Creative Workforce Fellowship videos: Uno Lady, GTK, and CPT

Dec 16, 2014 | Audio/Visual, Fellowships and Artist Residencies

Community Partnership for Arts and Culture posted videos showcasing each Creative Workforce Fellow.

I wanted to share Uno Lady’s video as well as highlight a few of my favorites. All are worth watching. It is a short two minutes focusing on some of the most creative talents in Cuyahoga County. Watch them here

Here I am- Christa Ebert,  expert nerd, music connoisseur.

Fellowship friends

I have been lucky to call RA Washington a friend prior to the fellowship. RA is the co-founder of  Guide To Kulchur,  a bookstore (and then some) located on W65th and Detroit. GTK also acts as “an incubator for emerging and marginalized voices within the print medium. Main projects include Cleveland Books 2 Prisoners, GTK Press, The Cleveland Zine Archive, and The Sally Tatnall Black Box.”…  http://guidetokulchurcleveland.com/

I also made some new pals thanks to the fellowship and developed a fondness for Cleveland Public Theatre. Cleveland Public Theatre’s mission is to “raise consciousness and nurture compassion through groundbreaking performances and life-changing educational programs.” There programs and plays are unique, and quite frankly, badass. They host my favorite annual concert, and throw the most action packed fundraiser that has ever existed.

Raymond Bobgan is the Executive Artistic Director or CPT and a 2014 fellowship recipient for music composition.  His compositions may be the closest to Uno Lady’s musical style that I have come across. I love this because we make similar music in opposite ways.

Last but not least is my new feisty friend, Faye Hargate! Faye is a performer, installation artist, educator and director at CPT. Check out her video below.

You can check out the rest of the videos here.

Ps. The final report for my fellowship is almost finished. I’ll make sure to share and post when I am done.

 

The Creative Workforce Fellowship is a program of the Community Partnership for Arts and Culture (CPAC). The Fellowship program is supported by the residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture(CAC).
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Heather Gmucs is my pal

Dec 4, 2014 | Inspirations

Heather is a wonderful woman. It was her hands that made the crafty, colorful magic of each vinyl at Gotta Groove Records. After watching this video, I got to admit, she is kinda my hero.

Normal- A Story of Passion

“What drives people to do? What motivates a person to wake up and do something? Passion. It is a driving force in many people. It’s what drives me and many others to continue on. Heather Gmucs, a woman of strong passion, works at Gotta Groove Records, a vinyl record press plant in Cleveland, Ohio. Throughout her time on this planet, she has made music her priority and eventually, her life. Heather has surrounded every aspect of her life with music. Her friends, her career, and her hobbies all reflect the passion she radiates. She loves pressing records at Gotta Groove. As she has said to me before, “I get to do art on other people’s art, and that’s fucking cool to be a part of.” Balance is a struggle many of us face. How much time do you give to what you love versus what actually pays your rent. Heather has found a balance between Gotta Groove and the several bands she plays in. She can still take small tours, and still have food in the fridge. If there is anything I want the viewer to take from her story, it is to do what you love and what makes you happy.”
By Tyler Hill  –Vimeo

Band of the Week: Uno Lady

Oct 15, 2014 | Press, Shows/Events

By Jeff Niesel,  Cleveland Scene  – “Straight Outta the Living Room: Uno Lady, who counts Roy Orbison, Laurie Anderson, Freddie Mercury, Mary Ford… as her influences, played her first show at Pat’s in the Flats in 2007 and has been a steady force on the local scene ever since. “I went from recording in my living room with no plans beyond that, to being asked to play shows, and slowly learned how to perform live,” she says.
unolady

Lotsa Loops: Since she manipulates her upper register voice by sampling it and mixing it with a number of loops, the live show has been a tricky proposition…. “There have been a good amount of developments as well as simplifications,” she says when asked about the live performance. “My genius friend Ian Charnas is helping me construct a new podium out of a vintage suitcase. In addition, to a bunch of new songs, I have a new loop pedal that has some fancy buttons. Other than that, I like to keep it simple: My voice, a loop pedal, and a mixer.”

Why You Should Hear Her: Her new album, Amateur Hour, commences with “Dear Wes Anderson (You should Hear This Song),” an atmospheric tune characterized by soft vocals that make it sound like a veritable choir is singing. It’s one of the more unique albums you’ll ever hear. “I wanted to take unfinished songs that were worth finishing, re-record and fine tune them, and couple those with a new material,” she says of the new album. “It is meant to be a sort of wrap up, an ending of a chapter. Another thing I am excited about — this is the first Uno Lady release featuring other artists. I was lucky enough to have the Cross Brothers [from the local indie rock group Little Bighorn] lend their musical talents on a few of the tracks.”

One-person bands, comedy at Tambourine Lounge

Oct 14, 2014 | Press, Shows/Events

Greenbay Press Gazette – “The Tambourine Lounge at the Holiday Music Motel hosts a pair of unique house shows in the next week… Delaney Davidson and Uno Lady perform separately as a one-man and one-woman band at 7 p.m. Oct. 22.

Although a native of New Zealand, Davidson is truly more of a citizen of the world. In constant motion, Davidson’s touring schedule is relentlessly nonstop, including several June appearances in Sturgeon Bay for Steel Bridge Songfest. It’s a mystery where he finds the time to continue to produce a growing arsenal of albums, artwork and cinematic music videos.Tambourinesm

Winner of the New Zealand Music Award (its version of a Grammy Award) for Best Country Album in 2013, Davidson’s latest release, “Swim Down Low,” features co-writing credits with Victoria Williams, Eric McFadden and James Hall from Steel Bridge Songfest’s collaborative songwriting “Construction Zone.” Known worldwide as a premier one-man band, Davidson is said to be more like a one-man machine in concert and in the studio.

Uno Lady, aka Christa Ebert of Cleveland, creates her shockingly great variety of grooves, colors and styles using nothing more than her voice, a looper, small mixer and microphone. She not only makes this multi-dimensional sound in a studio a multitude of individual tracks for layering (as heard on her recent release, “Amateur Hour”), she also creates that sound live. Uno Lady is a one-woman choir, with a high, clear voice that she accompanies with more of her own voice, prerecorded on tapes and played and looped as she performs.”

Full article

Eleven new songwriters set for Holiday’s ‘Dark Songs

Oct 14, 2014 | Press, Shows/Events

Green Bay Press Gazette – The annual “Dark Songs” songwriting and concert event hosted by the Holiday Music Motel will have 11 additions of “fresh blood” this year.

“Dark Songs” gathers songwriters and musicians together at the motel to collaboratively write songs with a theme appropriate for Halloween or other dark, morbid ideas, then record and perform them live…. this will be their first experience with collaboratively writing, recording and performing in one of the motel’s fully immersive, weeklong songwriting marathons.

Christa Ebert of Cleveland, aka Uno Lady, will be an eclectic addition with her looping talents and vocal abilities, while Julia McConahay of Madison will provide vocals and a wide range of violin stylings. …Bass player Patrick Kelly of Atlanta got involved on the recommendation of fellow Atlantan rocker James Hall, one of The Holiday’s most dedicated songwriting event attendees….

Other rookie participants are Sugar Ransom of Milwaukee, Susan Howe of Appleton and Barrett Tasky of Chicago, all of whom possess a wide range of talents that will add to the darkly themed “Dark Songs” stew. Tasky, who is proficient at a multitude of instruments, will also run one of the four operational studios.

This year’s “Dark Songs” concerts take place at Third Avenue Playhouse, 239 N. Third Ave., Sturgeon Bay. The Oct. 31 show starts at 10:30 p.m., immediately follows TAP’s 7:30 screening of “Rocky Horror Picture Show,” and the second concert is at 7 p.m. Nov. 1. Tickets are $5 for each. For more information, go to www.holidaymusicmotel.com/darksongs.

Full article