Reno will host a unique cultural event- so unique it’s only been done four times in the last 500 years! The Nevada Repertory Company will have performances of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, in the original pronunciation. Hamlet has been performed in the original pronunciation only four times since the 1600s in its original form, twice at the new Globe Theater in London, once in Kansas and at Cambridge in England. David Crystal, a Shakespearean scholar, linguist, and the dialogue coach for new Globe Theater in London has worked with actors of the Nevada Rep to say the dialogue of Hamlet the way Shakespeare would have. Ben Crystal, David Crystal’s son, will play the lead role of Hamlet in the play.

You might ask, what’s the difference? There is a big difference, actually. Although we can read what Shakespeare wrote, the way we say it is totally different. Vowels used to be pronounced more like they are in Spanish today. So, all those silent e’s would be pronounced (say the following sentence out loud pronouncing all the vowels that way). I’m really curious to see how the actors say their lines- are they going to try to say them with an accent, or just simply use the actor’s natural accent. I plan on going and I will find out and report it back to you all. This production of Hamlet should be a very interesting one as well as an historic one.

If you’re interested to get tickets for this unique event either go to the Lawlor Event Center Box Office (where you don’t have to pay the wonderful “convenience fee”) or get them online here. The official premiere of the show is November 4th, with previews November 1, 2, and 3rd. The show plays through November 20th.

To be there, or not to be there? Arnold as Hamlet might encourage you to be there in this clip from Last Action Hero!

Hey Reno nerds, geeks and other related subcultures!  It may surprise you to find out that the grand poobahs of science fiction will be convening on our fair city this very month for several days of scientific and fictional action!

Have you ever heard of the Hugo Awards?  The awards are a very prestigious recognition of the best works of science fiction to come out in a given year.  Categories include novels, novellas, short stories, graphic novels, editing, zines, fanfic and more.  These awards are given out at the World Science Fiction Convention, in Reno, August 17 – 21.  The convention will be based at Reno-Sparks Convention Center and the awards ceremony will occur at Peppermill.

So if you’ve got the bling, and the ganas, join musical guests Trixie Pixie, comic superstar Bill Willingham, guests of honor Ellen Asher, Tim Powers, and Boris Vallejo, for 5 days of geeky goodness including the aforementioned awards, a Masquerade, a film festival, art show, plus readings and Q&A sessions with writers Cory Doctrow, Walter Jon Williams, Connie Willis, Jo Walton, Steven Gould, Sharon Lee & Steve Miler, and Carol Berg at the Sierra View Library on Wednesday, August 17, starting at 11 am.  That’s a lot of high caliber readings for Reno, on one action packed day.  Book nerds, you have one week to get the day off work.

This is a pretty sweet event to be landing in Reno.  If you’re into sci-fi at all, you’ll kick yourself if you miss it.  Consider yourself notified.

What happened to all of those promotional discs you used to get in the mail begging to install AOL?  The answer lies here.  Literally.

Taking up space at a former funeral home, they now lie dying in a glimmering….wasteland scape.

The mysterious Adam needs to be thanked again for his contribution and maniacal basement cackling.

Melodious Punk has a new album out: “Sex, Death and Videogames.”   Yes, click here to download it, and donate him a few bucks, why don’t'cha (click “Buy Now,” and name your price!)

As I tagged him “Local Spaceboy,” in the Reno Noise Night event (which went off without a hitch, and thanks to all who attended) he comes now with a collection of spacey and wonderful sexiness to stir your emotions, reduce your inhibitions, and require you to do so in zero gravity.

I have enjoyed Kevin Fredericks’ music for some time, and this is no exception.  Experimental, guitar, synth and beats come together in a atmospheric swooning you shall soon not forget.

I’m not just saying this because I’m filled with drinks and good times from a work excursion to Winnemucca and visiting the wonderful “The Pig,” barbecue joint, either.  I mean every single damn word. Enjoy your copy of “Sex, Death and Videogames,” today!

The Salvagery Community Art Project in action in the Hobson Gallery!

The latest show by The Salvagery at the Hobson Gallery is an interactive experience that the entire community is invited to and can participate in. The Salvagery Community Art Project will go through the whole month of July and it should be a very engaging month of art.
I went to the Hobson Gallery a little after 7 and found the front area mostly empty. There is a sculpture show that is going on there and is very much worth looking at. The main action is going on in the back room of the Hobson; in there, were several dozen people sitting at tables, painting on little pieces of wood. Immediately after you enter, there is a table with pieces of wood of various sizes, some with lines and some without and next to that is another table with paint, plates for palates, brushes, and water to clean your brushes. The wood to paint on comes from two large paintings that have been cut into hundreds of small pieces for this show. You can do anything you want on your piece, but if there is a letter on one side of it, you can’t do anything on that. After all the pieces will are painted, they will be reassembled and then finally displayed on July 27. There is a small group of people who know what the paintings are, and no one is talking.

Pieces of the Art Puzzle, painted by you!

After some hemming and hawing, I ended up getting some paint and a piece of the puzzle. I ended up painting three pieces, talking and chatting with my fellow artists and seeing many familiar faces. Jerry Snyder acted as MC for the show, reminding all those attending what to do and how to do it. Then, Christy Lynn got up and sang some of her songs as we painted and chatted. It was a great addition to the atmosphere and feeling of the show. After Christy finished, James Wilsey came up to sing and play for us. The live music is a great addition to the show and would be another reason to come out for it.

If you missed the first Wednesday of July, you have two more chances to come out and contribute to the painting on July 13th and 20th. The show runs from 7 pm to 10 pm and there will be refreshments and live music. On the 27th, the completed and two reassembled paintings will be unveiled to the world. Come out to the Hobson Gallery on 315 Spokane (Spo-can) Street and create some art during this month of “art”, you won’t be sorry that you did.

2011 was the first year that I participated in NadaDADA Motel as an artist. For the last five years, I have gone to see NadaDADA and what made it up and how it was. I wanted to participate in the event for the last several years, but it was only this year that I was able to get my concepts together with money and time to be able to do NadaDADA.

As with any large scale art show with many participants, it’s hard to get an idea of what NadaDADA is unless you take at least a full day to see the whole thing. I think that the best way to describe NadaDADA is that it is Reno’s answer to Art Basel in Miami, The Biennale in Venice, or even in a way, Burning Man (there is a large crossover between NadaDADA artists and those who make art at Burning Man) or some of the more avant-garde shows that happen in London, New York, or LA. Each participating artist does their own thing and it is a unique and amazing experience to behold. I can speak of the hours and days of thought, preparation, networking, and effort that NadaDADA requires. In the end, it took me a month to get totally ready and open my room to the world.

My room was at Wildflower Village and I called it The Iris Room as it has a great reproduction of Van Gogh’s painting of Irises on it. The primary idea of my show was improvisational writing. As I sat behind one of my manual typewriters, I would get requests from my visitors to write a poem, essay, rant, or story and as they waited and looked around my room, I would write on their topic. I also had many collages and fake advertisements that I put up all around my room. After I would finish the piece, I would give it to my visitor and they would read it. Not a single person left The Iris Room without a smile on their face, or with a new or different perspective from what I wrote them.

I didn’t just spend all my time at The Iris Room as I ventured out to see what else was out there. The variety and scope of the entire show is beyond the scope of the few words I can write here, so I will focus on the NadaDADA artists out at Wildflower Village. Carole Ann Rickett‘s room was based on the Fukushima Nuclear disaster and her reaction to it in prints, paintings, and a media collage, which was very moving and breathtaking for many people, including me. There was Margie Enlow’s room with black light paintings made into altars and in the same room Adrian Kershaw‘s paintings and sculpture and baskets made from VCR tapes. There was Chris Atcheson who had the Portrait Bar, where you could have a drink and get portrait done (I have one of me, hunched behind a typewriter as I wrote something for him), that was frequented by many of the Wildflower artists after hours. Kathy D’Onofrio had statues of aliens that she built and put in her room, as well as all over Wildflower. The photographer Vincent Cascio showed his photographs of people and events from Reno and Sparks. James and Sean LeSage set up a room with all their video equipment and made a documentary of NadaDADA and talked to many of the artists who participated. Wildflower Village also has several artists who have permanent studios that showed during NadaDADA: Patty Atcheson-Melton who has beautiful watercolors as well as ink drawings of the many motels of Reno from their heyday that you can color; Jacqui Isensee‘s oil paintings; and Pam Sutton‘s work in glass. Shiva del Carlo and her “ReincarnArt” which was a combination of collage and adornment of everyday objects, especially hubcaps as well as the photographs of her daughter, Tempest. And this was just what went on at Wildflower Village!

My original piece on NadaDADA was over six pages long and that still wasn’t enough to really cover it. NadaDADA is a unique event that could only spring up in Reno: as it is not a juried art show and the artist has total control and artistic freedom to present whatever they want to the world. I can only suggest that you go to next year’s event to see what’s all about and be sure to make it to all of the rooms and totally experience what NadaDADA has to offer. Or even better- go get your own room and participate in NadaDADA yourself and really see what it’s about!

Eric and Kelly at the front door of Grandmother's Attic, the latest art show from The Salvagery.

I went to The Salvagery’s latest show “Grandmother’s Attic” on its opening night on Thursday, April 28, and was completely blown away. The Hobson Gallery, which I’ve been to for other shows several times was totally remade and felt like it was another place. It started from the way you entered the show.

Visitors to the show were led to a door in one of the side rooms, where there was the food and drinks during other shows. This was a sort of entry way and it had a greeter along with several pieces of art and a door that led into the rest of the gallery and the show. All visitors were greeted by someone from The Salvagery, who would explain the show and talk about the group. You could leave a donation and then enter the show.

When I entered the main gallery, it felt like I walked into a dream, or maybe someone’s idea of a dream, or a hallucination of some kind.   Wrapped around the whole of the main gallery was a large installation of things and stuff that you might just find in your Grandmother’s attic: books, tables, chairs, wheelchairs, all painted white and stuck together. The lights in the main room were off entirely and the only sources of light for the pieces were movies and several lamps, near the back of the main room. The movies all seemed to be family or home movies from the 1960s or 1970s but were indistinct, fuzzy and flickering as they played against the installation around the wall of the gallery. Everyone in the gallery simply walked around the space quietly, looking and watching. I also was able to say hello to the very cool Aric Shaprio, one of the people who put on the show.  He was even amazed by it and was slowly taking in the whole of the show and how it is. After soaking in the atmosphere and art I went to the back of Hobson to see what was going on there. In the back area, was glass blowing by the wonderful, amazing Nicole Seaton, who is a true master of making art with glass. It’s always fascinating to watch glass blowing and see beautiful things created from sand and fire.

Inside Grandmother's Attic. Not a good picture, but taken on my iPhone. The only way to really experience Grandmother's Attic is to go to it!

All the pieces of art were interesting and tied into the idea of having gone into your Grandmother’s Attic. The entire installation and the pieces of art worked together very well and was something to behold. My one criticism would be is that the wall piece smelled like fresh paint. No worries about that- a bit of time will take care of that. My lousy iPhone picture doesn’t do the show justice at all. The only way to really experience Grandmother’s Attic is to go to it!

I didn’t spend enough time at the show, but I want to go again. The show has some limited openings and will be up for three weeks and I’m going to be sure to catch it again. If you want to see one the most interesting and inspiring art shows to hit Reno in a long, long time, go see Grandmother’s Attic.

The show poster for Grandmother’s Attic by The Salvagery

The next show by The Salvagery at The Hobson Gallery on 315 Spokane St. (Spo-Can), is opening Thursday, April 28, from 7 to 10 pm. The show’s called “Grandmother’s Attic” and should be a show worth attending. Just the name itself makes me think of mysterious cabinets open doors to other worlds, ancient photographs of distant relatives, strange paintings of everyday places and your old book report projects from second grade. Every show I’ve been to at Hobson has been great and I’m sure this will be no different. The art is great, the people are great, and it is a good night out.

I went to the AWS (Artist’s Work Shop) Gallery at 836 East Second Street on April 22 for the closing show of their “Every End Is A Beginning” exhibit, which was my first time at one of Reno’s new galleries in town.  Interestingly, though many people have mentioned lately how many tattoo shops there are around the Biggest Little, art galleries big and small, classy and humble are also springing up all over the place.  This is encouraging, interesting and fascinating–has Reno found a new niche being a potential art bungalow destination?

That sure would be nice.  If this is the case, I’d like to extend my experience at the 836 Gallery.  From their website, “…offering artists a comfortable space to showcase their talents” and “…offers Northern Nevadans the opportunity to witness and take part in the entire creative process…”  –sounds good to me!

The building has an unassuming brick front, huge vintage doors (that you have to be very careful not to slam about), and it all greets you in a part of town not associated with much except perhaps getting to Kietzke Lane, because it’s a one-way street at that point.  There isn’t much in that block, dilapidated houses and buildings,  a few empty sub-gentrified storefronts (closed), and it isn’t a natural foot-traffic kind of area.  I had no idea there was even something like this here until someone said, “Hey, let’s go check this place out.”

I do have to say, the place was spartan inside as I walked in, but a hell of a building–and spotlessly clean.  Not cheap:  there’s a LOT of space.  Perhaps once an old auto dealership of some kind, half of it was gallery display, the back half was the workshop part of the gallery, as its namesake suggests.

The artwork we saw was like most small start-up or even coffee house work, mixed media, but mostly paint on canvas, followed by some photography.   The artwork ranged from cool to amateur.  Prices were reasonable for most works.  Nothing really floored me enough to start begging to know more about who was doing what, and I would have a hard time with that anyway, which I’ll explain later.   While I loved the addition of the floating walls showcasing the artwork, the fluorescent lighting made looking at the art harsh and drab.   Maybe that had something to do with why I was so  ho-hum about what was displayed.  It simply didn’t “pop” and nothing was focused.  The idea of spreading out and mixing up the work of the artists throughout the space was interesting, if a bit disjointed.  I’m not sure if I liked that method.  It was tough to compare styles between pieces, and see a flow of the artist’s work, but it also kept walking around interesting in a way.

I was extremely curious about what the workshop was all about in the back.  Part of their mantra is being an artist workspace.  There was a chain that blocked this workspace, and it suggested people in the gallery not go in there.   I craned my neck and around, squinting to see what I could see, but there were some chairs and what looked mostly like storage.   Ah well, no work going on, it seems.  Too bad, I wish I could have seen more.   Including what secrets the creepy basement stairs held.

A very industry-standard “girl with guitar” was playing music for this exhibition, strumming away and singing about… stuff…serenaded us while we proceeded around the gallery.  An empty box of Franzia wine sat next to some dirty cups,  also plate of crackers that had been thoroughly rifled through.   Considering it was only 7:30pm, thirty minutes after the opening had fired up, I was wondering who descended like vultures and ate the meager offerings.   No big deal, I wasn’t there looking for dinner.

I attempted twice to approach a man sitting at a computer in an open office as he looked largely unconcerned with everything, but he ran off  before I could engage him in a conversation–twice.  It occurred to me, also, that no one at all approached us while we looked at the art.   No one.  I’m not sure if the artists were there, who was running the place, or who was to be talked to about even purchasing a piece if I wanted to.  Owners?  Investors?   There were plenty of nervous-looking or bored folks sitting around in chairs, but no one seemed interested and engaged at all.

I really hope this gallery has some grand vision that it’s trying to achieve and is simply biding its time getting it together.   They seemed pretty comfortable where they were and what they were doing and how they were doing it.  I’m not sure if  “sit back and let the art/idea sell itself,” was the intended/preferred method, but it isn’t my gallery, either.

Because I am also an artist and a musician, who may both want to purchase/sell art and maybe consider a new workspace, I have to ask, would this place inspire me to buy or create?  While I am not a gallery expert, and I don’t expect pomp, $20,000 pieces and fine wine, I do enjoy pleasant and inviting environments, and a handshake or greeting–if even available literature helping me get to know this place.

While I see some potential, there needs to be some work in outreach, design, presentation and public relations at the 836 Gallery in Reno.  I did not feel like much of the creative process was witnessed or experienced at all.   Because I like Reno, which is why I write things like this, I’d like the things in Reno to be the caliber I know Reno can achieve–here, I felt like I was in the Reno people are sometimes negative about.  It doesn’t take money or wow-factor, it takes effort and creativity.  I would love to come back and see this place and idea improved, if not simply being what they promise to be by creed–they seem to have the space, financial backing/investment, and artist contribution  to make it happen.

My Flag Is On Fire will play a show, this coming Tuesday, April 19.  The show will be at the Lincoln Lounge 302 E. 4th St Reno, NV, starting at 8:30 pm. 

They’ll be playing with Phosphorescent, and Family Band, two interesting sounding bands on tour from the wilds of Brooklyn, New York. 

Tickets for this show are $7 in advance from http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/166601 or $9 at the door.  I’ll be there and I hope I see you there.