Viper Vixens of 2012, Electronic Planet Ensemble at the Vortex, January 13 - 29

The Electronic Planet Ensemble are magic men -- I can say that since percussionist Rachel Fuhrer apparently has disappeared this year, leaving poet David Jewell, keyboardist Chad Salvata and bassist/video artist Sergio R. Samayoa to deliver this piece assisted by drummer Doug Marcis. I had to identify Marcis from the poster legend, since there was no program available at the Vortex this year.

Their January offering for 2012, Viper Vixens, falls far short of earlier Januaries: Planet of the Mermaids in 2011, Surfin' UFO in 2010 and Spaceman Dada Robot in 2009.

Even the mail art display in the Vortex's Butterfly Bar was much smaller and less imaginative than in earlier years, hung in the semi-darkness and literally overshadowed by the Betty Boop cartoon projected on the wall by the bar.

The EPE's strength has been projecting a sci-fi universe of mythic figures before our minds' eyes, using powered rhythms and David Jewell's hallucinatory lyrics. Samayoa's imaginative video creations served as springboards into that trippy world.

Not so this year.

Their music still rocks, but Viper Vixens of 2012 pretty much abandons Jewell, even though he's still right there out front, wearing a fine voluminous shiny gray polyester suit and wearing a red tie, working his fingertips over a laptop fuzzbox. During most of the hour's adventure you can't really hear what he's saying.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Upcoming: Planet of the Mermaids, Electronic Planet Ensemble at the Vortex Repertory, January 14 - 29

Received directly:

presents

Planet of the Mermaids

January 14-29, Thursdays - Sundays at 8 p.m.

The VORTEX, 2307 Manor Rd. Austin, TX 78722

Tickets $30-$10 http://www.vortexrep.org or 512-478-LAVA(5282)

$30-$25 Priority Seating, $20-$15 General Admission, $10 Starving Artists

Thursdays and Sundays 2-for-1 admission with donation of 2 non-perishable food items. Limited seating. Advance purchase recommended.

In the tradition of silent films and B-movie science fiction, Electronic Planet Ensemble presents Planet of the Mermaids, an over-the-top multi-media, movie spoof with original live music for 3 weeks only at The VORTEX.

Join Captain Rex Vydor and the crew of the spaceship Odysseus as they explore the mysterious planet of Aquanea. Get ready to encounter the Mer Queen and her beautiful minions on the Planet of the Mermaids.

From the creators of SPACEMAN:DADA:ROBOT and Surfin’ UFO. Electronic Planet Ensemble is Sergio R. Samayoa, David Jewell, Chad Salvata, and Rachel Fuhrer. Planet of the Mermaids stars David Jewell as Captain Rex Vydor. Story by Chad Salvata. Cinematography and Digital Imagery by Sergio R. Samayoa.

Also, in the lobby, an International Mail Art show will display all mail received concerning the themes of Planet of the Mermaids before and during the run of the show.

[Image: Solve Sundsbo for Vogue Nippon May 2010]

Electronic Planet Ensemble is funded and supported in part by the City of Austin through the Cultural Arts Division. Produced in association with VORTEX Repertory Company.

Upcoming: Xephyra by Chad Salvata, Vortex Repertory, February 26 - March 14

Found on-line:

ethos presents

Xephyra
An Alternative World Music and Video Mythos

by Chad Salvata & Jo Beth Henderson
February 26 - 28 (Friday - Sunday), March 04 - 14 (Thursdays - Sundays), 8 p.m.

Click to listen to a sound clip from Xephyra

Award-winning artists Chad Salvata and Jo Beth Henderson have created the newest ethos adventure, Xephyra, An Alternative World Music and Video Mythos. This non-traditional performance is presented with video images and live music. The extraordinary vocals are performed in an imaginary language of a mythic tribal island world.

Xephyra, a warrior of the Blue Orchid tribe, journeys on her quest to find her husband Warrior, who has not returned from the Island Wars. Along the way, she is joined by Terra, a sea siren. They are hunted by monster birds, battle shark mermaids, and slay the kaleidoscope octopus. Will they find Warrior and return safely home?

Xephyra features the vocal and performance talents of Jo Beth Henderson and Kira Parra. With live music performed by Chad Salvata, Tyler Mabry, and Rachel Fuhrer. Live video creation and mixing by Sergio R. Samayoa. Lighting design by Patrick Anthony. Sound design by Roy Taylor.

Tickets: $30-$25 Priority Seating, $20-$15 General Admission. $10 Starving Artists.
2-for-1 Admission on Thursdays and Sundays with 2 non-perishable food items for SafePlace. Feed the Tribes of the World.

Friday, February 26 — Opening Night and CD Release Party of the Xephyra CD with free champagne and food.

Friday March 12 -- Performance free with SxSW Interactive Badge (Party after the show. Cash bar and drink specials.)

Produced in association with VORTEX Repertory Company. Xephyra is funded and supported in part by the City of Austin through the Cultural Arts Division.

Surfin' UFO, A Love Story, Electronic Planet Ensemble at the Vortex Repertory, January 8 - 24

David Jewell's word pictures lift beyond the Vortex space, riding with the waves of music, percussion and video, and the Electronic Planet Ensemble delivers us to someplace exalted and different and yet familiar. They are surfin' big themes on comic book concepts with surfboards and hula hoops, and you have no idea what they're going to do next to your consciousness.

Back in the Age of Aquarius this would have been far out, prime foodstuff for consciousness expanding through hallucinogens.

In the twenty-first century as our world shrinks, our myths expand and our attention spans shorten, the EPE packs wonder with serious myth and wry humor. We are not, after all, the center of the universe. And isn't that concept amazing, just by itself?

With his straight face, serious demeanor, blue jumpsuit and porkpie hat, David Jewell could be a plumber or a college professor. But what the man is, is a seer. He's hypnotized by stellar reaches, extraterrestrial beings, whales, visitations from outer space, and crop circles.

At the same time he reaches out and gives those mythic beings our own desires and foibles. Look at the capsule summaries of some of the EPE's throbbing, careering, seductive pieces: "Surf Boy sees Space Girl and is Amazed." "Space Girl is wanting the Surf Boy." "Space Girl's dad gives her advice." "Intro song to the Movie Gidget Goes Galactic, directed by Surf Boy and Space Girl to raise money to build themselves their own spaceship."

Add, for good measure, the prophet Ezekiel's vision, taken verbatim from the Bible. Ezekiel saw a wheel, 'way up in the middle of the air . . . and a vision of annihilating brilliance.

EPE thunders, rolls, spirals, and rocks. Sergio R. Samayoa is on the bass; Chad Salvata runs keyboasrds and stands by Jewell on vocals; ball-of-fire Rachel Fuhrer is all percussion, all types, all the time. If you attended last year's Spaceman:Dada:Robot or In.Car.Nation, you'll recognize the style. This is intelligent music that will hold you captive both with rhythms and melodies, supporting Jewell's word pictures and indissoluble from them. It is rock-n-roll LOUD, but so closely integrated with the texts that you will not miss a word.

Jewell is not a singer, but he uses his voice, his timing, his rhythm with the power of a shaman.

Go for the music, if you want just to blast off and sail away. Go for the energy of it. Go for the video by Samayoa, because it's kaleidoscopic, colorful, clever and exuberant. Go for Jewell's texts, the love story, the wry humor and the wonder.

And go for the international mail art show. We missed it, because the Vortex cafe had just gotten a paint job in red and apricot, and the EPE folks were still stringing together their mobils. Take a look at their art gallery on-line, to understand the sense of play that motivated this whole enterprise. I mean -- surfin' and UFOs? Weren't those the obsessions of the 1950s and 1960s?

And wow -- now we're here, in the future!

Recommended!