Portrait

Starving artist. Literary genius. Weasel under the cocktail cabinet.

In other words, the inimitable Tess Grover.

Address commentary, questions, and prepositions to orphicfiddler AT gmail DOT com.





Following:

curly-whirly hapfairy allostasis sno-weh esclavaun jetstreak amriah serpasas asphaltofpinking captain-boomerang myowngenius sherbabie scarlatti neomalith evenfallhall sarufish batalash tobaeus disneybound thelunchroom limey59 iamdedrabbit amandafuckingpalmer jeffreestar dulcedemon timeshaiku requiemsempiternam amandapalmer meganlara kimboekbinder textsfrombakerstreet whwhitley officialsarahbrightman whenyouliveinseattle hatboy neil-gaiman studentlifelessons asymptotejournal sensualidiot whattheblazes behradghadiri literallyunbelievable unceasingpithy five-for-silver-six-for-gold mollycrabapple davidcarbajal makeshiftstory whatadumbsimile beatonna fuckyeahjherekbischoff fyeahartstudentowl heilewelt shockingblankets thisfeliciaday scottlava trinketsandtangles alexannawonder realgrumpycat publicshaming bettersupes thedemonsynthetic themorph pitchfork suburbancampers modularhuman edmuretulliuscicero meloraville enemy-austria teeteringbulb graciebingham achainofmemories lavendernichole chuckpalahniuk purplemountainsmajesties estefanypiem catsthatlooklikepinupgirls caligulaverus mydaguerreotypeboyfriend thankstextbooks jhonenv janessecret stephenheleker youcantcopysloppy darcknyt flowersforinsomniacs capitolcouture zoeboekbinder tulletulle nowiwannaseehimfly carlbeatrice throughthelookingglas dahlimama artfront freetetris cherishsunseri kellycantcook pseudointellectonpublictransport annaclare88 illustratingreddit angewang comicsansproject sonatarox thokomusic indierebellion niederer nostalghiamusic mudskreen dressed-d0wn

“I Have Your Heart” - Molly Crabapple, Kim Boekbinder, and Jim Batt

An adorable animation of Boekbinder’s song “The Organ Donor’s March” from The Impossible Girl. Contains love and death and heart transplants and cats.

 

“The Sky Is Calling” - Kim Boekbinder

Kim Boekbinder’s making a space album - something of a pop concoction, with a nice helping of science, and a great garnishing of ethereal awesome. Donate to the Kickstarter, for the love of Mars. I want this thing to happen.

 

Kim Boekbinder revealed her Christmas present to everyone this morning - a collaboration with webcomic The Secret Knots. The specific comic is entitled “Music for Stray Days” (though the song itself is “Awake the Day”) and features a cameo of Kim as musician Minnie G., playing a mysterious song that everyone woke up humming one morn.

Kim Boekbinder & The Impossible Tour

That’s Kim Boekbinder up there, folks. If you haven’t heard of her yet, go to YouTube, type in her name, and watch everything. Her songs are adorable and delightful, and she released a fabulous album a few months back called The Impossible Girl, which you can stream, buy, and even download for free on bandcamp.

In June, Kim started a rather new approach to selling concert tickets via Kickstarter. In 24 hours, she managed to raise over $3,000 and pre-sell an entire concert in New York before it was even booked at a concert venue, something that’s absolutely never been done before. Kickstarter has been great to her in general, really - she recently funded the vinyl pressing of a single with Amanda Palmer via the site, as well as an animated short based on her song, “The Organ Donor’s March.”

And now, The Impossible Girl is embarking on the Impossible Tour, and she needs our support to do it. You can buy your concert tickets by pledging on Kickstarter, plus a there’s a ton of other cool stuff you can get out of this deal (CDs, t-shirts, posters, custom songs, art by the loverly Molly Crabapple … ) Just find the link to your city below. And if your city isn’t on the list, feel free to pledge something for the Seattle show. (*not so subtle hint*)

OCTOBER 13th - San Diego, CA

OCTOBER 14th - Los Angeles, CA

OCTOBER 15th - San Francisco, Ca

OCTOBER 21st - Seattle, WA

OCTOBER 22nd - Portland, OR

OCTOBER 23rd - Minneapolis, MN

OCTOBER 27th - New Orleans, LA

NOVEMBER 4th - Boston, MA

NOVEMBER 5th - Hartford, CT

NOVEMBER 12th - New York, NY

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!

Kim was also awesome enough to answer some questions for me via email.

What were some of your favorite albums growing up?

We had this vinyl record of thunderstorm sounds that I loved! I would put it on and then hide behind the couch, not because I was scared but because then I was alone with the storm. When I was five I was convinced I would marry Michael Jackson, this was not a sentiment that lasted. And my parents listened to a lot of Simon and Garfunkel.

Are there any beloved items you always drag along with you on tour?

My guitar! I have a necklace made from a rusty hinge that my boyfriend gave me, it makes me feel like I’m at home. 

What is your ideal songwriting environment? Indoors, outdoors, any particular time of day?

I like to be alone in a room with a really great sound system so I can play LOUD!

Hellz yes. Loud is a good.

So go to Kickstarter, buy yourself a ticket and a t-shirt, and rest knowing you’ve helped prove the effectiveness of a new model of touring. And watch this video.