2011 Student Film Festival @ San Marcos Civic Center

Child Star Plays Classical Piano at Old Cal Coffee

On Sunday, June 12th, 2011, the San Marcos Art Council put on their weekly Art and Music show at Old California Coffee House and Eatery in San Marcos, Ca. where 16 year old piano playing, singer/songwriter Lizzy King and her big brother Nate on drum box, performed for the first time! Each week, the San Marcos Art Council invites local artists and musicians to come play, perform and display their art work to give exposure to the artists and to give them a venue to showcase their work! The San Marcos Arts Council provides the weekly venue at no cost to the artists and the artists are selling their art work and keeping 100% of the proceeds! The San Marcos Arts Council also provides a small scholarship to student musicians for performances of classical and jazz music. Here is a little clip of Lizzy King and her brother Nate performing and playing Live Music at Old Cal Coffee... Take a look! I remember sitting on my patio one night watching one of our weekend performers, taking notes for my blog, when I started talking to Lizzy's Dad, who began talking... ok bragging about his little girl... "Lizzy King". He went on and on... "Like any proud Dad would" to the point of embarrassing Lizzy a little bit, but it was all in fun! He kept insisting that Lizzy was a great pianist & singer/songwriter, so I told him what I was doing at the coffee shop for the Sunday Matinee and how I was introducing new artists, new musicians and bringing in the art and music Matinee. I exchanged information with Lizzy, who is very professional for her age and booked the gig directly with her. I was so glad I met Lizzy because she did an AMAZING performance for us on Sunday wither brother Nate and they were simply.... "Awesome!" Here's a picture of the packed house as they were playing their gig... We also had one of Old California Coffee Houses' very Own Erin Nenow playing piano that day. She has taken lessons for 12 years and rarely performs in front of an audience, so when I found out Erin played piano, I couldn't wait to invite her to play. The main objective of the San Marcs Art Council is to provide venues for musicians, student or ameteur musicians and artists to showcase their work! This was a perfect example of a successful day! The San Marcos Arts Council puts on this weekly event is held every Sunday at Old California Coffee House and Eatery in Restaurant Row in San Marcos, Ca. Come on down and support your local artists and musicians. It's a great time for all. Our featured artists of the day was actually Sara Hancock who brought guitarists friend David with her and these guys rocked the house too! It was an amazing day! I have a picture of Sara and David performing on piano and guitar, take a look. I remember the first time I was introduced to Sara Hancock through a mutual friend and regular coffee shop visitor Joclyn Wolfe on a Friday night. I was told that she was a singer song writer and that I had to get her in here to play. So I made her give me a demo cd as I do with all musicians who play at the coffee shop, and wow was it good! It was just a home video, nothing too fancy, but I just wanted to make sure she up for the challenge! She "NAILED IT" Just take a look at how comfortable she is singing in front of a huge crowd! Thanks again Sara Hancock! We loved your performance! Now let's not forget about the artists... We had three great artists displaying their paintings and art jewelry that day. Terri Mille, a painter and photographer who's specialty is painting horses, which is dear to my heart as my wife Giovanna rides dressage at a nearby horse barn. We also had Sara Dorian, which displayed her amazing art Jewelry and of course, John Sprague from the Merkhaba Project. Take a look at the fun filled day of art and music. Thank you to all of you who participated in this fun event and thank you to all the patrons who came out for a day of art and music at old California Coffee House and Eatery in San Marcos, Ca! .... in Restaurant Row! This is Sara with her Friend Jess, who also is an artists and has great art to look at.... Thanks for coming out girls, We loved having you!

A special thanks goes out to SMCF San Marcos Community Foundation for sponsoring this event! We couldn't do it without you!

Hey Ryan Dart, What’s a Melodica?

I am very excited to write this article today because I was so impressed last Sunday with Ryan and Therese Dart, I think they stole the show! Ryan Dart, a local jazz musician dropped off a cd one day to Old California Coffee House and asked if he could play here. I listened to his cd and thought he would be a perfect fit for the brand new Sunday 3-5pm Art & Music Matinee sponsored by the San Marcos Arts Council. He did not disappoint us at all... In fact, he and his wife Therese captived the audience for two hours! Another thing that I really liked about Ryan is that he called two weeks before just to confirm that we were still on. It shows a strong level of professionlalism that I appreciated very much! you bet this jazz musician will be playing again here at Old Cal Coffee very soon! I had a chance to take some video's and some pictures. I think the only way to really describe how cool this day was is to show you some pics and some some videos... So, you here go: Ryan & Therese Dart playing Jazz Music with the guitar and melodica at Old Cal Coffee last Sunday May 22nd. After the Show, I had a chance to Interview him, so you would have a chance to get to know hi as well as know his music. here ya go everyone: Mr Ryan Dart:

It's an Art Affair at Old Cal Coffee

Nathan Serrato, a local artist and frequent patron of Old California Coffee House & Eatery, had his day to shine and he made the most of it. Nathan brought an entire entourage to help him setup. It's a good thing too because he has a lot of photographs... There are only a few pictured here... Nathan also invited and brought another local artist with him and her name is Natalie Ladik and she is also a local photographer. Natalie also brought a ton of pictures with her too. If you want to learn something about how to put on an art show, take a look at these two young entrepreneurs and look how well they display their work. I know you artists out there are usually anti corporate, but there is nothing wrong with displaying your work in manner that makes people want to buy your work. I mean, I know you would do your art for nothing because you love it so much, but it doesn't hurt to get paid for what you are worth too. The good part about all of this is that we have so many great local artists and we here at Old California Coffee House are giving local artists a place to show their work of art. I took a couple of video and some more pictures and if have room in this post, I'll add some more stuff to it so you can see what we are doing here in San Marcos! As always, I want to thank the San Marcos Arts Council for sponsoring this event and without them and thier contributions to the arts, this program would not have taken off at all!

A special thanks goes out to SMCF San Marcos Community Foundation for sponsoring this event! We couldn't do it without you!

Clayton Judd plays classical piano music

 Clayton Judd plays classical piano music at in San Marcos, Ca. Clayton Judd was honored by the San Old California Coffee House & Eatery Marcos Arts Council and received a scholarship and performance appearance! He also has won the classical music scholarship for most improved musician. Clayton Judd, originally self taught, now classically trained, is in school at Mira Costa College for two and half years. Clayton is proficient in Trumpet and Guitar, but Clayton is a whiz at piano! After his perfomance, someone walked up to me and told me that they had been playing piano for 15 years and they can't play anything like Clayton...lol Here's a little video clip we took of his performance from last Sunday... The Sunday Art & Music Matinee continues to go strong in San Marcos Ca. Last Sunday, the San Marcos Arts Council honored Desiree Fleck, originally born in Germany, made her way to Texas as in infant with her parents, is now a self taught local artists who believes in creating things of beauty and prolonging the life of an existing object she turns into art. Here is Desiree with San Marcos Arts Council Treasurer Eldon Eller. To learn more about Desiree, visit her website or bloat at http://dezdino.carbonmade.com/ or http://ddtheadventurer.blogspot.com/

San Marcos Arts Council honors Finger Guitar Player Scot Ryder

The San Marcos Arts Council honored finger guitar player Scot Ryder with a scholarship and an opportunity to showcase his talents at Old California Coffee House and Eatery in San Marcos Ca on Sunday April 17, 2011. Scot was greeted by Eldon Eller of the San Marcos Arts Council and both Eldon and I stayed and applauded the entire performance as we really enjoyed Scot's music. His guitar style reminded me the first time I heard and saw the acoustic guitar being played to Spanish Flamenco Style Guitar. Now Scot's sound is nothing like Flamenco, but the passion and the power of the guitar as Scot plucked those strings with his fingers, you could just tell the enthousiasm he has for his craft! It's special to watch... I also wanted to thank Scot for bringing a special guest in Jesus Gonzalez who stepped in and allowed Scot to a break when needed. Jesus Gonzalez pictured here with Scot Ryder played with a Middle Eastern Flair and was a very talented musician. We all enjoyed having him as our special guest. Thanks Jesus! Here's a little snip I took of Scott playing that guitar I was talking about....

A special thanks goes out to SMCF San Marcos Community Foundation for sponsoring this event! We couldn't do it without you!

Reggae Music in San Marcos?

Saturday night April 9th, Coco Jam Stand brought their rastafari roots and culture to Old California Coffee House & Eatery to play Reggae in San Marcos, Ca. Spencer Relator on Lead Guitar and vocals, Todd Mata on Drums & Chase Cloyd on Bass & Rhythm guitar played Reggae covers like Bob Marley along with original songs of their own. This is a great band with a great story as these youngsters can really play! Coco Jam Stand was invited to play at our regular Sunday Matinee Art & Music Festival and we were so happy with their performance, we booked them on Saturday Night. Our Sunday Matinee is reserved for student artists, up and coming artists & teacher/student recitals, but because they did such a great job, I felt they deserved a headline spot on a Saturday night and they did NOT disappoint. The Patio was packed with coffee shop patrons and fans of Coco Jam Stand. It was a cool scene as some the girlfriends, family members and friends came out to support the band. The entire coffee shop, employees and customers were still talking about the band the next day. They were saying things like, "What a cool band last night" & "What a great Vibe these guys put out" and many more great comments! Look for Coco Jam Stand to play at North County's "Premier Artist" Coffee House with Live Music every Weekend in the near future! I would highly recommend Coco Jam Stand to play at any venue as they are really good, very respectful and great to work with.... Here's Clip from their perfomance playing badfish from Sublime... Sorry the sound is just ok & lighting is terrible in the clip, but take a listen... I think you'll like it... Coco Jam Stand - Sublime- Badfish

A special thanks goes out to SMCF San Marcos Community Foundation for sponsoring this event! We couldn't do it without you!

Poetry & The Spoken Word at Old Cal Coffee

Lauren Slocum and this group of brave individuals were the first people to perform Poetry and the Spoken Word at Old California Coffee House & Eatery on March 13th, 2011. Lauren, a Literature Major and a member of San Marcos Arts Council's Sunday Matinee Committee, was recently accepted to the great school of San Francisco State. While we are very dad to be losing Lauren at the end of May, I am most proud of this lady for founding & starting the Poetry Reading program through The San Marcos Arts Council. I look forward to following your career as a young lady. I know you will go on to do great things in your life! When we say poetry and the Spoken Word, it leaves a little openness to interpretation as one performer got up in front of a crowd for the very first time and spoke his rap song. Now you might think rap? What does rap have to do with poetry? I agreed with this question until I heard this young man speak.... I mean rap.... Call it rap, call it poetry, call it whatever.... but this man created and wrote his rap with rhyme and had the guts to stand up in front of everyone a read his rap to the world. It was an expression of him, his life and you could tell how he poured his feelings and emotions into his work. Now, whether he becomes Charles Dickenson or Snoop Dog, is still yet to be seen, but it is nice to see young people passionate about something, study, learn and practice their art or craft and see it come to life in the real world is an amazing feeling. Oh yea, Did I mention, he was the only person that memorized his performance! Great Job! I am so excited to be part of this Sunday MatineeI want to thank the SMCF San Marcos Community Foundation for sponsoring this event! We couldn't do it without you!

Poetry & The Spoken Word @ Old Cal Coffee

About two weeks ago, I was approached by a board member of the San Marcos Arts Council, Mr. Eldon E. Eller, and he asked me if I would host a Sunday Art & Music Matine'e on the patio of Old California Coffee House & Eatery. I asked him what he had in mind and Eldon explained that the idea is to have a place where student or armature artists and musicians can come and showcase their talents. Eldon further explained, he thought a friendly, safe environment that had people attending. Eldon was looking for a location that would allow artists and musicians to gain experience and exposure to further their career. I couldn't say "YES" fast enough.... At this point, I have a vision in my head that we have a table setup on the patio where an artists, ie, painter, photographer, sculptor, can come and display their work, sell their work and keep $100% of the proceeds and it doesn't cost the artist anything. Secondly, I pictured a musician playing classical or jazz music, setting the scene and ambience for a great Sunday Art & Music Matinee.... I was excited to be part of it... Even though we are just getting started, the support and interest from the community is there. Just take a look at a local painter by the name of Jessica Johnson, along with Matt Dominguez in the background reading poetry on the patio. We are pleased to be partnered with S.M.A.C. and hope to work with them on other projects throughout the year. The San Marcos Arts Council is gaining tremendous popularity within the San Marcos Community, so come on out and support your local artists and musicians on Sunday from 3 to 5 pm at Old California Coffee house & Eatery.

A special thanks goes out to SMCF San Marcos Community Foundation for sponsoring this event! We couldn't do it without you!

Sunday Sprinter Matinee

The San Marcos Arts Council starts a Sunday Matine'e

I was approached by Eldon Eller from the San Marcos Arts Council and was asked to host a Sunday matine'e Arts & Music Show. I thought, sure, I'd be happy to plus this sounds like a great idea. We're an ideal venue for the San Marcos Arts Council's Sunday Matine'e as we have a great stage area setup in the patio and we have an influx of people who will come in and out of the coffe shop all day long. It was a perfect venue because the students will get exposure, practice, scholarship money from SMCF San Marcos Community Foundation and maybe even some tips or get a lead from someone who might want to purchase their artwork. "What a great idea" I thought to myslef, "But you won't be catching me here too often on a Sunday as It was my day off and my time to spend with my son., Dylan" Well, to my delight, as I write this blog post two months into the Matine'e now and I absolutely love the Sunday Matine'e. I've been to every one excpet one and I can't wait to help promote these artists and musicians.  On Sunday Feb 27th, We had our first performer, Joanna Stryker Singer Songwriter, come and perform at Live Classical Piano at Old California Coffee House & Eatery sponsored by the SMCF San Marcos Community Foundation. Joanna Stryker is a recording artist songwriter and pianist in San Diego Ca and we were very lucky to have her demonstrate her talents for us...