WTF?? Now what? We are left hanging… River, more please!

(PS – EDM is Electronic Dance Music.)

The opening show was performed November 25, 2011 to a very hip group of Roanokers, and well-received. At one moment, singer River Laker took off his jacket which sparked cheers from the crowd – alas, no other articles of clothing were removed to everyone’s disappointment.

River’s songs were amazingly and surprisingly touching, a concoction of personal and intimiate childhood experiences meshed with electronic sounds and beats from bandmembers Josa Wakes (keyboards) and Blaine Davis (drums). Also assisting in the first-time stage experiment was Susanne Fitzgerald, adding an unusual visual flow that locked her and River into a trance-like sway for most of the show.

Well, we’re ready for more… meantime, check out a live version of “From Alan Watts to the Irresistible Open Arms of Jesus” taped at the Kirk Ave show.

They split W-L’s for the year, averaging around .500 against some pretty tough opponents in over a dozen bouts, both home and on the road. The Star City Roller Girls have upped their performance since their humble beginnings back in 2006 when Founder Maureen O’Havoc decided to take a stab at putting an all-girl roller derby team together in Roanoke.

The gals recruit new members and display them in “Fresh Meat” bouts during the regular season. More and more women have again become interested in roller derby and the sport is gaining renewed glory since its previous popularity in the 1970′s, though the game dates back to the 20′s and 30′s!!

What’s not to like? The gals form bonds with team members not only on their respective teams but with their rivals too, which makes for some great after-parties even if they’d just come off the track kicking each other’s butts! Each player wears something particular to their derby track persona, in addition to mandatory regulation gear, and adopt derby names for themselves, which is so important to the game that the players have their names officially listed on the International Rollergirls’ Master Roster. (You can query the site to see if your name is unique.)

Just recently, the Star City Roller Girls had been accepted into the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association’s Apprenticeship Program, and soon hope to be included in one of the WFTDA‘s member leagues. From its inception though, the team has been playing by the WFTDA’s official rules, so they should be well on their way in the organization’s process of initiation!

Check out the Star City Roller Girls at http://starcityrollergirls.wordpress.com/ for team, player, referee, and game updates, including how to join, where and against whom they will be playing, and how to become a team sponsor if you run a business and are looking for a super neat thing to support locally.

Stay tuned for their 2012 season schedule. It’s going to be an even bigger year for them, so don’t be left behind!! Get your season passes and bring your friends and family out for some Star City Roller Girl roller derby action!

(Team photo courtesy Jeanna Duerscherl)

Milan Tobacconists – Dec 2011 (Website/YouTube Ad)

Hibachi Grill – Spring 2011 (WSLS-TV)

Baylees Best Chocolates – Feb 2011 (WSLS-TV)

DJ KillaGraham – June 30, 2011

Veveritse Brass Band – July 18, 2011

But that’s not all. The event, which spread across several blocks downtown around the Kirk Ave area, brought together a host of visual and performance artists in a fantastic celebration of public art on a hot summer night in July.

Star City Fame boogied on down Kirk Ave to capture the event. Luckily the sweltering temperatures of the day just hours earlier had lessened a few notches and that breeze or two blowing down the streets came with welcoming sighs, bringing out locals and visitors for an enjoyable stroll through the evening’s fanfare!

For more information on the artists involved with PROject proJECT, please check out their website: http://project-project-roanoke.tumblr.com/

Congrats to Doug & Telisha Williams – Their video “Kitchen Light” from a couple years ago has been on the Top Ten for a loooong time, and this week, it’s actually at NUMBER ONE!!!

Smoke and Mirrors from this year’s Festival in the Park is still going strong. John Pence, David Simpkins, and Another Roadside Attraction have been gaining some more views. Jonathan Byrd and Twelve O’Clock Knob popped in with one of their earlier videos… people are looking to check them out, so we’re happy to be able to have these videos of our talent here in SW Virginia archived for fans to search.

Here’s the Top Ten Videos List for this week!!!

1. Doug and Telisha Williams – “Kitchen Light”
2. Smoke And Mirrors – Festival In The Park 2011
3. Local Colors 2011 Parade Of Nations!!
4. Roller Derby Promo – Star City Roller Girls
5. John Pence – Solo “Turn the Page” Live at Grace Covenant
6.  David Simpkins “One By One” Live 3rd Street Coffeehouse
7. Another Roadside Attraction “Kaboom!” Live at Local Colors 2011
8. Rising Stars Upcoming Episode Preview (June 2011)
9. Jonathan Byrd – The Waitress
10. Twelve O’Clock Knob – Lullaby

Stay cool!! See you around Downtown!!

This week, Local Colors’ Parade of Nations 2011 emerges as the Number One video on the Top Ten, while a couple of musical artists hit the list with new videos of their performances around Roanoke. Southwest Virginia Songwriter’s Association member David Simpkins pulls two spots with his originals, and young guitar-slinger John Pence makes it into the top 5 with a solo piece.

What can I say about indie Bluegrass group Grass Monkey? They are holding down the top ten with vengeance every week because they are THAT good! And so are regulars Doug And Telisha Williams and Jonathan Byrd, with their videos springing back onto the list for TWO YEARS now!! Of course, our legendary Star City Roller Girls‘ team almost never misses the top ten list. Their promo video keeps people coming back for more… maybe it’s time for an updated promo?

Here are the winning vids this week, peeps!

1. Local Colors 2011 Parade Of Nations!!
2. Roller Derby Promo – Star City Roller Girls vs Little City Roller Girls
3. David Simpkins “One By One” Live 3rd Street Coffeehouse
4. John Pence – Solo “Turn the Page” Live at Grace Covenant
5. Grass Monkey – Midnight Moonlight Love
6. Doug and Telisha Williams – “Kitchen Light”
7. Neon Twerk Party at Just Embrace Love Please
8. Jonathan Byrd – The Waitress
9. David Simpkins “Something New” Live at 3rd Street Coffeehouse
10. Rising Stars Upcoming Episode Preview (June 2011)

Keep on watchin’, keep on rockin’, and see ya around Downtown!

The City of Roanoke held its final public meeting on the proposed Arts and Culture Plan on Tuesday evening in the Special Events Center of the Roanoke Civic Center. Interested parties, many whom had previously attended other meetings over the course of several months since Fall 2010 when the Roanoke Arts Commission first invited various groups to collaborate on the plan, met to review the steps and determine from three categories what set of steps would be the most important for them.

Introducing the meeting, Nathan Harper, Chairman of the Arts Commission, explained the very reason for the plan, besides that many of the area’s artists and organizations had wanted a formal collaboration. Simply, this Arts and Cultural Plan is part of a greater comprehensive plan for the city and each of its neighborhoods actually do have plans that address various needs of their respective neighborhoods. Tom Carr, Director of Planning, then took the group through the Plan’s six basic components, which can be found online at the Roanoke City website, http://roanokeva.gov/planning.

Doug Jackson of the Roanoke Arts Commission led the group to the three Building Blocks of the plan, which were posted on the walls, so that everyone attending the meeting could decide which initiatives presented meant the most to them. These initiatives were previously discussed at the earlier meetings last year and now represent the actions to be taken in moving forward with the Arts and Cultural Plan.

Commission members supplied attendees of tonight’s group with dot stickers and post-it notes so that everyone could make their choices after reading through the action steps and also leave specific comments, questions, or further recommendations for each of the action items in all three categories. They were also asked to pick which of these three main points were most important to them: People, Education, and Life-long Learning; Livable Communities and Engaged Neighborhoods; and Vibrant Region and a Healthy Economy.

Speaking of the latter, it was pointed out that Roanoke in this plan would “Recognize Arts and Culture as an essential element of the Roanoke Valley’s economic development and community brand.” Important also is that we must “effectively expand awareness and participation by engaging cultural organizations, individual artists and our neighborhoods” in implementing the plan’s actions to be successful.

The most popular actions decided by the group in the three “Building Blocks” were as follows: 

People/Education/Life-long Learning – Convene regular meetings with Arts and Cultural org administrators and educators; a post-secondary Arts School; and Partnerships for visual and performing arts in schools grades K-12.

Livable Communities/Engaged Neighborhoods – Get more arts in neighborhoods through new grants and categories; Expand public art throughout the city and region.

Vibrant Region/Healthy Economy – Structure city arts grants and plans as line-items; Identify local government incentives.

Rupert Cutler of the Arts Commission wrapped things up with some comments from out-of-towners and new residents who have complimented Roanoke recently for its vast offering of Arts and Culture compared to the larger cities they hail from, including San Francisco. With cooperation between artists and organizations (and the oft forgotten input of local private businesses who tend to do more than just donate money), we can expect Roanoke to be widely recognized for more than just its greenways and outdoor recreation.

Mr Cutler also encouraged all those attending this evening to make the next two meetings in support of the Commission’s recommendations. These meetings will be open to the public and if you have not signed up for reminders by email, you may visit the Roanoke Arts and Cultural Plan Facebook page and join up by “Friending” them to get ongoing information.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Roanoke-Arts-Cultural-Plan/161576160527182

The next meeting will be the Planning Commission Hearing at Roanoke City Council Chambers 1:30 PM on June 16^th and then the Council Hearing, again in the Council Chambers, 7:00 PM on July 18^th.

UPDATE: Due to scheduling conflicts, The Roanoke Arts Commission had to change the original dates and times for two hearings. Interested parties were notified by email last week regarding new dates for the following two meetings:

Planning Commission – July 21 at 1:30 in Council Chambers

City Council – August 15 at 7:00 PM in Council Chambers

So glad to see everyone having fun this Spring 2011!! Fabulous music and all sorts of outdoor stuff like Local Colors making Roanoke jump with sights and sounds! Thanks to all for your creative contributions to the Arts and Culture in our great city!

1. Local Colors 2011 Parade Of Nations!!
2. Another Roadside Attraction “Johnny Rebeck” Live at Local Colors 2011
3. PLUGGGG “True Hung Cajun Beat” Live at Guerilla Playhouse
4. Another Roadside Attraction “Kaboom!” Live at Local Colors 2011
5. Rootstone “Bootlegger’s Blues” Live at Guerilla Playhouse
6. Rootstone Jug Band “Peaches in the Springtime” Live at Guerilla Playhouse
7. Grass Monkey – Midnight Moonlight Love
8. Another Roadside Attraction “Trouble” Live at Local Colors 2011
9. Jonathan Byrd – The Waitress
10. Mainspring “Now that She Exists” Live at 3rd Street Coffeehouse

See you around Downtown!

May 21, 2011 marks the last day before the latest common-era End Times begins with a big rapturous send-off scheduled for 6PM EDT. While ground zero was officially determined to be Philadelphia, PA, by Harold Camping (leader of Family Radio), he failed to mention that the real bon-voyage party was taking place in Roanoke, VA. 

Getting the ball rolling this morning was none-other-than our Dragon Pearl Fu (Cleo-Fu as of today), ringing in another season of Local Colors with the Parade of Nations featuring, of all apocalyptic things, Egypt. The world began in Mesopotamia, and rightly so, ends there, as it should. After all, Local Colors is Roanoke’s version of Babylon, which is fitting. (The only thing missing was a tower ascending to the heavens. Perhaps next End Times…) 

According to Mayor David Bowers, Local Colors has now gathered 97 nations to represent this year’s Parade of Nations. As customary, many of these participants then entertained the crowds at Elmwood Park with native song and dance, and also offered food and various crafts for sale throughout the course of the day. It is one big, colorful confusion of diverse peoples and tongues. What more can you ask for on the last day?

Another Roadside Attraction:

Passing through the throngs, on the opposite side of the street, there appeared an apparition of sorts: Another Roadside Attraction. This reminded us of course of simpler times when the righteous people traveled along the trails of the Wild West and took refuge in dusty street road shoot-em-up saloons and brothels. Thank goodness for whisky, women, and all sorts of odds-and-ends you could put strings on and call them instruments. It gets lonely praying in the desert after 40 days without a band of angel-faced singing hoodlums to cheer you up.

Vinton Wine and Food Fest and Baylee’s Best Chocolates:

In order not to get caught before witching-hour, there had to be one more indulgence to repent over: The Annual Vinton Wine and Food Festival. And so off to Vinton we go to eat, drink and be merry, for today we die. And who do we run into but the one-and-only Baylee the Chocolate Lady of Roanoke!!! Wine and chocolate is indeed a perfect match before jumping in the Lake o’ Fire! And would you believe all the last-minute sinners coming here to get their final sips of wine in? Certainly wine can be justified by a few pious people, but where does the chocolate figure in all this? “Ah, yes,” Baylee assured me. “Chocolate alone is the heavenly food.” And she says they’re “hand-made with love in Roanoke, Virginia.” The hand of love??? So that explains it, folks. You gotta believe! (Oh, is that the smile of a cherub or an evil temptress?? No matter, it was well-worth the transgression only a few hours before the clock strikes six times.)

Happy Rapture everyone! Probably not seeing you around Downtown from this point on… POOF!