POSTED: Aug 27.08
Trying to explain Death Vessel in a blog post would be like trying to draw an accurate map of Brooklyn on a post-it note. With a sharpie. Can’t be done. So lets just move on to the part where we would say, “never mind these bollocks, just get the new record and you’ll understand.” Nothing Is Precious Enough For Us was released on Sub Pop last Tuesday, find it at Other Music today, see him on tour throughout September.
POSTED: Jun 29.08
On Iceland’s independence day, Sigur Ros chose to be in NYC to celebrate Olafur Eliasson’s P.S.1 show by performing in the MoMA atrium and hanging out with Fred. On stage with the band was none other than Honoré de Balzac, preserved for posterity by the great Auguste Rodin. Why is a monument to a French writer by a French sculptor on stage with an Icelandic band celebrating a Danish-Icelandic artist? That will remain one of life’s great mysteries. Here’s another great mystery: if silk-screen artist Shepard Fairey (of Obey Giant fame) and Sigur Ros singer Jónsi Birgisson were standing in the same room, could anyone tell them apart?
POSTED: Jun 02.08
 
Where on Earth has Fred been recently? Why no FredSpot updates? Well folks, Fred has been in Asia clearing his mind and learning the wisdom of the ancients. And while he was gone the rest of us just watched American Idol and caught up on some sleep. But now that Fred is back from his spiritual journey, he’s ready to kick out the jams all summer long. Which means FredSpot is back in action, baby! But before we get started, lets share a moment of zen with these photos of Fred coolin’ out with some truly monumental figures, courtesy of his guide to the Far East, FOF Rachel O.
POSTED: Apr 14.08
 Artist and Friend of Fred, Dan C. puts the screws to our buddy Fred in a sculptural piece for the opening show at the Lisa Coscino Gallery in Pacific Grove, CA. The stunning object, titled D.I.Y. Pimp my Fred, is no doubt the heaviest Fred we’ve ever seen. The kind of heavy that inspires the “long live metal” extended thumb, forefinger & pinky hand motion and makes us want to shout at the devil and/or bark at the moon. Pimpin’ may not be easy, but it sure is fun to look at. Dan Cronin, you rock.
POSTED: Apr 11.08
Slippery when wet, Fred lives on a prayer in the upper-deck bleacher seats at a recent Bon Jovi show in the City of Angels. Not to worry, FOF Alex B. laid her hands on him, keeping him safe and making sure he had a nice day.
POSTED: Mar 13.08
Vincent Moon, much like Godard, Truffaut and les hommes of the New Wave of the 60s, is a French dude that loves endless tracking shots of young artists emoting their way through the streets of Paris. His much-hyped blog, quaintly titled La Blogothèque, features a growing series of impromptu music performances filmed in public places throughout the city, and has become the hottest thing in the indie stratosphere. It all began when Moon followed The Arcade Fire with his video camera as they played their way from a club stage out into the Paris night to close a show. He decided there was something immediate and accessible about this style of band documentary, something that people could connect with better than, say, a million dollar P. Diddy video. And thus, the Take Away Shows were born.
Originally based entirely in Paris, Take Away Shows now happen anywhere, as evidenced by the above clip of the Seattle band Throw Me The Statue performing on a Puget Sound ferry. For Vincent Moon, all that’s necessary is a band, a public place and a single tracking shot. Just like the old days.
POSTED: Feb 21.08
 Death Vessel is Joel Thibodeau playing music like you’d hear if you were hitching a boxcar from Portland to San Francisco with a guitar-toting dreamstate apparition in late August, 1939. And just what exactly does that sound like? You’ll have to head to Pete’s Candy Store in Williamsburg on Friday the 22nd to find out. Death Vessel is playing a free show as part of the Brooklyn Next Festival. While a Death Vessel performance is an ethereal wonder at any venue, it strikes a deeper chord among the decor of Pete’s Candy - like a surreal vignette from a David Lynch film. See Death Vessel now before his ever-increasing legion of devotees leaves you blocked in the hallway out of earshot.
(photo credit: heartonastick.blog-city.com)
POSTED: Feb 18.08
 But he’ll be back for an encore. Fred and friends shot down to Panama City, FLA this week to prep. for a killer spring break in March. Fred got a little goofy for a sec and jumped into the hand of the King at SPINNAKER - a legendary spring break hangout. Fred will be seen here, on the beach at the Sandpiper Tiki Bar [complete with bandstand on beach all summer long], ringside at a cage fight in Fort Walton on the 15th of March [he’s a lover not a fighter, but why not?], at Bluepoint Fish Club in Destin, at The Fish House in Pensacola [their Grits A Ya Ya is crazy good], HopJacks [a cool new alt. rock hangout] and many other spring break venues across the Panhandle. Many stories to come during the month of March. Shout out to FOF Sherri who showed Fred the town and introduced him around.
POSTED: Feb 06.08
Fred does. That’s why he [and all his friends] don’t want you to get telemarketing calls on your cell phone. With a simple registration, you will become 1 of 145 million cell phones that do not allow telemarketers to get their dirty little fingers on your number for a whole 5 years. And if you were on the list before, you have to re-register to make sure it continues on the list. Visit the National Do Not Call Registry.
POSTED: Feb 05.08
Heck yes, Fred voted! After all, he is an American and as Americans we have the freedom to speak our minds and choose our leaders. But with this freedom comes great responsibility, and none is greater than the responsibility to wear your I VOTED sticker everywhere you go for the next several weeks. Let those non-voters know that they had their chance to rock the vote and they let it slip by. Come on, apathy is so 90’s. Let’s get active, friends! Go out and rock the vote. And for those that rocked… we salute you.
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POSTED: Aug 27.08
Albert Maysles is about as humble and earnest a man you will find anywhere in the world, which makes the fact that he’s a filmmaking legend all the more amazing. He and his brother David pioneered “direct cinema” in the 1960’s, revolutionizing documentary filmmaking, and are responsible for the great films Salesman, Grey Gardens and Gimme Shelter. On 8.26 Albert regaled a rapt crowd at the Rogan store on the Bowery in NYC with stories from his improbable and fascinating career, interspersing never-before-seen clips from his extensive film catalog. Criterion will soon be releasing extended versions of these gems on DVD, including a buzzed and slaphappy Marlon Brando trying to get through a press junket, The Rolling Stones listening to the mixdowns of Wild Horses for the first time, a wigged Salvador Dali speaking jibberish to a bikini-clad Raquel Welch and Muhammad Ali shadow boxing the camera on a deserted road in Africa.
Above, that’s Al and Fred [gripped tight in his right] giving an interview to Vanity Fair after the show. For a little guy, Fred is a huge fan.
POSTED: Aug 02.08
Michael Stipe and designer Rogan Gregory [checkout http://rogannyc.com] launched their collaborative art exhibit at Rogan’s studio on Bowery in NYC on June 26, 08 for a month. Bronzed cassette tapes above, by Michael, represent the power of media as a blank canvas for art, retro-style. Fred was cold chillin’ at the studio in about the most humid environment of his career [a sweaty night it was]. Other interesting folk at the event included ColdPlay’s Chris Martin, brother-in-law Jake Paltrow [ NYPD Blue, Director and brother of Gwyneth ], Mike D of Beastie Boys and artists Jeff Koons, Michael Halsband and Terrence Koh. As the consummate blackbelt in hanging out, take Fred’s word for it when he says: “Checkout Rogan Jeans.” They must be Fred-friendly…
POSTED: Jun 29.08
Don’t miss your chance to stand up and ask one of those crazy modern artists, “Hey do you know Matthew Barney? Can you ask him to tell Bjork that I think she’s the bomb?” On Tuesday, video artist Mika Rottenberg will be at the MoMA taking questions about her art (see above image) and possibly about Matthew Barney’s wife as well. Check out event details here.
POSTED: Jun 02.08
If you don’t know about Wakozi.com, go there right now and order some booze from your local booze shop. Or some pilsner and pork rinds from your local bodega. Or Fred from either place. Then sit back and relax as your favorite items are delivered right to your door. Simply amazing. You know what else is amazing? The sweet peeps at Wakozi are treating us New Yorkers to free beer on Thursday night, June 5th at Fontana’s on the Lower East Side. The beer lasts all night, but the freeness is only from 7-9pm. Fred will, as always, be there to keep things cool.
POSTED: Mar 21.08
 LVHRD’s second live photography competition is happeneing next Tuesday, March 25th in DUMBO, Brooklyn. Three artists will be creating pieces of mosaic art using Polaroid pictures in a celebration of the art of storytelling. Attendees are asked to dress like grandmas. Weird? Yes. Fun? Absolutely. Will Fred be there? He wouldn’t miss it for the world.
Check out LVHRD.org for more strange details.
POSTED: Mar 14.08
 Check out the Providence-based, all-female art collective Dirt Palace as they chronicle their own fantasy, fake, true, science-fiction, candy-coated, stripped-bare, all-lies history. Song, dance, costumes, projections and puppets all come together in this deceptively sweet yet completely unruly evening celebrating the WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution show at the MoMA’s P.S.1 in Queens.
Check PopRally more more details.
POSTED: Feb 26.08
HOLY COW, this is a big one. DFA Records is the postpunk/dance label founded by NYC studio gurus James Murphy and Tim Goldsworthy. Since DFA’s breakout success with The Rapture’s “House of Jealous Lovers” single, these guys have been as hot as any production team in the world. And then of course, there’s Murphy’s own Grammy-nominated band, LCD Soundsystem, which has brought even more adoration and acclaim to the DFA club. However you slice it, these guys are on fire, so a DFA dance party is not something you want to miss.
On Saturday the 1st of March, PopRally is hosting just such an event to celebrate the MoMA exhibition Color Chart: Reinventing Color, 1950 to Today. Color Chart, which explores artists’ use of ready-made color from paint chips to colored tape, features works by 44 modern and contemporary artists, including Gerhard Richter, Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst and Angela Bulloch. This event is an exclusive preview of the monumental exhibition before its official opening to the public.
Performing at the event are The Juan Maclean (pictured above), T&T featuring Tim Goldsworthy & Tim Sweeney, Holy Ghost! and Justin Miller & Jacques Renault. Wear your boldest and brightest colors and get ready to move! There will be no parking on the dance floor. A wide spectrum of cocktails will be served, and Fred of course will be chilling all night, from 9pm-1am. Guests receive a colorful custom-made gift designed by PopRally and DFA. Check out the PopRally page at MoMA.org for more information. This is gonna be ridiculously rad.
POSTED: Feb 21.08
 
What other venue in the city can even come close to the Museum of Modern Art for throwing a shindig? None, unless there’s another glass atrium with a Formula One race car hanging from the wall. PopRally once again proves that if you get an invitation to a party at the MoMA, you say “yes” and “what time?” And oh yeah, the printmakers from Cannonball Press and Space 1026 were pretty cool as well.
POSTED: Feb 08.08
Fred loves the lovers. So it comes as no surprise that Fred digs Valentines Day in a major way. This Feb 14 Fred will be hanging out at PopRally, the MoMA event that brings underground art to the hip young kids of New York. This installment features Brooklyn printmaking house Cannonball Press and the merry tricksters of the Philadephia-based art collective Space 1026 (pictured). Following presentations by the artists, Gretchen Wagner, Curatorial Assistant in MoMA’s Department of Prints & Illustrated Books, moderates a discussion about the artists’ work, printmaking, collaborations, and more. A cocktail reception follows the event, and you know Fred never fumbles on a reception. He’ll be there cooling with the crowd all night long. Click here for more details.
POSTED: Feb 07.08
So Fred is cooling out on the VIP deck at the AT&T, a tournament rich in tradition. It was first put on in 1937; Bing Crosby hosted the Championship at Rancho Sante Fe, California. Sam Snead won the tournament that year – first place check: 500 buckaroonis. At Pebble since 1947, celebs and pros play together in this highly-touted Pro-Am. From Huey Lewis to Ray Romano to Don Cheadle. From Jon Daly to Greg Norman to Phil Mickelson to Tiger [Nope, not here, hasn’t been for the past 5 years] - kinda bummed. Bill Murray, a mainstay at this event, is in Ireland filming for a video game; Ghostbusters. In the video game, you’ll play a new recruit in Ghostbusters International [GBI], and just as you get started with GBI an ancient evil descends upon NYC and a few familiar faces show as back up [says IMDB]. Bill got to protect the franchise! Game sounds lame. Anyway, more to come each day on the unfolding of this historic tournament.
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