I studied the rules, I sort of knew what to expect as far as the general activity, however, what I wasn’t expecting was about 600 people cheering on the Bang Bang Betties and the Mafia Mollies tonight at the Reno Roller Girls’ new location in the old Scolari’s market off of Lakeside. The snow was coming down hard, with about three inches on the ground by the time we left.
The crowd was a sheer mixture, a real community event. Generally speaking it was late twenty-somethings and early thirty-somethings (I think I even saw what happens when some of the has-been music scene in Reno grows up and has kids…), with the crowd (probably legally) split down the center: Drinking side and non-drinking side. The plain walls of the interior and stark fluorescent lighting overhead could have been a real mood-killer if it weren’t for the sheer focus of all 600 people and the two Reno roller derby teams bopping it out for a pretty gosh-darn good time.
The Bang Bang Betties barely eeked out a victory against the Mafia Mollies, with a score of 60 to 58.
There was food, there was drink, there was plenty of girl-on-girl fights, bashing, pushing, anger, joy and competition throughout the almost two-hour bout. Funny enough, there was one young referee that seemed to get taken out by the girls as much as they were taking out each other. And let me tell you, the sound of bare thighs on that painted oval track is NOT a pretty thing! The oohs and ahhs of the crowd as girls faked each other out and sent the aggressor onto her chin, the coordinated blocks and the spills and chills had everyone’s devoted attention!
I think once it is established where pre-sale tickets will be available (I believe their location at 3380 Lakeside Court will have them), the Reno Roller Girls will be hosting some pretty good fun at $5 (presale) per ticket, because even with my wonderment of what to expect, the mix of families cheering on teams and individuals and people there for a good time made for a decent Saturday evening, one I plan on doing again in the future to get my Saturday night started off properly.
For a list of future bouts and to get more information, mosey on over here:
Reno is lucky to have something like this, and I don’t think you’ll be disappointed if you stop by for a bout sometime.
I’d like to extend a big THANK YOU to Trish of the Reno Roller Girls that invited God Hates Reno, who is out taking a break for a while, but is working hard to make sure the group and new location are getting off to a good start. To all the girls, thanks for the hard work and good time!
The Electric Circus was dreamed up by Johnny Harpo, of the illustrious Reno band, Groovebox Replica, back when he was playing as, “King Cloud Harpo.” Bands, people and sounds change, this is a fact. The newest inception of sound coming from Johnny and Wes Harpo (dynamic brother duo) is The Madorians.
We had the honor of playing with these boys at the Urban Jungle as In Space With Lasers, and you’re going to like their psychedelic, somewhat early-metal, danceable sound. They’re not just bullshitting you with cover songs and crappy 1970’s guitar licks, they really do put a whole new edge on rock and roll of yesteryear while still keeping it relevant and real for us here in the futureworld of 2009.
Joining them will be a whole host of musical genre attack, from bands like the funky “What It Do,” alt-rockin’ with “The I Knows,” pirate stepping with “The Deadly Gallows,” cheery times with “Valmar Place,” and many more! There will be ample artwork, luminous lightwork, and 360′ degrees of interesting times. Since this is an all-ages gig, everyone will be able to participate.
Click on the “We Recommendeth,” icon there off to the left for location and cost details!
These RN&R awards are something people really get into. I get messages all the time, “Oh Em Gee, vote for me!!!” and suddenly there’s some solace because someone “made it in.”
We didn’t do a goddamn thing. Nothing. Perhaps we do enough by just making sure we post regularly, don’t let our filthy, crazy minds go too out of control, we cover our fair town with our own senses, and well, golly, we just have a damn good time. Whatever the case, congrats to everyone! We didn’t expect anyone to notice us. Honestly. We don’t do this for awards.
I’ll keep this short and sweet, but honestly, thank you, Reno. Humbled we are, from a little stupid website that just blocked the efforts of some crazies, we apparently turned into something worthwhile.
A little pat on the back once in a while is very okay with us!
God may hate Reno, but apparently you all disagree. A fine choice.
Keep it Reno, Reno. We will, too.
PS… if you want to support and show off your spirit for GHR and another Reno Celebrity, Phillip Brown, we have shirts available (plus others)… just send a message! GHR T-SHIRTS!
I’m not sure what buffoon came up with that name, but how dreadfully Reno. Great idea though, right?
This time of year it goes into the “GHR slowing season.” Where I find a few less things to write about, but don’t fret, dearies, it isn’t all bad. That and I have gotten myself involved with some cool projects and events. This will be the first sort-of GHR official party. Mostly just for fun though. You do like fun, don’t you?
On October 9th, 2009 the Tree House Lounge at 555 E. 4th St. (…in the alley behind Club Underground…) will begin a little shindig starting at 9pm that should be a real joy to you nostalgic and well-dressed elite. Dress up in your finest furs, your swankiest shoes, your prettiest hats, your dapper coats, and your suave hats, because we’re going to party like it’s 1938.
Ah, the good ol’ days, when music was churned out of scratchy radios and crackling record players. Discs of clay composite contained the very finest musicians of their day, none of this silly MP3 stuff to worry about. Although you wouldn’t worry about a power surge erasing it all, if you dropped it (or served food on it by drunken mistake) you’d probably do just about the same.
The silver screen… the days of yore… back when it took an act of god just to match up the sound and the film, because they did that separately back in the day, you know. No, it isn’t magic, it’s a lack of technology. The one bit computer (running at 1hz), bubble fenders, Thompson machine guns, pipes, cigars, martinis, ah, that was the life.
For a quick moment, we can pretend we know what it was like. That’s why Hecka Deco should be a lot of fun. Vintage drink specials, live DJ and movies playing, bring your best! $3 to get in and should run until 1AM when you can finally loosen that tie and listen to a neat DJ, Akasha (George) do his thing up on stage.
See you all there, dollfaces. *tips hat*
Chad Sorg is not a fish. He could be, but to my knowledge, he’s as simian as the rest of us. Which is okay, because I’ve seen what happens when fish and paint meet. That however, is a different artist story.
Chad Sorg is someone whom I’ve been getting to know recently. Not for lack of contact, because I’ve brushed elbows with the guy at least a dozen or more times in the last couple of years. He’s part of the Nada Dada events like the “Nada Motel,” that takes place every June at the El Cortez Hotel. Quite an event if you haven’t gone.
Regardless, Chad is selling his art. Which is a good thing, because his art is excellent, reasonably priced, and all of us need to make a living. Making art is time-consuming and can be expensive through materials and workspace.
I’ve always said, “Art: Bridging the Gap Between Rich And Poor.” And this is true. It actually is a perfect symbiosis, and has been this way for a long time in human history. The scribe, the painter, the sculptor…
…this might lead you to believe Chad is selling his art for disgusting amounts of money. This isn’t the case. Considering the quality, robustness and personality his artwork has, it’s a real “bang for your buck,” in an art-collector’s sense.
Reno is not “ArTown.” I actually dislike a lot of aspects of that whole… “ArTown,” thing. It’s usually limited to a who’s who of artists, gigantic sheep-like crowds crawling from one wine vendor to the next, and it becomes an expensive kitsch fest or some pseudo-educational family gathering. None of which, if you ask me, is a really good place to go see artwork. This is why the Nevada Museum of Art is a quiet, well-lit place of wandering rather than a central gathering for a lot of people, and why there isn’t an obligatory playground on every floor. If mass gatherings, wine and “festival surroundings,” were great places to see art, museums would probably change their general operations.
Reno is an “art town,” however. There are a LOT of artists here. That is part of the reason why I’ve been critical of ArTown as an event, because it is a small cross-section of what this town is capable of. Reno is not solely a hand-picked place of art, with pleasant guitar music, $10,000 six-foot abstracts and expressive dance troupes. There’s people making art out of garbage, music with $60 guitars and old trumpets, and dance performed by men, resembling women, that they themselves become art– called drag.
God Hates Reno likes the gritty, unheard-of artists out there, because for the price of tolerating generic maws of people and herding along like wine-thirsty cows, you can get other kinds of art elsewhere.
Enter Chad Sorg. He may not see art in this town the way I do, because he’s a businessman as much as he’s an artist, and I have some pretty critical personal views that I alone have for this town. Which is okay, because this creates discussion and thought. Chad Sorg is here to make art, and to make a living. Well-spoken and wonderfully charming, he’s not your typical artist. Many people think of artists as spacey, strange, off-key, and Chad Sorg could be your lawyer, your banker or your boss. He’s a curious, calm and intelligent man. The most remarkable thing about him, as anyone new or old to his existence might tell you, the guy is a constant stream of inspiration. He’s always doing something. Always seeming to invent, reinvent, and re-reinvent.
So here he is, selling his art. He kind of has to, because he has a lot of it. Down in the west wing of the Bank of America building downtown on the ground level, there he is, just as he says… in a fishbowl. Street-level views from inside a vast, vacant bank, his work sprawls sparsely across a seemingly corporate landscape. I can’t think of a better way for someone like him to show off his work. From the entry to the back bank vault, there are mostly paintings and a few pieces of sculpture. He doesn’t give away his art for free…
…but his prices are reasonable to anyone wanting pictures. Speaking of Free Sorgs, I even saw the back room where the pieces are kept. He has his own rules and regulations on how someone can get a piece of Sorg for free. It really isn’t free, per-se, but it might not involve money. From what I understand, those willing to go through the trouble to want a piece of art they will love kind of “prove,” themselves worthy for having art that not only they will love, but the artist continues to love as well.
An artist that loves his own work isn’t self-absorbed. I’ve seen the pale, skinny artist that scoffs at his own work for the sake of its own deprecation. I guess “attitude,” is part of the sale, something about buying a piece of the artist, blah blah blah. This isn’t an art appreciation class.
How I appreciate art is how the artist clearly remembers each piece, each song, each moment in creating them. There’s a story and an idea behind them. Sure, you might have a different take on it, that’s okay too, but when it comes down to it, it’s about love. You have to love the art, as an artist and a collector. Chad Sorg likes his buyers and recipients of Free Sorgs to do just this. That is proper art justice.
Chad Sorg is a man about town, so feel free to contact him in myriad ways if you would like to talk with him further:
…or swing by the ground level of the B of A building downtown (that’s 50 W Liberty Street to the laymen), he’s been there hangin’ out as of late. Unless he tells me otherwise, he’s been there Monday through Friday.
That’s right, I received some very serious news from some very funny people:
Starting September 3, 2009, Empire Improv’s house team, Hostel Greetings, will perform live improv comedy every Thursday Night at West St. Market at 8:00pm.After over a year of performing in Reno, Hostel Greetings has a weekly show.
Based on a single audience suggestion (a location, phrase, song lyric, or any word at all) the brave souls that make up Hostel Greetings create full-length, completely improvised plays right before your eyes. No rehearsals, no preparations, and no second chances; the performers play with characters, situations, and themes that combine to produce a unique theatrical experience for both audience and performers.
Hostel Greetings features Ben Craig, Tim Dufrisne, Michael Lewis, and Doug Long.Directed by Michael Lewis.
