"An Andy Warhol portrait of Blondie star Debbie Harry is expected to fetch up to £5.5 million when it is auctioned at Sotheby's in London later this month.

The 1980 work will go under the hammer on 29 June as part of a two-day auction of contemporary art.

The event will also feature works from the collection of Dave Stewart, better known as one half of the Eurythmics.

Among the seven pieces up for grabs is an early spot painting by Damien Hirst dedicated to the British musician.

According to Sotheby's Cheyenne Westphal, the Harry portrait is "the ultimate culmination of Warhol's exploration of our public fascination with female cultural icons"." [BBC]

I wonder if Warhol were alive today if he would ever consider painting a portrait of Fergie who Debbie sadly shares a bill with in Central Park tonight (unless god intervenes with some serious thunder and lightning).

Blondie have dates scheduled in Europe this summer. Clem Burke recently took part in the annual Joey Ramone Birthday Bash at Irving Plaza.

Observer: You've been with Lou Reed for what seems like forever. Any tips for staying together?

Laurie Anderson: Take a break from each other. We've been together for 19 years, married for two years. I think everything is about to blow away, and everyone is about to blow away, and it makes me care for them more.

Laurie Anderson and Lou Reed are no strangers to their friend and collaborator's non-profit, avant-garde, East Village club The Stone, and in February 2011 they will take their turn at being the curators. They will also play the venue right in the middle of that, on 2/15 with an opening set by Buke & Gass. Laurie also plays on 2/23 with Fred Frith. And the rest of the month isn't so bad either. John Zorn, Bill Laswell, Hal Wilner, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Eyvind Kang, Sean Lennon, Rob Burger, Marc Ribot, Rob Wasserman, and many others adorn the schedule so far (it is all listed below).

In related news, the dates that Lou/Laurie are curating The Stone overlap with a MoMA exhibit featuring Lou Reed's former manager in The Velvet Underground, Andy Warhol. The exhibition, entitled Andy Warhol: Motion Pictures, will show silent pictures that are professed to be his "most daring and experimental" film work. The show kicks off on December 19th and lasts until March 21, 2011.

And while we're on the subject of film, "And Everything Is Going Fine" is currently playing at the IFC Center. It's a tribute to Spaulding Gray directed by Steven Soderbergh. Laurie soundtracked the Spalding Gray films Swimming to Cambodia and Monster in a Box, and made a promotional appearance related to the movie this past weekend. .

The Stone schedule is below...

Continue reading "Lou Reed & Laurie Anderson curating The Stone in February, MoMA exhibiting Andy Warhol pictures"

Dean, Naomi & Damon (Galaxie 500)

Following the re-release of Galaxie 500's three classic albums on Domino and 20-20-20, Dean Wareham will perform a set of Galaxie 500 songs, backed by the Dean & Britta band (featuring Britta Phillips, drummer Anthony LaMarca and guitarist Matt Sumrow). Galaxie 500 formed in Cambridge, MA in 1987 and recorded three studio albums (Today, On Fire and This Is Our Music). They met with much acclaim in their short time together but disbanded in 1991. Wareham went on to form Luna.

That's the official description of the event that Dean Wareham is bringing to various states across the country before the end of the year. Two of the shows will be opened by Crystal Stilts including August 20th at the Troc in Philly (tickets on sale) and August 19th at Bowery Ballroom in NYC (tickets on sale).

The Bowery Ballroom show is one of two Dean and Britta have scheduled in NYC at the moment. The other is the previously mentioned "13 Most Beautiful...Songs for Andy Warhol's Screen Tests" show happening at NYU on October 22nd. They also have other Andy Warhol tour dates scheduled in support of the July 2th release of that CD too. More info and all dates below...

Continue reading "Dean Wareham (and Britta) releasing & performing Galaxie 500 songs & their Andy Warhol album "

Before achieving fame and glory as a leading Pop artist, Andy Warhol was a successful commercial artist who contributed illustrations to women's magazines and designed windows and promotional materials for department stores. Among his clients was Tiffany & Co., for whom he created a series of designs for holiday greeting cards. The whimsical drawings and paintings he produced for Tiffany's Christmas cards are the subject of this charming gift book.

A Christmas card by Andy Warhol above. Some holiday messages from Lou Reed below...

Continue reading "Happy Holidays from Lou Reed & Andy Warhol "

"ANARCHY at www.nypl.org/ 2night when the Velvet Underground is oversold and hits max. capacity early. Even tkt holders not allowed in!" - Nerida Brownlee

David Fricke, Lou Reed, Maureen Tucker & Doug Yule @ tNYPL (by Jack Martin)

"Yes, the interview conducted by David Fricke at the NY Public Library last night with the remaining members (sans John Cale) of the Velvet Underground was very very good, although it did leave something to be desired. The night began with everyone seated...as the lights were dimmed the volume of the background music increased to an ear piercing level. "Heroin" was played for the entire audience (studio version) at a loud level which was a nice effect and a good way to start the night.

After the song ended and everyone was able to collect themselves (i get the feeling everyone in that audience must have heard Heroin at least a hundred time each because nobody really looked shocked) Lou, Doug Yule, Mo and David Fricke took to the stage.

As far as interviews go this was rather entertaining considering who the subjects were, but to be truthful, Lou was not nearly as candid as I would have liked. A lot of the questions from David were somewhat superficial and re-hashed what is already well documented. However, there were some great moments. You can really tell that Lou appreciates and loves Mo as a friend the way they were able to just "kick it" up there and chat as if nobody else was in the room. Doug didn't speak that much and his answers were very concise. The best part of the night by far was when all three stayed after and signed the book (awesome book!) they were pushing there. They all signed my copy and I was able to shake hands with Lou and tell him how much I appreciated his work, I also told him "shalom" and that sparked a smile on his face.

I'll just add at one point Mo was going on how she thinks the arts are suffering greatly in the city right now, partially due to expensive rent. Lou chimed in saying that there were alot of great bands right now coming from the Brooklyn area and that its lucky for them because all they need is software to generate and record....also Lou stated that he didn't think any other current band out there has the druthers, talent or style to pull off the sound and aesthetic that VU captured....i think Mr. Bradford Cox might take exception to that point.

There were also many references to Warhol. You can tell just the way Lou and Mo spoke about him that they truly loved him and believed he was the seminal figure for the group." [Anonymous]

Some people who bought tickets were given refunds before they even received their ticket. Some were just turned away at the door. Did you get in?

John Cale wasn't there, but you can catch him at an upcoming event at the Museum of Modern Art.

Continue reading "Lou Reed, Doug Yule & Mo spoke to David Fricke @ the NYPL (many people got in, many were turned away at the door)"

Dean & Britta Celebrating Brooklyn, Prospect Park - Aug 1, 2009 (pic by Paul Shin)

Dean and Britta launched their set and the film series in understated fashion with the "Richard Rheem Theme," a discofied electro composition as sleek as the coolly handsome Rheem, a wealthy Warhol hanger-on, himself. Things moved into high gear, however, with "Teenage Lightning (and Lonely Highways," D&B's jangly guitar-pop evocation of the equally handsome Paul Johnson, a speed-freak hustler and sometime Edie Sedgwick BF who practically commanded the camera with scowling bravado. (It bears mentioning that Johnson, who was struck by a car in 1982, was one of four screen testees in 13 Most Beautiful who came to an untimely end.) As for the Factory Girl herself, her slightly stunned onscreen affect (she was recuperating from a car crash at the time) juxtaposed hauntingly with the swooshing synthesizer flourishes of "It Don't Rain in Beverly Hills." Equally arresting: a tweedy pre-Easy Rider Dennis Hopper, nodding and laughing over a blues-rock instrumental; and future cult-film queen Mary Woronov, as severely beautiful as Rock 'n' Roll High School's Miss Togar yet with a glint of wry amusement.

Notwithstanding Dean and Britta's precisely tailored compositions, their most memorable musical selections were two covers: For Nico, Britta's folk-rock rendering of Dylan's "I'll Keep It With Mine" offered a honeyed counterpoint to the German chanteuse's almost-robotic version (not to mention Nico's fidgety, restless screen presence). And as Lou Reed in sunglasses nonchalantly chugged a Coke on screen, Dean shed his vocal reserve to growl out the great, obscure VU raver "I'm Not a Young Man Anymore." [EW.com]

Dean & Britta performed their "13 Most Beautiful... songs for Andy Warhol's Screen Tests" at the Prospect Park Bandshell on Saturday night (8/1) - part of the 2009 Celebrate Brooklyn series of concerts. The pair and their band (Anthony LaMarca and Matt Sumrow) played beneath projected film portraits. Crystal Stilts opened the free show which happened the same night Tool were headlining All Points West and M. Ward was playing guitar at Summerstage.

Dean & Britta's upcoming schedule of "Warhol" shows includes a number of not-to-far dates at places that include Philadelphia, Providence and Ithaca.

The band announced at their June LPR show that they wouldn't have any more non-"Warhol" shows (at least in the US) this year. One place you cans see Dean Wareham though, is at Union Hall, tonight (August 4th) for the venue's Stories in High Fidelity. He'll be reading with Village Voice music editor Rob Harvilla, and McSweeney's Dan Kennedy, and special guests. Tickets are still on sale.

Dean's writing credits (besides lots of song lyrics) include his memoir Black Postcards, which came out last year. Galaxie 500, which, with Luna, is one of Dean's former bands, recently remastered and re-released parts of their back catalog on vinyl.

A flyer for the Union Hall reading and all Dean & Britta tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Dean & Britta played Prospect Park --- Dean reading tonight"

by Andrew Frisicano

Dean & Britta @ Bowery Ballroom (more by Chris La Putt)

We [Double Feature Records] are releasing the debut by Cheval Sombre, produced by Sonic Boom, with musical contributions from Britta and myself. This CD contains tracks from his out-of-print 7" singles (issued on the UK label, Static Caravan), and a whole lot more. [Dean Wareham]

Dean & Britta head out for a short June tour with Cheval Sombre, whose debut album will come out on the Dean-and-Britta-run Double Feature Records on April 28th. The tour stops at (Le) Poisson Rouge in NYC on Saturday, June 6th. Tickets are on sale.

This Saturday (3/28), Dean & Britta's "13 Most Beautiful...songs for Andy Warhol's Screen Tests" show visits Boston. They did the same show in NYC in January. Dean & Britta, who were commissioned to write pieces for the collection of Warhol's silent films, have been out performing their original songs live, "beneath projections of Warhol's film portraits of his Silver Factory Superstars [who included Nico, Lou Reed, Edie Sedgwick, Dennis Hopper, and more]." Plexifilm just released a DVD version of the show on March 24th.

In April, Cheval Sombre is playing a few US dates with Dean & Britta's friend, and his record producer, Sonic Boom aka Spectrum. That includes the presviously announced April 26th show at Mercury Lounge (tix), as well as an April 29th show at Death By Audio in Brooklyn. Appropriately enough, a third date is at the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, PA.

All tour dates and a video of Dean & Britta performing at NYC's Zipper Factory last September, below...

Continue reading "Dean & Britta releasing Warhol DVD & album by Cheval Sombre - 2009 Tour Dates (for all of them & Spectrum) "

Dean & Britta @ Bowery Ballroom (more by Chris La Putt)

As previously posted, Dean & Britta are going on tour with Mercury Rev in early December - tickets are still on sale for the NYC show at Highline Ballroom. Tickets are also now on sale for this show at Lincoln Center:

13 Most Beautiful...Songs for Andy Warhol's Screen Tests, Composed by Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips
Saturday, January 17, 2009 8:30 PM
The Allen Room

American Songbook
A selection of Andy Warhol's Screen Tests, the late pop-artist's fascinating film-portraits of visitors to his studio, is set to music by former members of the alt-rock outfit Luna, Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips.

All dates below...

Continue reading "Dean & Britta - Tour Dates (Andy Warhol @ the Allen room)"

Crossing the Line, an innovative exhibition featuring original prints and provocative recordings by prominent artists and art world figures, including Eric Fischl, Daniel Johnston and Andy Warhol, will open at the June Kelly Gallery on Saturday, June 21. The works will remain on view through August 1.

Organized by Jeff Gordon, who has been producing original sound recordings of leading visual artists since the early 1980s, the exhibition also highlights Connie Beckley, Ivan Karp, Carter Ratcliff and Path Soong. Beckley, Fischl, Johnston and Soong contribute prints to the exhibition.

Gordon says that in all but one of the recordings "the human voice becomes the instrument of insight, information, humor, poetry and memory."....

You'll notice that the previously-listed Daniel Johnston "art event" coincides with the opening date of this exhibition which is one day after Daniel plays Warsaw. Stay tuned for more details on that. Read more about the art exhibition HERE.