The Free Fall Music Festival was held in Gaston Park on Lake Ivanhoe. Here Lost Time Accident performs. The event was small in size and family friendly with one of those inflatable kids slides. Two children were playing in the sand of the volleyball court while dad took pictures. Families were scattered about rather far from the stage. Perhaps the music was to loud for them. Right in front of the stage a homeless man sat totally wasted, often with his head drooped down semi unconscious. Several of his friends were better off but also had that glazed look and harsh emaciated skin. But these folks knew how to party. They were dancing most of the time and shouting with their fists in the air. Once in a while the woman in the red top would shake the wasted guy awake and he would listen for a while before fading back out and slumping into a stupor.
Half way through this sketch I realized that I was running out of water for my brushes. I went up to the beer tent to get a bottle of water, but realized I had no cash. I asked it they took a credit card which of course they didn’t. I had to finish up with some spit to smear the colors around. The girlfriend of one of the performers asked to take my picture while I as working and I agreed. The woman in red came up and looked over my shoulder. The children standing near me backed away. I was afraid she might get annoyed that I had drawn her and her wasted friend. Instead she told me I had a gift from God.
When the next act got up, it started to rain. I quickly ran to a small cement power bunker overhang. The crowd quickly disappeared. The singer on stage sang “I’m Singing in the Rain”. A hawk on a telephone pole took flight. The woman standing next to me started telling me that she and Jimmy were just recently homeless. They had been staying with a friend but the friend got evicted. All their stuff was at another friends house and she was hoping to get an apartment somehow on her own. Jimmy used to work downtown at a small coffee shop across from the library but he got laid off. When the rain stopped I said good by and stepped out onto the wet lawn. On the way out I bumped into Louis Bova an artist from Brooklyn now living in Orlando. She told me about several other events going on that day, but I had finished my sketch, and I suddenly felt a strong desire to relax at home rather than braving the elements to get another drawing.
The White House – Lindy Romez
Based on a tip from a reader I went to an event called Timucua White House. This is a private home of Benoit Glazer, the musical director of Circue du Soleil, at 2000 South Summerlin Avenue where music acts are featured salon style in the families living room. The first act featured Benoit on the trumpet accompanied by his very talented kids. On this day Lindy Romez performed with her band, SolY Mar. Juan Leon played the Bass, Chapman Stick played the native American flute and guitar, Gary Tompkins was on guitar, Johnnie Spulveda was on the hand drums and Ralph Gray played the kit drums. In the corner of the stage an artist worked on a canvas when ever the group was playing. The painting was made available for sale when the performances were over.
The home is three stories and opposite the band, a spiral staircase wound upwards offering multiple balcony views of the act. Being curious, I walked to the top of the stairs and that is where I stood to do the sketch. A fair sized crowd of 30 or 40 people were gathered in the living room and stairwell to view the show. Some people leaned against the walls since seating was limited.
Th music had a swinging jazzy beat with a tropical flavor. I found myself swaying my hips to the beat the whole time I was sketching. The intimate space made the music resonate deeply in my chest. This is the second time I separated the performers from the audience with the centerfold of the sketchbook. It seems a natural divide. The heat from all the stage lights rose up and I found myself sweating up a storm as I sketched. It was worth it however since I love this aerial view of the event.
United Arts Board Meeting
Yesterday the United Arts Board of Trustees voted to decide if United Arts would help in an attempt to keep Opera alive in Orlando. The Orlando Opera company filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy on April 24th, and the Orlando Philharmonic has offered to help produce limited staged productions where opera singers could perform before the Philharmonic. This endeavor would cost an additional $200,000 and United Arts is offering to help. Over a thousand people had subscribed for Opera season tickets and they were shocked that they could not get their money back when the Opera went bankrupt. Of the $200,000, being invested by United Arts, $50,000 will be used for vouchers to allow the subscribers to attend the Enzian Theater’s “Opera on Film Series”, and OPO’s semi-staged concert Operas.
I had heard that this meeting might get heated since some board members feel that United Arts should only support existing organizations and since the Opera is bankrupt it no longer exists. It was pointed out that all arts organizations are struggling in the present financial climate and the money might be better put to use if it helped keep existing organizations afloat.
The board meeting was actually quite civil. Both sides stated their causes and then a vote was taken by a raise of hands. In the midst of the heated discussion, trumpeting Elephant calls could be heard emanating from the next room in the Shakespeare Theater. This rather surreal moment tended to lighten the mood among the board members. In a final plea, Mark Hagel summed up all the arguments with a simple question, “Do we want Opera in Orlando?” The votes tallied were 20 votes for helping produce limited stage Opera productions, and 3 votes against. With this vote an executive committee will further look into the particulars of the plan and by August 15th the plan will either be a go or no-go. Orlando was once able to boast that it was the only city in Florida with the “big 3” professional companies for Opera, Ballet and a Symphony. Today a crippled Opera continues to tread water.
Biker for Jesus
The tablet didn’t come out until after the sunset. Terry and I had been sitting on the outskirts of the packed tent for most of the day. When the wind picked up and temperatures dropped, we were forced inside by workers who put up the side flaps to the tent. The couple in front of us fascinated me. The biker had a long grey beard that went down to his belly. The emblem on the jacket read: Christian Motorcyclists Association, with a bible in the middle of the logo. This groups vision , according to there website is: Changing the world, one heart at a time. Later when I got a Polish Sausage, I saw the couple in the picnic area and she was lovingly brushing his long beard.
Working with the tablet in the cold temperature had its advantages, like keeping my hand and lap warm as the computer chip heated up.
Bluegrass Sunset
As the sun set people began to bundle up. In the background you can see the septic truck which cleaned out the portopotties. Outside the staging area there were hundreds of RV’s. Besides the acts on stage, people were jamming all day and night in tents and RV’s.
Bluegrass Audience
This morning I woke up with a nasty cold and I have no doubt that it is from sitting outside at this Bluegrass festival till 9:30 at night while I could see my own breath. I am not sure what the temperature was but it was cold!