Zikr

recent

2009-09-27T21:23:00.000-07:00

we have moved into a new a new space in the caverns of the music garage here in Chicago.
this is one of many videos documenting experiences within.
(shot by Reid)

_bill

photos

2009-08-24T23:38:00.000-07:00

the ep is back from the printer.
here are some snapshots of it as well as the details:

if you would like to purchase one
contact us at: zikrmusic@gmail.com
or contact ryan at: info@quanrecordings.com

the ep is $5 for 3 songs and all original artwork by myself.
all proceeds go to the funding of the next disc.

_bill

our lament: a silent suffocation

2009-08-20T14:38:00.000-07:00

hi,

I'm Joseph George, and I think I'm on the right track.

There is nothing more that I wish to accomplish with this seemingly self-indulgent sludge of constructed cacophony than to bring together the disparate stir of an deprived cultural community, which continues to exist latently and in isolation in front of computer screens and television sets around the world. Albeit, no one mortal individual should ever be responsible for a singular global culture (and I see any such attempts as pure imperialism), I myself would find ultimate life fulfillment in the success of connecting with even the most concentrated of locale.

Music is a language that never says anything more than, "Listen to my humanity."

We found a special place, more than just a building, here in Chicago, where we will try our share at articulating this message.

Love.

flyer, photos, more to come

2009-07-26T22:33:00.000-07:00

hello,
first off (as Joseph already mentioned) we are headlining a show at Subterranean with Chicago electronic acts Silences Sumire and Aphorism. here is a flyer i drew up for it:
and here are some photos i recently took on the trip to master our EP.
more news on that very very soon.

_bill

ZiKR LIVE @ Subterranean

2009-07-22T14:47:00.000-07:00

Zikr is performing with Silences Sumire (myspace.com/silencessumire)

Sunday August 9, 2009

Doors: 8 PM, 17+

Subterranean

2011 W. North Ave. Chicago, IL 60647

[located in Wicker Park, steps from the Blue Line Damen stop]

phone: 773-278-6600

>>Tickets<<

Online pre-sale available here:

http://www.ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?dispatch=loadSelectionData&eventId=2188844

3rd act TBA

the antidote for slow sundays

2009-05-29T11:11:00.000-07:00

afternoon!

ZiKR is performing this Sunday 5/31. We're opening up for Chicago bands Big Science & Skybox. DePaul friends also playing: Face Time Police, The Girly Drinks.

Cortelyou Commons (the alleged filming location of the fencing scene from the Macaulay Culkin classic "Richie Rich")

2324 N. Fremont

Chicago, IL 60614

DePaul University

Downbeat: 7 PM sharp.

Admission: 1 positive, galvanizing attitude [$0]

Open to "general public".

That means you.

[we'll also have a limited supply of a pre-release of our first EP, available for any kind of donation -monetary or not so.]

april showers, may flowers : first CD release emerges out of the horizon

2009-05-13T21:16:00.000-07:00

hi,

this is joseph. you may remember. i felt like letting anyone who's mindful enough to check this blog from time to time, or those who happened to accidentally end up here (which is no less a valid excuse to read these rants) that i and my dear friend Lachlan A. Fletcher (now of Montreal) will be doing a mix of a session now nearly a month old. despite the uncomfortable length of time between these dauntingly spaced stepping stones, it is healthy for me to rest my ears from songs i have devoted much of my energy to rendering these past weeks. i can re-approach with a cleansed palate, perhaps.

we recorded this material in a single 18 hour session at Strobe Recording in Chicago with a personally inspirational figure of mine: Jeremy Lemos (White/Light, Semaphore Recording). though grueling, draining, frustrating as it was, it was nevertheless enlightening and life affirming. in attendance were the backbone and QB: my brother Reid Garrison Miller, and Ryan Jedlicka, respectively. i cannot wait to do this again. but i should probably finish this project before beginning another, which only leads me back to paragraph one.

bill has made beautiful sleeves for these compact discs. his work speaks for itself (though in an eerie child-like whisper). as usual.

many happenings. much excitement. hence my overwhelming desire to share it with you. whoever you are.

April showers shall truly bring May flowers... if you wait to watch them bloom.

joseph_george

p.s. Zikr will play a short set opening for Chicago bands Big Science and Skybox at DePaul University Sunday May 31st at 6:30 PM. it's free. and we're playing in the building they filmed the fencing scene in "Richie Rich", so i'm told. why wouldn't you want to be there?

+

2009-02-06T13:00:00.000-08:00

i know, i know
long time no update.

things in the process:
-posters are being printed
(scans/photos up next week when they get printed)

-official additions to the lineup:
Reid Garrison (M): magnetic tape strips, allsorts
Matthew Shaw: guitar, vocal cords
*those of you who were at our shows may already be aware
but for those who aren't, welcome them. they're great.

and here is an excerpt from some live basement
improv sessions taken back in October with
Joseph, Jimmy, and Matt:

there's a lot more to come.

and one last thing:
i know i speak for all of us when i say,
thank you Charlie Cooper.
you will be missed.

_bill

BOTTOM LOUNGE TOMORROW ( 1/9/09)

2009-01-08T09:44:00.000-08:00

we have just been informed that we are playing
tomorrow night at Bottom Lounge.
the show starts at 9pm (doors are at 8)
cost:$8
21+

for further information, visit
http://www.bottomlounge.com

_bill

Everything, Repeating

2009-01-06T14:18:00.000-08:00

just finished a short promo video.
footage, editing, audio: RGM, Bill Connors
(click thumbnail above)

pro--------gress.

2009-01-01T15:18:00.000-08:00

hey all.
quick update:

first off, thank you everyone who made it out to the show.
your presence meant a lot to us.

secondly, all apologies for not updating anything in a while.
we have been (happily) incredibly busy these days.

Our dear friend and colleague Lachlan Fletcher has been working overtime with us;
snapping pictures of the show, and working intensely the last few days on the recording
of new material.

also, we have a bunch of new photos courtesy of Reid Miller which i will be working on posting to the site within the next week or so. i hope to have the video page up and running, and finally getting up the bulk of the photos we have.

ALSO we will be working on mixing the raw recordings we took at the show and hopefully have those up somewhere as soon as possible.

till then,
_bill

ZiKR LIVE @ Reggie's Rock Club

2008-11-19T20:04:00.000-08:00

ZiKR at

Reggie's Rock Club

Chicago, IL

2109 South State Street

Sunday December 28, 2008

Doors open @ 8 PM

17+ (be sure to have valid ID!)

yes, yes.

we are excited too.

please join us for,

our Chicago debut.

oh, how we long

to share it with you.

and we truly, truly do.

>>CLICK HERE<< for all kinds of directions

love,

joseph george

zikr stickers

2008-11-18T22:02:00.000-08:00

hello.
the stickers i designed were printed.
i just now got around to scanning them.
they are CMYK offset prints on glossy sticker paper
individually cut and corner rounded by yours truly

printed at SAIC by Todd Rau.
still have to figure out when/how these will be distributed
so look out for that.
(the quarter is just there for size comparison.)

(p.s. these are meant for indoor use. in other words
they are not durable enough to be used as bumper
stickers or anything fancy like that.)

_bill

Website

2008-11-06T09:12:00.000-08:00

So i was up most of last night putting the finishing touches on the still incomplete website.
however, it is all finally presentable:

www.zikrmusic.com

Red Makes White Violet will be uploaded on the music page as soon as i complete a worthy
image to accompany it. i promise.

Also, if you are using Internet Explorer as your web browser, the photo albums will not load.
i will do what i can to figure out how to fix this, but for now the best results are obtained through
Firefox or Safari.

This is the first website i have ever done and
I coded out the whole thing by hand so there is bound to be some errors.
as it says on the site, you can contact me with any problems via wconno@saic.edu and i
will do my best to fix them as soon as possible.

The video page is coming soon with high quality videos done by Reid Miller
with some collaboration from myself.

here is a short promo video he did recently that i adore.
(the hi-res version can be viewed at youtube):

_bill

Cleaning Out the Attic

2008-10-30T18:56:00.000-07:00

in talking with Joseph tonight, we have decided to begin
posting clips of rehearsals, un-heard jams,
scraps, bits and pieces of recordings we have been accumulating.

blowing the dust off of them and letting you hear
more than what we "release".

this is one of those...
a clip of Joseph playing piano, recorded by Jimmy on a dictaphone.
all sorts of nice clammer in the background.

_bill

rehearsal recordings

2008-10-27T11:54:00.000-07:00

pleased to announce some excitingly decent sounding rehearsal recordings are accumulating. i talked with bill about initiating a weekly rehearsal recording blog highlighting the development of these sounds and songs and the degradation of our mental "well-being". that will be installed soon. i know "soon" is a scary word when i say it, but i'm serious. or as serious as i can be.

'til then

joseph

provoke a wordless mind

2008-10-27T11:32:00.000-07:00

from this strange comfort in cold agoraphobia, i write the first words of a wordless mind directly to the millions of latent listening ears, reading retinas, & meaning seeking sub-consciences...

to quote a line from a film making friend, "this is where it starts."

so, let the crescendo crescendo.

let it be the first of many.

have you ever hesitated to turn over a rock afraid that doing so would reveal an enormity of lively activity of strange subterranean creatures dwelling bellow the dirt?

be not afraid. but alwaysalways learn something. you never know. remember what it means to be human. or forget it entirely.

you never know.

joseph george

2008-10-23T16:39:00.001-07:00

hi all, although it appears all is quiet on the home front,
there is a bustle of activity below the surface that shall be emerging shortly.
so ends this anticlimactic "update".
here is a drawing.
(click to enlarge)

_bill

2

2008-10-14T20:34:00.000-07:00

Our good friend, better half, missing link, other brother
Lachlan Fletcher was just in from Canada for the weekend.

amongst other things, we worked with him a bit on tracking
some guitar for "doesnt matter what i say"
as well as initial discussion about the direction of new material.

all i can say is when this maple leaf comes back for christmas,
there will be some major work done.

aside from all that, i am currently working on the designs for
3"x5" promotional cards, 12.5"x19" posters, and possibly stickers
which are being offset printed and will be handed out at shows
and distributed through the mailing list.

there are a variety of designs that are being produced over the
next few months and i will post scans of them once every color is printed.
so stay tuned for that.

there is a lot more going on, but i will elaborate once things have
been solidified.

soon,
_bill

>>>

2008-10-08T22:24:00.000-07:00

hello.
this is the home of all miscellaneous news,
extra snapshots, ranting, previewing, discussion,
updating, and interneting for Zikr.

since the layout of the site is so inconvenient
(thanks to yours truly) for updating news and such,
it only seemed logical for us to join the blogging community.

and now we are interactive.

so there it is.
here it is.
more to come.

_bill