Experiments in Sound & Vision

If you’re intrigued by artists who fearlessly work in the musical and video arts, this weekend is all about you. The experimental music boosters at Art Damage are bringing their “Damaged Soundtracks” nights — where artists create new soundtracks to created or previously existing movies and videos — to Mayday every first Thursday of the month (beginning Feb. 3). Saturday, they’ll offer a “preview night” at the Northside Club. And tonight, Taza Coffeehouse (near U.C.’s campus) is presenting "COLLIDE-O-SCOPE: An Evening Of Film/Music Mash-ups," which will raise funds for the alternative art spaces CS13 and The Marburg.

Tonight’s event at Taza (2900 Jefferson St., Corryville) kicks off at 8 p.m. and will feature improvised performance and collaborations between musicians and video artists “mashing up, re-interpreting and re-scoring popular science fiction blockbusters.” The band The Sleeping Sea, for example, is teaming up to remix The Never Ending Story with artist Loraine Wible, while the Discerning Crane Ensemble (Steve Kemple, Eddy Kwon, Leif Fairfield, Ethan Philbrick and others) combine forces with artist Charles Woodman to shake up The Fifth Element.

Also scheduled: Chris Collins presents Jurassic Park Redux; Kara Hearne redoes a scene from E.T.; Jennifer Jolley performs a “sound composition” from Total Recall; and Viking Elf (Leif Fairfield and Jeff Stout) are presenting a “Star Wars musical.”

The Taza event runs until 11 p.m., is open to all ages and there is a $5 suggested donation.

Saturday’s Damaged Soundtracks night at Mayday begins at 10 p.m. An Art Damage press release explains the premise: “Each performer will be playing to their film of choice — could include short films, excerpts from longer films, home-movies, collages, found footage, etc.” Saturday, former Jackie-O Motherfucker member and recent Northern Kentucky resident Weyes Bluhd (described as a “brooding organ songstress a la late career Nico”) will play music to a video of her own design, while Pete Fosco soundtracks Kenneth Anger’s Lucifer Rising. Noise Pop act Bear (The Ghost) and Abby Cornelius will also perform to their own films.

Art Damage lost its Northside performance space late last year, but that hasn’t stopped them from moving forward in their promotion of adventurous music. Along with the regular soundtrack nights, AD is presenting a concert by Indie legend Calvin Johnson — founder of the seminal K Records, as well as bands like Beat Happening, Halo Benders and Dub Narcotic Soundsystem — Feb. 16 at Hoffner Masonic Lodge, located in the same Northside building as the recently-shuttered Art Damage Lodge (at 4120 Hamilton Ave.). The Johnson show will also feature Lisa Walker of Wussy’s Magic Words solo side project and Why?’s Josiah Wolf. The show is open to all ages and admission is just $5 at the door.