Cynical, theatrical gothic rock. Pandora’s Toybox corroborates how life is little more than a bleak circus. Therefore, we are obliged to rock the f**k out. Morte McAdaver and the Grim Pills come forth to musically espouse the creed of their desolate carnival ways. Pandora’s Toybox is best defined overall as gothic rock, although it draws a great deal of influence from punk rock, video games, ’80s metal, funeral doom, swing, blues and classical music.
Tag Archives: Music Festival
Left Outlet
The glamour and glitter of our very modern age have produced, for your aural pleasure, the latest in rock technology: Left Outlet. Hailing from Raleigh, North Carolina, this rag-tag quartet brings together the foundations that built Rock and Roll music with modern flair and a touch of glam to create a chorus of wonders unheard of in these dark days. Steel trap songwriting from a band of rough and ready minstrels, prepare your ears for the sweet caress of amplified metal and electric emotion. These indomitable warriors from the edge of time and space combine their talents to create an unstoppable battery of raw inspiration. Ignore them now and they may just travel into your dimension, ever thirsty for the blood of the weak-hearted.
Meff ‘n’ Jojo’s Tiny Instrument Revue
Meff ‘n’ Jojo’s Tiny Instrument Revue features retrosexual music and fancy-dress vaudeville from 2 wind-up members of The Army of Broken Toys. Includes Muppet banter over speak-easy era standards rife with “euphemn-uendo” and glam rock interpretations on ukulele and mandolin. These street urchins spread a message of Shalom’ha and l’anarchie! (Cog save the Queen.)
Katie Kat
Katie Kat has revolutionized the classical voice recital. She produces and stars in an operatic recital performance for arts venues and private events across the country. These performances come with translations, videos, electronic backing tracks, costuming, and a superpower voice. Katie Kat is also an adjunct professor of voice at NYU Steinhardt.
With translations, storytelling, and a superpower voice, she makes what used to be old and stuffy, into inspiring and powerful. She is a full time performer and adjunct professor of voice at NYU Steinhardt. At The Steampunk World’s Fair, along with giving several performances on her own and at The Queen’s Tea on Sunday, Ms. Kat will be presenting a Voicemaster Class for attendees to learn about their body’s own steam-power!
DJ Dave Ghoul
Philadelphia’s Dave Ghoul (artist and designer D.E. Christman of Grendel’s Den Design Studio fame) is a longtime DJ and event organizer that specializes in alternative dance music. His musical styles vary but he mainly focuses on playing Goth, Industrial, Electro, Synth, Steampunk, Neo-Swing, and Dark Cabaret. He’s performed at some of the largest alternative events in the region including Dracula’s Ball, Diabolique Ball, The Philly Pirate Cruise, and Wicked Faire. He is currently a resident DJ at Dorian’s Parlor, Philly’s premier monthly Steampunk event. He is also co-organizer of Shadowland Lancaster, The SteamWërk Ball, and all three of the PhillyZombieCrawl.com events – The Philly Zombie Crawl, Zombie Beach Party, and Zombie Prom. Form more information visit DaveGhoul.com.
Dave will be joining us on Saturday night to spin at The Big Brass Ball, part deux!
Battle Circus
Battle Circus pummels the senses with stunningly dramatic ferocity. The four-piece’s reputation for explosive performances and bold, ambitious musical arrangements has led them to take the stage at numerous international festivals and open for Amanda Palmer, Gary Numan and more.
Having garnered critical acclaim for its post-apocalyptic-themed debut EP, The Half-Light Symphony, Battle Circus has completed its first full-length album. Due for release later this year, the new album is unashamedly grandiose in both scale and ambition, and explores the full breadth of the musical ability the band’s live performances deliver.
The Steampunk World’s Fair 2011 is excited to have Battle Circus joining us this year. Do yourself a favor, and WATCH THIS VIDEO!
Ego Likeness
Ego Likeness was created in 1999 by artist Steven Archer and writer Donna Lynch. Taking their name from Frank Herbert’s classic science fiction novel ‘Dune’, the band fuses many styles, including darkwave, trip-hop, and rock. Steven is the creator of the atmospheric electronica project Hopeful Machines, and the pair make up the experimental/spoken-word outfit The Trinity Project and have released two albums under that name. Steven is also a regular contributor to ‘Weird Tales Magazine’ and ‘Steampunk Magazine.’ He is the author of a children’s book, ‘Luna Maris’ and an illustrated story ‘Red King Black Rook.’ In addition to numerous poems and short stories, Donna has released two collections of poetry: ‘In My Mouth’ and ‘Ladies & Other Vicious Creatures.’ Her first novel ‘Isabel Burning’ debuted in 2008. She has also collaborated with Steven on several art projects, including a handmade, limited edition illustrated book called ‘Twenty-Six (An Uncommon Book of ABCs)’ and the upcoming ‘Daughters of Lilith.’ Archer and Lynch have been married since October of 1999 and currently live in Maryland with two hairless cats.
The Gin Rebellion
The Gin Rebellion is the musical collective formed by the dapper H.M. and the eccentric Renfield, performing music in a manner never before heard in this century or any other.They draw their inspiration from the most seemingly innocent and innocuous of places,such as the Vaudeville stage, early American folk songs, and musical theater. The GinRebellion is a veritable assault of melodic noise designed to soothe and salve even the mostsavage of souls, and to further spread the word of The Uprising.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXGMQK_URtM
The Davenport Sisters
The Davenport Sisters are the amazing, silly duo behind The Clockwork Cabaret, a weekly radio show and podcast that’s played every Monday since 2007. The Sisters feature a wide assortment of jazz, blues, goth, folk, swing, gypsy punk, dark cabaret, classical and other related steampunk genres. They also host The Clockwork Ball, a bi-monthly event in the Raleigh, NC area. Joining us shall be Emmett & Mingan!
The Kreptatka Bar Band
The Interstellar Multi-Dimensional Gypsy Band known as the Kreptatka Bar Band has reanimated from the quantum realm to share their knowledge from the past, present, and future for enlightened minds of the Steampunk Worlds Fair. The intricate melodies and finely honed musicianship of Kreptatka paired with the gypsies of Steampunk’s know-how to communicate, dance, exchange, and explore will determine the next 3,000 years of who rules the Earth on an absolutely stratospheric level. Kreptatka came from nowhere, to become anything, and now they’re everything, and that’s really nothing… While Steampunk leaps forward to the past to revert back to the future.
Psyche Corporation
Specializing in a unique genre often described as dark Victorian fairytale science fiction, Psyche Corporation is named after a dream manufacture group from a future where widespread neural implants have allowed people to jack their nerve endings directly into the internet and download dreams. As a performance group, Psyche Corporation has at various times incorporated robot exhibitions, steel origami cranes, contortion, corsets, flashlights, and old radios. The music spans genres; a recent song mixes tribal singing with classical piano while embedding poliovirus DNA into its percussion.
Bury Me Standing
A ragtag collective of virtuostic musicians led by Nate Greenslit (of HUMANWINE and What Time Is It, Mr. Fox?) and Vessela Stoyanova (of Goli and Fluttr Effect), Bury Me Standing describes itself as Gypsy Dirge-Core, a strange intertwining of Balkan folksong, art metal, and psychedelia, whose songs meditate on wars within and without. Their core instrumentation is singularly unique, including digital marimba, found-object percussion, prepared upright bass, and haunting, Bulgarian-inflected vocals. Their formidable roster of collaborating musicians varies from show to show. At The Steampunk World’s Fair, Bury Me Standing will include members from the circus klezmer punk Emperor Norton’s Stationary Marching Band.
Jason Webley
Described by the Seattle Times as “one of Seattle’s most talented musicians,” Jason Webley is known for his huge gravelly voice and a battered porkpie hat that dances around his head as he stomps out the beat. His relentless touring schedule and legendary live performances have built him a loyal cult of followers across North America, Europe and beyond (he is especially loved in Siberia.) Bellowing out apocalyptic dirges in a sandpaper baritone, Webley’s specialty is involving his audience in his performances – most concerts end with the entire crowd locked arm-in-arm, singing at the top of their lungs. He has shared the stage with the Dresden Dolls, the Avett Brothers, Devotchka and Regina Spektor, and has released five solo albums and numerous collaborations on his own label, Eleven Records. Recently, Webley finished a world tour with Amanda Palmer of The Dresden Dolls as one-half of the duo Evelyn Evelyn.The Steampunk World’s Fair is honored to have this monster of accordion, a true inspiration, at our 2011 festivities! Do not miss Jason Webley.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuraTmMfspk
Murder By Death
They may call Bloomington, Indiana, home, but since their 2000 formation, Murder by Death have been a band without musical borders. Theirs is a world where Old West murder ballads mingle with rock-injected Western classicism; where an album’s sequencing can take listeners from a haunted back alley in rural Mexico to a raucous Irish pub. All of which is to say, Murder by Death albums don’t just string together songs; they create experiences. With their fifth album, Good Morning, Magpie (04/06/10), Murder by Death continue the tradition of border expansion that drove career standouts like 2006’s In Bocca al Lupo and 2008’s Red of Tooth and Claw.
In 2009, Murder By Death created the instrumental soundtrack for Finch, a novel by Jeff VanderMeer (Steampunk Reloaded, The Steampunk Bible). Give a listen or download here!
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zt2Sf2-o94g&feature=player_embedded
Professor Elemental
The incomparable Professor Elemental! Returning to us from Brittania to make his second appearance here in the New World! A pioneer of Pith-Hop, the Professor is known, among other things, for the songs and videos for “Cup of Brown Joy” and “Fighting Trousers”. He will be attending Steampunk World’s Fair once more to bring you delightful moments of insanity, tea drinking, gin swilling, and the sort of general mayhem that only the British can get away with! Jolly good! Check out his new website and be sure to snag a copy of his latest CD, The Indifference Engine which premiered with us at SPWF 2010!
The good Professor shall be joining us for several special events throughout the weekend, including hosting our Welcome Tea Party on Friday. Many of our performers have expressed interest in performing with him: so watch out! You never know what this mad-cap adventurer will be up to next at The Steampunk World’s Fair!
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iRTB-FTMdk
Jeffery Straker
Singer. Songwriter. Pianist. Is there anything Canadian performer Jeffery Straker cannot do? Stealing hearts at over 100 shows per year, Jeffery’s music creates a dynamic and infectious carnival ride of sounds blended with lyrical artistry and a sharp sense of humor. Jeffery has been influenced by combining classical training, the pop music he listened to growing up with his family, and the “strong story-telling tradition” where he grew up in Saskatchewan. He has toured his music with the Regina Symphony Orchestra. Jeffery Straker’s current album ‘Step Right Up’ features boisterous tunes accompanied by circus performers and antique pianos. Watch for a new album in 2011!
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbVq8L6bz8M&feature=player_embedded
Igor’s Egg
Somewhere at the cross-space of rock anthems, epic steampunk science-fiction tales, funky dance grooves, mind-blowing improvisation, and orchestral melodies lives Igor’s Egg. This Philadelphia phenomenon performs progressive rock, at its best. Within the music unfolds the history of the planet Amaris, a place where cogs litter the landscape and power the society. Igor’s Egg produced their first album, “The Ultimate Tuh” in 2008, which is a prequel to their upcoming Amaris trilogy. So get ready for a sci-fi adventure that will blow your mind! The live show is powerful and animated, full of lights, images and sounds which will transport you to another planet.
Not Waving But Drowning
Not Waving But Drowning makes a joyful noise with banjos, violas, whiskey bottles, trumpets, and pots and pans, all while spinning together shipwrecked shanties, homespun Appalachian reels, whiskey-drenched bordello blues, and gleeful indie rock. Born in a squalid Brooklyn cabaret and shanghaied by a dilapidated freighter bound for uncharted waters, NWBD sings tales of mystery, adventure, and poisoned love in distinctive three-part harmony and impeccable attire. Their toe-tapping rag and bone style will charm you into dancing the Madison while artfully palming your pocket watch.
“…pops & rattles with an old world urgency.” -Sepiachord
Petal Blight
As a group, Petal Blight blends the genres of trip-rock and chrono-crash, bringing to the stage a bizarre energy, painting pictures in motion and music, frightening and intriguing. The members of Petal Blight bend preconceptions to the breaking point, implementing acoustic instruments and electronic gadgetry together to create soundscapes welcome in any age, and appealing to any ear. Observe as our therematrix and vocalista weave upper-register harmonies beside our orchestral bass and stellar guitar.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVGEjflNLdY
Copal
Copal sets an evocative tone; lavish voices of violin and cello flicker against a twilight scape of electronic swells and textures, impelled by a driving rhythmic sense, and original melodies steeped in global musical traditions. NYC-based, Copal is lead by violinist/composer Hannah Thiem surrounded by an impressive cast of talented collaborators. The band’s sound is a steampunk melding of styles set on a world stage. Nordic melodies ride Middle-Eastern rhythms into the halls of a remembered past, Hungarian riffs blush hotly against Spanish-cadence, opulent harmonies from far-gone depths. Copal’s 2010 aptly named ‘Into the Shadow Garden’, is a moody arabesque of cultural influences and sonic tapestries. The music here is darkly intimate, compelling on multiple levels. “Evocative” (Blue Railroad) and “artistically beautiful yet darkly tantalizing” (Maximum Ink), like lucid dreams, the sounds of Copal will take you away.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afFhkXnL6lg
The Extraordinary Contraptions
The Extraordinary Contraptions
An accidental time traveler from an alternate future, a law officer stripped of rank in the pursuit of true justice, and two brothers of one mind in avenging home and family despite their divergent bearings: these otherworldly iconoclasts, thrown together by the whims of chance and music, are The Extraordinary Contraptions. These darlings of Atlanta’s steampunk cultural hub keep wowing crowds with their musical mastery, genre-defining anachronism, scientific-romance shenanigans and blatant refusal to take themselves or steampunk too seriously. Ranging from silly love songs through dark, seething explorations of power to their characters’ own epically orchestrated tales of Victorian-influenced sci-fi, this quartet of aural anachronisms cranks the temporal bi-resonator to eleven for romance, music and science! Equally renowned for their unplugged performances, their acoustic instruments are rumored to go to twelve!
Doctor Q
Dr. Quincy Erasmus Quartermain, or simply Doctor Q, is an eccentric audio arranger and morally ambiguous scientist. After exposing the general public to various experiments in aural engineering at a number of steampunk events, he came to the decision to up the ante of his current modest abilities and move on to other more delectable challenges. He is the Media Editor of the Steampunk Chronicle as well as the Founder of the Artifice Club, headquartered in Terminus, also known as Atlanta, Georgia. It is the Doctor’s hope that through the fellowship of musicians, artists, builders, and performers of all kinds, the Artifice Club can host affairs that bring more people into the steampunk subculture and provide a haven and meeting ground for those spreading the aesthetic far and wide.
Platform one
Platform one brings to the stage a powerful aesthetic that crosses genre boundaries. Led by V. Nigel Taylor whose voice is as haunting as he is madly entertaining; he’s backed by keyboardist Daniel Gill, guitarist Jesse Dunstan, percussionist Allison Lahikainen, and joined by Tim Heireth. Platform one melds darker melodies and danceable beats that keep the dance floor filled. They have been transporting themselves around the country since the 1999, currently anchored in New York. As timeless as the music they make, Pl-1s members have long been involved with the arts – screenplay writing, soundtrack work, visual and aural construction. They have recently released their latest EP “The Silent Have Names.” A full length follow up is currently in the works.
Platform one’s appearances at The Steampunk World’s Fair 2011 have been sponsored by MayFaire Moon Costumes and Corsetry! Visit MayFaire in the Merchant’s Bazaar!
Matt DeBlass
Matt DeBlass, steampunk’s favorite bard and the Steampunk World’s Fair’s official Chief Bow Tie Inspector, turned to the world of steampunk after being told that he couldn’t wear a bow tie to perform at renaissance faires. Here, Matt found an ideal niche for his own eclectic, gleefully anachronistic collection of music. By bringing elements of world folk, Celtic, rock, classical, and 19th century parlor music into one program, he stretches the bounds of genre and period. Matt performs on a variety of acoustic instruments, including mandolin, guitar, harp and percussion instruments, some of which he has built or modified himself. When not trying to invent a new standard of parlor music, giving presentations on modifying and building instruments, or demonstrating how to tie his signature neckwear, Matt is a busy gigging musician and teaches lessons in percussion and rhythm guitar. Come see Matt perform for a chance to learn what, exactly, the man on the floor’s been drinking!
Tin-Types
Tin-Types are an alternative folk duo hailing from New Hampshire, AKA guitarist and vocalist Hagbard (Seth William Chatfield) and singer Lulabelle (Shana Hall). Their upcoming debut CD (Feb/March 2011), and some live shows, also feature violinist Madelaine Ripley. The sound is acoustic ‘folk’ based but diverse in scope – ranging from ironic political observations done in a retro-60′s style, to gypsy tunes commenting on homogeny of culture, to a love song about underwater zombies. They also put their own unique spin on a number of popular ‘covers’ spanning many genres and decades. Find Tin-Types music, photos, shows and info on MySpace and Facebook.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07YZZReCuek
Eliza Rickman
Eliza Rickman is a singer, songwriter and pianist living in California. Her unique and haunting sound combines the lilting sweetness of popular vocalists like Feist or Annie Clark with the gritty sensibilities of PJ Harvey and the playfulness of Kurt Weill. When she began performing at venues, she purchased a toy piano out of necessity. The compact, antique, two-octave piano quickly became her trademark accompaniment. Its piercingly nostalgic sound created a lyrical dissonance with her deceptively powerful voice. While she often performs with a small chamber of musicians, the toy piano is the central instrument on her EP, Gild the Lily. Full of lovesick lullabies, Gild the Lily marries pure and sultry melodies with melancholy lyrics. The raven-haired, porcelain-skinned songstress serenades listeners into an unexpected vulnerability while leading them on a quest for love by a little girl lost.httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ri7CCPJSEo
Eli August
Eli August creates music with zeal and energy, focusing on mood, tonality and lyricism. The songwriting mines memories of past regrets and failures to create melancholy aural set pieces that are sincere, passionate and some times dark, but never completely devoid of redemption. Many of the works carry the sobering notion that life may never be as good as it once was, but there is still reason to carry on. The music is here to say one thing: though the outlook may seem bleak and the path dark, we are in this together.httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7qEYn0qPqQ
This Way to the Egress
Step right up, step right up! This Way to the Egress takes sideshow hijinks, old world eccentricities, and cabaret concoctions to the highest level of perfection and entertainment. With their catchy songs and boundless stage presence, this is one unforgettable act!
They have been described as “circus-bound gypsy vaudeville music with a hint of menace, the allure of tawdry pleasure and the threat of physical danger”. If that’s not enough, This Way to the Egress also engages the audience with sword swallowers, human blockheads, fire-eaters, and bounty of burlesque dancers!
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGy09tPXPZ8
What Time Is It, Mr. Fox?
Named after a Victorian children’s game, What Time Is It, Mr. Fox? likes to time-travel through multiple eras and genres, from the woods of Medieval France to the cabarets of the 1930’s. Their songs are full of memorable characters like a boy who turns into a cartoon, a naughty jack o’lantern, a murderous dandy, and the Humpty Dumpty Girl. WTF? is fronted by singer/songwriter/artist, Brian King. One of Boston’s most curious creatures, King is known for appearing onstage as a sad clown and occasionally the Wicked Queen from Snow White. Whoopi Golberg said King’s voice was the last thing she wanted to hear before she went to sleep. And recently TimeOutNYC wrote “catch him now as his star rises.” An accomplished songwriter, his songs have been recorded notable artists, including New Orleans’s legend, Irma Thomas, whose version of his “Cold Rain” was hailed by Rolling Stone and The Village Voice. The band features world traveler, Nathan Cohen on violin and trumpet, Mike Leggio on upright bass, Miss Lori Perkins on piano/organ, Nate Greenslit on drums, and The Furies on back-up vocals. Also, keep your ears open for some surprise musical collaborations with the Fox throughout the weekend. To learn more about the WTF?, visit them at http://www.whattimeisitmrfox.com
WTF? joined us in 2010 and we’re very honored to have them returning to us!
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bx4NOq5g5us
Walter Sickert & the Army of Broken Toys
Ladies and germs, we are honored and delighted to announce that Walter Sickert & the Army of Broken Toys will be part of the evolving musical events at Steampunk World’s Fair! Walter Sickert’s musical alchemy has a “curious blend of mischief and morbidity” garnishing their “ominous doom-folk with the theatricality of a demonic circus troupe.” The band’s past performances have included storytellers, fire-eaters, glass-eaters, contortionists and their broken toy army. Combining the cello sweet melodies of bands like Rasputina and the bizarre hard-edged stage antics of Marilyn Manson with the man in black presence of Johnny Cash, Walter Sickert & the Army of Broken Toys are a dance death folk ride in the mouth of a Kraken all the way to hell… and back in time for tea.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ap_AoGOVf1E
Emperor Norton’s Stationary Marching Band
Formed from the most talented deadbeats and drifters that could be rounded up, Emperor Norton’s Stationary Marching Band will honk, wail, blow, beat, bounce, scream and serenade their way into your hearts. Playing anything that won’t break from vigiourous use, their instrumentation is a unique blend of brass, winds, violin, accordion and an eccelctic rhtyhm section. ENSMB combines the rich musical history of the circus and the vagabond peoples of Europe with the raw energy of avant-garde jazz and the irreverence and fun of today’s Vaudeville for a sound that is somehow familiar yet like no other. Label them anyway you like! Call them avant world fusion, call them experiemental big band, call them gypsy steamfunk, call them circus noise! They may be tough to sum up, but it’s easy to tell you they’ll show you a good time!
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOKY9S0qvhk
Frenchy & The Punk
New York-based Frenchy & The Punk (formerly The Gypsy Nomads) invoke the spirit of the gypsy sound, infusing it with a vaudevillian and cabaret flavor that’s rooted in punk, folk and the vineyards of southern France. French-born lead vocalist/percussionist, Samantha Stephenson and American punk-veteran guitarist Scott Helland captivate crowds by seamlessly combining raucous, danceable old-world melodies with cheeky stories sung in English and French with wild, tribal-march-style drum instrumentals. They have been featured performers at alternative music festivals and conventions across the US such as DragonCon, World Steam Expo, SteamCon and FaerieWorlds. In 2011, they are releasing a Live Concert DVD and touring Europe and the US! www.frenchyandthepunk.com
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mG7zaSxLcKc