Love During Wartime

April 3, 2019 Ben Sisto

Bone Zone saluting their crying cop during LDWT 2.

Love During Wartime was a party that happened twice. I booked a dozen or so DJs, some VJs, some hosts and some community partners who—in addition to performin—formed a voting panel for an arts grant. Guests paid $10 at the door to get in and, on their way out were given an application for $1000 in funding (the party’s net profits). Each party took place at The Paradise in Boston, and we held one grant-issuing micro-party at Great Scott. These were a lot of fun.

LDWT 1, Lissa Rivera, 2006

Grant Winner Lissa Rivera, who needed funds to continue her photography career, and she went on to great things.
Attendance: 400+. Named one of the year’s top 10 parties by the Boston Phoenix.

LDWT 2, Jeff Czekaj, 2008

DJs: Lone Wolf (Gold Chain) with Bone Zone (live), Etan (Basstown), Claude Money (Soul Touch), Dan Shea (Bodies of Water Arts & Crafts), Matt Sisto (Lemmingtrail), Chris Devlin (Spank Rock), Joseph Colbourne (Color), Baltimoroder (Hearthrob), Dafna / Stella (Gross Anatomy), Mark Pearson (Neptune). Video: Morgan (Hearthrob), Matt Boch (Dust Bunnies), Robotkid, Sue (U.V. Protection).

Grant Winner: Jeff Czekaj, who wanted to turn a bus into a mobile DIY venue.
Photos: Ben Sisto, Kris Ireland

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LDTW 2 Audio:

When digging through some archives I found these MP3s which, appear to be a line-out from the DJ booth. Thanks to whoever recorded these and got them to me; I don’t have any memory of doing it myself. Also included here is a LDWT promo mix that Chris Devlin made to hype the party.

LDWT 2 Grant Issuing Party: 2008

DJs: Certified Bananas, Lonewolf, Mistaker
Video: Robotkid

Land of Metal

March 29, 2019 Ben Sisto

Taking place on Tuesday May 10th 2016, LAND of METAL was an evening celebrating the art of local metal maniac Michael Pellew and DUMBO’s LAND Studio & Gallery —The League Education & Treatment Center's unique nonprofit day habilitation program that teaches life skills to adult artists from across the neurological spectrum. On the eve of Pellew’s birthday, LAND of Metal provided one truly Awesome dude with his first concert —in one of New York City's best venues, Saint Vitus.

Natur, defenders of true metal, melted our faces off with a special live set and DJs Brandon Stosuy (Pitchfork) with Kim Kelly, journalist Fred Pessaro, and JD Samson (Le Tigre, Men) DJ’d punk & metal classics throughout the night. Or raffle was hosted by special guest Laina Dawes and the whole night was presented in cooperation with LAND’s Sophia Cosmadopoulos and Matt Murphey, LAND of METAL was produced by Ben Sisto and Duncan Rich.

^ Special thanks to Matt from Vitus getting Michael’s art to Scott from Anthrax a few days later!

About Michael Pellew

Pellew's drawings and sculptures are humorous ruminations on pop culture. His playful line quality and imaginative cultural observations are simple and succinct. With one pass of his hand he can depict joy, humor and clever character. His subject matter is NYC trains and buses, fashion design, “punk funk freaks from the East Village and around the Tri-State area”, and pop portraits of favorite singers and performers. His characters capture a direct sense of style and spontaneity. Pellew’s studio practice is based out of LAND Gallery, a program for artists with dual diagnosis (developmental disabilities and mental illness).

About LAND

LAND studio is a unique nonprofit day habilitation program that teaches life skills through the modality of art. LAND (League Artists Natural Design) was founded in 2005 by the League Education and Treatment Center (LETC) and serves as both studio and gallery for 16 adult artists with developmental disabilities. At LAND, artists develop their skills in a nurturing environment, while their work is marketed to the community in a vibrant and inclusive manner. LAND artists work with painters, sculptors, fiber artists, animators, designers and others who value creative collaboration. LETC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and internationally recognized agency for evaluation, treatment and education of children and adults with disabilities.

About Natur

Joey Baloney, The Mexicutioner, Dino Destroyer and Tooth are on a mission to destroy false metal. Worshiping at the altar of Seventies and Eighties heavy metal gods, Natur combine the dynamic riffing of early Mercyful Fate, epic arrangements of Seventies-Judas Priest and Manilla Road, the ingenious and quirky storytelling of Roky Erickson and the attitude of classic Motörhead.

About Our DJs & Hosts

Laina Dawes (raffle host) is the author of What Are You Doing Here? A Black Woman’s Life and Liberation in Heavy Metal (Bazillion Points, 2012). A music and cultural journalist, her writings can be found on Cuepoint / Medium, Mtv Iggy, Refinery29, Spin, Wondering Sound, Decibel and other print and online publications.

JD Samson (DJ set) is one of NYC’s most enduring creative forces. Since first capturing the public’s attention in the early 2000’s as a member of the pioneering feminist electro-pop band Le Tigre, Samson has gone on to work in almost every conceivable medium and with partners ranging from Ursula Mayer to Pussy Riot. Her constant dedication to posi vibes has lead to her recurring parties —Pat and Scissor Sundays— being beloved New York City institutions.

Brandon Stosuy (DJ set) is the Director of Editorial Operations at Pitchfork. He is a music curator at MoMA PS1 and the Broad Museum in Los Angeles, and curates Pitchfork's showcases and events, along with the annual Basilica Soundscape Festival in Hudson and the ongoing Tinnitus Music Series. He has a children's book, Music is...., forthcoming on Simon & Schuster in October 2016. He lives in Brooklyn, with his wife and two children.

Fred Pessaro (DJ set) has been an Editor in Chief, writer, DJ, and photographer in various incarnations for as far back as he cares to remember. You've seen his work via NPR, The New York Times, Decibel, Vice, Terrorizer, Brooklynvegan, Time Out, Metalsucks, Invisible Oranges, East Village Radio, Village Voice, Fuse, and more. You have definitely seen him at a lot of shows.

Kim Kelly's (Noisey) writing on heavy metal and surrounding cultures has appeared in the guardian, The Atlantic, Rolling Stone, NPR, The Daily Telegraph, The Chicago Reader, Pitchfork, Kerrang, The Village Voice, Fader, Spin, The Quietus, The Wire, and too many others to count. She's worked as a publicist, a promoter, a touring merchandiser, and a museum docent. She lives for black metal, black tea, and Black Sabbath.

About Saint Vitus

Greenpoint’s Saint Vitus features a big, beautiful black mahogany bar tailormade by and for neighborhood bartenders / goers with an affinity for punk, metal, hardcore, and all things Rock. One of the most welcome additions to the Brooklyn music community in recent memory, the space was masterfully designed and built by Matthew Maddy and regularly hosts the most exciting and relevant shows in town.

Linger On

March 26, 2019 Ben Sisto

Ace Hotel Downtown Los Angeles, Room 1006
929 South Broadway, Los Angeles CA 90015
Tuesday January 20, 2015

Pale Blue Dot is a photograph of planet Earth taken on February 14, 1990. One night while staying at Ace Hotel in LA for work, I was thinking about it and decided to turn my room into a small one-day only exhibition in honor of the photo. I did so using only materials found in-room, with two exceptions. One, the leaf was actually found outside my room on the window ledge of the 10th floor. Second, I borrowed a projector from the hotel to shoot onto the window curtain. Two aspects of the installation are not documented here: a sound recording of the hotel room’s key-lock “beep” slowed down 400% and the room temperature, which was set to be very cold.

Works in this show:

Leaf
Ribbon
Can in the Mirror
Epoch of Recombination
Interior Lighght
Sarsen PDX
Gemini is in the House
Helmy in Panama

And a few untitled things

Llandsscapes

March 26, 2019 Ben Sisto

Second Life Screenshots, roughly 2004