BUSINESS LUNCH

Earlier this month, the Month of Performance Art - Berlin kicked off with a program that will shock, surprise and dazzle. Upcoming on May 21 is “I don’t see this happening again,” an evening where 20 artists will bring out the performance, installation and a party in a secret location up in Pankow. Brought to you by the folks at the HomeBase Lab, the bill includes the Portland punk duo, Business Lunch (above). RSVP to see the surprises as they arrive.

Of course, as someone who teaches Business Planning for Artists, I was struck by the name of this band. Co-founded in Berlin by HomeBase resident Nadia Buyse (DUBAIS) and her longtime collaborator Everett Darling (SKIING), Buyse is a multi-disciplinary artist who starts and plays in bands — as her contemporary art practice. Fusing philosophies of D.I.Y, indie culture and punk, Buyse has been in at least 30 bands, including Ghost Mom, Tombstalkers/Bloodbraind and the Adrian Piper Cover Band. She also teaches at the Rock n Roll Camp for Girls. In touring festivals, punk clubs and home shows of United States and Europe, you might have seen Buyse perform at the MDW Art Fair in Chicago, Beta Spaces in New York or even dOCUMENTA (13) in Kassel, Germany. She took a few minutes to answer a few questions, but it was over like one of her five-second tracks.

So this is totally new. How did Business Lunch come about?
BUSINESS LUNCH is a conceptual punk band made by myself and a long-time collaborator Everett Darling. This band is inspired by the sounds and aesthetics of East Berlin punk and riot grrl.

Is it true you only sing in German? Why?
Nein. Although we do have some songs in German. We are writing songs in German because we want to make songs that are relevant to where we are and where we are coming from…..which is Germany.

Your song “The” is like 5 seconds long?
… I mean, it didn’t really need to be any longer.

Wait a second… this isn’t performance art, is it?
It is…. shhhhhhhhhhh.

What’s next for Business Lunch?
Business Lunch will be leaving the city to play at the fourth annual Hedonist International Congress along with our brother band (and Everett’s other band) Skiing!

Business Lunch plays I Don’t See This Happening Again on May 21 at the HomeBase LAB in Pankow. RSVP here.

Ballet School

I first caught Ballet School while they were playing Ghost in the TV studios of Network Awesome in Berlin. Until the broadcast of their performance hits the videowaves in July, I caught up with the singer Rosie Blair for a quick chat.

Okay, I’m dying to know, where did the song ‘Ghost’ come from?
I was thinking about two things. First thing is ‘Boys of Summer’ by Don Henley. I love that song. It’s like the greatest ever baby boomer comedown song. Like youth is gone, profound nostalgia etc… ‘I saw a Dead Head sticker on a cadillac’. The title of that song is taken from a Dylan Thomas poem, which goes ‘I see the boys of summer in their ruin’. I really love that line. That’s like saying you can see the looming shadow of old age in the face of the young and carefree boy. I’m obsessed with decadence, things ending, looking back over the ruins, as Malcolm McLaren spoke of it. You know that Stones song, ‘Have you seen your mother baby, standing in the shadows?’ I always read that song as dark. Dylan Thomas sort of flipped it for me. Ghost is a revery about a love that is over, dead. But you have to make your piece with it or it will haunt you forever. The idea that you can’t be with a person, but if your fates are to cross again, you will exchange a brief reconciliatory kiss, like the kiss of death, and finally get your peace.

What gives you confidence to perform?
I just have to do it. There is a killer in me then. I come for your head like Salome. I don’t even go all the way yet, I know it’s gonna get crazier the more shows we do. It’s a real female energy too. It’s always been my dream to sing in this true girl voice, but perform real violent. Good singing feels so powerful. And I am not a strong person, I am a girl, you know? I can’t lift our gear. But psychically I am strong. The Ballet School sound is a balance that we are really proud of. It’s physical yet dynamically concise. We are all good musicians and we really are in love with each other up there. I’m totally addicted I just want to be on tour.

Any new releases anytime soon?
Yes, we have an EP coming out in the autumn.

-Nadja Sayej

Ballet School play at Birthdays in London on May 23. More on their fanpage.

Jpeg Interview with Douglas Coupland

Nadja Sayej does the first jpeg interview (ever?) with Douglas Coupland via VICE Canada.