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How to Destroy the Universe Festival

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How to Destroy the Universe
Extreme Art, Music, Bands and Performance Festival Series



"We intend to Destroy all dogmatic verbal systems..."


--William S. Burroughs RE/Search interview

 

 


  • Destroy 6 at Burning Man 2007
    Mobilization is interested in teaming up with other machine artists/performers/folks to set up a roving post-punk village. Please contact us if you are interested in joining in the may-hem: destroy6 at mobilization.com

  • How to Destroy the Universe - Part 5
    Blixa Bargeld, The Living Jarboe, F-SPACE, The Sixteens.
    Jan 26 - Feb 6, 2006 West Coast Festival Tour
    San Diego, LAX, SF, Portland, Seattle, Vancouver, Calgary
    • Note: Blixa Bargeld is the singer for Einsturzende Neubauten and former guitarist for Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

  • DESTROY 4 - June 24 - June 26, 2005 - Berkeley and San Francisco, California
    A special weekend dedicated to aerial machine and fire art, and post nuclear mayhem
    • Artist Descriptions and Press Releases (coming soon)

  • DESTROY - PART 3 NYC MON SEPT 13-14 at the Lit Lounge, Continental Club and Tommy's Tavern

QUESTIONS? Email: destroyinfo 'at' Mobilization.com for a prompt response

Subscribe to the Mobilization email list for OCCASIONAL (1-3 emails per month) notifications about upcoming HOW TO DESTROY festivals and related events and free web casts:
http://kumr.lns.com/mailman/listinfo/mobilization
(This is a completely private list, and you can remove yourself at any time.)

 

  • Blixa Bargeld - "Rede/Speech" solo performance Oct 6-7, Oct 14-16 for at "How to Destroy the Universe - Part 5" festival
    http://www.blixa-bargeld.com/proj/rede.html
    • PORTLAND, OREGON - FRIDAY Oct 14 at Sabalas. Co-presented by 2Grylz.
      w/ F-SPACE, SCOT ARFORD, Soria and Synchronicity Frequency

      VERY LIMITED SEATING - BUY TICKETS NOW Here or from BROWNPAPERTICKET.com


    • Other venue's are still being booked. More information here shortly. Email "destroy5 [[att-]] mobilization dot com for more information.

    • Destroy4 Review:

      SonicKtty : From the Procession list
      Hi Everybody! Long time IPR/NS&S/Fundamental fan,first time poster....Yeah...I went to both Shipyard shows this weekend.The first night SR
      played saw them as musicians in a somewhat rehearsed show...very
      technical.Most likely due to a really new bassist who only had a
      couple of days to learn the material.But they were in fine form on
      Saturday night.Very loud,very chaotic.I actually got to sing on a few
      songs myself!Ethan made a comment about how improvisational they were
      that night by saying something to the effect of,"Now THIS is like a
      REAL
      Savage Republic show!!".And the first thought that came to mind
      was,"THIS IS LIKE A REAL SR SHOW!!!!".Or at least the way I remember
      them as I have seen them many times before.I would say that Saturday's
      set was even better than the "Beyond The Pale" show in '02.So with all due respect,to say that Bruce is the only component in
      SR's brilliant sound is a bit absurd.SR were/are a BAND,which means
      that everyone involved has had an equal part in it.And Bruce's unique
      sound is showcased much more in Scenic as it is(whom I have also seen
      quite a few times).I will say this...ANYONE who rejected the idea of
      seeing them this past weekend missed out on,what I can only describe
      as A CLASSIC SAVAGE REPUBLIC SHOW!!!!!Oh yeah...
      and F-Space(my first time seeing them)was amazing.They just
      blew me away!!Both nights!      (((=^..^=)))

    Stolen from Mark Wilson's LiveJournal:

    The How to Destroy the Universe IV festival this weekend was a wonderful, wonderful experience. I worked the merch table the entire weekend (even though I had originally been scheduled for multiple tasks), and I was already exhausted by the end of the first night, but it was well worth it. I met some great people including Skip Arnold, the guy who was wrapped in cellophane then suspended from a pole on Saturday night, as well as Enrique who performed under the name Soriah with Thee 999 Eyes... ensemble all three nights. Enrique is an absolutely amazing vocalist. (Actually, it turns out that I knew Enrique from back in the House of Usher days prior to his move to Portland. I saw him perform a few times while I was living there, but I hadn't recognized him then.) Plus, I ran into a lot of out of town friends that I haven't seen in ages -- katheudo (Eric, I don't know when you left Saturday night, but hopefully you waited out the horrible guitarist during Soriah's set; once the guitarist stopped playing, it became the best Soriah performance that I had ever seen -- at least until last night's), Karloff and two other members of Hop-Frog that had driven up from LA to play on KZSU that afternoon, and several other Portland people that were part of Thee 999 Eyes... ensemble: Ryan from Synchronicity Frequency, Ryan's girlfriend who sold merch next to me most of the weekend (I didn't realize until last night that it was the same girl he had been dating while I lived up there since she looked SO different), Nolon (occaisonal drummer for Julian Tulip's Licorice) who I know through beatings, Noah (who I owe much gratitude for the three times he allowed me to play his events, once with 15DBZ just prior to my move to Portland and twice as Conure while I was living there), and Lana (who now lives in New York City).Some of the performances were rather ho-hum including Punkoustica, Dos (a new project featuring Mike Watts from The Minutemen), and The Weegs. The Final Republic (members of Savage Republic) performance on Sunday ranged from boring to incredible (the second to last piece when it was just a trio rather than a quintet), but the full Savage Republic band (well, this incarnation at least) put on a really good show on Friday and an incredible one on Saturday. F-Space got better each night. They weren't able to use any fire on Sunday night since they were at Studio Z that evening, but it didn't matter. It was probably the most intense performance I've ever seen from them. (I've seen them a LOT.) Once again, it was the second to last piece that really blew me away. They probably should have stopped with that piece, but they ended up doing one more, this time with Soriah on guest vocals. It sounded really good, but it still could have been a little better if they had actually had a chance to rehearse it together. As for the collaborations between Thee 999 Eyes... ensemble and Soriah... Yum... Butoh dancers and incredibly engaging ritualistic drones go really well together -- well, at least after the suspended by hooks wanking guitar player goes away. Both Soriah and F-Space did their finest sets on Sunday night. It says a lot about the performers that even though there was almost nobody attending the final evening, they still put their all into it.I worked the event on a volunteer basis, having asked multiple people to volunteer at my events in the past. Ethan from Mobilization Record and F-Space (the main promoter of the event) was very appreciative, and he said that I had gone beyond the call of duty. He hadn't expected me to work the ENTIRE weekend, including set-up and tear-down, but several of the volunteers hadn't showed up, and I really didn't mind. Like I said, it was exhausting, but I enjoyed talking with people and having a decent vantage point to enjoy the bands....

    I also did a bunch of trades over the weekend. I ended up with releases by Soriah, Hop-Frog, Synchronicity Frequency, and Del Rey & the Sun Kings (a side-project from a Savage Republic member). I also gave away a bunch of Conure CDs and sold a few items of my own. All of the above added to a bunch of new contacts that I hope to work with in the future -- maybe not in actual musical collaborations since I'm kind of hesitant about collaborating with anybody besides Mike and Dan, but hopefully in organizing shows in the future, both here as well as in the different artists' various cities. I've already been offered a future Conure performance in LA, which is sweet since I haven't played there in about two years.This weekend really inspired me. After I catch up on sleep, I really intend to concentrate much, much more on new creations.


    (click for hi-res flyer PDF you can print out and distribute)

|Free Audio/Video Downloads| |Press Information/photos|

"The Crisis of our Country is not caused by External Forces...

The Danger Lies Within..."
Jeff Long, Savage Republic 1982

Jeff's Triumpant 23 year REturn:
June 24-25, 2005 San Francisco

"Some view [the new F-SPACE CD] Preliminary Impact Report as the statement
Savage Republic never made:
a vivid portrayal of destruction, beauty, and simplicity" - East Bay Express, August 2004

Recent News

  • Blixa Bargeld to perform special rare solo performance Oct 5-6, Oct 14-16 for "How to Destroy the Universe - Part 5"
    Venue's are still being booked. More information and advanced tickets on here shortly.

Destroy4 Tickets available now HERE or from BrownPaperTickets.com


(click for hi-res flyer PDF you can print out and distribute)

  • How to Destroy the Universe Festival
    Extreme Music, Art, Performance



"We intend to Destroy all dogmatic verbal systems..."

--William S. Burroughs RE/Search interview

 

 

Click image for Show Details

May 22 , 2005-
How to Destroy the Universe? - Part 4
ALL AGES: FRI June 24 - SAT June 25, The SHIPYARD, Berkeley, CA
21+: SUN June 26, STUDIOZ, San Francisco, CA

Free Earplugs provided by HEARnet.com

We have a few 3 Day FESTIVAL PASSES available:
$35 - $50 sliding scale. These include some festival only free-bies.

Tickets available now HERE

(if you have trouble with the buttons, just Pay Pal
your payment to payme 'at''[REMOVE] mobilization.com)

or from BrownPaperTickets.com

Note: Like last year,
no one turned away due to lack of funds.
Email "ImStillBroke at mobilization.com" for a sponsored admission.

We continue our Fiercely Independent, annual DIY collaborative Event focused on exploring ARTISTIC INDETERMINACY and just what it means to be a BURNING MANN and Post POST-PUNK in the modern world. We also continue to emphasis (or at least share the stage equally) with Female heavy hitters. Many of the bands are fronted or composed mainly of women, all of which are not afraid to Launch! Including Punk Cholita Pioneer Alice Bags (Decline of Western Civilization)!

We've stepped up the art focus this year and turned the reins over to the SHIPYARD and the FLAMING LOTUS GRRLS. We've also invited three bus loads of "Modern Primitive" extreme performers. It's hard to classify just exactly what these very real Freaks do, but needless to say it is Extreme performance.

There are no slackers in this years lineup. The list is overwhelming! Everyone promises to DESTROY!

HISTORY: In the early 1980s, gaggles of crazed angst ridden youth, sharing who-knows-what drugs, safety pins and multicolored hair products, were bussed out to the Mojave desert to unleash their Extreme culture to the cosmos. Los Angeles Punk/Post-Punk Scene icons such as
BLACK FLAG, SAVAGE REPUBLIC, the MINUTEMEN and RED KROSS were joined by the likes of EINSTURZENDE NEUBAUTEN, S.R.L. and NoN to raise up their mutual FIERY FISTS OF FURY and ask the Burning Bush just "What the F*Ck?". Munitions of every shape and size exploded. The desert burned. Minds Fried. Culture Shifted.

DESTROY 2005: This years events takes this Invariant reference point, and Worm Holes past the Northern "Rave in the other Desert" to present an Apocalyptic festival of Extreme energy, Quantum Contradiction, and Sardonic Conservatism.

This is the event that promises to leave us spent and scratching our mottled heads as to just What transpired. And like all good science, hopes to leave us with more questions than answers.

The bill is ENORMOUS this year! Please come out and help support this rare opportunity to build and re-invent extreme underground community.

  • F-SPACE - (FRI-SAT-SUN)
    Full fire show by these local Pyro Punk Legends! New and old pieces, including an Alvin Lucier inspired long wire performance on Jim Masons Shipyard Container Guitar!.
  • RIGGED - (FRI-SAT)
    An Aerial Installation of Large Scale Airborne Curiosities
    Curated by     Jim Mason and the Shipyard. The list of artists is HUGE. The art burns on Sat.
  • Los Angeles Punk Pioneers 23-25 Year Re-Union!!!
    • DOS (Mike Watt & Kira Roessler) (FRI),
    • Chuck Dukowski Sextet (Black Flag) (SAT),
    • Punkoustica - with Angela Flores, Teresa Covarrubias, Alice Velasquez (Alice Bags), Angie Garcia(SAT and SUN)
    • Savage RE/Public-ans (FRI-SUN)
  • The SAVAGE REPUBLIC Indeterminacy Experiment - (FRI-SAT-SUN)
    Seminal Post-Punk pioneer JEFF LONG (Wasted Youth, Savage Republic) offers his FIRST performance since 1983! RARE one time only performance of "Tragic Figures". Also new material by     FINAL REPUBLIC
  • SKIP ARNOLD - Extreme International Performance Artist
  • The ART of BLEEDING - (SAT) Los Angeles Cacophony Society drive their bloody ambulance north to provide urgent emergency medical and art care to the revolving human installations
  • EXTRA ACTION MARCHING BAND - (FRI) En route to L.A. and the Hollywood Bowl
  • SORIAH - (Fri-Sat-Sun) Our beloved twisted shaman from the North channels the event with Tuvan throat singing and sweeping sonic landscapes
  • Thee 999 Eyes Ov Endless Dream
  • Lisa McHenry - (Fri-Sat) Opera from the top of the containers
  • MC'd by Samantha X and her Carnival Side Show of Human Curiosities - True Physical Freaks of Nature communicate and share with the rest of us freaks, including skits showcasing the history of side show freaks. Also visit their traveling side show.
  • BOYSKOUT (FRI), BLACK ICE (SAT), The WEEGS (SUN) - Half Grrrl Post Punk mania and anxiety
  • BINKY (Sun) - All grrl hardcore punk
  • The TURKS (Fri) - Fez sportin' rockers
  • BORG23.com Benefit - A William S. Burroughs inspired sub-genre of the BORG2 sub-genre of the BORG genre, exploring Language as a Virus.
  • RE/Search Publications - The grand daddy of Extreme Post-Punk and Modern Primitives publications
  • POST-PUNK.com - DJs.
  • TIKI-NEWS.com's Otto

  • VISUALS BY:
    • Cat Five - under the alias, "And More from Cleveland"atmospheric project - Audio and Video disasters
    • Molitov - Spits searing 16mm vintage film images of archly casual destruction, dryly visceral medical footage and blissfully sensual educational nature footage for the audience's edification
    • mark mcgothigan and Kitty - Video installation in the Gristle Lounge by Mark McGothigan; featuring the KaosmiKitty Kompilation DVD by KaosmiKitty
    • Skip Arnold - New and Classic works, including "give paris one more chance.......Fuck the French/the French suck!", "I HATE EVERYONE AND EVERYONE HATES ME!" and the 1982 classic "GIRLS IN BIKINIES"
    • Usama Alshaibi - Diverse range of transgressive commentary ranging from online lifestyles to middle eastern warfare
    • FLAMING LOTUS GRRLS - Videos from Burning Man's Pyro Art Welding Women's Brigade
      * NOTE: There will not be any scuptures at the event from Flaming Lotus Girls
    • RE/Search Video - Selections from the RE/Search catalog, including "Louder, Faster, Shorter" and "Pranks!"

  • Sponsored by the SAN FRANCISCO BAY GUARDIAN, LAUGHINGSQUID.COM, Ron Halbert,
    Mark McGothigan, POST-PUNK.com and RE/Search Publications

Co-Presented by: KFJC, KZSU, KUSF, KALX, KXLU (Los Angeles)

Wed June 22 @ the Great American Music Hall
All Ages Always
Neurosis - Von Till et. al. are not formerly part of the festival due to their weekend shows in Paris, but will be here in spirit. Go see them off and we wish them all the best!

PURCHASE TICKETS:

For each night, choose the number of tickets you want and provide at least the buyer's name. Tickets will be Will Call at the door. Use the Donation button to donate any additional part of the "sliding scale". Please print out your Pay Pal email to use for discounted merchandise at the event.

For lower ticket prices or a sponsored admission, please email "orders at mobilization . com"

We've provided suggested base ticket prices, plus a donation button you can use to contribute anything above the suggested price. Prices include Pay Pal charges.

FRI June 24 @ the SHIPYARD, Berkeley, CA
ALL AGES!

$11 - $16 Sliding Scale
7:30 - 8:00 The TURKS - Fez sportin' trash rock
8:15 - 9:00

 EXTRA ACTION Marching Band
A final Hurrah before they head south to L.A. to open for David Byrne at the Hollywood Bowl!

9:00 - 9:15

SKIP ARNOLD - Classic performance art videos. Not for the kids.
9:15 - 10:00 Dos
Mike Watt and Kira Roessler dual bass. RARE!! 2nd Bay area performance since 1986!
Do not come late and miss them!
10:15 - 11:00

Sav.Rep.,Ph.D. - NEW Material. Original SAVAGE REPUBLIC front man dynamo JEFF D. LONG, Ph.D (also Wasted Youth), ETHAN PORT, Ph.D. and JACKSON DEL REY join forces for the first time! Scot Jenerik may provide additional percussion and pyro-technics.
THIS IS THE ONLY PERFORMANCE PLANNED ANYWHERE and Jeff's first and only performance in over 20 years!!

11:15 - 12:00

 F-SPACE - First 2005 appearance. Performing a special Alvin Lucier inspired piece composed especially for the RIGGED event.

12:00 - 12:15

 SKIP ARNOLD - Classic performance art videos. Not for the kids.

12:15 - 12:45

 

 BOYSKOUT
Grrl Post Punk. Sleater Kinney/Joy Division Collision. Extremely Good!

12:45 - 1:30

 

 Thee 999 Eyes of Endless Dream and SORIAH- (Portland, Oregon) Extreme/Spiritual Butoh Dance ensemble close out the evening

 

 

 

Cat Five "And also from Cleveland..." atmospheric project between sets

NOTE: Veronica Lipgloss have Declined to play the festival.

SAT June 25 @ the SHIPYARD, Berkeley, CA
ALL AGES!

 
7 - 8 (TBA)
8 - 8:30 Punkoustica - RARE! Angela Flores, Teresa Covarrubias, Alice Velasquez, Angie Garcia
Note: Alice is the Original Punk Cholita ALICE BAGS from the BAGS (Decline of Western Civilization/Castration Squad). Energy of the PUNK ROCK ORCHESTRA but one tenth the calories!
8:30 - 9:30

 BLACK ICE - Rat-a-tat-tat! The return of these Phantom Limb's dark post-goth Kats!
9:30 - 10:15

 Chuck Dukowski SEXTET- BLACK FLAG bass player's truly remarkable and hard to classify Jazz sextet. "My War" may surface. (Tentative)
10:30 - 11:30


 Tragic SAVAGEd REPUBLIC - 25 year anniversary of SAVAGE REPUBLIC's seminal post-punk-industrial debut album "Tragic Figures" performed by some original members, including front man dynamo JEFF LONG (also Wasted Youth), JACKSON DEL REY and ETHAN PORT.
THIS IS THE ONLY PERFORMANCE PLANNED ANYWHERE and Jeff's first and only performance in over 20 years!!
11:30 - 12:30 F-SPACE - Debut their new 2005 "Bleeding Rays of Dawn" Material

12:30 - 1:15

 

Thee 999 Eyes of Endless Dream & Soriah - SORIA (Portland, OR) - The chaos builds with a purely Extreme "Modern Primitive" Human Body Hook Suspension ritual and Human Marionette performance (More dangling from the Fork Lift is promised). Humans as art suspended from the RIGGED installation while the fires burn.

WARNING: This performance incorporates extreme ancient shamanistic ecstatic rituals where people are suspended off the ground by hooks in their bodies. It is recommended that you leave the main performance space during the performance if this type of exhibition will disturb you.

1:15 - 2:00


 The ART of BLEEDING
Rev. Al (founder of the Los Angeles Cacophony Society) and his band of merry nurses and medical technicians provide Emergency Assistance and Gorilla based Frivolity to the PURELY insane. The festival is scheduled to degenerate again into completely inappropriate mania and wager fueled mayhem
1:15 - 2:00 RIGGED: Immolation of the Art - The visual arts duke it out with sonic and human atrocities, as the art MUST BURN!

Cat Five's "And also from Cleveland..." atmospheric project between sets

DJs:

7pm - 10pm Otto of Tiki-News.com in the lounge

12pm - 2am Josh of Post-Punk.com

 

SUN June 26 @ STUDIOZ in San Francisco, CA
21+ Only
(after the Pride Parade)

RIGGED: "Day After" Reception for the Artists
7:00 - 7:15 RIGGED- Panel Discussion led by Jim Mason and Skip Arnold

7:15 - 8:00

 

Punkoustica - RARE! Angela Flores, Teresa Covarrubias, Alice Velasquez, Angie Garcia
Note: Alice is the Original Punk Cholita ALICE BAGS from the BAGS (Decline of Western Civilization/Castration Squad). Energy of the PUNK ROCK ORCHESTRA but one tenth the calories!
8:00 - 8:45 BINKY- The return of these all GRRL hard-core punk rockers!

9:00 - 9:45

The WEEGS - One of the very best Bay Area post-punk bands drives the final nail ALL THE WAY DOWN!
10:00 - 10:45 FINAL REPUBLIC - New Works by some SAVAGE REPUBLIC members
11:00 - 11:45 F-SPACE