We will celebrate 10 years of Weirdomusic on March 3 at Cultuurhuis Heerlen (The Netherlands) with The Spinshots, Fusée Dorée, DJ Natashka and DJ King Mobe.

Tickets are available here [info in Dutch].

Each evening will consist of a live performance, in the Museum’s Donald B. and Catherine C. Marron Atrium, of works from one of the group’s eight albums, created over four decades, followed by a selection of original compositions from their catalogue adapted specifically for this exhibition’s format, to showcase both Kraftwerk’s historical contributions and contemporary influences on sound and image culture. Kraftwerk–Retrospective 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 is organized by Klaus Biesenbach, Chief Curator at Large at MoMA and Director of MoMA PS1, with the assistance of Eliza Ryan, Curatorial Assistant, MoMA PS1.

The elaborate staging of the performances will combine sound and 3D images to present more than 40 years of musical and technological innovation, with new improvisations and 3D projections. The albums will be performed in chronological order: Autobahn (1974), Radio-Activity (1975), Trans Europe Express (1977), The Man-Machine (1978), Computer World (1981), Techno Pop (1986), The Mix (1991), and Tour de France (2003).

Tickets are $25.00 and will go on sale to the public on Wednesday, February 22, at 12:00 p.m., only at MoMAKraftwerkTickets.showclix.com. Space is limited. There is a two-ticket limit per person for the series, with each individual order limited to one transaction. Tickets will be distributed exclusively via will call, with photo ID required.

“Kraftwerk is an influential force not only in music, but also in visual culture,” says Mr. Biesenbach. “Through their experimentation with how images and sound are shaped by the latest recording and visualization tools, they have continuously anticipated the impact of technology on everyday life, and have captured the human condition in an era of rapidly changing mobility and telecommunication. Today, they remain vital to contemporary practice through their intersection of popular culture, mass media, and artistic production. In Kraftwerk’s practice, all of the components—melodic music and ambient sound, elaborate stage sets, live performance and performance by robots, their trademark videos and logo-like still imagery, all conceived and realized by the artists themselves—coalesce as one work of art.”

Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider began the Kraftwerk project in Düsseldorf, Germany, in 1970, setting up the pioneering Kling Klang studio, where all of Kraftwerk’s albums were conceived and composed. By the mid-1970’s they achieved international recognition for their revolutionary “electro sound paintings” and their musical experimentation with tapes and synthesizers. The compositions also featured beautiful distant melodies, multi-lingual vocals, robotic rhythms, custom-made sequencers and vocoders, and computer-speech technology. Their use of robots, among other innovations in live performance, illustrates Kraftwerk’s belief in the respective contributions of people and machines in making music. The artists’ physical surroundings—both natural and man-made—have heavily influenced both the sonic direction and graphic identity of their eight concept albums, which draw on elements such as the noises of transit or industry to create their repetitive mechanical melodies.

In recent years, starting with their performance at the Venice Biennale in 2005, Kraftwerk has been invited into the visual arts context, festivals, and museums, most recently performing at the museum Lenbachhaus Kunstbau in Munich. In contrast to all former presentations, where Kraftwerk videos, visuals, or the “robots” were presented in a museum context but performances were staged as concerts, MoMA is realizing a groundbreaking new display: the first synthetic retrospective to present simultaneously and in one location the complex layers of music, sound, videos, sets, and performance as a total work of art in MoMA’s main atrium.

Performance Schedule
Tuesday, April 10, 8:30 p.m. Autobahn (1974)
Wednesday, April 11, 8:30 p.m. Radio-Activity (1975)
Thursday, April 12, 8:30 p.m. Trans Europe Express (1977)
Friday, April 13, 10:00 p.m. The Man-Machine (1978)
Saturday April 14, 8:30 p.m. Computer World (1981)
Sunday, April 15, 8:30 p.m. Techno Pop (1986)
Monday, April 16, 8:30 p.m. The Mix (1991)
Tuesday, April 17, 10:00 p.m. Tour de France (2003)

Kraftwerk at MoMA PS1
As part of Kraftwerk–Retrospective 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8, a presentation of Kraftwerk’s historical audio and visual material will be on view in the new MoMA PS1 Performance Dome at MoMA PS1, from April 10-May 14, 2012.

We have no further details about the availability of this album at this time.

The Society’s pranking served as inspiration for the activities of Project Mayhem in Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club. The exhibition transforms the museums main gallery into a wildly immersive environment filled with photos, graphics, video, props, costumes, and original art from Society events. The exhibition runs through April 15 and admission is FREE!

The Feburary 4th opening will be celebrated with a block party featuring carnivalesque music and performance from artists associated with the Society including Fancy Space People (featuring Don Bolles and Nora Keys) art cars, competing protestors, dangerous stunts, an on-call ambulance, and other surprises.

Check here for all info regarding the exhibtion, block party and preview screening of the documentary “Into the Zone: The Story of the Cacophony Society”.

‘First Serve’ is many things, but at its heart it is the story of two young boys from Queens, New York with big dreams and larger rhymes. Two friends, Deen Whitter (aka Plug 2) and Jacob ‘Pop Life’ Barrow (aka Plug 1), friends from seventh grade, are by their own admission, “different, but the differences seem to complement everything we do.” Their name ‘First Serve’ comes from their motto, “First come, First Serve, get what you deserve.”

Due to hit the streets 2nd April 2012, the ‘First Serve’ album tells the story of two dreamers in a basement struggling to start their musical career, the battles they face, through to the point that they eventually release their debut single, ‘make it big’ and their hard work and persistence finally pays off. As we know that is rarely where the story ends and the story of ‘First Serve’ is no different. Taking place in an animated world that could have been imagined by Hawley Pratt on Magic Mushrooms, the high spirited and often hilarious journey is pure old school hip-hop; skits, disco, beats, funk, quips, burns and hustlin’ all included. Ain’t nothing gonna stop them now.

Mixtape: soundcloud.com/firstserve/first-serve-mix-tape-1
Website: wearefirstserve.tumblr.com

Tony Duran was born on October 14, 1945 in Los Angeles, CA to Leonard Lincoln Duran and Henrietta Adeline (Penny) Duran. He graduated from Garfield High School in 1963 in East Los Angeles. Tony then joined the U.S. Army in 1965 and served until 1967 when he was honorably discharged. He was an accomplished musician having contributed slide guitar and vocals to Frank Zappa’s albums “Waka/Jawaka”, “The Grand Wazoo” and “Apostrophe”.

He toured with Zappa’s Grand Wazoo Orchestra, September 1972, and with the Petit Wazoo Orchestra (or the Mothers, as they were called at that time) from October until December 1972. He can also be heard on “Joe’s Domage” and “Imaginary Diseases”. Tony was the lead guitarist of the band Ruben and the Jets, whose first album was produced by Frank Zappa in 1973. Tony had a passion for music and was a dedicated husband, father, grandfather and brother. He recently retired from the Veteran’s Administration Hospital in Temple, Texas after 34 years of faithful service.

The 10th anniversary of Weirdomusic.com will be celebrated on March 3 in our hometown Heerlen [buy tickets], but for all you fine folks who can’t attend we have something else in mind: why don’t you celebrate with us from your own cosy homes?

Here’s the idea: send us your birthday wishes in a video message and we’ll publish them here and on YouTube! Talk, sing or dance, whatever you like, as long as you mention Weirdomusic.com.

Some rules:
- Your clip should be no longer than two minutes.
- Please don’t use any exotic file formats. Use something we know, like mpeg or wmv.
- Please use a service like Sendspace.com or WeTransfer.com to send your video.
- The e-mail addres to use is marco@weirdomusic.com.
- Don’t forget to send us your name and contact details. We may want to give away some presents.
- We will publish your video on Weirdomusic.com, our YouTUbe Channel and our Facebook page.

So, hook up your (web)cam and get to work! Questions? Just drop us a line.

This manifestation of the Sun Ra Arkestra under the direction of Marshall Allen at its Earth base of Philadelphia will be supported by a live radio interview of Marshall Allen and Danny Ray Thompson at 10:00 pm EST on Friday, January 20, 2012 conducted by J. Michael Harrison, host of “The Bridge” on WRTI (Philadelphia’s jazz radio station at 90.1 FM) which will stream live on the Internet at www.wrti.org.

For additional information about the Sun Ra Arkestra under the direction of Marshall Allen, please visit www.thesunraarkestra.com.

Tom Ardolino (born January 12, 1955) was a rock drummer best known as a member of NRBQ. Ardolino was initially a fan of the band, and began corresponding and trading tapes with keyboardist and co-founder Terry Adams. On one occasion, original NRBQ drummer Tom Staley did not feel up to returning for an encore, so Adams invited Ardolino to fill in. He performed well enough that when Staley decided to leave the band in 1974, his bandmates agreed that Ardolino was the natural choice as his successor.

Ardolino remained in the lineup until the band went on hiatus in 2004, returning for occasional reunion performances, and lending his support when Adams decided to reclaim the NRBQ name for his new band in 2011. While lead vocals were generally performed by other members of NRBQ, live shows often included a moment where Ardolino would come forward, take the spotlight, and sing, either with a karaoke backing track or with one of the other band members drumming.

Tom Ardolino’s solo album “Unknown Brain” was released by Bumble Bee Records, Japan, on CD in 2004 and in the USA on Mystra Records on vinyl LP, it consists mostly of basement recordings made in 1971-72. The cover states “WARNING: If out-of-tuneness bothers you, do not listen.”

Ardolino was also an avid collector of song poems, having contributed to the “MSR Madness” series of compilations.

Motorhead Sherwood appeared on all the albums of the original Mothers line-up and the posthumous releases “Burnt Weeny Sandwich” and “Weasels Ripped My Flesh”, as well as a number of subsequent Zappa albums. He also appeared in the films “200 Motels”, “Video from Hell” and “Uncle Meat”.

Sherwood and Zappa met in high school in 1956. Sherwood was in a class with Zappa’s brother Bobby, who introduced the two after learning that Sherwood was a collector of blues records. Sherwood sat in with Zappa’s first band, R&B group The Black-Outs. In 1964 Sherwood and Zappa lived in Zappa’s Studio Z in Cucamonga for some time.

Sherwood first joined The Mothers of Invention as a roadie and equipment manager, also contributing sound effects (using both his voice and saxophone) to their first album, 1966′s “Freak Out”. He became a full member around the time of the group’s experimental residence at the Garrick Theater in 1967.

The nickname “Motorhead” was coined by fellow Mothers member Ray Collins, who observed that Sherwood always seemed to be working on repairing cars, trucks or motorcycles, and joked that “it sounds like you’ve got a little motor in your head”. In later years, Sherwood contributed to various projects alongside fellow Mothers alumni, including records by The Grandmothers, Mothers keyboardist Don Preston, Ant-Bee and Sandro Oliva.

Jim “Motorhead” Sherwood was 69 years old.