Phoenix new times article about the coffee I am making for Vovomeena. We think you've seen a Yama Tower by now. But in case you blinked, it's a wall mounted, cold-brewing glass apparatus that resembles an hourglass and is responsible for a lot of badass coffee drinks currently served around the world. At the 7th Ave. and McDowell breakfast and lunch joint Vovomeena, when it comes to the tower, they aren't playing. A wall of Yama's is the backdrop for the coffee counter section of the restaurant and it is nothing short of majestic. Barista Ryan Avery offers a couple options for those in need of a creative coffee fix. One is getting multiple infused brews going in the morning, serving them separately or together in a coffee flight that allows for a sampling of the day's creations. Of course you can always get it straight up if flavor isn't your cup of...coffee. Our three-joe iced flight included orange peel and chocolate, star anise and cardamom, and ginger mint, each using fresh ingredients integrated into the brewing process. Each flavor combination worked well as an infusion with the hearty roast the restaurant gets from the Roastery of Cave Creek. Orange peel and chocolate was a lot more subtle than it sounded. The anise-laden drink was dance-y on the tongue, but it was the ginger mint that stood out the most. The coffee served as balance between the ginger and mint; the whole combo tingly and refreshing. The "Good Morning, Vietnam" is an outstanding way to rejuvenate. A shot of espresso is stirred into a tall glass of nice-n-cold orange juice. Yeah, yeah, it doesn't sound all that appealing, but give it try. It is just enough espresso to derail the sweetness while becoming intense in a whole different way. Vovomeena's coffee crew also offers a selection of drinks on the down low via the "Watergate" menu, which one can peruse and purchase from by obtaining a secret password. We may or may not know what the word is but our lips are sealed. Five fun - - or as he calls them - - boring facts about barista Ryan Avery: 1. He has 4 longhaired dachshunds. 2. He is of the married kind. 3. He rocks and he rolls. 4. He drinks an average of 2 gallons of water a day. 5. He is never sure what people would consider a fun fact about him.
Ear Meal is an art webcast documenting the experimental music and sound arts scene in Los Angeles
Hi My Name is Ryan performed live, Wednesday March 20, 2013 9:30 PM PT on laartstream.com Hi My Name Is Ryan (Ryan Avery) This vehicle for Avery's work runs the gamut between monologue, improv, spoken word, and stand-up comedy, with the first performance being set up like a talk show (which led to the creation of Grand Avenue Tonight), and subsequent performances including wrapping the audience in crime scene tape. Performance listing, album info, and some videos of "Hi, My Name is Ryan" performances can be found here ARCHIVE found at collagecollage.com "Some things in life just don’t get better: herpes comes to mind, amputated limbs, The Thong Song, etc. It’s a sad but true fact of life, I’m sorry, everyone’s sorry, but we trudge on despite it all and hope it’s not our turn next on the pit-bull attack or draino-heart-injection express way.
That said I’d take an acid bath before subjecting myself to Ryan Avery’s latest explosive diarrhea burst, “Secrets” again. Rude Ryan is one of those things that just hasn’t gotten better and most certainly wasn’t good to start with. I suppose this places him somewhere in the nether regions of musical/artistic/conceptual piss play fetishists whose record you couldn’t tack onto a free meth blowout in South Phoenix as a promotional stocking stuffer. “Secrets” is some form of anti-apologia to his ex-friends, local detractors, and YOU, people of Earth. The audio equivalent of a grown man squealing “nanny nanny boo boo” at you while masturbating after he just kicked over your birthday cake and threw your grandma into a blast furnace. Some sort of wannabe Andy Kaufman-esq anti-art worship that missteps so hard its ankle snaps. As far as I can tell Avery is playing off some sort of reputation he’s been maintaining in the Downtown Phoenix scene. I specify because he explains he has no presence in the Tempe scene in an instructional pamphlet that came with the tape as the result of the Tempe scene not wanting him around, or something. It’s all very vague. Maybe only he is aware of it.. Our hero is obviously very frustrated on this tape over a long list of fuck-ups committed in the last three years, one of which is apparently his own marriage, or at least it’s not explicitly clear due to the 7th grade level tongue-in-cheek tone of the liner notes, regardless he includes a sound clip of his nuptials INCASE YOU MISSED. Somehow Avery landed on the notion that the best course of action for exercising his demons would be field recording himself torturing cats and singing a capella anti-songs about tits and pissing in sinks. Whether or not this is Rude Ry-Dawgs idea of revenge or a comeback attempt is unclear but the whole tape seems like a long process of him smashing his face against a wall and asking it to appreciate it on account of it’s honesty and lack of “coolness,” to use his terminology. There’s also two soundbites of him and his friend Todd or Michael slamming on a poetry slam (INCASE YOU MISSED). Followed by a “studio” quality repeat on the next side. This is the type of humor low-rent Harmony Korrine types get into, even then ranking it among the aesthetic quality of Gummo or Trash Humpers is a generous line of credit… All this aside here I am at 5 AM on a Tuesday hammering this out for no other reason other than I’m bored, between jobs, and have been pretty laid out from eating presumably tainted guacamole. So maybe this is the appropriate soundtrack for the kind of day/week/year I’ve been having. It still isn’t appreciated however, just another bite in this baby vom on sandpaper sandwich." -RCC Today: A man with the most interesting answers we've seen yet in the Tastemakers series -- which is saying a lot. Tastemaker 39: Ryan Avery See also: Hi, My Name Is Ryan There are a lot of titles we could give Ryan Avery but to keep things simple we'll just say that when he's not busy serving as "the clown prince of Phoenix's downtown art scene," you can find him working at Astor House. Avery has worked in food service for more than 10 years -- and has been eating solid food since he was 9 months old. He has never liked peas, but will always eat them when they're served. And he tells us that he always tries to give a 25 percent gratuity when dining out. I arrived in Phoenix with... nothing. If I was sitting down to dinner for six, my five dream dining companions would be... it depends on the meal... for example I wouldn't want to eat potatoes au-gratin with someone who is allergic to dairy. And it also depends on the comfort level of everyone I am surrounded with, My wife would be there for sure but if I had too many musicians or performance artists there I would be afraid she would feel bored with the conversation. But I wouldn't want a huge variety of people necessarily because what if we all started talking about Breaking Bad but one of the people didn't watch the show and one other person isn't caught up to season five yet? Then there is going to be some tension. I also would want people who have exciting taste buds. My dream dining companions would not want to use ketchup. One place everyone who comes to Phoenix must eat is... Astor House for breakfast, La Tolteca or Lo Lo's for lunch, St. Francis for dinner and Churn for dessert One menu item this city could do without is... I'm not sure.... but I think this city could do without Arribas - that place gave me the worst diarrhea I have ever had. My last meal in Phoenix would be... fry bread. If I was leaving Phoenix I would want something that's a staple. Phoenix Circuit Bender Corey Busboom Creates Funky Instruments for Devo's Mark Mothersbaugh1/16/2009 Last week, local artist and musician Corey Busboom got a rather interesting phone call. It was from Mark Mothersbaugh, the eccentric frontman for 80s hitmakers Devo. The legendary keyboard player wanted to purchase, sight unseen, a dozen of his circuit bent instruments that Busboom is about to showcase at an upcoming art exhbition at the Trunk Space in downtown Phoenix. Needless to say, Busboom was absolutely shocked. Mothersbaugh's interest in Busboom and his madcap machines began after the Devo godhead member purchased a microphone built into a telephone handset (similar to what Bob Log III uses) that the funky Phoenix artist was selling on eBay. (It isn't the first time Mothersbaugh has been involved with out local scene, as he exhibited his twisted series of photo-manipulations at Perihelion Arts a few times over the past couple years). Busboom specializes in devices such as these, taking old toys, appliances, and playthings and making them into musical instruments (colloquially known as circuit-bending). One such gizmo he dreamt up was lo-fi synthesizer made from Radio Shack breadboards (and his own twisted genius) which was then installed into the shell of a 1960s adding machine. Busboom sent this homebrew synth to Mothersbaugh, who then rang him up inquiring about any other circuit-bent or homemade instruments he might have in stock. Busboom says Mothersbaugh paid him approximately $1,400 for all 12 pieces, which is a far cry from the 12-packs of Sprite that he sometimes accepts in exchange for his work. "There's been a few times I've sold instruments to people and gotten some Sprite in return," he says. "I went on the wagon from caffeine and it's the only kind of soda I drink right now." Some of the many instruments that are showing at the Trunk Space this month and will later be shipped to Mothersbaugh include several freaky-looking photo-theremins mounted on tennis rackets and other DIY sound-making devices created from kids toys, cigar boxes, and other various and sundry thrift store junk. Busboom is sharing the exhibition (which is titled "Do You See the Rose in the Trash?") with downtown Phoenix art freakazoid Ryan Avery, who will be showing some oddly-inspired recent works. In addition to an 80-pound ball of ugly ties and some Polaroid photographic collages, he'll be displaying more than three dozen silk screened prints featuring the face of fellow downtown artist Wayne Michael Reich. In my 2006 feature on Avery, Reich was described as being something of an outspoken nemesis to the 21-year-old musician and artist. The two were frequently at odds over Avery's penchant for outrageous (and often disruptive) performance art and music. While their feud, which was also depicted in the 2008 documentary on Avery called Hi My Name is Ryan, has cooled off somewhat, Avery says the exhbition is something of a playful joke. As such, the prints feature "severly out-of-context" quotes taken from the outspoken Reich's MySpace site, including the following: - "Our art scene sucks like a catholic priest @ a boy scout jamboree." - "You're poor? Not my fucking problem." - "I'm too pretty for prison." Part of me is hoping the show will piss Reich off something fierce, and perhaps will lead to a second documentary: Hi My Name is Ryan: The Revenge of Wayne. I know I'd pay to see that. "Do You See the Rose in the Trash?" will be on display at the Trunk Space (1506 Grand Avenue, 602-256-6006) through February 19.
so on the azpunk message boards there are a lot of "anti-ryans" and there is a whole thread about my article in the new times and how much it sucks and how much i suck.
here are some of the things said about me: "He and katie should hook up and do an Abbot & Costello or Laurel & Hardy comedy kind of thing....the could call it "The Slut & The Schmuck Comedy Review"" "Fathers Day might be the worst band on the planet." "I still don't see what's so special about this kid." "He's just "special" I guess? I have no idea. His "bands" or whatever are some of the most annoying shit I have seen in a while." "All he's really done is create an elitist "art" scene within our scene that only really appeals to his little group of friends. I doubt Arizona will suffer too much with him gone preaching the ever-insightful teachings of Joseph Smith for a year or two. We'll see, though. Calling him a "renaissance man," is almost criminal." "Attempts to pass that sort of goofiness and juvenalia off as art is why I don't like Grand Ave." "there are some talented artists who take the downtown community pretty seriously, and it seems as if these hyper-active kids wearing flourescent colours that put on novelty shows with extremely limited ranges and even more limited audiences at least five nights out of the week are doing them a pretty big disservice. I know that I, as an artist, wouldn't want to have my name associated with a community to which such a great percentage of the attention is paid to this particular novelty schtick (again, an issue of personal taste)... and I've heard similar sentiments expressed, with cringes, by other artists, some of whom I consider to have considerable talent, who, at the mention of Grand Ave, are immediately assaulted by mental images of whatever sort of screaming-kid performance-art debauchery that they had a few times accidentally wandered into... reading articles like that convince us to what extent we DON'T want to venture downtown." "I could never see what the hype about fathers day or night wolf or lycd was all about. I dont have anything against the kids, but the music i cannot stand. Its not new, its not crazy, its not shocking, its just recycled crap that any 4 year old can create." "that dude is a total fag. my boyfriend was reading the new times article and said he and andy milinokis have the same disease. but i think they're both still retarded, and i don't know who this guy is" "One time, I think at Polysics, Brian went up to Ryan Avery and his friends and said "Hi, my name is Brian, I see you at alot of shows and I just wanted to introduce myself." And they totally just shrugged him off. That incident basically cemented how I feel about that group of people." "I think it does discredit to other artists to have their work overlooked in favor of what is pretty much some kid and his friends giggling over their silly, sophomoric inside jokes and somehow selling it as "avant garde" artistry." "if youve seen one ryan band, youve seen them all." I am on the cover of the Phoenix New Times. I don't like the cover photo all that much. I think there was better photos to chose from. You can view the gallery below.
Horning in on the local ska scene — is the genre still alive?
By ALBERT CHING Get Out Is ska dead? Only a few years ago, you couldn’t enter a shopping mall without hearing the bouncy, horn-driven music on “The Impression That I Get” by the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and songs by Less Than Jake, Reel Big Fish and Save Ferris were popping up all over modern rock radio. Lately, however, ska has been as far off the national music radar as the Benedictine monks, and former genre stalwarts such as No Doubt have distanced themselves almost completely from their ska roots. The genre has seemingly has been discarded on the short-lived-musical-craze scrap heap alongside the mid-’90s swing revival and the late-’90s Latin music explosion. Yet Arizona still retains an active local ska scene, mainly through a strong community of dance-happy supporters and the bands who perform for them. “Ska fans seem to be drawn to the carefree aspect of (the music). There are many complex beats, rhythms, horn lines, and there is always so much going on that it is very hard to stand still,” says ska enthusiast Ashley Harris, 18, of Scottsdale. “There’s a passion behind it,” says Dave Gironda, who plays trumpets with local ska bands Workshirt Wonder and the Wiggums. “It’s real and it’s fun.” Island rhythms Ska music dates to late 1950s Jamaica and was a precursor to the reggae music for which the island is famous. Ska has gone through a couple of popular revivals since: The “second wave” of early-’80s Britain featured bands such as The Specials, Madness and The English Beat, and the “third wave” of the mid-’90s featured the aforementioned American groups. Despite enthusiasm for ska in the East Valley, some veterans of the scene say that while the music is alive, it may not be well. “My opinion on the ska scene right now is that it’s really not as thriving as I think it should be,” says Ryan Sims, trombone player with local ska standouts Captain Squeegee and the Soap Suds. He blames elitism among a fan base sometimes too insular for its own good. “I think it’s almost how it is in high school — you have a clique,” he says. Local promoter Ryan Avery — who operates www.azska.com, a Web site listing local ska shows and links to local bands' Web pages, and organizes a monthly ska night at Phoenix art gallery Four White Walls — also has noticed the incestuous nature of the scene. “You get the same kids coming to every show, doing the same dance moves, seeing the same bands, talking to the same friends and wearing the same clothes,” he says. Need for evolution Some feel that the genre places limits on itself. “Ska is usually taken as this happy-go-lucky, crazy, joke-around stuff, and I think that’s part of how it’s lost its power,” says Danny Torgerson, trumpet player of Captain Squeegee. “Reggae started as a political uprising, and now it’s just dance music.” Musical evolution beyond the traditional boundaries of what is considered ska might infuse the genre with new life. “The problem is that there’s the same old stuff with every band,” says Sims. “We’re saying, ‘Push it and don’t stay within the boundaries of what is ska.’ ” Captain Squeegee recently has started operating outside those boundaries in their music, a move that's generated mixed results with their fans but is something the band feels is vital to achieve relevance on a grander scale. “The ska scene doesn’t necessarily take a liking to us so much, because we’re trying to do different stuff,” Sims says. Maybe what's needed is as simple as a few original steps out on the floor. “We need new dance moves,” Gironda says. “All it takes is new ideas!” Schlock Rock
Father's Day's attempt at art is little more than a tired joke worth skipping by Chris Fanning February 24, 2005 It's a Tuesday night, and I've got a ton of homework that I need to finish. But when the opportunity arises to interview the band that I've decided to write about for the upcoming week, I jump on the opportunity to get a little work out of the way so the rest of my week is free. Going on a tip from my friend Brodie, I've decided to write about a band that I hadn't had the opportunity to hear. At the time the band known as Father's Day hadn't released any recordings, but I decided to trust Brodie and his judgment. They were also preparing to release their first album on February 26 at The Trunk Space. I thought, "Maybe I can get in on this before anybody else does!" I'd be a real Woodward or Bernstein of the local music scene. Before they played I sat down with the band and conducted a short interview of the basic questions, but after realizing that every single answer has something to do with art school, stereotyping fathers and other garbage, I decided to cut the interview short and maybe get something from the music. I asked Brodie before Father's Day took the stage if this group was for real. Brodie assured me that they were a good band and I should stay until the end of the show and check out their set. After 10 minutes of their set I left, frustrated, stressed and very angry with Brodie. There's no sound that you can give Father's Day. What they do is a joke that has been done by a number of "bands" over the course of the years that I've been into the local music scene. It's a good reminder of a band my roommates used to front. It was called My First Toxic Poop and consisted of a bass that wasn't plugged in, a drummer that only had a snare and a crash cymbal and a guitar that was almost libelously out of tune. They recorded one album of 42 songs in one hour ... the same day that they decided to form this band. MFTP was fun for the people involved and entertaining for the people that were watching it, and when you're 17 years old, it's still funny. With Father's Day, there is no attempt to actually play music and I can't lead you on and let you think that something creative is happening here. To the members of the band, Douglas Patton (business dad), Sir Baldwin Pennyweather III Esq. (classy dad), Frank Brando (golf dad), Jim Jack (drunk dad), there is something funny going on here and aside from unapologetically giggling constantly at the same jokes that they make monotonously, they at least try to stay in their characters. So getting an actual answer about why they're doing what they do isn't something that I was able to do. They claim their inspirations are Jamaican synth-pop, Black Flag, R. Kelly and bands that start with the letter L. The only thing that I can assume is that they all went to art school and that this is some kind of rebellion against things that upset them, an opportunity to be silly and get into some shows for free. I don't normally like to be rough on local bands and I understand that this is just supposed to be some funny thing that they're doing, but it would be irresponsible of me to suggest that this is music. If you are the kind of person who wants to hear people yell the same things over and over while not even attempting to play the instruments that they're holding, then Father's Day is something you should look into. Also, if you're into comedy, then it's something you might want to look into. Then again, if you want to feel good about yourself as a musician, you can't be any worse than Father's Day. No matter what your reasons for going to the show are, don't say that I didn't warn you. Father's Day will be releasing their first recording Get A Haircut on February 26 at The Trunk Space with James Drive, Brodie Hubbard & the Boy Mayors and Nascar Dads. DETAILS: Father's Day CD Release w/ James Drive, Brodie Hubbard & the Boy Mayors and Nascar Dads The Trunk Space 1506 N.W. Grand Avenue, Phoenix 602.256.6006 Saturday, February 26 |
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