Congratulations to Lucy Duarte for being voted by YOU as Commune’s Featured Local in March. I messaged Lucy to congratulate her on winning and to see what she had going on.

1 )  How would you describe your art?

Perhaps it’s a bit shocking at first. I enjoy creating the type of things you don’t necessarily see every day.I tend to have very vivid and intense dreams and I gather a lot of my inspiration from there. I heard some where, a long time ago that Dali had intense dreams and he could train himself  to wake up in the middle of the night and start painting what he saw, I don’t do that exactly, but I do have a sketch book I keep in my nightstand and as soon as I wake up I’ll take notes or sketch what I saw in my dreams, and I’ll use it for reference later.

2) What inspires you?

My dreams, my loved ones, local talented artist, great films, music, traumatic experiences, wonderful experiences. As well as artists like Egon Schiele, Edward Hopper and Shel Silverstein all play a role in inspiring me.

3) Where can people find your art? Any upcoming shows or cool things you are working on?

People can find my art at lucyduarteart.com, or by adding me on facebook. As of right now people can see some of my work up at the Tin Can ale house, in Bankers Hill. I’m working on new pieces now, but at the moment I’m currently consumed with finishing up my portfolio and graduating with a Bachelors Degree in Graphic Design from the Art Institute of San Diego California.

4) What is your favorite thing about Commune?

What I like about Commune is their plan of attack. They don’t come and lecture you as to why smoking is bad, Commune really makes an effort to make quitting fun and informative. They really do a great job getting involved with the community and integrating good health, good music and good art all in one event.

5) Why do you think it’s important to stand up against tobacco corporations?

Tobacco corporations aren’t legally allowed to market their products to children, so their next age group is young adults, ages 18-25. I guess it hits closer to home when I fall under that age group and I see people that I know and love already facing some of the consequences of smoking at such a young age. Tobacco corporations are not only taking money out of our pockets, but most importantly they are taking our lives, if that’s not reason enough to stand up against tobacco corporations, then I don’t know what is.

Congratulations to Josh Edgerton for being voted by YOU as Commune’s Featured Local in February. I messaged Josh to congratulate him on winning and to see what he had going on.

1. How would you describe your art?

I would describe my art as a collection of experiences and ideas that are communicated through non-verbal means. I like the deconstruction of elements, getting at the core of an object or idea and re-assembling into my own frame work. I also like to leave a large portion of the creative process and representation up to the viewer.

2. What inspires you?

I am inspired by new materials, limited resources, unexpected happenings and most of all music.

3. Where can people find your art? Any upcoming shows or cool things you are working on?

People can find out about works of art that I am currently working on and past projects through be.net/mindmutant. Soon I will have pictures up of pieces that are available for purchase and current projects that I am working on. One cool thing that I am working on is for a friends guest registry at their wedding another is finishing up a mural at my house.

4. What is your favorite thing about Commune?

I like commune because it allows a collection of individuals to focus on one idea and represent it in several different ways. And you get a free poster!

5. Why do you think it’s important to stand up against tobacco corporations?

I think it is important to stand up against tobacco corporations because no one else will stand up for you. Most of the dangers and harmful effects of tobacco goes on behind the scenes and goes beyond just the obvious that tobacco causes cancer. Having an event like commune can educate people on why to not smoke cigarettes.

The change of anything in the world starts with you, if you want to change anything in the world all you have to do is change yourself and the world may follow. You are the light into your own life.

CONGRATS again to JOSH EDGERTON for winning Commune featured local. For more on Josh check out the link below:
be.net/mindmutant

If you would like to be part of Commune and stand up for a smokefree scene, contact us at info@jointhecommune.com

Congratulations to Marcus Price for being voted by YOU as Commune’s Featured Local in January. I messaged Marcus to congratulate him on winning and to see what he had going on.

1. How would you describe your art?
Schizophrenic…maybe. I’m a project artist, so almost everything I put my hands on is something I’ve never done before. New techniques. New objectives. I want to learn something new every time I create, so I’m constantly putting myself in unfamiliar waters.

2. What inspires you?
I made a commitment to myself about 3 years ago. I said that if I was going to take myself seriously as an artist, I also would need to take seriously the things that inspire me. As a result I’m on a never ending quest for inspiration, and making time for it has been one of the greatest investments I’ve ever made for myself. This means traveling to new places, spending time with other artists/creatives, studying old recordings, pulling apart radios, fighting with my sewing machine, riding the train, watching and re-watching films. I’ve been watching a lot of old horror movies lately. The hills have eyes, Cronos, The Serpent and the Rainbow, Children of the Corn. It’s rather obvious when you look at the poster/t-shirt I designed for Commune. The particular quote that I used for the design, ‘At some point they begin to crawl”, seemed as though it came to us from a strange, alternate, monstrous existence. It gave me the chills.

3. Where can people find your art? Any upcoming shows or cool things you are working on?
Haha, there’s so much! This next quarter is going to be a busy one. I’m working on a show that’s coming up at the re-gallery in north county. I’ll be teaming up with local San Diego artist, Wes Bruce. We last worked together on an installation show in NYC in 2009 benefiting. I’m not sure how much I can say about it at this point. It’ll be open at the end of March. It’s called ‘The Salton Sea Studies: a Visual Representation of an Indepth Exploration’. I’m also working on a musical project called ‘The Darque’ with my good friend Jahmal Tonge, previously of Thunderheist and The Carps. We met when I was living in NYC playing in a band called “Hussle Club”.  I think this may actually be the first public announcement for The Darque…

Outside of that , my most recent endeavor has been designing a line of travel bags. The project is called Toil + Trouble, and it was originally born out of my obsession with pockets and bags. My goal with every piece is to create high quality canvas and leather goods that evoke both nostalgia and inventiveness. I’ve spent a good amount of time skateboarding around the LA fashion district looking for the best materials and components. It’s been a great experience.

My freelance work can be found under the name All City Design.

4. What is your favorite thing about Commune?  (more…)

Congratulations to Corine Grant,  creator of Hammered pieces for being voted by YOU as Commune’s Featured Local in December. I messaged Corine to congratulate her on winning and to see what rad stuff she had going on.

1.    When did you start Hammered and where do you draw inspiration?

Ever since elementary school I would write notes to myself on the back of my hand. Sometimes it was a line from a book I was reading, a verse from a song, the title of a poem, or something someone said to me. They were always things that motivated and inspired me, made me change my perspective, or just feel happier about life. I planned to get my favorite one tattooed, but I couldn’t pick one because I liked so many.

In 2007, I wanted to create something that I could wear all the time that was simple and didn’t distract from the message. I decided to have someone engrave a word for me on a silver disc and I asked them to punch a hole on both ends. I put a string through the holes and tied a knot to keep it on.

Eventually, I took an hour long class at the Spanish Village to learn how to stamp. I first starting doing this for myself – but soon realized that everyone can relate to needing a bit of encouragement. One thing led to another and before I knew it, I was selling these bracelets to stores all over San Diego and shipping online orders as far away as Norway, Hong Kong, and Australia. Then stores across the country started placing orders and things took off.

I’m inspired by my parents, my family and friends. People who were told that they couldn’t do something, but managed to do it anyway through hard work and a strong desire to succeed. A good example is my great-uncle Edward who started as a black caddy at a white only country club. He went on to open Grant’s Lounge, one of the first non-segregated clubs in Georgia. A place where anyone could go and watch Tom Petty, Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Allman Brothers, and Eric Clapton play. Whenever I feel like I can’t do something, I look at my family and friends and see what they were able to accomplish and this motivates me.

2. How did you come up with the name?

I use a hammer to stamp every single letter onto my pieces. It’s the most important tool that I use and the name Hammered just sounded better than Stamped.

3. Where can people find your stuff? Any upcoming shows or cool things you are working on? (more…)

Congratulations to Andre Power for being voted by YOU as Commune’s Featured Local of the month. I messaged Andre to congratulate him on winning and to see what rad stuff he had going on.

1. How would you describe your art?

Majority of my art is a reflection of the person viewing it as well as the things in our surroundings that release energy. I consider every piece created a visual translation of LOVE. Every piece I create, whatever medium it may be, is intended to give the viewer a bright light of joy within, so that vibe comes out of my subconscious with every stroke of the brush. My art possesses vidid colors, recognizable items and people from American pop culture as well as my interpretation of the female form.

2. What inspires you?

LIFE is my main inspiration. Each day of life that I live adds more fuel to my artistic engine. Interaction with the people i encounter each day gives me what I need to create. As far back as I can remember my main goal  has always been to help others around me in any way that I can and I feel that I am a vessel for creation and inspiration so I tend to focus most of my energy in pushing others to fulfill their creative desires and ispiring them to create. Inspiring others inspires me.

3. Where can people find your art? Any upcoming shows or cool things you are working on?

I try to be as active in the San Diego and Los Angeles art communities as I possibly can - there are always events added to my calendar daily. Social networks like Facebook and Twitter seem to be the best way to build a personal relationship with everyone I meet so that is the best place to find out about where my art is around Southern California and the best way to stay on top of the events I curate and am featured in. At the moment I have 2 monthly events, both at Bluefoot Bar & Lounge in North Park. The one I’m most proud of, and a favorite to many of the locals is “Art in the Park“ , which is held at Bluefoot every 1st Thursday. This event is special to me in so many ways but is also unique because we focus on Live Art and the process of creating so every event you will see at least 10 live artists painting during the event, as well as creative vendors, amazing music and sometimes ever catered vegetarian soul food. The second event is “Steez” - a trunk show, which is held every 3rd Tuesday. Steez is a showcase of vintage fashion, street apparel and hand-made jewelry. Both Art In The Park and Steez are free and are always great for meeting and networking with local artists and amazing people in general.

Last but not least in early 2012, I will be launching Punctilio Project with Eden Hagos where we will provide people with recycles, reused and renewed men’s & women’s clothing that we’ve hand-picked from thrift and vintage stores all over the country. This project will provide more than just the product for a customer, but a full fashion/art experience as well as awareness about shopping thrift.

4. What is your favorite thing about Commune? (more…)

Congratulations to So Many Wizards for being voted by YOU as Commune’s Featured Local of the month. I messaged Nima to congratulate him on winning and also to get the dirt on what So Many Wizards has going on.

1. How long have you guys been playing together and how did you come up with the name So Many Wizards?

I started So Many Wizards as a solo project in late 2008 but we’ve been playing together as a full band for about 2 years.  I got the name from an excerpt out of my favorite book of all time, DON QUIXOTE.

2. How would you describe your music?

Our music is hard to pin down, but running constant is a dreamy quality to it. Maybe because of all the reverb I use?

3. What’s one interesting fact about each person in the band?

I (Nima) used to have Night Terrors and OCD.

Frank is a die hard Leonard Nemoy fan.

Erik once wore LAKERS sweatpants for a month straight as a child.

4. Do you guys have anything exciting coming up that people should keep their eye out for?

People should look out for our upcoming show with LORD HURON and WRITER November 12th at SUNSET TEMPLE in North Park. It’s part of Sezio’s 4 day weekend festival! We’re also working on an LP!

5.What’s your favorite thing about Commune?

My favorite thing about Commune is the amazingly tailored shows you guys put on and the cause behind them.

6. Why do you think it’s important to take a stand against Big Tobacco?

If we don’t take a stand against Big TOBACCO, they will devour us all.

7. Anything else you want people to know about So Many Wizards?

We love playing in San Diego and appreciate making new friends every time. Once more, look out for our epic full length in the New Year.

CONGRATS again to So Many Wizards for winning Commune featured local. For more on So Many Wizards check them out here.

If you would like to be part of Commune and stand up for a smokefree scene, contact us at jointhecommune@gmail.com

Congratulations to Farrell Lynn for being voted by YOU as Commune’s Featured Local of the month. I met up with Farrell to congratulate him on winning and also to get the dirt on what he has going on

“You almost even feel bad for the companies…it seems like these big tobacco businesses’ addiction to money is turning their hearts black.” – Dr. Seahorse

Dr. Seahorse is one of those types of musical ensembles that isn’t really easy to categorize. They have elements of a few different genres but at the end of the day, they are what their fans perceive – and for the band’s 2 members, that’s fine with them.

Mark and Trevor describe their music as electronic, indie-pop and soul but the genre lines aren’t that clearly defined. Dr. Seahorse tries to encompass their sound into words by describing it as “Michael Jackson meets Postal Service meets Wes Anderson,” if that doesn’t do it for ya, one of their favorite fan descriptions is “Adele as a breakdancing dude dressed as an unassuming hipster.” Clearly, there is a lot going on here.

Trevor and Mark never initially intended to even be in a band together. Trevor was working on his own solo music and asked Mark to work on some remixes for him. When he got the tracks back, he was so into them that he asked Mark to start a side project with him and 2 years later, we all love and enjoy the most educated fish ever, Dr. Seahorse.

About the band:

Mark - grew up playing drumline in Colorado and became part of the Denver Blue Knights drumline winning a WGI championship.

Trevor - was the only white kid singing in an all African American gospel choir but as he grew up he became a shy bass player in a punk rock band and no one knew he sang.

CONGRATS again to Dr. Seahorse for winning Commune featured local. For more on Dr. Seahorse check them out here.

“We admire Commune for its ambitious goal to get all these hipsters to quit smoking” – Ghostline

The three members of Ghostline are no strangers to musical projects, having been in various bands for about three years. Collectively, they have been in Ghostline for about one.

What does Ghostline mean? Nothing. Moving on…

The band describes their sound as “a fine wine chased with a shot of cheap whiskey.” They went on to explain that their work is continuously evolving, therefore being ‘content’ isn’t really an accurate way to describe something that never stops. Ghostline has been known to tweak, edit or change songs live and just sort of go with the flow. Keeping things unpredictable means keeping them exciting.

The boys in the band are currently working on their debut full-length and until that masterpiece blesses your ears, you can check out their write up in Voice of San Diego.

Amusing tidbits about the band:

Patrick – Listens to NPR in the dark…all day

Brian – Is an aspiring stand up comedian

Chris – Holds  strong disdain for crossing guards

Congrats again to Ghostline for winning Commune Featured Local! For more on Ghostline check them out here.