Phantom Limb

Constellation Overlap (October)

Somewhere in the back of my mind

Richard Tuttle

Shapes and wrinkles.

Anselm Kiefer

Details of his monumental constellation painting.

El Anatsui @ the Blanton

Beautiful clinky clanky drapery!

Wish I had more time to write.

Ah, winter break, how I dream of thee.

Woody

Spero and Golub

Nancy Spero

Leon Golub

Thinking about protest art.

Jeff Dell and Friends @ D Berman

I'm totally diggin' Jeff Dell's new text prints at D Berman in Wimberly.

He told me he is working his way through a long list of words.

I wonder if they are all four-lettered?

Constellation Background

Trail of Stars

Alana Amram and the Rough Gems

Alana Amram at Momo's on Monday night.

Wow, I really like this lady.  And, I was lucky enough to see her twice this week as she and her band spent a spell in Austin on their tour from New York.  A short, but lovely set at Momo's on Monday night (a school night...gasp!), and last night under the flickering orange glow of the electric chandeliers at Skinny's Ballroom with Archive War and John Wesley Coleman.  

Alana Amram and the Rough Gems are a little bit country, a little bit rock (I might even say psychedelic rock), and a lot of folk.  And these influences all twist and turn their way through the songs like a rolling river.  The pedal steel lends a lonesome and sometimes raucous ground to the barely noticeable twang of Amram's lovely vocals.  She sings with a sincere wistfulness in contrast to her in-between-song banter of self-deprecating humor and a mischievous smile.  New Yorkers, check her out.

Sidenote:  Skinny's is a fantastic newish venue in town with a radio station livestreaming all of their shows to boot.  Friends in Colorado tuned in to hear Mason last night, bringing us closer across the mountains and deserts between to experience live music together.  I can hear Mark say as he kicks back in his living room, "Keep it coming!"

Thunder Soul

Thunder Soul got soul alright!  This touching documentary tells the story of a truly inspired music teacher at Kashmere High School in Houston, TX, who turns the world of high school jazz bands on its head.  Rather than have his stage band play the old tried and true, Conrad “Prof” Johnson composed songs that were downright funky.  And with this bold move he inspired his students to put their souls into it.  He said that the first thing to do is make the students believe that they can do it.  Then, they get to know their instruments.  Then, they can make music.  This is a teaching philosophy I can get down with.

The film includes incredible footage and images of the Kashmere stage band from the late 60’s into the 70’s, and follows the alumni of this prestigious group as they come together to perform a reunion show in honor of their beloved Prof.  Their love for this man has stretched decades and, in many cases, shaped their lives.  If this isn’t a testament to the power of arts education, I don’t know what is.  The question is not how can we afford to offer our young people an arts education?  The question is how can we afford to cut funding for the arts in the schools?

Prof learns of his students’ plan to perform a concert in honor of him just a few days before, while he lay in a hospital bed recovering from a heart attack.  Upon hearing the news, he says, “That’s unbelievable.  But, that is believable!”