The Story with Clinton Fearon

Clinton & Some of the Totem Star Crew

Yesterday at The Story, our guest, Clinton Fearon, shared his story for an audience made up of music lovers, young and old. Clinton shared stories of growing up in Jamaica, exploring nature and discovering his love for music. 

Clinton shared inspiring words about feeding the soul through arts, music, or whatever makes you happy, whether it is how you make a living or not. At one point, Clinton invited Totem Star youth artist Justus to play for the audience. And at the end of the event, Clinton took the time to listen to Totem Star studio assistant, Matt Sablan's new project.

Clinton Fearon is Always Smiling

Justus & Clinton Post-Guitar Solo

Clinton listening to Matt's new working song

The Story With Nikkita Oliver

Photo by Daniel Pak

KO!!! Nikkita Oliver is an organizer, educator, teaching-artist, and attorney who has contributed to the vibrancy of Seattle through her art and advocacy. Last Friday she was our special guest for The Story and spoke about overcoming challenges as a young person. She told stories about growing up singing in the choir, discovering her love of poetry, and how she questioned a law school professor in front of the whole class. Thank you for sharing your inspiring stories Nikkita! 

The Story With Wil-Dog Abers

I remember the first time I saw the Grammy award-winning band Ozomatli on stage at the Showbox. It must have been like 2001 or something. Their blend of salsa, jazz, funk, reggae, rap - the sound of the streets of Los Angeles - absolutely blew my mind. I also distinctly remember watching their bass player Wil-Dog Abers rocking out and having the time of his life.

(Fast forward sixteen years)

Tim Lennon of The Vera Project connected us to Wil-Dog and Sergio Muñoz, who are working on the interactive music remix platform 8Stem. After doing a video shoot on Orcas Island they came down to the Totem Star studio to meet our recording artists for a really special installment of The Story.

Wil-Dog recreated his rhythmic thought process on his remix of Dionisio by Chancha Vía Circuito, taking us from Chancha's home of Argentina to visit with Brazilian samba, Columbian cumbia, Puerto Rican salsa, and Mexican banda. Wil-Dog took us on a YouTube adventure of examples from each rhythmic style as he walked us through his remix - felt like we just toured through Latin America!

The biggest takeaway from our time with Wil-Dog was feeling his infectious enthusiasm and excitement in learning about rhythmic styles from all over the world, as it truly perpetuates more humanity and connectedness through sharing and appreciating the music of all cultures. And it's a lot of fun! We're excited to build on this new friendship with Wil-Dog and Sergio! Special shout out to Adam Farish of 8Stem for coming through and showing us how to use their interactive remix platform, which is surely the future of enjoying and sharing music. Viva la musica!

All photos by Paul Laughlin

The Story With Brian Myers

Brian Myers (aka Bee) was the tour manager for Blue Scholars from 2005-2009. He managed the band on several national tours, hitting the road with artists like Gza, Hieroglyphics, and Flobots, also working behind the scenes on the main stage at Bumbershoot when Blue Scholars opened for Kanye West. Bee also took care of support artists on Blue Scholars tours, one being a rapper by the name of Macklemore.

We had a great session of The Story with Bee in October, with one of our artists taking six full pages of notes from the conversation, which hit topics ranging from booking shows, touring (and how to get along with people out on the road), to tips on how to get the most out of a soundcheck. We're still trying to get our hands on those six pages of notes, and when we do, we'll post them, with permission of course. Until then, if you want to hear some of his wisdom, you can find Bee at Uli's Famous Sausage (he's the marketing director), or at a Totem Star board meeting (he's the Vice President of our board).

Fun fact: Bee and co-founder Thaddeus Turner gave Totem Star its name back in 2011!

The Story With Prometheus Brown

For the second installment of The Story this year, we are excited to welcome Prometheus Brown aka Geologic aka one-half of Blue Scholars to the Totem Star studio for an intimate storytelling hour.

Join us on Thursday, March 17, 2016 from 4-5pm at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center for The Story with Prometheus Brown. Event is free and all ages. Space is very limited. Light snacks and refreshments will be served at 3:30pm.

Presented by Totem Star in partnership with Arts Corps, Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, Office of Arts & Culture, 4Culture, Jubilation Foundation, and Satterberg Foundation.

#TheStory

The Story With Cat Harris-White

Prepare for a treat! For the first installment of The Story this year, we are stoked to welcome Catherine Harris-White aka Sassy Black aka one-half of THEESatisfaction to the Totem Star studio for an intimate storytelling hour.

On her Bandcamp page she explains, “Blackness breeds light. I beam the light of day and boast the lust of night. I been. Been. I have been. I have existed. I still exist. In my many lives I explore the concepts of art, music and design through patterns. My craft reflects such experimentation through music compilation and composition. I am.”

Join us on Friday, February 19, 2016 from 4-5pm in our recording studio at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center for The Story with Cat Harris-White. Event is free and all ages! Send an email tototemstarrecords@gmail.com to RSVP. Space is limited! Light snacks and refreshments will be served at 3:30pm.

#TheStory

Talk Story Series 4

For the last Talk Story of the year, we have a special treat! On Monday, December 7th from 3:30-5pm we will get a private tour of the new Legacy of Seattle Hip-Hop exhibit at MOHAI (Museum of History & Industry) by curators Aaron Walker-Loud and Jazmyn Scott! MOHAI is offering free admission for all Totem Star recording artists, crew, family, and friends.

RSVP by sending an email that says you’re coming to totemstarrecords@gmail.com!

The Legacy Of Seattle Hip-Hop

Image via mohai.org

September 19, 2015 – May 1, 2016

Get to know the people, places, and events that make up one of Seattle’s most vibrant cultural communities in The Legacy of Seattle Hip-Hop.

Curated by Seattle natives Jazmyn Scott (The Town Entertainment) and Aaron Walker-Loud (Big World Breaks), this interactive exhibit will immerse visitors in the sights and sounds of our region’s growing Hip-Hop culture through audio recordings, photography, artwork, artifacts, and more. The exhibit will explore many facets of the Seattle Hip-Hop scene, including graffiti, deejaying, break dancing, production, and emceeing, linking our region to the continuously evolving global Hip-Hop movement. Throughout, the exhibit will bring the first-person narratives and experiences of Seattle performers and artists to the forefront, creating an intimate and human look at this dynamic art form.

Talk Story Series 3

We have a super special Talk Story series coming up on Monday! Don’t miss Owuor Arunga and Greg Kramer, horn players for Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, live and direct for an intimate interview in the Totem Star recording studio.

What was it like to be on The Heist tour? What did it take to get the gig? What other big projects are you working on? Come talk story with two of Seattle’s most exciting stage performers, who will speak on their come up, challenges they’ve faced along the way, and how they maintain their rigorous life on the road.

Talk Story #3 with Owuor Arunga and Greg Kramer goes down 4-5pm on Monday, November 16, 2015 in the Totem Star recording studio at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center. This is the third installment of the monthly Talk Story series sponsored by the Office of Arts & Culture. Always free, all ages, and always very limited seating!

Talk Story Series 2

Join us for the second installment of our new Talk Story series, this time around with Tendai Maraire of Chimurenga Renaissance and Shabazz Palaces. Special guest facilitator Christina Nguyen of Youth Speaks will lead an intimate interview as we learn about his come up as an artist, challenges he’s faced along the way, and how he navigates the music industry. As always, the event is free and all ages, withextremely limited seating in our recording studio here at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center. Powered by the Office of Arts & Culture.

#YouthArts

Talk Story Series 1

Join us today for the very first of our pilot Talk Story series, featuring intimate in-studio interviews with guest artists and music industry professionals. Kicking off the series is 2014 Sound Off! winner Otieno Terry and his manager and music director Max Levin, who will be talking about their come up, challenges they’ve faced thus far, and how they continue to navigate the illusive music industry.

Event runs from 4-5pm in the Totem Star recording studio at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center. Free and all-ages. Limited seating. Sponsored by the Office of Arts & Culture.