Mini Interview with Maritez Apigo, dancer of MMCo
27 Sep 2010 2 Comments
in MMCompany Interviews Tags: Area, artists, Bay, company, dancer, DJ, malia, movement, Music, Oakland, support, women
“the DJ” by TuffGyal 808
Maritez Apigo, aka DJZita Interview 2010
Q#1: Are you a Bay Area Native? and if not, how long have you lived in the Bay? Zita: I’m a L.A. native, in the Bay since 1997.
Q#2: When did you start on the creative path you are currently on?
Zita: DJing began for me in 1999, but dancing since I could walk.
Q#3: Where do you find your inspiration?
Zita: Many places… the ocean, in music, from dreams.
Q#4: What was the first piece of vinyl you ever purchased?
Zita: Michael Jackson’s Thriller album in 1982.
Q#5: Anything else you’d like to share? a joke/quote?
Zita: One of my favorite quotes is by Jedi Master Yoda, “Do, or do not. There is no ‘try’. “
Mini Interview with Susie Lundy, dancer of MMCo
24 Sep 2010 2 Comments
in MMCompany Interviews Tags: Area, artists, Bay, BGirl, company, dancer, graffiti, HipHop, Lundy, malia, movement, Muralist, Oakland, Scholar, support, Susie, women
“the B-Girl” by TuffGyal 808
Susie Lundy: Muralist/BGirl/Scholar Interview 2010
Q#1: Are you a Bay Area Native? and if not, how long have you lived in the Bay? Susie: I was born in Maryland, but moved to the Bay Area when I was three years old. I definitely consider it my home. I’ve lived in Oakland proper on and off since 1997. I’ve lived in many cities and travelled the globe but if you ask me, I will rep the Bay all day.
Q#2: When did you start on the creative path you are currently on? Susie: My grandmother and mother are both painters. My mom has always been super creative. I think that the path was laid long before I arrived to this world. I personally started painting in graduate school when I was teaching US History to high school sophomores in Charlestown, MA. And dancing? Pffft! I’ve danced since I was five. Are you kidding? Who didn’t dance in the eighties? It was all Flashdance and Madonna on MTV and Hollywood. I remember my first crush bringing cardboard and a boombox to school so he could dance to Egyptian Lover at recess. He was rockin checkered Vans and errrything.
Q#3: Where do you find your inspiration? Susie: I find my inspiration in Buddha, hip hop, love, Stevie, beauty, and undying friendship. I’m inspired by all of the fly ass women in the Bay. Women just know how to hold it all with strength, swag, tenderness, and ferocity.
Q#4: What was the first piece of vinyl you ever purchased?
Susie: My brother is five years older than me. He used to do this thing where he would manipulate me into spending my savings on stuff that he would then take over. It happened with the Atari when I was five and then it happened with the “The Rise and Fall” Madness record I split with him when I was 7.
Q#5: Anything else you’d like to share? a joke/quote? Susie: “Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It’s a relationship between equals. Only when we know our own darkness well can we be present with the darkness of others. Compassion becomes real when we recognize our shared humanity.”
— Pema Chödrön (The Places That Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times)
Dear New York City… by Hannah Pearl Walcott
23 Sep 2010 2 Comments
in Community Blogs Tags: Area, artists, Bay, company, Hannah, malia, movement, NYC, ode, Pearl, to, Walcott
Dear New York City,
I remember you. The way you seem to exhale from miles beneath your concrete surface during the hot months. The way you tell stories through the air blown out of a trumpet, spilling from the musty jazz club stage, out through the back kitchen window, hovering on my fire escape, landing in my notebook. I remember you. The picture of you is always bigger than the snapshot. Outside of the frames, there still exists more of you.
Sitting at the new restaurant on the old corner. 19th and 8th. My corner. Where the Cuban-Chinese restaurant used to be. Where the little me ate ropa vieja and avocado salad and played cards with my neighbors. There are new establishments, but the fire trucks will always come down 19th street. And the cop cars will always go up 20th street. The yellow cabs swarm like big metal bumblebees. All this longing could be squeezed into a telephone booth, swallowed by coins and long distance phone calls. All this yellow street light could be poured into this restaurant and served as the catch of the day.
New York, I like the way your apartment buildings sit, like bookshelves full of living books, each window illuminates an urban fairy tale. No one quite knows the privacy of anyone else’s heart. Drunken lovers weaving through their night, bumping into old couples coming from the theatre. Late night joggers glistening for their hungry 8th avenue audience. Abuelas on the stoop talking to their grandsons. Young lost American Apparel representatives. Delivery men with steaming lo mein in their bicycle baskets. Sex shops full of the shy and the perverse. Streets named after Jane Wood who fought for rent control or Tito Puente, whose timbales lit our souls on fire. The Joyce theatre where my mom and I used to sneak into shows at intermission. The M train stops at 14th and 6th now. People seem to be carrying less these days. Groceries exist in cyber space and strollers can be folded into a purse. Where are the schleppers, the haulers, the sweating kids on a mission with a stolen mattress? Convenience isn’t friends with the creativity that is born out of the unexpected. I miss your inconveniences. I miss that feeling of being inside of the best story ever written.
The air is changing. It’s that crisp September air, the kind that remembers everything. Do you remember yourself, New York? Do you remember the dance you used to do? It’s not gone. I still see it. In the hips of the old crazy artist carrying his canvases across Houston Street. He hasn’t made the switch from walkman to mp3 or snail mail to email. He still has a rotary phone without an answering machine and that’s the only way to reach him. Smiling at no one in particular. Because he’s on his way to the rent controlled studio. To do his work.
I’ll see you at the studio, New York City
All my love,
Your Hannah Pearl
Mini Interview with Sandor Moss
22 Sep 2010 3 Comments
in Interviews Tags: Afro-Latin, Area, artists, Bay, Drummer, Jazz, Moss, Musician, San Francisco, Sandor, soul, support, Surfer
“Sepia Tones” by TuffGyal 808
Sandor Moss: Drummer Interview 2010 (shown here with Malia)
Q#1: Are you a Bay Area Native? and if not, how long have you lived in the Bay? Sandor: Born and raised with surfing@ Kelly’s cove, going to public school and a 2~14 49er team!! Or was it 1~15? Grandma’s house on Capp Street in the Mission with her 18 inch round tortillas every Sunday!!! (no lie!) AND my dad dragging the family down to Shenson’s Deli to get our Kosher on!!! hell yes, I have been spoiled!!!
Q#2: When did you start on the creative path you are currently on? Sandor: My creative path started @ 11 yrs old. I saw my cousin playing drums in a rock band back in ’82 and that was it. I knew I wanted to be a drummer. My first drum set came the very next year. This path has led me to some incredible places in the world and to some of the finest people one can come into contact with. It has also led me to believe that art, music and performance is about healing. It’s really something when you can enter someone’s mind and non-verbally influence them within… literally within minutes, and by the end of the story, you’ve made a new friend. This path has no end. You just keep shedding layers and layers trying to reach the truth and come closer to it. You know you’re getting closer when the faces of the people radiate love. LOVE IS THE KEY!!!
Q#3: Where do you find your inspiration? Sandor: My inspiration comes from sincerely beautiful folk such as yourself, Malia Connor. When I first met you, you were on such a mission… with a” take no prisoners” attitude. There was more creativity coming out of you than one can shake a stick at!! After so much time has passed, you haven’t changed a bit!! ON FIRE!! That’s what constitutes inspiration for me.
Surfing has a been everything, too. Yemaya. The natural connection has always been there. Another mama’s boy, that’s for sure!! ha. Exercise and being active are crucial to keep creativity flowing. Surfing in another country is where it’s at!! Cuba, Nicaragua, Israel. take a pick!!
Q#4: What was the first piece of vinyl you ever purchased?
Sandor: My 1st piece of vinyl actually may have been a cassette. I do seem to remember buying ”OFF THE WALL”" by Michael Jackson. Trying to imitate those moves on TV!!!
My dad was always blasting Celia Cruz for hours then he would switch gears and listen to OPERA. My mom always liked Patsy Cline and Elvis (remember she’s Nicoya). By the time I was buying records, I knew what I liked but not what was hip! quite different now!!
Q#5: Anything else you’d like to share? a joke/quote?
Sandor: sorry that it took so long to get back to you… Besos.
Mini Interview with Azeem
21 Sep 2010 Leave a Comment
in Interviews Tags: Area, artists, Azeem, Bay, Emcee, Father, HipHop, MC, Music, Oakland, support
“Island Bwoy” by TuffGyal 808
Azeem: Emcee/Writer/Poet Interview 2010
Q#1: Are you a Bay Area Native? and if not, how long have you lived in the Bay? Azeem: I moved to the Bay from Miami in early 90′s. They told me not to go to Oakland because it was crazy. So, I went. It made Way more sense than SF did to me. Although it would probably help me sell more records, I haven’t been shot yet. I was born and raised in Jersey. Maybe that’s why.
Q#2: When did you start on the creative path you are currently on? Azeem: I used to get in trouble a lot as a kid. I was smart, and bored so…. When I started to write rhymes and other things, I stopped getting in trouble.
It’s a form of therapy or medicine for me. Bad rappers and poets help too. They make me wanna kill my radio or throw rotten eggs and bricks at the stage. They make me write….
Q#3: Where do you find your inspiration? Azeem: Inspiration comes from emotions. I love to record when I’m angry and Never eat before a recording session. That way I am Hungry in every way when I lay vocals. My philosophy is – if YOU don’t FEEL what you’re writing about, no one else will either. I also like to challenge myself with different ways to attack a song or I pick a beat that’s hard to write to so I’m forced to create a new style or flow pattern which most artists now a days don’t do. Same flow every song. Boring. Predictability is the artists enemy.
Q#4: What was the first piece of vinyl you ever purchased? Azeem: I stole a KISS album from the Morris Town Flea Market when I was 9. I liked the cover. First album was Prince – Controversy.
Q#5: Anything else you’d like to share? a joke/quote? Azeem: “Life consists of 3 days. The past, which you cannot change, the future which is not promised, and TODAY so avail yourself of it.” Muslim Hadith (Sayings) of Jesus.
“Forward EVER Backward Never!”- Rasta
DANCE-PIRATION….by Cati Gallardo
18 Sep 2010 1 Comment
in Community Blogs Tags: Area, artists, Bay, Cati, company, dancer, Gallardo, malia, movement, San Francisco, support, Thailand
When it comes to finding (for lack of a better word) “inspiration” for my process as a dancer and choreographer…I use my experiences in life to help build my pieces and use them as motivation for interpreting movement in the works of others. I believe that for most artists, this is true. Life, no matter where you are in the world, fuels the fire that burns within us. For me, art is found in the simplest forms…human connections…laughter…pain and the world around us.
I believe that seeing different parts of the world is of the utmost importance for those who feel the need to create…because as performers and choreographers, the world really is our community….and expanding our minds to see the way others really live and feel brings us all closer as artists and to our audience. I was asked to share some reflections on my summer travels to Thailand and to explain how this journey has motivated me as a dancer…so here it goes…
My experience in Thailand was so rich (and sweaty). You would probably expect most to say that the colors, interesting smells and food were amazing and that the palaces, temples and beaches were beautiful…which…yes, they were. For me, what motivated my need to create was the dichotomy of what I saw. The beauty and the ugliness. Ornate palaces and temples filled with golden loveliness, hope and smiling faces…but if you looked close they were also filled with starving dogs and kittens, sadness, hustling beggars disguised as monks, broken telephones and ash trays. Now that is “inspiration”.
Ladyboys hustling tourists for beer and sex after their family friendly cabaret show was over…all while playing Connect Four and Jenga was inspiring to me. The way people in Thailand hustle everyday to survive is a sight to behold…it made me question my own way of living…which we all should. The not-so-underground seediness of what goes on in day-to-day life there is so beautifully sad that the mundane, everyday actions of the people there were fascinating. Traffic cones in the street…trash cans…motorcycle rides..and daily trips to 7-11…just living life the way others do and observing this helps us see how similar we all are as humans…learning this can evoke thoughts that drive creative expression. Just open your eyes to it, no matter where you are. This is how we, as artists, connect to others.
With that said, there were so many things that happened during my travels that were just ridiculous…I got scratched by a monkey at a snake farm and got the shocker while getting a bikini wax at a “nice” spa in Bangkok . I stood on an elephant and had nasty little fish give me a pedicure while on Koh Samui. I followed two drunks with devil horns around at the Full Moon Party on Koh Phangan, watched a friend light a motorcycle on fire while on Koh Tao and saw the infamous ping-pong show in Bangkok’s red light district. The list gets more inappropriate and goes on and on…
All of these memories will somehow be expressed in my dancing. I will take these experiences and use them as motivations because I have to. I use choreography and dance to cultivate my thoughts and feelings….the beauty, sadness and stupidity of it all relates to how I express myself through movement. I feel grateful to have lived it and so lucky to be able to share what motivates me on stage with you…and if you look closely ….you just may see tidbits of these Thai “inspirations” next time you see us dance. 
Mini Interview with Sandra Garcia Rivera
08 Sep 2010 Leave a Comment
in Interviews Tags: Area, artists, Bay, Garcia, NY, Poet, Rivera, Sandra, singer, support, women, writer
“Poetess” by TuffGyal 808
Q#1: Are you a Bay Area Native? and if not, how long have you lived in the Bay? Sandra: I am a New York City native. I moved to San Francisco at the end of 1990, lived and worked in the Mission most of the time I was here, and then left the Bay in 1999 to return to the Boogie down Bronx, NYC. I returned to the Bay in April 2008, and have had such great bonding experiences with so many of my old friends and artistic collaborators, that it feels like I never left.
Q#2: When did you start on the creative path you are currently on?
Sandra: I have been a singer since childhood, from school plays to performance at Lincoln Center, all the way up til high school. I started writing poetry around 1993/4 in San Francisco and my first inspiration was Piri Thomas. He is also Puerto Rican from New York (the Barrio). The first time I saw him read poetry was when I was a program coordinator at an all girls youth program in the Mission, and when he spoke and read his poems I realized that I could be a poet too, “Every child is born a poet, every poet is a child” ~(P.T.). I was also really inspired by Queen Latifah. She was a smart woman of color from the hood, rapping about women’s power. The first poem I ever read was at the Upper Room, (at an open mic hosted by brother Kaloy) when it used to be located above Burger King on Mission Street. I started doing performance events in the Bay as a singer with Imani Uzuri (Uzuri productions), at LunaSea and other venues. She is one of the most nurturing and affirming spirits when it comes to believing and trusting in the gifts we have been given.
Q#3: Where do you find your inspiration?
Sandra: Everywhere and no where. It comes from inside and outside, and sometimes it comes easy, and sometimes it is a painful labor. For example, I caught a guy trying to steal my underwear from the laundromat the other night, right out of the drier. Can you believe it?! And, I just had to write about it, and the poem just kept coming and coming. The themes I most often engage are about women, everyday women and the ways we find and define our strength. I also write a lot about love. I am a romantic.
Q#4: What was the first piece of vinyl you ever purchased?
Sandra: Boogie Nights (by Heatwave) and Car Wash (by Rose Royce) – the 45s.
Q#5: Anything else you’d like to share? a joke/quote?
Sandra: Hmmm… Two men walk into a bar… (just kidding).
I am grateful to have amazing collaborators to work with here in the Bay, such as the sisters of Malia Movement Co. I host a monthly poetry reading in the Mission on every full moon at Galeria de la Raza (7:30pm), and the open mic is a great place for artists to let their gifts soar and affirm their spirits. I believe writing is a tool for healing and that the world needs a lot of healing, so all I have to say is, WRITE ON!
Mini Interview with Candi Martinez
08 Sep 2010 Leave a Comment
in Interviews Tags: Area, artists, Bay, Candi, dancer, DJ, Martinez, support, women, writer
“Miss Kitty’s” by TuffGyal 808
Q#1: Are you a Bay Area Native? and if not, how long have you lived in the Bay? Candi: I am a California native; I have been in YAY since 1996.
Q#2: When did you start on the creative path you are currently on? Candi: I started collecting music when I was five years old, started folkloric dancing at the age of two and writing stories at six…..somehow, I managed to fuse them together and make a living for myself.
Q#3: Where do you find your inspiration? Candi: Somewhere between Hawaii Nei and the Bay Area: waterfalls, riots, rainbows, truth and transparencies…..I am ripped open and put back together.
Q#4: What was the first piece of vinyl you ever purchased? Candi: Tina Turner “Whats Love Got To Do with It”… I was six!
Q#5: Anything else you’d like to share? a joke/quote? Candi: Ha’ina ‘ia mai ana ka puana Ka po’e i aloha i ka ‘aina (tell the story of the people who love their land)…
Pictoral Gallery #3 by Barbara Jerabek
05 Sep 2010 Leave a Comment
in Gallery Tags: Area, artists, Bay, company, dance, dancer, malia, movement, Oakland, support, women
Malia Movement Company photo shoot at 4th Street, Berkeley
Tricia Perkins & Veleda Roehl
Tricia Perkins & Malia Connor
Daryl Edwards, Veleda Roehl & Malia Connor
Malia Movement Company
Malia Movement Company
Mini Interview with Veleda Roehl, dancer of MMCo
04 Sep 2010 3 Comments
in MMCompany Interviews Tags: Area, artists, Bay, company, dancer, malia, movement, Oakland, Roehl, singer, support, Teacher, Veleda, women
“Waimea Falls” by TuffGyal 808
Veleda Roehl: MMCo Dancer/Choreographer/Singer Interview 2010
Q#1: Are you a Bay Area Native? and if not, how long have you lived in the Bay? Vee: I was born and raised in Funky Town AKA Fort Worth, Texas. I’ve been in the Bay since 2004. First in San Francisco, Mission District, and now in Oakland for the past 4 years.
Q#2: When did you start on the creative path you are currently on? Vee: I have educators and artists on both sides of my family, and from my earliest memories, I was always surrounded by creativity and encouraged to express myself. My Aunt Sylvia, one of my mother’s sisters, sponsored most of my professional training, and my maternal grandmother, Mama Sue Sue, made sure I got to all the rehearsals and classes. My siblings, my cousins, we were always creating little worlds together.
Q#3: Where do you find your inspiration? Vee: In late night conversations with my wife, marathon phone sessions with my girls, partying with my wild family, walks through city streets, quiet time spent in prayer, the dance floor, the kitchen, the forest, the ocean, swimming in creeks and rivers, Texas summers, wildflowers, animals, ancestors, elders and children. My niece Sukhi makes me a better person and artist. She is the light of my life.
Q#4: What was the first piece of vinyl you ever purchased? Vee: I inherited some 45s from my dad, I remember a lot of Beatles. And of course my mama got me Thriller, which I listened to obsessively until my bad ass cousin threw it like a frisbee and it cracked. The first vinyl I purchased with my own little money, I think was a Salt-N-Pepa single, Expression.
Q#5: Anything else you’d like to share? a joke/quote? Vee: As my grandma always said, “Tend to your own knittin’, kitten.”
