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R E L E A S E S 2006
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September 21, 2006
Alloy Orchestra Accompanies Hitchcock Film at MASS MoCA
(North Adams, Mass.) The always-inventive Alloy Orchestra returns with their trademark assort-ment of junk - horseshoes, truck springs, radiator pipes, sheet metal, and vacuum cleaner canisters - to provide a live musical soundtrack to Alfred Hitchcock's Blackmail, at MASS MoCA on Saturday, October 21, at 8 P.M. Roger Ebert calls the Alloy Orchestra, "The best in the world at accompanying silent films."
Hitchcock's 1929 film was made in two versions, one silent and one with sound - Hitchcock's first talkie. It stars Anny Ondra as Alice White who, despite being engaged, goes to a hot British nightspot and flirts with an artist at the next table. She accepts his invitation to tour his studio but refuses his request to pose in the nude. When the request becomes a demand, she stabs her attacker to death. Doing her best to forget the incident she's haunted by her conscience, her Scotland Yard Detective fiancé, and a mysterious rat who materializes with a blackmail demand. Hitchcock made creative use of the new sound technology: when his star's Eastern European accent was too difficult to understand he had British actress Joan Barry dub her voice. Working with an outrageous assemblage of peculiar objects, the Alloy Orchestra thrashes and grinds soulful music from unlikely sources. With Terry Donahue playing percussion, accordion, and vocals; Ken Winokur on percussion and clarinet; and Roger C. Miller on synthesizer - they use a combination of found percussion and state-of-the-art electronics to create almost any sound imaginable. Helping to revive some of the great masterpieces of the silent film era, the Alloy Orchestra has performed at film festivals around the world including The Telluride Film Festival, The Louvre, Lincoln Center, The Academy of Motion Pictures, and the National Gallery of Art, among others. Lickety Split will be open to serve full dinners and snacks starting at 7 P.M. when the doors open. There will also be a full bar. The film is presented in conjunction with the Williamstown Film Festival and will be followed by a discussion with members of Alloy Orchestra about the joys and challenges of scoring silent films. After the Q&A audience members are invited to a reception with Alloy and the board of the Williamstown Film Festival. Tickets to Blackmail with Alloy Orchestra are $14 in advance, $18 the day of the show, and $10 for students. MASS MoCA members get 10% off. Tickets are available through the MASS MoCA Box Office located on Marshall Street in North Adams from 10 A.M. until 6 P.M. daily. Tickets can also be charged by phone by calling 413.662.2111 during Box Office hours or online at www.massmoca.org at any time of day. MASS MoCA, the largest center for contemporary visual and performing arts in the United States, is located on 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