I am currently raising money for Planned Parenthood via Facebook in support of reproductive freedom and access to safe, legal abortion care. The fundraiser will run through Friday, May 20th with 100% of the proceeds going to Planned Parenthood to support their healthcare programs. You can make a donation of any amount at This Link. Thank you for your support.
Update: I am excited to tell you that this fundraiser earned $1120 for Planned Parenthood! Thanks to everyone who made a donation!
This week’s Video Clip, “Shuffle” by the Boston-based band Vundabar, sounds to me like an obscure indie rock song that you might have heard on an early ’80s college radio show playlist that included tracks by Pere Ubu, Bauhaus and Julian Cope. If you enjoyed that last sentence, by all means, read on.
The accompanying, and undeniably creepy, black-and-white video features a protagonist (antagonist?) wearing a mask that makes him look like Punch from the classic and uber violent Punch and Judy puppet shows. Punch walks the streets harassing people and gazing almost incessantly into a handheld mirror. When he runs into his significant other, she appears equally mirror-equipped and selfie-absorbed. We all know too many folks like this, amiright? Later, Punch falls in love with his own reflection, and meets a violent end at the hands of a distracted motorist who can’t stop preening in his rear-view mirror. Art imitates life! Not surprisingly, the band offers that the video “deals with themes of interpersonal self infatuation.” No kidding! This is why I don’t have a smart phone. Shot by George Watts (Holler Productions) the video’s script was written by Vundabar’s own Brandon Hagen.
Band members make cameo appearances in the video! Look for them! (Photo By Rider Doolittle)
“Shuffle” can be found on the band’s sophomore album, Gawk, recently re-released (as of March 10th), in preparation for their third album, which will be released later in 2017. To end on another positive note, all Digital Sales of “Shuffle” will benefit Planned Parenthood. Spring Tour Dates are below. Enjoy!
Vundabar Tour Dates:
3/16 – Hamden, CT @ The Outer Space*
3/17 – Washington, DC @ Comet Ping Pong*
3/18 – Richmond, VA @strangematterrva*
3/19 – Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian w/ Jacuzzi Boys
3/30 – Providence, RI @ Columbus Theatre ^
3/31 – Burlington, VT @ Signal Kitchen ^
4/01 – Montreal, QC @ Quai Des Brumes ^
4/02 – Toronto, ON @ Smiling Buddha ^
4/07 – Brooklyn, NY @ Silent Barn ^
4/08 – Cambridge, MA @ Middle East Downstairs ^
Hey, do you hate Donald Trump? I sure do. I hate him sooo much, just being serious. If you feel like I do, and you also enjoy performing Karaoke, let me tell you about a fun event happening this Friday. On January 27th, The Occasionalists, a wildly talented, Brooklyn-based cover band will be hosting Post-Inauguration Live Karaoke at Union Hall in Brooklyn. Tickets are only $10, with all proceeds benefitting Planned Parenthood, and other Rights organizations.
The Occasionalists will play all of the songs live and then you can just sing along – super fun! Come let your voice be heard — on stage, in the crowd or at the bar! Have some fun and relax in safe place filled with other sane people who didn’t help to get us into this mess!
Proposed Set List for the Evening Will Feature All of Your Favorites, Including:
It’s the End of the World As We Know It – R.E.M.
Revolution — The Beatles
Get Up, Stand Up — Bob Marley
Refugee — Tom Petty
Life During Wartime — Talking Heads
You’re So Vain – Carly Simon
Crazy Train — Ozzy
Freedom 90 — George Michael
London Calling — The Clash
I Will Survive — Cake
Eve of Destruction — Barry McGuire
Should I Stay or Should I Go — The Clash
Creep — Radiohead
Seven Nation Army — White Stripes
Anarchy in the U.K. — Sex Pistols
Come Together — The Beatles
Won’t Get Fooled Again — The Who
Highway to Hell — AC/DC
Fight the Power — Public Enemy
Road to Nowhere — Talking Heads
These Boots Were Made for Walking — Nancy Sinatra
Say It Ain’t So — Weezer
Hallellujah — Leonard Cohen
Psycho Killer — Talking Heads
Redemption Song — Bob Marley
What I Got — Sublime
Sympathy for the Devil – Stones
The Dirty Waltz Band will warm up the house starting at 7:30 PM, with The Occasionalists hitting the stage at 8:45 PM. Union Hall is located at 702 Union Street, Brooklyn, NY, 11215 (N R Q 4 And 5 Trains). If you happen to get hungry, Union Hall also serves delicious food! Further show details can be found Here, and on the FaceBook event page Here. Purchase Tickets in advance Right Here.
Los Angeles-based musician Guy Blakeslee (aka Entrance), has released a new track, “Not Gonna Say Your Name,” to coincide with the President-elect’s recent inauguration. Blakeslee says of the song, “I really wanted to write a song expressing my own feelings about the election and the state of things in our country. Like many, I was in a state of mourning. I wondered, how can I sing about this without saying his name?”
In addition to penning his own protest song, Blakeslee has created a playlist of his personal favorite songs of that theme and has given it exclusively to The Talkhouse, – click Here to listen to his picks, as well as “Not Gonna Say Your Name”!
“Not Gonna Say Your Name” is now available via Thrill Jockey and on participating DSPs, with all proceeds from song purchases and streams going directly to Planned Parenthood, an organization that Blakeslee holds near and dear to his heart. “I decided to use the song to benefit PP because one of the things that is so shocking about the election result is that it sends such a negative message to women and girls,” he says. “It’s the least I could do – for all of the women in the world, in my life, and especially for my mother – to fight back and make a clear statement that we will not accept this backwards agenda.”
Entrance will be performing at Planned Parenthood Benefit in Los Angeles on February 14th, 2017. Download “Not Gonna Say Your Name” for $1.00 at This Link!
As you probably already know, Bristol Palin, daughter of vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, is knocked up and will be getting married to the father of her unborn son. Way to go, Abstinence Only education! What better way to celebrate the miracle of life (and possibly the loss of choice) than with a baby shower? On Sunday October 19th, Planned Parenthood supporter Maria Miranda of Cleveland, Ohio will be hosting a Baby Shower for Bristol at the Prosperity Social Club in Treemont. Festivities will begin at 3:30 PM. This event is not just a big joke. Instead of bringing gifts, guests are encouraged to bring their checkbook with all donations going to Planned Parenthood of Alaska in Sarah Palin’s name! More information is available by emailing Maria at mariammiranda@sbcglobal.net.
