Cavata Clothing Co. » Featured Artists

Featured Artist: Amy Walkins

admin — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 05:05:01 +0000

Meet Amy Walkins, an up-and-coming photographer from Boston. As a kid, Amy used to buy disposable camera after disposable camera (me too!) and would scrapbook all of her photographic adventures until she graduated to the basic point-and shoot-camera during her teens. Wanting to take her hobby to new heights, she finally stepped up her game and bought a Canon Rebel Xsi! (Good choice) I love seeing how people grow and evolve as artists from their novice beginnings. Amy is a great example of someone who took a hobby and developed it into her true passion. Check out more of Amy’s work at www.photographybyamye.com and support your local artists!

-Lori

Featured Artist: Burning Down Broadway

admin — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 04:57:31 +0000

There are no fancy gimmicks when it comes to Burning Down Broadway’s “Time Is Money.” The title of the band’s third release since 2007 is a true testament to how far the Cleveland quartet has come. Brothers, Max and Dylan Hayden, along with Jeff Bazzo and Kevin McManus played the high school circuit but as they matured their passion for real rock music kept them motivated as they struggled to find their niche in a lacking Ohio music scene. It didn’t matter if they played in the Midwest before enthusiastic crowds or no crowd at all; these hardships and successes in their formitive years helped shape their hard-driven yet melodic style of music their fans can’t get enough of.

This July, Burning Down Broadway will be celebrating their eighth anniversary as a band with the release of the eight-song-album “Time Is Money” on 7/23. ”Time Is Money” was recorded with producer Bryan Patrick at Jungle Studios in Lorain, Ohio and this 7-month labor of love is the band’s best material to date. Make sure to check out Burning Down Broadway and pick up their album, “Time Is Money” July 23rd!

BURNING DOWN BROADWAY

-Lori

The Angkor Dance Troupe

admin — Thu, 27 May 2010 04:50:32 +0000

When I was a Junior undergrad at UMass Lowell I had a few open electives I had to fill, one being a history course. Since I was studying Philosophy and Communications I was able to pick from any history course the school offered so rather than taking another American or European history class I decided to take Genocide in Cambodia. In case you didn’t know, Lowell, Massachusetts has one of the highest concentrations of Cambodians in the world next to Cambodia and Long Beach. I loved the class and professor so much I actually took 2 semesters of Khmer (the language of Cambodia) my senior year to fill some left over humanities electives. Chumriep Sua! Sok sbye cheauh tay?

Part of the course was studying Cambodian culture, most of which was nearly destroyed during the reign of Pol Pot & the Khmer Rouge, including dance. Lowell has an amazing Cambodian dance company called the Angkor Dance Troupe and I was lucky enough to see them when I lived there. Take a look at the beautiful costumes these dancers are wearing; every piece of clothing, body position and hand gesture has a deep, cultural meaning. Take a minute and check out www.angkordance.org. My Khmer might be a little rusty, but I’ll leave you with this: Som owee knyom chake muy snet! You just might win a free tee if you can tell me what that means.

-Lori

Featured Artist: Damian King

admin — Thu, 20 May 2010 04:20:35 +0000

Damian King is a freelance illustrator, designer and painter out of the Bay Area and after seeing some of his paintings I absolutely fell in love with his work. My favorite pieces of his use a mix of ink and acrylic which is an aesthetic I absolutely love and his use of texture in pieces like “Backstabbber” is amazing. Take a look at some of his selected works below and make sure to visit his ONLINE STORE where you can pick up some fly kicks, prints, tee shirts, skateboards and a whole lot more!

DAMIAN KING ART

“Backstabber”

“Pagoda”

“Don’t Sweat It”

“Sophisticated Shaman”

-Lori

Rainbow Tribe Dance Company

admin — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 04:38:19 +0000

“Formed in 1992, Rainbow Tribe bridges cultural differences and fosters a universal appreciation for dance in all its forms. Since its inception as a volunteer run and operated entity, this Boston-based inclusive contemporary jazz dance company has delivered fiercely intense, high-octane performances throughout the East Coast. Artistic director, Mary Mazzulli, and her Leadership Team are a collaborative powerhouse of dance talent producing entrancing choreography that not only entertains, but also motivates audiences of all ages and nationalities.”

www.rainbowtribe.org

The dance company is a true representation of Boston’s rich diversity and ever-evolving culture. The Executive Leadership and members exemplify a broad diversity beyond race and ethnicity including a variety of body types, levels of training, experience and skills – overcoming common stereotypes of dance and dancers.

Their performances range from African to modern jazz, swing to hip-hop and break dancing. They also strive to develop new, local choreography and choreographers and to reflect popular dance forms by presenting works in both artistic and informal arenas that draw from a variety of traditions. This, coupled with their inherent diversity, hard work and commitment to a cause, affords us the opportunity to embrace and include the audience, celebrate the community’s richness and positively affect at-risk, under-served children and adults.

-Lori

Featured Artist: NORAA

admin — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 22:10:49 +0000

Coming straight out of Maryland, 19 year old hip-hop artist, Noraa, is the newest addition to the up and coming DMV movement. Born in Philly, Noraa settled down in Howard County, MD and found himself surrounded by family and friends who shared the same passion and love for music as he did. Driven by desire and encouraged by like-minded artists, Noraa started to make a name for himself in the MD rap circuit.

His music and stylistic flow has been described as “smooth, laid back & truthful but with mainstream pop lyrics.” The description of his music, according to his site, is truly a reflection of his personality and influences. In his words, “Music should reflect who you are, what you have been through, and how you feel. I believe life should be enjoyed to the fullest and with every experience I go through I find the positive. You truly get that feeling when you listen to my music”.

Noraa has been able to showcase his talent and collaborate with many great artists such as Young Scrap, Future Sounds and Zee of Pre Historic. Recently Noraa has released his first Instrumental mix tape entitled “My Girls” where every track is named after a specific female.

Make sure to check out this new hip-hop artist in the links below! I love seeing young people be so passionate about what makes them happy and Noraa is a perfect example. Keep on your hustle, Noraa! (And send me some mixtapes!)

NORAA on MySpace

NORAA on ReverbNation

NORAA on Facebook

-Lori

Jonas Akerlund

admin — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 20:59:53 +0000

What happened to good music videos? Remember Mr. Big and R Kelly? THAT was a great music video. There are still artists who are putting out immensely creative ideas but a lot of today’s music videos are nothing more than shots of watching the band play with random B-roll to fill time. One of my favorite directors is Jonas Akerlund, a Swedish and grammy award-winning artist best known for Madonna’s “Ray Of Light” video and “Spun.” With somewhat of a Tarantino/Stone vibe, Akerlund incorporates short films, trailer-like introductions and storylines that make you say “WTF, mate?”…but in a good way.

His latest work is a Lady Gaga video ft. Beyonce for “Telephone.” The video really doesn’t follow the lyrical context of the song since its a follow-up to “Paparazzi” but its incredibly hilarious and entertaining nonetheless. I’m usually not a huge Gaga fan but this video may have just pushed me over to the dark side. Plus, Beyonce looks smoking hott in whatever she does which is always a plus. Damn you, Jiggaman.

I highly recommend checking out more of Jonas Akerlund’s work, especially the short films. I can dig music videos if they were more like this.

-Lori

Cavata and Toussaint Team Up

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 20:00:02 +0000

Its almost here people! Big show tomorrow night featuring ‘Toussaint The Liberator’ and special guest “Meta and the Cornerstones’ at Church of Boston. This show is exclusively sponsored by Cavata Clothing Co. so please come and show your support. Lets gooo!!!

Get YOUR TICKETS HERE!! $10 advance 15@ the door!

This really is going to be an awesome time and I’m extremely amped up to see our good friend, Toussaint The Liberator rock the stage. Me and Lori were vibing out to some Toussaint last night on our way to the Mothers of Rock event at Umass Lowell. She didnt even realize that Toussaint was the same man who previously performed with the popular group, ‘Soulive’. Heres an absolute classic song by Soulive feat. Toussaint on the vocals of course!

and heres another awesome video of Toussaint with his little daughter supplying the backup vocals…

www.toussaintandburu.com

-SweetPete

Featured Artist: Barricades

admin — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 21:34:57 +0000

Barricades formed in the summer of 2008 by fellow Braintree locals Dan Norton (Drums), Jared Walsh (Guitar/Vox), Chris Norton (Guitar/Vox) and Norm Earnest (Bass). Since their inception the group has gone through a slight line-up change; Norm has moved to Korea to teach English and Justin Lutz has taken up Slappin’ Da Beeass for the quartet. Having just recently released their debut E.P. “Strong Foundations” on iTunes, Barricades is just getting started.

Their Alternative Pop Rock sound is somewhat Deathcab-esque and is beautifully complemented by the 2-part harmonies of Jared and Chris who aren’t afraid to share the vocal spotlight. You can expect a physical release of “Strong Foundations” coming soon as well as many live performances in the Boston/New England area including a show at Copperfields near Fenway Park on Feb. 26th. Don’t miss out on these guys! Good musicians and good peoples all around.

www.barricadesmusic.com

-Lori

Behind the scenes w. Ashley Mowry

admin — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 17:44:05 +0000

On the site we usually feature musicians, artists, photographers, etc. but after a recent conversation I decided the people behind the scenes deserve just as much appreciation and attention as the artists but often aren’t as celebrated. After all, tours don’t book themselves and paintings don’t magically appear in galleries; someone behind the scenes is making moves to bring all of these moving pieces together. I decided to feature a very good friend of mine, Ashley Mowry, (or as I like to call her “Thayzees”) who is working as as assistant at Paradigm Talent Agency in New York City in the Music Department.

Ashley and I met 6 years ago in college and both started out as music majors. We didn’t graduate as music majors yet we both managed to keep music in our lives in different ways. Instead of Music Business Ashley took up Management and eventually helped found UML’s annual ”Mothers Of Rock” show which is a tribute to women in music and could often be found at Fox Hall booking musical acts from across the US. Fastforward to 6 years later and Ashley is now booking tours for acts like The Fray, Jason Mraz, Lady Sovereign, Lily Allen, Metric & Low Anthem. Boo to the yah.

“I think to be in music you HAVE to love it. Most of the time people start out being a performer but we all know that everyone doesn’t get that big break. I just know that when I went to Jason Mraz in Hollywood and saw the fans and the crowd so involved with the show and just knowing that I had a part in this, being part of that team, was rewarding. And it was the same way at the final show in San Diego. It was just awesome to see it and be a part of it.”

I give huge props to Ashley for making her own way in the music biz! Next time you go to a concert think about all the people behind the scenes who helped put that show together. And Ashley…hook ya girl up with some tickets, mang! <3

-Lori