Monofonus Press

Bear Claw one-sider out Jan 19th
Jan 14 10

Bear Claw’s one-sider includes four tracks from their recently self-released cassette that we felt more than deserved the vinyl treatment.  Wonderfully recorded, beautiful songs on a one-sided, 10″ vinyl.  take a listen.

Pick one up at the release show, Saturday Jan. 23rd at United States Art Authority when Bear claw plays with Soft Healer and Mutating Meltdown.

Teleportal Readings
Jan 06 10

Beginning on Tuesday, January 19th, the Hotel San Jose will become home to a multimedia reading series designed for those who love reading but hate readings. We’ve done away with the fluorescent lights, folding chairs, and library atmosphere of literary events. As for that opposite extreme of the reading world, the poetry slam, you can rest assured that this is a curated series – we’re all for democracy, just not when it means suffering through awful poems. Every month, we’ll be hosting live readers, virtual readings from some of the nation’s most exciting authors, and video transmissions from small presses and literary magazines across the country. In the coming year, Teleportal Readings will be expanding to other cities, hosted by various presses and publications in partnership with Monofonus.

Our first reading will feature a live performance by poet Jill Alexander-Essbaum, who’s been described as “a cross between Dorothy Parker and a lap dance.” Our virtual reader will be former National Book Award nominee Dan Chaon, whose Await Your Reply has appeared on the year-end top-ten lists of The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Salon, and The New York Times‘ Janet Maslin, among others. Electric Literature, a digital literary magazine whose innovative approach has won them mentions in The New Yorker and the Times, will also be contributing videos from their Single Sentence Animation series, in which video artists animate sentences by renowned authors.

Circulatory System in San Antonio!
Dec 01 09

Monofonus pardners Circulatory System debuted their Traveling Video Show #1 last Saturday, December 5th, at Domy Houston. This week (Dec 11th), they’ll be heading to Unit B in San Antonio. Check out their website for more information!

FOLLOW THAT BIRD
Oct 16 09

Record Release!

Monofonus is psyched to kick off our One-sider series with a chunky 3-tracker from this local Austin trio.  Available on one-sided 10″ vinyl, b/w art by Lauren Dickens.

Come see Follow That Bird do it live at United States Art Authority (next to Spider House) on Oct. 24th along with Dikes of Holland, Literature and Pillow Queens.  Ony 7 bux to get in, plus the 10″ is included with entry!

IF 08: GET HELP!
Sep 18 09

Do you need Help? For your Self? You’re in luck! Art Healer Michelle Devereux has just what the doctor would order… if you had health insurance and could go to one.

Turn This Book Right Side Up: An Interactive Guide to Self-Improvement gives new meaning to “this book will save your life.” She might even have called it that if it weren’t already taken.

Part art book, part workbook, part comedy book, all fu-un! Turn This Book Right Side Up: An Interactive Guide to Self-Improvement has everything you need to turn over a new leaf. Or masturbate in front of a mirror. (more…)

Marfan Videos Oct. 9-10
Sep 18 09

Have you heard the news? Marfa is having another fun party. This one’s at Liz Lambert’s El Cosmico. It’s called the Trans-Pecos Festival of Music and Love. The Heartless Bastards will play. So will Ben Kweller, Amy Cook, Hotel Brotherhood, Tift Merritt, and Patty Griffin. And Monofonus will be there to debut our new video series, organized by the great Jill Pangallo, under the biggest of night skies.

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Vote for us! By JULY 21!
Jul 08 09

The venerable Austin Chronicle has a little thing they like to call Best of Austin, and we thought that maybe some of you might want to, like, VOTE for us?

No-fooling, we think we deserve “Best Party of the Year” for Woolworth’s Harsh Realm: A Rennaissance Affaire, the kick-ass party we threw during South by Southwest. It may sound like braggin’, but come on, there was a whole legend, and a real wizard, and a warehouse-sized dragon sculpture with an enormous gaping mouth that moved and a huge bloody eyeball that popped out.  Not to mention all the handmade games, the free-flowing beer and Dragon’s Blood cocktails, and, of course, the music. Follow this link to experience the magic all over again, and if you need more, we have video proof.

And you could also say that we are the “Best Scenester/Mover and Shaker,” because what does that really mean anyway?

All you have to do is CLICK RIGHT HERE to cast your ballot!!!

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GET THIS!
Jun 16 09

Max Juren and Jill Pangallo have made a video collection about collections called The Collections and it’s like nothing you have ever seen. So you should see it. Plus, it’s hilarious!

Get your copy now!

Inspired by Ann Stephenson’s poem of the same name, the series features twelve short interviews with local collectors – culled both from Craigslist and Austin’s art community -  about what they save and why they save it.  Juren and Pangallo used these stories as jumping-off points to create their multi-genre video and performance work. Click through for additional credits.

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FREAK BUS on the road again
Jun 05 09

Endless heat, a stolen wallet, falling lightbulbs, iced tea and kolaches, tossing the ol’ pigskin, petting the actual pig, conspiracy/spiritual theories, sleeping on a pool table, a locksmith, music… the Monofonus Summer Slammer Part 1 was a blazing success! The freak bus rolled through Denton and Dallas last weekend, arriving at JJ’s Pizza and the Annex House fully loaded with beer, Wes Coleman, Pataphysics, Follow that Bird, Pillow Queens, and a dashboard thermometer reading 110 degrees. (click for more pictures!)

And we’re just warming up. July 10-11, we’re back  on the road for some more Texan connecting with the Summer Slammer Part 2.

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IF 07
Jun 04 09

IF 07 is a triple threat: Shearwater’s Thor Harris takes us into a year of his own personal hell with An Ocean of Despair, an illustrated comic describing Harris’ descent into depression in the early 90s. The book is accompanied by the remarkable and haunting orchestral ambient record, Fields of Innards.

Known internationally for his work with Shearwater, Smog/Bill Callahan, The Angels of Light, and Devendra Banhart, Harris is also a legendary local craftsman whose superb woodworking skills are apparent in his handmade hobbit-like home and the myriad handcrafted percussive instruments he employs on recordings such as this one. Monofonus is proud to be releasing such fine work from one of Austin’s most well-loved characters