LIPSTiCK TrACeZ

Those who have experienced New York's CMJ Music Festival in late October know that the air in the city turns vibrant, humming with more electricity than it normally does. On this brisk fall night in late October, that is especially true at Paddy Reilly's Music Bar on 29^th and Second, where the Prodigals are about to take the stage. Among the most successful Irish rock bands to come out of New York City in recent years, The Prodigals have enjoyed an ongoing waltz of  touring and performing across the U.S. and Ireland for more than ten years. They've recorded seven albums, a substantial body of work, which has received significant critical acclaim.

In a city which can arguably be at times frantic and harsh, the opposite is true tonight; the atmosphere at Paddy Reilly's is undeniably warm and festive, resembling the energy at one of those legendary family reunions or neighborhood block parties that run late into the night, fueled by music and wine and topped with laughter and dancing. As they take to the stage, The Prodigals transform from a group of friends into a live wire or, as John O'Regan puts it, a "Molotov cocktail of Irish music and rock 'n' roll." Their dynamic chemistry is palpable on stage and their smiles reveal friends who, both on stage and off, are disarmingly gracious. The Prodigals are: Gregory Grene on vocals and button accordion; Dave Fahy on vocals and guitar; Chris Higginbottom on drums; Ed Kollar on bass; and Darren Maloney on banjo.

As lead musician and bandleader for The Prodigals, Grene is a musician's musician whose record on stage as well as off, speaks of a music lover who has been true to his heart (and his ears) every step of the way. By day, he is Director of Music at DraftFCB, a powerhouse multi-national ad agency with headquarters in Manhattan. As music producer for over the last ten years, Grene has had his finger on the pulse of new music ever since he can remember. He's part of the reason that ad agencies today are regarded as important tastemakers (similar to select video game developers) versus just followers who jump on the bandwagon of the hottest music, and license it to sell more Coca-Cola. Grene has negotiated music contracts with heavyweights ranging from the Beatles to Goldfrapp; he's supervised recordings with acts as diverse as top reggae singer Abija in Kingston, Jamaica and a 60-piece orchestra in the historic Abbey Road studios.

Grene and his fellow band members blend traditional Irish melodies and rock music in a way that is both viscerally engaging and organic. This helps drive The  Prodigals' longevity and success. Most recently, two of their tracks, The Open Reel and Bunch of Red Roses, were featured in New Line Cinema's "Pride and Glory," released in theaters nationwide in late October. Thanks to Grene's initiative, The Prodigals came under the radar of music supervisor for the film, Nic Harcourt, the venerable West Coast DJ and Music Director at KCRW, who is responsible for putting Coldplay, Damien Rice, Moby and Norah Jones, on the map.

The Prodigals will release a 'Best of' album in early January 2009.  They continue to prove that they have staying power by pushing the boundaries of their sound, continually tapping fresh sources of inspiration, and maintaining a wholly unique personality and spirit. For more information about the band, visit www.prodigals.com.

Let's hear it for Peter Gurnz and his Factory for supporting artists from Latin America this weekend with an exhibit titled "Beyond the Unveiled Frontier: Loud Voices from Fresh Latin American Art."  This weekend's exhibit will showcase installations by a dozen or so artists and live performances by performers such as Palenke Soultribe. Gallery Eight has an expansive downtown space and the shows are, even if not all aesthetic tastes gel with your own, entertaining and fresh. The thing that makes the arts thrive in any city is for artists to constantly create and also for others to create spaces to experience this creative output. My hats off to Peter for creating such a dynamic space in today's downtown and for promoting local artists. We need more of this kind of thing if LA is to continue to be viewed legitimately as one of the pillars of modern art & culture. As Angelenos, we need to support these efforts as well. 

Sir Ken Robinson - an author and recognized leader in the development of creativity, innovation and human resources - starts his keynote speech with a joke:

 

A little girl is drawing a picture and her teacher asks her, "What are you drawing?"

The little girl responds, "A picture of God." The teacher says, "That's ridiculous noone knows what God looks like." The child responds, "They will in a minute."

This marked the beginning of the most fascinating, thought-provoking hour-long speech I've heard in my life. Among Robinson's contentions are that "we get educated out of creativity" and that "creativity needs to be valued in our school system as much as literacy."

For over the past 11 years, he's been the voice of Spaceways Radio on 90.7 KPFK-FM. On Friday nights from 8 to 10pm, Niño is the peaceful sage transmitting love and positive vibrations to devoted listeners across the city. Often times, he's accompanied by special
guests including other DJs, live performers, legendary musicians, and most importantly, his nine-year-old son, Azul. Niño's radio show provides an intimate place where music junkies can get their fix of music spanning across various genres. It's pretty spectacular how, no matter where you are - whether stuck in traffic or lounging at home - Niño's 2 hour set makes you feel like you're HOME. For the past fifteen years, Niño has also been making music in all its aspects (as producer, performer, concept nurturer, etc.) He's made over two dozen albums that have received both critical and underground acclaim and he's played a hand in the making of countless more albums. Niño's mission to make music is a spiritual matter as he describes: "I work with a lot of wonderful musicians and songwriters on a wide variety of soulful projects. For me, it's a cosmic thing. I'm being led by a calling in my heart." Niño has an incredible ear and a reputation for nurturing and driving new and existing talent to new heights. His musical projects are extensive including Build an Ark, Ammoncontact, The Life Force Trio, and many more. In Fall 2008, he'll be releasing a record with long-time collaborator, friend, and multi-instrumentalist, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson titled "Suite for Ma Dukes" (Mochilla). He's also busy working on another new recording project titled "Carlos Nino & Friends: High With a Little Help From My" (Plug Research), which will be released in February 2009.

Outside the Colburn School of Music in Downtown L.A. sit four young men enjoying a fading blue sky after a rigorous three-hour rehearsal. This is the Calder Quartet - violinists Ben Jacobson and Andrew Bulbrook, cellist Eric Byers, and violist Jonathan Moerschel - artists in residence at Colburn since Fall 2007, where they landed fresh from a two year residency at the Juilliard School of Music in NYC. On the classical music scene, they have established a national presence. In the last year, the quartet's presence in LA has been palpable. In late May, the Calder Quartet made their debut at the Walt Disney Hall opening a program featuring the music of modern composer, Thomas Adès. That same day, they released their latest record, "Maurice Ravel-Thomas Adès-W.A. Mozart" (available on Itunes). "We love every piece on the album and picked pieces that would flow together and complement Thomas Adès' "Arcadiana," the centerpiece of the record." The album also gave the quartet a chance to promote other great arts organizations in town; they recorded it at the Colburn School and commissioned original album artwork by Dave Muller, a local artist from MOCA's permanent collection. The Calder Quartet is helping to bridge the gap between the classical and the modern and making it relevant and provocative for a new generation of listeners. Earlier this month, they could be heard live on KCRW's "Morning Becomes Eclectic" and at the El Rey, performing both times with indie rock sensation, The Airborne Toxic Event. On December 5th, they will perform and dazzle at Colburn's Zipper Hall. For ticket info, visit www.colburnschool.edu or www.calderquartet.com. 

Celebrated as one of the worlds most electrifying and influential bands, Azymuth is known for their trademark sound, 'Samba Doido,' meaning Crazy Samba. Hailing from Rio de Janeiro's vibrant studio scene, in the late sixties, keyboardist and songwriter Jose Roberto Bertrami and legendary drummer Ivan 'Mamao' Conti met bassist Alex Malheiros in 1972. Their first session together was on the "Mustang Cor de Sangue" album with Marcos Valle, in 1973. Bertrami's wild impassioned keyboards combined with Mamao and Malheiros' risky rhythms quickly attracted attention. It was only a matter of time before their brand of new Brasilian music would find its own audience. Their first self-titled album was recorded, in 1975, was an instant classic and re-released, in 2007, by Far Out Recordings in the UK. Following an astounding live performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival, in 1977, they inked an international deal with Milestone Records, bringing Azymuth a larger worldwide audience. Their first Milestone's outing Light As A Feather spawned the single "Jazz Carnival," which sold over 500,000 copies and held the UK top 20 spot for eight weeks. It's a dance floor and proto-house classic still getting spins. Samba Doido is their swing! The world finally understands what crazy samba means in their feet and hearts. In the ensuing years, there have been many albums, solo, covers and collaborations, including a recent album with Madlib and Mamao titled Sujinho. In 2008, Azymuth are still as poignant as ever! With twenty albums under their belts and a few more grey hairs, the energy still hasn't stopped and the trio is a force to be reckoned with! 

For more info on Azymuth and the show, please visit:http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=71953245

From Tokyo to NYC to LA, the name Kofie rings out like a cosmic wave.

He's been commissioned to put his one-of-a-kind stamp on creative studios across Southern Cal. He creates live art during shared performances with wicked talented DJs and renowned musicians.  His own downtown studio pulses with the sounds of Sun Ra as the master organic creator sets to work. He creates an urban garden setting, a city seen from a place high up in the sky, a place where industry and nature interweave in complex harmonies. This Scorpio was born in LA and thank god he has no plans to relocate any time soon. Kofie is one of the few urban LA artists who can claim to make his living as an artist. His current collage he describes as "very therapeutic." For him, it's all about the process.  Doing what comes naturally that it feels like a self-portrait. "I like to build, so the form is very structural but organic." Back in high school, he was voted as most artistic, Young Kofie was a skater, illustrator, graffiti artist. The name KOFIE was born in 1993. He began experimenting with brush painting.  If you visit the corner of Melrose and Martel, you'll see one of his house paintings called Hummingbirds. He listens while he paints to "anything between '59-present. old skate rock, punk, jazz, funk, soul, Indie hip-hop." Artists do not appreciate labels or definitions. He's an all around creative. To label him solely an artist would not justify the vast creative universe contained within.

For more on this amazing artist, visit keepdrafting.com. Check out this coming art exhibit this Thursday Aug 15th.

The LA Film Festival came and went in a flash, leaving behind the faint flicker of some memorable Indie films that (hopefully) get seen again on cable channels like IFC. One of these films was "I'll come Running," written and directed by Spencer Parsons. The film is a poignant example of one my favorite axioms in life, penned by the late great John Lennon: life is what happens to you when you're busy making other plans. In the case of the film, a casual one-night stand has life-changing consequences for two young people. Pelle is a young Danish man at his wits end while backpacking through Texas (hey, who can blame him?) and Veronica (Melonie Diaz) is a young pretty American waitress working at a Mexican restaurant. The two meet at the restaurant during what's supposed to be Pelle's last night in town. Veronica is sassy and playfully challenges Pelle's air of superiority. They connect through their shared knowledge of "The Simpsons." Pretty deep connection, huh?

Pelle seems ready to get back to Denmark where he plans to start a new job. His plans, however, derail; instead, life leads Veronica to Pelle's door in Denmark. This "casual" fling shakes life to the core for Veronica, Pelle's best friend and family. Comedy and tragedy are dished out in equal parts in "I'll Come Running." Parsons' little film can be described as a broken romance about what happens when strangers change each other's lives forever. The performances in this lovely little film are very organic. It's truthful in the sense that life is messy, emotional and there are no clear-cut endings. It also demonstrates the complexity of human beings-how we often do the unexplainable and how we are often better served by thinking things through. For me, Parsons took a hopeful look at the human condition. In other words, we're doing the best we know how as we go along. Sure, we fuck up plenty but, at times, we actually grow and evolve from life's many foibles, twists, and turns.

All writers out there, I would imagine, spend a lot of time trying to put
themselves in someone else's shoes. That's not always a pleasant experience,
especially when those are the shoes of a young mother and politician held captive in the jungles of Colombia for six years. I first discovered Ingrid Betancourt in 2002, when she
announced her candidacy for the Colombian presidency and published "Until Death Do Us
Part; My Struggle to Regain Colombia." As a child, I had left Colombia in 1981,
a year that marked the end of a brief but peaceful time in my country. The new
era post-1981(not coincidentally the same year that Reagan became president)
was marked by violence, kindnappings, explosions...chaos suddenly seemed to rain
down on a people known for their celebration of life, family, religion, music,
etc.

In 2002, Betancourt quickly became my hero. First, she was a woman saying
incredibly daring things against corrupt politicians, FARC...no one was spared.
Second, Betancourt was incredibly articulate, beautiful, cultured, and
passionate. She was waging a very public battle against corruption, fighting to
save her countrywhich had fallen to drugs, bribery and corruption from all
sides. In her autobiography, she recounted incidents where she managed to talk
her way out of life-threatening situations. Betancourt seemed to be
indestructable, fearless, untouchable. So when word of her kidnapping spread in
2002, it sent chills down the spine of every Colombian...a chill across the world
really.

Six years later, Betancourt was freed on July 3, 2008, along with fourteen other hostages who had been held captive for years by Colombia's brutal rebel forces known as FARC. I cried from joy...unspeakable emotion as if it had been my own mother liberated! I felt the whole world, certainly Colombia and France (Betancourt has dual citizenship), breathing a sign of relief when word of her liberation was announced. It was the end of a long suffering for Betancourt, her family and fans the world over. Word of her condition had worsened in recent years; she was said to be suffering from deep depression. I spent nights trying to imagine her despair; her calculating a way out; her fighting off frightening bugs from the rain forest, and even more frightening FARC soldiers. At times, it seemed as if the world had forgotten about her and the rest of the hostages.

For the last week, I've been editing and writing content for a special 20-page publication we're creating for one of our clients. He's producing a fashion show on July 7 at Universal City Walk; the show's theme is "Models Around the World." I've been sitting on my ass all day, in front of my computer...reading through both professional and aspiring models' bios. I fight the feeling of frustration as I read and edit poor grammar... but then I think, "it's ok, calm down. Models are not (necessarily) good writers." I then remind myself of my pact (with my own mind)...to fight that feeling of going into "auto pilot mode" - this slightly more enlightened version of myself wants to appreciate even those so-called "dull moments." I ask myself, "What signs is the Universe giving me right now? What can I learn from this current experience?" 

And then I walk around the house and get a beverage (used to be a beer, these days I opt for some juice) and take a five minute break and think about sex, music, my cute cats...ANYTHING...but the daunting task of finishing this 20-page pub on top of the July issue of the magazine...by July 3. (note: there is no f*@#in way I'm working on July 4...it is just un-American. That and I have a pool party to go to). 

So, while on the surface my reading and editing bios might be slightly dull and frustrating I can choose to appreciate the fact that hat all of us have vastly different experiences: some are dealt more than enough struggle in life and keep at their dreams until they make it, some dream really big without really knowing where they're going, others live in a bubble an seem to think that life really is all about them. And what's cool (I suppose) is that instead of judging them...I can see that I've been each of them...in one form or another throughout the various stages of life. I've started writing this screenplay, more details will come later but, I think I'm getting into this head space where I'm becoming more compassionate-and (as a writer) get inside people's minds and determine what drives them, you know? What are their "weaknesses" and "strengths," how will they react in certain situations?

I've processed way too much today or as I like to say, "I went deep." and now I'm feeling bone-aching tired...like on those nights after you spend hours in the ocean swimming and fooling around; on those night's...sleep's never felt so good.