William Mempa, chief organizer of Monster Planet (discussed in this week's Data Breaker), sent me this mission statement about the concept of this monthly night held at Can Can, but too late to get it into print. Now you can read about it on Line Out, just in time for tonight's lift-off. Take it away, William...

I started this night basically because I missed the improv nights that used to be held in the Capital Hill Clubhouse [a defunct performance space that held several electronic-music events before folding last year] on Tuesdays, and we got an opportunity to do it in a great space.

Monster Planet is a unique night where EVERYONE (including the musicians involved) get to hear something they've never heard before. I think the monster movies provide an interesting backdrop that the audience can interact with (like they did at MP1), and fit the psychedelic weirdness that the musicians improvise.

This is our personal motivation, but we like the idea of the rotating local talent, and forcing them to react and listen on the spot... improvisation is a key discipline that I feel is essential to any well-rounded musician. We also like the idea of multitrack recording the events, and letting all the performers use the source material for their own projects. I hope one day we could make an album or two out of it.

(That's pretty much what Kids For Tomorrow is)

I also like the idea of cool themes for each MP. Godzilla/Toho-style movies for MP2, possible Troma-80s type monsters in the future, and well as performance themes like analogue gear/hardware night. I'd also like to implement more musical ideas, like Brian Eno's Oblique Strategies, and come up with our own musical strategies for coming up with new and refreshing ideas...

I think the main goal really is to create an interesting night of sights and sounds that everyone can enjoy and is an alternative to all the other stuff going on in Seattle... plus, there's absinthe specials!

What it comes down to is this... We want people to be creative. So if people want to contribute artistically, visually, musically, they're invited.