MOSH PIT

A primal promenade of slamming and pushing starts while Nekromantix takes the stage; aggressive yet oddly communal… well guarded by a row of Good Samaritans, and covered in PBR and sweat, I crouched and watched. These are from my view from the mosh pit, a “So-Cal Hoedown” in Santa Ana.

CLIFTON’S

Saturday night at Clifton’s Republic, the dance floor was packed with swing dancers jumping and jiving to Mando Dorame and the Jennifer Keith Quintet. Earlier in the evening, I was introduced to Nick 13 of Tiger Army and his friend “James”. I don’t recognize James, and he knows it, so he takes a swig from his flask and tells me that he just got out of prison… ladies love a bad boy, I guess? Jennifer Keith announces that they have a very special guest in the house and invites James Intveld to the stage to sing a few songs. The swing dancers scream with excitement. I later congratulate James Intveld, “Hey, first day out of the pokey and you’re already headlining!” He tells me he’s going to email me, then I’ll know who he is. I’m still waiting for that email, luckily I got Google.

VAVOOM

Mz Neon Music gives new life to “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” at Lucha Vavoom.
LOS MYSTERIOSOS

Rock ‘N’ Roll in Espanol: “Music like nothing you’ve heard before. As hard as a shot of Tequila and as sweet as a lime in your Cerveza.”

   
BIO

Wednesday Aja is known for documenting modern-day subcultures… and things that go bump (and grind!) in the night. Exploring themes of custom, costume, and community; her images invite the viewer into an inverted Land of Oz, one where the imagination ignites in black and white, in the space between light and shadow.

Most recently, Wednesday was the Featured Artist at the iconic Hotel Figueroa in Downtown Los Angeles. This 3-month residency featured 32 photographs from ongoing projects centering on the gender, identity, and gravity-defying subcultures of Drag, Burlesque, and Circus. All three subjects hang together as explorations of the self’s relationship to masque, costume, and unbridled expressions of personhood.

wednesdayaja.com // IG: @wednesdayaja