Amoeba's Art Explosion

Shuffling feet, laughter, subdued mingling. Then the sound of a sonic boom, one that shook the windows and even the very floor I stood on. I whipped my head around and out the window I saw a ball of fire dissipating in the air above the Nexus Gallery on Friday night, April 21st. After the dust settled, most people glanced around at each other muttering mild to medium concern with amused chuckles. The first boom was followed by several blasts more powerful than a wall of speakers aimed at your guts. How else but with explosions would Amoeba Music kick off it’s first ever employee art show?


Amoeba Music has been around since 1991, but 2006 is a milestone in our little microcosmic community. Our very first art show! Spearheaded by Lori Katz and Naomi Salazar, the inaugural event was a resounding success. The Crucible, a group of volunteers that do all kinds of exciting things with fire, set up outside and entertained the crowd. Alcohol sponsors, Speakeasy Ale and French Rabbit wine added some much-appreciated libation to the event. Not to mention the yummy treats from Say Cheese and Bakesale Betty. Armed with as much cheese, cookies and beer I could juggle while holding my little reporter’s notebook, I began my slow revolution around the room.


Many current and former Amoeba employees from all three stores – Berkeley, San Francisco & Los Angeles – lent their talents to fill the walls of the Nexus Gallery located in a cute warehouse/loft area of Berkeley. Standout pieces were Keala Ramos’ Bea By Numbers (a paint-by numbers of Golden Girl, Bea Arthur), Billy Sprague aka: Galena’s Deer with Rejuvenated Hind Legs, owner Marc Weinstein’s two untitled pieces, Robert Simon’s photographs of Billy Childish, Zak Wilson’ Lauren Bacall (which I personally begged for – not for sale) and many, many others.


Portrait of Blonde Redhead, by Lane Brookshire was tempting enough to trade in my record collection for, with its Renaissance-meets-modern portrait of the somber threesome. Also, his brilliant painting entitled David Sedaris and His Baggage made quite an impression and was quickly snatched up. By the end of the night, several pieces had sold including Dereck Donohue’s collage, Autumn Flower and Naomi Salazar’s photograph, Take a Look. Ms. Salazar explained her subtle, sepia-toned pic as “sexy without really revealing too much.”


BOOM!!!!! There it went again. But soon afterwards, I heard sirens and saw flashing lights in the twilight. The Berkeley Fire Department arrived with a small fire engine and a paramedic rescue vehicle, as did two local police cars. In minutes, the street was closed to traffic, and the officials announced they were responding to a neighbor’s complaint about noise. I’m thinking I’m not surprised, but the guys from The Crucible are clearly irritated. Our two organizers mediated the discussion, walking back and forth from the head fireman to the head fire starter. As I waited for the end result, I noticed The Crucible’s shiny red truck said ‘Educational Response Vehicle’.


After a while, it seemed evident that the fire arts would be shut down. Evidently no permit was obtained to shoot giant fireballs into the sky. Crucible volunteer, Neil, let me in on what was happening. “Some lady got a bug up her ass – she said her paintings were shaking off the walls.” I couldn’t help but laugh and think, well, if she needs new paintings, she should come on over! Eventually, the fire department did close down that part of the night’s festivities due to a public safety issue. They were pretty cool about it, and by the time we left, ‘our side’ had loaded them up with fliers and info.


As I mingled with the various artists, I tried to cull their thoughts on the creative process. Many Amoeba employees were pleasantly surprised to see the hidden talents of their co-workers on display. Zak Wilson of the Berkeley store said, “You work with these people every day and you have no idea what they can do.” When I asked him about his own creative motivations, he stated them simply and perfectly: “I’m an artist who loves art.”


Amoeba’s first art show was a great night out and a definite success. The place was packed, food was eaten, and alcohol was consumed. Even the kids had something to do at the special make-your-own-art crafting table. The art, the fire and the minor scuffle with the Man made for a very fun evening. Amoeba employee, Stacy Young summed it up by saying, “leave it to Amoeba to have drama.” Enough said. – Laura Davis


Nexus Gallery 2707 8thh Street, Berkeley
The Crucible 1260 7th Street, Oakland www.thecrucible.org
6th Annual FireArts Festival – Wednesday through Saturday, July 12-15

Whatever THIS Means!

Dear Laura,

I apologize for the delay in my response. We are currently on Spring Break, and my access to e-mail has been a bit sporadic.

Due to the large number of applicants this year, your application is currently still under review. Lynn Thomson will be in touch with you during the week of April 24th. We greatly appreciate your patience.

Should you have any other questions, please do not hestitate to contact me.

Sincerely,
Lynn Hyde

Today Is Monday

It is also technically tax day, but i'm over all that. i finished my freakin' taxes yesterday and for almost two hours of work, i'm only getting $38 back. so lame! who knew that working in the theater and getting paid for it would come back to bite me in the ass? oh well...

today i'm happy because it's sunny. i never thought i could be put in a good mood by something this simple, but after all this rain, all it takes is a part in the clouds to lift my spirits. i think the whole city's with me on this one, even the bums. all the bums i saw on the way to work were smiling and no one asked me for money. now THAT'S amazing.

tonight we start rehearsals for the new play again (Suzan-Lori Parks' "The Death of the Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World"). i'm not really looking forward to spending all that time at the Exit theater, but i know the show will be amazing, and i'll probably get excited about it later. i just wish that damn theater wasn't so frigging cold all the time! and that we could have some place to rehearse that wasn't in the tenderloin. sometimes that shit is seriously scarey.

lesley and i had a good weekend. yesterday we ate at cha-ya in berkeley, which is pretty much the best restaurant in the bay area. i would never classify myself as someone who likes vegan japanese, but it is so good. i think they put voodoo in it or something. everyone should check it out.

well, it's back to work for me...here's to all my peeps on spring break. i wish i were you!

What It Is - Waiting

OK, I need to get this off my chest.

Basically, I'm going crazy. Not like I'm hearing voices or seeing polar bears or something like that, but a different kind of crazz. I am obsessed OBSESSED with the mailbox.

I do not use the term 'obsessed' lightly here. I have dreams about checking the mail. I have even more daydreams about it. You see, one day in the UNKNOWN FUTURE I will receive freakin' letters from the remaining graduate schools I applied to, and I may just die of anticipation before that. I wake up thinking about it, and I go to bed thinking about it, and I even spend time complaining about it to Lesley before bed.

I cannot deal witht the fact that our future is so unknown. It is killing me. I am being serious when I say that I am entering one of those messy depressions, the kind where I don't leave the house. It has been a really long time since I felt like this and I really don't want to back to that, and yet I feel myself slipping into a downward spiral.

My writing about this is not some kind of dramatic cry for help. It was simply suggested by Carlos that I do a new blog posting. So here it is. I am now seriously considering going home and hiding. I told my friend yesterday that I have arrested development and that I simply cannot progress even in minute ways until I find out which fucking path my life is going to take. I told my other friend who is also waiting that I just might punch the next person who tells me that whatever happens is for the best. How the hell do you know?!!

Really, this state of mind that I'm in - this waiting - is just as irritating as it is devestating. I'm so annoyed with myself right now! Why can't I just snap out of it and 'give it to god' or something? Because it is serious, and it is my future and my wife's future, and if I don't go home on lunch to check the mail, it will be the strongest act of will I've ever made.

Ugh. Shut up now.

Go See This Movie

Wow. So last night Lesley, Damon and I saw V for Vendetta, and I will say that it lived up to the hype I'd been hearing. I'd managed to totally shelter myself from trailers, commercials, reviews and most gossip in order to have my own fresh take on the film. For about 10 seconds in the beginning, Natalie Portman's accent really bugged me. (a notion that was also shared by Damon). After, that though, I was hooked in and believed and enjoyed pretty much ever second of it.
I guess you could call it a cross between Zorro and Phantom of the Opera, but to say that makes it sound kinda stupid. It's also a not-too-veiled and brutal chastising of the American government. The Brothers W seem to be warning us about the state of the nation and showed us a very realistic future.
An action movie that's fantasty based is a good way to get a point across, especially if it's got an anti-government slant. I'm sure that almost anyone I know will love this movie, especially younger people who are pissed off at George Bush and his cronies. SO GO SEE IT!