CAUGHT IN THE ACT: The Music of Chris Rael Goes Visual
AUGUST 5, 20168:30 PMLe Petit Versailles Garden Event346 East Houston StreetChurch of Betty Video Art, Exotic Music Travels & the NYC Premiere of 'Far Away Home'Veteran LES community artist Chris Rael founded indie label Fang Records in the '80s and still leads the progressive world pop ensemble Church of Betty. Enamored with video in recent years, he returns to LPV with a program of effervescent music, scintillating travelogue and a heartfelt short documentary about rediscovering long lost family. The program unfolds in 3 parts:1. Church of Betty 'Swirled World' - Chris invited several of NYC's finest videographers to make videos of songs from COB's 2015 release 'Swirled World'. The videographers shot the band performing live and in the studio, then shared the footage for their individual songs. The result: 5 utterly distinct videos thematically linked by the shared performance vid. Each song feels like a journey to a completely different place with the same people. Videos by Jasmine Hirst, Steve Zehentner, Joan Grossman, Eric Wallach and Chris Rael (25 minutes)2. Wish You Were Here - A few recent, short travel and music videos by Chris, including Hagia Sofia in Istanbul, the cafe and street musicians of old Havana, and music videos of Balkan chanteuse Vlada Tomova with the great Bulgarian group Balkansky and a haunting, soulful video of contemporary folk duo Dubl Handi, shot in Brooklyn and the Catskills (20 minutes)3. 'Far Away Home' - In 2004, Chris and Penny Arcade explored northeastern New Mexico in search of Chris's family roots. They discovered a whole world of Spanish-American family he'd never known. Chris assembled this piece almost entirely from Penny's home movies of the journey. The outcome is both charming and compelling as the audience experiences the discoveries unfolding along with the protagonists. Screened at the Truth Or Consequences Film Festival, 'Far Away Home' makes its NYC premiere under the stars at LPV (45 minutes)Warning: at some point live music may spontaneously erupt. Come join us in the garden!