Prayers For Athiests - Psalm for St. Paul Offical Video

Rhode Island based Prayers For Atheists have been getting major props over the last few years for their high-energy, smart, political punk rock. The group started as a collaboration between spoken word poet Jared Paul and musician Alan Hague. Jared's rhythmic poetry caught Alan's attention at a show and the two began to figure out how their styles could work together. The result is Prayers For Atheists, the band, and the EP that is out now on Sage Francis' Strange Famous Records.

Musically the EP is a mix of punk styles that stays hardcore while being extremely danceable and fun. Lyrically Jared explores relevant issues of our day with a critical edge, and a penchant for resistance.

Psalm for St. Paul is a personal account of his true life experience being harassed and arrested by police during a non-violent protest at the 2008 Republican National Convention, and the grassroots campaign to battle the charges in court that followed.

The official video, released today, combines actual footage from that protest with clips of the bands live show and Jared singing his story to the camera. It builds into a dynamic and powerful statement and document of the very real struggle of free people in the police state.

check out the album at Strange Famous Records

Share |

Archers Live at HOLLAWEEN! Oct 29, Portland, OR

Madyhampster caught some sweet video of the madness that was Holla Hollaween (scroll down to see the flyer). Apparently the rest of Portland has finally caught on to how fucking awesome Archers are and even the portland mercury couldn't resist saying "while you were sleeping Archers just might have become the best damn band in this town."

All I know is that these boys kill it whether I put them in front of 100 people in my living room or 350 people in a warehouse.



and you should grab the 7" before it is gone.

Share |

Low-Income Housing made from Recycled Materials - Dan Phillips is Doing It Right

Apparently Dan Phillips has been doing this for a while, but I just recently heard about it. He and his wife run a project called Phoenix Commotion, outside of Houston, Texas, that builds homes for low-income families almost entirely out of recycled materials. This project was recognized as the "most innovative housing worldwide" in 2003 by the International Institute of Social Inventions. Its not like you sign up and they build you a house though, instead they set people up with a skilled builder and actually train the new residents in home-building skills. They call it a "homesteading initiative" with the intent to give people homes and skills that they otherwise would not be able to acquire. This seems to impact social problems on so many levels that it is amazing its not being repeated elsewhere (maybe it is, but I have yet to find it). They work with large plots of land that they can break into smaller segments and can create single family homes for about twenty to fifty thousand dollars. In this way they are creating new sustainable neighborhoods that will carry the positive intentions through their lifespan. I would like to see this take the place of suburban expansion, which it just may as the greater American consciousness begins to realize we can no longer live out that lie. Its an added benefit that these homes all look unique and completely rad - these are the types of places you used to draw as a kid, the dream home with cool windows, weird doors and spiral stairs. Imagine if instead of a large tract of cookie-cutter boxes we saw our neighborhoods develop as personal expressions of the people living there. Throw in a small town center with a community building, co-op and a local farm and we are talking about awesome, unique villages that provide a positive space for sustainable life. This guy is already doing it, laying the blueprint for the generation to come.

Learn more at PhoenixCommotion.com

New Music Video - Tell The Truth "Consoul"

Tell the Truth are street musicians. I have seen them on stage and in coffeeshops or bars but when I see them on the street I know they are at home. They wail out ballads that pull me into the depths of an emotive struggle for understanding the knot of reality, relations and experience. Their music is challenging - the vocals will pierce anyone's wall of cool, digging into your ears, only to apply a sensual massage once there. The guitar is passed back and forth, along with vocals that harmonize or push off of each other, building into a completely shared expression - two people as one voice that echoes through the city.


listen to more at myspace.com/tellthetruthpdx

Trash Art and Animation from Himay Rivera

Himay, aka James Hacker, is an artist based out of Boise, idaho. Most of what I have seen of his work is visual, sculptural recycled trash art. He installs art boxes in various locations around the city which are made from found materials, which are usually interactive in some way to create motion or action inside. Recently I was pointed to his youtube page where he has a number of short animations posted, and a full length process documentary in 5 parts.

The animations are all stop motion, utilizing found materials (mostly toys) to create the world his characters inhabit. These worlds are multi-textured from the various materials used and have a depth and magical quality. The one below tells the story of a summer kayaker. Another follows an isolated commuter. In one particualrily awesome video a doll on a skateboard performs a series of street-skating tricks, with the fluid motion of a skate video.



His documentary, 'Wal-Merica', documents Himay's process creating a 3 dimensional representation of the US built from materials found in the trash and thrift stores. The video series follows the construction of the huge piece, its display at an earth day fair (as documented by the local fox affiliate), one night where community members gather to party and appreciate their response to the piece and finally its deconstruction and dissemination back into recycling bins and the fabric of our waste culture. I watched the whole thing in one sitting. His passionate effort is truly inspiring, and overall it brings his ideas about our culture out in a way that is fun, unpretentious and easily accessed. This is what makes me love art. Totally badass.



View more of his flix at youtube.com/himayrivera

Voltage - Synth Robot Animation

This video is pretty rad. Described on the vimeo page as "robots, half-human and half-synthesizer, powered by a huge amount of energy, connect to each other in an electric and chaotic trance." I like the quality of the line drawings and the texture of the background quite a bit. The vintage Tube inside of the frequency modulator is pretty sweet as well. I only wish it could have been longer. Thanks to Amart for putting me on to this.

Voltage from Bam Studio on Vimeo.

DMLH stars in anti-smoking commercial? No lie!

I found a dvd of this ad while cleaning out my room to sublet for tour. Yes I am the model for the animated smoker. My buddy Matt the Robot made this commercial in 2006, and we shot the photos that most of it is drawn from at the Clinton St. Theater in Portland. Matt is a way talented animator, and this is really more of a quick and janky project compared to the stuff he does now. He is currently working on an animated series with Ben Joseph and David Arquette called "Motha Truckas" - check out the trailer for it below, and then check out his other work at manbaby.com if you want to see more.

"Smoke Buddies"

"smoke buddies" anti-smoking PSA from Manbaby on Vimeo.

"Motha Truckas"

Mutha Truckas from Manbaby on Vimeo.

more at manbaby.com