eyes cast down

April 1, 2012 - Chicago, Illinois - The Colorboration Project - 208 S. Wabash Ave.

We were well into our residency at this point. In fact we had just returned from a quick trip to Grand Rapids, Michigan for a gig with GR locals Bennett. So, what I mean to say is that we had a few weeks of all kinds of different musical inspiration at this point, so how better to switch things up, or down a few notches (however you want to look at it) other than to spend a Sunday afternoon with "eyes cast down" ?

Greg stopped into our space a couple weeks earlier to introduce himself as a friend and colleague of a good friend of ours Eve Brownstone. Greg left us with a CD sampler of his ambient music and the promise to come and play with on April 1. 

As previously mentioned, by this point we had worked with lots of different genres and styles so we were looking forward to the possibilities that we might encounter with eyes cast down.  Greg and his wife showed up with their little car filled to over-flowing with musical and electronic gear. Greg proceeded to apologize for only being able to bring his small rig today... Tali and I laughed as this one man band proceeded to take over the stage that had previously contained up to eight musicians at once.

I was wonderful to have a relaxed atmosphere in the space, the door was open the fresh air filled with all the smells of the city wafted in as Greg took all the time he needed to set up his gear and get all 
tuned up. 

eyes cast down

We of course knew that this would be pretty much and improvisational set, and just like the good old days, we really didn't know what to expect and it was exciting.

One of the beautiful things about ambient music is the subtle changes, and honestly between the sampled loops and layered textures those subtle changes and sometimes take many minutes to become apparent.

Greg is in heaven when he is making his music, it is obviously a passion that carries him away in the flow, and when he is playing that is the only place he is. When a musician is that into what he is doing it easy for us to be carried away as well. This session was just one of those times when time stood still, it just didn't matter anymore.

We were likewise carried away so that we just floated along and let the sounds and colors direct what would happen next.

eyes cast down paintings by Tali and Royce

No one other than Greg knows how long the session really lasted because he recorded it all, but it really didn't matter as when he finally faded things to zero, there was a completeness and extraordinary quiet and calm in the space. We all just pretty much sat down together and soaked as much of it in as we could without really saying any words at all.

Check out the eyes cast down web site.

The Colorboration Folk Fest (continued)

March 18th was the day, Chicago was the town and 208 S. Wabash Avenue was the address of the first ever Colorboration Folk Fest. In the prior blog post we started to tell, and here we hopefully will finish the deed. To recap, The day started off around noon with guitarist, Neil Dixon Smith, followed by Singer/Songwriter Erin Isaac and then Singer/Songwriter Linda M. Smith and her combo.

Vessy Mink

VESSY MINK
Next up was the ever delightfully creative and well travelled Vessy Mink playing her folk pop rocky tunes. Staying true to her latest motherly alliteration, Vessy performed the better part of her set with her lastest creation, just barely a few months old, strapped to her breast right above her guitar. Vessy pulled her Black Car out of the garage in the middle of her set to switch the pace up a lot.


And for her last song she mixed it up a little bit more by playing  a Bulgarian dance song and singing it in tongues. Go figure. Everyone smiled and, no surprise, but this resonated immediately with Tali's Bulgarian roots.

Bulgarian Dance by Tali

Music of Vessy Mink by Royce

ROTH MOBOT
The circuit bending fools that go by the name of Roth Mobot took the stage next. Tommy Stephenson and Patrick McCarthy make up this duo that quite simply amazed everyone in the place, present company included. As they set up they unloaded untold numbers of altered electronic toys that they have collected over the years and have clipped, snipped, drilled and soldered them into fantastic noisemakers that they can control to make music out of what appears to be chaos. Everyone was enchanted as the two electronic wizards allowed everyone to pick up and see what sort of sounds they might generate.

Roth Mobot

Roth Mobot is improvisation on another level of completely unusual proportions. I say that because they are not playing with any sort of conventional instruments that contain within them any sort of natural progressive set of scales. Unlike a piano that literally anyone can play a scale by walking their fingers up or down the keyboard, some of these altered toys may only make one unusual sound such as particular kind of squawk or static.

The magic occurs when the sounds begin and yeah it does sound a little like an auditory mess. But once they start sampling the sounds and you begin to hear rhythms being created you can't help but be a bit blown away that before long you are hearing music, that almost could be considered traditional. At least when you consider where it came from. 

Music of Roth Mobot by Royce

So, next New Year's Day when you are being driven completely out of your mind because you gave your kid the latest, and coolest toy that has been talking and making siren noises for the last week, and you are ready to throw it out the window. Don't!  Get it over to Roth Mobot, they will add it to their menagerie and make it sing in a way that you never thought possible.

Painting their music, was an experience every bit as unusual as Roth Mobot.

MIKE FELTON

Mike Felton, at this point we can refer to him as a long time collaborator and contributor to the Colorboration project. Mike took the stage with his seasoned presence and filled the room with tales from the city whose L tracks were running right over head adding a percussive beat to Mr. Felton's tunes.

Mike Felton - photo by Rob Gaczol

We met Mike in March 2011 when he showed up to play with in Logan Square at our first Colorboration Project - Chicago. Right away we liked the special place that his music took our paintings. There is a real life urban grittiness to his songs that rough you up while tugging at your your heartstrings.

Ghost in the House by Tali

By this time we have so many favorite tunes from Mike, Ghost in the House, Where'd You Get That Dress, The Buildings They Tore Down, and those were just a few of what he played that night. Mike came back two more times over the course of our stay in Chicago this time. It has gotten to be that it just isn't a visit to Chicago with a little bit of Mike Felton.

SHELLEY MILLER

This California transplant, Shelley Miller has found her place in Chicago. She fits in nicely with her raw approach to presenting a songwriting style that claws at the underbelly of relationships and pokes our humanity right where we live. The  great set of music that Shelley played in our little venue was a  real treat in that it was an acoustic set version of what she would play at her April 29th CD release party for her latest offering february. 

Shelley Miller - photo by Rob Gaczol

It has been said that Shelley is a singer's singer and a songwriter's songwriter and a guitarist's guitar player. We will add our vote to those accolades as well. Plus as painters we have to say that she is a painter's musician with her songs like Walk Away, and Bigger than Darkness that combine masterful guitar picking and a searingly soulful voice that create a tapestry of textures that are a joy to paint.

Music of Shelly Miller by Tali

KAVA
Marshall Greenhouse, percussionist, Wilson, guitar and Ryan Behling, bass and vocals make up KAVA that from the first electrically charged note make you wonder how they might have ended up on the bill of a folk festival. (But then we wondered about Roth Mobot too.) 

KAVA

We have always taken a come one, come all stance on what we do and KAVA was a welcome addition to what was getting to be the end of a long long day. So the energy this, dare I say, power trio injected into our studio was more than palpable even without a drum kit. 

KAVA by Tali

We will both admit that working non-stop all day like we were doing was a bit on the ridiculous side, but we seem to do that a lot. But exhausted as we might have been Marshall, Wilson and Ryan hit the ground running with some hard driving tunes that were executed with surgical precision. They also lightened up and gave us a kinder and gentler KAVA that showed a different side of the band and likewise gave even more complexity to our paintings.

Music of KAVA by Royce

near hemisphere
What better way to end up a folk festival than with the folk stylings of the West African influenced sounds of near hemisphere. Rick Neuhaus and his cast of characters round out this band of six to eight members. This night there only six and proved to be just enough. It really goes to show that more is not always necessarily better.

near hemisphere

By the end of the set and the evening everyone in the house had some sort of instrument and was being included in the impromptu band and improvisational session that is so typical of so many of shows that have anything to do with Rick Neuhaus. As a leader he knows where he wants to go and remains flexible enough to go with the variations that inevitably show in in most live performances.

Music of near hemisphere by Tali

Rick was not only instrumental in getting the Folk Fest musicians lined up through the Old Town School of Folk Music, but he also was a helping hand of untold proportions when it came to setting up our studio here on Wabash Ave. I might add that the painted stage is all his handy work, and I don't think it went unnoticed by anyone for the six weeks we were in that space.


So, Thanks to all the musicians that played and thanks to the Old Town School of Folk Music, thanks to FUZE for keeping us all hydrated and thanks to The Chicago Loop Alliance and The Pop-Up Art Loop and Tristan Hummel for all your support.

The Colorboration Folk Fest

 "On a cold and gray Chicago mornin' anuther little baby child is born in the ghetto." - Elvis Presley

When Tali and I came out of the subway on State Street about to begin the first ever Colorboration Folk Fest all I could imagine were the lyrics to that infamous song by The King.

But, it wasn't that cold and we weren't in ghetto. We were just around the corner from there at 208 S. Wabash Avenue. Little did we know when we started out this day what it would end up like. There was no way of knowing.

I should tell a little about how this folk fest came to be. You see, about a month earlier we had a cancellation in our schedule by a musician and so we had a hole on our second day there that just happened to be a Friday night. So rather than do nothing we had a call put out for musicians, and as it was that call went out to and through the Old Town School of Folk Music and over the course of one weekend we had enough replies to have booked several sessions. But in typical Tali and Royce fashion; why do a simple one band on one night when you can do a whole day affair with lots of acts. Thus was born the Colorboration Folk Fest in cooperation with the Old Town School of Folk Music.

NEIL DIXON SMITH

We kicked things off around noon in the hopes that we would bring in a bit of the lunch crowd, which we soon learned is more interested in going to get lunch and get back to work than anything else. But today any people strolling by were being kept away by the monsoon rains that started about the time our lead off man, Neil Dixon Smith took the stage. There is always something special, or not about being the first on the bill.

Neil Dixon Smith with a Tali painting.

Neil most typically plays a lot of weddings and private parties. He expertly strums, plucks, picks and pounds his classical guitar melodies that are heavily seasoned with flavors of Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Spain.

Painting with Neil's music also tinted our paintings with influences that were completely unique to many of the musics we have worked with in the past.

Erin Issac

ERIN ISAAC
Erin has just recently moved back to Chicagoland in fact the day she played was like day two for her here from her former digs in Colorado. This was the first time the Erin had played out in years and I have to say that you would not have guessed it. Colorado's loss is Illinois' gain. She played some original tunes that she has been working without missing a beat even though her glasses where sliding down her nose and ended up having to include that bit of reality to her performance.

Erin's Music by Royce

LINDA M. SMITH LTD.
After these first two solo acts things got changed up a bit as Linda M. Smith, Ltd. moved onto the stage with her entourage, which included a video crew, as well as Robert Arendt on bass and Nikos Brisco on guitar.

Linda sang some of her older music but used our little stage to try out some of the new material that will be on her next album which is about the Celtic legend of the Selkies, inspired by The Seal Children by author/illustrator Jackie Morris.

Music of Linda M. Smith by Royce

Linda M. Smith by Royce

This new album's music did indeed transport us off to some other world and some other time. That is a great thing to have happen when you paint music. It never ceases to amaze, but just as soon as you think you have heard everything, someone else comes along and changes that for you. Thanks Linda.

Linda's Surrender to the Sea by Tali

Next post (tomorrow) will include all the rest of the acts- Vessy Mink, Roth Mobot, Mike Felton, Shelley Miller, Kava, and near hemisphere.

Kickstarter Campaign is Launched Today

The Looking Box Kickstarter Page

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, we hear what you are saying, "You don't even hardly get started reporting on your last project and you are already off to your next one!"


Well, that may be in fact true, but we have good reason. Our biological clocks are ticking, and the reality is, so is the every other clock in the world and if we don't start immediately, like as soon as we can, we end up behind the 8-ball. And that ain't no fun.


So, sure we will get back to telling you all about the Chicago Loop project, which by the way was really incredible.


So check out our Kickstarter page there are some really great rewards we have designed.


Thanks for your support, really, any amount will really help the project out.


...royce and tali...

March 17th

Tali's Silver Bullet from O'Hare.

As the tale goes, Tali was whisked off the plane onto the L train and taken directly to the venue in Chicago's Loop where she would literally hit the ground running since March 17, 2012 is the day she landed and it is the day that we were officially kicking off The COLORboration Project - Loop.

How it all started.

It's all true, the space at 208 S. Wabash had been quickly transformed from a cramped gallery to something a lot more expansive. Thanks to the help of good friend and shlepping buddy Rick Neuhaus walls were moved and stages rearranged and painted just in time for Tali's arrival.  We she walked in the door the place actually sort of looked like a gallery and the buzz was on since we only had a couple hours to get things together for the first evening of many live painting with live music sessions.

Pretty much a proper gallery.

Do I need to remind you that March 17th is St. Patrick's Day, and if you know any thing about Chicago other than Al Capone, you will know that St. Patty's day is pretty much a no holes barred sort of a day that actually really gets started somewhere around the 10th. So the energy was high in the city as well as the venue.

St. Patty's Day revelers.

We started off mellow with the music of mitre, aka Scott Richardson. Interestingly enough we worked with Scott last year on the last day of our Colorboration Project in Logan Square. His atmospheric guitarscapes were a good way to ease on into the first night of this project.

Tali with her first painting of the project and the maker of the music, Scott Richardson

As Scott's set was winding up slowly the rhythms of Rick Neuhaus's near hemisphere were layered into the guitar of miter. First with hand claps and until most of near hemisphere which by now was all in the audience were beating on something.

near hemisphere

A minimal stage change up also changed the rhythms about 180º too. near hemisphere play a very special version of West African influenced beats. But more than that Mr. Neuhaus has taken these West African sensibilities and made them his own with lyrics that we can all pretty much latch on to but maybe not totally understand. Let's say this band has fun and by the end of the set everyone in the room is having fun too.

near hemisphere

Now, before all we do is talk about the music, which does by the way mean a lot to us, we want to talk about the paintings that we did. Like was mentioned earlier the change up between the first set and the second set was so definiate that it was obvious in Tali's art. She painted two separate paintings that night, while Royce painted on the same panel all evening.

Left- Tali's near hemisphere  Right- Royce's first night.

It is always amazing that when we get back in the studio that thing just start to fall into place. And as much as we wonder if we will remember how to do this painting thing, it is wonderfully reassuring that it is something that comes back to us the moment we start.

The Colorboration Project - Loop 2012

Before any more time passes and everybody including us thinks it was just some wonderful dream, we thought it would be good to start posting some stories about The Colorboration Project - Loop that happened between March 15 and April 25, 2012. 

208 S. Wabash Avenue, Chicago

There are many many stories that we will get around to telling here, but before we do we thought it would be appropriate to give a big Colorboration Project THANK YOU to all those that helped out in so many ways with sponsorships and generosity above and beyond the call of duty.

Thanks too all of you, The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in New York and the Chicago Consulate. Thanks to the Chicago Loop Alliance for the Pop-Up Art Loop program that is really so vital to the art in the Loop. Tristan Hummel, the Pop-Up Art Loop director was great, thanks for believing in us and for you support throughout the time we were their. The first ever Colorboration Project Folk Fest was a success and would not have been possible with the help of the Old Town School of Folk Music. As always Alpha Bruton and the Phantom Gallery Network was there with necessary back up and support. Thanks to Josh Ginsberg and Chicago Art Leasing for help getting the word out. This project was also sponsored by Fuze, Ashley Brown was always Ms. Johnny on the spot when it came to keeping us and our musicians stocked up with the latest FUZE flavors.

Of course all the musicians, were amazing, as the blog posts go on you will hear about them specifically but you were all amazing. 

It also seriously goes without saying that all this craziness would not have been possible without the tireless support and other unspeakable generosities that were provided by Rick Neuhaus and his darling Sophia. We won't even start to list the many ways and means, but they know, and we know what and how and a bit more. 

So, stay tuned for some stories and some photos from all of the fun.

Artist Reception

The gallery is open, traffic has been decent. The 17th was an amazing kick off night with Scott Richardson aka mitre and Rick Neuhaus with near hemisphere. We have have been painting and already have some new work to see. 


This Thursday,  March 22, at 2pm we have the pleasure of working with a very creative musician, Eliezer Kaplan. We worked with him last March in Logan Square, and we he will be with us twice this year with two different projects that he is heading up. Thursday he is going to surprise us with Lounge Piano and Lemon (RE)Duck(s). We can't wait.

Following that show at 5pm-10pm we will have an Artist Reception in the gallery.


Come down and say "Hi"


Check out our schedule at www.paintinaction.com/loop/schedule because it is going to get busy from here on out.


208 S. Wabash Avenue, Chicago
231.883.1681