The Octopus Project plays The National

Formed in 1999 in Austin, Texas, The Octopus Project is a team of 4 multi-instrumentalists who spend as much time moving on stage as they do playing. To consider their act just any normal concert is to underscore their unique brand of creative energy and expression. They are currently on tour with fellow Austin musicians Explosions in The Sky.

Josh Lambert, Todo Miranda, Yvonne Lambert, and Ryan Figg were nice enough to sit down with WRIR News at their show at the National.

Photos by John Garcia

Beyond the music, their stage set up is a beautiful black-light collage filled with bright colors and flashing hues. One icon that has been with the band for some time is a large Speaker stack covered in a white sheet and laced with Christmas lights. Todo explains the object.

"That’s David - he, sometimes when the beats aren't loud enough he shouts them so we all can hear."

In older music videos a similar stack, then green, can be seen.

"That was a previous incarnation, David also has another friend named david, who's sometimes with us. He's currently replaced by the neon totem pole. It's there to keep the beats pumping so the whole thing doesn't fall apart "

It was a fun and easy way to make our boring speakers look fun and interesting"

Creating such a stage show was no easy task, and it has been a long undertaking for the band, each tour building on the last. Josh said the larger hued lighting was their most recent addition.

"We sort of worked things up from having no interesting things happen at the shows in the beginning, to things here and there, to video, to finally working on lights. It's always a project, something new each time we go out.


I think we're at medium nuts. as far as stage stuff goes, sometimes it gets super nuts. Right now I'm ok with it, but it has to fit in the van."

The video collages, which project behind the band, are random images, cartoons that kaleidoscope, and sometimes appear to be a loose narrative.

The band, in what could be a tribute to the modern short attention span, jumps between instruments as breakneck speeds. It appears organic, as if the band intuitively knows what to do next, playing off one another. But Josh said the band is well-practiced.

"The shows are way rehearsed, we have things down to a tee. There is some le-way, here and there, especially when things break, which happens a lot. but we just sort of roll with it. Otherwise we are really practiced and know exactly what each person, hopefully, is doing. We're pretty much the perfect band. There's a certain level of chaos that elbows its way into the situation, which keeps it fun, if a little insane."

We know where and when we are supposed to be and when, but the rest falls out in different ways from show to show.

The musical style is fast based and builds heavily on layered beats and arpeggiated chords. This creates a fantastic blend of haunted melodies that allow the band to slip between "indie-post-rock" and "electronic" in styles. Josh said the live performance is structured that way before their sets, but the complex system of samplers and loopers is adaptive.

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"Only one loop pedal, but we have a bunch of things we can just hit, when we're supposed to, hopefully, that are triggering loops and samples and stuff like that. I think we all have a little bit of that each in our areas. A lot of the backing beats are pre-programmed. A lot of them are chopped up into segments so we can trigger them on the fly, so if we want a section to go longer, or if we miss something it will go longer and then we can grab the next go-round. So we're still triggering things, we're not playing computer beats with our fingers, but we're hitting samples and loops and playing on top of that."


The album versions of songs are fast paced and energetic, but their live show puts that pace to its breaking point. Todo said theirs is a process to converting a pre-recorded song into a live presentation.

"The songs are usually written pretty independent of how we play them live, so after the song is together then we'll figure out how we can do it and break it up into the smallest piece that still makes sense to play with, make it as controllable as possible until it’s a little bit too much and then back it up a few steps to were the computer can do a few things for us and find the sweet spot."


The Octopus Project released their most recent album, Hexadecagon, last fall. Allmusic.com called the album "as smart as it is joyful" and it is a fair statement. Josh said the band is rarely stationary when it comes to producing new work, and their newest release played on elements of their new elaborate stage show.

"I feel like we're always working on new stuff, but the newest record, in particular, is a different beast. After we were touring about a year and a half ago, we decided to work on some new stuff and we're really excited about doing a surround sound kind of thing with sounds spinning around the room and bouncing back and fourth, something we had never seen anybody do before but might be technically possible. We got home from tour and starting working on the technical aspects of that and then once we figured that out, started writing songs and then we made surround videos that were in in sync with the music, doing this kind of instillation kind of thing."

"We basically pieced together and 8-piece surround sound system and made it work. It was really challenging."

We liked the aesthetic of it, and decided to make it into a record. We put it out in the fall and have been touring solidly since then.

One of their most exciting moments as a band came at last year’s Moogfest. They were invited to open up for 80's electronic super-stars Devo, an honor to say the least. Their dreams were almost dashed when they were told the guitarist Bob Mosthersbaugh has a hand injury and Devo was going to bail on the show. But just as god closed the door, he opened a window, and the band was asked to be Devo's backing band for 1 song.


"We figured out a couple songs driving from Tucson to Asheville where the festival was happening, kind of figured it out in the van and in friends’ living rooms. And then got there, and were like 'how do we play this' on stage for sound check in North Carolina, and the 2 of them walk in and go "ok, you wanna do this one?" and we were screwing around with a bunch of different songs and we ended up playing 2 instead of 1, and got on pretty good with those guys and the show was nuts and fun and we ended up weaseling ourselves on tour with them when they re-scheduled with the healed hand. "

The Octopus project is on tour through the end of April with more dates to be announced.

For Richmond Independent Radio News, i'm Brad Kutner.

Local Activists Sleep in Park in Protest

Listen to the audio piece here

photos by John Garcia

A group of activists have set up camp in the southwest corner of Monroe Park, complete with sleeping bags, tents, and even a couch, to protest the proposed Park renovations.

The renovation plans, announced by City Councilman Charles Samuels in September, include new lighting and drainage for the park, turning the central Checker’s house into a cafe, installing a play ground, along with other projects totaling about $7.8 million. Proponents of renovation say the park is run down and dangerous; that it's been taken over by the homeless and is in dire need of repair.

A similar “sleep-in” protest was held in the late ‘90s to support the homeless in the park. People slept there for 3 days as a sign of solidarity. Proposed renovation fell by the way side then, though a lack of money, not public out-cry, was blamed for the failure to improve the park.

Herbert Joyner, who has been camping in the park for the last two days, argue the park just needs some minor repairs, and that these renovations are an attempt to gentrify the park by the VCU and the city, to drive out the homeless.

“VCU does not own Richmond, Virginia. They bought up all the property that’s around this park, and Mr. Monroe that’s on the statue right up here, he donated this park for the people. They have been trying to run us off for years and years.”

The park was purchased by the city about 140 years ago. Most of the original park construction, such as the cement path ways and outer walkways, remain unchanged from the original turn of the century design by . The last renovations to the park were completed about five years ago and consisted of renovating the central fountain.

LeLonnie Colmes, another protestor, took issue with the renovation forcing the park closed for nine to 18 months, as estimated by Samuels, leaving the homeless who stay there with no place to go and disrupting feeding groups, like Food Not Bombs.

“This is the only place that they really have to congregate during the day. Without this, like, there’s not any place for churches or Food Not Bombs or anything like that to do feedings, anything like that, or even just for them to hang out in a place that’s not stuck in front of the direct public at all times …”

The protest has also attracted a number of VCU students, like Nicholas, a sophomore who asked that his last name not be used for fear of losing his scholarship.

“I don’t want to see the homeless people get kicked out of this park. Because when they get kicked out of the park, with the large fence they plan on building, they’re gonna go into the VCU area, they’re going to go into the business district, the Fan, wherever, and then they’re gonna get arrested, and they’re gonna go to the city jail.

According to Colmes, the protesters will continue to camp out in the park for as long as they can.

‘The longer we’re here, the more … people are going to hear about it, and the more they’re going to have to take sides, and actually evaluate their views on what’s going on and take a side, and figure out what this actually means to them and raise their awareness about it, and show them we’re actually serious, we’re not just a bunch of dirty punk kids hanging out on a couch in Monroe Park.”

The city has yet to finalize the Monroe Park Master Plan, which would guide renovation. Samuels has said keeping the park open during renovation would multiply, not just increase costs of renovation. Funding has also been an issue for the renovation plan. Samuels told RVANews the city would cover about $3 million of the plan for underground pipe-work, but the rest of the estimated $7.8 million will have to come from private donors.

Yes Virginia, Richmond Does Have Warehouse Parties

Friday night, March 4th 2011, World of Source put on a party in Southside, RVA, just over the river. Below are some videos of some of the acts. There is more to come.

Rick Waugh Challenges Eric Cantor at local Book signing

WRIR News sat down with Democratic Candidate Rick Waugh. He discussed his bid for congress in the 7th district. He then went to Eric Canotor's scheduled book signing at the Broad Street Barns & Nobel with the hopes of getting him to debate.

Best Friends Day 9 - EVENT COVERAGE -

What is Best Friends Day? Tyler Spindle, a 23-year-old Richmonder might have summed it up best.

“I just ate a hot dog, washed it down with a beer, and now I’m gonna go swimming…. I haven’t waited an hour.”

A crowd of over 3400 people swarmed to Hadad’s Lake this past Saturday for Best Friends Day 9, a local event that stretched over four days. Celebrating music, the sun, and life. Filled with loud music and events, its also a chance to reconnect with old friends.

The four day event started with a concert Thursday night at the Bike Lot, a secret spot in the south side of Richmond. Friday night, the Canal Club played host to another rousing night of music and fun. Municipal Waste and Propaghandi, legends in their own right, were joined by Andrew WK of “Party Hard” fame. WK spoke with WRIR news after his electric performance.

“On a night like this, you bow down in gratitude to the folks that made it happen”

W.K.’s unique solo performance, just him with a keyboard, shirt covered in what had to be blood, was only topped by the bizarre stream of consciousness he entered during our interview. Local magazine Born Ugly’s titled WK the “Mayor of Party” but he stayed humble.

“The party that I generated was already being generated by all the groups participating in Best Friends Day 9. This was the 9^th time they held the event, and it started yesterday, so there was already a lot of momentum, a lot of inertia, a lot of unstoppable force that I got to benefit from.”

And the momentum from Friday carried over nicely into Saturday. With a clear blue sky, 3 pools, and a man made lake, Hadad’s was awash with Best Friends. This was the first year the event had 2 stages, creating a steady stream of music through out the day.

Brittney Couch, a student at VCU, had heard about Best Friends day, but this year was her first pilgrimage to the event. In the spirit of the event, her friend Mary Jenkins came down from Fredericksburg to join her in the festivities. They were happy to be there to say the least.

“Its what everyone said it would be! We’re stupid jerks, we’re dumb, for missing it all those other years! – I can’t believe this is my first one!”

Photos by John Garcia

Joe Reinhart, guitarist for the Algernon Cadawallader, heard rumors about the event before, but had also never made it out. He was down from Philadelphia, PA to open the stage at Hadad’s. Reinhart said the rumors were true.

“I’ve heard about it for the past 2 years, people were always like “You going!” and I would say “no… I can’t go…. For some reason.” But now that I’m finally here, its everything I hoped it would be… and more.”

Some folks just floated in the water, others jumped on the mid-pool trampoline, or flung one another off of the giant blob-like floatie. Some preferred the high intensity of the rope swing, but everyone seemed to let their cares slip away for one sunny afternoon in August.

Randy Blythe, Lead singer for the Richmond Based band Lamb of God was in attendance. This was his 5^th Best Friends day. When I recognized Blythe, he was taking pictures of the event to send to his mom because he was having trouble explaining the scene. He tried to explain it to me the best he could.

“Yea know its got a really good vibe, you don’t see fights you don’t see people bumming out. More than likely if someone comes up to you and says “HEY!” there gonna be like “you wanna beer?” or something cool like that. So yea know, its just a real cool vibe and it’s a good chance for people to come and see what Richmond’s all about, how we do it.”

Snack Snackerson was particularly excited about the music at the festivities. He respected the organizers for looking both locally and nationally for musical acts.

“I feel like it’s a really good mix of local bands which is really good to the Richmond Music scene and big national acts like Andrew WK and Propaghandi.”

NO BS Brass Band was a high light of the day. After a high energy set, the band attempted to lead, as Ward Tafft, one of the event’s organizers and owner of Chop Suey Books, put it:

“The North American ‘Worlds Longest conga Line’”

The band made their way through Hadad’s, instruments in hand, with hundreds of folks dancing in tow.

This was the 3^rd year NO BS played Best Friends Day; they said it was the high energy event creates their favorite crowd.

“Freak upon Freak upon freak, upon freak. Its like 10^th generation of Freaks all fuck’n going crazy… its wild man, everyone comes out and they’re ready to hang and have a good time. Worries are left behind. Swimming, music, its all good…. It’s one of the most giving audiences you can play for.”

Best Friends day has come and gone, but memories of music and hangovers will last in the minds of thousands. And soon rumblings of what’s in store for Best Friend’s Day 10 will get Richmonders psyched up to do it all over again next August.

/Brad Kutner

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2010 Carytown Watermelon Festival

The 27^th annual 2010 Carytown Watermelon Festival was a joyous event full of food, music, community involvement, and good times. If you drove on Boulevard last Saturday, you couldn’t miss the smells and the sounds that radiated under the hot Richmond sun.

The event, similar to other watermelon festivals held around the country, is a street festival with TONS watermelon. Richmond uses about 2,500 melons according to the Carytown Merchant Association website. Freemason Shriners are the melon wranglers for the day, Neal Johnston, a Shriner from Richomnd:

“Our Duty is to make the watermelon festival a great festival”

Johnston explained the specifics of the Shriners involvement.

“We first contacted the grocery stores, Ukrop’s used to donate all the watermelons, now Martins provides them. We have 5 separate stands up and down the street, We are all members of the shrine, either car club or one of the others. WE slice em, the ladies sell them, and take up the money and the people have a good time.”

He said the work was pretty challenging, they often can’t keep up with the demand for ice-cold watermelon.

“The time really goes by fast with these guys buying melons and buying melons, so we are really pushed to get them cut fast enough.”

The goal is to raise 10,000 dollars for Shriner's Children's Hospitals, and at a buck a bowl, the amount of melon they go through is impressive. Johnston loves to be a part of the event, and knows his hard work is paying off in the right places.

“I think it’s a great thing to do. The city of Richmond provides the street for us, does the clean up the next day. It’s a great community service, and as u can see by the crowd, the folks love it, and were so glad to be such a part of it.”

Don Frickey, from Richmond, was there to aid the Shriners in their melon distribution. He was personally moved by the fruits of the Shriners’ labor.

“I have seen the work the Shriners have done, its very touching.”

Watermelon wasn’t the only big draw to the festival, it’s also a great chance for local musicians to get heard by a large and diverse audience. Leslie Drips, lead singer and songwriter for the band Moruza, has been playing at the festival for the last 5 years. She said it is unlike any other show she plays.

“There’s a lot of energy in the crowd, and it’s so different than a quiet venue like the listening room or a coffee shop. It’s a lot of energy and it’s a lot of fun.”

She noticed a few differences this year, one of them in particular was for the better.

“The stage has moved, there are a couple of bigger stages. It’s cooler, my face didn’t melt off this year, it’s actually still here. So yea… the little things.”

There was a regular volunteering fever through out the festival. Emily Harrison, from the Museum District, joined with many other volunteers to get behind the aging Byrd Theater. She said a recent tragic event has sparked new interest in the Richmond landmark.

“It kind of came to light 2 weeks ago when there was a robbery at the Byrd Theater, that the Byrd is not in a great financial spot. So with the watermelon festival coming up, 100,000 people showing up, we decided this was a great opportunity to raise some money and give back to a local icon.”

Harrison is a recent Richmond transplant, but her short time in the city made her see the Watermelon Festival was a great chance to get the word our about the Byrd Crisis.

“I moved here a couple years ago during the summer and this was one of the first things I did. It was one of my first taste of Richmond, so its awesome to come down here and see how many people want to support local businesses and the Byrd and get a couple good bites of food and get nasty and sticky and gross and enjoy themselves. It’s really been an awesome day.”

Their goal was 25 grand by the end of the day, and wile final numbers were un available, they had sold out of “support the Byrd” t-shirts by 2:30.

Local Carytown businesses had a booth set up to spread awareness about a growing concern among the community. Paige Bishop, a member of the Carytown Merchants Association, stood in front of a large banner reading “Don’t Big Box My Carytown.”

“There is a Maryland developer that has asked for a special use permit for the building at Ellwood and Nansemond, its called the Verizon building. And basically they are looking to change the zoning for that building to make it for a big box retail. Big box being another large grocery store, a neighbor hood Walmart, a Petsmart, something along those lines. And we don’t think that that fits with the unique character or charm of Carytown because Carytown is built around its local retails who, yea know, blood sweat and tears, work every day to make a living. And so, to us, the anchor of Carytown is those small retailers, and we want that to remain the same.”

Bishop said she had received as much as 300 signatures that day, and some locals had even asked for yard signs to help aid the cause.

The local fire department had set up one of the more popular booths, a misting tent that supplied a refreshing break from the heat.

Chris Connelly, Coordinator of Special Events for the Richmond Fire Dept, gave some advice to future Watermelon Festival goers.

“Drink plenty of water, that’s the number 1 key to staying safe. Drink plenty of water eat food and stay hydrated. And find shady areas.”

If the sun didn’t scare you away, then Sandy Bergman and her Melon-headed Zombies might have. Promoting their year round Haunts of Richmond and their Halloween event Blood Lake Haunted house, Bergmen said they couldn’t miss the chance to spook the locals.

“We have, we came last year. WE had the melon heads on, and it was so much fun, we decided to come back this year with an actual room.”

The Room was a small tent filled with ghouls and scares, but the real site was the meandering ‘melon head’ zombies.

“The melon heads are; it’s a watermelon festival, right? So we took off some heads of our Zombies and we put some watermelons in their places, so they’re walking around with watermelon heads.”

/Brad Kutner.

Jonny Z Fest 2010

On a sunny August day, a community of friends and neighbors gathered to remember a lost friend with celebration and art. The Jonny Z fest, in its 3^rd year, is part block party, part street festival that inhabits a quiet corner of the fan between shields market and Joe’s Inn.

Michael Guedri is the Volunteer and Program coordinator for Art 180, the group that organized the event. In a recent interview WRIR’s Rebecca Farris he explained the concept of the festival.

“Jonny Z was a good friend of mine and many. Who passed away about 4 years ago. He was an integral part in the local music scene and the community. He was an activist in Food Not Bombs, among many other things. He inspired a large group of people to participate in their community, me being one of them. And we want to honor his legacy with this festival every year.”

And honor they did. About 200 folks show up to see the live music, arts and crafts, and areas for children to play. Many art groups and vendors came out to show their support.

Taylor Dawkins was one of them. A Board Director for Studio 23, a not-for-profit print shop in RVA, she manned a paint-your-own-t-shirt booth.

“We are doing on site screen printing for t-shirts. You can buy a t-shirt for a donation of 5$. WE have screens and different stamps and you can decorate your own shirt.”

Dawkins could see how her booth promoted community involvement

“Its very DIY. It’s very on site interaction. I think its bringing a lot of kids out and getting them to flow creatively and to do something at a street fair they might not get a chance to otherwise.”

Moving from New York City a few years ago, Dawkins had been to her share of street festivals, but she saw something different in the Jonny Z fest.

“I like it a lot more. It’s less overwhelming. There’s more interaction with individuals. In some ways, it’s a lot better.”

Josh small, musician and performer, came out to play for the crowd. He has played the last 2 Jonny Z fests, and felt such a connection to the event, he had no problem agreeing to play again.

“It’s the kind of thing were everybody you know and love is gonna be there, so it’s the best kind of show to play.”

Mim Golub Scalin, a crafts person, had her booth of home sewn hand bags and purses. Every aspect of the event delighted her.

“It’s confined to this one block which makes it very convenient, but its got the same things. Its got wonderful bands playing, all these crafts going on that people can participate in and a moon bounce for the kids. And its got a shady side and a not-so-shady side.”

She also enjoyed the chance to meet with local artists and other crafts people, not to mention her staunch support of Art 180’s mission.

“And I’ve gotten to meet people that I didn’t know, I knew their work, and I purchased things from them at other events, and then they are right here! And I go ‘OH HI! I know your work, oh hi I know your work,’ or them saying ‘what’s your name? Oh I know you!’ so that feels really good too. It’s wonderful. Community, community, community! And we all love Art 180 and the fact – their motto – kids and art – and getting to participate in that. Thinking I can write, I can make art, I can do this. For me, that’s the best.”

Matt Lively, who Art 180 proclaimed Squiggle Champion of the world, helmed one of the more unique booths. His talent is not to be understated.

“You draw a squiggle for me, a squiggle is just a wavy or jagged line, it can be pretty complex. Then you tell me what to turn that squiggle into. And I will turn your squiggle into whatever you want me to do. It can be anything that exists on the planet or doesn’t exists on the planet.”

Lively has demonstrated his talent at several Art 180 events. The organization has plans for his amassed work; something he thinks Jonny Z would appreciate.

“They are gonna print the best 100 and make them into books and then sell the books to benefit art 180. And it seemed like a fun activity that he would dig.”

Scalin realizes the importance of the event outside an average street festival.

“Its not just the craft making, it the fact that I can participate and give some money to art 180. And be a part of this festival. I think its wonderful, it brings the neighbor hood out. So many young people here, I’m loving the fact there are so many young people here. But its really important to commemorate Jonny Zs life.”

You can find out more info about Art 180’s and their upcoming events at www.art180.com

/Brad Kutner

The VA Historical Society Gets Odd

Smack dab in the middle of Richmond’s Museum District lies the Virginia Historical Society and their recent exhibit featuring some of the most unusual artifacts the nearly 200 year old organization has to offer. Featuring everything from archaic medical apparatuses to scabs, “Bizarre Bits: Oddities from the Collection” contains items from deep within the walls of the society’s massive collections.

William Rasmussen, Lead Curator for the exhibit, spoke about the creation of the “oddities” display and said the time span of collection and lots of cross-department team work, made it easy to create such a display.

“It’s a way to highlight our collection in a odd way. The society was founded in 1831 so the collections are vast. WE have some 7 million manuscripts, 160 thousand books, 200 thousand photos, 5000 maps, 700 paintings, 15 thousand museum objects, so with that kind of quantity, collected over almost 200 years, inevitably there are going be something’s that are strange”

Wile the initial sorting process was simple enough, narrowing down the items to fit the space provided was a practice in playing favorites, though Jennifer M. Guild, media relations specialist for the VAHS, said the exhibit could have many more incarnations.

“we pulled ideas from staff here at the VAHS and we came up with over 100 items that could have been featured in this exhibit. Weird strange, unusual, bizarre, all kinds of different exhibit items. So when we had to pair it down and pick the items that were actually going be in the exhibit it turned into about 45 items that we could actually display in the space that we have. So potentially, this exhibit could be put up again and again with the items that weren’t put up in the original exhibit.”

The other obstacle was defining “oddities.” But Rasmussen followed the OED and used the broad term to fit many different possibilities.

“How do you define oddity? According to the oxford English dictionary, things are odd in the way we think of them today: if they are grotesque or strange looking or fantastic. But they are also a person can be odd; an event can be odd. So we have a couple of odd people, a couple of odd events, we think a duel is odd, we think jousting, dressing up like knights is odd, then we’ve got strange looking and fantastic objects.”

Rasmussen had a favorite item in the collection, a letter detailing the trial of a supposed witch, that was given to the VAHS around 1850.

My favorite has to be the document that records the witch trial of Grace Sherwood in what’s now VA Beach. This woman was accused of being a witch. Lou Cull said that she caused his wife to miscarry, and she had been criticized by another neighbor who said she killed his pig by witchcraft. A 3^rd neighbor said that she came unto her in the middle of the night and “rid me,” whatever that means, and then escaped through the keyhole or a crack in the door. She was taken to trial, the judged decide she should be dunked in the water. So she did and she survived it, so they said she must be a witch because she survived it. They had “5 ancient woman” that’s on the document, examine her. And these woman reported back that she had different things than what would be on a normal woman’s body, and that she was nurturing demons. So they clasp her in irons and off to jail grace Sherwood went.

Another peculiar item to grace the exhibit would seem better fit in a medical museum then the VAHS, but it ended up in their archives none-the-less.

A small pox scab taken from an infant sent by one member of the Massie family to another…. This puss filled blisters would cover the body. A 3^rd of all the blindness’s in Europe were caused by it. You could be inoculated by using a scab, introducing a scab into the blood stream. So it was sent from one member of the family to another. But people were scared to death. We talk about it today it doesn’t sound intuitive that these things would work, so people were reluctant to use these methods to prevent small pox. But there we have it – the scab had been saved with the letter it came with.

A piece of furniture, covered in sharp wood spikes, stands out in the exhibit. Ed Strasdense and Barbra Dupont, down from Boston Massachusetts to visit their son, said.

“That was a little bit strange – I like the name of it –“triumph!”

The couple found the VAHS after a recent visit to the Virginia Museum of Fine arts, neighbor to the Historical Society. Strasdense considers himself a bit of a history buff, but he was surprised by the collection.

“Just like the sign says out there, oddities, and so you walk around like “well, this is a little bit different, I’d never seen this before. So it was kind of interesting, yea know? I like the medicine and the tools… especially the drilling into the head… that was ‘odd’”

Rasmussen said the exhibit has been successful so far, and that the concept of an “oddities” display puts the idea of collecting into an interesting context.

“I didn’t know what to expect, its been a lot of fun, people have enjoyed it. It has some value to it too. It makes us think about what we’re collecting and what is ‘odd’ and are we collecting things now that future generations are going to consider odd. And it also points attention at our collection, and this is just the tip of the ice burg of what we have here.”

The exhibit runs until February 13, 2011 and is free and open to the public during normal business hours Tuesday–Saturday 10am–5pm and Sunday 1pm–5pm.

/Brad Kutner

2010 Nehemiah Action Assembly Summary

Photo Credit: John Garcia

Listen to the full story here

The evening of Thursday, April 22, church members from 13 congregations around Richmond filed into the Good Shepherd Baptist Church in Churchill as the choir sang and swayed in their purple robes. They were there to make a statement to the representatives from VCU Health System and Richmond Public Schools. They needed to see tangible changes in health care coverage and education.

-Brad Kutner and Caroline Jackson

Food Not Bombs: Serving Everyone for the Past 16 Years

Mo Karn (center, front) is among the longest-serving volunteers for Food Not Bombs.

Photo credit: John Garcia

Listen to the full story here

Some people do while others talk. That's the outlook of Food Not Bombs, a group that has been supporting the Richmond community by feeding those in need for 16 years.

Richmond’s ‘Food Not Bombs’ chapter is part of a loosely-connected nationwide movement. Mo Karn, one of the longest-serving volunteers, has worked with the program for 7 years. She says the origins of the national movement go back to around 1980.

“It started as anti-war discussions about why the government spends so much money on guns and bombs and killing people, when just a portion of that money, if we put it toward food and housing for people, would solve so many more problems and be more effective," Karn said. "So they came up with ‘Food Not Bombs.’ Pretty simple. People ask what the group is about and I say ‘food … not bombs!'”

Richmond Food Not Bombs has been going to the Main Street side of Monroe Park and serving home-cooked, hot vegan meals to anyone who is hungry every Sunday for the past 16 years. Karn said she doesn’t see her work as charity, but rather as a meal for the community.

“We aspire to show solidarity with people, not charity. I think there are a lot of groups that give out food and serve meals. A church will have it and it’s evident that it’s only food for homeless people to eat. So Food Not Bombs is for anybody, I mean, I eat Food Not Bombs every Sunday, I count on it for my dinner. I don't really get blueberries and blackberries outside of Food Not Bombs, and a lot of food that we serve, we're lucky to get lots of fruits and vegetables that even people with jobs can't afford to have on a regular basis.”

The fresh produce is all donated by local grocery stores. Kroger and Whole Foods are the big donors these days, though Richmond’s own Ukrop’s participated in the past. Karn says the process of requesting food is as easy as walking up to a produce manager and asking for what the store cannot sell. The produce may be a little bruised or past its prime, but it is still good to eat and give away.

“We don’t serve food we wouldn’t eat ourselves, because we do eat it. And that’s what we tell people who come to cook who don’t have much experience cooking, because anyone is welcome to come. They say, ‘Is this good? Is that good?’ and I ask, ‘Would you eat it?’ and if they say 'nope,' well then don’t serve it.”

If you visit their cooking house, located in Richmond’s North Side Barton Heights neighborhood, you will see the amazing wealth of donated goods: apples, pears, artichokes, bananas and berries of every color and size, just to name a few. The smells and sounds are enough to excite the senses of anyone with a taste for fresh food. A tub of homemade pesto spread was thrust into my face as I entered the room and its aroma was just as inviting as our hosts. The jovial atmosphere was more like a party house with people cutting carrots instead of munching chips and sipping drinks.

Before long, it’s time to pack up the hot tomato bisque, stuffed peppers and fresh fruit salad into the back of their pickup truck and head downtown. They set up a few tables and hang their banner between two trees and a crowd begins to develop.

Karen White, a breast cancer survivor who says she had to choose between her medication and her rent, has been coming to Food Not Bombs every Sunday for 5 years. She said the work these folks were doing helped her personally, adding that they act unlike any other hot meal site in town.

“They have humanity, respect and concern for one another. Some other groups come out here and they don’t have humanity, respect or concern and they will talk to you in any kind of way. I say to myself, ‘That food is not from God, I don’t want it,’ because I’m a human just like them. As long as they respect me, I respect them. You never know when the tables could turn. Food Not Bombs, they have good personalities, attitudes and they treat you like a human being.”

Mo Karn says there are other differences between Food Not Bombs and other soup kitchens in town. Their all-vegan menu is a large part of that.

“A lot of the groups in Richmond who serve food for free specifically to homeless people serve bologna sandwiches and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches -- a lot of it is meat-based. A lot of homeless people don’t want to eat meat. People don’t think about that, but you know, homeless people don't necessarily want to eat what a fifth grader wants to eat. There are people with health problems who don’t have money to buy food, and they get really excited that they can come and have food without a ton of salt and preservatives in it every Sunday. It's vegetarian and vegan food because that's accessible to everybody. Meat eaters can eat vegan food.”

Jamal Jordan and Clement Oladipo were serving food this past weekend. It was their first time helping out. Oladipo was spending his rare Sunday off from work to help the cause.

“Seems like the right thing to do,” Oladipo said.

He also commented on the omission of faith from the group’s mission saying, “It shows that people who aren’t religious can do nice things too.”

Noel Alexander works in sales full time, but has made it out to serve food every Sunday for the last 6 months. He said he looked forward to the event.

“It's nice to help other people. You’re not changing the world, but maybe you’re making someone’s day a little bit better. Selfishly, I know it’s my favorite day of the week. It helps me. If nothing else, I know the people who are doing it are enjoying it and odds are, it is making at least one person feel a little bit better.”

Jeremy Hawthorn has worked with Food Not Bombs groups around the country, spending time in San Francisco and Orlando, Fla. He has seen some cities respond negatively to his group, and remembers a tough battle with real estate developers in the Orlando area, but says there is much less conflict in Richmond.

“There is a little bit of resistance, but not usually from the communities. Most places have a park and people will get a permit and go feed the homeless. Well, we just skip the government part. We don’t feel like it's necessary to go through all this paperwork to get food to people.”

When asked if he felt he was changing the world, Hawthorn said, “It depends on your definition of that. There is the over-arching sense of changing the world, but for some people that's almost intimidating. It's hard to see feeding a meal to someone as changing the world, but if you change your community, that is essentially the same thing, because that is one's world -- everything around them, the people around them, the people they associate with on a day-to-day basis.

"I’m completely happy in saying that we’re helping to change the community as it is. Hopefully other communities are doing the same, and if that gets big enough, that is changing the world.”

Food Not Bombs will be in Monroe Park every Sunday at 4 PM and staying until about 5, or when the food runs out. You can contact Mo Karn at 804-303-5449 or stop by their house, the Wingnut, in the 2000 block of Barton Ave.

-Brad Kutner

Slaughterama 7: Event Coverage

Photo credit: Brad Kutner

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It was so sunny, people's eyes burned. The dust in the air clung to ankles like cake batter. The smells and sounds and sights appeared more like a battle arena than a bike festival. This was Slaughterama 7.
The event has grown significantly since its inception 7 years ago. Starting in Oregon Hill, the first Slaughterama was 40 people partying and riding kids bikes around a track.
This year’s turnout was easily in the thousands. Events include the Six Pack Attack, the Whiplash, Tall Bike Joust, the original Mini Hell Track, and BMX Side Car Racing. The event is held just as spring begins to creep back into the River City, and lots of folks consider it a sign of the new season.
“You wanna talk about Slaughterama and Easter? Same thing! We’re rising from the dead of winter into the beautiful resurrection of spring.”
Noelle Archibald, a founding member of the Cutthroats who organize the event, watches the mayhem from the sidelines. She has been into bike culture for years, saying her husband brought Tall Bikes to Richmond. She is the owner and operator of the Lamplighter Café. She said with help from other bike clubs and an army of volunteers, they could handle it.
“There’s a lot of planning that goes into it, but it’s the seventh year, so we know the drill. There are so many crews around town like RODA and they pitch in. Everyone knows what’s going on, we all just make it happen.”
She also believes Slaughterama is genuinely more than a bike party on the river -- it’s sign of youth who want to take part in their city and are willing to organize to achieve it.
“This formula will work anywhere – fun is free, go out and do something, it’s about the ability to create your own environment – we’re living in the now.”
While a lot of folks come out to support the cause, many more come out for good times and competition. Teams are formed and participated in any number of events. They start the weekend with the scavenger hunt, a citywide blitz to collect some of the most bizarre items you could imagine and a point system that seems somewhat uneven.
Ryan Villan and John Caslet, members of The Hooligans, a bike club formed for the event, feel Slaughterama is about folks from around town getting together without big business getting involved.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to come out and enjoy some community activity. It's about competition. And its about having fun without corporate sponsorship.”
Malcom Wolf slipped out of the masses huddled around the competition area, covered in sweat and dirt after competing in the Bike Jousting event. He said,
“I hold a 15-foot PVC pipe with a pillow on the end and I went full-speed on a tall bike and I jabbed him twice in the face. I dunno if I won, but does it really matter who wins? People come from all over the country for the event just to chill and ride your bike and drink lots of beer have a good time and be ridiculous. Let's not be cynical for a bit and realize, in the moment, we're having a good f******* time.”
It’s easy to imagine the incredible mess left at the end of such an event, but the Cutthroats and their friends are sure to leave Belle Isle in a better condition than it was when they first arrived.
James Lipton, a 5-year veteran of the Cutthroats, was in charge of the cleanup process. He said it’s a team effort that takes thousands of volunteers.
“We usually finish up by 8 pm that day, come by the next day, then again a week later. It's something we’ve always done. All these cans go to the James River park service. They recycle them, and they get to keep and they get to use it for whatever they want. It's really rad.”
With all the action and debauchery shrouded in a cloud of dust, the scene seems aggressive, but Lipton knows he can count on the crowd attending to keep order.
“We can count on reliable non-violent, chill people to come to our events. When things get weird, people help.”
Altamont this is not. B.J. Robinette, a member of the Guild Team, was enjoying his third Slaughterama. He volunteered to help clean up the remains for the second year in a row. Trash bag in hand, he explained why he thought the event was so important.
“I think it brings a whole lot of people together who would not normally be together. I think it builds friendship and I don’t think, at the end of the day, there are any negative effects -- it's all positive.”
The price of all this togetherness is the mess he is left to clean up, but he feels it’s important to leave on a positive note.
“I don’t wanna come down to Belle Isle and have to deal with a bunch of beer boxes and crap lying around. I know no one else wants to. So we clean up after ourselves, it's something everybody should do.”
It’s the end of the day -- 6 pm Saturday -- and it’s time to leave the isle. The masses slowly congregate toward the footbridge. Some brave the mighty James River and swim to the other side.
Archibald says something weird happens whenever the event comes to a close. No one really wants to think about next year’s Slaughterama quite yet, but you always wonder if this will be the last one.
“Every year we think it's gonna be the last one, that its gonna get shut down. It’ll implode on itself like the summer of love when the Hells Angles did security, and it could go that route, but all we try and do is set it up. Set it up, and let it go.”

-Brad Kutner