Long Beach Post: Music Shines Downtown

Friday, February 3, 2012

Music Shines Downtown

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Summer and Music. The two go together like lemonade and ice cubes. Although live music has been a regular Summer staple on Pine Avenue for the last several years, the Downtown Long Beach Associates (DLBA) and the Long Beach Redevelopment Agency (RDA) have teamed up this year with Justin Hectus and Rand Foster to produce an ambitious and high-minded performance

series.

Hectus, currently the board President of Arts Council for Long Beach, has been supporting local music for ages. He helped produce Dope America, a compilation CD that featured the City's best musical talent and, more recently, collaborated with Foster, owner of Fingerprints Music in Belmont Shore, to raise funds for in-school music programs through a series of critically acclaimed concerts called Schooled in Song.

The series, which began earlier this month, runs through August. On Friday evenings, it's music at the bandshell in Rainbow Harbor from 6 - 8 PM. This Friday, it's DJ Lithuanian Prince, and local darlings Greater California laying down their "soft is the new loud" vibe. Lisa Cee, Delta Nove, and The Boogaloo Assasins will perform on subsequent Fridays.

On Saturdays, SAM is at the East Village Farmer's Market from 10 AM - 2 PM with DJ Abel and Chris Paul Overall this weekend, and performances by Jazz Angels, DJ Sonic Dread, the Jim Bianco Trio, The Pawnshop Kings, and Molly Jenson on subsequent Saturdays.

On Sundays from 4 - 6 PM, SAM takes over the corner of Pine Avenue and Broadway with performances by The 60 Watt Kid, DJ Dennis Owens (The Good Foot), The New Fidelity, The Boogaloo Assasins, Money Mark, the Animal Liberation Orchestra, and Jazz Angels.

There's also the SAM Soul Motion Scooter Festival on Sunday, June 28th, Battle of the Tribute Bands on July 11th, Busker Fest on August 21st & 22nd, and the not-to-be-missed Funk Festival on August 29th.

Complete details for all SAM events can be found at SummerAndMusic.com.

Related Stories: Fingerprints, Arts Council, Summer and Music, DLBA, Justin Hectus, Schooled In Song, RDA

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Sander lives with his wife, step-daughter, dogs, and cats. He's an avid photographer, and enjoys creating close-up images of flowers and plants, and capturing urban landscapes. He's been involved in music production since the early 80's, and worked professionally as an audio engineer, live sound mixer, and producer.

Sander Roscoe Wolff is a musician, artist, and was co-founder and Executive Director of LongBeachCulture.org, the City's first comprehensive, and free, arts calendar and registry.

He has served on the boards of the 2nd City Council Art Gallery + Performance Space and the East Village Arts District, curated a 6 month gallery exhibition in the Long Beach World Trade Center, and produced Songs For Bethune, a CD of original and traditional holiday songs by local artists, to raise funds for the Arts Council's Passport to the Arts program.

His work has been featured in local gallery exhibitions, in SoundWalk, and L.A. Siggraph's Photon Ballet.

His current music project is Ain Soph Aur, a systems based improvisational performance duo and studio team.