Kool Kat of the Week: “We were all gods.” – Jane Wodening (Brakhage), an Elusive yet Central Character in American Cinema, Discusses Art and Life During “Jane Wodening in Person” Hosted by Film Love Atlanta

Posted on: Feb 9th, 2016 By:

by Melanie Crewuntitled
Managing Editor

Jane Wodening, first wife to acclaimed experimental filmmaker Stan Brakhage, is a central character in the avant-garde film world. Jane is set to speak about her life in and out of cinema, her collaboration and marriage to Brakhage, as well as her own writing, at the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center on Sat. Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. Included in this event is the screening of three short films focusing on Wodening, all shot in 16mm: WINDOW WATER BABY MOVING (1959 – 12 min/Stan Brakhage); HYMN TO HER (1974 – 2 min./Stan Brakhage); and JANE BRAKHAGE (1975 – 10 min./Barbara Hammer). “Jane Wodening in Person” is hosted by Andy Ditzler [March 2011; see ATLRetro’s Kool Kat feature on Andy here] and Film Love Atlanta. Don’t miss out on this exciting and rare opportunity to delve into the life of Jane Wodening, in her own words.

Wodening’s marriage to Brakhage spanned three decades (1957-1987). Their marriage and family life, including rarely exposed intimate details, is the subject of many of Brakhage’s filmic endeavors. Although Brakhage is considered one of the of “the most important figures of 20th century experimental film,” Wodening’s collaboration with him is noteworthy in itself. She was not merely the subject, or “muse,” but was an active participant in the production of those films. Additionally, Wodening spent the last few decades churning out her own art; her written words (prose poetry, fiction, non-fiction, memoirs, etc.) can be found on her website here [FROM THE BOOK OF LEGENDS (1988); LUMP GULCH TALES (1993); BOOK OF GARGOYLES (1999); LIVING UP THERE (2013); BRAKHAGE’S CHILDHOOD (2015)] and most recently WOLF DICTIONARY (2016), which she will include at Film Love Atlanta’s event.

ATLRetro caught up with Jane Wodening for a quick interview about her life and collaboration with Stan Brakhage, her artistic influences,  the importance of the written word and her desire to write the biography of the 51+QfAD2iYL._SX359_BO1,204,203,200_Universe.

ATLRetro: You were a necessary component in the films of Stan Brakhage, as his wife and “muse.” Did you ever see yourself as something greater than the films themselves, or did you consider yourself a necessary part of the whole that was Stan Brakhage?

Jane Wodening: Naturally, I thought of myself as myself, but I felt that he was saying that I inspired him.

Stan’s films delved deeply into your marriage and family life. Did you ever feel overly exposed to the public? And how did you deal with that exposure?

When we were filming, we were alone. When the films were made and shown and people would ask me that, I’d say, well, that was then, and this is now. What I am is here before you, and I’m not those images.

Can you tell our readers about the roles you played in Brakhage’s films? Meaning, we see you onscreen, but did you assist in the techniques used? Did you work with Stan behind the scenes, preparing the films?

Yes. They were his films, always, but I did a lot. The world he photographed was my world; the children were under my guidance. Sometimes I’d run the camera, help him with editing, change things. We always discussed it if I did. Once or twice, I was the Sound Man. He said many times that “by Brakhage” meant by me also, AND the kids, and there was some truth in that. I was surely devoted to him and his work.

Stan, Jane - Still from WINDOW WATER BABY MOVING (1959)

Stan, Jane – Still from WINDOW WATER BABY MOVING (1959)

What are your thoughts on WINDOW WATER BABY MOVING? Were you supportive of Stan filming the birth of your first child? Looking back, what do you feel now that maybe you didn’t feel then?

I was agreeable to it. We were in this together. This was our life and he was a film artist. Naturally, he would want to film the birth. He filmed every birth. I liked having him there with me.

There must be an interesting story about how you and Stan met. Can you fill our readers in on your meeting?

I saw him twice before we met. The first time, I was coming out of the opera house with my date. We had gone to the matinee, and there on the street were two guys dueling. My date said, “Yes, they have a very off-beat little theatre in a tent.” But we didn’t have time to go to it. The duelists were Stan and Larry Jordan. The second time I was working across the street from Rockefeller Center in New York and I’d go to the Rockefeller Plaza to eat my sack lunch. When it rained I went into the mall where I found a Brentano’s Bookstore and bought books from him, but he would not look at me.

The third time was when I was introduced to him. He was renting a little house in Denver and my boyfriend at the time introduced me to him, said he was a genius. He started teaching a class unofficially with the film club, and my cousin Betsy and I sat in the back row giggling about “The Great Brakhage” because he seemed to be presenting himself that way. But one moment we stood together under a tree and fell in love. I was amazed when he didn’t contact me. He was with another girl who knew me, and finally said to him, “I think Jane Likes you.” By this time I was horribly depressed untitled (6)and sent him a letter, so he called me up and said he loved me and to come and visit him. It was about six weeks later that we married.

The ‘50s and ‘60s were a time filled with art and stories and experimentation in all forms. Can you tell our readers a little about your and Stan’s life in art before your children were born?

I entered the scene in 1957, and while the children were being born, we traveled a lot and met and befriended as many of the artists in all fields as we could. It was a very lively scene. We were all gods. We were very poor and we were going to change the world. We all knew each other, were drawn to each other like magnets, and we all agreed. It was exhilarating. And we did change the world.

We see that your most recent book, BRAKHAGE’S CHILDHOOD, is a retelling of Stan’s Depression-era childhood, as told to you in the ‘80s in conversations with Stan. In what ways do you think Stan’s formative years affected his art, his career, his family?

He was born a precocious child. He loved to get attention and he loved theatre. As a child, he put on shows, sang in the church, whatever. He had a rough childhood, pillar to post. He never outgrew being the center of the world.

Can you tell us a little about your most recent book, WOLF DICTIONARY?

I have it here. As a child, I ran with dogs, learned what they were communicating. I’ve always thought I learned dog WolfDictionaryCoverlanguage first and English as a second language. In my early 20s, I wanted to write a dog dictionary. Years later, three people told me about the time when they lived “way up the road beyond where the snowplow went across a winter and they watched a wolf and his mates.” I was very charmed by this story, but couldn’t figure how to present it. I finally realized that I could write it from the viewpoint of the wolf. But even then, people would read it and still they wouldn’t learn the language. So I added notes, talked about why the animal made that gesture, what it meant. To me it seemed obvious as pie. So that’s WOLF DICTIONARY. It’s a key to start understanding animals and what they are communicating.

How has your writing evolved over the years? Has there been a change in subject-matter? Tone? In your youth did you feel the need to express ideas that you don’t quite feel the need to express now?

In fact, I didn’t start writing until I was nearly 40, but even then, across the last 40 years, I have changed a lot in my writing. I never was interested in writing fiction. I always wanted to write to understand something that came to my attention. At first, I felt obliged to write a story with a beginning, a middle and an end, but then I got really excited about the realism of form that anecdote gave. Now I feel that biography can get to understanding the life if the motives and drives are shown and develop into acts and responses and perspectives. I’m now considering writing the biography of the earth, to clarify the legend that the scientists are excited about. It will be a sort of translation. I’m hoping I can show it as adventures.

untitled (5)Which writers (poets, novelists, etc.) influenced you the most?

I think my first big influence was Rembrandt who looks at me through his eyes and we look at each other. He tells me to work, to pour out vitality. Gertrude Stein is reassuring. She tells me it’s perfectly okay to be an odd-ball. Henry James tells me it’s all right to talk at great length about little details; just dance it, and I’ll have it right. Poe shows me how to put rhythm into my writing, to write the percussion and the beat. Vivaldi says to make living landscapes with whatever media. My father taught me to be blown away by a squirrel or an anthill or a bush.

With regards to filmmaking and art, who were your and Stan’s biggest influences?

I think I was his and he was mine.

Are there any filmmakers today (experimental and/or narrative) that you find intriguing?

Ken Jacobs, Ernie Gehr, Nathaniel Dorsky, all close to my age. I wonder if there are any young people doing art? I know there’s much that has been done in comic format. Rap seems full of energy, but it seems hard to avoid selling a message. I don’t know. It may be an in-between time, or possibly I’m unaware of what’s going on with the young. There is always talent, and talent is a beautiful thing, no matter what one does with it, but great periods like Baroque music or the Impressionists seem to be the blooming times.

What is your take on compartmentalizing art and films into genres? Do you think these types of creative outlets canuntitled (4) be properly tucked away into a single box? Or do you think most art (including film) overlaps several different genres?

When I tried to get agents or publishers to publish me, they’d say, but what is your genre? Evidently, if you’re writing in a genre, you know what you have to do and you get published. This doesn’t interest me. I write what I write.

Can you offer any advice to our readers about film, personal expression and creativity?

Whatever you do you’ll do what you’re told. The question is, who do you want to listen to? – The shop boss? There’s a steady job. – The pulse of the culture? – If you do that, you might starve and/or become famous. How about that inner voice? – How about writing what you want to know? – That’s where I’m at – I write to think.

What’s next for Jane Wodening?

I want to write the biography of the earth. There is some possibility that it will be the biography of the Universe. I’d like to put it all into common English, so anyone could know at least the theory of the moment – the amazing adventures of this planet and the life on it. I have a mess of little pieces of writing I’d like to put into shape – animal biographies, other thoughts. I really enjoy thinking. There’s nothing more fun than thinking.

Can you tell our readers what they can expect at Film Love Atlanta’s event, “Jane Wodening in Person,” on February 13?

51MKKshYY7L._SX350_BO1,204,203,200_They can expect to be surprised about a number of things.

We know you’ve done plenty of interviews, but is there something you’d like to tell our readers that they don’t know already?

I’m not sure what to say to this. I’m hoping they have open minds.

Photos courtesy of Jane Wodening and used with permission.

 

 

 

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Weekend Update, June 24-26, 2011

Posted on: Jun 24th, 2011 By:

Friday, June 24

Blair Crimmins

Things could get dangerous as radical ragtimers Blair Crimmins & the Hookers revive the Roarin’ Twenties after A Fight to the Death and Lille at The Earl. Read ATLRetro’s interview with Blair here. If you missed AM Gold‘s brilliant heartfelt rendition of the entire Steve Miller Band’s Greatest Hits ’74-’78 album at Bubbapalooza, we guess you could settle for the real Steve Miller Band at Delta Classic Chastain. Experience a funkier kind of jazz with Cadillac Jones at Star Bar. Catch an IMAX movie and swing dance the night away to Kingsized at Fernbank Museum of Natural History’s Martinis and IMAX.

The bewitching Dario Argento classic SUSPIRIA, starring Jessica Harper (PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE) and Joan Bennett (DARK SHADOWS), is this month’s feature for Shriek Theatre Movie Night at DooGallery. And Film Love:Robbie Land includes 16 mm shorts and a chance to meet the acclaimed filmmaker. Works include MICANOPY WINTER WONDERLAND, which documents an antique jukebox converted into a diorama wonderland scene, and FLORIDALAND, about defunct Florida theme parks from 1960s, ’70s and ’80s. Film Love founder/director Andy Ditzler was a recent Kool Kat.

Saturday June 25

Greg Theakston, comics writer/artist and the man who rediscovered Bettie Page, signs JACK MAGIC, THE LIFE AND ART OF JACK KIRBY, his definitive biography of the King of Comics who co-created many of Marvel’s most iconic characters from Captain America to the Fantastic Four, from 3 to 6 PM at Criminal Records.

Forget 3D! Ever seen a movie in hypnoprismoscope? Ghost Host with the Most Prof. Morte will unveil the mysterious new process this weekend as The Silver Scream Spookshow screens schlocky 1953 sci-fi/horror – well we’re not sure it’s a classic – movie ROBOT MONSTER at the Plaza Theatre. Come early for the hilarious pre-film stage show featuring gorgeous dancing ghouls and other fiendish friends. Kids matinee at 1 PM and adult show at 10 PM. Look for ATLRetro’s review soon.

It’s also the last day to see the ever irreverent Dad’s Garage Theatre take a stab at the ’80s horror genre of camp slasher films in SLAUGHTER CAMP about a homicidal maniac terrorizing a theatre camp. DJ Romeo Cologne transforms the sensationally seedy Clermont Lounge into a ’70s disco/funk inferno.

Sunday June 26

It’s a day for new exhibitions. At the High, be among the first to experience RADCLIFFE BAILEY: MEMORY AS MEDICINE and JOHN MARIN’S WATERCOLORS: A MEDIUM FOR MODERNISM. Read more about the former in this week’s Kool Kat. Marin was named America’s number one artist in a 1948 LOOK magazine survey. While his name is not a household one today, this exhibition reminds us of his important place in the modernist movement and why watercolors became such a powerful instrument for avante-garde art in the hands of him and other artists in the Stieglitz Circle, including Georgia O’Keefe.

The Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA) opens its newest exhibit WaterDream: The Evolution of Bathroom Design, which runs through Sept. 24 in the dynamic new Midtown space. Displays take visitors through a four-part journey into the bathroom including the birth of minimalist aesthetics in 20th century design and progress into current concepts.

The Barrow Boys headline blues “dunch” between 1 and 4 PM at The Earl. And at night catch ’80s-founded alt-rockers Dinosaur Jr. at Variety Playhouse.

Ongoing

MODERN BY DESIGN, the High‘s newest special exhibition celebrates three key moments in modern design and also the Museum of Modern Art, New York‘s (MOMA) collection history. The works on loan from MOMA cover “Machine Art” (1934), “Good Design” (1950-55) and “Italy: The New Domestic Landscape” (1972), with the latter addressing modernism in the context of 1960s and ’70s counterculture.

Margaret Mitchell Typing - Courtesy Margaret Mitchell House

Get a rare chance to view original manuscript pages from the last four chapters of ATLANTA’S BOOK: THE LOST GONE WITH THE WIND MANUSCRIPTat the Atlanta History Center. The new exhibit, which opens today and runs through Sept. 5, is part of a series of activities celebrating the 75th anniversary of the publication of the international bestseller and also includes foreign and first edition copies, the desk Margaret Mitchell used while writing it and select images.

Tune back in on Friday for Weekend Update. If you know of a cool happening that we’ve missed, send suggestions to ATLRetro@gmail.com.

 

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Weekend Update, April 8-10, 2011

Posted on: Apr 8th, 2011 By:

Friday, April 8

Mike Geier and one of the lovely Dames Aflame.

Kingsized swings, lounges and rock and rolls the Star Bar in that wondrous way that only “Big Mike” Geier can.  Master mandolin player and one of the fathers of bluegrass music, Ricky Skaggs and his band Kentucky Thunder play Variety PlayhouseAlex Lattimore brings jazz, R&B and a light touch of blues to Fernbank Museum of Natural History’s Martinis and IMAX.  Joe Gransden and Kenny Banks jazz up Twelve at Atlantic Station.

Film Love‘s Yoko Ono: Reality Dreams short film series concludes with a free screening of Bottoms at 8 PM at Emory University‘s White Hall Room 206.  Ono’s most notorious film literally reveals the backsides of several hundred “saints of our time. All Film Love events are curated by recent Kool Kat Andy Ditzler.

Saturday April 9

Celebrate the 19th birthday of The Highlander with a free concert by musical masters of the circus freak show, Greasepaint, featuring Atlanta’s own insane clown posse of Puddles, aka Big Mike Geier (Kingsized), and the Reverend Uncle Laffo, aka Jim Stacy (Grand Moff Tarkin). Also on the bill is Super X-13, featuring Shane Morton (Gargantua, Silver Scream Spook Show) on bass in a big hair wig and crazy Ultraman-inspired jumpsuit (well that’s the whole band actually)!

 

Cuba’s greatest rumba ensemble for more than 50 years, Los Munequitos de Matanzas proves “without rumba, there is no Cuba, and without Cuba, there is no rumba” at GSU’s Rialto Center for the Arts. Legendary ’80s industrial/ experimental rock band Savage Republic revs up The EarlBetter Than The Beatles pays tribute to the Fab Four at Jerry Farber’s Side Door. DJ Romeo Cologne transforms the sensationally seedy Clermont Lounge into a ’70s disco/funk inferno.

Sunday April 10

Tinkerbell (Yetter) flies with Peter Pan (Ciaran Joyce). Photo credit: Ed Krieger.

Tom Gentry & Co. serve up the blues at “dunch” between 1 and 4 PM at The Earl. And today is the last day to catch KOOL KAT Emily Yetter starring as a precocious, politically incorrect Tinkerbell in J.M. BARRIE’S PETER PAN under the big tent at Pemberton Place, next to the World of Coca-Cola.

 

Ongoing

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec died in 1901, but it’s not a stretch to say that his vibrant posters and prints of showgirls, nightclub stars and the café culture influenced the 20th century romantic view of Paris and still inspire today’s burlesque performers. The High Museum of Art’s dynamic new special exhibition, TOULOUSE-LAUTREC AND FRIENDS: THE IRENE AND HOWARD STEIN COLLECTION, runs through May 1. Also at the High through May 29 is the MOMA-organized HENRI CARTIER-BRESSON: THE MODERN CENTURY, another blockbuster exhibit showcasing a photographer and photojournalist who captured on film many of the seminal moments  of the 20th century from World War II to the assassination of Ghandi, China’s cultural revolution to civil rights and consumer culture in America.

Tune back in on Monday for This Week in Retro Atlanta. If you know of a cool happening we’ve missed, send suggestions to ATLRetro@gmail.com.


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This Week in Retro Atlanta, April 4-10

Posted on: Apr 6th, 2011 By:

Here’s your weekly guide to where and why to get out…

Monday April 4

It’s somehow comforting to see The Residents still together making not-for-everyone but truly alternative music at Variety Playhouse. Whether it’s a “New Moon on Monday,” or not, ’80s synth pop idols Duran Duran play to a sell-out crowd at Center Stage. Swing to Joe Gransden, trumpet player extraordinaire, and his 16-piece orchestra during Big Band Night at Cafe 290 on the first and third Monday of every month. Northside Tavern hosts its weekly Blues Jam.

Tuesday April 5

Grab your horn and head to Twain’s in Decatur for a Joe Gransden jazz jam session starting at 9 PM. J.T. Speed plays Fat Matt’s Rib Shack. Notorious DJ Romeo Cologne spins the best ‘70s funk and disco at 10 High in Virginia-Highland. Catch Tuesday Retro in the Metro nights at Midtown’s Deadwood Saloon, featuring live video mixes of ’80s, ’90s, and 2Ks hits.

Wednesday April 6

Get ready to rumba, cha-cha and jitterbug at the weekly Swing Night at Graveyard Tavern. Catch Joe Gransden every Wednesday night at 8:30 PM at Jerry Farber’s Side Door. Deacon Brandon Reeves and Danny “Mudcat” Dudeck bring on the blues at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack and Northside Tavern respectively. Dance to ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s hits during Retro in the Metro Wednesdays presented by Godiva Vodka, at Pub 71 in Brookhaven, starting at 8 PM.

Thursday April 7

Sub Pop legend and former Dinosaur Jr. frontman, J Mascis, rocks The Earl. Drink some wine, dance, see live performances  and check out PASSIONE ITALIANA: DESIGN OF THE ITALIAN MOTORCYCLE during MODA‘s second Thursday night Drink in Design from 6-8 PM. What the…? is what we’re asking as to who’s playing under the disco ball at Atlanta’s funnest new concert venue, Kathmandu Kitchen and Grill, formerly Pho Truc, in Clarkston from 8-10 PM. Listen to Tongo Hiti’s luxurious live lounge sounds, as well as some trippy takes on iconic pop songs, just about every Thursday night at Trader Vic’sJoe Gransden jazzes up Tantra now on Thursdays. Party ‘70s style with DJ Romeo Cologne at Aurum Lounge.  Breeze Kings and Chickenshack bring on the blues respectively at Northside Tavern and Fat Matt’s Rib Shack.

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Weekend Update, April 1-3, 2013

Posted on: Apr 2nd, 2011 By:
Sorry not to get this post until Saturday this week. Away this weekend and was more challenged than expected finding wifi yesterday–maybe that was the April Fool’s joke on me! Hopefully you got a chance to read This Week in Retro Atlanta, and didn’t miss any of the cool events Friday night. If you didn’t get to Chris Hamer’s BIG IN JAPAN opening party, you should still hit Octane to see the exhibit which runs through April 30. Also, new in the update: another rare chance to see DEATH RACE 2000 on the big screen at the Plaza Theatre, if you missed last week’s Splatterday Night Live.

Friday, April 1

Terribly talented artist Chris Hamer recycles Tom Waits with the solo art show, BIG IN JAPAN, at Octane Coffee Bar & Lounge, opening night party from 7 to 11 PM. Works inspired by Waits songs will be on display until April 30, but isn’t it more fun to see them with Blast-Off Burlesque and other surprises. Read more about Chris and how Waits helped conjure some personal monsters in this week’s Kool Kat. Celebrate the 10th anniversary of THE LAST ROCK ‘N ROLL DOCUMENTARY and support an Atlanta retro treasure at tonight’s Plaza Theatre Foundation fundraiser with tickets just a bargain one buck. Film Love‘s Yoko Ono: Reality Dreams short film series part 4 is Flux Fly Body Music at Atlanta Contemporary Arts Center. A highlight is the enigmatic FLY, “a collaboration with John Lennon, which features the human body as landscape, with an improvised vocal soundtrack – one of Ono’s most engaging musical works.” Curated by last week’s Kool Kat Andy Ditzler.

Swing dance to Joe Gransden‘s big band at Fernbank Museum of Natural History’s Martinis and IMAX. New band Please Pleaserock Me teaches Beatle-ologoy at Eddie’s Attic.

Saturday March 12

Classic train fans and their kids will dig Caboose Days this weekend from 10 AM to 5 PM at the Southeastern Railway Museum in Duluth featuring train rides in restored cabooses, oodles of kids’ activities and a chance to tour and see 90 pieces of retired railway equipment, including vintage steam engines, a private car once used by President Warren G. Harding and much more.

Get down to a Spring Soul Party with The Soulphonics & Ruby Velle at Star Bar. The fabulous Talloolah Love presents her Thank You/Vegas or Bust Party starting at 10 PM at Bart Webb Studios in Avondale. Drink Love Shots, dance to DJ Doctor Q‘s fine tunes and enjoy live performances, all to thank everyone who voted for her to nab a prestigious performance spot at the Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend next month. Watch for an exclusive report by Love on the Southern Fried Burlesque Fest soo.

Don’t miss another rare chance to see one of the craziest, best black comedy cult movies of all time DEATH RACE 2000 at the Plaza Theatre at 9:30 p.m. Come on! David Carradine as a race car driver called Frankenstein! ROCK ‘N’ ROLL HIGH SCHOOL’s Mary WoronovSly Stallone! And everyone in America is road kill. Read why Mark Arson thinks it’s a better ’70s SF/action flick than STAR WARS here.

Better Than The Beatles pays tribute to the Fab Four at Jerry Farber’s Side Door. DJ Romeo Cologne transforms the sensationally seedy Clermont Lounge into a ’70s disco/funk inferno.

Sunday March 27

Caboose Days continue at Southeastern Railway MuseumChickens and Pigs serves up blues “dunch” between 1 and 4 PM at The Earl.

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This Week in Retro Atlanta, March 28-April 3, 2011

Posted on: Mar 29th, 2011 By:

Here’s your weekly guide to where and why to get out…

Monday March 28

Francine Reed belts out some beautiful blues every other Monday at Cafe Circa. Northside Tavern hosts its weekly Blues Jam.

Tuesday March 29

Cathy Whitlock, author of DESIGNS ON FILM: A CENTURY OF HOLLYWOOD ART DIRECTION, provides a behind-the-scenes look at the masterful set design of GONE WITH THE WIND at the Margaret Mitchell House at 7 PM as part of the GONE WITH THE WIND 75th Anniversary Celebration. Grab your horn and head to Twain’s in Decatur for a Joe Gransden jazz jam session starting at 9 PM. Fedora Blues plays Fatt Matt’s Rib Shack. Notorious DJ Romeo Cologne spins the best ‘70s funk and disco at 10 High in Virginia-Highland. Catch the official grand opening of Tuesday Retro in the Metro nights at Midtown’s Deadwood Saloon, featuring live video mixes of ’80s, ’90s, and 2Ks hits.

Wednesday March 30

It’s TNT, Tommy Lee and Tammy Renee in a knockdown funky drag-out “Keytar Loser Leave Grudge Match” vs. Lust at Star Bar. TNT perform hits from the ’70s to today but are especially known for their fun takes on ’70s and ’80s funkilicious, R&B and disco favorites like Stevie Wonder‘s “Superstition.” Cabaret theatrics meet post-punk adult-themed rawk in Lust, featuring another pair of powerhouse vocalists Susanne Gibboney and Blast-Off Burlesque‘s “Barbilicious” Hays.

At The Earl, New Zealand’s Surf City takes inspiration from surf music, Jesus and Mary Chain (originally “Kill Surf City” after that band’s song) and Velvet Underground. Get ready to rumba, cha-cha and jitterbug at the weekly Swing Night at Graveyard Tavern. Catch Joe Gransden every Wednesday night at 8:30 PM at Jerry Farber’s Side DoorThe Hollidays and Danny “Mudcat” Dudeck bring on the blues at Fatt Matt’s Rib Shack and Northside Tavern respectively. Dance to ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s hits during Retro in the Metro Wednesdays presented by Godiva Vodka, at Pub 71 in Brookhaven, starting at 8 PM. Cover band ’80s Band of Destiny is in the Atlanta Room at Smith’s Olde Bar.

Thursday March 31

'64 MV Agusta 500cc is one of 11 vintage and contemporary Italian motorcycles on display at MoDA. Photo courtesy of Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum

Drink some wine and enjoy a gallery tour of PASSIONE ITALIANA: DESIGN OF THE ITALIAN MOTORCYCLE by previous Kool Kat curator Joe Remling during MODA‘s first Thursday night Drink in Design from 6-8 PM. Murphreesboro, Tenn. alt-country band The Only Sons plays Kathmandu Kitchen and Grill, formerly Pho Truc in Clarkston from 8-10 PM. Listen to Tongo Hiti’s luxurious live lounge sounds, as well as some trippy takes on iconic pop songs, just about every Thursday night at Trader Vic’sJoe Gransden jazzes up Tantra now on Thursdays. Party ‘70s style with DJ Romeo Cologne at Aurum Lounge.  Breeze Kings and Chicken Shack bring on the blues respectively at Northside Tavern and Fat Matt’s Rib Shack.

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Kool Kat of the Week: Why Andy Ditzler Loves Avant-Garde Films and Why You Should, Too

Posted on: Mar 22nd, 2011 By:

SMILE JOHN: Includes HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JOHN (1972), Dir: Jonas Mekas; FILM NO. 5 (SMILE) (1968), Dir: Yoko Ono; Fri. March 25, 7 PM; Plaza Theatre; $10 ($8 if attending 9 PM screening, too)

SKY, BED PEACE: Includes BED IN (1969), Dir: Yoko Ono and John Lennon; APOTHEOSIS (1970), Dir: Yoko Ono and John Lennon; Fri. March 25, 9 PM; Plaza Theatre; $10 ($8 if attending 7 PM screening, too)

Yoko Ono and John Lennon Montreal Bed-In, 1969 Photo by Ivor Sharp ©Yoko Ono.

Since he started Film Love, his provocative avant-garde film series, in 2003, Andy Ditzler has explored everything from the beat cinema subculture to American racism. But this Friday March 25 at the Plaza Theatre, audiences will be treated to filmmaking as love-making between two intensively creative people with the first two of five installments of YOKO ONO: reality dreams, which Film Love is co-presenting with Emory University and Atlanta Contemporary Art Center. John Lennon and Yoko Ono certainly must be one of the most famous couples of the 20th century, but these experimental films are rarely seen and aren’t available on video.

ATLRetro recently caught up with Andy to ask him about his own passion for avant-garde film, the origins of Film Love, what Frequent Small Meals are, and why you should spend Friday night getting to know John and Yoko better through some extraordinary movies.

From what I understand, you started Film Love in 2003 with a beat cinema series at Eyedrum. How did you become so interested in and passionate about experimental and avant-garde cinema?

In the early ‘90s, I was living in Boulder, where the great avant-garde filmmaker Stan Brakhage was teaching. I attended his screenings and classes. He showed the wildest films, things I had no idea how to process or even understand. Yet Brakhage had a way of talking about the films that made it clear that watching them was to be considered an adventure, that you could figure it out, and most of all how important it was that we gather to watch these films.

Andy Ditzler, founder & curator of Film Love.

Some of the films were so small, so obscure, that they almost disappeared off the screen. I was hooked. One day Stan showed THE END and THE MAN WHO INVENTED GOLD by Christopher Maclaine. Maclaine was a shadowy figure, long dead, and his films of Beat San Francisco in the ‘50s were completely haunting. I totally connected with them.

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This Week in Retro Atlanta, March 21-27, 2011

Posted on: Mar 22nd, 2011 By:

Here’s your weekly guide to where and why to get out…

Monday March 21

After dark, Joe Gransden & his smokin’ 16-piece orchestra present another Big Band Night of jazz at Café 290, featuring Sinatra, Bennett, Basie and Joe’s originals. Northside Tavern hosts a Blues Jam.

Tuesday March 22

Grab your horn and head to Twain’s in Decatur for a Joe Gransden jazz jam session starting at 9 PM. Fedora Blues plays Fatt Matt’s Rib Shack. Atlanta’s notorious DJ Romeo Cologne spins the best ‘70s funk and disco at 10 High in Virginia-Highland. Get a sneak preview of new Tuesday Retro in the Metro nights at Midtown’s Deadwood Saloon, featuring live video mixes of ’80s, ’90s, and 2Ks hits; official grand opening is next Tues. March 29.

Wednesday March 23

Not quite as cool as taking a TARDIS back to 688, but coming mighty close, ATLRetro’s top pick of the night is ’70s/’80s garage band extraordinaire The Fleshtones at Star Bar, with The Forty-Fives and Ghost Bikini opening. The Emory University Tango Ensemble and Tango Orchestra Club Atlanta present an evening of traditional and new Argentinian tango dancing and music at Emory’s Schwartz Center. Lots of weekly events, too. Get ready to rumba, cha-cha and jitterbug at the weekly Swing Night at The Glenwood. Catch Joe Gransden every Wednesday night at 8:30 PM at Jerry Farber’s Side Door. The Hollidays and Danny “Mudcat” Dudeck bring on the blues at Fatt Matt’s Rib Shack and Northside Tavern respectively. Dance to ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s hits during Retro in the Metro Wednesdays presented by Godiva Vodka, at Pub 71 in Brookhaven, starting at 8 PM. Cover band ’80s Band of Destiny is in the Atlanta Room at Smith’s Olde Bar.

Thursday March 24

The Found Footage Festival brings outtakes and oddities found at garage sales, flea markets, dumpsters and other strange places to the Plaza Theatre, including a rare screening of cult classic HEAVY METAL PARKING LOT. It’s a bonafide ’70s night at Philips Arena as (ATLRetro) Rod Stewart thrusts whatever he has left and Stevie Nicks wails out “Rhiannon” one more time. Listen to Tongo Hiti’s luxurious live lounge sounds, as well as some trippy takes on iconic pop songs, just about every Thursday night at Trader Vic’s. Joe Gransden jazzes up Tantra now on Thursdays. Party ‘70s style with DJ Romeo Cologne at Aurum Lounge.  Breeze Kings and Chicken Shack bring on the blues respectively at Northside Tavern and Fat Matt’s Rib Shack.

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