Exquisite Corpse Presents:
AS THE WORLD FALLS DOWN
A Labyrinthine Masquerade Ball

Friday, February 3rd – 2012
10pm until 2am
SWAN DIVE
615 Red River

A night to enter the labyrinth and become a member
of the fairy court – don your tattered ballgowns, your
tightest breeches, and mysterious masques…
You know, you remind me of the babe…

I remember seeing this scene for the first time, and what an enormous impression it made on me –
it influenced my aesthetic indelibly. I just wanted the entire film to continue on in that ballroom…
For years, I’ve dreamed of trying to recreate that magic, and now – I finally get to give it a whirl…

I think I’m not alone in having practiced kissing on my Labyrinth poster with David Bowie as Jareth.
To me, he was the perfect man – a goblin prince who could steal me away to the Underground.
Hades and Persephone as retold by Jim Henson and Brian Froud. Dance, magic, dance.

There’s such a sad love
Deep in your eyes, a kind of pale jewel
Open and closed within your eyes
I’ll place the sky within your eyes

There’s such a fool heart
Beating so fast in search of new dreams
A love that will last within your heart
I’ll place the moon within your heart

As the pain sweeps through
Makes no sense for you
Every thrill has gone
Wasn’t too much fun at all
But I’ll be there for you
As the world falls down

I’ll paint you mornings of gold
I’ll spin you Valentine evenings
Though we’re strangers till now
We’re choosing the path between the stars
I’ll leave my love between the stars

Vogue Germany / photographer Ruven Afanador /

McQueen

Rima Hyena

Shiseido Magic

More Dior, J’adore.

Of course, we’d be delighted to see you all turned out like this…
By the by, Garbage Reign by Danil Golovkin may just
be the best thing I’ve ever seen.

…Or you could just glue a bunch of My Little Pony stickers on your face. That works too.

Just be there!

Vulpes Masquerade by Caitlin Hackett

Let’s get lost…

More inspiration here:
Labyrinthine Masquerade

I’m getting super excited about the playlist DJ Pasht & I have been putting together for Exquisite Corpse’s Labyrinthine Masquerade Ball tomorrow! Finally, we get an opportunity to play so much of my favorites: Qntl, Die Form, Dead Can Dance and a bunch of other gems I haven’t heard played in a club in far too long! Get ready to waltz & twirl to some seriously amazing music: think goth/medieval + 80′s/new wave with a healthy dose of witch house + disco noir! Klaus Nomi, Roxy Music & Stevie Nicks will also be making appearances. WHAT.

Exquisite Corpse Presents: As The World Falls Down A Labyrinthine Masquerade Mix by Miss Angeliska and Dj Pasht from pasht on 8tracks.

Love is colder than death – Non Lievi Alchun

Labyrinth Series – How To Make Your Own Goblin Ballroom Mask Part1

This was me at maybe 15 or 16? It was for a fashion show at the old Club 404. I was total monster-child jail bait, who spent
most of my time scampering around in the woods on drugs wishing I wasn’t human, poring over Elfquest and Sandman comics
and Storm Constantine’s Wraeththu trilogy. I made my outfit in five minutes out of electrical tape, eyeliner, wire and black tulle.
Oh, and a thong. Heaven forbid that should I ever spawn a girl-child as naughty as I was! With any luck, I’ll end up with a Saffy.

(photo by Monte McCarter)
At the tender age of barely 17, I became the armed spokesmodel for FringeWare Review’s book catalogue.
This involved posing in my underpants and various getups made of rubber and dollparts with books and guns.
Real guns. That’s totally an actual Uzi or Tech-9 or whatever the hell, too. As you do, when you are a teen goth.

My best friend and first (gay, middle-school) boyfriend, Milé Boban and I in the high-school cafeteria, being spooky.

(Photo by Milé Boban)
Baby vamps reign supreme. This is maybe my favorite picture of Pandora and I, ever. Wild goth children!
Moments before this photo was taken, I had snatched that martini glass off the table of a fancy sidewalk cafe,
and ran shrieking down the street with it. I was obsessed with the idea of martinis, though I had never had one.

Dressing up before our second ever excursion to the Rocky Horror Picture Show. She was 11, and I was 13.
It’s a marvel our parents ever let us out of our rooms at all. I remember wailing and telling my stepmom that
I’d DIE if I wasn’t allowed to go out to the midnight showing of Rocky Horror at the crappy mall movie theater.

Sassing it up in the junior high parking lot. Brash and invincible as only baby goth warrior girls can be.

My shaved sides and purple dye growing out, brown eyeliner for lipstick, a pore-squeezer for an earring.
With my old friend Blake at our alternative high-school that was a haven for goths, gays, teen moms and wastrels.

It was also where feral children raised by wolves ended up. We were allowed to smoke cigarettes and go barefoot.
I wrote elaborately researched papers about my interests: alien abduction, Freemasons, Ecstasy, and Absinthe.

(Photo by Milé Boban)
Gothic Marilyn at 15. One thing about being a goth in Texas – no one ever could take themselves or each other
too seriously down here. Something about the heat, or the hicks (Beers, Steers, and Queers, anyone?), but I really
do think that Southern goths seem to be less afraid of cracking their porcelain pancaked faces when busting into a big grin.

Dressing like a Russian vampire countess was my thing even back then – pretty hilarious,
considering that this was in Texas. I wore that fur hat and coat everywhere, despite the mild weather.
Oh, and – this was taken in a Whataburger at 3am. The cereal box was because of my friend
Christopher Daniello, who wrote songs about Raisin Bran, and liked to photograph people holding it.

I got inspired on a gray day to take “post-apocalyptic” gloomy goth photos of my best friend Pandora in my backyard.
I always really loved how this photo of her turned out – it has nice movement to it, despite (or because of)
being taken with a crappy-ass disposable camera. Oh the angst! The torment!
The rusty wreckage & glow-in-the dark rosaries! Oh, and she’s 11 years old here. Ummm…

Pandora, Renee and I being weird and bitchy at some party.

This one was taken by Pandora’s papa, at their dining room table. Note my clever accessorizing with black cat and juice boxes.
Teen goth afterschool special all the way. Also, I love how her dad insisted on having Dali’s Last Supper hanging in there.

I love that my sweet granny took these photos. All four of my grandparents were the most accepting, tolerant and loving
a grandchild could ask for. I was so blessed to have them. No matter how bizarre or dark my ensemble, they were always
able to look beyond it, and just see me. I think you can see the love in these photos. I know it’s there, caught like a lizard in
amber – the memory of my grandparent’s wonderful backyard in Los Angeles, the smell of lemons and oranges from their
trees, spicy roses, ice cream and fir needles. I asked my grandmother what she thought of my outfit, and she said that I’d
be more beautiful without the black lipstick, but that that was just her opinion. She captured me as I was. So much love.

My mom’s beautiful antique rosaries which I destroyed and then lost.
Still regret doing that, dammit! Also, a neon yellow rat, because, you know.

Aw, look – it’s baby’s first pair of Doc Martens! They were oxblood steel-toe
and I bought them on sale. I really wanted 20-hole boots, but these were all I
could afford on my three dollar a week chore-slave allowance. The rest I spent
on clove cigarettes and LSD. Sorry ma + pa! I turned out all right, though!

Dancing for New Bohemia’s first fashion show. I think I’m maybe 14 or 15 here? Jeez.

That was me watching Nick Cave and falling in love before swooning from sunstroke.
Baby vampires + outdoor summer music festivals are a bad combo. Lollapalooza 1994
was my first and last! I fainted on the ground and everyone just thought I was on
drugs and stepped over me. It was pretty rad. At least I made it into the paper, I guess.

Moving into some club kid-isms. Electrical tape bra + kiddie barrettes. Hey there 1990s.

My sweetheart Colin, pre-beard. Who would have known that 18 years later,
I’ve ended up with my perfect sulky goth-boy dreamboat? He’s a lot less sulky
(with way more facial hair!) these days, but he still insists that we have
Skinny Puppy marathons on long road trips and is prone to pensiveness!
Is he not the prettiest goth-boy, ever? Yes, yes he is. Major swoon!

I cannot even handle Amelia’s next level googly eye game. She blows my mind so hard. Dang, girl! She don’t even mess around!

Iana + David

Norah

Katie

Stephana

Sassy + John

Devaki made incredible photo magic once again! This is definitely my favorite
Exquisite Corpse photo set yet! Brilliance. Plus, everyone turned it OUT!

David

So amazing. Can’t handle.

Dustin

Colin

Royal family portrait!

I want to put them in my pocket, please.

Why are all my friends so amazing? But, really!

Fiona + Jonny – copper moon children

Frannie

Charlie’s Angels got nothin’ on us…

Jen + Melissa

Chad

Antony + Cleopatra

DJ Pasht Moon

Pasht + Devi

Jen + Summer

Blue, Ashley and Matt

Lau + Justin

Jackie + Norah – this is how the night always ends…
Hot bitches rollin’ around on the floor!

The Tiger’s Wife, by Téa Obreht – I’m almost finished with it. It’s so good it makes me kind of sick.

Ramona, my love – won’t you be mine? I want this, I want this, I want this – but I cannot have it!

I also want every single one of these bird cigarette cards!

Mardi Gras 1983 poster. Yes, yes – I covet this, also.

Back of the taxi cab disco goth Cleopatra realness goin’ on…

Late night drawing. Sideways roots.

Moon moth cuffs. Done & nearly done. I make jewelry, y’all. For sale, soonly.

Le bain – my happiest refuge.

Bath pavilion, dusk de-glittering.

I’m getting excited about the theme for the upcoming Exquisite Corpse – The Left Eye of Horus.
Norah came up with it, and I’m so glad because it’s given me the opportunity to explore an aesthetic
that I’ve always found very alluring: Egyptian Goth. I call it that, but really it’s a mish-mash of traditional
and fantastical styles from a variety of Middle Eastern countries and peoples. The bleak tales of death in
the desert from The Sheltering Sky, and the wraithed, black-clad shapes, of kohl-eyed, tattooed Berber
women shimmering on the horizon planted the seed, which grew into a lush little oasis: a stark vision in
black and white, hung with hammered silver and gold. Heavy clouds of incense, sharply scented with
Sandalwood, papyrus, lotus, and sycamore. These are embalming herbs, for canning hearts in canopic jars.
Bear with me while I wax rhapsodic, won’t you? The mysteries from the fertile crescent continue to inspire, even
as in modern Egypt, at the very moment I write this, Hosni Mubarak is standing (or laying down on a bed in a
cage, actually) trial for the murders of over 850 peaceful protesters who died fighting for change from the days
of ancient Egypt – when pharoahs could hold a throne hostage for generations while amassing untold riches
If you’re interested in keeping up with what’s happening in Egypt, I can’t recommend a better source than Mona Eltahawy.
I had the pleasure of meeting her last year, and we struck up an immediate connection. We talked about writing, but at
the time, I had no idea that she was an award-winning columnist or a total information powerhouse on Arab and Muslim
issues, until January 25th. I had come across her card, and decided to start following her Twitter feed, which is pretty much
the most up to the minute source for whatever’s going down in Egypt politically at any given moment. She’s truly amazing.

Sapho – Methylene

So, in part this post is dedicated to some strong women – Mona, my friend Zahra-Jane, and also Oum Khalthoum (who I’ll get to later…)
Zahra and I were Livejournal friends from way back, and finally had the pleasure of meeting one another for real recently in Chicago.
She has an incredible aesthetic sense and has turned me on to so much awesome stuff over the years. For this post in particular, I asked
her to recommend any treasures I might be overlooking, and she sent me some wonders, indeed. I also heavily pillaged her kick-ass tumblr
The Signs in the Stars and her beautiful blog, Black Celebration – go check out both and be delighted and inspired! I can’t thank her enough for showing me Sapho, a moroccan singer who hung out with Siouxsie in the 80′s and made awesome egyptian-inspired new wave!

Siouxsie and the Banshees – Arabian Knights

I collect khamsas (or hands of Fatima) – my grandmother always wore a big silver filigree one when she traveled,
and I remember always being fascinated and drawn to it. I wear it when I fly, and treasure it immensely. Sacred hands.

Givenchy Haute Couture Fall Winter 2009/2010 Full Show

I am FEELING this show so deeply. Knockin’ ‘em cold in black + gold is my permanent fashion motto,
and this just does it all for me. Now where can I get my hands on piles and piles of gold headdresses,
elaborately wrought paillettes, handfuls of massive knuckledusters, et cetera? I need it all by tomorrow.

I love these headdresses:

Dying for this one, made by my girl Miss Arielle de Pinto – her work is beyond fabulous. I desire silvery mounds of it.

Not sure where this one came from, but I sure do love it.

Sequin masks from the Givenchy show… DIY, y’all!

I love this photo of Inga & Anush Arshakyans. Watch out if you click on this link – the video is whoa.
They’re Armenian, but whatever – they look rad.

Oum, Umm, Oumme, Ümmü, OM!

From Zahra-Jane’s killer post on Oum Kalthoum
“The details of a woman. Oum Kalthoum. b. December 31st, circa 1900-1904, Egypt. the capricorn. Star of Egypt.
Queen of tarab, which is that…”this is MY JAM” feeling you get. Tarab is like a state beyond enjoyment, a state of
almost oneness and total ecstasy with the song. There is also a level of audience participation, the crowd moves the singer,
who moves the crowd, which allows an especially spiritual element which decades later, you feel listening to these recordings.
Enchantment is a popular translation, but the word seems almost too quaint for what I feel when I hear Oum Kalthoum.
It is no shock that she has inspired some of my favorite artists, from Nico, to Maria Callas.”

1938 Kodachrome film of two Ouled Nail dancers. Silent.
I recommend that you watch it while playing the track below.

Egyptian lover – Egypt Egypt

Pola Negri

From a 1970′s Playboy magazine

Nefertiti by Youssef Nabil

Shirin Neshat by Youssef Nabil

Kate performs “Egypt” on a 1979 Christmas special.
She is so bonkers. God, I love her.

Follow the Nile
Deep to much deeper.
The Pyramids sound lonely tonight.

She’s got me with that feline guise,
Got me in those desert eyes.
She’s got me with that feline guise,
Got me in those desert eyes.
Oh I’m in love
With Egypt.

I had the pleasure of meeting Maria Dahvana Headley, author of Queen of Kings,
(my own copy is tantalizing me at this very moment from my nightstand!)
recently – she is a fiercely joyous hummingbird of a woman, who I immediately adored.
We had discussed creating an event around her book-signing here in Austin to celebrate
her new work, which is all about vampires and monsters in ancient Egypt. It didn’t work
out time-wise, but the inspiration lingered – so I’ll dedicate this Exquisite Corpse to her
as well! I can’t wait to delve into this world she’s created…

Another book that comes to mind when developing this theme is an old favorite – Storm Constatine’s Wraeththu, a trilogy that shaped many of my views about style, gender, magic and provided a beautiful vision of a post-human, post-apocalypse future.

Illan Riviere is a consumate androgynous Wraeththu Har – and one of the most incredible dancers I’ve ever seen.

From ZJ’s post on Propaganda Magazine

The Sisters Of Mercy – Temple Of Love (Featuring Ofra Haza)

This was my number one favorite song throughout much of my childhood. I was (and still am) so, so into it.
During the 2011 Egyptian Revolution the song enjoyed a surge in popularity among the younger population of protesters:

All the old paintings on the tombs
They do the sand dance don’t you know
If they move too quick (oh way oh)
They’re falling down like a domino

Foreign types with the hookah pipes say
Ay oh way oh, ay oh way oh
Walk like an Egyptian

Natacha Atlas – Leysh Natarak

My look for the evening ended up looking something like if Dark Lily from Legend
had ended up doing it with a cat on the side. Maybe one that had a penchant for KISS?

This scene is definitely at the top of my list of things that made me weird…
Hello! Amazing. This may well have been the birth of my gothness, right here.
If you were a child when this film came out, wasn’t this film just EVERYTHING to you?
I know it was for me. Unicorns, faeries, goblins, Tim Curry as the Devil? I mean!

I was also thinking a lot about the Tarot of the Cat People by Karen Kuykendall
while I was getting ready… I’ve loved this deck since I was a child – it’s so strange and beautiful.

Raven + Monika worked all day on their crazy-amazing cat ensembles!
They were totally mindblowing! I honestly still can’t handle how perfect they were.
I’ve instructed them to both wear these costumes as their everyday clothes, from now on.

Amelia made the perfect mermaid! She was a sequinned sea-treat to tempt all the kitties!
“Do you see that fishy swimming round and round
Maybe we can reaching in and make it drown…
If we sneaking up upon it carefully
There will be head for you a tail for me”

Beware leaping tigers in the jungle!

Gina, Kitty, Devi, and myself gettin’ wild….

Azz everywhere!

Devi!

and with Xander Harris

Casting hexes on my intended! It’s the only way to keep ‘em in line!

Lovely Drew

Rowr!

Summer Lawson

Celeste Chesser

Meow!

Proud parents with their litter.

Oh Norah!

Kittens!

Hairballs!

Lali Ferpecto!

It kind of ended up being that kind of a night…

Exquisite Corpse – Lovecats

To purchase prints go here….

Stray Cats – Stray Cat Strut

Squeeze – Cool For Cats

All photos by Devaki Knowles of www.funlovingphotos.net

Beautiful Monika and Nemesis

Jackie bought her beautiful new ophidian companion from a guy who was leaving the country, and couldn’t take her.

Mr. Bones happened to be riding in the guy’s front seat when he pulled up for the snake hand-off.
He very kindly lent the handsome skeleton to adorn our photobooth for the night! A snake and a
skeleton? It doesn’t really get more goth than that! How perfectly synchronicitous it was…

Radiant Norah

Sass!

Miss Blue Madrigal working Elegant Gothic Lolita REALNESS (serpent sold seperately!)

La Belle Colombe – Elaine

Devi + Natalie gettin’ wild!

I love this lady, and her songs.

Rachel Dobos wears Nemesis well, but the snakes – they are not for eating! They are for kissing!

David Salazar, creature of the night.

Wooing the wonderful Miss Maranda!

Liz + Katzen!

Ramon’s shrine. Rest in peace, dear friend.

Dr. Jürgen Otto‘s footage of the courtship and mating behaviour of the Australian peacock spider Maratus volans.

✸ I’ve been getting really excited about Triboluminescence lately. Such a strange phenomenon!

✸ 5-10-15-20: Antony – I loved this article from Antony where he talks about his musical influences.
Christian Death, Marc and the Mambas, Nina Simone and Selda! Inspiring as always.

✸ Lakshmi Bai – the Rani (queen) of Jhansi
freedom-fighting warrior heroine from On This Deity

St Clemens, Church of Sts Peter and Paul, Rott-am-Inn, Germany – photo by Paul Koudoun­aris

✸ A wonderful article about the The amazing jeweled skeletons of Europe from Fortean Times

✸ Caddis fly larvae are known to incorporate bits of whatever they can find into their cocoons,
be it fish bone or bits of leaves. Hubert Duprat gave them gold, turquoise, gems and pearls.

“Since the early 1980s, artist Hubert Duprat has been utilizing insects to construct some of his “sculptures.”
By removing caddis fly larvae from their natural habitat and providing them with precious materials, he
prompts them to manufacture cases that resemble jewelers’ creations. Information theory, as explained by
biologists such as Jacques Monod and Henri Atlan, helps us understand what seems to be the insect’s aesthetic
behavior. The activities of the caddis worm, as manipulated by Hubert Duprat, are prompted by the “noise”—
beads, pearls and 18-karat gold pieces — introduced by the artist into the insect’s environment.”

✸

Victorian-Era Dress, Made With 1,000 Beetle Wings, Restored for £50,000
This is my dress. I need it back! Can someone go tell them?

✸ I’ve been meaning to moon about my love for the Kenzo Spring/Summer 2011 show for ages –
of course it’s right up my alley with the combination of hyper-saturated, rich color, exciting prints,
delicate silks and loads of intricate details. I go crazy for anything resembling an ethnic costume,
and this show was a mish-mash of Russian doll, Peruvian shepherdess and Japanese geisha. Heavenly.

It starts out a little dull, but watch and wait for the gorgeous and perfect grand finale. J’ADORE!

✸ The Orchid Mantis (Hymenopus coronatus) is called so, because it mimics orchid flowers.
They are usually white, but some of them grow little tints of pink over time. They live in papaya trees,
orchids and blossoming frangipani trees in Malaysia, Indonesia & Sumatra.

✸ When everything flies away, the outline of the heart goes black
Hans Christian Andersen’s illustrated “stamp books” from 50Watts

✸ What is Peter Falk Doing in Wings of Desire ?
Oh darling man, you will be missed! I used to watch Columbo and eat dried mangos with a couple of macaws every afternoon.

✸ The Paper Cuts of Chad Merritt featured in Hi-Fructose
Hooray for Chadling! I love that we will be living in the same town very soon!

✸ Norman’s Ghost Hole via Coilhouse
I love this. A lot.

That what I’ve got for right now! Send any bits of excitement + enchantment my way, won’t you?

Drea + I

1.What is Exquisite Corpse all about?
Exquisite Corpse is a night for modern surrealists and old-school goths to dance, socialize and explore.
We take pleasure in creating an elegant temporary autonomous zone where ideas and flirtations can be exchanged.
The name refers to the Surrealist parlour game, (which we always play at the party) and is meant to evoke the gothic
style of dressing beautifully undead. It’s also a reference to a fascinating book by Mark Nelson and Sarah Hudson Bayliss,
which draws connections between the Surrealists and the famous Black Dahlia Murder. Film noir, ghastly crimes, bizarre art,
and a penchant for the macabre all lend themselves well to the theme.

2. What inspired you to create this event?
When I lived in New Orleans, my friends and I decided to start a monthly Dada Ball called Cabaret Revoltaire.
We saw it as a continuation of the movements begun by our disgruntled European forbears – their movement also
came about as a response to the insanity and futility of war and industrialized culture. In post-9/11 America, we
watched with horror the knee-jerk patriotism that presaged the war in Iraq, and knew we needed an outlet for our
feelings of helplessness and frustration. Cabaret Revoltaire was an experimental surrealist extravaganza, a combination
of art opening and intentionally chaotic salon featuring visual and performance art, experimental music and installation,
pranks, invisible theater, inexplicable fashion, participatory painting, and interactive hijinks of all sorts. Inspired by the Dada,
Surrealist and Situationist movements, our goals were to revive and expand on the good work of the artists and writers that
came before us, to achieve consciousness expansion, to engage collaborative art, interactive (rather than passive) social
experiments, full-contact participation and the abolition of the “audience”.

Dougie

3. What is your interest in surrealism, and what is its connection to this event?
I’ve long held a great respect and fondness for the work of the Surrealists and Symbolists.
These artists were delving deep into the human subconscious, and were determined to unearth
and express our strangest dreams, no matter how dark or nonsensical they might seem. They
understood that the most profound wisdom can come from these hidden places.

Davey + Penny

Teddy Baker & pal

David + Iana

Javi + Chia

4. What sort of experiences is Exquisite Corpse trying to engender?
Mainly, we just want people to come and have a lovely time. This event is sort of a low-key continuation
of those giant Dada parties we did back in NOLA, with a healthy helping of darkness and mystery thrown in.
I want people to feel free to participate, and be involved in creating the atmosphere. The concept is basically this:
imagine if David Lynch had a Goth night in the Black Lodge. Except that it’s at the Swan Dive, which is even more
magical, really. It’s such a special venue, and we’re so excited to be doing Exquisite Corpse there – I can’t really
imagine it working anywhere else. The music, and the whole gothic aspect was really thrown in as a mash-up,
because I’ve been wanting to do both nights for a long time, and it seemed like it might work to just toss them in together.
I’ve felt a real lack of the kind of goth/new-wave night like the kind I used to love going to back in the day. That scene kind
of died or faded away, but I feel like the time is ripe to bring it back, and play the kind of music we never really get to here
in clubs anymore. The focus is really on a specific pantheon and era of bands that created a sound that was dark, mysterious
and magical. It was before industrial music and EBM took over, with a much more aggressive, stompy, masculine vibe.
I do enjoy many aspects of that music, but there are also plenty of great nights where you can hear that stuff.
“Music for Witches” does indicate a more feminine leaning, an appreciation for mysticism, dramatics, and romance.
The music has a different tempo – it’s a slower, heavier beat. It’s sexy without being super aggro. It also creates a space
for new music that works beautifully with our theme, like witch-house and drag. Musicians like Karin Dreijer Andersson of
Fever Ray and The Knife, and the mysterious IAMAMIWHOAMI definitely have a place at Exquisite Corpse – they are
both doing really gorgeous and adventurous work. This isn’t a rigid retro night – it’s about creating a certain ambiance,
which might include a Nina Simone song played right after Einstürzende Neubauten. Our patron saint is Siouxsie Sioux –
(or I suppose she’s our queen, since she’s quite alive) a strong, unapologetic, punk sorceress.

Lau of RECSPEC

As far as performers go, I’m really opening the floor to people who want an environment to express themselves –
especially when what they’ve got to share doesn’t really fit in anywhere else. This could be dance, sound installation,
art, writing, a game – but the key is that it must be interactive. There’s no announcer, no stage, no audience. It’s more
of a happening. I love the idea of a salon (not the getting your hair-did kind!), but as a place to exchange ideas, and
even to workshop your creative process. I love performance art when it just happens unexpectedly. Announcing it tends
to kill it. It’s always better when you just catch it happening out of the corner of your eye and wonder if you might be losing
your mind, or dreaming. This is definitely the kind of space where anything might happen. At the debut, recent Austin transplant
Sassy Delure dazzled us with a dance performance that involved her portraying three very different and very strange characters in quick succession. It was truly amazing. Laurel Barickman of RECSPEC does an incredible projection installation that totally creates the tone of the night, as well as providing some pretty bizarre and exciting eye candy. Images from films like “Night of the Hunter” and Japanese cult favorite “Hausu” seemed to sync up perfectly with the set from DJ Pasht who is a powerful witch and goth club turntable veteran. Devaki Knowles of Funloving Photos sets up her photobooth, so we always end up with lots of beautiful photos of our big-haired, eye-linered guests. People dress up extravagantly for this event, and definitely take a lot of delight in digging out and donning their widow’s weeds and pointy boots. It’s fun, and we aren’t taking ourselves (or anything much) too seriously. This isn’t the kind of party where you’re going to get looked up and down for what you’re wearing, and then nobody talks to each other. Thankfully, we live in Texas – where even the goths and art-snobs are super-friendly (and fairly goofy).

Pandora + I
The best part of the last party? In the middle of the night, my very dearest darling Miss Pea
appeared, having just driven pedal to the metal all the way from New Orleans! So happymaking!

Two of Colin’s oldest and dearest friends also came (in full regalia!), so all in all,
it was a night filled with beautiful reunions of beloved friends. So very wonderful.

Some of the music we like to play, just to give you an idea:
Echo and the Bunnymen
The Glove
Gene Loves Jezebel
Love & Rockets
The Legendary Pink Dots
Bauhaus
The Creatures
Die Form
Nina Hagen
Siouxsie & The Banshees
The Cure
XMAL DEUTSCHLAND
Swans
Beach House
Bat for Lashes
The Birthday Party
Fever Ray
The Knife
Lydia Lunch
Nick Cave
Einsturzende Neubauten
COIL
Zola Jesus
L.A. Vampires
Joy Division
oOoOO
Gary Numan
Depeche Mode
Duran Duran
Tones On Tail
Indian Jewelry
Crones
Clan of Xymox
White Ring
Book of Love
Modern Witch
Strawberry Switchblade
//TENSE//
Matthew Dear
Foetus
New Order
Soft Cell
Salem
The Normal
Tuxedomoon

What? Hilarious. Obviously, the night is full of hinjinks,
and no one takes themselves too seriously. We’re not
worried about cracking our white pancake makeup!