Home Grown Avant Garde – Noise Conference Recap

As a newbie to the Noise genre I was thrilled to encounter a broad variety of artists at the International Noise Conference here in Spokane.

Walking up the Object Space staircase made me feel like I was entering the set of a Stanley Kubrick film. It was a foggy and quiet night outside, the wet streets of E. Sprague reflected light from the Bollywood Video and Grocery as a volunteer swept the floor inside One World Cafe.

It was refreshing to experience something different that challenged me as a listener and pushed me towards the edge of my auditory comfort zone.

It’s great when local community-driven radio can assist in promoting these kinds of events. Organizer Lewis Pardun utilized his show Avant Gardening on KYRS for this very purpose.

It’s also great when the local mainstream press can write honestly about the merits of such an alternative genre without pandering to the sensationalized fantasies of certain Spokane readers.

Last, it never hurts to receive some co-promotional support from the local creative culture incubating network.  Wonderground Collective endorsed the INC and helped reach a few new audience members that would have otherwise remained in the dark.