By virtually any measure, Saturday’s Avant Fairfax festival was quite the success. With a lineup full of relative obscurities and a location far from the center of metropolitan D.C., success was never a guarantee, but thanks to consistent and wide-ranging publicity efforts on the part of its organizers, Avant Fairfax managed to draw a diverse crowd of over 150 people. Midway through, I asked co-organizer Chethan Kenkeremath if he had expected such an impressive turnout. The response was immediate and emphatic: “Fuck no. I thought we were each going to lose a thousand dollars out of our own pockets, 30 people would show up, and they’d be all the usual Velvet Lounge regulars.”

Did he know most of the people in attendance? “In the beginning, most of them were friends of mine. But at this point it’s way beyond that.”

More photos and brief thoughts after the jump. There’s also a full photo gallery here.

Read More “Photos: Avant Fairfax Draws a Crowd” »

Some time ago, Fairfax City Parks & Rec employee Andrew McCarry handed me a glossy flyer with the words “AVANT FAIRFAX” splashed colorfully across the top. I had heard of this event before, but I’m sure he would have forgiven me if I’d done a double-take. As someone who treks into the District several times a month to get his live music fix, McCarry would be the first to say that Fairfax is not the first place in the D.C. area one would go looking for experimental music. But he’s used his connections with the city to set up a seven-hour festival of the avant-garde that kicks off at 6pm tomorrow evening. The benefits of collaborating with the city are immediately apparent: Avant Fairfax will be a nice, seated affair in Fairfax’s Old Town Hall, with a suggestion donation of a mere $5.

Combining improvisational whimsy and ambient noise that will appeal to the Sonic Circuits crowd with a headlining act from avant/prog label Cuneiform Records (Cheer Accident), there’s a bit of something for anyone with a keen ear for this stuff. See the full lineup and other information after the jump, or visit Avant Fairfax at Myspace.

Read More “This Saturday: Fairfax Goes Avant-Garde” »

“Prolific” is almost an understatement when speaking of Los Angeles-based John Wiese’s absurd body of work in the realm of confrontational electronics and subterranean weirdness. Check his page on Discogs, or browse his bio on Wikipedia for a look at his impressive resume, which boasts ongoing mayhem through Sissy Spacek and LHD among collaborations with the top names in the noise game: Wolf Eyes, Merzbow, Bastard Noise, Lasse Marhaug, and Sunn O))). His most recent release even chronicles two improvised live sets with Burning Star Core’s violinist extraordinaire, C Spencer Yeh. But as his extensive solo output proves, Wiese is much more than just a noise-gun for hire. His 2007 full-length, Soft Punk, was an opus of mangled punk rock bathed in digital deterioration—a taste of the laptop deconstructions he regularly displays onstage.

Equally exciting for the night is Bulbs, a duo comprised of San Fran residents William Sabiston (ex-Axolotl) and John Alamraz. Their sound could be likened to the gnarlier side of Black Dice’s techno perversions fed through dismantled punk ramblings and lysergic rattles. They’ve got a relatively new record called Light Ships out on Freedom To Spend, the newly-conceived label from Pete Swanson of the now defunct Yellow Swans. Foxy Digitalis has a pretty decent review of the record that’s worth reading. I’m particularly interested to see how these two manifest themselves live; hopefully, their borderless gurgles will solidify a tad for entertainment’s sake.

Local jams will be provided by Kuschty Rye Ergot, the nebulous psych-ensemble led by area multi-instrumentalist John Stanton. Rounding out the bill is Fairfax-based Nick Henry’s Silvum moniker, bringing frigid drone lurches to dip your toes into. Sounds like a promising showcase for those with a taste for the abrasive, cosmic, and bizarre. If that sounds a little too harsh for your mellow, then maybe you should play it safe and see Pineapple Express for the third time instead.

Photo of Weise by Dustin Fenstermacher