Ponchaveli Design Group

Man, I still get the same old tired line: Oh, you write for the Culture section? In Dallas? What Culture.

Yes, yes. We know. Dallas is no New York. Or, Paris. Or, hell, even Austin. I was just the same when I left here in back in 2006 with both barrels blazing and two middle fingers waving. But, then I realized something. Cities like Dallas, and you know what I mean, tend to foment rebellion. Her manicured nails and sky-high coif — reaching gloriously to the heavens like a tribute to Reunion Tower — inspire folks of a recalcitrant nature, giving us something to buck against. When I was living in Cambridge, Massachusetts, I was just another pinko lefty nerd drowning anonymously in a sea of my own kind. Back here, I’m that obnoxious pinko lefty asshole nerd, and if you’re reading the Mixmaster, something tells me you might catch my drift.

But, for those still spitting jokes about the City sans Culture, after Saturday night, I’ve got to think that maybe you’re just not paying attention. Underground 4, a mashup of everything art by 2011 MasterMinds finalist ArtLoveMagic, went down at the Janette Kennedy Gallery at South Side on Lamar, and it was worth every penny of the $15 cover charge. DJs were spinnin’, artists were creatin’ and patrons were drinkin’. It was loud, busy, bright and alive, and it was Dallas at her finest.

A yearly event, Underground presents emerging and established local artists working live, all to the tune of live bands, musicians and DJs, as well as spoken-word poets, dancers, and performance artists like the always-entertaining Circus Freaks. Our intrepid photog Taryn Walker snagged shots that are worth a thousand words, but if you’ve got time for about 500, we’ve got some observations of our own.

I don’t roll on Shabbos.

Hey, careful man, there’s a beverage here! Underground was crowwwded. Which is a great thing. And, the abundance of hot bodies in fabulous outfits, made for primo people-watching. From the gorgeous ladies in pin-up corsets to the gent in the burnt orange suit — replete with the plaid undershirt — the fly denizens of Underground were not the side of Dallas typically observed in West Village or along Knox-Henderson. And, they were having a blast. The only things missing were White Russians.

Shit, I need more cash. I’ve got a big yen for local art on my walls, but turning tricks for my beloved Mixmaster will, in fact, not likely get me in Forbes. But a lot of the art available for sale last night was affordable, which is not always the case for such high-quality goods. Hey man, artists gotta eat. I totally support the price-point, intellectually, if not financially.

Robb Conover

There were a few damned fine items that even I could take home last night, and among them, my personal favorite was a $20 coaster of a graphic painting of Amy Winehouse by popArtist Robb Conover. Check out more of his bright and bold (and NSFW) work here.

Do not feed the artists. As I stood, mouth gaping and crudely snapping shots with my iPhone, the evening evoked a subtle sense of … school children at the zoo. I gawked impotently as the brilliant artists before me worked, laser focused on their respective tasks at hand and entirely oblivious — or so it seemed – to the all-encompassing chaos abounding. High heels stamping dangerously close to $300 canvas paintings and oversized butts (mine, specifically) swinging clumsily toward breathtaking sculptures, it is totally unclear how so many artists kept their cool and continued working throughout the shenanigans.

But, they did, and two of my favorites were Theo Ponchaveli of Ponchaveli Design Group and Jaime Navarro. Poncaveli was working ceaselessly on a killer painting of J.R. and Bobby Ewing (Larry Hagman and Patrick Duffy) from TV’s Dallas with insane cut-outs that added dimension to the city’s skyline. His glitzy, massive homage to the Purple One, also made the kind of glorious, gender-ambiguous statement that would make a dove cry.

Jaime Navarro is all-business through the bacchanalia.

On the other end of the spectrum, Jaime Navarro sketched among his Southwest sculptures, including a Native American chief and all-too-sexy feminine figures (one of which he likes to call the “J.Lo”), that are constructed of drywall plates and thin set finished metal. Because Navarro was so hard at work, I chatted with his brother-in-law who said that this was the artist’s first time showing his incredible work.You can find more here.

Did you miss it? Mark it down, dude! On your calendar, for next year, I mean. Underground is living proof that there’s more to Dallas than meets the eye. See some of your work here, un-credited? Let us know, so we can get your name up here where it belongs.

Originally posted on Dallas Observer blog: http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/mixmaster/2012/02/still_think_dallas_has_no_cult.php

Click here to see dozens of gorgeous shots.

And writer Brentney Hamilton wrote a wild write up of the show here.

sample:
Do not feed the artists. As I stood, mouth gaping and crudely snapping shots with my iPhone, the evening evoked a subtle sense of … school children at the zoo. I gawked impotently as the brilliant artists before me worked, laser focused on their respective tasks at hand and entirely oblivious — or so it seemed – to the all-encompassing chaos abounding.

Read Brentney’s whole story here.

Nice to see the Observer showing us some love.

Here’s just a glimpse of what their lenses caught.

Photogapher: Robert Hold

Robert’s entire set can be seen here
Low res are free to download, and prints are 30% of when you use codeword “Underground”

Photographer: Heather Alley

Heather’s entire set can be viewed at www.enjoyphotos.com
Username Underground2012    Password 30218
Low res are free for download

Photographer: Jen Shu

All of Jen Shu’s cosmic photos can be seen here
Are you in there?

Photographer: Tyson Sommer

Tyson can be contacted on facebook here

We’re thankful for everyone who helped capture Underground. Check out more great work of these photographers by following their links.

We’ll see you next year.

—

For those of you who missed it, on December 10th Louis CK released a self-produced, self-financed comedy special for a $5 download on his own website. No restrictions, other than asking you “please don’t pirate this.”

He made a million dollars in ten days, no middlemen required. 

Louis C.K. said he was shocked as he watched the orders come in — and then began to feel guilty about the amount he’d netted.

“I’ve never had a million dollars all at once. I grew up pretty poor and I was like, this is not even my money,” he said. “This is just a five-dollar impulse that 220,000 people had, and now I have it. And I felt uncomfortable about having that much money.”

So Louis C.K. set aside $250,000 to cover the cost of the expenses of producing the special, then doled out another $250,000 in bonuses for his staffers.

He then donated $280,000 to five charities: The Fistula Foundation, The Pablove Foundation, charity: water, Kiva and Green Chimneys.

“I was going to [donate] $100,000, but it’s like blackjack — I just kept dishing it out,” he told Fallon.

That leaves $220,000 left over.

“Some of that will pay my rent and will care for my childen [sic]. The rest I will do terrible, horrible things with and none of that is any of your business,” Louis C.K. wrote in a statement posted on his website.

He’s not the first artist to make a killing without a label, this just serves as more proof that you can make it on your own. Radiohead’s In Rainbows made the band more money than they’ve ever made for a record even though it was a pay-what-you-want record.

1) Direct-to-fan sales mean cheaper products AND more money going to the artists.

For a large company, $1,000,000 is break-even. For a DIY artist, it’s a smash hit. Rembember $18 CDs back in the 90s? Each CD you bought from a third party only returned cents to the band.

I don’t know about you, but I’d rather keep my first million.

2) Fans will pay for great art from the artists they love.What with all the shenanigans the MPAA and RIAA are throwing about to justify the Protect IP Act and Stop Online Piracy Act, you’d think people will only pay for art when they’re forced to.

Nope.

As the video game distribution platform Steam has shown, making legitmate purchase a better experience for consumers opens their wallets.

Piracy is a service problem.

Louis CK allowed you to download and watch his video using any platform you wanted.

He didn’t even bother copy-protecting the video.

He didn’t have to.

—

“I like the people at our record company, but the time is at hand when you have to ask why anyone needs one.” – Thom Yorke

And no matter how tough we appear on the outside, we’re all afraid of something. Yet most often, we pretend as if we aren’t. Because it would seem if we acknowledge it, it might swallow us whole. (And it is much more fun to pretend in our heads that we’re Chuck Norris.)

As an artist, fear and the doubt that it produces, create daily battles. We fear failure, exposure, rejection. That if we were to admit it…we aren’t really good enough.

If we truly love our art…if it matters to us…then we have a lot to lose. And each time we put ourselves out there, there is the possibility that someone might think, “This is terrible.”

Hafiz–a Sufi teacher and poet in the 14th century–writes: “Fear is the cheapest room in the house. I would like to see you living in better conditions.”

The best artists are courageous. They take risks in how much they reveal of themselves. Not because they banish all traces of fear, but because they “desire better living conditions.”

So do a “gut check.” (There is a reason we have the phrase “gut-wrenching fear.”) Can you identify your fear?  Expose it?  Fear likes to hide in the bushes trying to make itself bigger than it is.

Margaret Wheatley writes, “It is our curiosity that transforms fear. Most often it dissolves into energy that we can work with. And all because we were willing to develop a relationship with what at first, appeared so frightening.”

If you can learn to acknowledge your own fear and work alongside it, you aren’t guaranteed freedom from rejection, but you can be sure you have a better chance of creating something that matters.

–Cathy Hutchison

Here’s a few photos snapped while it was happening.

We build stuff
Most of the physical setup for Underground will happen Saturday, but a few of the bigger projects had to be begun Friday.
The task list looked something like this:

• Build and Paint Cosmic Transportation Booth
• Hang giant blacklight paintings
• Sex-ify Blue Room
• Mermaid tank! Yes, Mermaid Tank!

The VIPs are in for a few surprises.
200 gifts bags have been packaged with goodies. The VIP lounge itself will serve free food and drinks. And you’ll see amazing live acts, like the brilliant Black Market Pharmacy perform.

This is artlovemagic’s first VIP experience and we’re thankful you sold it out days before the presale ended.

What does this thing do?

Attendee piloted – interactive light and acrylic paint control system – to the sounds of local DJs.
Uh-huh.

The Blue Room will take your breath away.
The ladies of the Blue Room will present a 21 and up experience in Underground where adults can appreciate adult arts. Body painting, burlesque, erotic photography and painting, and sensual performances.

     _     _     _     _     _     _     _     _

You don’t know us but you will.

These set up pics barely give you an idea of what you’ll experience at Underground. But this thing does. Read this link.

Tickets to Underground will be available at the door for $15. Doors open at 8pm.
This show is setting records for us in many ways. Largest physical space we’ve ever taken over (much bigger than last year), largest number of performers ever, highest number of attendee presales (by more than double), and probably 5 other records we haven’t even noticed yet. Get ready for the show of a lifetime. More than 100 of Dallas’ brightest talents, creating their masterpieces live.

3 music stages, 5 bars, 3 galleries of art, dozens upon dozens of live artists, dance contests, wild collaborations, and tons of mind blowing creativity.

We’ll see you tonight! Bring your third eye.

Minus participated in each previous Underground show alongside his friends in the Rec Shop crew (one of the only artists to be in each show). He was one of the first artists scheduled this year as well. Shortly before his passing, he and lead producer David Rodriguez spoke at the Vinyl Thoughts toy show in Deep Ellum and planned his participation in 2012′s Underground.

ArtLoveMagic is proud to show 3 pieces of Minus’ artwork in this year’s Underground. He was supposed to be there.  We hope to allow new viewers to experience his creativity.

To learn more about Minus, check out this video.

There is also a page dedicated to his memory on facebook.

Underground will be this Saturday February 11th from 8 to midnight at SouthSide on Lamar.
More info on the show at www.artlovemagic.com

Story by David Rodriguez

Underground is building up steam and the Pre-sale tickets are racking up! This event will be insane. There are less than 40 passes left for VIP and the sale ends Sunday at midnight! VIP tickets will NOT be sold at the door.

So what do you get when you purchase VIP tickets for Underground? Check this out!

Here are some more details:

Local accomplished photographer, Carolyn Collins, has graciously offered a signed, limited edition print of her work “The Sofa” to be used as a raffled prize give-away to a random VIP ticket holder during Underground 2012 on Saturday, February 11th. This gorgeous piece (24″x36″ framed to 30″x43″), which retails at $1,000, was a featured work exhibited during the 11/11/11 grand opening of Omni Hotel Dallas Convention Center and was featured on UtopiaPkwyArts (http://utopiapkwyarts.blogspot.com/2011/11/other-creative-souls-carolyn-collins.html) by Gina Marie Dunn (Dallas Arts Director for Origin Magazine). “The Sofa” is one of several works in Carolyn’s ongoing Conceptual Portraits collection and is currently on display within the collective works that represent this years Underground event at the Janette Kennedy Gallery (Southside On Lamar). More of her Conceptual Portraits are currently exhibited at Kettle Art Gallery in Deep Ellum, and at Classic Pilates Studio in Turtle Creek. You can see more of Carolyn’s work at carolyncollinsphotography.com

Where can you buy tickets? Go to undergrounddallas.com or go to artlovemagic.com/main.html.  I hope to see you there.

There’s been quite a raging controversy over Spotify over at Hypebot as musicians across the industry chime in with their opinion on the streaming service.

Zoe Keating, Cellist and brilliant DIY musician, talks about how independant artists are treated unfairly.

That’s it. That’s my complaint: fairness.

If Spotify would level the playing field and make the distribution equal to all artists. I would lay off (since I am sure that my constant complaints are a total priority for them!). Now, if Spotify was to make those royalties algorithm-based, they’d have my full nerd support. For example if, thanks to their ‘related’ algorithm,  people listen to small-artist X after listening to large-artist Y, then I could see that a particular play, not all of them, of artist Y could be ‘heavier’. However, if people end up at artist Y by searching for them directly, the play-weight should reflect that. Data, do it with data!

But just to pay tracks from major labels more because they are major labels, that is so OLD. Where is the revolution in that?

Four indie labels have already withdrawn from the service. Sam Rosenthal of Projekt, the most recent label to pull out, issued a public statement explaining the label’s decision bluntly: 

For a stream on Spotfy…. NOW READ THIS CLOSELY….. on average $0.0013 is paid to Projekt’s Digital Distributor. 5000 plays generates around $6.50. In comparison, 5000 track downloads at iTunes generates $3487. To be clear: I am not suggesting that every stream would have been a sale at iTunes. Believe me, I understand the reality of the music business. I am providing that as a comparison for you. Let’s look at this another way: To earn the U.S. monthly minimum wage – $1160 – 892,307 plays a month are needed at Spotify. This is not a viable number for artists.  

Spotify responded to Projeckt by changing the subject:

Spotify does not sell streams, but access to music. Users pay for this access either via a subscription fee or with their ear time via the ad-supported service [just like commercial radio] – they do not pay per stream. In other words, Spotify is not a unit based business and it does not make sense to look at revenues from Spotify from a per stream or other music unit-based point of view. Instead, one must look at the overall revenues that Spotify is generating, and how these revenues grow over time.

Spotify is generating serious revenues for rights holders, labels, publishers and the artists that they represent.  We have paid over $100m to rights holders since our launch, and the overwhelming majority of our label partners are thrilled with the revenues we’re returning to them. Spotify is now the second single largest source of digital music revenue for labels in Europe, according to IFPI.

But is this current royalty structure sustainable? According to Spotify’s filings in the UK, it lost $42 million on licensing fees in 2010 alone despite a five-fold increase in revenues from the previous year. 

What does all of this mean to an independant artist? Is streaming worth the loss in income so more fans can listen to your music? Can you ever break even on streaming? Is it better to just ignore the whole deal?

Here’s how I see things playing out:
—

1) Streaming services are similar to radio in that both benefit major labels with more money and muscle than independant bands. 

When it comes down to corporation-level negotiations, a DIY artist will always be at a disadvantage. Self-sufficent bands don’t have legal departments, lobbyists, consultants, piles of cash, or a fanbase ranging into the millions that can be used in negotiations. If Spotify can’t sign a DIY singer-songerwriter it’s no big deal, but if Spotify doesn’t have access to the entire Universal Music catalog, the streaming service will be severely crippled. The streaming service has to make that deal.

As such, these large entities leverage their influence and power to ensure that they maximize their benefit from negotiations. Organizations not at the table miss out.

It sucks, but I don’t see a solution to this problem without either a PRO stepping into negotiations or a coalition of DIY artists forming their own right’s group.

2) There’s no turning back, the cloud is here to stay.

For better or worse, streaming services figured out how to monetize piracy. Judging by the success of Rdio and Spotify, businesses have made their services more appealing than piracy. Unless there is a game-changing method of piracy to replace BitTorrent, the ease of use of the cloud will continue to draw in customers. (Piracy in Sweden is down 25% since the Spotify’s introduction.)

Businesses won’t give up this revenue stream without a fight.

3) Streaming is marginally better for indie musicians than radio.
Radio was a passive music experience, with a song selection heavily influenced by who had the most cash for promotion.

Streaming/cloud services/piracy enable an active music experience by allowing curious fans to give new bands a try. It won’t pay much, if anything, but it does benefit smaller and niche bands that wouldn’t get much airplay on traditional radio.

A minor win.

4) Streaming an album is a moral dilemma.
As a fan, it was absolutely awesome to hear the new Mastodon the day it came out for free on Spotify. Now I’ve got no qualms about throwing dollars at Mastodon, I’ve bought every studio album because they’re that gravy. But. having spun the album a few times, there wasn’t any reason for me to buy the actual album anymore.

This is a mammoth moral dilemma.

Instead of Mastodon seeing my entire $10 for a digital download (minus iTunes’ cut), the money is instead spent on a subscription to an intermediate who only offers the band a fraction of the $10. The middleman (streaming) scoops most of the profit off of album before it ever hits the band.

Owch.

How do we cope with this?

5) Delaying and limiting releases to streaming is an effective compromise.

By delaying release of new material to streaming services, we ensure that super-fans who are willing to pay for a “brand-new” album actually pay for the album, while not excluding casual listeners who may convert to a sale later down the line. This is the same method of price discrimination that movie companies use; movies don’t come out on DVD/Netflix until months after they’ve left the theaters. This ensures that movie-buffs willing to pay a price premium to see a movie in theaters actually pay.

For the same reason, any b-sides, rarities or limited-edition material shouldn’t be released to streaming services as this would discourage willing fans from paying at the cost of providing the material to casual fans, who really won’t care about “extra” material.
—

What are your thoughts on streaming?