Results tagged “aaronmace”

Today, we're picking Aaron Mace's brain. Mace has taken up the Church of the Friendly Ghost torch at the Salvage Vanguard Theatre, continuing the tradition of providing space and support for some of Austin's most avant and experimental groups. Earlier this year, Pastiche columnist Adam Schragin interviewed Mace, and you can keep up with the COTFG through their email list. We recommend it: no active listener should ever stop taking the time to hear things that are new and challenging. We're so proud of Mace and his tireless contributions to the local scene, we just had to hear what he was listening to this year. He noted earlier this week, "One major common thread is that 4 of 5 here are what i consider "in miniature." That is to say collections of short songs that are perfectly short due to artistic refinement and ex-positive nature, and also short compared to other recordings typical of the genre." Sounds good to us, Aaron.

Undoubtedly, the oddness of The Church of the Friendly Ghost is what caught my attention first. You’ve got that amazing name, for one thing, and it’s hard to beat seeing a show in a converted tiny chapel out on the southeast side. Over the years, the Church put on a multitude of fantastic performances, but what made the events so special was undoubtedly the community, a term that feels “It Takes a Village” trite but which nonetheless was a big part of what made the Church shows so unique. Many shows were potlucks, all were B.Y.O.B., and the atmosphere was much warmer and inviting than any club, at least. And the music – where else could a person see an acoustic evening featuring Carolyn Berk of Lovers and the super-solitary Josh Pearson of Lift to Experience one night, and then witness a local group of jazz musicians running through John Zorn’s game-piece Cobra on another?