music

First Friday, March 4

Enmesh

PicMonkey Collage

Artist Reception: Friday, March 4 – 6-8 p.m.

Monica Calsbeek and Summer Stiegman both grew up in San Diego, California without acquaintance. Serendipitously, they both attended the university in Santa Cruz in the fall of 2012. Since then, they developed an artistic, feminine, and personal relationship in which they influence one another both materially and ideally.  Enmesh is a photographic series where the human form and inanimate materials create a dialogue. The subject matter of the photographs are female bodies interacting with textiles. Ranging from natural landscapes to studio lighting, Enmesh explores photographic techniques by means of experimental digital alterations. The layering process suggests that relationships with the self and objects are bound to be multifaceted and tangled.

First Friday: Emerson Murray: Shadows on the Wall

We are kicking off 2016 with an amazing new First Friday artist.

Emerson Murray: Shadows on the Wall

Artist Statement: Painting is an emotional endeavor for me. Each piece is a distillation of a story, a theme, or a myth, boiled down to an emotional experience. Whether or not the viewer understands my meaning is irrelevant, as long as the viewer feels something, anything. I paint figures, abstracted into form and color set in abstract landscapes. The figures do not occupy the space volumetrically and light and shadow are generally not part of my tool set. I work in both acrylic and oil paint, the oil paint I mix from raw pigment in order to create my own colors. I generally work with a palette knife and my hands. I oftentimes throw and drip paint onto the canvas. The colors are selected on demand, I do not work from a predetermined palette of colors, but mix the colors as I paint, sometimes mixing colors right on the canvas. I am a disciplined painter and show up for work every day. I may stare at a work in progress for nights on end, but I am in the studio working.

emersonmurray.com

Do You Know Gail Rich?

Capture Every year the Santa Cruz  Arts Council Associates puts on the Gail Rich Awards at the Rio Theatre. You've probably never been, but I think yo u should go. Here are my top 10 reasons to go to your first Gail Rich Awards next Wednesday, Jan. 28.

  1. It's a awards show that celebrates the spirit of the arts in Santa Cruz by formally recognizing, "our friends and neighbors who are committed to living lives of artistic passion."
  2. You will be way more inspired than usual on a Wednesday night.
  3. It will give you that feeling of community that you forget you love until you experience it again and then remember it is why you live in an artistic community in the first place.
  4. There will be live music.
  5. It's free.
  6. You will hear stuff like this (quote from honoree Robbie Schoen): "I want to do what art is supposed to do," Schoen said. "I want it to stop people in their tracks and give us pause to reflect on our place in the world as human beings. It's here to remind us of the things that matter and take us away from our day-to-day lives."
  7. Excellent networking, especially if you like the artist types.
  8. There is often wine.
  9. You pay a lot of money to live in a town that has really cool shit like this, but if you don't go out and support it, it goes away.
  10. There are always free cookies.

I really hope I see you there.

19th Annual Gail Rich Awards January 28th, 2015 at 7:30pm Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave. in Santa Cruz FREE and open to the public

2015 honorees:

Carolyn Hyatt – arts philanthropist
Dale Ockerman – White Album Ensemble, Musicscool
Robbie Schoen – Felix Kulpa Gallery
Johnny Simmons – KUSP radio personality
Cat Willis – Tannery World Dance and Cultural Center

Lending Library Now Open

index I love books and have a bunch related to the music industry (booking, touring, etc.), the entrepreneur spirit and marketing. The following awesome books have been literally collection dust in my house, so I've decided to start a little SCRS lending library. Here is how it will work. The books will be at SCRS, if you'd like one, just drop in and give whoever is working your name/number/email and a sincere promise to return the book within 6 months. Then go read.

Books Available so Far:

  • The Indie Bible (11th Edition) - 4200 publications to submit your CD to for review, 3500 radio stations.
  • Tour Smart - first real book about the business of touring
  • The Plain and Simple Guide to Music Publishing - What you need to know about protecting, and profiting from, music copyrights
  • Crush It! - Cash In on Your Passion
  • Anything You Want - 40 Lessons for a new kind of entrepreneur
  • Do the Work! - A Child has no trouble believing the unbelievable, nor does the genius or the madman. It's only you and I, with our big brains and our tiny hearts, who doubt and overthink and hesitate.

If you also have books collecting dust that you think other musicians could benefit from. Feel free to bring them by and I'll add them into the lending mix.

Santa Cruz Public Library SoundSwell Project

sound waves Attention all Santa Cruz musicians. Our library system is amazing and is ready to pay you to make your music available via download with an Santa Cruz Public Library card. Read all the details below.

Get your paperwork and CD in ASAP in order to be included!

DETAILS:

The SoundSwell team is looking forward to working with you on our local music database project. The library has always been a place where people can find music, movies and other materials for entertainment and enrichment. Other libraries across the country are starting to incorporate local music into their systems and with our thriving music scene, we thought it would be a great fit in Santa Cruz as well. Our hope is that it will be win/win for you and our library patrons. Ideally in addition to monetary compensation, we would like to help expose more people to your music and convert more fans, while helping our patrons diversify their local music collections.

The SoundSwell project is supported by a Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) Eureka! Grant. The grant funding period covers most of the cost for licensing for the initial test database, which should be completed in August 2013. Under the licensing agreement, the library will pay you for a 2 year license as follows: $100 for a full length LP consisting of 9 or more songs, $75 for an EP consisting of 6-8 songs, and $50 for an EP consisting of 4-5 songs. During the term of the license, only those users with a valid library card will be able to download licensed songs. To raise this much revenue from iTunes, you would typically need 100 people to download one of your songs. If 100 people download your song from SoundSwell, you could gain 100 new local fans. That’s 100 people living in Santa Cruz who might tell a friend about your music or attend a show!

Another goal of the SoundSwell project is to establish a historical archive of the local music of Santa Cruz County. Although this aspect of the project will not be implemented until the database has been well established for at least a year, we believe that preserving this aspect of local community identity is important. That is why we ask in the license agreement for your permission to use your album in perpetuity in the archive. This archive will be streaming, but the music will not be available for download. Both the downloadable database and streaming archive will display live links to your band’s website or Facebook Page, making it easy for new fans to connect with your band, your projects, and your performances.

To receive a licensing agreement to review, sign and return email Jennifer at jenn@santacruzrehearsalstudios.com or Diane at cowend@santacruzpl.org . Please let either of us know if you have any questions or concerns or would like to meet in person to go over any aspect of the agreement prior to signing. Once fully executed, we would need you to deliver your CD to the library office downtown no later than one week, at which point the library will mail you your agreement fee.

To return signed license agreement:

Make an appointment with Diane Cowen to deliver the agreement in person or send the agreement with your original signature and W-9 form via US mail. Once the agreement has been received and signed by the library Director, the document will be scanned and emailed back to you with both signatures for your records.

First Friday, June 7 - Sara True

0007_601682_10200847860613394_1181960061_n Don’t bleed so loud, I can’t hear the TV

Artist Reception: 6-9 PM

artist statement:

Shadows are revealed in my paintings through humorous abstract narratives, featuring pop culture symbolisms of femininity. In “Dear Jimmy America”, a darkly intimate poem is paired with a comically painterly bra, while “The Great Mother Tit of America” depicts a red-and-white-striped breast lactating ice cream.

In “fun fair i-iii” I explore subtle emotive energies through gestural expressions of vibrant color. Triangular and pentagonal pieces of wood are painted with quick, intuitive movements of wrist and finger. Impressions of vegetal and organic forms emerge, but, like clouds, patterns continue to shift, leaving definition open to viewers’ imaginations.

New SCRS Gear

 

In an effort to keep things interesting, we've added a few new items to the $1 per hour rental list for our bass playing friends. Introducing:

  • SWR 6x10 Goliath Sr. Bass Cabinet
  • Ampeg SVT 3 Pro Bass Amplifier

Getting on the Radio

SCICA Radio A Free Round-Table Discussion Featuring Tips and Tricks from Industry Insiders

Featured Guest Panelists "Sleepy" John Sandidge [DJ - KPIG & KZSC] Lois Rosson [Program Director - KZSC Santa Cruz] Geo Warner [Volunteer Coordinator for Music Programming KUSP] Uncle Dennis [Freak Radio Santa Cruz]

Free but donations for room rent will be accepted. The room can be cold so bring some extra layers.

We'll also have a swag table if you want to bring biz cards, upcoming show info, etc.

The Santa Cruz Institute of Contemporary Art is at the Tannery Arts Center (1050 River Street - #127).

You can park in either lot and then just walk towards the middle and you'll find the room. Facebook RSVP.

Music Festival Workshop Notes

Thank you Santa Cruz Music Community for coming out to our panel on Monday. My excitement and energy for working in the music community was inspired anew.

As promised I have attached my festival spreadsheet to date as well as my personal notes. I tried to mostly include festivals that already have 2013 dates but there are plenty more to add. Send me any updates/additions and I will keep it current. A current downloadable PDF will live here - http://www.santacruzrehearsalstudios.com/promotion.php along with other resources referred to in my panel notes.

Please feel free to share this information in any way, shape or form, as long as you don't make money off the info without giving me a (large) cut.

If you have additional resources to add to my section (favored web designers, graphic artists, photographers, etc.) pass them on. If you or your band is not represented here http://www.santacruzrehearsalstudios.com/sc-bands.php (or is misrepresented) please forward that along as well.

Again many thanks for everything, especially the generous donations to help us cover the room rental cost.

Plotting the next meet-up now.. stay tuned for January.

The Art of the Application: Applying to National and Regional Music Festivals

[slideshow] Art of the Application: Applying to National and Regional Music Festivals

Monday, November 26 - 6-9 p.m. Santa Cruz Institute Of Contemporary Art @ The Tannery 1050 River Street #127 RSVP on Facebook

Open to all local musicians or those that love them. Cash donations will be accepted to help cover the room cost but nobody will be turned away for lack of funds. We will also accept unopened candy and booze.

I have never met a musicians didn’t want to play the ever elusive festival. Let’s pool our knowledge, and make everyone smarter on all aspects of the process – from packaging yourself beforehand to promoting yourself once you get on the bill. We’ll share some stories, you can ask some questions and if you give me your email address I will share my spreadsheet with all the festivals and deadlines I have compiled. Questions – email jenn@santacruzrehearsalstudios.com

Panel:

Robert Cray, Peter Rowan and Flaco Jiminez were among the very first artists Tom Miller brought to Santa Cruz back in 1979, when he began his 10-year stint booking OT Price's Music Hall. He later booked Henfling's, before moving on to his present gig booking Don Quixote's International Music Hall in Felton.

Graduate of Berklee College of Music’s Artist Management program, Dan Sheehan started VEG Presents (Vibes Entertainment Group) in 2011. He is the co-producer of the California Roots Festival as well as manager to local artists including THRIVE, Matt Masih & The Messengers and The Whiskey Avengers.

Jeff Sloan two time Grammy Award winning artist and engineer has made his home in Northern California after escaping Oklahoma in 1987. After working on the road for many years now serves the entire bay area music scene with his live sound engineer, production, stage managing and back line technical skills. He is planning on dying a starving artist!

Andy Zenczak is a freelance producer/recording engineer and owner of Gadgetbox Recording Studios. Over the past twelve years he has worked with over 300 bands and songwriters, mixed over 1000 songs for commercial release and is on a constant crusade to help local artists get the viability and exposure they deserve from their music.

Moderator:

Jennifer Gallacher has worked in the music industry for the past ten years as the director of marketing and promotions at Dancing Cat Records and most recently as the owner of Santa Cruz Rehearsal Studios and manager of local band Wooster. In addition she is the publicist for Club Fox in Redwood City.

Earbits - SUBMIT YOUR MUSIC FOR AIRPLAY

Bands, if you are not already on Earbits commercial free online radio, get it done. Submit your music here. Earbits has a mission to provide an amazing music discovery platform and connect artists with their ideal audience. They are super committed to the musicians they work with. The site is super simple and user friendly.

Send us a link once your music so we can take a listen.

First Friday October 5

First Friday, October 5 Artist Reception 6-9 p.m. Facebook RSVP

ARTIST BIO: RAY HAYES by Darryl Ferrucci

Santa Cruz artist Ray Hayes has spent the last several years engaged in a continuous and prolific exploration of the intersections of disparate phenomena(perceptions).

3rd generation artist on the maternal side, 3rd generation engineer/inventor on the paternal side Ray, 34, synthesizes these two streams of his family history into a unique juxtaposition of the aesthetic and the technical.

Ray's painting process begins with an open-minded approach to visual perception; processing the entopic phenomena of Form Constants into “ghosted-in” inter- dimensional frameworks; in which no form, object, or perception can singularly dominate any part or whole of the construct. Ray takes advantage of the powerful pattern making 'machinery' of the human mind; he allows patterns and visual relationships to reveal themselves , rather than seeking out a subject to focus on. At times using his visual myopia as a tool; allowing that, at a distance, ambiguous details can and must play any number of roles in the big picture.

In the painting practices, back in the warehouse, Ray synthesizes and processes these rich fields of perception in an intensive process of drawing, painting & collage. Juxtaposing and layering his imagery. He deconstructs his vision, mixes it with inspiration and new visual explorations, reconstructing this mix into an ongoing series of vibrant and engaging imagery. In an experimental process of quick free-form design, he fluidly combines a wide range of imagery from both his observation and imagination in a unique and constantly evolving style.

He has a strong interest in the form and design of the simple-practical, the impossible, theoretical, & the intentionally functionless variations that define mechanical objects; stemming from fascinations with Alexander Calder and Franz Reuleaux's work.

Ray freely blends these technologically inspired explorations with other modes of imagery; whether biomorphic, abstract, cartoon-like or straight figurative . In structuring his paintings, he engages in continual deconstruction & re-engineering of perspective, space and experience- to this end, he frequently cuts out, recombines, and layers his images. His paintings may become three dimensional, pointing toward or into the extra- dimensional.

His approach to media and materials used for his work is as fluid as his perceptual practices. He relies wholly upon discarded, recycled, & found materials as his painting surfaces, making a point to never have to purchase the surface.

First Friday, September 7

First Friday September 7 Artist Reception 6-9 p.m. Santa Cruz Rehearsal Studios 118 Coral Street Santa Cruz, CA 95060

Chelsea Briggen – a love story

Artist Statement I paint because the color makes me want to crawl out of my mind and join it in its simple vibrancy. I paint to feel the texture of the substance spread. I paint to say something that has no words just a feeling. And sometimes I'm painting to escape or heal or do something external when in fact painting simply brings me to the highest place in myself... consistently. Sitting in front of an empty canvas feels like waking up each morning. I have options. I have a trunk full of colors and my heart pours ideas through me... This is my joy. To paint.

www.chelseabriggenart.com

Redwood Mountain Faire

This is a great local festival that deserves our community support, not to mention the line-up is filled with some of the best bands in the Bay Area including some of our own Santa Cruz favorites.

Saturday, June 2

Meadow Stage

SambaDa - 6 p.m. The Soft White Sixties - 4:30 p.m. Monnalice - 3 p.m. Dan P. and the Bricks - 1:30 p.m. The Coffis Brothers - Noon Funkranomicon - 11 a.m.

Creekside Stage:

The Brothers Comatose - 5:30 p.m. Wooster - 4 p.m. Take 1 - 2:30 p.m. 3upFront - 1 p.m. Pour House - 11:30 a.m.

Sunday, June 3

Meadow Stage

David Lindley - 5:30 p.m. Sista Monica - 4 p.m. Extra Large - 2 p.m. Sherry Austin with Henhouse - 12:30 p.m. Red Beans and Rice - 11 a.m.

Creekside Stage

The Good Luck Thrift Store Outfit - 5 p.m. Tater Famine - 3:30 p.m. Three Time Loser w/Dayan Kai - 2 p.m Big Bambu - 12:30 p.m. Coffie Zombie Collective - 11:30 a.m.

Advance tickets now available. Purchase online.

America and the Course of Empire

[slideshow] First Friday, April 6 Santa Cruz Rehearsal Studios 118 Coral Street

Artist Reception 6-9 p.m.

Joaquin Spengemann is a Santa Cruz native returned to his roots after an extended residency in the east bay.  His collages are testimonies to excess and injustice, hubris and tyranny, salvation and redemption as they pay homage to and celebrate the fine craft of the illustrators and photographers whose work he dismembers and reorders.  His work exalts the power of nature and scrutinizes the nature of power with recurring themes of greed, romanticism, nostalgia, propaganda and bloodlust.   His most recent works betray a burgeoning penchant for the wisdom of alchemical hermeticism, and attempt through the glorious cartography born of the age of discovery to reveal the folly of statism, nationalism, and the currencies that bear their standards.   The artist is currently examining the concepts of “value” and “worth” from an antediluvian perspective.

Santa Cruz Rehearsal Studios Opens January 16th

Santa Cruz Rehearsal Studios is a brand new, freshly painted, hourly rehearsal space for practicing musicians. Our four rooms can be rented by the hour and are fully equipped with the gear necessary for a productive rehearsal. The rates range from $13.00 to $17.00 per hour, with a three hour minimum (a free 1/2 hr. for load in/out is included). We are centrally located in Harvey West and open from 10 AM - Midnight, 7 days a week. Our doors will be open on Saturday, January 16th - feel free to contact us for a tour anytime. Once we have been up and running for a few months, we will schedule our "Grand Opening" party. Join our mailing list to receive future updates. In the meantime, please forward our information to any bands in town you know that need a place to play loud and late.

We are proud to support and serve the amazing music scene in Santa Cruz. We hope you will come check us out soon.

Visit our website to learn more about the space, reserve a room online, or find great local resources for local musicians.