Overtone Industries is engaged in a massive community arts project, currently underway, to create props and costumes from recycled materials for their July site-specific contemporary opera, Songs and Dances of Imaginary Lands directed by O-Lan Jones. In May and June, creative volunteers are invited to Overtone’s “Songs & Dances Craftacular Weekend Workshops,” a series of free public art workshops where donated recyclables are being transformed into sets and costumes for the innovative music theater production. Overtone Industries is looking for crafters, artists, knitters, and the general public of all ages to collaborate on the project by participating in the art-making process via the community workshops. Workshops are being held Saturdays and Sundays, 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., through June 20, 2010 at the Songs & Dances Warehouse, 8840 Washington Street, Culver City, CA 90232.

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image from "North Horizon" by Thomas Freundlich and Valterri Raekallio

Dance Camera West (DCW), recognized internationally for its month-long presentation and celebration of dance on screen, announces the programming for its ninth annual Dance Media Film Festival screening at venues throughout Southern California in June 2010.  Dance on screen, or “screendance,” is a unique cinematic experience that focuses on the intersection of cinematography and choreography.  The festival includes this as well as all forms of dance media.  “The hybrid screendance medium is diverse, encompassing a broad range of cinematic styles, exhibition formats, and subject matters traversing global perspectives,” says Dance Camera West founder and director, Lynette Kessler… Read the rest of this entry »

Photo by Jesse Freidin

Inspired by Polaroid’s newest spokesperson, Lady Gaga, award-winning Bay Area dog photographer Jesse Freidin – with the help of The Impossible Project (TIP) – created The Doggie Gaga Project, which has become a viral sensation.  Freidin dressed his canine models in five of Lady Gaga’s most celebrated outfits, and photographed them using two packs of Polaroid film from the last remaining supply in the world.  Read the rest of this entry »

Award winning filmmaker Jon Reiss is set to release his new book Think Outside the Box Office: The Ultimate Guide to Film Distribution and Marketing for the Digital Era on March 15, 2010. The book is a primer for filmmaking in the digital era covering distribution of all types of media content – feature films, shorts, webisodes, transmedia, vblogs, etc., and is the first to address the new distribution and marketing landscape facing filmmakers today.
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Photo credit: Eric Gillet

San Francisco-based multi-instrumentalist, composer and singer Mark Growden is set to release his ninth album, Saint Judas, through Porto Franco Records on March 16, 2010. The national record release party will take place in Los Angeles on the same day at Hotel Café in Hollywood. Saint Judas, an intoxicating mix of roots music with a postmodern aesthetic, features 13 tracks of ‘Americana noir’ with an overarching theme of redemption. Read the rest of this entry »

Palette Recordings "Nothing But Love Songs"

John Tejada’s label, Palette Recordings, is proud to present its first digital-only compilation, Nothing But Love Songs, featuring a dozen exclusive new songs from the label’s talent. While firmly rooted in techno, the cohesive compilation incorporates experimental, dub, and glitch passages as it cycles through layers of sonic abstraction. The compilation begins with a track by Palette All-Stars (comprised of John Tejada, Arian Leviste, Justin Maxwell and Josh Humphrey), and also features solo material by Tejada as well as Maxwell, Humphrey, and Dave Hughes. Collaborations abound with all the Palette artists including Tejada’s 19-year collaborator Arian Leviste.

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Photo Credit: Helena Ruffin

Legendary interdisciplinary artist Rachel Rosenthal is set to introduce the world to her new improvisational theater group, TOHUBOHU! Extreme Theater Ensemble, with monthly performances starting the weekend of February 19, 2010. The name, loosely translated, means “collision or chaos” which Rosenthal describes as not what the Company does, but the process they go through to do what they do. Each monthly performance will span three nights during one weekend. All performance begin at 8:30pm. Tickets cost $20. Reservations are necessary to insure seats… Read the rest of this entry »

Believing that everyone deserves a beautiful future, the nation’s leading make-up educational institute, Make-Up Designory (MUD), created the MUD Cares Palette of Eye Colors to benefit NextAid and one of its partners in Africa, the Red Rhino Orphanage Project (RROP). 100% of the sales from the limited-edition four-color eye shadow palette are being generously donated to NextAid to help RROP build a foundation for a better tomorrow. Once the specially commissioned palettes sell out the funds will provide construction of orphans’ homes in a poverty-stricken town 25 miles southeast of Nairobi, Kenya. Lovely superstars Colette, DJ Rap, Eve Falcon, and Samantha James have come on board to help spread the word. Read the rest of this entry »

"Eyes Nose Mouth" - photo credit: Noemie Lafrance

Dance Camera West (DCW), recognized internationally for its month-long presentation and celebration of dance on screen, announces its Ninth Annual Dance Media Film Festival screening at venues throughout Southern California in June 2010. Dance on screen, or screendance, is a unique cinematic experience that focuses on the intersection of cinematography and choreography. The festival includes screendance as well as all forms of dance media. “The hybrid screendance medium is diverse, encompassing a broad range of cinematography styles, exhibition formats, and subject matter traversing global perspectives,” says Dance Camera West founder and director, Lynette Kessler… Read the rest of this entry »

Buddha Bark is the premiere wellness, pampering and gifting lounge for celebrities and their dogs to primp and prepare pre-awards shows, debuting in January 2010 during the 67th annual Golden Globe Awards. Created by canine wellness expert, Madison Svensson, her Buddha Bark event series is the first to bring together top experts and brands from both the celebrity lifestyle world and the canine wellness community. Showcasing cutting-edge organic treatments, services and products for people and their pets, Buddha Bark will take place on Friday, January 15th and Saturday, January 16, 2009 from 11:00am – 5:00pm. Find refuge in an exclusive Zen-inspired garden oasis located in the heart of the awards show action zone complete with bungalows, a dog park, salon, art gallery, fashion runway, performance art, walking gardens and more. Read the rest of this entry »