Alex Steed is brainwashing you with hypnotism. He is collecting all of the sensitive thoughts in Portland and wrapping them softly. Steed is the compassionate tyrant king of a “dictatorial arts & literature collective specializing in essays, chaos, interviews, stories, music, design and more.”
His collective is called Angioplasty Media, and they distribute fancy looking independent magazines with graphics that look swiped from 1950’s sewing patterns. The home for Angioplasty is the website, www.angioplastymedia.com, where the collective holds hostage the writings from dozens of local writers, photos, drawings, and everything else they say they have. Steed also hosts a program on WMPG where he further manipulates the system with his stylish mixes of sonic subversiveness.
Angioplasty Media has been pulsing since this spring, producing small gushers of neat looking pamphlets and promises for more. This promise manifests September 24th, at Space, as Steed and his Angioplasty Media collective host a party of epic proportions.
Originally conceived as a record release party for a vinyl compilation of local musical artists, Steed has altered his conception to include a convention of small press publishers, comic artists and other dweebs. Steed has invited hundreds of people and expects a lot of “middle class white kids to get drunk” in the company of some of the most glamorous artists in Portland and the world.
Musical entertainment will be provided by; the famously non-threatening music of Phantom Buffalo (formerly the Ponys), a local indie-rock catalyst, Galen Richmond, Harpswell Sound and Eggbot. Steed says that all of the musical artists “are excited to share the stage with Eggbot.” Eggbot is a notorious 900 years old extraterrestrial-local who has composed thousands of songs since coming to Earth a long time ago. Eggbot makes cheerful sounding zombie dirges created by mixing heavily distorted and delayed vocals with powerful chord progressions generated by Eggbot on his famed Farfisa organ. Tristan Gallagher is the “fancy drummer” in Eggbot and Eggbot himself provides occasional trumpet blasts, while commanding the Farfisa. The product is gorgeous. Check out www.eggbot.tv for the comprehensive history and description of what an Eggbot is.
The dispatch from the Angioplasty Media collective says that it is important to include non-musical arts at a musical event because “in a way, we are all doing the same thing.” Angioplasty has invited some of their favorite artists to display their artwork at this event. David Kish, the civilized nihilist behind Hoopleville Comics will be there with his carefully designed comic books.
Conservative estimates have determined that there are between zero and one thousand small press publishers in Portland. Steed expects a percentage of them to be there. Steed also expects there to be all sorts of grungy artists, werewolves and creepazoids in attendance. Check out the scene the 24th at 8 p.m. or so.