Jamie Stewart (b1978) is from Los Angeles, California. In 2002 he began the musical group Xiu Xiu and started to waste his life.
Xiu Xiu tries to make music for people opposed to and opposed by the horror and disquiet of life. They have been called “self flagellating,” “harsh,” “brutal,” “shocking,” and “perverse;” but also “genius,” “brilliant,” “unique,” “imaginative,” and “luminous.”
Xiu Xiu draws upon musical traditions of British post punk, 20th century classical, industrial noise, experimental and traditional percussion musics, 50s rock and roll, field recordings, queer dance pop and kosmische musik.
Xiu Xiu has toured relentlessly all over the world. They have shared stages with Sun Ra Arkestra, Ben Frost, Zola Jesus, Deerhoof, Prurient, Liars, Swans, Matmos, Faust, Grouper, Genesis P Orridge, Angelo Badalamenti and thousands, perhaps billions, of other unstoppable musical fairies, dignitaries and saints.
For the past decade they have been more productive than ever. Xiu Xiu released 6 studio albums of original music, collaborated with Mitski, Merzbow, Eugene Robinson, Mantra Percussion, and Lawrence English and recorded reinterpretations of the music of Nina Simone (NINA), American religious songs (Unclouded Sky), Mozart’s The Magic Flute, and the music of Twin Peaks (Plays The Music of Twin Peaks).
They have created museum installations for the Berlin and Venice biennales, LACMA, the Getty Museum and Laguna Art Museum. Jamie Stewart's debut novel, Anything that Moves, will be published next year.
Their download site, xiuxiu69, dedicated to rare and obscure releases of the band, donates 100% of its proceeds to various progressive activist groups.
Girl with Basket of Fruit, the band's 11th studio album, came out in 2019 and was a collaboration with Haitian master drummer Daniel Brevil.
They are currently at work on their 12th album slated for release in 2021.
THUS LOVE is a band—but also so much more. The Brattleboro, Vermont trio stand together, a bond cemented by their experience as outsiders looking in. For THUS LOVE, DIY is an ethos that reflects not only their musical vision but their very existence as three self-identifying trans artists. From the band’s inception, Echo Mars (she/her), Lu Racine (he/him) and Nathaniel van Osdol (they/them) have lived together under the same roof, designed and produced their own merch, and even created their own recording studio from scratch. “I realize that most artists don’t live this way,” says Mars. “But for us, it was never really a choice. The art we make is so tied to who we are and the community we’re a part of, that this is the only way we can possibly do it.”
THUS LOVE traces its beginnings to Mars’ and Racine’s serendipitous meeting at a local print shop in 2018, when the multi-instrumentalists agreed to collaborate on a new musical project. THUS LOVE’s lineup clicked into place when Mars and Racine were finally able to convince their roommate van Osdol to join on bass in 2019. The band was just starting to regularly headline renowned local venue The Stone Church when everything came to a sudden and screeching halt. “The pandemic hit everyone hard, but I think it was especially difficult for new artists like us that rely on live shows to spread the word,” says Racine. “At that point, we had a couple of demos and we weren’t sure what the future would hold.” Rather than idly wait, the band decided to take their future in their own hands. Armed with nothing but YouTube videos and her innate curiosity, Mars constructed a makeshift studio in their rented apartment above downtown Brattleboro, recording during odd hours when their next-door neighbors were out and about.
Doors are at 7pm and music will start around 730. Show is all ages and seating is first come first served. Tickets are $20 adv and $25 day of show.