Launch of Four Minutes to Midnight Issue 11: Happy Hour by FA Nettelbeck
with the bands Nightwood and The Lindbergh Line
with readings by Moe Clark and Vincent Tinguely

Friday, April 22nd @ Cabaret Playhouse (5656 ave. du Parc)
Doors 9PM, $8 door/$15 with a copy of the issue

“…but what more could / you expect when you’re / the last of your kind /
living amongst the / incompetent others / in the light they waste”
— F.A. Nettelbeck

Four Minutes to Midnight is proud to announce the publication of its eleventh issue. The double issue features Happy Hour, the final collection of work by American poet FA Nettelbeck (1950-2011), lavishly illustrated by Montreal-based visual artist Sophie Jodoin, and Fugue XI, an epic typographic cut-up poem edited by John W. Stuart, Kevin Lo, Hillary Rexe and Sara McCulloch.

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Poster design in collaboration with Kirsten McCrea

Four Minutes to Midnight is excited to co-present the second Howl! concert, featuring saxophonist Jason Sharp, harp duet Sarah Pagé and Robin Best, and a quartet lead by Nick Kuepfer. The Howl! concert series highlights and celebrates Montreal’s fiercely independent arts communities and the strong ties they share with social justice struggles here and abroad.

The concert takes place next Thursday, March 24th, at the beautiful Sala Rossa, advanced tickets are only 5 bucks and available at the usual fine record stores/venues.

More information on the facebook event page.

UPDATE: Stefan talks with Vince about the musicians and ideas behind the Howl! concert series on CKUT.

Our project Imaging Apartheid is featured in this week’s Arts and Culture show on CUTV. Also in this episode a great feature on Concordia’s Co-op Bookstore and some amazing and inspiring footage from the revolution happening in Egypt.

Thanks CUTV! I really need to learn to speak slower on camera!

Join us on Monday night for a benefit concert in support of Imaging Apartheid: The Poster Project for Palestine.

As the submission deadline for the project approaches, we’re planning a series of local events in order to outreach to artists, build support and raise funds for the eventual printing, exhibition and distribution of the selected posters. Come out for some beautiful music and learn more about/support the project while you’re at it.

Featuring Jason Sharp, Adam Kinner, and the Erik Hove Trio.

Poster designed in collaboration with Hoda Adra.

Happy New Year!!! Memefest is an amazing organisation/event/friendly competition that I’ve been partnered with for many years. Based in Slovenia, with nodes spread out internationally (remarkably and importantly, outside of traditional centres of “power”), Memefest explores the boundaries of communication practice, pushing for radical approaches that operate outside of the conventional/commercial/advertising model.

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Four Minutes to Midnight is proud to co-present the inaugural Howl! concert featuring solo and collaborative performances by cellist Rebecca Foon, Sam Shalabi on oud and our good friend Stefan Christoff on piano. It’ll be a night of beautiful, intimate music celebrating Montreal’s fiercely independent arts community. The perfect way to kick-off the holidays with your friends and family.

The concert takes place next Thursday, December 16th at L’Envers, the beautiful loft space on Van Horne that hosted CKUT’s Art’s Birthday festivities last year (which was a whole lot of fun!).

>> RSVP and more info on Facebook here

The CEASE Art Collective‘s Holiday Flea Market this past weekend was a great success and a whole lot of fun. I survived on a steady diet of cupcakes, coffee, beer and art, met many great people and was inspired by all the crafty goodness.

Of particular note, I was blown away by the aerosol work of my table mate Regimental Oneton, the photos of Lisa Howarth and the beautiful new drawings from Nicole Aline Legault. I also got a great new scarf from Genevieve Dumas! Oh yeah, and the cupcakes of course!

Big, big thanks to all the organisers and volunteers, fellow artists and everyone that came by. Great to meet you all!

>> More photos of the event on facebook

The early view from our table

Another great Expozine weekend is in the books, and as tiring, stressful and hectic as it was, I’m pretty sad it’s over and we’re going to have to wait a whole year for the next opportunity to see so many amazing independent creators and creations.

As a member of the illustrious board, headed by the indefatiguable Louis Rastelli (with big shoutouts to Billy Mavreas, Genevieve Boyer, Pascal-Angelo Fioramore, Michelle Lacombe and Graham Hall) I spent Friday setting up hundreds of tables and chairs while hoping that issue XI of Four Minutes to Midnight would be printed and bound in time by my printers Kata Soho (kids, remember, don’t leave printing to the last minute!). Everything worked out in the end, and I was able to enjoy the opening event at Sala with some good friends and great performances by Sherwin Tija (reading from his collection of Pseudo-Haikus and new zine, “The Little Cancer that could”) and Super Fossil Power. There was a nice turnout, but unfortunately, as was to be expected, a lot of zinesters I was hoping to meet were MIA as they frantically finished their wares.

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Poster by Billy Mavreas

It’s my favourite time of the year! Expozine 2010 is right around the corner (THIS weekend!) and I’m beyond excited to get to see so many of my friends again and all the work they’ve been up to in a sweaty church basement jam-packed with geeky zinesters. And equally excited to discover new art for my walls, new zines for my mind, and new people to collaborate with. I’ve met some of my best friends through this event, and it’s one of the main reasons I’m still in Montreal, with its amazing community of independent artists. It’s going to be a fabulous weekend!

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