8 <strong>July</strong> <strong>2017</strong>
QUINTRON AND MISS PUSSYCAT hitting the road for a summer vacation party MORE BETTY GENEVA JACUZZI a weird and wonderful musical smorgasbord MUSIC photo by Gina Canavan Judging by the announcements, it seems the New Orleans based husband and wife duo, Quintron and Miss Pussycat are indeed heading out for a summer vacation. Not entirely sure about what their suitcases might be packing as they leave that party mecca. There is one sure fact, and yes, it is all-true, once you’ve drank that Louisiana tap water, you just can’t shake that swamp magic, but you can let it shake you. Their unique audio-visual extravaganza just oozes with tainted charm, even after fifteen plus years. With a well-documented track record of frenzied dates, proven to rattle the ordinary out of any average day. Go ahead, blame it on the beat (see Drum Buddy) or those hypnotizing maracas (see Miss Pussycat) or something about the Hammond-Leslie combination (see Quintron’s ride); and yes, things may never be the same again, even after just one live show. Quintron, the audio-centric half, picks up the phone as he prepares for rehearsals at Spellcaster Lodge in NOLA. He kindly sets aside a few moments to talk about their current tour plans with words like “celebration” and “vacation” popping into the conversation and explained that the heart of this tour will revolve around select West Coast, Midwest and Canadian dates. These are sandwiched between two special festivals, one in Oakland at the Burger Boogaloo, and then off to the National Puppetry Festival in St. Paul Minnesota. As for new news, Miss Pussycat, the visual half, will showcase a puppet show that has not been seen on the west coast. Hints? So sorry, no spoilers, you will just have wait to see it! For those who are not familiar with the liberating nature of these live shows, to say the least it defies a simple written descriptive. Again, you really have to be there. The fun does straddle the infectious dance grooves produced by the glorious noise of Quintron’s Hammond and custom sound devices, contrasted by Miss Pussycat’s cozy and artful puppets. Those creatures have the capacity to manipulate the audience into hysterical laughter one moment and reduce them to a hush the next. There is still another tangible magic at work here, and it’s the juxtaposition of these two artists and how this contrast feeds their collective process. “I’m dark and stormy, she’s bright and sunny,” says Quintron, at first thought as he begins to analyze the differences. “I don’t walk through the world with my eyes, [and] she does so much, exclusively. It’s amazing and frustrating, because I really walk through the world with my ears. I didn't really realize we had that match for years.” Quintron describes how Miss Pussycat is so visual and she “sees everything,” while he barely pays attention to even what colour he is wearing. “It’s beautiful. She has got skills. You can see it in her puppet shows, in her clothes. She has strong opinions of every colour you can name,” he adds. As with her visual nature, he noted it was similar to his focus for sound based elements. “We don’t argue because we don’t have the same skill sets,” he explains. The conclusion? Sounds like the perfect collaboration of opposites. If you have caught Quintron and Miss Pussycat’s show before, consider this your advance notice! If you are new to the experience, get set to dance like you never have before and dress appropriate, they just might be conjuring up your own mini summer vacation! Remember, this one is an early evening show so check your ticket times. Quintron and Miss Pussycat will perform at Fortune Sound Club Saturday <strong>July</strong> 8. Quintron And Miss Pussycat take their unforgettable live show on the road again. photo by Gary Lavourde Geneva Jacuzzi embraces the weird from beginning to end while crossing boundaries into new media. JAMIE GOYMAN Think giant tentacles reaching out to the darkest corners of the room while sound waves pulsate through your eardrums urging you to dance. The Los Angeles based avant-garde disco inspired pop artist Geneva Jacuzzi is an amalgamation of different aspects of the creative art world and has been pushing the weird that's trapped inside her creative mind for everyone to explore since 2008. A woman of many talents (lighting, video, costume, performance, music) Geneva does it all; that mad dash, sickening rush felt when all eyes are on you for a good show, she loves and thrives off of it. "I have a weird thing about me where I agree to do certain things without knowing how I'm going to do them,” she says. “It's that insanity that happens in the middle of that pressure where I start to recognize those silly aspects of myself and expand on them in the most ridiculous ways I can. I like challenges; I get off on them. I'll say yes to something that I know is going to destroy me because I just want to see if I can do it." Coming off preparation for her massive Warhol inspired show she just did at The Broad museum, Geneva talks with such excitement and life behind her words it's hard not to be captivated by her work and want to catch the whole package live. "I build landscapes, an atmosphere or sometimes I put on a play, there is just always some sort of object I'm interacting with when it comes to live shows," she says. "I do something that is kind of neat that doesn't fit in any one place, but also fits anywhere. I can play a festival or a museum or in a gallery; it's a self contained weird little beast that I create and I can go anywhere. It incorporates music and visual arts. It's a big fucking smorgasbord." We love all you can eat art displays and her latest tour with Nite Jewel promises to be a good one. Geneva’s last album, 2016's Technophelia (Medical Records LLC), gave audiences tracks that create movement from within, tracks like "Technophelia" which sums up the abstract nature of her work, the danceable and fun "Cannibal Babies" or "Squid Hunter" each throw listeners into the world Geneva has constructed while causing all bodies involved to move. Intentional or not, your body will shake with the world she creates. "What ends of happening is weird shit comes out and nobody can stop me." The following months will see Geneva Jacuzzi yet again push her personal boundaries by not only making more music as the first plan of attack, but also pushing into creating art - "residencies and exhibitions," she tells. "I'm going to move into different territories and push out." Colliding worlds with her imaginative and intoxicating form of expression, Geneva uses her magic, or "gooey stuff" as she calls it, to reach out, fills listeners up and sticks when the play button is hit. "When you have an abstract situation it has the ability to be interpreted beyond language and clear definitions. It's a better form of connection between the person viewing and the person creating the work," she says. "Songs I pick have a bit of that goo to them and then I organize them into a weird journey from beginning to end. I find the gooey songs - all that sludge found in the Jacuzzi." Geneva Jacuzzi performs <strong>July</strong> 11 at the Fox Cabaret. <strong>July</strong> <strong>2017</strong> MUSIC 9