FEBRUARY 20 2020
NOISE N’ ROSES 07 … equally noisy and rosy! The underground live experimental music/audio crew, Lucia, Rozi, and Pete, AKA Noise n’ Roses, held their 7th event at our space — shit ton of people, sweet sounds, good vibes = great success! 👍 They also commissioned yours truly to do a little sumthin. Not naturally being a live music maker I freaked out a bit on what to do. Ironically I came up with an idea really quickly, that involved basically no set up, and was the easiest thing I’ve ever performed. Ironic coz usually my stuff takes years to construct, is tech and prep and expense heavy, and very complicated to perform, yet this piece actually seemed to get the best feedback of anything I’ve done!!! Is someone trying to tell me something …?
For video of my performance, UNTITLED AUDIO WORK or I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT I WAS GONNA DO UNTIL I WAS DOING IT, click on any photo or go here:
https://www.stjohnmckay.com/untitled-audio-work?p
For work of other 2 dope performers:
⫸ Zuriel Waise - https://soundcloud.com/zuriel-waise
⫸ Roland Németh - https://soundcloud.com/rolandnemeth
Thank you Lucia, Rozi, Péter, and Anna!!!!
https://www.facebook.com/Noise-n-Roses-821837091519381/
AFTERBIRTH
live documentary
https://www.stjohnmckay.com/afterbirth?p
Friday 14th & Saturday 15th September, 2018
The Studio @ DCTV
VIDEO COMING SOON
Here’s what people said:
“It was provocative, extremely upsetting, and deeply vulnerable — and it was GOOD ART.”
"I think he pulled it off, but maybe we wish he hadn’t."
“Premature, poorly executed, and selfish. He subjected the audience to cruelty, it was fucked up.”
“(Next day) I’m still traumatized and can’t stop replaying it in my head. It was what I was hoping for, though after the show I ate nearly a pint of ice cream.”
“I felt like I was part of a social experiment to test who would intervene and stop the show.”
"I wouldn’t say this if I didn’t mean it, and I don’t say this to people, but I think he may be an artistic genius.”
“I went outside with my friends to discuss whether we should ‘pull the plug on this guy’, like literally pull the power and shut this down.”
“Brave very, very … brave.”
Why did I put myself through this? Was it a good or a bad thing I did, making so many people feel that terribly — enough that a good third of the audience walked out? Well, at least money was raised! $466 raised for the LEFSA organization, helping NYC homeless, many people victims of domestic abuse, and must be noted: a third of NYC homeless are children.
Stupid super psyched to be putting on a one manish multi media kinda thing, 'CUCK', at Triskelion Arts (say it fast three times ... actually, say it slowly once) in FEBRUARY 2018. Stay tuned!
GUESS I WENT AHEAD AND WAS IN VARIETY ... OH, AND GOT A 5G ALUMNI FILMMAKER GRANT FROM ROOFTOP FILMS!!
Now I'm officially a member of The Sunview Luncheonette Collective I have found myself organizer of the Twin peaks Sunday night sessions. Bless the lord.
TWIN PEAKS SUNDAYS
Sweet night at Sunview Twin Peaks Dinerluncheonette Sunday. Pie and coffee had (but mostly beer) by the many people watching people watch a glass box that killed them. Looking like it's gonna be an every Sunday thing ... All welcome. Owls what they seem.
DARKS OF HEARTNESS, great success! Thanks to all who made the day that I wish was every day.
SINSMITH RADIO: NEW JIM TRILOGY UP AND RUNNING
Parts 2 and 3 of New Jim Trilogy plus some extra for those who like it raw.
SINSMITH RADIO: REMEMBER, THEY LIVE (New Jim, part 2)
I talk about losing a friend because of his race and the fallout; an African artist talks about blackness; John Carpenter's movie 'They Live' and Michael Jackson's song 'Remember the Time' set the scene.
SINSMITH RADIO: RE-ENTER THE 36 CHAMBERS (New Jim, Part 3)
A black friend and I (a whitey) exchange our experiences with the police; a doctor talks about race; hip hop piano tutorials; four white New Zealand men recreate a skit from the first Wu Tang Clan album.
p.s. RIP Phife Dawg
SINSMITH RADIO: BLACK AMERICA, THE RANT (New Jim, xtra)
Unedited raw recording of an angry black woman on the subway spitting truth about the the black American experience to her fellow passengers, all of whom stared dead straight ahead. Excerpt was used in 'REMEMBER, THEY LIVE (New Jim, part 2)'
MY BUDDY KICKS ASS IN SOLO SHOW WITH HELP FROM WORLD'S MOST HANDSOME VIDEO OPERATOR
Saturday Feb 20, Kristin Arnesen does her first solo show at South Street Seaport, I work her video, fish fly out of the sea, the dead walk, lightening comes from the ground.
http://www.kristinarnesen.com/artwork/
https://violettransfixion.bandcamp.com/
POPPY KICKS ASS WHILE SITTING ON ROOF
Buddy Poppy Jackson at Spill Festival. Click on photo for link.
How do you spend xmas eve? on your knees acting like a dog, of course!
MY MY, a performance exploring the idea of possession, as well as attempting to exorcise my own possession. Xmas Eve 2015. Click on photo for video of performance.
how do you spend your birthday? under a blanket on a city street, of course!
For my birthday December 9th (sweet 16) I did not want to have a drink in a Brooklyn bar, in fact I'd rather kill myself. I need to do productive or interesting stuff. So, the day went thus: saying a final goodbye to my girlfriend in the morning (who has just dumped me but gave me one last birthday night eve of joy), doing my first public (non gallery) performance in the afternoon, doing my second only ever stand up open mic at night, and feeding my roommate's cat when I got home. I also threw my new pack of cigarettes in the garbage this morning. Click photo for video.
SINSMITH RADIO ON RADIO FREE BROOKLYN CHANGES TIME
Sinsmith Radio on Radio Free Brooklyn is now fresh and stinking every Friday at 7pm, the time for that first drink on the way to to oblivion after working all week for the man!
Also rebroadcast for 2 weeks on Monday and Wednesday at 2:30pm to get you through those hard times, you poor bastards.
New sinsmith radio EPISODE, PART ONE OF TRILOGY 'NEW JIM', below
This is the first in a new trilogy on the black American experience, as told by a white New Zealander ...
CENTRAL PARK 5 AND A HALF (NEW JIM, part1)
A friend talks about an old boyfriend against the ambience of my Bronx neighborhood at 4am; seven year olds and former inmates talk about slavery; Black Lives Matter marchers do their thing with a xylaphone.
FEATURING: Josie Hunter, Jada Hunter, Makeba Hunter, St. John McKay.
MUSIC: 14th Street Xylaphone Action
New sinsmith radio trilogy, 'crapping on culture', below
Three new pieces in the Sinsmith Radio library, having been worked on throughout the year. Sinsmith radio has evolved to the point where I have come to some key restrictions on their creation, namely:
- I want to do trilogies on one theme.
- Preferably one show is pretty much all me narrating, one show is half shared with others, and one is pretty much all someone else' story.
- Music and sound effects must not be merely to support the talking, making it more 'pleasant', rather they must almost act as characters in themselves, and have a definite relevance to the theme of the piece.
- If possible, the subject matter of the piece dictates the structure of the piece, e.g. If the show is about, say, a protest rally, the structure of the show will mimic the structure of a protest rally (repetition, ebb and flow, etc.)
This means, of course, the very short pieces (14-20 minutes) are extremely laborious to make, each taking hundreds of hours of work. So ... enjoy!!!
NEW SINSMITH RADIO:
EAT PRAY DIE (CRAPPING ON CULTURE, part 1)
The story of deciding to drink, drug and fuck to death in Thailand, and a month of practice round the world.
FEATURING: Adam, Anastasia Avolyrk, Mary Fischer & nieces, Jim, Josie & Jaeda Hunter, Xinyi Lin (Leila), Karolina May, Claudia Schriersky, St. John McKay Smith.
MUSIC: Devil Music Ensemble live score of Red Heroine
NEW SINSMITH RADIO:
TAKE MY GOD, PLEASE (CRAPPING ON CULTURE, part 2)
Stand up comedy taking on religion, intersected by memories of Catholic school days.
FEATURING: Jessica Kingdon, Karolina May, Chris McAlpine, Julie Praetzel, Joe Quartararo, Billy Quigley, St. John McKay Smith.
MUSIC: God.
NEW SINSMITH RADIO:
FIGHT THE WHITE POWER (CRAPPING ON CULTURE, part 3)
My friend Nils talks about a protest rally in London we went to that turned into a riot. It's a riot.
FEATURING: Jolyon Burford, Nils Moojen, St. John McKay Smith
GUEST STARRING: Skrewdriver's Ian Stuart, Public Enemy's Chuck D, Flavor Flave, and Professor Griff
MUSIC: Public Enemy, Fight the Power; Skrewdriver, White Power
SFX: Fight the Power march; Battle of Waterloo protest
SINSMITH RADIO NOW ON RADIO FREE BROOKLYN!
EVERY SECOND TUEDSAY 10-10:30PM
Sinsmith Radio is on super sweet community internet radio station Radio Free Brooklyn. Super sweet.
http://radiofreebrooklyn.com/show/sinsmith-radio/
SINSMITH RADIO NOW IN THE I-TUNES
Sinsmith Radio now an absolutely goddamn official thing on the i-tunes amongst thousands of dudes and ladies talking about sports and how to be good at business ventures and comedy and stuff. This is guaranteed to clean the wax out of your ears way better than any q-tip or finger.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/sinsmith-radio/id947276801?mt=2
Check out the page on the website:
https://stjohn-smith-vgkj.squarespace.com/asinsmith-mobile-audio/
NEW SINSMITH RADIO:
'2000 YEARS, 21 DAYS'
What is physical attractiveness if not a fabrication of the brain that we've all agreed upon based in totally arbitrary measurements? and other such pickles as unprotected sex and physical ailments.
FEATURING: Jaymeen Cedeno, Rita Dottir, Carmen Gonzalez, Piril Gunduz, Jessica Kingdon, Karolina May, St. John McKay, Eva Sandler, Crescentia Woodward, Ken Woodward, plus MYSTERY GUEST SPEAKER.
MUSIC: Subway Irene Cara
NEW SINSMITH RADIO:
MANKO vs THE WILLIE POLICE
Pussy artist talks about her work, self proclaimed pussy magnet talks about his work, arrestable willie conversation with my son, heart warming love conversation with my guru.
FEATURING: Malaki Cadell-McKay, Graham Galatro, BigDick Guy, Megumi Igarashi, Xinyl Lin (Leila), Cristina Hernandez, St. John McKay
MUSIC: Metropolitan G Station Sax
NEW SINSMITH RADIO:
'SUPERMAN DAT BOSS ASS BITCH'
"Smash the DJ over the head with a bottle and set fire to the bar". Feminism and Soulja Boy, Nicki Minaj and tales of young womanhood.
FEATURING: Karolina May, St. John McKay, Jon Sargent, Keenya Scott, Crescentia Woodward
MUSIC: Woodward brother on piano
PILLOW TALK
Interactive Installation Performance
THE HOLLOWS GALLERY, DECEMBER 9TH, 2014
2nd Interactive Installation Performance thingy at The Hollows Gallery December 9th.
That's me in the corner doing it whilst pouring a Guinness.
AUDIO TOILET
Interactive Installation Performance
THE HOLLOWS GALLERY, OCTOBER 1ST 2014
My first customer for Audio Toilet. She was rad.
SHAME
Having a chat after my film 'Shame' was shown at Video Art Net Experimental Film Festival (they really need a longer name). End of September year of our lord two thousand fourteen
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4TH, 2014
Today, after confirming my place on a ten day silent Buddhist retreat in the country, I stole:
14oz of Ciao Bella Dark Cocoa Sorbetta
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15TH, 2014
Today I stole:
1 can of tuna
1 small block of Dutch light cheese
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15TH, 2014
Met this person from London going through a box of clothes outside my stoop. There were some good clothes.
I knew her for about 60 hours before she got on a bus to Chicago. Took some pics at dawn of her in a red dress (below pic).
Her performance art (top pic) puts any of my 'brave' work to shame, but I was happy to show her my Shame. It felt like a special run in. She's left me full of fire up my ass to do things.
You entered her place through a hole in the door.
She's at: http://poppyjackson.co.uk/
Article for below performance: http://incidentmag.com/2014/09/16/reflections-on-win-a-performance-by-poppy-jackson/
AUDI O SHO AT THE HOLLO WS
So, I gots an audio / pofomance / introactive show as below, yo. No jo.
www.hollows.info
www.facebook.com/thehollowspace
'SHAME' AT VIDEOART.NET EXPERIMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL
Thursday 2nd October.
Program B: 9:15 - 11:00 p.m. Screening + Q&A
Description: "Beauty, Sex, and Shame," a program depicting the intersections of beauty, shame, and sexual representation as expressed through art, fashion, and music video.
I think I may have single handedly got them to post this:
Warning: This program contain mature content and not be suitable for children.