ArtistPalooza's Showcase and Jam Night!

For those of you who don’t often venture down to West Adams Boulevard, who don’t spend the occasional Wednesday night in the somewhat sketchy part of Culver City, and who don’t frequent Club Fais Do Do…YOU are missing out my friends. Why? Because Club Fais Do Do is currently home turf to ArtistsPalooza’s monthly Showcase and Jam Night!

I personally have never gone south on La Brea from the 10 Freeway, and as I was driving around I thought that google maps might be out to get me because there really isn’t much in that area except for dimly lit streets and the occasional pupuseria. However, Club Fais Do Do is truly a gem – a diamond in the rough, if you will. The Cajun vibe is just spot-on and the atmosphere is fantastic. Not to mention the music. Which was amazing, of course, thanks to ArtistsPalooza and the incredibly talented musicians who came down to put on a phenomenal show.

The show went on from 7pm until midnight and featured artists like The Young Royals, Chelsea Williams, Avasa & Matty Love, Eric Kufs, Allison Geddie, Dennis Jones Band, Antonio Jackson, and The Bolt. One of my favorite moments was when Eric Kufs and Chelsea Williams sang a duet of Johnny Cash’s epic tune “Jackson.” Everyone was clapping along and stomping their feet and I don’t think I have ever heard that song sound so good. I am always pleasantly astounded to see how talented these artists really are.

The showcase was so great and all kinds of fabulous people stopped by to show their support, have a drink, check out the awesome music, and eat some delicious organic food. Plus, ArtistsPalooza showcase nights have no cover – it’s free! Overall, a great way to spend a Wednesday night!

A big thank you to everyone who played, sang, showed up, helped out, and made magic happen.

If you missed last week’s showcase, fear not, there will be another one soon! Check out our Facebook, Twitter, etc. and keep on reading our blog!

Semantic Identity Crisis

Most of you know our deal: Empowering Artists to Empower the World.

A few weeks ago, Allison, Lloyd, and Dave spent some time waxing philosophic, contemplating the definition of empowerment. After all, what does it mean to empower artists to empower the world?

I can tell you exactly what empowerment means. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the definitive record of the English language (yes, it’s true. Indisputable), there are 3 definitions for “empower.” Here they are for your reading pleasure:

Empower, v.
Pronunciation: /ɛmˈpaʊə(r)/
1. trans. To invest legally or formally with power or authority; to authorize, license.
2. a. To impart or bestow power to an end or for a purpose; to enable, permit.
b. To bestow power upon, make powerful.
3. refl. To gain or assume power over. Obs.

For those of you who do not frequent the OED, the little “Obs.” at the end of the third definition means that it is obsolete. Although it worked at one time (i.e. the year 1657), that last definition right there is a doozy. It’s like the word “nonplussed,” which means perplexed, confounded, etc. but loads of people use the word as if it means “unfazed.” Which is false. But people still do it. Just like in the curious case of “nonplussed,” the word “empowerment,” becomes confused with domination, seizure of power, and the installment of dictators. Which is also false. Words are confusing.

But enough of this foolishness, we are not in English class.

The question here is this: Are we empowering artists to empower the world?

Here are the facts:
1.) ArtistsPalooza works to provide artists with the opportunity and the platform to expand their talent and craft, to share their music//film/acting/art with the world. Our goal is to foster creativity, generate a space for artistic expression, and spark the creative genius that exists in everyone. We’re trying to change the world.
2.) ArtistsPalooza is organized and run by good people trying to do good things.
3.) ArtistsPalooza is a nonprofit. That means that we’re not about making money and we’re not overwhelmed by corporate shenanigans: we’re busy trying to plant the seeds of change.

For us, empowerment is about being encouraged. Without support, acknowledgement, and compassion, creative success is about ten million times more difficult. Empowerment has little to do with “power” but more with initiative, with determination, and with the necessary resources. That’s where we come in.

So here we are, empowering artists. But are we empowering artists to empower the world? (Phew, it’s getting complicated). Dave’s mom thinks that ArtistsPalooza is empowering artists to inspire the world. Allison thinks so too. Is that what we do?

Semantics? Totally. Welcome to my life. You may imagine that your brain looks something like a plate of scrambled eggs right now, but don’t worry about. Just think about it this way: We love art. We want to do art. Play music. Make films. You are an artist. I am an artist. We are artists. We are human. Me Tarzan, You Jane.

If ArtistsPalooza is empowering artists to empower the world, fantastic. If we are empowering artists to inspire the world, phenomenal. The trouble is that we are trying to grapple for a word that doesn’t exist, a few letters to name something beautiful and mahoosive. It’s like calling the expanse of endless blue “the sky.”

Empower. Inspire. Empower. Inspire. We do what we can with what we’ve got.

ArtistsPalooza Seeks Interns!

As September approaches and one by one our summer interns begin to disappear, ArtistsPalooza is looking for a batch of new interns for the fall! All of us here at the office have been busy as bees recruiting and interviewing some promising young whippersnappers to looking for the opportunity to do what they love and help change the world. The future is looking bright!

We are always open to new ideas and faces so if you or someone you know wants to help support our cause, please send them our way! Interns are gold, and we are planning to offer unpaid internships year round. If you’re interested, shoot us an email at info@artistspalooza.org.

For your viewing pleasure, here is the Hot List, the Big 4, the MVP intern positions: Social Media, Marketing, Video Editing, and Web Design. These are the blurbs that we have been posting all over the Internet, so why not throw them up on our blog?

Intern applicants should be interested in one or more of the following:

SOCIAL MEDIA
Help us manage and update our various social media outlets. ArtistsPalooza currently has a blog, a Facebook page, and a Twitter account. Candidates should be Internet savvy, proficient at navigating social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, and familiar with blogging. Knowledge of Photoshop, InDesign, etc. is a plus.

MARKETING/PUBLIC RELATIONS
Help us with our marketing projects and public relations. Interns will be reaching out to various media outlets - print, television, radio, online, etc., creating media lists, writing press releases and biographies, and researching new outlet contacts. Interns will also help run events including Music jam nights, Actor showcases, Fashion shows, and Art gallery showings. Candidates should possess proficient writing skills and be familiar with and/or interested in marketing and public relations.

VIDEO EDITING
Help us shoot and edit video of our events. We currently have quite a bit of footage from recent events and are recruiting 2-3 interns who are interested in video editing. We hope to cut one or two videos per week from the hours of content we have in order to promote ArtistsPalooza and to help raise funds. Candidates should be familiar with video editing software such as Final Cut Pro. Knowledge of Adobe After Effects a huge plus.

WEB DESIGN
Help us manage, organize, and update our website: www.artistspalooza.org. Candidates should be Internet savvy and familiar with concepts of web design. Knowledge of Adobe InDesign is a plus.

Come one, come all, interns interns, hip hip hooray! Exciting stuff.

That’s all for now, just wanted to keep y’all in the loop.