Back in early 2020 Cullen Ryan (of The Venue, The Plus, and Clearwater Comedy fame) offered me a residence (a month of shows) at the venue, which I gladly accepted. If you recall, everyone’s life got pretty fucked up shortly after that, and shows were off the menu.

In the following years I attended UW-Stout, where I graduated cum laude with a BFA in Entertainment Design. That’s what they called the animation major when I started. I essentially took five years to practice what I had dabbled in before. Drawing, design, animation, comics, sound design, production design… and I emerged ten times the artist I was when I went in.

While I’d rather we didn’t have to go through a pandemic, I’m very glad to take on this residence in 2025 with a lot more skill and confidence.

It’s also important to me that you get ready for Mueller/Lecky’s “All Colors Present.” It sounds hyperbolic, but I need you to trust me. This is an audio/visual experience, unlike anything you’ve ever known. Jon’s performances encourage deep listening. If at first you think “this sounds the same” your only choice is to keep listening and realize that as the sound careens around the room, it is in fact always changing. You may find yourself hearing EVERYTHING. You may find that EVERYTHING is too much, and you’ll have to focus on smaller parts of the sound. You may hear things that aren’t “real” but you will feel things that are very real.

$10 is a ridiculous price for such a singular experience, a stunning display of musical athleticism, an absolute goddamn magic spell. Jon is less flowery when describing his work, but please visit his website for more info.

I’ll see you downtown.

Ben