Vermin on the Mount

VERMIN #22 IN REVIEW

Cake? Check. Lit geeks at the bar? Yep. Blood-dripping down the walls? Most def. That can only mean one thing: a Vermin on the Mount book release party!

The man of the hour was none other than Legion of Vermin member Mark Sarvas, author of Harry, Revised and The Elegant Variation. I've been friends with Mark slightly longer than Vermin on the Mount has been around. In fact, Mark helped me pass out flyers for the first Vermin on the Mount at a writerly gathering at LACMA on summer evening nearly four years ago. In any event, I was honored to present Mark and introduce his debut novel. But it didn't work out that way.

THERE WILL BE CAKE

Come celebrate the release of Harry, Revised with a night of irreverent readings and a bellyful of booze and cake!

VERMIN, REVISED

It's been ages since our last book release party and the rats at Vermin HQ have been hankering for some Chinatown cake. Vermin Sub Commandante MARK SARVAS comes through with a cracking good novel about a man at the crossroads. Since Mark is a long-time friend and Harry, Revised is a very fine book, we decided to throw a party -- with plenty of surprises in store for Senor Sarvas.

MARIANNE MEYERHOFF: The author of Four Girls from Berlin revisits her memoir about her childhood during the Holocaust.

TERESA CARMODY: Publisher of Les Figues Press, will be reading from Axel Thormählen's very cool book, just translated from the Swedish.

DAVID FRANCIS: Author of The Great Inland Sea will be reading a preview of his forthcoming novel.

Come for the laughs literature, stick around for the free cake!

VERMIN #21

Jaysus, is it raining blood in here again? No, Owen Dara, it's just the recap to the Kiss Me I'm Vermin edition of Vermin on the Mount!

First we kicked things off with a little cervesa verde at Casey's Irish Bar & Grille downtown. Schlocky, but necessary.

The black velveted voice of Joe O'Brien warmed up the crowd with a reading from his novel-in-progress about the trials and travails of a stand-up comic.

To celebrate the paperback release of Perfect from Now On, Angry John Sellers traveled all the way from New York City to tell us why Bono isn't the wanker we think he is.

Here's Owen Dara again, this time reading from his memoir, White Horses: An Irish Childhood, which is filled with many moving moments and comic touches.

Who's that man accosting the host, you ask? It's none other than the illustrious infamous Nathan Cathcart, the inspiration for Dickie Island's amazing poster. Need a little clarity? Check the similarity:

Nathan helped me give many Kiss Me I'm Vermin shirts away in the Vermin raffle (still plenty of shirts left, especially if you're a little verminita or a big pest (ladies M & L, guys XL). All shirts are made in the USA, just like Jay, the man who makes it happen at the Mountain Bar.

Be sure to stop by soon to check out what we have in store next month when we send-up celebrate the release of Harry, Revised, by longtime member of the Legion of Vermin, Mark Sarvas.

KISS ME I'M VERMIN T-SHIRTS

Nothing says Happy St. Patrick's Day like a Kiss Me I'm Vermin t-shirt!

If you can't/couldn't make it to the show on March 16, order yours directly from Vermin HQ by clicking on the "Email me" link to the left. Tell me your name, address, and size and I'll get back to you after the event. All orders will be held until Monday so that those in attendance get first crack at these limited edition American Apparel shirts.

Only $15 (includes shipping within the United States)!

KISS ME I'M VERMIN

YEAR OF THE VERMIN

Happy Year of the Rat/St. Patrick's Day!

Vermin on the Mount has an exciting year of filth planned with more than a few surprises in store. So let's get to it:

The first ever St. Patrick's Day edition of Vermin on the Mount will be held at the Mountain Bar on Sunday, March 16 at 8pm.

JOHN SELLERS (aka Angry John Sellers of New York) will be reading from his memoir in music Perfect from Now on: How Indie Rock Saved My Life. Fans of Guided By Voices, Joy Division, and U2 take note.

JOE O'BRIEN is a recent transplant to Los Angeles from Portland where he tended bar and edited Flop Sweat, a zine dedicated to jokes that go over badly and the comedians who tell them.

OWEN DARA is an actor, performer, and author of White Horse: An Irish Childhood, a memoir in the comic tradition of Flann O'Brien and Frank McCourt.

To celebrate this fine occassion, I've had special Year of the Rat/St. Patrick's Day t-shirts printed, which I'll be giving away in the raffle and selling for unbelievable low prices. Check back soon for a sneak peak at the t-shirt design!

VERMIN #20

No, that's not a mind-sucking space alien probe preparing to rob you of your wits inside the chamber of blood. It's a new light fixture at The Mountain. If it was a mind-sucker at least I'd have an excuse for the lateness of this recap.

Here's Doug Cordell, recent Los Angeles transplant and all around nice guy reading a story about not-so-nice roommates. He suffered so that we could be amused.

Sam Quinones knows a great deal about the rise and fall of the velvet painting boom. How much does he know? He didn't even have to refer to his book, Antonio's Gun and Delfino's Dream to tell the story.

Jami Attenberg came all the way from New York to read from her novel, The Kept Man. She's not the first New Yorker (or the last) to grace the stage at Vermin on the Mount, but she's the only one to do it twice. You can hear an excerpt in this short film inspired by the book here.

Veronica Gonzalez's Twin Time: Or, How Death Befell Me is the kind of haunting debut that made me want to start Vermin nearly four years ago. Listen to an excerpt at The Writers' Block.

Pretty.

 

RETURN OF THE RAFFLE

Vermin on the Mount returns Sunday, January 13, to satisfy all of your slightly irregular literary needs with a great slate of writers to kick off 2008.

In addition, we're bringing back the raffle in a big way: you could win a signed print by acclaimed artist Jorge Prado, one of the owners of the Mountain!

Get your lit. Support the arts. Win a print.

HAVE NO FEAR, VERMIN IS HERE!

The first Vermin on the Mount reading of 2008 is right around the corner with an eclectic line-up of writers from near and far on Sunday January 13 at 8pm:

JAMI ATTENBERG, author of Instant Love, returns for her second Vermin appearance to celebrate the release of The Kept Man, a novel about "art, love, death, sex, drugs, comas, donuts, Mount St. Helen's, cab drivers, Christinas, punk rock, holding on, and letting go."

VERONICA GONZALEZ'S debut novel, twin time: or, how death befell me, is a modern-day fairy tale that ranges from Los Angeles to Mexico City. Gonzalez has recently appeared at the UCLA/Hammer Museum and on KCRW's Bookworm.

DOUG CORDELL is a playwright and a regular contributor to National Public Radio's "Marketplace" program. He is also a recent transplant to Los Angeles from New York where he was involved in a number of radio and performance venues.

SAM QUINONES is a freelance journalist and California native who has been writing about both sides of the border for a decade. He is the author of two collection of nonfiction stories: True Tales of Another Mexico and Antonio's Gun and Delfino's Dream.

Plus, when you come celebrate the 20th Vermin on the Mount, you could win a spectacular prize in the Vermin raffle. More details to follow after the New Year!