Kim Gordon

Thursday, March 5, 2015
8:00pm

Kim Gordon
in conversation with Aimee Mann

discussing her memoir 
Girl in a Band

The Aero Theatre
1328 Montana Avenue
Santa Monica, CA 90404

SORRY, EVENT IS SOLD OUT. 

$43 Includes Gordon’s memoir + Reserved Seats 
$20 General Admission 
$30 Reserved Seats 

Kim Gordon is a musician, vocalist, visual artist, record producer, video director, fashion designer, and actress. Gordon, who started out as a visual artist, rose to prominence as the bassist, guitarist, and vocalist of alternative rock band Sonic Youth, which she formed with Thurston Moore in 1981. In 1990, Gordon and Spike Jonze co-directed The Breeders video “Cannonball.” In 1993 she launched her own fashion line, X-Girl, and continues to work in fashion from time to time. She has appeared in several films, including Gus Van Sant’s Last Days, as well as episodes of Gossip Girl and Girls. In 2012, after the breakup of Sonic Youth, Gordon formed Body/Head with friend Bill Nace. In June 2015, the 303 Gallery in New York will feature a show of her work. 

In her memoir, Girl in a Band, Kim Gordon tells her story — of life as an artist, of music, marriage, motherhood, independence, and as one of the first women of rock and roll.  She opens up as never before, telling the story of her family, growing up in California in the ’60s and ’70s, her life in visual art, her move to New York City, the men in her life, her marriage, her relationship with her daughter, her music, and her band.

Gordon takes us back to the lost New York of the 1980s and ’90s that gave rise to Sonic Youth, and the Alternative revolution in popular music. The band helped build a vocabulary of music—paving the way for Nirvana, Hole, Smashing Pumpkins and many other acts. But at its core, Girl in a Band examines the route from girl to woman in uncharted territory, music, art career, what partnership means—and what happens when that identity dissolves.

Evocative and edgy, filled with the sights and sounds of a changing world and a transformative life, Girl in a Band is the fascinating chronicle of a remarkable journey and an extraordinary artist.

Aimee Mann is a singer/songwriter known for her early hits with ‘Til Tuesday and her later solo work.  She dropped out of the Berklee School of Music to join a punk band, setting off her musical career at an early age. Soon she would co-found ‘Til Tuesday, a new-wave band that found success with its first album, Voices Carry. The title track would become an MTV favorite, propelling Mann and the band into the spotlight. It wasn’t long before Mann struck out on her own, though, leaving the band behind for a solo career. Critical success but commercial weakness marked her early efforts, but Mann found rejuvenation in her soundtrack work for the film Magnolia. She took home an Oscar and a Grammy for “Save Me,” and her output began to ramp up, including such albums as The Forgotten Arm and Charmer.

 

 

 

 

LA Weekly picks both Norman Lear (March 2) and Kim Gordon (March 5) events as “14 fun things to do in LA this week.”

We are thrilled both our events next week made the LA Weekly “14 fun things to do in L.A. this week.”  Visit our website for tickets and more information on these events.  Here’s what the LA Weekly had to say about both events.

Norman LearMonday  3/2

The lovable bigot, the women’s libber, the blue-collar African-American family — the 1970s belonged to Norman Lear, thanks to All in the Family, Maude, The Jeffersons and Good Times. In his new book,Even This I Get to Experience, Lear writes about growing up in the Great Depression and fighting in World War II before he became one of the biggest sitcom producers in TV history. He helped create more than 100 shows, nine of which aired simultaneously. As part of Live Talks Los Angeles, Lear discusses his memoir with another comedic heavyweight, Emmy-winning actress Jane Lynch (Glee). (More on Lear’s impact on diversity in Hollywood on page 11.) Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave., Santa Monica; Mon., March 2, 8 p.m.; $25-$50. livetalksla.org. —Siran Babayan

 

Thursday 3/5Kim Gordon

Singer, artist and designer Kim Gordon talks about her new book, Girl in a Band, which chronicles the history of her band, Sonic Youth, and the evolution of alternative music. Gordon traces her roots back to her childhood in L.A. with a father who taught for UCLA, plus her move to New York, the city’s no-wave scene and stints in early bands. Gordon also opens up about motherhood, ex-husband Thurston Moore and other alt-music royalty, namely — and to no one’s surprise — Courtney Love. Part of Live Talks Los Angeles, the event is moderated by singer Aimee Mann. Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave., Santa Monica; Thu., March 5, 8 p.m.; $20-$43 (top price includes Gordon’s book). livetalksla.org. —Siran Babayan

 

Kim Gordon in the news; with Aimee Mann at Live Talks LA on March 5

Kim Gordon with Aimee Mann March 5We host Kim Gordon in conversation with Aimee Mann at Live Talks Los Angeles on March 5, 2015, 8pm at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica. Ticket info here.  

Gordon’s new memoir is Girl in a Band, and is getting much attention in the press. Here’s a summary of some reviews and features on Kim Gordon and her upcoming book.

— Feature in  The New York Times, Feb. 18, “Kim Gordon, Sonic Youth’s Antifrontwoman, on the Band and Breakups”
— Review in Los Angeles Times, Feb 19, “Girl in a Band’ is Kim Gordon’s unconventional self-creation tale”
— On All things Considered, NPR, Feb. 22, “Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon On Marriage, Music And Moving On”
ABC News, Feb. 23, “Book Review: Kim Gordon Is More Than Just a ‘Girl in a Band’
— Excerpt in Vogue, Feb .19
In The Guardian, Feb. 6, ‘Kim Gordon: ‘Women aren’t allowed to be kick-ass. I refused to play the game’
— In Spin, Feb.6, “Kim Gordon Writes About Nirvana’s ‘Charismatic’ Live Shows in New Memoir”
— Interview in GQ, Feb, “Kim Gordon: Queen of the Underground”
New York Post, Feb. 21, on the beak up of her marriage and Sonic Youth
New Republic, Feb 4, “Even Kim Gordon Doesn’t Have It All”
Art News, Feb. 10, “How to Kill Your Idols: Kim Gordon Takes No Prisoners in New Memoir”
NME, Feb. 6, “Thurston gets a kicking, but it’s the Sonic Youth icon’s vivid documentation of US subcultures that impresses”
New York Magazine, Feb. 24, Excerpt, “Kim Gordon on the Pain and Anger of Performing With Her Ex”
The New Yorker, Feb. 24, “Kim Gordon, Kurt Cobain, and the Mythology of Punk”