God Awful AI Generated Image

Text to image prompt “philanthropist donating to artist residency” results in this terrible example, but I kinda dig the apparent foisting of donations on me as I reach a hopeful stage of property acquisition.

Naked and Ticklish vs AI

“The last two guys I started something with had Rottweilers.”

Thanks but no thanks, AI.

David Lester’s political art

First appearing in Normal History, the weekly Mecca Normal collaboration column of music, art and writing for Magnet Magazine. Currently at Vol. 612.

Jean Smith $100 USD painting sales increase significantly

From the be careful what you wish for department, sometime in January my paintings sales on FaceBook increased significantly after a regular buyer of my $100 USD paintings (and long-time Mecca Normal fan) showed her mother my work and explained both the investment potential and how sales above my monthly expenses ($1000 USD) go towards opening the Free Artist Residency for Progressive Social Change.

I have now totally lost track of how many the mother has purchased, but I’m sending them to her in packages of seven, sometimes twice a week. She is determined to make the artist residency happen!

With 78 paintings sold, February was an all-time record in the 4 years I’ve been painting daily and posting them for sale at $100 USD on FaceBook. A typical month until that point might be more like 30 paintings.

My small East Vancouver apartment is now something of a production line as I pull paintings from existing stock of 200, sign them, add a layer of gloss in batches of 10, allow that those to dry, while I package and ship others, all while maintaining my ever-evolving series including “Bathing Cap” “Headphones” “The Hat” and many others. I’ve been working 15 hours a day, 7 days a week to stay on top of things. Believe me I’m not complaining; it’s just a bit surreal.

Here’s a selection from the Oregon Collection which currently stands at 50+ paintings and counting. Literally.

Bathing Cap #24 (11 x 14″ acrylic on canvas) $100 USD SOLD

Headphones #22 (11 x 14″ acrylic on canvas) $100 USD SOLD

The Hat #106 (11 x 14″ acrylic on canvas) $100 USD SOLD

Nurse #14 (11 x 14″ acrylic on canvas) $100 USD SOLD

 

 

 

Echo Park Film Center North Residency, Vancouver

What a great show yesterday! Am I allowed to say that? Sorry, no it wasn’t in that castle (in Berlin) below!

The room was full by the time we started, with a handful of late arrivals crammed into the foyer by mid set. It was important to Dave and I that we do a run through before upcoming big shows and I think everyone there knew that, yet it was definitely its own show and as such, it was fantastic! Wait. Am I allowed to say that

I was giddy from the get go. Thrilled that the car started after I connected the battery! On the drive to the venue (beautiful, sunny afternoon) I was rattling on to Dave about houses and mortgages, periodically asking if it was too much, with him replying that he wanted me to do whatever I needed to do in advance of the show and me saying back that I didn’t want to be overwhelming him. What a great band dynamic, eh?

Part of the endless thrills was no doubt due to the euphoria of selling so many paintings in February (78). Adding to this result is the basis of my situation — I don’t do any socializing, so it was fantastic to get a few hugs and more than a few laughs!

One of the themes was forgetting. Some of it due to age and changes of the brain, at other times it would be that events were simply a long time ago. One of those was the case of someone introducing himself and asking if I remembered him. Nope. Sorry! He showed me a photo on his phone of a show that I didn’t remember playing. His band, the name of which I didn’t remember, played. Then he went to Dave and I overheard the same scenario. Nope. Nope. And nope. Then I heard Wendy asking Dave to not let her forget her coat in a closet and I had to ask Dave to remind me to disconnect the battery after we loaded in.

As I was singing, I was thinking about the long history of… everything. Playing shows here and on tour, writing songs with Dave, our connection to Bikini Kill and Olympia. The venue — a park fieldhouse — was apparently significant to Dave because he grew up with them. The City of Vancouver has been offering these fieldhouses up for art and community projects and this one, run by Lisa Marr (formerly of Cub) is a satellite of her LA-based project, Echo Park Film Center. Walking into the space during the protest sign making workshop was… visceral in a way that’s specific to the length of time I’ve been around and my proximity to… and appreciation of… small, but very intensely focused projects that can and do have the potential to create the exact type of change they intend to, but also, above and beyond that, there’s a sense of explosive potential that’s palpable. The light, the height of the ceiling, the shadows on the wall, the temperature, the Indian sweets and samosas laid out with great generosity, welcoming gifts for both of us, many laughs in the sparkling repartee, warmth, a sort of astonishment swirling around accepting that we’re still here, alive and kicking, all these years later, meeting yet again to consider and respond to the ways of the world with how we structure our lives, what we create, how we share it. Knowing that for anyone who thought they missed the boat, that right now actually feels way better than it did in the 80s and 90s as far as personal interactions go. Now all the things we’ve learned along the way can be implemented into, for Mecca Normal, the very same structure. Tricks of the trade and knowing more about human nuances.

Lisa offered us the opportunity to use the fieldhouse for rehearsals. This is fantastic! I mentioned that I would like to write songs in a place where I’m not aware of my neighbours hearing me. I don’t like bothering people and I don’t want to be restricting my creativity. I’m looking forward to writing more loud and fast songs. And, when I move and open the artist residency, we can rehearse there at times when it works better for Dave to stay in Vancouver! It’s been bugging me how this would all work. The answer has arrived! It felt like a giant door had opened! Again, quite a visceral sensation.

All of this was after everyone had left. I’m jumping around here.

Nearing the end of the set, two people arrived and, as I was singing, I was thinking… cripes… we don’t have any extra songs… should we try and play longer, but… the end had already been established… but the great thing was that after we played the woman came over to the merch table and told me our bands played the same bill in Montreal. She didn’t know where and I didn’t recognize the name of her band. The Snitches. I asked if it was the show where the guy lit the pig’s head on fire. Nope. Then her husband came over and basically the first thing he said was funny and I said to her, “Wait. Is he funny?” She said that he was and that’s why she picked him. They found each other on OK Cupid. He’d also said something fairly fabulous about looking for someone who lived with specific intention… some lovely bit of romantic philosophy that resonated with her. He said she was funny too. This conversation was really great and I was wondering how much of it was because of the giddy relief of having done the show and had such a fantastic turn out and reaction or because I am wildly out of balance living in the solitude I’m thriving in. I’m not lonely, but some days I’m highly aware that the person I socialize with most is Mona at the post office and we talk about her daughter’s dog and her husband’s inversion table (as well as everything I’m doing).

I had an urge to say, “Hey, I’d be into getting together for coffee some time and continuing this great conversation!” Um, this is practically the opposite of my general stance of not meeting anyone for anything. So… what’s up with that? Some kinda glee had set in. I should say that this was the result of getting to a point of talking about narcissism. They had both nodded knowingly. “Not like vanity or whatever,” I clarified. “But the actual personality disorder.” And yes, they knew of what I spoke. So that was all good!

As people were leaving, I finally got myself over to the Indian sweets. There was a person sitting there who hadn’t been there for the show. We were introduced. The partner of one of the lovely organizers and a former member of Cub (three in attendance as the wonderful Valeria Fellini was there too!) All good, but I was hyper aware that this person was not on the wavelength that had been created in the room. Anyway, so I said to Lisa that I’d had a great conversation with these two people who had in fact been at other fieldhouse events, and I mentioned that I’d even suggested we meet for coffee. To which Lisa said, “But you don’t meet people for coffee.” Which was really funny because when we met last month to talk about the show, that was my thing. Not coffee. It turned out to be sushi. Better! So I said to Lisa, but to anyone who could hear, because when you’ve just done a show as a singing / speaking role, you’re “on” for as long as the audience members are there. It’s a continuation of the show and it’s what I love about smaller shows and I was riding yet another roller of the euphoric wave du jour. So I said to Lisa, “I met some really interesting people!” …but, as I said this I looked directly at the partner of the former Cub member sitting next to the plate of Indian sweet wearing a watchman’s cap pulled down low, almost over the eyebrows, totally different vibe, likely there to pick up their partner. Pick up… like, with a car. I still hadn’t managed to get at the Indian sweets. So (I’m getting there) I made eye contact right as I was saying “interesting people” and then, very aware that this had happened, I quickly looked back at Lisa and returned to the energy that had been built, some of which is me being slightly unfiltered and hoping for the best in terms of being funny. It’s a great dynamic that’s important to the complexity of our performance. So… I ended up looking back at the partner and saying, “I’m sorry but I haven’t known you long enough to know if you’re one of those interesting people.” …omg… who does that? Anyway, I didn’t get punched or anything, but I don’t think it was appreciated.

I almost had to pull over while I was telling Dave this story on the drive home. I was laughing so hard tears were blurring my vision.

There was a moment as we were pulling out of the venue parking lot that shows you what kind of guy Dave is. First, he made and brought small signs to direct people to the show from the road into the parking lot and then, as we drove back to the main road and I saw his signs for the first time. He said, “Should I take them down?” And I said, “No. Let’s leave them for posterity’s sake.” Which, I realized didn’t exactly make sense, but somehow these signs reminded me of a show we did in Berlin soon after the wall came down. Die Insel. The Island. Very difficult to find for very complex reasons — some of which were because of how streets and maps were being rejigged after the city was unified. Someone had gone out well in advance of our arrival and put up signs on posts for us and others to follow!!! Like, way beyond the call of duty, way farther afield than anything normal. We finally found the venue (photo below) and I’m sure someone was waiting there for us to help load in across the bridge! I hope I never forget the sensation of being shown where we would be sleeping. Three white mats laid out on the floor of a beautifully austere white room in this amazing Kulturhaus. One for both of us and one for our beloved tour meister and dear friend Dirk. Some nights it was difficult to find the angry feminist and man, those shows were long in Europe. They wanted an hour… sometimes two.

So Dave says, “I don’t want Lisa to have to take the signs down.”

How did I get so lucky to have such a considerate friend as David Lester?

Lisa G looking at my paintings

Die Insel Kulturhaus, Berlin

photos from the show by the great Bob Hanham

Time lapse video by Lisa Marr

 

Jean Smith on Political Art

From my post on my regular FaceBook page

Political art. I sometimes think my work [paintings] should be more political. Political in a more overt way.

Jean Smith self-portrait age 13 (1973)

I started painting portraits (in my room) at the very loaded age of 13. I looked in the mirror and made translations that flew in the face of what models in magazines looked like. My dad, by this point, was no longer an ad agency art director. He was painting large abstracts and watercolor landscapes, and doing freelance commercial art jobs in his studio in the back yard. My mom (an art school graduate) was painting still life from nature in her studio. Neither of them painted portraits at that time.

Fast forward to a point in the early 00s when I took 11 x 17″ laser copies of those teenage self-portraits on tour and put them up at Mecca Normal shows. There was a night at the Smell in LA where I could see them, my teenage faces, from the stage while I was singing songs from The Family Swan album. Songs about my family in those years. I realized (while I was singing) that I had inadvertently found a way to talk to my teenage self, to offer an adult perspective (mine) to her.

In current times, between the deaths of my parents, (with my dad losing his marbles and the difficult nature of being around while this happens, trying to help him and protect my own marbles etc.) it seems like painting faces (and all the historic energy involved here) is prit near the best thing I can be doing. It’s political in the way that finding something that works, something that’s right, fairly early in life is political (self-expression) and then returning to it years later for some of the same reasons is political.

Comment on the post:
“I think of pretty much everything I’ve ever seen you do as being political. Maybe the portraits aren’t specifically “political” in content, but the motivation behind them – $100 paintings to avoid having a day job and to work towards a free artist residency program – sure is! The art and music and writing and living are all congruent expressions of your political integrity. Or to paraphrase Godard: …not to make “political” films, but to make films politically.” – Steve Peters, the Chapel Performance Space at the Good Shepherd Center, home to the Wayward Music Series, Seattle

Man Thinks Woman

Snippet of “Man Thinks Woman” at Tobi’s birthday

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A post shared by Allison Wolfe (@realbabydonut)

early photos

photo by Jon Snyder, 1993

photo by Moni Kellerman, Hamburg, Germany 1994

photo by Jeff Bagato, Mole Magazine

photo by Snorkel, Vera Project, Holland, 1995

first show photo by Ian Smith, Vancouver 1984

first show photo by Ian Smith, Vancouver 1984

Video: D-I-Y assembly line 2014

“Empathy for the Evil” (M’lady’s Records, 2014)

“…Smith’s characters deal with the inequality and power imbalances that mark modern society.” – Colin Joyce, Pitchfork (USA)

“…the songs speak to understanding the inherent nature of frayed humanity.” – Eric Risch, PopMatters (USA)

“Turning long, thick passages of prose into singable, memorable songs, Mecca Normal have revolutionized their music again. If you think you’ve already heard everything this band is capable of, you need to hear Empathy For The Evil and find out just how wrong you are. After a long-delayed release, you will finally get a chance. Do not miss this one.” – J Neo Marvin, Ear Candle Productions (San Francisco)

“For the thoughtful listener who appreciates both a good work of fiction and a nice dose of indie folk ‘Empathy for the Evil’ is the record for you.” – Mark Anthony Brennan, Ride the Tempo (Canada) rated 4 out of 5 stars

“… Smith’s words are full of wisdom and humour and cut right through the materialism of the world of rock.” – Tucker Petertil, The Big Takeover (New York)

“Duo Jean Smith and David Lester have been making raw, stripped-down garage rock since the mid 1980s. It’s rare to have this much power and emotion come from one guitarist and one singer. They always keep it real.” – Dawn Jewell, NPR-affiliate WOUB (Athens, Ohio), Top Albums of 2014

“The songs on Empathy are mesmerizing, with Smith sucking you with her trance-like vocals and poetic lyrics backed by Lester’s equally as spellbinding guitar riffs.” – Steve Long, Red Dirt Report (Oklahoma)

“Songs like the rollicking “Art Was the Great Leveler” and the more subdued “Normal” focus on the intricacies of the artist’s life – the things that connect, join folks together and perhaps drive wedges between them. I can think of no one better than Smith and Lester to show us the way.” – Alison Lang, Broken Pencil (Canada)

“It’s not really important that Mecca Normal has hung around for thirty years, what is important is that they’ve weathered the constant assaults on a disabled industry, and the destructive powers of time, which can eat away at your passion and your partnership. You put on Empathy for the Evil, and it’s like your listening to Mecca Normal at the height of the Riot Grrrl movement, when the Northwest was the center of the music world, when people appreciated the ingenuity and the artistry of artists like Jean Smith and David Lester.” – Brian Snider, Secretly-Important (Seattle)

“Art is the Great Leveler, is a beautiful tale weaving Smith’s love for art and relationships, how art can bring two people together.” – Troy Michael, Innocent Words (Chicago)

“This is a masterpiece of story and manifesto, a lesson in life…” – Sean Michaels, Said the Gramophone (Canada)

“Mecca Normal is not a normal band. They’re free of clichés, unconcerned with catchy pop hooks or mass appeal. They have made some art, and they’d like you to enjoy it on their terms. It’s refreshing, and I’m digging it.” – Abe Beeson, Nado Mucho (Pacific Northwest)

“If you’re interested in an adrenalin experience which features angst rock themes that challenge the slow flow of our society, look no further.” – Eden Gillespie, Happy (Australia)

“Their sound is now and ever shall be weird, unhip, oddly alluring and precise.” – Patrick Rapa , Philly City Paper

“Empathy For The Evil is as pure an expression of conscious, intelligent rock music as you’re likely to hear, with every track, from Art Was The Great Leveller to Odele’s Bath, providing food for mind and soul alike.” – The Crack Magazine (UK)

“The uncompromising art of Mecca Normal has been one of the more inspiring stories of the last 30 years.” – Bob Ham, The Weekly Spin (Portland)

“It’s interesting to hear a group from THEN — the ’80s—continuing to play into the NOW. Like, Mecca Normal have been together for 30 years, and in context with contemporary “indie” groups, they sound like fucking GIANTS! Their maturity and immediacy screams in the face of contemporary “indie,” which, as it became pop music, has become parody. Mecca Normal never conceded to pop-radio aims, they just kept growing their own.” – Mike Nipper, The Stranger (Seattle)

“I had never seen Mecca Normal perform live before, and I was totally thrilled and blown away. They mostly performed songs from their new record Empathy for the Evil, which is fantastic…” – This is Fag City (New York)

“This is a thoughtful, moving, and reflective album completely out of step with anything in commercial music – which is, of course, a good thing.” – Allan MacInnis, Georgia Straight (Vancouver)

“A fascinating piece, minimalist and upsetting. This new album is beautiful.” – K-Fuel, webzine (France)

“Moved inside for Mecca Normal. What can you say? Listening to Jean intone a phrase like “Art Was the Great Leveler” (1st song on the new album, Empathy for the Evil) while David whacks the elasticity out of what always sound like brand-new strings has been one of the consistent pleasures of my music-going life.” – Franklin Bruno, live review of a show at Troost, New York City

“Mecca Normal has been speaking truth to power since 1984. By day Mecca Normal is mild-mannered writer Jean Smith and graphic artist David Lester, by night the duo wield voice and guitar as weapons of mass provocation, spreading their message of change and social justice far and wide.” – Shawn Conner, Vancouver Sun

“They remain in fine form on the provocatively entitled new album Empathy for the Evil, again mixing the personal and political.” – Kerry Doole, New Canadian Music

“Their insistence that a punk group could be made up of just two people following their own rules — no bass player, quiet guitar/loud vocals, storytelling as a performance art — challenged the prevailing definitions of “punk,” re-enforcing an alternate, more radical definition rooted in the DIY ethic.” — Wondering Sound (New York)

“But instead of celebrating or castigating evil, Smith traces how the absence of empathy manifests as something that looks very much like it: narcissism.” – Bill Meyer, Magnet Magazine (USA)

“The new album’s guitar- and organ-driven single ‘Wasn’t Said’ offers an introspective introduction to their lyrically focused and poignant rock realism. Their set should be a charmingly unhinged, rare treat. Recommended.” – by Brittnie Fuller, The Stranger

“Her (Jean’s) performance is like a thunderstorm, breathtaking and powerful, in which every lightning bolt is politically-charged.” – Dillon Ramsey, Master’s candidate at SFU’s School for the Contemporary Arts, Vandocument (Vancouver)

“With this awe-inspiring show of moral and musical strength, Mecca Normal concludes Wrong Wave 2014 in all the right ways.” – Dillon Ramsey, Master’s candidate at SFU’s School for the Contemporary Arts, Vandocument (Vancouver)

“The overall vibe of this interview is testament to the fact that Mecca Normal is definitely not some relic of bygone times but a vibrant and prolific artistic force. I’ll admit that I was only familiar with their musical output, of which I consider to be absolutely necessary to listen to if you haven’t already. I have had my eyes opened to the other artistic outputs of this duo — Jean Smith and David Lester.” – Getting Past The Static (Austin, TX)

“In the early nineties I bought my first Mecca Normal album, the cassette tape of “Dovetail,” released in 1992 by Olympia-based independent record label K Records. I was 13 or 14.” –

Video: Between Livermore and Tracy

“Empathy for the Evil” (M’lady’s Records, 2014)

“…Smith’s characters deal with the inequality and power imbalances that mark modern society.” – Colin Joyce, Pitchfork (USA)

“…the songs speak to understanding the inherent nature of frayed humanity.” – Eric Risch, PopMatters (USA)

“Turning long, thick passages of prose into singable, memorable songs, Mecca Normal have revolutionized their music again. If you think you’ve already heard everything this band is capable of, you need to hear Empathy For The Evil and find out just how wrong you are. After a long-delayed release, you will finally get a chance. Do not miss this one.” – J Neo Marvin, Ear Candle Productions (San Francisco)

“For the thoughtful listener who appreciates both a good work of fiction and a nice dose of indie folk ‘Empathy for the Evil’ is the record for you.” – Mark Anthony Brennan, Ride the Tempo (Canada) rated 4 out of 5 stars

“… Smith’s words are full of wisdom and humour and cut right through the materialism of the world of rock.” – Tucker Petertil, The Big Takeover (New York)

“Duo Jean Smith and David Lester have been making raw, stripped-down garage rock since the mid 1980s. It’s rare to have this much power and emotion come from one guitarist and one singer. They always keep it real.” – Dawn Jewell, NPR-affiliate WOUB (Athens, Ohio), Top Albums of 2014

“The songs on Empathy are mesmerizing, with Smith sucking you with her trance-like vocals and poetic lyrics backed by Lester’s equally as spellbinding guitar riffs.” – Steve Long, Red Dirt Report (Oklahoma)

“Songs like the rollicking “Art Was the Great Leveler” and the more subdued “Normal” focus on the intricacies of the artist’s life – the things that connect, join folks together and perhaps drive wedges between them. I can think of no one better than Smith and Lester to show us the way.” – Alison Lang, Broken Pencil (Canada)

“It’s not really important that Mecca Normal has hung around for thirty years, what is important is that they’ve weathered the constant assaults on a disabled industry, and the destructive powers of time, which can eat away at your passion and your partnership. You put on Empathy for the Evil, and it’s like your listening to Mecca Normal at the height of the Riot Grrrl movement, when the Northwest was the center of the music world, when people appreciated the ingenuity and the artistry of artists like Jean Smith and David Lester.” – Brian Snider, Secretly-Important (Seattle)

“Art is the Great Leveler, is a beautiful tale weaving Smith’s love for art and relationships, how art can bring two people together.” – Troy Michael, Innocent Words (Chicago)

“This is a masterpiece of story and manifesto, a lesson in life…” – Sean Michaels, Said the Gramophone (Canada)

“Mecca Normal is not a normal band. They’re free of clichés, unconcerned with catchy pop hooks or mass appeal. They have made some art, and they’d like you to enjoy it on their terms. It’s refreshing, and I’m digging it.” – Abe Beeson, Nado Mucho (Pacific Northwest)

“If you’re interested in an adrenalin experience which features angst rock themes that challenge the slow flow of our society, look no further.” – Eden Gillespie, Happy (Australia)

“Their sound is now and ever shall be weird, unhip, oddly alluring and precise.” – Patrick Rapa , Philly City Paper

“Empathy For The Evil is as pure an expression of conscious, intelligent rock music as you’re likely to hear, with every track, from Art Was The Great Leveller to Odele’s Bath, providing food for mind and soul alike.” – The Crack Magazine (UK)

“The uncompromising art of Mecca Normal has been one of the more inspiring stories of the last 30 years.” – Bob Ham, The Weekly Spin (Portland)

“It’s interesting to hear a group from THEN — the ’80s—continuing to play into the NOW. Like, Mecca Normal have been together for 30 years, and in context with contemporary “indie” groups, they sound like fucking GIANTS! Their maturity and immediacy screams in the face of contemporary “indie,” which, as it became pop music, has become parody. Mecca Normal never conceded to pop-radio aims, they just kept growing their own.” – Mike Nipper, The Stranger (Seattle)

“I had never seen Mecca Normal perform live before, and I was totally thrilled and blown away. They mostly performed songs from their new record Empathy for the Evil, which is fantastic…” – This is Fag City (New York)

“This is a thoughtful, moving, and reflective album completely out of step with anything in commercial music – which is, of course, a good thing.” – Allan MacInnis, Georgia Straight (Vancouver)

“A fascinating piece, minimalist and upsetting. This new album is beautiful.” – K-Fuel, webzine (France)

“Moved inside for Mecca Normal. What can you say? Listening to Jean intone a phrase like “Art Was the Great Leveler” (1st song on the new album, Empathy for the Evil) while David whacks the elasticity out of what always sound like brand-new strings has been one of the consistent pleasures of my music-going life.” – Franklin Bruno, live review of a show at Troost, New York City

“Mecca Normal has been speaking truth to power since 1984. By day Mecca Normal is mild-mannered writer Jean Smith and graphic artist David Lester, by night the duo wield voice and guitar as weapons of mass provocation, spreading their message of change and social justice far and wide.” – Shawn Conner, Vancouver Sun

“They remain in fine form on the provocatively entitled new album Empathy for the Evil, again mixing the personal and political.” – Kerry Doole, New Canadian Music

“Their insistence that a punk group could be made up of just two people following their own rules — no bass player, quiet guitar/loud vocals, storytelling as a performance art — challenged the prevailing definitions of “punk,” re-enforcing an alternate, more radical definition rooted in the DIY ethic.” — Wondering Sound (New York)

“But instead of celebrating or castigating evil, Smith traces how the absence of empathy manifests as something that looks very much like it: narcissism.” – Bill Meyer, Magnet Magazine (USA)

“The new album’s guitar- and organ-driven single ‘Wasn’t Said’ offers an introspective introduction to their lyrically focused and poignant rock realism. Their set should be a charmingly unhinged, rare treat. Recommended.” – by Brittnie Fuller, The Stranger

“Her (Jean’s) performance is like a thunderstorm, breathtaking and powerful, in which every lightning bolt is politically-charged.” – Dillon Ramsey, Master’s candidate at SFU’s School for the Contemporary Arts, Vandocument (Vancouver)

“With this awe-inspiring show of moral and musical strength, Mecca Normal concludes Wrong Wave 2014 in all the right ways.” – Dillon Ramsey, Master’s candidate at SFU’s School for the Contemporary Arts, Vandocument (Vancouver)

“The overall vibe of this interview is testament to the fact that Mecca Normal is definitely not some relic of bygone times but a vibrant and prolific artistic force. I’ll admit that I was only familiar with their musical output, of which I consider to be absolutely necessary to listen to if you haven’t already. I have had my eyes opened to the other artistic outputs of this duo — Jean Smith and David Lester.” – Getting Past The Static (Austin, TX)

“In the early nineties I bought my first Mecca Normal album, the cassette tape of “Dovetail,” released in 1992 by Olympia-based independent record label K Records. I was 13 or 14.” –