If you were wondering what this show is all about, this one's for you.

Well, we've pretty much hit the halfway point of 100 Records' stay in Eugene, and it occurred to me some people might still be wondering what it's all about. Maybe missed it in the papers or whatever.  So I've posted the full, updated press release after the jump.  Read on and be illuminated:

“Freelance” “Curator”, the University of Oregon Arts Administration and Art Programs, and the Downtown Initative for the Visual Arts are proud to present Sonny Smith’s 100 Records.  This exhibition is the culmination of a massive project begun during a residency at the Headlands Center for the Arts in Sausalito, CA.  While there, Sonny Smith set about creating an alternate underground history of pop music by devising the personas and histories of dozens of fictitious bands spread over numerous pop genres, then recording 100 singles in the style of each group.  The recordings are the result of collaborations with his band, The Sunsets, and members of the Fresh & Onlys, Thee Oh Sees, The Sandwitches, The Kelley Stoltz Band, and Ty Segall.  He then invited 100 artists—including Chris Johansen, Jo Jackson, Mingering Mike, Maya Hayuk, Ed Ruscha, and many, many others—to design and create the packaging for each 7” he recorded.  Each of these stands alone as an incredible synthesis of art and music, and, when taken as a whole, the show creates a fantastic, epic work of fiction that stands as a testament to the imagination of its creator.

100 Records opened at Gallery 16 in San Francisco, then traveled to Austin, New York, and Portland before making its stop in Eugene.  Upon its closing here it will be traveling to the UK, beginning with a showing in Manchester.

This critically acclaimed exhibit has also resulted in the release of two volumes of its music.  Sonny Smith’s 100 Records Volume 1 is available through Gallery 16 in San Francisco, and Sonny Smith’s 100 Records Volume 2—I Miss the Jams is available through Turn-Up Records.

This exhibit presents all 100 records in addition to a custom jukebox featuring all 100 singles.

Sonny Smith’s 100 Records will run from 7 January - 4 February 2011 at 942 Olive in the Musique Gourmet space adjacent to Bradford’s near the corner of Broadway and Olive.  Hours are Thursday – Saturday, 12 – 5 PM.

Sonny will be here for a very special performance on 3 February.  Stay tuned for more details.  

There will be a closing reception on 4 February, beginning at 5:30 PM.

This show is sponsored by Bradford’s Hi-Fi.

Inquiries can be directed to Bernie or Kristen at:
bernieandkristenarecurators (at) gmail.com

More about Sonny Smith: 

Sonny Smith is an artist, writer and musician from San Francisco.  In 2000 he wrote and directed his first short movie Kid Gus Man.  He went on to publish short stories in various literary magazines and write the “Steppin’ Out” column for the New Mission Newspaper.  In 2005 he received a residency from the Headlands Center for the Arts to produce his play The Dangerous Stranger.  That same year also saw the release of Fruitvale, an album about his then neighborhood in Oakland, and the CD One Act Plays, produced for Watchword Literary Magazine.  In 2006, during a residency at LAB he produced the follow-up to The Dangerous Stranger, Stranger Danger!  In 2009 he released the critically acclaimed Tomorrow Is Alright with his band Sonny and the Sunsets, and began work on 100 Records during another residency at the Headlands.  2010 saw the re-release of Tomorrow Is Alright on Fat Possum Records, the completion and tour of 100 Records, and Sonny and Sunsets touring around the world.  2011 will see the release of the next Sonny and the Sunsets long-player on Fat Possum Records.

The artists:
Miguel Palma, Mark Todd, Jack Massing, Alika Cooper, Nathaniel Russell, Brion Nuda Rosch, Chris Johanson, Leslie Shows, Jim Long, Kyle Ranson, Matthew Hilshort, Reed Anderson, Fernando Renes, Ana Fernandez, Lara Allen, Laurent Impeduglia, Chris Duncan, Ed Ruscha, Paul Wackers, Kottie Polloma, William Wiley, Sasha Baguskas, Justin Goldwater, Grace Cooper, Kelley Stoltz, Emily Prince, Sonya Berman, John Dwyer, Mingering Mike, Jason Jagel, Jo Jackson, Juan Luna, Avin,Teppei Ando, Eric White, Rebecca Miller, Brittany Powell, Harrell Fletcher, Virgil Shaw, Mat O Brien, Ian Johnson, Jeffrey Lewis, Airika Rockefeller, Scot Velardo, Lisa Choinacky, Karla Wosniak, Alice Shaw, Matthew Rich, Micah Middaugh, Thomas Mozzarella, Ky Anderson, Sean McFarland, Eric Yahnker, Deb Sokolo, Ted Barron, Ryan Brown, Kyle Field, Sara Bright, Scott Hewicker, Joshua Abelow, Jason Jagel, Erica Magrey, Griff Williams, Daniel Green, Stephanie Syjuko, Nicholas Galanin, Ashia Lane, Maya Hayuk, John Chiara, Grant LaValley, Richard Hart, Kyle Knobel, Ray Halliday, Andrew Mckinley, Cliff Hengst, Souther Salazar, Abel Pineda, Christime Shields, Maria Forde, Esther Pearl Watson, Jovi Schnell, Nellei Nguyen, Veronica DeJesus, Rex Ray, Bill Donovan, Michael Swaney, Tucker Nichols, and Alicia McCarthy