What the children remember about Uncle Jim is that on the train to Reno to get divorced so he could marry again he met another woman and woke up in California. It took him seven years to untangle that dream but a man who could sing like Uncle Jim was bound to get in scrapes now and then: he expected it and we expected it.
Mother said, It’s because he was the middle child, and Father said, Yeah, where there’s trouble Jim’s in the middle.
When he lost his voice he lost all of it to the surgeon’s knife and refused the voice box they wanted to insert. In fact he refused almost everything. Look, they said, it’s up to you. How many years do you want to live? and Uncle Jim held up one finger. The middle one.
William Cardini is the comics-drawin’, tofu-chompin’, eye-patched wizard-bearded alter-ego of mild-mannered writer and sometimes video artist Mark P. Hensel. They live in Austin, TX and can be contacted at markphensel@gmail.com. Check out more of their work at hypercastle.com.
WHEN: Friday, July 2, 8-10pm WHERE: Grady’s Record Refuge, 2546 E. Main St., Ventura, 805-648-5565 WHAT: Seth Pettersen and Modest Fur
***FREE concert this Friday with Seth Pettersen and Modest Fur (from LA). The show will run from 8-10pm and the store will of course be open before, during, and after the gig. Hope to see you there!
We’d like to invite you all to the best 4th of July party since the Capitol Celebration of 1778, when George Washington gave the United States Army an artillery salute and a double ration of rum! Well, we’re gonna give you a quintuple ration of cinema with one of our signature Cinefamily “Mondo” nights. It’s all planned out: an open door to our sweet back patio, good music, friends, and that most American of traditions—a BBQ, so bring something to grill! And if it gets too hot, just step inside our nice air-conditioned theatre, and catch our marathon film festival. “Mondo” means a world of weirdness built around a theme, and tonight’s theme is America, so it’s a patriotic free-for-all of film formats, from DVDs to 16mm industrials, to 35mm features. We’ll be keeping the fest alive all night long, just like our grill! Check out the highlights:
5PM: We light the grill. We begin the festivities… [Arthur Magazine deejays will be on hand to spin proper barbecue music. Also, courtesy Rounder Records, we will be giving away copies of Willie’s sweet new album — see below—to winners of a contest whose nature is yet to be determined.]
6PM-ish: WILLIE NELSON’S 4TH OF JULY CELEBRATION! An incredibly rare boozy ‘n woozy full-length concert film, shot at the 1977 edition of Willie’s very informal annual 4th of July concert festival. Featuring Willie, Waylon, Leon Russell, Doug Kershaw and other great country stars singin’, sweatin’, partyin’—and most importantly of all, drinkin’. These folks were some of the ultimate party animals, with Leon Russell emerging as the King of Booze in some of the most gloriously inebriated footage ever shot! As Austin, TX’s Alamo Drafthouse says: “These good ol’ boys knew as much about partying as Marie Curie knew about radium. Be there!!!!”
8:08PM: VIRTUAL FIREWORKS SHOW! According to the Farmer’s Almanac, the July 4th sun will set at 8:08 PM. We wouldn’t want you to miss the fireworks, so we’ll be screening best-of videos from international fireworks competitions, experimental films and enough jingoistic eye candy to make you oooh and aaah!
8:30-ish: UNCLE SAM The climax of the night is this patriotic back-from-the-dead revenge slasher from the fevered minds of William Lustig (Maniac) and Larry Cohen (It’s Alive, God Told Me To), featuring a Gulf War solider killed by friendly fire who returns to extract bloody payback from any draft dodgers, flag burners and oily military men he can find. Perfect viewing for when you’re chomping down the last charred remains of any remaining hot dog from the grill. Abbondanza!
“If you need a little shove in fouling up in love/come to me, I’m the man with the blues”
Sweet-to-these-ears new Wille-penned blues, from this great American outlaw’s new album, Country Music out now on Rounder Records, produced by T-Bone Burnett (!). More info at Amazon
Arthur Magazine 