It might take a sec to wrap your brain around the concept behind the regular series Five Things: We’re gonna take a cue from the title and call it a multimedia thingy involving awesomely talented Austin folk, but cohost Stacy Muszynski‘s description of a “literati/musical/performative event” is a lot more elegant.
The theme of this month’s event is Photographs. Five authors – Amanda Eyre Ward, Jennifer Pashley, Aly Tadros, Perry Tyson Midkiff II (who, fyi, won second place in our last Austin Chronicle Short Story Contest for his terrific story “May the Passenger Pigeon Sing Thee to Thy Rest”), and Sigers Steele – will tell stories based on the photographs of five photographers – Mary Sledd, Suzi Q, Sarah Gonzalez, David Jewell, and David Hill – followed by music from the likes of Jamie Panzer, Legs Against Arms, and Zapata Sparrow. Hosting the evening will be series masterminds Muszynski and Amelia Gray (whose new brand-spanking-new book of flash-fiction AM/PM is on the top of our to-read pile).
Five Things: Photographs takes place this Friday, June 5 at the (very happily reopened) United States Art Authority next to Spiderhouse Cafe (510 West 29th). Doors open at 7pm (come early for a special acoustic set by Aly Tadros). Admission is $1. For more info, go to fivethingsaustin.com.
Full press release after the jump.
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They say a picture is worth a thousand words; we say a picture is worth five stories, four bands, and a fridge full of Lone Star.
Join five artists (Amanda Eyre Ward, Jennifer Pashley, Aly Tadros, Tyson Midkiff, and Sigers Steele) as they share stories based off the photographs of five Austin photographers (Mary Sledd, Suzi Q, Sarah Gonzalez, David Jewell, and David Hill). Music afterward by Jamie Panzer, Legs Against Arms, and Zapata Sparrow. Make that two fridges, honey.
Five Things Photographs: June 5th. Doors open at 7p.m.; come early for a special acoustic set by Aly Tadros. Admission: $1. Location: United States Art Authority next to Spiderhouse Cafe (510 West 29th Street, Austin, 78705).
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There are two things Amanda Eyre Ward hates doing sober: having her picture taken and bowling. She was recently told by a photographer, “You’ve got to tone down the teeth.” She is the author of three novels and the new story collection LOVE STORIES IN THIS TOWN (lovestoriesinthistown.com).
Jennifer Pashley was raised in upstate New York by an accordion virtuoso and a casket maker. Or a retired teacher and a housewife, depending on how you look at it. Either way, there are pictures to prove it. Learn other things at jenniferpashley.com/.
Maybe Aly Tadros once thought “I oughta be in pictures” but screw that when NPR Texas Music Matters says it’s her voice that is “so in tuned to one’s heart” and San Antonio Current Critic’s Pick holds that “she was born to fingerpick and execute a perfect Cuban clave with her flamenco shoes.” || Fleeing the paparazzi from Texas to Turkey to Egypt to New York and to USAA tonight, it’s Aly Tadros and her guitar. (alytadros.com)
Perry Tyson Midkiff II lives with his writing partner Wallace, a dog with all the best ideas. There are many photos, somewhere, of the two of them writing or romping. Tyson was the second-place winner in the 17th annual Austin Chronicle Short Story Contest. This story is scheduled to appear in an upcoming anthology of Austin writers. (austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid%3A739942 ←Got all that?)
Everything Sigers Steele knows about not looking jacked up in photos she learned by watching America’s Next Top Model. Occasionally it works. One of her family’s favorite photos of the birth of her son features the sweaty new mom with a tissue up her nose. Other than that, documentation of her most embarrassing moments requires sound. || She has been published several times in the Chicago Reader’s All Fiction issue (chicagoreader.com/features/stories/fiction06/sigerssteele/).
Mary Sledd likes chasing rock stars and girls in white dresses with her big camera. See for yourself: marysledd.com/.
Suzi Q gave up a promising career as a Zamboni driver to pursue her passion for photography. Her favorite subjects are food, road signs and her husband Noah. (You might find all of them here: qweddings.com/blog/.)
Sarah Gonzalez had dedicated her life to making movies in both San Antonio and Austin, Texas. While the scene catches up, she’s applying all her cinematography training to photography. She’s still using a camera, right? It’s all about the eye and the beholder, baby.
David Jewell has been taking pictures for quite a while now. Actually, he believes it’s the camera that takes the picture,
and he just carries the camera around. Each camera has a different personality. Some are easy going and some are quite persnickety. But, he doesn’t have a dog, so he walks his cameras. He misses his film cameras (but don’t get him started on all that). (davidjewellphoto.com)
David Hill learned to drive tractors at a golf course in Longview, Texas, before diverting his studies to French, photography, and news writing at Baylor University. Now based at a mid-century desk in Cherrywood and besieged by overly attentive Australian Shepherds, David shoots for the coolest wedding and corporate clients. (austinweddingphotographer.com)
30music.com compares Jamie Panzer’s lyrics to Leonard Cohen’s and his playing to the electric country of Bob Dylan. “Darkly funny, country-tinged” Jamie would credit his passion for song craft. For this he plumbs the depths of American folk idioms and drapes what he finds on the kernels of his notions. || Jamie picked up his first guitar and limbered up his pipes after hearing his brethren punk rockers making a racket. “Three chords and the truth” became many more chords, but the truth remains. Catch his story and clever, angsty, lovelorn music (including The Easy Pills) at myspace.com/jamiepanzer.
Legs Against Arms says its sound is “summer.” That’s all good, they say, because it means “sweating profusely and embracing friends afterwards.” Five Things likes that. Legs Against Arms’s debut album is in the works. Check them out on MySpace.
Zapata Sparrow is fresh out of the Griffin School and brand new to the scene. Let’s give them a Five Things welcome!
This article appears in May 29 • 2009.
