Bedroom Shows

Bedroom Residency
March 2012

The five Thursdays contained in the month of March 2012 will each mark solo bedroom performances from my music project Sex Tape. I've been practicing and devising may variations of Keyboard + Pedals and will be showing it off this Thursday (March 1) and then each Thursday night from there.

All you need to do is turn up at my house for an 8:30-9:00pm show in my room. Each gig is BYO, free entry, i'll have limited seating available but only room for about three to five souls each week so if you read this and you want to come, please let me know below and i can pass on other details like where l live if you don't already know where that is. With the miniscule capacity, best you turn up alone or just with your partner/best friend.

Jim S

Berlin!

I didn't like Berlin. It seems like something close to a crime to return and say the place didn't suit, whether or not my expectations were too high or different from reality l don't know entirely. I did gather what it was that people especially a lot of artists like about Berlin, but it didn't sit with me. Once again, after everything you hear in any artistic circle, Berlin had been one of the most hotly anticipated destinations on my grand tour, tying the top spot with NYC, where previously a few weeks before i'd had an incredible time. Where the energy of NYC felt constrained in other ways (further post to come on that) it still radiated with a much more positive productive energy which even over the course of a few weeks immediately proved to be cohesive, Berlin on the other hand nestles in a much darker mood, not surprisingly right..

The echoes of National Socialism are still very real, if most of the city's older architecture wasn't still peppered with patched up bullet holes, somehow it just seems to obscure everything. It is no easy topic to discuss either, it just seems to paint a faint distortion over everything.. with the combination of the war's horrific aftermath and the seizure of the city after 1945 by the Soviets followed closely by the Cold War and the Wall cutting the city in two, it's very evident that many atrocities have unfolded in the city and sadly there isn't and l don't see how there could be any proper resolution or way of departing from these events, seemingly in every facet of the city's day to day lifestyle including the memory of even it's latest generations. Personally i've always felt European and Hollywood cinema's obsession especially with the WW2 European theater has a lot to answer for in this regard, not to mention the endless production of documentaries , books etc that we can assume must net about as much profit as the rest of human history combined!

This predicament results in a lot of the rowdy and bohemian attitude of the city, yes it's also cheap as well like they say and you can do a lot of partying and have a lot of fun on a small budget but once again this celebrated liberation is only permitted by the same confusion and sadness in my opinion that governs every other operation in Berlin. Overall, in their hearts l wonder how much fun and real freedom everyone is enjoying, especially those visiting the city for that purpose mainly in mind. In my opinion, most of the ex-pats and tourists l met there seemed to be trying to convince themselves, me and anyone who might ask that they were having a far better time than they actually were. It was common to party a lot and apparently have a really good time but l didn't meet anyone who seemed particularly happy and often as a the good times of a any night washed away there always seemed to be a remorse in place regarding some matter or another..

Admittedly l was in Berlin during the wintery reception of January and during Europe's current financial blunder so giving the benefit of the doubt, l would at least return to see the city in Summer, but in no hurry. This entry could go on for several pages summarising many experiences and events that unfolded, certainly not all negative either but for the purpose of this blog l thought it better just to shed light on the stay in Berlin as a whole and maybe provoke some thought on what you've already heard about it or have experienced there yourself.


Jim S

Von Tripp

ABOUT A GIRL

Made in Augusta Hotel, Berlin and Beethoven Hotel, Amsterdam

Jim S.

Amsterdam

Amsterdam proved to be a real emotional relief from Berlin. I spent four days in Amsterdam from January 15 - 19 this year, obviously having departed Berlin and being on my way back slowly to London. Jokes aside about the pot smoking and red light district, Amsterdam is a very positive and relaxing place luckily with a lot of people who don't bat an eyelid to speak to you in English. Everyone has a bike as you may have heard, it's definitely true, there are millions of bicycles in Amsterdam and l think with almost everyone traveling that way it has much to do with the happier attitude. As far as work goes, got some poetry completed here as well as a full size and highly developed illustration that took the course of the stay to complete. More to come there.

Traveling on my own and thanks to my natural inclination i didn't actually touch drugs while l was there despite being confused for a dealer on my first night then subsequently offered about anything l wanted. Don't think l'm that much of a prude, seeing the drug culture was entertaining and it was sort of relieving to see it in a place where it seemed to coexist quite harmlessly with the rest of society's workings. Being in Amsterdam at the very beginning of the year was not too cold, certainly not freezing. Right now (17.02) it is though! One can actually skate through the frozen canals of Amsterdam now which would have been incredible, even just to photograph.

Rembrandt's house/studio and the Van Gogh Museum were two personal highlights of the Amsterdam stay. Nothing of interest was on sadly at The Paradiso during my stay but that's probably the most prominent independent venue in the city and l know has practically housed all the greats over the years. Commonly between the art collections that aren't hard to find, like most European cities the ancient layout and architecture of the city is fascinating, in this case broken up the infamous decadence and small inconspicuous doorways Amsterdam is known for. Definitely worth a week of your life.

Jim S

#46 reprise

#46 reprise

A tempting offer,
I can see my circumstances now.
Chained to the turning arm of a winch,
pushing all day and night alongside a donkey
following suit.

A bucket hangs from my neck
catching precious blood and tears falling
in the effort to grind corn, the desperation
to keep my Visa buoyant.

From time to time you pass
the creaking slots in the timber
my ceiling, your flooring.
Guests know of no workshop below,
only the wondrous refined flour, famous for
it's shade of bright coral
due to the master's blood spilling toil

Could l be sponsored to operate this grisly machine?
Could l return to the Jane Hotel on Thursday evenings
to party with my fellow 'flour monkeys'?

This silent monologue raises it's finger gently to your lips.
Please don't worry, i'll always be at your mercy.
If ploughing is my duty, l will attend
to my 'cash-in-hand' job for as long
and with all the vigor you demand

My experience so far
sewing that fresh field with seeds
begs to be hired overtime.
Before the harvest floats
down the inside of your thigh
for the final time this night abides.

Jim S

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Sex Poem #46

Sex Poem #46

'... the light of love was in your eyes'

Ruffled beyond recognition in a Berlin hotel room,
my words, the whittled desk lamp tells me
have become so boring, that they're not worth
five seconds to read.

I don't remember arriving home but must have
been wary of the smell. After some unsteady removal
that night (your clothes never wholly discarded)
we kissed by the light of your laptop,
we danced to the narration of South Park

Common, that the sensitivity to so much flesh calls
for little light. I caught what l could
when a bright snowfield touched the screen.
Your ample breasts wore a youthful pout,
the skeleton protruded, exploring
where any lie could hide

Your teeth looked on in wonder, a tiny glow giving them eyes.
The Empire State Building looked on from afar.

Your petite frame wrapped in sheet's teaching
inspired such miracles and a yearn for protection.
The heart tumbled and lust exhaled,
above the call of a cathedral organ.

Just as we'd kissed in parks before, l reached
into the hall of your throat, chasing an ominous tail
of pleasure l couldn't call by name. Pushing myself
deep inside you, a desperate attempt to make
two ends meet repeated with every second.

My left hand wrapped around your right wrist
while my right curled like a python
biting your ass with enough vigor to leave
it's dental records the following day,
recounting every thrust of the attack.

Your clitoris was witness
to the engine of blood flow,
teasing a row of pins
jeweled with teeth

Jim S.