AN INDEPENDENT ARTS & CULTURE GUIDE
RENEWING ALLSTON’S RINGER PARK
LFOD’S ENDLESS MUSICAL OFFERINGS Peace – My name is Samuel Patrick, founder of LFOD Life. The folks at BCN invited me to pen this introduction and I’m grateful for the opportunity to connect with y’all. I started LFOD Radio after witnessing a scene overflowing with talent, but lacking the infrastructure it deserved. We began with the music and then came the interviews, cyphers, live shows, apparel, the State of New England Hip-Hop Panel, The Shift Beat Tapes... One day we even recorded 24 songs in 24 hours with 24 artists. Simply put, there’s been a lot going on over here. However, the question remains the same: How do we introduce fans to artists in a meaningful way? Our answer begins with two new series designed to boost independent voices: Outside the Algorithm & STAMPED. We also began publishing a newsletter, and by the time you read this you’ll be able to log on to www.LFOD.life for exclusive interviews, live streams, and to vote on where we’re going next. Literally – we built a mobile studio to connect with artists across the country. I’m in LA now, with a drive east planned for late February. If there’s someone you want to hear from along the way, let us know! This journey has been a team effort & we wouldn’t be anywhere without the people. Whether you tagged someone in a post, joined us in-studio with your voice/ camera, or if you’re sharing your art with the world, you’re the reason we exist. These days you’re likely to see myself and KikiDotD in front of the camera and we’ve got Ishana, Lindsey, Thomas, and our members supporting us behind the scenes. Now that you know who we are, we’d love to get to know you too. Catch us on the new site or @LFODLife… We’re here for the convo!
The city of Boston has approved a major Allston parks renovation led by Arts District Boston. Ringer Park, a beloved green space at the heart of Allston, currently has a large deteriorating wall on the tennis and basketball courts. This makes the space feel dirty and unwelcoming. Arts District Boston has teamed up with local artists to turn this ugly wall into a beautiful mural! What’s even more exciting is Allston Village Main Streets has generously offered to match half of the mural cost and to protect the mural from vandalism if ADB is able to fundraise the other half in donations. A new mural at Ringer Park will create a vibrant and inviting space the community can feel good about. Allston’s favorite meetup, dog walk, and recreation spot for kids and adults alike, deserves more attention -- especially considering it is adjacent to an elementary school. This mural will help in the efforts to bring public art back to Allston, make the entire area look new again, and create a positive visual environment for youth and teens in the area to grow up and play. The proposed project will scrape, strip, prime, and seal the wall so the new mural lasts to bring life and joy to the area for years to come. The proposed artwork was designed by long-time Allston artist, Jill Rosati. It includes brightly colored people engaging in the sort of sports and activities you may see at Ringer Park. These bright characters are surrounded by lush green grass, adorable little critters, and oversized flowers. If you are interested in making a donation or supporting this project in any way, please reach out to artsdistrictboston@ gmail.com. More info @artsdistrictboston
—Samuel Patrick
—Arts District Boston
NOTES FROM THE CREW Hello, beloved readers and champions of the Boston Underground! Marc D here, Tha Treasurer, here to welcome the BCN fam into 2022. It’s been a tough couple years but I’m proud to see this paper and all of you still going strong. I first stumbled on the Compass in 2014…I had recently formed the free improv noise group Fable Grazer and I needed to find out where my fellow freaks and weirdos were gathering to hear live music. There was really only one place to go to find this information, and you’re holding it in your hands right now! When I read the BCN announcement that the org had been granted tax-exempt status as a non-profit charity, I reached out to see if my knowledge and skills as a tax accountant could be of any use. When our first business meeting concluded with having our faces incinerated by Oozing Wound in the basement of Deep Thoughts, I knew I found my people. Over the years, I’ve seen a lot of talented, kind-hearted and passionate people share their gifts and energy with the org, before continuing on their life journey to other pursuits. But true to the words of Ben Franklin, taxes have not gone anywhere, and so I remain here at my desk at DAP, crunching numbers, sending invoices, paying bills, and keeping us in the good graces of Uncle Sam. Short of preparing a balance sheet on the back of a great white jumping through a ring of fire, I can’t imagine a more fun and stimulating place to do accounting work. So cheers to you, for supporting this great publication and the brilliant artists that we serve. We hope to stay on your fingertips for many years to come. —Marc Drinkwater
THIS PAPER IS AN ONGOING PROJECT OF BRAIN ARTS ORGANIZATION, INC., A 501(C)(3) NONPROFIT. PLEASE CONSIDER DONATING TO, VOLUNTEERING OR OTHERWISE SUPPORTING US: BRAIN-ARTS.ORG
LAYOUT DESIGN:
Phoebe Delmonte: p.1, 4, 5 Hannah Blauner: p.2, 3, 7 Adrian Alvarez: p.6, 8
THIS PROGRAM IS SUPPORTED IN PART BY A GRANT FROM THE BOSTON CULTURAL COUNCIL, A LOCAL AGENCY WHICH IS FUNDED BY THE MASSACHUSETTS CULTURAL COUNCIL, AS ADMINSTRATED BY THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF ARTS + CULTURE
PLATFORMS
FROM PROVIDENCE, WHAT DID YOU DO NOW INTRO + WITH LOVE ORANGE PEEL MYSTIC #1
Greetings and welcome to the first PLATFORMS article of 2022! As we develop a flow for this new column it may take several forms over the coming months. Whether it be broken down by category, release timeline or other designation, you can always expect the platforms we feature to be artistrun, authentic and fresh (even if we drop a throwback now and then). Bottom line is to follow the artists creating these platforms and the artists they feature. Keep up with content created and owned by artists, always. This month we are featuring two brand new VIDEO series that just launched. They may or may not identify with the term VLOG but we hope they appreciate the feature regardless cause whatever we call them we call them because we are fans of the work and just plain love to see it! First up is WHAT DID YOU DO NOW, brand new video series from local artist, producer, photographer and video artist Don Beamon. What Did You Do Now (WDYDN) is an outlandish story time channel where regular ass people can tell hilarious stories from their regular ass lives. Now we can only hope that some of these regular ass people include some of the great artists in this city and knowing Don that might very well be the case. See, I personally met Mr Beamon performing with Miranda Rae, for whom he has produced many of her outstanding tracks, so I’m really hoping that all of the folks who fell in love with Don through the music scene will be making an appearance on WDYDN
One night in mid-December, I paid a visit to my new spot, a small hookah lounge off the beaten path. I took the lone outdoor table, next to the aloof valet. Inside was buzzing with red light and conversation, and I was moved by the strange pleasure of feeling at home. It was as though I were hearing my native language spoken after years abroad. This is my new city: Providence. I was born here, and raised nearby, so this move represents more of a revisiting. After living in Boston for 12 years, my reentry to Providence offers me the chance of a new relationship with the city, and the small state that surrounds it. I’m an insideroutsider, circumambulating this territory. Personal connection aside, we should all appreciate the relationship between Boston and Providence, two places whose geographical proximity, shared colonial and industrial history, and similar ethnic compositions might discourage a more critical comparison. I often find myself asking, “how are the people here different?” And how am I different?” From behind the wheel, I see a hipster pedestrian look me in the eye as they cross the street. The server at the queer eatery across the street tells me to ‘get comfortable,’ until they bring me my order. The young collegiate and professional types at the café down the hill brush up against one another; they, of course, would be in clear violation of Boston’s social code. In Providence, I observe a greater willingness to casually engage with strangers. The other day, I pulled my car into a spot, evidently too close for the liking of the young white woman nearby. “Idiot,” she but regardless give the guy a follow, check out said as she trotted by lazily. “Go ahead of his introductory video on youtube, subscribe me,” said another at the café, tiredly. “I’m and stay tuned for much more from this still looking.” multifaceted artist and genuine human being. Next we have ORANGE PEEL MYSTIC, musical project and now multimedia platform, who has been putting out musical offerings since 2013 and you should definitely check out her experimental and electronic jams but right now we are focusing on her new VIDEO SERIES - OPM #1 which features an interview with Brain Arts Org volunteer Hall of Fam inductee ROBBIE DEAN RHODES who makes exceptional oddball pop himself and has organized shows and made videos for many It’s been a minute. I had a baby! When artists in Boston in addition to his own fun splashes of one-man-band outsider musics. you’re pro-choice and you have a baby, the Please enjoy this brand new spread on OPM’s anti-choice misogynists in your life rejoice that youtube which can be found at their IG at @ you’ve clearly found your way back to Jesus orangpeelmystic and be sure to subscribe to and aren’t a slutty lost soul anymore. Well, I’m their channel! While you’re at it follow Robbie happy to report that by their measures I’m still a slutty lost soul, but I’m dismayed that my at @rhodeski in IG as well. We sincerely hope these BRAND NEW little one may not enjoy the same freedoms video series will spark the creative fire in YOU I have. The Supreme Court’s 1973 decision to dear reader and encourage you to GET IN legalize abortion almost certainly will not THOSE PLATFORMS! For those of you reading this edition of survive to its 50th anniversary with the Court’s Platforms from our blog we leave you with current conservative supermajority. While this amazing VIDEO POEM from Compass hearing arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson contributor CHOSEN from last year. If you’re Women’s Health (the case that threatens reading this in the paper, find her on IG @ to overturn Roe) Justice Amy Coney Barret iamcho_sen and look for the poem BLACK questioned Roe’s legitimacy because it focuses on the burden of parenthood, and BLACK on her youtube channel. relinquishing a newborn for adoption is legal ---------------------------------------- SAM POTRYKUS in every state. But painting adoption as the morally superior answer to abortion is a cruel lie that does a disservice to everyone who’s been involved in adoptions, abortions, or both (we contain multitudes). Before embracing my life as an unemployable art witch, I had a full-time job covering barriers to abortion and other sexual health care. I heard stories from birth mothers who placed babies for adoption, and people
Boston has an anxiety problem, due not only to its academic and professional culture, but to the engrained Anglo-Saxon code of proper physical distance, social grace, and general politeness that persists. The pressure to be anxiously civil can’t help but get on you, I believe. Anxiety is polarizing. But, relative to Boston, Providence tends to play it down the middle. Fewer people seem scared to touch, fewer people seem primed to fixate on “correct” codes of social conduct. My wife Rebecca, a New Yorker, observes and appreciates the switch from ‘sorry’ to ‘excuse me’ as we cross the border. I’m also different in Providence. I’m more relaxed. I’m more confrontational. I’m funnier. Frankly, I feel it’s more acceptable for me to be all of those things. When I make a mistake, I feel less guilty. In short, I feel less culturally alienated. I miss Boston, and I miss my neighborhood, Jamaica Plain. We left out of necessity. And Providence isn’t a Mecca. I was reminded of this by a friend who, traveling from Berlin, told me that Providence was “the most bumpkin city” they’ve lived in. I write this piece out of a deep caring, and perhaps frustration, for Boston, a place that I called home, but could never quite feel at home in. From Providence, with love,
------------ STEPHEN GRIGELEVICH
who were pro-life activists before needing abortions themselves. I recorded stories of folks who had abortions and it was no big deal, and those who had abortions and were devastated. Still, nothing has reinforced my support for reproductive freedom as much as becoming a parent. While I consider my pregnancy and birth positive experiences, they could easily have been traumatic if circumstances were different and I lacked support from my partner and care team. Birth is transformative, hard work, and so is parenthood. The government should not control, force, or take away the fundamental right to choose if and when to procreate. I started the ARTwitch column back in 2020 to honor our innate creativity and challenge hierarchy in the art world. In part because that hierarchy upholds an oppressive, hegemonic society, but mostly because it makes for a boring and decaying arts ecosystem. Just like I don’t think you should need to pass any tests proving you’re competent to parent (or choose not to), I don’t believe that art is something for a few special people to make, designated by a ruling class with less than noble intentions. The Supreme Court will announce its decision on the fate of Roe in June. Until then at least, ARTwitch will highlight local artists whose work explores reproductive and sexual justice. I worry what the world will look like when my kid is old enough to begin grasping its cruelty, and to have to navigate some of these decisions herself. I want her to know we tried, we’re still trying, and that some amazing, if not “special,” people e xpressed that struggle with beauty.
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ANALOGUE ADVERTISING
STATEHOUSE
To find new local bands to review, I usually find a show poster when I’m running errandsin order to fit my shtick of finding new music in the real world. This month I cheated. It’s freezing outside and I’m barely seeing any new posters. I didn’t feel like walking around for a longer distance in the ice, snow and rain just to find a poster. So this time, I found the band Statehouse on Rosewater Record’s Instagram page, advertising a show that’s happening on February 5th. I did discover Rosewater records by looking at a poster on the street a few months ago, so a poster did technically lead me to Statehouse. What makes me really excited about this band in particular is that it has members of
color! I love small Allston bands and I love rock music. However, as a person of color myself I get weary of writing about white people. It’s really nice to see some fellow POC passionate about rock music in Boston, Massachusetts. Statehouse is made up of three members who met in their freshman year of college (according to their Spotify biography). Gia Flores plays guitar and performs vocals, Wyatt Moran plays bass and performs vocals, and Ben Gurnon plays the drums. Statehouse was established in October 2019. They currently have 348 monthly listeners on Spotify, and 711 followers on Instagram. Their newest album, Amends, released June 4th of this year, is a wonderful pop-punk/ emo album that definitely calls back to late 2000’s punk and rock music. Think Brand New Eyes
CLOUD COMBUSTION
INTERVIEW WITH ADLO
AdLo (FKA Adam London) is a musician based in Boston, with influences from hyperpop to emo post-hardcore and post-punk. Listening to AdLo can bring up potent memories of walking through Allston after your first house show that you stayed at until it ended. While that example may be too foggy for people to remember so clearly, AdLo brings a glistening and professional yet punkish twist to the sonic experience. I sat down with Adam to talk about his influences and experience as a local and traveling musician about his new release Halfway House and more. MM: What is your favorite part about making music? AL: My favorite aspect of making music has to be the self-releasing part of it. We all have a lot of bottled-up thoughts and emotions that you can put on paper and later record audio. Like I hope my music can both inspire or be inspired by people around me. I write the majority of my lyrics on trains or when I’m skating or fixated on an interaction I had especially if it’s something that stuck with me and I have to jot it down for self-release especially when my life moves chaotically. Really a lot of what motivates me is that I have a lot of people I know and teens who are going to my shows lately and to see how it can resonate with both younger and older audiences when I talk about shitty relationships or a fucked up family dynamics and it’s flattering and invokes a sense of underground community which I feel is really important about making music. MM: What music did you listen to in your childhood / adolescence and does it influence how you make music today? AL: Yeah for sure, I grew up on my dad’s music which was a lot of 80’s glam rock. I really turned to music when I started skateboarding when I was 6 or 7, I hung out with the older kids at the park which showed me a lot of old school rap like Wu-Tang and Nas and all of the 90’s New York rap. I also got into a lot of post-hardcore and metal too because I learned the drums later on. In my adolescence I got into a lot of punk and grunge, even some post-grunge. But really my biggest inspiration from that time was Deftones, as cliche as that sounds it is sentimental to me because that was my favorite band since seventh grade. I really like how they blend nu-metal aspects with really calming shoegaze and grunge influences. Slipknot, while they aren’t as big for me now, I remember meeting Corey Taylor and Clown Crahan when I was 13. I was telling him about my band and he really was genuine about the whole interaction like I didn’t feel like he was phoning it in for the whole conversation, which is pretty impressive for a majorly commercial band. A lot of post punk and
hyperpop were influential and soundcloud as a whole community was a huge influence right now. Especially due to people that I feature in their songs and people featured in my songs is where I get a lot of my inspiration sonically. MM: Do you have any non-musical inspirations? AL: I grew up skateboarding and I find it to be a really healthy release for me, recently I’ve been rewatching a lot of skate videos in chronological order probably since around 2001 and it’s interesting to see how skate culture and punk rock culture evolved. In some ways people gave way less of a fuck back then probably due to a lack of social networking and not everything is documented on there. So yeah I get a lot of inspiration from skating and also like indie clothing and with that comes a lot of discovery of new artists and musicians. Tattoo artists are also another aspect I appreciate like when I die I don’t want my body to be this unoriginal flesh sack so yeah I got tatted up. MM: Any closing thoughts or ideas you’d like to put out? AL: Sure, My latest release Halfway House which I think is my favorite work so far, basically all of the songs surround this house I used to live in and the good and bad dynamics that it entails. I appreciate my friends who have stuck with me throughout my musical journey and just for supporting what I do.
------------------ MICHAEL MAMBRINO
era Paramore, May Day Parade, or All Time Low. Both Fia Flores and Wyatt Moran have that singing style demonstrated in bands like the Front Bottoms or Pavement- where there aren’t really many notes and they don’t particularly matter but the vocals sound amazing. Both Wyatt and Gia have beautiful and soothing voices. They structured the album to have the first and penultimate tracks be instrumental. “Polaroid” sets the mood for the album well and blends perfectly into the next track, “Tumble”. “Nothing”, the second to last track, is a gorgeous, slow tempo track that is a nice contrast to “Docs”, which goes pretty hard and fast. The lyrics are emo(tional), deep, and sometimes clever. In the song “Mouse trap”,
Wyatt sings, “his tiny little tail runs through my mind”. I appreciate dedication to a bit. Gia croons in the song “Anywhere”, “So if we can’t be friends, why do friends come across the room, if we can’t be friends, why don’t I wanna leave this room”. These three musicians have perfected a simple formula. A beautiful guitar, an anchoring bass, and some impactful drums and a raw sound. Listening to this band makes me feel like I’m 14 again, taking a walk through the woods and crying because my mom was annoying. I feel like I found a lost Paramore album from 2009. This album definitely hits that old school emo balance of sad and pensive music that encourages an energetic head banging sesh.
The Caper Tapes Vol 1 • 2022 • dir Nicole Amidon • Available on Youtube Portrait of a Lady on Fire • 2019 • dir Céline Sciamma • Brattle, Feb 16
artist Nicole Amidon was given only one week to produce the film ahead of its premiere, which is hard to believe when you see the results. The film takes advantage of animation loops and generative video, but never feels repetitive or arbitrary. Instead, the looping elements mixed with the sound collage put me in a trance. I’m a big fan of films that are able to mix and switch styles throughout (Hausu and Natural Born Killers for example), so I really appreciated how Caper Tapes takes that approach rather than sticking with and developing one look. The different techniques used reminded me of Len Lye’s cameraless animations, Mary Ellen Bute’s “visual music,” and Bruce Conner’s montages, to name a few. I’m hoping there will be a Caper Tapes Vol 2 with another accompanying film sometime soon. My second recommendation is Portrait of a Lady on Fire at the Brattle. It has one of the most effective slow builds I’ve ever experienced in a movie, and is just generally one of the best romances I’ve seen. I’m also looking forward to seeing Céline Sciamma’s most recent film, Petite Maman, whenever it comes to town.
REP HOUSE RECOMMENDATIONS
In this newly created column I plan to highlight Boston area filmmakers and film events whenever possible (in addition to recommending repertory screenings). The Caper Tapes Vol 1 is the first locally made film I’ve seen in the new year, and I’m pleased it’s the first one I’ll ever be covering here. It’s a 45 minute “visualization” to accompany an album of the same name, and I initially saw it on a Twitch livestream in January. The music, by Dead Army Choir, is a soundscape of chopped up conversations mixed with electronic experimentation (apparently the conversations we hear were all recorded during a road trip from Boston to a Waffle House in Scranton, PA). Each song gets its own distinct visual treatment, ranging from purely abstract animation to digitally altered stock footage. Some of the “chapters” have the same effect as the old liquid light shows projected during psychedelic concerts. Other sections, especially the less abstract ones, feel more like standalone experimental films. The
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interviews. Subscribe on Youtube for endless video content! Farenheight TV has a monthly variety show that celebrates people’s greatness through exclusive interviews, performances & more. Check out their latest collab with BAMS Fest interviewing artists from their current performance series Amplify the Soul. www.farenheighttv.com @farenheighttv
*As Covid cases surge we strongly encourage all to take careful precaution when going out to public events! Follow the indoor mask mandate and keep distance from others! Always double check the event online just in case they need to cancel!*
MUSIC & AUDIO 2/1 Bars Over Bars Hip Hop Showcase featuring local artists! Every first Tuesday of the month @Midway Cafe 7:30PM 21+ $10 2/2 Open Armory is an open mic for all performance practices. Sign up at 7PM. Happens first Wednesday of every month @Arts at the Armory 7PM-10PM All Ages Free 2/5 Rosewater Records Presents: Trophy Wife, Topanga Breakfast, Sub*T (NY), Statehouse @Tourist Trap (ask) 8pm All Ages $7-10 2/6 Mobius Presents: Spiderweb Series with Bonnie Jones (online event) 12pm-1pm Free Go to mobius.org for more info 2/8 Kina Zoré live every second Tuesday bringing two sets of Mozambican Funk! @Midway Cafe 8PM 21+ $10 2/8 Point01Percent: Kelly Gray, Forbes Graham, Pandelis Karayorgis, Eric Rosenthal + Cutout featuring Pandelis Karayourgis, Jorrit Dijkstra, Jeb Bishop, Nathan McBride, and Luther Gray @Lilypad 7:30pm All Ages $ome Cost 2/9 Fully Celebrated Orchestra with Sarah Bernadette and Gregory Eichler @Midway Cafe 8pm 21+ $5 2/9 Sickness, +DOG+, The Incontinence Project, L’eclipse Nue @O’Briens 9pm 21+ $10 2/10 Linnea’s Garden, Baabes, Adi Sun, Pidge @The Jungle (Somerville) 7:30pm 21+ $6-10 2/12 Creative Music Series Presents: Greg Kelley, Bonnie Jones, Sean Meehan, and Vic Rawlings quartet @1353 Cambridge St (Cambridge) 8pm All Ages $ome Cost 2/13 Mega Mass Presents: Artist Showcase! Every second Sunday of the month! Sign up to perform! @The Jungle 9PM12AM All Ages FREE 2/16 Perspective, A Lovely Hand to Hold, CHEEM, Garden Party @The Rockwell 8pm All Ages $15-18
2/16 Non-Event Presents: Franck Vigroux/Ulrich Krieger (duo) and Rachel Devorah (solo) @Goethe-Institut 7:30pm All Ages $10-15 2/17 Oh the Humanity (10 year anniversary) w/Kitner Sky Tigers, Blame it on Whitman @O’Briens 9pm 21+ $10-12 2/19 Rosewater Records Presents: Gloss (Philly), Christian Pace, Skylar Symone, Gollylagging @The Pelvic Floor 8pm All Ages $ome Cost 2/24 Soul Glo, Pummel, Pink Navel, Clock Out, Tossed Aside, Climb @Sons of Italy (Hingham) 6pm All Ages $15 2/26 Rosewater Records Presents: My Green Bananas, Paper Lady, Babehoven (NY), Divine Sweater @The Tourist Trap 8:30pm All Ages $7-10 Mega Mass Artist Showcase! Second Sunday of every month @The Jungle (Somerville) 9pm 21+ Sign up to perform Live music every Thursday! @Notch Brewing Biergarten (Brighton, Charles River Speedway) 7pm 21+ Free The Lilypad weekly open mic variety show! Every Wednesday hosted by Nighttime Gallagher @The Lilypad, Cambridge 10pm All Ages $5 BAMS Fest is constantly showing up for the community by organizing live shows, talks, competitions for local artists... not to mention their amazing annual music festival. Learn more at www.bamsfest.org insideTheMaze is a multimedia platform that is known for its diversity and continuous love and support for independent They cater to all genres such as Hip Hop, R&B, Latin, and so much more. On the radio at 88.5FM. Online at @_insidethemaze and www.insidethemaze.net ItsLitBoston Podcast has a dope new Spotify playlist called “ItsLitBoston Presents: VIBES FROM THE STATE” updated weekly with local new music you need to check out!! I hear they take submissions too! @itslitboston Also on Youtube and SoundCloud New England Mic Check Radio is our region’s top dawg for uplifting urban music! Episode #58 out now on all streaming platforms with a special feature on local artist Tamera King! www. nemiccheck.com for podcasts, swag and further updates! @newenglandmiccheck
Check out WECB FM Boston! WECB is a studentrun, creatively independent internet radio station at Emerson College in Boston. They host dozens of radio shows by hundreds of DJs and highlight new and exciting music both locally and beyond! Also, check out their music review platform Milk Crate! To listen and for more info, visit: www.wecb.fm Spark FM at Night with DJ Stix: Every Tuesday/Thursday from 11-1AM plus many more programs! Check out www. sparkfmonline.com
VIDEO & FILM GRRL HAUS CINEMA is an ongoing program of short films and video art made by women, non-binary, trans and genderqueer artists. A mix of local, national, and international artists present work from a variety of disciplines: narrative, documentary, experimental, and conceptual. With an emphasis on low budget and DIY, GRRL HAUS is a space for underrepresented voices in media arts. SUBMIT your films at www.filmfreeway.com/ GRRLHAUSCINEMA to be featured in one of their many showings throughout 2022. OKAY2 rollerblading vid drops 2/12 7pm at Hustle Killer HQ in Malden. It features local shredders and music by JuiseMoney. Roll up in person or scope www.okboston. blogspot.com and follow @okboston_ & @hkhqmalden Weird Local Film Fest is taking SUBMISSIONS for their next short film fest happening on March 24th. Submissions due March 10th. It may be in person…it may be virtual…all we know is that you gotta go! More info @weirdlocalfilmfestival Tiny DAP Concert Series Our spin on the NPR Tiny Desk Concert Series! All episodes are available now, including the newest drops featuring musical performances by Kasia Lavon and Tashawn Taylor! Visit dorchesterartproject. com/tiny-dap for more info and subscribe to the Boston Compass Newspaper Youtube channel for video drops! TheMUSEUM TV “Bringing The Creative Community Together In Our Own Fashion!”. That’s for sure! Check out their website www.tmtv.world for local art and hiphop news and so many dope exclusive artist
Cinema Salem is taking a break to make improvements and renovations…exciting! Check www.cinemasalem.com to see when they open back up!
VISUAL ART Washington Street Art Center Fundraiser for Somerville Homeless Coalition. Local small works submitted over the course of January will be on display and up for sale at WSAC with at least 30% of proceeds going to the Somerville Homeless Coalition. Gallery open to the public on 2/5 and 2/12 Jazz Scene in Boston: Through photographs, handbills and posters set in a club-like setting, this colorful exhibit provides a broad view of the Boston jazz scene from the 1940s to the 1980s. @ Museum of African History, Boston $10 Art Battle Boston is holding another live art competition 2/7 @Mighty Squirrel Brewing! Artists include Maggie MacMullin, Jordan Gagner, Ananda Toulon, Fallon Rae and more! FREQUENCIES is a crowdsourced audio/visual mural that features the sounds and sights of Allston-Brighton, straight from the people who live, work, and play in this vibrant Boston neighborhood! By Allison Tanenhaus and Maria Finkelmeier, the work will be beamed into our streetfacing gallery on Western Avenue—and reverberate off the sidewalk—from November 2021 – February 2022, creating a nightly pulsating performance for all. Praise Shadows Art Gallery is pleased to present A New Devotional by Crystalle Lacouture and Kevin Umana. Lacouture’s paintings will include her MAMA series, works on paper created as a daily ritual, while Umaña will present new ceramic tablets. On exhibit from 1/7 through 2/6 SPOKE Presents: ‘Touched’ – 30th Installation of Days Without Art 2022. Contribute a live offering performance during one of their 24-hour vigils on February 7th, National Black HIV Awareness Day at a site TBD. Or make a prerecorded offering to mark the hours of 3:00 am and 6:00 pm for the 67 days between Dec 1 and Feb. 7. www.mwponline.org Support the Nubian Square Public Art Initiative, a newly launched initiative spearheaded by Black Market
Nubian to develop a series of public murals and installations as a catalyst for neighborhood economic empowerment by the community, for the community. Support the cause and donate to their gofundme! www. blackmarketnubian.com/nspai
PERFORMANCE ART 2/12 Somerville Night Live! by Mess + Finesse is a one hour+ of absurd, high energy, and hilarious original sketch comedy. The show is written the week-of and performed by some of Boston’s best comedic talent. @The Rockwell 9pm 21+ $25 2/11–3/5 People, Places & Things is a celebrated new play about a young woman in rehab who thought they were just having a great time. Tix at SpeakEasyStage.com $60 general/$25 if under 25 y-o 2/17–2/20 Afro-futurist author Octavia E Butler’s classic novel Parable of the Sower takes the stage as a profound and inspiring opera celebrating the history of black music. Unmissable. Tix at ArtsEmerson. org $25 & up 2/23–2/27 ArtsEmerson presents Dreaming Zenzile is an incredible new musical based on Zenzile Miriam Makeba, a singer/songwriter, actress, United Nations goodwill ambassador, and civil rights activist. Written and performed by Somi Kakoma. Tix at ArtsEmerson.org $25 & up thru 3/13 Toni Morrison’s literary masterpiece, The Bluest Eye, is translated to the stage by the Huntington Theatre Company at the BCA. Tix at HuntingtonTheatre.org $25 & up Check out Artists’ Theater of Boston! They produce “thoughtful, evocative work that challenges systemic injustices facing our communities through the collaborative process of making theater.” Online opportunities and performances can be found at artiststheater.org Midway or the Highway Ever wondered what hilarious comedians from big fancy TV shows do the rest of the week? Sometimes they appear at your neighborhood bar! The funniest in New England and beyond can now be found in the wilds of JP on every single Sunday night at 9PM FOR FREE. Open mic at 10PM @Midway Cafe 21+
ZINES Penny Magazine was created as a means to discuss how different areas of the music industry have been affected and changed in lieu of the coronavirus pandemic. Read this beautifully colorful zine at www.penny-mag.com and follow @pennythemag Zinesters Club All ages and experience levels are welcome every second Thursday of the month to come down to the Teen Room at Watertown Free Public Library and make zines! Supplies provided!
Vicky Marcelino is a Dominicanx illustrator making beautiful works including fantastical and realist comics! She even publishes comics in Spanish! Follow at @magicalgrlbicky browse more at www.victoriamarcelino.com Superfroot Magazine Dedicated to uplifting underrepresented artists and writers, this zine focuses on a new theme each issue. Issue #2 NOSTALGIA pre-orders now open or read digitally now at www.superfroot.com The Negro Flowers Series An online zine of writings, poetry, art and photography by various local BIPOC authors compiled by BCN contributor Qadir Shabazz. ‘People & Places’ Issue #3 is now available! It includes “A concept where Photographers of color share their work which focuses on their own unique perspective of what community looks like to them”. Read online at www.linktr.ee/qadir__shabazz Pleasure Pie is a grassroots sex-positive organization in Boston, MA. They make zines, illustrations, publications, events, and conversations on sexual empowerment and consent. They also put out a monthly email newsletter called Boston’s Sex Positive Newsletter, which lists local sexuality-related events and job openings. They now distribute sex-positive zines by others outside their org! Check this link to SUBMIT YOUR ZINES! www.pleasurepie.org/submit Reflective Zines makes mental health, poetry and music zines! They cover trauma therapy, dissociation, DBT, identity, healing from abuse, queer love and much more. You can find them at the Paper Asylum in Beverly, MA and more info at @reflectivezines. Browse online at www.etsy.com/shop/ reflectivezines Juniper Mag is holding a launch party + opening at Pop Up Worcester on February 5th. Artists from their first three volumes will be exhibiting work from February 5th to the 18th. Find out more @juniperrag and www.juniperrag.com Wack Mag Their mission is to bring people together through art + creation. They want to be a space where people feel comfortable to submit any work they are excited about, get published, gain experience, and create their own community of creatives. Sound familiar?? Found out how to SUBMIT your work or even join the team at @wack.mag and www.wackmag.com Lucy Parsons Center is an independent, non-profit, radical bookstore and community space. They also do a Free Store for the People every 2nd Sunday of the month 12-2PM across the street. www.lucyparsonscenter.org
COMMUNITY 2/12 KISS KISS BANG BANG a Valentine’s Day Sip & Shop Market for all! Sellers include local vendors and artists!
of services to LGBTQ+ youth of color and their allies in the Greater Boston and Greater Framingham areas and also Mental Health While provides education and Black Summit this annual consultation to other providers summit will bring together residents, community partners, and community organizations. grassroots organizations, Women Explore Lecture and clinical professionals, and Discussion Forum: Women elected officials to connect Explore provides lecture series and learn from one another within a feminist learning to best combat the mental health and suicide prevention community for women, to connect with the sacred service, delivery, and dimensions of their experience outreach challenges that face communities of color. February and to support and encourage each other in the world 18th @Encore Boston Harbor Convention Center. More info community. womenexplore.org at www.deedeescry.com @Machines With Magnets, RI 12-5pm
Black Market Nubian is a Black-Owned, cooperativestyle retail business that operates within a Pan-African pop-up paradigm. The Market has been widely accepted as one of Boston’s premiere spaces to gather, meet and shop, understanding the need for micro-business Founders to develop the business acumen and literacy needed to move towards sustainability. Located at 2136 Washington St, Roxbury. More info at @blackmarketnubian Building Audacity is a non-profit organization that seeks to support youth-led change-making and to provide resources for adults looking to create inclusive, youth-focused learning environments. They are running several programs right now that prioritize community needs during the pandemic, including a GOTVac campaign, hydroponic produce farm, and grocery delivery services. Learn more at www.buildingaudacity.org and @buildingaudacity
Community Fridges! There’s a bunch of these popping up all around the city! They provide food for all and are totally volunteer-run! Check Out @bostoncommunityfridge @dotcommunityfridge @allstoncommunityfridge @matcommunityfridge @cambridgecommunityfridge @roslindalecommunityfridge Some are relocating and need your help finding businesses and people to host them!
ADVOCACY Creatives of Color Boston is a collective dedicated to the creation of intersectional safe spaces for BIPOC artists to connect and create together, while also celebrating and uplifting the voices and work of BIPOC artists from around the Boston area. They plan three main events each year including concerts, workshops, and exhibitions. More at www.creativesofcolorboston.com
Dunamis ignites agency and transformative growth for emerging artists and artsmanagers of color by serving as a nexus for professional development, communitybuilding, consultation, production, advocacy and developing equitable pipelines for access and leadership in creative spaces. Check out their website for info on their ArtAssembled in Assembly programs like fellowships for Row! There is a new pop-up art space in Assembly Row that artists, workshops, concerts and more. www.dunamisboston.org you can rent for $5/hour. Art Assembled is a project of the Greater Boston Artist Somerville Arts Council with Collective strengthens our artist support from Federal Reality/ community with their many Assembly Row. programs. From filming music videos to artist interviews…from Unbound Visual Arts is a unique Allston-Brighton based monthly artist features to their yearly art event they strive to non-profit art organization. They serve the Greater Boston keep artists thriving! Check out their very active IG at community with impactful @greaterbostonartistcollective educational programs and exhibits to encourage learning, and website www. greaterbostonartistcollective.com engagement, and change with a special focus on racial Rebel Cause, Inc. was founded justice. in 2016 and has evolved to Exhibition and class info at promote various forms of www.unboundvisualarts.com activism and advocacy. They and @unboundvisualarts focus on storytelling, mutual aid, and capacity and coalition Boston LGBTQIA+ Artists building to promote equity and Association is revamping with a new director and a new representation for marginalized communities throughout Boston website! They just released a survey asking what LGBTQIA+ and beyond. www.rebelcauseinc.org artists in Boston would like @rebelcauseinc to see happen with this new organization. Find it at www.blaa.us Apparel Brand, Music Label and Entertainment Company Scope Apparel has opened a storefront and HQ AT 484 B Center St, Jamaica Plain. They throw shows, events and fundraisers there! Check it out! @scopeapparel and www.scopeapparel.com
Boston GLASS operates Drop-In Community Centers for LGBTQ+ youth of color between the ages of 13–25! GLASS provides a continuum
The Fang Collective organizes with our community to build a decolonized world free of prisons and police, where systems of oppression are uprooted and healed, while taking action to avert the worst impacts of climate change. To find out about actions and events follow @ fangcollective and visit www. thefangcollective.org
ACT UP Boston is an Aids Coalition to Unleash Power Boston is a multinational, multi-generational coalition committed to direct action to end the world AIDS crisis. Check out their recently uploaded Youtube video on overdose reversal training! @ actupboston Violence In Boston is committed to creating safer, healthier, and empowered Black and brown communities. Their Social Impact Center seeks to prevent and reduce the impact of violence by providing immediate and basic needs for the community. Food pantry open Monday to Friday, 9am5pm in Hyde Park. More info at @violenceinboston and www.violenceinboston.org World Worker’s Party Boston Join the fight against capitalism, bigotry and human injustice with WWPB. They organize many many actions covering a slew of extremely important human rights issues. They also publish lots of articles to inform the public on these issues. Learn much more at www.bostonwwp.org Boston Liberation Center, Boston PSL’s new community space, is an educational and organizing hub for people to connect and talk with organizers, study in the reading room, and purchase BLC merch. They will be holding a Liberation forum on 12/18 7-9PM (masks required, childcare provided). Located at 194 Blue Hill Avenue, Roxbury. Learn more at @bostonpsl West Of Washington Coalition A neighborhood group of Dorchester seeking to make our community a safer, friendlier, and more vibrant place to live. @wowcoalition and on Facebook to stay up to date with their community events and actions
VietAID aims to build a strong Vietnamese community and a vibrant Fields Corner through community building; developing affordable space; providing small business assistance and micro-enterprise development; and child care services. Visit their headquarters at the Vietnamese American Community Center at 42 Charles St, Dorchester. www.vietaid.org Sunrise Movement Boston works every day to stop climate change and create jobs in the process. Find them at @ sunrisemvmtboston to cue into all the rad actions and workshops they have going on. Asian American Resource Workshop is a political home for pan-Asian communities in Greater Boston. They are a memberled organization committed to building grassroots power through political education, creative expression, and issuebased and neighborhood organizing. Join today! @aarw.boston and www.aarw.org
MODERN CONVERSATION HEARTS
BY JENNA MILES
@JENNAMILESART
The Adventures of Cat Barge
by Will Quinn
@willquinnart
GOBLIN LOVE
Sparkly Angst
BY TRISTAN PATINO
@TRISTANANDTHEWILD
by Lou Gervais
@sparklyangstcomics
The Boston ake us m 0% p l e H Compass is 10 hing! run t ree s nt i lu vo h t
Amplify new vo ices!
>>
Email to learn how
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t our Ar See Y ! Here?
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work to send your -ar ts.org in ra adrian@b
Art by Cristina Rodero Sales @crisrod3ro
MEGAPHONE BEFORE CHRIST Off your feet, Spring not like the season. From within your soul, Captive not your mind. Release the grip of your lively intentions, To breathe is not a crime. Understand that stagnance is the Sandman, For that matter your dreams become sand. A sandstorm, Inside of your home, Where you live. Make your environment a reflection, A vision of who you are. Off your feet, Spring not like the season. The hole within your chest, Filled with cobwebs, Pigs do not have wings. Remove your delusions of possibilities. Logic - a safe haven, Theories become innovations. Off your feet, Off your feet now. Spring spring spring ! Up up up ! Now now now ! Projecting the babylonian code of Inspiration, Through the megaphone that existed before christ himself. I’m off my feet, I’m up like the spring. Bullet wounds in my stussy, Through my carhartt, Into my melanin pigment. Wrist cuffed, My neck hurts a lot in this position. My saliva drips from yelling. All because I’m inspired. I hope they repent these conservative gatekeepers, I hope the last of a dying breed, Get to breathe at least. Off your feet, Spring, Spring allllllll the way up now And don’t come back down.
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