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Landscapes Real and Imagined: Dayton Art Institute Exhibition Offers Rare Glimpse of Contemporary Chinese Art (Ticket Contest)

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Maya Lin - "Flow"

(Ticket Contest Details Below)

The Dayton Art Institute’s current special exhibition, Changing Landscapes: Contemporary Chinese Fiber Art, offers a rare look at the world of contemporary Chinese fiber art. It is the first exhibition of contemporary Chinese fiber art to travel outside China, and The Dayton Art Institute is the last of only three U.S. venues to host the exhibition. Changing Landscapes is on view at DAI now through June 17.

Changing Landscapes showcases the work of 48 artists selected from the past five International Fiber Art Biennales, held in China since 2000, which are devoted to innovative and exciting new ideas and thinking in the global field of fiber art.

The exhibition was originally co-curated by Ni Yue-Hong, a professor at the Fiber Arts Institute in China, and Deborah Corsini, curator at the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles in California. Guest curator for The Dayton Art Institute’s presentation is Lisa Morrisette, from the Department of Art and Art History at Wright State University.

The works range from figurative to abstract, two dimensional to sculptural, crafted to conceptual. They vividly demonstrate how contemporary Chinese fiber artists are forging a new aesthetic by synthesizing their own experience with the diverse influences of China’s artistic heritage. The techniques and forms of the artworks include a broad spectrum, from classic tapestry weaving and pile weaving (a rug hooking technique), to embroidery, printing and dyeing, and large-scale constructed sculptural pieces.

"Resplendence"

Traditionally, tapestry has been a transcription of painting, employing yarns like wool, silk, and linen to create two-dimensional wall hangings. Zheng Dan’s tapestry Resplendence is an example of the rich dimensional effects of hand woven tapestry. This triptych has subtle color variations feathered together using a variety of traditional techniques from hatching to knotting. Her curving forms pulsate and softly glow with the addition of metallic fibers.

Many artists utilize more unusual materials, such as metal, wood and plastics. Zhao Dandan, for example, uses stainless steel to create a three-dimensional armature whose shape is reminiscent of a crescent moon or boat. Into this armature she weaves delicate, translucent threads of plastic that both fill and cascade from the belly of the arc.

Increasingly, fiber is simply another medium for artists to express their vision; the material is used to express something beyond the nature of the material. Their approach transforms fibers to articulate a personal artistic viewpoint.

"Memory of August"

The title Changing Landscapes is not just a reference to the outer visible form of the world, but serves as a metaphor for the inner landscape of an artist’s heart and mind. Wang Kai’s Origin of the River, a monumental work that cascades from ceiling to floor, creates both the image and feel of the falls on China’s Yellow River. Bai Xin’s set of corn fiber, pine, and bamboo cubes, Balminess, captures the space and color of fields from her childhood memories. As a subject matter in Chinese art history, landscape dates back to the 7th century. This venerated subject has been used in both painting and poetry to convey social, political, and philosophical views of the world. Transcending the literal, landscape operates on a metaphoric level – the concrete object refers to other things.

Changing Landscapes provides a snapshot of how three generations of artists have used fiber as an expressive media to respond to economic, political, and social changes that have transformed the Chinese landscape over the past decade.

For more, go to www.daytonartinstitute.org/changinglandscapes.

MAYA LIN: FLOW

In conjunction with Changing Landscapes, The Dayton Art Institute is also showing one of Maya Lin’s large-scale installations, Flow.

Lin is perhaps best known for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. She achieved national recognition when, as a 21 year-old senior at Yale University, her design for the memorial was selected from among 1,420 submissions. Since that first work, she has gone on to create numerous public monuments, architecture, earthworks and installations, as well as smaller-scale gallery pieces.

Her work defies categorization. Moving between boundaries, she explores relationships between architecture, sculpture, and landscape, between the natural and the man-made, between science and art. Her inspiration is drawn from a wide range of sources, including geological phenomena and topography, prehistoric earthworks, Japanese gardens, and engineering principals such as fluid mechanics.

Flow embodies landscape, framed within the space of architecture. Thousands of 2 x 4s are cut and stacked on end to create a commanding form whose shape is somewhere between a hill and a wave, the swells of which reach two feet high. Working with industrial materials and abstract forms, Lin evokes the natural rather than man-made. Her work is not a reproduction of landscape; rather it recreates the feeling of landscape. She is interested in the human relation to the environment, translating forms and experience.

The sculpted form of Flow is a static grouping of 2 x 4s, but it implies the movement of the current or the ripple of a wave. It echoes sculpted prehistoric earthworks, such as the Serpent Mound in Ohio, or the topographic lines of a map.

For more, go to www.daytonartinstitute.org/flow. To watch a time-lapse video of Flow’s installation at the museum, click here to visit the DAI’s YouTube page.

Maya Lin’s Flow by the numbers:

Number of crates: 29

Average weight of each crate: 293 lbs.

Total weight: 8,500 lbs.

Average dimensions of crates: 28” x 53” x 48”

Individual 2x4s in Flow: 10,148

Time for 2 art handlers to install: 45 hours

Coffee consumed by art handlers: 256 ounces

HOW TO GO

Tickets include admission to Changing Landscapes, Flow and DAI’s permanent collection. A $1 per transaction Historic Preservation Fee will be added to all ticket sales.

Adults: $12

Seniors (60+), Students (18+ w/ID) & Active Military: $9

Youth (ages 7-17): $6

Museum Members & Children (6 & under): Free

The Dayton Art Institute is located at 456 Belmonte Park North in downtown Dayton, just off Interstate 75. The museum is open Wednesday – Saturday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Sunday, noon – 5 p.m., with extended hours until 8 p.m. on Thursdays.

(submitted by The Dayton Art Institute)

Ticket Contest!!!

We have three pairs of tickets to this exhibit (a $24 value) and we want to give them to YOU!  So just this article and then fill out the form below – we’ll announce three winners next Monday April 24 after 3pm.  GOOD LUCK!

[form 23 “Contest Entry – DAI Changing Landscapes”]

Urban Arts Showcase Takes the Stage This Friday

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HBO Def Poet Black Ice will headline this Friday's "The Signature: A Poetic Medley Show."

HBO Def Poet Black Ice will headline this Friday's "The Signature: A Poetic Medley Show."

Oral Funk Poetry Productions will launch its fifth season of “The Signature: A Poetic Medley Show” at The Loft Theatre, 126 N. Main St., from 9 to 11 p.m. this Friday, April 20.

The season-opening performance will be a celebration of National Poetry Month. The theme will be Jamaican and Caribbean culture through spoken word, dramatizations, live music, vocalists, visual arts and more.

Featured performers include Tony Award-winning HBO Def Poet Black Ice, who appeared on six seasons of the popular show and starred in Def Poetry on Broadway. He’s lent his voice to hip-hop projects by such artists at Method Man and opened for Mary J. Blige on her 2006 world tour. Black Ice also has appeared on BET’s Live 8 Concert Special, Rap City the Basement and 106th & Park, as well as on NBC’s Showtime at the Apollo.

Joining Black Ice will be singer and poet Scorpio Blues, who also has appeared on HBO’s Def Poetry. Her recent CD, Scorpio Rising, features her soul music and some poetry, while her first CD, Blue Blushin’, was an acclaimed poetry work. In 2006, Scorpio Rising became the first female and the first African-American to win the Ill List Poets championship. She also has her own spoken word and music entertainment, management and promotions company called Hot Water Cornbread.

The Flex Crew Reggae Band, a popular group from Columbus, will perform live music. Its seven members hail from a variety of musical backgrounds, resulting in a versatile and high-energy band with an array of musical styles, including funk, R&B, soul, hip hop and roots reggae. In addition, local spoken word poet I Witness Life will emcee.

Tickets cost $20 and can be purhcased at www.ticketcenterstage.com, by calling 937-228-3830 or at the door.

Poet Scorpio Blues also will perform during The Signature.

Poet Scorpio Blues also will perform during The Signature.

Oral Funk Poetry Productions has partnered with De’Lish Café, 139 N. Main St., for the event. The restaurant, located across the street from the theater, will offer special Jamaican and Caribbean menu items and drinks.

During its first four seasons, “The Signature: A Poetic Medley Show” featured local and national poets, musicians, actors, vocalists, dancers and visual artists presenting numerous forms of self-expression ― often to sold-out crowds.

“We’re so excited to continue producing our show at The Loft Theatre after moving the production to this great venue last year,” said Sierra Leone of Oral Funk Poetry Productions. “This location has more seating for our shows, which often sell out, and has allowed us to kick up the performance a notch thanks to access to more professional production equipment and capabilities in the theater. We also have appreciated the opportunity to work with and learn from the professionals at The Human Race Theatre Company.”

Presenting The Downtown Dayton Revival Music Festival

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John Legend

The Downtown Dayton Revival Music Festival has just been announced along with the initial lineup for its inaugural year – including performances by several acts with local ties, like John Legend (a Springfield native), Guided by Voices (based in Dayton), Motel Beds (based in Dayton) and the Heartless Bastards (Dayton/Cincinnati area natives) . This two day street festival is scheduled for September 8th & 9th, 2012 and will have 3 stages in key locations in downtown Dayton.

Confirmed acts include:

Several more performers will be announced in the coming weeks, and as DMM is a Media Sponsor we will have festival updates right here as they happen!

Guided By Voices

“We are very excited to fill the streets of downtown Dayton with exceptional music from a wide variety of artists.  From Grammy winners to local talent, and everything in between this will be a weekend to remember,” said Matt Luongo, President, Downtown Revival, LLC. A Dayton native himself, Luongo graduated from the University of Dayton in 1998 and is enthusiastic about creating this music fest right here in Dayton.

The Downtown Dayton Revival Music Festival is to be a mix of national and local talent, with several slots still open for local acts.  If you are interested in playing this event, send them your info at [email protected].  In addition to over 30 bands, festival organizers are planning family friendly events as well as other activities to be announced.

Two day passes will be available at www.downtownrevival.com beginning April 24th, 2012 at 10:00a.m. A limited number of discounted early bird ticket will also go on sale on April 24th and will include entry into a contest for a VIP package upgrade including reserved seating, VIP hospitality tent, invitations to a Friday night preview party, artist meet and greet and more.

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Dayton Music Scene Celebrates Record Store Day

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Dayton MostMetro.com is a proud media sponsor for Record Store Day!

If you haven’t been keeping up with music trends in the past few years, I have some news for you: vinyl records are making a comeback. Surprising, right? I have even more news for you, then: there is an entire day devoted to vinyls and the stores that sell them. Hopefully you’re getting excited now. This Saturday, April 21st, is the fifth-annual Record Store Day, and it is a chance for Dayton’s music stores and scene to step forward and shine. (check out our calendar for complete Record Store Day schedule)

Record Store Day celebrates exactly what is in its name. The thing that is unfortunately starting to fade away with the advent of digital music. On this day, multiple artists and bands release exclusive vinyl albums and singles to independent record stores around the country (and world!), with the stores putting on live shows, various festivals, and anything else they can think of in celebration of actual physical music.

Omega Music (down in the Oregon District) and Toxic Beauty Records (out in Yellow Springs) are both getting in on the festivities. Both stores will be carrying the aforementioned exclusive Record Store Day releases, while featuring music and giveaways all day. Omega Music will have a full slew of local bands performing, including Buffalo Killers, Me & Mountains, and The Rebel Set. Toxic Beauty will be holding a performance by local band Wheels around 2PM, along with a ticket giveaway for Primus, and many other exclusives. Both Record Gallery and Feathers will also be featuring live local music.

Record stores aren’t the only ones getting into the celebrations. Other venues will be offering discounts when you bring in a receipt from any of the four stores mentioned above. Both Thai9 and Blind Bobs will be offering 50% select appetizers, while 5th Street Deli will be offering 20% off all food. Basho Apparel will be offering 10% off products with the receipts as well.

Ghettoblaster Magazine is hosting a screening of the movie Empire Records over at The Neon at 10PM, with all proceeds going toward the funding of this year’s Dayton Music Fest. Tickets for this screening will be running $6 on Record Store Day, and only $4 with a receipt from Omega, Toxic Beauty, Record Gallery, or Feathers.

Fans of music, the local scene, or just Dayton in general would be doing themselves a disservice by not checking out the festivities going on this Saturday. It’s a great chance to hit the town, listen to some local music, and start rebuilding that vinyl collection you got rid of back in the 80s. It’s going to be a great time, so don’t miss out!

“You’re A Jittery Little Thing, Aren’t You?” (an interview with Carrie Fisher)

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A.)     Quote From Princess Leia In Return Of The Jedi

or

B.)     The First Thing Carrie Fisher Said To Bill Pote

 

Bill Pote, Carrie Fisher And J.T. Ryder

The oddly arranged living room held treasures and memorabilia that competed for attention so ferociously that it was difficult to focus in on one particular item. Celebrities smiled forth, frozen in frames strewn about shelves and tables. R2D2 sat on top of an old suitcase, peeking out from behind a leather couch as I walk in and a lone coffee table cascaded with various items, including cans of Coke Zero and a prescription bottle filled with M&Ms. The only thing that shattered the illusion of entering an eccentrically rich crazy cat-woman’s home was the glaring spotlights…and the 1,300 or so seats that were lurking out in the darkness. Of course, this was not someone’s home: this was the set of Carrie Fisher’s one woman show, Wishful Drinking.

Bill Pote (the über brain of Dayton Most Metro) and I were granted an audience with the princess and she did not keep her diligent followers waiting. She breezed onto the stage as naturally as most of us cross through our living room. Bill tried to ply Miss Fisher with cookies from Ghostlight Coffee & Thistle Confections, the fantasies of his youth playing through his head. Luckily, Miss Fisher was not aware that he had worn his favorite Star Wars underwear for the occasion…you know…the ones that have Yoda saying, “Size matters not. Judge me by my size, do you?”

Anyway, after Bill presented her with the cookies and a list of things to do in Dayton while she was here, we dove right into the interview rather quickly…

Bill: So, J.T. here interviewed you on the phone a couple of weeks ago…

J.T.: Yeah, you had just gotten back from overseas. You sounded sleepy.

Carrie: Yeah, I had just gotten back from Asia. It was very exciting. Which part of Asia was I getting back from?

J.T.: Japan.

Carrie: Oh, Japan!

J.T.: Coming back from the ‘celebrity lap dance,’  is, I think, the way you put it. I was talking with someone, another writer, last night about you and one of the things he brought up was something that I hadn’t noticed.  I had to go back and reread some of your fictionalized work. He was amazed with your dialogues and the natural way in which it flows. Is it so natural because it is based on real conversations?

Carrie: Well, a lot of it is, but I also think it’s a self consciousnesses, like you are sort of watching yourself or listening to yourself. I would also say that I write some of the stuff that I wish I had said or something that I didn’t say in that context and so I drag it over.

J.T.: That is probably the more fun part of writing. Well, he was just talking about the natural flow and the way that you craft your writing. Is all that natural or something that you have been honing?

Carrie: Well, I fell in love with words as a kid and I used to go through books and underline things. Really, I like wordplay more, but that’s also how I talk. I talk in wordplay. I once saw a line of mine, although I don’t know that they knew that it was mine, that said, “Start putting the ‘fun’ in ‘funeral.’” I hear words and they break down automatically.

J.T.: Right. Bill can attest to this: I don’t speak in the same way that I write. Most people who have read something I have written before meeting me don’t believe that I wrote it when they do meet me.

Carrie: Some of my writing isn’t how I talk.

J.T.: Well, with the show, the connectivity that you have with the audience is amazing. How do you get that when most of the events that you’re talking about are so disparate from most people’s experiences?

Carrie: Well, I don’t think that they are necessarily. Also, it’s not so much what your experiences are, it’s how it hits you. I mean, everyone has had, from a certain slant, a weird childhood. It may not be exactly like mine and it probably isn’t, but from a certain slant, you’re going to have funny stories.

J.T.: So it’s based off of the emotion rather than the event.

Carrie: Definitely!

J.T.: So how are you finding the Dayton audience’s responding?

Carrie: They are fantastic!

J.T.: Just as receptive?

Carrie: Beyond receptive! Last night they were talking back! A lot!

Bill: I know that we have a thing about sex and nakedness here in Dayton, Ohio…

Carrie: Apparently! That was what was hilarious about it. The questions that they asked like, “Was he naked?”, “Were you naked?” That’s where you mind goes. If you find a dead body, they’re usually not naked. (Writer’s Note: A reference to Carrie waking up next to the lifeless body of Republican Party media adviser R. Gregory Stevens who died from a OxyContin/cocaine overdose in her bed)

Bill: That’s a great way to start the show too. It kind of lets you know that…

Carrie: Yeah, “This is where we are at and it’s going to get more normal from here…but not much.”

I know this probably isn't the time nor the place, but looking at these pictures, I believe I am going bald.

J.T.: Well, Daytonians aren’t the only nudity focused people. Look at George Lucas’ No Underwear In Space Theory… (Writer’s Note: According to Lucasian Physics, one would face many different pressure changes while tooling around in space and with all the expansion and contraction of the human body under these conditions, you would be strangled by your underwear. I think that this is based upon twisted yet justified fantasies and not on any kind of scientific protocols.)

Carrie: That’s what he said. I think it just destroyed the line of that stupid white dress and then if people were aware that you were wearing a bra, they wouldn’t accept that you were Darth Vader’s daughter. No, I think not.

J.T.: True. With Shockaholic, is that kind of a stepping stone to the next memoir?

Carrie: God no! I think that I’ve said about all I can say.

J.T.: Really?

Carrie: Well, about…the stuff that I’ve written about that was the toughest is that I exposed my daughter to any kind of drug abuse and it would be something that you would figure would happen, (whispering) but I didn’t do a lot. The fact that it happened at all is probably the thing that is most shameful about my life. But most of it was already out. They (the tabloids) wrote about me being in a mental hospital, so then I’m going to write my version and I’m going to say my version. Then they (the tabloids) write stuff saying that I’ve had a facelift and that just kills me because this would be the worst facelift ever! I’ve seen online…go online and I read that I’ve had a facelift and it’s not that good and there’s like three doctors commenting how it looks pulled here and pulled there (Carrie demonstrates by tugging at her face). I’m like, no, but I’ve been thinking about having one…

J.T.: Ryder: That’s another thing about the show, since you kind of brought it up: Somehow you have managed to avoid it seeming tabloid-ish. It’s not sensationalized.

Carrie: It’s not sensational. If you were in the situation, it’s just people. I mean, they might wear more make-up or they might have gotten where they are because they have…(pause)…more well ordered features, but they are just humans. It’s not…now I’m intimidated by the ‘good looking’ people, but you shouldn’t treat ‘good looking’ like it’s an accomplishment. It’s kind of valued that high, like you did something amazing and it was just that they were born with really nice features. Those are the people inHollywoodwho…I don’t know how to talk to them and I’m not really curious about them either. ‘How did you get those eyes? Oh! Your mom had them?’ Those are the people who got where they are purely on their features.

J.T.: That is across the board. People being ‘proud’ of genetics. A lot of people equate that with celebrity…

Carrie: It would have been a bigger trick to stay out of show business than to go in. I didn’t go in. It was…I had to tiptoe out. No. I wouldn’t have picked it, because I was sort of introverted, watching all those people.

J.T.: Which is hard to believe when one sees your stage show.

Carrie: Well, now I’m older and it’s now it’s acceptance run riot. Self acceptance. I mean, you get to a certain age…

J.T.: ..and you say to yourself, ‘Ah, screw it!’

Carrie: Right! ‘What the fuck!’

Bill: So if you weren’t thrown into that at an early age…

Carrie: I might not have chosen it.

Bill: What would you be doing?

Carrie: Well, I might have been a writer because of the whole word thing. It killed me, the word thing. I would have liked to have been Beethoven….not for his whole life, but just the part where he wrote his music. I want to be someone who can hear music like theat. Where does that come from? There are those people like that that have that kind of gift, but I do have a thing with words and I am grateful that I’ve got it because it a distraction for me and I listen to people better  so it makes me enjoy reading and listening  to people’s points of view and the way people say things.

Bill: You mentioned last night (during the opening night performance) that poetry was is something that you started at an early age and it actually helped you.

Carrie: I started writing, but you wouldn’t call what I wrote ‘poetry.’ It would be more like lyrics. But, I like some of what I wrote and I remember getting into states where I would be kind of taking dictation from somewhere that had nothing to do with me, but it did have to do with my emotional state. The way that it organized itself into…it’s an intense experience, then your way of managing it is basically to photograph it verbally so that you’re not just at the effect of it then, so you’re not saying, ‘Okay, now what is this like?’ It’s finding some way to say it. Otherwise, I’m just an incredibly emotional person, which I am.

J.T.: Well, at least when you’re performing, you have the ability to emote and convey a tone or meaning more than writing.

Carrie: Well, I’ve also gotten to the point where I’m also able to receive it. You just kind of get out of the way, so it isn’t me. I’ve been given something where impressions come to me and I can say, ‘Oh, that’s what that feels like!’ If I just wait, I let this thing in me that does that anyway…I can’t ignite it, I can just get out of the way of it.

Bill: Well, that leads me to this then: after watching your show last night, which I enjoyed a lot by the way…

Carrie: Thank you.

Bill Pote And J.T. Ryder Double Teaming Carrie Fisher...Wait...That's Doesn't Sound Right....

Bill: How much…I know it’s mostly scripted, if not all scripted, so how often do you go off script?

Carrie: A lot! I open it up for questions and the because the people that you (the audience) are talking with, I’ve never met them before…

Bill: Well, not even talking about audience members, but even with bringing up stories from your life, how often do you just think of something like, ‘I haven’t even told anybody this.’

Carrie: I said something the other night and…I say things by accident and it is sort of leaving it open to mess with, so there is a lot more I could say about any of the things I talk about and sometimes I will go off into it…and it’s more fun if I do. You really have to be alert…hyper-vigilant and hyper-alert, and that’s exhausting, but it’s interesting.

J.T.: Yeah, it’s great fun when you shut off all the filters.

Carrie: Yeah! And you’re in front of a lot of people and that can be very interesting.

 

(Photographs by Blush Boudoir, then heavily edited by J.T. without permission nor any sense of artistic content.)

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Support Local Artists at the Annual DVAC Art Auction

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"Life Raft" - MB Hopkins

The Dayton Visual Arts Center (DVAC) presents the Annual DVAC Art Auction on April 27, 2012 at the Sinclair Community College Ponitz Center. The much anticipated auction, now in its 18th year, is the only auction in the region dedicated exclusively to visual art and is responsible for generations of Daytonians living with and making art a part of their daily lives. This year, 109 works of art by DVAC member artists in a wide range of media and prices will be presented in both silent and live auctions.

DVAC presents artworks of the highest quality by respected veteran and emerging regional artists. Artists represented in the 2012 Auction include painters Julie Beyer, MB Hopkins, Katherine Kadish and Jean Koeller; photographers Doug McLarty, Richard Malogorski, Fred Niles and Francis Schanberger; and printmakers David Leach, Ray Must and Kim Vito.

About the Auction

The Annual DVAC Art Auction expects to draw in 600 guests and will also feature live music by Puzzle of Light, a cash bar, ample hors d’oeuvres and free parking. Not to miss: the DP&L Live Auction––an event in itself, the live auction features Dayton’s “Superstar” auctioneer, Doug Sorrell, whose high-spirited coaching of new and experienced bidders has become a highlight of the event.

Tickets are $50 for DVAC Members, $60 for nonmembers, and $75 at the door. Tickets may be purchased online at www.daytonvisualarts.org; or by calling DVAC at (937) 224-3822. All auction artwork will be available to be viewed digitally on our Web site, www.daytonvisualarts.org, beginning April 6. If you are unable to attend the auction, you are able to make a sealed bid.

"Spring Garden" - Kim Vito

About the Auction Preview Exhibition

You may also view selected artwork in person at DVAC’s Auction Preview Exhibition, April 6-24, 2012. The opening reception will take place as part of downtown Dayton’s 1st Stop 1st Friday celebrations, Friday, April 6, 5-8 p.m.

About DVAC

The Dayton Visual Arts Center provides art for the community and a community for artists. DVAC receives operating support from the Ohio Arts Council, Culture Works, Montgomery County, the Virginia W. Kettering Foundation and Members.

Ticket Contest

As proud media sponsors for the Annual DVAC Art Auction on April 27, we are happy to give YOU a chance to win a pair of tickets to this very popular event – a $150 value!  Simplythis article and then fill out the form below – we’ll announce winners on Monday April 16th… Good Luck!

Contest Closed…. and Congratulations to 

Jennifer Lockwood, Brenda Boyd and Lynn Kesson – you have each won a pair of tickets to the DVAC Art Auction!

 

Food Adventures Get Hooked at JJ’s Fish and Chicken

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Fried Tilapia and Perch Meal

You may have seen billboard signs in Dayton for JJ’s Fish and Chicken, calling fried food lovers like the “bat signal.”  As you know Deep Fried Foods have always had a special place in our heart.  Our fascination with such calorie busting meals took us on a little Food Adventure in North Dayton.  The destination was an old converted Taco Bell building which is the North Main Street location of JJ’s Fish and Chicken Drive Thru.  This place was brought back to life by a couple of brothers of Mediterranean decent.  Most of their business is drive thru or carryout, but we wanted the dine in experience to mingle with the staff and customers.  There isn’t much mingling as you are separated by plexiglass and an intricate spinning device where you pay and receive your food.  Let the Food Adventure begin…

JJ’s Fish and Chicken, North Main St, Dayton

We noted right away that they had some pretty good prices and a huge variety of fried seafood offerings.  Sure, they might offer some baked fish, but we were on mission of breaded pleasure.  They had some great specials for under $5, but we decided to go for a couple of the fish dinner offerings and a “pick 2 combo” of fried shrimp and chicken wings.  Your Food Adventure Crew also noticed a display case with dozens of containers of side dishes.  If there is ever a shortage of side dishes in the world, this case would feed North America for a week.  We ordered a personalMac n Cheese.  They nuked it and it was served so piping hot that we scorched our mouths and even after 5 minutes, we could still hardly take a bite of the mac n cheese.

Our eyes turned to a drink case that housed a bunch of Faygo pop, the pride of Detroit.  That’s all they have to drink, no water, no ice tea, just regular Faygo pop, the large 24 ounce bottles.  Your Food Adventurers dove in head first and grabbed 2 of them.  Already in a comical mood, a scalded and galded Big Ragu looked to take a seat.  With some of booths mysteriously missing, we decided to squeeze our petite frames into a front row seat on a couple of stools.  This allowed us to watch the cooks and customers interact like a breaded ballet.

Shrimp and Chicken Wing Combo

A bell rang and the plexiglass swivel device turned like a set of The Price is Right, to reveal a large brown bag.  Our feast had arrived.  We were fascinated with the glass separating the workers from the customers.  This is where all the action takes place.   There was a tender moment when we picked up our food, when the cook placed his palm against the bulletproof glass, and we put our hand directly against his, just like a prison scene….the walls cannot keep the man down!  The touching scene was halted when we smelled the aroma of freshly fried fish in the bags we were holding and realized we needed to eat now.

Inside the bag were 2 HEAPING white containers overstuffed with food.  The weight of each dinner alone required the use of a “spotter” to lift.  We heard angels singing as we opened styrofoam vessels of joy.  We noticed they served each meal with coleslaw, fries and a couple of slices of white bread.  We are talking old school stuff here.  Our meals were good, with the highlight being the fish.  The fried tilapia and fried perch were incredible.  We would also recommend fried walleye and the fried orange roughy.  We enjoyed the fish selections very much.  Meanwhile, The Big Ragu even downed some fried oysters which were fresh and juicy.    The Big Ragu did one of his patented “fat kid tricks”in which he made a po’ boy sandwich by putting perch, coleslaw, fries and hot sauce on the included bread slice.

The Mac N Cheese that scalded our mouth

We thanked the staff and left JJ’s stuffed to the gills.

If you love fried fish, you have to check this place out.  With such a huge variety of different fish and seafood choices, you cannot go wrong.  We had to chuckle at the menu saying zero grams of trans fat.  JJ’s Fish and Chicken is a national chain, with 2 other Dayton locations on N. Gettysburg and Salem Ave.  We noticed they do a brisk business.  Many hungry customers were in and out during our visit getting their “fried food on.”  So, we ask you, do you want a mountainous pile of fried food at a stunningly low price?  Then visit JJ’s Fish and Chicken Drive Thru and get hooked like us.

Shocking Stories From Beyond The Stars With Carrie Fisher

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An Interview With Actress Carrie Fisher

Debbie Reynolds, Carrie, Todd and Eddie Fisher

(see details on our ticket give-away to Carrie Fisher’s show “Wishful Drinking” below the article)

It seems apropos that the daughter of Hollywood’s Royalty would eventually take up her predestined mantle as a Princess. Yet, for whatever charms that galaxy far, far away might hold,  Carrie Fisher’s real life is more of an epic tale than anything Lucas could ever deem to dream. From awakening to Republican Party media adviser R. Gregory Stevens’ lifeless body lying next to her (a victim of an OxyContin/cocaine overdose), to having the father of her daughter leave her for another man, Carrie Fisher’s life make the cantina scene in Star Wars look about as interesting as a seminar on new accounting techniques.

Carrie was born on October 21st, 1956 in Beverly Hills,California to America’s Sweethearts, singer Eddie Fisher and actress Debbie Reynolds. When Carrie was only two, Eddie Fisher left the house to console Elizabeth Taylor after the death of her husband Mike Todd (who was also Eddie’s best friend and whom he named his son after) and he never came back. The next year, Carrie’s mother Debbie married shoe magnate Harry Karl, whose penchant for roaming about without pajama bottoms and an acute case of chronic flatulence added yet another odd character in Carrie’s galactic menagerie.

            Sometimes, there are those born into celebrity who, through no fault of their own, do not realize that their lives are much different than that of the average person. During a recent telephone interview, I asked Carrie when she became aware that her life was vastly unlike the lives of others and what her perception of her early years were.

“Obviously it’s nice to live comfortably and I really didn’t know that there was another way to live until I was like ten. People would say, ‘You think you’re so great because you’re Debbie Reynolds’ daughter!’ I was embarrassed of that.” Carrie paused, rolling over in bed as she had just returned from a celebrity meet and greet in Japan. She went on to say that, “I did know that other people didn’t live like this and I didn’t like it because that separated me from being like everyone and I couldn’t fit in. I wanted to fit in, and none of this stuff makes you fit in. I wanted to have the option to join up. Anything that made me different…I don’t know…I lived mostly in my head, so I don’t know that I was very aware of my surroundings. I was extremely introverted.”

At seventeen, Carrie landed a role in Shampoo with Warren Beatty and Goldie Hawn. In 1973, as Carrie puts it, “George Lucas ruined my life” by casting her in the iconic role of Princess Leia Organa in his upcoming sci-fi movie, Star Wars – released in 1977. In reflecting on the deal that was made at the time, Carrie has been quoted as saying that, “We signed away our likeness, so when I look in the mirror, I have to pay George a couple of bucks.” Following Empire Strikes Back (1981) was Return of the Jedi (1983) in which Carrie once again reprised her role as Princess Leia, becoming the gold plated bikini babe – slave to and amorphous arm candy of the gelatinous villain Jabba the Hutt. It was this revealing representation that launched Carrie into the stratosphere as a sex symbol, a position that she was uncomfortable with and an image that she unwittingly didn’t realize at the time would follow her throughout her whole career.

Having been inundated and interrogated throughout the years pertaining to her experiences with George Lucas and the Star Wars empire, I wanted to only briefly touch on that topic. I asked if she felt that there was a weight from living under the legacy of such an iconic movie so early in her career, to which she replied:

“I mean, I never really wanted…I was never much of an actress. It was never really what I wanted to do. If I had wanted to be an actress, it would have been bad.”

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Carrie has been oft quoted as saying she never really wanted to become a celebrity as she had seen firsthand what fame such as that had wrought. The ensuing years after Star Wars were fraught with drug addiction and psychological problems, becoming overly apparent both on and off the screen, as evidenced in her appearance on the Star Wars Holiday Special in 1978. Her erratic behavior and rampant drug use even led to her almost getting fired from the set of The Blues Brothers, where she was unable to turn in a decent performance due to her intoxication.

After entering rehab and cleaning herself up (with a few admitted slips here and there) it seemed that Carrie eventually returned to the refuge that she had found in her teenage years: writing. I asked Carrie if she found that writing became a part of her self-therapy.

“Well, I never did it for that reason, but when I was young, I guess I did.” After a slight pause, she went on to say that, “My thoughts would get all kind of crowded, so it kind of became a way of kind of organizing the crowd.”

I Always Suspected This...

I was curious as to whether Carrie felt more comfortable writing about her life veiled behind the safety net of fiction or if it was easier to just write it all down without having to think up scenarios and plots to introduce one event or another.

“Fictionalized!” Carrie said, without hesitation. “Well, it’s a different kind of writing. Your tone with first person prose is much more conversational, so it’s hard to get more descriptive. There’s a certain kind of way that I like to write that doesn’t suit itself to a first person narrative.”

Was it easier to tell the whole truth about something that happened to herself and the people involved in a situation when it was couched behind the shroud of fiction?

“I don’t know about myself, but I would never say anything that would make anyone uncomfortable that was obvious, no. I don’t want to do anything like that.” Carrie said. “I have probably made people uncomfortable with certain things, but I do my best not to do that. It’s easier in fiction because you make up stuff and you use stuff and you disguise stuff.”

While still appearing in acting roles (When Harry Met Sally, Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery, Scream 3), a large portion of her creative energy seemed to go into her writing, whether it be fictional (Postcards From The Edge, Surrender The Pink, Delusions Of Grandma), screenwriting (These Old Broads, The Young Indian Jones Chronicles) or non-fiction (Wishful Drinking, Shockaholic). In 2006, Carrie debuted her screenplay of Wishful Drinking as a one woman show, replete with videos, photos and more anecdotes that you could shake a light saber at.

In a world saturated with reality entertainment, it seems as if celebrities’ bad behavior is sometimes an intentional ploy for attention or a casting call for the next Lifetime Network show, yet in Carrie’s case this is not so. Most of her life was not lived out in front of the camera lens, like most other celebrities bent on revealing their day to day lives. When you read or watch Wishful Drinking, you are left with the impression of a woman coming to the realization of what the events in her life meant and accepting the repercussions that her decisions and actions have produced. It is also not a ‘woe is me’ pity fest, yearning for the audience’s sympathy in a desperate maneuver to gain forgiveness and acceptance. I did wonder if performing her own life out night after night desensitized and somewhat separated her from the integral epochs of her past.

“God I wish! What it does is, it makes me own it and I’m not ashamed of it. It makes you feel brave. It certainly makes you feel not ashamed and sometimes it can make you feel like, ‘Look at me motherfucker! I used to not even be able to talk about this!’” Carrie went on to define what she meant by saying, “Well, I mean, if I’ve gotten through the stuff I’ve gotten through, you can get through anything. I look for the ordinary in the extraordinary, whether it being bi-polar or a celebrity or the child of a celebrity or any of that.”

At the age of forty, Carrie had a full blown breakdown which required her to be admitted into a psychiatric hospital. Over the course of time, medications were tried and therapies instituted, but the real breakthrough came when electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) was applied. In Carrie’s words, it was as if there was cement obstructing her mind and the ECT treatment seemed to break all of that away. There has been some short term memory loss, indicated by her answering machine, which asks callers to leave their name, number and how they know Carrie. She has some problems with remembering names or some events, but she highly recommends ECT, stating that it is not how it is depicted in movies like One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest.

“I would recommend it to other people if they were in a massive depression, but the way it’s depicted” She paused before going on, “…I saw it on a preview of that show Homeland, and it’s not like that! I mean, maybe they do it like that in some places, but from my experience, they put you out and…it’s just weird. Anyway, I would recommend it or any measure you needed to take to deal with a massive depression, but of course, I tried everything else first.”

For a taste of what it’s like living life on the edge, collecting the postcard and coming back, check out Carrie Fisher’s one woman show, Wishful Drinking. Also, read her short follow up book, Shockoholic, which details some of the funnier anecdotes from her life. AS we wrapped up our interview, I asked Carrie what I should tell Daytonians about the show and what to expect. She stated that there was a lot of audience interaction, making each show a unique experience. Carrie signed off by simply saying…

“I do involve the audience, so come and see me and tell me some stories!”

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Ticket Giveaway

We have a pair of tickets to see Carrie Fisher’s Wishful Drinking on Tuesday April 10, courtesy of the Victoria Theatre Association!  Simply this article, On Stage Dayton and then in the comment section below, tell us your favorite Carrie Fisher role and why (make sure it posts to your FB page as well).  We will randomly draw one winner on Monday 4/9 at 3pm.  GOOD LUCK!

Food Adventures: Small Bites for 4/5/2012

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Food Adventures with the Big Ragu and Crew: Another installation of  “Small Bites.”

Here in “Small Bites,” we feature some of our favorite food items across the Dayton area.  We are not food critics, we love to eat.  Often imitated never duplicated, we set out to let you know about some of the better eats around the area that you may not know about !

Owners Rick “Voltzy” & Jack Sperry Want Your Vote to Decide!

THROWDOWN: VOLTZY’S vs. THE HAMBURGER WAGON, on  Saturday June 9, 2012

Our first small bite is actually a coming attraction.  Two of the most popular burger joints in the Dayton area are going to have an old fashioned “Throwdown!” at the Rock n’ Green Tomato Festival in Miamisburg, Ohio.  The Hamburger Wagon of Miamisburg will go toe to toe with Voltzy’s Rootbeer Stand of Moraine.  Get to this festival and cast your vote on Saturday June 9th.  Who will win this burger brawl to settle it all ??  We visited with Voltzy’s owner Rick Volz and the Hamburger Wagon owner Jack Sperry, and they both think they are going to win !  The Throwdown  is in the early stages, so there will be more details in the coming weeks.  Look for a follow up feature story from the Big Ragu in May right here on DaytonMostMetro, when we will cast our votes for the best burger!

 

THE SANDWICHES at JIMMIES LADDER 11:

The Ladder 11 Sandwich

Are you looking for a great, casual bar and grill that serves up top notch sandwiches?  Food Adventures recommends that you try Jimmie’s Ladder 11 on Brown Street.  Jimmie’s ladder 11 resides in an old renovated 1892 firehouse and is full of atmosphere.  They also make some amazing sandwiches.  One of our favorite sandwiches is the Ladder 11 which consists of Romanian Style Pastrami, Corned Beef, Hand Cut Cole Slaw, and House Russian Dressing on Rye.  The menu has a large variety of sandwiches, pastas, and some incredible appetizers.  Try the creole cheesecake…… you will not be sorry.  Jimmies Ladder 11 is located at 936 Brown Street across from Miami Valley Hospital.  For more information, check out jladder11.com.

 

 THE CREPES at CREPE BOHEME at the 2nd Street Market:

Veggie Crepe

From the crepes in Paris, France to a Chocolate Crepe from a street vendor.  We have been fans ever since!  Fortunately for us, we have Crepe Boheme located at the 2nd Street Market in Downtown Dayton. Today we even opt for for a Vegetarian Crepe rather than the crepes made with Nutella.  The Crepe-Master Sabine skillfully pours the thin layer of batter on the hot plate and the magic begins.  We suggest you try a create your own crepe you with:  Spinach, Tomatoes, Mushrooms, Brie and an incredible Red Pepper Sauce.  For the carnivores out there, you can always try the Black Forest Ham Crepe.  This crepe is packed with Black Forest Ham, Brie, and topped with Mushrooms.  Give Crepe Boheme a try and you will be hooked!

 

 

THE 2 FISH OR CHICKEN SANDWICHES FOR 2 BUCKS at RALLY’s:

Rally’s: 2 Nice Sized Fish Sandwiches for 2 Bucks

Two dolla to make you holla!  We don’t usually write about fast food chains, but every once in a great while, we will see something worth mentioning.  Such is the case with the current deal at Rally’s Hamburgers, the infamous double drive-thru place.  The Big Ragu’s obsession with fast food had him doing a double take.  Rally’s has a deal of 2 fish or chicken sandwiches for 2 bucks total.  The sandwiches aren’t tiny either.  The bang for your buck is great.  Satisfy your hunger for 2 dollars?  When is the last time that happened?  Other monster chains are charging around 4 bucks for the same thing, so make sure you stop in at Rally’s for this fantastic deal during the Lenten season.

 

 

 Look for our FOOD ADVENTURES every THURSDAY on DaytonMostMetro.com!

 

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Quebecois Party Time With De Temps Antan

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The end of another Ohio winter (even one as strange as this one has been) is the perfect time for a good old-fashioned Québec kitchen party. Much like a bluegrass picking party, a kitchen party in Québec offers plenty of music and singing, some high-spirited dancing and a pervasive feeling of warmth, community and friendship. Just what the doctor ordered for an end of winter/hello to spring blow-out. And there is no better group to apply this magical tonic than the Quebecois acoustic power trio known as De Temps Antan.

De Temps Antan consists of Éric Beaudry (guitar, mandolin, bouzouki, vocals, foot percussion), André Brunet (fiddle, vocals, foot percussion) and Pierre-Luc Dupuis (accordion, harmonica, vocals, foot percussion). Formed in 2003, De Temps Antan is an off-shoot of La Bottine Souriante, the hugely popular and influential 10-piece Québec band.

The size of La Bottine Souriante precluded it from playing smaller venues, which led directly to De Temps Antan. “The project for the trio was born in 2004, following a request by a friend who does bookings for a room,” says Pierre-Luc Dupuis. “He wanted to hear the three of us playing together. It meant really bringing things down to basics, to the essence of the music.”

André Brunet

The band’s name is a pun that doesn’t really translate from the French, but it means, roughly, both “of olden days” and “from time to time.” The joke dates to the band’s early days when they were all still members of La Bottine Souriante. “It’s because we were only able to perform every now and then, between our commitments with La Bottine,” says Dupuis. “We still managed to tour a bit and to make an album, A l’Année.”

The essence of Quebecois music can be distilled to a single word: fun. Writers generally use the French phrase joie de vivre, but fun serves just as well. “We work a lot to bring the spirit of a kitchen party,” says André Brunet. “It’s really fun to bring people there. Even if they don’t know what to expect for sure, people will go home from the show smiling.”

“Our approach has stayed the same in many ways [as when the three played in La Bottine Souriante], even though we are a much smaller band,” adds Pierre-Luc Dupuis. “You have to play grooves and have fun on stage. You have to be tight and keep the same energy. For us, it’s not only the story of the music we need to tell, but we try to live the story on stage, to really get across what you’d hear and feel and do during a family party.”

Pierre-Luc Dupuis

The repertoire of De Temps Antan is a highly entertaining mixture of traditional songs and tunes and material written by the three band members. “A goal of the band is always to find songs that audiences are not used to hearing,” says Brunet. “Lots of French songs are about church, drinking and women. Finding good old songs is nice, but they are rare.”

Rare or not, the band members have collected hundreds of old songs and tunes from their region and beyond. “A lot comes from our own families,” says Dupuis. “On the album [À l’Année], especially, there’s a lot from the village of Saint-Cí’me, where Eric was born. You get a sense of the richness of just one little corner of the country. Our aim is to keep the essence of that music, but to have an open-minded attitude—in short, to let it live.”

In another aspect of keeping the tradition alive, Andre Brunet has made fiddle history as well, representing his home province with distinction. In 2008, competing against more than 20 top fiddlers from throughout Canada, Brunet took top honors at the Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Competition. A year later, he won the Annual Pembrooke Old Time Fiddling and Step Dancing Championship in Ontario. Brunet was the first Quebecois fiddler to win either prestigious title.

De Temps Antan has recorded a pair of critically acclaimed albums: À l’Année and Les Habits de Papier. The albums contain traditional material as well as original songs and tunes by the band members, but the music ranges far beyond the band’s Canadian home. De Temps Antan forges a pan-Acadian sound that merges traditional Québec music with the Cajun style of south Louisiana (a perfect example is “La maison renfoncée” on Les Habits de Papier).

Éric Beaudry

Part of this musical connection is historical, rooted in the forced migration of the French Canadians to Louisiana in the 1700s (as immortalized in Longfellow’s poem “Evangeline”). The more recent part of the connection comes from the band’s travels, particularly engagements at music festivals in the U.S., where the three musicians have had ample opportunity to play with and learn from Cajun and old-time country fiddlers. Adding bits and pieces from those styles is just another way the men in De Temps Antan are moving the tradition forward.

Two elements that are deeply characteristic of the traditional music of Québec —the ubiquitous foot percussion and the “mouth music” known as turlutte—might look exotic to outsiders, but each in fact represents a practical solution to a musical problem. The foot percussion, essentially a seated form of clogging that seems to be unique to Québec, stems from the days when a solitary fiddler would be the only one providing the music for a house full of dancers.

To make the music louder and to provide a steady beat that could be heard by the dancers, a chair for the fiddler would be placed atop the kitchen table. “The fiddler would get up on the table and tap in middle of kitchen,” explains Dupuis. “That would make it much louder and get everyone in the whole house dancing.”

To Andre Brunet, the tradition is even more deeply rooted in the Quebecois soul. “We start tapping the feet before walking when we are young,” says Brunet. “It’s the basic rhythm of the Quebecois spirit. It’s just a groove.”

Cityfolk Presents De Temps Antan

April 24, 2012 8pm at University of Dayton’s Boll Theatre

The World Rhythms Series is co-sponsored by Cityfolk and the UD Arts Series

Tickets and More Info

(Written by Jon Hartley Fox)

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Inside Couture – Looking for hosts to cover Dayton Fashion Week

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On Saturday April 7, 2012 from 10a-1p Miami FL and the Miami Valley will be partnering up when Dayton Fashion Week holds a casting call looking for four hosts to cover DFW for Miami, FL based fashion series Inside Couture—the casting call will be held at Sun Watch Indian Village located at 2301 W. River Rd, Dayton, OH 45418.  You will need to bring a recent head and full body shot, with your name, phone number, and email address the back.

When I first heard that Inside Couture would be coming to cover Dayton Fashion Week and would need four hosts, I immediately grabbed one of those spots—when you are the Director of Operations you can do things like that!   However, as I started to learn the ins and outs of my position I began to question whether or not I would have the time to run around doing interviews for Inside Couture AND make sure that everything is in order and running smoothly during Dayton Fashion Week.  A question that was answered this past Saturday at our Pre Launch Soirée which was a HUGE SUCCESS, everyone really enjoyed themselves and we reached capacity—but at the same time, I found myself running around like a chicken with its head cut off and that was just a one day event that lasted a couple of  hours.  So with that being said I made the decision to give up my spot as a host and to focus on making sure DFW is a success. To see more photo’s from the Pre Launch please “Like” our page.

Dayton Fashion Week's Pre Launch Soiree

Junda (The Founder of DFW) first introduced me to McKinley Pierre, the owner and Executive Producer of Inside Couture a couple of months ago and he has been  a strong supporter of DFW and the  go to person for both Junda and I for advice on how to handle the stress and pressure that comes along with planning an event of this magnitude. We find ourselves calling him almost on a weekly basis and the conversations normally last a couple of hours.  So when I called McKinley this week, he was out on his boat fishing but he made the time for a quick interview to introduce himself  and his show to the people of Dayton, OH and we talked about a little surprise for a couple of the host selected from our casting call this Saturday.

Dayton Fashion Week: Can you introduce yourself and your show to the people from Dayton, OH?

McKinley Pierre:  Hello, my name is McKinley Pierre and I’m one of the owners for Inside Couture, and I’m the Executive Producer, and basically our show Inside Couture is about fashion– started on the concept of me and my friends who are in the business but you never hear about the people behind the scenes. The stylist, hair and makeup artist, designers the models, the PR– So we are bringing the people from the back to the front!

DFW: What are you looking for in a host for Inside Couture?

MP: What I wanted to do with the show is give people the opportunities who ordinarily wouldn’t have the chance and introduce them to the fashion world, so that they can learn the behind the scenes happenings.  I want them to learn how to act, how to present themselves, and better themselves because it might introduce them to other things, they might become an assistant, or get into production and etc–it’s all about having fun with it.

Basically, I want somebody excited to be there, somebody who likes to have fun, and somebody who commands attention—yet knows how to talk to people.  You don’t have to have experience but I want you to know how to bring it!

DFW:  Had you ever heard of Dayton, Ohio before we had Dayton Fashion Week?

MP: Oh I definitely have heard of Dayton, OH–everyone has heard of Dayton, OH but not in the Fashion World. When Junda called me and said that she was thinking about putting together a Fashion Week in Dayton, honestly I started to laugh because when you think fashion it’s in Europe, Miami, New York, and L.A. and I didn’t think there was fashion in Dayton, OH!! So, I told her if you’re serious about it I will help you do whatever it is you’re wanting to do in Dayton—you can use our show to promote DFW because we have the big names from Roberto Cavali, Custo Barcelona, Nicole Miller, photographer Mike Ruiz who shot the Beckhams and the Kardashians, and anyone that you can think of in the Industry, we have the stylist James Santiago from Sex and The City and Burn Notice, we have access to all of the behind the scenes happenings in the fashion industry.

Editor and Chief of Elle Magazine - Robbie Myers talks to Inside Couture about the first Elle Spa in the world. Photo by Inside Couture

DFW: So what are you looking forward to the most with Dayton Fashion week?

MP:   Aside from the great fishing I hear Dayton has, I want to  bring a couple of the hosts that you selected down to Miami and let them do some interviews here in South Beach, so we are going to work some things out for that too!  I want to bring you guys down here to have some fun, get some experience and you never know where this could go and what other opportunities that this might lead to, you never know who’s going to see you, and you never know who’s watching!

We had Miami Fashion Week here a couple of weeks ago and I actually had the chance to meet a couple of hair stylist and makeup artist from Dayton and they were so excited that they were finally having something right there in their own back yard!  So I look forward to seeing the people in Dayton having fun if you can’t have fun don’t even show up!

DFW:  What makes a great Fashion Week?

MP:  Fashion Weeks are only as good as your models!  if you have a good model they’ll make a trash bag look good!  It’s the model, it’s the hair, it’s the makeup, a lot of people don’t realize that it takes a whole team to make somebody up, it’s not just one person.  It’s the people behind the scenes that determine the success of a show–they’re the ones that are running everything.

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DFW:  You have been getting bombarded with emails from people in Dayton who have questions about how to prepare for Saturday, what advice to do you have for the people coming out to the audition?

MP: Oh yeah,  we’ve had a lot of people contact us via our Inside Couture website, they’ve been sending their reels, they’re trying to get a head start on the competition.  In any type of business you have to hustle and have a step up on people.  So show up, act like you want to do something and dress the part. YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE SKINNY TO BE A HOST FOR INSIDE COUTURE!!!  We want to see diversity, we want somebody who knows how to talk and have fun.  A lot of people want to exclude people for certain things and people sit at home wanting to do this but they don’t think that they’ll be chosen, how will you know if you don’t get off of the couch and try?

Don’t come in sounding like a Newscaster, we don’t want that, we don’t like that.  Don’t come in acting like you know everything, if you know everything, I’m not going to be able to work with you because if you know everything, you can’t grow.

I look at it like this—you either got it or you don’t!  Don’t be fake people can see right through that talk to them like you’re talking to your cousin or your friends, if you get star struck and start asking to take pictures with them they aren’t going to want to do other interviews with, they’re not going to invite you their parties.

I want to show people the lives of celebrities and let people know that you don’t have to sell your souls or lay down on the casting couch to make it in the industry.  These young models need to learn that everyone is not their friend, people lie, there’s always that person outside of the club telling you to do something that won’t get you into the club.

DFW:  What else do you want to share with Dayton about what you have going on?

MP:  We also have a music show that we are going to be casting for and I plan on doing some stuff there it’s called IA Live, it’s music, fashion, and art.  We’ve had interviews with Akon, Lady Gaga, to David Getta, and Justin Beiber.  One of the alst interviews I had was with Flo Rida and Lil Wayne who is my neighbor

DFW:  When we spoke a couple of weeks ago, you talked about knowing your Host weakness and you mentioned that you were friends with Lenny Kravitz and I freaked out because I love Lenny Kravitz and you said ok you are going to keep me away from Lenny, why is it important to know your Host weakness?

MP:  Yeah, I live down the street from Lenny, one of my host Lechelle won’t do any interviews with Trey Songz, she melts if you talk about him.  So I like to know who their weakness is, so when you said Lenny Kravitz is your weakness, when I bring you down here for some interviews, I’m keeping you away from Lenny(me and my big mouth Insert sad face and tear drops here).  I like to know the weakness and the genre of music people listen to.  Some people prefer to only interview the celebs that they aren’t fans of to make things easier—it’s all about having fun!

For more information check out the Inside Couture website.

 

 

Care and Feeding of Your Bartender

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My inspiration

I have been in the restaurant and service industry for quite a while. And over that time, I have seen a ton of things. I have seen a short Hispanic man in a frog thong dancing on stage. I have seen Chris Rock tear apart a room. I have been told I was the worst server my customer had ever had, and I have been told I was the best server they ever had. From the delightful to the horrible, you see a great deal things while you are helping people have a relaxing evening out. During my day job, if I have clients or managers roughing me up a bit, they never seem to do it with the vigor of someone who is missing their martini that they ordered “a half hour ago”. It is always a fascinating exercise in human nature to see how we are treated as bartenders.

Majority of the people in the service industry want you to have a great time while they are serving you. It is rare among the staff that I have worked with that they did not like people. Even after nights that we have run all over creation and walked out with little more than we started with, we still come back the next day to do it all over, with a certain undulled enthusiasm about making a killer tip. Or having a great night. It is fun to the point it is almost addicting. Steve Dublanica in his outstanding book Waiter Rant compared it to an addicted gambler; we always feel we are one day, one shift, one table away from a huge tip. And that comes back to why we are willing to do whatever it takes to make sure you have a great night.

I want to build a great relationship with you for that evening. Hopefully the next evening you go out as well. If you want to get the best experience you can with me (and other bartenders), here are some tips to help make this relationship work.

1. Get the bartender’s attention in a polite way. Eye contact and a smile works great. Maybe even a little wave if I seem incredibly busy. Under no circumstances should you snap or whistle at us. I am not a pet, and will come when I am called. In fact, I can find a cleaning project or two after being snapped at. Another good way to be ignored is to make sarcastic comments about how long the wait is. And calling me “Buddy” works wonders as well.

2. Be patient. I guarantee I am getting to you as soon as I am able. I will at least acknowledge your presence with a nod or a comment. On a busy night, I have dozens of drinks, customer orders, and server drinks to take care of, as well as making sure I am not running out of supplies by the time I get to your rounds. And I am hustling. While you are waiting, you can do this…

3. Figure out what you want. Do NOT, under any circumstances, start deciding what you want when I get to you, especially after a wait. You have had ample opportunity to choose. If you have a question on particular liquor, I would love to answer it. If you do not like the answer, have a back up drink. Hemming and hawing at this point is going to irritate us to no end. And maybe the rest of your party. And the people who are after your party.

Okay, I have this. All at the same time.

4. Order all of your drinks at once. You have my attention. I have a damn good memory. You do not have to order a drink, wait for me to finish it, and then order the next drink. I can combine steps and make drinks faster if I know all the drinks I need to make at once. Most bartenders have been around for a while, and can hold a few thoughts at the same time.

5. Put your cell phone away. With the explosion of the cocktail culture, there are millions of drinks out there. Not only that, there can be variations on those drinks. So while the Mixologist app might lead you to a tasty sounding drink like the 40 Volume Lemonade, you may want to wait until you are the only person at the bar so you can show me the phone, and we have a chance to look it over. If you can see I am incredibly busy on a Friday night, order a classic, or something that the house specializes in. Not something we have to learn to make on the fly. I want to make you a drink you are going to remember for how good it is and not one that tastes like I just dumped my spill mat into a glass (which is known as an L.A. Freeway).

6. Your drink has enough liquor. The standard drink in any recipe book or restaurant is between 1.5 and 2 ounces, depending on the drink. That is what I am pouring. Like food, cocktail recipes are designed to create a specific taste. If you want to taste the liquor, you can order a double. If you do not want that much liquor, ask for your drink short or with just a splash of mixer. That will bring the flavor of the liquor forward. And by no means expect a heavy liquor taste in mixed drinks like Long Island Ice Teas or Mai Tais. Cocktails of that nature were created to smooth out the roughness of the alcohol, not ramp it up. Trust us; you will feel it, even if you do not taste it. That being said…

7. Tell us if there is something wrong. It annoys me to no end if you tell me after the fact that the drink was wrong. It was too sour, did not taste right, maybe even something as small as looking like the wrong color can turn you off. If there is a legitimate issue, no matter how busy I am, I want to fix it. Many times the fix is fairly simple. I am human(ish). I make mistakes. Again, I want you to have a good night. Bad drinks do not make a good night. Or repeat business.

8. Tip. Early and often. Even if it just pop or water, leave a little something for the person who brought it for you. We remember, and it will ensure when there is a crowd of people clamoring for a drink, your drinks may get out a little quicker. Maybe a little stronger. It is also part of the cost of doing business. Going out in this country calls for tipping the people who take care of you. Budget that into your night. And never say something like “I would tip you, but the drinks are too expensive.” We hear that you would tip us, but you are too cheap.

9. We are servERS, not servANTS. The best way to make the night enjoyable for everyone is to realize that we are human. I have worked as hard becoming a good bartender as you did at becoming good at your current career. Studied and everything. Please be courteous and treat me as another person working hard for a living, not some sort of inferior. If I ask you “How are you doing?”, please answer it with a decent response. “I’ll have a Captain and Coke” is not a proper response. Not even in the right ball park of decent responses. See point four about memory…

I am just as invested as you are in having a good night out, getting your drinks to quickly and made correctly. I look forward to seeing you out this weekend and making you something tasty to drink. I would love for this to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Cheers!

Doors of Compassion Open for 2012!

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Helping our community

What would you do to get a chef to cook you a private meal? Not just any chef, but the likes of Chef Jen DiSanto from Fresco? Perhaps Chef Wiley and Chef Liz from the Meadowlark? Maybe Chef Dominique Fortin from C’est Tout? Or any of the other delightful culinary experiences we have in Dayton? Not only do you get an exquisite meal, you get to eat with friends and some of the top community leaders in Dayton. You do not have to think that hard about it, because the Ronald McDonald House has made it easy for you! They are once again presenting the Doors of Compassion on April 21st, an incredibly unique event where all proceeds will go to guest families who have children in the hospital with critically ill or injured.

You will get your notification of where you will be dining on April 21st about a week before hand. The evening begins at someone’s home with a dinner prepared by one of the top chefs in the area. They will all be given the same ingredients, add a little of their own flair, and create a one of a kind dinner for you and the other guests at your location. That is just where the night begins. After you have enjoyed fine food and company, you will be invited to attend the After Party Twenty Twelve, the location of which will be revealed at dinner.

The After Party will have a whole new round of delights for you! While you are enjoying an array of sumptuous desserts, coffees, and refreshing cocktails, you can enjoy music from the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s provided “Rodney the Band”. Make sure you take a look through all of the items and packages at the live auction being run by Bobbie Roland. One lucky guest that evening will also win the raffle to go home with a gorgeous James Free Jewelers’ piece, created by Charles Krypell. You will also be able to chat with all of the other attendees who enjoyed a dinner that night, and trade stories about the evening. All of this will be emceed by community icon Kim Farris from 94.5!

Dinner, desserts, dancing and donations to a great cause that strengthens our community. The window to make reservations closes on April 6th, so gather your friends and call 937-535-CARE or visit www.RMHCdayton.org. We look forward to seeing you there!

Cityfolk: Culture Builds Community – Soul Rhythms

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Collaboration is an amazing gift! When you experience it, those moments of joined efforts and creative kinship are downright life changing. This is true in both cultural arts and community building. Collaboration means working together, engaging in common goals and welcoming folks from all traditions to share a common journey. That is Culture Builds Community!

Cityfolk engages in this process throughout the year, through the concert series, the summer festival and CBC. As Dayton’s traditional arts organization, we are grounded in the traditional arts – this generation’s “original,” knowing that it all trickles down to the next citizens/family members/artists to translate anew. Relationship patterns are horizontal and vertical; they thrive at a multitude of levels. Carried at each level are tangible takeaways: dance, cooking, music, poems, jewelry, quilts, paintings, puppets and more. We create it and hand it down. There’s a ladder of love in the abstract, a full life of expression in the real stories. That is Culture Builds Community!

When Cityfolk works in the schools, the effort is in sharing those art forms that represent an aspect of tradition that elementary aged children in 2012 may or may not know from family or educational experience. In some cases, families nourish their ethnic heritage through yearly celebrations or cherished belongings. Plenty of other folks may not know their ancestry, where their people came from. Many of us see ourselves as a fusion of cultures, a mix of many, and we bond with various traditions that move us or bring us joy. Whatever the case, Culture Builds Community celebrates the knowns and the unknowns. Every human being has a back story, a history with connections. CBC helps to both bring unique identity and common experience to the fore. The Welcome Dayton initiative celebrates the immigrant-friendly nature of the city. This inclusive approach fits beautifully with Cityfolk’s mission and CBC’s action.

For the past seven years, Culture Builds Community has lived into its identity by sharing arts-based cultural activities in Dayton’s urban neighborhoods. We’ve been building relationships with neighbors and area youth, through community events and the summer festival activities. Our signature piece is a residency project, bringing Visiting Artists together with Local Artists, Site Coordinators,Neighborhood School Centers and students to collaborate on a theme, through music and dance. This year is the most expansive program yet, involving all five NSC schools, five nationally acclaimed artists and a bevy of local talents and organizers to bring five cultural strands through an educational migration to a dynamic destination, the culminating performance. This year, Cityfolk presents CBC 2012 – Soul Rhythms: Traveling land and heart Through Music and Dance.

Soul Rhythms is engaged with the following schools:Fairview, Ruskin,Edison,Cleveland and Kiser. Each school is hosting a particular cultural expression, blending a team of intergenerational, multicultural folks together to make dances. These dances will be combined with works by visiting artists, local artists and collaborations between them, culminating in a dynamic performance!! While this project is one large collaborative effort, aspects of the whole are being realized in smaller pieces, to afford the most productive use of time and talent. Artists are working together, developing big ideas and sounds, swapping ideas with students; site coordinators are keeping the logistics tight, the attendance strong. It’s a well-oiled machine. Soul Rhythms is unfolding over seven weeks, taking us March through April. During week 1, the following artistic teams came together.

LaFrae Sci

LaFrae Sci

Fairview PreK-8 School welcomed percussionist and composer LaFrae Sci, nationally known artist, actively involved in Jazz atLincolnCenter, international teaching tours and her band, The Thirteenth Amendment. Ms. Sci is a native Daytonian! She is thrilled to be teaching in her hometown. She is working actively with Stivers Jazz band members, Renee McClendon (McClendon Institute) and Sierra Leone (Oral Funk Poetry), creating performance art with a group of 5th – 8th  graders.

Hasan Isakkut

Hasan Isakkut

Ruskin PreK-8, together with East End Community Services, is hosting Turkish kanun player, Hasan Isakkut, who is working closely with community dancers from theTwinTowers neighborhood. These young dancers from the Ahiska tradition will share their folk dance tradition with students from Ruskin. Mr. Isakkut will bring his beautiful music to the dancers, collaborating with LaFrae Sci to include the signature folk dance rhythms for the group.

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Step Afrika

Step Africa

Edison PreK-8 welcomed Step Afrika, nationally acclaimed dance troupe, specializing in the African American fraternity step tradition. They have partnered withCentral State’s Alpha Phi Alpha chapter, to teach advanced step routines to the young people of the Wright Dunbar neighborhood. CSU worked with young people atEdison in February as part of Black History Month.

Hammerstep

Hammerstep

Cleveland PreK-8 is proud to showcase the innovative work of Hammerstep, a dance company blending Irish step and Hip Hop, among other forms, bringing a whole new genre of dance to Daytonians. Founding member Garrett Coleman graduated from U.D, so this is a homecoming of sorts for him. Hammerstep is working closely with Beth Wright, formerly of Rhythm in Shoes, and The Corndrinkers, a long-established, local band, playing old time traditional country music.

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Sones de Mexico

Sones de Mexico

Kiser PreK-8 hosts Sones de Mexico from Chicago, bringing Mexican traditional music and dance to Old North Dayton. They are collaborating with local artist, Imelda Ayala and her local dancers, Orgullo Mexicano, along with Kiser students. The two artist teams bring dance from two different parts of Mexico!

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Artistic Director, Rodney Veal is pulling together the dances and collaborations into a beautiful dynamic sequence, a performance that will keep the audience riveted for an hour and fifteen minutes, packed with the pride of homelands, including our collective home,Dayton Ohio! The dances reflect a rich collaboration on the theme of migration. The performance features the live music of each tradition, film work to augment the various expressions and a masterful sense of the journey. All artists and participants will perform!

The big day is April 22nd, 2012!!! You won’t want to miss this performance!!! There is only one!! Tickets are on sale now – $12 per seat -through the Cityfolk website or in our office,126 N. Main St,. Suite 220. Follow the project on Facebook. Check out videos of CBC artists and previous CBC projects on our YouTube channel. Next year’s plans are already cookin’! CBC will be more places, with more folks involved! We would like YOU to be among them!!! Call 223-3655×3008 for more information.

Food Adventures visits Local Personality: Henrique Couto

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“Uncle Henny’s” Homemade Ginger Ale

Sometimes when we go on a Food Adventure, we meet someone that makes a big impression.  It is fair to say local talent Henrique Couto did just that.   About a year ago,  the Big Ragu randomly saw Henrique at a Chinese Buffet.  He was dressed in his trademark colorful pajama pants and a unique Hawaiian shirt.  His handlebar moustache was perfectly curled and he had rubber bands holding his beard tight.  Immediately, we knew we had to meet this interesting character.  After a couple of photos at the buffet, we went on our merry way, not even knowing his name.  Then, a few months later, we saw Henrique’s music CD’s at a local store and got in touch with him.

But who is Henrique Couto?  He is a filmmaker, musician and self described “raconteur” who finds any and all ways to express himself.  How does he fit into our Food Adventures? Well, he also makes some “Softened Drinks” which are available at unclehennys.com .  Being curious. we decided to check out these beverages.

We met Henrique at his home where he brews these special batches.  Couto shared with us how he got started in the beverage making business.  He told us that he had tried some incredible Ginger Ales from all over the country, yet there was nothing like this available in Dayton, Ohio.  Henrique decided to develop his own tasty sodas by cooking them himself in his kitchen, and people quickly took notice.  Henrique says, “I hope people to enjoy it, I hope they love the way it tastes, and I hope they buy lots more.  I like that level of validation!”

We each decided to buy a 6 pack of soda from Henrique.  We chose regular Ginger Ale, and the diet version.  The ginger ales are unique.  You have never tasted something quite like this.  They are made with pure cane sugar and real grated ginger root.  He shies away from using peppercorns and cayenne pepper, and instead adds habanero for a subtle heat.  Definitely a very individual taste.  Not for everyone, but we know he is going after the eclectic and adventurous soda seekers.

But, Couto does not only make beverages.  Henrique is a man of many talents.  He records music and has some of those videos online.  He plays an electric ukulele.  How cool is that?  He even has a website called UkeOrDie.com.  He also hosts a local game show on Wednesday nights at Milano’s Restaurant near University of Dayton called “Drink n Think.”   He is of Portuguese decent, and shares our love for food, like a good Pad Thai.

After swapping foodie stories, Henrique asked us if we would like to see his mausoleum.  That’s right, this horror film buff had set up a mini studio in his garage using his experience from his days in the film industry.  We also love horror movies, growing up with Dr. Creep and Shock Theater.  The 3 of us shared some laughs about our favorite creepy movie actors, then ended the visit with a few photos.

What is next for Henrique Couto?  He is currently developing a fruity root beer beverage that he intends to call “Froot Beer.”  We can’t wait to taste this, but it will not be available for a few weeks.

Henrique was very kind to take the time to invite The Big Ragu into his home for our Food Adventure.  We found out there is much more to him than the unforgettable outfits.   He is very witty with a great sense of humor. We will be seeing him around town and wish him much success in his “Softened Drink” endeavors, which you can check out HERE.  Whether being Dayton’s favorite electric ukulele player, game show hosting, or brewing his own beverages, we think Henrique Couto is an example of when nice guys finish first.

Have you met Henrique?  Have you tried one of  Uncle Henny’s Softened Drinks?  Have you seen his game show or been to one of his ukulele shows?  Then post you comment below !

Also, please visit FOOD ADVENTURES on FACEBOOK by clicking HERE and “like” us to become an official fan!!

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Air Camp Grows Future Aviation Leaders

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(Editor Note: the following was submitted by Scott Murphy)

Over the past few years, community leaders have a launched a number of new efforts that are helping put Dayton back on the map.  Initiatives to help our community become more immigrant friendly, secure Dayton as the Ohio hub for aerospace technology, and solidify our city as the starting place for the Road to the Final Four are big ideas (and many more) that help distinguish us from other cities.  We’ve realized that if we want people to think of Dayton, then we’ve got to give them something to think about.

Air Camp is another effort uniquely Dayton.  Started by local educators and retired Air Force and business community leaders, this program introduces middle school students from around the country to aviation and aeronautics.  Think Space Camp at Huntsville, AL, but for aeronautics and aviation at the birthplace of flight.  The intensive one week Air Camp combines the principles of aeronautics with hands on experience.  The program’s packed curriculum pulls together the many assets around the region that together distinguish Dayton as a world-leader in flight.

Want to get a young person excited about flight?  Show them airplanes… really cool ones.  Students visit the National Museum of the United States Air Force on the program’s first day and see firsthand how Dayton has been at the cutting edge in aviation since Orville and Wilbur made their historic flight in 1903.  Dayton remains on the cutting edge with the research that happens every day at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.  Air Camp shows students that almost all new developments in aerospace technology get their start or are at least impacted by researchers at Wright-Patt.  In Dayton at the Air Force Research Lab, new aerospace technology goes from theory to application – ideas turn into reality.  Program participants interact with these Air Force researchers and get a glimpse of what their future career could be like in science and technology.

Air Camp inspires and challenges its students with hands on learning in the principles of flight.  Participants get the unique opportunity to learn the basics of aeronautics by actually designing and testing a wing in a wind tunnel.  At Sinclair they participate in a half-day course on how to fly an airplane and get a thrill they’ll be sure to remember by piloting a motion-based flight simulator.  It’s one thing to understand the physical principles of how planes fly; it’s another thing to actually feel it by flying one yourself.  All Air Camp students get this opportunity at Wright Brothers Airport as a capstone activity near the end of the week.

Air Camp’s founders saw a nation-wide need for more scientists, engineers, and technicians.  People like Vince Russo, a retired Air Force Executive who chose to make Dayton his home after retirement, hope Air Camp will inspire middle school students to choose a research and technology related vocation.  Says Russo, “Our vision is to inspire students to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM).  Air Camp is a ‘wow’ experience grounded by a solid academic curriculum to help create a technology savvy workforce for the future.”

Thanks to Air Camp, when these students grow up they’ll not only be more likely to pursue a career in aviation and aeronautics, they’ll know that Dayton, OH is the place to do it.

Air Camp applications are being accepted now for the 2012 summer sessions scheduled for June 17-22, July 8-13, and July 22-27. Up to 40 students will be chosen for each session by a competitive application process. Applications are being accepted online through April 30 at www.aircampusa.com from students entering the seventh through ninth grades in fall 2012.

Questions?  Contact Tom Severyn at [email protected] to learn more.