After Saturday is next Saturday, get it??

Top Listener Voted Albums of the Decade Countdown

According to Seattle’s KEXP. Whattya think? Do we agree??

Rank Artist Album Label Year
1 Arcade Fire Funeral Merge (2004)
2 Radiohead Kid A Capitol (2000)
3 Wilco Yankee Hotel Foxtrot Nonesuch (2002)
4 Radiohead In Rainbows ATO (2007)
5 Sufjan Stevens Illinois Asthmatic Kitty (2005)
6 Death Cab for Cutie Transatlanticism Barsuk (2003)
7 The Flaming Lips Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Warner Bros (2002)
8 Modest Mouse The Moon and Antarctica Epic (2000)
9 Band of Horses Everything All the Time Sub Pop (2006)
10 Fleet Foxes Fleet Foxes Sub Pop (2008)
11 The Strokes Is This It RCA (2001)
12 The National Boxer Beggars Banquet (2007)
13 The Shins Chutes Too Narrow Sub Pop (2003)
14 Interpol Turn on the Bright Lights Matador (2002)
15 The White Stripes Elephant V2 (2003)
16 The Postal Service Give Up Sub Pop (2003)
17 LCD Soundsystem Sound of Silver Capitol (2007)
18 Neko Case Fox Confessor Brings the Flood Anti- (2006)
19 Arcade Fire Neon Bible Merge (2007)
20 Animal Collective Merriweather Post Pavilion Domino (2009)
21 PJ Harvey Stories From The City, Stories From the Sea Island (2000)
22 Broken Social Scene You Forgot It In People Arts & Crafts/Paper Bag (2003)
23 The Wrens The Meadowlands Absolutely Kosher (2003)
24 The White Stripes White Blood Cells Sympathy for the Record Industry (2001)
25 Sigur Ros Agaetis Byrjun Fatcat (2001)
26 Sigur Ros Takk Geffen (2005)
27 Radiohead Amnesiac Capitol (2001)
28 Yeah Yeah Yeahs Fever to Tell Interscope (2003)
29 Beck Sea Change DGC (2002)
30 Radiohead Hail to the Thief Capitol (2003)
31 Bjork Vespertine Elektra (2001)
32 Elliott Smith Figure 8 Dreamworks (2000)
33 Amy Winehouse Back to Black Universal Republic (2007)
34 Beck Guero Interscope (2005)
35 TV on the Radio Return to Cookie Mountain Touch and Go (2006)
36 Neko Case Blacklisted Bloodshot (2002)
37 Shins Oh, Inverted World Sub Pop (2001)
38 Bright Eyes I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning Saddle Creek (2005)
39 Bloc Party Silent Alarm Vice (2005)
40 Ryan Adams Heartbreaker Bloodshot (2000)
41 The Hold Steady Boys and Girls in America Vagrant (2006)
42 Death Cab for Cutie Plans Atlantic (2005)
43 Outkast Stankonia LaFace / Arista (2000)
44 Modest Mouse Good News for People Who Love Bad News Epic (2004)
46 Clap Your Hands Say Yeah Clap Your Hands Say Yeah self-released (2005)
47 Arctic Monkeys Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not Domino (2006)
48 Sigur Ros ( ) Fat Cat (2002)
49 The Decemberists The Crane Wife Capitol (2006)
50 M.I.A. Arular XL (2005)
51 Wolf Parade Apologies to the Queen Mary Sub Pop (2005)
52 Kings of Leon Aha Shake Heartbreak RCA (2005)
53 Spoon Gimme Fiction Merge (2005)
54 Spoon Kill the Moonlight Merge (2002)
55 Devotchka How It Ends Cicero (2004)
56 Nada Surf Let Go Barsuk (2003)
57 My Morning Jacket Z ATO/ RCA (2005)
58 Vampire Weekend Vampire Weekend XL (2008)
59 Band of Horses Cease to Begin Sub Pop (2007)
60 Beirut The Flying Club Cup Ba Da Bing (2007)
61 M.I.A. Kala Interscope (2007)
62 TV on the Radio Dear Science Interscope (2008)
63 The Mountain Goats The Sunset Tree 4AD (2005)
64 The Knife Silent Shout Mute (2006)
65 Bright Eyes Lifted or The Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground Saddle Creek (2002)
66 Beirut Gulag Orkestar Ba Da Bing! (2006)
67 Mclusky Mclusky Do Dallas Too Pure (2002)
68 Interpol Antics Matador (2004)
69 The Decemberists Picaresque Kill Rock Stars (2005)
70 The Black Keys Rubber Factory Fat Possum (2004)
71 The Black Angels Passover Light in the Attic (2006)
72 Grizzly Bear Yellow House Warp (2006)
73 Andrew Bird Armchair Apocrypha Fat Possum (2007)
74 Silversun Pickups Carnavas Dangerbird (2006)
75 Wilco Sky Blue Sky Nonesuch (2007)
76 My Morning Jacket It Still Moves ATO/RCA (2003)
77 Spoon Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga Merge (2007)
78 The Shins Wincing the Night Away Sub Pop (2007)
79 Panda Bear Person Pitch Paw Tracks (2007)
80 Phoenix Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix Glassnote (2009)
81 Built to Spill You in Reverse Warner Bros (2006)
82 Iron & Wine Our Endless Numbered Days Sub Pop (2004)
83 The Flaming Lips At War with the Mystics Warner Bros (2006)
84 Gnarls Barkley St. Elsewhere Downtown (2006)
85 The Thermals The Body The Blood The Machine Sub Pop (2006)
86 Franz Ferdinand Franz Ferdinand Domino (2004)
87 Bon Iver For Emma, Forever Ago Jagjaguwar (2008)
88 Tom Waits Orphans Anti- (2006)
89 Animal Collective Strawberry Jam Domino (2007)
90 Peter Bjorn and John Writer’s Block Wichita (2006)
90.3 Portishead Third Mercury (2008)

don’t forget! saturday!

Holland Board of Directors & Advisory Board

We wanted you all to know what an incredible team we have behind this operation. So, without further ado, we present to you the Holland Board of Directors and the Holland Advisory Board.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Cassandra Joseph, Attorney, Watson Rounds
Cassandra Joseph is an attorney practicing intellectual property litigation at Watson Rounds in Reno. Cassandra serves as Secretary on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors for the Holland Project. She is a mother and supporter of local youth development programs.

Dave LaPlante, CEO, Twelve Horses
David LaPlante is CEO of Reno-headquartered Twelve Horses, a online brand marketing and messaging technology agency. David is a founder and current chairman of Nevada’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology and serves on the boards of directors for Holland Project, Artown, EDAWN, Reno Bike Project and the Reno-Tahoe Entrepreneurs’ Organization. Entrepreneurship, art, design, skiing, bikes and raising a culturally creative family are his passion. Reno is the best city on the planet for that mix of passions.

Jevan Burchfield, Global Project Manager, Microsoft Licensing
Jevan Burchfield has been an active participant of the all ages music scene in Reno for 15 years playing in bands Evenground, Means to Amend, 1618, and a new unnamed project. He continues to book and play shows and support the all ages music scene. Jevan contributes time to the Holland Project by providing direction, business/operations skills, and vision, along with the rest of the Holland Project Board of Directors, to further the Holland Project mission of providing all-ages access to music, art, and activism for the Reno community’s youth. Jevan is currently the President of the Holland Project Board of Directors and uses every opportunity available to expand the reach of influence and notoriety of the Holland Project within our community and beyond.

Joe Ferguson, Holland co-founder / Educator, Rainshadow Community Charter High School
Reno-native Joe Ferguson is a co-founder of the Holland Project and currently sits on their Board of Directors as the Treasurer. Joe is a long-time activist, working with Sound and Fury Records, The Great Basin Community Food Co-op, and Reno Food Not Bombs. Joe is a teacher at Rainshadow Community Charter High School where he enjoys working with at-risk youth and watching them find success in their passions. Joe enjoys playing music, gardening, riding bikes, hanging out with his family, and helping Reno become a great place to be a kid.

Marnee Benson, Development Director, Black Rock Solar / Co-manager, March Fourth Marching Band
Marnee graduated from UNR with two Master’s degrees in Environmental Science and Environmental Policy and has written extensively on topics from the Coeur D’Alene Art Auction to climate change for differrent publications including Western Art & Architecture, Reno Magazine, and the Reno News & Review. Marnee organized the Tour de Nez bike race for three years and currently serves on the Truckee Meadows Bicycle Alliance. Marnee has worked for Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Music Festival, and Burning Man. She’s a skier, cyclist, and climber who loves playing in the sunshine and hiking in the mountains.

Megan Berner, Artist and Educator, University of Nevada, Reno
Megan Berner is an artist who currently teaches photography at the University of Nevada Reno and is working for the Nevada Conservation Corps combining photography and conservation efforts in Lake Tahoe. She received an Endowment Fund Grant from Sierra Arts Foundation in 2009 and was an Obermann Graduate Fellow at the University of Iowa in 2008 where she proposed teaching a class centered around gardening. She worked for public television for two years and has volunteered as a tutor for Limited English Proficient students at a local elementary school.

Mike Steedman, Owner, Studio on Fourth
Mike Steedman, owner of Studio on Fourth—a small performance art space, is a community-advocate who has worked with a variety of local organizations and entities including Youth Artworks, Reno Celtic Celebration, Boys and Girls Club, NV Opera, and the Ready for Life Task Force. Mike also serves on the Neighborhood Advisory Board for Ward 3, and is highly active in downtown redevelopment issues, as well as the advancement of the 4th Street corridor.

Rachel Milon, Director of Communications and Marketing, Nevada Museum of Art / Principal, Quick Brown Fox PR
Rachel Milon has worked at advertising and marketing agencies in San Francisco, New York, London and Reno. She is the founder of Quick Brown Fox PR, working with a range of clients in arts and entertainment, fashion and beauty. Youth and the arts are her passion and she is proud to currently serve on the Board of the Holland Project where her focus is to help promote and encourage the growth and acceptance of all ages lifestyles, events and activities.

Ryan Gold, Owner, Imperial Bar and Lounge, Lincoln Lounge
Ryan Gold, an Illinois-native, is co-Owner and founder of Imperial Concepts LLC, Imperial Bar and Lounge, and The Lincoln Lounge. His businesses have contributed to revitalization of downtown and the Fourth Street corridor, increasing both quality and diversity of Reno’s nightlife.

ADVISORY BOARD

Aaryn Walker, Red Chair
Ben Arnold, Wooster High School
Cari Cunningham, University of Nevada, Reno
Chris Fairchild, Grubb and Ellis
Dave Branson, WSCD
Deane Albright, Albright, Pershing, and Associates
Delores Aiazzi, St. Marys
Dennyse Daniels, Pioneer Center
Erika Frick, FLF Films
Gretchen Bietz, Discovery Museum
Jasmine Cividino, Crush Hair Studio
Jim Litchfield, Fluid Concepts/Reno River Fest
Kathie Bartlett, Dickson Realty
Lauren Siegel, former director Nevada EcoNet
Marin Gillis, University of Nevada, Reno
Mark Curtis, Mark Curtis & Friends
Mercedes de la Garza, Mercedes de la Garza Architect Studio
Molly Conklin, Ferraro Group
Molly Dahl, Reed High School
Pan Pantoja, Drama Instructor / Playwrite
Paul and Deb Martin, Bibo Coffee Company
Rebecca LeBeau, Child Assault Prevention
Scott Walquist, KPS3
Susan Mayes Smith, TMCC High School
Tim Jones, Nevada Arts Council

Yes, I am a Tornado Chaser

Hey severe weather fans. It’s the end of the year, and that means it’s time to re-cap all this year had to offer musically (or at least a few of my favorite things.) If you haven’t checked out any of these, I strongly urge you to.

The Tornado’s Top Ten of 2009 (In no particular order):

1. Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest
Troy₃ put it best when describing Veckatimest: “It renders all of Grizzly Bear’s previous records obsolete.” Amazingly lush production, beautiful vocal harmonies, giant instrumental sounds, there really is nothing to dislike about this record.

2. Polvo – In Prism
This rivals Veckatimest as my most-listened-to record of 2009. Who knew these guys had it in them (and after 12 years of inactivity, no less.) This band was a huge influence on my band Think In French and can easily stand along with the mid 90’s Touch and Go greats.

3. Pissed Jeans – King of Jeans
For some reason everyone was so over Pissed Jeans this year. Why? This album kicks just as much ass as it’s predecessor, and was way heavier, louder, funnier, and more bludgeoning than just about everything else released this year.

4. Sonic Youth – The Eternal
Duh.
Also, Mark Ibold plays bass for them now. Double duh.

5. Raekwon – Only Built for Cuban Linx II
2009 seemed like the comeback year for waaay too many 90’s rappers, and at the top of the heap was Raekwon, with the sequel to one of the best hip-hop albums ever made. Just as rad and vital as any solo Wu Tang effort from the mid 90’s… another complete shocker.

6. Obits – I Blame You
The Legacy of Rick Froberg lives on. The former Drive Like Jehu/Hot Snakes frontman hasn’t missed a step with his new band, Obits. It’s a bit garage-ier than Hot Snakes, but is just as kick-ass.

7. Thee Oh Sees – Help
Another rad garage gem from another dude who was in about a bazillion great bands. This one is way more spacey and raw than I Blame You, but has all the hooks. They also put on one of the best live shows I’ve seen in years.

8. Chain and the Gang – Down with LIberty, Up with Chains
Ian Svenonius has a lot of hats. Next to Nation of Ulysses, I think I like this one best.

9. Part Chimp – Thriller
Another contender (along with Sunn O))) and Baroness) for heaviest album of the year. Ultimately, what sells me on Part Chimp is the guitars. I don’t think they’re punched up intentionally; rather when you record a wall of amps, the vocals and drums are bound to take a backseat. Plus, who names their album Thriller? Excellent.

10. Converge – Axe to Fall
This one is another no-brainer. It’s Converge’s best album since Jane Doe, which means it’s probably one of the best hardcore albums ever. Essential for anyone even remotely interested in hardcore.

Some other rad albums that deserve honorable mention:
Baroness – Blue Album
Circulatory System – Signal Morning
Drunkdriver – Born Pregnant
Ferocious Eagle – Laughing at the Horror of Being Alive
Flaming Lips – Embryonic
Mi Ami – Watersports
Mos Def – The Ecstatic
Propagandhi – Supporting Caste
Pterodactyl – Worldwild
Sunn O))) – Monoliths and Dimensions

I’m also going to do a little something extra this year and hook you up with my Top 30 of 2009 mixtape, split up into 3 parts, for you to enjoy this New Year’s Eve. Artists are limited to one song each. Here’s the tracklist (for you to assemble yourself) and if someone will help me out, I’ll try to get a podcast up before NYE. Enjoy.

Part I:
Atlas Sound – “Walk About”
Sonic Youth – “What We Know”
Grizzly Bear – “Two Weeks”
The Cool Kids – “Delivery Man”
Drunkdriver – “Dick in a Mousetrap”
Mi Ami – “New Guitar”
Mastodon – “Divinations”
Javelin – “Vibrations”
Obits – “Light Sweet Crude”
Preodactyl – “Old Clouds”

Part II:
Thee Oh Sees – “Enemy Destruct”
Pissed Jeans – “Dream Smotherer”
Mos Def – “Auditorium” featuring Slick Rick
Japandroids – “Wet Hair”
Cymbals Eat Guitars – “Tunguska”
Ferocious Eagle – “I’m Not a Monster”
Propagandhi – “Human(E) Meat (The Flensing of Sandor Katz)”
Polvo – “Beggar’s Bowl”
Picture Plane – “Goth Star”
Raekwon – “House of Flying Daggers”

Part III:
Circulatory System – “This Morning (We Remembered Everything)”
Part Chimp – “Dirty Sun”
The Flaming Lips – “Watching the Planets” featuring Karen O
Baroness – “Jake Leg”
Jay Z – “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)”
Chain and the Gang – “Reparations”
Converge – “Dark Horse”
Health – “Nice Girls”
Radiohead – “Harry Patch (In Memory of)”
Sunn O))) – “Big Church”

coming soon to knock your socks off…

GRASS WIDOW!

Check out Tripwire review:
Every mention of Grass Widow in the music press is like, “did you know that the definition of Grass Widow is ……….?” Not here at Tripwire. No way. We feel we’re doing more than enough by sharing “Lulu’s Lips” off Grass Widow’s new 12″ on Captured Tracks. You want an English lesson in addition to musical epiphanies? Then give us $40,000 instead of handing it over to your fancy private college’s admissions office. And until we receive that check in the mail, you’re just going to have to look up info on Grass Widow’s upcoming New York City shows yourself. Consider yourself lucky.

And with Reno’s own Mary Manners and Penny Darger??? We’re talking supreme girl power of the right sort.

OMG! Check this out…

That’s right. My Flag, plus Hopscotch Whisky, Joe Little AND Crush. In one place, at one time. It’s gonna rule.

New Years Eve Eve! (we’re talking about Wednesday…)

join join join us for a New Year’s Eve-Eve bash Wednesday at Rainshadow CCHS!

Portland sweethearts ASSS and Wampire will be enrobing us with tunes of the experimental/electronic/knock-your-socks-off nature, along with local acts Always Fierce and Swahili.

Totes all ages. Totes fun. $5 donations accepted for touring band!

This Saturday at River School! All Ages!

Year-in-Review!

To our friends,

We wanted to take a minute and thank you for your support of the Holland Project. As is our tradition, every year we put together a wrap letter to highlight some of our accomplishments over the past twelve months, and to thank you for making it possible to do what we do.

As every media outlet in the country compiles their “top ten” lists to close the decade, we decided to do our own list to share with you and thank you for your support and dedication to Reno’s all-ages movement and our project. It’s kinda like those other top ten lists, except ours goes to 11.

Here we go: Holland Top Eleven of 2-0-0-9!

11. Hot Happenings at the Holland Headquarters
The Holland HQ was a veritable hive of activity this year with six gallery exhibits (including Paper Thin, Secret Show, Andrei Hill BFA, Eclectic, and the Installation Exhibit), nine workshop events (Silkscreening, Cute Craft, Printmaking, Papermaking, Clothing Modification, and more), the ever-popular and cozy Punk Rock Storytellers series, new Listening Parties, and Get Stuff Done Night. And adding to the excitement of it all, we received two new lovely neighbors this year—The Hub Coffee Co. and Bootleg Courier.

10. 3-Minute Film Competition
Over 30 submissions came in for Holland’s first-ever 3-minute film competition that debuted at the NMA during Teen Art Night. Each submission wowed the heck out of us, from horror zombie flicks to romance to mockumentary to art films to music video. The competition proved that there’s some real cinematic promise in our town. Stay tuned for Round 2, taking place in Spring 2010.

9. Dance, Dance, Dance!
With performances from Culture Shock, Artfullsouls, Allison Prater, Dead Bird Movement, and Four Rooms Dance Collective, Holland continued to spotlight emerging dancers and dance collectives, celebrating movement in its grassroots, underground, and independent forms.

8. <21songs!: A Holland Compilation CD
<21 (Songs!) gathered 20 tracks of local and national artists that have played the Holland Project and have supported all-ages music—providing an excellent follow-up to Holland’s first compilation: 19 Bands, 1 Community, released in the winter of 2006. Local artists on <21 (songs!) include My Flag is on Fire, Manacle, Apprentice, Deepen the Wound, Guardrails, Xenophobes, Hopscotch Whisky, Swahili, Short Hair, Emic, Buster Blue, Always Fierce, and Over Vert—spanning musical genres that include folk, punk, singer/songwriter, hip hop, hard core, rock, and more. Special guest touring artists include Sonny Smith, Love Songs, Pterodactyl, Hair Envelope, Ferocious Eagle, Planets, and New Thrill Parade. It’s an exceptional snapshot of Reno's music community (alongside our musical friends from out of town), and it’s still available for those that want a copy.

7. Double Dutch Battle, now new and improved and warmer!
After a wintertime revolt in 2008, Holland Project moved its annual Double Dutch Street Battle to springtime and to a new venue—Barbara Bennett Park. With a giant crowd and a panel of judges all named Tim, team Tight Ropes reigned supreme (for the third straight year), with team Girl Squad coming in a very close second. You can re-live the magic HERE.

6. Special Events
From Air Guitar to renegade fort-building at Wingfield Park, Holland maintained great partnerships that enabled us to produce some pretty awesome events including the nine-week Art+Music Night at West Street Market, Fortified Artistry at Wingfield Park (Holland’s Artown Event), Teen Art Night at the Nevada Museum of Art, concerts at Laxalt Theatre with Wolf Pack Radio, and Double Dutch Street Battle with Reno River Festival.

5. Radical Shows!
Holland produced more than 30 shows featuring more than 70 acts—both local and touring. Visitors included stateside folks from Seattle, NYC, Oakland & SF, Austin, North Carolina, Omaha, Portland, Santa Cruz, Las Vegas, Brooklyn, and Olympia, as well as some international folks from Ireland, Argentina, Canada, and the UK. Now with our new show space (see #1!), we hope to double these numbers in the new year and book more local bands and bring in more national acts. Can’t wait!

4. Spoken Views
Spoken Views continued to rally in 2009, becoming Reno’s longest running poetry open mic, showcasing some of Reno’s best writers, poets, and performers. Now housed at West Street Market on the third Wednesday of every month, Spoken Views is the place to go to celebrate verbal expression and poetic performance.

3. 6:01AM: A Working Class Opera
Debuting at the Pioneer Center in May to a packed house, 6:01AM, Reno’s first spoken word opera event, was truly an original production. Based on the words and music of local artist, Apprentice (Richie Panelli), directed by playwright Pan Pantoja, and performed by members of Reno’s spoken word and hip hop community, as well as the Nevada Opera Orchestra, 6:01 AM shared the struggles and triumphs of the modern working class in a theatrical personification of hope, determination, and endurance in the face of adversity. The production was a smashing success, and truly brought light to some of Reno’s best young performers, poets, writers, and musicians.

2. 300 Campaign
When the economy took a serious turn for the worse and funding to arts, youth programs, and non-profits declined drastically, Holland turned to our community with a question—can we get just 300 people to donate $100 to make up for the loss in funds? The answer? A loud, resounding YES. Donations from small businesses, bands, neighbors, community leaders, students, parents, artists, and friends from near and far poured in, and then those pledges were matched by an incredible donation from Kristin and Klaus Grimm and the Draper Family Foundation, making the Holland 300 Campaign a big success. We’ve never been so proud to be a part of such an awesome and supportive community. For the list of Holland 300 Members, click here!

1. Rainshadow & the NEW SHOW SPACE!!
You read correctly, a new show space. After closing the location on Keystone Avenue in 2007, Holland has been virtually homeless, utilizing venues city-wide, but without a base of our own. In an exciting partnership with Rainshadow Community Charter High School, Holland is opening a show and performance space inside their new school at 121 Vesta Street (formerly Bella Sera Restaurant and Midtown Market). We couldn’t be happier, nor could we ask for a better partner. It really is a dream come true and we can’t wait to transform the space into an incredible all-ages hangout with a stellar line-up of programming.

As you can see, 2009 was a tremendous year for Holland. Holland hosted more than 60 shows, gallery exhibits, special events, and workshops—remaining strong this year, even as the economy was not. With immense support from our volunteers and members, as well as from Reno’s arts and music community, we’re proud to say Holland is sounder than ever, and we look forward to bringing in the new year with an awesome slate of new programming, superb workshops, unique gallery exhibits, and fantastic special events.

And please check out our Thank You / Year-in-Review video below with footage and stills from the past twelve months.

Thanks again for your support this year, and for helping make Holland happen.

Britt Curtis, Van Pham, Clint Neuerburg, and Joe Ferguson.