bitethehand.org

Insect Carnival 2008

Posted on August 21st, 2008 by The Captain.
Categories: The Boogie Room and Gardens, Immediate Theatre, Annie The Ghost's Art, The Crux, Music, Events, Films, Workshops.

Bite the Hand Productions and The Boogie Room and Gardens invite you to celebrate with us on August 29, 30, and 31 at the Second Annual Insect Carnival! Come camp out with us and share in a weekend of music, theater, workshops, gardening, games, and more!

This is a conscious event that is being held at a private residence. We appreciate your cooperation and your respect. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you attend the celebration:

• We encourage bike riding and camping at the Carnival. Our guided bike rides will be departing from Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, and Cotati. See the schedule for departure times.
• If you cannot bike to the Carnival, please carpool.
• Please show up before 6:30pm if you intend on camping at The Boogie Room.
• Gates close at 10:30pm each night.
• We are asking a $5 donation per day that you attend the Carnival.

We will be having amazing performances in the day and the night! The performances are listed in the order they will be appearing:

• Friday the 29th of August
  • 12:00 noon
    • Guided bike rides leave from Santa Rosa’s Community Market, Sebastopol’s Whole Foods, and Cotati’s Oliver’s Market
    • The Insect Carnival begins!
  • 3:00pm
    • Guided bike ride leaves from Santa Rosa’s Community Market, Sebastopol’s Whole Foods, and Cotati’s Oliver’s Market
  • 3:00-6:30
    • The Crooks, The Mighty Chiplings, Banjomama, Eucalypt, and The Highlands
    • Guided bike ride leaves from Santa Rosa’s Community Market
  • 6:30-7:30
    • “The World’s Biggest Comedy Duo” Improv Comedy Show
  • 7:30-8:30
    • Yarn Arms and Gitar
  • 8:30-9:00
    • “Fire and Ghosts” Storytelling by the Campfire
  • 9:00pm-1:00am
    • The Semi-Evolved Simians, Litany for the Whale, Not to Reason Why, and Goodriddler

• Saturday the 30th of August
  • 10:00am
    • Yoga
  • 12:00 Noon
    • Breakfast and goat-milking
    • Guided bike rides leave from Santa Rosa’s Community Market, Sebastopol’s Whole Foods, and Cotati’s Oliver’s Market
  • 1:00-3:00
    • Mud Wrestling with Laundry Detergent (Batman vs Predator)
  • 3:00pm
    • Guided bike ride leaves from Santa Rosa’s Community Market
  • 3:00-4:30
    • The Haxaw Ditch Dwellers, Travis Hendrix, and Andrew Maurer
    • …and The Free School with Richard Speaks!
  • 4:30-5:00
    • Boogie Room Public Meeting
  • 5:00-8:00
    • Banjomama, Low-Five, Ferocious Few, and Santiago
    • …and workshops on gardening, fermented foods, and cheese-making!
  • 8:00-8:30
    • The Crux Tent Revival, Chapter Two
  • 8:30pm-2:30am
    • Nikos Eliot, Fishbear, A Pack of Wolves, The Iditarod, and DJ Underwater

• Sunday the 31st of August
  • 12:00 Noon
    • Breakfast and Performances
    • Guided bike rides leave from Santa Rosa’s Community Market, Sebastopol’s Whole Foods, and Cotati’s Oliver’s Market
  • 1:00-3:00
    • Lemonade and Open Mic (come play!)
  • 3:00pm
    • Guided bike ride leaves from Santa Rosa’s Community Market
  • 3:00-9:00
    • uMana, Erstwhile Medicine Show, Leila-Anne, Ramon and Jessica, Mark Growden, and Kyle Martin
    • …and a workshops on cheese-making, event-organizing, and goat-milking!
  • 9:00-12:00 midnight
    • I Cut People, Shampoodle, Bill Wild, Brandon the Clown, and The Crux
  • 12:00 midnight
    • “The Pharmakon,” a documentary about Sonoma County

Call us at 707-326-5274 for…
… specific times of performances and workshops!
… directions to The Boogie Room and Gardens!
… help finding carpools and bike rides!
… opportunities to volunteer!

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An Underground Sonoma County Film is Coming!

Posted on May 21st, 2008 by The Captain.
Categories: Films, Events.

You may have seen them at Monday Night Mass.  You may have seen them at a Crux or Lines show.  You may have seen them at The Insect Carnival.  Groups of people with cameras, leaning into windows, in the middle of crowds, hanging from open car doors.

Last summer a documentary was made that focused on the growing art and activism scene in Sonoma County.  It has many interviews, show footage, Monday Night Mass, The Insect Carnival, and more!  The director, “Movie Mike” worked tirelessly to put together a peice that does justice to what we are doing.

And one year later… Movie Mike is returning!  He will be showing his film at a number of places in the near future and will be discussing and re-editing as he goes along. 

So, keep coming back to bitethehand.org for times and places where YOU can see the film!

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Erst While Medicine Show

Posted on March 17th, 2008 by The Captain.
Categories: Music, Films, Events.

This crew from Petaluma just gets better and better every time. They are a tight little band of strings, bells, washboards, and song and we have had the pleasure of hosting them at two of our Bite the Hand events. At The Boogie Room on New Years, they presented the theme of “The Garden” in our mystery play. They also treated us at our Quilt Day with their tunes and a new singer!  We were moved to put their portrait (taken by Ms. Leila Anne) on the back cover of our March Pharmakon and we will keep working to bring The Erstwile Medicine Show up here at more of our events.

In the meantime, you can watch a video of The Medicine Show that was taken earlier this year at Petaluma’s Aqus Cafe. Check it out here: Erst While Medicine Show on Youtube

Keep an eye out for The Erst While Medicine Show. They are a band that stands on their own and you should see them the next time they are in town.

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The Many Portraits of Leila Anne

Posted on March 11th, 2008 by The Captain.
Categories: Individual Artists, Leila Anne's Photos, Music, Films, Events, The Pharmakon.

Who is Leila Anne? She’s a singer, a bike rider, a violinist, a Community Market employee, a photographer, and more. She embodies the artistic energy and do-it-yourself genius that is sweeping over our community and we at Bite the Hand Productions are glad every time we see her. This post is written out of a deep respect for a someone who courageously lives her visions out loud. Below is a short list of some of the contributions that Leila Anne brings to our community regularly:

Leila Anne Sings Songs, plays guitar, piano, autoharp, and violin. She has performed on her own and with groups like John Courage and Djuna. Leila Anne has played at two major Bite the Hand events: The 2007 Insect Carnival and our Sonoma County Quilt Day. What a voice! You can check out her music here: Leila Anne Sings Songs

Photographs that Leila Anne takes are always a treat to see. We have used her pictures twice for the back covers of The Pharmakon. She takes pictures of her adventures, her friends, and has begun a new project where she takes a self portrait of herself every day for a year! Check it out here: Leia Anne’s Flickr page

Leila Anne’s YouTube Videos are eclectic and entertaining. She has taped herself and her friends performing (there is even a Christmas special). We are looking forward to her next video. Check them out here: Leila Anne’s YouTube Page

Leila Anne, you are one of the real gems of our community. Keep singing, keep strumming, keep clicking away. And wherever your journeys take you, we count ourselves fortunate that you always send a picture home. Bite the Hand Productions salutes you.

1 comment.

A Successful Event!

Posted on February 7th, 2008 by The Captain.
Categories: The Crux, Soundings, Music, Local Businesses and Non-Profits, Films, Events.

On January 31st, The Crux teamed up with Sonoma County Conservation Action’s Know Your Neighbor program to put on a great event at the Rialto Cinemas in Santa Rosa!  The Crux provided tunes, their banjo player (Joshua Stithem) served as emcee for the event, and we even auctioned off a year subscription to The Pharmakon!  Know Your Neighbor had candidates for Santa Rosa City Council make speeches, and showed the amazing film- Baraka!  We made a great team, and about 200 people attended!

This special event is a precursor to some projects that Bite the Hand Productions is preparing to unveil in Spring.  We call them SOUNDINGS and they consist of creative collaboration between local artists and activist groups.  This rendezvous between  The Crux and Know Your Neighbor was only the beginning!

So stay tuned…

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What is Free Mind Media?

Posted on January 26th, 2008 by The Captain.
Categories: Free Mind Media, Copwatch, Local Businesses and Non-Profits, Films, Events, Books, Cheap Art.

“Free Mind Media is a non-profit collectively run community center. Our mission is to be a dynamic source of independent and alternative media, to spark debate and discussion, and to provide a place for people to come together and work for greater social justice.” That’s the mission statement, and it describes Free Mind very well.

Free Mind Media is a very special place in Sonoma County, one that every local should visit. Every wall has at least one bookshelf, filled with powerful books to borrow or buy. There are three computers for the public to use and local art is always on display. There is a very radical ‘zine library and a place for fliers and announcements. Bite the Hand’s very own “Cheap Art Gallery” stands in the middle of the room! This is a real place for community building, discussion, and action.

Free Mind Media is managed by a collective of people who meet regularly and put their energy into various projects in the space. They are artists, Cop-watchers, writers, food-not-bombers, movie buffs, avid readers and more. They are all volunteers and will be glad to show you around the place and connect you to some of the action that is going on in Sonoma County.

The collective puts together a regular schedule of activities that take place at Free Mind Media. Here’s what the schedule looks like now:

Mondays- Public Free Mind Media Meeting @ 7:30

1st and 3rd Tuesdays- Santa Rosa Copwatch Meetings @7:00

Wednesdays- Feature Film Night @ 7:30

1st Thursday- Knitting Circle/ Copwatch Reading Group @ 7:00

2nd and Last Thursday- Documentary Movie Nights @7:30

Here are some events that are coming up in the next couple weeks:

Jan 26 (today)- Art Show

Feb 2nd- Gitars (A Performance by I Cut People and Ellipse Elkshow)

Feb 7- “Our Enemies in Blue” Reading Group

Cheers to you, Free Mind Media. Your collective spirit and rich space gives our community hope and the opportunity to take some action. Long may you stand.

Stop by Free Mind soon! They are located at 546 Pacific Ave. in Santa Rosa and are open from 3-6 most weekdays. You can reach them by calling (707) 579-1605.

Also, be sure to take a look at Free Mind Media’s website here: www.freemindmedia.org

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Improv Workshop #3!

Posted on January 19th, 2008 by The Captain.
Categories: Immediate Theatre, Films, Events, Workshops.

Tomorrow is Sunday, January 20th and it is our third improv and storytelling workshop!  Call us at 326-5274 and come on by Bite the Hand Studios (935 Spencer St) from 2-5pm and have some fun!

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Come to Our Sixth Month Spectacular and our Button Making Workshop!

Posted on November 2nd, 2007 by The Captain.
Categories: Tim Dixon's Art, The Crux, Music, Films, Workshops, Events, The Pharmakon.

Bite the Hand is Six Months Old!

On Saturday, November 17th, we are having a party to celebrate 6 months of art and activism with The Pharmakon and Bite the Hand!! Show up early (5:00) for our Button Making Workshop, then sport your fancy crafts at our Open Acoustic Stage. Don’t you leave, because after dark is our Music and Poetry Show:

The lineup is:

- Bryce Style: Poet laureate of Bite the Hand

- Three Mile Island: Deadly music warriors of Petaluma

- The Crux: Your old friends

Stay afterwards for a chill Buster Keaton Movie Marathon! We’ll go until the wee hours with The Great Stone Face Himself!

SUGGESTED DONATION: $7

FREE PHARMAKON AND FOOD!!

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