Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Jimi Shawndi Gives Euro-Pop Spin to His Song "Surrender”

By MICHAEL HANDLER
Contributing Music Editor
Event City Creative Magazine

A nice update to the dub or chill 90's sound, Songwriter Jimi Shawndi who penned Surrender offers a vocal and instrumental outing with understated guitar parts, synth and percussion. All these work together quite well and I can see this as a big hit on the club/dance circuit and it immediately received my attention to hum along, but the song could be longer to really let folks get into the undeniable groove. The artist's considerable blues voice is missing from this track, but his hand is firmly in the overall production.

The singer on Surrender, Brianna Musso, is "a 21 year old newbie with an incredible natural vocal ability" according to Jimi, who has played music since he was a youngster and certainly has an ear for talent as he is constantly searching for musicians, vocalists and producer types to collaborate on his 600 plus song repertoire.

Jimi has established himself as a Bay Area musician playing since the 1980's. He had some early career success with a Glam Rock Band - Christine Christine, and Rock'n'Roll Radio legend Tawn Mastrey was a big fan of the band. Jimi's diverse musical tastes from mainstream rock, R&B, ethnic, jazz and big band, to Euro-pop is quite prevalent when you listen to his music. This reporter only had time to review one of his songs, and it was a difficult choice indeed.

Jimi has begun to place his tunes online via Facebook and YouTube, and even entered a song into the Today Show's new theme contest last year. He has written two Musicals, one of which made it to the stage about three years ago - GRADUATION. It was fully produced, a video was made from the production, it ran for two weeks in Redwood City California and was actually profitable.

Jimi is currently working on a large online project as a Partner and Music Director assisting in developing a unique form of combining music, publishing and advertising to help monetize the songs and musical projects created by unsigned artists. Go Jimi!

Contributing Editor Michael Handler is an accomplished Musician, Songwriter, Journalist with an extensive Radio background (Announcer and Commentator). He has appeared in several films and has received several awards as well. Active as a musician from 1966 to the present, Michael’s Bands include Crystal Palace Guard - Denver, Rhythm Doctors - Oakland; Just Six - East Bay Area; the Cool Papa Band and James Anthony Cotton Band - Bay Area; and the Country Blues Revue (founding member), Santa Fe, NM

He has appeared on several recordings playing harmonica, percussion and guitar, including 3 CDs with the Country Blues Revue. He was on the Board of Directors for Bay Area Jazz Society, Loft Jazz and Jazz in Flight.

He was also a featured extra in the films True Grit (2012), and Brothers playing a Taliban fighter alongside Toby McGuire who played a US Marine.
His extensive Broadcast, DJ and on air talent career spans from 1970- 2014 and listed below is a partial collection of the media outlets where Michael displayed his talent:
KTHO-FM, Lake Tahoe, Nv., Transmitter Engineer; KNLT-FM, Kings Beach, Ca., DJ; KMMT, Mammoth Lakes, Ca., Founding Staff member, DJ, Music Director; KOZZ-FM, Reno, radio DJ; KOLO-TV, Reno, broadcast engineer, voice talent, camera; KGRL-FM, Eugene, Or. DJ; KVAL-TV, Eugene, Or., Broadcast Engineer; KLCC-FM (NPR), Eugene, Or., DJ and Music Director; KZEL-FM (State Rock of Oregon), Jazz DJ; KJAZ, Alameda, Ca., jazz DJ and on-location host; KCSM-FM, San Mateo, Ca., jazz commentator; KSFR, Santa Fe, NM, substitute jazz and blues DJ, voice talent.

Editorial
Editor, Writer, Music Journalist and , contributing photographer - 1981-Present
Print: Jazz Now, SF Bay Area; Downbeat Magazine, SF Bay Area Correspondent
On Line: Jazz West, Event City Creative Magazine and Event City Premier, Jazz Santa Fe

Awards
Michael Won or placed in several Jammie Awards, Best Harmonica Player (Bay Area, early to mid- 90’s), consistently placed in Best Harmonica Contest, Socorro, New Mexico last three years; won Best Country Song of the Year, 2012, New Mexico Music Awards; nominated for Best Country Song of the Year, 2013, New Mexico Music Awards (awards given May 31^st, 2014, Albuquerque, NM.)

Michael received a BA in Radio & TV awarded 1970 from San Jose State University

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Robot Brigade PHOTO BOT - A Big Hit At Maker Faire 2014

By Nolan Apostle
Producer/Contributing Editor
Event City Creative Magazine

The Robot Brigade is a small group of programmers and engineers with day jobs ranging from robotics to cancer research. Projects by Robot Brigade are purely extracurricular, making each product extra special and fun.

The Robot Brigade team enjoy everything robot related, from constructing paper robots to designing D.Bug kits, prototyping a cookie cutting robot, to creating very cool projects like the Photo Bot. They enjoy working together as a team and feed off of each other's energy, drive and knowledge.

The team's favorite project is the PhotoBot. Photo Bot is an all-in-one photobooth that is perfect for concerts, parties, conventions, meetups and all types of Special Events. A green screen is set up so that custom created backgrounds can be used in each set of photos taken at the event. The PhotoBot system allows the user(s) to select their own choice of backgrounds (custom or built into the system) and start the photographic process by the click of a button. PhotoBot is an extremely simple and very easy to use system. It is portable, easily installed - can be set up within minutes of arriving at the location where you will use it, any non-techie can install it with ease, and it can easily accommodate large groups of people – which is a great feature beyond the traditional photobooth!

PhotoBot is one of Event City's Top Choice Products found at Maker Faire this year!

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Maker Faire 2014 of the San Francisco Bay Area A Sneak Peak at some Faire Favorites, New Exhibits, and some of the more Exciting Attractions

By Nolan Apostle

Contributing Editor

Event City Creative Magazine

magazine@eventcity.net

Maker Faire 2014

A Sneak Peak at some Faire Favorites

Maker Faire, the Greatest Show (and Tell) on Earth, has announced its maker selections for Maker Faire Bay Area 2014. Here's the short list from Event City voted by our staff as the "Event City Favorites". All of the maker selections for this year are pretty spectacular and we know will certainly excite and delight Faire goers in many ways.

There will be more than 1,000 makers at the Faire and even more exciting new - more than 20% of them are first-time exhibitors. There are many fan favorite makers, attractions, and performers returning, including, one of the Event City Creative Magazine's favorites the life-size version of the Mousetrap Game which can be seen at the show during these times.

We are extremely excited this year not just from a standpoint of another Maker Faire, but because it will be the biggest Maker Faire yet worldwide! You can find a list of all makers at the Maker Faire web site: http://makerfaire.com/meet-the-

Now here's your sneak peak at Maker Faire Bay Area 2014 - Links borrowed directly from Maker Faire website:

El Pulpo Mecanico

Swap-O-Rama-Rama: Swap-O-Rama-Rama is the world's largest clothing swap with a series of do-it-yourself textile/accessory workshops guided by local designers.

Candelaphytes: From renowned installation artist Michael Christian, the Candelaphytes are a sight to behold. These are three, 8-meter tall kinetic sculptures constructed of steel that sway and ungulate slowly, appearing to be dancing plants. Motor-driven and fully programmable, Candelaphytes brings together nature and mechanics harmoniously.

The Great Fredini's Coney Island Scan-A-Rama: The Scan-A-Rama is a 21st century 3D portrait studio offering full body 3D printable portraits.

Light Cloud: A sight to behold! The Light Cloud is made of 5,000 lbs of steel, glass, and technology, made luminescent and paintable with a digital brush. The Maker Faire crowds can control Light Cloud and color it in real time by using a mobile app!

ROBOTIS: DARWIN MINI Dancing Team: Robots that dance! See these mini robots in action, controlled with an Android OS, OpenCM 9.04 controller, XL-320 Smart Servo, Bluetooth connections, and compatibility with 3D-printing modifications.

Titanoboa: This work of art is an electromechanical reincarnation of the ancient 50-foot serpent rendered extinct by past climate change. Titanoboa is a project from Charlie Brinson, co-creator of the Mondo-Spider and 3E-ROI exponential evolution project from Vancouver, Canada.

The Turbinophone: The Turbinophone is a jet engine that has been transformed into an interactive musical instrument. Attendees will have the opportunity to make a General Electric J79 turbojet make music!

Links to some returning Maker Faire "Classic Makers":

Arc Attack: Creators of the original Singing Tesla Coils, the crew of ArcAttack will use their high tech wizardry to generate a truly 'electrifying' live music performance.
Coke Zero & Mentos Fountains from EepyBirds: A huge crowd-pleaser! Geysers of soda shoot over twenty feet into the air in this spectacular mint-powered version of the Bellagio Fountains.
Cyclecide -- The Heavy Pedal Bike Rodeo: Fun for folks of all ages, Cyclecide is a traveling, pedal-powered carnival put together by alter-bike mechanics, mariachi-punk musicians and cycle crazed clowns! Their carnival is an interactive work of art
Death-Defying Figure-Eight Pedal Car Racing: Homemade pedal cars will compete on an exciting -- and death defying! -- figure-eight track! Attendees can watch the racers go round the track, crash, and fix their cars.
Game of Drones: A drone flying competition featuring aerial combat, obstacle courses and other UAV games with divisions for tiny, palm-sized toys up to huge multi-rotor heavy-lifters.
Learn to Solder: Makers of all ages can come learn or build on their soldering skills!
Life Size Mousetrap: Fantastically handcrafted, this 16 piece, 50,000-lb. interactive kinetic sculpture is a giant Rube Goldberg-style contraption complete with a Vaudevillian style show!
Maker Camp: Focused on the youth of the maker movement, Maker Camp will have plenty of hands-on making projects for the youngest Faire visitors.
Power Racing Series: Souped-up toy cars from childhood, racing around the track and driven by grown-ups! The cars are a sight to see and the race so fun to watch.
Serpent Twins: The Serpent Twins are stunning mobile sculptures are rendered in metal and cast off materials using modern science and artistry.

If you plan on attending Maker Faire 2014 at the San Mateo Events Center here's some tips and valuable information to help you - "Maker Faire Article - Attending, Traveling to and around San Mateo" It lists traveling to, from and around the San Mateo area as well as alternative transportation to attend the Maker Faire.

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

A Maker Faire Weekend - The Year of the Maker

By Johnny "Exo" Apostle
Junior Journalist, Reporter and Photographer
Event City Creative Magazine

The Maker's Faire, "The Greatest Show (and tell) on Earth is now the "Year of the Maker" and hundreds of thousands of people will show up and just explore what people have made over the previous year or so. Could be a project they've been working on for their entire lives. People will be coming from all over the bay area and beyond to see and experience the new and incredible items and projects at this year's fair.

Maker Faire a unique festival with new and some of the coolest stuff on the planet you just couldn't believe exists! From Warhammer 40k Space Marine Armor to Hacking Your Brain and my personal favorite for all of you Dr. Who fans, the Daleks!!

There are many things that are going on during this fabulous weekend but let's just start with Saturday. At 10 am to 11am it's Battle Pond VII: Only the Bold Survive! Where they have battleships go into combat and only the best battleships will win and the last ship alive wins the bragging right to call everyone else a loser. Also at 10am it's the Bourn Idea Lab @ Castilleja School where you get to see what young makers have been working on all year long. You will also get the privilege to meet their new robot Sebastian and meet the members of Sebastian's crew! Between 10:30am and 11:30am you can see the Amazing Science at work and their amazing DIY projects one of which are the color changing bubbles OMG! Then from 11am to 12pm it's Curiosity Hacked: The Leaner Controls the Learning these young makers will be on hand to display their great creativity and amazing-ness! It just puts you in a great mood looking at this awesomeness. At 11am to 12pm it's the return of the Life-Size Mousetrap, wow, I really missed this. I was much younger when I first experienced this, I thought it was the coolest attraction at Maker Faire, most of all because I had such a hard time building the board game, it was just too confusing, so watching these guys do their thing, well my thoughts are, they probably mastered this board game huh, what do you think?

Then behold the master of making his teachers hate him it's John Collins the man who holds The World Record Paper Airplane in distance of course. Then a peek at the fashion of tomorrow with ROBOTIC FASHION and INTIMATE INTERFACES I have no idea what this is going to be I just think this is going to be cool in a lot of ways. Let's skip some and go to the tastiest thing at the Maker's Faire PancakeBot: Holy Cow, It Worked this cool little invention came from this maker's daughter and makes amazing pancake art. Couldn't find anything that caught my eye until I saw this the 21st Century Robot which I thought would be cool to see a 21st century robot at work; this will be featured from 5:00pm to 6:00pm. Another tasty treat I will definitely report on, and enjoy it immensely, is Making Marshmallows, it is featured at the fair from 5:00pm to 6:00pm. I chose this because of my love of marshmallows, and anyway, who doesn't love marshmallows? Plus you get to create your own. Enjoy and try not to make a mess.

That's all for now, I look forward to seeing all of you at the Maker Faire this year, and if you see me holding my camera up in your direction don't forget to smile!

School club shows how to do inexpensive 3-D data capture

Need a quick method to capture a 3-D model? The kids at Black Pine Center School have cobbled together an inexpensive process of generating a rough working model for your 3-D printing project.

The school's Maker Club pursues various projects and this year they are showing off their research into this hot topic. Check out their project blog http://talesofa3dprinter.blogspot.com/.

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

ATTENDING MAKER FAIRE? Traveling, Attending, and Maneuvering the Traffic in San Mateo, California

Maker Faire is Coming to San Mateo THIS WEEKEND 5/17-5/18 - Fun, Exciting, High Attendance & Traffic Impacts

By Nolan Apostle
Producer, Contributing Editor and Photographer
Johnny Apostle - Research and Reporter
Event City Premier Magazine

The Maker Faire is expecting to bring over 120,000 visitors to the San Mateo Events Center this weekend. At the Event City Community we are always trying to help you get to and around events, especially a major event like the Maker Faire. We are residents of San Mateo with offices in the Bat Lounge just a mile or so from the San Mateo Events Center. Here are some ideas and alternative traveling options to help you get to and from the San Mateo Events Center for the Maker Faire this weekend.

Attending Maker Faire? You don't need to drive. Take a SIDECAR RIDE and Save Time and Money!!

Sidecar Promotion - Any Maker Faire attendee coming to the Maker Faire event at the San Mateo Events Center from Friday May 16 - Sunday May 18th in San Mateo California will receive a $10 CREDIT on your first ride with Sidecar. Here is what you need to do:

Download the free App at side.cr - then when you sign up use this Code: 97nb6

If you have any questions or would like to SCHEDULE in ADVANCE YOUR RIDE do not hesitate to contact the Internet Organization and ask for Felix 415.877.1520 or email interneto2323@gmail.com.
Distribution Promo Sponsored by the INTERNET ORGANIZATION & IN2HOLLYWOOD.

Sam Trans is the Public Transportation System in San Mateo. Visit their website here for more info.

Cal Train is the Commuter rail Public Transportation System between San Francisco and San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. There is a Cal Train Station stop close to the San Mateo Events Center entrance. Visit the website for details.

MAKER FAIRE OFFICIAL CITY EVENT INFORMATION:

San Mateo County Event Center Hosts Maker Faire - May 17th and 18th, 2014
This weekend, Saturday May 17 and Sunday May 18, the San Mateo Event Center will be hosting an event called Maker Faire. Maker Faire is a great event showcasing the Do-It-Yourself culture, and featuring innovations in technology, engineering, food, and arts and crafts. It has been described as the "premier event for grassroots American innovation." This large-scale event is expected to draw over 100,000 visitors over the two-day period.

The San Mateo Police Department will have personnel on scene, and will be coordinating with Maker Faire Staff to insure public safety. Maker Faire also provides a well-staffed, professional security contingent at this event.

The San Mateo Police and City Organization, the San Mateo County Event Center Staff, and The Maker Faire Production Staff are working collaboratively to minimize the traffic impact, however there will be an unusually large number of vehicles, pedestrians, and bicycles in the San Mateo area this weekend.

• Be prepared for traffic delays, particularly on surface streets near the intersection of SR92 and US101, and on Freeway Ramps
• Be cautious and aware of bicyclists – special feature pricing for bicycle commuters will create a massive number of additional bicyclists in the area
• There will be a large increase in pedestrian foot-traffic in San Mateo as well – please watch for pedestrians

The Maker Faire Official App is available for iPhone and Android devices. You can download it here.
Event and Parking Information about the Maker Faire can be found at:
http://makerfaire.com/bay-area-2014/ \
or on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/makerfaire
Receive up-to-the-minute traffic and parking information by following @FaireTraffic or @SanMateoPD on Twitter…

Follow the San Mateo Police special information on Twitter! www.twitter.com/sanmateopd

For more information on San Mateo County, traveling to and attending events within the county please contact the city Website for more information:

www.cityofsanmateo.org

Please help us make your neighborhood safer and take a stand against crime. Please report all criminal behavior, join a neighborhood watch program, and help anyone that might fall victim to a crime. If a Neighborhood Watch doesn't exist on your block, you can start one with help from SMPD. For additional information about the City of San Mateo Neighborhood Watch Program, call Sergeant Dave Norris at (650)522-7626 or visit our web www.cityofsanmateo.org

Monday, April 14, 2014

Maker Faire - Year of the Maker - Coming Soon to San Mateo California

Maker Faire, coming to the San Mateo Events Center on May 17th and 18th. Expecting over 120,000 people over the 2 day period --- WOW!!! Probably the largest event ever to take place in San Mateo County!

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Maker Faire Pictures and Videos from Previous Maker Faires

By Nolan Apostle
Producer, Contributing Editor and Photographer
Photography By
Johnny Apostle, Nolan Apostle and Felix Solomon
Event City Premier Magazine

The Maker Faire will take place at the San Mateo Events Center on May 17th and 18th 2014. They are expecting well over 120,000 people over the 2 day period. Stay tuned for ways to travel to and around San Mateo during the Maker Faire.

This year's Maker Faire is expected to be the biggest and best yet in the city of San Mateo, about 20 minutes south of San Francisco. Many of asked what is the Maker Faire? What is it like? It is a most difficult task to define this eclectic festival of talent. In "defining" it, we need to give it a "definition", and the Maker Faire is just too difficult to define. Here is one of the several definitions this reporter at Event City uses to help Maker Faire newbies understand the Bay Area Maker Faire: