Launched in 1995 as a documentary film/video production company, Laughing Squid has evolved over the years to become an online resource for underground art and culture in the San Francisco Bay Area and is best known for "The Squid List" (http://www.laughingsquid.org/squidlist/), a daily events email announcement list that goes out to 7000 subscribers. In addition to The Squid List, Laughing Squid catalogs and links to various art & culture websites around the world as well as producing the monthly Tentacle Sessions artist series and their annual anniversary events, including 2001's sold-out 5th Anniversary Celebration at San Francisco's legendary Great American Music Hall (http://laughingsquid.org/5/). To pay the bills and fund their various art projects, Laughing Squid launched its web hosting operations in 1998 and now hosts over 1900 web sites, with the primarily focus on web hosting for artists, non-profits and small organizations.

Now for the first time in their 8 year history, Laughing Squid is producing an event (two in fact) 3000 miles from their home base of San Francisco. On Saturday, April 26 2003, Laughing Squid presents an evening of eclectic performances at CBGB's 313 Gallery (next to the infamous punk club) on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Master of Ceremonies, $teven Ra$pa will introduce the audience to over 20 unique
and amazing performers and groups from both San Francisco and New York. For a complete listing of performers and event details including how to purchase tickets in advance, please see the "Laughing Squid: NYC" website: http://www.laughingsquid.org/nyc/

On the following afternoon, Sunday, April 27th, at an undisclosed location in Brooklyn, Laughing Squid, Central Services and The Madagascar Institute will present SF Cyclecide's Bike Rodeo (http://www.cyclecide.com). The Bike Rodeo is a touring, punk rock bicycle amusement park and showcase of modified bicycles, such as the tall bike (two bicycle frames welded together), the bicycle chopper, the fire breathing Chupacabra, the bottle rocket armed Homeland Security bike and many more. The Bike Rodeo comes to New York via San Francisco fresh off their trip to Tultepec, Mexico for the annual fireworks celebration, PyroTechnica Festival. "Too dumb to die!" is the motto of these heavy pedal maniacs.

Getting everyone to New York, is a another story. Suffering from a momentary lapse in judgement, Laughing Squid with support from Central Services, will embark on a cross-country road trip from San Francisco to NYC, visiting some of America's signature roadside attractions en route (Mount Rushmore, DC's Capital Mall, Liberty Bell, etc). From The Golden Gate to the Brooklyn Bridge, this caravan will consist of over a dozen of San Francisco's strangest performers, SF Cyclecide's Bike Rodeo and the infamous Doggie Diner Dog Heads (http://www.doggiediner.com) from the defunct Northern California restaurant chain, Doggie Diner. These massive dachshund heads, each sporting a chef's hat and mischievous grin, are one of the strangest and most intriguing advertising icons of all time. Worshiped by many, including underground comics legend Zippy the Pinhead, the Doggie Heads compel onlookers to touch the tip of their long, sloping noses, as if to commune with their cosmic powers, which is strongest when all three Dog Heads are together in the form of the "Holy Trinity of the Dogminican Order".

Once the Doggie Diner Dog Head caravan arrives in New York, it will embark on a grand sightseeing tour, complete with all the various freaks, geeks and artists in tow. As the caravan cruises the city they will be joined by Mr. Lucky (http://www.mrlucky.org) singing songs like "New York, New York" and "My Way" while accompanied by the burlesque troupe Kitty Kitty Bang Bang (http://kittykitty.davedeluxe.com). The ultimate goal of the caravan is to arrive at CBGB's Gallery for the Laughing Squid show on Saturday night and then on to Brooklyn the following Sunday afternoon for SF Cyclecide's Bike Rodeo.

Laughing Squid hopes that this East-West, cross-cultural exchange will lead to future collaborations with New York artists and help bridge the physical gap between the coasts.

The Doggies Eye the Big Apple, 4/26/03