Friday, August 21, 2009
(08/21/09) The House on 18th Street
Yollocalli Arts Reach and After School Matters presented a visual interpretation of Sandra Cisneros' HOUSE ON MANGO STREET. These are works in the perspective of young artists.
My darling friend Ray (aka El Toro Rocky) and cute as a button gal pal Thelma were the teachers for this project. I didn't know what to expect but what I saw was wonderful. Such creativity and talent all around.
I'm happy to be surrounded by such inspirational folks.
My darling friend Ray (aka El Toro Rocky) and cute as a button gal pal Thelma were the teachers for this project. I didn't know what to expect but what I saw was wonderful. Such creativity and talent all around.
I'm happy to be surrounded by such inspirational folks.
(08/21/09) Oh, Chana!
It's always a chore to get to an event and get things set up but once everything's in place things have a tendency, most of the time, to run smoothly. Last night was a perfect example as I struggled with loads of gear I had to physically carry with me to get to the launch of Ratio's live events at Rumba but it was all worthwhile. The promotional products I carried were given away, the b-roll of the concert was taken, the interview with the artist flowed smoothly and the photos, thanks to Jose (and some to me) were all taken care of. Sweetness.
Chana, the featured artist, was a delight to watch perform and even sweeter to interview. She's definitely grounded and her appreciation of the night and the people that were there in support of her show was refreshing to witness. Her band, a mixed crew of invited musicians and producers, was also easy to get along with and talk to. Grammy nominated producer Martin, a member of lat/alt rock band Volumen Cero, was shocked when I mentioned we had interviewed him years earlier when they visited Chicago with La Ley at Congress Theater. What a nice guy! I didn't mention, though, that they had acted like 'rock stars' back then. I'll leave that tiny morsel for his next visit to Chicago with Volumen Cero which takes place sometime in November. I can't wait to bust him on that. Hee hee!
(Charly aka Giroscopio interviewing Chana. Me on camera wondering "I wonder what will happen if I push this button? Oops!")
I'm looking forward to more of Ratio's upcoming events. He's got a great concept going and I just hope people in Chicago realize the vast amount of talent he's bringing to our city. Take advantage, folks! These are the stars of the future!
See you in Aurora tomorrow for Sounds of Siren.
-ST
(Photo by Jose Calvo)
Chana, the featured artist, was a delight to watch perform and even sweeter to interview. She's definitely grounded and her appreciation of the night and the people that were there in support of her show was refreshing to witness. Her band, a mixed crew of invited musicians and producers, was also easy to get along with and talk to. Grammy nominated producer Martin, a member of lat/alt rock band Volumen Cero, was shocked when I mentioned we had interviewed him years earlier when they visited Chicago with La Ley at Congress Theater. What a nice guy! I didn't mention, though, that they had acted like 'rock stars' back then. I'll leave that tiny morsel for his next visit to Chicago with Volumen Cero which takes place sometime in November. I can't wait to bust him on that. Hee hee!
(Charly aka Giroscopio interviewing Chana. Me on camera wondering "I wonder what will happen if I push this button? Oops!")I'm looking forward to more of Ratio's upcoming events. He's got a great concept going and I just hope people in Chicago realize the vast amount of talent he's bringing to our city. Take advantage, folks! These are the stars of the future!
See you in Aurora tomorrow for Sounds of Siren.
-ST
(Photo by Jose Calvo)
Thursday, August 20, 2009
(08/20/09) Update
It only took a couple of days off to realize how much has to be dealt with in the line of work I do. Unfortunately, the overwhelming amount of things that need to be done lead to an overnight visit to the hospital.
All is well now but with an added dose of meditation, yoga and relaxation techniques on hand.
See you around town.
-ST
All is well now but with an added dose of meditation, yoga and relaxation techniques on hand.
See you around town.
-ST
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
(08/12/09) New Local Talent
This past weekend was spent promoting a product for a campaign I've been assigned in Chicago. It went really well. The response was completely positive and I can't wait for the next events where we'll be able to do the same. So, if you know where I'll be come say hello and I'll give you a sample.
My friend Sal is known for his superb guitar playing skills. He's been in various bands in Chicago including latin alternative project Jaula and the electro-pop project of Subatomico. His brother Pat is killer on the drums as well. Quite the talented family! My other friend Luga rocks the bass and was a monster during his days in the always entertaining metal band Monospit. All three of them joined forces to create the band Caoba who made their debut recently at Fiesta del Sol. They've been doing a great job quickly acquiring new gigs at some of Chicago's major venues (Bottom Lounge, Rumba, Reggie's). Check them out next time you're up for some latin flavored pop en español.
And I have more to write but it's crunch time! Have to run get our show in to the station so it can air tonight at 8PM on Channel 25.
And....i'm out!
-ST
My friend Sal is known for his superb guitar playing skills. He's been in various bands in Chicago including latin alternative project Jaula and the electro-pop project of Subatomico. His brother Pat is killer on the drums as well. Quite the talented family! My other friend Luga rocks the bass and was a monster during his days in the always entertaining metal band Monospit. All three of them joined forces to create the band Caoba who made their debut recently at Fiesta del Sol. They've been doing a great job quickly acquiring new gigs at some of Chicago's major venues (Bottom Lounge, Rumba, Reggie's). Check them out next time you're up for some latin flavored pop en español.
And I have more to write but it's crunch time! Have to run get our show in to the station so it can air tonight at 8PM on Channel 25.
And....i'm out!
-ST
Thursday, August 6, 2009
(08/06/09) FDS + Velorio + Chicago
It's still unbelievable to me how anyone that works in the music industry made it through last weekend with so many events going on much less how things are going to be this coming weekend with Lollapalooza in town. Kwazy!
Fiesta del Sol went off without a hitch and most of the bands who performed were really pleased with the festival, the crowd and their performance. Velorio rocked Saturday afternoon while my buddies in Canyon did an outstanding job during the day on Sunday. I was able to go two out of the four days on Saturday and Sunday and man oh man Sunday was so jam packed for blocks and blocks that it was hard to get through the crowd. I'm not much of a "be in the crowd" type of person so I immediately started feeling claustrophobic but I made it through several interviews that will later be put together to air on E>N>E:Chicago Rocks. Phew!
Velorio rocked the entire weekend from Friday night's informal meet-n-greet at Sobre's rehearsal studio (that lasted 'til the wee hours of the morning), to Saturday evening's Black Gate Sessions performance to their final show on Sunday evening at Cobra Lounge. This was a great weekend that showcased not only local and touring band talent but also demonstrated what can be accomplished when people actually get together for the simple sake of supporting each other's efforts. Was that so hard, people... was it? Nope! So keep doing it! The rewards are never ending.
Ah. To add to the excitement of the weekend, my sister and brother in law were in town visiting and participating in the Chicago Rock'n'Roll 1/2 Marathon. It was a great experience for me and we had a blast the entire four short days of their visit. It would rock if they actually moved to Chicago and they actually may be looking into it but the cost of living here is outrageous compared to Houston, Texas. You see, Chicago... lighten up those taxes, man. You're killing us, smalls... killing us!
This weekend is crazier still. Latinopalooza takes place Friday night at Reggie's Rock Club, then Rock en Vivo at Bottom Lounge on Saturday, plus Spanglish Rock Sundays at Cobra Lounge and Rock'n'Roots at Wicker Well. I'm tired already but I'll happily be at all these events to join in the efforts of exposing new music to new audiences. Oh yes.
I'll be updating more often because I had a dream that someone came along to tell me off because I wasn't doing so, asi que... nos vemos pronto.
See you around town!
-ST
Fiesta del Sol went off without a hitch and most of the bands who performed were really pleased with the festival, the crowd and their performance. Velorio rocked Saturday afternoon while my buddies in Canyon did an outstanding job during the day on Sunday. I was able to go two out of the four days on Saturday and Sunday and man oh man Sunday was so jam packed for blocks and blocks that it was hard to get through the crowd. I'm not much of a "be in the crowd" type of person so I immediately started feeling claustrophobic but I made it through several interviews that will later be put together to air on E>N>E:Chicago Rocks. Phew!
Velorio rocked the entire weekend from Friday night's informal meet-n-greet at Sobre's rehearsal studio (that lasted 'til the wee hours of the morning), to Saturday evening's Black Gate Sessions performance to their final show on Sunday evening at Cobra Lounge. This was a great weekend that showcased not only local and touring band talent but also demonstrated what can be accomplished when people actually get together for the simple sake of supporting each other's efforts. Was that so hard, people... was it? Nope! So keep doing it! The rewards are never ending.
Ah. To add to the excitement of the weekend, my sister and brother in law were in town visiting and participating in the Chicago Rock'n'Roll 1/2 Marathon. It was a great experience for me and we had a blast the entire four short days of their visit. It would rock if they actually moved to Chicago and they actually may be looking into it but the cost of living here is outrageous compared to Houston, Texas. You see, Chicago... lighten up those taxes, man. You're killing us, smalls... killing us!
Good times at Cobra Lounge
I'll be updating more often because I had a dream that someone came along to tell me off because I wasn't doing so, asi que... nos vemos pronto.
See you around town!
-ST
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