Ong-king Arts Center - Theatre, Dance, Music, Poetry Performances

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This month we are blessed with talent flying in from all over the world. Artist KEE KEE bringing her visual seascapes from Malaysia, Jamaica Born Vocalist Sparlha Swa arrives from Boston, International Poetry Team Climbing Poetree comes from the east, and all the way from north shore multi-lingual live music from Solstice. All this mixing with our own Quadraphonix, dance of Giinko Maraschino's alter identity Mercedes 8, and a theatre pop from Hip-hopALYPSe. Yes, this is artistic abundance of the world, gathering at ong king in our continuing quest to inspire life.

Live mUsiC:

Solstice is a live band that has gained a beautiful following on the North Shore. They sing in 4 different languages, adding a unique flavor to their sound. Their roots stemming from Rapa Nui to Perœ. The foundation of Solstice were Itto's Island voice and Enrique's Latin percussion. With the essential addition of Matt's blues-inspired electric guitar and Don's punk-inspired bass, reggae emerged as the underlying groove. Enter the last element, Matt's good friend Russ, to hold down the multifaceted rhythms derived from his jazz-drumming. Solstice arrivesÉ let the fiesta begin!

Drawing on their traveling experiences, the lyrics are sung in English, Spanish, Rapa Nui and French. The rhythms celebrate several different cultures, all based on intense movement, seductive or festive. The core of a performance is that good vibe exchanged between the musicians and the audience - that abstract communication that creates a euphoric energy.

And as much as nature is an inspiration for music, it is also the temple that houses Solstice in their philosophies - so it was only fitting that the North Shore was where they began. But they definitely have their sights set on international stages.

“The world used to be flatÉ then it was roundÉ and now it is small. And the solstice is either the longest or shortest day of the year, depending on which side of the Equator you are on. It just goes to show how much reality is based on perceptions.” - Enrique Zender

VOCALIST: Sparlha Swa is a velvetine clash of impeccable vocals and haunting modalchords. You will find her performing mostly solo on guitar, though sometimes
she is accompanied by Shree Shyam Das, master of both bass and percussion. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, she has lived in 8 states and 3 countries. Her music will call to mind Sade, Billie Holiday, Joni Mitchell, Astrud Gilberto, Ravi Shankar, and Miriam Makeba.

Sparla's collaboration with Hip-Hop artist and producer Carlos Mena on her first record In The Distance, led to touring solo in Canada, the UK, the Netherlands, Japan, Brazil, and all across the US. In NY, she has headlined with a full band at the Blue Note Jazz Cafe, Joe's Pub, and BAM Café all to audiences of standing room only. She has featured on several compilations including the Woodstock Film Festival featured soundtracks for Me Leve on the Freed Pictures release of Flavio, and on ONE with Pete Rock - as well as interviewed on Japan FM Network, a Japanese radio show with 10 million listeners.

She was recently signed to Japanese label Village Again for In The Distance, she had 2 songs licensed (Love Addiction, Too Late) to the TV show Girlfriends, and her music video aired on BETJ globally for 6 months in 2006.

POETS: Climbing PoeTree, Alixa and Naima make up the tag-team, two-spirited, boundary-breaking artist duo, Climbing PoeTree. With roots in Haiti and Colombia, Alixa and Naima reside in Brooklyn and track footprints across the country and globe on a mission to overcome destruction with creativity.

In five self-organized independent tours, Climbing PoeTree has rocked 500 mikes and counting from Oakland to Atlanta, South Africa to Cuba with artists such as Amiri Baraka, Sonia Sanchez, Nikki Giovanni, Danny Glover, Jessica Care Moore, The Last Poets, and Dead Prez. They have led workshops in institutions from Cornell University to Riker's Island. And they have painted murals on walls from the Bronx, to
Santiago, to Jamaica. Climbing PoeTree uses their art to expose injustice, heal from violence, and make a better future visible, immediate, and irresistible .

Dance: GiinKO Marachino is not performing! NO it shall be their alter-ego, their other self entitles Mercedes 8. That's right, what could this mean? It may mean that 8 Mercedes Benz will roll up to 184 N. King Street pumping beats, causing hysteria and fanfare across the galaxy. Once the frenzy of the street has reached a fever pitch the 8 will roll through the ong king doors to romp, stomp and bazoom!

Theatre: hIP-HopLAypse is open! That means this month every Friday and Saturday at 8pm all can come and witness this martial art, hip hop poetry, post apocalypse tale of wonder and dread. The cast of 14 will perform some their best stuff just for the first Friday peeps.

MorE Music: Quadraphonix Percussionist/composer/ong king founder Jonathan Heraux. He is joined by electric sitar player Shree Sagopan, conga player Eli Clemens, and new bass player Tino.

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