june 2005

chicago tribute, lucky three-seattle, esmf benefit-la + an elliott tribute ep

thanks last alley productions for sending word that they will be having an elliott smith tribute show on wednesday, june 22nd. the show will be at the viaduct theater
(3111 n. western ave.) chicago, il 60657 at 8:30 pm and will be $10. this will also be a 21+ age show. schedule to appear is: dick prall, dylan rice, jeff freling and the rock squad, wonderful smith, matt kerstien of scotland yard gospel choir, al rose. here is last alley with more info too: last alley productions follows up their elvis costello tribute at the viaduct from december of 2004 with a show acknowledging a musician whose immense talent was lost at the age of 34 from an apparent suicide in the fall of 2003. each performer will be playing a short set of elliott smith tunes ranging from his days with heatmiser to his last album, "from a basement on the hill." there will be no repeats. musicians will be sharing a backline for quick transitions between acts and phil angotti will host. for more info, please go to www.lastalley.com.

northwest film forum, a non-profit cinematheque, in seattle will be showing a retrospective of the films of jem cohen, and will be showing the short film "lucky three" which features elliott playing 3 songs and hanging out in portland. here is adam from the northwest film forum with more info: "lucky three", a short film by jem cohen and elliott smith a graceful, beautifully-shot film featuring footage of elliott smith and his hometown by the king of indie music documentaries, jem cohen (instrument, benjamin smoke). featuring intimate live performances (including one performed in his bedroom) of "angeles", "between the bars" and big star's "thirteen." plays with jem cohen's feature film "chain" as part of "lost and found: the films of jem cohen" at northwest film forum in seattle june 20-21, mon-tues at 7pm. for more information, please visit http://www.nwfilmforum.org/lostandfound. thanks so much to adam!

thanks to nancy for putting on a nice benefit for the elliott smith memorial fund by having a reading of a staged reading of her new sitcom, "the big show." the sitcom is written, produced & directed by nancy stuart and will be happening on, tuesday, june 21st. the event starts at 7:30 pm with a pre-show nosh. at 8pm, the 'big show' will happen follwed with a 9 pm dessert reception. the reading is a the pan andreas theatre (5125 melrose avenue, hollywood, ca 90038) and will star: stephen snedden, bret anthony, michael buzzelli, gary clemmer, gavin hignight, steve kehela julian moses, melanie paxson catharine scott. tickets – $20 at the door includes hors d’ oeuvres and dessert reception. if you would like to reserve tickets, please email: babzannesbakery@hotmail.com. thanks again to nancy and everyone involved!

finally, thanks to john for sharing and sending us a link to his 4 song ep that was inspired by elliott. here is john with more information about it: "less than a year ago i was introduced to elliott smiths music and was blown away. i quickly became a huge fan and played and re-played his records for months. during this period elliott smiths music was a huge source of inspiration for my own song writing and i began, to write songs that reflected his influence. i'm writing because i have just released a new 4 song ep as a tribute to elliott smith. it is not covers of elliott smith songs, but rather 4 original songs that were inspired by the late song writer and reflect the intimate acoustic setting of his early work. the record is called "international Health" and the single track "may day" is available for free download at my web site: www.johntiberio.com/music_html." (6.16.05)

july elliott tribute in santa monica and miss misery, a novel

erik kertes and friends are planning to have a jazz/not jazz tribute show in july! the show is being billed as 'erik kertes plays the music of elliott smith' and will feature leo kitajima- violin, dave heman- guitar, justin deming- saxophone, aaron arntz - piano, josh zetumer- drums, erik kertes- bass and many amazing la singers. the show is live at the vic from midnight till 2am on july 14th. the show is $5 and the vic is located at 2640 Main St., Santa Monica, CA, 90405 for more information, please go to: thevicforjazz.com. thank you erik!

thanks to rachel for sending us a link to andy greenwald's (senior contributing writer for spin magazine) website that talks about andy's upcoming novel, miss misery. while his description on andy's site is that the book is not about elliott, andy says the title comes from elliott's song and from a screen name from one of the characters in the book, msmisery. here is andy with a description of his book:

"my new book is a novel and it’s called miss misery (from the elliott Smith song, natch). i’m under contract to simon & schuster, more specifically a brand new imprint there called simon spotlight entertainment. they’ve been absolutely wonderful to me so far, and my book is the first work of fiction they’ve purchased – which is a lot of pressure and a great honor! the story – which i sold on proposal (meaning i still have to write the thing – and fast!) – is one i’ve had kicking around in my head for about two years. it’s set in a world that should be familiar to anyone that enjoyed nothing feels good, but approaches it from a more personal and quirky perspective. the book is about a twentysomething writer in new york city (go figure!) who is writing about diaries. he gets involved with two girls online (one – msmisery – is a 22 year old scenester; the other is a miserable 17 year old in utah) and then in real life, when the fictional online journal he’s been keeping gets hijacked by his raging-id doppelganger. the story is first person, but also told through mixed media: ims, livejournal entries, emails, voicemails, and texts. it’s a little romantic, a little sad, and a little fantastical. but rest assured, it’s mostly a comedy. or it’s supposed to be! writing is going slowly now, but i expect it to pick up soon – or at least my editor does. the goal is to have it out by late next fall. i really think you guys will enjoy it.

rumor is that the book will be coming out in january 2006 and if you would like to know more about andy, please go to: http://www.andygreenwald.com (6.6.05)

fan documentry in l.a. and junkbondtrader.net

thank you to meg for sending us info about how los angeles and l.a. area fans can be involved with the upcoming fan documentry about elliott. if you are interested in learning more about the documentry please go to this thread at sweet addy. anyway here is meg with more info about future filmings in los angeles: "the deadline for the project is june 30th so we plan to continue shooting until then...basically, we just want any fans who are in or nearby to los angeles and who would like to participate to email us at futurebutterfliesla@yahoo.com. we will probably shoot weekends, but are somewhat flexible and participating is really easy. we have standard questions that people can answer (interview format) as well as say anything that they would like to. its pretty laid back and easy-and if the first to interviews are any indication of the overall effect and quality of this project-then it will be incredible." anyway, we hope you can make it to one of the filmings!

thanks to to tim for starting a new elliott site dedicated to sharing the live elliott shows he has collected with us. the site includes free downloads (which will change out every month), cd artwork for shows, a forum and links. if you want to check the site out, please go to junkbondtrader.net! (6.1.05)