Music Site Scavenger Series 4Wham City Site De Jour
Wham City is an Internet site that encompasses the OCD vision of an ingenious collective of musicians/bands, artists, writers, animators, filmmakers, comic artists, actors, and fashion stylists. A Drum Roll, Please! They can’t be stopped! Their trademark of inventiveness is extreme. Dan Deacon is their breakout music artist who is gaining national attention and press for his frenetic live shows. The magnetic force of his talent will draw people to the Wham City Website. Their projects are in full gear despite losing their physical headquarters in “Charm City” Baltimore, Maryland, the city of choice for low rent and large space.
The Wham City site menu displays uploaded projects, events, touring, creative videos, alternative TV shows, comic sites, and fashion sites that are updated regularly. Their uninhibited application of technology is a highlight, creating a site destination that is one of a kind.
The collective imprint is their kitsch aesthetic that creates a maze of visual and auditory entries. They Scramble images and sounds, melding the juxtaposition of; the new with old, found with consumed, high art with low, craft art with machine-made, trash with treasure, and commercial with lo-fi.
Through the scrambled web, the collective merges its obsessions of pop culture, consumer culture, treasured eras, comic book heroes, and video gaming into unique visual and musical affectations. They celebrate these obsessions and parody them with abandon. One of the great delights is melding the individual vision with the collective.
Living Large Resourcefully
The Wham City collective is comprised of its original founding members all (graduates of Purchase College), their friends, and talented Baltimore contributors who share a similar sensibility, vision, and lifestyle. They all live large without being weighed down by the materialistic standards driving others. They understand the inventiveness of living creatively on a low budget, which has guided their creative freedom.
To Highlight a Few of The Heavy Hitters
Dan Deacon
Dan Deacon is an absurd music composer. His music is created with a keyboard and mic plugged into a collection of discarded electronic equipment. He cranks the decibels and alters his vocal frequencies, speeding it up with whimsical nuance and childlike wonder. Creating a chaotic beat that is infectious to audiences all over the country. He combines theatrics and audience participation into a lively frenzied performance happening.
Jimmy Roche is a Baltimore based Filmmaker, Video Artist
Jimmy Joe Roche created Dan Deacon’s latest video release, "Crystal Cat," from the CD entitled Spiderman Of The Rings. Clocking in fast, the psychedelic kaleidoscope zooms in and out of Dan Deacon singing and convulsively moving his body. Through the lens are floating animation, puppetry, and guest band appearances by the Video Hippos and the Santa Dads.
Dina Kelberman: Web Designer for Wham City and so much more…..
Another founding member Dina Kelberman is their web designer and the creator of two spectacular links on Wham City. Her comic book site called Important Comics displays her small shape abstractions that communicate within the bubble, saying things like; I’m bored, I’m a loser, this sucks and you’re a dick. It is dry humor based a little on self-deprecation and is hilarious in the context of slacker culture. Somehow she manages to sprinkle sweetness into the dialogue, portraying an obscure moral. It is simple but smart.
Poor Choice Clothing features Dina’s clothing concepts. The paradoxical name magnifies her unique and insanely funny humor. The fashions are must-see. Dina’s detailed illustrations can be seen on the cover art of Wham City bands like the Santa Dads flyers for events and shows. She also creates
three-dimensional assemblies that are used for plays and video productions.
Ed Schrader Comedian / Talk Show Host
The Ed Schrader Show is an episode talk show spoof using the host formula format. He welcome
s guests from bands like the Parenthetical Girls, locals, and the Charm City Roller Girls or presents a film by Meredith More with music tracks by Dan Deacon. Every show features his very own house band of rotating players. Done badly on purpose, the show looks like a late-night cable access TV show, only it is intended to be funny. Ed has unique personality quirks, like his obsessive, unhealthy love for David Bowie, and a comedic approach similar to the late Andy Kaufman.Dina Kelberman Quote, Wham City Pipe Dreams
“There are always tons of pipe dreams being thrown around; it's hard to tell what's actually going to happen. There's talk of farms, legitimate venues, new warehouse spaces, another round-robin tour, a monthly multi-media curated exhibition, and a theatrical interpretation of Jurassic Park. Keep watching the skies!”
Wham City a Collective Spirit of Culture
Without a large budget and their philosophical bent intact, they have forged an Internet territory like no
other. Slacker nation is anything but their creative culture and vision have no boundaries.
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