Ace Hotel

May 18th, 2012

INTERVIEW : LACRYMOSA x NORTH HIGHLANDS …wherein we resurrect a tag game of bright minds performing in the lobby at Ace Hotel New York during May at our live music residency on Sunday nights, curated by Chris Tucci, who spins B-sides and rarities before and after sets. Lacrymosa is Caitlin Pasko. A native of Virginia who was trained in classical piano from a young age, she’ll use her virtuosic talents this Sunday evening to craft a nimble tempo and mood in earthily poetic songs. Last weekend, North Highlands brought their bright guitars, jangly rhythms and steely and inscrutable dissonance to the mic. Herein, they ask each other a handful of intriguing questions. Lacrymosa: Okay first question - I think I remember Mike telling me that Wild One was recorded in a sort of “cabin in the woods.” Where was it, how long were you there, and had you finished writing the songs prior to recording? North Highlands: Wild One was recorded in a studio called Carriage House in Stamford, Connecticut. It was sort of a little retreat—it was nestled away in this fancy suburb with a ton of huge homes, and it was literally the Carriage house to another larger house. It was fun though because there are rooms upstairs that the bands can stay in, so we hit Trader Joe’s before coming up and never had to leave the studio. We were there for only 3 or 4 days, and then did a bunch of overdubs and vocals at our producer’s studio in Philadelphia. Most of the songs were finished, but a few got worked out in the studio (specifically Best Part)…Brenda also did a lot of writing, re-writing, etc. on the way to and from Philadelphia. Question for you: If you could enlist one musician to play a song with you, one director to score the song for and one actor or actress to be in the film you were scoring, who would they be? Lacrymosa: Whoa. One musician - Ed Droste! I wish I wrote “Foreground.” Also Sean Davenport from Hills Like Elephants because I can’t stop listening to ”Invisible Ink.” One director - Lars von Trier. Dark, twisted, visually and mentally stunning… Yes please. One actor - Philip Seymour Hoffman. Because he’s a badass genius. Okay. 1 - Tell me a good story from the road?  2 - Who would you tour with right now if you could tour with anyone? North Highlands: 1) Aside from walking through Wendy’s drive-thrus at 4 am, eating at six different Waffle Houses, and one of us getting badly constipated, our tour was your pretty typical beer-crazed, let’s-share-a-bed-at-Days-Inn-and-hopefully-not-get-scabies, fried food extravaganza. 2) If I could tour with anyone it would probably be At The Drive In because I want to see their reunion shows. But that wouldn’t make all that much sense….so I’d probably say Liars or Beach House because I’m psyched for both of their new records.

INTERVIEW : LACRYMOSA x NORTH HIGHLANDS

…wherein we resurrect a tag game of bright minds performing in the lobby at Ace Hotel New York during May at our live music residency on Sunday nights, curated by Chris Tucci, who spins B-sides and rarities before and after sets. Lacrymosa is Caitlin Pasko. A native of Virginia who was trained in classical piano from a young age, she’ll use her virtuosic talents this Sunday evening to craft a nimble tempo and mood in earthily poetic songs. Last weekend, North Highlands brought their bright guitars, jangly rhythms and steely and inscrutable dissonance to the mic. Herein, they ask each other a handful of intriguing questions.

Lacrymosa:

Okay first question - I think I remember Mike telling me that Wild One was recorded in a sort of “cabin in the woods.” Where was it, how long were you there, and had you finished writing the songs prior to recording?

North Highlands:

Wild One was recorded in a studio called Carriage House in Stamford, Connecticut. It was sort of a little retreat—it was nestled away in this fancy suburb with a ton of huge homes, and it was literally the Carriage house to another larger house. It was fun though because there are rooms upstairs that the bands can stay in, so we hit Trader Joe’s before coming up and never had to leave the studio. We were there for only 3 or 4 days, and then did a bunch of overdubs and vocals at our producer’s studio in Philadelphia.

Most of the songs were finished, but a few got worked out in the studio (specifically Best Part)…Brenda also did a lot of writing, re-writing, etc. on the way to and from Philadelphia.

Question for you: If you could enlist one musician to play a song with you, one director to score the song for and one actor or actress to be in the film you were scoring, who would they be?

Lacrymosa:

Whoa.

One musician - Ed Droste! I wish I wrote “Foreground.” Also Sean Davenport from Hills Like Elephants because I can’t stop listening to ”Invisible Ink.”

One director - Lars von Trier. Dark, twisted, visually and mentally stunning… Yes please.

One actor - Philip Seymour Hoffman. Because he’s a badass genius.

Okay. 1 - Tell me a good story from the road?  2 - Who would you tour with right now if you could tour with anyone?

North Highlands:

1) Aside from walking through Wendy’s drive-thrus at 4 am, eating at six different Waffle Houses, and one of us getting badly constipated, our tour was your pretty typical beer-crazed, let’s-share-a-bed-at-Days-Inn-and-hopefully-not-get-scabies, fried food extravaganza.

2) If I could tour with anyone it would probably be At The Drive In because I want to see their reunion shows. But that wouldn’t make all that much sense….so I’d probably say Liars or Beach House because I’m psyched for both of their new records.


Notes: (9) / Link / Share

May 7th, 2012

INTERVIEW : WENDY MACNAUGHTON BY JOCELYN K. GLEI San Francisco-based illustrator and artist Wendy MacNaughton’s illustrations have the improvisational quality of an observer, a lone wolf. She uses illustration to weave a facetious and compassionate homage to the mundanities and Seinfeldesque neuroses that tie us all together. As a sort of visual afterparty to Behance’s 99% Conference, Wendy’s collection Guts, Grit and Getting *%!# Done will be up in the gallery space at Ace Hotel New York May 9 - June 8. It’s an illustrated inventory of making ideas happen based on Wendy’s observations, insights and takeaways from the conference. Jocelyn K. Glei, Director of the 99% Think Tank and Conference, interviewed Wendy about how to change your life by not doing yoga. How would you describe your work to, say, my grandmother? First I’d apologize. Then I’d tell her I draw from observation — of people, circumstances, places, life — and tell stories through pictures and words. And no, sorry Nana, not like Norman Rockwell. You seem to have a particular fascination with pointing out the details — half-empty whiskey glasses, lonely sandwiches, etc. Why? The little things tell the story — we get swept up by the big picture but I think the little unnoticed details tell us more about what’s really going on. There are also quite a few pieces related to thinking too much and procrastinating… What’s your preferred mode of procrastination?  Let me think on that and get back to you. But really, folks. I know if I overthink an idea, it ends up spoiling it. Knowing that, the risk is over thinking not thinking about it. I guess I catch myself coming and going. It’s a challenge to put things aside and just have fun with an idea. That’s what drawing does for me. It clears my head out and I get to play — ideas come on their own.   You have a lot of sketches from attending book readings… what was the last great book you read? I beg everyone to read Miranda July’s It Chooses You. Not only is she a great writer, but this true story is super relevant to people working in, on and around technology and who are interested in human connection and storytelling.   A lot of your illustrations seem to happen in transit (airports, events, street corners) — is there something in particular that’s appealing about transitional spaces and moments? When in transit, people reflect, mull, worry, remember, sleep… These are all very intimate acts to be doing in a public space. And I love to eavesdrop. So I guess drawing in public is like visual eavesdropping on someone’s private time. It’s also very mediative for me. Drawing allows my brain to stop moving (see question above). Kind of like putting a baby to sleep in a moving car.  Who or what recently inspired you to do something differently? At a conference recently a friend asked me what I was going to do the next morning. I said, yoga. He said, do you always go to yoga at home? I said, yes. He said, well since you’re not at home, why not do something you can’t do at home? And i did. And it ended up being a profound, life-altering experience. (And sorry, I am not telling you what it was.)

INTERVIEW : WENDY MACNAUGHTON BY JOCELYN K. GLEI

San Francisco-based illustrator and artist Wendy MacNaughton’s illustrations have the improvisational quality of an observer, a lone wolf. She uses illustration to weave a facetious and compassionate homage to the mundanities and Seinfeldesque neuroses that tie us all together. As a sort of visual afterparty to Behance’s 99% Conference, Wendy’s collection Guts, Grit and Getting *%!# Done will be up in the gallery space at Ace Hotel New York May 9 - June 8. It’s an illustrated inventory of making ideas happen based on Wendy’s observations, insights and takeaways from the conference.

Jocelyn K. Glei, Director of the 99% Think Tank and Conference, interviewed Wendy about how to change your life by not doing yoga.

How would you describe your work to, say, my grandmother?

First I’d apologize. Then I’d tell her I draw from observation — of people, circumstances, places, life — and tell stories through pictures and words. And no, sorry Nana, not like Norman Rockwell.

You seem to have a particular fascination with pointing out the details — half-empty whiskey glasses, lonely sandwiches, etc. Why?

The little things tell the story — we get swept up by the big picture but I think the little unnoticed details tell us more about what’s really going on.

There are also quite a few pieces related to thinking too much and procrastinating… What’s your preferred mode of procrastination? 

Let me think on that and get back to you. But really, folks. I know if I overthink an idea, it ends up spoiling it. Knowing that, the risk is over thinking not thinking about it. I guess I catch myself coming and going. It’s a challenge to put things aside and just have fun with an idea. That’s what drawing does for me. It clears my head out and I get to play — ideas come on their own.  

You have a lot of sketches from attending book readings… what was the last great book you read?

I beg everyone to read Miranda July’s It Chooses You. Not only is she a great writer, but this true story is super relevant to people working in, on and around technology and who are interested in human connection and storytelling.  

A lot of your illustrations seem to happen in transit (airports, events, street corners) — is there something in particular that’s appealing about transitional spaces and moments?

When in transit, people reflect, mull, worry, remember, sleep… These are all very intimate acts to be doing in a public space. And I love to eavesdrop. So I guess drawing in public is like visual eavesdropping on someone’s private time. It’s also very mediative for me. Drawing allows my brain to stop moving (see question above). Kind of like putting a baby to sleep in a moving car. 

Who or what recently inspired you to do something differently?

At a conference recently a friend asked me what I was going to do the next morning. I said, yoga. He said, do you always go to yoga at home? I said, yes. He said, well since you’re not at home, why not do something you can’t do at home? And i did. And it ended up being a profound, life-altering experience.

(And sorry, I am not telling you what it was.)


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May 6th, 2012

INTERVIEW: SHE KEEPS BEES X SHENANDOAH… …wherein we resurrect a tag game of bright minds performing in the lobby at Ace Hotel New York during May at our live music residency on Sunday nights, curated by Chris Tucci, who spins B-sides and rarities before and after sets. She Keeps Bees unleashes their smoky, pure power tonight at 10pm, and Shenandoah plays a set of melodic pop noir on May 27. Coming up — a round robin with North Highlands (May 13 — Mother’s Day!) and Lacrymosa (May 20). Shenandoah: Hello She Keeps Bees, glad to make your acquaintance. First question that comes to mind is what do you do to boost the spirits when you encounter many red lights? (AKA difficult times). She Keeps Bees: Hi Shenandoah! Wonderful to meet you! Andy and I like to dance. Dance it out and drink coffee — surrender to the change, honor it and be pleasantly surprised by the natural solution. Or I’d like to think we don’t do what we normally do, which is complain and sulk and have a beer in bed at 3:30 in the afternoon. What’s your favorite tree? Favorite Ray? Ray Ramono, Ray Charles, Link Wray, Ray Davies, Amy Ray, Ray Stevens, Ray’s Pizza, Ray Ban, Ray LaMontagne, Rachel Ray, Blu Ray! Shenandoah: My favorite tree is ceder for smell, oak for shade, and aspen for glittering on hill tops. The redwoods are where I come from, they make places pretty dark and musty. So many good Ray’s. I’m really into Le Carrè, John Le Carrè. If money wasn’t a concern, what would your house look like? Where would it be? She Keeps Bees: We’re not very extravagant, so we’d probably still choose something pretty humble even if money weren’t a concern. Free Cabin Porn is always making us drool over secluded cabins in far away places. Last Question: What place in the world would you most like to visit/play a show Shenandoah: Ooh, Greece, definitely Greece!

INTERVIEW: SHE KEEPS BEES X SHENANDOAH…

…wherein we resurrect a tag game of bright minds performing in the lobby at Ace Hotel New York during May at our live music residency on Sunday nights, curated by Chris Tucci, who spins B-sides and rarities before and after sets. She Keeps Bees unleashes their smoky, pure power tonight at 10pm, and Shenandoah plays a set of melodic pop noir on May 27. Coming up — a round robin with North Highlands (May 13 — Mother’s Day!) and Lacrymosa (May 20).

Shenandoah:

Hello She Keeps Bees, glad to make your acquaintance. First question that comes to mind is what do you do to boost the spirits when you encounter many red lights? (AKA difficult times).

She Keeps Bees:

Hi Shenandoah! Wonderful to meet you! Andy and I like to dance. Dance it out and drink coffee — surrender to the change, honor it and be pleasantly surprised by the natural solution. Or I’d like to think we don’t do what we normally do, which is complain and sulk and have a beer in bed at 3:30 in the afternoon.

What’s your favorite tree? Favorite Ray? Ray Ramono, Ray Charles, Link Wray, Ray Davies, Amy Ray, Ray Stevens, Ray’s Pizza, Ray Ban, Ray LaMontagne, Rachel Ray, Blu Ray!

Shenandoah:

My favorite tree is ceder for smell, oak for shade, and aspen for glittering on hill tops. The redwoods are where I come from, they make places pretty dark and musty.

So many good Ray’s. I’m really into Le Carrè, John Le Carrè.

If money wasn’t a concern, what would your house look like? Where would it be?

She Keeps Bees:

We’re not very extravagant, so we’d probably still choose something pretty humble even if money weren’t a concern. Free Cabin Porn is always making us drool over secluded cabins in far away places.

Last Question: What place in the world would you most like to visit/play a show

Shenandoah:

Ooh, Greece, definitely Greece!


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May 4th, 2012

SNOW IN THE DESERT INTERVIEW: EVE FOWLER

Eve Fowler is arguably one of the country’s greatest living conceptual artists — trained in photography at Yale and in journalism from Temple University, she documents queer lives, interrogates “non-creative” visual forms and bridges the word with the body. She’s joining us this weekend for artists workshops at Snow in the Desert, an art space for women at Ace Hotel & Swim club. We asked her about her work, and what we can look forward to on Saturday afternoon…

What is your relationship, or your work’s relationship, to ideas of “beauty”?

I don’t really think too much about beauty in an art context. When I look at art or when I make art I tend to think more about what the artist was thinking or, regarding my own work, I’m trying to get information out into the world that matters to me in some way. I have a lot of art up in my apartment right now because I run an art organization, Artist Curated Projects, and I really love most of it but I don’t think about any of it in terms of beauty. When I was in grad school the worst thing you could tell someone was that their work was beautiful…

Talk a bit about the series of works you created at your residency at One Colorado — related to one of our favorite books in the world, Gertrude Stein’s “Tender Buttons.”

The public art project I made this year using text by Gertrude Stein is something I’m really excited about. I have been working with that text for a couple years making collages. Last year driving to my studio downtown I would see neon posters, made by Colby Posters, on telephone poles and fences. This is a very common form of advertising here and these posters have been used by a lot of artists. While I was using Stein’s text to make cardboard, wood and paper signs and collages I started to think these posters might be a great way for the general population to experience this text that I really love and enjoy. I see some of the text in “tender buttons” as really queer & coded but I think it’s so open-ended that it could mean so many things depending on who the viewer is. Aside from being posted in public, the posters have been used for classes, occupy LA and other protests. I recently made larger versions of them, paintings, for a show in Austin, Texas — along with a sound piece I made in collaboration with Tara Jane O’Neil. The sound piece combines ambient sounds collected while I put the posters up and “this is it with it as it is” spoken continuously for three minutes.

What will you be working on this weekend at Snow in the Desert?

I think this weekend I will have my library that I collected from the One Institute Gay and Lesbian Archive. They sell books for 50 cents there and over time I collected about 65 books. The books are wrapped in collages — I think we will unwrap them together and talk about that project a little. My library has some very obscure books in it but I think the books and the authors are important because they were out when it was hard to be out — making it easier for everyone now.


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April 27th, 2012

INTERVIEW: DMITRY KOMIS : CHELSEA PLACE CURATOR

The Chelsea Hotel is an icon of New York’s endangered free spirit — replete with freaks, geeks, ground shakers, noise makers, and artists who just don’t give a shit about capitalist progress. Though the latter has gnashed its teeth and the Chelsea’s caboose has stuttered to a halt, the spirits in the air will never vacate the premises.

Writer and independent curator Dmitry Komis curates The Quality of Presence at the Chelsea Hotel today through Sunday in a recently vacated suite — a group exhibition that employs Walter Benjamin’s seminal text The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction as a point of departure, and extends Benjamin’s argument of a diminishing “aura” of an artwork to the architectural space that encompasses it.

We walked through the exhibition with some Ace x Impossible film and had a chance to ask Dmitry about the show and some our friends who are in it.

Sherrill Tippins wrote about how the architect of the Chelsea was influenced by the French utopian philosopher Charles Fourier — that it was envisioned as a hub of creativity from the start. Is American utopia down for the count at the Chelsea or making a comeback?

To be honest I do not feel very optimistic about it, informed in part by my own experiences at the Chelsea.  

Living there, I was most interested in the people who felt they could not live anywhere else, because they felt so much a part of it, the architecture and the mood. The people who have been there 20-30 years. So you cannot tell them that artists have left the Chelsea or whatever people want to say now, they’re still there and continue to make work. There are not many buildings in New York you can still say that about. I also feel that for an artist community to flourish anywhere, affordable housing is a prerequisite. If the Chelsea continues to raise rents and fight its rent controlled status in court that would be a complete disaster.

Is Colette here to represent for the Fourierist spirit in 2012?

Colette is Colette. She is true to her vision. Her work is certainly informed by a self-sustainable ideology, but I’m not sure she would say she was influenced by Fourier. For The Quality of Presence, she resurrected one of her original bedroom panels, complete with a 1975 lightbox, and customized it for the Chelsea space. It looks like it’s always been there. I begged her to do it, she was not keen on bringing that back, but I felt it had to be seen within this context. I really respect Colette’s work and think she deserves a lot more serious attention. I won’t mention the current “controversy” surrounding her work, but it does seem to be very relevant at the moment culturally, thinking about artists and musicians and their all encompassing environments.

If Zaldy could dress any of the artists-in-residence in Chelsea history however he wanted, who do you think it would be? 

Viva. But she already had a great personal style.

Will Desi Santiago represent the 90s club kid aesthetic?

Desi’s piece literally borrows from the 90s club kid aesthetic, as he is using materials from Mathu & Zaldy’s costumes in the 90s, which were stored in the same closet where his installation will be. Desi found them in the closet after Zaldy & I moved out of the apartment. Desi certainly loves a spectacle, and is inspired by that culture, but his work takes on so many other cues and meanings that become something completely different when removed from the club context. The work is celebratory, yet dark and introverted. 

Has Scott Hug taken any more Polaroids? 

Scott is including his graph collage pieces. I love this body of work and I think it can go on forever.

Mapplethorpe and Miguel Villalobos in one room — that’s a powerful litany of black and white.

Miguel has photographed many many shoots in the bathroom in room 302, so it is fitting that he is contributing images that were shot there. His photos will be contrasted by Jen DeNike’s bathtub projection. Every artist is responding to the architecture and utility of each room in the suite. 

The Mapplethorpe in the show is pretty powerful; the longer I stare at the photograph the more I start seeing other things the image.


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April 20th, 2012

DESERT GOLD INTERVIEW : ALEX PASTERNAK OF LEMONADE

Alex Pasternak grew up in Half Moon Bay, California playing punk and hardcore and jazz bass. He studied ethnomusicology and anti-boasts a repertoire of rare magic from all four corners of the planet including Turkish Cifteteli, North African Rai, samba-reggae and Folklorico, and he mixes it all with two-step, grime, kuduro and cumbia digital. He lives in Brooklyn, plays drums with Lemonade, has reigned over the decks in the lobby at Ace Hotel New York, and will be gracing us poolside tomorrow at Desert Gold, with a 5-piece Balkan brass band. Dude makes it happen.

Read on for more background on his degree from the School of Hard Knocks and advanced certification in Variegated Horizons & Shifting Sands. And we’ll see you tomorrow — see the schedule and get a room.

What are some roadside attractions that have…attracted you?

I really loved having a picnic at Shoshone Falls a few years ago on tour with Delorean. If you’re ever passing through Idaho, it’s a great relaxing stop.

Also, Tammy’s Truro Tavern in the middle of fucking nowhere Iowa is amazing Americana.

If you could be any highway or US route which would you be?

Highway 1. Eeeeaaaaasy. Called the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway in So-cal) though Hwy 1 is me. I was raised on it, literally, between San Francisco and Santa Cruz at a little cove named Martins Beach and have driven that road all my life. From Mendo down through Big Sur to Santa Barbara, I love it.

Who is your ideal road trip mate, living or dead?

My best buddy Chris White. We’ve been taking road trips and surf trips together down the California coast since junior high. Headed to Mex with him this May to find some waves in Oaxaca and visit my sister in Mexico City.

Favorite song or band to listen to on a road trip? Do you have any songs you search the dials for? Be honest.

My classic California road trip album is Neil Young’s “On the Beach.” Makes the sunset especially bright when cruisin down Hwy 1 and somehow ties my dad’s generation and mine together.

Best unexpectedly amazing thing you’ve seen on a road trip.

One time I lost the keys to our rental Mercedes Sprinter in Vancouver and freaked out, not knowing what to do. The ONLY spare was in SF and there was no way to make one in time to make a show in Minneapolis. I somehow convinced my little sister Anna to pick up the key for me in the Mission District and drive to the airport with hopes of sneaking it onto a plane to Vancouver. Years ago I worked for SkyWest Airlines and still know a few folks there. I called the gate and found someone I knew though to my dismay she said she was too busy to run outside of security to grab the key…. Desperate, I told my sister to ask someone near the ticket counter for an extreme favor. Not sure how but she got the key (and electronic clicker) through security with some baggage dude and onto a plane to vancouver with the flight attendant. I took a taxi to the airport, grabbed the key, cabbed back and we were on our way. Phew.


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April 19th, 2012

DESERT GOLD INTERVIEW : VANESSA WRUBLE OF OKAYAFRICA

Okayafrica editor Vanessa Wruble co-hosts a night of live music from the heart of Africa in the Amigo Room Saturday April 21 for Desert Gold. Seun Kuti and Egypt 80 present Chief Boima from Sierra Leone and Sinkane from Sudan, with Afro-futurist visuals by Just A Band from Kenya. See the full schedule and get a room.

Put some Okayafrica in your life long after the fires have cooled in the Amigo Room — check out their sick mixtape series, Africa in Your Earbuds, and tune into their video series, The Roots of…, where they trace artists’ DNA back to their real ancestral roots in Africa. So far, they’ve explored where ?uestlove, Q-Tip and Black Thought have come from on the continent. You can also catch them at The Roots Picnic in Philly in early June.

For now, take a little road trip with Vanessa. And we’ll see you Saturday night through the haze.

What are some roadside attractions that have…attracted you?

The Okayafrica team hasn’t traveled soooo much in the good ole US of A recently, but we’ve been wowed by plenty of roadside attractions on our various travels to the Bright Continent.

Some of these include: a gorilla orphanage and a metal church built by Gustave Eiffel (of Eiffel Tower fame) in Gabon, some unexpected child-manned checkpoints and roads covered by smashed mangoes during mango season in Sierra Leone, a hidden island full of magic and mermaids in Corisco, Equatorial Guinea, jungle-grown airplanes in Principé, flower farms in Sao Tome, and, one of our all-time faves, the Hot Sweet & Jumpy Relaxation House (a “ramping shop” – google it!).

Also don’t want to forget our favorite ride –- a “poda-poda” called “Destiny Is Unknown.” Holler.

If there was a highway named after you, where would it begin and end? Points between?

It would go from Freetown, Sierra Leone, to Brooklyn, NY –- an overpass (longest bridge in the world?). How cool would that be???? Maybe we’d name it after our hot ride: “Destiny Is Unknown Overpass.”

Who is your ideal road trip mate, living or dead?

Fela Kuti –- riding around in his speedos, smokin’ spliffs and raging against the machine –- what could be better? This is how we picture him…

Favorite song or band to listen to on a road trip? Do you have any songs you search the dials for? Be honest.

The FOKN BOIS make us feel good n’ dirty, Bajah + the Dry Eye Crew gets us hyped, Just a Band puts us in an electro groove, and Fela Kuti gets our “yansh” shakin’. You can find alla them here.

Best unexpectedly amazing thing you’ve seen on a road trip.

A double rainbow. Kidding. Kind of.


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April 17th, 2012

DESERT GOLD INTERVIEW : FRED ARMISEN

Fred Armisen, half of comedy duo ThunderAnt with Carrie Brownstein, has an impressive resume of comedic characters ranging from Brutus, “a monkey who has been having sex with a doctor,” to Manuel Ortiz, host of The Manuel Ortiz show on Television Dominicana where he “helps with whatever it is” his audience members are going through. Fred is extremely helpful. Tonight, he impersonates a DJ and horses around with Ms. Brownstein in the Amigo Room at Ace Hotel & Swim Club for Desert Gold.

What are some roadside attractions that have…attracted you? 

There’s a small family vacation/amusement park area north of Chicago called The Wisconsin Dells. It has these sort of homemade attractions, and one is called Robot World. It’s just a sweet place.

There’s also this amazing place (pictured with Fred above), an incredible record store/record label in Nashville. We visited a nearby record pressing plant nearby as well. Here’s xcess vinyl that’s stripped off and then used again for another pressing.

If you could be any highway or US route which would you be?

I’d be the 405 North.

If there was a highway named after you, where would it begin and end? Points between?

It would start in Baltimore, then circle out, then circle back, then out again, and back over and over, so that the highway resembled flower petals around the city. It would be the country’s only recreational highway.

Who is your ideal road trip mate, living or dead? (But this involves pretending they’re alive, not a corpse in your car.)

Boris Karloff.

Is that a pun? Also, what is your favorite song or band to listen to on a road trip? Do you have any songs you search the dials for? Be honest.

I search for Howard Stern if I’m in a rental with Sirius radio. And for music, dub is always nice for roadtrips. Yo La Tengo too. 

Best unexpectedly amazing thing you’ve seen on a roadtrip.

Nevada City, California.

(The Portlandia travel group.)


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April 16th, 2012

DESERT GOLD INTERVIEW : CARRIE BROWNSTEIN

Carrie Brownstein really requires no introduction. Early sightings include basement punk shows in Portland, OR with Sleater-Kinney and recent sightings include Portlandia and Wild Flag — both projects are taking off like rockets. Carrie DJs with co-pilot Fred Armisen Tuesday night for Desert Gold at Ace Hotel & Swim Club, and they’ll throw in some hijinks and group fun, so come ready.

What are some roadside attractions that have…attracted you? Along the lines of Ball of Yarn, BFI, Roswell, or any number of the lesser known or unknown pit stops or oddities along America’s shoulders?

Prairie Dog Town and Wall Drug. In the case of the former, I’d say it repulsed me more than attracted me. In fact, I am afraid to Google Prairie Dog Town because I really hope that it no longer exists. Basically, it’s an animal freak show with 5-legged cows and other oddities. It’s very squalid. In the gift shop is a pit of live snakes. The best case scenario is that one day the snakes will eat the owner. It’s a feel good movie waiting to happen, replete with an animal uprising. Wall Drug is one of those things wherein you’re beaten into submission via signage. Then you stop and it’s nothing and you move on.

If you could be any highway or US route which would you be?

I would want to be a logging road or some dusty stretch of road in the western part of the US.

If there was a highway named after you, where would it begin and end? Points between?

Probably the same answer as above, just somewhere quiet.

Who is your ideal road trip mate, living or dead?

My dog, Tobey. He has traveled with me across the country and back. He isn’t a great driver but he is easy to talk to and he lets me pick the music.

Favorite song or band to listen to on a road trip? Do you have any songs you search the dials for? Be honest.

Lately, I prefer podcasts like This American Life, Savage Love, Freakonomics Radio or Marc Maron’s WTF. I like listening to stories while I drive. If I’m listening to the radio, I’m never disappointed to stumble upon some late-night Sam Cooke or Otis Redding tunes; their songs always sound good under a starry sky.

Best unexpectedly amazing thing you’ve seen on a roadtrip.

Seeing a frozen Mississippi River is pretty surreal.


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