Skip the NYE partys and finish what you started!

I've been deliberating back and forth over whether I should go to a great party in BK for NYE or stay in JC and keep it low key. I can cross 2 rivers in the packed NYE subway system or be a whirlwind of whisky fueled debauchery?

On a night guaranteed to be full of beligerent shouts and drunken mishaps, do I really wanna add to that mess? Do I need another night where I come home with empty pockets and forgotten memories? If I evaluated 2010, would I tally up all my experiences and say; "ya know what?- I dont think I got in enough partying this year, I better make sure I get in one more before 2010 is over." In fact when I think of 2010 all I see is unfinished projects. An unfinished coccoon room, 3 unfinished paintings, a greenhouse awaiting construction, unpaid bills, a Gallery sitting empty, a play in the writing stage, an apartment awaiting renovations, and jeez so many more projects that wish they weren't competing for my attention.

So that being said; This NYE I vow that I will avoid my usual bass jump into the caverns of mayhem and opt to finish a project that begs for my attention instead. FINISH it is the key word. Tonight I complete something from 2010 by midnight and then begin a new project at 12:01am. Something brand new will get started and NEW is always exciting, but so is finishing something you start. Tonight I want both, and thats my resolution for the New Year- To finish more of what I start, faster, better and on time. Have fun for me out there!
Stay tuned for pics.
-Fathom

If you give me Vicodin make sure it works...

So the Guardian newspaper has given me a bit of a headache with this article:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/theatreblog/2010/dec/13/burlesque-stripping-posh-empowering

But I am very glad that George R showed me it.

I feel the the need to address some of the issues she brings up... in the form of a letter.



Dear Laura Barnett,

I find your article closed minded, despite your effort to be open to the experience, you are clearly unable to allow yourself to see why so many people find it beautiful and empowering. You even make a statement saying that even the performers don't enjoy it.

"But her performance was excruciating. She looked embarrassed (I could see her goose pimples), and most of the women in the audience looked embarrassed, while most of the men seemed to be politely averting their eyes."

Listen Laura, If she didn't enjoy it she wouldn't have done it. Its not like someone held a gun to her head and said take off your clothes. She had a clearly rehearsed routine, she put time and effort into it. Goose pimples could have been because she was cold (she wasn't wearing any clothes, hello) or possibly a little nervous (many performers get nervous). And how can you speak for "most" of the men and women in the audience?

Another quote from our dear friend Laura's article:

"What, I thought, is the difference between sitting here watching her, and sitting in a so-called "gentleman's club" while a Day-Glo-tanned stripper thrusts her stocking-tops in my face?"

The difference? The difference is intention. Not that I have a problem with Day-Glo strippers, quite the opposite. I think they are often talented and brave women who put themselves forward to society as sex objects. They literally bare all, and yes the intention is for men to desire them. They want men to desire them so much that they are willing to pay money. But Burlesque is about the art of Tease. Its about revisiting a different era. Yes its becoming 'trendy' but its not Day-Glo stripping. They don't wait for men to put one dollar bills in their panties, its not about the money, its about the beauty AND the empowerment.

Yes, I believe its empowering. Yes I believe its beautiful. Yes I think you are an idiot.

Love Always,

Vogel



Here is some better judgment from the Guardian:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2010/dec/13/burlesque-dita-von-teese-christina-aguilera?intcmp=239

Aliens ARE robots ?Either way they stole my house and ate my baby.

If ALIENS are more intelligent lifeforms..and our intelligence is headed towards A.I then wouldnt the lifeform that lands on our planet be some form of hybrid species built specifically to recon Earth?

If an advanced species from another planet that travels via craft and has a humanoid construction were to visit Earth it would make more sense to use expendable lifeforms rather then the way we currently use our best and brightest Astronauts to go into space/the unknown. The virtual option is the more intelligent/evolved option, and if these are advanced species...

Then again some theorists may say that what each organism on our planet actually is part of the Alien manufactured petri dish, chock full of organisms all designed to collect data and convert resources. Humans at the bottom of the work force ofcourse.
-Fathom
*Artwork from CANCO Lofts exhibition. "floating house"- fathom

1/18/11- I stumbled on this lil vid that talks about aliens sending "robots" to scout the earth. hmmm

How to Insulate a Cave

The sounds of gusty winds outside our walls, the frigid air and layers of clothes make me think of primitive man. This building our cave, and our priorities focused.

The telephone ate the internet and the internet ate everything else.

I've been thinking alot about the notion that technologies carry an essence. One that can be observed historically via a time line and then perceived as a whole. Meaning;scratching on walls gave birth to writing on scrolls, which eventually led to the fabrication of books and then books branched off to magazines etc; In some cases the evolution stacks on top of its predecessor, branching off at some points, while the predecessor remains intact and still valid. Like in the above mentioned example BOOKS would be where this form of communicating and chronicling reached its peak. Its value remained strong despite the various branch offs it spawned, therfore BOOK is the whole. The BOOK carries the essence of that timeline.

My next example is the TELEPHONE. The telephone clearly had predecessors like the telegraph and perhaps morse code, but it's communicative essence peaked with the telephone. The telephone evolved over the years to the cordless phone and eventually the cell phone, but where the telephone surpasses other evolved technologies was in its absorption of neighboring technologies. It absorbed the television, the internet, and music by way of consuming the power of the internet. In the early stages of development the telephone, radio and television were 3 great new technologies that shaped our culture and enhanced many peoples standard of living. They existed seperately like the clock and the automobile. The telephone consumed the CLOCK first and then became increasingly powerful. Its usefulness and compact-ability took precedent over the other technologies quickly. Eventually the phone became something everyone needed to carry with them at all times and now something so powerful it consumed the massively powerful INTERNET as well.

No matter how great the internet gets, it will always be linked now to the phone. We want all the same information on our phone that we can get on our home computer. There was some concern over whether the internet would kill the telephone...Im not sure that's even possible. There are certainly some benefits to eliminating the land line and replacing it with a broadband connection via your home computer, but once the pocket computer merges with the telephone and essentially offers the same style service that the phone does, it becomes a telephone. It could eliminate all prior technologies used by the cellphone and replace with its own technologies, but if you are still communicating in the same way (talking or texting) you are using a telephone in one of its forms.
I-pads and I-pods and I-touches are great tools individually but their existence will always share space with a phone that can do it all. That is until either we all become telepathic or our technology evolves to the point of THE SINGULARITY.
-Fathom

MJ and the pope

the pope shifts his fish head, ruby eyes...
god's rottweiler
stands over the pinecone and under the silver star,
condemning and chastising
while tens of thousands of pederests
console families in their time of grief.

stars fell from the heavens below,
replacing the petrified eyes of the hypnotized

sodom and gomorrah, alive and well...
salt covers the floor of their labore-a-tory

-don't look back
don't send me an angel.

they cracked the sarcophagus of jesus
and gift wrapped the mummy
in thin sheets of mechanized petroleum,
laid him at the clawed toes of molech
betty crocker and julia child,
released from under each wing-resurrected,
chopping onions and slicing carrots
for the whole world to taste the flavor of worship.
again, salt...

god's rottweiler
licks the trails
that stream from my wrists
with the sandpaper tongue
of a pussycat.

i fall in love with a vision,
yearning to disrobe the image, slide down.
it sits on my face.

i wake from inbetween parchment of chaffed caligraphy.
ink from the quill of a drunk scribe
mats my flesh
eyes, paste shut.

the greatest stories ever told just became real.
the cover is a cheese grater.

open your heart.
now close it, you're letting a draft in.

Christo, the silk magi
exchanges mediums
and wraps the vatican in caution tape.

Michael Jackson moonwalks across the veranda
and snatches the fish head
off of the head of the pope.
slick scales, tail, flapping..
smearing his red zipper straight jacket
in oil.

he dangles the specimen
over the rail of the balcony
like a baby boy
he proudly wants to display
to the world.

it slips from his hug,
hits the concrete like a thousand pound slug...
no blood-
just fruit bats, exploding
blanketing the whitest sky this side of orion.

i die for fantasy
as farmers and politicians
sacrifice their first born
to a horned owl.

guano, everywhere.

(merry christmas to all.)
-Nyne

Some art for food, food for thought.

I'm digging these artists, although I could make such declarations so many times a day if I spend the time so expect to see these postings a lot. <3 Lish

http://flavorwire.com/119452/cloudscapes-by-transsolar-and-tetsuo-kondo

http://sweet-station.com/blog/2010/12/daniel-polevoy

http://www.glennraytutor.com/gallery.php

My apologies that these are not hyper links but due to a glitch I can't post them as such right now.

Musical maps took me down Bob Dylan way

As I spent hours the last two day's watching the Scorsese Bob Dylan documentary "No Direction Home", I waded in a question that I believe will one day be a genuine and important context of human history. Every day, much like babies of all species, songs are being born. Whether it be Bob Dylan or America's new penchant for auto-tune, African Tribal music or yodeling it's abundant and transformational beyond dispute. It's also no secret that music often reflects its social climate. What would the history of humans be as told by our musical history? And how quickly is music changing in response to the dramatic change in the speed of human evolution? What would be the defining music of your generation (in your region) and what do you think it says about the cultural and political climate of that time? I admit with mixed levels of shame, I rocked Britney Spears in my life time, briefly in my late adolescence, and luckily with minimal damage. I now ten years later look back at that time and feel that perhaps that new-age, bubble gum pop that I nearly feel the need to burn in repentance became suddenly popular was influenced by the desire to shake off the political climate of the early 1990's, along with the recent transition into a more liberal Clinton era. Boosted by the release of tension as Y2K breathed over us just enough to make burgeoning computer dependent society tremble. As an artist I've always dreamt of creating an audio video piece documenting such an artistic yet historical portrayal of human history. One event could change the sounds of the music that drove the people of a nation for often decades or even centuries to come. Drawing the landscape in that manner would not only be change from traditional learning but would likely also reveal patterns in the human psychology. Such an undertaking would take so many hours of research, video-editing, musical permissions and or licensing that it will probably long stay in my visionary projects folder with the "Yeah Right" as said by Dan Deacon audio clip icon duo .

I also wonder what music will become as we race towards the singularity. With electronics and computers mostly dominating modern civilization, being available even in less modernized societies what with America's demand for electronics, will we see a notable change nearly world wide? It's hard to decipher what is natural evolution when we know so much more about other animals evolution then our own more psychologically and emotional based one. Would super-intellegent life, one that far surpasses us, also make music? I again, both as a human attached to the notion but also one aware of the overwhelming scientific evidence for math in music and music in math, I personally think yes. But perhaps it's just one of many, many options available for evolution to recreate it's self in a creative manner in which aids in guiding emotionally intelligent beings. Could there be something comparable to music that we don't even know about? How amazing are the possibilities? Our dear Universe is so abundant with unknowns you could fill a life time of new places, with new beings for every day of your life. And yet here we stand and fight over gay rights and internet censorship, cheering over songs of every country drowned out by American Idol. I'm ready for a musical revolution. Really. F*ck you Backstreet Boys. F*ck you. Oh and also you Paris Hilton. Fuck you.

Certainly many have found inspiration in Bob Dylan, tonight I thank him for this one.

As always, be well, be nice and make some fucking art. Or bring me a burrito. That's all I really want for Christmas.

<3 Lish

Napoleon's Lollipop- merry christmas to all.

did you know that if you set napolean dynamites dance scene up to any number of musical hits and oldies, it's hilarious?? you didn't know-oh thas bc we invented it. We call it Dynamiting! (wait do we?)
enjoy this first vid courtessy of The king of Jeans and 660soup

If Santa Claus means Saint Nicholas-WHo the hell IS Christopher Kringle?

Or Kris Kringle..however it's spelled. Was he just a character from Miracle on 34th st? Does it mean "Christ kind"?? Who can keep up with all the American Christian folklore of our holidays anymore. So what if Coca-Cola was the one who decided Ol Santa Clause wore a red outfit, doesnt mean he aint real! Apparently J.Ruddy whom was traveling through a small town in Southern Italy claims he saw the church where the body of Saint Nicholas was entombed. So that means you can tell yer kids that Santa existed and it can be proven. I wonder though what the spirits of Jesus and Saint Nicholas think of how their images have been reworked and their messages hijacked. Whats the point of doing something great if after you die they just hijack yer identity and use it for their own purposes, like selling cola, boosting the economy and forcing children to behave out of guilt and fear of HELL or even worse...NO PRESENTS.
Even Colonel Sanders lived to see his company and his image taken from him. I believe he actually died destitute and unable to sell any type of chicken product or use his name to sell anything!! Would Saint Nick or Jesus be happy? I doubt it, but maybe they'd be ok with everything bc of all the children that were made happy despite the sinister reasoning behind the corrupting of their message. You may be like me and be straying further and further away from feeling the sentimentality of X-mas, but dont forget- it's you whom gets to corrupt the message of christmas for your kids this time around. So corrupt the message with the best of intentions and build a tradition worth looking forward to ea year. Happy Holidays & Merry Christmas!
_Fathom

Sometimes the news sucks

Was looking at the news just now and stumbled upon this travesty...

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/22/theater/22radar.html?ref=arts

I feel the urge "...to make statements in solidarity, so that the people in charge know that these terrible things are being heard and watched all over the world.”

This is a new project, it will be short and sweet, but something will be done.

-Vogel

I have no clean clothes but at least im well red

With the loss of the washing machine I have been forced to assemble warm outfits from summer clothes... which may or may not be clean but were found in my trunk. Hence when I came into work today someone exclaimed 'you look like a character in flash dance!' I'm not even wearing my leg warmers today, come on people, leggings and a slouchy top do not the 80's make.

On another note, the lack of interesting reading material has lead me to start re-reading some of my favorites. I think I'm too stubborn to open my mind to new things... I'm a 90 yr old man stuck in a 23 yr old woman's body. Are there any good books out there?

And my last thought, I'm getting my hair dyed red today. A nice dark red but vibrant none the less... my only fear is it will turn out wrong and I will look like a Christmas decoration. I'm ready to embrace my status as a Christmas ornament in the likely case this happens... please feel free to mock/make fun of me. If we can't laugh at ourselves who can we laugh at? Well you can laugh at me.

-Vogel

Tom Waits, burrito bikes and mean green monsters.

Tom Waits is haunting me. He's not even dead, but his music follows me everywhere and matches my mood no matter where I go. He keeps askin "what's he building in there"?

Then theres last nights dream which had me I riding around on a bicycle that had burrito pedals and I had to kill a lifesized He-man figure, (that I've never actually seen in real life), by slicing all of his tendons and rendering him physically inept. Saved humanity I think. Must have, That dude was mean lookin.

Oh I almost forgot to mention-I got me a show at Porto Lounge tonite! If you like art as much as ramblings.
*NEWS FLASH* THIS PIECE SOLD! Thanx to everyone for comin out and supporting the work. Have a great time!
-Fathom

oh Axel my Axel

So if you click on the title of this is should link to a piece by one of my friends Axel Bernard. It'll look small... but click on the picture to see a close up of all the details. He's a great artist working out of the UK who will actually be in Libya for the next year. He is totally worth your time and money, hopefully I can get a couple pictures of his work here for you all to admire.

I actually have an Axel Bernard original... its a piece of paper that was torn off the corner of some form i had in Edinburgh 2009. I don't know if he remembers drawing it... but its a lovely little tree. I will find it, and post it.

-Vogel

The Moon Makes Me Crazy

Dear Eclipse,

Why were you so late and why did you last so long. All I wanted was to see you, but it didn't really fit into my schedule. Next time, could we do a weekend or a bit earlier? That would be great. Call me and we'll arrange a better time. Sorry I missed you.

Forever Yours,

Vogel

will the sky open up and swallow all my problems this eclipse??

Its holiday weekend and I got alot to do. Washer/Dryer are broke, so I gotta rent a truck, find a friend and drive out to Garfield NJ if I want to pick up a free old washer/dryer and somehow move em up 3 flts and move the broken ones down 3 flts. Thats just the problem Im looking forward to the least. C'mon eclipse, I got violations to repair, zoning issues, a bunch of misbehaving animals to wrangle and then theres those dang dogs destroyin everything. C'mon eclipse-open up the sky and eat all my problems so I can get back to work. The good work.
-Fathom

My friends are hard on me.

damn guys, cut me some slack.
-Fathom

Project 001 Gallery- Angry Russians & Mango Mimosa brunches.

I dont have a pic of 001 Gallery-but if you do send it on over. I lost alot of pics from those days. As the story goes I walked passed an empty storefront on Erie and 8th st in the Hamilton Park area of JC. I contacted the owner about hanging some art on on the walls while he awaited a proper tenant for the since defunct restaurant. He suggested I open a gallery if he gave me a good price on the space. I contacted friends and co-conspirers John Ruddy, Garfield Hall and Nyugen Smith and we took a shot at our first large scale project. Project 001 Gallery.

We lasted about 5 months, hosting art events, live music, brunches as well as hosted Author James Legrand and even started our own newsletter. We could'nt keep up with the rent on art sales alone, so decided to close the doors. While having that meeting a lone poet walked in and asked if we'd be interested in hosting a spoken word event. He dropped some lyrics on us right then and there and Garfield and I decided then we had to keep the space open. Special thanx to all of you who helped us with those events and Brunches like Jade, Christina, Aubrey and Maggie and many others. That man who walked in and inspired us to stay open another few months is the other maniac in this picture and is now a staple here at 660 Grand. He literally walked into our life and in essence changed everything.
-Fathom

This X-mas everyone gets ART!

I went to the small works crafts fair at Grace Church yesterday and decided, ya know what, I've done it before and I will do it again- everyone's getting Art or locally produced products for Christmas. It makes me feel better to support local artisans that could use the $$ more the The Gap and Ambercrombie do, so there you have it-decision made. Besides, maybe it will inspire some of the people who receive the gifts to collect art or support locally produced artisans., probably not, but Im doin it anyway.
-Fathom

Corporate Bullshit

I'm sat at my desk in the office I work in, and I haven't been in the loft for almost three days, and it really just occurred to me that most everything these days is bullshit. We live in a fucking world where everything is mass produced and completely unoriginal an it sucks. There are people out there fighting to do what they love and make something new, sometimes they get that spark for life early on and sometimes it takes a whole lifetime before they embrace their potential. So I wanted to recognize some people I know who do their thing despite all the odds.

First, this bunch of kids from across the pond who have been making music for years and they're still pretty damn young. They're called The Targets and you should check them out if you get a chance. They have great things ahead of them.

Second is a bunch of crazies I went to Uni with called The Animals of Butter Bridge. They are constantly creating performances that are seriously amazing. If you are able to see them at a theatre festival or if they tour, do it.

And my last shoutout of this post is going to the beautiful and insane Jo Cassidy. Shes a tornado of talent and creativity. I think she has a blog, but I cant find it. So I'm just gonna say to her keep on keeping on. She will be a name you will see on a poster one day (whether it's for a movie or a wanted poster, she'll be there).

Sooo that was a bit of a UK lovefest for me. Most of these people I havent spoken to in over a year. But my office based morose is slowly fading away at the thought of those who stick two fingers (or one if you're in the US) up to whats 'the norm'.

-Vogel

Back when JC had galleries and event spaces-

-RockSoup had their first big show.
At the first official meeting for the RockSoup Studios concept, we called all the community leaders and arts managers together offered to orchestrate the first of a series of events & exhibitions built on the backs of our talent and our network. As Artists of many mediums, we ARE the talent that producers hire to build their concepts.RockSoup asked "what do you as artists want to build, what vision do you want to see come to fruition"? Whatever it is we can do it, as long as we do it together.

Of those invited to our first meeting, some got on board for our first big show at Mana Fine Arts, an enormous exhibition space that is no longer with us. MFA's exhibition space was Spearheaded by Ev Stone whom gave us our first crack at a show there. New Beginnings/Ancient Wisdom- fused art/music and video and treated the exhibition space as not just a space to hang art, but also as an environment to celebrate within. 660 Grand is the product of this same philosophy.

Take a look at the youtube clip to see a portion of what went down that night...bc the pic that accompanies this blog post isnt from MFA, its from our show at CANCO Lofts a few years back. I don't think they are around anymore either.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duL1eCXmOXA
-Fathom

We Got a Gallery too... I haven't been down there in a while, though-

BUT this is what our T-shirts look like.

JC WEIRD LIST-

Thats UTA on the cover of Jersey City Magazine. I wrote the list and they covered the story...dont be confused folks....Im not ON the weird list, I WROTE the weird list. Not that theres anything wrong with being weird,some ofmy best friends are weirdos. Theres a link to the magazine if you'd like to see the full story by JC mag.
http://www.hudsonreporter.com/pages/jersey_city_mag
-Fathom

What do Williamsburgh and Jersey City have in common ??

-Absolutely NOTHING...except that I have a show up in each city. One that will be up til Jan 15th at MY MOON in the BK and another up at PORTO LOUNGE in JC thats up through February.
This piece can be seen in "the burgh" right now. GO SEE IT!

-Fathom

Remember when?

this was part of a promo strategy I built for JC Fridays. I was busy doing a spoken word performance with Art House Productions so didn't have any of my visual art exhibited for the Gallery tours. Four lovely assistants helped me solve this problem by donning Illuminated Painting back packs while they were patrons of all the other gallery events that evening. It was alot of fun and a great success. Big hugs to the lovely ladies that wore back packs and/or T-shirts emblazoned with "I'm with Fathom" or "feminists for Fathom" T-shirts to help promote both mediums.

grrrmmmppphhh

the washer has decided it no longer wants to engage the spin cycle or drain it's water. That coupled with the dryer that never wants to turn off means I will have to buy or find both appliances and soon. Merry Christmas! If I dont winter will be even more miserable for us. If I could find decent tenants for that middle studio all our answers would be solved. Any takers?

Late nite salmon & tequila

what happened down there? shoutin, crying, laughter and coughing. I missed a powerfully emotional pow wow in the kitchen and so did you, Cris. We both did. Maybe it's better that way.

Before RockSoup-There was Einstein's Breakfast

When I first took over the 2nd fl of 660 Grand I knew maybe 3 ppl in Jersey City. Strangely enough I met people like Orlando Reyes of 58 Gallery and Nyugen Smith right off the bat in separate situations. Nyugen needed studio space and I wanted to host events. We teamed up for our first few events at 660 Grand and dubbed it Einstein's Breakfast. We learned alot since then about how to produce an event. Big Thanx to B-dubbs for hookin up the photoshoot.
-Fathom

Old timey times.

Winter Weirdness rears its drunken head

The dogs seem to like it.

" all these lil steps eventually add up to distance"- a wise man once said

Figured I'd give ya a few pics of the days of yesteryear. I believe we were one of the first to bring JC Aerialists and since then have incorporated, dueling aerialists, fire dancers, Burlesque performances, rock shows etc; to many of our exhibitions and events either here at 660 or outside venues.

Now that we got yer attention, you should focus on some of our Art.We got John Ruddy, Nyugen Smith, Mark Finne and Yusef Uno pimpin their works in here 24/7 and Bands like Jack Parson Moon Child whom were born here, while Thomas Francis Takes his Chances are like the sons and daughters I illegitemately fathered coming back to me in a thunderstorm of instruments and alcohol. Ryan Iozia is new to our building but not the scene, he was a regular performer at Cris Nyne's "Hominid Party". Cris still holds it down here working on projects like "Hominid" a collabo with M.Tarlazzi from TFTHC and the soon to debut "Gience of Sci-ants" (Cris, Lish and I) in the street theater styled performance that Vogel and I are working on. Stay tuned-Its gonna be weird.


-Fathom

Fire Gal

Rubi-Aerialist show

Frozen toes and GiJoes

Captains BLLLOOGG stardate Dec 17th. 10:25 am.
Fingers and toes are frozen. Work on the Art went from manic art-mania to drudgingly slow in a matter of days. This months duties require me to get certain violations taken care of before re-inspection by NJFD while coordinating the various annual winter duties necessary to prevent the many drafts from getting in this big lovely ICEbox of ours. I always tell myself I will do this in the spring...but that never happens. The Spring and Summer are for installing shows, travel and indulgence with a capital I. The fall and winter is for work, work, work. This year we have individual weekly chores, which helps keep tenant relations up, between those that are naturally considerate and those that are not. This also means I can focus on the bigger projects that require my attention like repairs and whatnot. Why am I telling you this? Well b/c I feel like the beginning of this Blog should bring you up to speed on what Old Man Winter means for us, but also so theres a starting point for you to lift off from..and lets face it the less I have to explain later means the more time for me to play with my Star Wars toys and Gi-Joes.
-Fathom

Miley Cyrus killed the goat then stole a yellow submarine

Well, well, well. Where do I begin as I start my third winter with 660? I suppose the obvious; my toes are frozen, my fingers ache, the dog ate my couch cushions, talent here has become abundant and Bubby's Burritos finally makes right turns.

As one whom initially said I would never attempt another winter here past my freshman year, I proudly (with a smidgen of self inquiry), enter my third, though not without expected battle scars, nicknames and the much desired wisdom of those whom have gone before me. I came to 660 Grand, aka RockSoup Studios if you're so inclined, a bright eyed, former label wearing Perez Hilton reading douche baguette and recent Atheist enthusiast and proselytizer reinvigorated by my passion for science. I then found my place with a bunch of fucking hippies, to varying degree's, in a 200+ year old building in Jersey City. It's been a journey into a well of human persona's as I continue to follow the white rabbit down , down, down. I've met the most amazing people, in an even more amazing community struggling to exist in the thick of a corrupt town, in a corrupt state, in a corrupt country in a world in which man thinks they rule. I can only begin to express my gratitude to those I've met along the way but particularly in recent years and even more specifically in the confines of 660. The walls of this building hold music, art and love that is unrepeatable (aside from certain drugs and always certainly lacking genuineness), for which make the winters worth the risk of frostbite, pneumonia, bad wordrobe and trench foot. As the atoms in your body, and the burrito in my belly, I exist here only momentarily but immensely full of life, change, nature and space. I hope to leave a legacy as great as those who have come before me, in a building now solid in the artist community wading in Jersey City with ripples finally reaching New York City and worldwide, as we travel forth carrying the name and address of 660 Grand. Stay tuned and unoffended, and as always go make some fucking art.

= Lish

writing/blogging/blah blah blah

Vogel and I are working on a script. Its gonna be a public theater project. I cant divulge much yet, but insist on you supporting it when it comes out, otherwise my fragile ego will be crippled and I will have to add failed writer to my already stellar creative resume'.

.."but what's he building in there"??

Winter Weirdness

Bloggity Blog Blogggg

I cant help but feel like my first post on this blog should be serious or meaningful... and maybe it should, but right now there isn't anything really to say. Its cold, bloody freezing, but right now space heaters, brown liquor, and good company are keeping me toasty.

What am I excited about right now:

-writing this play, site specific, theatrey thing with John
-this blog taking off

What do i want:

-some crazy with a camera to film a characterization of everyone who circulates in the loft

If you know (or are) a crazy with a camera. please tell me. now.

-Vogel

The 660 Blog by RockSoup Studios

This blog will be the evidence, chronicle-izing the doings and beings AND the undoings of the beings within the walls of 660 Grand st; an Arts compound,castle in the slums of Jersey City, nestled right in between the squalor of J.C's past and the early signs of it's gentrification . Many of you who will follow have been to 660 at a party or event, but there's more to 660 then the drunken mayhem you may think were up to. We're a band of extremophile's, coexisting in a space built by the artists that work within it. We love it here and if we ever have to leave, we hope we leave having made a good impression on this city.

Winter's here mean you have to be resilient mentally and physically or atleast be too impaired to make decisions that protect your health. Were beginning this Blog now after 7yrs on Grand st for a few reasons; to chronicle the daily fight we have to stay positive in frigid temperatures, to fill people in on what actually happens within these walls- beyond debauchery and decadence, to highlight some of our artistic endeavors and serve as a diary of our time here when so many of J.C's grassroots arts facilities are moving out or being stunted. Hopefully this sheds some light on who we are and what we do....ya never know when someone may declare you as a "public nuisance".

Fathom