Introductions are stupid...
...so let’s just get right into it.
If it’s not already glaringly obvious, I’m figuring out the structure and rhythm of Channel Minus 6 on the fly, throwing things at the proverbial wall to see what sticks.
There’s so much rad music and art to talk about, so some of this is me figuring out how to best serve it up to y’all. And some of this is me just getting comfortable with blog writing again. It’s been years since I’ve done that on a regular basis (the days before social media was ubiquitous), and it feels a little like finding my voice again.
This week’s edition of C-6 features a new segment I’m calling SAMPLE SIX. I’ve assembled a strikingly in-depth series of six questions that I’m serving up to my friends. This is Pulitzer Prize-winning territory we’re getting into here, in terms of my journalistic prowess, so brace yourself.
Without any further ado, here we go…
SAMPLE SIX
Who are you? Kirk Gauthier
What do you make? Not much, but right now I’m making music compilations that raise money for organizations that support marginalized communities.
Why do you make it? To be honest, because not enough people are doing it. There are people who have targets on the back simply for existing, and that’s not okay.
How did you get started? Last year, Greg Abbott of Texas passed a bill targeting the transgender community. The Republican Party has been attacking minority communities for years, and I got tired of watching it happen while waiting for someone to do something about it, so I decided to be that someone. So I started a record label.
What are you engaging with? A lot, actually. Been spending a lot of time re-engaging with all the music I’ve listened to over the years. Plus I’m in an album swap club in addition to subscribing to Ripple Music, Polderrecords, and now Polyvinyl Records. So I’m engaging with a lot, but it’s primarily all music.
How can we support you? Please follow Food Desert Recordings and —if possible — buy one of the compilations. The label is on Twitter, Instagram, and Bandcamp, and all proceeds go to Equality Texas and WRRAP. Plus a new compilation will be out this Spring to raise money for Trans Lifeline. These organizations have a massive fight on their hands, and they need all the help they can get.
Thanks Kirk! He’s a good dude, fighting the good fight, and I’m grateful that he’s in my life. There are QOHELETH and Aint Pancakes tracks on the FDR comps too, so make sure to explore those.
Speaking of which…
Tomorrow is Bandcamp Friday and I would love your support, if you have some funds to put towards music and other goodies. Here’s a quick list of the most recent projects that I’ve had a hand in creating:
Aint Pancakes - Three Mutants for Sister Sledgehammer
This third AP release leans heavily into glitchy synth beats and features three killer remixes from my buddies 18 Slashes and hell on hearth. Probably my favorite of the AP mixtapes so far.
A new set of mini figures that I created with the help of my five daughters. They each dreamed up a character that they wanted to drop into the QOHELETH lore of the Black Kite Broadcasts, and then our friends at Dead Bird Toys sculpted and casted them up for us. Each set of five figures comes with a mystery music download.
Territorial Pissants - Shit Sandy
In keeping with the Black Kite theme, this is a QOHELETH spin-off project, the first in a series of releases where we’re giving four of the fake future bands of BKB their own albums. The third track on BKB was “Uterine” by Territorial Pissants, and this new EP is a further exploration of chaos, uncertainty, drone elements, and more. Euphoridiac was kind enough to put this out as a limited run of 20 tapes, so head over to that link and grab one before they’re gone.
CHANNEL SURFING
quick bites from across the interwebs
This Key & Peele skit from seven years ago is still hysterical:
If you know me, you know I love Freaked. The rights to it are famously stuck in studio purgatory, so I don’t know if we’ll ever get the Arrow/Vinegar Syndrome/Criterion re-issue that we deserve, but until then, I stumbled across this user profile on the Internet Archive that uploaded an HD version of it for the general public to watch. Bonus: there are a few other genre/weirdo movies at that link, as well as the highest quality versions of The Idiot Box I’ve seen online anywhere.
Depths of Wikipedia is once again on-point:
Lastly, what do we have here?
Happy Thursday y’all. Until next time…