Tag Archives: Art Sanctuary

SAMUEL S.C., POHGOH, CONTINUALS, and STRANGE BIRDS at ART SANCTUARY, Thursday, January 15th

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(Flier by Ella Lumpkins)

The Other Side of Life is proud to present:

SAMUEL S.C.
POHGOH
CONTINUALS
STRANGE BIRDS

Thursday, January 15th, 2026
Art Sanctuary (back room)
1433 S. Shelby Street
Louisville, KY 40217

$15 advance tickets, $20 day of show
Advance tickets available online at Art Sanctuary;
Physical tickets available for in-person purchase at Surface Noise (cash only), 600 Baxter Avenue, Louisville KY 40204

18+
7:00 PM doors
8:00 PM music

Samuel S.C.

(Photo of Samuel S.C. by…)

SAMUEL began in the early 90’s in State College, PA as a female-fronted punk rock outfit that relentlessly toured the legendary DIY hardcore/punk circuit, performing alongside notables of the time such as Avail, Promise Ring, Chamberlain, Grain, Kerosene 454 and dozens more. Born from the ashes of Downing’s previous outfit Junction, SAMUEL was the flagship band of drummer Eric Astor’s label Art Monk Construction, which produced some of the most revered 7″ releases of the era including a legendary split with the then unknown Texas is the Reason. Reformed in 2021 as SAMUEL S.C. with the added S.C. reflecting a new beginning while paying homage to the band’s origins. A lineup adjustment included Michael Honch (CONTINUALS, Alarms & Controls) picking up bass duties, bringing a fresh perspective to SAMUEL’s 90’s material while creating opportunity for new songwriting. Today the band is squarely focused on the now, adeptly shedding any dangers of a nostalgic act tag and carving out space as a relevant force in current music.

Pohgoh

(Photo of POHGOH by…)

Formed in 1994, POHGOH cut their teeth in the 90’s DIY/indie underground with a small league of female-fronted bands of the era like Rainer Maria and Jejune, only to hang it up three years later, leaving behind a sole, posthumous full-length, In Memory of Bab. That album traveled far and wide, however, along with a spate of singles and comp appearances, creating pockets of rabid fans worldwide and engendering a small handful of one-off gigs for Susie Ulrey (vocals/guitar), Matt Slate (guitar), Keith Ulrey (drums) and new bassist Brian Roberts (of Hankshaw) before the foursome settled back in for the long haul in 2016. Since coming back into the public eye in 2017 after a 20-year break, Tampa, FL’s POHGOH have been going non-stop with two J. Robbins (Jawbox/Burning Airlines) produced albums (2018’s Secret Club and 2022’s du und ich) and tours of the U.S. and Japan.  While playing regional and local shows, the band continue to write for the future, with the latest being the split 10-inch EP with SAMUEL S.C. released in October, 2025.

CONTINUALS are four human friends who have been in a bunch of other bands before this one – most notably Kerosene 454, Alarms and Controls, The Most Secret Method, Office of Future Plans, Hunger Artist, Soccer Team, and Channels. Darren Zentek plays drums. Michael Honch plays bass. Melissa Quinley plays keyboards and sings. Ryan Nelson plays guitar and sings. Their first LP (Bright Future #01/Dischord #197.5) was released in 2024. CONTINUALS recently completed their second LP to be released in 2026.

(Photo of Strange Birds by Fallon Frierson)

Louisville, Kentucky’s STRANGE BIRDS carry with them the DIY ethos and punk sensibilities of their earlier years while churning out mature songs that blend the three friends’ extensive and eclectic musical past. Brandon Butler (Canyon, Boys Life) manages an almost-sweet, slightly off-center American twang over dissonant yet consistently melodic guitars. Bassist Matt Olson (Black Heva) anchors the trio with a thumping and precise presence alongside the dynamic crescendo of drums from Ella Lumpkins (Blue Collar Revenge Theory, 3 Nails for a False Prophet).

Live music events in Louisville, KY. Show announcements, music and news, and other ephemera at: https://bsky.app/profile/theothersideoflife.bsky.social.

The 20th Anniversary of CHIKAMORACHI (Chris Corsano and Darin Gray) with special guests DANE WATERS & STEVE GOOD and YLEM Friday, September 19th at Art Sanctuary

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(Poster designed by Robert Beatty)

UPDATE FRIDAY 9/19: Due to an emergency, YLEM will not be able to perform this evening.

The Other Side of Life is proud to present:

The 20th Anniversary of

CHIKAMORACHI (Chris Corsano and Darin Gray)

in their ONLY North American Duo Performance!

with special guests
DANE WATERS & STEVE GOOD
and
YLEM

Friday September 19th at Art Sanctuary (back room)
1433 S. Shelby Street
Louisville, KY 40217 USA

$15 advance tickets, $20 day of show
Advance tickets available online at Art Sanctuary;
Physical tickets on sale Friday September 5th for in-person purchase at Surface Noise (cash only), 600 Baxter Avenue, Louisville KY 40204. Surface Noise is open 12 to 6 PM every day except Tuesdays.

7:00 PM doors
8:00 PM music

CHIKAMORACHI photo by Mark Rappaport

“The rhythm team of Darin Gray & Chris Corsano is especially incredible, ever-engaging, consistently creative and supportive.” – Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery

“…arguably the most riotously energetic and creative drummer in contemporary free jazz” – The Wire

“One of the world’s great drummers.” –The Guardian

Since 2005 DARIN GRAY (upright bass) and CHRIS CORSANO (drums, percussion) have performed side by side as CHIKAMORACHI. Working either in a trio with Japanese saxophonist Akira Sakata or in expanded line-ups with the likes of Japan-based American producer/engineer and multi-instrumentalist Jim O’Rourke, dancer and actor Min Tanaka, Masami Akita (aka Merzbow), guitarist/vocalist Keiji Haino (Fushitsusha), koto player and vocalist Michiyo Yagi, and jazz pianist Masahiko Satoh, they’ve released six albums to date under the CHIKAMORACHI moniker, including 2011’s And That’s the Story of Jazz double CD (with Akira Sakata & Jim O’Rourke), 2015’s Flying Basket (with Akira Sakata, Jim O’Rourke, and Merzbow), and Live at Hungry Brain LP (with Akira Sakata). Neither member is a stranger to the possibilities afforded when the melodic, harmonic and rhythmic duties are left to an upright bass and drum duo. Their September 19th performance in Louisville will be their only North American appearance as CHIKAMORACHI, after taking part in the SOUND AND GRAVITY FESTIVAL in Chicago, IL on Thursday, September 11th as part of the SACCATA QUARTET with Wilco bandmates guitarist Nels Cline and drummer Glenn Kotche.

DARIN GRAY is best known as Jim O’Rourke’s go-to bassist for nearly 20 years, as half of the duo On Fillmore with Wilco‘s Glenn Kotche, and as the bassist for groups Grand Ulena, Dazzling Killmen, and Brise-Glace and many others. As an improviser he has performed and recorded with (among others): Loren Connors, Joshua Abrams, Jason Roebke, Axel Dorner, Kevin Drumm, Alan Licht, and Jim O’Rourke. As a session bassist he has played on recordings by Louisville’s Will Oldham, as well as Cheer-Accident, Bobby Conn, Early Day Miners, and Jim O’Rourke, among others. He has toured extensively around the world with Mavis Staples, Tweedy, Daniel Johnston, and William Tyler. He currently resides in Finland.

CHRIS CORSANO has been active at the intersections of collective improvisation, free jazz, avant-rock, and experimental music since the late 1990’s. He’s been the rim-batterer of choice for some of the greatest contemporary purveyors of “jazz” (Joe McPhee, Paul Flaherty, Mette Rasmussen, Zoh Amba) and “rock” (Sir Richard Bishop, Bill Orcutt, Jim O’Rourke), as well as artists beyond categorization (Björk, Michael Flower, Okkyung Lee, Ghédalia Tazartès, Merzbow).

CHIKAMORACHI last played Louisville at the Nachbar in January 2012, part of which you can watch here:

Supporting CHIKAMORACHI will be Louisville musicians STEVE GOOD (saxophones, clarinet) and DANE WATERS (keyboards, voice). A vital natural resource in the Louisville music scene for multiple decades, Steve Good‘s musical vocabulary orbits lightly through a vast expansive local history: doing time with The Web, E-Or, Juanita, Ut Gret, Sapat, Crappy Nightmareville, Parlour, The Liberation Prophecy and many, many others.  He has documented via audio recording many thousands of local shows. Slint played in his basement, he recorded the first Will Oldham single, he ran sound and documented the weekly experimental music series at Artswatch through the 1990s, and yes, he shared a stage in Switzerland with Donovan back in the 1970s. Dane Waters is one of Louisville’s brightest musical talents. As a solo performer as well as member of Softcheque, Sapat, and The Phantom Family Halo, she displays an impeccable melodic sensibility, and has a voice so wonderfully haunting, it sends chills down your spine. Her most recent releases are available on Bandcamp as well as finer Louisville record stores.

Opening the show, YLEM is the Louisville-based trio of Chris Martin-Leidner, Dustin Marcum, and Eunoia Close. Their self-titled album was recorded by Jim Marlowe (Equipment Pointed Ankh, Ryan Davis and the Roadhouse Band) at End of an Ear in Louisville and was released in March, 2025.

Special thanks to Kris Abplanalp.

Live music events in Louisville, KY. Show announcements, music and news, and other ephemera at: https://bsky.app/profile/theothersideoflife.bsky.social.

The Other Side of Life Returns with Two Contemporary Experimental Music Concerts in June and July

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Louisville, KY – May 8th, 2025

After a decade-long absence from concert promotion in Louisville, The Other Side of Life returns with two exciting concerts of contemporary experimental music, both presented at Art Sanctuary in Louisville’s Schnitzelburg neighborhood. Online ticketing is now available for the following performances:

Guitarist BILL ORCUTT returns to Louisville for the first time since 2014, in his acclaimed duo with drummer CHRIS CORSANO:

Bill Orcutt and Chris Corsano, Flanger Magazine, Jungle Boogie poster designed by Robert Beatty

BILL ORCUTT and CHRIS CORSANO
with special guests
FLANGER MAGAZINE
JUNGLE BOOGIE

Wednesday June 25th
Art Sanctuary (back room)
1433 S. Shelby Street
Louisville, KY 40217

$15 advance tickets, $20 day of show
Advance tickets available online at Art Sanctuary; physical tickets available soon for in-person purchase at Surface Noise (cash only), 600 Baxter Avenue, Louisville KY 40204

18+
7:00 PM doors
8:00 PM music
More info here.

Heralded electronic music duo MATMOS (featuring Louisville native Drew Daniel) returns for the first time since 2013:

MATMOS
with special guest ED SUNSPOT

Thursday July 3rd at Art Sanctuary 1433 S. Shelby Street Louisville, KY 40217

$15 advance tickets, $20 day of show Advance tickets available online at Art Sanctuary; physical tickets available soon for in-person purchase at Surface Noise Records (cash only), 600 Baxter Avenue, Louisville KY 40204

18+
8:00 PM doors
9:00 PM music
More info here. 

The Other Side of Life is a sole proprietorship venture whose mission is to promote contemporary music events in Louisville, Kentucky. In its prior incarnation from 2008 to 2015, The Other Side of Life was responsible for bringing hundreds of legendary international and national touring musicians featuring all kinds of musical genres to Lousiville, including unforgettable concerts by acts such as Faun Fables, Wire (UK), CJ Ramone, Shonen Knife (Japan), Sir Richard Bishop, Tashi Dorji, Steve Gunn, Helmet, Oren Ambarchi (Australia), Spider Bags, Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band, D.R.I., Endless Boogie, Peter Brotzmann (Germany)/Hamid Drake/William Parker trio, Marisa Anderson, The Skull Defekts (Sweden), Loop (UK), Colin Stetson (Canada), Bombino (Niger), Helado Negro, Daniel Higgs, Cave, Josephine Foster, Horse Lords, and many more. The Other Side of Life also promoted events with such local, Louisville-based musical talents as Bonnie “Prince” Billy, State Champion, Parlour, Old Baby, Coliseum, Young Widows, Tropical Trash, Anwar Sadat, Cher Von, The Java Men, Black God, Tyrone Cotton, 1200 (Jecorey Arthur), and White Reaper, among many others.

Live music events in Louisville, KY. Show announcements, music and news, and other ephemera at: https://bsky.app/profile/theothersideoflife.bsky.social.

MATMOS with special guest ED SUNSPOT, DJ sets by ANDROSPORE at ART SANCTUARY, Thursday, July 3rd

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Matmos and Ed Sunspot at Art Sanctuary Thursday July 3rd

(Poster designed by Robert Beatty)

MATMOS
with special guest ED SUNSPOT
and
DJ sets by ANDROSPORE
MATMOS live visuals by SEETHINGS

Thursday July 3rd at Art Sanctuary
1433 S. Shelby Street
Louisville, KY USA

$15 advance tickets, $20 day of show
Advance tickets available online at Art Sanctuary;
Physical tickets on sale Monday June 16th for in-person purchase at Surface Noise (cash only), 600 Baxter Avenue, Louisville KY 40204

18+
8:00 PM doors
9:00 PM music

Photo of Matmos by Obie Feldi
(Photo by Obie Feldi)

Based in Baltimore, MATMOS is Drew Daniel and M.C. Schmidt. The two have been making music as MATMOS since 1997, first in San Francisco, and then relocating to Baltimore in 2007 when Daniel began to teach at Johns Hopkins University. They are respected, innovative auteurs in the world of electronic music and sampling culture whose very first album was hailed as “entering electronics Valhalla” by the WIRE magazine for sampling highly unusual sound sources such as the amplified nerve tissue of crayfish. Ever since, they have made music out a wildly heterogeneous set of objects and sources, including the sound of the pages of bibles turning, water hitting copper plates, liposuction surgery, cameras and VCRs, chin implant surgery, contact microphones on human hair, rat cages, tanks of helium, a cow uterus, human skulls, snails, cigarettes, cards shuffling, laser eye surgery, whoopee cushions, balloons, latex fetish clothing, rhinestones, Polish trains, insects, life support systems, inflatable blankets, rock salt, solid gold coins, the sound of a frozen stream thawing in the sun, a five gallon bucket of oatmeal, snails interrupting the path of a laser and altering the pitch of a light sensitive theremin, a PVC police riot shield, silicone breast implants, and their own washing machine. These raw materials are manipulated into surprisingly accessible forms and often supplemented by traditional musical instruments played by internationally celebrated guest musicians from their circle of friends and collaborators. The result is a model of electronic composition as a relational network that connects sources and outcomes together; information about the process of creation activates the listening experience, providing the listener with entry points into sometimes densely allusive, baroque recordings that have the direct sensory immediacy of pop music.

MATMOS have collaborated with a wide array of artists across media and distinct disciplines. A partial list of musical collaborators includes Bjork, The Kronos Quartet, Terry Riley, Marshall Allen (Sun Ra Arkestra), So Percussion, Anohni, Yo La Tengo, The Rachel’s, Oneohtrix Point Never, Jefferson Friedman, Zeena Parkins, J.G. Thirlwell, Jeff Carey, Wobbly, David Tibet, and Mouse On Mars.

MATMOS’s practice of creative constraint has made them one of the most consistently exciting acts in electronic music. Their new album Metallic Life Review is the sound of two people who have collected field recordings of metal objects from around the world for years of their lives together, collaging their magpie hoard into rhythmic patterns, sometimes writing melodies and basslines, but sometimes just letting sound be sound. Metallic Life Review features the late Susan Alcorn’s pedal steel, Owen Gardner’s (Horse Lords) glockenspiel, Thor Harris’ drumming, Jason Willett’s (Half Japanese) guitar, and Jeff Carey’s aluminum cans, which were melted, molded into custom aluminum rods, and then bowed and struck. The most dramatic difference from any previous Matmos album is that side two was recorded “live in the studio”, ala Throbbing Gristle’s Heathen Earth. For the first time on recording, Matmos capture the evolving, shifting, slithering dynamic that happens when they play live and let patterns emerge out of chaos and then collapse and then re-form. Their playful blend of compositional brilliance and improvisational playfulness meld perfectly, truly capturing ecstatic moments in a way that can only happen live.

MATMOS on social media:
https://www.instagram.com/xmatmosx/
https://www.instagram.com/folkwisdom_music/
https://www.facebook.com/matmosband
https://www.facebook.com/folkwisdom.net
https://www.instagram.com/thrilljockey/
https://www.facebook.com/ThrillJockey

Ed Sunspot

ED SUNSPOT is the nom de guerre of Robert Beatty, an artist and musician based in Lexington, Kentucky. Best known musically as a member of the excellent long-running noise trio Hair Police, Beatty has also released solo electronic music as Three Legged Race on the Spectrum Spools, Mountaain, and NNA Tapes labels, his own label Resonant Hole, and the “Soundtracks for Takeshi Murata” album under his own name on Glistening Examples. Beatty has also designed album covers for the likes of MATMOS, Oneohtrix Point Never, Tame Impala, Kesha, the Weeknd, Warmer Milks, Thee Oh Sees, The Flaming Lips, The Soft Pink Truth, and many more.
https://robertbeattyart.com/

Edwin Ramirez

ANDROSPORE is Edwin Ramirez, a chicano, queer, multimedia artist working and residing in Louisville, Kentucky. His audio and visual art is a manifestation of his lived experiences as a synesthete, guided by the auroras from field recordings, music, video games, nature, and memories. Edwin has exhibited at various galleries in Kentucky, including recent shows at Kore Gallery (“The Education of Desire” and “Unknowns: Artists you Should Know”), as well as part of the ongoing traveling exhibition “Our Kentucky Home: Hispanic/Latin American art in the Commonwealth” curated by The Kentucky Arts Council. His works have been worn by local musicians, models, and entomologists, commissioned by an internationally renowned author, and installed at various venues for local events including “Bjork Ball” and “Radio Arcane” at Art Sanctuary.
https://edwinramirezart.com

MATMOS live visuals by SEETHINGS, Louisville’s own Tim Furnish, a multi-faceted musician, graphic designer, photographer, and VJ. Furnish is a founding member of classic Louisville bands Parlour, Cerebellum, and Crain and has been a member of The For Carnation and Aerial M. As SEETHINGS he has provided visuals for Old Baby, Shedding, Flanger Magazine, Jungle Boogie, Jaye Jayle, and many others.
https://www.youtube.com/user/timfurnish
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkgHn6E1QjNRWEOET_tQttXBn-Gkddv1y&si=_-7s4BwvNf1CCDaL

BILL ORCUTT and CHRIS CORSANO, FLANGER MAGAZINE, and JUNGLE BOOGIE at ART SANCTUARY, Wednesday, June 25th

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Bill Orcutt and Chris Corsano, Flanger Magazine, Jungle Boogie poster designed by Robert Beatty
(Poster design by Robert Beatty)

The Other Side of Life presents:

BILL ORCUTT and CHRIS CORSANO
with special guests
FLANGER MAGAZINE
JUNGLE BOOGIE

Wednesday June 25th at Art Sanctuary (back room)
1433 S. Shelby Street
Louisville, KY 40217

UPDATE WEDNESDAY 6/25: Shelby Street is closed at the Ash Street railroad crossing four blocks north of Art Sanctuary due to track repair!

$15 advance tickets, $20 day of show
Advance tickets available online at Art Sanctuary;
Physical tickets now available for in-person purchase at Surface Noise (cash only), 600 Baxter Avenue, Louisville KY 40204

18+
7:00 PM doors
8:00 PM music

‘It should surprise you not an iota that [BILL] ORCUTT’s style is rooted as much in the fractal melodies of Trane and Taylor as it is in Delta syrup or Tin Pan Alley glitz. As for [CHRIS] CORSANO, well… to me Corsano is beyond jazz, almost beyond music, his ambidextrous, octopoid technique grappling many stylistic levers and spraying a torrent of light from every direction. Corsano’s ferocity has elevated many “mere” improv records to transcendence, but… he’s crafted his polyrhythms within more narrative channels, bringing to mind his “mannered” playing in the lamented Flower-Corsano duo. It’s not “groove” playing precisely, but it follows many grooves simultaneously, much like Orcutt’s own melodic musings — which is why they’re so naturally lock-in-key here.’ – Tom Carter on Chris Corsano and Bill Orcutt’s album Made Out of Sound.
https://palilalia.com/
https://billorcutt.bandcamp.com/album/made-out-of-sound-2024-reissue
https://cor-sano.com

FLANGER MAGAZINE is the duo of Chris Bush (Caboladies, Equipment Pointed Ankh) and Jim Marlowe (Equipment Pointed Ankh, Tropical Trash, Sapat): ‘Gathering samples, a River Doctor Limnologist inspecting the properties of After the Bend might note the specter of Leroy Jenkin’s free-violin heat-light deep in the water’s thermal stratification. Or mortgage the late-Maestro’s time with Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza to pay down the growing river heat budget. Or take one’s dirty buckets to the banks of the 19th laundromat where Walt Dickerson plays his vibraphone parts from Divine Gemini with dowsing rods. Or excavate the bedrock in the drainage basin, noting skeletal remains of a Shostakovich string quartet attempting to tune up a Kentucky Fiddle’s subsequent influence on the chemical composition of the water. Or consult the historical revisionist reenactment troupe’s episode of Fishing with John (Fahey) in which Codona, The Sea Ensemble and Nuno Canavarro guest host as their fleet of paddle boats churn river water into a regal lager, and all the fish get drunk in their quest for the leaner enamel Hosianna Mantra GPS coordinates of the Fattened Herb.’ – Kris Abplanalp on Flanger Magazine’s album After the Bend.
https://flangermagazine.bandcamp.com/album/after-the-bend

JUNGLE BOOGIE is Ken “Bundy” Brown, founding member of Tortoise, and former member of Bastro, Gastr del Sol, Directions, and Pullman. Jungle Boogie’s Cease and Desist is now available at Bandcamp:
https://jungleboogie.bandcamp.com/album/cease-desist

Live music events in Louisville, KY. Show announcements, music and news, and other ephemera at: https://bsky.app/profile/theothersideoflife.bsky.social.