September 2008 (PDF) - Antigravity Magazine

FEATUREMUSIC
WHAT STYLE? OUR STYLE: L. STEVE WIL-
LIAMS BRINGS THE ROCK ART CIRCUS
BACK TO THE BIG TOP by brett schwaner
Punk rock is a freakshow, just ask L. Steve
Williams. Known for his 504 What Style
art and design label, Williams is also the
mastermind behind the Big Top’s third
annual Rock Art Circus, a free exhibition set to open
on the evening of September 6th. While the opening
is meant to shine the spotlight on works by local
rock-oriented visual artists, Williams’ event is more
of a sideshow spectacle than a typical run-of-themill
wine glass art opening. Set to feature the works
of several dozen artists and designers, including
members of local rock bands Hawg Jaw, Big Baby,
the Pallbearers, Spickle, Hazard County Girls,
Manwitch and Die Rotzz, the Rock Art Circus will
also feature video presentations, burlesque dancers
and performances by Suplecs and the Bills. And, of
course, circus freaks—lots and lots of circus freaks.
To top it all off, Exene Cervenka, popularly known
as the lead singer of the long-running Los Angeles
punk band X, will serve as the guest of honor at this
year’s event. ANTIGRAVITY got in touch with
Williams for a brief chat about bringing together art
and rock n’ roll.
ANTIGRAVITY: How did your idea for the Rock Art
Circus first come together?
LSW: My original plan was actually to have the first
Rock Art Circus in 2005. It was going to be at TwiRopa,
but then Katrina came along and we weren’t able to go
through with it. We picked up the idea again in 2006
and brought it to the Big Top. Since then, we’ve tried
to make it bigger and better every year, but our idea has
always been to feature art, music, videos, and burlesque
performance together at one show. The Rock Art Circus
itself revolves around individuals who do artwork
around the local music scene, whether they’re in bands
or draw their influences from rock music.
AG: You’ve been involved with rock-oriented art and
design for quite awhile now. What were your earlier
openings like, as compared to the Rock Art Circus?
LSW: For me, it’s always been about bringing music
and art together. 2000 was really the peak of doing my
own art shows. I’d been doing small rock art festivals
here and there, showcasing local bands and artists. In
the beginning, I did a lot of openings at hair salons on
Magazine Street. In the early days, I really enjoyed doing
shows with the guys in Black Belt, who had previously
been in a ska-punk band called the Supaflies in the late
’90s. Earlier on in my art career, my biggest influences
were KISS album covers and Derek Riggs, who did
artwork for Iron Maiden’s albums. Seeing Pink Floyd’s
The Wall kind of changed the way that I looked at the way
visual presentation could be used in the rock genre.
AG: How did Exene Cervenka come to be involved
with the event?
LSW: It started to take shape last year. I kept running
into Exene at shows around town and random places
here and there. Our friendship started when we accused
each other of stalking the other. After we had a laugh
about it, I talked to her about some of the projects that
I was doing. She’d also been doing some spoken word
and collage art in recent years, aside from being in X.
She was pretty interested in the Rock Art Circus idea.
AG: You’ve got a pretty impressive roster of local
artists scheduled for this year. How did this lineup come
together?
“Most of us are low-brow renegades
working on our own styles”
LSW: Most of them are in bands themselves, with a
couple of exceptions. I look for very unique artwork—
the kind of stuff that most galleries aren’t into. This isn’t
an opening for the usual Julia Street art crowd. Most of
us are lowbrow renegades working on our own styles;
most of us were born and raised here. The influence
of having lived in this city for so long kind of shows
through on our work. For a lot of them, this will be
their first opening. Mike from Hawg Jaw showed me his
work at last year’s show and I liked it a great deal, so
that’s how his involvement started. I try to fit everyone
in who has an interest in rock-related artwork. I always
try to encourage people to get in touch with me and get
involved.
AG: What current local artists do you draw inspiration
from these days?
LSW: If you’re into female rock, check out Manwitch.
There’s also a new band called Terranova that I think is
worth checking out. I also really like what the guys in
Grisley are doing. It’s sort of along the lines of Snapcase
or Hot Water Music-type of punk rock. I’m a huge
fan of anything that King Louie is into. Also, anyone
who likes Sonic Youth should check out Big Baby. I’ve
worked with most of these bands a little bit here and
there, either doing artwork for them or sometimes just
behind the scenes.
AG: How will this year’s exhibition differ from
previous years?
LSW: We’re definitely more organized now. We’ve got
Randy Perez from Time Code: NOLA running the video
elements of the presentation this time. In past years I
tried doing it myself, but I ended up running around like
a madman trying to coordinate everything. We’re going
to be showing some risqué music videos and clips of local
artists performing. We’ve got two of the top burlesque
dancers in the city, Bella Blue and Roxie Le Rouge, set
to appear. Suplecs is always our main musical attraction
and I think that having the Bills playing surf rock adds
another dimension to the overall presentation. We’re
also going to have the Skeleton Krewe on-hand, with
guys running around in monster costumes, fire-dancers,
and stilt-walkers. We’re really trying to make it as much
of an interactive experience as possible. The first year
we held the opening, we broke the Big Top’s attendance
record. The second year, we broke that record again.
I’m optimistic that we’ll have another positive turnout
this year.
The 504 What Style Rock Art Circus f/ the Bills, Suplecs
and Exene Cervenka is scheduled for Saturday, September
6th at the Big Top. Admission is free. For more info, go to
504whatstyle.com or 3ringcircusproductions.com.
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