Reporters from the Daily Titan were on hand at Sound.Art.Media’s 2010 event, Dreams & Nightmares, covering the history of S.A.M. as well as the heavy presence of CSUF grads as featured artists.  Check out their video and read the whole story at http://www.dailytitan.com/2010/03/02/dreamsandnightmares/

The Salvation Army in Compton Unveils Affordable Recording Studio in Talent-rich, yet Impoverished, Area

WHAT

The Salvation Army in Compton, with the help of a generous grant from the Mustard Seed Foundation, is revealing a unique addition to the variety of social services it provides – a brand new, state-of–the-art music recording studio. Compton, while still plagued by poverty and unemployment, is an up-and-coming community in its own right, and one that includes numerous talented musicians. For many young people in the neighborhood, taking classes or renting a music studio is unattainable, but The Salvation Army Compton Corps Community Center is changing that and giving youth the chance to follow their dreams through music.

The new professional, low-cost music recording studio will help the Corps in its mission to meet the community’s unprecedented need for food assistance – demand for the Corps’ food pantry has increased ten-fold in the past few years. The studio will also provide a platform for underprivileged, but talented, youth who have the desire to pursue productive paths in life, as well as professional development opportunities and classes for those interested in music careers. The grand opening on June 15 is free, open to the public and will include a ribbon-cutting ceremony and performances featuring prominent music industry artists, as well as an art exhibition and sale.

WHEN

Tuesday, June 15, 2010: 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

* Music Artist Red Carpet Arrivals / Ribbon Cutting Ceremony: 5:30 p.m.

* Artist Showcase Performances: 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.; * After Party: 8:00 to 9:00 p.m.

WHERE

The Salvation Army Compton Corps Community Center: 736 E. Compton Blvd. Compton

VISUALS

Red carpet artist arrivals; ribbon-cutting ceremony; the new music studio in action; musical performances of prominent figures from local Hip Hop scene

WHO

Confirmed: – Salvation Army (Compton Corps Captains, advisory board, patrons, children from community, Lt. Colonels Victor A. and Rose-Marie Leslie, Divisional Headquarters); Lil Eazy E, Compton rapper/son of pioneer Eazy E.; J. Blue, Top Hip Hop artist; Remnant, Hip Hop artist; Tha Kollective, Hip Hop duo; Erika Chan, mixed media painter and founder of Sound.Art.Media.; Stephanie De Roo, cartoonist; Caesar D. Alzate Jr., gallery painter and sculptor; Noemi Barajas, painter; Lori Hammond, painter; Marcus Johnson, illustrator; Leftjoe Torres, cartoonist; Alex Correa Jr., graffiti/tattoo artist; Kim Au, graphic designer/cartoonist; Anna Sutton, painter.

Invited: – Local Elected Officials; Mack 10, West Coast rap pioneer; Marvin Watkins, former record executive for Priority Records; Justified, Christian rap artist; Black, positive rap artist and clothing designer; Mz. Prissy, crump dancer featured in RIZE; Mercedes, gospel singer; Lil Niqo, 11-year-old rap sensation

MORE

The recording studio is open to the community to rent at nominal prices. It will augment the range of services the center offers, including: low-cost gym; refurbished NBA-regulation quality basketball court; after-school tutoring; summer day camp; computer lab; teen center; soup kitchen; free food distribution; low-cost counseling; parenting classes; debt-consolidation and financial literacy classes; weekly worship services and Bible study; and the Educated Ballers youth league basketball and tutoring. The Compton Corps Community Center has been helping families for more than 35 years.

Little did the public know that a few hours behind the scenes, we encountered serious complications and delays! But, with the crew’s teamwork and the help of our artists, and volunteers, everything miraculously fell into place!

I’d like to start out by saying THANK YOU to all of my participating artists, talented musicians and our authors for eagerly wanting to be part of this event!

And for my individual shout-outs, THANK YOU…
…to my Secretary/Curator/one-woman street team/best friend, Diane, who has been there for me since second grade! Always so thoughtful and taking care of things that would otherwise be overlooked, handling all of the display labels, supplies and distributing fliers all over LA county!
…Systechs/Vince Schlachter for donating $2400 in supplies/labor for our art displays…and Tim Shulte, Greg and the crew for your construction, labor and installation.
…Barney, Rob and Jennifer Burman for offering your special effects expertise and helping me bring my creation to life!
…Ray for molding my sculpt and running the foam!
…Julie, Rob, Erika Simmons and John for your much needed help with setup, lighting, loading and escorting artists to parking.
…Amy L. for enthusiastically helping with the guest/VIP lists.
…Coleen for your courage to try new things! You had the patience to sit through hours of being covered in goop, encased in plaster and all sorts of experimentation. You wowed the audience with her performance as Amy’s and my live nightmare! You portrayed the character more than we envisioned!
…Amy D. for getting all the artists coordinated at the event, selling so many tickets and finally teaming up with you, having you create the costume for our Nightmare!
…Matt Killen for helping me seam Coleen’s appliance.
…Coral for picking up my photos, hanging my artwork and handling my car! I wouldn’t have had a display without you!
…Judy for contributing your ideas, handling tickets and bringing your talented friends on-board!
…Justin for hosting, and producing our AMAZING and user-friendly website…and keeping it up to date, and up to design! (We even got reports that you definitely made our participants feel comfortable).
…Sarah and Aaron of AJ Graphics for being on-call to quickly create/edit/produce our print media (beautiful fliers, Dreams & Nightmares logo, business cards, press passes, IDs, our press board)
…Pawntra for your event coordinating expertise, organization, guidance, reassurance…and managing our crazy entrance!
…Carlos for your hard work, sifting through our video applicants, directing all setup and getting our show on the road!
…Lisa for your help selecting our artists, connecting w/ each of them before the show and getting everyone situated for showtime.
…Marta for editing our press releases and bios.
…Kelsey for contracting and corresponding with all the musicians
…Track Entertainment/Luke for hooking us up with the Aqua Lounge, ticketing and promotions!
…Terry for creating our promo videos and shooting pickups at the event…and for your future editing for our dvd!
…Renae for handling the demands of being our ALLLL-night event photographer!
…Lia for taking a break from your three kids to take beautiful photos on the Red Carpet.
…Abz for taking the time to shoot photographs on the Red Carpet.
…Addison for shooting live footage ALLLL night of our event!
…Nick for shooting live footage on the Red Carpet and of the bands.
…Rose for being our Red Carpet anchor, corresponding with/coordinating all the live cameras and event coverage.
…Karen for collecting and compiling the Dreams & Nightmares scrapbook journal!
…Kurt Jordan for composing the music for our promo videos.
…AND to Cindy for managing all of our art submissions, scheduling details, and email correspondences. Thank you for being my inspiration to start S.A.M., and pushing me to be the best artist and person I can be, to not settle for the minimum…and urging me to get my own artwork out into the world.

THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR BELIEVING IN SOUND.ART.MEDIA.!

15 artists from LA art industry / 2 new authors / 4 Top Indie Bands / plus 12 more participating artists!

PURCHASE TICKETS AT WANTICKETS.com for only $10!

Get to know the Compton Salvation Army

and

IMAGINE the FUTURE

Erika Chan of Sound.Art.Media is honored to bring the spirit

of the holiday season

with great people, great art, great music, great food

and to hear the Compton Corp story at an open house.

Selected art pieces, music and other items will be available for purchase.

Special invited guests include: Mayor Eric J Perrodin

Compton City Council Members

Damuer H. Leffridge, Deputy Director, Developing Options & City of LA GRYD Program

PB Floyd, Director, I Wanna Dance (soon to be released)

——————————————————————-

Featured Artists include:
Erika L. Chan, Illustrator and Designer

www.erikaLchan.com

Magoo Valencia, Award-winning Watercolor Artist

www.facebook.com/magoo.valencia

Noemi Barajas, Painter and Professional Doodler

www.myspace.com/noemi1234

Alex “Fatboy” Correa Jr., Tattoo Artist and Designer

www.myspace.com/fatboy_tattoo

and Graffiti Art by “Wash” Washington

…and…

Musical performance by REMNANT
www.myspace.com/remnant582

Please RSVP to Rachel Seward, Advisory Board Member

rjseward@hotmail.com – or – 818-531-5439

MISS THE DEADLINE? Well…it’s not the end of the world! YOU CAN STILL SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION: APPLY NOW!

(Remember: The sooner you become a registered Participating Artist, the sooner you can take advantage of Sound.Art.Media. promotions!)