Music and dancing at the Casa Loma

February 5:  

Ballroom and swing with 24-piece orchestra Gateway City Big Band at the Casa Loma Ballroom (3354 Iowa at Cherokee). Doors open at 7:30 PM with a free dance lesson from 7:45 PM—8:30 PM. Admission: $10. For the complete calendar of events call 664-8000 or go online to ww.casalomaballroom.com.

Union Pulse w/the Blackberries -- TONIGHT at Foam

Thursday, January 28, 2010
Time:	8:00pm - 11:00pm
Location:	3359 S. Jefferson Ave. (at Cherokee) St. Louis, MO 63118

Description

Based out of Milwaukee, Union Pulse has grown from a young indie band into an energetic, charismatic ensemble blurring the lines between folk, grunge, and Americana. Honest songwriting and raw, unstructured guitar work make Union Pulse a timeless brand of American rock and roll.

http://www.myspace.com/unionpulse

This Friday night, ArtDimensions presents...

This Friday night (January 29) ArtDimensions presents...

Square Foot Show Closing Reception
AND
Sneak Preview of the NEW ArtDimensions Gallery & Studios



Where: 2720 Cherokee St. 2nd Floor St. Louis, MO 63118
Cost: $10 suggested donation (includes food samples and raffle ticket)
Events:
· view over 100 artworks in the Square Foot show
· enjoy "A Baker's Dozen," a solo exhibit by Britt Tate
· peek into the artists' studios
· listen to the music of Aaron Kamm and the One Drops (first floor)
· enjoy your favorite beverage from the 2720 cash bar
· snack on food samples from local restaurants
· win original artwork and fantastic prizes in the raffle (winners drawn every hour from 8-11)
· watch artists painting live alongside the main stage performance

Scott Ernst photography gallery grand opening

Announcement by Scott Ernst:

After 10 months of building, scraping, sanding, patching, painting and cleaning ... my photography gallery is ready!!

Please join me in christening the gallery Friday evening, January 29, from 7:00 p.m. until midnight. Wine and cheese will be served.

Who: Scott Ernst

What: Photography by Scott Ernst - Grand Opening

Where: 2720 Cherokee Street, 2nd Floor, 63118 (inside of ArtDimensions' new gallery)

When: Friday, January 29, 2010 from 7:00 p.m.-midnight


Closing Reception
This same evening is also the closing reception for ArtDimensions' "Square Foot Show", which is at the same address and same floor, so there will be lots going on.

I hope to see you on the 29th.

See samples of Scott's work here.

Arch Reactor space for artistic and technological pursuits comes to Cherokee Street

Arch Reactor Hackerspace invites you to our grand opening!

We've been hard at work whipping our new space into shape and now we want everyone to come see it!

Are you a self-described 'techie' that is looking for your niche? Arch Reactor, St. Louis's first Hackerspace is a co-op workshop and club for techies, tinkers and free thinkers. Part arts and technology clubhouse, part training ground for new skills and knowledge, Arch Reactor is a place for residents of St. Louis and surrounding areas to share and receive educational information and training on various topics and skills with access to the tools you otherwise couldn't afford on your own. We offer a work space for all kinds of artistic and technologic pursuits.

Saturday, January 30, from 4:00-10:00 p.m. the group is hosting an public open house in their new space for anyone interested in learning more about the group. The space is on the second floor of 904 Cherokee St. (near the Arsenal St. exit off of Hwy 55). There will be several presentations on different topics by group members and the group will be showcasing several projects and activities, such as a MakerBot, a life-sized version of the game Jenga, a Japanese Arcade Game tournament and other fun interactive exhibits.

This event is free to all. Drinks and refreshments will be offered for a donation.

Tell your friends! Tell your neighbors! Tell anyone that's interested in building, learning and above all, DOING!

Find out more at www.archreactor.org or email us for more information.

Live art and music at 2720 Cherokee tonight!

Loyal Family presents… Jeff Coffin & the Mu’tet

8pm Doors / 9pm Show / $10 / Buy Tickets

Says Timothy Wagner about the evening's events:

For those of you familiar with Bela Fleck and the Flecktones ... then you're in luck. Jeff Coffin will be playing Friday 1-22-2010 @ Loyal Family, 2720 Cherokee.

Myself, along with other amazing local artists will be painting live.

Please check out Mr. Coffin's website for upcoming tour dates and come out this Friday to support your local artists.

Support your local artists, buy their art!!!

New Lumberyard out now

The latest issue of critically acclaimed literary magazine The Lumberyard, produced by The Firecracker Press and Typecast Publishing, is now available at The Firecracker Press, 2838 Cherokee Street. 

Go buy you one!

Boots at the Pulitzer

Juan William Chávez of Boots Contemporary Art Space (2307 Cherokee St.) will be participating in "The City as Studio" at 7:30 p.m. next Thursday, January 28, at the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts.

He and other panelists will discuss how art spaces and creative interventions can stir positive change within urban communities.

A video of Juan William Chávez speaking on the art experience at Boots:

The City as Studio: Juan Chávez from The Pulitzer on Vimeo.

New places, faces on Cherokee

St. Louis Magazine's Art Blog, Look/Listen, provides an excellent and thorough write-up of some recent changes on Cherokee, including All Along Press relocating to the old Typo and Tin Ceiling space, STL Style opening its new joint at the former All Along Press space, and the christening of Cherokee Street west of Minnesota as WEMO (who knew?)

Improv Benefits for Haitian Earthquake Relief

Tuesdays and Wednesday nights are always special for The Improv Trick. This weeks shows need your support more urgently than ever.

We're raising funds for Haitian Earthquake Relief. If you've been out to a show before and enjoyed it, please bring friends for a night (or two) of fun for a necessary cause.

Tuesday's Benefit
January 19, 2010
Improv Trick Harold Night and Longform Jam
The Improv Trick Comedy Underground
2715 Cherokee St.
8pm - FREE - Donations accepted at the door

Wednesday's Benefit
January 21, 2010
Bill Chott's Late Nite Improv Comedy Jam
Mangia Italiano
3145 S. Grand
10:30pm - FREE Donations accepted at the door

One Hot Night @ Stirrup Pants Chapbooks: FREE Poetry Reading

The Burning Chair Reading Series is blowing in from Arkansas and magnetizing 8 poets from all over to one spot -- 2122 Cherokee Street -- on Saturday the 23rd of January 2010! Readings begin at 8! Lots of amazing small press books will be for sale!

Donations welcome to keep the space up n' runnin'! See you there!

Stirrup Pants Chapbooks
2122 Cherokee Street
St. Louis, MO

Lifetime Improv Class

From Bill Chott:

LIFETIME IMPROV CLASS

One price pays for free improv classes...for the rest of your Life!
Perform in a showcase and join us onstage for shows twice weekly!

Cost: $150, only $125 if you pre-register online.

Learn "The Trick" to Improv. This highly recommended class is a comfortable and supporting environment, suitable for people who have never been onstage before. Beginning Students find this work easier than they thought and advanced students find The Improv Trick approach fresh and inspirational. Students of this class appear in an improv showcase and can perform twice weekly at Improv Trick shows. This class is taught by Bill Chott and George Malich.

Chott is the star of Disney's Wizards of Waverly Place, The Ringer and Saturday Night Live. He's performed and taught internationally for The Second City, Improv Olympic, Upright Citizen's Brigade. He also teaches workshops for Special Olympics Global Messengers.

George Malich is an award-winning St. Louis Actor, star of the film A. Anonymous and one of the leading improv teachers in St. Louis, having trained with Keith Johnstone.

If you enjoy this free class, you can register at a discount for a 4-week introductory course — The Lifetime Class — that you can take again and again. This Lifetime Class is only $150 and you can register at the free class at a $25 discount.

WHERE: The Improv Trick Comedy Underground - 2715 Cherokee, STL MO 63118
WHEN: Sundays 3-5pm, Wednesdays 7:30-9:30pm - Sit in on either class for Life!
COST: $150, only $125 if you pre-register online.

Scholarships, gift certificates, and internships are now available. For more info, call 314-922-1998 or visit theimprovtrick.com

"Over Head" opening this Friday at Fort Gondo, featuring work by Nicole Stevens

"Over Head" is the first exhibition in Beverlyear, a year-long series of women artists at Fort Gondo. It will feature animation and sound work by Nicole Stevens. The opening reception will be held Friday, January 15, from 7:00 - 10:00 p.m.

Featuring cutup footage from the New York Stock Exchange archive, different groups take turns continuously acting out the narrative of ringing the bell in the opening/ closing ceremonies.

Dealing with the intimate and dually abstract experience of understanding the economy, the sound pieces feature daily recordings of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and NASDAQ phrasing.

The show continues through January 30th by appointment.
Please send an e-mail to stevenic (at) webster (dot) edu for more info.

PHD Gallery hosts WET PAINT: Susan Sullivan

From PHD Gallery:


Please join us for the opening reception of
WET PAINT: Susan Sullivan
at PHD Gallery

Saturday, January 16, 2010
7:00 - 10:00PM



Kansas City Art Institute graduate Susan Sullivan is aptly described as a "painter's painter.” Her work is a celebration of the very medium itself. For her latest oil on board work, the artist abandons the paintbrush in favor of the palette knife. Sullivan creates a contrast between delicate figures and chunky palette knife strokes.

The open spaces of her landscapes depict the artist's experience of a particular place and time with purposeful, selective marks. Sullivan's painted language is graceful and spare. Artist Leslie Holt notes that “a delicate, idiosyncratic line carved into a layer of paint can describe a carefully observed contour of where the land meets the sky.”

(Read Holt's entire essay here.)

In another series inspired by old family photo albums she works with brush and palette knife, sometimes scratching through the paint down to the board. Figures and backgrounds shift selectively in and out of focus, achieving a haunting effect.

Sullivan's paintings engage the viewer with their combination of vigorous physicality and delicate touch. Her seemingly effortless gestures tap into universal themes of places, people and memory. In her latest figurative works, the artist has abandoned the traditional brush and canvas entirely in favor of the palette knife. Sullivan enjoys the contrast of her delicate figures with the rough wood boards and tough palette knife strokes.

Also on view, are the works of three painters: E. Gibbons, Mark Sheppard, and Mark Weber, and the vintage collage works of David Wallace. All four artists will be showcased in gallery three.

PHD Gallery
2300 Cherokee Street
St. Louis, MO 63118
(314) 664-6644

Empty Pocket Music Feast & Swap Meet at Cranky Yellow

Cranky Yellow's 1st Annual
Empty Pocket Music Feast and Swap Meet!
St Louis’s most anomalous musical compendium of unusual size
Saturday, January 23, 2010
3:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m.

*** DJ Dymynyte dance party til midnight***

$7 gets you in, $10 to set-up a table.
Two buck discount if you bring yummy food to share.

Featuring:

• Right Eye-Rita (Chicago)
• Super Fun Yeah Yeah Rocketship
• Kevin Harris
• MMMelt
• Ghosts I Have Been
• Syna So Pro
• Ghost Ice
• Larva Lu
• Hood Kicks
• Dave Stone & Alberto Improv Duo

AND AND AND....

• Wild Man Vintage (Lawrence)
• Freezer Burn
• Wounded Bird Vintage
• Finder's Hive
• Binge n Purge
• Galen Gondolfi

Cranky Yellow
Cranky Yellow Publishing
2847 Cherokee Street
Saint Louis, MO 63118
Phone: 1.314.773.4499

Upcoming at Foam ...

Several arts-related events at Foam coming soon.

Saturday, January 16, see Dana Anderson make music, starting at 9:00 p.m.:

Formerly of The Flatwheel Band, Dana plays primarily roots music. Folk, blues, americana, alt.country, originals, covers, etc. It all boils down to heartfelt delivery. Dana is a human jukebox from a honky tonk that is too cool to exist anymore. See him excel at what he does best on a Saturday night in January in the heart of the midwest.

On Friday, January 22, go see Beth Bombara with special guest Zach Vinson:

Beth Bombara's music has traversed the waters of folk to indie rock, successfully gaining a diverse fan base and avid admirers. She has toured nationally as a member of Samantha Crain and the Midnight Shivers, and appeared in Guitar Player magazine. Beth is a newcomer to St. Louis, claiming Grand Rapids, MI as her hometown. She has now set up shop in our neighborhood and is a welcome addition to the St. Louis music scene.

Please join us at Foam as Beth introduces us to her friend Zach Vinson from Grand rapids, MI.

The very next night, Saturday, January 23, catch a live show by US English starting around 8:00 p.m.:

Good things are worth the wait. US English (formerly known as The Mirror Stage) have been hibernating with their synthesizers and old Post-Dispatch newspaper clips in order to create a distinctive step into unfamiliar terrain.

Join us for a free show at Foam on January 23 at 8:00 p.m. as we preview new material and a new sound in an intimate environment!

Thursday, January 28, see performances by Union Pulse and the Blackberries beginning at 8:00 p.m.:

Based out of Milwaukee, Union Pulse has grown from a young indie band into an energetic, charismatic ensemble blurring the lines between folk, grunge, and Americana. Honest songwriting and raw, unstructured guitar work make Union Pulse a timeless brand of American rock and roll.

January 30 Foam will host the release party for Freezerburn, "a comical 'rant-zine' done by Mister Ben S. ... filled with wacky 'toons, angst, indignation, writing, pictures, pop cultural ephemera and occasionally an attempt at a meaningful 'statement'". Check it out at 8:00 p.m.



Not really arts-related, but since I'm already on Foam, Foam will kick off its beverage education series, "Drinkers and Thinkers" on Tuesday, January 12 at 7:00 p.m. $12 entry fee, reservations required. And Foam will host Lefty Trivia Night on February 5.

Foam is at 3359 S. Jefferson Ave. (at Cherokee Street)
St. Louis, MO 63118
314-772-2100

Artists' networking meeting this Wednesday

From ArtDimensions:

Happy New Year!

We have a lot planned for 2010 - please stop by our monthly artist networking meeting this Wednesday (January 6) at 7:00 p.m. to hear all about it and see the NEW ArtDimensions Gallery and Studios!

All are welcome. The new location is at 2720 Cherokee St. (just a few blocks west of Jefferson).

See you then!