Live Music
An Explorer’s Guide to the Grand Avenue Festival
Posted on 10/17/12 by Jill Bernstein » No Comments
Recycled Rubbish Fashion
Grand Avenue has long been known for its edgy arts spaces, innovative adaptive reuse of old commercial buildings, and a funky, whimsical sensibility unlike any other neighborhood in downtown Phoenix. The Grand Avenue Festival provides a great opportunity to experience the old, the new, the wacky and the wonderful elements of this unique corner of our great city. For the uninitiated it may seem a bit daunting: Where to start? What to do? Will I know where I’m going?
DPJ has put together some tips to guide you to the best Grand Avenue Festival experience for the whole family. The festival and all events are free. There are basically two different experiences to be had at the festival – the daytime and the nighttime versions.
Grand Avenue Merchants Association President, Tim Sprague is excited about the free, guided tours of vintage commercial buildings that are integral to the history of the area. “Grand Avenue is home to some of the great buildings that served the growing Phoenix community during the early and mid-twentieth century,” said Sprague. “This tour will give you an inside look at how vintage buildings can be transformed for contemporary use.”
The tours, which begin at 8:00 am (and leave hourly at 8:00 a.m., 9:00 a.m., 10:00 a.m., and 11:00 a.m.) at the Milum Textile Services building at 333 N. 7th Avenue, are led by knowledgeable local history experts, visit three separate spaces and last about 2 hours. Visitors are encouraged to wear a hat and comfortable walking shoes.
From 12 noon to 5:00 p.m. you can visit the Coffee, Cookies and Crafts Fair in the Bragg’s Pie Factory parking lot (1301 NW Grand Ave. – near the corner of Grand and McKinley). The fair will feature more than 40 booths of local artists and crafters selling their wares; an info booth with event brochures; free coffee and cookies in a relaxed sitting area; and some food trucks on hand for heartier appetites.
Don’t miss the Hanging Gardens, Woven Fences and Trashy Sculpture Show – a Festival mainstay. Pick up a map at any of the information booths and embark on your own treasure hunt to find these urban gardens along Grand Avenue and vicinity.
Mods & Rockers
Beatrice Moore, secretary of the Grand Avenue Merchants Association and owner of Kooky Krafts wants to make sure to get the word out about the line-up of live music at the event. “We’re excited to have over thirty local, indie bands, including Peachcake, playing at three main stages and various venues all along Grand Avenue,” said Moore.
Starting in the late afternoon, Grand starts to show off its quirkier side, beginning at 4:00 p.m. with the Modern Era Renaissance Fashion Show at Soul Invictus Gallery and Performance Space at 1022 NW Grand Ave. The show includes live music and features a sampling of the latest jewelry and accessories from Grand Avenue jewelry designers from 4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
At 6:00 p.m., join in the Grand Trashy Hat Promenade. This quirky traveling fashion show begins at Kooky Krafts Shop, 1500 NW Grand Ave. at 6:00 p.m. All ages are, including kids, are invited to participate and model their creations along the street, returning to Kooky Krafts for the final judging, where cash prizes will be awarded
At 7:00 p.m., Days of Future Past: the Recycled Rubbish Fashion Show takes place at {9} The Gallery at 1229 NW Grand Ave. GAMA Board Member and co-owner of Recycled Rascals, Milissa Koehler says, “We’ll be showcasing fashion ranging from the practical to the theatrical. This is a ‘don’t miss’ event designed to celebrate unique approaches to recycled couture.”
Trashy Hat Promenade
After Hours events continue from 8:00 p.m. – 10:00 pm. Music and performances continue at venues all along Grand Ave., and the parking lot behind Bragg’s Pie Factory will be converted from the crafts fair to an outdoor movie theater.
Info Tables
- On the north end of the route at the Oasis on Grand, 1501 NW Grand Avenue
- At Bragg’s Pie Factory, 1301 NW Grand Avenue
- At Funk Lab, 1007 NW Grand Avenue
All Festival information will be available at the these locations, along with free water. Pedi-cabs will be stationed at both the Oasis on Grand and Funk Lab. You can also download a festival program.
Parking
Grand Avenue has a lot of free on street parking available all day from the intersection of Grand/Roosevelt/15th Avenue, and extending south along both sides of the street. There are also free parking lots at Oasis on Grand (1501 NW Grand), behind the La Melgosa building (1023 NW Grand), and at the Grandevelt complex (1500 NW Grand).
Transportation
Visitors are encouraged to ride their bikes if they live close by. All participating spaces are within walking distance of one another. Free pedi-cabs will also be located at the Oasis on Grand (1501 NW Grand) and at the Funk Lab (1007 NW Grand).
Photography courtesy of Grand Avenue Merchants Association
If you go
Event: Grand Avenue Festival
Date: Saturday, October 20
Time: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. (with activities pre- and post-event)
Admission: FREE
Information: grandavephoenix.com/grand-avenue-festival Facebook
Band Line-up:
Location: The Groove at 1028 Grand/MC Kevin Patterson
1:00p – 2:30p Boris Bon Bon – DJ
2:30p – 4:00p Djentrification – DJ, World Beat/Turntablism
4:00p – 6:00p Poets/Performance: Deborah Berman, Rich-ard Bledsoe, Bill Campana, Jack Evans, Neil Gearns, Judy Green-Davis, Joe Montano III, Shawnte Orion, Heather Smith-Gearns
6:00p – 7:00p The Caligans, 90′s Acoustic
7:00p – 8:00p The Regretting Man, A whirlwind of emotion
8:00p – 9:00p Where Are All the Buffalo, Folk music
9:00p – 10:00p Bill Walton, Classic rock, blue grass
Location: Bragg’s Pie Factory at 1301 Grand
12:00p – 1:00p World Class Thugs, Americana mish mash
1:00p – 2:00p Biologia, Galactic disco funk
2:00p – 3:00p Simon Wong, Ambient folk music
3:00p – 4:00p There There, Nugaze, trip-hop, indie rock
4:00p – 5:00p Betsy Ganz, Alt country with/a little cabaret
5:00p – 6:00p Man-Cat, Twisted regurgitated pop music
6:00p – 7:00p Snail Quail, Indie fun punk
7:00p – 8:00p Orchestra Exile, Ambient improvisation
8:00p – 9:00p Liam and the Ladies, 2tone ska
9:00p – 10:00p Treasure Mammal, Furries & skin tight suits
Location: Oasis on Grand at 1501 Grand /MC Andrew Benson
(Lot South of Building)
12:00p – 12:45p Waxman, Soul & Funk
12:45p – 1:30p DJ Chow Fun, Funk & Latin
1:30p – 2:15p DJentrification, World beat/Turntablism
2:15p – 3:00p DJ Sean Watson, House & Pop
3:00p – 3:30p James Mulhern & Danny Godbold, Acoustic
3:45p – 4:25p Mikel Lander & Meredith Moore Duo, Blues
4:55p – 5:35p Some Magical Animals, Dishwasher pop
5:55p – 6:35p TBA
6:55p – 7:35p Tobie Milford, Indie folk with a classical bent
8:00p – 8:50p Peachcake, Electronically charged pop music
9:15p – 10:00p Man-Cat, Twisted regurgitated pop music
Deux Ex Machina at 1023 Grand Ave 2:00p The Dry Surfinis
Location: The Trunk Space 1506 Grand Ave
8:00p until Close Kevin Greenspon, Christian Filardo, James Fella, Treasure Mammal, and more!
Other spaces that have music scheduled during the day:
{9} The Gallery at 1229 Grand Ave
The Bikini Lounge at 1502 Grand Ave
Galllery Marsigilia-Art in Jewelry at 1018 Grand Ave
Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery at 1012 Grand Ave
Rusty Spoke at 1023 Grand Ave
Maria Minerva Captivates at the Trunk Space
Posted on 10/08/12 by Ashley Naftule » No Comments
It’s hard to go out to a show without any expectations. To put it simply: if I go out and expect to see an awesome show, it usually ends up NOT being an awesome show.
So when I headed out last night I tried to leave my expectations at home… but of course, a few of the tricky devils played stowaway and tagged along for the night. I expected the touring acts to be more enjoyable than the local acts. Figuring it was going to be a night of weirdo-electronic music, I didn’t expect to dance, so I wore flip-flops instead of my groovin’ shoes. I expected a night of music aimed at the head, not at the rest of the body. All of those expectations were thwarted last night at The Trunk Space on Grand Ave.
The Trunk Space offers an eclectic mix and merchandise and music.
I walked in as Secret Tongues were starting their set. There was already a decent-sized crowd in the space: at least 20 bodies. That may not seem like much, but 20 folks showing up to an experimental music show in Phoenix on a SUNDAY is impressive (hell, add 10 more to that number and it’d be a pop-open-the-champange occasion). The Secret Tongues duo were crouched on the floor, facing each other like they were about to play a game of jacks; in between them was a messy tangle of musical gear, effects pedals and black wires. At first their set was droning noise, a crackling electronic thrum. Halfway through the set, a pleasant surprise emerged from the noise: a beat. A steady pounding beat, a little off-kilter, like a stressed heart thumping frantically after a sprint, but a beat. The beat maintained throughout most of their set, not building towards a climax but just moving forward: an ECG flat-line, with no rhythmic spikes. The set wrapped up as the beat faded away, Secret Tongues’ Mitchell Keaney and Christian Filardo conjuring noise that sounded like they had recorded the sound of a wave crashing against a cliff, and were now playing it back very slowly.
After their set ended, I killed time by hanging around inside the Trunk Space. I’ve been going to and volunteering at the Trunk Space for years: to see shows, to be in shows, and to help run the shows. I was there that night in a “civilian” capacity: instead of running the door or making espressos, I was free to just wander. And the Trunk Space is a great place to kill time in: for such a small space, they cram a lot of stuff inside it. There’s the coffee bar, which also sells Italian sodas, teas and an array of root beers and other specialty sodas. There’s the boxes and boxes of cheap records and comic books. The merch shelves full of CDs and records, zines and comic books (my personal favorite is the hilariously homoerotic “Henry & Glenn Forever”), South Korean toothbrush holders, finger puppets and all sorts of other arts & crafty things made by local folks. The walls are covered in show posters, a gumball machine stands in one corner next to a B&W photo booth and the bathroom door is currently pin-cushioned with photos of adorable animals.
The second act, Vial of Sound (from Tempe), went on and immediately made me curse my flip-flops. They were… dancey! The two men onstage, surrounded by a claustrophobe’s nightmare array of vintage analog synthesizers, played a set of head-nodding, feet-twitching music. By the time they finished their set, Vial of Sound got added to my short list of local bands I really need to see again (and with the proper footwear).
The last of the local acts was another musical duo, Body of Light. I was expecting something harsh and dissonant: what I wasn’t expecting, to my pleasant surprise, was a pop band. Body of Light sounded like they’d be right at home in any goth nightclub’s playlist. They used synths, playing beats that wouldn’t have sounded out of place on a Suicide record. They were the closest thing that this night of music had to an outright pop band: some of their songs had an anthemic quality. And they were the first band of the night with vocals on every track. And he had an excellent, low, echoey voice: he sounded like he was singing along to Peter Murphy songs while trapped at the bottom of a well.
Closing out the night were the two touring acts. Around 11pm the headliner, Maria Minerva, started playing. Out of all the acts playing, she had the most minimal setup: all her synths and gear were set up on a card table. Minerva’s set was surprisingly short, playing only a handful of songs. But it worked: her set was captivating. On records her voice often sounds hemmed in by the production, like she was a ghost haunting her albums, but live her voice popped out, taking on a more human and expressive character. The music sounded skeletal, opening up lots of space for her voice to float around in. There were moments where Minerva’s voice sounded like she could be the little sister of Bjork, Zola Jesus or The Knife’s Karin Dreijer Andersson; albeit a little sister that had just downed a bottle of cough syrup. Her voice was languid, her lyrics sounded like they were crawling out of her mouth, her slow tempos were hypnotic. When at one point she quoted Faith Evans towards the end of one of her songs, and for a moment I thought I had hallucinated it.
It was a brief, excellent set, but it was also low energy. I was certainly not expecting to leave feeling happy but drained, eager only to find the nearest couch and pass out on top of it. I should have known that this night wouldn’t end without one last unfulfilled expectation.
Wire | An Invitation to Participate in the Grand Avenue Festival
Posted on 10/08/12 by DPJ Staff » No Comments
DPJ’s Wire series delivers news and information straight from the source without translation.
Community Involvement Crucial to the 4th Annual Grand Avenue Festival October 20, 2012
Community volunteers came together to cut out letters from donated vinyl to produce a banner promoting the Grand Avenue festival. The effort was organized by Brittany Butler and Andrew Benson and was hosted at the Oasis on Grand.
The community is an important component to this year’s Grand Avenue Festival on October 20th. Opportunities for involvement range from contests to creative callouts for artistic projects and local vendors wanted for participation in the Coffee, Cookies & Crafts event. Several events are centered on community participation and a celebration of the vibrant culture, art, history and adaptive re-use of the Lower Grand Avenue Arts and Small Business District and adjoining neighborhoods. Here’s what you can get involved with during the festival:
Coffee, Cookies & Crafts
The seventh Coffee, Cookies & Crafts indie craft fair will be held in the Bragg’s Pie Factory parking lot from noon to 5 pm on the day of the Grand Ave Festival (October 20, 2012). The craft fair will offer a variety of activities including 40 local vendors selling handmade goods, crafting demos, a craft supply swap, and other fun activities for the whole family. Attendees will be treated to a pop-up lounge with free coffee and sweets from local bakeries. Some additional vendor spots are still available. Interested local vendors should complete the online new vendor application at www.coffeecookiescrafts.wordpress.com
Trash Hat Promenade
This year, Kooky Krafts has created a fashion event open to the community and prizes, including at $100 gift certificate awarded to “Best of Breed!” The “Trashy Hat Promenade,” allows any interested participants to don their gorgeous hat made of trash and recycled materials! There is no entry fee. Created by Kooky Crafts owner, Beatrice Moore, the event is intended to inspire creativity and fun in our community. Participants will model their own creations with Grand Avenue as the fashion runway! Anyone interested in participating should contact Ms. Moore (muppetsrealmom@earthlink.net or 602.391.4016) by October 15, 2012, to apply and make arrangements for show times and delivery. Visit our festival website for visual inspiration and additional information at:
http://grandavephoenix.com/grand-avenue-festival/call-for-entries-trashy-hat-promenade/
Hanging Gardens & Woven Fences & Trashy Sculpture
The “Hanging Gardens & Woven Fences & Trashy Sculpture” project will once again be a highlight of the Grand Avenue Festival, Oct. 20th from 10am – 8 pm, (After Hours from 8 – 10 pm). There is no entry fee & individuals or organizations will be paired with specific sites. Your masterpiece must be made primarily out of trash or recycled materials; however, a $35 stipend is available from Kooky Krafts Shop for participating youth groups (high school age or younger) for additional supplies such as paint, glue glitter, etc. Stipends will be awarded on project completion. Participants are responsible for set up & break down (in some cases projects may be able to remain for a few weeks with property permission) & projects must be installed by 10 am the day of the Festival. Visitors will receive a map so they can locate each project.
Hanging Gardens: Projects can consist of actual living garden components or make-believe plants, fantastical vines, whimsical flowers and other assemblages. Your fantastic “gardenesque” creations will be hung from branches or wrapped around tree trunks in a non-invasive fashion (i.e. without damage to trees or existing landscaping). Use of trash or recycled materials as the core element of your project is strongly encouraged.
Woven Fences: This project can be something actually woven through a fence, attached along the top of a fence, or created in advance and attached to an existing chain link, wrought iron, concrete block or other fence structure surface. Again, recycled materials are encouraged.
Trashy Sculpture: This year the trashy sculpture entries will be exhibited outside, on the day of the event only, so temporariness and expendability are key. Reduce, reuse & recycle!
If you intend to participate, send the following information to Beatrice Moore at Kooky Krafts Shop; 1500 Grand Ave,; Phoenix, AZ; 85007 or muppetsrealmom@earthlink.net
• Individual or Group Name
• Phone number
• E-mail address
• Request for stipend if desired (only eligible for high school age and under groups)
• Basic concept
We need your application as early as possible so you can be assigned the best spot for your project!
Event Volunteers Needed!
Volunteers are needed throughout the day to assist with event management as well as assistance in the days prior to the festival, helping to hand out promotional material and doing the final touches to help make our street “festival ready!” Any amount of time is appreciated. Please contact Dani Logan, festival volunteer coordinator, at danilogan0215@gmail.com to indicate your willingness to help. Community volunteer groups are welcome to participate! Festival hours are 11 am to 8 pm, with the Historic Tours starting at 8 am on October 20, 2012.
About the Grand Avenue Festival
The G
rand Avenue Merchants’ Association (GAMA) will be hosting the free 4th Annual Grand Avenue Festival on October 20th, from 11 am – 8 pm, with an After Hours event from 8 – 10pm. The festival will be a celebration of the vibrant culture, music, fashion, art, history and adaptive re-use of the Lower Grand Avenue Arts and Small Business District and adjoining neighborhoods. Free tours Historic Commercial Building and Adaptive Reuse Tours, begin at 8 am and continue hourly until 11 am, courtesy of the Phoenix Revitalization Corporation (PRC). Free screenings of “The Greenest Building,” shown at the conclusion of the tour are courtesy of Steve Weiss and No Festival Required. For more information about the 2012 Festival and GAMA, please visit: www.grandavephoenix.com
The Grand Avenue Festival is being sponsored in part by the Grand Avenue Merchants’ Assoc.; Phoenix Revitalization Corp.; Oasis on Grand; Glass Lab Metal Lab; Abromovitz Grand Avenue Partners, LLC; Arizona Pedal Cabs; Phoenix New Times; Dunlap & Magee Property Management.
Crescent Ballroom Celebrates Year One
Posted on 10/03/12 by Ashley Naftule » No Comments
It’s hard not to look at downtown Phoenix as a graveyard for live music venues. You can walk around so many corners here and see a tombstone for one of the many places that sprouted up from its concrete soil over the last two decades. Paper Heart, the old Modified, The Ruby Room, The Phix, The Brickhouse, and many more like them, living on only in memories and in poorly composed social media photographs.
Every time one of those places gets put in the ground, the soothsayers of doom have a fit and start ranting up a storm: “Phoenix’s music scene can’t survive without a midsize music venue.” “Downtown is ovah.” “Cats and dogs will start living in sin!” Etc etc.
And then we cross our fingers and hope that something can come along and fill that void. Luckily for downtown, over the last year a major void-filler has put roots down on 2nd Ave. near Van Buren: the Crescent Ballroom.
Photograph by Jason Garcia
In its first year of existence, Crescent has done a lot of things right. They serve food late into the evening, and it’s pretty good. They have TWO bars, one inside the lounge and one in the concert area. They have a good sound system, a spacious concert area, bouncers who aren’t dicks (it’s so refreshing to not have to endure the Marquee Theatre TSA pat-down everytime I go), and rows of bleacher seating in the back for those folks who think sitting at a rock show is appropriate. And then there’s the patio, which is a perfect “hive of scum and villainy” for local hipster people-watching.
“We’re looking into expanding the patio,” said Charlie Levy, the man behind Crescent Ballroom. “And because of the success of our local music festival we did back in August, and how much people enjoyed it, we want to do more things in the back, outdoors”.
The Ballroom has been very busy, considering its doors have been open for just one year. They’ve hosted over 364 shows (57 of which were sell-outs). When I asked Levy if any of those shows stood out as being a personal favorite, he replied, “Your phone’s battery would die if I listed them all.”
To celebrate that long list of great shows, Levy and co. are putting on a free show tonight. Dry River Yacht Club, Bogan Via, Djentrification, Bears of Manitou, Bruce Heimbuck, Flamenco Por La Vida, and the Tony Martinez Band are on the line-up for the 7 p.m. bash (and drinks will be half off).
“I grew up listening to music in the crescent city, New Orleans,” Levy said when I asked him the origins of the ballroom’s name. “And the crescent was the symbol of the original Phoenicians.”
Who knows? Maybe in a few years, if the Crescent Ballroom keeps on hosting big shows and maintains its appeal as a place to see and be seen, Phoenix might become America’s other crescent city.
Wire | Auditions for Alice Cooper’s Christmas Pudding
Posted on 9/25/12 by DPJ Staff » No Comments
DPJ’s Wire series delivers news and information straight from the source without translation.
Before there was America’s Got Talent or X-Factor, there was The Valley’s own search for the stars; Alice Cooper’s “Proof is in the Pudding,” where local musicians compete for the opening spot, sharing the stage with Alice Cooper and legendary friends, at Alice Cooper’s Annual “Christmas Pudding” Show at Comerica Theater.
Long before America’s Got Talent or X-Factor, Phoenix’s very own shock-rocker, Alice Cooper, opened the door to local talent for the coveted spot as opener of his Christmas Pudding event at Comerica Theatre.
Here is the chance for solo artists and bands, aged 25 years and younger, to compete against The Valley’s best and brightest local talent, to win the spot onstage with the legendary Alice Cooper, and many of his celebrity friends who come together to make Christmas Pudding the exhilarating and unique rock-n-roll Christmas celebration that’s become a staple of the Phoenix holiday season.
Applicants must apply by October 1, 2012, in order to secure a time slot at the first round of auditions taking place on October 15th and 16th. The application can be found here.
THE COMPETTION
This year’s Proof is in the Pudding competition will be held on October 15th and 16th at The Rock at 32nd St. (13625 N. 32nd St., Phx.) from 6:30-9:00 pm. An elite panel of judges will choose the top 24 in each category.
The selected bands/artists will then compete at the pre-finals held on November 5th, 6th, and 7th at the Hard Rock Café.
The top 3 bands and 3 soloists of each night will advance to the finals on November 19th and 20th at AliceCooperstown.
The winning band and solo artist will perform with Alice Cooper & friends at Christmas Pudding at the Comerica Theatre on Saturday, December 8th, 2012.
BACKGROUND
Alice Cooper’s Christmas Pudding celebrates its 12th year on December 8, 2012. This annual fundraising event has worked to raise money for Alice and Sheryl Cooper’s Solid Rock Foundation, which opened the doors to The Rock Teen Center in March 2012, a dream that has finally become a reality. A collaboration of Alice Cooper’s Solid Rock Foundation and Genesis Church, The Rock ministers to teens through the music, dance, art, vocational training in sound, lighting, and staging, and fellowship in a safe facility. With so many public schools forced to cut vital programs like music and dance due to lack of school funding, The Rock will cultivate a love of the arts to inspire and challenge teens to choose artistic excellence instead of drugs, guns, or gangs. Who knows what amazing performers, choreographers and producers might come from The Rock!
“We are fulfilling a vision we’ve had for several years…to provide teens with a central place to learn, have fun, and explore their creativity in a supportive and safe environment. The Rock will be one of the first of many teen centers in Arizona and, ultimately, around the country.” – Alice Cooper
