Cubelog

My greetings to you, the dear reader.
I introduce myself as a new blographer on the Cube’s website:
My name is Lea Pischke and I am in charge of a night’s sound technicalities when requested by the Cube’s music manager. So I was yesterday, Friday, for THE RALFE BAND, acid-folk from London.
With Eleni, my personal trainee/sound-serviant, I had the task to set up the band’s equipment.
The performance was better than anticipated by the soundcheck: a deep drumming kick sound
paired with the funk guitar playing to the stories told by the singer.
A Rembetika-reminiscent score had some attendees dance on the very pivoting chairs and what
a joy to realise that circus taught them good balance lessons. Even their hips were moving in the correct rhythm.
The performance was corrupted by the simultaneous screening of a film named “Faust”: a man
using magic to have some puppets come to live in such a way that they themselves start interfering with reality by reading the magic book - or maybe influenced by the pupeteer of whom we see nothing except his hands.
Behaviours that did not make sense at first sight: a devil-like puppet running onto the street out of the building rapped up in clothes to disguise his woodenness, going back to the building to apparently report his findings to another puppet in a theatre setting.

Odd imagery so compelling that even the band tried to watch whilst performing.

Cube associates on the Radio this week - hear mr_h’s computer, Bass Clef ( at the wrong rpm ) and Steveless on Hew Stephens’ show this week . . .

here

. . . and find out what Richie Paradise’s real name is . . .

here

Are you prevy to Bluescreen? Well it’s sheer genius, allow local film makers to turn up with 10 minutes or less of their films and let them show it, one after another. Well seeing as it was the nearly the end of the year, Steve (who once filmed a band of mine many years ago) and Chris (of Movieoke fame) foolishly asked if a band fancied playing to a selection of ‘Bluescreen’s greatest hits’, and No Wave Jazz for The Masses supergroup Skulpture (aka Sculpture) said we’d play. Actually the audience were lovely and we only subjected them to 13 minutes of our thang.
First off, and the tune you can hear here, was Too Many Canadians, a new ditty, and before upright Moose jockeys get uppity, I haven’t elaborated on what Too Many Canadians is eluding too. Anyhow hear for yourselves as the audience join in the Canadian related fun:

I will be trying to blog all the recent things I’ve born witness to and been a part of recently at The Cube (Movieoke for one) before xmas so be sure to check back real soon y’hear?

Big Love, Richie Paradise

. . . at the Seven Inch Cinema night on Thursday.

Sadly, possibly because of a Qu Junktions final jaunt at the soon to be closed Seymour’s Family Club, The Cube was nearly empty for a fantastic programme of short films and musical performances put on by our like-minded Birmingham counterparts.

I managed to record most of the ubergeeky ZX Spectrum Orchestra performance which you can check below . . .

If you’re in Birmingham in February you can catch the Flatpack Festival put on by the same people which will feature a performance by my computer ( NOTE while we’re in gloriously pedantic geek mode : I say “my computer” but he’s not generally meant to be called “my computer”, he actually is  my  computer, so it’s “mr_hopkinon’s computer™”, or just “The   Computer” to you thank you ! )

Got no pics or nothing, but I feel honourable mention should be made of our own 7 inch cinema of sorts - “7s & 8s” featuring Super8 films and & 7 inch singles put on by Cube projectionist, Ali, the next day, and almost next door in Cafe Kino.

It was lovely.

And hopefully the first of more.

Last month Totterdown, Bristol’s answer to Montmartre in gay Paris, staged it’s seventh Arts Trail, known as Frontroom. Frontroom was the first Arts trail in Bristol and similar things now happen across the City. It’s really good for the community and it warmed the cockles of my heart to see people wandering the hills of Totterdown enjoying themselves. Anyhow for much more go to the website:

http://www.frontroom.org.uk/

For the First time I opened up my Frontroom and there was a Cube edge to what was on show in the house. Mr. Hopkinson had his superb Cutting Up My Friends and Earlier in The Bar screened on the wall and when it was dark enough on the window (so it could be seen inside and out, dig)

I had some of my Cube Blog Photos on show (some of which you can see here) so maybe you were on show too.

I was also lucky enough to have American artist turned Bristolian Neko Griffen display her paintings.
But that was not all, My New Band Suzuki Boom Boom played on the friday night to a packed Frontroom (they were even spilling out onto the street).

Our spin on Contemporary Latin Jazz seemed to work with the assembled masses.
On the Sunday evening The Cube orchestra also played for an hour.

This was alot of fun, we played some really pretty music in a very Tortoise kinda way.
More pics of The Cube Orchestra available here from Will Iredale’s site by the way.
This was a really great weekend, I really enjoyed meeting lots of different people and a few familiar faces too, maybe I’ll do it next year too…………..
Thanks alot everybody who came along, even if you did just enjoy the view from my window, and extra big thanks to my neighbours.

Hey getoutahere Richie Paradise x

ps lighter pictures of Suzuki Boom Boom by Tom, thanks Tom