In-Tacoma.net

Happy 4th of July enjoy this video

Today is a big deal, if you are a creative person living in Tacoma, or you like drinking beer and having pizza with creative people. You need to be at this event tonight:

The Hub
203 Tacoma Ave S
Tacoma, WA 98402 US

When: Thursday, June 4, 4:30PM to 6:30PM Add to my Outlook Calendar
Phone: 253.861.1056

We are inviting all of the local artist/designer/marketing community to a first ever happy hour. join us for a low key get together with some of the most influential people in our region. Take time to gripe about the economy, or network with those who might be able to give you a better job, or bask in the glory of your latest success. Whatever your deal, we’ll force you to enjoy our company. Bring your creative self to the Hub for drink and conversation.

Hope to see you there.

Someone sent me some video from the last creative meetup below, (Its going to be like that again for sure):

This weekend local muralists came together on a wall in the Stadium district. This was the result:

About two weeks ago the Tacoma Art Museum was holding an outdoor art show with live painting, chalk artists, full drum band, and break dancers. The break dancers involved were from the Dance Broomz crew. It was fun to see them try something new and perform with the Stadium High school drum band. Take a look at the video below:

If you are interested in having the Dane Broomz perform at one of your events talk to Fab-5.org

Who do you think should take it? Both visible community members. Thoughts?

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Sometimes I look at the solutions David Boe from exit133 puts together and really wonder if we really need to get that complicated. Would a solution that’s already working in our other parks work with Tollefson Plaza? For under 1k could this solution work?

The Universal with the small ship from Close Encounters

The Universal was formed in Boise Idaho around 2005 when Lawrence Van Bishop (Luscious Fuzz, Tommy Dirtweed) and PS Perkins (Caustic Resin, Godzoundz, Size Of Alaska) joined forces with Matt Perkins (Skipper Lindsey, The Falldowns) and Phil Merrell.

The sound could be described loosely as psychedelic rock, but their latest full length album demonstrates that The Universal isn’t so easily pigeon-holed into a certain definable sound. “Everything Is Everywhere” (april 2009) gallops across genres as if they were never there, and at once retains a common spirit of careful composition – peppered with experimentation and bizarre, often tongue-in-cheek lyrics infused with a certain innocent self parody and amusing plays on words:

“…day dreams of night time and moths dream of butterflies…”
“…it’s bigger than anyone can see…”
“…wild dogs trapped in the stinking mud, they bray and moan for you…”

The belied innocence is certainly not to imply they are naieve – these boys have been around the block a few times. All are long time veterans of the Boise music scene and have many previous notable projects under their action utility belts.
PS Perkins (drums) was a founding member of Caustic Resin, claims he can trace his oil drips up and down I-5 on Google earth, and played on “Keep On Truckin” (UP!2004).
Lawrence is recognized among touring bands as the sound guy at Boise’s rock roadhouse Neurolux, where he has worked for years. Lawrence has played with Jr. Private Detective’s (Portland) Bo Fikle in Boise band Luscious Fuzz as well as a stint as lead guitarist for Tommy Dirtweed (Tom Romich of Caustic Resin).
The Perkins brothers are a formidable rhythm section, compounded by layers of swirling psychedelic guitars and the occasional three part vocal harmony or Rhodes electric piano accompanied by grumbling churning mini-synth. The live show by The Universal is dynamic, engaging and interesting, and sometimes audience members will even join them onstage for their final song with shakers and tambourines in a sort of snake-handling backwoods pagan religious ecstasy.

Here are some relevant links to the bands performing that night:

The Universal’s website

The Universal on MySpace

Star Anna on MySpace

Doors at 8pm, show at 9ish
$3 cover

The Tacoma Philharmonic 2008-2009 Distinguished Artists Series presents 2007 Kennedy Center Honoree Leon Fleisher in Recital on Sunday, April 19 at 3:00 p.m. at the Pantages Theater.  The Academy Award-nominated documentary “Two Hands: The Leon Fleisher Story” by filmmaker Nathaniel Kahn introduces a live solo recital by Mr. Fleisher.
 
On May 17, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. the Tacoma Philharmonic presents the 2009 Beatrice Herrmann Young Artist Competition WINNER’S RECITAL, with six of the region’s finest young artists performing at Schneebeck Concert Hall on the University of Puget Sound campus.  With three competitive age divisions and $1,800 in prizes awarded, Beatrice Herrmann Competition discovers and showcases the finest young classical musicians in the Seattle-Tacoma area.   
 
If you wish further information, contact Andy Wood at the Tacoma Philharmonic office, 253-272-0809 or exec@tacomaphilharmonic.org.

Seriously Movin 92.5 do we need your ads right next to our freeway sign and on our fence of Almond Rocha, a Tacoma Icon. I think not. If you know people in high places let them know that they should take down the visual spam.

Help spread the word!

Ps feel free to leave a note for Movin 92.5 in the comments

Starting *THIS* Saturday, April 4th Fab-5′s rolling out their 10 week urban art program, L.I.F.E.

They’ll be teaching breakdancing, legal graffiti artwork, and DJing and music production/recording.

What’s beautiful about the L.I.F.E. is they provide all the equipment/art supplies and can accommodate those JUST starting out/wanting to learn more, as well as those that want to advance existing skills. All ages/skill levels are welcome, plus, they hook students up with a free lunch after every class session.

To view the front/back of the the digital brochure, click (here) & (here).

L.I.F.E. happens *every* Saturday of April & May from 11am-3pm @ the Brick City Project in downtown Tacoma (754 Pacific Ave, Tacoma WA 98402)

The energy is real nice on these Saturdays. If participating isn’t your thing, feel free to pass this on to a neighbor, son/daughter, niece/nephew or brother/sister that would be interested.

For this program, Fab-5 employs over 15 professional artists from within the Tacoma community as instructors, so please support your community and get a student or two involved.

For more information or to register a student, please visit Fab-5.org or drop an e-mail to info@fab-5.org

Country music and Jason go together like oil and water…however, I think John Rich is on to something with his song “Shutting Detroit Down.” I think this guy really captured the sense of many of the people in our country. You really should take a listen to this song, and even check out the video (stars: Mickey Rourke and Kris Kristofferson). He captures the reality of what is taking place in our nation at this time. We’re going through massive unemployment in some of the cities of our nation that are upwards of 30-40%. While we are bailing companies out to fill their pocket books with their bonuses of hard work…Don’t tell me Chris Dodd didn’t know of these!  This politician received hunderds of thousands of those bailout dollars in campaign contributions.  Imagine that, politics and business intermixed.  Corruption in politics, of course not.  Corruption in these bail outs?  Of course not. 

America’s poorest neighborhoods and cities are crumbling, while we have people in the banking industry and government getting bailed out with BILLIONS. With the multiple bailouts, it’s in the TRILLIONS! We have a statelike Kentucky crumbling under the pressure of the economy, with thousands of people being laid off, while the University of Kentucky hires John Calipari for $4 million dollars a year…WOW…Are our values way out of wack?! Of course…

Now to our city.  Tacoma, we’re not far behind in the unemployment yet, but who is to say that we won’t reach those levels? As my friend Jermz mentioned on his twitter “200 people deep at Worksource.”  When I saw that…all I could think was WOAH!  I know our area is probably around a 10% unemployment rate, but I could see us at 15-20% by the end of the year.

If you take a drive through Hilltop, the city is starting to look like it was in the 1990s…same with parts of downtown.  The economic boom of our downtown core is no longer…you still see some projects in the works, but those new and amazing renovations are going to remain open and vacant…Pretty soon the lovely coverings of plywood will bless the buildings outer cores.

Back to John Rich….He’s a normal guy who I don’t think had any idea of the caliber of song he was writing.  Is it lyrical genious?  Far from it.  But it is mastery in it’s own sense because very few songs out there can capture a sense of millions of people in every facet of society.  Really take a listen to his song….Check the video out when it comes available…Country is not my music…but this song transcends my preferences.

http://www.johnrich.com

At night the machines rest.

When thinking of Tacoma, I don’t think of greatness, or prosperity, or beauty. What comes to my mind is potential, loss, failure, constant change, dirty….Why is that? May be it’s my mindset today because I just found out that I will be losing my job in two weeks due to budget and program cuts by those that fund my program. When driving through the city, I don’t feel that buzz any more. I don’t feel that excitement that was there 10 years ago. Are the realities of bubbles bursting setting in?

I just think that our city is filled with people that are just lost. Some because they have just lost their way on the map, some because they have taken a wrong turn and just haven’t left…others because they choose to be lost and Tacoma just found them.

Tacoma, I love you, I have grown to love you as a living, breathing entity, even though you are ugly.

Arts Downtown, Puyallup’s Outdoor Art Gallery, is pleased to announce their annual fundraiser in partnership with the Fish Food Bank on April 18, 2009, at Pioneer Pavilion in downtown Puyallup. The evening begins with a no-host social hour and auction preview followed by a dinner of “soul food” provided by Uncle Thurm’s.You will be surrounded by the sounds of jazz and blues performed by the David Keys Trio. A portion of the evening is devoted to our auction event. Donations have been provided by local merchants and businesses throughout Pierce County.

This event allows us to continue our vision of promoting diverse artistic culture and increase visual literacy. It also allows us the opportunity to embrace our community and educate them about Arts Downtown. We are a non-profit, all volunteer organization that curates a rotating and permanent collection of quality outdoor art.

Please bring a donation of canned or non-perishable food for the FISH Food Bank of Puyallup.

Tickets are $20.00 in advance and $25.00 at the door. Space is limited. This is a 21 and over event.
For further information or to purchase tickets online check out our website at www.artsdowntown.org

Many people are unfamiliar with all of the local hiphop talent we have here in Tacoma. In January I set out with the help of BlakFace Music to put together a free digital download sampler of some of the best MCs and Producers in the area. What you are going to hear through out this sampler is nothing but love for Tacoma and a huge sense of pride these individuals have for Tacoma.

People constantly compare our local hiphop music to whats on the radio. Do yourself a favor and give this sampler a try and who knows maybe you will become a fan.

Enjoy!

http://253hiphop.com/thetasteoftacoma

Artists involved on this project include:
Block Repp, Clemm Rishad, John Crown, D.I.V., Kalen, Les’sonz, Todd Sykes, Rockwell Powers, Tae, Rogar, Josh Rizeberg, Island Trybe, Bruce Leroy, Gangsta Lok, Johnni Boy, Can-U, EvergreenOne