Animated and directed by Georgiy Kuznetsov, the video follows the journey of the Detritus, the League of Space Pirates’ tour ship as it travels through uncharted territories, some of which look suspiciously like the anatomy of the leader of the group: Captain Orlok. The song, which takes its name from the title of the seminal book on string theory by physicist Brian Greene, The Elegant Universe, is about love and quantum mechanics. And it features guest vocals by Molly Berg of Richmond’s Fuzzy Baby.
Elegant Universe is one of the two tracks on the new Book & Record single/comic book, which was released by the band earlier this month. It will also be included on the upcoming full-length album “Precognitive Universe of Emergent Desire,” which is currently being recorded, produced and mixed by Dan-O Deckelman at Snake Oil Recording.
Beginning today, March 8, WRIR, Richmond’s kickass volunteer radio station, will call on listeners for financial support through March 19. The station’s fund drive will feature special talk and music programs, including performances broadcast live from the station’s West Broad Street studios.
WRIR kicks off its fund drive with an early evening show at Strange Matter with Hoax Hunters, Sacred Teachers and Brandi Price & Kyle Harris of the Diamond Center.
On the air, WRIR will feature a live in-studio performance on the program “Global A Go-Go“ by Quatro na Bossa. On Saturday March 9 in the afternoon, the League of Space Pirates will perform on “River City Limits” and the following Sunday morning, the Jason Jenkins Quartet plays for “Bebop and Beyond.”
Nick Coward and The Last Battle will perform Wednesday, March 13 at 7 p.m. on “Activate with Mike Rutz.” Organ Donor appears on “What the Fontaine” on Friday, March 15, Marionette and Olde Shame play Saturday in “The New Breakfast Snob” and “River City Limits,” respectively, and the Larri Branch Trio visits “Bebop & Beyond” on Sunday, March 17.
During the fund drive, listeners offering donations will receive thank you gifts ranging from t-shirts to bags and other assorted things.
Get out there and donate. We need this station to stick around.
To celebrate the release of their new single “Book & Record,” the League of Space Pirates are making a return trip to planet Earth for a free dance party at Balliceaux on Thursday, March 7. The evening will feature DJs Mikemetic, Rev. Noah, plus other special guests that have yet to be announced.
Marking a return to the classic illustrated book & record sets of the 1970s and 1980s, “Book & Record” features two original songs, “She’s A Star” and “Elegant Universe,” on a 45rpm vinyl record and a 16-page book of illustrated interpretations of the songs by artists Meg Gandy and Matt Deans with original cover artwork by artist James Callahan of Barf Comics, who will also be on hand to autograph copies.
The League of Space Pirates is proud to present another glimpse into their universe with a brand new music video for the song “She’s A Star,” which features the dance skills of Khalima and shot on location at the Byrd Theatre.
The single for “She’s A Star” will be released in March on a “Book & Record” set with two original songs illustrated as comic stories on 16 full-color pages. You can pre-order it here.
And don’t forget on Feb. 17, the League of Space Pirates return to Earth (Gallery 5) for their biggest challenge yet… “Space Pirates vs. Space Babes: The Ultimate Battle” featuring music and burlesque from the League and Deanna Danger along with Scarlet Starlet, Khalima and DJ Sean Lovelace. There’s also an intergalactic photo booth, costume contest and more.
The League of Space Pirates will also be doing a record release party for their new album, “Precognitive Universe of Emergent Desire,” on March 7 at Balliceaux. Details for that will be released soon.
After touring the farthest reaches of the universe and battling the evil Ubercorp, League of Space Pirates return to Earth for a night of out of this world awesomeness.
On May 19, the group will touch down at Gallery 5 with a series of intergalactic oddities including the unbelievable acts of The Lady Aye, the sonic landscapes of The Madness of Two, the levitational skills of Jebidiah Stone, the sultry movements of Khalima, the beats of Mikemetic and, of course, the cosmic rock-n-roll of League of Space Pirates.
I’m sure by now, you’ve been bombarded by information on this weekend’s big music festival – the RVA Music Fest. It’s safe to say that Shockoe Bottom is going to be insanely crowded and lots of good music will be heard.
The festival has been in the works for quite some time and if successful, could lead to an annual event of showing off some of the best music Richmond has to offer.
Just look at everything included in the two-day festival.
RVA Music Fest Showcases – Saturday, Sept. 10
Audra the Rapper, Nickelus F, Noah O, Artik Phreeze, Swordplay, Cain McCoy, Just Plain Ant, Ohbliv – The Camel
Club Luv featuring DJ EPOC – New York Deli
Dead Fame, Canary Oh Canary, League of Space Pirates – Balliceaux
Heavy Grinder, Nint3ndo, Ameera – Hat Factory
Long Arms, Loren Ipsum, No Dice -The Republic
Long Jawns – Bellytimber
Miniature Tigers, Baby Help Me Forget, Fire Bison, Marionette – Strange Matter
Downbeat Switch, The Kindling Kind, Mulle – Cafe Diem
The Main Event – Sunday, Sept. 11
Stage 1 – Girl Talk, Best Coast, the Trillions, the Diamond Center, White Laces, the Silent Age, Climbers
Stage 2 – No BS Brass Band, Goldrush, Black Girls, Antero, Luggage, Proverbial
DJ Tent – Doddie, Long Jawns and Bobby LaBeat of Audio Ammo; Mr. Jennings and Akasha of PLF; Shugadadde, JMungz and Rometti of Euphoria; M.A.S.S. FX and Skywalk3r of NLP; Jesse Split and Joanna O of Turnstyle
The After Party – Sunday, Sept. 11
The Men, Flechette, Caves Caverns – Strange Matter
Now, as awesome as this event is, all the acts playing are seriously focused on one particular scene. It’s completely catering to the indie rock and underground crowds – which is the typical crowd who reads RVA Magazine (the event’s sponsor). Don’t get me wrong, all the local bands participating are incredible and there is some amazing talent taking the stage, but Richmond’s folk, jazz and pop rock scenes are completely ignored. I wouldn’t get so worked up if the festival wasn’t touted as “The music festival of Richmond” and “showing off the best of local music” because it’s not. It’s only one small part of an even more amazing bigger scene.
And I’m surprised that Richmond’s two biggest music venues – The National and the Canal Club – are not included in the showcase evening (maybe because they are not advertisers in RVA Magazine, but I could be wrong on this). While they’re not on the official RVA Music Fest bill, The National and Canal Club are also hosting local acts the same evening.
The Canary Promise, East Coast Secondaries, Empire, Gandhi’s Gunmen, Others May Fall, The Weakest – The National
Seraph, Beyond The Victory, This Mountain is Man, Artifice, Silence is a Burden – The Canal Club
Hopefully if this festival becomes a yearly event, groups in other genres can be included in the lineup which would create a more diverse selection of artists and by doing so, bring in a lot more people.
In any case, the RVA Music Fest will be the place to be this weekend. Go and enjoy live local music.
Beginning today, March 8, 
After touring the farthest reaches of the universe and battling the evil Ubercorp, 
I’m sure by now, you’ve been bombarded by information on this weekend’s big music festival – the 
