2GQ ~ 2 Gyrlz Quarterly ~ Portland, Oregon arts, literature, & madness

RAW BEGINNINGS

Ever noticed, especially in Portland, the gap between the worlds of "dance" and "performance"? Tahni Holt is among our fair city's artists who bridge that gap; Holt's work expands well past the borders of pure body-focused movement and dance into creative conceptual explorations.

Non-dancers now have the chance to work with Holt in her "Raw Beginnings" class at Conduit, beginning Monday, May 5. Drop-ins are welcome to check it out for a single evening. —Tiffany Lee Brown  (image: Holt at left and Linda Austin, right)

PERFORMANCE WORKS NW & 2GQ PRESENT "HOUSE BOUND"

A kinesthetic salon of performance, installation, food, and drink by the artists of Works Corps. Tickets cost $5 less if purchased in advance from Brown Paper Tickets online; price includes tea, snacks, and beverages for grownups.

13 April 2008, Sunday
Showtimes 11 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 2:00, 3:30, and 5:00. Advance reservations recommended.
Tickets: $10-20, advance at  Brown Paper Tickets.

At Performance Works NW
4625 SE 67th Ave, Portland
(half-block north of SE Foster Road).
Reservations & Info: 503 475 2306, housebound@2GQ.org, www.2GQ.org

The artists of Works Corps are (l. to r.): Nora Robertson, Clare Carpenter, Lilian Gael, and Emily Stone; front: Tiffany Lee Brown. Photo by Steve Fritz.

Co-presented by 2GQ and Performance Works NW's Alembic series. 

TONIGHT: 2 GYRLZ BRINGS RON ATHEY TO PORTLAND

2 Gyrlz Performative Arts is proud to present legendary performance artist, Ron Athey, for the first time ever in Portland. This will truly be a rare and exceptional event, in which performance is taken to an edge that 2 Gyrlz and other presenters in this city have rarely dared to visit. This is not about shock, this is about exposing truths and presenting new possibilities.

RON ATHEY (L.A.), SAMANTHA SWEETING (Britain/France), and Portland's own ARIA BENNER and MICAH PERRY of Cliché Au Lait.

First Thursday 03 April Hippodrome, PDX (SE 3rd & Oak)
$8 | 21 + Performances run 8 - 9:30 pm

After Party next door @ BRANX, 320 SE 2nd Ave., with PAN!ZEN Soundsystem (Chromosome 23/Acroyear, Try My Cabbage, Rudement, and b0t23 of Buried in Time/ELM). 21+, 9:30-close, $5 suggested donation or come in from the Ron Athey/ 2 Gyrlz show.

NICK CAVE LECTURE & MORE FABULOUS STUFF @ COOLEY

"Working History: African American Objects" finds curator Stephanie Sydner in top form, bringing the work and/or live presences of Kianga Ford, Nick Cave, Adrian Piper, Faith Ringgold, Kara Walker, and many others to Portland, at Cooley.

THE GYRLZ ARE BACK IN TOWN: Rock Fest at Rotture Feb 9th

2 Gyrlz Performative Arts returns to Portland! Our fearless leaders, co-directors Lisa Newman and Llewyn Maire/Yhi, have returned from their year-plus in England, and they've brought us some tasty European treats to savour: Tex Napalm, Dimi Dero, and Anthony Malat. Keep reading for deets.

UPCOMING 2 GYRLZ SHOWS:

Feb 9, Saturday ~ Tex Napalm/Dimi Dero/Anthony Malat; Magick Daggers; and special guests at Rotture, 9 pm, $8

April 3, Thursday ~ Ron Athey performance followed by PanZen party, at Rotture

April 13, Sunday ~ Works Corps performs "HOUSE BOUND" at Performance Works NW, co-presented by 2GQ

NW NOISE MUSICIAN MICHAEL GRIFFIN PASSES AWAY

"Michael Griffin passes on 1/7/08

Early this morning Michael Griffin died. He was the violinist in Behead the Prophet No Lord Shall Live and played in the noise duo Noggin and many other projects along the way. His contribution to music was very significant as huge proponent of Improvised Noise. Michael encouraged anyone curious about music regardless of talent and got a lot of people started on a path to true creative expression. I am greatly thankful for my experience with Michael as an individual, as a fellow musician and to know his family who have been a family to me when I needed a one that accepted me for who I am without judgement. I am currently working on a documentary about Michael with a friend Peter Rand that hopefully will be completed within the next year. Much Love to you all, I know that Michael believed in Love, - Jordan Rain"

2GQ co-presents "HOUSE BOUND" at PERFORMANCE WORKS NW

The Works Corps invites the 2 Gyrlz community to experience the group's very intimate and unusual new performance, "House Bound," at Performance Works NW on April 13, 2008. The work delves into the tension between individuality and relationship, between selfhood and family, between freedom and claustrophobia, between private and public.

2GQ is delighted to co-sponsor this rare opportunity for audiences to visit a very different kind of house. We'd like to give a big shout-out to the show's current donors, including the Cooley Gallery at Reed College, Plazm magazine, P!x Patisserie, Vanessa Renwick/Oregon Dept of Kick Ass, and Steve Fritz Photography.

THE WIFE, THE MISTRESS, & THE PROSTITUTE: PLAZM AT THE BACK ROOM

Come along, creative whores! Eat food, hang out, and dive into a conversation about "The Wife, the Mistress, and the Prosititute" as essential metaphors for life as artists, writers, and as creative professionals. Discuss design, language, survival, protest and collaboration!

Join 2GQ editrix Tiffany Lee Brown (who moonlights as a Plazm editor) with the Plazm crüe, editor Jon Raymond and art director Josh Berger.The evening is hosted and curated by Stephanie Snyder of the back room and the Cooley Gallery at Reed College.

Music by Tara Jane O'Neil. Food by catering & farmers market favourites Tastebud Farm, who will soon open their new dining room in Southeast Portland.

January 11, 2008, 6:30 pm, Podkrepa Hall, 2116 North Killingsworth Street. $45 per person includes a delectable feast, wine, and a copy of a book written & pressed especially for this occasion. Reservations are highly recommended; these events usually sell out. Email thebackroompdx@gmail.com or buy tickets via THE BACK ROOM online. Keep reading for details...

THE GYRLZ ARE BACK! Programming for 2008 + Holiday Gifts of Luv

HELLO, GYRLZ: Most of you know by now that 2 Gyrlz founder/directors Lisa Newman and Llewyn Maire have returned from their year-plus of performing and living in Europe. Portland is ready for a new round of innovative performance programming from our favourite gyrlz. The new season promises to bring some excellent international artists to town; we will soon update this site and 2gyrlz.org with confirmed shows.

COMPENDIUM BOOKS AVAILABLE
We also have signed, numbered, limited edition books on sale; click "Compendium" on the Plazm Books site.

PANCAKE BREAKFAST: not just for brunch anymore

This week: Mike Midlo brings his fabu, delightfully weird organ-and-chicken-noises music to Portland from the wilds of White Salmon, WA. Deets follow!

SAGE WISDOM: WIPERS FRONTMAN GREG SAGE SPEAKS

by John Chandler
Originally appeared in the first version of 2 Gyrlz Quarterly, an online magazine, on June 13, 2003. It was then printed in 2GQ's print zine-journal, issue #3, in 2005. See www.zenorecords.com if you're trying to find the music. ---Ed.

“The Wipers’ music is so simple, but so cool, it makes you wonder why anybody thinks doing stuff with tricks is a valid approach at all.” — Steve Albini

Greg Sage is an odd, complicated guy. As an interview subject he’s a laconic pain in the ass. As an artist, he’s certainly responsible for some of the best rock music ever produced in Portland, and no one—OK, maybe Elliott Smith—has made music that so perfectly sums up life in the cracks and crannies of our rainy little community.

OPEN MIC FOR PERFORMERS AT SCRATCHPDX

ScratchPDX are calling themselves "Portland's performance lab" with their semi-open-mic-for-performers series at Hipbone Studio.  You just need to email them and explain what piece you'd like to do (2-10 minutes).

If you check out ScratchPDX and don't mind sharing what you saw or performed, email us at the current year @2GQ.org. For example, in 2001 you would contact us by mailing 2001@2GQ.org. Sorry for the convoluted email address procedure, there --- it's for spam reduction.

DECLASSIFIED: Psychedelic Jesus vs. the Rude Flag

In the printed zine-journals of 2 Gyrlz Quarterly, DECLASSIFIED was a recurring feature exploring censored and suppressed artwork and literature.  From the journal archive, here's Cortney Harding talking to two Portland artists, Thomas Rude (creator of "American Standard," left) and Joshua Camozzi Milligan about psychedelia, religion, and political content keeping their work from its intended venues.

WIFE POWER!

What'd happen if a bunch of white separatist goose-stepper types were greeted by a bunch of clowns in bridal gear? WIFE POWER over WHITE POWER? WHITE FLOWERS over WHITE POWER? It happened oh-so-recently. Read more here at Neatorama. Thanks to Laiwan for the link.

QUEER & PLEASANT DANGER: THE KATE BORNSTEIN INTERVIEW

by Llewyn Máire & Lisa Newman
Originally appeared in 2GQ #3, Portland, 2005, pp. 24-26.

We recently performed at the 11th annual Performance Studies international conference at Brown University, alma mater of renowned transsexual writer, performer, and gender outlaw Kate Bornstein. Kate hirself was kind enough to facilitate discussion with our audience and ask some tricky questions about what we had just done.  We returned the favor after attending hyr brand spankin’ new and absolutely genius solo performance, “Queer and Pleasant Danger."

The show is Kate's first fully theatrical solo performance piece since Virtually Yours in 1996. She describes the full-length two act piece as "a solo performance exploring through story, video, and a couple of songs, the comedy and tragedy of a sadomashochistic transsexual dyke inhabiting the simultaneous identities of daddy, daughter, father, and son as put into motion through a fundamentalist lens." What follows is an interview about the new work.

Construct/Re-Construct Opening Sept. 29

Construct/Re-Construct
curated by Rhoda London

A group show of work by Portland artists expressing the building blocks that bring an idea to fruition and showing the artists in dialogue with their materials. 2GQ editor Tiffany Lee Brown and book artist Clare Carpenter present an installation documenting the collaborative process behind their new project, A Compendium of Miniatures.

September 29-October 27, 2007
Cathedral Park Place
6635 N. Baltimore Ave, Portland, OR
(the former Columbia Sportswear/Modern Zoo building)

Opening Reception Saturday, September 29, 5-8 PM
Gallery hours Friday and Saturday only 12-5 PM

Artists: Josh Arseneau, Francesca Berrini, John Brodie, Tiffany Lee Brown, Clare Carpenter, Cathy Cleaver, Nancy Cushwa, Kristina DiTullo, Tore Djupedal, David Hacker, Helen Heibert, Harrison Higgs, Scott Wayne Indiana,James Jack, Horatio Law, Todd Leninger, Seth Nehil,Liz Obert, Kelly Rauer, Anya Shapiro, Benjamin Stagl,Andy Stout, Robert Wilhelm, Karen Willey, Linda Wysong.

PLAZM #29: NEW MAGAZINE + RELEASE PARTY SEPT. 26

When not doing 2GQ, my secret alter-identity is now a co-editor at Plazm magazine, a veritable institution of Portland art, culture, and design since 1991. Our new issue features Yoko Ono, Todd Haynes, JD Samson (Le Tigre), Storm Tharp, Domenick Ammirati, Lidia Yuknavitch, Marvin Bell, and a pull-out poster of Portland music from The Wipers to Nequaquam Vacuum.

Oh, and The End of War. And Marilyn Monroe, and Elvis, and Bill Walton, and psychedelic posters, and all kinds of stuff. Keep reading for the press release.

PARTY: Sept 26, Ace Hotel on SW Stark & 10th in downtown Portland, bands and DJ's (Glass Candy, Hooliganship, Evolutionary Jass Band, more), cheap, all ages, plus art benefiting Veterans for Peace. Please do come.

COMPENDIUM OF MINIATURES AT PACIFIC UNIVERSITY

Yr everlovin' editrix Tiffany Lee Brown and 2GQ book artist Clare Carpenter of Tiger Food Press have been working hard on "A Compendium of Miniatures" for nearly two years. Friday June 29, they bring a performance-based literary reading of the work, along with a participatory installation, to Pacific University's MFA in Creative Writing program. Clare will also give a presentation about book arts, and the two will lead a discussion about how collaboration and multidisciplinary exploration can lead to an expansive writing practice. 1:00 pm at Pacific; open to the public.

The book of the Compendium will be available this fall. In September, a new installation of the Compendium will be unveiled at Cathedral Park Place (the St. Johns building where Modern Zoo happened). We'll also bring it to PNCA. See ya then!

Mike Daily Takes City by Storm

There's no way you don't have time to catch a launch for Mike Daily's latest novel, Alarm, since there's four of them, the next one being tomorrow at Powell's, 7:30.  Reading from an experimental melange of narrative, found objects, an alter-narrator and audio beats (see inclosed CDs of live and studio performances), Daily tells us an account of a couple slowly splitting apart amid post-911 anthrax scares, semi-employment and the detritus of the San Fernando Valley.  Appearing with band---and moi as quest artist---at last week's Phase One: Words + Music, you can catch the full meal deal at the Ash St. Saloon on July 25th and at the Someday Lounge for the FC2 Writer's Edge conference on July 26th, or a pared down version at Aftermath for First Thursday on July 5th.  Beat happening.

---Nora Robertson

EXQUISITE LANGUAGE FOR SALE...

Musicians from bands like Low and the Decemberists joined in with writers from Elissa Schappell to Lance Olsen in 2GQ's "Exquisite Language" project.  Seventy contributors from around the world co-constructed a series of exquisite corpse stories and songs; the results were published in our special Exquisite Language issue of 2GQ and also interpreted as performance and song at an EL-fest event at the Heathman Hotel.

Fun times! Anyway, we still have a few copies of Exquisite Language. To get one of your very own, please  send a check for $13 made out to "2GQ" to: Tiffany Lee Brown, 2GQ Editor,  PO Box 2863, Portland OR 97208. Includes a splendid letterpressed mailing box you will want to crawl inside. Price includes all applicable taxes, shipping, etc. USA and Canada only. Keep reading for details about contributors and other items in the issue.

Haiku Inferno. A new book. Crêpes. Your job: watch, listen, eat, and report back.

Haiku! Crêpes! What are you waiting for? Read on.

OUR NUTTY NEIGHBOURS TO THE NORTH...

...by whom I mean who else but the residents of Olympia, Washington, once again wow the wondrous world with the Olympia Experimental Music Festival.

Now in its lucky 13th year, the festival is--or was, last time I saw it--hilarious, brilliant, and insane. This is not the snootypants brand of experimentica you may have been unfortunate enough to run into at hoity-toity venues (New York City, I'm thinking of you). This is genuine Northwest weirdness. Portlandia is represented by Dead Air Fresheners (pictured), Argumentrix, METAL, Celestville, Mood Ring, Nequaquam Vacuum, Shitty Vibe Smasher, Childhood Friends, White Rainbow, and A Garden to Play with Ghost. Somehow there's still room for bands from Washington state, Vancouver BC, SF, NYC, Montana, Athens, Australia, and of course, North Cambria, PA.

Solstice weekend, June 22-24. Keep reading for details. --Tif

DEVO, MONGOLOID, & RE/SEARCH...

Even when I am drowning in newsletters, PR, blog posts, and infojunk... even when I want to throw it all away and never email with anyone, ever, again...when I think I've wasted the entirety of my adult life (plus some of my youth and childhood) obsessing over small press and underground publication... even then, I read the RE/Search newsletter. I am reminded again why any of this matters to me. I am inspired by what people have done, are still doing, will do, in the realms of culture and media.

ARTIST BIOS: PUBLIC WORKS

Find out more about the Public Works Corps: Tiffany Lee Brown, Clare Carpenter, Lilian Gael, Nora Robertson, and Emily Stone...

...and about this week's guest artists, Sarah Dougher and Josh Berger.

Meet Kevin Sampsell, Circa Early 90's

Most of you who’ve been around at open mics and the majority of readings worth going to anytime in the last fifteen years will have already heard of Kevin Sampsell, and if you haven’t, this is a good way to make his acquaintance. Just premiered at the Do North Award Ceremony this April, Stephen Kurowski’s short film Kevin Patrick Sampsell: The Spokane Years layers vintage footage of Sampsell from the early 90’s with punk riffs in a latter-day Neil Cassady fashion. Much thanks to Chutz Ponderosa for making this available online, and to Mike Daily for letting us all know about it.  Runtime: 5:15.  ---Nora Robertson

PUBLIC WORKS: THE SPRING FINALE

PUBLIC WORKS reveals works-in-progress by local musicians, artists,
and writers.

With good food & delicious cocktails, in one of Portland's most
beautiful, intimate venues.

Join us this Wednesday, May 9 for the final evening of this Public
Works series. Guest artists SARAH DOUGHER (music) and JOSHUA BERGER
(visual art) will join our regular writers, performers, and
interdisciplinary artists: TIFFANY LEE BROWN, LILIAN GAEL, NORA
ROBERTSON, and EMILY STONE.

2GQ presents Public Works
Wednesdays, April 4 through May 9
5:30-7:00 pm
Free, at Someday Lounge
125 NW 5th Ave between Couch and Davis

PUBLIC WORKS CALENDAR

===  2GQ presents  ===

    PUBLIC WORKS

Six weeks of live, raw works-in-progress, rough cuts, & experiments
being of a literary, performative, musical, & artistic nature

Click "continue" below to see the whole calendar & meet the artists...

Wednesdays, April 4 through May 9
5:30-7:00 pm
Free, at Someday Lounge
125 NW 5th Ave

FREE, BEAUTIFUL, WEIRD. BE THERE THIS WEDNESDAY.

Eric Hausmann and Lilian Gael (pictured left) will be this week's featured artists at Public Works. Come on down and see what they and the Public Works crew will do with some serious music!

Eric -- currently of Tres Gone, formerly of Spilling Static Orchestra, The Gone Orchestra, Locust Pudding, Brainwarmer, and Lions of Batucada -- will soundtrack a film he made entitled "Ramlee," a dedication to the 1950's Malaysian film actor and multi-instrumentalist, P. Ramlee. More about Eric at www.spillingaudio.com.

Lily Gael is a performing artist working with improv-movement, dance,
enviornments and sound. She is a recipient of a Soapstone writing residency in poetry, and recently performed "Revery/The Kitchen Project" at Oregon College of Art & Craft" for audiences of one.

Members of the Public Works Corps will also improvise with Eric (Tiffany Lee Brown, Nora Robertson, Emily Stone).

2GQ presents PUBLIC WORKS at the Someday Lounge, 125 NW 5th Ave between Couch and Davis.... Wednesday, April 18th, 5:30-7 pm.... FREE.

Click "continue" to see the PUBLIC WORKS CALENDAR.

PUBLIC WORKS CORPS: the bios

Find out more about the corps of performers appearing weekly at Someday... Emily Stone, Lilian Gael, Nora Robertson, Clare Carpenter, and Tiffany Lee Brown.

WEEK 1 OF PUBLIC WORKS, and here comes Week 2.

The first week of Public Works was delightful. (It will happen every Wednesday through May 9.) Pecos B. brought words that rollicked and rocked, all of us Corps members did word + movement improvisation, I unveiled the world premiere of video "Log Baby," Nora Robertson read luscious poetry in progress, and Lily Gael topped the evening with a serious shot of energy in the form of a short dance piece.

And then there was Emily Stone (pictured left). She presented a deeply moving interdisciplinary piece involving the themes of growth and home, alternating reading with movements performed in front of projected photographs, her pregnant belly distending into the screen. Meanwhile, the rest of us attended to a series of instructions she'd given us: cleansing, writing on eggshells, planting seeds. Beautiful stuff!

Next week -- Wednesday, April 11 -- Leanne Grabel will be our featured poet, belly dancer Grace Constantine will be our guest artist, and I'll show a brand new experimental reading + video piece. Expect more explorations from the Public Works Corps as well. Someday Lounge, 125 NW 5th Ave, 5:30-7 pm, free. More details about the series is in the next post, below. --Tiffany Lee Brown

PUBLIC WORKS: coming up

2GQ presents PUBLIC WORKS

Six weeks of live, raw works-in-progress, rough cuts, & experiments
being of a literary, performative, musical, & artistic nature

Wednesdays, April 4 through May 9 ... 5:30-7:00 pm ... FREE .....
Someday Lounge ... 125 NW 5th Avenue ... in Portland's Old Town ... phone 503 248 1030

Works Corps:
TIFFANY LEE BROWN ..... CLARE CARPENTER ..... LILY GAEL ..... LEANNE GRABEL ..... NORA ROBERTSON ..... EMILY STONE

Guest Artists:
PECOS B. (April 4)  ..... GRACE CONSTANTINE (April 11) .... ERIC HAUSMANN (April 18) ..... JEMIAH JEFFERSON (April 25) ..... JULIAN TULIP  (May 2) ..... SARAH DOUGHER (May 9) ..... JOSHUA BERGER (May 9)

LOOK BENEATH HER FAIRY GUISE: The World of Joanna Newsom

Deep visionary, or cutesy fairy with a harp? Excellent crafter of fairy tales, or tortured version of Annie? Dorien Campbell reviews the much-lauded harpist and folk singer.

Negativland Brings GOD to Portland!

Help Negativland create a live radio program onstage and dig deep with monotheism.

Saturday, Mar 10 2007 9:00PM
Bagdad Theater Portland, Oregon -- that's the McMenamin's at SE Hawthorne & 37th.

COSTES at SOMEDAY this SATURDAY

HOLY CRAP, PEOPLE! COSTES IS COMING!

If you somehow missed the absolute insanity of Jean Louis Costes at 2 Gyrlz's Enteractive Language Festival a couple years ago, now is your time to make up for it. Madness and mayhem and hilarity reign. Note: If you're afraid of bodily fluids and close representations thereof, stay home.

Show is at Someday Lounge, March 3.

LOVELY LINEUP AT THE CRUX - FEB 17

KPSU presents a fine showcase of experimental music, jazz weirdness, and more. Obe'Skupla, Dead Air Fresheners, Childhood Friends, and more more more on February 17 at  The Crux. Costumed improv freaks, eeriness, beauty -- what more could ya want? And it's three bucks. And all ages.

THEATRE OPEN MIC-IN-PROGRESS: Last Saturdays with ScratchPDX

Theatre works in progress! Sign-up open mic of a theatrical bent! Interesting happenings! Cool beans! It's Last Saturdays, starting this month at Hipbone Studio.

KHOOMEI with SORIAH: Throat Singing Workshop

Gyrlz know Enrique Ugalde from his stunning ritualistic performances at festivals, clubs, and in lush outdoor sites, performed under the name Soriah.  But in addition to his own voice experimentations and ritual work, Enrique has studied with Tuvan throat singing masters, learning traditional techniques and traditions.

Spots are still available in his February 2007 workshop in Portland, Oregon. Keep reading for details.

CENSORSHIP & ART SUPPRESSION: "Fifth Branch" Declassified

"Starbucks is not going to hang the next 'Piss Christ.' "  You heard it here first.

The following DECLASSIFIED interview explores the suppression of art in the post-9/11 United States o' America. How do we as artists and writers, but also as publishers and presenters and curators, deal with controversial material? Artist Joshua Berger, publisher Camela Raymond, attorney Kohel Haver, art critic Richard Speer, and an unnamed ACLU representative all weigh in on this surprisingly thorny subject. Originally appeared in the "Exquisite Language" issue of 2GQ's print journal.

PUBLIC WORKS: Announcing the Participants

2GQ will present the Public Works series in April and May. We are superthrilled to announce the workshop participants/works-in-progress performers, writers, and artists:

Leanne Grabel            Nora Robertson (McCrea)      Sarah Dougher
Julian Tulip            Lily Gael            Emily Stone             Clare Carpenter
Joshua Berger            Jemiah Jefferson        Tiffany Lee Brown

SIREN NATION

Cherchez La Femme records here in PDX will soon release "Voices from the Siren Nation," a compilation featuring Pink Martini, The Gossip, Kaia Wilson (Team Dresch, The Butchies), Swan Island, Marisa Anderson w/Mirah, Heather Perkins, and many others.

Join the mini-biki dance squad The Sprockettes December 15 is the CD release party at Holocene, plus music and goodness...

Announcing: Public Works

2GQ presents for your consideration -- in conjunction with the esteemed Noah Mickens and his fantabulous Someday Lounge in Old Town Portland -- PUBLIC WORKS. This six-week workshop series of live literary and performance works-in-progress is curated by 2GQ's humble editrix, Miss Tiffany Lee Brown, and will occur every Wednesday night from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. from April 4 to May 9, 2007.

What has it to do with YOU?

Voyeur, drinker, arts maven or literary gadabout that you undoubtedly are, YOU get to watch the fabled artistic process unfold. You get to watch. Our workshop members will present new sketches, participate in experiments, and show works in progress, interspersed liberally with beer breaks. You get to watch the new sparks fly. You get to see all the edges, rough and unseemly.

So pencil it in. We'll see you in a few months.

FO A RM Festival November 18

FO A RM Magazine of Arts and Research presents THE FO A RM FESTIVAL OF SOUND & VIDEO is coming up November 18 at Portland Art Center to celebrate the release of their new magazine. Check it out!

London Mauling (A Theatre Tale, archived)

A delicious droplet by Steffen Silvis from 2GQ #1, "London Mauling" follows Steffen's journey from Portland to London, where a play he wrote is being produced.:   

To purchase a copy of the print journal in which this originally appeared, look for "Issue No. 1: The Issue of Summer Finery and Weak Tea" . We have about five copies left.

A Fitting Experience: check it out, and/or participate.

What do women believe about their bodies? Margaret DeLima invites women to participate in "A Fitting Experience," a project related to body image. It's an arresting piece, as you can see on her blog: http://afittingexperience.blogspot.com/.

Wonderfully Weird Week...

A masked Italian noise rock duo, a butoh-Voudun dancer... A Japanese experimental percussionist and a macabre puppet show...A dark Victorian circus and a genuine freakshow... Something about a film crew from National Geographic?... And three nights of inspired horror at a haunted house hosted by Elvis.

All courtesy of the Someday Lounge in Portland, where the spirit of Hallowe'en comes but 365 days a year.

BRIEFS: Reviews Galore, archived.

BRIEFS: REVIEWS & MINI-REVIEWS

Barry Lopez, the Brothers Grimm, Einsturzende Neubauten, Gobshite Quarterly, Strategy, Eye-Rhyme, Black Dice, Muslimgauze, Kat Terran, and many more.

Originally published in 2GQ's first print journal, "The Issue of Summer Finery & Weak Tea," May 2004. About five copies are still available. Order here.

Reviewed by Tiffany Lee Brown, Valerie Cashman, and T.J. Norris

If you wish to quote from reviews, please credit the individual author of the review, in addition to crediting 2GQ/2 Gyrlz Quarterly. And we always appreciate a link to our site.

Get Out of Your Coma with andYOUANDyou

Maybe you know Scott Smith from his project at 2GQ's last Heathman Hotel show, or from the dazzle of his smile around Performance Works NW and Disjecta. Now dig his first collaborative showcase at andYOUANDyou. He invites "artists and non-artists alike" to enter for this November's "Making a Living" show. Keep clickin' for details.

Illegal Art and Culture Jamming -- Free at PNCA

Appropriation, corporations, art, theft, Starbucks subvertising, and Barbie bashing. It's all part of the Pacific Northwest College of Art's look at illegal art. Heidi Cody will discuss Culture Jamming this Thursday, October 5, at lunchtime in a free lecture at PNCA...

PENCIL FIGHT!

Pencil Fight #3 (comix, art, weirdness, amazement) is ready to roll, with contributors from Carson Ellis to Mike Brophy. Fancy! Grass Hut hosts the launch party this Friday, September 29, at 811 East Burnside. The theme is "When Plants Attack." Yay! Click below for artist list, etc. --tif

Kazoo to You: Bush Rage

Sharon E. Streeter, author and publisher of the Bush Rage series, uses poetry, voice, ukulele, and even kazoo to get her point across. She says, "This is an event to signal the final days to register to vote and an opportunity see how words can be put to work for our beliefs. Free and open to the public."

Bush Rage, October 5, 7:30 p.m. St Johns Booksellers, 8622 N. Lombard Street. More about the project (including books and CDs) is at www.bushrageAllowed.com.

From Brain-tanning to Burning Man

What happens to ephemeral art created specifically for a TAZ (Temporary Autonomous Zone) -- particularly one like Burning Man, in which temporality and destruction/transformation by fire are explicitly celebrated?  Is the "real world," the larger culture of the USA, mostly dead and unsuitable for hosting this art? And what about the Hopi and the dude who brain-tans? Read a transcription of Gregory Pleshaw's recent lecture at Erowid, "Gone to Croatoan: Contemporary Art on the Playa," on Lucid Dreaming. Playa photo by Miss Brown.

SOMEDAY IS NOW

Gyrl about town, cirkus ringmaster extraordinaire, noise musician, Butoh performer, and self-described "arts maven" Noah Mickens -- your friend and mine -- has been working hard to prepare an entirely new venue for Portland audiences, where acts are booked with a visionary's zeal instead of a capitalist's desire for predictable bands and old standbys. Get in on the opening action at Someday Lounge this week with Diego Piñon, Blinglab (Marne Lucas + Bruce Conkle), Jollyship the Whiz-Bang, 2 Gyrlz Bon Voyage Party, St Vitus Dance, and Societas Insomnia. Details follow.

Sept 14 - 2 Gyrlz Sendoff Party

After over five years of giving free rein to uncompromising performance in an unsafe world‚ the gyrlz, Llewyn Máire and Lisa Newman, are crossing the pond to spend a year making movement and noise‚ strengthening networks‚ strengthening our core. The new crossroads of creative convergence - Someday Lounge - is hosting a send-off party and you're invited.

Thursday 14 September, 9 pm-2 am
Someday Lounge -- 125 NW 5th, between Couch and Davis
Sliding scale admission. Donations help the 2 gyrlz tour . 21+. For details, keep clickin'.

TBA: Time Based Art 2006

PICA's fourth annual TBA festival is off to another great start, with David Eckard parading down the Willamette River on a gigantic multicoloured spider and Laurie Anderson telling spacious tales in the Newmark Theatre.

As TBA follows right on the heels of Burning Man, I'm always too wiped out to see all that the festival offers. And this year, I must admit to some melancholy that 2 Gyrlz is not following our fourth annual arts/performance festival, EL-fest, with a fifth this year.

Tonight I skipped out on the official TBA proceedings not to take a nap or pout about EL-fest, but to see an unofficial, on-the-side performance by Laura Curry and Pinkk. My dears, there are only a few time slots to see this free/donations-accepted show, which may be the most interesting, intimate, and provocative performance you'll see at -- or near -- TBA this year. (This and Diego Piñon at Someday Lounge.) To make a reservation, see the details on pinkk.net and get ready for your 30-minute performance excerpt, up close and personal in a small room within the Mark Spencer Hotel.

Watch this space for a roundup of TBA after the festival ends. My reviews of Laurie Anderson and other shows will also appear in Willamette Week. For blog coverage daily, check urbanhonking. --magdalen

NW Edge III Party Tonight

The third Northwest Edge anthology, comprised of a book and DVD, is launching TONIGHT in Portland. Thurs july 20 at Disjecta, 230 E. Burnside, 8 pm - 1 am. Lisa Newman of 2 Gyrlz; Tiffany Lee Brown, editor of 2GQ; and 2GQ contributors including Lance Olsen and Kevin Sampsell will perform or read their work, along with the many fabulous folks listed below, and there will be a big ol' party.

NEW BOOK, BACK ISSUES OF 2GQ JOURNAL

Our latest publication, the book arts and lyric stories of Clare Carpenter and Tiffany Lee Brown, is available on the Etsy.com shop Seedcake. Look for "A Compendium of Miniatures."

The 2GQ literary/arts journal features original fiction, poetry, non-fiction, interviews, and language experiments. Limited edition, hand-bound and silkscreened/letterpressed covers. Delivered in a gorgeous, long-format box letterpressed by Tiger Food Press, as available. Keep reading for details.