A Collision of Quilting and Rock Music

Faith Salie introduces us to the work of a music-loving artist on what you might call the FRINGE:

“I like this machine,” said quilter Ben Venom, “because once it gets going, I liken it to shooting a machine gun.  When it’s at full throttle, like R-R-R-R-R!”

Sit down with Venom in his studio in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury, and it doesn’t take long to realize he isn’t quite like other quilters.

“There’s a right way, there’s a wrong way, and there’s the way I just decided to do it -- which is my way,” he said.

“You know, I’ll listen to music or try to watch movies, but ultimately the noise of the machine kind of drowns a lot out. Because my head’s right in it. So pretty much my world is right around here.”
His world is filled with arresting images on quilts.

“Every Tear Drop,” a quilt by by Ben Venom.

Scientists: Here's What Listening to Slayer Does to Your Mind

 
According to a new study from the Journal of Psychology of Popular Media, metal music helps its listeners to deal with their own mortality.

The study divided a group of 30 individuals into two groups, assigning one group to listen to an audio book, while the other group listened to Slayer classic "Angel of Death."

The conclusion - listening to Slayer raises self-esteem and makes you less afraid of death.

Catl, Last Show, European Tour Invasion, Part 10 - NOVI SAD, SERBIA

 It's catl's last stop, before sweet home Canada!

Look for them this July, at Munich's Raut Oak Fest! 

And don't forget, they'll be touring the U.S this year! 

"We drove an hour with all our gear, our host Aleks, the driver Zoran, and Iggy the harp player, to the charmer of a town called, Novi Sad. The car was a small Ford ‘something or other,’ and you couldn’t squeeze a piece of rice into the cramped cabin if you wanted to."

catl-radio Novi Sad is on the air!

Our first stop in Novi Sad was a local radio station to promote the show that night. We had no idea what was being said.

Catl, European Tour Invasion, Part 9 - BELGRADE, SERBIA

 catl's tour in Europe is winding down, and coming to an end...one more stop to go!

 

"We hopped in a van to get to Serbia, where we met our first, official, border hassle. The rather large Serb, with the machine gun, asked us for our papers for being musicians. We handed him the only things we had - our very ripped up itinerary, that had been in Sarah's purse all tour. That seemed to be enough, and off we went."

Near the outskirts of Belgrade at a toll booth. An incredible fog had descended on the city, which had lasted two weeks by the time we got there. This is one of many stray dogs. #fogdog

Catl, European Tour Invasion, Part 8 - BUDAPEST

It might have been a Sunday, but it didn't deter the rockers in Budapest from coming out to see catl! 

Stunning architecture, delicious Turkish food, and welcoming/ beautiful people...these are some of the things Budapest is made of! 

Check out what catl had to say about their Budapest stop!

Having a snack on the train. Sarah insists it's an elephant, Jamie says it's something else....

The train to Budapest, was the last train we took on the tour, and it was by far the most ghetto train of all. Rickety. Old. No food or drink. But it still looked fucking cool as hell! It made us miss the cushy trains we'd experienced earlier on this tour.

Catl, European Tour Invasion, Part 7- FELBACH, AUSTRIA

This here is the OFFICIAL VIDEO for 'Gold Tooth Shine'  Featuring Pete Ross on harmonica, and Dani Nash on extra vocals. Director: Brett Van Dyke, Cinematographer : Brett Van Dyke csc, Editor: Kyle McNair


Life on the road isn't always easy! Sometimes all you want is quite, a clean place to rest your head, and food that won't make you sick!

Thank goodness for the friends catl made in Europe! It helped make the rest of their European tour a comfortable success!

Read more about their travel success and tribulations in this, and future blogs!

"Our host Didi met us at the train station and we went straight for dinner. Sarah couldn’t eat anything on our second train (the ‘ghetto’ train) because she's vegetarian and celiac so she was starting to chew on her drumsticks for sustenance."

Catl, European Tour Invasion, Part 6 - PRAGUE

Canadian greats, catl, have been hitting the road hard! 

Here's a peak into the fun, and struggles, they have been encountering on their European tour!

Jamie's ongoing amp roulette - Marshal Stack baby!

"We traveled on the train for about 8 hours, to get to this weird little pub in the middle of a park. It was their staff Christmas party, and they were handing out gifts, like socks with 'Jameson's' written on them. They were also pretty well oiled, just like the rest of Europe.

There were long pauses after our songs ended, and they seemed to like it with some polite applause; but when we threatened to stop playing, they got feisty and wanted us to keep going. One fella stopped us afterwards, and said our music was 'good quality'. We said 'thanks but our hygiene is becoming of very poor quality', and he stared at me blankly.