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First Night Austin 2010 Artists
See more 2010 artists here...
Artificial Life Preserver
Artificial Life Preserver has been creating ambient electro-acoustic soundscapes since 2006. The ALP live set features Jen Mulhern on the cello, Mike hale on the drums, and Aaron Anthony on the sequencer. ALP covers a wide veriety of sonic landscape from ambient downtempo to electro-acoustic breaks. In conjunction with First Night Austin, Artificial Life Preserver is proud to bring you the amazing visual artistry of Paul Baker. Beginning with 8mm film, and moving on to 16mm, analog, and digital formats, Paul Baker has accompanied music with projections for 17+ years. Paul explores intensely minimal organic video patterns, and performs as a dub and space A/V selector.
Austin Bike Zoo
The Austin Bike Zoo Human Powered Puppetry began with the collaborative efforts of artists, bicycle builders, teachers and like minded folks. Our work was born out of a passion to combine the beauty and strength of human movement with the artistry and theatre of puppets and a dedication to creating interactive works which engage our community. The Austin Bike Zoo works to create events which leave smiles on spectators faces, tickle their imaginations and inspire them to further understand the relationship between humans and the mechanical world around them.
Austin Civic Choir - A Choral Celebration
The Choirs of Chorus Austin (Austin Civic Chorus, Austin Vocal Arts Ensemble, and Chorus Austin Consort), Ryan Heller, Artistic Director and Conductor- will present A Choral Celebration! The early performance will feature a family friendly sing along led by the Chorus Austin Consort and Ryan Heller. Music will include favorite holiday, traditional, and patriotic pieces. This is your chance to celebrate the New Year by raising your voices with us in song!
The evening performance will showcase the combined forces of the Austin Civic Chorus and Austin Vocal Arts Ensemble singing the most spectacular choral masterpieces of all time. Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus, Beethoven’s Choral Finale from the Ninth Symphony, and Orff’s O Fortuna from Carmina Burana (probably the most famous and most recognizable piece of choral music) will all be included. As part of our ongoing mission to build community through vocal music, we hope you will join us ringing in the New Year experiencing some of most glorious music ever written!
Austin Dance India - New Beginnings:
An interactive presentation featuring Indian dance, music, and poetry featuring Anuradha Naimpally, Annelize Machado, Purna Bajekal.
Austin Discovery School – Community Illumination
Austin Discovery School (ADS) is a tuition-free, innovative charter school that serves children in grades K-6. Our fresh approach to education emphasizes social responsibility, good health, and environmental stewardship while pursuing a rigorous academic program. Our Zero-Waste approach is featured by student-made lanterns, artwork, and musical instruments constructed of re-purposed recyclable materials. We are accompanied by art bikes made from bicycles donated to ADS and repaired by students, staff, and parents. Flickering homemade lanterns light up familiar faces as they march down Congress Avenue. Parents, teachers, and children sing joyfully. Custom crafted instruments keep a steady beat. Art bikes decorated with recycled materials and illuminated by colorful LED lights pedal slowly past. A school banner announces the Austin Discovery School community.
Austin Experimental Artists - Art Balloons
The LED-lit balloons seen around the parade route this year are part of an experiment in collaboration through Austin Experimental Artists. This open-ended group exists to help cross-fertilize collaborations between artists in different media and across different communities. 100 Art Balloons will be handed out earlier in the evening. They are meant to be shared, traded, and passed from person to person during First Night. The packets of art at the end of each balloon string can be kept by whoever discards the balloon at the end of the night. All of the art in the packets was gathered through an open call for submissions. How many can you see before the night is through? Austin Experimental Artists is an open Facebook group: http://tr.im/atxperimental
Austin Rowing Club - Aqua Parade
Austin Rowing Club is a 501c3 organization dedicated to promoting the sport of rowing in Austin, Texas. We offer a variety of affordable rowing programs for junior and adult rowers. Each year, we host three nationally recognized rowing events at Lady Bird Lake, and send our own rowers to competitions all over the world. Rowing is a low-impact, total-body sport which involves elements of strength and cardiovascular fitness. Whether you are an experienced rower, or brand new to the sport, we welcome you to Austin Rowing Club.
The Austin School for the Performing and Visual Arts
The Austin School for the Performing and Visual Arts (ASPVA) is excited to showcase their YouthCast Choice Award Winners. Students of all ages compete for prizes in a variety of genres before a panel of industry professionals at The Long Center during our fall and spring seasons. These young singers and dancers will engage audiences with their remarkable talent and desire to entertain every chance they get!
Austin Shakespeare
Cheer on Austin Shakespeare's fastest, finest actors in this uproarious abridgement of Shakespeare's masterpiece. Starring award-winning actor and New Orleans transplant Justin Scalise and Esther's Follies showstopper Ted Meredith. Kid-friendly direction from Beth Burns. Join the fun as they "speak the speech trippingly on the tongue." Really, really trippingly.
Austin Taiko
Taiko means "great drum" in Japanese. Austin Taiko performs synchronized drum songs on large barrel-shaped drums made from wood with cowhide heads. The use of the drum is centuries old in Japan and many other cultures as a form of communication. The audience will hear the dynamic rhythms of the drums and see the choreography of the playing technique. Taiko, when played by a rehearsed team, can be done by ordinary people, who practice together to accomplish something that is quite complicated, impressive, and a lot of fun.
Baha'is of San Marcos – We are the Flowers of One Garden
Baha'is of San Marcos present "We Are the Flowers of One Garden." Bahai's are guided by the belief that "The earth is but one country and mankind its citizens." Worldwide, Baha'is live in over 200 countries and territories, represent about 2,100 ethnicities and tribal groups, and have had their scriptures translated into 800 languages. We are all about celebrating diversity and peaceful unity! San Marcos and Greater Austin Area Baha'is will walk the parade in diverse traditional costumes, holding up our World Citizens Puppets and chains of flowers to remind everyone that the most beautiful gardens display a wide range of blossoms and foliage. Thus should it be with a just and unified human society--diverse and wonderful.
Rebecca Bass - Dragon “Z”
"I have had the pleasure of creating 26 art cars, most with my students in Houston ISD, and have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of the art car movement. My “daily driver” is called “Dragon Z” and was completed in my driveway a few years ago with the help of my 15 year old four-legged best friend, Oso, shortly before he left this world. My son, Travis Smith, painted the fairy on top and I used mirror mosaic to make the Dragon Z.
Steve Bernal - The Shape of Sound
Music flows through space, free to go, uncontrolled, loud or not.. The goal for this piece is to transport you, the listener, somewhere other than where you actually stand. Every sound you hear is generated from a single 'cello, and our city. Cars, voices, engines, and wind can all be sources of musical sensation. I hope that this New Year's Eve can be a memory of something heard and felt as a token of the prize for another good orbit.
Bonnie Blue - The Women Rock ArtCar
"The Women that Rock Artcar" was created by Bonnie Blue, aka the "Rock Lady" from a Chevy Astrovan. This car truly celebrates strong and important women. Every two years the faces on it are changed to celebrate a different women who rocks. The Women that Rock Artcar has travel to 10 states, entertained thousands of onlookers, and has won an array of awards at various Artcar parades and festivals.
The Blue Hit
Consisting of a cello, a guitar, and a female voice, The Blue Hit has created a highly innovative sound with remarkable character. The simplicity of their unique instrumentation embraces folk philosophy, yet it shies away from traditional musical structure almost altogether, playing with modal scales and unpredictable melodies that please the ear and rouse the soul. The effect is captivating; presented with theatrical energy and painstaking attention to detail, they are unforgettable. They were formed in Austin in the summer of 2007, and have been gathering momentum quickly across the US among a bursting scene of music-lovers and musicians, artists and poets, and anyone who stops to listen.
Stephanie Briggs
“Dripping with imagery” is how Stephanie Briggs’ music has been described. You can’t fit this music into just one genre. Folk rock, Americana, punk might help to describe the music of Stephanie Briggs, but after seeing a live show you’ll just know it’s great original music. Be ready for an all on visually stimulating as well as ear perking live show as Stephanie brings some of her artistic creativity to each show!
Terry Brooks - Illuminaughty
Illuminaughty is a 28’ long, 1988 Lincoln Town Car stretch limousine. The basic premise is one of light and it encompasses all forms of light. The exterior is covered in gold holographic foil representing iridescence. If you look at it in the sunlight, or any strong white light, you will see all the colors of the rainbow.
Kenny Browning - Iron Maiden
The Iron Maiden is a 1983 Jeep CJ7. The snakes on the sides are made of stainless steel and copper. The scales took 15 minutes each to make. The snakes' tails are 1959 Cadillac taillights. The flames on the hood are copper and brass. The windshield is two rear side windows from a 1980 Pinto Station Wagon.
Church of the Friendly Ghost
There are a total of 4 artist/ensemblesunder the C.O.T.F.G. star at First Night Austin on New year's Eve. 2 are from Texas and 2 are not.
Performances at the Star Gazebo Stage will begin at 8:30, each about 40 minutes in duration, and will proceed in this order:
We’ll begin with Cornelius Van Stafrin III, a compelling sound artist from the northern reaches of Los Angeles. At C.O.T.F.G. we’re interested in the way that sound art falls in spaces between musical performance and contemporary media art. If you can manage to meditate for a few moments at the Ladybird Lake Gazebo, and let the landscape of First Night Austin celebrants wash over you to the adventurous undercurrents of American sound art that’s is happening right now, the firework display may sparkle in higher relief.
http://www.myspace.com/corneliusfvanstafrinthe3rd
Following is Ghost to Falco from Portland, OR; pulling the evening’s performance a little closer to the center from the further reaches of avante garde. The sounds of Ghost to Falco are evocative of psychedelic troubadours and post rock, combining song craft and contemporary sound art with a view toward texture and structure. http://www.myspace.com/ghosttofalco
Geoff Reacher is to play the headlining spot, and we’re delighted to give you an opportunity to hear this local dude so you can claim fanship before he gets cool. His approach to crafting songs is cunning, sophisticated, and acidly clever as it is entertaining, fun, and musically rich. This is electro-acoustic country soul, shining like a glass tomb in the black river. Never heard of that before? Don't worry about it, just make it a point to stop by and hear him. Geoff is truly a feast for the ears, and he never slacked on his homework. http://www.myspace.com/geoffreacher
Ending up the evening is old school noise from Denton TX, ladies and gents, kiddos and doggies; the one and only Zanzibar Snails. Their set may well be in direct competition with the fireworks, and I guarantee they’ll make every effort to rise above, delight, and terrify. Texas proud hardcore improvisation to the backdrop of 2010 fireworks! Bonus, the C.O.T.F.G. gazebo stage is the best seat in the house for the display! http://www.myspace.com/zanzibarsnails
All the while, in the bushes nearby...
A Chris Petkus sound installation:
"WHISKEY CIGARS AND OLD PINK FLOYD RECORDS IN G MINOR, iteration 2." With four CD players, each generating random tones in the key of G minor.
The Cipher
The Cipher is on a mission to spit the truth, to save hip-hop, to change the game. In contrast to a mainstream rap industry rife with misogyny and under frequent fire for bombastic sexism, this group of young hip-hop artists puts respect front and center in their guiding philosophy. They have a fiery intensity when they share their hearts, souls and some good-natured braggadocio! All of the music they will share is original and written by the youth. The Cipher will be joined by dance group Outta Kontrol. The Cipher-Austin's Hip Hop Project is a nonprofit youth development organization that works with youth through twice weekly sessions that focus on using their art as a platform for political and social change. http://www.thecipheratx.org
Clickety Cloggers
Ring in the New Year with Austin's Clickety Cloggers and find out what many in Austin already know - these dancers from Central Texas know how to keep a crowd entertained. The energetic clogging team is dedicated to keeping alive a uniquely American dance form and the dancers do it through fast-paced, creatively choreographed routines to bluegrass, country and contemporary tunes. Watch their fancy foot work and then see if you can master some of the intricate steps when the team invites everyone to join them on the dance floor in an always popular audience participation segment.
Community Art Makers - Dorothy
Community Art Makers returns to First Night with an incendiary piece certain to capture your attention and illuminate your imagination. "Dorothy" stands over three stories tall and, in all her fiery glory, reminds you that there's, "no time like now!" to celebrate this First Night of 2010. Come capture the moment with our cast of Dorothies and the enclosed Big Beauty herself - a 36 foot tall vortex of flame. Stand within a few feet of the three story column of spinning, colored fire as it rises into the night.
The Daze
The Daze is a three-piece rock and roll band from Austin, Texas. The Daze aspire to the raw grit of Zeppelin and The White Stripes while thinking in arrangement-focused mindset of The Beatles or The Strokes. We are influenced by everything we hear, and make it a point not to limit ourselves into one style or sound. We sound like one guitar, one bass, a drum kit and a singer. We try to make songs in such a way that they’ll stand up to scrutiny.
Diverse Space Dance Theatre - Thirst, From Loss to Grace
A choreographic collaboration in celebration of the lives of our loved ones who have departed. In partnership with For the Love of Christi Organization, this is a eulogy to the Austin artists who perished in 2009. THE audience will have an opportunity to PARTICIPATE by adding the names of their lost ones to our installation. This year Austin has lost several of its artistic luminaries, we want to express our thanks for their brief yet vital presence in our lives!
In honor of Lucia Rodriguez, Tina Marsh, Amy Farris and Robin Shivers (and we will add to this when we have a complete list from Michael Barnes at the Statesman).
Choreography by Toni Bravo, Sharon Marroquin, Orlando Casnove and Christopher Swain. Music by Creative Oportunity Orchestra and Russ Smith.
E.G.A.D. - The Human Powered, Road Going, Viking Boat
The Viking Boat is a 45-foot long road going craft powered by twelve rowers and driven by a single helmsman. The vessel is the brainchild of Austin artist Matt Norris, who built it over a period of two years. In the process, Matt designed a custom steering system, engineered a new transmission system, as well as, resurrected ancient Viking aesthetics. The Viking Boat project was funded by E.G.A.D! Adventure Capital, a group that pulls together funding for various arts and creative projects. To learn more about E.G.A.D!, visit www.egadvc.com.
Foot Patrol – First Night / Foot Night
Foot Patrol is a band that puts the "fun" back in funk. Voted as the fans' favorite band at the 2008 Texas Rollergirls' Whammy Awards, Foot Patrol has created quite a sensation around town as a "must see" live act. Their combination of humor, showmanship, and musical skill appeals to a wide variety of audiences. Foot Patrol is a band that could only have originated in Austin, for they truly embody the best attributes of this city. They are ethnically diverse, musically daring and uncompromising, and definitely weird in the best sense.
Gravelwhip - Get Your Whippin’ Austin
Gravelwhip is a 4 piece Rocking Boogie experience straight from the heart with new original music culminating over 12 years on stages and practice halls around the Austin area. Written and composed from the roots of Austin music, Classic Rock and boosted with the new Jazz driven backline and Boogie Bass complimented with guitar riffs from our new member we are sending your senses on a magical dream. Unpretentious lyrics and melodies with tasty experienced musicians who believe in performing live to keep music "Live & Alive" in Austin, Texas. "Come Get Your Whippin'" with Gravelwhip.
See more 2010 artists here...
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