
Above: My Barbarian, Malik Gaines, Alex Segade and Jade Gordon Right: feature shot from i-D magazine Lower: scene from MB: The Mary Blair Story, NOW Festival, REDCAT, Los Angeles
What seems like a zillion years ago I sat next to Alex, a funny,
quirky, amazingly talented designer who one day turned to me and said,
"Malik and I are going to start a band." I knew that Alex, and his
boyfriend Malik, put together theater pieces and plays, but a band seemed like it came out of thin air. I didn't push
for details... in my mind I remember it going something like, "Oh, that's nice, how
cool will that be?...do you have the Pantone solid to process book?"
So fast-forward to now. Alex and Malik, along with the beautiful
Jade, did start a band, My Barbarian. And, in typical Alex fashion, he
was part in starting a band unlike any other, playing music in a totally
new musical genre: SHOWCORE. How great is that? They have been gaining
a following for years and have progressed their music and expression
into what they refer to as "spectacles," which is totally true. My
Barbarian is a total spectacle, and unlike anything you will ever
experience. The LA Weekly says, "My Barbarian are a revolution, so far
ahead of anyone else on the scene right now in terms of humor and
guts..." They have been featured among
i-D Magazine's coolest people, been Artists-in-Residence at the Drake Hotel, in cooperation with the Power Plant in Toronto and played shows all over the country in everything from nightclubs to galleries.
Oh, and they have real jobs too... Alex is a web designer that also
shows his video work in galleries like the American Fine Arts Co. in NYC and LOW Gallery and Mark Foxx in LA, while Malik is co-editor of ArtUS, a curator and a fellow at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, among other things.
So, ya. I am starting a band. Next time someone says that to me
I'll know it means: "I am just about to do something that no one will
understand, and when you finally get it, you'll wish it hadn't taken you so long to catch up." Until that happens, I'll remember to keep myself open to possibilities too.
You can catch My Barbarian in Aspen at the Aspen Art Museum March 4th or in Annadale-on-Hudson, NY at Bard College at the Center for Curatorial Studies on March 12th
My Barbarian