"Noise is everyday fucking life," or at least it is according to the notoriously loud Kenny Millions, of experimental noise duo Death Fuk. And while Broward County is surely brimming with the sounds of "everyday fucking life" as well as contributions from a diverse range of talented and homegrown musicians, the 954 lacks a pulse on the noise beat that heartily thrives in Miami. It fosters festivals like the International Noise Conference, held annually for the past decade, or weekly series, like Be Creative or Die, where life becomes one big experiment in sound and performance.

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Show of hands. Who's surprised that the first time an artist in the U.S. was convicted criminally on obscenity charges, it was in the State of Florida? No one? Exactly.

Mike Diana was initially approached by cops at 18, fingered as a suspect in the Gainesville murders because of his suggestive underground comic books. DNA tests proved his innocence, but the po-po still insisted on riding his ass into court for his gory but artful and amusing works Boiled Angel #7 and Boiled Angel #ATE.

Diana is back in the Sunshine State, speaking at Miami Art Museum tomorrow about his evolution as an artist and his legal strifes. He also has a show up at Bas Fisher Invitational with those whose works he's influenced. We wrote a full article on the man for Miami New Times, but wanted to expand upon his musical experiences growing up in this weird part of the earth.

See also:
- Mike Diana Returns to the State That Convicted Him of Obscenity

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The mural completed by Lebo (a.k.a. David Le Batard) for the Downtown Hollywood Mural Project

Nearly a year after its completion, the Downtown Hollywood mural of renowned local street artist Lebo (a.k.a. David Le Batard), entitled "Bee-Bop Into Outer Space," is the subject of some controversy after officials at the latest city commission meeting on May 1, expressed their dislike for the jazz-inspired artwork.

"We don't want artsy, edgy graffiti-type murals," Terry Cantrell, president of the nearby Hollywood Lakes Association, told the Miami Herald on Monday.

"Are we Wynwood now?'' said Commissioner Patricia Asseff, referencing the thriving urban arts district in Miami.

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- New Downtown Hollywood Murals Unveiled During ArtWalk (PHOTOS)

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Digital Cypher

Following a whirlwind of events in the early Spring, the creative collective of Black Locust Society has gone back into hiding underground. However, that doesn't mean its members have stopped working on keeping the Fort Lauderdale creative scene alive.

For the last two months, local artist and seasoned screen printer Lowell Donofrio, a.k.a. Jinx Remover, has moved into the space next to Laser Wolf, transforming it for his first solo show, Let's Get Weird.

Although the doors have been locked tight on what secrets he's got brewing behind the doors, he took a quick break from his hard work to answer a few questions before tonight's opening party. He shared a little about where his namesake came from, how he got started in screen printing, and what he's been listening to during the creative process.

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Lisa Martin-Owens

Organizer Janette Valentine in the middle with two of last year's participants.

This Saturday, burlesque performers, mixed-media artists, local bands, and vendors gather at Fort Lauderdale's the Bubble for the forth annual art show, The Trouble with Girls: All Female Art Revue. This show is entirely ladies only. That's right, boys, no sausages here, unless they're actually made of pork.

Artist Kelcie McQuaid will be participating for the fourth year in a row. "I'm putting up about 15 paintings," says McQuaid. "The show is about supporting females and their visions. For me personally, it's a great way to network with other creative women, and find an opportunity to collaborate."

So what does the Trouble with Girls mean to Kelcie McQuaid? "It's a "way for girls to shake their fists at the world and say, 'we're not going anywhere!'"

See also
- The Real "Trouble With Girls" Brings Art by Ladies and Music by Dooms de Pop to the Bubble
- PHOTOS: The Real Trouble with Girls 2012

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As you probably read earlier this week on County Grind (and if you didn't, shame on you!), C&I Studios Twilight Notes, and All Together Now presented a multidisciplinary cultural event called Dialect this past Saturday night. And given that it was part of Fort Lauderdale's FAT Village art walk, you might think, "Who cares; art is art." However, Dialect was anything but typical. What follows are five reasons the event was truly somethin' different.

See also
- Slideshow: Fat Village Art Walk and Dialect at C&I
- Adam Foster Delivers Body Paint, Star Wars, and DJs at C&I Studios With Dialect Art Walk

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At every show or concert, there is a clicking camera that counts. It's that one that those onstage should take notice of over the scores of bopping iPhones in the crowd. Photographer and New Times freelancer Monica McGivern's lens is that special one. It captures life as it's happening and reveals something about that time and place that others couldn't.

The Michigan-bred, yoga-trained McGivern has found her home in Palm Beach Gardens. Though she's a regular face in the Broward and Palm Beach county cultural landscape, she more recently started shooting events in Miami, getting to know a whole new group of active scene-starters.

"Inspired by the light," she says, "literally flowing through the Imagesound office I had been hired by the business to photograph," and in order "to grow both professionally and personally," she launched a new project called Solo in Miami. McGivern sat down with various folks who, she states, "helped introduce an aspect of the 'Magic City's' magic" to her. Conceptualized shoots with 21 people and still counting have resulted in her first solo exhibition. In photographing these people, she's documented a growing arts community in Miami.

What follow are her pics for the top 10 most memorable mostly Miami-musician shows she's shot in Broward or Palm Beach counties. Enjoy the eye candy.

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Adam Kaplan

Multimedia company C&I Studios is known for putting a truly creative spin on things. Whether it's filming unique music videos or hosting mobile gore film night Splatter-Rama, they've got their own way of presenting culture.

The fourth annual Dialect art walk takes place Saturday at their Fort Lauderdale location, taking music and visual art to the next level. DJs will spin new sounds -- none of that mainstream crap, people -- and match them up with totally innovative artistic creations. And after the party, it's, well, the after-party at Vibe Las Olas, where Obscene and Adam Foster will spin the night away.

We sat down with Foster, who made it clear why we are definitely going to Dialect, and also shared with us two songs he matched as soundtracks with two of artist Steve Baum's paintings.

See also
- Adam Foster of Twilight Notes Wants Fort Lauderdale to: "Love Music the Way I Do"
- PHOTOS: Splatter-Rama Halloween at C&I Studios

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