Festival Solitare, Ukulele Bizarro and Paris Opening!

Nouvelle installation par "Daily Tous Les Jours"

Strange schizophrenic weather is upon us in Montreal but the grass is slowly getting greener and many of us stubbornly bike even on those odd days when down-filled hooded parkas are more likely than bright green raincoats. While I’ve been engrossed in writing my first “Operetta” for beloved media arts collective Daily Tous Les Jours, a few other exciting events have cropped up that I’m also taking part in this spring/summer!

May 18-20th – The Inaugural “One Man Band Festival / Festival de Musique Solitaire” in Montreal. The opening night – May 18th – is at Divan Orange and features solo artists such as Bloodshot Bill, Mike O’Brian and Cocobeurre. My alter ego Lederhosen Lucil emerges from the pantry to perform at Casa del Popolo May 19th with Wax Mannequin, Scott Dunbar and more. Also featured during the weekend – looping workshops, the art of solo touring (light and easy!) and a closing party May 20th at l’Envers featuring Jesse Dangerously and the founder of the festival Jon Cohen.

June 21st - “Joue le Jeu” opens to the public at Gaité Lyrique in Paris, France! I’ll be there to celebrate the opening of my first mini “Operette” – commissioned by Montreal Media Arts group “Daily Tous Les Jours” that is a part of this group show. Come celebrate the opening with us!

July 14th – Mini Ukulele Festival hosted by the Ukulele Club de Montreal. I’ll be performing at Sala Rossa as part of this uke-centric event along with James Hill and other special guests. More details to come.

July 28th – PopMtl & YelpHelps Event at Les Deux Gamins. A way of bringing together Yelpers (I’ve been writing reviews for them as of late…I’ve always enjoyed supporting local businesses) and eight non-profit organizations that are seeking new volunteers. I’ll be programming the entertainment at this party – a “Ukulele Bizarro” pop up show!

Before I headed down to Austin for SXSW I gave a “dress rehearsal” show with new material at Casa del Popolo. Here I am performing “Les Filles de Campagne” (by La Bolduc):

Post SXSW and diving right into writing a mini operette!

Krista & DJ Jester - Artist Tent SXSW

I’m BAAAAACK and finally able to reflect back on my experience at SXSW 2012. With over 8,000 bands playing over the course of the week it was actually easy to dive into the mayhem and enjoy bits and pieces knowing full well no human could possibly see it all. Due to the sheer number of bands playing from underground to major icons, I easily took in The Magnetic Fields, Daniel Johnston, Lionel Ritchie (Kenny Rogers came on stage to sing “Lady” with him – AMAZING!), The Cult (second row from the front…I even caught the lead guitar players pick!), Gary Lucas’ live soundtrack to Coffin Joe’s “This Night I Will Possess Your Corpse.” and a few New Orleans bounce parties. I also took in many, many random and amazing bands from Taiwan, Ireland, Iceland and beyond,  enjoyed both Veggie Heaven (Protein 2000 still a show stopper) and full on BBQ at many of the starving artist parties,  participated in the “Fashion X” show, and managed to see Bruce Springsteen’s keynote speech at the conference center.

Here I am playing at the Planete Quebec Showcase at “The Spill.”

Krista Muir performs during SXSW 2012 at The Spill.

Before SXSW I let Lederhosen Lucil rock out at The Big Spill festival in San Antonio, TX alongside DJ Jester, UN, and Best Coast. She also had a surprise set during SXSW at Elysium during the day and here she is rocking it in her sailorhosen to unsuspecting passersby!

SXSW12 Deborah Cannon/American-Statesman

Lucil also got to share the closing night party at The Jr with some amazing acts including Marfa metal band “Lbs” whose members include friends from the Marfa, TX “Middle Earth” bicycle gang! We will ride again! JAAAAA!

As soon as I returned home to Montreal I was approached by Daily Tous Les Jours to collaborate with them on an “Operette” installation piece at the beautiful digital media center Gaite Lyrique in Paris so I’ll be deep in this project until it opens June 20th at the center. If you are in Paris I hope to see you there! I’ll keep you posted on other developments as it looks like a new Lederhosen Lucil album is in the works as well…

The KRISTA MUIR Show!

Monday, March 5th I’ll be taking over the live room at Casa del Popolo for an evening of music, interactivity and vinyl. I’ll also be performing a special “BETWEEN ATOMS” solo karaoke/delay-pedal deluxe set that I’ve been fine-tuning in anticipation of my showcase at Planet Quebec at SXSW March 15th! And as always, there will be raffle prizes and other special guests. Doors at 8:30pm. Showtime 9:00pm. $5 tickets at the door only.

GAMBLETRON NOIzE KARAOKE
Interactive experimental karaoke
KRISTA MUIR
“Between Atoms” performance-in-a-box featuring extra delay
DJ OGGY
Olga Goreas from The Besnard Lakes makes a rare DJ appearance with her vinyl collection

[MP3] Krista Muir – “Moderato”

http://soundcloud.com/hyporecords/moderato-2/s-tkglo

SXSW 2012

SXSW is fast approaching and I’m started to get excited about the BBQ, Shiner Boch and southern hospitality. Not to mention a visit to Barton Springs, The Tea Embassy, Amy’s Ice Cream and oh yes…performing at The Spill as part of the Montreal International Jazz Festival Showcase on March 15th at 10:00pm!

I’ll also be letting Lederhosen Lucil out of the pantry on March 11th in San Antonio to “Waltz Across” a small part of Tejas with long-time friend and musical comedian DJ Jester The Filipino Fist. Check here for details.

In other news we’re currently in development on a video concept with Seecreature (animators for “Concrete Lovesong“) for the club remix of “Between Atoms” by Pierre Crube (half of Montreal electro duo “Numero”). This special remix will be released in Summer 2012 – I’ll keep you posted on when!

 

Music, Astrophysics and The Persimmon House

The “Year of the Dragon” is already shaping up to be an exciting one and it has yet to begin. To ring in the new year I’ll be bringing my alter ego Lederhosen Lucil out of the pantry on January 20th for a very special Fundraiser Event in Montreal. In order to raise funds for post-production of “Conversation With The Cosmos,” (produced by Lederhosen Lucil fan and astrophysicist Mallory Roberts), Lucil will be sporting a brand new intergalactic ensemble and playing songs from Krista’s latest release “Between Atoms.” Music, real life mad scientists, never-before seen clips from the upcoming documentary…who could resist? For more info check out the facebook event posted here.

Here’s a little clip for you that we shot in Toulouse, France at The Persimmon House last November! May the lyrics inspire you for 2012 and beyond…

Tags: astrophysicist, fundraiser event, mad scientists, mallory roberts, toulouse france, year of the dragon

Holiday Gifts & A Special January Benefit Show!

This year my sister and I decided to give my parents a seriously awesome gift…we cleaned their entire house (fridge, pantry, bathrooms, vacuuming – the WORKS!) and cooked them a few amazing meals. They loved this present! While I don’t have the cleaning products nor the time to come clean your abode, I still have some amazing gift packages on my online independent “Krista n’ Lucil Shop.” Kara Blake just ordered her holiday dedication to two of her family members…a rendition of the classic Irving Berlin song “White Christmas.” If you order by Dec. 24th at 1:00pm I can have your dedication up on youtube by Christmas day!

In other news Lederhosen Lucil will be coming out of the pantry for a special fundraiser event on January 20th in Montreal. This time she’ll be helping support the documentary film “Conversation With the Cosmos” about the Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico. Come enjoy an evening of music, astrophysics, and other intergalactic delights! Suggested donation of $15 at the door but all amounts welcome.

 

 

HOLIDAY GIFT PACKAGES!

Ahhhh…the festivus season is upon us. Despite the rainy, cool temperatures in Montreal the Grizzwolds have already descended upon the city and the lights are adorning many a front lawn. Now if you are like me, a consciencious consumer who is all about supporting independent entrepreneurs, then you’ll most likely be checking out some of the local art fairs in the coming weeks. Puces Pop, Souk A Sat, and Smart Design Mart to name but a few! This year I’ll be at Puces Pop at the Yelp/Head and Hands booth promoting both local businesses and important community youth services. While my records are currently hard to find in stores, I’m offering special online holiday gift packages! This includes music packages, limited edition micromini maps (illustrated by semi-fictional mapmaker Shane Watt), or the very special online music dedication to a friend, family member or future mate!

You choose your gift, pay via paypal and it will be shipped out December 5th so that it arrives in due time at its’ destination! Click here for the HOLIDAY GIFT PACKAGE site!