Tag Archive for 'Michael T. Fournier'

33 1/3 Author Michael Fournier Reads Hidden Wheel With Katie Lattari

Published on October 16, 2012 0 Comments
Nov ’12
10
7:00 pm

Michael T. Fournier’s novel Hidden Wheel (Three Rooms Press) uses the author’s twenty years in and around the Boston punk scene as a springboard for an unflinching look at the difficulties of navigating art, commerce and criticism in the Digital Age. In the fictional town of Freedom Springs, bands and artists alike flock to Hidden Wheel, a DIY art/music space owned by a Chicago transplant intent on profiting from the scene. Rhonda Barrett, a onetime chess prodigy turned dominatrix, rails against the coming Singularity –and the commodification of the town’s nascent scene– with her 60-words-a-day diary paintings.

He reads with Maine fiction author Katie Lattari, whose Zembla Vist’s American Vaudville embraces postmodern tradition with a fresh, engaging voice.

“Fournier realizes that scenes are forged by the energy of people involved and remembered by the tomes they leave behind, and nails both perspectives. It’s managed to make me excited about albums both real and fake, which is no small achievement.” Sebastien Stirling, Newartillery.com

Michael T. Fournier is the author of “Double Nickels On The Dime,” the 45th installment of Continuum Press’s “33 1/3” series. His writing has appeared in the Oxford American, Boston Phoenix and Pitchfork. Fournier has read with Richard Hell, Maria Raha, Sam McPheeters and Mike Watt.

He plays drums for punk band Dead Trend, who started as a fictional band in the pages of his novel.

For more info: michaeltfournier.tumblr.com 

Saturday, 10th November 7pm – Free Event

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33 1/3 Event for Double Nickles on the Dime

Published on January 12, 2009 0 Comments
Feb ’09
14
7:00 pm

The Minutemen–George Hurley, Mike Watt, and D. Boon–redefined punk rock with their unique hybrid of punk, hardcore, jazz, funk, acid rock, and R&B, style perhaps best exemplified on their 1984 double-album, Double Nickels on the Dime. Though still somewhat obscure to mainstream audiences, Double Nickels has consistently been cited as one of the more innovative, enduring and influential albums of the American rock underground. With songs inspired by everyone from Shostakovich and James Joyce to Husker Du and Creedence Clearwater Revival, the Minutemen presented an epic and eclectic version of punk rock before it became the cookie cutter form it is today.

The success of the Tim Irwin’s documentary We Jam Econo- The Story of the Minutemen (2006) cemented their place in the pantheon of punk. But where We Jam Econo focused on the personal and political, Michael T. Fournier’s Double Nickels on the Dime is all about their music, in particular how this extraordinary album was written and recorded. Culling from his extensive interviews with Mike Watt, as well as artists, musicians, studio owners and fans, Fournier walks you through every song on the album, revealing details like what inspired the opening notes of “The Big Foist”(the chiming of Big Ben in London) and the original track listing (the band sat around a table, drafting their own songs, fantasy-league style). Insightful and passionate, Double Nickels on the Dime tells the story of a band that were–and are–an inspiration to any band that has piled into a van and set off to unleash their music on an unsuspecting world. It’s a must have for Minutemen fans, and the perfect introduction for the uninitiated.

Michael T. Fournier is a writer, critic and historian. His writing has appeared in Chunklet, Trouser Press, and the Boston Phoenix. Fournier taught punk rock history at Tufts University in Boston for five semesters, hosting in-class visits from Maximumrocknroll columnist Al Quint, Mission of Burma’s Clint Conley, and Ian MacKaye. He currently lives in Orono, Maine, where he’s working on a creative writing master’s degree.

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