Full House

Fire Dancer

Black and White Years

Fire Hoop 2

Da Punto Beat

Da Punto Beat

Glow

Peligrosa All Stars

By Michael Barnes | Monday, August 16, 2010, 03:00 PM

A few years back, social arbiter Stephen Moser invited me to a party. “It’s the most decadent date on Austin’s social calendar,” he vowed. I attended attorney and man-about-town Mark Mueller’s summer party at the Austin Music Hall. It was a delicious gathering. But hardly decadent.

Fire Dancer

Had I become unfairly jaded? Well, several Voodoo Cowboy parties later, and I’ve changed my tune. The summer fiesta at the Belmont on Saturday — though competing with Fashion Week’s Bright Lights Idea City, the Ice Ball and a key media star’s birthday party — came this close to a debauch. And true dissolution might have transpired after I departed.

Roberta Riley and Mark Mueller

The jungle theme crouched from the darkness of the Belmont patio, waiting to pounce on unsuspecting guests. Performers had painted skeletons on their bodies. Thundering drums pounded from the stage. Trays of tall tequila sunrises circulated like cheap party favors.

Amber and Jude Galligan

I’m surprised the place didn’t just erupt. A slight breeze helped keep things chill, at least on the upstairs deck. Still, one couldn’t escape the pulsating musical acts (Black & White Years at the time I left), fire dancers and body painters, several of the women joyfully topless. Complete strangers flirted outrageously.

Micah King and Ramzi Chitour

Despite all this happy chaos, I was able to engage in long conversations with model Laura Aiden and her husband, tech specialist Chris; do-righters Turk and Christy Pipkin, record producer David Messier (and, charmingly, his creative real estate broker); band manager Randy Miller; inveterate downtowners Amber and Jude Galligan.

Randy and Diane Miller with David Messier

Touched bases with La Moser; party host Mueller, brandishing his peacock cane; charity promoter Micah King; eatery owner Nilda de la Llata (El Sol y La Luna); former City Council candidate Perla Cavazos; TV’s Michelle Valles; Austin Film Society’s Rebecca Campbell; international music promoter Dave Dart; and countless others.

Michelle Valles with Turk and Christy Pipkin

Mark, I owe you an apology. Nobody in Austin can throw a party quite like you.

Well, this is fresh: A small music event welcoming the SXSW film and interactive folks with an overseas twist. Not an entirely new concept, but this one links the worldwide web of nonprofit pioneers Dart Music International and local entertainment shape-shifter Voodoo Cowboy.

Just making it to Mi Casa for the event was a trip. Sixth Street was at its best. Happy. Energetic. Diverse. And some of those tribes — including a local prosecutor and a Houston visitor who kindly chatted me up — filtered into Mi Casa for the Dart/Voodoo welcome party.

Lisa Wood and Dave Dart

Dave Dart told me about the 40 or so international acts he’s helping at SXSW this week, including a contingent of Chinese acts. (I score a press copy of “The China Invasion Tour 2010: Featuring Bands from Maybe Mars.)

The act onstage while I was tapping away at my laptop was entirely local, including two sons of Voodoo Cowboy’s Mark Mueller — Max and Andy. They threw themselves into a pounding ’70s sound with enthusiasm.

Max Mueller, Mark “Lion King” Mueller and Andy Muelle

Later, I headed to the Peter Wenz / Gym Class Heroes party at the Phoenix, but the line was even longer than at the TechSet party at Speakeasy — and neither line was moving. So what to do? Take a break from SXSW by checking out Score, the new sports sidebar at Oilcan Harry’s. I liked it. Knowledgeable staff. Beer on tap. Four big screens. Watched Kansas State kick Baylor out of the Big 12 tourney, then walked home.

On Earth as it is in Austin.

Joshua has been drawing since early childhood and started painting at the age of eighteen. He married his muse in 2006, and in 2007 they expanded to Austin, Texas. He currently lives in L.A. and works and displays in L.A. and Austin.

After graduating high school in 1996, he spent two years under Celeste Korthase at Celeste Korthase Studios. She introduced him to the broad spectrum of faux finishes, color theory, chemical staining and furniture painting. Joshua used this new knowledge of painting and paired it with his artistic talent to begin his career in the homes of family members. His clientele, as varied as his work, ranges from homeowners to businesses to schools. Joshua’s medium varies, while paint is primary, he also works with all types of illustrating mediums as well as metal & wood, tattooing and computers.

In 2001, Joshua met an influential figure in his career, artist Charles Hanson of C. Hanson Design. Charles gave him that opportunity to broaden his metallurgy skills.  While Joshua was immersed in and inspired by Charles’ creativity he continued developing  new and innovative art techniques .  Custom car builder Dean Bryant of Elegant Customs mentored Joshua while he customizing his chopped ‘73 Coupe Deville. Joshua’s most recent art is taking him increasing into the spiritual/visionary realm. He was an artist is residence at the Peacock House and performed a solo show of his works last Fall.

www.sparart.com

Sacred Fertile

]]> http://www.voodoocowboy.com/voodoo-cowboy-presents-josh-spar-esparza/feed/ 0 http://www.voodoocowboy.com/voodoo-cowboy-presents-darren-minke/ http://www.voodoocowboy.com/voodoo-cowboy-presents-darren-minke/#comments Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:12:58 +0000 admin http://www.voodoocowboy.com/?p=332 Darren Minke is a Visual Alchemist, working with several different mediums to bring his visions to life.  His current digital artwork uses photography that is painstakingly collaged together to create rich and vibrant imagery, that looks more like painting than computer generated graphics.  His stained wood series uses the natural grain of wood panels to determine the images used in the artwork.  He uses overlapping layers of wood stain that is rubbed into the wood to give the final artwork the appearance of polished wood that contains images within.

Darren likes to combine images of the human body, with patterns and forms from the natural world.  His work explores the boundaries between opposing metaphors, archetypes, religious and spiritual beliefs in an attempt to create new stories from the mixture of  symbols.

Darren’s images also reflect the influence of his experiences with altered states, from meditation to psychedelic and shamanistic voyages.  He attempts to capture the essence of these experiences and utilize the imagery of ancient and tribal artwork, which he believes share the influence of such journeys.

Most of his work has a strong feminine character, and he strives to break the stereotypes of gender and resurrect the idea of the divine feminine, in a society and belief system that is strongly patriarchal.  Through the anthropomorphization of the natural world, he is also exploring man’s association with nature and his effects upon his own environment.

www.darrenminke.com

Quetzacoatl - Mayan Serpent of Death and Rebirth

Amanda was born (this lifetime) April 19, 1978 in Denver, Colorado. Her childhood was filled with healthy, tropical, media-free, creative freedom in Florida without the distraction of formal schooling until she entered 4th grade in Colorado. After finishing high school in Boulder, Colorado in 1996 at the Shining Mountain Waldorf School (her high school art teacher was the Fantastic/Visionary artist HIKARU). Her travels and projects bounced her between Bali, Indonesia and Vienna, Austria. Sam Bull from Leap Now helped guide her in connecting with the revolutionary midwife Robin Lim in Bali, and initiating the first contact with the artist and teacher Philip Rubinov Jacobson. After graduating she went to Bali as a volunteer for close to a year, and amongst other projects & exotic distractions, illustrated an herbal book with over 70 indigenous plants and herbs for the Bumi Sehat. She also continued her Batik clothing and design project that she had started in high school with her dear friend Leilea Satori until the year 2000.

Through Philip Rubinov Jacobson in 1996 she was invited to do a private 2 year intensive experiment to study the techniques of painting and etching of the old masters as an apprentice under the classical/fantastic artist Michael Fuchs in Vienna, Austria.

Following this in 1999 he introduced her to his father, internationally famed godfather of Fantastic and Visionary Art, Ernst Fuchs and has since been a student and painting assistant on various projects throughout Europe. Michael taught her to “see” the world around her through the brush and the Old Master techniques in painting. Ernst has reminded her to “listen”, which has opened up other ways of ”seeing” and perceiving.

Since 2000 Amanda has been blessed with sharing a beautiful studio in the WUK, a Chilean culture house in Vienna with her friend and colleague Paula Aguilera Pacheco a sculptor, painter and animator. The WUK has been an amazing playground for learning, creating and discovering new systems of group-interaction and presentation. She served for 2 years as a member of the Board of Directors of the WUK, and then for 6 years as Administrator of one of the major sections of the studio’s and workshops together with Paula, as well as initiating and organizing various events the largest being the ‘MAZE’ an open studio’s event in 2005, this provided her with community, space and time to discover and develop her own visions.

She has exhibited Solo and in Group Shows in Galleries, Salons and in various projects/events worldwide since 1999, including London, Vienna, Munich, Berlin, Bali, Colorado, Seattle, San Francisco and most exotically at Burning Man , hanging next to renowned visionary artists and friends such as Martina Hoffmann and Robert Venosa.

Amanda is currently an artist in residence above the Temple of Visions & Hive Gallery in the Historic Spring Street area of  Downtown Los Angeles. Beyond the bubbling activity in Los Angeles she is involved in various other consciously-progressive-fun projects and galleries scattered around the globe. Amidst a jam packed year of events & exhibitions worldwide, she will be teaching a 3 week long seminar on Visions in the Mischtechnik with Laurence Caruana & Andrew Gonzalez this July in Italy.

www.amandasage.com

Evolution

]]> http://www.voodoocowboy.com/voodoo-cowboy-presents-amanda-sage/feed/ 0 http://www.voodoocowboy.com/maria-bello-nominated-for-spirit-award-for-downloading-nancy/ http://www.voodoocowboy.com/maria-bello-nominated-for-spirit-award-for-downloading-nancy/#comments Thu, 03 Dec 2009 22:53:36 +0000 admin http://www.voodoocowboy.com/?p=279 Maria Bello has been nominated for a Spirit Award as Best Female Lead Actress for her role in “Downloading Nancy”.

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Epic.

That’s the word for the Live at Seaholm After-Party.

The decommissioned smokestacks lit up like inter-planetary transportation devices.

The concrete ribs of the generating room outlined in blue, recalling urban clubs set up in old industrial sites.

Ben May, Juliana Azar, Kristin Owen

Hundreds — perhaps thousands — gathered around the stage for the three musical acts, culminating in Broken Social Scene.

Katie Clark and Alan Case (Generationals)

We spent some time with the Generationals band members. They come from New Orleans, Jesuit-educated and, therefore, pretty worldly yet other-worldly. When we pointed out many musicians had settled here after Hurricane Katrina, one said: “Send them back. We need them.”

PJ Raval, Heidi Bollock and Megan Gilbride

Rare Magazine’s Taylor Perkins, his partner in production, Jason Hicks, and Voodoo Cowboy’s Mark Mueller beamed with pride. (Also expressing pride was Taylor’s father, an oilman down from Houston.)

They should be pleased.

They built the most buzz-about event outside ACL this week. And, as far as I know, it went off without a hitch. We heard members of Phoenix, Kings of Leon and other ACL bands dropped by, but we were out by the witching hour.