On Saturday, April 21, 2018, our band Pancake7 will be performing at Studio Z with singer/poet Talonie Starr, and singer/visual artist Jorge Cuascut in the last of a year-long series of Linesmasher events entitled Linesmasher 8 - QUEST: Beyond the Fishbowl. Jorge and Talonie, who hail from a vibrant Chicago music scene, are highly original song writers, virtuosic vocalists, and powerful performers whose work spans a huge range of influences and genres. Jorge and Talonie are both uniquely able to compose and improvise based on a very broad range of influences, and always apply a highly original and inventive approach to original work and covers alike. They are known for their solo work as singers, artists and writers, as well as their stunning, often layered vocal leads and harmonies in the eclectic soul group Chess Club, and rock band Super Moon, both co-founded with Nick Jaffe (formerly Chicago-based) of Pancake7. Their performances are at once stunningly beautiful, often highly technical, and completely spontaneous and explosive. Also joining us on stage will be special guests from past Linesmasher events: poet Sharon Chmielarz, emcee/producer Soul Reflect, and emcee Kaoz. Projections of Jorge’s stunning paintings and drawings will form a vibrant visual context for the performances. |
Creating a space that functions like Studio Z is perhaps not as easy as it seems. Real collaboration requires that the people involved be open and curious about each other’s work. It also requires an ability to set aside preconceived notions about what something should sound like or look like. And it takes time and space to find out what is possible. That is part of why we launched the Linesmasher series: not only to cross cultural, racial and genre lines, but also to work outside of our normal processes.