The world today is so stressful that some creatives need two artistic avenues to keep sane.
A new exhibition at MAD.KAT Gallery in Rancho Mirage is dedicated to well-known musicians who are also creators of visual art. Sound & Vision: The Visual Art of Recording Artists will showcase a different creative side of 18 musicians from Saturday, March 8, through Saturday, April 12.
During a recent interview with Russ Tolman—the partner of Kim Tolman, gallerist and curator at MAD.KAT—he said he was thrilled to return to the Sound & Vision format after a successful first edition.
“We came up with the idea last year, and I don’t really remember where the spark came from, but we did it, and it was such a success, we thought, ‘Well, we’ve got to do it again,’” Tolman said. “We have some returning artists, but we also have a whole batch of new ones and some pretty exciting ones as well.”
Tolman—himself a musician and artist whose work is included in the show—was shocked to find so many other creatives who double-dip into music and art.
“When we started researching and looking for people, there were folks who we had no idea also did visual art,” Tolman said.
Tolman went on to share information about the artists showing works at Sound & Vision this year. I decided to pair each participating artist with a musical gem, usually from their own catalog.
“Cheryl Bentyne was in The Manhattan Transfer, the 11 Grammy Award-winning jazz-vocal group,” Tolman said. “Her art is the most unusual. She buys vintage lamps, and then she creates new lampshades for them, either painted or put together herself—and they’re pretty amazing. She’s kind of an outlier.”
The 1980s was a time for stunning, creative and funky lampshades, so check out the extremely funky ’80s disco jam “Spice of Life” by The Manhattan Transfer—a song you just might hear while shopping for unusual lampshades.
“We have Exene Cervenka from X, who does collage,” Tolman said.
X is one of the greatest punk rock bands ever, and their blazing-fast, crunchy rock inspired the evolution of punk rock and other heavier styles of jams. Because Cervenka’s art is collages, my song choice is a musical-collage, of sorts. “True Love Pt. #2” by X is a funky, dance-style groove with Cervenka and fellow vocalist John Doe quoting lyrics from nursery rhymes, Elvis Presley, Funkadelic and others.
“Marti Jones, who used to be on A&M and RCA, does her painting under her married name, Marty Jones Dixon,” Tolman said. “She’s married to Don Dixon, who co-produced the early R.E.M. records with Mitch Easter.”
Jones’ oil paintings feature people, and her brushing techniques add a layer of intrigue and mystery to the subjects and settings. “The Ghost on Every Corner” by Marti Jones is a haunting tune that combines subdued, slightly jazzy instrumentals with ethereal melodies, evoking a similar sense of mystery.
“Jill Emery, she does very interesting, naïve paintings,” Tolman said. “She was in Hole and Mazzy Star, the bass player.”
Naïve art is a movement where artists who do not have formal training create works, resulting in creations and choices that are uncommon among more seasoned artists. Emery’s works combine simple line drawing and coloring to pay tribute to her musical heroes, or depict important people and moments in her life. “Be My Angel” by Mazzy Star is a simple song on the surface, with a repeating 4-chord structure, but the melodic vocals, reverb-filled slide guitar, and expansive production express a beautiful feeling that love can be so simple.
“Juliana Hatfield does what she calls OCD art,” Tolman said. “A lot of her pieces are just very teeny-tiny, interconnecting circles done with a pen. She was in the Blake Babies, and she’s currently in the Juliana Hatfield Three. She was also in the Lemonheads for a while.”
“I See You” by Juliana Hatfield is pure garage-pop charm, and the chorus line, “I see you in every place I go,” can be a mantra for those who view Hatfield’s art. On the surface, Hatfield’s art is merely shapes and faceless figures, but perhaps you’ll see someone, or something, in her artistic creations.
“We have Shinji Horimura, who is from Otaka, Japan. He’s a taiko drum player, but he’s also an artist, and his themes are kind of a combination of traditional Japanese art and homoerotic themes,” Tolman said. “He’s an interesting outlier.”
While Horimura has not released any music of his own, taiko drumming has been expressed creatively through a number of different recording projects. “Harvest” by Joji Hirota and the Taiko Drummers is an intense number that spans moments of soft groove and brutal drum power, similar to the nuanced ways in which the artist explores both the male figure and Japanese culture in his art.
“Gill Landry, he’s a two-time Grammy winner with Old Crow Medicine Show, and he’s a traditional painter,” Tolman said. “He lives in this town in the middle of California called Three Rivers, which is near Sequoia National Park. The area is called Cinnamon Canyon where he lives, and that’s the name of this new album, and all the paintings are of the theme of living remotely. He has a bathtub that’s outside, that he puts wood underneath to heat the water. His paintings are all about the themes of his album, and his rustic life in Three Rivers.”
A song from Landry’s Cinnamon Canyon Blues that ties into his nature paintings is “Always Here Tonight,” a somber, guitar-led narration that uses minimal instrumentation to emphasize the power of memories, and what can run through your mind when escaping into nature.
“Jon Langford, he was originally in a British punk rock band called the Mekons, who are still around,” Tolman said. “John has done 14 or so albums, mostly on Bloodshot Records out of Chicago, and he’s pretty well-known in the Americana scene. He’s also a pretty noted visual artist. He (had a February) exhibition at La Luz De Jesus Gallery in Los Angeles, which is kind of a big hipster gallery.”
Langford’s art embodies the punk-rock ethos, but also showcases how the musician has jumped from punk to folk. Subjects of his art range from dead musicians who deserved to be celebrated, to small animals who are misunderstood; lyric verses fill the artist’s paintings. Of course, there are some skulls. “Where Were You” is an artsy jam from the Mekons; the scorched stylings of the punk riffs fit right in with Langford’s attention to skulls, cowboy hats and Western aesthetics.
“Stefan Murphy is a great Irish singer-songwriter,” Tolman said. “He’s based in Dublin, but he was living in the U.S. for a little while, and he ended up in Nashville, and so he started a punk band in Nashville. Now he flies back from Dublin to tour with them in the U.S., and I think they’re currently doing a European tour.”
Murphy’s art deals in the abstract, with strange shapes, lines and bright colors dominating his work. “Sagittarian Boy” is one of Murphy’s most abstract tunes, with sporadic synths and delayed vocals creating a mind-bending soundscape.
“We have Johnette Napolitano, who you should know from Concrete Blonde, who had a couple of multi-platinum records. She lives in Joshua Tree,” Tolman said. “Her art is a little bit more of the assemblage, found-art variety.”
If this desert-based rocker found pieces for her assemblage art in Joshua Tree, than I assume we’ll feel some dusty punk energy, similar to the crunchy yet fiery jam “God Is a Bullet” from Concrete Blonde.
“Jeb Loy Nichols is an interesting fellow,” Tolman said. “He’s a printmaker and an Americana singer-songwriter. He’s originally from Wyoming, but he lives in Wales, and he’s been there for 15 or 20 years. He makes linocut prints. When you do a print like that, no two are exactly the same because of the process. He often does musicians, like James Brown, Jonathan Richman, Gil Scott-Heron and Alice Coltrane.”
Nichols’ song “Don’t Drop Me” sees the musician bringing twangy, country guitar and brooding vocals into the world of disco funk. The results are some fantastic mixed-genre grooves, just like the mixed colors and text in his linocut prints.
“Then we have Fredrik Nilsen,” said Tolman. “There was this group out of L.A. called LAFMS, the Los Angeles Free Music Society, in the mid to late ’70s, and they were all artists and musicians. Fredrik is currently a professional photographer, but his exhibit is a little bit about the history of the LAFMS, and some photographs of the early, early days.”
Nilsen’s extremely weird track “Our First Date” offers a small glimpse into the wildly experimental vibes and recording techniques of the LAFMS, through oscillating synth loops, guitar noodling and robotic vocals.
“We have a fellow named Nathaniel Russell, who I know from the Bay Area, because we used to work together at a record label,” Tolman said. “He’s now back in his native Indianapolis, and he’s a musician. He’s released some records under the name Birds of America. He’s also a pretty well-known visual artist, and we’re very happy to have his works in the show.”
Russell’s art focuses on everything from birds to space to death, and his mixed-media pieces utilize poetics and typography to make some works look like comic strips; others look like propaganda posters. His lo-fi jam “Bloodsucker” uses poetic lyrics and driving acoustic guitar to craft a deeply artistic folk song.
“Rennie Sparks, she’s from The Handsome Family, and The Handsome Family have a pretty good following in the Americana scene,” Tolman said. “Their song was the theme song for the first season of True Detective. She paints a very naïve style, and each painting is titled after one of their songs.”
Sparks’ artworks are beautiful depictions of animals, like snakes and coyotes. “24-Hour Store” by The Handsome Family combines simplistic and soft repeating guitar, while howling vocals and lyrics relating to loneliness place the track somewhere in the middle of the desert—away from everything, but surrounded by so much.
“We also have Deb Talan, who used to live out here in California,” Tolman said. “She and her husband at the time had a group called The Weepies, who were pretty well-known and toured the U.S. a lot. Deb actually has a new record that just came out, and she’s quite an interesting painter, a little bit in kind of a naïve style.”
Talan’s new record includes an artistic jam titled “Summerwill,” about the hope that a new season brings.
“I paint abstract, with kind of a midcentury modern influence,” said Russ Tolman.
Tolman’s works combine colors, shapes and more for an interpretation-inviting experience. The reimagining of Pink Floyd’s “Lucifer Sam” by True West, Tolman’s band, may be most appropriate when it comes to putting music to his art, as his musical mind was able to make sense of one of Floyd’s most psychedelic, brain-melting tunes, while still keeping an artsy element.
Tolman didn’t mention Chuck Prophet, a solo musician and member of desert rock band Green on Red, but his mixed-media collages will also appear at the gallery.
Prophet’s solo song “Summertime Thing” crafts a spacey, experimental and artsy vibe through starry guitars and reverb-twinkling drum production, perfect for staring at the combination of strange elements present in his art.
“Finally, a fellow named Kurt Ralske, he had a band in the ’90s called Ultra Vivid Scene, and they were a shoegaze band,” Tolman said. “He is now the head of the (media) art department at Tufts University in Boston.”
Ralske’s art explores visual illusions, combining shadows and dark lighting with stacked, printed images to create light-bending illustrations. It’s hard to tell exactly what is going on in each piece, but there are bits and pieces of figures, trees or street lights. Ultra Vivid Scene’s effects-dominated track “Blood Line” entrances listeners with slow drums, reverbed guitar and somber vocals, sharing the vibe of his artwork.
Fans of the artists’ musical works can catch an intimate concert with three of the featured exhibitors at 7 p.m., Friday, March 7, at Little Street Music Hall. Tickets are $20 in advance on TickPick, or $25 at the door.
“To make it a little more feasible for some of our acts to come and be at the exhibitions, we’re doing a concert the night before with Gill Landry, Jon Langford and myself,” Tolman said. “I’ve heard rumors that there may be some music here at the show, but we’re not advertising that. If it happens, it happens. We want people to come to look at the art—not because they might hear some free music.”
Sound & Vision: The Visual Art of Recording Artists will run from Saturday, March 8, through Saturday, April 12, at MAD.KAT Gallery, 71590 Highway 111, in Rancho Mirage. Gallery hours are noon to 4 p.m., Thursday through Saturday, or by appointment. The exhibition is free to view. Learn more at gallerymadkat.com.
