Empty the Sun News/Thoughts

THE SPEED CHRONICLES East Coast book launch event!

2012-02-19T12:12:00.000-08:00

TUESDAY, Feb. 21, 7PM:

JOSEPH MATTSON & MEGAN ABBOTT present & sign THE SPEED CHRONICLES at St. Mark's Books in New York City--FULL INFO TO YOUR RIGHT!

St. Mark's LIVES!

THE SPEED CHRONICLES 2012 Book Tour--leg one!

2012-02-11T21:08:00.000-08:00

Joseph Mattson will be episodically mending the broken road Spring 2012 touring THE SPEED CHRONICLES, the brand-new collection of all-new literary fiction about the drug speed from Akashic Books, edited, introduced, and contributed to by Joseph Mattson, featuring William T. Vollmann, Sherman Alexie, Jerry Stahl, Megan Abbott, Beth Lisick, Scott Phillips, James Greer, James Franco, Tao Lin, Natalie Diaz, Rose Bunch, Kenji Jasper, and Jess Walter.

--Tues., Feb. 21, 7:00pm
St. Mark's Bookshop
31 Third Ave.
NEW YORK, NY
* Featuring editor Joseph Mattson with contributor Megan Abbott!

--Wed., March 7, 7:30pm
Magers & Quinn Booksellers
3038 Hennepin Ave. S
MINNEAPOLIS, MN
*A reading and discussion with Joseph Mattson and Eric Lorberer of Rain Taxi Review of Books, followed by reception hosted by Rain Taxi Review of Books!

--Friday, March 9, 6:00pm
The Book Beat
26010 Greenfield
Oak Park
OAK PARK, MI--DETROIT AREA
* Featuring editor Joseph Mattson!

More dates coming!

SLAKE: The Dirty at The Last Bookstore

2012-02-02T23:32:00.000-08:00

2012, what to say...well, as my old buddy Glenn has said/sung, "Let the Day Begin" "In My Grip". . .

And SO Mattson unscrews himself from hibernation and gets back down to biz -- interacting with people! -- AND no better way to fire up the new year than to howl out of the gate with the mighty SLAKE Friday, February 3rd, Two Thousand Twelve, 7pm, at The Last Bookstore downtown in the delicious crotch of Our Lady, the Queen of the Angels!

COME DOWN and GET DIRTY with LUKE DAVIES, ANTONIA CRANE, LAUREN WEEDMAN, LARRY FONDATION, HARRY SHANNON & JOE DONNELLY, and JOSEPH MATTSON in advance awe of SLAKE: LOS ANGELES ISSUE NO. 4: "DIRT"

The Last Bookstore
453 S. Spring St.
Downtown L.A., 90013

www.slake.la

The Dirty

From Slake HQ:

"Step forward, announce your sin … and grab a drink.

Slake: Los Angeles and the Last Bookstore present The Dirty, an evening of readings from our forthcoming fourth issue—theme: “Dirt”—and confessions from the audience. Guests will be able to enter “confession booths,” where they can anonymously write down their deepest, darkest, dirtiest secret. Throughout the evening of readings, we’ll read your confessions to the group. Some people call this therapy. We call it fun.

The night’s dirty participants will include: Luke Davies (Candy, Interferon Psalms), Joseph Mattson (Empty the Sun), Antonia Crane (Black Clock, ZYZZYVA), Lauren Weedman (screen credits include Hung and The Daily Show), Larry Fondation (Unintended Consequences, Common Criminals), and the award-winning writing team of Harry Shannon (the Mick Callahan novels, The Hungry) and Joe Donnelly."

JESS WALTER added to SPEED CHRONICLES EVENT @ STORIES BOOKS!

2011-11-28T23:45:00.001-08:00

JESS WALTER will now be joining Joseph Mattson and James Greer for THE SPEED CHRONICLES publication date event at Stories Books & Cafe on 11/29/11!

Yep.

Also appearing are the mighty trio Gary Phillips, Jervey Tervalon, and Susan Straight in support of THE COCAINE CHRONICLES--

Get there quick gotta go better check it out man!

Cheers!

Tuesday, November 29, 2011 @ 7PM
Stories Books & Cafe
1716 West Sunset Blvd.
Echo Park/Los Angeles CA 90026

THE SPEED CHRONICLES WEST COAST TOUR

2011-11-27T22:29:00.001-08:00

Coming up FAST:

--Tues., Nov. 29, 7:00pm
Stories Books & Cafe
1716 W Sunset Blvd.
ECHO PARK, LOS ANGELES, CA
* Featuring The Speed Chronicles editor Joseph Mattson with contributors Jess Walter and James Greer, and The Cocaine Chronicles co-editors Gary Phillips and Jervey Tervalon with contributor Susan Straight

--Wed., Nov. 30, 7:00pm
Modern Times Bookstore
2919 24th St.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA
* Featuring The Speed Chronicles editor Joseph Mattson with contributors James Greer and Beth Lisick, and The Cocaine Chronicles editor Jervey Tervalon with contributor Bill Moody

--Thurs., Dec. 1, 7:00pm
Northtown Books
957 H St.
ARCATA, CA
* Featuring editor Joseph Mattson, with contributors James Greer and Beth Lisick

--Fri., Dec. 2, 7:30pm
Powell's
1005 W Burnside.
PORTLAND, OR
* Featuring editor Joseph Mattson, with contributors James Greer and Beth Lisick

--Sat., Dec. 3, 7:00pm
Elliott Bay Book Co.
1521 Tenth Ave.
SEATTLE, WA
* Featuring editor Joseph Mattson, with contributors James Greer and Beth Lisick

--Sun., Dec. 4, 7:00pm
Porchlight: A Storytelling Series @ Edinburgh Castle
950 Geary St.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA
* Featuring editor Joseph Mattson, with contributor Beth Lisick

Come and get us...
Cheers!

SPEED CHRONICLES in REDONDO BEACH!

2011-11-17T11:12:00.001-08:00

Joseph Mattson will be presenting/signing THE SPEED CHRONICLES at Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore in Redondo Beach, THURSDAY, NOV. 17th, 7:30PM, as part of an Akashic Books anthology editors event of sorts, also featuring DAVID ULIN with CAPE COD NOIR and GARY PHILLIPS with THE COCAINE CHRONICLES!

Thurs., Nov. 17, 7:30pm
Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore
2810 Artesia Blvd.
REDONDO BEACH, CA

Time to rip it up circa-1979. ||||

Cheers!

THE SPEED CHRONICLES West Coast Book Launch NOVEMBER 16th, 2011, 7PM

2011-11-14T08:21:00.001-08:00

Wednesday, November 16th, 2011, 7PM
BOOK SOUP presents:

AKASHIC BOOKS LAUNCHES NEW DRUG-THEMED ORIGINAL FICTION ANTHOLOGY SERIES!

Editor/Contributor JOSEPH MATTSON and Contributor JAMES GREER present & sign THE SPEED CHRONICLES*

Editors/Contributors GARY PHILLIPS and JERVEY TERVALON present & sign
THE COCAINE CHRONICLES

8818 Sunset Blvd.
West Hollywood CA 90069
www.booksoup.com
310-659-3110

*THE SPEED CHRONICLES Features brand-new stories by: Sherman Alexie, William T. Vollmann, James Franco, Megan Abbott, Jerry Stahl, Beth Lisick, Jess Walter, Scott Phillips, James Greer, Tao Lin, Joseph Mattson, Natalie Diaz, Kenji Jasper, and Rose Bunch.

"Akashic launches a new series of crime anthologies, each focused on a different controlled substance, with this addictive volume."
--Publishers Weekly

"All told, The Speed Chronicles deserves great praise for the audacity of the topic, the depth of the discussion, the diversity of its voices, and plain, old, good storytelling."
--New York Journal of Books

"The perfect stocking stuffer for your uncle in AA."
--New York Observer

"Just reading the table of contents for this fucker makes me want to hop in my time machine, zoom back to 1966, and find those two dubious physicians who used to write me scripts for Dexedrine, even though I was too tall and skinny to live already. Mainline this book now!"
--James Ellroy

SPEED: THE MOST DEMONIZED--and misunderstood--drug in the land. Deprived of the ingrained romantic mysticism of the opiate or the cosmopolitan chic of cocaine or the mundane tolerance of marijuana, there is no sympathy for this devil. Yet speed--crystal meth, amphetamines, Dexedrine, Benzedrine, Adderall; crank, spizz, chickenscratch, oblivious marching powder, the go-fast--is the most American of drugs: twice the productivity at half the cost, and equal opportunity for all. It feels so good and hurts so bad. From its dueling roots of pharmaceutical miracle cure and Californian biker-gang scourge to contemporary Ivy League campuses and high school chem labs, punk rock clubs to the military-industrial complex, suburban households to tin-can ghettos, it crosses all ethnicities, genders, and geographies--from immigrants and heartlanders punching double factory shifts to clandestine border warlords, doctors to bomber pilots, prostitutes to housewives, T-girls to teenagers, Academy Award-nominated actors and the mansion on the hill to the poorest Indian on the rez--making it not only the most essentially American narcotic, but the most deceivingly sundry literary matter.

THE SUBJECT OF SPEED IS SO INNATELY INTIMIDATING yet so undeniably present that it begs to be written about. It is no secret that the drug has historically tuned up the lives of writers, including Jack Kerouac, Susan Sontag, Philip K. Dick, and scores more. Too rarely, though, has it been written about, and its jolt to the bones of the American landscape continues to peak. Akashic Books dares to bring forth the first contemporary collection of all new literary short fiction on the drug from an array of today's most compelling and respected authors. These are no stereotypical tales of tweakers--the element of crime and the bleary-eyed, shaky zombies at dawn are here right alongside heart-wrenching narratives of everyday people, good intentions gone terribly awry, the skewed American Dream going up in flames, and even some accounts of pure joy.

2011-10-29T15:13:00.001-07:00

Hello Friends, Citizens,

Dispatch: BAR CRAWL--I will be featured in a rather killerevent TONIGHT (Sat., 10/29, 6pm until late) downtown LA--five contemporaryLA authors/literati reading from five classic LA Noir books--Chandler, JamesCain, Nathanael West... It'll be the mighty, mighty Gary Phillips, badass Cajuntransplant Martin Pousson, the LA Times' Carolyn Kellogg, Libros Schmibros'David Kipen, and your pal Joseph Mattson (me). I'll be dropping an ace--I'mreading from Paul Cain's FAST ONE, perhaps the most brutal classic crime novelever written, a savagely obscure book by a true enigmatic dynamo. The eventwill start at the Last Bookstore at Spring and 5th--FOLLOWING the reading is adowntown literary bar crawl/pub hop/elixir mixer. Put together by PEN as partof the Night & The City Festival. Starts at 6pm. Full info here: http://www.penusa.org/node/378

Let’s see you tonight!

Cheers,

Joseph

Mediabistro/Galleycat book club TUES 10/11/11!

2011-10-09T21:29:00.000-07:00

Hello friends and esteemed “industry professionals”—

The Speed Chronicles (Akashic Books), has been selected for/will be featured at the Mediabistro/Galleycat Book Club THIS Tuesday, October 11th, 2011. I will be there, too! I will be joined by three other killer authors, Grace Krilanovich, Richard Grossman, and Sanjiv Bhattacharya—please come and schmooze and make me look good, because standing next to all of you beautiful people cannot but help usher illumination.

FREE! + free books! But you MUST, by the gods, RSVP at: http://labookpartyoct.eventbrite.com/

Viceroy Santa Monica Hotel
1819 Ocean Avenue
Tues., Oct. 11, 7pm

Co-conspired by SLAKE, THE LOS ANGELES REVIEW OF BOOKS, and GOODREADS, so I say shttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.giftay down and get on it. Full disclosure below!

Cheers,
Joseph

http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/mediabistro-book-club-returns-to-los-angeles_b39099

From GALLEYCAT:

You can read all the online book reviews in the world, but nothing beats real-world conversations between readers, and authors. To help our community grow, we will host our second West Coast edition of the Mediabistro Book Club on October 11th in Los Angeles.
Follow this link to RSVP for the free party at the Viceroy Santa Monica Hotel. The book club will feature loads of free books, short readings by four authors, and the chance to meet editors from The Los Angeles Review of Books, Slake and GoodReads.
The slate of featured authors includes: Joseph Mattson with The Speed Chronicles, Grace Krilanovich with The Orange Eats Creeps, Richard Grossman with The Animals and Sanjiv Bhattacharya with Secrets & Wives: The Hidden World of Mormon Polygamy. Read more about the books below…
The Speed Chronicles edited by Joseph Mattson: “Speed: the most demonized–and misunderstood–drug in the land. Deprived of the ingrained romantic mysticism of the opiate or the cosmopolitan chic of cocaine or the mundane tolerance of marijuana, there is no sympathy for this devil. Akashic Books dares to bring forth the first contemporary collection of all new literary short fiction on the drug from an array of today’s most compelling and respected authors. These are no stereotypical tales of tweakers–the element of crime and the bleary-eyed, shaky zombies at dawn are here right alongside heart-wrenching narratives of everyday people, good intentions gone terribly awry, the skewed American Dream going up in flames, and even some accounts of pure joy.”
The Orange Eats Creeps by Grace Krilanovich: “A girl with drug-induced ESP and an eerie connection to Patty Reed (a young member of the Donner Party who credited her survival to her relationship with a hidden wooden doll), searches for her disappeared foster sister along “The Highway That Eats People,” stalked by a conflation of Twin Peaks‘ “Bob” and the Green River Killer, known as Dactyl. With a scathing voice and penetrating delivery, Grace Krilanovich’s The Orange Eats Creeps is one of the most ferocious debut novels in memory.”
The Animals by Richard Grossman: “Consisting of 400 poems, this environmental bible is set in a mythical “field” where a shepherd engages in a series of discussions on a wide range of issues, both practical and mystical, with his flock of 200 different creatures ranging from an amoeba to a whale. Additionally, each animal tells its own intimate story in its own unique voice to the assembled group.”
Secrets & Wives by Sanjiv Bhattacharya: “Bhattacharya gains unprecedented access to their world, a teeming shadow country of crazed prophets, high drama and dark secrets, where some feel at home and others are desperate to leave. He lives with a community that inhabits a giant rock on the Moab desert. Meets a prophet who works at Wal-Mart and converses with beings from other planets. He finds disturbing evidence on his travels, of forced marriage, incest and physical abuse, and as he digs, the intrigue draws him in – a former child-bride wants help in escaping; strange packages arrive in the post; there are mystery calls in the night. But Bhattacharya also finds warmth and humanity in the fundamentalist diaspora, moving into one community for weeks, holding dinner parties and discovering a Bollywood fan club for kids.”

The Speed Chronicles IN-STORES NOV./DEC.

2011-09-12T14:30:00.000-07:00

Akashic Books launches DRUG CHRONICLES series, sister to their infamous NOIR series...Out NOV./DEC. 2011: THE SPEED CHRONICLES...I edited this monster--and the authors really slammed it home...in PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY (and, yes, that indeed is the one and fucking only MEGAN ABBOTT, not Megan Abbort, er)...details on the book below. Dear readers, please come dance with the go-fast devil...

TOUR info HERE and MORE coming SOON...

“Just reading the table of contents for this fucker makes me want to hop in my time machine, zoom back to 1966 and find those two dubious physicians who used to write me scripts for Dexedrine, even though I was too tall and skinny to live already. Mainline this book now!”—JAMES ELLROY

THE SPEED CHRONICLES

Edited by JOSEPH MATTSON

Featuring 14 NEW short fiction stories about the drug speed by SHERMAN ALEXIE, WILLIAM T. VOLLMANN, JERRY STAHL, MEGAN ABBOTT, BETH LISICK, JESS WALTER, SCOTT PHILLIPS, JAMES GREER, JAMES FRANCO, TAO LIN, JOSEPH MATTSON, NATALIE DIAZ, KENJI JASPER, and ROSE BUNCH.

Speed: The most demonized—and misunderstood—drug in the land. Deprived of the ingrained romantic mysticism of the opiate or the cosmopolitan chic of cocaine or the mundane tolerance of marijuana, there is no sympathy for this devil. Yet, speed—crystal meth, amphetamines, Dexedrine, Benzedrine, Adderall; crank, fuzz, chickenscratch, OBLIVION marching powder, the go fast—is the most American of drugs: twice the productivity at half the cost, and equal opportunity for all. It feels so good and hurts so bad.

From its dueling roots of pharmaceutical miracle cure and Californian biker gang scourge to contemporary Ivy League campuses and high school chem labs, punk rock clubs to the military industrial complex, suburban households to tin can ghettos, it crosses all ethnicities, genders, and geographies—from immigrants and heartlanders punching double factory shifts to clandestine border warlords, doctors to bomber pilots, prostitutes to housewives, T-girls to teenagers, Academy Award-nominated actors and the mansion on the hill to the poorest Indian on the rez—making it not only the most essentially American narcotic, but the most deceivingly sundry literary matter.

Some shoot for angst-curing kicks, some snort for sad endurance, some for explosive joyrides into the unknown because, no matter how delicious dying young might seem, they want to live forever.

The subject of speed is so innately intimidating yet so undeniably present that it begs to be written about. It is no secret that the drug has historically tuned up the lives of writers, including Jack Kerouac, Susan Sontag, Philip K. Dick, and scores more. Too rarely, though, has it been written about, and its jolt to the bones of the American landscape continues to peak. Akashic Books dares to bring forth the first contemporary collection of all new literary short fiction on the drug from an array of today’s most compelling and respected authors. These are no stereotypical tales of tweakers—the element of crime and the bleary-eyed, shaky zombies at dawn are here right alongside heartwrenching narratives of everyday people, good intentions gone terribly awry, the skewed American Dream going up in flames, and even some account of pure joy.

RSVP--last chance for SLAKE PARTY! 8/26...

2011-08-25T15:37:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

Atwater Village was once a poppy field where wild ponies danced in the tequila sun. Because the naked spirit lives on, SLAKE is keeping it wild THIS Friday night, August 26th, 2011, 7:30pm until the bottles run dry…

It is SLAKE’s Issue 3 (the “War and Peace” issue!) release PARTY—get down with the brave, the creamy, the brazen and brazed and even the beautiful LA literati, the printed word—that’s right, SLAKE has enough ovaries and balls not only to summon the literary ass-kicking (good, as in badass) we all deserve, but thrust their money into the holy fire and give us what we need in book form, on paper, in our hands, a thousand times worth the salt, and we owe them this much.

RSVP (this is the LAST day to RSVP here for a paltry $5!!) and get your loving asses down to Atwater Crossing, 3245 Casitas Ave., Los Angeles, CA, 90039, Friday night. Let the world know you were down before/while the shit hit the fan, and while you’re at it, SUBSCRIBE NOW here. That’s the good thing about this party, is Slake is out here putting on a kick ass show for nothing, man, five bucks a head is nothing…

See you there, scroll below to see ALL you get…

All my very best,
Joseph

The night will include:

• Complimentary flatbread and wine from Atwater Grill Wood Fire Kitchen and other items for purchase
• Live music and DJ sets by the experimental collective Ojo and the band Old Californio
• Original art on display from Slake No. 3 contributors, including Ingrid Allen, Gregory Bojorquez, Michael Dopp, and Sandow Birk
• A party lounge outfitted by Living Room
• Fried chicken from the Ludotruck for sale
• Complimentary coffee from the superlative local roasters Handsome Coffee
• Hot dogs for sale from Let’s Be Frank
• Beer!
• Pie!
• Stacks and stacks of Slake No. 3 for sale

THE ART OF THE RATTLING WALL

2011-08-12T12:11:00.000-07:00

Hello friends!
TOMORROW, Aug. 13th, 2011, at 7PM, Monica Carter, Libby Flores, Eric Layer, myself, and the indomitable Sunfish Holy Breakfast Prep Cook & Arbiter of Goode Taste Mr. James Greer will be reading at the opening of ALBERT REYES: THE ART OF THE RATTLING WALL at Synchronicity Space gallery, 713 N Heliotrope Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90029, FREE, 7pm start, readings at 8pm.
Each writer was asked to crank out a 5-minute flash fiction piece based on Albert Reyes’s cover art for the premier issue of The Rattling Wall. Mine is based on a diary I found in Van Horn, Texas, the contents of which concern a FedEx van driver’s love affair with a seventeen-year-old Juarez prostitute. My fellow writers/readers will on the other hand charm you and make you laugh.
Cheers!
Joseph

Please join PEN Center USA and Narrow Books at Synchronicity on August 13, 2011, at 7 p.m. for the opening of ALBERT REYES: THE ART OF THE RATTLING WALL. The Rattling Wall is a Los Angeles-based literary journal specializing in short fiction, travel essays, and poetry. ALBERT REYES: THE ART OF THE RATTLING WALL will feature the artwork that appears in the journal’s inaugural issue, as well as new work. The show will run from August 13-27, 2011.

Albert Reyes has a distinctive artistic approach inspired not only by street art, comic books, and American pop culture; but also by contemporary and classical “high art.” His drawings and illustrations incorporate everything from icons of corporate America to Hollywood stars, to mass media, to politics, to consumerism. Reyes has exhibited at the Pacific Design Center, Giant Robot (Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York), Black Market Gallery, Art Basel Miami Beach, and Shepard Fairey’s Subliminal Projects and Studio Number One galleries. His artwork has appeared in the New York Times: Year In Ideas, Swindle, Chicano Art Magazine, Giant Robot Magazine, and on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and CNN.

The Rattling Wall, Issue 1, includes work by Tod Goldberg, Libby Flores, Tony Hoagland, Joseph Mattson, Kyle G. Dargan, Eric Layer, Stacey Waite, Neal Pollack, Lou Mathews, Don Winslow, Matthew Zapruder, Alisa Slaughter, James Greer, Eloise Klein Healy, Blake Butler, Jessica Garrison, Allison Burnett, Samantha Dunn, Brando Skyhorse, and James Frey. The Rattling Wall is edited by Michelle Meyering.

Synchronicity is located at 713 N Heliotrope Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90029. By definition, Synchronicity is an art gallery, but in practice it is much more. Its doors are open to a community of contemporary thinkers whose goal is to make thoughtful and intelligent work, never limiting themselves to a specific medium. Synchronicity hosts exhibitions, screenings, performances, and parties.

The Rattling Wall is generously funded by PEN Center USA and published by Narrow Books.

PEN Center USA, a literary non-profit based in Beverly Hills, has a membership of more than 800 professional writers. PEN Center USA strives to protect the rights of writers around the world, to stimulate interest in the written word, and to foster a vital literary community among the diverse writers living in the western United States. PEN Center USA has a long, successful history planning literary events in and around Los Angeles; special programming has taken place at The Hammer, Hotel Café, Largo at the Coronet, The Echo, Actor’s Gang, the Hammer, the Pacific Design Center, and the Beverly Hills Hotel.

Narrow Books is an independent Los Angles-based publisher founded in 2005, publishing both art and literature. In addition to The Rattling Wall, their title’s include: Hey Fudge, a giant collection of work by acclaimed artist Travis Millard (aka Fudge); Eat Hell, a book of stories by Los Angeles author Joseph Mattson; the Two Letters anthology collections; and several “unofficial” and now out-of-print handmade, mini-books and zines.

ALBERT REYES: THE ART OF THE RATTLING WALL is a free event. Reservations not accepted, RSVPs not required. Street parking is available; please take note of parking signs.

For more information on this event, please contact Michelle Meyering, Director of Programs and Events, at PEN Center USA: michelle@penusa.org.

SLAKE "War & Peace" @ STORIES 8.10.11!

2011-08-10T11:34:00.000-07:00

Hello friends,
Sorry this is last minute, but I’ve just returned from an unexpected and brutal journey away from Los Angeles for the last two and a half months—and am getting back down to biz with a reading/party for SLAKE tonight at Stories in Echo Park! Full details below—this is for their brand new kick in the kisser “War & Peace” issue!
Cheers,
Joseph
Slake at Stories Books
Wednesday, August 10 at 7 p.m.
Stories Books and Café 1716 W. Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90026
(213) 413-3733

Slake returns to its first true love—Echo Park—for a reading at the intimate Stories Books and Cafe in support of our brand-new Issue 3, “War and Peace.” Get a pastry at the cafe and then join us on the back patio with:

• On war’s simple absurdities: National Magazine Award winner and novelist Ben Ehrenreich (The Suitors and the forthcoming Ether)
• On the wrenching, violent loss of true love: Novelist Joseph Mattson (Eat Hell, Empty the Sun), who Slake editor Joe Donnelly once called the hardest-working man in the lit business
• On mothers, knowing, and not knowing: Poet Amy Scattergood, who edits the L.A. Weekly’s food blog, Squid Ink, and cowrote the James Beard Award–winning Good to the Grain: Baking with Whole-Grain Flours
• On war, the internal following the external: Writer and filmmaker Hank Cherry, a three-time Slake contributor
• On standing against marriage: Poet and artist John Tottenham (The Inertia Variations)
• On the relative merits of a comeback: Comics writer Owen Wiseman (Samurai’s Blood)

Silver Lake Jubilee reading music comedy etcetc!

2011-05-21T00:12:00.000-07:00

SAT & SUN, May 21 & 22 (Mattson reading 3pm Sat.!):

From PEN Center USA:

PUT ON YOUR BEST PLAID SHIRT, POLISH YOUR RAY-BANS,
AND CHOOSE YOUR BEER CHALICE ...

IT'S TIME FOR

THE SILVER LAKE JUBILEE
May 21 + 22, 2011
Readings from 11 - 5 PM daily

PEN Center USA
is the proud literary curator
of the Jubilee's Community Stage

WITH READINGS BY
Joseph Mattson, Martin Pousson, Janet Fitch, Kate Micucci, Christian Lander,
Reyna Grande, Gabrielle Calvocoressi, and Jerry Stahl

ENSEMBLE READINGS BY
Les Figues, Amor Fati, The 2011 Emerging Voices Fellows,
The Los Angeles Review of Books, The Rattling Wall, Slake, and Molossus

Admission to Silver Lake Jubilee is $5

BANDS Too!!! Tons of 'em!:

Saturday May 21st
SUNSET STAGE
10:30-11:30 am: Fringe Fest
12- 12:30 pm : Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band
1-1:30 pm: LACER
2-2:30 pm: Psychic Friend
2:50- 3:20 pm: Marvelous Toy
3:40 – 4:10 pm : The Finches
4:30 – 5:05 pm: Lady Danville
5:35 – 6:10 pm: NeverEver
6:40 – 7:20 pm: Mia Doi Todd
(7:20 – 7:50 pm Killsonic performs under the bridge)
7:50 pm – 8:30 pm: Ximena Sariana
9 – 9:45 pm: Ceci Bastida
10:15 – 11 pm : Sister Crayon
DJs between sets: Kevin Bronson 3:20-6:30, Ricky Garay 8:30-10:15

SANTA MONICA STAGE
10 – 12:50 pm : Marshall High School Band
1:20 – 1:50 pm : TRMRS
2:20 – 2:50 pm : Audacity
3:20 – 3:50 pm : Pangea
4:20 – 4:55 pm : Gestapo Khazi
5:25 – 6:00 pm : Black Flamingo
6:30 – 7:10 pm : Jail Weddings
7:40 – 8:20 pm : Summer Darling
8:50 – 9:35 pm : Rainbow Arabia
10:05 – 10:50 pm : Geotic
Betweeen sets: Molly/Jim 1:50-5:25; My Hollow Drum 8:20-10:05

EAGLE LA STAGE

2:50 – 3:20 pm: The AV Club
3:50 – 4:20 pm: Pageants
4:55 – 5:25 pm: Truman Peyote
6:00 – 6:30 pm: Peter Pants
8:20 – 8:50 pm: Stab City

PEN CENTER USA COMMUNITY STAGE

11:15 Les Figues Press
12.00 Amor Fati
12:45 Emerging Voices Fellows
1:30 LA Review of Books presents “The Electrocution of the Book: Reading, Writing, and Publishing in a Post-Print Culture,” featuring Cecil Castellucci, Ben Ehrenreich, Grace Krilanovich, and Matthew Specktor, with Tom Lutz moderating
2:15 The Rattling Wall: a literary journal |
3:00 Joseph Mattson
3:30 Martin Pousson
4:00 Kate Micucci
4:30 Christian Lander, Stuff White People Like
6:05 Restavrant
7:00 Iliza Schlessinger’s Comedy Showcase, featuring Mark Ellis, Jarod Carmichael, Tig Notaro, Pete Holmes, and Iliza Schlessinger
9:00 I Will Destroy You Comics Showcase, featuring Robert Goodin, Levon Jihanian, Jed McGowan, Tom Neely, and Malachi Ward

SUNDAY MAY 22nd
SUNSET STAGE
10:30 – 11 am : The Sweat Spot
11:15 -11:45 am : The Hollow Trees
12:15 – 12:45 pm : Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band
1 – 1:30 pm : Kazai Rex
2 – 2:30 pm : Cobra Lilies
3 – 3:30 pm : boxViolet
(3:30 – 4 pm: Heller Keller performs under the bridge)
4 – 4:30 pm: SISU
5 – 5:30 pm : Twilight Sleep
6 – 6:35 pm: Races
7:05 – 7:45 pm: Love Grenades
8:15 – 9:00 pm: We Are The World

SANTA MONICA STAGE
10:00 – 10:30 am : Fringe Fest
11:00 – 11:30 am : Fringe Fest
12:00 – 12:30 pm : Raheem Cohen
12:50 – 1:20 pm : Future Ghost
1:50 – 2:20 pm : Tommy Santee Klaws
2:50 – 3:20 pm : One Trick Pony
3:50 – 4:20 pm : Slang Chickens
4:20 – 4:50 pm: Hands
4:50 – 5:20 pm : Dante vs. Zombies
5:50 – 6:30 pm : The Black Apples
7 – 7:40 pm : Crystal Antlers
8:10 – 8:55 pm : The Little Ones

Rudolph Herzog, Jerry Stahl, Joseph Mattson, Dana Gould, and Matthew Fleischer .

2011-05-12T10:45:00.000-07:00

TONIGHT/MAY 12, 2011, 7PM at STORIES BOOKS in ECHO PARK:

Stories Books and Rare Bird Lit present:

An Evening with RUDOLPH HERZOG,
son of Werner Herzog and author of DEAD FUNNY: HUMOR IN HITLER'S GERMANY
w/Special Guests:
Comedian DANA GOULD (The Simpsons, Seinfeld, The Aristocrats)
Writer JERRY STAHL (Permanent Midnight, Pain Killers, I, Fatty)
Writer JOSEPH MATTSON (Eat Hell, Empty the Sun, Slake)
Journalist MATTHEW FLEISCHER (Los Angeles Times Magazine, Slake, LA Weekly)

BE THERE.

The event is FREE + FREE Vodka/refreshments will be served while supplies last.
Stories Books * 1716 Sunset Blvd * Echo Park/LA * 90026 * 213-413-3733
www.storiesla.com
www.rarebirdlit.com

Rattling Wall reading at the Hammer Museum!

2011-05-10T08:53:00.000-07:00

Hello all,

The killer, beautiful, crucial new literary magazine, The Rattling Wall, headed by PEN Center USA's Michelle Meyering in conjunction w/Narrow Books, is launching Wed., May 11th, 7PM with a reading at the HAMMER MUSEUM here in LA!

I've got a story in it and will be reading along with JAMES GREER, TOD GOLDBERG, MICHELLE MEYERING, SAM DUNN, NEAL POLLACK and more!!!

Info below! + more info at www.therattlingwall.com

The Rattling Wall Release Party

The Rattling Wall is a Los Angeles-based literary journal specializing in short fiction, travel essays, and poetry. Join us for the release of Issue 1, which includes work by Allison Burnett, Blake Butler, Samantha Dunn, James Frey, Tod Goldberg, James Greer, Eloise Klein Healy, Tony Hoagland, David Keplinger, Joseph F. Mattson, Neal Pollack, Brando Skyhorse, Alisa Slaughter, Stacey Waite, Don Winslow, and Matthew Zapruder. The Rattling Wall is edited by Michelle Meyering. A reception will follow the reading. The Rattling Wall is published by Narrow Books and generously funded by PEN Center USA.

READERS INCLUDE:
Joseph Mattson
Michelle Meyering
James Greer
Neal Pollack
Allison Burnett
Stacey Waite
Eloise Klein Healy
Sam Dunn
Matthew Zapruder
Lou Mathews

ALL HAMMER PUBLIC PROGRAMS ARE FREE. Seating is on a first come, first served basis. Hammer members receive priority seating, subject to availability. Reservations not accepted, RSVPs not required.

10899 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90024
Phone: 310.443.7000

Parking is available under the museum for $3 after 6:00pm.

Granta Magazine/Rare Bird Lit party, Mattson reading w/TC Boyle, Mona Simpson & MORE!

2011-04-30T06:07:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends,

I’m reading at the LA Times Festival of Books Granta Magazine party Sat. night 4/30/11 w/TC Boyle, Mona Simpson, Richard Rayner and more (!)—it’s a party w/readings + music and a benefit for WriteGirl, DJs etc and full bar, and some carnival-esque type goings-on, all inside of an old bank vault!

Excelsior!
Joseph

Saturday, April 30th, 8:00-Midnight

Granta and Rare Bird Lit present A Literary Carnival (a fundraiser for WriteGirl, an LA-based non-profit organization dedicated to empowering girls through writing and expression)

Featuring T.C. Boyle, Jonathan Evison, Aris Janigian, Mona Simpson, Joseph Mattson, Richard Rayner, Katie Arnoldi, and Deborah Vankin. New art by Oriana Small AKA Ashley Blue. Music by Rich Ferguson with DJ sets by Alex and Rik from Conquistador.

Free Gift with RSVP at www.Granta.Kintera.Org/Tickets

For more information, please contact Saskia at Events@Granta.com

All happening at Spring Arts Tower, 453 South Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90013

Mattson/Nina Revoyr/Nathan Larson events April 27 and 28!

2011-04-25T13:09:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends!

I have two KILLER gigs this week, Wed. & Thurs.—with the incomparable Nathan Larson and Nina Revoyr, laying down two of the best novels published so far this year, hands down!—some of you fellow old punk rockers will recognize Nathan as the guitarist for Shudder to Think and Swiz way back when—he’s an accomplished film composer now. Nina, as most of you should know, is pretty much one of the greatest living novelists in Los Angeles RIGHT NOW, so please check these events out, both are FREE w/FREE feel-good beverages and the Stories gig also has LIVE MUSIC!

Cheers!
Your Friend,
Joseph

Wednesday, April 27th, 7pm:
Book Soup presents
AKASHIC BOOKS SHOWCASE featuring

Lauded film composer (The Messenger, Boys Don't Cry & more) and former Shudder to Think guitarist
NATHAN LARSON presenting & signing his novel, The Dewey Decimal System

Bestselling/Award-Winning author (Southland, The Age of Dreaming)
NINA REVOYR presenting & signing her latest novel, Wingshooters

Bestselling Author of Empty the Sun (A Novel with Music by Six Organs of Admittance) and Slake contributor
Joseph Mattson

+ FREE BEER/BOOZE!

Book Soup Bookstore 8818 Sunset Blvd West Hollywood 90046 www.booksoup.com

Thursday, April 28th, 7pm:
Stories Bookstore and Rare Bird Lit present
AKASHIC BOOKS SHOWCASE featuring

Lauded film composer (The Messenger, Boys Don't Cry & more) and former Shudder to Think guitarist
NATHAN LARSON presenting & signing his novel, The Dewey Decimal System

Bestselling/Award-Winning author (Southland, The Age of Dreaming)
NINA REVOYR presenting & signing her latest novel, Wingshooters

Bestselling Author of Empty the Sun (A Novel with Music by Six Organs of Admittance) and Slake contributor
Joseph Mattson

and LIVE MUSIC by BABY & GUY (feat. Jada Wagensomer of Jail Weddings!)

+ FREE BEER/BOOZE!

Stories Books 1716 Sunset Blvd (Echo Park) Los Angeles 90026 www.storiesla.com

SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE in PIONEERTOWN!

2011-04-04T11:06:00.000-07:00

w/JOSEPH MATTSON and HORSE THIEVES!

Friday, April 8th, 2011, 9PM
(((folkYEAH!))) presents
SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE
JOSEPH MATTSON
HORSE THIEVES

LIVE in PIONEERTOWN at Pappy and Harriet's Pioneertown Palace
53688 Pioneertown Road * Pioneertown, CA 92268 * 760-365-5956
http://www.pappyandharriets.com/events/folkyeah-presents-six-organs-admittance-9pm-10

Guitar/psych folk legend BEN CHASNY brings his highly acclaimed SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE to the one and only Pioneertown! A gunslinger of the highest order, this is the FIRST time to experience the singular holy shredder in the desert that has inspired him so. Opening for Six Organs of Admittance are Gun Club-meets-Hank Sr.-meets-murder ballads for all time in the form of LA's own inimitable HORSE THIEVES (bring extra bodies to bury!), and LA author JOSEPH MATTSON, the tragicomedy bard of no apologies but full of heart, whose novel EMPTY THE SUN comes with a Six Organs of Admittance soundtrack(!), and who will be reading from a place wherein you do not find the drugs, but the drugs find you--w/KURT MANGUM accompanying on guitar. NOT TO BE MISSED. Get in the car. Go east. Find illumination.

SLAKE reading at STORIES

2011-02-19T11:45:00.000-08:00

Hello friends,

I’m reading at the wonderful STORIES bookstore in Echo Park for SLAKE magazine, great stuff, please come by if’n you can.

Cheers,
Joseph

http://slake.la
Stories Books and Cafe
1716 W. Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90026
Saturday, February 19, 7:30 p.m.: Our contributors will return to the friendly confines of Stories’ back patio, where we had a great turnout for our reading last summer. The rockin’ lineup is composed of: John Albert (Wrecking Crew), Greg Burk (MetalJazz.com), James Greer (The Failure), Joseph Mattson (Empty the Sun), Amy Scattergood (Squid Ink), and Laurie Wheeler.

Smart Gals RIP

2011-01-30T00:44:00.000-08:00

Double header on Sunday, Jan. 30th!--
immediately following the SLAKE Hotel Cafe reading, I'll be reading/celebrating with AIMEE BENDER, JANET FITCH, BRENDAN CONSTANTINE and more at the FINAL SMART GALS SPEAKEASY--ten years going and now comes the lament, info below!

O, death, where is thy sting?

Winter Wake:
The Speakeasy That Has Been

Sunday, January 30, 7:00 – 9:00pm
Mt. Hollywood Underground
4607 Prospect Ave., Los Feliz
In Memoriam, Bequeath $15.00

Bookmark artist: Stephen Linsley

Dearly Beloved,

We call you to gather and celebrate the demise of the much-cherished Speakeasy. After well ‘nigh nine years of vibrant mingling, this unique event met a timely death. Yes, timely.

Well loved, well lived, the Speakeasy crosses over to memory.

Do not let her go gently—come, commiserate. Design and build your own funeral hat, disperse your grief and let the past become the past. Funeral cake, coffee, inventive millinery, live music, remembrances, and the last, limited edition Bookmark, created by photographer Stephen Linsley, await.

Guests of Speakeasies past including Edith Abeyta, Noël Alumit, Aimee Bender, Lana Buss, Cake Divas, Jerrod Cardwell, Cat Hair Ensemble, Brendan Constantine, Chris Davidson, Janet Fitch, Joshua Joy Kamensky, Alanna Lin, Joseph F. Mattson, Michael Lewis Miller, Moira Smiley, Marla Smith, Tree People, Rita Williams, Lori Yeghiayan & more will pay their respects. You should too.

The password is, “She was so young.”

Please dress for mourning.

SLAKE Reading at Hotel Cafe JAN. 30th!

2011-01-17T18:42:00.001-08:00

...and I will be reading at Hotel Cafe as a part of the SLAKE Issue 2 reading series, info below!

From SLAKE:

Hotel Cafe Reading
Sunday, January 30 at 6 p.m.

Hotel Cafe
1623 1/2 N. Cahuenga Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90028

Details
Slake goes all Hollywood for its second reading of the Issue 2 event cycle. Readers will include:

• John Albert
• Dana Johnson
• Joseph Mattson
• Victoria Patterson
• Rachel Resnick
• Harry Shannon
• Joe Donnelly

SLAKE reading at Track 16!

2011-01-17T18:36:00.001-08:00

I'll be reading from my opium den memoir coming out NOW in SLAKE this Sat., Jan. 22nd, 7pm, at Track 16 Gallery. There will be other readers AND incredible art from SLAKE visual contributors, including my and Barnacle's very own Devri Richmond. FULL INFO BELOW!

FROM SLAKE:

This Weekend: Slake No. 2 Launch Party!

Dear friends,

Readings, art, music, drinks, Slake No. 2 … and whoopie pies!

All these—and you—will come together to celebrate the release of Slake: Los Angeles No. 2, “Crossing Over,” on Saturday. We received an early shipment last week, and we’ll have a sales table at the party so you can be among the first in L.A. to see the new book!

When: Saturday, January 22, 7 p.m. (readings begin at 8)
Where: Track 16 Gallery, 2525 Michigan Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90404

If you haven’t already, please RSVP at Slake.la so we can know how many beautiful faces to expect.

Readers will include: Hank Cherry, James Greer, Rachel Resnick, Sam Slovick, Yxta Maya Murray, Joseph Mattson, Laurie Wheeler, John Albert, Mary Woronov, Amy Scattergood, Matt Fleischer

Original art available for sale by: Michelle Pullman, Arlie John Carstens, C.R. Stecyk III, Matjames, Mary Woronov, Ingrid Allen, Elisa Linda Saether, Sage Vaughn, Dan Peterka, Alex Bacon, Anne Fishbein, Kelly Fajak, Shannon Donnelly, Johannes Spalt, Elyse Pignolet, Len Burge

DJ sets by: Justin Warfield of She Wants Revenge

$5 food menu by: Border Grill

Cocktails by: Sino Tequila

Whoopie pies by: Baking Whoopie

(Special thanks to Europane Bakery, ANTI- Records, and the Hammer Museum.)

post-hibernation gigs!

2011-01-17T18:23:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,

I have a blitz of news here:

1. GIGS: I'll be reading at Track 16 Gallery, Sat., January 22nd, at 7pm as part of SLAKE: LOS ANGELES--A CITY AND ITS STORIES issue two launch party. Full info to come on separate post...

I will also be reading for SLAKE at Hotel Cafe on Sunday, January 30th, at 6pm, ditto on the full info
AND
That very night, I'll be reading as part of the wake for the decade-long and ass-kicking Smart Gals Speakeasy, info coming ASAP!

2. I've been working on a forthcoming anthology for Akashic Books of all new fiction about the drug speed; the tentative Speed Chronicles will feature ALL NEW stories by Sherman Alexie, William T. Vollmann, Jerry Stahl, Megan Abbott, Natalie Diaz, Beth Lisick, James Greer, Tao Lin, Rose Bunch, Jess Walter, myself, and more--watch for updates! The book is scheduled for Fall 2011.

3. I've been working with Oriana Small, AKA Ashley Blue, on editing her memoir of her years as an adult film actress, Girlvert: A Porno Memoir. It's not one of these sugarcoated celeb-porn glossy Hollywood wannabe books, but a straight-up, tell-it-like-it-is killer human story of one gal's experiences of pushing her body and mind to the maximum. Coming from Barnacle in April...

Hope everyone out there is well!
Cheers,
Joseph

Jim Carroll tribute event!

2010-11-11T21:49:00.000-08:00

For the saintly debauched in us all, NOT TO BE MISSED!:

Saturday, November 13, 6-8pm
PETTING ZOO/Jim Carroll LA Launch Party!

Stories Bookstore, Tongue and Groove, TNB and Rare Bird Lit present
The Nervous Breakdown Literary Experience II celebrating the release of Jim Carroll's new posthumously-released novel The Petting Zoo

Featuring:

Live Jim Carroll Band music by members of Weezer, The Adolescents, The Blessings, Liars, Inc. and others!

Jim Carroll performances by Rich Ferguson, Bo Blount and Jillian Lauren (Some Girls)!

Readings from The Petting Zoo and The Basketball Diaries by D.R. Haney (Subversia) and Joseph Mattson (Empty the Sun)!

Music | Readings | Performances | Book Signings

The Echo, 1822 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026

$5 at the door

www.thenervousbreakdown.com
www.storiesla.com
www.tongueandgroovela.com
www.rarebirdlit.com

Also, please join us for an After Party, sponsored by Colt 45, at Stories Bookstore immediately following the Main Event

MATTSON * HORSE THIEVES * BELT vs. KNIFE in Huntington Beach!

2010-10-15T15:19:00.000-07:00

Sunday, October 17th, 8pm: Huntington Beach
VINYL SOLUTION presents
JOSEPH MATTSON reading from and signing EMPTY THE SUN: A NOVEL with SOUNDTRACK by SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE
w/LIVE MUSIC from HORSE THIEVES and BELT VS. KNIFE!
18822 Beach Blvd, Ste 104, Huntington Beach, CA 92648
http://www.myspace.com/vinylsolution

LET'S KICK SOME ASS SUNDAY NIGHT!

Reading w/Eugene Robinson + Live Music!

2010-10-13T12:51:00.000-07:00

Wed., OCT. 13th, 8pm--CHINATOWN--LOS ANGELES

READING:
Eugene Robinson
Joseph Mattson
David Crosby Reeves
Petro

LIVE MUSIC:
Upsilon Acrux

THE MOUNTAIN BAR
473 Gin Ling Way
Los Angeles 90012

FREE
+ COLT 45 beer specials!!!

SLAKE Magazine reading in Echo Park

2010-10-02T12:43:00.000-07:00

Mattson is going to be reading at a Slake Magazine event Sat. night in Echo Park, info below! Slake is the literary magazine that Los Angeles so desperately needed, and Joseph Mattson has a piece forthcoming in the next issue—an essay on what might be the last opium den in Los Angeles—come on down to Fix Coffee, Saturday, October 2. 8:00pm - 10:30pm

Fix Coffee (fixcoffeeco.com)

2100 Echo Park Ave.

Los Angeles, CA

Join Slake at Echo Park's gorgeous coffee spot for literary entertainment, caffeinated nourishment, and an Eastside good time. We'll have original art for sale, and did we mention the great coffee?

THE EASTSIDE READER LINEUP
John Albert
Iris Berry
Jamie Brisick
Joe Donnelly
Polly Geller
Joseph Mattson
David Schneider
Deborah Stoll
John Tottenham

MATTSON SEPT. TOUR!

2010-09-02T18:43:00.000-07:00

MATTSON is heading north for a West Coast tour, please share your time with him! He will smile and shower you with praise and grog:

Wednesday, Sept. 8th, 7pm—SAN FRANCISCO, CA
JOSEPH MATTSON presents & signs EMPTY THE SUN: A NOVEL with SOUNDTRACK by SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE
Green Apple Books
506 Clement St
San Francisco, California 94118-2324
http://www.greenapplebooks.com/

Thurs., Sept. 9th, 7PM—ARCATA, CA
JOSEPH MATTSON presents & signs EMPTY THE SUN: A NOVEL with SOUNDTRACK by SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE
Northtown Books
957 H Street
Arcata, CA 95521
707-822-2834
http://northtownbooks.blogspot.com/

Friday, Sept. 10th, 9pm—PORTLAND, OR
JOSEPH MATTSON presents & signs EMPTY THE SUN: A NOVEL with SOUNDTRACK by SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE
WITH LIVE MUSIC by COLOSSAL YES (Utrillo Kushner of COMETS ON FIRE!) and HORSE THIEVES!
The Mississippi Pizza Pub
(503) 288-3231
3552 North Mississippi Ave • Portland, Oregon
http://www.mississippipizza.com/

Saturday, Sept. 11th, 7pm—SEATTLE, WA
JOSEPH MATTSON presents & signs EMPTY THE SUN: A NOVEL with SOUNDTRACK by SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE
Elliott Bay Book Company
1521 Tenth Avenue
Seattle WA 98122
(206) 624-6600
http://www.elliottbaybook.com/

Sun., Sept. 12th: Open day/night in WA; if anyone is interested in having Mattson read/howl in Seattle or Olympia please email contact@abarnaclebook.com ASAP! Thanks!!

...5 days off...catsup vs. ketchup...

Friday, Sept. 17th, 6pm—LAGUNA BEACH, CA
JOSEPH MATTSON presents & signs EMPTY THE SUN: A NOVEL with SOUNDTRACK by SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE
Latitude 33 Bookshop
311 Ocean Avenue, Laguna Beach, CA 92651
949-494-5403
www.latitude33bookshop.com

THANKS!
Barnacle & Co.

p.s.: OCTOBER:
Sunday, October 17th, 8pm: Huntington Beach
VINYL SOLUTION presents
JOSEPH MATTSON reading from and signing EMPTY THE SUN: A NOVEL with SOUNDTRACK by SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE
w/LIVE MUSIC from HORSE THIEVES and BELT VS. KNIFE!
18822 Beach Blvd, Ste 104, Huntington Beach, CA 92648
http://www.myspace.com/vinylsolution

22nd Century Electro MAN!

2010-08-23T16:10:00.000-07:00

Electronic versions of EMPTY The SUN are available to DOWNLOAD NOW!

That's right. The amazing Six Organs of Admittance EMPTY THE SUN album is now available on iTunes and as an MP3 Album on Amazon.com.

Jam it all over your iPOD, iPHONE, iPAD, i-EVERYTHING!!!

Yep. EMPTY THE SUN, the acclaimed novel by Joseph Mattson, is also NOW available to download in eBook form onto your Amazon Kindle AND your iPad!!!

Take what RAIN TAXI REVIEW OF BOOKS calls "an unquestioned feast of language...packed with witty, subtle dialogue and cascades of bold, apropos descriptions" everywhere you go!

"Were you to underline every jaw-dropping, humorous, or incredulous line contained in this gem of a book, your pencil would run out of lead halfway through"--now you can forget the pencil and bookmark the magic on your electro-gadgets ASAP.

Barnacle Books loves ya.

LitCRAWL August 28th

2010-08-12T10:16:00.000-07:00

It's ON:

READING AUGUST 28th, 6PM, AT THE ECHO, 1822 W. Sunset Blvd/City of Los Angeles/90026

NEAL POLLACK * RACHEL RESNICK * ALLISON BURNETT * JAMES GREER * EDAN LEPUCKI * KATIE ARNOLDI * DENNIS DANZINGER * JOSEPH MATTSON * GABRIELLE CALVOCORESSI * GRAHAM MOORE * SAMANTHA DUNN w/Editors of SLAKE, JOE DONNELLY & LAURIE OCHOA

The Shit, Motherfuckers.

Brought to you by: PEN CENTER USA, STORIES BOOKSTORE, LITQUAKE, & GOODREADS

Uncle Shithead

2010-08-12T10:02:00.000-07:00

For a little dose of genius, do yourself a favor and please check out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8akLIaZuAQU

&

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZDrwZjq8kU&feature=channel

&

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEKgu52kb88&feature=channel

EMPTY THE SUN: Finalist for the 2010 SCIBA Fiction Award

2010-07-27T14:21:00.001-07:00

It is our great honor to announce that Empty the Sun is a finalist for the 2010 SCIBA Awards. This is an especially huge personal honor for Mattson, particularly humbling because the nomination process involves peers: Authors, Independent Bookstores/Booksellers, Publishers, Agents, Publicists, Reps, etc.--peers across the spectrum of the book industry, with the actual voting process exclusive to independent bookstores/booksellers, our countrymen/women in the trenches doing it for the sheer and inglorious love of books. The first round of voting was out of 25 books nominated, voted down to just three finalists, which includes ETS. Winners are announced on October 23rd at the 2010 SCIBA Author's Feast.

Thanks a cool mill for the support, Southern California: thee mainline-the-word-hard-highway literary capita/ol of the Wild West and America as a whole!

THIS WEEKEND 24 Hour Literary Marathon for Charity!

2010-07-21T15:17:00.000-07:00

Joseph Mattson, James Greer, Jillian Lauren, Jose Rivera, Mark Sarvas, Brad Listi and MORE will be participating in a 24 HOUR LITERARY MARATHON to benefit The Young Storytellers Foundation, SAT., JULY 24th, 9am to SUN., JULY 25th, 9am! Mattson will be reading at 2:20 AM!

Mattson's reading will also include/incorporate field recordings from the jungles of South America and SE Asia, as well as Super8 footage set to Six Organs of Admittance music!

All of the info is below:

The 24-Hour Literary Marathon will begin on Saturday, July 24th at 9 am and run for 24 glorious hours through 9 am on Sunday, July 25th. There is no admission fee--the event is FREE!--but we will be collecting donations for The Young Story Tellers Foundation.

The Writers Junction is located at 1001 Colorado Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90401. Contact us at 310.451.0999.

Parking is 9-hour meters on the street and there are a FEW spots directly behind the building.

PERFORMERS/TIME SLOTS-

9 AM- Dennis Cruz
9:20 AM- Johnny Walker
10 AM- Ashaki Jackson
11:20 AM- Karen Forman & Co
1 PM- Drew Droege
2 PM- David Francis
3 PM- James Greer
3:40 PM- Lindsey Goldstein
4:30 PM- Author Panel featuring Deirdre Shaw, Brad Listi, Mark Sarvas, and Brooke Berman
6 PM- LIFE UNEXPECTED Panel
7 PM- Jose Rivera
7:30 PM- Jillian Lauren
7:50 PM- Joseph Powell
8 PM- Mark Rizzo
8:40 PM- Garrett Socol
9 PM- Mahogany Improv Group
10 PM- Ben Loory
10:20 PM- John Singleton
10:40 PM- Nicole Wells
11:20 PM- Rich Ferguson
11:40 PM- Anne Walls
12 Midnight- Movie Performance
2 AM- Brock Walters
2:20 AM - Joseph Mattson
2:40 AM - Joe Wengert
3 AM- Anna Metcalf
4 AM- Karaoke Party!
6 AM- Sean Hill
6:20 AM - Kate Gilbert
7 AM- Vanessa Libertad Garcia

Brought to you by: The Writers Junction (http://writersjunction.com/), WordHustler (http://www.WordHustler.com), and The Nervous Breakdown (http://www.thenervousbreakdown.com/).

Proceeds to Benefit: The Young Story Tellers Foundation (http://youngstorytellers.com/)

LIVE Bands for readings on July 17th & 18th!

2010-07-09T13:21:00.000-07:00

LA's incredible HORSE THIEVES and BELT VS. KNIFE will be playing live sets at the Mattson/Greer readings on July 17th and 18th! Not to be missed if you're sick of feeling dead...

Full info below!

Saturday, July 17th, 4pm:
Ex-GUIDED BY VOICES Bassist and Author of Artificial Light and Guided By Voices: A Brief History JAMES GREER presents & signs his latest novel, The Failure

Acclaimed Author of Eat Hell JOSEPH MATTSON presents & signs Empty the Sun: A Novel with Soundtrack by Drag City Recording Artist SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE

w/LIVE MUSIC from HORSE THIEVES and BELT Vs. KNIFE!

Vroman's Bookstore 695 E. Colorado Blvd Pasadena, CA 91101 Tel: 626-449-5320 www.vromansbookstore.com

Sunday, July 18th, 6pm:
Ex-GUIDED BY VOICES Bassist and Author of Artificial Light and Guided By Voices: A Brief History JAMES GREER presents & signs his latest novel, The Failure

Acclaimed Author of Eat Hell JOSEPH MATTSON presents & signs Empty the Sun: A Novel with Soundtrack by Drag City Recording Artist SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE

w/LIVE MUSIC from HORSE THIEVES and BELT Vs. KNIFE!

Book Soup 8818 Sunset Blvd. West Hollywood CA 90069 310-659-3110 www.booksoup.com

MATTSON & GREER July weekender w/LIVE MUSIC (TBA)

2010-07-01T16:55:00.001-07:00

Summer fun for lovers and those with hearts of hate and sadness alike:

Saturday, July 17th, 4pm:
Joseph Mattson presents & signs Empty the Sun: A Novel with Soundtrack by Six Organs of Admittance
James Greer presents & signs The Failure
w/LIVE MUSIC TBA!
Vroman's Bookstore 695 E. Colorado Blvd Pasadena, CA 91101 Tel: 626-449-5320 www.vromansbookstore.com

Sunday, July 18th, 6pm:
Joseph Mattson presents & signs Empty the Sun: A Novel with Soundtrack by Six Organs of Admittance
James Greer presents & signs The Failure
w/LIVE MUSIC TBA!
Book Soup 8818 Sunset Blvd. West Hollywood CA 90069 310-659-3110 www.booksoup.com

PEN Center USA presents a special event with Joseph Mattson and A Barnacle Book with special guests Narrow Books!

2010-06-14T15:22:00.001-07:00

Tuesday, June 15th, 7-9PM: LOS ANGELES
PEN CENTER USA presents
A Night w/JOSEPH MATTSON & BARNACLE PUBLISHING at the HMS BOUNTY! 3357 Wilshire Blvd , Los Angeles , 90010
http://www.penusa.org/
*Author's note: HMS Bounty was my first bar in Los Angeles. PEN + HMS = tender milestone for ol' Mattson!

HICCUP podcast recording w/live music!

2010-06-11T23:52:00.000-07:00

Joseph Mattson will be reading/recording live at the Hyperion Tavern for the Hiccup reading series, Sat., June 12th, at 9pm--come have a pint w/an old scoundrel "called" Medina...

1941 Hyperion Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90027-4746 - (323) 665-1941

JEFF GARLIN vs. MATTSON/SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE

2010-06-03T17:08:00.000-07:00

Yep.

2010 Joseph Mattson Book Tour LEG ONE--

2010-05-11T13:08:00.000-07:00

UPCOMING JOSEPH MATTSON READINGS/EVENTS for
Empty the Sun: A Novel with Soundtrack by Six Organs of Admittance

Hey there!

YES, the road. Please come say hello on/in:

Tuesday, May 18th, 2010, 7PM: NYC

BLUESTOCKINGS BOOKSTORE presents
JOSEPH MATTSON reading/signing with JAMES GREER (author of The Failure & Guided by Voices: A Brief History) & MAGGIE ESTEP (author of Alice Fantastic). 172 Allen St., NY, NY, 10002, www.bluestockings.com

Wednesday, May 19th, 2010, 7PM: NYC

NEW YORK CENTER FOR FICTION presents
AKASHIC BOOKS CELEBRATION featuring CRISTINA GARCIA, ARTHUR NERSESIAN, BERNICE McFADDEN, JAMES GREER, MELVIN VAN PEEBLES, JOHNNY TEMPLE & JOSEPH MATTSON!! 17 East 47th St., NY, NY, 10017, www.centerforfiction.org

Thursday, May 20th, 2010, 7PM: BOSTON

BROOKLINE BOOKSMITH presents
JOSEPH MATTSON & JAMES GREER reading/signing. 279 Harvard St., Brookline, MA, 02446, www.brooklinebooksmith.com

Friday, May 21st, 2010, 4-10PM: LOUISVILLE

MATTSON on assignment covering the Louisville Loves Mountains festival!
http://www.kftc.org/calendar/event/louisville-loves-mountains-festival-2010/view

Saturday, May 22nd, 7:30PM: LOS FELIZ, LOS ANGELES
SKYLIGHT BOOKS presents
JOSEPH MATTSON reading/signing w/maiden voyage screening of the new ETS Super 8 film edited to Six Organs of Admittance music by Kurt Mangum! 1818 North Vermont Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90027, http://www.skylightbooks.com/

Saturday, June 5th: CHINATOWN, LOS ANGELES

BLACK DRAGON READING SERIES @ JANCAR GALLERY
MORE DETAILS coming on this one...
http://www.jancargallery.com/

Tuesday, June 8th, 7PM: ECHO PARK, LOS ANGELES
STORIES BOOKSTORE presents
JOSEPH MATTSON & JAMES GREER reading/signing w/screening of ETS/Six Organs of Admittance Super 8 film. 1716 West Sunset Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90026, http://www.storiesla.com/

Tuesday, June 15th, 7-9PM: LOS ANGELES
PEN CENTER USA presents
A Night w/JOSEPH MATTSON & BARNACLE PUBLISHING at the HMS BOUNTY! 3357 Wilshire Blvd , Los Angeles , 90010
http://www.penusa.org/
*Author's note: HMS Bounty was my first bar in Los Angeles. PEN + HMS = tender milestone for ol' Mattson!

Wednesday, June 16th, 8PM: LOS ANGELES
RARE BIRD LIT, PEN CENTER USA, and LARGO AT THE CORONET present
BRET EASTON ELLIS w/Special Guests JERRY STAHL & JOSEPH MATTSON!
It's the 25th Anniversary of LESS THAN ZERO! 366 North La Cienega Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90048
http://www.rarebirdlit.com/
http://www.penusa.org/

Literary PUB CRAWL w/Aimee Bender, Joseph Mattson & Martin Pousson

2010-02-14T22:19:00.001-08:00

KILLER EVENT this Sat, Feb 20th in Silverlake, sponsored by
Book Soup, PEN CENTER USA and GoodReads. Check it below!

Goodnight, Jack

2009-12-07T09:42:00.000-08:00

One of America's greatest guitar players, Jack Rose, has passed away. I had the great fortune of spending some time with him over the years, drinking whiskey, dodging hippies, getting joyfully cranky and crankily joyful too--and, best of all, to hear and see the man play.

A gunslinger of the highest order, his music has just slayed and inspired so many, and--the legacy is out there for all takers to bend an ear around--will continue to do so.

Best wishes most of all to his wife, and also to the network of family and friends.

It's strange and sad when the young and the godlike-talented get called up by the Dark Magnet, but I guess now Jack will have to kick God's ass in Heaven.

R.I.P., Jack. Go get Him.

Cheers,
Joseph Mattson

ETS OUT NOW! Plus readings/events next week!

2009-10-30T19:47:00.000-07:00

Hello friends,

EMPTY The SUN is indeed available and shipping now. Should be in book/record stores soon, but if you want it now, order direct through www.abarnaclebook.com, www.emptythesun.com, www.booksoup.com, and www.dragcity.com!

ALSO, I'm doing two gigs next week! A book release party at Book Soup--I'll be reading a short passage and playing records that inspired the novel, and we'll all imbibe in strong drink and/or fruit juice. Then, I'll be doing this killer unabashedly irreverent reading series, Vermin on the Mount!

All the info is below!
Thanks & Cheers,
Joseph

BOOK RELEASE PARTY Thursday, November 5th, 9pm to MIDNIGHT
at BOOK SOUP 8818 Sunset Blvd. 90069 www.booksoup.com
JOSEPH MATTSON reads from the novel, drinks, and plays records that
inspired the book.

VERMIN ON THE MOUNT Sunday, November 8th, 8pm
at MOUNTAIN BAR in CHINATOWN www.vermin.blogs.com
JOSEPH MATTSON reads w/Authors BLAKE NELSON, KIEREN VAN DEN BLINK,
MARIE MUTSUKI MOCKETT and ALEX ESPINOZA

See you there!

EMPTY The SUN available to order NOW!

2009-10-11T18:33:00.000-07:00

Well, well. Well. After a gaggle/garrote of months and months (years?) and too many empty bottles and full bottles and bosoms accordingly, EMPTY The SUN: A NOVEL By JOSEPH MATTSON With SOUNDTRACK By SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE is available to order NOW! Just click here and you'll receive yours by or before the first week of November!

Also available through A Barnacle Book & Record, Drag City, and bookstores and record stores far and wide.

Cheers,
Barnacle/Mattson/SOoA/et al.

Porchlight SF + Six Organs of Admittance West Coast tour!

2009-09-13T14:27:00.000-07:00

I will be doing a "reading" for Porchlight Storytelling series in San Francisco on Monday, September 21st at 8pm. This is not an actual reading but live storytelling w/out books/notes and mine just might include DANZIG, Pornography, an obscure hessian, and a 1969 Chevrolet Impala!

More info at: http://www.porchlightsf.com/thismonth.html

ALSO I just returned from the West Coast Six Organs of Admittance tour which was incredible fun. This wasn't a Mattson/S.O. tour (that's to come in 2010!), but rather just me tagging along, having good times, doing a little Empty the Sun press, and documenting some road life, which will be posted here, as well as a few other places, including the Book Soup blog--watch for it soonish!

Cheers!
Joseph

Reading for John O'Brien's BETTER w/JERRY STAHL, ERIN O'BRIEN & JOSEPH MATTSON

2009-07-10T19:42:00.000-07:00

From our friends at Akashic Books and Book Soup:

Joseph Mattson reading at Book Soup, 7pm, Thursday, July 16th - Author John O'Brien sadly committed suicide two weeks after hearing that his first novel, Leaving Las Vegas, was being made into a film. But he left behind several hard-hitting novels that were published posthumously. The amazing press Akashic Books has just released his final unpublished work, Better, and Joseph Mattson will be reading from that novel along with writers Jerry Stahl and O'Brien's sister, Erin.

ETS production + forthcoming Mattson novels!

2009-07-10T19:33:00.001-07:00

Hey there,

Thanks to all of you out there who keep slamming us via the Interweb with interest in Empty the Sun. Here's the score: due out November 3rd, 2009, and the vinyl version will be LIMITED to 1000, with no plans to repress it! The paperback version will be a marked first edition.

Mattson is back in the cave, scrawling away on two novels for 2010: Courting the Jaguar and Hexico. If Empty the Sun can be easily described as a shotgun fight with God, then Jaguar concernes immaculate conception in the Amazon jungle, and Hexico transexuality vs. reimagined borderland--wherein though it's the modern day, the U.S. annex of Mexico never happened and the border isn't the desert, it's the entire continental divide--lay down on the high road from the Salton Sea with an ear full of blood.

Cheers!

EMPTY THE SUN release date NOV. 3rd, 2009

2009-06-06T14:24:00.001-07:00

Hello all,

Empty the Sun will finally be released on November 3rd, 2009, by the recession-dodgy dogs at A Barnacle Book and distributed by the jolly angels of Drag City.

Two versions will be available: original trade paperback with CD soundtrack and limited edition vinyl version with large LP format book.

Watch for other special goodies concerning ETS around Virgo season.

Thanks, with all unyielding grace and gratitude!

Mattson @ LA Times Festival of Books

2009-04-21T00:37:00.000-07:00

I'll be slinging copies of EAT HELL and TWO LETTERS VOL. 2 (both from the kind and noble good for something gargantuans, NARROW BOOKS) at the 156th Annual LOS ANGELES TIMES FESTIVAL OF BOOKS at UCLA (April 25th & 26th).

I'll be in BOOK SOUP booth #330 on Sat., April 25th, at 4pm. This year's LATFB hosts such exquisite talents/Mattson affiliates (i.e., I owe these folks a ton, and so does society at large!) as JERRY STAHL, AIMEE BENDER, JAMES ELLROY, T.C. BOYLE and mucho mas.

Come by and say hello and I'll slip you something to slip inside your house as you pass by.

Cheers!

Narrow Books double book release party

2009-02-24T09:33:00.000-08:00

Dear friends,

I'm happy to announce a book release party at Stories Bookstore in Echo Park this coming Saturday for my book of short stories, Eat Hell, and the Two Letters Vol. 2 anthology, both released by Narrow Books. I'd love to see you there! Djs & a live set by Horse Thieves! All of the info is below. EMPTY THE SUN release info coming very soon, I swear.

I hope you're all well and full of courage in 2009!

Gig info:

Stories Bookstore and Narrow Books present a special book release party for Narrow Books' new titles, TWO LETTERS COLLECTION OF ART AND WRITING VOL. 2 and EAT HELL by Joseph Mattson!

Saturday, February 28th, 6-10pm

@ Stories Bookstore, 1716 Sunset Blvd. in Echo Park

Featuring DJs and Refreshments! Jovial gathering and booksigning! Special music set by L.A. 's notorious HORSE THIEVES!

Two Letters Vol. 2 contributors include acclaimed artists and writers Josh Cochran, Tod Goldberg, James Greer, Mel Kadel, Travis Millard, Brendan Monroe, Mark Todd, Esther Pearl Watson and MANY MORE.

Award-winning writer Joseph Mattson is the author of the forthcoming novel Empty the Sun with soundtrack by Six Organs of Admittance.

(www.narrowbooks.com)
(www.emptythesun.com)
(http://www.myspace.com/thehorsethievesride)

READING on TUES., 11/18/08!

2008-11-16T02:01:00.000-08:00

I will be reading with Peter Relic and Alexis Madden in downtown Los Angeles!
Tuesday, Nov. 18th, 8pm at
Phantom Galleries LA at 610 S. MAIN ST. LA. CA. 90014

This reading is part of the Full of Light show, a tribute to Bruce Conner, curated by Dirk Knibbe, with art by Becca Mann, some famous "folk" rockers, and more, as well as a reading, music, and film series. Full disclosure at www.fulloflightshow.com.

I hope to see you bright beholden faces, maybe a round of joyous grog in my old crook of the city...

Cheers,
Joseph

New books out this week!

2008-11-16T01:23:00.001-08:00

I'm honored to be featured in two new books released this week.

The first is Pearl #39, in which the poem "Night in the Dawn of Yesterday" is published. Pearl has been a Southern California literary mainstay for the last 40 years, over which they've published Bukowski, Billy Collins, Gerald Locklin, Helena Maria Viramontes, and hundreds of other great writers. To order/more info: www.pearlmag.com

Next, the incredible Two Letters Vol. 2 from Narrow Books is out, a seriously impressive collection of art and writing, featuring Travis Millard, Mel Kadel, Daniel Rolf, James Greer, Tod Goldberg and many, many more. I have a piece of nonfiction in this--a bit of memoir--and was also an editor on the literary side of the project. Get this beautiful book and more info on it and other quality goods at www.narrowbooks.com

Cheers,
Joseph

New book of stories/LIVE readings!! + SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE LIVE + Magik Markers' ELISA AMBROGIO + AKASHIC authors!

2008-09-27T14:49:00.000-07:00

Hello friends,

I hope you've had a good summer.

I have a new book of stories--EAT HELL--coming out on Narrow Books next week! More info at www.narrowbooks.com. Cover art by the incredible Mel Kadel! (www.melkadel.com).

The wonderful folks at Akashic Books have invited me to do some readings in the L.A. area Oct. 4th, 5th, and 6th with acclaimed author of The Fuck-Up Arthur Nersesian. The gig on the 4th will feature Joe Meno (bestselling author and former editor of Punk Planet), and two gigs on the 5th will feature SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE performing LIVE with me in support of our forthcoming novel with soundtrack Empty the Sun! Elisa Ambrogio of the notorious Magik Markers will also be presenting new writing!

I hope you can make it out to one or more. I'll be doing something different each night to keep it interesting!

All of the info is below.
CHEERS!
--Joseph

Saturday, October 4th, 7pm
Book Soup and Akashic Books present:
Acclaimed Author of The Fuck-Up ARTHUR NERSESIAN presenting and signing THE SACRIFICIAL CIRCUMCISION OF THE BRONX
Bestselling Author JOE MENO presenting and signing DEMONS IN THE SPRING
Author of Empty the Sun, A Novel with Soundtrack by Six Organs of Admittance JOSEPH MATTSON presenting and signing EAT HELL
at BOOK SOUP
8818 Sunset Blvd.
West Hollywood CA 90069
Tel.: 310.659.3110
www.booksoup.com

Sunday, October 5th, 2pm
Family Bookstore and Akashic Books present:
ARTHUR NERSESIAN presenting and signing THE SACRIFICIAL CIRCUMCISION OF THE BRONX
JOSEPH MATTSON and Drag City Recording Artist SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE presenting EMPTY THE SUN: A Novel with Soundtrack by Six Organs of Admittance
ELISA AMBROGIO of Ecstatic Peace! Recording Artists MAGIK MARKERS presenting new writing
at FAMILY BOOKSTORE
436 N. Fairfax
Los Angeles CA 90036
Tel.: 323.782.9221
www.familylosangeles.com

Sunday, October 5th, 10pm
Little Joy, Jr., Book Soup, and Akashic Books present:
ARTHUR NERSESIAN presenting and signing THE SACRIFICIAL CIRCUMCISION OF THE BRONX
JOSEPH MATTSON and SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE presenting EMPTY THE SUN: A Novel with Soundtrack by Six Organs of Admittance
ELISA AMBROGIO of MAGIK MARKERS presenting new writing
Special Appearance by HORSE THIEVES (feat. members of Guilty Teachers & Circle Jerks!)
DJ PRIVATE BROWSER (of COMETS ON FIRE) on the turntables
DRINK SPECIALS: $1 PBRs and $1 Jim Beams 10pm - Midnight
at LITTLE JOY, JR.
1477 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles CA 90026
Tel. 213.250.3417

Monday, October 6th, 7pm
Vroman's Bookstore and Akashic Books present:
ARTHUR NERSESIAN presenting and signing THE SACRIFICIAL CIRCUMCISION OF THE BRONX
JOSEPH MATTSON presenting and signing EAT HELL
at VROMAN'S BOOKSTORE
695 E. Colorado Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91101
Tel: 626.449.5320

Soundtrack recorded/toward the light

2008-08-21T14:37:00.000-07:00

Six Organs of Admittance has recorded the soundtrack, down in Encinitas with Steve Ruecker and the gang of the most beautiful women on earth. The soundtrack could not destroy and reconstruct more.

One more read-through and it's all going to the powers that do be.

Blessed creating and destroying August, all.

COSMO: R.I.P.

Thank you all, more soon.

UPDATE/BOOK FINISHED

2008-04-15T15:05:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

Been in the cave for the last five months, finishing and editing the book.

In the final editing phases now!

Six Organs of Admittance should be recording the soundtrack in August.

In the meantime, make sure to check out Donovan Quinn, he has this thing:
http://www.myspace.com/donovanquinnthe13thmonth

but doesn't have a cell phone, which makes us apocalyptic cousins true

ALSO! The website has been updated with more artwork from Becky Smith, and
ALL of the tunes that were on the Six Organs/Empty the Sun "PROEM" prologue CD
are up on there. This thing was super limited, so enjoy it all here for FREE. Just click
on the Guitar/Finger and you're in...

OK, more SOON!

SHOW Nov. 15th, downtown L.A.

2007-11-02T12:11:00.001-07:00

I'll be reading/performing at an Arthur Magazine/Ovrcast Prod. show on Thursday, Nov. 15th at 9pm, at 1269 E. 6th St., downtown--Dave's Warehouse, a showspace/gallery (artist Shepard Fairey's [OBEY/GIANT] studio). I'll be opening for bands: Citay and Sea of Air.

**I do beleive this might be the LAST reading I'm going to do before the book comes out. Xtra whiskey, please...

More info at: http://www.myspace.com/alcoholacaust & http://www.arthurmag.com/

**I should have some extra SUPER LIMITED EDITION (only 148 copies in existence!) "Proem to Empty the Sun" Six Organs of Admittance CDs with me! Will BEN CHASNY or STEVE RUECKER be there with me, who knows? BUT--catch Six Organs at AMOEBA Hollywood the next day on Nov. 16th for a RARE solo acoustic performance!

--Joseph

Halloween with HOTEL ST. GEORGE PRESS at BOOK SOUP!/FREE LIMITED EDITION SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE CD!

2007-10-09T09:39:00.000-07:00

10/31/07. 7pm. FREE.

Book Soup presents:

HALLOWEEN WITH HOTEL ST. GEORGE PRESS,

the NEW Experimental Imprint of AKASHIC BOOKS!

HSG Press Co-Founder & Author ALEX ROSE presents/signs

THE MUSICAL ILLUSIONIST with Musical Accompaniment by

DAVID LITTLE & THE FORMALIST QUARTET!

HSG Press Co-Founder & Author AARON PETROVICH presents/signs

THE SESSION: A NOVELLA IN DIALOGUE

Performing in a STRAIGHT JACKET!

HSG Press Guest Author JOSEPH MATTSON presents EMPTY THE SUN,

A COLLABORATIVE NOVEL with SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE!

FREE LIMITED EDITION SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE CD

FOR THE FIRST 50 PEOPLE IN ATTENDANCE! THIS CD WILL NOT

BE AVAILABLE ANYWHERE ELSE!

*Additional copies of the CD FREE with any HSG press book purchase at this event!

Book Soup

8818 Sunset Blvd. West Hollywood, CA 90069

310.659.3110

http://www.booksoup.com/

http://www.hsgpress.com/

Joseph Mattson in PEARL and AMBIT!

2007-10-09T09:29:00.000-07:00

I will have forthcoming work, "Night in the Dawn of Yesterday" (poetry) in Pearl Magazine out of California, and "A Bloody Dove, Three Bums, War, and Not Another Drink" (fiction) in Ambit Magazine out of London. Ambit will mark my first foreign publication. Release dates to follow when I get them! More info on these rags at:

www.pearlmag.com
www.ambitmagazine.co.uk

--Joseph

Oct. 10th Reading/show in Chinatown!

2007-10-05T16:53:00.000-07:00

Joseph will be reading from/performing a section of EMPTY THE SUN on Wed., Oct. 10th, 2007 at THE MOUNTAIN BAR (www.themountainbar.com) in L.A.'s CHINATOWN. Bands playing are ATTITUDE PROBLEM (feat. members of FACEDOWNINSHIT), RUE, LEE COUNTS and WEEKEND WARRIOR!

Six Organs of Admittance is unable to make this show, so accompanying Joseph will be the amazing ALEX MASLANSKY (of HORSE THIEVES!).

The show is FREE. Starts at 9:30pm. Joseph/Alex at 10pm SHARP.
The Mountain Bar
473 Gin Ling Way
CHINATOWN, Los Angeles
213.625.7500

Late

2007-08-30T04:13:00.000-07:00

Six Organs is home. The book is being worked. Thank you all for your continuing interest. More soon...

Six Organs viking/barbarian style

2007-07-26T07:36:00.000-07:00

Six Organs of Admittance will be touring Scandinavia and Olde Europe over the next few weeks. All dark overlords, horses, moss and wenches and squires of virtue true welcome. Ghosts, too--actually, all ghosts are on the guest list and get one free chalice of grog. In California the ghosts seem to gravitate toward medical marijuana, but they don't turn down a shot of booze. So it goes. Dates/places are at http://www.sixorgans.com/ and http://www.dragcity.com/bands/sixorgans.html#tour.

Website Update

2007-07-24T09:27:00.000-07:00

The Empty the Sun website has been updated! Click around to find an excerpt of the ENTIRE first chapter and a killer road jam penned by Ruecker! More words, sounds and art coming soon...

Hotel St. George Press, and Arthur Benefit photos!

2007-07-24T09:17:00.000-07:00

Hotel St. George Press, an imprint of Akashic Books in Brooklyn, has published a slightly different version of the first chapter of Empty the Sun on their amazing website, along with an exclusive five minute typewriter destruction noise clip. Check it out at http://www.hsgpress.com/. The direct link to the Empty the Sun page is http://www.hsgpress.com/library/current/web/content/emptythesun.shtml. Hotel St. George is the publisher of Aaron Petrovich's The Session, a mad (as in insane) novella in dialogue, and the forthcoming The Musical Illusionist by Alex Rose.

A much belated public thanks to Arthur and everyone who attended the Arthur Benefit show last month, everything was awesome. Photos from the show are available at http://www.flickr.com/photos/nedraggett/sets/72157600580481859/
and http://www.arthurmag.com/magpie/?p=2000.

We're working on getting some video footage of the show up here on the site...

Arthur Benefit Show!

2007-06-15T11:38:00.001-07:00

We'll be doing a reading/live performance on Wednesday, June 27th at the Silent Movie Theatre in Los Angeles. Details below and at www.arthurmag.com!

ARTHUR BENEFIT PARTY
Wednesday, June 27 8pm
Silent Movie Theater
611 N. Fairfax AvenueLos Angeles, California

featuring:
Six Organs of Admittance with special guest Joseph Mattson (author)
Ruthann Friedman music
Entrance music
Elisa Ambrogio (Magik Markers) reading
Lewis MacAdams (poet) reading
Paloma Parfrey (ex-Sharp Ease) reading with sounds by Tamala Poljak
Oliver Hall (E.S.P.S.) emcee
Plus: refreshments in the back patio space and a SILENT AUCTION upstairs!
Admission: $15
ALL AGES
200 tickets are being issued for this event.
Advance tickets available via Ticketweb -- click here to order

BEA/Web Update

2007-06-12T13:18:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all of the kind folks encountered at Book Expo America/in New York City May 31st - June 4th, including the splendid people of Akashic/Hotel St. George (www.akashicbooks.com, www.hotelstgeorgepress.com), Jeff Parker (the author of Ovenman, coming in September from Tin House Books, www.tinhouse.com), Other Press (www.otherpress.com), and old pal Max Magee (www.themillionsblog.com); please check them all out. Also a very special thanks and love overdue to Adam and Ana for showing Joseph that some true grit still does exist there amidst the pucker and the pout.

The website has been updated to include an exclusive Six Organs bit and some other goodies. Click around. More to come, including a Ruecker-penned serious road rambler jam like a hot ghost slicing through the sweet and troubled black of gone east night...

Welcome to Empty the Sun!

2007-06-07T14:10:00.000-07:00

Greetings! Thank you for checking out the website for EMPTY The SUN. We'll be updating news and random thoughts concerning the book/soundtrack and other things often. The website is still in its infancy, as one of my main-most pals Charles Day (who is setting up all of this in exchange for bottles of booze--thank you in all immense kindness, Charles) teaches an old cloven-hoofed mule recluse caveman like me how to make sense of the esoteric vortex that is Year of Our Lord in Technology 2007. Meaning, I know how to throw a knife in the dark, catch a fish with my bare hands, wrestle down a deer, and utilize public transportation in Los Angeles, but the managing of a website I fear under the holy/unholy head of The Unknown...which is to say, I admit ignorance.

In the next few weeks some exclusive Six Organs music will materialize, as well as a longer excerpt from the book, and other hopefully wonderful goods...please tune back in as the spirit allows...

Take good care,
Sincerely,
Joseph Mattson

Uncle Jim or Uncle Jack

2007-06-07T11:37:00.000-07:00

The debate over who is our favorite uncle, Mr. Jim Beam or Mr. Jack Daniel, has been widely debated in the family circle for countless years.