April 7, 2005

Corn Mo and the Wau-Wau Sisters Transform MASS MoCA's Alt Cabaret into an "Alt Cab-A-Rama"

(North Adams, Mass.)-- Two outlandish acts come together for one eventful evening at MASS MoCA as part of the museum's Alternative Cabaret series on Saturday, May 7, at 8 P.M. Corn Mo is a musician known for belting out impassioned songs that somehow find a line between vaudeville and heavy metal, while accompanying himself on accordion and floor cymbals. He'll share the stage with North Adams favorites, the Wau-Wau Sisters, as they entertain audiences with their saucy combination of aerial and circus skills, original songwriting, wacky costumes and plethora of props.

Often referred to as the late 20th century's semi-ironic, postmodern answer to Tiny Tim, Corn Mo was born Jon Cunningham in Denton, Texas. He began his musical career accompanying a juggling troupe, the Flying Couch Potatoes. He soon found himself collaborating with the mysterious Mauve Oed. Show and Tell, a punk collection of television theme covers produced by Which? Records granted Corn Mo as a solo the coveted closing track on the album in the late 1990s. For the next few years he built a reputationreputation playing individualizedindividualized shows for fans over the phone and curating shows at the Liquid Lounge in Dallas before moving toto New York City. There Corn Mo became musical director for the alternative sideshow carnival, Bindlestiff Family Cirkus. In 2000, a collection of 13 of Corn Mo's original songs titled I Hope You Win! was released on Hot Link Records.

Tanya Gagné and Adrienne Truscott, both New York natives, have been performing their Wau Wau Sisters act since 2000. Familiar to North Adams audiences, they participated in the city's Fall Foliage Parade in 2003. The duo performs trapeze and acrobatic acts to famous songs such as Sister Christian by Night Ranger and Welcome to the Jungle by Guns 'n' Roses. They met in the 1990's while working as circus performers. The name of their act, Wau Wau (pronounced "vow-vow") is German for "woof-woof". They have had feature profiles in The Village Voice and Time Out New York, and have been written up in The New York Times, The New York Post, and Jane Magazine, among many others. They have been seen in New York at The Fez, Warsaw, the Mercury Lounge, CBGB's, Joe's Pub, the famed Hammerstein Ballroom, and The Knitting Factory. The Wau Wau Sisters have also made numerous television appearances including The Sharon Osborne Show, Nippon TV's Good Morning Japan, and The Isaac Mizrahi Show. They have also been on National Public Radio's The Next Big Thing. Their 2003 CD was entitled A Little T& A Never Hurt Anybody.

Doors open at 7 PM. Food and drink from Lickety Split and the MASS MoCA bar will be available before and during the event.

Tickets for the Alt Cab-A-Rama are $13 in advance or $16 the day of the show. MASS MoCA members receive a 10% discount. Tickets are available through the MASS MoCA Box Office located off Marshall Street in North Adams from 11 A.M. until 5 P.M. (closed Tuesdays). Tickets can also be charged by phone by calling 413.662.2111 during Box Office hours or purchased on line at www.massmoca.org.

MASS MoCA, the largest center for contemporary visual and performing arts in the United States, is located off Marshall Street in North Adams on a 13-acre campus of renovated 19th-century factory buildings.

For Immediate Release
Contact: Katherine Myers
(413) 664-4481 x8113
katherine@massmoca.org