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Merrill Aldighieri V.J. Diaries

Merrill Aldighieri V.J. Diaries

November 12, 2017 @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

World Premiere Screening

Howl! Happening is pleased to present the premiere of Merrill Aldighieri’s new film, “V.J. Diaries”, tracing the birth of the video jockey or “VJ.” The film is the story of Aldighieri and her pioneering work creating an improvised live video feed to interpret the DJ’s music at the legendary club Hurrah—a hotbed of creativity. “V.J. Diaries” looks at her role amplifying the connection between music and imagery in nightclubs. Her historic filming of the live performances of punk, new wave, jazz and industrial music form a diary marking her time at this seminal club. Guest DJ Bill Bahlman, who worked alongside Aldighieri at Hurrah, provides his inimitable ambiance to this HOWL! Happening.

More than 200 hours of live music performances were recorded by Aldighieri during a year at Hurrah (1980-1981). Excerpts from 30 different live shows include legendary bands like New Order, Mission of Burma, Magazine, Gang of Four, The Psychedelic Furs, A Certain Ratio, and Bush Tetras, as well as interviews with Cynthia Sley, Jim Fouratt, Anita Sarko, Dee Pop, Ron Jagger, Bill Laswell, Jim Jarmusch, Stephanie Kaye, Alan Vega, George Wrage and many more, blended with rare archival footage and visually daring animation inspired by her nightly VJ improvisations. Projections of her scratch-animated loops will add to the atmosphere of the evening.

“V.J. Diaries” brings to life the classic music performance archive Aldighieri created. Fans of the period will discover the music has not lost its freshness and fire. Mentored by nightclub impresario Jim Fouratt, the rock critic/booking agent Ruth Polsky discovered and brought to the stage emerging talent featured in this film. That timeless sense of discovery is what “V.J. Diaries” is all about. This is a one-time screening so don’t miss it!

Watch the trailer here!

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