It’s Normal For Some Things to Come to Your Attention
Luna Theater co-manager Ted Read has been busy beyond managing The Luna Theater as he has been organizing in his words, “a mesmerizing audio-visual feast for the senses” as Negativland takes the stage in the Luna Theater on Sunday May 8th. Read says the band was searching for a theater such as the Luna with certain esthetic and technical specifications for their sort of psychedelic music and art performance. This performance at Mill No. 5 is the only one in the Boston area and it rounds out the spring/summer tour dates including Colorado, Maryland, Pennsylvania, NYC, Rhode Island and Texas.
Live cinema, visual artist SUE-C will be joining the band to collaborate in a live audio-visual performance. The performance will be live video and live audio all done on stage, projected back at the performers and the audience all at once with the theme being our minds, the world we live in and the evolving forms of media and technology that orchestrate our perceptions.
“Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area and making their debut in 1980, Negativland has been collaborating the world of art and music since then through the creation of “records, CDs, video, fine art, books, radio and live performance using appropriated sounds, images, objects, and text….Mixing original materials and original music with things taken from corporately owned mass culture and the world around them, Negativland surreally re-arrange these found bits and pieces to make them say and suggest things that they never intended to.”
The band made waves early in their career being sued for copyright infringement and as such were instrumental in advocating reform to previous copyright laws. “Their work is now referenced and taught in many college courses in the US, has been written about and cited in over 150 books and legal journals, and they sometimes lecture about their work here (The USA) and in Europe.”
Negativland has continued to release albums since their debut self-titled album in 1980 when some of the members were still in high school, distributing their numbered, handmade album covers. While the band still consists of some core members, those who have passed will still be included in their latest release with the inclusion of “found sound tapes from the earliest years of the band.” A true tribute to past members and the musical journey they have taken over the past four decades.
Negativland plays in the Luna Theater on Sunday, May 8 from 6-9pm. Purchasing tickets in advance at Lunalowell.com is highly recommended. $25 advance $30/door.
-Information sourced from negativland.com