I didn't pick them because their band name is a punctuation mark - that's just a literary bonus. Ampersand will be busking live outside the Echo Park Film Center before the program begins. Ampersand is Rachel Garcia and Thu Tran. They met in the winter of 2006, as students at San Francisco State University, at an open mic night. Tran's songwriting is influenced by pop and folk. Garcia's vocal styles are based in jazz and the blues. It all comes together to create Ampersand’s cheerfully soulful "city folk" sound.
Ampersand's music ranges across themes and styles, and they always strive to make good-hearted, positive music. Their music is a hybrid of different influences and inspirations, reflecting their diverse musical and cultural backgrounds. Get a preview of Ampersand's music on MySpace, follow them on Twitter and become their best friends on Facebook. Or come hear them at the party on March 26! I spent this weekend on the streets of LA with my handy H2 recorder, creating Streetwise Cycle audio clips for Broadcastr. It's a new social media site that allows you to post audio stories and pin them to a map. You might think of it as "place-based podcasting." On Saturday I drove to each location where a Streetwise story takes place and recorded a brief chat about that place and its story, then read an excerpt. That only took four and a half hours. For example, click here to listen to the story titled Shelter, recorded outside the Iglesia Roca de Salvacion in East LA. To explore Broadcastr, jump over to the site and zoom in on the map to anywhere in the world you're interested in. Well, it's still mostly the US right now. You can search topics, cities or author names.
Broadcastr is still in beta, so the bells and whistles don't all fully work. Still, it's a fun site where you can listen and learn a little more about the places around you. More details on the publication party:
Saturday, March 26 Doors open at 7:30 pm Program begins at 8 pm Echo Park Film Center 1200 N Alvarado (@Sunset) I'll be reading from the book and signing copies. We'll also have buskers, video, original music and art inspired by the book, and a few words about the importance of independent literature in our modern era. Plus a little food and wine! You can RSVP for the party right here on Facebook. Anything else you need to know? Since The Streetwise Cycle appeared online, I've been talking with artists in various fields about creating work inspired by the book. So I'm excited to announce that you'll get to hear Alanna Lin at the publication party. Alanna Lin a.k.a. "Mindy Chiu" is a singer-songwriter, blogger, and performance artist who received her MFA in Creative Writing from the Critical Studies Department at CalArts in 2003. She composes and performs original music as Fascinoma (a folk-pop project) and has recently completed a concept album entitled Emergency Songs: Before, During, and After with LA-based composer, Monk Turner. The project reflects upon friendship, loyalty, and public safety in the face of The Big One. Alanna will be performing original work inspired by The Streetwise Cycle.
Stay tuned to this blog for announcements of more musicians and other artists whose work will appear at the party. Of the nine stories in The Streetwise Cycle, the one attracting the most web hits in February was Cash Money.
Can't tell you why. Just an interesting factoid. I've been getting questions from folks about where they can buy The Streetwise Cycle. Whatever format you prefer for reading, the book is probably available there. If your question isn't answered below, add it in the comments.
Q: Will you be selling books at the publication party? A: Yes! Selling and signing them live and in person. Q: Where can I buy it now? A: You can buy the print version online. Be sure to search for coupons before clicking the "buy" button. Q: Is it available on Amazon? A: Corrected 3/9: The Streetwise Cycle is now available on Amazon! Q: Is it available for the Kindle? A: Yes! For the Kindle, Nook, Sony Reader or even a plain old pdf. And more. Q: You should really do a podcast. A: Done! Stream it live or download the mp3. Q: I'm thinking about having my book group read it. Can I get a discount? A: Check for volume discounts on Lulu, and check out the book group guide. Also, if your group is interested in talking with the author, contact me to see about setting up something live or via Skype. Meet Juliette, the official podcast station of The Streetwise Cycle. She's of Japanese origin, and her enclosure is constructed of a fine walnut-finish vinyl veneer. This book began as a collection of short stories, but it quickly grew into a multimedia fiction project, including a podcast of the full book. At the publication party I'm going to try to recreate some of that online multimedia experience.
To that end, this past weekend I took apart an old 8-track tape player and reconfigured it to play mp3s. When you're at the party, be sure to visit Juliette at the podcast listening station to hear an excerpt of the book. Can't wait? You can always download the full podcast right here. For more pics of Juliette's inner workings, click on. Last year my very short story Drayman was published on CellStories, a terrific mobile-only storytelling site. Back then you could only read it on your cell phone or other mobile device.
In response to complaints from friends ("But I want to read it on my computer"), I've posted the story as a Google doc. You can now read it online, or print it and take it with you. Happy reading! I'm printing postcards for The Streetwise Cycle launch party on March 26. If you have a favorite bookstore, coffee shop, community center, infoshop or other hangout where you could post a card or two, let me know and I'll give you some. I'd be most grateful!
Here's a preview of the postcards: |
We are go for print!
A print version of The Streetwise Cycle is now available. Categories
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