MAINTAIN RADIO SILENCE

Over the Thanksgiving holidays I had the wonderful experience of being invited by an acquaintance in Los Angeles to cover a release party at Le Poisson Rouge in NYC for a semi-underground California based literary magazine named Radio Silence. Radio Silence is a piece of written work that is collaboration of both literature and rock and roll, available online and in print (and even as a free app on your iphone and android.) Radio Silence also hosts events and is a non profit and through its 501(c)3 nonprofit status, the events help raise funds to buy books and musical instruments for underserved youth.

Needless to say after receiving the email and doing a little research on the magazine and the contributors, It did not take long for me to say “unequivocally and irrevocably, yes!” Not only is Radio Silence a super interesting concept, but it is a lit mag constituted of rock and roll and amazing literary critics and essays. Radio Silence also has a great cause and has very noteworthy people contributing to its projects which definitely speaks to the RS’s character. The amazing set list (Stephin Merritt and Sam Davol of the Magnetic Fields, Legendary rock critic Greil Marcus, Tanya Donelly of the Breeders, Belly, and Throwing Muses, Best Selling Author Rick Moody, Matthew Friedberger of The Fiery Furnaces, Author Sam Lipsyte, Alt Country hero Jim White, Rock critic Sylvie Simmons and BK’s Golden Suits). And that, my friends, was only the beginning. We haven’t even gotten to the amazing acts within Issue No. 3’s luxurious chapters.

Radio Silence states “For the 3rd issue we have original work by twenty-two renowned musicians and authors, including a first-time-ever memoir by Lucinda Williams; a conversation between Daniel Handler (a.k.a. Lemony Snicket) and Portlandia and Sleater-Kinney star Carrie Brownstein; fiction by contemporary American playwright David Ives; a new poem by New Yorker poetry editor and Pulitzer Prize-winner Paul Muldoon; an interview with punk legend Ian MacKaye; essays by author Rick Moody and legendary culture critic Greil Marcus; a conversation between best-selling author Tobias Wolff and his jazz musician son Patrick Wolff; and a ton more.”

The show was pretty rad too and they even gave away free copies of the book and had other vendors giving away free things too and I got a cool winter monkey hat which made my life, pretty much. Also, Dungbeetle performed for the first time in over 15 years and rocked the stage ridiculously and without any manners, which is just how I like it. And this is just the beginning for Radio Silence. Each monthly digital issue will include reviews of books and records, unreleased songs by well-known musicians, and original interviews. Author Jonathan Lethem will be featured in the December issue.

Article by: Marissa Mireles