photos by Chris La Putt

Twin Sister

Rooftop Films officially kicked off their 2010 season of showing films on roofs accompanied by opening bands. Twin Sister helped launch the series on Friday night at the Design High School on the Lower East Side (350 Grand Street). Nine short films were screened including "Star Wars: Retold" which you can watch in its 4-minute entirety below.

Saturday night's show, also at Design High School, was a sneak peek at Kevin Asch's Holy Rollers which is about Hasidic Jews smuggling ecstasy into New York City. Mahogany was originally supposed to play that one, but they canceled and were replaced by Sephardic indie rockers DeLeon.

Rooftop Films continue this weekend (5/21-5/22) at Design High School again. Friday will have music by Frances. Saturday has Brooklyn hip hop group Cloud.

Catch Twin Sister this summer at the BV Northside Festival show at MHOW. Pictures from Friday and Saturday (5/15-5/16) continue below...

Continue reading "Twin Sister & DeLeon played Rooftop Films (pics) "

photos by Barry Yanowitz

"The tradition of the Coney Island Mermaid Parade began in 1983, when the first event of this kind was conceptualized and organized by Dick Zigun, who is sometimes dubbed the "Mayor of Coney Island", and who was the founder of the non-profit arts group Coney Island USA.

The parade pays homage to the Coney Island Mardi Gras parades of the early 20th century. During this era, Coney Island was the primary amusement park destination for those in the New York area. Like the much larger annual Village Halloween Parade, the mermaid parade embodies the spirit and artistry of Mardi Gras." [Wiki]

Despite the rain, this year's Mermaid Parade went down as planned in Coney Island (Brooklyn, NY) this afternoon (6/21). Harvey Keitel, with his wife (the queen) by his side, was the the king (Neptune) of the parade. More pictures (NSFW), below...

Continue reading "pictures from the 2009 Mermaid Parade in Coney Island"

In 1972, Bea Arthur was cast as the title character in the television series Maude. She played Maude Findlay, an outspoken liberal living in the affluent community of Tuckahoe, Westchester County, New York, with her husband, Walter (Bill Macy) and divorced daughter Carol (Adrienne Barbeau). The show was a spin-off from All in the Family, on which Arthur had appeared a couple of times in the same role, playing Edith Bunker's (Jean Stapleton)'s cousin, a feminist, and antithesis to the bigoted, conservative Archie Bunker (Carroll O'Connor), who described Maude as a "New Deal fanatic." Her role garnered several Emmy and Golden Globe nominations, including her Emmy win in 1977 for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.

In 1978, she costarred in the much derided The Star Wars Holiday Special, in which she had a song and dance routine, where the Star Wars character Greedo was one of her dance partners.

After appearing in the short-lived 1983 sitcom Amanda's (an unsuccessful US version of the British hit series Fawlty Towers), Arthur was cast in the hit sitcom The Golden Girls in 1985, in which she played Dorothy Zbornak, a divorced substitute teacher living in a Miami, Florida house owned by Blanche Devereaux (Rue McClanahan). Her other roommates included widow Rose Nylund (Betty White) and Dorothy's Sicilian mother, Sophia Petrillo (Estelle Getty). Getty was actually a year younger than Arthur in real life, and was heavily made up to look significantly older. [Wikipedia]

Video of Bea Arthur singing in the Star Wars cantina, and other videos below...

Continue reading "Bea Arthur, RIP"

by Black Bubblegum

Mastodon & a stormtrooper @ NYC Comic Con on Friday (TD-2243)

The previously mentioned Scion Rock Fest on Feb 28th in Atlanta, GA boasts a COLLOSSAL lineup including Mastodon, Neurosis, High on Fire, Boris, Torche, Nachtmystium, Wolves in the Throne Room, Kylesa, Rwake, Pig Destroyer, and about a trillion other bands straight out of a Black Bubblegum fantasy.

Want to go? We have ten pairs of tickets AND ten copies of the Josh Graham-designed poster (peep it below) available for giveaway! Email us at BVCONTESTS@HOTMAIL.COM with a subject line of "Scion" for your chance to win. Winners will be selected at random and notified on Feb 13th.

Josh Graham and A Storm of Light will play Europa on Sunday Feb 15th supported by the mighty Zoroaster (also at Scion), Belgian badasses Amenra, and I, Parasite. Tickets are still available. A Storm of Light and Nadja have a split due on March 3rd via Robotic Empire.

Poster and full Scion lineup below...

Continue reading "Scion Rock Fest is coming - full Atlanta lineup, ticket contest"