Video of JD Zazie, Charlotte Hug, Jenny Gräf, Stewart Mostofsky, Vicki Bennett at High Zero

High Zero Festival of Improvised Experimental Music
The Theatre Project, Baltimore 19 Sept 2014
JD Zazie
(turntables, CDJ, mixer, found sounds) | Charlotte Hug (viola, voice) | Jenny Gräf (electronics, guitar) | Stewart Mostofsky (electronics) | Vicki Bennett (sample collage) | Compere M.C. Schmidt

JD Zazie, Charlotte Hug, Jenny Gräf, Stewart Mostofsky, Vicki Bennett at High Zero

Audio mixdown from multitrack desk recording by Vicki Bennett
Filming (apart from the middle section) by Peter Knight

Video of John Kilduff, Vicki Bennett & Bob Wagner at High Zero

High Zero Festival of Improvised Experimental Music
The Theatre Project, Baltimore 19 Sept 2014

John Kilduff (multitasking, live art) | Vicki Bennett (sample collage) | Bob Wagner (percussion, friction) | Compere M.C. Schmidt

John Kilduff, Vicki Bennett & Bob Wagner at High Zero

Includes the auction of the painting and winner Dan Deacon!
Audio mixdown from multitrack desk recording by Vicki Bennett
Filming (apart from the middle section) by Peter Knight

High Zero Festival Baltimore full concerts

Stop press: here are films documenting the full performances at High Zero:

People Like Us at High Zero Festival in Baltimore on 19 and 20 September, 2014

Friday 19 September is a night of improvisation, in which People Like Us performs two sets with other improvisers, the first time Vicki has done improvisation of this type in more than 10 years.
Doors open 7.30pm, performances begin at 8.30pm

Group One:
Jack Wright (saxophone)
Dafne Vicente-Sandoval (bassoon)
Paul Neidhardt (percussion, friction)
M.C. Schmidt (store-bought electronics)
Charles Dube (electronics)
Group Two:
John Kilduff (multitasking, live art)
Vicki Bennett (found footage sample collage)
Bob Wagner (percussion, friction)
Group Three:
LaDonna Smith (violin)
Paul Neidhardt (percussion, friction)
Harry Walker (electric bass)
Michael Fischer (saxophone)
Group Four:
JD Zazie (turntables, CDJ, mixer, found sounds)
Charlotte Hug (viola, voice)
Jenny Gräf (electronics, guitar)
Stewart Mostofsky (electronics)
Vicki Bennett (found footage sample collage)

Notations at the Saturday Matinee, on 20 September 2014 at The Theatre Project, 45 W Preston St, Baltimore.
Doors open Noon, performances at 1pm. 
This time around, the performers to this live score are:
Bob Wagner (drums)
LaDonna Smith (violin)
Jenny Gräf (electronics, guitar)
“Notations” is a film by Vicki Bennett for live performance by improvising musicians and artists.  It has been created using collected and edited found footage from hundreds of different films, where the content conceptually or literally portrays different kinds of ‘instructions’ and content that can then be interpreted by musicians and artists with unique audio accompaniments.  Notations contains edits of the movies and sounds from the source films, separated into ‘sketches’ or stories that segue into one another, and it exists with a list of instructions (score) on how artist(s) working with this choose to work with these particular elements.

People Like Us, M.C.Schmidt & Jason Willett Live at WFMU

People Like Us, M.C.Schmidt (Matmos) and Jason Willett will perform at WFMU‘s own performance space at Monty Hall, New Jersey on 13 Sept 2014 at 8pm.  Tickets must be bought in advance to ensure entry:
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/819123 – there should be some tickets on the door but you have been warned since they are selling well and it’s a small venue.

We’ve not decided the order of the evening but it will include People Like Us with Consequences (One Thing Leads To Another), and then a joint improv performance by all three artists to Notations.

montyhall

The Fundamental Questions read by a computer

This is a short computer reading from our paperback/pdf book
The Fundamental Questions

and the LYRICS:

I am a Account Rep · I am a active guy who loves sports, movies,

cooking, and anything that sounds new and exciting · I am

a actor in acting school · I am a dad to two girls Bug 5, and

Tooties 1.5 who are my life · I am a administrator for my dad

and also volunteer in the Age UK office two days a week · i am

a adventurious person · I am a adventurous, outdoors, hands

on fix it all type person · I am a affectionate mom to my kids

love mexican and italian foods · I am a affectioned person and

healthy · I am a aires for those curious · I am a ambitious go

getter · I am a amiable, funny, outgoing guy who loves a good

laugh · I am a analytical person sometimes · I am a Artist and

love to have fun! · I am a asian guy living in NYC · I am a athletic,

loving, kind, and adventureous · I am a average female,

about 5’4, i have brown and light brown hair · I am a avid

coffee drinker, and I do smoke cigarettes · I am a avid sports

fan, loving hockey and football · I am a awesome friend and

the ones I have are from grade school · I am a a work in progress

· I am a bacon-eating Jew · I am a bad at spelling but great

at reading people · I am a ball of energy, Love to party and

hangout with friends · I am a ball of energy and sarcastic humour,

need people with fun personality to adventure with · I

am a bama fan so Roll Tide · I am a band geek cuz I love the

flute · I am a band geek turned science nerd, aspiring robopsychologist,

and the tech girl philosopher · I am a bank rep · I am

a barista and a nanny · I am a bartender, a business owner,

and the director of a Bartending school in riverside · I am a

bartender · I am a bartender · I am a bartender and absolutely

love my job · I am a bartender at a private members’ club · I am

a bartender until i finish pharmecology school · I am a Batman

loving, sports watching, going out and having fun type of person

· I am a bay area native · I am a BBW I love going on adventures,

Continue reading “The Fundamental Questions read by a computer”

AN ART APART – film about People Like Us

Carl Abrahamsson is in the process of producing a series of films about the following artists: Kenneth Anger, Charles Gatewood, Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, Michael Gira, Vicki Bennett, Mark McCloud, Andrew McKenzie, Gustaf Broms, Carl Michael von Hausswolff and Angela Edwards

“Over the years, I’ve more and more realized that what I do is basically the same thing over and over, yet in new forms. That is: meeting interesting people, listening to what they have to say, and then filter that for others. Whether it’s been materialized in writing or photography, it’s a documentation mania I can’t seem to shake. And don’t want to either.

The focus, as the name implies, is on art and artists who go against the grain or in some ways stand out as integrity pioneers. As the art world and its Molochian markets become more and more commodified and drained of creative vitality, there needs to be an inspirational influx of revitalizing energy and ideas. It is my hope that these conversations with radical movers and shakers will help provide just that.”

More info here: http://www.carlabrahamsson.com/film/an-art-apart/

The Fundamental Questions book

cover photo

THE FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS
new book by Gregor Weichbrodt, Vicki Bennett
Paperback & pdf, 569 Pages 


Buy the paperback book: http://www.lulu.com/shop/gregor-weichbrodt-and-vicki-bennett/the-fundamental-questions/paperback/product-21696219.html
You can now also purchase the book from The Wire magazine bookshop
Free downloadable pdf here or here


Update 2020: there is now a second edition to be available exclusively on site only at Hallwalls to coincide with Vicki’s solo exhibition First Person, Fourth Wall.

You may be familiar with the music, film, radio and stills work of People Like Us but this is the first step into this medium.  Although we’ve written essays, we’ve not written a book before.  And we still haven’t!  This content is sourced from online, developed online over the course of a 10-day conversation with Gregor Weichbrodt after we observed that searching for answers on a particular internet website possibly reflected and paralleled deeper questions within life…

Who am I?  Where do I come from?  What is my purpose in Life and what happens when I die? For centuries people have tried to come up with answers regarding the fundamental questions of life. Then the internet was invented and these questions have finally been answered – by users.

The Fundamental Questions captures them in an inspiring record of epic proportions where every individual verse becomes a mantra of a mind-expanding collective thought. It reminds us, that one single answer is never the answer.

Thousands of user profiles from the web were parsed, matched according to four questions and sorted in an alphabetical order.

People Like Us guested on BBC Radio 3’s The Verb on Friday 8 December 2017 talking about scrolling culture (and google minds!) in relation to the creative process and The Fundamental Questions book, playing a specially made 3 minute group reading made from this.
The Fundamental Questions read by Hearty White

The Fundamental Questions read by a computer
Featured in Journal of Writing in Creative Practice

The Fundamental Questions read at The Other Room
The Fundamental Questions read at Xing The Line
i am.

“I am the gambling of the fraudulent; I am the splendour of the splendid; I am victory; I am determination; I am the goodness of the good. I am a huge animal lover and love to spend time with my chinchilla and 2 pet rats.” – from the excellent piece of mashed-up uncreative writing called “The Fundamental Questions.” From Vicki Bennett and Gregor Weichbrodt. Further confirmation that the best use of appropriation in art is with a healthy dose of humor and joy. [And it comes in a paperback, almost the same size as your pink, half-read copy of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.] — Kevin Hamilton

Related item: I am that I am – A Twitterbot that combines verses from the Bhagavad Gita with user profile texts from the web. I am that I am @newmantras

In The Wire

Consequences Exhibited at Sheffield Doc/Fest

We are exhibiting a rare stand-alone version of our (usually live performance) Consequences (One Thing Leads To Another) at Sheffield Doc/Fest, 7-12 June 2014.  The 40-minute musical movie is on a giant screen at Millennium Gallery from 10.00-17.00, and in the evening from 18.00-22.00 in Millennium Gallery. 

Sheffield Doc/Fest: http://sheffdocfest.com/articles/167-brand-new-for-2014-the-interactive-exhibition
Millennium Gallery: http://www.museums-sheffield.org.uk/museums/millennium-gallery/exhibitions/current/doc-fest-14

“Favourite new work at the festival so far; would happily have watched it 2+ times straight through.” – Tom Vincent (co-director, Bradford International Film Festival), on  twitter