Magic and Mayhem at the Fringe.

Posted on by Thor

The magic show opened with a single spotlight on stage illuminating a fluffy white bunny named ChaChing,  who sniffed the air from it’s perch. Large panels were used to make the band members of Fretless Rock appear magically on stage. Being seated in the front row on the far side of house right, I could see the high heels peak out from behind the moving panel, kind of destroying the illusion.

Michelle Jones formed Fretless Rock in 2008. Elizabeth Chaconas performed on viola and the ever smiling Yamilet Trujillo performed on the electric cello. the magicians were James Songster and Joshua Songster. The magic was straight forward slight of hand. An audience member was called up on stage and asked to pick a card from a deck of cards. She accidentally showed the magician the card when he asked her to show it to the audience. The magicians never spoke instead relying on over the top. I’ve to get their points across. The music from the strings added a nice backdrop for each act. The volunteer had to write her name on the card since she had slipped up and let the magician see the card. Somehow the card ended up inside one of the green helium balloons. Which she had to pop with a needle.

Overall, this was a fun family friendly show. The musicians got to play along and become part of each trick. Elizabeth was used for her sex appeal and Yamilet played the coy smiling innocent of the group. The only person who ever spoke was Michelle who asked the audience to sing along if they knew the words to the song they were about to perform. ChaChing managed to steel every scene he was in.

You can catch Magic and Mayhem on the first Friday of every month at Fat Fish Blue at Orlando Improv, 9101 International Drive Orlando Fl. Tickets are $10 and dinner and drinks are available for purchase. Call (4070 480-5233 for a reservation.

Violectric Debut Revolutionary LED Instrument Lighting “Violuminescence” at Bite.

Posted on by Thor

Bite Night, hosted by the Orlando Weekly was held at The Orchid Garden and Ballroom at Church Street in Downtown Orlando from 7pm-10pm on June 29th.   I went to the event specifically to sketch the premiere performance of Violuminence. 

Michelle Jones the founder of Violectric asked her husband, Jerry Jones, the groups technical director to design the diodes along the rims of the instruments which made them glow like souped up Harley Davidson motorcycles. Violuminescence produces unique, lighted string instruments that can be remote controlled to enhance any performance in an unrivaled manner.

When I arrived, the event was just getting started but there were already long lines for food. I immediately started hunting for my sketch opportunity. I ran into Ilene Lieber the groups pleasant and hard working PR representative and she let me know that the Violuminence performance would start at 9pm in front of the DJs table on the main floor. That gave me several hours to sketch in the Orchid Room’s magical turn of the century decor. When Violumenence began, I added color starting with the blue glow of the instruments. The instruments glowed in every color of the rainbow as if celebrating the recent Supreme Court decision allowing everyone to share the rights of marriage.

“We are beyond excited to finally unveil Violuminescence to the public later the month,” said founder of Violectric and Fretless Rock, Michelle Jones.  “This will be the first opportunity for public audiences to experience Violuminescence and revel in this truly spectacular and awe-inspiring musical innovation.  We are known for getting audiences up out of their seats and dancing along with us as we play, and we look forward to blowing away all our loyal fans with Violuminescence and hopefully gaining many more new ones worldwide.”

When the violins performed Journey‘s Don’t Stop Believing, everyone in the room started singing along. “Shadows searching in the night”. It was really a magical moment. The crowd was hooked and I sang along as I sketched. The violinists weren’t passive. They began moving around the room finding their way through the crowd.  By the time my sketch was done, the crowd was starting to thin out. All the food vendors had packed up. Darn it. I hadn’t tasted a bite so I can’t report on how good the food was. Genevieve Bernard and Seth Kubersky told me that the food directly across the room from me was absolutely delicious. I am pleased by the rich warm and cool colors that I could catch with my digital sketch.  For more information on Violectric contact 407-434-1261 and for more information on Fretless Rock by Strings Etc visit their web page.