2005 at Chop Suey in Seattle.  At the time, they were touring in support of their highly impressive breakout release, God’s Money.  The set culminated in having their sound shut off by the venue and with the band, in turn, piecing out their drumkit to the audience members and encouraging them to take part in an impromptu moment of tribal defiance.  Six cop cars showed up (a bit excessive).  It was labeled a “riot” (a bit of an exaggeration).  Three years later I was emailed a press kit for GGD by their then-label, Social Registry.  The bio included mention of the, now infamous, Chop Suey show.  The myth had grown.  Much of Gang Gang Dance‘s notoriety and legend has snowballed in a similar manner.

When I saw them in 2008, their follow up full-length, Saint Dymphna, had just been released.  They came back to Seattle, but this time it was in a headlining spot over Kill Rock Stars guitar tapping shredder, Marnie Stern and the show was held at the swanky Triple Door jazz club.  It was a very different scene, but their energy was still the same.  They have tons of it and their ability to adapt and shape-shift goes hand in hand with the metamorphic nature of their improv-rooted approach to music and creation.  The release was solid, but it’s taken 4 years for the group to come through with their next -and most recent- follow up, the critically acclaimed, Eye Contact.  A lot has changed.  The band now has 5 members, instead of 4.  Founding member/drummer, Tim Dewitt quit and was replaced.  The group has transferred labels to 4AD.  The album is a hybrid of the more polished sound that they’ve gradually been moving towards, while embracing the long extended build-ups that they explored in their earliest work.  What hasn’t changed is the inability to categorize them.  Electronic, tribal futuristic, experimental, noise jams?  Another thing that’s remained is the constant mystery about what the art/music collective will deliver next.

If you’re a fan of Gang Gang Dance, you need to experience them live.  If you aren’t, seeing them live very well might make you one.  Beyond their work in the music game, the members are all accomplished visual artists; even performing a mixed media live performance as part of the 2008 Whitney Biennial.  When I interviewed keyboardist/founding member, Brian Degraw back in March, he expressed their intention of adding even more stimuli to enhance their live shows: “We really want to incorporate a more visual and theatrical element to the stage when we perform.

On Friday of next week, GGD returns to Seattle.  This time they will be performing at Neumos and, thanks to the venue, we will be giving away a pair of tickets to attend the show for FREE! Check out the details for the contest after this video of the group performing “Glass Jar“,  the 11.5-minute epic lead off track from the new album. Read the rest of this entry →

MAKING CONTACT: Interview with BRIAN DEGRAW of GANG GANG DANCE

July 14, 2011 in Interviews, Music

The following piece/interview was originally written/conducted way back in March and was done so for an upstart print publication that, to my understanding, was to be distributed Nationally.  At that time, there wasn’t a ton of information available regarding Gang Gang Dance’s latest album, Eye Contact, or pertaining exactly to the future plans of the group creating it.  Since my interview, the album has been released to critical acclaim, Gang Gang has already performed their scheduled slot at the Animal Collective-curated ATP event in Minehead, UK, and the band has even announced a slew of upcoming US tour dates.  Although I wasn’t compensated monetarily for the work that I had put into this piece, I was still happy to contribute freely to a new publication, welcoming the opportunity to collaborate on an outside project and to help in its fruition as it grew into whatever it is destined to become.  As for publishing rights, no contracts were signed and, beyond the initial contact with the publicist -whose contact information I had already possessed- all follow up, research, editing, additional contact, and writing was handled by myself.

It would have been great to be the first to provide some “scoops” regarding the album, but it takes a lot to get a new magazine off of the ground and that includes time.  I, of course, never posted the interview here on Monster Fresh, so as not to conflict with the publication that it was originally intended to run in.  A couple of months passed, without any real updates.  I sent an email inquiring about progress with the project, but never heard back.  Eventually, I heard that the magazine had gone into print, but still can’t figure out how to obtain a copy locally or where to instruct anyone to pick one up in their local areas.  I haven’t even seen a copy in person, myself.  My hopes were to help promote the project and alert everyone to it’s existence, but my main goals with writing are to compile information and to make it as available as possible.  Of course, I was also hoping to see my work in print (which it apparently is) and to try and avoid recklessly burning another bridge (which I’m openly risking by posting this now).  As someone who operates an outlet of their own, I’m a firm believer in keeping those who contribute in the loop with the progress of their work.  This is especially true when they aren’t even receiving any real compensation for the work that they provide, other than the pride, outlet, and audience they are creating for.  In my particular situation, I didn’t need the connections or the forum.  I was/am proud of this piece but, as it stands now, I feel as if I’ve put my energy into something that someone else has locked into a box somewhere and have no real understanding of what is happening with it.  I wish no ill will towards the publication and hope to see it surface and do well at some point but, after this much time has passed with consistently little or no response, I feel that it’s time to put this interview up for those that want to read it and have, up until now, been unable to do so.  Like I said, this was originally conducted a full 4-months ago, at this point, but I tried to construct it in a manner that would allow the information to remain consistently relevant.  I hope that endeavor proves to be successful.

as always, thanks for reading.

-Dead C

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