LOVE-O-RAMA: NEWS + more

A LOVE-O-RAMA Production. . .Your sweet treat this holiday season!


See the calendar page for dates and times!

We've played ARTICA before but it has never been as awesome. I set up my trusty Fender Passport RIGHT on the center plaza below The Arch and rocked it. I played a set as "Celia" and enjoyed singing and visiting with my presumably international audience. Then FIRE DOG played a POSITIVE CHARGE set of brand-new tunes and a couple of hits like "You Don't Know My Momma" and "2004 (May These Changes Make Us Light)"

See the shots page for some visual aids. Thanks to our fave photog, Great Cate Columbatto, for the action shots.

Artica is an outdoor multi-media art festival, parade and workshop series developed to provide the people of the St. Louis metropolitan area with the opportunity to come together as a community through creative self-expression.

The event takes place along the Mississippi riverfront in order to revitalize an area that has been polluted, neglected and abandoned for far too long. Although our audience is primarily all of the citizens of the St. Louis metropolitan area, the whole world is invited to attend and expected to participate as co-creators during the festival.

Artica’s development is as fluid as the river it celebrates, and its scope depends greatly upon the involvement of the community.

Artica happened on the St. Louis riverfront between the Arch and the water, north of the Poplar Street Bridge, and south of, and upon the riverfront main stage.

Artica took place on October 11 & 12 (Saturday and Sunday), 2008.

Find out more about Artica so you can come next year: http://articafest.ning.com


Here are some people getting their Artica on!

LOVE-O-RAMA thanks our friends at
CrankyYellow for inviting us to play :

A festival of social significance.
A craft happening in psychedelic color.

LOVE-O-RAMA takes the stage from 1-3pm on Saturday, September 27!

StrangeFolk is the Heartland's largest outdoor indie arts and crafts show. At our 2008 event, we will feature 120 modern makers from across the country.

2 great events in one weekend!

Saturday, June 21

Blue Moon June will be a social event benefit at two side-by-side historic homes. The addresses are 4410 and 4416 Westminster Place. The event will take place on June 21 from 6:00 - 10:00 PM. Festivities will include performances by The Fly Girls, Michelle Gravity & Marissa, as well as fire spinning and belly dancing by Amazonia. Music provided by LOVE-O-RAMA!

There will also be live and silent auctions, a cocktail buffet, and drinks provided. Finally, the Person of the Year Service Award will be presented to James E. Sullivan.

For more information, contact Judith Ewbank at 314-772-8801 ext 242.

Sunday June 22
Our 4th installment in the LOVE-O-RAMA Music, Movie, and Movement series:



Garden Light UCC

Thanks to Vadim Gershman for making the awesome fliers. Love the lightning bolts. Click on the flier to see Vadim's website.

WE LOVE YOU. We'd love to see you.

LOVE-O-RAMA is excited to host Australian POP Legends, The Cannanes!

The Cannanes have been described as 'the world's most indie band' but despite never having a manager, agent or signing a recording deal they have toured the world, produced numerous recordings, and been recognised internationally as one of Australia's best known bands. The new year sees them preparing for many new releases + national and overseas touring in 2008/09 to commemorate twenty years of live performances + no doubt the new releases.

They are only playing a handful of dates in their trip to North America We are lucky to have them in the intimate setting of St. Louis's CBGBs (3163 South Grand).

For more info. on the band click the poster.
DON'T MISS THIS SHOW

On May 4, 2008, LOVE-O-RAMA Movie, Music, and Movement series in partnership with Garden Light UCC at Tower Grove Abbey presented brand-new documentary from Rebecca S. Rivas, "Knock Knock America"


Our musical guests for the evening included Mark Pagano, (music facilitator for the International Playground and lead singer/guitar player for FIRE DOG) with Sunita and Muna of Liberia. Here, the three are joined by two other members of IPG to perform their hit song "You Don't Know My Mama".


We had an outstanding crowd for this world premier. Thank you for all who attended, and special thanks for your generous donations! We received almost $300 for the movie, and over $100 for LOVE-O-RAMA. Thanks for spreading the love!

Love-O-Rama's Music, Movies, and Movement Series, in partnership with Garden Light UCC, kicks off Sunday March 9 with

Herspective Fest!

We're sharing the weekend with Venus Envy and Herstory Weekend with an evening of music, movies, and movement at the Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee St. @ Shenandoah.
We'll feature some music by Celia, some bellydancing by Amazonia, and show you some independent movies:

Gap-Toothed Women by Les Blank
Breaking, Entering, and Painting by STL artist Cindy Tower
Women on Wheels, an animation short by STL artist Sarah Paulsen

Sunday March 9 at 7:30 pm
ALL ARE WELCOME. Donations graciously accepted.

Love-O-Rama's Music, Movie, and Movement Series is presented to you in partnership with Garden Light UCC on the Second Sunday of the month through September at the Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee @ Shenandoah in St. Louis MO. Please join us. To submit your music, movie, or movement for exhibition, email loveorama@loveoramarecords.com

Here's FIRE DOG at our LOVE-O-RAMA Chapel of Love on Valentine's Day. Special Thanks to Off Broadway and Chippewa Chapel for having us, Catherine Kustelski for hosting us, Anastasia Swan for taking all the cool pictures, Pabst Blue Ribbon for sponsoring us, Jerome for making "Toss Your Hearts" with us, all the musicians and performers who participated with us, and YOU for hanging out with us!

Thanks also to all the generous sponsors who provided us with prizes for Toss Your Hearts:
SCOSAG, Cheap Trx, Community Acupuncture, Marbles Yoga Studio, and, of course, Pabst Blue Ribbon. I hope you love your prizes, you winners!!

Toss your heart.

Who's got a picture of Mark in the top hat yelling "Toss Your Hearts, Bitches!"? Email it to info@loveoramarecords.com and you'll get a prize.


Celia's Big Rock Band. Herb's the mystery man on the left.


FIRE DOG's Brandon Manitoba, Celia, and Mark with a word from our sponsor: "What'll You Have?"

WHAT'S NEXT, Love-O-Rama??? We have an event on March 21 at St. Louis' Renegade Brewery, The Schlafly Taproom. Meet us there at 9 pm to spread some love and BRING ON THE SPRING. That's right, folks, first day of spring. A lovely day to spread the equinox LOVE. More information about that is coming soon.

We're also working on an independent movie series in cooperation with Garden Light United Church of Christ, hopefully to start in March, and we'll keep you posted about that, too.

February 14, 2008, 8 pm, FREE!
teams up with


for a V-Day Spectacular!

Starring many Chippewa Chapel Favorites, and featuring performances by Love-O-Ramans

Click for Links.

Inner Mission Productions and
LoveORama Records present:

May These Changes Make Us Light:
Winter Show Collaborative
Contemporary Art Museum
Saturday, Dec. 15
Two shows — 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., $10 tickets, Doors open at 6:15

Featuring: Gravity Plays Favorites, Acro-yoga Fireflies, FIRE DOG, Celia’s Yuletide Express, Amazonia Belly Dancing Troupe, VJ Evil Che, Kill Fashion and more …

A gigantic ARCH transmitter of a good thought broadcasts to the galaxy’s edge, where six peaceful Yogis hear the Wizard’s plea.

The planet is trembling from the loss of The Great Storygatherer. The people have forgotten how to lay their own stories to rest. And so the discontent builds, blocking people’s hearts. St. Louis artists expose their alter-egos and super POWERS so that these changes make us LIGHT.

“May These Changes Make Us Light – Winter Show Collaborative” is a multimedia performance that uses dance, music and sculpture to amuse the adventure within us. As the backdrop, VJ Evil Che, Mike Pagano, will project live-video narrations on a 10-foot-tall, inflatable plastic dome — and lead the audience through a tale that blends the real and fantastical.

MYTHICAL CHARACTERS PLAYED BY:

The Fireflies — St. Louis’ only acrobatic yoga troupe. The crowd-pleasing pairs stretch the limits of aerial poses. They are featured in the Saint Louis Post-Dispatch’s article "Feels Like Flying" on 09.24.07.

Gravity Plays Favorites — a sassy, captivating acrobatic duo that performs powerful aerial routines using only a standing pole. Performing at summer concert series to TV programs, the dancers travel nationally about twice a week.

Amazonia Belly Dancing – an electrifying group that performs the ancient dance of the body’s life force — the belly, while also incorporating innovative tools from modern dance and fire spinning.

MUSIC:

FIRE DOG — This local power trio serves up a playful attack of soul and surf, fresh and electric. The FIRE DOG anthem, “2004,” is the show’s theme. The group toured the Western United States last fall, playing over 30 shows in two months.

Celia’s Yuletide Express — This cheerful group of about 20 vocalists and sleighbell-ists, accompanied by a live rockin swing band, spreads “glad tidings of great joy” to all people, appearing at charity events and holiday parties in the bleak mid-winter.

A St. Louis quartet specializing in African and Middle Eastern drumming will provide the percussion and ambient sound.

ADDED SURPRISES:

Multiple accomplished local artists, such as Lyndsey Scott and Emily Heymeyer have added pieces to the costumes, music, dance or story.

We are a mesh of figures impossibly and perfectly formed –– exalting and exuding light as one. The wild formations stretch the hearts and minds of all those who experience it. Please contact Rebecca Rivas at 314-537-9861 or rebeccasrivas@gmail.com for more information.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
-----MAY THESE CHANGES MAKE US LIGHT----------
DIA DE LOS MUERTOS )( DAY OF THE DEAD.
Cherokee Street
November 2, 2007
early evening

**********************************

One regret, dear world, that
I am determined
not to have when I am lying on my deathbed is that
I did not kiss you enough.
--Hafiz

**********************************

What do you make of IT?

Come with your heartbeat to the street.
Peer past the veil of separations to celebrate What Is.

…………………………………..Details still emerging, something like:

Come in black and white,
come with drums.
Come to have fun.

Dance your skeleton dance til the day is done.

Walk the street and visit the altars in each store.
Interact with the collective altar at the Community Arts and Media Project.

Can we?
Gather across from Globe at sundown, bring your candle and your light
Bring your song and your silence,
and your bubbling-up spirit of peace and play and potential.

ALTER <_________________> ALTAR

To bring a piece (music/ poetry/ song/
fire-spinning/video/installation/?) or volunteer to face paint or
creatively interact with people on the street, call Lyndsey at 217 898
3777
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

(Note: Some scenes of the evening will be filmed for the May These
Changes Make Us Light)

LOVE-O-RAMA's first wedding was July 28, 2007 in beautiful North Muskegon Michigan.



See the wedding photos. CUTE!

It's so easy and it works.

We made it home safely after 2 months. That's 32 gigs in 14 states for the first ever LOVE-O-RAMA tour.


Here's 2 months in 3 minutes!

See the press page for what they're saying about us. Thank you for helping us SPREAD THE LOVE!

LOVE*O*RAMA personnel:

Me, as host and emcee, and performing my acoustic vaudeville supa-funk music.

celia.


Mark Pagano, and his Rock and Roll ballads of Truth and Intrigue, with me on bass and backing vocals, occasionally incorporating percussion in select venues.

FIRE DOG


VJ Evil Che, tickling the visual ivories to produce some of the most mind-bending video displays of the 21st century.

SEE BOTH


Rebecca Rivas, resident documentarian and support staff.

Author of "At Highest Risk: Maternal Health Care in the High Peruvian Andes"

and Featuring, in select venues: Melinda Winifred Jane Tentrees, Big Jill Abou from St. Lou, Herb James, Brandon Manitoba and Great Cate, Dan Bob Huck, Christine "Groucho" Marx, and Tom Collins!


THANK YOU. Thank you. Humblest thanks. We couldn't have done it without you.


Portland, after the show. Spitzseeds, New Belgium Brewery, and Powersquid sponsor gifts.

Oct. 21
Kristin's House
Gallup NM

This wasn't really a "show", but it really was a LOVE-O-RAMA. Kristin and her daughter Hala greeted us with beer and food, and Hala played with each and every one of us until we were all played out. Mark sat and played a whole bunch of his classic tunes from another time, and after dinner, Rebecca showed the movie to Kristin and her guests. It was a relaxing evening at home in Gallup - thanks, Kristin! And thanks for breakfast the next morning! We left ready to take on Route 66 all the way home!

Oct. 21
The Blue Dragon
Albuquerque NM

My brother Shack suggested we talk to Norm to land this gig, because it was the "hippiest-dippiest" coffeeshop around. No better description for a perfect LOVE-O-RAMA venue. When we arrived, there was a ceremony/performance going on in the performance area, complete with tai chi and didgeridoo. We had some calzones and then Norm helped us load in. Norm was so sweet to us, and a very talented singer in the Tuvan style! He warmed up the stage, singing along with Evil Che's Mingus DVD, and then sat in for my set and FIRE DOG's! Norm was very encouraging and helpful all evening, and we look forward to visiting this community and neighborhood oriented, locally owned and operated, "closer to the hand" coffeeshop again. Thanks, Norm!

After our show, we drove up the road to our friend Peter's place, the Pinon Ecovillage, adjacent to the Pojoaque Pueblo in Santa Fe county. We spent 3 days and 3 nights with Peter and Jacque and their two lovely boys, Charlie and Oliver. The weather was perfect and we had some time to explore the area.


Me, Mike, and Mark in the beautiful Jemez Springs.


Mark in the ancient cliff dwellings of Bandelier National Monument.


The canyon at Bandelier.


Me in the Kiva.


The Land of Enchantment.


Gettin' their kicks. . .