Independent Bar is a cornerstone of the downtown Orlando scene.

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Independent Bar is a multi-leveled nightclub with state-of-the-art
sound and lights. They feature three bars, each with its own unique style;
two dance floors, offering separate genres of music; and cafe´ style
sidewalk seating, allowing customers to mingle with the ebb and flow
of downtown Orlando. It is located on the corner of Washington and Orange, (70 N. Orange Ave

Orlando, FL).

I arrived on a typical weeknight. The bar was full as was the dance floor. My friends danced while I sketched. Landmines and interplanetary orbs hing from the ceiling. The place got more packed as I sketched. A few people grew suspicious of me standing quietly sketching but they were fine once they saw what I was up to. I imagine the art on display must be permanent since it was hung so high.

With the sketch done, I watched people on the dance floor for a while, but I wasn’t tempted to dance myself. I imagined my art supply bag would be a problem to keep track of. For Dina Peterson and the others this was the first stop for the evening. They planned to crawl between a number of the clubs up Orange Avenue. I depend on others to introduce me to Orlando’s nigh life which offers so many sketching opportunities. I decided I had enough excitement for the night and I went home.

Shut Up and Play

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Last year the organizers of “Shut Up and Play”, Jeremy Birdsall and Thuan Nguyen, invited me to sketch at the all day all acoustic concert. The next week must have been a busy one since those sketches never made it to the blog until now. This year’s “Shut Up and Play” concert presented by Presented by Kavode Entertainment & 11/12 Lounge looks like it will pack a punch. More than 20 bands will perform on three indoor stages. Headlining the event will be the jaw-dropping Regi Wooten Band from Nashville, and there will be an all-star jam at the end of the night! The variety of acoustic music on the menu is astounding. There is fusion, funk, jazz, new age, rock, groove, hip hop, blues, Latin, new age, 70’s progressive, ambient, world, flamenco and classical! Obviously there is something for any musical taste and palate.

I had so much fun sketching at the event last year. First I got to meet and work with Louise Bova and Dawn Schreiner, several visual artists whose work I respect and admire. Louise and Dawn worked live on stage as the bands performed. Dawn worked on a whimsically decorated room divider while Louise painted a portrait. I sketched from the wings of the stage and then from the open area in front of the stage. The music from “Bucket of Shrimp Ears” was energetic and a blast to sketch to. This amazing music festival will leave you dancing in the aisles. I intend to sketch till I drop while enjoying the music.

Some of the bands I have seen before, like the Absinthe Trio, Shak Nasti, and the Forefathers. I look forward to hearing them again. There is body painting, live art, massages and prizes. Come on out to “Shut Up and Play” Saturday June 26th from 2pm to 2am at 11/12 Lounge (843 Lee Road Winter Park).

Andy Matchett & The Minks

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I had seen Andy Matchett & The Minks perform once before at a RIFF fundraiser at the Cameo Theater. They performed late that evening and I had put away my sketchbook. I had so much fun at that concert just dancing and jumping. It was a playful rave experience. Ever since then I have been looking for a chance to sketch this band in action. Andy told me about a concert at the Social and I leaped at the opportunity to see them again.

I had just finished an afternoon of sketching people for the Mennello Museum mural. Angela Abrusci had posed in a beautiful vintage dress as she applied lipstick and James and Jasmine Barone had me in stitches, joking and teasing as I worked. She held a parasol and he was in a kilt. When the sketches were done, I walked across the street to the Fringe festival’s green lawn of fabulousness to get some dinner. I bumped into Jeremy Seghers who was also going to see Andy Matchett & The Minks that night. He told me the group would be performing around 11pm so I had time for a Fringe show. He told me all about the show he had created called “Squatters” and it was about to begin so I rushed over to the theater. Jeremy told me the Social was on Orange Avenue just south of Colonial Drive.

I parked downtown in my usual “supersuprimo” spot and started walking towards Orange. I passed a cheesy mural which offered no inspiration. When I got to Orange I made the mistake of turning right to walk north towards a club I had been to before. After five blocks I realized I was lost. I looked up the Social address on my cell phone and went the other way. I was a sweaty mess when I got to the Social, where I was issued a green wrist band and ushered inside past the bouncer. I immediately saw Betsy Dye and Emma Kruch and my spirit lifted. Another band was performing and they were LOUD! I shouted a greeting to Betsy and she shouted out that this was a rare night out for her. Jeremy waved me over and I gave up trying to shout over the music. I found a spot where I decided to plant myself to sketch. I used the band on stage to block in where the Minks would likely be once they performed. Then I sketched the dancing crowd.

As Andy Matchett & The Minks set up, I continued to sketch. Before they played, a band member handed me some confetti. Jeremy found some seats and I joined him. The performance was pure unbridled fun. The second they started playing, confetti cannons sprayed vast clouds of heart shaped confetti over the crowd. Hair driers kept the confetti and streamers airborne through the whole show. Blowers sent streams of toilet paper into the crowd. Betsy collected the paper and wrapped herself into a fashionable cocoon. The lights flashed various colors on my sketchbook page. I imagined the Japanese animation that caused seizures in children. A parachute was unfurled over the cheering audience. Britt Daley had performed earlier that night and she introduced me to her mom, Gazelle. Jeremy kept getting bonked in the head and we laughed. Robbie Senior, a giant red robot from “Dog Powered Robot” invaded the stage. An epic laser and confetti battle followed. The crowd went wild. A wine glass crashed to the floor. A woman who had been sitting demurely all evening, was now dancing up a storm. The next day when I opened my sketchbook to see what I caught, a pink confetti heart fluttered to the floor.

Pulse of Orlando

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What follows is a fictitious account. Any similarity to persons living or dead is purely coincidental…

It was another rehearsal in the weeks leading up to Fringe. The actors sat around the kitchen table at Mike’s house reading personal stories and poems. They shared several bottles of red wine. Soon the rehearsal was more of an opportunity for members of the cast to share intimate secrets. The notion that this was a reading vanished and the conversations blossomed. Todd then admitted that he had started to dance at a gay club. Having a room full of people admiring his body gave him a visceral thrill. Anna, the director then decided that we all had to see Todd perform. We piled into two cars and headed off to Pulse. I was one of the designated drivers since I had been sketching rather than drinking. Anna sat on a copy of the Alchemist that was on my passenger seat. She and Sandra had just been talking about this book. Excited, she said she had to read it and she shoved it into her large purse.

We all filed into Pulse. My bag was checked since they thought I might have a camera. I explained that I only had a sketchbook. I backed myself into a nook and immediately started to sketch. Men gyrated in the amber light. I was right behind Todd who was dancing on the bar in front of me. About halfway into the sketch Anna pulled me over to join the cast that was assembled in a tight cluster at the end of the bar and dancing. Sandra and John were dancing provocatively close. When they grew self conscious, Anna would shove them together. She was always the director even in matters of the heart. They had all been drinking some exotic shots and combined with the red wine they were feeling no pain. A guy actually groped my balls as if this was his way of saying hello. I shoved his hand aside and decided I needed to walk away and finish the sketch. I wandered back to my spot, where I had to stop sketching every time someone needed to shove into the bathroom. When I returned to the group, my sketch finished, it was obvious that Anna had been drinking too much. Todd, the male dancer was with her trying to get her to sit down. He suggested Betsy and I try and get her home. When I approached Anna she backed away and disappeared into the packed dance floor. I wasn’t about to chase her around the club. Betsy seemed sober so I asked her to talk to Anna and convince her to leave. However Betsy was busy trying to find her cell phone which she had left in the other car on the drive over.

I exited the club and waited outside. I was sure Betsy would be out any minute with Anna and her cell phone but the clock kept ticking. Then suddenly Anna stumbled out and sat on the retaining wall beside me. She didn’t realize I was there. She had been sick and she couldn’t keep her head up. I asked if she was alright and she was surprised to see me. Embarrassed she began running down the street. Betsy exited the club and we both trailed behind her, concerned she might run into traffic. She finally collapsed between two parked cars and slumped over in a seated position. I reassured her until she shouted out, “Leave me alone!” I was making matters worse. I backed off and decided this had to be settled by the cast. Tod managed to help Anna get into his car. It was agreed that we would drive her to Mike’s house where she could sleep it off. I then drove Sandra and Betsy to Mike’s and when Todd and Anna arrived, the girls helped tuck her in for the night. I waited long enough to be sure everyone was fine, then I drove home. I’m convinced the events of this night helped bind the individual actors in the show into a tight knit ensemble. I suppose I could have left at any time, but I was the designated driver, besides I got a decent sketch.

Best of Orlando

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The Orlando Weekly held a readers choice voting for the Best of Orlando. Analog Artist Digital World won third place as the Best Local Blog! The Weekly held a celebration party at Club Firestone for the winners. I wasn’t invited. I suppose only the first place winners were invited. Luckily Brian Feldman won first place as the Best Experimental Act; being in South Dakota he gave his two tickets to Katie Windish who then invited me, so I could get a sketch of the event. When we got to the club we had to text Lindy Shepherd, an Orlando Weekly writer, so she could come out and give us the tickets. As we were going in Swamburger was coming out complaining that none of the food inside was vegan. He was heading up to the Cameo to party. Once we got past the velvet red rope and entered the club we were hit with the pounding bass of the music. Certain beers were free and there was a long line for food so we muscled past Wonder Woman and Batman, up to the bar. Once we had our beers the food line was smaller so we grabbed some food and then searched for a spot to sit. I saw a spot at a counter but before we got there two guys moved in. We finally found large cushioned benches in a room where back massages were being offered.
After we finished eating, I started searching for a spot to draw from. I had seem a walkway that had an overview of the dance floor and we started going up stairways until we found it. It was hot up there and no one else was around which meant I could sketch in peace. Katie went downstairs to talk to people and I got to work. I placed my beer on the counter and got out my book light so I could see what I was doing. When I was about half way through my sketch, my bottle of beer crashed to the floor shattering everywhere. I couldn’t figure out why it fell. I hadn’t touched it since I started sketching. I picked up the shattered base and placed it back on the counter. I then realized that the bass of the music was so loud that the counter was vibrating and the bottle was once again making its way to the edge to jump. I had the same problem with my sketchbook which I had leaning up against the counter. I put two pencil erasers in my ears finally to cut back some of the volume.
Much of the focus of the sketch is on the card tables which were set up for gambling. In the upper left corner an area was set up where artists were working on a painting. The painting had Blue Moon Beer logos integrated into it so I considered it too commercial to get its own sketch. On the dance floor a giant taco was busting some moves. A photographer tapped me on the shoulder and asked if it was alright for him to shoot some photos. I guess he thought I was staff. He shot some flash photos of a beautiful model.
On three movie screens the names of the winners were being projected. I got to see my name when the Best Bog category came up, but I was at the bottom of the list with my bronze. Once my sketch was done I found Katie and she introduced me to several Orlando Weekly staff members who said I should approach the new editor about getting my work in the paper. With a new editor comes new ideas so anything is possible.

Tomorrow I will be sketching the Speakwasy at Will’s Pub on Mills Avenue between 9 and 11:30PM.

Sunday Karaoke at the Parliament House

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There are many people who have known me for years who will never believe what I am about to tell you. But these events did unfold, on a quiet Superbowl Sunday, just as written . Amanda Chadwick put out an invitation to go to the Parliament House for Sunday morning Karaoke at the piano bar. Only the night before, actress, Lindsay Cohen had told me that she had once worked as a waitress at the Parliament House. I have never been, so I was curious. This sounded like a perfect sketching opportunity.
When I arrived maybe an hour late, I could hear the loud singing from the street. When I walked in it took a while for my eyes to adjust to the dark interior. The room was filled with men all sitting at the bar and in folding chairs facing the piano player. At the front table sat the only three women in the room and Amanda was one of them. She saw me and came over to say hello. The proprietor of the bar offered me a folding chair so I could sit with the 3 ladies, but I rather liked the view from my bar stool. I got out my sketchbook and started to sketch. The first person to take the stage after I started working was Dina Peterson who was one of Amanda’s friends. She sang Elton John’s “Your Song” and she bought down the house. All the men joined her singing the chorus and they all swayed to the music. I found myself singing along myself as I sketched, the lines flowing along with the words. To myself I sang , “I know its not much, but it’s the best I can do… My gift is my sketch, and this ones for you….”
There was long break after Dina sang because the foot pedal to the piano was stuck causing too much reverberation. Leslie Lormann, another friend of Amanda’s got on her hands and knees and worked on the pedal by wedging a book under it or something. One of the guys at the bar shouted out “Nice Ass, and that is some compliment coming from a gay guy!” She took it in stride and laughed it off. However it was done, the piano came back to life.
Mark Baratelli entered the bar and was greeted much like Norm from Cheers. He then got on the stage and sang “Somewhere over the Rainbow” everyone went wild. Mark added humor to the song by pushing the notes in new and unexpected ways. This was pure comic genius. By this time I had one white wine and when Mark gave the word, we all joined in the chorus. This was a side of Mark I had never seen before, and it was pure comic fun.
When his performance was over Amanda came over to see how my sketch was going. I was just about done. She asked, “Are you going to sing?” I said, “I haven’t seen YOU sing yet.” She said “No one wants to see me sing, trust me.” Offhandedly, figuring I was safe, I said “OK if you sing, I will join you.” She said, “OK, lets sing a duet.” In my mind I was thinking, “What have I done?” She bought over the play list and we started pouring over all the choices. She suggested a song from “Beauty and the Beast but I said, “No Disney, I will not sing a Disney song, that might cause flashbacks.” She finally chose the song, “Somewhere out There” from “An American Tail.” She hesitated a second saying, “Isn’t that a Disney movie?” I had to confirm that it wasn’t, so I agreed.
When we got on stage, my heart was in my throat. Luckily the duet starts with the female lead singing alone. Amanda missed the first cue but then she began, her voice quavering just a bit. The good thing about this song is that it is sung by mice in the movie. Thus any tightness in the throat or nervousness might sound like we were trying to sing the song in a mouse like manner. When I started singing, I was surprised by the sound of my voice on the speakers, I moved the microphone towards and away from my mouth trying to find the sweet spot where I sounded human again. I thought we did a fine job leaning towards each other and glancing up when the moment seemed right. When we sang together we actually harmonized, in our own way. To my untrained ears, Amanda sounded great. When the chorus came around again everyone in the bar was singing along drowning out our humble efforts. It is impossible not to have your heart warmed by a room full of people singing this song. It was a glorious moment which apparently Mark Baratelli decided to record on his little video camera. Luckily his camera has the worst microphone ever made, so you will not be subjected to my singing efforts. What ever it sounded like, it felt great! Thank you Amanda for the experience!
This Sunday Karaoke Singing Session happens every Sunday from 1PM to 4PM at the Parliament House (410 North Orange Blossom Trail). This is a unique Orlando experience! Happy Valentines Day!

Chateau Vintage

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I decided to get a sketch at an event called Good Looke at the Beacon Lounge in Thornton Park. If I got there before 10 PM admission was free, so I hopped in my truck and headed downtown. Good Looke is a monthly party which brings together Orlando’s fashion, art, music, and design communities, for a network event that revolves around DJ culture, live music and live art.
Based on this description I was excited at the prospects. When I arrived at 9:30PM the place was very quiet but after 10 the crowds started to file in. At first I figured I would be drawing the bar or the DJ’s Queso and Youngheartz. But when these young lady’s from Chateau Vintage walked in with a pink suitcase full of vintage clothes, I knew I had found my subject. I sketched as they set up the table and put out their wares. The table had a constant crowd. One girl tried on a vintage hat and danced around in a burlesque style that would make Bob Flossie proud. Some of the dancers must have come from the Ballet.
I am not sure if all the arts were represented. I tried to figure out if any other visual artists were in the room and perhaps they could be recognized by their grungy tee shirts, shorts and tattoos. I didn’t see any other sketchpads. I don’t see how people were networking with the music so loud. But I did my part representing for the visual arts.
As I finished up this sketch the DJ really started to pump up the volume and the dancing heated up. I wanted to get back home to Terry so I tried to make it to the door, but right in front of the door there was a tight pack of gyrating bodies and it became necessary to push people aside in order to get through. Outside the club tables were set up and another crowd had formed. The party was just getting started.

Fringe Volunteer Party at Pulse

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All Fringe volunteers were invited to an appreciation party at Pulse. Pulse is a gay bar on Orange avenue south of Downtown. The tiny parking lot was packed and the side street parking was full for a solid block. I walked in and was given an armband. When I entered the bar area through an beaded curtain I could not see a thing since the room was so dark. I greeted some friends and then after staking out the room decided my best bet was to muscle up to the bar and sketch from there. I ordered a Fringe Tini and it was tasty. The bartender was of course in constant motion trying to keep up with all the orders. Another challenge was that the room would change color from red to blue to green to pink every few minutes. I chose to paint a lavender room.

When I was perhaps halfway done with the sketch, most folks went into the front room for an awards and a raffle. I stayed at the bar since the awards didn’t concern me. Brian Feldman and Jessica Earley also stayed at the bar. As I was slapping down watercolor, I heard Brian calling me and he said that the announcer was calling my nickname, Thor. I pushed my way to the stage thinking well maybe they made up an award for the most sketches done at the Fringe. I stood in front of the stage and shouted out, “did you say Thor?” The confused announcer said no George. What would I do with a pink flamingo anyway? Right? I still don’t know if Brian was pulling a prank or if he misheard the name. I shook his hand when I got back to the bar anyway to let him know no harm was done.

Club Harem

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Located on Lee Road, Club Harem’s double breasted architectural style is unmistakable. I decided to sketch this establishment after a day of work at Full Sail. When I started the sketch there wasn’t a cloud in the sky but as I worked storm clouds quickly formed and rolled over me.
There is a long history between Winter Park and Club Harem. The Winter Park police department has targeted the club in the past with the obvious goal of putting it out of business. The club has been raided multiple times but has always reopened for business. Club Harem is nestled on the edge of a quiet suburban neighborhood. A woman jogged by several times as I sketched and a man rode through the empty parking lot on a red bicycle.
Many years ago the bar was known as “The Booby Trap”. From my casual observance on a hot Wednesday afternoon, Club Harem looks to be a well maintained thriving business. It continues to be Winter Parks only adult entertainment establishment, and in my mind an Orlando landmark.