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Aug 05

Machines in Music

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Machines in Music is a free two-day modular synthesizer exhibition that brings together users and makers for hands-on exploration, discussions, and performance. Last year’s conference hosted 24 modular synthesizer companies from around the world, attracting the attention of beginners and experienced synthesizer users alike. This year’s event is co-curated by Verbos Electronics and Control, and will allow even more participants to meet industry professionals and test out new modules.

Free! RSVP on Facebook

Saturday, October 8

12:00 – Magnetic Soundbath: An immersive listening experience presented
by MJ Caselden1:30 – The Synthesizer: A Brief History in Sound
presented by Thom Holmes3:00 – Livelier Live-Electronics: DavidTudor’s Pioneer Approach to Home-brew Instruments
presented by Michael Johnsen and Ronald Kuivila4:30 – Electric Orchestra: Multitimbrality & how to build an entire track on a system in one take
presented by Colin Benders (Kyteman)

Sunday, October 9

12:00 – Magnetic Soundbath: An immersive listening experience
presented by MJ Caselden1:30 – An Electronic Art Pioneer: Ben F. Laposky’s Oscillons
presented by Skooby Laposky3:00 – The Magic of the Buchla: Up Close to the Electric Music Box
presented by Mark Verbos, Reed Hays and Suzanne Ciani

Machines in Music showcase
Oct 8, 8pm: Tearing Light From Sound, Mark Verbos, Alessandro Cortini, and Suzanne Ciani perform tickets $15

Auxiliary program
Oct 8, 7pm and Oct 9, 5:30pm, : Jorge Chikiar: Radio Collection with John King, Ariel Passadore, Marcelo Toledo, and Leo Genovese using modulated radios and live processing. tickets $10

 

Jul 29

Satanic Panic (Horror Sundays)

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Knockdown Center is proud to present a screening residency by the Druid Underground Film Festival (DUFF) every Sunday in August and September: Sunday Horror series! Hosted by festival founder Billy Burgess, the Weirdo Cinema A-Go-Go series represents an array of colorful new programming as well as the best of the last ten years of DUFF. Find out why Flavorpill says DUFF doesn’t so much “defy convention as mow it down, douse it in kerosene, and flick a Zippo at it.”

Satanic Panic Propaganda Video Show

From the mid 1980’s to early 90’s American media proliferated stories emphasizing the rise of Satanism, ritual murder, teenagers brainwashed by heavy metal music. At the Los Angeles screening of the Druid Underground Film Festival, Blanche Barton, Former High Priestess of the Church of Satan, spoke about her experiences during the “Satanic Panic,” and introduced this lively program of frightening and humorous Christian propaganda and occult law enforcement procedure videos compiled by DUFF founder Billy Burgess. 
An extended cut of this compilation will be presented as well as Ms. Barton’s videotaped speech in its entirety. Plus “Beware of 666,” an extended collection of ”Christian Scare Films” compiled and hosted by Billy Burgess.

During and after the show, DJ Drew Redmond spins a raucous 60’s 45 gospel set in Knockdown’s Ready Room Bar.

Click here for upcoming SUNDAY HORROR screenings

 

 

Jul 29

Horror Sundays: Weirdo Cinema A-Go-Go

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Knockdown Center is proud to present a psychotronic screening residency by the Druid Underground Film Festival (DUFF) every Sunday in August and September. Having exhibited across 13 states, DUFF is the widest touring underground film festival in North America. Hosted by festival founder Billy Burgess, the Weirdo Cinema A-Go-Go series represents an array of colorful new programming as well as the best of the last ten years of DUFF. Find out why Flavorpill says DUFF doesn’t so much “defy convention as mow it down, douse it in kerosene, and flick a Zippo at it.”

During and after the screenings the Knockdown Center’s Ready Room Bar will be hosted by DJ Drew Redmond and his special guests DJ Eli Paperboy Reed, DJ Shimmy & DJ Wig Doc as they spin 1950s and ‘60s rockabilly, rhythm and blues, soul, exotica, whacked out instrumentals, novelty records and more! ALL on vintage 45 records!

AUGUST 7: SATANIC PANIC
The story of a mid-80’s to early-90’s American media sensation: the rise of Satanism, ritual murder, and teenagers brainwashed by heavy metal music. This lively program of frightening and humorous Christian scare films and occult law enforcement procedure videos is compiled by Billy Burgess, with a video introduction by Blanche Barton, Former High Priestess of the Church of Satan.

AUGUST 14: MIXTAPE MELTDOWN DOUBLE FEATURE:
Found Footage Assault
See aliens rip their own faces off, learn how to detect if your child worships Satan, perform a home exorcism and much, much more! A high-powered blast of low-brow Americana, Found Footage Assault dynamically mixes the trashiest cuts from amateur monster movies, insane Christian scare films and shocking instruction videos lovingly sourced from the decrepit VHS vaults of DUFF curator Billy Burgess.
The Whore Church Video Mixtape Vol 1
The members of this VHS mixtape collective live communally in a decrepit Victorian house just outside of Boston. Every weekend they digitize the most absurd scenes from their giant VHS collection and remix into the wee hours of the morning. See what America looks like on a steady diet of adult cinema, death metal and 80’s horror films mashed up in a giant hellish cauldron of fun. PLUS: Special Secret Footage from the Whore Church vaults!

AUGUST 21: MARIJUANA MADNESS DOUBLE FEATURE:
Anti-Marijuana Propaganda Roadshow
Shown in high school classrooms and rehab centers across America, host Billy Burgess guides you through a jam-packed program of vintage 1950’s and 60’s drug-scare films produced by such leading masters of the genre such as the US Government and Sonny Bono. Bizarre, hilarious, enlightening and 100% real. Transferred from original 16mm film.
Aphrodisiac! The Sexual Secret of Marijuana (1971)
Part pro-marijuana documentary, part erotic grindhouse sleazefest, Aphrodisiac is one of the most unique mondo documentaries in the history of the genre, combining earnest documentation of marijuana’s benefits while sporadically lingering lustily on the sexual practices of those who get down with the sticky green. Truly a one in a million experience in cinema!

AUGUST 28: BLOODY GRINDHOUSE DOUBLE FEATURE:
Blood Feast (1963)
Although Blood Feast is a film about an eccentric catering company that collects body parts for a cannibalistic ritual, the manner in which the film conducts itself is totally unique. John Waters sites Herchell Gordon Lewis as one of his main influences (alongside names like Kenneth Anger, Bergman and Fellini) and it’s easy to see why. Cartoonishly evil plots, over-the-top character actors in theatrical make-up, tacky costumes and creatively executed scenes of show-stopping violence make Blood Feast an outer-worldly viewing experience.
Carnival of Blood (1970)
Join us on a spooky ride through old Coney Island as a twisted maniac stalks and slashes through the carny-infested midway. Starring a hunchback named Gimpy (Burt Young who played Paulie in the Rocky movies). This one’s real weird.

Films provided by Something Weird Video
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WHAT PEOPLE SAY ABOUT DUFF: 
“Assaults on the cerebrum, as if David Lynch, Nicholas Winding Refn, Will Vinton, David Cronenberg, Salvador Dalí, Alejandro Jodorowsky and Gaspar Noé decided to mix LSD and DMT, then film the interior of their brains.” – Portland’s Willamette Week
“A shot of stool-loosening awesome, like a colon cleanser for your brain.” – Leo Weekly of Louisville, KY
“Velvety surrealism… appallingly funny” – LA City Beat
“Packs a lot of weird shit into two hours of screenings” – LA Weekly
Jul 25

Radio Collection

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Radio Collection is a performatic installation by Jorge Chikiar with the use of 8 AM and FM modulated radios. The main aim of tuning in broadcasts of different radio dial stations of the NY area is to use the phonemes as part of an embryo of sounds which will give shape to the structure of the work intervened with the collaboration of local artists playing their instruments and processed in real time.

Jorge Chikiar is an Argentine composer,  sound artist and producer. He has presented work at Colon Theater, CETC, Maccarone Gallery, and The Kitchen, among others. Chikiar has produced works for Laurie Anderson, Michael J. Shumacher, Thurston Moore, Jim O’Rourke, David Behrman, Zeena Parkins, Ikue Morí, Steve Reich and more. He has composed works such as Wu Wang for Fractus Ensemble, Granos en el Viento work for Moxenio and Live Electronics, Cracks of Ice, a multichannel acousmatic installation  with sounds recorded in Antarctica. He has collaborated with John King for their Crossing Hemispheres recordings and with Marcelo Toledo to produce the opera The Jungle Within.

 

October 8, 7pm:
Jorge Chikiar clarinet & live electronics
John King viola & live electronics
Ariel Passadore samplers

October 9, 5:30pm:
Jorge Chikiar clarinet & live electronics
Marcelo Toledo Bandoneón, Tibetan trumpet, sakushi.
 Leo Genovese keyboards and saxophones
Ariel Passadore samplers

with
Pablo Gonzalez interface designer
Nicolas Stavorengo electronic engineering

 

Jul 25

Lucy in Limbo

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Lucy in Limbo is a two-part play that sees the build and wake of a cataclysmic storm spanning two decades of a couple’s lives together. Holed up in their New York City apartment, immobilized and mummified in bandages, they find themselves at the mercy of an over-caffeinated journalist as she prods them about their survival. Written by Moze Halperin and Anna Eisley of Onderdonk Collective, Lucy in Limbo finds isolation and horror through the heightened style of traditional American sitcoms.

Jul 25

BUSHWIG 2016

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Welcome to BUSHWIG 2016! – The biggest, queerest & most fabulous festival of drag, music & love in the world. We have moved house again this year to the Knockdown Center a 5000 capacity playground! This year we are creating a paradise island of drag queens, gorgeous food, installations, projections, discos, international DJs, live music & outdoor fun.

Weekend pass for Sep 10 and 11: $60
Saturday Sep 10: $30
Sunday Sep 11: $30

Check BUSHWIG.COM for full line-up!


Music:
TIM SWEENEY (Beats in Space) MACY RODMAN • DJ BEBE • AMBER VALENTINE WOLFGANG TILLMANS (DJ) • CARRY NATION • GAVIN RUSSOM • LAUREN FLAX GLORYHOLE (DFA) • SAFTEY SCISSORS (BPitch) • BROMO • OCCUPY THE DISCO WILL SHERIDAN • DICAP • ZIEMBA • FELIX & THE FUTURE

Drag Queens:
LATRICE ROYALE • LADY BUNNY BOULET BROTHERS • THORGY THOR • HORRORCHATA • UNTITLED QUEEN • MERRIE CHERRY BIBLE GIRL • IMP KID • BON BON • CHRIS OF HUR • AQUARIA • SEVERELY MAME • CHERRY BAUM • LEO GUGU • JUST J • RAUL DE NIEVES • JAKE DIBELER • HANNAH LOU • TYLER ASHLEY • CUP CAKE • ELIZABETH JAMES • RAGAMUFFIN • SCARLET ENVY • BABYHAY ONIO • NEPTUNE ANGEL • METH • ULTRAVIOLET • MINI HORRORWITZ • GLAM OR STEPHANIE
BEBE DELUXE • KELSEY HAGGARD • AMBER ALERT • MS TER • JEFF POULIN • LADY GRACKLE • B HOLLYWOOD • RIFY ROYALTY
• THE MOONBABY • ERIKA KLASH • PATTI SPLIFF • LADY QUESA’DILLA • LADY SIMON • BEBE BERETA • MOMO SHADE • SOIGNE • PANDY • MANIFESTANY SQUIRTZ • MIZ JADE • MALESTIA CHILD • QWEEN AMOR • DREAM • CLAUDIA CLIFFER • BRITA FILTER • RUBY ROO • CAMERON COLE • HOUSE OF FEMANON • MICA • VIVVYANNE • CAMERON COOPER •
BEBE DELUXE • REGGI REGINA • GLACE CHASE • SASHA VELOUR • AVI MUNSTER • VALENTINE STEPHAN • KASHI GOLEAN • FOXY SQUIRE • GAGE OF THE BOONE • CHARLENE • LUCY BALLS • SWITCH & PLAY • CRIMSON KITTY • ELLE EMENOPE • GLOSSY HEATHER ACS • LADY BEARICA ANDREWS • JO JO • MISTY MEANER • YOLANDII FIZZURE • BEVERLY SAGE • K JAMES • HOLLYWOOD SOUTH • JANUARY BONES • DAPHNE SUMTIMEZ • DAPHNE SUMTIMEZ • THE COUNTESS MASCARA • JIZZABELLA • PULP FRICTION • ANNIE B FRANK • HEIDI GLUM • CHER NOBEL • MARY JO • SAM BANKS • DEE DEESCO • PANDY • GOLDIE PEACOCK • ELLEN DEGENERATE • ALOTTA MCGRIDDLES • IVY FERRIYA • AKIRA • BOY GEORGIA • BETTINA JACKSON • PANTHERA LUSH • SUBURBIA • SLATER G STRING • RHONDA JEWELS • MANDY QUINN • BOY WOLF • KIMBERLY CLARK • DUSTY MOORHEAD (BOSTON) • BABYI RADEL • BOBBIE JUPITER STONE • MISS CUNTSRUDE • KANDY MUSE • LADY HAVOKK • FANTASY GRANDMA BEATRIX LESTRANGE • HYSTEE LAUDER • BLAKE DEADLY • PAN DULCE • CICI QUINN • JANTINA PARKER • ZALIKA PARSONS • VIV RED • DAVID SEROTTE

Vendors:
VENDORS: DRAKE.USA • LATIC CLAIRE FLEURY • BCALLA  • TYLER WALLACE STUDIO • CUNT[ESS] •
ALOTTA STUFF  •  LISA NEW YORK THE CLOUT CLUB •
BAD GIRL HARDWARE

Installation:
BALLOON SCULPTURES BY SINA GREINERT

Jul 22

View

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An improvised dance performance in the vast open space of Knockdown Center by Jenna Balfe and Misael Soto, with accompanying flute by Dennis Fuller. The performers create a dance that embodies the continuation of a longer collaboration, alternating between witness and viewer, showing how gaze can empower, reflect, and transform a dialogue. In these times, how we “view” each other can be a matter of life or death. Join us as we meditate upon this subject.

Jul 22

Seed Bombs with non/studio

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Topsoil forms at the rate of about 1 inch every 100 years, the speed of decay and rock fracture. Learn how to find (and fix) phosphorous, potassium and nitrogen in soil, use soil-as-dye and make worm poop seed bombs with non/studio.

We will use red clay, fabric, brushes, soil from different Brooklyn locations, seeds, and worm compost for a free workshop for all ages. Folks will walk away with seed bombs, fabric dyed with soil and a zine about how to test soil for nutrients & pH.

Organized in connection with So much dirt but not enough soil, an exhibition by Loney Abrams and Johnny Stanish.
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