Casper-inspired though the organization may be, Austin’s Church of the Friendly Ghost specializes in something much less pure than the nature of that ghost’s character: “counter culture expression,” which is appreciated in a society where channels like TLC exist and have subsisting ratings, and where irrelevant celebrity weddings garner the attention of even the so-called 24/7 “news” networks. Enough about Kim and Kanye and whatever absurd but also really fascinating (as a case-study) conversations they be must having; what are the real artists/bohemians/sound experimenters doing?
The non-profit Church hosts a number of “future-minded” events throughout the year, but their most purposeful is the annual New Media Art & Sound Summit (NMASS), which will enjoy its sixth iteration like… now, essentially — June 12-14 at the Salvage Vanguard Theater (and in partnership with the Austin Museum of Digital Art). Attention is promised to directors and workshop-organizers alike, but on the (principal) aural side of things, check out the full line-up here. For the lazy: Noveller will be there, in addition to J.G. Thirlwell, spacey quartet S U R V I V E, and the nigh-unclassifiable Gary Wilson, among more than a dozen others.
Tickets and passes are available here, here, here, and here. Seems like a no-brainer for Austinites with a penchant for media-enhanced mind-expansion.
• New Media Art & Sound Summit: http://nmassfest.org
• Church of the Friendly Ghost: http://www.churchofthefriendlyghost.org
• Austin Museum of Digital Art: http://www.amoda.org