March 13, 2014 · 1:57 am

Prepping for camp

So it’s time to prep for CampNanoWriMo already. I’ve got my story in mind and have begun fleshing out my characters in my head. But, this year I’m going for a completely different approach to my writing. I usually have a skyrocketing word count in the first week maybe even into the second week and then life as a way of messing with me so I miss my mark.

This year I’m going for writing the book in the first weekend of the challenge. I’ve cleared my schedule told everybody I know that I will be busily writing for the weekend. In fact I’ve shouted it from the rooftop. I will not let anything distract me the first weekend. I have other writing task and life that task that will kick in hard in the 2nd week of April, so everything depends on that first weekend.

I’m confident that if I prep characters and location before hand I will be able to finish the book in a long weekend. I’ve even got a head set so I can just to the computer. I will let you know how that works, but it’s definitely worth a try.

I wish all of you CampNanoWriMo preppers Good Luck and happy writing.

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March 11, 2014 · 2:35 pm

Behind the scene with Janessa

“Meet New Mexico’s own hair designer to the stars, Janessa Bouldin. Born and raised right here in Albuquerque, Janessa has been styling hair locally for over 10 years, when she landed her first Hollywood job on Love Ranch as a nail tech, soon followed by a hair design gig on Crash. “I had no idea what I was getting into when I first signed on to film set,” said Bouldin. “But, it’s been wild ride.” It is a close knit little community to break into when you’re first starting out. The hours can be long and demanding. The locations can be down the street or across the state from day to day. The people behind the cameras need to know that they can rely on you when your in the middle of nowhere trying to get a scene done.
Janessa Bouldin: Hair Designer

Being a singled mother of three young children, Bouldin is grateful for the opportunity working on set has provided her and her children. “The film industry has given me the chance to hone and prefect my skills without having to relocate my family.” Her children are supportive of her career and are looking to the film industry for careers of their own.

Janessa has worked on all kinds of movie and televisions shows in the last few years, each with their own challenges. The smaller indie movie sets such as Blaze you out shot in Espanola NM gave her a chance to really stretch her creative muscles. She handled more work and more responsibility. “Pushing my limits is a great experience even on the days it was difficult.” On larger movies sets such as The Avengers there are new and different pressures to work coordinating so many people to be ready for each scene. No matter what is in production you are guaranteed to have some great moments and gain knew insights.

“When it comes to getting star struck, I have my moments, but the key is to remain professional at all times.” Treating everyone on set in the same caring and respectful way will instill confidence in your work. The more confidence people have in your work the more work you will get. Janessa credits her family and her mother for instilling these ideas into her at a very young age. She plans to continue on the movie sets for years to come whiling encouraging her children to follow their dreams and use their artist skills.

Without the opportunities bought into town by the film industry Janessa and many others working in that field wouldn’t be able to provide for the families the way they are now. It’s an industry that is sure to grow and improve the lives of Native New Mexicans across the state.
checkout more at: http://www.NMEntertains.com

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March 9, 2014 · 9:32 pm

Stranger Factory

2014-01-10 18.14.26By Winter Flack

Just off Central on Carlisle is a small art gallery named Stranger Factory. You have to keep an eye out as you drive by or you might miss it. It is far from a typical Albuquerque or Santa Fe art gallery. Brandt Peters and Kathie Olivas operate Stranger Factory. It’s part of a group of artists that formed Circus Posterus. This collective of fine artists, illustrators, gallery curators and collaborators is bringing the strange back to art in New Mexico. Every month, the gallery offers a new show with a new-featured artist. The artists range from painters to sculptures, all with their own characters.

If that was all Stranger Factory offered, it should already be a monthly destination of yours, but it’s not. With most new exhibitions, the artists come in opening weekend to give a workshop on his or her expertise. The workshops run from two to four hours and are usually on a Sunday afternoon. They are very affordable, and, if you pay really close attention, you will learn things you’d never thought possible in a very short period of time.

I have taken a number of workshops from Stranger Factory. The most recent on Character Development. It was an eye opening look at how animators, illustrators, and people like me can now build a character that really relates to the audience. The hardest workshop I took was one by Travis Louie. He taught a workshop on rending to make graphite drawings look like black and white photos. I’m going to be honest, I hated the workshop, not because he wasn’t a good teacher, he was, but because I could NOT do it at all, not even a little bit. Over the next few months – ok more like twelve – I worked on the techniques when I could, until one day, it just clicked. I’m not good at it, not by any means, but now I understand it and have used it to improve other areas of my art. If you give these artists a chance, they will open your eyes to worlds you didn’t even know existed.

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March 5, 2014 · 10:55 pm

Laidback Luke

Valentine’s Day at The Stage inside Santa Ana Star Casino with Laidback Lukelaidbackstage3, and I had the privilege of sitting down with him, while his wife Gina Turner opened the show. Laidback Luke has a residency at Light this year in Vegas, moving on from his residency at Hakkasan. Working in Vegas is amazing and drastically different then playing in the festival shows. The festival shows allow you to tap in to the local vibe of an area. “My favorite for the year was EDC Vegas 2103” says Luke. “In Vegas, you are always playing for tourists. The advantage to Vegas is that they can build or make happen what ever you can dream up.” Currently Laidback Luke is in talks with Cirque du Soleil to create a new event. .

Working on the road with his wife, Gina Turner, is proving to be a great partnership in many ways. She is a great crowd starter, who digs new innovated underground music, so they never clash on the musical sets. Off-stage Gina is a certified yoga teacher and Luke is a Kung Fu practitioner at a world level. “What people don’t know about Kung Fu is that it originated from people at the Shaolin temple, meeting a yogi who taught them about breathing and fighting.” shared Luke. “Before that, the Shaolin Monks were just monks”. Luke and Gina are very much a power couple, in the aspects that they live clean, eat healthy, and are always planning their workouts.

Laidback Luke was always into drawing as a child. In his teenage years, his art moved to drawing on walls. It didn’t last long because he did get in trouble with the police. He now channels all his creativity into music. There are some DJs out there that can do both and make beautiful art and music, but Luke says his heart is only in his music. To keep the creative juices flowing he says, “The best way to beat ‘Producers’ Block’ is to set goals, and give yourself time limits.” Currently he set himself a goal of producing twenty new tracks in twenty days. Staying focused takes work in itself.

To aspiring DJs out there he offers some advice. “Word of mouth is the best way to get your name out there, if the quality is there in your work. Grass roots movements are the best way to widen your circle and get people listening to your music. Talk, talk, talk and be talked about.”

Opening with a strong underground set, Gina turned up the crowd for Laidback Luke to take over. The crowd was jumping. Wherever Electronic Music takes Laidback Luke and his wife, we certainly hope it brings them back through Albuquerque, sooner rather then later.

checkout more at: www.NMEntertains.com

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March 4, 2014 · 2:28 am

Just Nick, Nick Wechsler

Nick Wechsler, born and raised right here in Albuquerque New Mexico, always had dreams of being a comedy star. After graduating from Highland High School, Nick took off to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting. By his own admission, he hoped to go into comedy, but has been popular in dramatic roles. “I haven’t had many opportunities to do comedy,” said Wechseler. “Which probably just means I’m not very funny”. He jokes, of course, with many successful TV series under his belt like Team Knight Rider, Roswell, and Revenge, we know he’s good at his job.

In his current role as Jack Porter in Revenge, Nick says this is one of the harder characters he’s ever played simply because Jack is a good guy. Being a comedian at heart, his sense of humor skews to negative, making it easier for him to play a villain. But, no matter what the character is, Nick has a formula for bringing them to life. “I will read a script several times to extract as much information as I can about tone and history and character, and then I store it, internalize it. I just try to relate to these guys.” Every character has a piece that you can relate to. If you can relate to him then other people can too.” Understanding is the basis of how Nick creates his memorable characters.

Jack is a challenging and different character for Nick to play and is helping him stretch and grow as an actor. Variety is everything in a field where becoming typecasted is easy. The change of pace keeps thing fresh and new. “I will read a script several times to extract as much information as I can about tone and history and character, and then I store it, internalize it. I just try to relate to these guys.”

His rise to stardom has been an uphill climb. He’s had some major success along the way, but also had some times of serious self-doubt and struggling. “I’ve been at it for 16 years. I’ve had some success, but I’ve also had long stretches of nothing, which was demoralizing,” Wechsler shared. “I think the hardest part of acting is trusting your worth, despite near-constant rejection.” Like many other careers out there you can be riding high one day and crashing and burning the next. You need to build up your confidence and self-esteem. In Nick’s case, his lively sense of humor has helped through his valleys.

He reminisces about the early days when he went out to Los Angeles and the time spent with his roommate, Taran Killam. At the time, Nick wanted to be on the cast of Saturday Night Live to explore and develop his comedy side, but he ended up with dramas and no SNL. His old roommate, on the other hand, wound up on SNL and Nick is so proud of him. “The comedic part of me is jealous of the dramatic part,” joked Wechsler.

Before leaving Albuquerque for the City of Angels, Nick was a theater actor, with many performances under his belt. But when it comes to taking the jump from primetime to the stage, he admits he’s a little apprehensive. “I’m kind of terrified of the stage now. I haven’t done any theatre since high school. I used to like it a lot back then, but that was before I did this for a living. I have a fear that if I returned to theatre now, I’d be eviscerated. I should probably do it in that case, get past my fear of it. It’d probably make me a better, more confident performer But here’s the deal, nah” Nick feels his place is in film, but after so many years in the industry, the stage may be in the distance, distance goal.

Showing off his twisted sense of humor, Nick creatively dodges a direct question about the future of Revenge. His convoluted answers point to show rating, executive decisions, and audience response, but not a definite yes or no to if Revenge is coming back. So for those of you hoping for some insight into the shows return next season, Nick isn’t giving away anything. “But what the hell do I know?” Wechsler says. “It’s all up in the air until it isn’t” Nick isn’t one for making plans. He likes to stay flexible and keep his options open, whatever they may be. “I don’t currently have anything in my pipeline. Which is probably best, y’know? Because then I’m available for whatever. Like watering my plants, or staring at the walls, or sobbing into a pillow.”

With such a versatile career, Nick won’t be watering his plants or sobbing into his pillow for long. He is bringing his sense of humor to his “good guy” dramatic role with a flare all his own. If the fans of Revenge have any say in the matter, the show will be returning for another season, maybe more.

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March 1, 2014 · 12:34 am

Comedy night at Sandia Bowl

People will tell you that Albuquerque lacks a lot of things that other cities have and it’s true, but Sandia Bowl is stepping in to fill one of those needs. They are hosting a comedy night right here in town, every other Saturday night. Walking in the staff was great possibly a bit over whelmed. The small bar in Sandia Bowl filled up quickly for the comedy night featuring numerous local comedians and a first time Host.

Everybody was funny but if your easily offended or have tender ears stay out in the bowling area. Offensive subject matter, cuss words, and the possibility of being the butt of the joke were served up on the menu along with cold beer and drinks. The only thing missing was the stench of cigarette smoke hanging in the air. Come to think of it I really didn’t miss that part at all. The comedians were given a short amount of time to impress the crowd and they al lived up to the challenge. Even when the jokes were slow or the timing was off a recovery was always made. This was a promising start to many humorous Saturdays to come.

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February 25, 2014 · 7:30 pm

Panic sets in

So it just hit me today that I have a pitch set up for April with a literary agent for a book that isn’t done yet. Well now that that’s off my chest I feel even worse. I have a 12 chapter book and 3 chapters are done. I’ve been coming up with ideas for weeks straight and they disappear as soon as I sit down. Ugh! So today is the day I sit down and stay there until something appears on the screen. Even if it’s dribble it will be a start. I wrote the book in no time nanowrimo.org of course, but now that I’m on to the editing process and it’s slow and hard.

I have a ton of ideas for other books including the next one in this series but I have to complete the first one and figure out how I am going to get it out into the world. Deep breath, I will complete this project it is important. 

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February 22, 2014 · 3:14 pm

Meet the author Irene I. Blea

Irene I. Blea was born and raised here in Northern New Mexico. She has long studied her homeland and it’s customs, as form chairperson of the Department of Mexican American studies at California University-Los Angeles she brings a unique prospective to her novels. The first in her trilogy chronicling the life of Suzanna, a young girl born to a poor family in northern New Mexico and the role gender inequality and religion play in shaping a young girl’s life.

The book is rich in description and details transport you in to the beauty and intensity of northern New Mexico of the past. Suzanne is a lovely little girl growing up in devastating circumstances common to so many poor uneducated women. The heart wrenching coming of age story of one young girl’s struggle to keep her family together miles from her nearest neighbors.

Speaking with the author she said the subject was not hard for her to write. She had many years in women’s studied and her own personal and painful experience to draw from. The trouble came in trying to create Don Felipe has a full character. “I just could not give him a full character sketch, make him real, until I had a 15 page Word conversation with him. This material never got into the novel, but I drew on it to finally get him written on the page. He was the most difficult character because I did not like him and he did not, via the dialog exercise, like me.”

The author’s descriptive writing style brings the characters and the scenery to life. The second book in the trilogy Poor People’s Flower will be released in mid February 2014.

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February 19, 2014 · 12:12 pm

Inside Ozomatli

Ozomatli maybe be a local Los Angeles band that has been around for eighteen years and counting, but they are adopted sons of New Mexico. They are here this weekend to perform at the La Cosecha Dual Language Conference, a fundraiser for dual language education here in New Mexico. Citizens of the world, this seven-member band has a wide variety of musical styles and fusions including jazz, hip-hop, and salsa, to name just a few. Some of their fans love them for their political activism while others love them for their high-energy party-loving live performances. Whatever the reason you’re drawn to this band, they will give it their all to wow the crowd.

Each member of the band brings with them a different background and up-bringing from the same city. One thing is for sure they are no longer just a band or just friends, they are a family. As a family they strive to give back to the communities that have supported them. In Los Angeles, the Mayor has given them their own day, April 23rd (Ozomatli Day), in recognition of their efforts.  The band says it is important to them to encourage music and art in the schools so that is what they use their day hours to do. “Too often art and music are the first programs to be cut from the budget. All classes are important but unlike math that has a finite answer to a question, art and music force people to think out of the box. Future problem-solvers of the world will benefit from these classes. Exercising the creative muscle of your brain doing art and music teaches you to think for yourself.” Asdru Sierra

The band is proud of the fusion of musical styles in their music. They believe that music can break down cultural walls and biases.  Everyone on the planet relates to the world in different ways with different jobs to do. The band sees themselves as caretakers of the world. They bring people who might not otherwise have anything in common together for a good experience. They believe everything is a combination of other things — rock ‘n roll came to life by combining blues and jazz. Taking the idea further, the band is constantly striving to add new variety to their sound. “It can be the hardest part of making music they way we do, learning new styles and playing the sound with integrity. It is also the part that keeps it fun.”  Raul Pacheco

One of Ozomatli’s political messages is that everyone needs to learn different languages in this country. That is why they are here in New Mexico for La Cosecha. They are contributing their time and money to make scholarships available to New Mexico children for learning multiple languages.  After extensive touring outside the United States, it became clear to them that if our children want to stand a chance in the global market then they need to be bilingual. “Mandarin is the most spoken language in the world”, Asdru Sierra notes.  They aren’t insisting what language you choose to learn but the time of a single language to unify the nation is over. Back two hundred years ago, it made sense to insist on a single language, but the times have changed and the global economy insists on evolution of thought when approaching the world. Many of the members are bilingual and say that in many ways knowing both Spanish and English has been a large contributor to their success in the past eighteen years.

Being citizens of the world has gotten them named Cultural Ambassadors to the U.S. State Department. Luckily for these busy guys, they were already going all over the world reaching out to many different kinds of people with their music. “Life cannot be heavy or a party all the time and our music reflects that”. Ulises Bella  From helping grass roots political movements in Los Angeles gain momentum to cheering up a single listener, the band’s versatile music and positive lyrics are creating change on a national and global level. They have performed twice for President Obama at the White House and have joined political causes and rallies from here to Africa.

No matter how busy their touring schedule is, the band always manages to make a visit or three to New Mexico every year.  When asked what ties they have to our state, the answer is simple: “Green chile.”  When they were just starting out as a band they made a strong connection with the Chicano community here in New Mexico and up in Colorado. Grateful for the support of these adopted communities the bands makes time to give back and come through town often. Constant traveling and seeing how different people live in different places helps to keep the band motivated and inspired to do what they do best – share the inspiration.

There are no plans as of yet for how the band will celebrate turning twenty but they are certain they will be throwing a party. When asked if it will be on Ozomatli Day, there were shoulder shrugs all around. They suggest if you live outside Los Angeles and want to celebrate April 23, “buy a musician a meal. They are starving for the art.” On a more serious note, they recommend, “keep taking stands on issues you believe — the world is counting on it.”  Whatever bought your attention to Ozomatli, know they will keep changing growing and giving you more of what you love.

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February 16, 2014 · 9:53 pm

Meet Comedian Stephen Smith

On a chilly Saturday night in Albuquerque, I head out to a comedy show. Being that Albuquerque’s only comedy club closed years ago, I’m not sure what to expect. Will there be nice tables and drink minimums or smoke filled rooms? I find when I get there a small bar in the front of Sandia Bowl. The room is dimly lit and should be smoke filled, but it isn’t. In the far corner from the bar, there is a single spotlight shining on a corner with a small PA system. Tonight, there will be a number of comedians preforming tonight. My interest is in the headliner, Stephen “Smitty” Smith.

An ex-air force man, Stephen began his career in comedy entertaining his friends and co-workers in Iraq. After a long difficult deployment to the middle-east, Stephen returned to New Mexico without giving comedy another thought. Luckily, his wife at the time had given it another thought and signed him up for a comedy competition here in Albuquerque. With no idea that he was headed to a competition, Stephen took his first baby steps into professional comedy.

Coming in third was a boost to the comedian fighting his way out. Stephen credits the close-knit comedy community in being so welcoming and helpful to him in the beginning. In his first performance, two of the seasoned comedians took him out for a late night dinner and gave him a laundry list of open mic nights and hints for making it in comedy. This turned out to be the second best advice that Stephen had received in his life so far.

Growing up in Riverdale, Georgia, Stephen raised his younger brother and sister while he was in high school. The responsibility kept the young man on the straight and narrow, until he moved out on his own. He adopted a partying lifestyle soon after getting out into the real world. Trouble followed him around, until a police officer told him, “Get the hell out of Georgia or you will spend the rest of your life in jail.” Stephen took the suggestion to heart. Being a broke teenage with no prospect for college at the time, he joined the Air Force, where he was sent off to New Mexico to start a new period of his life.

Like the lives of many stand-up comics before him, Stephen’s life was full of ups and downs. From PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder), from going to war in Iraq, to his marriage dissolving due to issue resulting from his condition. During this time, he was going it alone, trying to control his symptoms. In the end, he ended up leaving the Air Force, being jobless and almost homeless. He got help for his PTSD and decided he would go full force into the world of stand-up comedy.

Stephen has been headlining all over town with his eye on The Stage, which has introduced a Thursday Comedy Night at Santa Ana Star Casino. He is also planning a Southwest comedy tour with a few of his close friends in the industry for the summer. When asked what he would say to young talent starting out, he has two pieces of advice.

“First own your jokes,” he says. “No matter how rude or crude or proper. Own, believe, and hang on to it, even if it bombs the first second or third time you deliver it. Keep it written down. You never know when it will work with your crowd. Second, hone your skill at open MIC nights. Here in Albuquerque, you can find one at Nexus Brewery on Tuesday nights at 7:30 or Broken Bottle Brewery on the Westside on Wednesday nights at 7:30. You will see new and seasoned comics alike working on their acts, get to know the community they are a great source of inspiration.”!

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