Reckless Records House Band: Longtime no-wave scene fixture Jim Magas (Magas, Lake of Dracula) has formed a new group, the Violent ARP Band, which he describes on his blog as “high-velocity avant heavy sludge.” The band members are all fellow employees of the local Reckless chain: Matt Jencik (Don Caballero, Papa M) on bass, Eli Caterer (Smoking Popes) on guitar, and Dave “King of Metal” Hoffa (Chicago Thrash Ensemble, Authority Abuse) on drums. They plan to start playing out this spring.
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Girl Talk’s Gregg Gillis opened his set at an Olympics party in Vancouver this past weekend with his own edit of the Olympic theme. The packed show was sponsored by the city of Vancouver and attended by Mayor Gregor Robertson; it closed with a 12-minute fire- and waterworks display.
Over 300 dancing fools helped Bald E. and Mother Hubbard of the Life During Wartime Dance Party & Social celebrate the seventh anniversary of their monthly Hideout dance party last Saturday. Bald E. told Gossip Wolf they plan to keep going “at least ten years.” They’ll also be spinning the Hideout’s annual SXSW send-off bash on the 13th, to raise gas money for local luminaries making the trek to Austin including Hollows, the hood Internet, Tyler Jon Tyler, Plastic Crimewave Sound, and the Waco Brothers.
Bad timing: Amy Davidman, a booking agent for the Chicago-based Windish Agency (where she works for Dirty Projectors, among others), left town for Santiago, Chile, with her wife, artist Aspen Mays, the week of February 22. Both were unharmed in last Saturday’s earthquake, but their apartment was destroyed. They’re staying with friends who are also hosting Brazilian Sub Pop recording artists CSS, who were in Chile to DJ and got stranded by the quake.
