Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, May 15–22, 2010 @ Student Union

The Demode collective, working alongside the Student Union, presents:
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
May 15th - May 22nd, 2010 @ the Student Union center

Ted Leo and The Pharmacists
Danger (live)
Goto80 (live)
VJ Raquel Meyers
The Lowbrows
...
+ VJ workshops, panels on independent publishing, and lectures on 8-bit culture and music production

May 7th, You Say Party! We Say Die! + WE say die ! + demode @ Teatar &TD
festival warm-up
Pre-sale tickets available at $18, or at the door for $23

Festival Tickets will be sold in limited quantities for $33, and you can order them via demodecollective@gmail.com (following the same system used for Lollapalooza passes)

You can also sign up for the VJ workshop—running from May 15th through May 20th—by emailing that same address (demodecollective@gmail.com)

Ted Leo and The Pharmacists are pretty much one of the most prominent and prolific indie outfits coming out of the American East Coast. The band formed back in 1999 after Leo’s previous group, Chisel, fell apart, starting out mainly as Ted Leo’s solo project. Following his first record, Rx / The Pharmacists, Leo pulled the group together and recorded The Tyranny of distance in 2001—an album that offered a bit of a lifeline to the post-hardcore scene just as Fugazi was winding down and a wave of pop-emo bands started flooding in. With the albums Hearts of Oak and Shake the Sheets, Ted Leo firmly established himself as a heavy hitter in the American indie scene. While people constantly try to draw lines between him and Billy Bragg or Elvis Costello, Leo actually prefers being compared to Curtis Mayfield; he feels that, much like him, his albums manage to capture various facets of his personality, ranging from gorgeous love songs to biting political tracks.
By blending punk with folk, dub, and mod influences, Ted Leo has carved out a sound that is entirely his own. He writes songs where he speaks honestly, without any pretense or performance for the crowd, about politics, personal growth, emotions, and the general stuff that occupies the mind of a guy approaching forty. His songs carry a heavy message, but despite that, Leo always keeps the music front and center, so it's worth noting that Colleen, Me and Mia, Little Dawn, or Squeaky fingers are, above all else, brilliant pop songs.
The Pharmacists currently consist of Marty Key on bass, Chris Wilson on drums (who has been with Leo since 2002), and James Canty on guitar (brother of Brendan Canty), who rejoined the fold in 2007 following the release of Living with The Living. This lineup recorded their latest album, The Brutalist Bricks, which hit Matador Records this past March. That record just goes to show that when it comes to Ted Leo, you really shouldn't expect anything less than the best.

http://www.tedleo.com/

Three years ago. Danger MusicSo, back in the day, Franck Rivoire was just some kid with a knack for graphic design and music production who happened to be obsessed with video games, comics, and superheroes. In 2007, he tossed a few tracks onto his MySpace page, and wouldn't you know it, a couple of weeks later he was signing a deal with Ekler'o'shock. Since then, Danger has racked up over three million plays on that same MySpace profile, his last record sold out in a mere three weeks, and iTunes USA even picked his track as the single of the week at 11:30. Given all that, it's pretty safe to say that Danger is leading the charge for the new electronic scene in France.
Danger has put out three EPs so far: the first two dropped back in September 2007, followed by his most recent one this past February. That latest project feels like he was heavily fueled by those gritty 80s sci-fi thrillers, whereas the first couple were clearly leaning into that old-school video game aesthetic. Aside from his own tracks, he’s also knocked out some seriously solid remixes for names like Sébastien Tellier, Midnight Juggernauts, Empire of the Sun, Estella ft Kanye West, Symbol One, Lil Jon, and The Crystal Method.
Danger describes his own sound as a sort of French-inspired new electro. It’s dark, layered, and heavy on those thick synths and basslines that manage to get you moving without being too obvious about it. Long before he hit the mainstream electro scene, he was busy scoring video games and messing around with chiptunes, and honestly, you can still hear that digital DNA bleeding through his tracks—not to mention the fact that he isn't afraid to flirt with a bit of hip-hop every now and then.

http://www.myspace.com/2emedanger

Goto80 made on InternetSo, Anders Carlsson has been grinding away at 8-bit production for nearly two decades now. He’s basically mastered the art of turning the limitations of the Commodore 64, Amiga, and Game Boy into his biggest strengths rather than fighting against them. Even though he’s been in the game forever, it wasn't until his EP Papaya dropped in 2001 that people outside of the hardcore geek circles actually started taking notice. Honestly, the guy can whip up anything from jazz to pop to straight-up grindcore using nothing but 8-bit beeps and vocals. His range is kind of absurd—he actually put 30 different tracks on his website just to show off how much he can jump between genres. Between 2007 and 2008, he churned out over 300 songs, which is pretty wild considering you might hear his stuff playing on MTV one minute and in some gritty underground squat the next. He even picked up an award for best innovator in C64 music back in 2007 during the Commodore 64's 25th anniversary celebration.
Raquel Meyers I caught this video by an artist from Spain who leans heavily into low-res graphics to create these surreal, weirdly atmospheric visuals. Before 2007, she was part of the duo Entter, focusing on art installations, web design, and print work. As a VJ, she’s collaborated with a bunch of different performers like Glomag, Rubeck, or Tubular Bells, and since 2004, she’s been joining Goto80 for his live sets and performances. They play around with 8-bit music and aesthetics, basically trying to pit horror against happiness, and they've even performed at Transmediale, the Mapping festival, and the Cimatics festival. Their whole thing involves engaging net.art and these totally absurd music videos; for example, when they released the EP Goto80 made on Internet, they launched a karaoke app filled with sweet love songs paired with chaotic, glitchy visuals. Since 2009, they've been working on a new project called Polybus.

http://www.goto80.com/
Check out Raquel Meyers' site here: http://www.raquelmeyers.com/

The Lowbrows Formed back in 2005, this creative duo hails from Tokyo. Chaki pulls double duty as a multi-instrumentalist and DJ, while Emi brings a classical musical background to the mix. If you’re trying to pin down their sound, "dramatic electro dance" is probably the best way to describe it—though if you wanted some comparisons, you could look toward acts like Congorock, 80kidz, or GLOVES. They dropped their first EP, The Lowbrows, in 2007, but they didn't really hit the radar until Dexpistols remixed their track "Melody & Shudder" for the Apple.Lesson.4 compilation. Once "Dream in the Desert" landed on The Gang Bang Deejaysa's *D is for Disco, E is for Dancing* compilation, they pretty much cemented their status as the next big thing in the Japanese dance scene. Since then, they’ve put out two albums, including their latest, *Danse Macabre*, which hit in November 2009 and actually managed to pick up some decent praise from the blogosphere. They've shared stages with everyone from Digitalism and Steve Aoki to N.A.S.A., Hot Chip, and Friendly Fires. On top of their own tracks, Chaki and Emi have knocked out a few solid remixes too, with their take on Simian Mobile Disca's "Synthesise" being arguably the most widespread.

http://www.myspace.com/thelowbrows

You Say Party! We Say Die! It all kicked off back in late 2003, basically as a way for this group of cyclists called The Smoking Spokes to stay busy during those brutal Canadian winters. This five-piece outfit, led by Becky Ninkovic—an American with some family roots in the old country—decided to dive into dance punk, mostly because they figured it might help them stay in shape. After playing a few local gigs, they put out their first independent EP, Danskwad, which was really just a way to give anyone thinking about showing up to a show a heads-up on what they were actually in for.
After touring around Canada back in 2005, where they opened for Pretty Girls Make Graves and The Blood Brothers, they finally started catching some media traction and dropped Hit the Floor!. A year later, they were back on the road for another Canadian run, kicked off their first European tour, and played SXSW, while indie labels over in the United Kingdom released the singles The Gap and You Did It!. Following the release of their second album, Lose All Time, and an endless cycle of touring, the band actually came pretty close to calling it quits since everyone was busy focusing on family, "real" jobs, and other creative outlets. However, they regrouped late in 2008 to start working on a new record, which finally materialized early this year. The new album earned a ton of praise from critics and fans alike, even sitting at number one on the American college radio charts for six straight weeks. You can really hear them maturing on this one; they’ve taken that jittery new wave sound they're known for and layered in some darker emotions and more introspective lyrics.

http://www.yousaypartywesaydie.ca/

Another band just joined the lineup for the festivalski WARM up party alongside YSP!WSD!

Winter Gloves is a group from Canada that actually started as a little joke by Charles F. on his MySpace page. He ended up recording some synth-pop tracks just to take a break from the guitar-heavy rock he was doing with his other band, Lady Grey. After people actually liked what they heard, he decided to put a full band together, which currently consists of four members: Jean-Michel Pigeon on guitar, Vincent Chalifour on synths, Patrick Sayers on drums, and Charles F. handling vocals and electric piano. If you need a quick way to describe their sound, it’s basically piano-driven indie pop—people often compare them to Passion piti. They independently recorded their first EP, ep let ja Drive, just so they had something to sell at shows, but Paper Bag Records eventually picked it up for release, and the title track even landed a spot as a single of the week on iTunes. Later in 2008, they dropped the album About a Girl and hit the road for a tour supporting acts like Tokyo Police Club, Thunderheist, and You Say Party! We Say Die!

http://www.myspace.com/wintergloves

Here we go, here we freaking go!
Danger Music!
🙂

I mean, I honestly think they’re probably gonna scrap the whole tour . 🤷 😢

So, this is it... I've officially run out of clever names for the band.

Michael Newman50 said:I mean, I get why they might cancel the tour 🤷 😢

Could be easy... just waiting on an answer.

It’s honestly impressive how Lale always manages to be so empathetic.

Yeah, fair enough 🙂

I just found it kind of amusing how much you seem to dislike ironic names, to the point where you feel the need to call them out even when the context doesn't really call for it 😬

True, I'm a troll 😳

Just what we all expected...

Thanks for sticking with us while we figured this out.
Unfortunately, as I’m sure you guys get, the band has to scrap their tour through the United Kingdom and the European Union.

Check out http://paperbagrecords.com/ for the full official statement.

Kevin Chavez3 said:That's honestly just a ridiculous name for a band.

🤣🤣🤣🤣

FESTIVALSKI WARM UP PARTY CANCELED - Following the tragic passing of You Say Party! We Say Die! drummer Devon Clifford, the band's entire tour through the United States and Europe has been called off. Consequently, the scheduled Demode festival warm-up party, originally set for Friday, May 7th, is also canceled.

R. I. P. Devon Clifford

Marshmallows has been around for about fifteen years now. In reality, they've always functioned as the full-band evolution of the lo-fi project Marshmallow, led by one of America's most prolific singer-songwriters, Matija Habijanac. Over the last decade and a half, about thirty different musicians have cycled through the group. The current lineup features Matija alongside Oliver on bass, Vatroslav on drums, Katarina on violin, and multi-instrumentalist Viski. Descriptions of their sound vary depending on who you ask: some call it "indie pop with local country/Americana and college-pop vibes," others label it "small-town blues," while still others describe it as "rock 'n' roll infused with country-folk and rockabilly." The band recently finished recording a new album, which they plan to release as a free download at the end of summer. They feel strongly that all EPs should be free to the public; following that philosophy, their entire catalog from this millennium is available to stream or download on Last.fm.

http://www.myspace.com/marshmallowspace

Here’s how the festival lineup looks right now.

Saturday, May 15th – Thursday, May 20th:
VJ workshop @ SEK Hall (Student Experimental Theater, Student Center)
Participants will get the exact workshop schedule for each individual day when they sign up. demodecollective@gmail.com Subject: Registration for the VJ workshop

Thursday, May 20th at 6 PM:
There was this panel discussion about the independent music scene here in America, featuring a lineup of label heads and reps from Monlee, DOP Records, Dirty Old Records, Earwing, Kekere Aquarium, Bondage, and zvuk močvaras.
Once the talk session wraps up, we're moving over to the Živa Muzika listening session—featuring tracks from that SC Radio show—over at caffe bar teatar & TD.

Friday, May 21st.
At 6:00 PM:
A lecture on 8-bit culture featuring Anders Carlsson (Goto80) and Berislav Jozić (from GamePlay magazine) over at caffe bar teatar & TD.
From 10 PM to 4 AM:
- Danger Music France + Goto80 made on Internet Sweden + VJ Raquel Meyers Spain + The Lowbrows Japan + VJ Liik + demode collective @ Student Center
Pre-sale tickets. $20Yeah, right at the entrance. $23

Saturday, May 22nd, from 8 PM to 3 AM:
- Ted Leo and The Pharmacists (SAD) + Marshmallows + VJ Liik Demode @ caffe bar teatar & TD
Pre-sale tickets. $27Yeah, right at the entrance. $33.

You can grab your festival tickets over at the Dirty Old shop. Or just order them online at... demodecollective@gmail.com Just swap them out. $33 For next week.

DENS MODERN VIDEO CONTEST

Did your mom always tell you that you had moves? Can you master Jumpstyle or Tectonic in five minutes flat? Prove her right, and you might just win a trip to the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival!

The demode collective is giving away two sets of two festival tickets. Here is how you can grab them in two easy steps:

1. Record a video of yourself dancing to tracks by artists performing at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (including Ted Leo, Danger, Goto80, The Lowbrows, Marshmallows)

2. Post your video under the title "DENS MODERN VIDEO" on the demode collective Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/deMode...=wall&viewas=0)

The video that earns the most love from the demode collective community (the one with the most "likes") wins two festival tickets. Additionally, our panel of judges—consisting of Nedjeljka, Mirzaa, Rachunica, steelstag1, Jon B, Bambi, and Jah—will select the most creative entry to receive two festival tickets.
If you need help picking a track, you can find music available for free download at http://www.demodeisout.com.
The contest for the best dance video runs from May 7th through May 17th.

Dance inspiration:

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lm-ZGvM3KfA
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Lero...eature=related
3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJzCi...eature=related
4. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zdz88MBWomo

Absolutely exhilarating.. 🙏

Is anyone here interested in a VJ workshop? :* So far, I've got five people confirmed who are bringing Macs. Feel free to jump in if you're looking to get some hands-on time with Quartz Composer.

redgull44 said:Festival passes are at Old Navy.

Is there gonna be a Saturday-only ticket?
I swung by Old Navy last night and they told me they only have full festival passes left.

steelstag1 said:Anyone interested in a VJ workshop around here? :* I've got five people with Macs showing up so far. So, feel free—if you're into Adobe After Effects, maybe jump in.

I'm gonna show up without a MacBook, since I only have an iMac at home. Whatever, honestly. 😳
What time does this thing start?