Welcome to the Livestream No. 003 Library! This is the online home for the LIVE From The BEATBOX - Livestream No. 003 Process Draft, Livestream recording, and Revision Draft. Remember that all funds raised through the sale of Livestream tickets and Livestream Library passes go directly to the artist(s). Please kindly refrain from sharing any video or page links. Be sure to save this page/ URL to your favorites to be able to visit as you wish.
About Livestream No. 003
LIVE From The BEATBOX—Livestream No. 003 was presented on Saturday, January 23, 2021 at 4pm Central Standard Time. It featured a special guest presentation by “SKAM,” or the performance driven, witty brain game-meets-radio-talk-show/ open discussion collaboration of four Black/ of color and queer artist-scholars: (S)iri gurudev, (K)t shorb, (A)ri L. Monts, and (M)ichael J. Love. Portions of Livestream No. 003 utilize pieces of media not original to the presenting artist(s). These items have been curated and are presented in the type of "found footage"/ "found audio" format typical of mixtapes. Each piece of media is attributed to its creator in the list of citations below.
"This time around, I am carrying my thinking on Black futurity through the rhythms, sounds, sights, and sensations of the seminal cultural products of the 1990s and early 2000s that we all hold so dear. Maybe Livestream No. 003 is actually just a way for me to identify how I’ve learned about Afrofuturism through the work of such visionary cultural architects as Missy Elliot and her frequent collaborators (which is probably the case for many Black millennials). Remember what it was like the first time you heard each of the turn-of-the-millennium Timbaland-produced hits? It always felt like Missy, Tim, and Pharrell were illustrating and giving life to an extraterrestrial, otherworldly sort of Blackness and demonstrating expanded possibilities for what we could be, where we could go, and what we could imagine for ourselves. The fisheye lens. The forward leaning fashions. The penchant for sonic and visual innovation. Everything was glossy, covered in sheen, and focused towards the sky and space. Think of our aesthetic evolution from Brandy with her microbraids and lip gloss sittin' up in her room, watching a sphere-shaped television... to TLC dressed as leather-clad space divas, denouncing “scrubs,” and jumping around in black platform shoes... What does it mean that we had such a strong sense of and vision for futuristic Blackness during the 1990s and early 2000s? And, now 31+ years later, are we any closer to where/ how we dreamed that we’d be?"
Livestream No. 003 Guest Artists and Collaborators
siri gurudev is a multidisciplinary artist from Bogotá, Colombia—a trans, pansexual, nonbinary writer, performance artist, kundalini yoga instructor, and wounded-healer. With two Bachelor's degrees, one in Literature and another in Philosophy, and an MA in Creative Writing, siri is now a Ph.D. candidate in Performance as Public Practice at The University of Texas at Austin.
kt shorb is a director, actor, and Ph.D. candidate in Performance as Public Practice at the University of Texas at Austin. They are the producing artistic director of the Generic Ensemble Company. shorb grew up in Massachusetts, rural Japan, and Tokyo. They have served as faculty at Southwestern University, St. Edward’s University, and UT Austin and a directing fellow at Wolf Trap Opera.
Ari L. Monts is an independent scholar, artist, and queer liturgist based in Austin, TX. Their work looks at the role of participatory performance rituals in the lives of queer women and non-binary people of color and includes research centered around performance and play in queer nightlife and various religious liturgies (and their intersections?). From 2015-2020 they were a staff writer for autostraddle.com where they wrote about religion, sex, and joy. They’re currently an Episcopal children’s minister and a fellow with the ALEPH Jewish Renewal Kesher program.
Process Draft 003
"Process drafts" are bits of Love's personal rehearsal footage from his time spent at The BEATBOX preparing for each livestream performance. These clips are untreated—the audio is raw and unmixed and there is minimal "post" work. This footage shows how Love experiments with lighting, a/v setup, and the composition of the space. Love also records himself to take note of choreographic ideas. Ultimately, "process drafts" provide insight into how Love develops his work.
Livestream Recording 003
Livestream No. 003 took place on Saturday, January 23, 2021 at 4pm CST. It included three auralvisual "tracks" edited together to resemble a sort of radio broadcast where static (in noise and in visuals projected onto the walls of The BEATBOX) became an obscurant to be cleared by the artist as he danced and discussed through his recollection of the 1990s and early 2000s.
Livestream No. 003 was approximately 110 minutes in length, including the special
guest performance by "SKAM."
*Please note that the "SKAM" performance contains mild adult language and the discussion of adult themes.
Revised Draft 003
The copy of the livestream available here in the Livestream No. 003 Library has been edited so that unaltered footage of the performance lives with the video content shared by the artist during the stream.
Citations
All media curated by Michael J. Love
Music (in order of appearance in program)
"Everybody Everybody" by Black Box on Dreamland (Groove Groove Melody Ltd., 1990)
"Finally" by Cece Peniston by CeCe Peniston on Finally (UMG Recordings, Inc., 1992)
"We Got A Love Thang" by CeCe Peniston on Finally (UMG Recordings, Inc., 1992)
"Supermodel (You Better Work)" by RuPaul on Supermodel Of The World (Tommy Boy Music, 1993)
"Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless) [Basement Boy Strip To The Bone Mix]" by Crystal Waters on Surprise (The Island Def Jam Music Group, 1991)
"DDD" by Machinedrum on SXLND (LuckyMe, 2011, 2012)
"The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" by Missy Elliot on Supa Dupa Fly (Elektra Entertainment Group Inc., 1997)
"Beat Biters" by Missy Elliot on Da Real World (Elektra Entertainment Group Inc., 1999)
"I Wanna Be Down" by Brandy on Brandy (Atlantic Recording Corp., 1994)
"Throb" by Janet Jackson on Janet. (Black Doll Inc., Virgin Records Ltd., 1993)
"If" by Janet Jackson on Janet. (Black Doll Inc., Virgin Records Ltd., 1993)
"Thats The Way Love Goes" by Janet Jackson on Janet. (Black Doll Inc., Virgin Records Ltd., 1993)
"Another Sad Love Song" by Toni Braxton on Toni Braxton (LaFace Records LLC, 1993)
"Together Again" by Janet Jackson on The Velvet Rope (Deluxe Edition) (Black Doll Inc., Virgin Records America, 1997)
Music Videos (in alphabetical order)
"100% Pure Love" by Crystal Waters (UMG Recordings, Inc., 1994)
"1991" by Azealia Banks (2012)
"Another Sad Love Song" by Toni Braxton (LaFace Records LLC, 1993)
"Everybody Everybody" by Black Box (Groove Groove Melody Ltd., 1990)
"I Wanna Be Down" by Brandy (Atlantic Recording Corp., 1994)
"No Scrubs" by TLC (LaFace Records, 1999)
"Pump Up The Jam" by Technotronic (ARS Entertainment Belgium, 1990)
"Scream" by Michael Jackson with Janet Jackson (SME, 1995)
"Sock It 2 Me" by Missy Elliot featuring Da Brat (Elektra Entertainment Group Inc., 1997)
"Thats The Way Love Goes" by Janet Jackson (Black Doll Inc., Virgin Records Ltd., 1993)
"The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" by Missy Elliot (Elektra Entertainment Group Inc., 1997)
"We Got A Love Thang" by CeCe Peniston (UMG Recordings, Inc., 1992)
YouTube Videos (in alphabetical order)
"FM Radio Tuning #03 (Sound Effect)" (by "SFX-LAB," April 19, 2015) https://youtu.be/VTMNhL0j5mM
"FM Radio Tuning #04 (Sound Effect)" (by "SFX-LAB," July 3, 2015) https://youtu.be/oFQ34riAtqo
"VHS Tape Glitch and Static Noise | Free Footage [2K HD]" (by "InCamera • Free Cinematic Footage," April 25, 2016) https://youtu.be/sgHz35ikAkY
LIVE From The BEATBOX - Livestream No. 003
Saturday, January 23, 2021 at 4pm Central Standard Time
Streamed live from The BEATBOX (Austin, TX)
Sound, Lighting, Video, and Projection Design/ Media Curation/
Choreography and Improvisation by Michael J. Love
Live performance featuring the members of "SKAM"
(siri gurudev, kt shorb, Ari L. Monts, and Michael J. Love), streamed live from Austin, TX.
Graphic Design, Promotional Photography, Video Editing, and Marketing/ Public Relations by Michael J. Love
Special Thanks:
Sound/ Audio Mixer, courtesy of Ariel René Jackson
Projector, courtesy Eliot Fisher and Erica Gionfriddo
Streamed via Zoom and YouTube Live