2013-03-07 Longital & Stroon at SNG Naživo

Yet another magic night at the Slovak national Gallery from the cycle "SNG Alive", which Longital had already been part of at one of the very first installations in 2011, as it was featured on this very blog:

http://ondrejvosvete.blogspot.sk/2011/05/2011-04-14-magiclongital-at-sng.html

but the vibe last week was very different, see for yourself:

2013-03-07 Longital & Stroon at SNG Naživo (open picasa slideshow with captions;)

For one thing, Longital were not even supposed to be part of the evening, until a friend in their fellow band, Korben Dallas got sick on the day of the show. Fortunately, Dano, Shina, their acoustic set up and a new concert vibraphonist, Dalibor "Stroon" Kocian went in for the rescue. And they did so with an elegance of their own.
The acoustic performance sounded really unique in the newly opened "Berlinka" space - the acoustic guitar, voices, vibraphone and piano resonated together in the arcs on the ceiling, and stayed there like little clouds of tones.
The concert was part of the evening which was dedicated to blood, promoting the "Krv / Blood" exhibition.
It was preceeded by interesting and entertaining lectures on Elizabeth Bathory, the blood countess and blood sucking animals, especially bugs. It was quite an evening!


Here's also the trailer for the exhibition, which is on until March 31, 2013

2011-10-08 S1NK0 Opening - "S1NK0 Vernisáž"

As I have just happily announced in an earlier post, my photo exhibition: S1NK0 - 10 years of Slnko Records, is up and running! But not only that, what a launch it was!

As you can see from the pictures above, we've managed to get the photos to Next Apache just on time to see a wave of friends and people interested in Slnko Records flood the little space of Ben's café.

My best wishes go to Daniel Salontay from Longital, founder of Slnko Records with Shina, who had managed to awake his cold on a photo/video shoot two day before the opening and therefore stayed in bed for the whole day, unfortunately.

Therefore, there was no Longital concert, but the entertainment for the evening was solely provided by Andrew Hillard and his band Frank Winter, who had managed to entertain us acoustically and unplugged, breaking several strings and going on late into the night, improvising, covering the likes of Pearl Jam/Led Zeppelin and fairly passing the mark of any imaginable curfew.

Thank you Andy, thank you Frank Winter, thank you friends, family, Shina, and all who had found the time to come last Saturday night. It was unbelievable.

Go see for yourself to Next Apache Café at Panenská 28 in Bratislava, until the end of October!

P.S.: There was a hint of Longital performing again some time the exhibition ends, plus a possible continuation of the exhibition in other parts of western/eastern Slovakia. I will keep you posted, but you've heard it here first ;)

S1NK0 Installed and running!

What a week it has been since the launching of my "S1NK0: 10 years of Slnko Records" photo exhibition at Ben Pascoe's Next Apache café in Bratislava.

First off, the last minute preparations last week went just fine! During a busy, busy week with teaching from 7AM to 6.30PM I've managed to do a final selection of the photos for the exhibition (the selection which I will post here shortly with comments on each photo) and thanks to lacnetonery.sk with their excellent prices and free personal delivery I've also managed to get my Epson up and running.

After a late Thursday afternoon online chat with person running lacnetonery.sk I've found just the right paper to install on the hand-made cardboard panels just in time. I am really really happy with how the photos appear on the 190gr Epson Archival Matte paper. It's very similar to what my favourite band, Pearl Jam, uses on their vinyl booklets and Deep Magazine.

At last but not least I would like to thank Nadja, the "slnko" (sun) in my life for her help and patience in selection of the pictures, getting them print out, getting the right kind of panels, selecting the colour for them, and so on and so forth.

Invaluable.

I must say I was really exhausted and probably also a bit financially broke after all the fuss to get the photos installed on time to Ben's café, but as you will see from the next post recapturing the Saturday night, it was really worth all the time and money - because of the friends and family I've managed to gather for the opening.

You can see the photos and read about the opening here, or better, visit the exhibition yourself in Next Apache / Nech sa páči at Panenská 28, Bratislava until the end of October.

Thank you.

Planning S1NK0

I got an extra small beer for this sketch at Next Apache today. I am trying to find out just how much wall space I've got for the upcoming S1NK0 photo exhibition.

In other news:
- Shina, founder of Slnko Records, confirmed herself and her band Longital, for a special acoustic performance at the event on Oct 8, 19:00. The live show will symbolically start at 20.01

- thus I have created an official fb S1NK0 event
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=176359809109103&ref=ts

- I have created this through my new artist page, which you can "like" in the right column of this blog, or here:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ondrej-Ko/107166832712336


That's all folks.

Announcing my S1NK0! live/photo exhibition, opening Oct 8

You have heard it here first, please spread the word ;)

Details:
My first long term and public photo exhibition will showcase the Slnko Records artists I've had the honor to see over the past few years. The opening and exhibition will take place on Oct 8, 2011 in Canadian Ben Pascoe'sNext Apache cafe (homophone for Slovak "nech sa páči") in Bratislava. First artists confirmed to perform in special, acoustic, intimate setting will be the founders of Slnko Records, Longital, and also an English songwriter, Andrew Hillard, alias Frank Winter.

More to come!

2011-09-08 Frank Winter U Očka

Frank Winter = Andrew Hillard

When we've first encountered Andy (or Frank as everyone calls him after his band), he was backed up by members Peter and Agnes from Živé Kvety, as a guest for their show in Bratislava's punk club "Randal". Later we saw him at another rock venue/pub, battling over and winning attention with a group of rowdy Finnish fans who came over for the 2011 Ice Hockey World Cup.

His unique folk sound wasn't out of place in any of those spaces. But at U Očka (Moe's), he was at his best. Starting as a two piece band with a harmonica player stepping in (mainly to improvise, sadly), continuing as a five piece group, and closing solo on his own after a short break, he was full of energy and ideas. Halfway through the show he even got off the stage to make a round around the venue, at each table giving away a free compilation CD-R, "Memento", made by himself.

When I met him the next day, he enthusiastically described U Očka as - "that place's got popiči [fucking great] sound!" and praised the owner, Rahan, for equipping the venue with American gear and having the sound set up by an American firm specifically for the space. Overall, Andy proved to be a really friendly and talkative chap.

And all that after I mistook him for the owner of the café where I met him, a Canadian named Ben Pascoe. Mistaking Andy was silly on my part, but understandable as I was supposed to meet Ben and it was Andy who greeted me at the place and actually offered me a table and took my order (!). Later I got a five minute chance to meet the real Ben - after he was woken up for a class, fellow teacher as it turns out. In a matter of minutes we managed to agree on a date, music guests and a space to showcase my concert and studio photos of Slnko Records artists (you can already find many of these on photos here at the blog - Longital, Živé Kvety, Kolowrat, Hvozd, Frank Winter, ...)

And, the best part - when I got back to Andy, he agreed to take part in my coming October photo showcase at Next Apache, the S1NK0, as Frank Winter.

More on that this Thursday, when I will officially start promoting the showcase at Dobry Trh on Panenska St, Bratislava, where Next Apache is located, right opposite the square with Presidential Palace.

But you've heard it here first.

"S1NK0 by Ondrej.Ko" at Next Apache, Bratislava, Oct 8 2011