VERN AVOLA: MY QUEST WEST WITH DEAD
CODDIWOMPLE
SECRET CORNERS
Tales on favourite spots by our network of fem人le musicians
VERN AVOLA
MY QUEST WEST WITH DEAD
In late May and early June of this year, I had the pleasure of questing with my dearest friends Jem and Jace, who are in a band called Dead. Dead is from Castlemaine, Australia. They have been active for just shy of 15 years. This tour was a long overdue reunion. Our first quest together was 9 years ago and we played shows in many of the same places as we did on this recent tour. Since that tour, we have stayed in very close contact, and collaborated on a few songs which they have released on various albums.
Knowing this trip would be very special, I decided to bring my split film camera and tried to document as much as I could. This tour resulted in me becoming a permanent 3rd member of Dead. We bonded, we jammed, we had such fun and saw so much together. We have a mutual love of the midwest, and have a wonderful network of friends who are almost like family throughout the region. While I did shoot hundreds of photos, these ones stood out to me the most. I hope you enjoy these little moments.
My top 20 shots (plus 2 bonus ones)….
Seward Cafe, Minneapolis, MN (top), Minnehaha Falls, Minneapolis, Minnesota (bottom).
Sanctioned Graffiti Wall, Fargo, North Dakota (top), Incredible crowd of young ones at Harold’s Moorhead, Minnesota (bottom).
HONORABLE MENTION:
Sanctioned Graffiti Wall – The reason we visited this alley is because we had been sent photos of a very large piece someone did on the sanctioned graffiti wall in downtown Fargo, North Dakota which was a flyer for our all ages show in Moorhead, MN. The whole alley was filled with pretty great stuff. Fargo/Moorhead are just across the Red River from each other.
Going for a stroll in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
The train yard in downtown Minot, North Dakota (top) / The cutest water tower in Grand Forks, North Dakota (bottom).S
The old train station (top), Industrial area near downtown (bottom) – Minot, North Dakota.
The downtown area of Minot is a delightful time capsule – Minot, North Dakota (top and bottom).
Crazy Horse Memorial, South Dakota (top), Rural South Dakota (bottom).
Enchanted Woods, I cannot remember where this was.
Point Defiance, Tacoma, Washington.
Colombia River Gorge, Washington with Jace (top) & Jem (bottom),
Veronica “Vern” Avola aka Trigger Object is a composer and multimedia artist born in Italy and currently based in Portland, Oregon.
Avola spearheads EMS Records, a sanctuary for their own, unconventional and peculiar sounds, mostly in the form of limited run cassettes and compact discs, while also releasing albums under labels like Sige Recordings and An Out Recordings. In addition to their solo endeavors, Avola is a member of Australian band DEAD, collaborates on occasion with with Daniel Menche (as Bear Spray), Ian Gorman Weiland (as Elrond), Vo Vo (An Out Recordings) and Erika Anderson (EMA). Avola was a founding member of Prizehog (2006-2015), and a long time member of Shrew Florist (2005-2012).
Their live performances, celebrated for their unconventional charm, have graced stages worldwide. Avola’s residencies at esteemed institutions like Pioneer Works and involvement in organizations such as Residency Earth showcase their commitment to pushing artistic boundaries. Avola has had their music described as “wonderfully crunchy and kinetic” and “electronic music that combines wall noise with a delirious, Amanita Muscaria-soaked sense of dynamics.”
Avola’s interests span beyond composition and performance to the airwaves and the karaoke stage. They host a radio program on Repeater Radio in the UK, sharing eclectic tunes of all kinds. Off the air, Avola indulges their love for karaoke by hosting a bi-weekly event in Portland, Oregon called Road Hog Bitch Karaoke.