Schizopolitans, Reno’s best extended-set noise art available, will be teaming up with EndIf, one of Reno’s neatest IDM/Industrial  “creep noise,” on  January 22nd for a drinkers-only type show at the Underground, 555 West 4th Street.

$5 for any show is usually a good deal, this will prove to be interesting.  Get your non-mediocrity ears on and have a visit that night.

- Gay Rodeo

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Here’s a funky update on what is going on with Charter, the PEG channesl moving to for-charge teirs in the cable heirarchy of service.

December 15th has come and gone, and so have the public access channels, up for-charge where less people can use them.

The last I heard, as I was having a nice back-and-fourth with Dave Aiazzi, City Councilman at large, who was nice enough to divulge some of the efforts him and John Kadlic, Reno City Attorney, were involved in.

Keep in mind, this is my latency in getting this information up, NOT anyone else.  You can flog me at a later time.

Now, I’m no lawyer, but what this says to me, is that somebody somewhere, (The City of Reno?  Public et al?) has a case.  The reason being?  It has become a local versus state issue due to the way things are written. This is me crappily paraphrasing, so bear with me.

Aiazzi goes on in a quote in our emails that is for further thought,

“I must say that I find it interesting that we are trying to protect ALL the people in Washoe County on this not just City of Reno residents.  I ask you, where does the County commission or Sparks City Council stand on this?  We have heard nothing.”

Alas, we all have heard nothing.   The whistle-blowers, both Sparks and Reno city councils as of  11/15/08 (to my knowledge), and that probably means the slow, dull process of litigation may have begun.

I’m not sure if it is good news or not, but I have also gotten word that Charter has shed a golden hair for the benefit of folks, which includes getting a “free digital cable box for a year.”  Say what?  My questions to this were, do they charge for service at a later date?  Is there a contract?  Are there other stipulations?

An informant has told me, it is basically a free HD box for a year.  You get a lot more than PEG channels, but I’m skeptical.  Nothing is “free,” with companies like Charter, so caveat emptor.  My informant also mentioned he was a good cable customer for a while, had current bills and the like, so don’t make a fool of yourself in the process.  He also mentioned he had a nice looking cable boy, so if that is any consolation, get a free box you fools!

If this is true, bother people and see what is up.  I’m not a Charter customer per-se, as it is being taken care of with my rent and the building.  I don’t think my landlord is going to grant me a paid-for digital box, either.    Call Charter at 1-888-438-2427 if you want to give it a shot.

Lastly, our friend and colleague Mike Ward of Cheap Thrills Theatre has informed us that you can still get your Cheap Thrills for Cheap, that is, you have some kind of high-speed internet connection (somehow, someway, WEP-key where?) and the ability to stream ASF files (most Internet Explorer and Firefox should do this, if not, check out “VLC media player,” on Google…)  and head here:

http://208.96.4.228/15834-33559

Or go to www.SNCAT.org and find your way to the streaming media area.

This isn’t just good for streaming Cheap Thrills Theatre (Friday nights at midnight, by the way), you can watch ALL of SNCAT as a stream.

Is any of this getting us closer to understanding what, if anything, is going on with the public access channels of Reno and Sparks?  No, it really isn’t.  We’ve found out that there’s some interesting issues afoot, we’ve learned that at least one Reno City Councilman gives a rat’s ass about the situation (Aiazzi’s a hell of a guy, if I might impart some partiality, with risk of being accused of being a City Council lapdog again…*laughs*), Charter might have a band-aid to a situation they could have planned out much better (or avoided), and there’s a few Internet hacks available to get what you want out of SNCAT if you refuse (or can’t) be a digital teir holder through Charter Communications, Reno.

Oh yes and happy New Years and prosperity, all that happy horse shit, see you next year, blah blah blah, you get it.  Whatever.

GHR provides a comments section, use it.   Correct me.   Correct Dave.  Correct me.  I don’t care.   Use it.

GR

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The Electric Circus - A Review by Gay Rodeo and Tim Hazard.
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Personally, I had no idea what to expect. I knew there was going to be a lot of people, I knew there was going to be a lot of interesting things, but to what degree and ratio to one another I had no idea. One thing was for certain, this was an experiment, as Johnny of King Cloud Harpo (the ringmaster) so truthfully mentioned at the start of the event.

The start of the event ran on what I like to affectionately call “Punk Rock/Drag Queen,” time. Which meant, whenever the hell we pleased. Yes, I said “we.” I was playing in the band as Kyle Weiss, as well as Riot Boy, and Steve Burton. Our fourth member, Kevin +., was integral in helping get the gear form here to there, and I have to extend a personal thanks to him yet again for taking care of us, which he really did.

The event had DJ’s book ending the event both before and after, musical numbers, us playing as the “House Orchestra,” and there was a wall full of art from local artists behind us.

Overall I think the event was more than a success. As I mentioned to many people, the event was showing what Reno is capable of when it comes to a good time. The kids were awesome (by that I mean participants, a show colloquialism et al) the “vibe,” was good, everyone was having a hell of a good time. In fact, it went so damn quickly, I was craving more.

I’ll leave the third-party point of view to Tim Hazard, whom I invited on a whim to simply enjoy himself, but he was happy to get a few pictures and write up a few notes on what he thought about it. Which was good, because I was occupied (…you’ll have to excuse the lack of images due to equipment; Tim Hazard has a great little device to capture pictures but it lacks a flash… some did not come out… we apologize to all for this… if you have other pictures, we’d LOVE THEM…)

I was kind of biased on the event because I wanted it to succeed. I still feel like it was, but feel free to correct any misnomers I may have had.

Take it away, Tim Hazard:

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The first night of my Christmas Vacation was well spent at the first Electric Circus. Having been very, very busy with my new day job, I haven’t been getting out as much but having had the choice between Tiesto and Electric Circus, I think that I made the better choice between the two. I was not able to stay for the whole event since I had been up since six that morning, but I saw the first three bands and I had a good taste of it and I can’t wait until the next one. The Electric Circus was sponsored by an organization called Neon Bohemia

I got to the Studio on 4th around 7:15, having had a late dinner and saw the place was starting to fill up. I paid $3 since I’m not really the dress-up type, but I probably would have paid it anyway since I think local artists and musicians need to be supported. I went and saw what the Electric Circus had to offer. I think I walked into the middle of King Cloud Harpo’s set of great DJ music. It was a very subtile and well laid out set of songs and was a great way to open the event.

I went to the bar to get a beer and started to acclimate myself to the scene. The crowd was mixed between people in their normal clothes and those in rave/Burning Man/party attire and it was a great thing. Several young ladies were dressed as burlesque dancers with only their stockings on, one gal was dressed as a bunny, a guy had a banana suit on and there were many nattily dressed people in suits and ties and dresses too. Overall, the crowd was friendly and fun, even during the moshing during The Deadly Gallow’s set. The art on the walls had my attention all night as well- I really liked the nudes with the avocados and the other pieces on the wall behind Sick Past Nine were very cool looking.

In the middle of all this, I saw Gay Rodeo and his compatriots (Riot Boy, Steve) setting their gear up. I said hi and marveled at their great electronic equipment. What keyboards! What pedals! I knew that their set would be interesting, to say the least.

About then the set was over and the host of the Electric Circus, Johnny, began to MC the event. He introduced the first band which was Listen to the Mothership Breathe, and was very witty and funny and had a great bowler hat. Listen to the Mothership Breathe played instrumental 1960s style psychedelic rock and never sang a note. It is a three piece band of drums, bass and guitar and they have amazing chops. Each song was so played so cleanly and perfectly and yet they still make it into wonderful music. Their sound was very chill and the crowd danced and swayed to it. All the while through most of their set, several attempts to put up swirrling amoeba overlays and a Buddha projection were made, which added about 30 years to the time-warp we all experienced. About this time I ran into a couple friends and chatted and had more beers. The great music kept coming and soon, their set was done.

Then, The Deadly Gallows came up. They are a band of pirates who took to playing punk music with an accordion and a violin. The mood of the crowd changed during the first song, from mellow to mosh in about two minutes. The Gallows played exciting and fun music and had everyone dancing in the crowd. Their set was far too short but it was great. I got a copy of their demo, which is recommended, and I hope gets them more attention.

Then, Johnny introduced the house orchestra, Sick Past Nine . Their set was amazing electronic/industrial music that complemented the art behind them and the mood of the crowd that the music blended very well into the moment. Since they were set up away from the stage, I felt that the crowd’s attention was never entirely focused on them, so much so that the next band up, The I Knows, tuned and did some of their sound check as they were playing. To be able to hear what they were doing, I had to go right up to the speakers and listen. For those who know, I’d compare what I heard, very favorably to early Einstürzende Neubauten and Throbbing Gristle. Great stuff and I didn’t get to hear their second set after The I Knows since I was so tired. And I also didn’t get to hear The I Knows either, but I hope there’ll be another time for that too.

It was way too early when I left the Electric Circus but I was happy to have gone there and started my Christmas Break there. It was a great show and you should have gone there too. Next time Neon Bohemia puts on a show, be sure to stop by and see what it is and I’m sure you’ll find something to make you stay for a while.

- Tim Hazard
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Thank you again to all who made this event a good one, we’ll be pushing for a repeat of the event, bigger, better and hopefully warmer in the near future!

- Gay Rodeo

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Normally I won’t double-post certain events, but this is important to me. I’m going to be there with SickPastNine burning the ears off the masses, and sadly it is the last weekend before Christmas, AND, there’s a bunch of other events fighting us for fame, including DJ Tiesto.  That means, we have to work extra hard to get people to give us a chance.

I know I have falsely rumored about Tiesto’s death, and in fact, I don’t have anything against the guy, but when it comes down to it, if you are going, you’ll be blowing $40 on a huge show, crammed with people, it’ll be in a casino, and really, none of this money will be going to your friends and neighbors. At all. Events like this, while cool, compete with talent that you probably WON’T see again, because if you don’t go, they’ll go away. So if Tiesto really makes your skirt shake or your pants dance, fine, go, but I wanted to give you that little incentive to maybe save $36 dollars by coming to the Electric Circus, or saving $39 by simply dressing as a fun freak and enjoying yourself there.

It’ll be 12/19, Friday, at the Studio on 4th starting at 7PM. There will be a lot of local art, a lot of neat music and sound projects, lights, people and chaos to help you enjoy this chilly evening.

Please, go. if I haven’t begged enough. I can always get naked. You wouldn’t want that.

- Sir Rodeo

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Celebrate Empire Improv’s ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY SHOW. Empire’s Hostel Greetings will share the stage with special guests Doug Long, Joanna S. Dunlop and Shawna Hafen.

That’s right, Empire Improv has been around for even longer than we here at GHR have.  We hope they stick around for years to come.

January 23rd, 2008, 7:00PM, five bucks.   Studio on 4th at Valley and 4th Streets, across from the St. Vincent’s thrift store.

- GR

1 Comment

It was recently suggested that God Hates Reno define itself by hyperbole and the profane.  If not in a direct manner, more so towards honesty, grittiness and healthy praise & skepticism.

With that in mind, the sophomoric phrase for the day about Reno’s new indoor/outdoor West Street Market is, “Holy fucking shit.”

I apologize to any readers who prefer their daily intellectual blog grit less gritty, however, you’d know exactly what I was talking about if you had seen the opening and attitude of the West Street Market as I did this last Saturday.

We as residents can criticize this town a lot.  There’s perfectly good buildings sitting, rotting, boarded up along beautiful streets, projects and brainchildren of locals that get put through the gauntlet of social and legal issues, all contributing to a phenomenon known as “Reno Syndrome,” a sickness of unending symptoms of Reno’s plight that causes bad attitudes, poor decisions, destructive tendencies, boredom, taken-for-granted lifestyle, halted progress, and nonsensical policy.

Let me describe what the West Street Market has not and did not do as of this writing:

-  It did NOT spend months, or years, talking about what it was going to do, it simply “Did.”  If talk is cheap, Reno has the tendency to be one of the cheapest towns ever built.

-  It did not just “Did,” (or “do…”), it didn’t do “Did” (or “do…”) prematurely.  Many people, whether through anticipation or fallout of contributions, will open a project half-cocked.  They promise you gold, they smile and say “Tin is better than nothing!”   Then provide no tin.

- It did not create a temporary fix for a very permanent problem.  The city council, people et al, community have witnessed enough dirt lots, parking lots and coats of paint over problems that I feel we’re not being fooled anymore.   Sleight of hand might be a Reno tradition, but we can’t rely upon it.

- It is not declarative.  Meaning, it can be anything it wants to be.  Reno has commonly had this problem where (I feel that) because we are small, we must puff out our chest, stand on our car/property/hill/bike/club etc and forcibly DECLARE we are something.  It falls roughly into the “talk is cheap,” category, however, what separates it is the walls and divisiveness it creates.  If you staunchly, carved-in-stone, end-of-story ARE something, you are not flexible enough to change, to adapt, to overcome and survive.  Which is an element in why I think Reno’s trends, scenes and talent die far too prematurely.

The West Street Market is both a trophy and a black eye of what Reno is capable of, and a glaring example of what it has a really hard time doing.  Since we are surrounded by eight or less hours of travel to many major cities, somehow (and somewhy) we are expected to act “bigger.”  This isn’t an unrealistic, unreasonable or unattainable goal, however, carbon-copy will never happen.  First, we’re Reno.  Second, we’re not anywhere else, which should be a good thing.  It is a testament to what we’re capable of, which also blights what we’ve done wrong.  We know HOW to do this, we just don’t.  Which could be worth some further pondering at some point.

The history of the West Street Market is much like the rest of Reno, it has worn quite a few hats to justify its existence as a whole.  Originally built as the farrier, cart and horse stables servicing the Ross Manor, it has seen more typical boarded up condemnation, a drag queen bar, storage, a smokey music dive and in its current inception, the new market.  The market is joining the infamous dive bar the 5-Star Saloon, and La Beaujolais restaurant.  One last opening required for stage one completion is the more permanent “urban market,” where the porn and sex toy store “The G Spot,” used to be.  Currently this grocery/convenience store is located on the other side of the block facing Sierra street across from where the defunct downtown Longs Drug Store is.

When I walked into the West Street Market, I actually was more curious to go through the door of the Brickhouse Bakery.  Don’t ask me why, it seemed the path of least resistance, though the market is designed to attacked from all angles if necessary.  I found the Brickhouse Bakery fast-paced, filled with all sorts of baked goodies, coffee, familiar Reno faces (at least to me…), and running in that “…oh shit we just opened and oh shit this is a lot of people and just have to scramble..” method of doing business.  Right next door with street access was the West Street Wine Bar, serving, you guessed it, wine!

Walking through the bakery finds us in a multi-use area, which I could assume is the nerve center for both access and possibility of the inside part of the West Street Market.  There were permanent shops, Reno Envy outlet and Spirit of the Woods, and what seemed a less permanent artwork and a local produce stand, Great Basin Basket.  There is also a deli, Earthly Delights, which needed some stocking and more interactive personnel.  I’ll be very curious to see how this space is being utilized when the Market isn’t in grand opening mode.  Seating?  Multi-use?  Events? The space sure is large enough, so I would hope it gets used even in slow times by people not wanting the same ol’, same ol’ that Reno has to offer for coffee and civilized sit-down leisure.   Though the locations are unknown to me within the market, rumor has it that a few new vendors may appear next year, Jada’s Jewels, Nikos Greek Kitchen, Nutty Boy, and Silver Trends.   Besides the Greek place, I can’t tell you what the nondescript names will offer the market.

Continuing the walk through to the back bar  which I think was the Se7en Teahouse’s satellite location, which was busy doing what it does a stone’s throw (up and over a few buildings anyway) in tandem over on Arlington. .  There is a stage set up where people are singing terrible Christmas music, and the well-decorated bar is tossing drinks and libations to the smiling, appreciative crowd.

Outside is probably the the most important and impressive part of what I noticed about the market.  Where once I’ve seen drunken drag queens chundering their guts onto a disheveled blacktop parking lot years ago, is now a wonderfully poured-pad and well-lit enclosed courtyard area.  At the grand opening event, it was packed with tents, vendors, people and information.  The are isn’t huge, as the market itself isn’t vast real estate to begin with, but it could easily hold small, 20 tent events, get-togethers, weddings, dinners, concerts, etc. etc. etc. (You see where I’m going with this…).

Beyond that, there was a band and stage setup, the street was closed one direction to accommodate more quaint activities like folding table bowling (whatever the hell that was…) because Reno sometimes still shows its bra strap no matter how nice the dress is.

In quick summary, yes I was shocked and awed by the setup, effort and opening of the West Street Market.  Though I’m also a natural skeptic, and not towards the market itself, it is by the people, proprietors and public as a whole.  Already, I’ve heard whispers of “…just like San Francisco!”  “….just like L.A.!”

To that I have to say, the larger are expectations are, the faster, harder and worse the fall.  I warn you Reno, this place, as fantastic and much-needed as it is, is a privilege, not a right.  To sound more like the school bus driver, you’d better behave.  Don’t ruin it and instead contribute to it, keep your hands to yourself unless asked, and take responsibility for making it great, and it should serve us well for years.  If you don’t go, criticize it, get bored with it, expect it to be 100% perfect and wonderful 100% of the time and simply cater to your every need, well sorry, it won’t work that way.  It will end up going away, feeding the need to say, “Reno sucks, remember when we had that?  They take everything away!”

I implore all of you, those that enjoy seeing the word “fuck,” once in a while, and those that believe this blog could be so much more refined and pleasant without it, to realize things like this will not last long if you don’t do something with it, about it and for it.  The West Street Market is a huge win for Reno, I believe.  I think the owners, organizers and City Council all deserve a HUGE sack of praise for Christmas since I feel this is almost a gift to this town.

If you haven’t stopped by yet, go over to the West Street Market.  Its intent as being a primeir downtown location to shop, dine, drink, hang out and enjoy our town will be open seven days a week, with other events either enhancing or changing the scenery (hopefully) more often than not.

God Hates Reno sincerely thanks all involved for their effort, and we plan on doing some showcasing of the businesses inside soon.

- Gay Rodeo

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