We were so honored to be the cover feature in this month’s issue of THE magazine in Santa Fe and really enjoyed talking with writer Patrick McGuire for the story. Check out the feature by grabbing a physical copy or read online: https://themagsantafe.com/matrons-matron-eliza-lutz/
In a city that’s often criticized for only championing the most marketable forms of art, Matron is filling an important role.
We'd like to start out 2019 by giving you a HUGE thank you for all the support over the last year. Thanks to you we were able to run two venues (Ghost & Rufina Taproom), release the new PSIRENS record, Blanchard 7" and Matron Compilation, record Future Scars' forthcoming record, shoot two music videos and bring you 120+ concerts and events in 2018 alone. We really couldn't do all that we do without your support and we thank you all for helping us make more music happen each year. We so look forward to all we have in store for you in 2019 and January is already off to an amazing, jam-packed start!
Few projects are able to oscillate between mediums with the same grace and potency as Cthulha. The solo project and brainchild of Monica Demarco (Chicharra), Cthulha combines Demarco’s background as a classical composer and contemporary noise artist with her movement work as an aerial dancer and martial artist to build a dual visual/sonic language that digs deep into human ritual, science fiction and magical realism. The result is part music and part performance art, a duality in sound and movement that is explored her forthcoming music video "Your Bones or Your Bass" and the accompanying release party at Form & Concept Gallery this Saturday that showcases one-time collaborations between musicians and aerialists.
Filmed in Mountain Air, NM and directed by Demarco, "Your Bones or Your Bass" features Demarco performing an aerial duet with her upright bass to the backdrop of an experimental, instrumental collaboration with percussionist Chris Hurst. Matron Records will release the video online this Wednesday in advance of Saturday's release party where Cthulha will perform the piece in collaboration with Bigawatt.
To further explore the relationship between movement and sound that is at the heart of Cthulha, we invite you to a special "Your Bones or Your Bass" release party at Form & Concept Gallery in Santa Fe on Saturday, January 12th from 6pm-9pm. The event will showcase local musicians performing one-time collaborations with aerialists including musicians Jessie Deluxe, Ryan Dennison, Scissor Lift & Bigawatt and aerialists Joanna Furgal, Kristen Woods, Cortey Baca, Christina Cavaleri and Ronnie Gialouris.
For more information, visit the event page: http://www.formandconcept.center/event/cthulha-performance/
Just over 15 years ago I was 12 years old and looking for trouble with some friends outside of the former Warehouse 21 Teen Arts Center in Santa Fe. We didn't get far and despite our questionable youth antics, the W21 employee on duty did not call my parents but told me to come to the back of the building for the screenprinting class that was about to begin and she put me to work. I learned the grunt work of cleaning and prepping screens, how to make my drawings into single color images on clear transparency paper and how to get that image burned onto a screen. I saw my single drawing replicated over and over again with each print and how I could transfer it onto any flat surface. I saw how I could make my art more accessible and found a skill and an artistic discipline that I could dive into. That day changed my life.
The screenprinting program that got its humble start in the back of W21 has impacted hundreds of lives in the 20+ years since its inception and this summer it found itself looking for a new home as the teen center that housed it changed hands, rebranded and sought to dissolve the program. Printers like myself for whom the shop has been an integral part of our lives (as both youth and adult artists) banded together to find a new location, one that would enable it to continue its mission to work with youth and offer access to the community at large. After much searching, our group, now called the Santa Fe Community Screenprinting (SFCS) shop, found that home in Santa Fe Youthworks, a local non-profit that provides shelter, counseling, education and jobs training for at-risk youth. Through this new partnership, the screenprinting shop will be able to continue offering community workshops and access to printing equiptment while also expanding its youth-focused programing.
Students learn to print at the former print shop at W21.
On August 4th Matron Records threw a benefit show at Rufina Taproom for SFCS which was a great success and went a long way towards raising the funding needed to properly outfit the new space for the printing equipment and to support new programing. Youthworks has also been working on grants to help with the transition and sustainability of the program in addition to adding a page to their website where people may donate directly (see below). As someone who has been so deeply impacted by this program and seen the many ways it has benefited people and youth in particular over the years, I urge those who can to donate to this program by clicking on the button below. Certainly without this program there would be no Matron Records and far fewer local band shirts out there for you to enjoy!
DONATE TODAY: https://www.santafeyouthworks.org/donate-to-screenprinting/
This month Youthworks will meet with SFCS group member to plan out this new stage of the program and set a launch date for public workshop hours to resume. Matron Records will keep you posted on these SFCS updates and you can also follow YouthWorks on Facebook or at their website for more details.
The new home of Santa Fe Community Screenprinting.
A multi-instrumentalist, current Meow Wolf artist and College of Santa Fe graduate, Dylan Blanchard has lent his talent as a collaborator to numerous projects over his 17 plus years as a sideman and creative contributor. Most recently he joined Matron Records' Future Scars on keys, joined local indie-rock outfit Ten Ten Division on bass and contributed to garage-pop favorites Treemotel, with more distant contributions to Austin's Tristero (drums), Santa Fe's Babelshack (bass), Danny Whitecotton (drums, keyboards) and the infamous folk/rock orchestra Apple Miner Colony (drums). Now he steps to the front to lead his own project with his forthcoming 7" release, Ghost In Arroyo Hondo (Just One of Many), out on Matron Records on July 6th.
Short but sweet, this two-track debut marks the first time since college that Dylan went into the studio to create something entirely his own and his years of backing up other musicians is evident it the release's clarity and dynamics. Contrasting styles, timbres, and influences all come together to create a sound that is both catchy and dissonant, energetic and dark, joyful and sad. The result is a taste of what will be more to come. You can stream the single exclusively at The Santa Fe Reporter all week before the official release on the 6th.
Matron Records founder Eliza Lutz sat down with Blanchard to discuss the new release and get insight into the writing process, preparing for his upcoming tour and what inspires him. Listen to the full interview below:
In preparation for live performances, Dylan has recruited long time friend and collaborator, Ben Clary (Apple Miner Colony, Bipedal Approach), fellow College of Santa Fe musician, Brendan Carn and Ten Ten Division bandmate, Vonnie Kyle (Vonnie Kyle, Mark Mallman). The new group is currently making ready to hit the road this July with friends and label-mates, Future Scars on a Southern tour. The two groups kick off their tour with Dylan's vinyl release show on Friday, July 6th at Meow Wolf with Denver's Rubedo.
Catch Santa Fe's Future Scars & Blanchard on tour this July through the South! And if you know folks in one of the towns we are passing through, please share and help us spread the word!
July 5th - ABQ, NM (Moonlight Lounge)
July 6th - Santa Fe, NM (Meow Wolf)
July 7th - Norman, OK (Opolis)
July 8th - Tulsa, OK (The Yeti)
July 9th - Fayetteville, AR (backspace)
July 11th - Denton, TX (Dan’s Silverleaf)
July 12th - San Antonio, TX (Hi-Tones)
July 13th - Austin, TX (Spider House)
July 14th - Austin, TX (Matinee House show)
July 14th - San Antonio, TX (Bang Bang Bar)
We are excited to announce that Chicharra are headed to Stockholm, Sweden this summer to play Titwrench Stockholm. Now in its second iteration out of Sweden, Titwrench is the beloved music festival based in Denver, CO that operates as a collective of artists, musicians, and filmmakers and other creatives, who work together to organize a multimedia festival showcasing women and LGBTQ+ artists. Chicharra, along with many other incredible New Mexico artists make the trek to Denver each August to be a part of the festival, which seeks to build community, conversation and support around female-identified + genderqueer artists in experimental and fringe realms.
Marisa Demarco of Chicharra performed as her solo, experimental project BIGAWATT at Titwrench's first Stockholm iteration back in 2014 (pictured above; photo by Kim Shively). This year, Chicharra will join a handful of other New Mexico and Colorado bands in performing in Stockholm for the festival, held June 15th through 17th. Fundraising for the festival has been sourced from both public funds in Sweden and various granting organizing, some of which aids the international travel expenses of US bands like Chicharra making their way to the fest. Unfortunately, these funds do not cover all the festival expenses for traveling artists, so festival organizer Isis Marina Graham has set up a fundraising page on Facebook to help with additional costs for artists. Your support is greatly appreciated and helps give voice to female, genderqueer & LGBTQ+ artists: DONATE TODAY!
In addition to playing Titwrench Stockholm, Chicharra will embark on the group's first European tour (dates TBA). You can help support Chicharra's European tour and trek to Titwrench Stockhom by purchasing their music and merchandise online (Chicharra merch store). Photo above of Chicharra performing at Rufina Taproom in Santa Fe; photo by James Lutz.
Chances are you have already seen Dylan Blanchard perform. A multi-instrumentalist, current Meow Wolf artist and College of Santa Fe graduate, Dylan has lent his talent as a collaborator to numerous projects over his 17 plus years as a sideman and creative contributor. Most recently he joined Matron Records' Future Scars on keys, joined local indie-rock outfit Ten Ten Division on bass and contributed to garage-pop favorites Treemotel, with more distant contributions with Austin's Tristero (drums), Santa Fe's Babelshack (bass), Danny Whitecotton (drums, keyboards) and the infamous folk/rock orchestra Apple Miner Colony (drums). Now he steps to the front to lead his own project with his forthcoming 7" release, Ghost In Arroyo Hondo (Just One of Many), out on Matron Records on July 5th.
Short but sweet, this two-track debut marks the first time since college that Dylan went into the studio to create something entirely his own and his years of backing up other musicians is evident it the release's clarity and dynamics. Contrasting styles, timbres, and influences all come together to create a sound that is both catchy and dissonant, energetic and dark, joyful and sad. The result is a taste of what will be more to come.
In preparation for live performances, Dylan has recruited long time friend and collaborator, Ben Clary (Apple Miner Colony, Bipedal Approach), fellow College of Santa Fe musician, Brendan Carn and Ten Ten Division bandmate, Vonnie Kyle (Vonnie Kyle, Mark Mallman). The new group is currently making ready to hit the road this July with friends and label-mates, Future Scars. The two groups kick off their tour with Dylan's vinyl release show on Thursday, July 5th at Meow Wolf with Denver's Rubedo. Matron Records will begin streaming the first of the two singles on the 7" on Friday, May 4th and you can catch the debut performance of full band on that date at Ghost (2889 Trades West Rd) with Treemotel and Austin's Marmalakes. More information below:
After a nearly 7-month hiatus from shows, Future Scars prepares to debut the groups' new line-up and new sound this month at Rufina Taproom on Saturday the 31st as part of a benefit show for Changing Woman Initiative. Future Scars, first formed in 2015 by former As In We members, has undergone a number of transformations since their inception, often wrought with trauma. Bassist Paul Wagner joined the band in 2017 after front-woman Eliza Lutz experienced sexual assault by a former member. Later that year, longtime drummer Ben Durfee left to pursue other projects, leaving the band at a cross-roads for how to move forward.
Says Lutz of the band's difficult history, "For me Future Scars is a story of triumph and resilience, not unlike its name. As a woman in music, sexism and sexual harrasment has been a daily experience for me as a musician, business owner and promoter. Learning to confront sexism and sexual assault from within my own band, from someone close to me and not just from the music community at large, really changed my relationship to feminism in my music and transformed my priorities as a musician. I realized how important it was for me to honor my voice and experience as a female musician and to not be afraid to write songs about and collaborate with people who understand and respect that."
At the end of 2017, Lutz and Wagner brought local musicians Marcus Difilippo and Dylan Blanchard on board (on drums and keys, respectively) and begin cultivating a new, more developed sound. As Lutz had written most of the material for the groups' forthcoming full-length a year before, the change was an opportunity to take a step back and build on a live sound that better reflected the songwriting and tone of the band.
"I am just so unbelievably grateful to play with such talented, imaginative and kind humans," says Lutz. "This change has been such a reset and a welcome challenge to write songs that are both personal and universal and give a voice to the experience that many women and gender non-conforming folks face in music. We are all looking to the future now and healing old wounds."
Future Scars record their new album this spring with US regional tours in the works for summer and late fall. The group premiers their new sound at Rufina Taproom on March, 31st with label-mates Chicharra as well as Weedrat, Treemotel & Sex Headaches. More on that show below!
Changing Woman Initiative Benefit Show
Featuring: Treemotel, Weedrat, Future Scars, Chicharra & Sex Headaches
Saturday March 31st
Rufina Taproom
Second Street Brewery
2920 Rufina Street
8:00pm Doors / $5-20 Sliding Scale /
ALL AGES
For more information,
visit the event page.
Most of the time the word “heavy” is used in reference to metal or hardcore bands. For the last three years Albuquerque’s Chicharra has been interpreting it in their own way. The self-described “maximalist” ensemble is comprised of three bassists/vocalists (Marisa Demarco, Monica Demarco, Maura Woody) and two drummers (Henry Hutchinson and John Butler) and creates soundscapes that are at once etheric and chaotic, delicate and aggressive. The band’s name itself is an indication of their experimental nature: Chicharra translates to “Cicada” but also, roughly, a sound you can’t control in your environment— buzzers, bells and people who talk too much. Chicharra responds to all these ideas, inviting a swelling cacophony into each song.
Chicharra release Let’s Paint This Town in Craters, the anticipated follow-up to their self-titled debut album today on Matron Records. The album, which was written and recorded over an impressive 48 hours with Carlos Garcia, explores themes of oppression and dystopian futures, and exemplifies the group’s knack for creating dense orchestration that is as dynamic and nuanced as it is heavy.
The album features original artwork by the group's own drummer Henry Hutchinson who also illustrated the band's debut release. The CD version of Let's Paint This Town In Craters comes packaged in a limited silkscreened case made of 100% recycled chipboard and features Hutchinson's artwork on the cover and inside illustrations by Eliza Lutz.
Stream the new album below and get your limited edition silkscreened CD here.