What we’re about
This group is for people who appreciate music and other forms of art beyond the mainstream, with a particular focus on the avant-garde or otherwise odd. Free Jazz, Musique Concrete, Atonality, Noise Music, Outsider Art, Surrealism, Dada, Junk Art, ...you name it! Not all events will necessarily be "weird", but simply off the beaten mainstream path.
This is intended to be an oasis from crass commercial banalities.
I'll post events that interest me, but I am also interested in hearing from artists, musicians, and other creative types about their events that I can share with members. Post your events and ideas in the "Discussions" section. I want this group to also be a vehicle that helps support artists and organizations that are doing interesting creative work.
The only requests are that we keep things friendly and civilized and free from partisan politics.
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- SOLD OUT! MUSIC NIGHT: DEERHOOFLodge Room, Los Angeles, CA
I've been a fan of Deerhoof for a long time. Their shows are always great.
Date: Wednesday, May 10
Doors: 7:00 Show: 8:00
Two opening acts - Muscle Beach, Lxs CochinxsVenue: Lodge Room
104 N Ave 56 2nd floor · Los Angeles, CA (Highland Park)Tickets: $25.00 total
https://www.lodgeroomhlp.com/shows/deerhoof-2/For a band that seems to thrive on collapse, it’s simply amazing that this US/Japanese quartet is now celebrating their 31st year. Though Deerhoof long ago established itself as one of the greatest rock groups ever to stride the earth—and if you think that’s hyperbole, you haven’t seen them live—the furiously inventive quartet releases new albums on the schedule of a young band still hungry for its first break. Each one discovers some previously unknown combination of candy-coated hard-rock riffs and free-jazz percussive freakouts, sideways J-pop hooks and fearsome dissonance, trenchant social commentary and surrealist humor. Fronting it all is Satomi Matsuzaki’s inimitable alto, whose plainspoken calm can seem strangely outside of the band’s maelstrom. This music is joyful and foreboding, cybernetic and deeply human, carrying an implicit note of defiant optimism in their refusal to bow to convention or received wisdom. Deerhoof is defined by such paradoxes.
Videos:
CERN: Deerhoof vs. the Large Hadron Collider
"The Magnificent Bird Will Rise"
"Dummy Discards A Heart" - Juan's Basement
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- SCOTT HEUSTIS SECOND SUNDAY AT VINE IN LONG BEACHVine, Long Beach, CA
Every 2nd Sunday of the month free improvisation jam in my favorite dive bar. FREE! NEVER A COVER! NEVER A MINIMUM! CHEAP DRINKS! FRIENDLY PEOPLE! NICE VIBE!
Date: Sunday, May 11, 4:00- 7:00 pm
Venue: Vine LB
2142 E 4th St, Long Beach, CA 90814I plan to get there by 4 to snag the corner table to the right of the entrance!
Stephen Hodges is on tour with Mike Watt, so our friend Scott Heustis is back this Sunday with a new set of musicians.
Casual and edgy at the same time? Does this sound fun to you? Yes? Then you know what to do this Sunday afternoon.
Scott Heustis - guitar
T. Alex Budrow - drums
Gary Thomas - bass
Sarah Kramer - trumpet!!Vine doesn't serve food, but you can bring in outside food. There's a pizzeria next door, Lola's Mexican a block away and other options.
Article: Live music will still have a haven at Fourth Street’s Vine, sounds to come soon
- Bill Frisell - Good Dog - at ZebullonZebulon, Los Angeles, CA
We have seen Bill Frisell play one of the sets with Charles Lloyd at Lloyd's birthday concert at the Soraya last year. Don't miss this chance to see him at a cool small venue.
Date: Tuesday, May 13, 2025,
Doors 7:00 PM Show 8:00 PMVenue: Zebulon
2478 Fletcher Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90039, USA
https://zebulon.la/
They have a cafe that serves food.$50.47 The price you'll pay. No surprises later.
https://dice.fm/event/l83blx-bill-frisell-good-dog-14th-may-zebulon-los-angeles-ticketsAbout:
Bill Frisell - Good Dog
Featuring Greg Leisz, Tony Scherr & Kenny WollesenWords About Good Dog By Bill
It seems like some of the best ideas come to me late into the night.
Tossing and turning …unable to sleep …or dreaming.
My history with Tony Scherr, Kenny Wollesen, and Greg Leisz goes way way back….with each of them separately and as a group.
We’ve traveled many miles.
My closest musical brothers.
Like a real band.
But…it’s been quite a while since the four of us have all been together.
Recently I was having one of those restless nights and it came to me.
We must get back together!
It’s been way too long.
There’s more music for us to play.
We’re just getting started.biography
Bill Frisell’s career as a guitarist and composer has spanned more than 40 years and many celebrated recordings, whose catalog has been cited by Downbeat as "the best recorded output of the decade."In recent years, Frisell has forged a distinctive and fruitful collaboration with the Blue Note label, releasing HARMONY, Valentine and FOUR to great acclaim.
"Frisell has had a lot of practice putting high concept into a humble package. Long hailed as one of the most distinctive and original improvising guitarists of our time, he has also earned a reputation for teasing out thematic connections with his music... There’s a reason that Jazz at Lincoln Center had him program a series called Roots of Americana." - New York Times
Recognized as one of America’s 21 most vital and productive performing artists, Frisell was named an inaugural Doris Duke Artist in 2012. He is also a recipient of grants from United States Artists, Meet the Composer among others. In 2016, he was a beneficiary of the first FreshGrass Composition commission to preserve and support innovative grassroots music. Upon San Francisco Jazz opening their doors in 2013, he served as one of their Resident Artistic Directors. Bill is the subject of a documentary film by director Emma Franz, entitled Bill Frisell: A Portrait, which examines his creative process in depth, as well as an extensive biography by Philip Watson, Beautiful Dreamer: The Guitarist Who Changed The Sound of American Music.
This is a 21+ event
Presented by Zebulon.You can get a refund if:
- It’s within 24 hours of buying tickets
- This event is rescheduled or cancelled
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- Online: Classical Wisdom - Plato & TyrantLink visible for attendees
ONLINE EVENT By Classical Wisdom
Power, Philosophy, and the Perils of Idealism: Plato’s Republic Reimagined Through Political Upheaval
Date and time: Wednesday, May 14 · 11am - 12:30pm PDT
Free, but you must register here to get the link
Can’t make it live? No worries! Register in advance, and we’ll send you the recording (so you can enjoy it from this side of existence).
Bridging the ancient and the urgent, historian James Romm and acclaimed author and translator Daniel Mendelsohn dive into the dramatic story behind Plato and the Tyrant.
This is not the Plato of abstract thought, but a man deeply entangled in the brutal politics of his time...a philosopher who sought to reshape power itself. Romm and Mendelsohn will explore how Plato’s real-world entanglements with tyrants and revolutionaries in Syracuse directly influenced his philosophical masterpiece, Republic, and how the ideal of the philosopher-king emerged from a world teetering on the edge of chaos.
With Mendelsohn’s signature insight and Romm’s vivid storytelling, this event promises a dynamic exploration of one of history’s greatest minds, revealing a Plato who was ambitious, politically engaged, and profoundly shaped by personal and political crisis.
Join us on May 14th at 2pm EST / 11am PST for a riveting conversation about Plato and the Tyrant.
Can’t make it live? Register in advance to receive the recording.
Whether you're a longtime admirer of classical philosophy or newly curious about the origins of Western thought, this is a rare opportunity to witness two brilliant minds in dialogue about ideas that still shape the way we think about power, truth, and the perilous dream of enlightened leadership. Don’t miss it.
About the Speakers:
James Romm is the James H. Ottaway Jr. Professor of Classics at Bard College and specializes in ancient Greek and Roman culture and civilization. His reviews and essays have appeared in the New Yorker, the Wall Street Journal, and the London Review of Books. Dr. Romm is author of several books including “Dying Every Day: Seneca at the Court of Nero”, “Ghost on the Throne: The Death of Alexander the Great”, “The Sacred Band: Three Hundred Theban Lovers fighting to save Greek Freedom”, and most recently, “Plato and the Tyrant: The Fall of Greece's Greatest Dynasty and the Making of a Philosophic Masterpiece.”Daniel Adam Mendelsohn is the Charles Ranlett Flint Professor of Humanities at Bard College, the Editor at Large of the New York Review of Books, and the Director of the Robert B. Silvers Foundation, a charitable organization dedicated to supporting writers of nonfiction. Mendelsohn is author of several books including New York Times bestseller and international bestseller The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million, and An Odyssey: A Father, a Son, and an Epic. His new translation of Homer's The Odyssey was just published by the University of Chicago Press.
Hosted by Anya Leonard, Founder and Director of Classical Wisdom, a platform dedicated to bringing ancient wisdom to Modern Minds. For more information about Classical Wisdom and Podcast Classical Wisdom Speaks, please check out our website at:
classicalwisdom.comFrequently asked questions
Will there be a recording? Yes, if you register in advance you will automatically get the recording afterwards.
