Karen O brings her rock opera STOP THE VIRGENS’ to Sydney for it’s Australian premiere.
From VividSydney.com:
“Seven years in the making and featuring over fifty artists onstage, Karen O’s STOP THE VIRGENS is Vivid LIVE’s most ambitious undertaking yet. Created by Karen O, the frontwoman of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, in collaboration with KK Barrett, production designer behind Being John Malkovich and Lost In Translation, and indie theatre/film director Adam Rapp (Red Light Winter, In Treatment) the self described ‘Psycho Opera’ transcends the traditional boundaries of popular music, theatre and performance.
For musical accompaniment, Karen O has gathered the crème of indie rock to realize this beautiful and powerful song cycle. Led by Sam Spiegel (aka Squeak E. Clean) and Yeah Yeah Yeahs band mates Nick Zinner and Brian Chase, the 13 piece musical accompaniment features her closest friends and collaborators, including Money Mark (Beastie Boys), Jack Lawrence and Patrick Keeler (The Greenhornes, The Raconteurs) and Jason Grisell (Bubbles). Described by The New York Times as ‘a psychedelic myth’, STOP THE VIRGENS is the culmination of the evolution of Karen O thus far, her autobiographical journey, and one where ‘the stakes are high, the emotion runs deep, and the presentation is operatic’.”
Grab your tickets HERE.
Squeak E. Clean produced the score for Puma Social’s latest installment of their “After Hours Athlete” campaign. Puma teamed with Droga 5 to release their first short film “Surfing.” The short is an ode to the young, beautiful creatures of the night whose curiosities become reality, rather than a lazy fantasy lived vicariously by watching reality TV and following trends. The credo is “sunrise is the only elimination ceremony.” Live your own reality.
Watch the rest of the spots at HERE
The 2012 United Film Festival is coming to Los Angeles April 26th to May 3rd and we are excited to announce that “NASA: The Spirit of Apollo” will be part of the lineup! The film examines the making of NASA’s first album, with producers DJ Zegon (Zé Gonzales) and Squeak E. Clean’s Sam Spiegel. The film also features Kanye West, David Byrne, George Clinton and more.
NASA: The Spirit of Apollo premieres Monday, April 30th at 9:30pm at Los Feliz Cinema 3
Reserve your tickets to the screening HERE
The curious art-meets-technology experts at Creator’s Project interviewed Squeak E Clean’s Sam Spiegel about “Stop the Virgens,” Karen O’s rock opera. Sam gives insight into how he brought Karen’s perfectionist vision for the project into fruition. He also talks about working with Nick Zinner and what his role in guiding the artists was like from a producer’s perspective. Read the full interview HERE.
Our girl Barbie Hatch’s new video for the lead single “Stars” hit the streets this week. It’s directed by the enormously talented Lauren Graham and was filmed right here in Echo Park at our studio with a bunch of wild n’ crazy kids. Check it out right HERE or by clicking on the video link below!
In 2005, Karen O partnered with her Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner and co-producer Squeak E. Clean on her album, Stop the Virgens. The previously unreleased project has since become a critically lauded “psycho opera” which debuted last October at St. Ann’s Warehouse. Directed by Adam Rapp, Stop the Virgens was a focal point of the Creators Project: New York, produced by Vice and Intel.
Today a two-part documentary was released in which Karen talks about what it was like to have the project in her hands for seven years and working with women after being surrounded by men throughout her career. Art director KK Barrett (Where the Wild Things Are) and co-producer Sam Spiegel (Squeak E. Clean) discuss what went into creating the music and turning it into a theatrical piece. We also learn about some of Karen’s inspirations and the “band camp” she held in Williamstown, MA.
Collaborators include Money Mark, YYY drummer Brian Chase, Jack Lawrence and Patrick Keeler of the Greenhornes/Racanteours. The production also features sound design by Andres Velasquez, costumes by Christian Joy, and acting by Lily Taylor. The full story, from it’s genesis to final incarnation, can be seen HERE or by clicking the videos below.
Read Portable.tv’s review HERE.
Squeak E. Clean produced a track for Apple’s “iCloud Harmony” which first aired last night during the 84th Annual Academy Awards. Instead of running their usual voice-over spots for iCloud, Apple chose to use a song to help showcase how the product works. Check out more about the spot on Slamhype.
Squeak E. Clean friend and collaborator Barbie Hatch’s eerie pop track “Patch of Sky” will be featured tonight on NBC’s new show “Smash.” The song was produced last year by SEC and will air tonight at 10/9 Central.
Squeak E. Clean himself, Sam Spiegel, was chosen to be a keyholder along with fashion photographer Nick Knight for Beck’s Green Box Project, an augmented reality art installation project that will sponsor and showcase 1,000 original works by independent artists over the next three years. As keyholders, Sam and Nick will have the ultimate say in which projects are commissioned. The first round of virtual art pieces, all by renowned artists, will pop up around the globe in cities like London, Miami, New York, Los Angeles, and Rome over the course of the summer. The art will exist within 3D canvases, The Green Box, around these five cities and will appear when users interact with the virtual pieces via smart phones and tablets. To view each piece, you’ll need to download The Green Box Project App. For more information on the Green Box Project, visit the Beck’s website here.
Target Kaleidoscopic Fashion Spectacular wins a Gold Lion at Cannes this year!
The event won a Gold Lion in the Stunts & Live Advertising category and was shortlisted for Titanium & Integrated. A big thanks and congratulations to all our friends at Mother, Legs, and Bionic League and to Ryan Heffington, who all put a lot of time and effort into pulling off such an incredible event.
