Photography by Monica McGivern
Audio By Carbonatix
No one can accuse the International Noise Conference of false advertising. The now 22-year-old annual event does not pretend that attendees will hear conventional music with melodies and harmonies. Instead, it celebrates experimentation with sound in all its forms. This year’s International Noise Conference will be held for nine consecutive nights at Churchill‘s, starting tonight, Friday, January 30, and running through Saturday, February 7. To reward those willing to listen to something new and different, admission is free for those of drinking age, while those under 21 will be charged a $10 cover.
Frank “Rat Bastard” Falestra started the International Noise Conference back in 2004 as a three-day event. It kept expanding and survived Churchill’s closure, the last few years being put on at all kinds of venues, including Bar Nancy and Locust Projects. Churchill’s reopened last autumn, but then Rat Bastard got in a nasty car accident that put him in a coma last November. Thankfully, he seemed full of energy when talking to New Times about the upcoming INC. “It’s going to be nine nights of whatever crazy combination of music you can imagine. Putting noise in the name represents the concept of a slippery when wet sign. It lets people know what they’re in for.”
This year’s line-up includes close to 200 acts, some hailing from as far away as Japan and Italy. The hard-and-fast rule is that each artist gets only 15 minutes to perform. So if you don’t like what you hear, you don’t have to be too patient to get to listen to something else. Rat Bastard had a long list of acts that he said were can’t miss, “Anti Itch Cream is here from Japan. Alessandra Zerbinati came from Italy. This Is My Condition are here from Lawrence, Kansas. We have a lot of groups from Chicago coming like 500 Geckos that are staying at my place nearby.”
There’s also a ton of local talent that will take the stage. Thursday, February 5, in particular, is a local night where you can hear 305 faves like Rafa, Gucci Handelsman, and Black Mayonnaise. Although there will be Miami artists playing on each and every night, including Rat Bastard himself, who promises, “I’ll play. I’ll be in and out of sets.”
International Noise Conference.
