In lieu of the review of Hellblinki’s “These Bubbles Come from Ants” that I was asked to write, it seemed worthwhile to discuss the bonds that exist within the steampunk community.

Back at June’s Polyphonic Panorama at Chicago’s Abbey Pub, we were graced by the presence of Hellblinki and the midway marvel Sanjula Vamana. In the dim light of the dance floor, he discreetly introduced his manhood (i.e. whipped out his pierced tallywhacker). He fastened it to a chair and spun about like a dervish. A veritable chair-nado of the crotch.

But this would not be quite so wond’rous if the very same Hellblinki did not have a song called “Sanjula’s Junk” on the album that appears on this very aether-page! It’s a bouncy little ditty with some old-timey, voh-de-oh-doh vocals.

The dance at the show was an example of mutual benefit. Artists supporting artists! The object of affection and tribute offered his own tribute to the merry-makers.

As a community, let us celebrate each other and our talents. Support independent artists like Hellblinki, Sanjula and the Chicagoans who made their dance possible.

Some of our same friends who work on and are behind the phenomenon that is Theater Bizarre are at it with a new production “Wonderland” based on Lewis Caroll’s seminal novel.  The stage production and accompanying DVD is vehemently cabaret, burlesque and steampunk while remaining true to the Detroit ethos of taking something and making it, well, strange.

To quote the production’ website

“For those who missed it, Wonderland takes the basic concept of an
act-by-act variety show, combines it with the narrative story line
adapted from Lewis Caroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and
features a live score performed by our Wonderland band, The Glass
Orphans. With everything from break-dancing playing cards to a
mad tea party who’s sanity is literally hanging by the skin of it’s back,
Wonderland is a modern retelling of a classic tale through music and
burlesque.”

And what better way to celebrate a DVD release than a live stage show and party! If you happen to be able to make it to Detroit this Friday do join them at The Redford Theater. It will feature burlesque and sideshow performances by the actors of the DVD, as well as DJ sets by our own Lords & Ladies DJs on the Caroll-esque Fusion-O-Scope.

Tickets are $15 in advance and can be purchased online or at Noir Leather in Royal Oak, MI.  Otherwise they can be purchased at the door for $20.  The show is at 9pm.

To busy during New Years Eve itself to party?  In the mood to see a circus act tonight?  Just like to read our blog (we like you best)?  Either way, tonight The Dead Man’s Carnival brings their hijinks to Reggie’s here in Chicago, replete with magic, balancing acts, live music, burlesque, freak-shows and, of course, people putting nails in their skulls.

The bill also includes Environmental Encroachment and our own house DJs, The Lords & Ladies, on our own Fusion-O-Scope. It’s also 18+ for those who’ve been missing out at our 21+ events.

Tickets can be bought in advance for $10 or at the door for $15.

On a side note – To celebrate the new year I’ve completed my first electro-swing single (it’s a bit more “techno-swing” I guess) called Track 1.  It can be downloaded for the next 36 hours.  You can find the link via Sepiachord’s Song of the Day blog post – thanks to Jordan Bodewell for the support!

See you there!

Fresh on the heels of Justin Bieber’s bizarre attempt at a steampuk music video, and in the vein of such rockers as Primus and Rush, comes the news that T-Pain’s new tour and album will be, of course, steampunk.  And to be honest, I could not be more pleased.

In the wake of Bieber’s attempt at the genre there has been a lot of talk about the mainstream destroying, commandeering or taking over steampunk, but those who fear a mainstream take over, I think, are missing the point of steampunk.  It’s an inherently artisanal movement, you can’t package it and sell it as a stamped out commodity because that is so antithetical to the core of a movement that celebrates the DIY and maker ethos.

So what does this have to do with T-Pain?  Well for one, the rapper hired steampunk artist, Thin Gypsy Studios, to make him quite the microphone.  Check it out below.

Hell, I want one!  That said, the music itself is not particularly steampunk, but let’s be honest, how much “steampunk” music is?  It’s not so much a genre as a collective of musicians and artists who relate to each other under the same DIY, every-man ethos with an aesthetic that ranges somewhere between 1870 and 1930.  Looking at the pictures from the show I see a bit of this too.   More-so, I commend T-Pain for not getting (from what I can tell) over the top about it.  I think he’s used just enough.  Subtlety (or at least in terms of how live music goes) is something sorely lacking in pop acts.

Of course, I’m a bit biased.  As I pointed out in our post on Bieber’s video, I’m a promoter as well.  The bigger steampunk gets the more people are interested in it and that benefits us at Steampunk Chicago.  But doesn’t that really benefit us all?  Those few who buck at the widening interest in steampunk are welcome to hole themselves up from the rest of the world and complain that they were their first, but for the rest of us, I say we welcome performers, like T-Pain, with open arms.

I’m not complaining though.  If things like this bring new people and fans to the movement, I’m all for it.  Of course, we at Steampunk Chicago (full disclosure here) are event producers so we do have a potential financial gain here.  Yet, after watching the music video, I’d be concerned that those expecting the steampunk movement to be in-line with what is seen in ‘Santa Claus is Coming to Town’ may be a little disappointed.

You may view the video on YouTube if you wish.

So I’m going to get blunt now.

I don’t get it – I really – honestly – don’t get it.  Perhaps it’s because I’m a 30 something who’s given up on irony or perhaps it’s because I stopped trying to break dance when I was 19, or perhaps it’s because I have no interest in the animated family film Arthur Christmas.  Either way, there is a whole host of things I just don’t get here.

Sure the beginning is pretty “steampunky” I mean they have people with bowler hats with goggles on them, a woman with striped tights and a turn key coming out her back, people in vests, big gears, etc etc  (these are things I see often at SP events).  But then the music begins.

What immediately strikes me is that the choosing a steampunk theme for the song “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” is just… bizarre… but it gets even more bizarre as we see a guy dressed as Santa clear off some random desk and start break dancing on it.  To exponentially confuse things Justin Bieber proceeds to start touching the other workers, which in turns seems to turn them into pop and lock back-up dancers.  Also – why are the back up dancing guys with the vests on having their suspenders/bracers hang down?  I get that this is a fashion trend, but it really just looks stupid if you ask me.  Also, at various points in the music video Justin Bieber plays the drums.  Why?  I don’t know why.

But what is most startlingly off-putting is that the music video is inter-cut with scenes from the newly released film “Arthur Christmas”.  The cuts have no relevance to the video, the theme of the video, the break dancing people in the video, the robo-woman who does nothing but also pop and lock in the video or really anything at all.  And why Arthur Christmas?  Wouldn’t a movie like Hugo been more appropirate?

Or was it that Hugo just had better sense than to be a part of this.

Go figure.

-The Lord Baron