Style 7.3

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INNOVn valley’S & CRE ATIVE CmaULT ATIVE de in

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CONTENT Issue 7.3

Style

display until nov. 2015

Bobbi Vie

FAME and FutureArtsNow!

Featuring:

content magazine, san jose

style 7.3 $9.95

SJ Museum of Quilts & Textiles THe Continental Bar SOnido Clash Asiel Design wekfest

2 N . M A R K E T S T R E E T, S U I T E 1 0 0 , S A N J O S E , C A 9 5 1 1 3 / P : 4 0 8 . 2 9 3 . 4 2 4 2 / U M B R E L L A S A L O N . C O M

REAL ESTATE REDEFINED LOWER FEES. HIGHER STANDARDS.

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STUDIOS / COURSES / WORKSHOPS 425 AUZERAIS AVE. SAN JOSE, CA 95126

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CONTENT Issue 7.3 “Style” Sept / Oct 2015

The Makers: Cultivator Daniel Garcia Managing Editor Flora Moreno de Thompson Managing Photo Editor Gregory Cortez Designers Daniel Millan, Omar Rodriguez Gustaf Fjelstrom, Kevin Zittle Elle Mitchell, Brian Gomez Circulation/Distribution Alex Ontiveros Brand Director Julia Canavese Publisher Silicon Valley Creates

Marketeer Sarah Garcia Senior Editor Odile Sullivan-Tarazi Production Kristen Pfund Photographers Gregory Cortez, Stan Olszewski Mark Sebastian Writers Mark Haney, Brandon Roos Anna Bagirov, Chad Hall, Kate Evans Michelle Runde, Isara Krieger Antoinette Siu Interns Justin San Diego, Elle Mitchell Haley Kim, Stephanie Lu

When we first started Content, someone said to me that we’d run out of interesting people to feature in the South Bay pretty quick. That was completely opposite from my expectation, and each issue has proven that there is more to highlight than one issue can hold. And so I have decided to add “mini-profiles” to our profile mix because I am impatient and I because I have such a strong desire to photograph and to feature the awesome people I meet. In this issue, STYLE, to supplement our regular features, you will find a few additional individuals who display a style that I find interesting and unique. We will continue this in future issues but we begin here, with this issue. I hope you are inspired by their Style.

Enjoy.

Daniel Garcia The Cultivator

IN THIS ISSUE Asiel Design / Bobbi Vie / Amy Dabalos / The Continental / Sonido Clash To participate in Content Magazine: editor@content-magazine.com Subscription & Advertising information available by contacting Alex@svcreates.org

Content Magazine is a bimonthly publication about the innovative and creative culture of Silicon Valley, published by

.

presents

We are Savages Solo exhibition of new works by sign painter Ken Davis Our mainstream society has developed into a culture that among many other things, praises the shortcut and enjoys the illusion of luxury in their everyday.

If there is an easy way out of a long trail, it is most certainly more popular of a route than the traditional trail. In the shadows of the mainstream there is a small percentage of holdouts. It is these Individuals that see the trails walked for generations as ideal routes to live their lives. Those of us with firm roots in traditional crafts are typically viewed with intrigue as modern Savages by the masses glued to their devices of instant result. The Savages are the ones who refuse to conform to the new norms that exponential technological growth has created. We generally are content with creating what we do for the sake of the pursuit and nothing more. Anything that comes from that is merely a bonus. ~Ken Davis

Exhibition: August 7–September 12, 2015 Anno Domini //the second coming of Art & Design 366 South First Street, San Jose, CA 95113 www.galleryAD.com 408.271.5155 Gallery hours: Tuesday - Friday Noon–7pm, Saturday Noon–5pm & First Fridays 7pm–11pm

Content Connect 7.3 Sept/Oct 2015 San Jose, California

Sister city

10 Okayama, Japan

CULTURE

12 Skyline

ART & Design

14 Maker, Genevieve Santos

16 San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles,

Nancy Bavor

Profiles

20 Style Portrait Series 30 WEKFEST 34 The Continental Bar, Sam Ramirez

Sam Ramirez, pg. 34

Style 38 44 46

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FAME & FutureArtsNow!, Bobbi Vie Underground, Samuel & Bella Garcia Asiel Design, Jonathan & Linnae Gomez Matriarchate, Mark Chua

Music 56 58 59 60

Sonido Clash Talkie

Amy Dabalos Album Picks, Tommy Aguilar

Writings

62 Author, Eva Murray 64 Content Calendar 66 Content LABS 68 Contributors

Fashion by Mark Chua, pg. 48

All materials in Content Magazine are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published, broadcast or modified in any way without the prior written consent of Silicon Valley Creates, or in the case of third party materials, the owner of that content. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of this content. For further information, or to participate in the production or distribution, please contact us at editor@content-magazine.com.

Asiel Design, pg. 46

Amy Dabalos, pg. 57

sister cIties President Dwight Eisenhower established the sister city program in 1956 to foster global awareness and peaceful relations. For each issue in this series, we asked a design team from one of our city’s sisters to present their view of their home town.

Okayama, Japan Written by Andrea Miyata, Kaigai Connection

San JOse’s Sister Cities

San José, Costa Rica Okayama, Japan Veracruz, Mexico Tainan, Taiwan Dublin, Ireland Pune, India Guadalajara, Mexico Ekaterinburg, Russia

Often called the Gateway to West Japan, Okayama is a quiet, modern city that serves as a transportation hub for travelers moving from eastern and central Japan into the further reaches of western Honshu, Shikoku Island, and Kyushu Island. The central area of the city is easy to get around via the welldeveloped transportation system that features local and high-speed trains, streetcars, buses, taxis, and rent-acycles. Incorporated as a city in 1889, when Japan moved from a feudal system to a centralized government system, the city actually has a much longer history which extends back to the Sengoku Period (1467-1603).

Although the surrounding area was and is farmland, the city has played an important part in history, and boasts a castle that attracted important political figures in the past, such as the Ikeda clan, who developed the economic and cultural status of the city under their rule between the 17th and 19th centuries. Currently, Okayama Castle attracts only tourists, but it’s considered one of the top castles in the country. The main tower (and most of Okayama city, for that matter) was damaged during WWII, when the city was largely destroyed after having been bombed by the US Army. However, two of the watch towers survived and have

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been designated as Important Cultural Properties by the government’s Agency for Cultural Affairs, and the damaged sections have been restored.

Geographically, Okayama falls into the humid subtropical zone: although it does get chilly in the winter months, the summer months can get hot and very humid. Okayama enjoys relatively low rainfall year round and is known as hare-no-kuni, which means “Sun Country.”

While the municipal and the prefectural governments have been working diligently to post multilingual signage around the city, Japanese is the only language spoken and understood by most of the population.

Although there are pockets of history sprinkled throughout the city in neighborhoods that were not damaged by bombing, visitors will want to head to the suburbs to enjoy the city’s best historical features.

POINTS OF INTEREST Okayama has many historical points of interest, with Saidaiji Kannon-in being one of the most intriguing. This small, quiet temple dedicated to the Buddhist deity of Kannon is also home to the oldest and largest Naked Man Festival. The 500-year-old festival, in which nearly 10,000 men dressed only

in loincloths participate, is held late at night on the third Saturday in February of every year. The men compete for two lucky sticks that also carry a large cash reward for the winners.

The Saijo Inari shrine and temple complex is a great location to visit any time of the year, and boasts the largest torii gate in West Japan. Visible for miles around, the giant torii gate beckons to visitors. The shrine is dedicated to the Shinto fox god Inari, the patron deity of business, which is appropriately ironic as the souvenir shops leading up to the shrine are fantastic in number and variety.

Visitors would also do well to stop in at Kibitsu Shrine, which is located near Saijo Inari. Folklore sets Kibitsu Shrine apart from other shrines: legend holds that a demon’s head buried under the temple causes a cauldron to ring out during fortune-telling ceremonies. The shrine dates from the ninth century and exhibits many unique architectural features, several of which are registered as Important Cultural Properties.

served. Tapas and pinchos are available 1. Saidaiji Kannon-in in the evening.

Higashi-ku, Saidaijinaka 3-8-8 SHOPPING For shopping, AEON Mall Okayama is a must-visit. Newly completed in December 2014, this shopping mall is one of the largest and top ranking in the country. Visitors can find an array of boutiques, interior shops, restaurants and food courts, a movie theater, and many other shopping options. The wine shop on the first level includes a winetasting vending machine.

Okayama has a number of covered shopping arcades, and Hokancho is one of the older ones. However, a recent influx of young, hip shop owners have breathed new life into this arcade, making it a great place to explore. Check out the eclectic mix of cafes, green grocers, boutiques, book and toy stores, dish supplies, bakeries, etc.

NIGHTLIFE For a relaxing end to the day, stop in at Padang Padang to unwind. This chic little bar in the heart of the city also serves up European-style fusion cuisine DINING selections made from top-quality local For a taste of fresh, local seafood, stop in and imported ingredients. at Tontonme in the southern part of the city. This seafood restaurant is known BEAUTIFUL PLACES for its sashimi and sushi made from fish Any itinerary should certainly include harvested from the nearby Seto Inland Korakuen. With a history of over Sea. 300 years, it is one of the top three For another healthy option, Okabe traditional gardens in the country, and in central Okayama is a long-standing is well known for its use of “borrowed tofu shop with attached home-style scenery”: in this case, Okayama Castle restaurant. The restaurant has counter becomes part of the garden scenery seating only and there are only three despite the fact that it is a separate main menu selections, but you can bet property. The garden is spacious enough the food will be fresh, delicious, and to accommodate large groups while still surprisingly filling. imparting serenity.

For secret hideaway dining, Balloom Off the beaten track, the beautiful is the place. This elegant and cozy little Sogenji Temple pleases the senses at cafe/restaurant/bar serves up fresh and any time of the year. Surrounded by healthy meals made with ordinary but tall trees and Maruyama mountain, this fine-quality ingredients. Guests can Zen temple of the Rinzai sect is near the enjoy a selection of fine wines, draft beer, city but feels secluded. Zazen sessions cocktails, drip coffees, herbal teas, and are open to the public on Sundays. imported sodas. Lunch and dinner are

Kaigai Connection

We are a small branding company specializing in helping local businesses get their product overseas. We help customers with foreign language support, out-of-country PR, homepage and business document design, and nonnative staffing. We also work with a large, local tourist agency to bring visitors to Okayama and the surrounding prefectures. kaigaiconnection.jp

+81 (086) 942-2058 saidaiji@saidaiji.jp

2. Saijo Inari

Kita-ku, Takamatsu Inari 712 +81 (086) 287-3700

3. Kibitsu Shrine

Kita-ku, Kibitsu 931 +81 (086) 287-4111 info@kibitujinja.com Open: M–F 8:30a to 4:30p

4. Tontonme

Minami-ku, Wakaba-cho 20-27 +81 (086) 264-2251 Open: M–F, Sat 11:30a to 2p, 5p to 10p, Sun 5p to 10p

5. Okabe

Kita-ku, Omote-cho 1-10-1 +81 (086) 222-1404 Open: 11:30a to 2:30p Closed Th, Sun, Holidays

6. Balloom

Kita-ku, Ekimoto-cho 21-13 +81 (086) 250-7363 Open: 11a to 7p

7. AEON Mall Okayama

Kita-ku, Shimoishii 1-2-1 +81 (086) 803-6700 Open: 10a to 9p

8. Hokancho

Kita-ku, Hokancho 2-chome information@houkancho.com

9. Padang Padang

Kita-ku, Omote-cho 1-chome 7-10 +81 (086) 223-6665 Open: 6p to midnight Closed Tuesdays

10. Korakuen

Kita-ku 1-5 +81 (086) 272-1148 Open: March 20 to Sept 30, 7:30a to 6p Oct 1 to March 19, 8a to 5p

11. Sogenji Temple

Naka-ku, Maruyama 1069 +81 (086) 277-8226 Open: 7a to 5p

*All images provided by Kaigai Connection

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Time for

Change San Jose’s skyline is ready for some provoking, modern architecture.

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here are cranes in the sky in San Jose and there will continue to be for years to come. San Jose’s physical landscape is expanding, growing—not out, but up. With 1 South Market completed and Centerra soon to be, a new wave of apartment and condominium towers are beginning to rise in downtown. The swell is being felt throughout the area, as more and more people fill the streets and areas of vibrancy flourish once again.

But San Jose does not exist within a vacuum. It sits within the greater Bay Area, a region with three anchor cities: San Francisco to the west, Oakland to the East, and San Jose to the south. As this region continues to grow, nuances of culture become the deciding points in where people choose to live, work, and play. Is the neighborhood exciting? Is it interesting? Does it have the amenities needed for daily life? Is it unique and interesting to look at? What defines it?

San Francisco is physically defined by the Transamerica Pyramid, but its trademark building images remain—even through this latest building boom—that of a vast brick, stone, and Victorian architecture. Block after block of ornate mid-rise and high-rise brick buildings line the streets. The lasting impression of San Francisco is a city steeped in history.

Oakland is similar to San Jose in design aesthetic. Many of its buildings are nondescript box-shaped office buildings, with a few gems scattered throughout the downtown. San Jose and Oakland even share similar-looking buildings, 488 Almaden and 1111 Broadway. But because of Oakland’s proximity to San Francisco—the cities even look upon each other—its ability to stand apart from that city and to cultivate its own identity is compromised.

San Jose has that ability, yet San Jose also has an identity crisis. The city has yet to embrace a cohesive building design aesthetic, its own look. And yet the city has the opportunity to stand out, to be different, to capture an audience. But how? How will San Jose building design be defined? How will downtown’s unprecedented growth alter the design landscape? Because of this Written by Mark Haney Photography by Daniel Garcia

SUCH BUILDINGS—BY THEIR SHAPE, THEIR NUANCE, THEIR COLORS AND SURFACES— WOULD EXPRESS IDENTITY, DESIRE, HOPE, TECHNOLOGY, CONNECTION, PROGRESSIVISM. growth, discussions are underway to change building design guidelines to improve pedestrian experiences, to increase vibrancy at the street level with new retail experiences, and to limit the dependence on cars by minimizing parking regulations. But what is the bigger picture? What will be the city’s trademark, block after block?

The best direction for San Jose to go is modern, ultra-modern. These can be unpleasant words to some, but embracing new ideas and new approaches to life is something San Jose and Silicon Valley strive for everyday. Think of movies set in the future, with all-glass buildings. Or buildings made without angles. Think shapes that seem physically impossible. Think vibrant colors, no more beige, no more gray. Think organic designs that mimic nature. Think buildings that inspire, provoke.

Modern innovation defines San Joseans in life, pushing the boundaries of science, faith, and the human experience. Now let’s put that modern innovative design into the buildings where we live, work, and play. This is the way for San Jose to define itself. Not by keeping to the status quo, or taking the path of least resistance, but by craving buildings that have a magnetism to them, buildings that represent the San Josean spirit.

The city of opportunity has another opportunity before it: to take the two aspects of downtown building design often seen as negatives—the FAA height restrictions and the lack of historical buildings—and turn them instead into positives. What these two constraints give San Jose is the ability to change rather quickly and rather intimately. Because San Jose has lost most of its historical buildings and because new buildings cannot be defined by height alone, we have the opportunity now to redefine downtown any way we would like. Ultra-modern buildings would bring new character to San Jose. Such buildings—by their shape, their nuance, their colors and surfaces—would express identity, desire, hope, technology, connection, progressivism. They would make of San Jose a destination.

The time is now. It is now that land is available, that the opportunity is tangible. It is now that developers are lining up to court San Jose for its best properties. It is now that a shift in mindsets is needed. It is now that the city, its organizations, and everyday citizens need to step up and ask for better, more distinctive, boundary-pushing design. It is now for San Joseans to demand that the urban landscape mimic the innovation that they work in and for everyday. Now is the time to make an imprint upon this great city, to change the status quo, to bring San Jose to the forefront, to offer something new and refreshing to the Bay Area. To create a place that we can take pride in.

Thinkbiggersanjose.com

SANTOS FULL-TIME WANDERLUST ARTIST

Written by Kevin Biggers Photography by mark sebastian

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xplore the art of Genevieve Santos, and what do you see? You may see a swelling of cuteness, the chubby cheeks of childhood limned fondly and funnily by her watercolors, her go-to medium. You may spot intimations of her animation background and fandom — pieces of Pixar and old-school Disney, as well as treasures from indie and foreign animators and illustrators. You may see the artist herself, the presence of a strong modern FilipinoAmerican who can always find laughter in love and in family and in friendships.

But if you really talk to her and talk to her about her art, what you’ll discover is that, yes, all these things influence and consequently are present in her work but at the center of everything, the beating heart of her art is really her travels. With every painting and illustration, you can feel the sense of adventures had and adventures to be had.

To experience her art is to encounter the unwavering suspicion that there will always be something awesome out there just waiting to be discovered.

So far, Genevieve has traveled extensively to and within 31 different countries. Now 31 years old, she did all of this traveling between the ages of 22 and 30. The extent to which she has canvassed the world tends to impress on its own, but once you realize she did most of this traveling while running her own business and growing her brand as an artist/illustrator, the eyes tend to bulge and the mind is bombarded by a flurry of the same question: How is she able to do this?

These days, she says, it’s a little easier to manage a busy travel schedule with running her business. When she’s out of the country, she still has 25 shops selling her artwork and stationery products, as well as a thriving online store run by a few people she has trained to handle orders and restock inventory when she’s not around. It’s true when she’s away she can’t do craft fairs or pop-up shops, but she has supplanted that lost income with her now absurdly

popular Instagram sales. These Instagram sales see her sell original artwork, often directly influenced by the place she is currently traveling, to the first person to comment with their email address on the post featuring the artwork.

“I started doing the sales on Instagram when I noticed people in my feed trying to get rid of excess inventory from the winter holidays in a similar fashion,” Genevieve recalls. “Also, a lot of people at the time had been asking for original art and I enjoy a good challenge of drawing on the fly.”

She’s sold every piece of art posted through these sales — 90 percent of the time within the first five seconds of posting the piece — with the prices ranging from $45 to $75 and with the total sales for a particular Instagram sale always able to at least cover the cost of airfare. “It’s really a matter of buying a plane ticket,” she says, explaining how she has been able to get to so many countries. “When I was just starting out with my business, I flew to Southeast Asia and once I got there, just scanned budget airlines for cheap tickets every day. That’s how I learned how to determine where to go.”

While her business grows and thrives, and with a children’s book in the works, traveling becomes more and more of an imperative. However, it’s no longer just a way to see the world and have new adventures while making enough art to cover the cost, but rather, for her, it’s an essential way to preserve life balance.

“I leave the country to fully and physically remove myself from my business,” she says, adding how difficult it is when she’s stateside to extricate herself from the dayto-day work of operating the business and to stave off new business-growing opportunities. “It allows me to get back to why I started the business in the first place,” she says, “which is drawing. It’s not until I get that undeniable feeling to do things with my business that I return home.” genevievesantos.com instagram: lepetitelefant

Content Magazine Maker Series is curated by sjmade

“WITH EVERY PAINTING AND ILLUSTRATION, YOU CAN REALLY FEEL THE SENSE OF ADVENTURES HAD AND ADVENTURES TO BE HAD.”

BACK BASICS TO

SAN JOSE MUSEUM OF QUILTS AND TEXTILES Written by Antoinette Siu Photography by Daniel Garcia

LOCAL CURATOR, TEACHER, AND QUILTER, NANCY BAVOR CHALLENGES OUR VIEW OF QUILTS AS CONTEMPORARY ART.

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n August 1971, a young fabric and needlework enthusiast experienced quilts as an art form for the first time while museum-hopping in New York City.

Inspired, that summer Nancy Bavor went home and created her own quilt—one patched out of squares, some incorporating shears from her prom dress and other clothes, in double-knit polyester fabric. “Fortunately, it was destroyed,” Bavor thinks back.

As a teenager, she liked crafting what others bought, fueled by home economics classes and a fascination for weaving, embroidery, and making clothes. Whether or not Bavor knew it then, her relationship with the quilt evolved like its production process—varying pieces stitched together somehow form greater cohesion. “For about 20 years I’ve always danced on the edge of that quilt vortex, until about ten years ago when I gave myself permission to just be sucked down into the vortex,” she says. “My dream was to be a curator of textiles, and so that’s pretty much where I am now.”

But paths to our dreams are rarely linear. The Illinois native majored in art history at Northwestern University before moving out to the Bay Area’s burgeoning quilt community. From there, Bavor started working with decorative arts and textiles in museums, first at Yale’s American Arts department art gallery and then Stanford’s Cantor Art Center.

Around 2005, Bavor became a certified appraiser of quilted textiles and earned her master’s in the history of textiles with a quilt studies emphasis from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Her classes there helped with studying

for the appraisal certification, but she started exploring the academic side more, documenting the stories of nine California quilt artists in her master’s thesis. In 2008, she took an internship at the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles, where she has been working as the curator of collections since 2013. She juggles tasks from preparing quilts and organizing inventories to overseeing interns and volunteers and researching for upcoming exhibitions.

Traditional quilts morphed out of the need for warm blankets during colonial times, but Bavor says the pieces are best appreciated by leaving behind your preconceived notions. “You almost have to look at these quilts with the same set of eyes that you would look at contemporary art,” she says. The museum attracts unlikely guests on first Fridays of the month when admission is free, and this is where perspectives really change. “Many have a preconceived idea that it’s going to be stuffy, boring, old,” Bavor says. “It’s, like, let’s go look at some old prints and drawings. I want to surprise them. I want to show them something they haven’t seen before.”

And the quilt industry surprises with its steady growth: the 2014 Quilting in America Survey estimated a market value of $3.76 billion (a 5 percent growth since 2010) made up of 16.4 million quilters in the US. “A lot has changed since I started quilt-making,” Bavor says. “[Home ec] is not offered anymore, so you have to learn how to sew or thread a sewing machine someplace else.

And today’s quilt-makers, even if they’re older or younger, they’re learning from YouTube. They’re learning from the internet. The industry will continue to evolve. How

Yori and Danna Seeger, husband and wife, new parents, artists, educators, and revolutionaries.

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prepping pieces for loans and exhibitions. On a Thursday afternoon, Bavor pauses and pulls on one white glove to handle a donated quilt and then checks on staff working on July’s Found/Made, an exhibition guest-curated by Roderick Kiracofe. In a time when many schools have retired home economics, when Pinterest and Etsy artisans and artists have taken the creative marketplace by storm, Bavor hopes to put together collections that wow as contemporary pieces yet respect traditions, heritage, and artistic rules.

“I think there’s this real interest in making something of meaning, for a family member, for a friend, that will continue to drive quilt-making,” Bavor says. “Because that’s really what it was all about.”

people learn to make quilts will continue to evolve.”

With more people rediscovering the trade, this momentum is fueling the next generation of quilters. The Modern Quilt Guild network first started in Los Angeles in 2009 as an online forum for modern quilters to connect in person. Now it consists of 8,826 members and more than 150 groups worldwide. In February 2016, the Guild brings their annual conference, QuiltCon, to California, showcasing hundreds of modern quilts made by members everywhere. Back online, emerging learning platforms like Creativebug and Craftsy give quilters of all levels instruction and guidance on-demand.

Bavor spends most of her time in the museum backrooms, where the real action takes place behind galleries: making muslin sleeves, building displays, and

“YOU ALMOST HAVE TO LOOK AT THESE QUILTS WITH THE SAME SET OF EYES THAT YOU WOULD LOOK AT CONTEMPORARY ART.”

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sjquiltmuseum.org San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles 520 South First St San Jose, CA 95113 instagram: sjmqt

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PROFILES

STYLE Photography by Daniel Garcia

Growing up with Sesame Street and Mister Rogers has affected the CONTENT staff. We are continually looking for ways to display the “people in your neighborhood.” Thus we introduce you to a few of our neighbors who have a diverse and unique style.

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Tracey Ariga Creative I am a creative at Gensler | architecture + design firm | with a strong foundation in focusing on the synergies between art and architecture, which drives my motivation to help connect a diverse tapestry of local community organizations. I believe that arts and culture can sustainably improve the experience of a city: this belief leads me to explore many different venues for being an active participant in the making of a better San Jose.

My role as a designer has allowed me to envision and strategize with teams both large and small to design innovative work environments in Silicon Valley. I sit on the genARTS Steering Committee, the SPUR San Jose Policy Board, and the SV Creates Board of Directors, and I’m a recent graduate of the Multicultural Arts Leadership Institute (MALI). My Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Interior Architecture with a focus in Fine Arts was the seed of inspiration that led me to investigate the merging of art and space for placemaking in urban environments.

arigadesigns.com instagram: arigadesigns

Teri Nguyen Polymath I go by Tbone. Tbone means that I bring people and movements together. At the moment, I do education and outreach at TechShop. My current project is a 12-foot rolling gondola for downtown San Jose. The moment you call me an artist, though, you’d be partially accurate because I’m one of those people called polymaths.

I graduated in design, sculpture, and art history, but my background is dance and classical music. I love bicycling and discussing neuroscience and particle physics, and I am fascinated by the identities that come from the Bay Area. Transplant or native, there’s a refugee story in everybody’s family history. We get to see different stages of that process interact with one another.

Being a witness to that never gets old.

I learned from my administrative work in Emerging Arts Professionals, Cinequest, and MAGfest that the art is as important, if not more important, than anything else we’re doing to pay the bills.

That’s another common theme of living here: to make a living you have to have multiple jobs that feed both the mind and the belly.

My work is guided by the belief that people are artists engaged at all different levels of creativity, and that as long as you’ve got a plan and are willing to let it change, you will always be in the right place. I hope to share that philosophy and increase the amount of generative, meaningful work in the world. instagram: pbembroidery

Ruben Casas DJ Kydd Sasquatch I’m on-air on 90.5 KSJS every week for four hours, providing listeners from Gilroy to South San Francisco with a weekly dose of alternativo (Latin alternative) music. I grew up with this music and knew a lot of the artists coming in. However, I continue to learn more about artists who are underground. Since we are one of the few stations playing alternativo en Español, I enjoy being on-air to update our audience with current and relevant Latin alternative artists in the alternative music scene.

Being a biomedical engineer major, becoming a music director for SJSU’s radio station was the least of my intentions. Having a radio show and being an on-air personality began as fun hobby to de-stress from my engineering classes. Now as music director, I find joy running the Alternativo en Español music department. I’m actively listening and looking for new music and artists, the ones not being played on commercial radio, to showcase within our alternative programming. You can catch me on-air as Kydd Sasquatch, on my show “Pico de Gallo.” By definition, pico de gallo is a salsa made with different vegetables, which can vary by community. Similarly my show is just that—it’s a musical pico de gallo. I play a variety of alternative music from all over the Americas and Spain. My recent project is an alternativo show called “Shakira Sundays” that I co-host with Jay on Sundays from 10am to 2pm. social media: kyddsasquatch

Ishunay Fred D Larry Nelson aka DJGoGetah I’m completing my bachelor’s degree in computer engineering at San Jose State, while working also as an independent contractor in that field. But the corporate world alone isn’t enough. I’ve rediscovered the piano and have expanded now into composing, recording new songs daily. I’ve also found my inner DJ by unleashing DJGoGetah on 90.5-FM/KSJS San Jose and 91.5-FM/ KKUP Cupertino. And I marry those interests in the Game Changerz project, designed to keep people current on the cutting edge of today’s music.

My greatest joy is putting a smile on someone’s face and lighting their fire to pursue their dreams. I believe that God is everything and everywhere, and many times people see me as a minister or coach and a good friend. I find that the more I do, the more inspired I am—and the closer also to reaching my dreams. My wish for you is that you will find and follow your passions, disregarding the naysayers. Surround yourself with good friends, create a vision board, stay active.

I invite you to reach for what you want, soaring like an eagle.

My greatest role model is my mother, Enid, who was a teacher and a teacher of teachers at Stanford. It was she who inspired me, she who taught me to always follow my dream, to stretch for that dream, and to sacrifice for it.

I am constantly expanding my horizons. May you as well. And may we all rise to the top to become la crème de la crème! instagram: djgogetah

Susannah Greenwood The Princess I embraced the volume requirement that comes with being from a large, passionate family very early on. Years of theater and competitive swimming certainly didn’t quash my tendency toward maximum lung power use. Still, for a girl who appears to instinctively idolize the decibel, I’m actually quite shy. Perhaps that’s why I’m so fixated on giving people, organizations, and San Jose a unique and audible voice.

The plays I’ve written thematically deal with listening to your inner voice and the voice of reason. Certainly the reviews I write help to lend a voice to the arts community. I wrote 100 Things to Do in San Jose Before You Die in part to give a city so busy doing, so busy enjoying all they have access to, a catalyst for a bigger conversation: one about how awesome San Jose is.

I never set out to be an artist, a critic, or an author. Years of advanced schooling and suffering weren’t spent trying to achieve any degree of success in any of these areas. The fact that I’m a published author, produced playwright, and exhibited artist really speaks to the power of the voice that says, “If it moves you, if you want to, that’s enough.” I’m driven by that hardwired, quintessentially Silicon Valley voice that says “Yes. You can. Because…why, not? Limitations are totally overrated. twitter: artsalot instagram: chimericmillinery

Kyyah Lane and Jacklyn Nguyen Feature Clothing Declaring that we are an online destination for “the gal balancing between bad bitch and good woman” is tongue-in-cheek, but this refracted portrait and counterbalance of selves is what drives us at FEATURE. Friends since high school, the two of us were an unlikely pair. One, a gangly teen with braces, baggy pants, and graphic tees. The other, a hip-hop girl, with a penchant for RocA-Wear jumpsuits and a “NoLimitDiva15” screen name. As we’ve matured, so have our tastes, and we are increasingly unable to identify with the one-dimensional, ’tude-all-THE–time persona that defines the online fashion industry. Yes, we can sass you up at the drop of a hat, but we draw on so much more as well.

We appreciate DJs who learned to mix on vinyl first, photographers who shoot just as well on film as on iPhone, books made of actual paper. We walk a reflective tightrope of past and present.

Kyyah became a mother. All these influences and aspects of our lives play into FEATURE. This can mean fashion that “everyone and they mamas like.” Or it can mean understated, clean silhouettes, with vintage influence.

To us, fashion is a carousel of personal expression. We want to help our customers find the styles that make them feel awesome from day to day. It’s our hope that our girls can step out into the world with grace, sass, and confidence. featureclothing.com twitter: shopfeature

Jamie Fearer Community Planning After a decade in the bookselling and book publishing industries, I discovered a new passion, and went back to school for community planning. Around the same time, I got back on my bike for the first time in nearly 20 years and fell in love with getting around under the power of my own legs. My real “a-ha” moment in terms of getting around by foot—whether that’s walking, pedaling, or using an assistive device—came when I began to explore the intersection of public health, equity, and transportation. The disparity between the celebration of a child’s first steps and the disregard for the “pedestrian” in much of our fast-paced, auto-centric adult lives is stark, and I’m fiercely committed to narrowing that gap.

The mission of my work with California Walks is so simple, and yet tremendously challenging: through advocacy and community empowerment, we are dedicated to creating healthy, safe, and walkable communities. My work in San Jose and across the state isn’t simply policy-focused: we look to celebrate walking and the sense of community that can be gained when we’re able to view our cities, and our neighbors, on a human scale. In fact, since moving here a little over a year ago from DC, I’ve learned the most about my new home, and met many of my new friends, while walking and pedaling around. californiawalks.org social media: bogrosemary

Nathiya Prathnadi Maker My work is a reflection of my everyday life. I create simple, timeless objects inspired by my surroundings—the California landscape, my own garden, the people I love.

Nathiya Designs is my latest endeavor and here I feature the jewelry and hand-thrown ceramics I create. My style is clean and uncluttered. Recently, working in gold has become of greater importance to me, so I hope in the near future to add a line of rings that include precious gems set in 14kt gold. It is something I’m currently working on and am excited about. My pieces are mostly handcrafted out of my home workshop in Fremont.

nathiyadesigns.bigcartel.com instagram: nathiyadesigns

Paolo Zavala Architectural Designer I am an architectural designer and visionary at Gensler | architecture + design firm | driven by a deep commitment to the power of design. I believe wholeheartedly in the creation of a better society through design, and in the continued development of a body of knowledge in which physical spaces are the source of inspiration for, and mystification of, the body, soul, and spirit of the human experience. Through the constant and ever-growing investigation and research of my ideas and processes, I find a playful interchange of sustainable meanings in design, rather than solutions meant only to be temporary. My diverse experience and skills include architecture, environmental graphics, interior design, creative city interventions, and poetry.

I am currently faculty professor at the Art Institute of San Francisco, teaching Environmental Graphics. I hold a Master of Architecture with a concentration in Sacred Space, and a Bachelor of Architecture in Design. My contributions to the design industry range from design awards to small publications of design research and exploration.

badabuuum.com

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WEK FEST YOUTH, CARS, AND SOCIAL MEDIA Written by Wesley T. Katayama Photography by Chris Lovos

HOW THE LOCAL AUTO SCENE AND WEKFEST GRABBED THE WORLD’S ATTENTION, THROUGH YOUTH AND FULLY EMBRACING THE POWERS OF SOCIAL MEDIA.

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or a majority of us, our idea of a California-based car show revolves around lowered vehicles, loud mufflers, dynamic paint jobs, loud music, bright lights, and wet T-shirt contests. It’s a surface-level understanding of a misunderstood subculture that has often been presented to us through television, movies, pop culture, and Vin Diesel.

For others, these shows and the cars being highlighted represent a whole lot more: a culmination of high-quality engineering and the personalities that go into creating these machines.

Enter WEKFEST (pronounced “weak fest,” a tonguein-cheek tribute to the amazing car builds and their notso-modest owners), a San Jose–based car show, whose goal is to capture car shows, car enthusiasts, and the youth culture in an entirely different light. Starting out in a parking garage in San Francisco’s Japantown, WEKFEST has gone on to become a tour with seven national tour stops, as well as their first international stop in Nagoya, Japan. In its fifth year, WEKFEST has grown from the locals’ favorite car show to an international tour, garnering the attention of a worldwide audience.

During its early years, the show focused on JDM (Japanese Domestic Model) builds, but it quickly pivoted to being the home of any type of car build that offered a unique personality. Currently, the show itself acts as a museum of sorts—carefully coordinated by a panel of judges who go through hundreds of entries to put forth the most dynamic personalities available. From trucks, to wagons, to American muscle cars, and even

Teslas—WEKFEST soon became the car show for anyone who put their heart and soul into their vehicles. As the show grew out of the Japantown parking garage and into Fort Mason here in San Francisco, The Queen Mary in Long Beach, and beyond, the way in which WEKFEST differentiated itself from other car shows became more and more important.

Behind the new direction of the show was Creative Director Geoffrey Nguyen. A San Jose native, his goal was to create a car show with life, a show with personality, a show that fans could feel was their own. By changing the way car shows were covered by the press, by utilizing social media outlets at a time when no other car show was, WEKFEST was able to connect with fans on a deeper level, before, during, and after the show. To do this effectively, Nguyen’s platform of choice soon became Instagram. “At the time, Instagram just handled photos better. Twitter always put media in the background and put words to the front. Being in a subculture that is visually driven, we had to move to a platform that was visual,” said Nguyen.

Instagram became the source for all things WEKFEST. Its content was built around more than just cars and it soon became the building block for creating the aspirational brand that WEKFEST is today. By moving its focus away from simply cars, Nguyen began to curate content for WEKFEST that allowed its followers to feel like they were traveling with the tour at all times. By pushing coverage of staff travel days, setup days, and the actual show day, WEKFEST took fans along for the ride.

“AT THE TIME, INSTAGRAM JUST HANDLED PHOTOS BETTER. TWITTER ALWAYS PUT MEDIA IN THE BACKGROUND AND PUT WORDS TO THE FRONT. BEING IN A SUBCULTURE THAT IS VISUALLY DRIVEN, WE HAD TO MOVE TO A PLATFORM THAT WAS VISUAL.”

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“WE WERE THE FIRST CAR SHOW BRAND TO UTILIZE SNAPCHAT IN A WAY THAT GAVE THE FOLLOWERS UNLIMITED ACCESS TO OUR WORK, AS WELL AS OUR LIVES.” Explained Nguyen, “We wanted to thank our supporters for being there with us since the beginning, and even though most show goers can’t go to all the shows, it was important for us to make longtime fans and new ones alike feel like they are integral to the growth of WEKFEST—which they are.”

Like anything, to understand where something is currently, you should always work to understand where it came from, where its roots lie. For WEKFEST, it’s always been about San Jose, and to understand the show’s influence is to understand its hometown. Yes, tech is a huge influence. The show’s biggest support can been seen on its Instagram account, and while this “new tech” has certainly helped share the show’s experience with others, the core of the show is “old tech.”

Old tech, that is, the tech our parents thrived in. They’re the people who built things with their hands: tangible items that move beyond dating apps for your iphone. For WEKFEST, these feats of engineering are everything. Floating engine bays are valued over loud sound systems, spoilers, and flashing lights. For some, owning a Ferrari can be impressive enough. For WEKFEST, taking that Ferrari, chopping it up, and presenting a whole new machine is what makes builds shine.

While the engineering influence can be seen in the cars, San Jose’s cultural influence on WEKFEST can be seen all over the show. Taking influence from things such as skateboarding, streetwear, music, dance, street art, food, and the cultural diversity that San Jose is touted for, WEKFEST has proved itself a Trojan Horse of sorts when presenting itself to the world. Only this time, the horse is bearing gifts. By paying homage to all that influenced him growing up in San Jose, and also urging the youth to be more adventurous and curious, Geoffrey Nguyen always aimed to entertain, as well as educate the fans.

“We were the first car show brand to utilize Snapchat in a way that gave the followers unlimited access to our work, as well as our lives. I would Snap anything from the shoes me and my friends were wearing, to my barber cutting and styling my hair, all the way down to a bowl of Pho. Things that you and I take for granted, living here in San Jose, but I would get kids from the Midwest or all over the country who would ask me, ‘What is that?? Where do I get it!?’”

WEKFEST is at the crossroads of all things San Jose, and through its unwavering authenticity and undeniable style, the show has been able to bring San Jose to cities all over the world.

twitter: wekfest beansandcroydon wesleytokio instagram: wekfest_usa

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The Continental A Classic Bar with an Eclectic Twist Written by Michelle RUnde Photography by Daniel Garcia

SAM RAMIREZ

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lthough not yet one year old, The Continental Bar, Lounge & Patio has carved out a niche for itself in the SoFA district. Located on South First Street in downtown San Jose, in the heart of downtown’s visual arts and entertainment district, The Continental features live music six nights a week: come Wednesday for Rhythm + Wine, Thursday for soul, R&B, jazz, Friday for nu-disco and deep house, Saturday for soul, Sunday for Afrobeat, reggae, world, Monday for Motown. And any night of the week for drinks from craft cocktails to local micro brews.

Open and welcoming, The Continental is the perfect night spot for local residents, businesses, and visitors alike.

And it’s all thanks to the hard work of Sam Ramirez, a local South Bay entrepreneur and businessman who made his vision into reality in late 2014.

Ramirez has been in the restaurant/bar business since he was 18. And within the business, he’s worked the gamut: security, bartender, promoter, bar manager, operations, back office, and owner. His first job, in 1986, was as a bouncer at The Library, a former club in the SoFA district, a stint which taught him how to work with a wide variety of club-goers. He was also often the hired security at high school parties, and soon started at Student 47, an all-ages club, although he himself was underage at the time. When owner Chuck Oliver discovered this, he fired Ramirez for two weeks, then rehired him the moment he turned 21.

Oliver knew that Ramirez was a hard worker, regardless of age, and that he’d already built a steady reputation for himself as such.

Ramirez then went on to work at the AJAX Lounge, located above where Cafe Stritch is today. The lounge was later closed because of fire code complications, but during its peak Ramirez saw a model he liked. “It was a great place, I loved it there. For me, [AJAX] impacted the style of The Continental,” says Ramirez. It was there that he made the

jump from doorman to bartender. It was the owner, Chris Esparza, who believed in him. He knew Ramirez had the experience and the skills to move up.

By 2002 Ramirez was working at The Agenda in San Jose under the watchful eye of owner Jacek Rosicki.

Although Ramirez had a stellar reputation and excelled at promoting the club, Rosicki knew he was capable of much more. Recalls Ramirez, “I’ll never forget when one night he pulled me aside and told me in his thick Polish accent ‘You need to get out of this business, or you’ll never leave’ and he fired me right on the spot.”

On the hunt for new opportunities, Ramirez made his way to Campbell. Later that same year, he took over as owner/operator of The Cardiff Lounge in Historic Downtown Campbell. He transformed the place into a prime South Bay destination for eclectic music, soul music, dub step, and the occasional live band. In 2011 Ramirez partnered with The Last Call Group to open another business in Campbell, El Guapo’s Tacos, an authentic taqueria that serves traditional Mexican drinks alongside its home-style cooking. In addition to the taqueria, Ramirez and The Last Call Group also opened The Branham Lounge in San Jose. And Ramirez partnered with the management team at Greek restaurant chain Opa! to expand their brand in the South Bay. With so many business ventures thriving in Campbell, Ramirez might have remained there permanently. He might have, that is, until he heard about the space that would open up on First Street with the closing of Brix Nightclub. At first he wasn’t sold. He remembered San Jose as an older city, not quite the environment he was looking for. But then he visited San Pedro Square for the first time. He was impressed. “I never thought I’d come back to San Jose. But in hindsight, it was inevitable. It was an opportunity to come home. I feel very comfortable

“I love what I do, and I want people to have a good time I want everyone to feel welcome.�

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here,” says Ramirez. As he began to think about what he wanted in that space, he spoke to someone from his earliest days of working clubs in San Jose, former employer Chuck Oliver. Ramirez told Oliver about his concept for The Continental, and Oliver immediately wanted to partner with him. Ramirez remembers the conversation: “I didn’t even ask him, he just loved the idea.” Oliver came in as an investor and partner, and The Continental opened its doors on December 9, 2014.

Long experience with a variety of clubs and bars had given Ramirez a clear idea of what he wanted The Continental to be. And he’s pleased by how it’s turned out. “It’s not ‘stuffy.’ It’s not trying to be too good or too high-end,” he says. His time as a doorman has also taught him what he doesn’t want to have. “I love what I do, and I want people to have a good time. You’ll never catch me sitting outside the door in an overpriced suit showing off how much I’m worth, or how important I think I am. I want everyone to feel welcome. I don’t want this to be the hottest place in town: The Continental is for an eclectic crowd. People who enjoy a cocktails, who want to have a good time,” he says.

Inside, The Continental is warm, spacious, and inviting.

From the dimly lit Edison-style bulbs, to the brick walls and exposed beams, to the furnishings of repurposed wood, there is a throwback tone that plays well to the eclectic scene. In this homey atmosphere, picture an oversize bar, so large it dominates the room, couches and chairs scattered about for seating, and lots of open space to stand and mingle. Enormous framed watercolors on the walls, a nod to cocktail culture, complete the look. As customers enter, they pass under a blazing neon sign and walk over these words, emblazoned on the floor: “Be all in

or get all out. There is no halfway.”

Outside, in the expansive back patio, patrons can sit and bask in the warm weather, while enjoying the concoction of their choice. When ordering, don’t look for a cocktail menu. Instead, simply order what you’d like. There’s plenty of room at the bar to inquire after the beers on tap or to ask what cocktail the bartender (in oldfashioned apron and flat cap) might recommend. It’s all there, from a straight-up Jack and Coke, to something more exotic, perhaps the barrel-aged Manhattan, a spin on the traditional drink with a richer, smokier finish.

Whether you’re strolling along First Street for a First Friday Art Walk, going out on the town, or just in the mood for a well-crafted cocktail, stop on in. Thanks to Ramirez and his vision of an eclectic, broadly welcoming, just “hang out and be real” place to go, it’s a great place to be. And Ramirez knows he’s created something special. “I want people to feel comfortable here, and I want them to want to come back.” There’s no doubt The Continental is drawing crowds. From the bustling at the bar inside and the laugher that carries out the open door, it seems safe to say they’ll be back for more.

Here at The Continental, there is no halfway. And the customers are all in.

thecontinentalbar.com 349 South First St San Jose, CA 95113 408.380.4397 facebook: TheContinentalBar instagram: thecontinentalbar twitter: continental_bar

B Bobbi Vie

V Written by Brandon Roos Photography by Daniel Garcia

THROUGH HIS EFFORTS WITH FAME AND FUTUREARTSNOW!, BOBBI VIE HAS TURNED HIS PASSION FOR STREET DANCE AND FASHION INTO A DECADE-PLUS CAREER AS A COMMUNITY ARTS LEADER. IF YOU ASK HIM TO TAKE CREDIT, THOUGH, HE’LL SAY HE’S JUST HELPING HIS PEOPLE.

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f you’re headed toward Highway 101 on Story Road and past Lucretia Avenue, you’ll see an interesting collection of buildings to your left that seem to be a work in progress. With a vinyl sign attached to a chain link fence, the grouping of shops immediately next to Wal Mart proclaims itself Vietnam Town.

Near the rear of this plaza, you’ll find a quaint shop called Tea Lyfe, its reclaimed wood décor a pronounced contrast to its more classically-minded neighbors. There, on any given day, you might well encounter Bobbi Vie, event coordinator and community activist, a man with something of an air of mystery about him.

Rather than placing himself at the forefront of events, Vie prefers to function behind the scenes, choosing to let meetings and partnerships occur organically. Similarly, he’s governed by an incessant curiosity best described by a phrase he recently discovered—FOMO, or Fear Of Missing Out. “I just always thought I’d miss out on stuff, so I like to travel, see, try, talk to new people, and find new places and things as much as possible,” he explains.

“I just have that addiction. I have to go out at least once a day and try something new.”

It was that impulse that led him to Tea Lyfe one day while searching for coffee with a friend. From there, he became a regular customer, tinkering with a number of custom concoctions until he started mixing Thai tea with Vietnamese coffee. That pairing, advertised on an A-frame in front of the shop, is now known as the Bobbi Vie. It’s that kind of beautiful serendipity that seems to guide Vie in life.

A native of San Jose’s East side, Vie was set to attend Mount Pleasant High, yet he instead found himself attending Piedmont Hills High down the road. His parents transferred him because someone had been shot at the school over the summer. Though he was left to rebuild his circle of friends from scratch, the switch in schools led him to discover breakdancing.

He remembers encountering his first routine during the school’s opening rally, when hip-hop club Elements showcased their skills. “I fell in love, but I didn’t know where it was going to take me,” he admits in retrospect.

“I just knew that was me.”

The dancing was a far cry from his sheltered upbringing, where KBAY’s soft rock playlist was his only soundtrack and Yerba Buena High was a weekend fixture—Saturdays for Vietnamese Boy Scouts (Vie is an Eagle scout) and Sundays for Vietnamese school.

Unlike today, where locating dance footage is a mere Google or YouTube search away, Vie had to savor every opportunity to see people breaking. Back then, “there were GIF images. You would load them up in computer class,” he notes. “However long it took to load up a 10-second GIF image—a minute, two minutes—[you would wait] and just re-watch that over and over.”

Vie slowly honed his craft, but he had to do so away from the watchful eyes of his parents. He told them he was attending after-school tutoring; instead, he was

“THE EVENTS HAVEN’T GROWN EXPONENTIALLY FAST, BUT THEY HAVE BEEN GROWING ORGANICALLY, WHICH IS THE WAY I LIKE IT. I BELIEVE PEOPLE TAKE GREAT PRIDE IN THEM.” practicing routines in the halls with other Elements members.

After graduating, Vie attended a number of local colleges, but never quite found what he was looking for. Similarly, he toyed with fashion, taking local gigs at Urban Outfitters and the now-defunct Metropark at Valley Fair. But it was the call back he never expected to receive that placed him on track to become a community arts leader.

“You know how they say ‘We’ll have your application on file?’” Vie asks when speaking about his first gig as a rec leader with the City of San Jose. “I never believed them, but then I actually got a call back, and I got hired when Evergreen High School opened up.”

The city was open to crafting a role that fit his interests, and Vie was quick to mention his love of dance. Yet after only a semester, he felt the first pangs of the instability that regularly accompanies public work in the arts.

With the school severely impacted, his funding quickly dried up. Luckily, he found a gig at nearby Evergreen Community Center, where he revived weekly open-dance sessions. He began attracting up to 100 dancers every week, all of whom would shell out a dollar to gather and practice routines.

Yet Vie admits that cash is king in his line of work, and despite his best efforts, his weekly fees could not compete with those collected from martial arts classes. With his session at risk, he needed a way to maintain stability for this small, passionate community he’d helped cultivate.

“My way around that was to start throwing dance

competitions,” he explains. The plan was to generate enough income to persuade the center to not move his sessions.

The dance events were successful, with his most celebrated competition, Art of War, drawing a crowd of 2500 to Independence High. Relying on the planning skills he’d developed as a Boy Scout, Vie was great at gaining community support.

He remembers looking at the clothing vendors he’d assembled at one of his events and pondering how he could make their work the focal point of his efforts. The idea for FAME (short for Fashion Art Music Exhibition) was born.

The issue was that he had no ties to the fashion industry.

Thankfully, he connected with his friend John Agcaoili, who would regularly post his fashion photography online.

Vie approached him, explaining that he could provide the vendors if Agcaoili could deliver a fashion show. That first event came together on March 20, 2010, the first day of spring.

Asked about his affinity for hip-hop and street dance and fashion, Vie points to the entrepreneurial spirit that runs alongside the culture. “It’s about the hustler mentality,” he explains. “You don’t have much, so you’re gonna do the best you can and express yourself with whatever you have to the best of your ability.”

In addition to the dance and fashion events that now fall under his name, Vie is also one half of

FutureArtsNow!, an after-school program geared toward promoting mentorship and exposing at-risk youth to career opportunities in the arts. Though the venture started in earnest in 2011, Vie met co-founder Demone Carter earlier, when the two started working together at Hip Hop 360, a hip-hop component of foster program Unity Care Group.

In January 2012, they found a home at Edenvale Community Center, and last year, the program served 300 kids across nine schools in the Alum Rock and Evergreen School Districts with classes on urban art, Afro-Brazilian drumming, spoken word, and more.

The organization was recently accepted for another year of programming at Edenvale. They’re also celebrating the recent acquisition of a $10,000 grant from SV Creates to launch Claim to Fame, an event to celebrate San Jose’s DIY community. Vie’s plan is to implement a yearround three-event cycle that will include Claim to Fame, FAME, and Infamous, their dance component.

While he may not have guessed that his stint as a rec leader would lead him to where he is today, one can’t deny the impact he’s had on his community. These days, it’s hard for him to pop into Eastridge Mall without one of his students recognizing him.

Ask him to sing his own praises, though, and he humbly says he’s just carrying on the work of those who came before him. “Hopefully these will be good platforms for whoever,” he says. “I’m just continuing the bridge.”

“WHEN THEY SAY ‘IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU HAVE A LOT ON YOUR PLATE,’ I LIKE TO SAY I HAVE A BIG APPETITE.” 43

futureartsnow.org instagram: futureartsnow bobbivie

UNDERGROUND INTERNATIONAL FASHION AND STYLE IN WILLOW GLEN Written by Justin San Diego Photography by Daniel GArcia

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rother and sister duo Belle and Samuel Garcia have created a business that has survived and thrived through more than a decade of changes. Located in Willow Glen, Underground is a European fashion boutique with an urban edge.

The collections at Underground feature clothing styles from around the world. Women’s fashions are the best represented, including a wide variety of one-of-a-kind jewelry, but there’s a corner reserved for the men as well.

The store’s fashions change with the seasons, naturally enough, but the Garcias strive to maintain a selection of contemporary, casual, resort, and business styles throughout the year. And business has been brisk. “I think we complement the area, because we have a new offering,” Belle says.

Recalling the original inspiration for the boutique, Samuel spoke of his experiences traveling to Spain and England. “America is a melting pot, but we’re not an old country,” he notes.

The culture of foreign places is a major inspiration for the Garcias, influencing both their product selection and the overall store design. “For [the US], culture is—if we don’t see it in a mall, it ain’t happening,” Samuel says.

Walking the streets of Spain one day, he tells how he came across an incredible store tucked away in an alley. “You don’t get that here because everyone’s in their cars, not walking around.”

Both siblings agree that it can be a challenge to run a boutique when people so often flock instead to the larger stores. “We’re a disposable society,” Belle intervenes. “Our parents used to save everything and make everything.

Today, I can go anywhere and get a replica of what I’m selling for cheap.”

When Underground first opened, twelve years ago on South Market, it was primarily a vinyl music store.

Eventually, it began to feature clothing from dance music labels, including Caffeine and Sonique, and the collection expanded from there. By about 2005, the store had become a full-blown boutique. But dance music still plays in the

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background to this day, and Underground continues to sell a few albums from dance artists including Martin Solveig. “This is what we envision.” Samuel explains. “This is pure urban culture in San Jose.”

Samuel estimates that there are some 20 brands represented in the boutique each season. “We have to use one or two brands people recognize, because sometimes people are cautious when they don’t know the designer,” he says. And the pair ensure that the clothing they carry is all fair trade and ethically made. “It’s important for us to make sure our stuff isn’t made in a child factory,” Belle shudders.

Discussing future trends, Samuel predicts a “Dallas meets New York” look this fall and winter, divulging that “Western print” is in. Belle suggests instead that the trends will be more ’70s-inspired, declaring that fringe, bell-bottoms, lace, and suede in particular will be popular.

Wherever the fashions shift, Underground will be right there at the front of the pack. “You have to evolve, a good business is one that evolves,” Samuel puts in. “We don’t replicate what we had last year.”

Born and raised in San Jose, the siblings each worked in Tech before collaborating on the boutique: Belle in software finance, Samuel in product management. But they don’t regret for one moment making the switch. “I find satisfaction in life through the amazing people I’ve met. Had I been stuck in a cubicle, I wouldn’t have met all the amazing people I now know,” Belle says. “People call me, they’re pleased. They get more compliments than ever in the pieces I suggested.”

Of the ups and downs, and ins and outs, of the business, Samuel says, “Every neighborhood has its moments where it dies off kinda, then picks up again with new blood and new ideas.” With the hard work of the Garcias, Underground Boutique has managed to remain tuned to those new ideas, to remain nimble and to change profitably, not only with the seasons, but with the passing years.

“THIS IS WHAT WE ENVISION: THIS IS PURE URBAN CULTURE IN SAN JOSE.”

Brother and sister duo Samuel and Belle Garcia

undergroundsj.com 1342 Lincoln Ave San Jose, CA 95125 instagram: shopundergroundsj

“We like to create what hasn’t been created yet.”

Jonathan and Linnae Gomez Asiel is Linnae’s middle name and means “Made of God”

ASIEL DESIGN Written by Antoinette Siu Photography by Gregory Cortez

Whether it’s styling the latest looks in weddings or pushing modern design to the next level, Jonathan and Linnae of Asiel Design give new meaning to event planning.

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one are the days of stuffy networking events in a conference room and cookie-cutter wedding ceremonies. At Asiel Design, Jonathan and Linnae Gomez believe the environment represents something more than a space where people gather. From steampunk weddings to dark circus charities, the two bring an Asiel touch to make every occasion look and feel one-of-a-kind.

Jonathan and Linnae’s wedding and event design boutique grew out of a flower business in San Francisco.

Jonathan’s dad worked as a flower broker importing roses from South America, and Linnae took a part-time gig doing the books for his dad during college. As they put it, things quickly took off from there, with them starting out in Jonathan’s dad’s studio in the city and eventually moving to San Jose in 2003.

Ever since, they have been operating out of a 10,000-square-foot warehouse converted from what was a grain mill for dog food around the 1800s. Jonathan refers to the space as their design lab, where they’re constantly constructing, tweaking, and experimenting with materials.

Asiel builds its events from the ground up: every client starts off with what Linnae calls “design therapy.” They meet for a consultation to get on the same page about goals, ideas, and budgeting before building the venue in mind. “First, I’m getting all the information from them and building the trust,” Linnae says. “Once I have that down, then I’ll start to open their eyes to new possibilities.”

The design duo and their distinctive style are known in the designer world simply as Jonathan and Linnae Asiel (Jonathan says people often confuse his last name), but to the rest of the world, they’re Jonathan and Linnae Gomez, new parents to baby Phoenix, and wedding and event trendsetters. “We’re kind of known for doing the difficult, get-in-get-out, bust-out jobs,” Jonathan says. “We’ve done a lot of complicated events with a lot of moving parts.” To date, the couple and their staff of seven have worked more than 700 events in the Bay Area, with the occasional outof-state project.

For any given event, they could be managing everything from lighting and rental companies to kids’ game rooms and production groups. As a team, they bring differing

skill sets and visions that complement each other on the job. Whereas Linnae focuses on fine-tuning the details to the space, Jonathan takes care of the big picture, looking at the room as a whole. “We have different styles,” Jonathan says. “It’s nice, though, because Linnae has a feminine part of design, and I’m very much the masculine part. It’s a very yin and yang type of thing, dark and light. We feel like it’s a balance.”

When not tending to events, they’re also the style and design directors for Today’s Bride, the Bay Area go-to bridal publication. And their inspiration comes from everywhere: fashion, television, flea markets, Pinterest, and Google searches. “I’m really trying to see beyond the scope of what my peers are looking at,” Linnae says. “I have this thing where I usually spend 15 to 20 minutes a night doing searches. I’ll screenshot all my favorites and pin stuff I find helpful.”

One of those ideas led Linnae to put together an upcoming photo shoot inspired by Frida Kahlo. After researching Kahlo, she set out to bring elements from Frida’s life into the design—back braces, intense colors, flower halos, and Bohemian textures and prints. “It’s going to feel really, really pretty, and if you look at it just long enough, you’re going to realize how dark it is,” she says. “It’s going to be the first spark of the Frida train. I would be not at all surprised if in a year there’s a model dressed like Frida, that exact same backdrop, playing the cello in the middle of a dinner party.”

In the last five years, Asiel’s latest undertaking is exploring a new signature event they call B.SPK.N, short for bespoken. In these special events, they’re not just handling the designs, but taking concepts to the next level with live performances, dance parties, and bringing to life themes like Burning Man and Game of Thrones. “It’s the fullest experience of our art,” Jonathan says. “We like to create what hasn’t been created yet.”

“I feel like good modern design is steeped in old-world sensibilities. A lot of times people try to do modern but forget the building blocks it takes to get there.”

asieldesign.com 245 McEvoy St San Jose, CA 95126 instagram: asieldesign

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MATRIARCHATE Photography: Mark Chua Art Direction: Elle Mitchell and Drew Clark Hair: Dustin David Make up: Cheryl Gamboa Gown Design: Angelina Haole Location & Set Design: Asiel Design Male Clothing: Black and Brown Talent: Annie, Scout Model Agency Meisha & Stephen, Stars Model Management

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Sonido Clash Written by Anna Bagirov Photography by Stan Olszewski

Tommy Aguilar

Fernando J. P茅rez

Melinda Chac贸n

Angel Luna

Roman Zepeda

BRINGING THE ELECTRO CUMBIA DANCE PARTY TO SAN JOSE’S DANCE FLOORS.

W

hat Andy Warhol was to revolutionary art culture and good times, from his Factory in New York, the visionary members of Sonido Clash are to the contemporary concert and dance scene from their warehouse headquarters here in San Jose. Their ecstatic parties and avant garde concerts are celebrated long after the last beat has dropped, the last guest has left. Their Inaugural Selena Tribute Party, for example, with its Caribbean room, Selena room, and Selena drag queen, has become legend.

Warhol may have given the world The Velvet Underground, but the music collective that is Sonido Clash — Roman Zepeda, Angel Luna, Thomas Roman Aguilar, Fernando J. “Tlacoyo” Pérez, Melinda Chacón, Elvis Mendoza — is a whole new breed of intellectual party masters with a vision. Collectively, they have brought the alternative Latin underground dance scene to San Jose and the South Bay. “We were all young Latinos interested in the sounds we heard growing up,” says Roman. And it’s an eclectic scene. “You can be from Mars, but if you seem like you need a beer and you need a dance, or an intellectual conversation, you can find it,” Angel says.

A party put on by Sonido Clash is Studio 54 + Woodstock. It’s the dancing and counterculture of the one, with the goodwill and inclusivity of the other. Sonido Clash parties are not marked by seedy Warhol-esque hedonism: this scene is inclusive, multiracial, and absolutely female- and family-friendly. “This is where friends meet.

You can bring your parents,” Melinda explains. “There’s no negative vibes, no fights, and women feel safe,” Angel adds.

In the last decade, the electro cumbia phenomenon swept across Latin America and into the States, where cities like New York, Chicago, and San Francisco began packing clubs weekly. Until the formation of Sonido Clash in 2000, however, there was no alternative Latin scene in the Bay Area, and innovative bands would pass by San Jose on their tours. What is electro cumbia? “It’s your parents’ music, but combined with the music you chose listen to,” Melinda explains. “You can sometimes feel out of place in a traditional Latin club,” Roman says. “We grew up with electronic, hip-hop, and rap.”

Although they throw an amazing party, Sonido Clash sees the dance floor as much more than dance. It’s a cultural experience. The collective curates DJs and musicians that might otherwise never be heard in San Jose. A Sonido Clash event is culturally progressive, a vision brought to life. “We want to be a cultural force,” Angel says. Sonido Clash pushes the boundaries of Latin music, exposes San Jose to new possibilities, and builds an expansive and creative nightlife.

The collective has hosted bands who fuse cumbia with Afro rhythms, bands who layer electro beats over preColumbian Aztec rhythms, international DJs who combine moombahton with Dutch House, reggaeton with hip-hop house. A Sonido Clash party is an Amazonian rainforest of tribal rhythms, a Caribbean dancehall, a Mexican cumbia sonidera party, a hyphy hip-hop house party, an underground DJ boiler room. Electro cumbia is laced with sultry tropical bass. Latin rhythms are layered on pulsing, trippy electronic and synthesized trap beats.

Sultry tropical bass, tumbia, and Northern California’s very own hyphy-style rap are sampled and chopped together. And couples can dance to it all. A Sonido Clash party is an eclectic, multilayered emotional high.

Sonido Clash is a laboratory of sorts. “The genius of Sonido Clash is that we are not all thinking alike. We are doing as our name translates: sound clashing,” Thomas explains. “I’ve brought performers from all over the world.

I am always looking for what’s next, what’s emerging, what revolves around youth culture.”

Nor is the collective about sticking to the rules. They are about educating and encouraging for musical diversity.

“We are like alchemists,” Angel observes. “We are trying to find the formula to make gold.” Tlacoyo adds, “We pride ourselves in being the platform for the cutting edge Latin music. People are blown away. They ask us, how did you get this DJ to do a set here? How do you have this caliber of talent?”

Melinda sums it up simply. “It does not feel like work.

It all comes from the heart.” facebook: sonidoclashsj instagram: sonidoclash twitter: sonidoclash sjsonidoclash@gmail.com

Christopher Isaacs

Eric Martin

Bradley Hagmann

Matt Hagmann

talkie Written by Anna Bagirov Photography by Jaime Hagmann

No rules, no boundaries

“I

t’s getting a little weird in here,” Bradley Hagmann says, answering the phone from the secret studio he and the rest of the band Talkie have built in the Gilroy–Morgan Hill woods. They’ve just finished experimenting with the sound of a broom being dragged across the floor. All live in the Bay Area, though in outlying towns. “You’re close enough to be aware and influenced, but far enough to be removed,” Eric Martin observes.

“YOU DON’T HAVE TO MAKE SOMETHING INCREDIBLY CINEMATIC TO HAVE IT RESONATE. SO MUCH MUSIC IS OVERPRODUCED.” The band does not believe in strict rules, and they devote time in every set to improvising. Everyone is a lead singer and everyone contributes to songwriting. They make it a point not to overcomplicate. “You don’t have to make something incredibly cinematic to have it resonate.

So much music is overproduced,” Matt Hagmann says.

This cavalier attitude is evident in their music, which ranges across the mood and vocals spectrum. “Pretty” is marked with cheerful Beach Boy–like harmonies. The

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chorus is so catchy that it’s easy to begin singing along without having heard the whole song through. “Lavos” is guttural, angry, and seething. “Bugs” undulates like a Weezer song: cheerful and upbeat one moment, screaming and spiraling downward the next.

The members of Talkie are accomplished musicians and singers, and they’ve combined artistry with savvy business minds to help get their music heard. The hustle is proving effective. They’ve headlined San Francisco’s Bottom of the Hill. Their song “Church” is featured on the opening credits of the upcoming independent film Frisky. They’ve played multiple venues throughout Los Angeles and San Francisco. They’re streamed on American Airlines, played in Starbucks, REI, and Jack in the Box, and they’re getting more spins on Pandora than they ever would have thought. “It feels very natural.

In older bands, we had to fight for attention,” Bradley Hagmann reflects. “We can just be ourselves. We are being warmly received. It’s been an interesting time.”

talkiemusic.com social media: talkiemusic

Amy Dabalos Written by Anna Bagirov Photography by Stan Olszewski

Jazz Vocalist

A

Musicians Meet: San Jose, which aims to foster deeper connections between musicians and other artists in the creative community. “Friendships with musicians go beyond the hustle,” she explains. “What if we had a culture of support, rather than a culture of competition?”

my Dabalos is coming into her own. Sassy and sultry, deeply serious, playful. Confident and elegant, yet earthy and approachable. On stage, she cooly switches personas, her classical training in jazz and opera bringing depth and range to her work. Her covers of artists like Aaliyah, Madonna, The Beatles, and Stevie Wonder have the crowds up and dancing in the aisles.

And now she’s introducing audiences to original pieces as well.

Affirmations, an EP released this summer with her newly formed band, The Vibrant Things, adds two new recordings to her catalogue: “Believe in Love” and “Forgive You, Release You.” The mood is introspective: the jazz rhythms are cool, her voice liquid honey.

Dabalos’s music is rich with complexity. Of her lyrical “Paint The Scenes,” a previously released original single, she says, “It’s about the choices we have and do not, what we can control and what we cannot, the need to tell one’s own story. My style is more message driven, rather than first person.” The song is a multilayered exploration of what it means to build a life in a world of chance and uncertainty.

In the midst of building her own career, Dabalos is also in the business of nurturing other artists. She hosts

“WHAT IF WE HAD A CULTURE OF SUPPORT, RATHER THAN A CULTURE OF COMPETITION? I BELIEVE IN CREATING ALLIANCES IN THE MUSIC AND ARTISTIC COMMUNITY.” She has become curator as well of the weekly live jazz night Rhythm + Wine in downtown San Jose’s Continental Bar. With her dual commitment to her own artistry and that of the music community, the scene that Amy is painting is sure to be a satisfying one.

amydabalos.bandcamp.com social media: amydabalos

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ALBUM PICKS

Curated by Tommy Aguilar @ungrammar

1. Alina Baraz & Galimatias Urban Flora EP (Ultra Records) Alina Baraz is a Los Angeles–based singer and songwriter connected with Denmark-based producer Galamitas via soundcloud. Nine months after an independently released bona fide hit, “Fantasy” (14 million plays on soundcloud to date), the two have collaborated to release Urban Flora, an EP featuring eight previously released singles, on the high-profile Ultra Records imprint. Galamitas’ subtle R&B with electronic elements and a downtempo vibe, combined with Alina’s soothing and seductive voice, creates a mood suggesting a pairing with a glass of wine, a book to read, and a hammock. soundcloud.com/alinabaraz

1

2.The Internet Ego Death LP (Odd Future / Sony) Off top, Syd the Kyd is my hero. I have been a super fan ever since my first listen of The Internet’s debut album, Purple Naked Ladies, back in 2011.

Introduced via newly minted Odd Future Records, The Internet, which at the time consisted of Syd the Kyd and Matt Martians, displayed a certain kind of soul sound that was new, but right off the bat sounded in step with what my ears wanted and needed to hear. The Internet’s music is definitely soul, but a brand-new version of it, with elements of R&B, hip-hop, and funk organically injected with a modern and intoxicating swag.

2

With the release of their new album Ego Death, The Internet puts Odd Future in the rarefied air of having two members of their collective produce two of the best and most innovative soul/R&B records of the last four years. I speak of Frank Ocean’s debut album, Channel Orange. For Ego Death, The Internet is now a band consisting not only of Syd the Kyd and Matt Martians, but Jameel Bruner, Patrick Paige, Christopher Smith, and Steve Lacy as well, fully formed together in mid-2011. The Internet, too, will have wowed San Jose audiences by this time, in their no-doubt stellar performance at the 2015 San Jose Jazz Summer Fest as part of the Jazz Beyond Stage programming co-presented by Universal Grammar (shameless plug redux). internet-band.com/egodeath

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3. Kamasi Washington The Epic (Brainfeeder) By the time you read this, you might have caught Kamasi Washington at this year’s San Jose Jazz Summer Fest in downtown San Jose, as part of the Jazz Beyond Stage programming carefully curated and co-presented by Universal Grammar (excuse the shameless plug). I believe this will be as epic a performance as any at this year’s Summer Fest, although I am writing preperformance in this quick review of Los Angeles–based Kamasi’s new album, The Epic. Known mainly for his tenor playing, following in the traditions of John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman, Kamasi is modern jazz, or the future of it, but he’s making waves right now. The Epic is epic: it’s a triple CD release, a must-see in concert. Only then will you understand the full velocity and power of his music.

3

kamasiwashington.com

4. Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment Surf LP (iTunes) Released as an exclusive free download on iTunes at the end of May this year, the LP Surf is a product of the band The Social Experiment. Highlighted throughout the album is the work of trumpeter Nico Segal, aka Donnie Trumpet. Highly anticipated for The Social Experiment’s inclusion of Chance The Rapper as an official band member, Surf has a clear devotion to the art of a new cool, a bohemian mesh of musicians enjoying the process of making music with live instrumentation, and meshing eclectic influences, ranging from neo soul to jazz and hip-hop. The Social Experiment consists of Donnie Trumpet, Chance The Rapper, Peter Cottontale, Greg Landfair Jr., and Nate Fox. Surf guest-features current heavyweights in the game, including Big Sean, J. Cole, Janelle Monáe, and new kid on the block Raury.

4

donnietrumpet.com 5. Thundercat The Beyond / Where The Giants Roam EP (Brainfeeder) To my enthusiastic enjoyment, Los Angeles–based Thundercat, one of my current favorite artists period, given best-in-the-universe status by some of my peers, has just released a new project, an EP titled The Beyond / Where the Giants Roam. Some of my favorite work from artists I dig can come from an EP release. It’s usually more daring and experimental, yet not too far from their familiar sound, taking you to new places with it or deeper, case in point here.

The Beyond, Thundercat’s third release following his solo debut album, Apocalypse, has Thundercat showing he is currently in a creative prime. Fresh off guest appearances and studio work on albums like Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly, with this new release Thundercat is again establishing his own imprint on modern jazz and soul with futuristic incantations for mediation. The EP features a modern jazz vanguard of musicians, including Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, Flying Lotus, Kamasi Washington, and jazzfuturist pioneer Herbie Hancock. (Also see: Suicidal Tendencies, no joke) brainfeeder.net/thundercat

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5

EVA MURRAY RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME, RIGHT STUFF Interview by Chad Hall Photography by daniel garcia

Your description of yourself?

A sweet, crazy but harmless, ebullient, even ditzy, daydreamer who occasionally is possessed by the daemon.

I’m the author of a new book of photos and essays, Where Did San Francisco Go?, just published via Blurb. com; a novel, The Odyssey of Izzy, the second edition just released, edited by San Francisco author Michelle Richmond; and a collection of short stories, Something Came Over Me. I went to Camp NaNoWriMo in July and wrote 50,000 words toward my second novel, Silicon Valley Zombie.

What does success mean to you?

It’s not about the money. Write if you want to. Write if you love it and hate it. Steven Soderbergh said, “Success equals talent + luck + perseverance.” I agree. Don’t give up. Unless you want to.

Much success is being in the right place at the right time, so learn to run through every door that opens, and knock on closed ones until no one answers and you move to the next door. No matter what, love your life.

What’s the best creative advice you’ve ever received?

Write on the holidays and vacations. Get a support Who are your strongest influences? system because writing is lonely. Celebrate your own James Joyce, Raymond Carver, Ron Carlson, Jack achievements. Get an MFA when you have something to Kerouac, Tatyana Tolstoy, Grace Paley. write about—I got mine in my 30s, and I had childhood, What book would you give someone in hopes of inspiring marriage, school, oh, and war, to write about. greatness?

On Becoming a Novelist by John Gardner, the aspiring novelist’s primer. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. One of Raymond Carver’s short story collections.

Shakespeare’s plays.

Content Magazine Literary Series is curated by Santa Clara County Poet Laureate David Perez

**** When the mechanic at the Travel Stop tells us the alternator needs replacing, I listen to Nellie’s message. Her voice always goes into under-drive when she’s scared. “I know you are on the highway, so you probably can’t call until you find a phone.” So I call Nellie.

“Mom?” There is hysteria in silence.

“Mom, it’s Eliza. I’m okay.” When I explain about the alternator, she begins to speak. I tell her I’ll be home by lunchtime.

“It’s always something with you, isn’t it, Eliza?” she says, her voice low and even, as I hang up.

By the time I swing onto I-29 that saws Nebraska and Iowa into two long halves of one boring drive, the Escort is percolating behind the magenta rig, its exhaust pipes like silver wings against the sky. We hum past cattle trailers, horns and hooves through slats trucked away, and we are doing ninety-five.

Mickey’s got a fuzz buster.

Soon we pass great man-made muddy lakes with sandy bottoms where we swam on Saturdays in high school, under sunshine bigger than the sky, in water that rolled off our laughter. Around those square pits under the bright blue sky, we watched big rigs swoon, cutting corners on the on-ramps, swinging onto the interstate highway. We wiggled our toes in the wet sand bottom, wriggled in our bikinis. We waved and smiled after the cows and sheep and chestnut mares, we shaded our eyes with our hands.

I have to get back, back to sun-perfect days where corn tassels brush and kiss the clouds, where fingers of moonlight reach to stroke me. I see my brothers and sisters on the dirty beach, see them in rows of cornstalks nine feet high. I see Ray Z. and Dirk, racing across a field of summer wheat.

Where are they? Where are we now? I am in a cocoon of sunlight and asphalt, and in this faux summer, I must get home, like Bloom to his Molly, like Odysseus to his queen.

****

facebook: evamurray

Excerpt: From Chapter 7, “Faux Spring,” in The Odyssey of Izzy

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SU M T W SJ Mini Maker Faire

6 Showcases makers, inventors, tinkerers, artists, builders, crafters, and many other creative individuals.

History Park makerfairesanjose.com

Modern Times:

6

Motown On Mondays

7 A convergence of DJs, producers, musicians, and music enthusiasts who share a passion for soul music and dancing.

Jazz Jam at The Hedley Club

Hotel De Anza Weekly sanjosejazz.org

Paint Nite

San Jose Poetry Slam

COntent Pick-Up Party

Cantor Arts Center through Sept 21, 2015 museum.stanford.edu

P.F. Chang’s Sunnyvale paintnite.com

15 Poets perform their work and are judged based on both the content and the performance of the work.

Fahrenheit Lounge every 3rd Tues facebook: San Jose Poetry Slam

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An opportunity to play and network with other musicians.

If you’re not a musician, sneak in to witness the best-known, unknown, and soon-to-beknown jazz artists jamming.

Rockbar Theater rockbartheater.com

An exhibition exploring the relationship of three artists, both through their artwork and the correspondence they maintained.

SoFA Sundays

1 Get up on stage and sing karaoke favorites with a real, live rock ‘n’ roll band playing backup.

the Continental Bar weekly Motownonmondays.com

21 Shake up a night out with friends by mixing artistic and alcoholic spirits, hosted at a local hot spot. A master artist leads everyone through the steps to create a masterpiece—no painting experience needed.

O’Keeffe, Stieglitz, and Toomer

Rock-A-Roke

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issue 7.4 “PHASE”

From startup to launch into expansion and development— everyone and everything is in some phase of a journey. Join us as we discover the process and phases of our valley.

The Rock Bar Theater content-magazine.com

A Creative Journey:

13 One Sunday each month the South First Arts District presents art, performances, music, and food to the community.

KALEID’s Two Buck Tuesday

A unique night to get together with great artists and see what’s up in the arts community. There will be live painting/drawing, workshops, music, and $2 original art for sale.

Kohanim will give unparalleled access to his production methods for his upcoming book Luminosa with Cirque du Soleil’s extraordinary performers.

Gore Park facebook: sofasundaysanjose

KALEID Gallery kaleidgallery.com

Palo Alto Camera Club pacamera.com

Viva Calle SJ

11 People and communities come together to walk, bike, skate, play, and explore the city like never before.

San Jose vivacallesj.org

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Photographer Parish Kohanim

COntent Calendar

SEPT/OCT

TH F S COntent Labs

San Jose Bike Party

Made Up Theatre

Blanco Square Ticketed event/Limited space content-magazine.com

Various South Bay Locations every 3rd fri sjbikeparty.org

Made Up Theatre madeuptheatre.com

Fashion Fight Back

Masterpieces and Mad Genius

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Tiki & Typography

A hands-on mashup of the best of Tiki culture and the art of Typography. Add in a creative culture network hangout and you have LAB #2 of our bimonthly series.

1 A night of fashion, culture, and community honoring and celebrating breast cancer survivors. View the latest fashion from Latino designers.

18 See the city, talk to strangers, escape the insulated bubble of your car, break free from the confinement of the cubicle.

San Jose Bike Party builds community through bicycling.

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sjDANCEco’s home season event at the California features a provocative performance by a contemporary dance company.

California Theatre Oct 16-17 sjdanceco.org

San Jose Woman’s Club modernlatina.com

SJSFF

8 The 7th Annual San Jose International Short Film Festival brings together filmmakers, industry executives, and Silicon Valley notables and celebrities, to mix and mingle with audiences.

Winchester Mystery 16 House Flashlight Tours

CineArts Theater in Santana Row Oct 8-11 sjsff.com

Winchester Mystery House Oct 16-31 winchestermysteryhouse.com

C2SV:

8

CREATIVE CONVERGENCE SILICON VALLEY

Explore the nexus of cuttingedge technologies and creative arts through renowned keynotes, industry panels, interactive demos, cocktail parties, and live music performances.

California Theatre Oct 8-10 c2sv.com

Tour the Winchester Mystery House at night with only a flashlight, and enjoy entertainment from magicians, balloon artistis, and caricature illustrators.

#ContentPick

5 Enjoy short-form improvisation in the style of Whose Line Is It Anyway? or long-form improv developing a 45- to a 60-minute movie.

Luna Park Chalk Art Festival

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Over 6,000 artists, students, vendors, and community members spend a colorful day creating more than 150 pieces of diverse art throughout the park’s pathways.

Backesto Park lunaparkchalkart.org

Daydream Nation

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A series showcasing indie and alternative music on fourth Sundays. Bands curated by Grand Fanlie Presents and in association with S*ALT Radio.

San Pedro Square Market facebook: savealternative

Oktoberfest

17 Campbell’s Oktoberfest features German food, beer and wine, live music, and over 100 arts and crafts vendors.

Downtown Campbell Oct 17-18 downtowncampbell.com

To have your event considered for listing, send to: press@content-magazine.com

LABS

gatherings for culture creatives Content magazine’s first LAB, “Bourbon & Branding,” was a sold-out hit. Hosted

by Decca Design in their outdoor patio, it was a night of networking and engaging with some of South Bay’s best Culture Creatives. Guests included Danny Harris from the Knight Foundation, Barry Lai from Design Rehab, David Ocampo from Milagro Marketing, Sheila Hatch and Natasha Kramskaya from Decca Design, Danny Halvorson from WebEnertia, Yori & Dana from School of Visual Philosophy, and Jeff Gardner, senior designer at Liquid Agency.

The evening began with a guided bourbon and whiskey tasting by Douglas Smith from Whiskies of the World. Pours were perfectly paired with goat cheese–filled filo dough cigars, a beautiful assortment of rare cheeses, duck and fennel sausage, figs and other fresh fruit, white fish salad over lightly toasted crostini, and a bourbon bread pudding. All food was prepared onsite and beautifully plated by Parsley Sage Rosemary & Thyme (PSRT). Items on the menu were selected by Sommelier Debbie Blackwell, co-owner of PSRT. Guests met and mingled with local art and marketing directors, culture creatives, and entrepreneurs and heard inspiring insights from Barry Lai, founder of Design Rehab.

He emphasized the importance of knowing your client and showing empathy in your branding work, but declared, “I am designing for the end-consumer though I am hired by the client.”

The evening continued with guests learning hands-on about the secrets to crafting a whiskey sour with the perfect froth texture. Guests then dove into some customized iron branding. It was an unforgettable start to Content magazine’s new line of networking events, known as Content LABS. We’d like to thank the Bourbon & Branding event sponsors: The Knight Foundation, Parsley Sage Rosemary & Thyme (PSRT), Whiskies of the World, Decca Design, Design Rehab, San Jose Jazz, WebEnertia, Milagro Marketing, and School of Visual Philosophy. Thank you for supporting the South Bay’s creative culture.

Stay tuned for more information on Content magazine’s next LAB:

Tiki & Typography September 17, 2015

Contributors The production of Content Magazine would not be possible without the talented writers, editors, graphic artists, and photographers who contribute to each issue. We thank you and are proud to provide a publication to display your work. We are also thankful for the sponsors and readers who have supported this magazine through advertisements and subscriptions.

KEVIN BIGGERS Kevin is the content strategist for SJMADE, as well as a writer. You can find his pop culture, internet culture, and food writing at medium.com/crack-cobain and his sports writing at medium.com/@crackcobain. social media: crackcobain SJMADE

MARK CHUA A photographer in love with fashion and street photography, Mark was born in Manila, but has spent half his life in San Jose. He picked up his first camera when fashion first called to him. His primary focus is his family and documenting the lives of his wife and two daughters.

VISUALSBYMARK.COM

WES KATAYAMA San Jose born and raised, Wes is the account manager for Beans & Croydon, a media and design group located in San Jose. He currently splits time between Santa Cruz and his hometown and hopes to give future generations more reasons to fall in love with the city he calls home. instagram: wesleytokio beansandcroydon

ODILE SULLIVAN-TARAZI Odile has worked the last 25 years as an editor and a writer in Silicon Valley’s high-tech industry. In coming to Content Magazine, she returns to her roots in the arts and humanities.

And to designing reader experiences that, as well as being informative, are rich, full, and pleasurable.

CHAD HALL Chad is a San Jose–based writer. His first book, Erectile Dysfunction, was released earlier this year by Orchard City Books & Noise. When he’s not adding to his impossibly increasing “To Read” list, he’s working on several film projects and attempting the frightening task of writing a novel. therealchadhall.com

BRANDON ROOS A San Jose native, Brandon E. Roos is a contributing writer to Content, KQED Arts, and Metro. His work often examines the creative voices helping to shape and inspire a more vibrant South Bay. twitter: busstophustle busstophustle.tumblr.com

ANNA BAGIROV Anna is a Bay Area–based social media and marketing professional by day. At heart she is writer, storyteller, and comic. Her passions are the written word, music, and the beach. In her spare time she watches documentaries, drives Highway 1, and searches local farmer’s markets for that perfect heirloom tomato. instagram: freestyleanna

KRISTEN PFUND Kristen is a producer and creative consultant in the Bay Area, with a split interest in the art of film and photography. As an avid international traveler, she’s compelled to tell cultural, visual stories that are both thought-provoking and empower people to take action. instagram: kristen_pfund

Want to be a part of the Content community?

Contact us at: Editor@content-magazine.com

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