Content Magazine

Episode #104 Noriyuki “Ken” Okada @jazzr777 - Jazz bassist, composer, and arranger.

As a jazz bassist, composer, and arranger, Ken Okada has spent his life finding the groove. Unlike in other genres of music, in jazz, bass is the glue responsible for holding the group together. When composing music, Ken is less concerned with being credited with a beautiful melody and more so leaving room for other musicians to join and create. 

Over the years, Ken has composed music as part of the Ken Okada Group and performed in jazz combos and big bands featuring artists such as John Worley, Leon Joyce, Yankee Taylor, Destiny Muhammad, Eric Colvin, and Rick Vandivier and numerous jazz clubs and festivals around the world.

Most recently, Ken has recorded and performed with a percussion phenom, Yoyoka Soma, a 13-year-old Japanese musician living in America who went viral in 2018 for renditions of Led Zeppelin. Together, the group has released the album “Square One,” now available on Spotify and Apple Music.

In our conversation, we discuss Ken’s approach to jazz, his upbringing as a Japanese musician, the influences of jazz in San Jose, and his most recent project featuring Yoyoka. 

Join Ken this Friday, 11/10, at 8 pm at the San Jose Jazz Break Room as the Ken Okada Group Featuring YOYOKA engages audiences with stunning rhythm, high-flying melodies, and original arrangements by Ken Okada.

Episode #103 Carman Gaines, Associate Director of Local Color

When asked to describe the San José art scene, Carman Gaines uses words like ‘passionate, diverse, obsessive, and community oriented.’ One could argue that those words also best describe Carman’s life view and journey to the present. Born and raised in San José, Carman tries to squeeze the most out of life for herself and in honor of her ancestors. Carman has an intentional approach to spending her time and the opportunities she pursues but balances those things by focusing only on what she can control.

Carman studied art history and photography in college, learning its potential to impact lives and document history. However, she accepted early on that photography was not how she wanted to survive in a capitalist world, opting to use it as a form of catharsis and personal growth. That realization did not stop her from popping into different art spaces, dropping off resumes, taking unpaid internships, and commuting to a gallery job in San Francisco for a few years before tenaciously pursuing a position at Local Color that would bring her career in arts administration closer to home. 

In the years since Carman began working for Local Color, she has taken on the role of associate director. Although her work often requires trips to what she calls ‘Grantland,’ a destination of administrative paperwork and potential funding, she relishes the opportunity to provide artists and organizations a platform to impact the community through art.

While Carman supports the art community through her career, she is also working towards a future that involves a farm, airstream, dismantling capitalism, and mutual aid. In her new podcast, ‘Plan and Story,’ Carman sits down with folks in the community to discuss their visions for the future and the sometimes unforeseen road that will take them there.

In our conversation, we discuss Carman’s journey to working for Local Color, her experiences as an artist and arts administrator, and her inspiration and approach to life.

Join Carman this Friday, October 27th, for Local Color’s annual 31 Skulls fundraiser. This fundraiser supports local artists and helps fund this woman-powered organization, fostering connections between artists, people, and places.

Follow Carman at: carmantyra.jg

Episode #102 Connie Martinez, C.E.O. of SVCreates.

It is a bittersweet moment for SVCreates as we celebrate the legacy and retirement of our fearless leader, Connie Martinez.

Connie Martinez has courageously led SVCreates for the ten years since its formation when 1stACT San Jose & Arts Council Silicon Valley merged.

Before then, she had held several leadership positions in various industries. While her introduction and education in business came out of necessity in providing for her children as a young single mother, her development as a leader has been an intentional process of learning and letting go. 

Connie believes excellent leadership comes from providing the right people with a framework and resources for success. As CEO of SVCreates, she has provided resources and direction to countless arts organizations, working as a culture capitalist, investing in the potential of a multicultural Silicon Valley that can work in harmony with big tech. 

As Connie moves on from SVCreates to spend more time with friends and family, we honor her legacy and impact on Silicon Valley's creative culture. In our conversation, Connie shares the experiences that led her to SVCreates, her thoughts on leadership, advice for budding entrepreneurs and cultural influencers, the fundamental intentions she lives by, and even touches on the foundation and business of arts and culture in Silicon Valley.

Connie Martinez has been named the recipient of this year’s Cornerstone of the Arts Award. 

The award will be presented at the Cornerstone of the Arts Award event at the Hammer Theatre Center on October 19, 2023, at 6 p.m.

Connie was previously featured in episode #64 of the Content Magazine Podcast discussing The Business of Arts and Culture.

Episode #101  Brandon Quintanilla - Culture Night Market @CultureNightMarket | @feastmodesj

Brandon “BQ” Quintanilla is a San Jose-born entrepreneur of Nicaraguan descent who founded media company EMLN (Early Morning Late Nights) to produce projects such as Any Given Bars YouTube Channel, San José’s Culture Night Market, and FeastMode. BQ has created a business and brand around his vision for San José.

In this conversation, BQ and introducing Content guest host Troy Ewers, @trizzyebaby, discuss BQ's rise as an entrepreneur, the development of EMLN, organizing events, and personal growth. Listeners gain insight into what it takes to start and scale a business, difficulties with organizing events, and how to hustle through adversity.

Follow BQ, @bqallin, and EMLN, @emlnexclusive , on Instagram to keep up to date with what he has cooking for Silicon Valley. 

Look for Culture Night Market, Feat Mode, render application, and other events at linktr.ee/culturenightmarket

Coming Feast Mode events - 10/13/23, 10/26/23, 11/04/23

Featured in issue 14.2 (SOLD OUT)

Featured Mini-Profile: @subzerofestival 2023, Doug Edwards, @randommarks

Episode #100 Andrew Espino, Owner of 1Culture Art Gallery

At SubZERO Festival 2023, Content had the opportunity to spotlight the festival through the artists in attendance.

Porky, @_p.locz_ is a musician and miniaturist who creates dioramas of iconic San Jose locations to draw viewers' sense of familiarity, nostalgia, and hometown pride. Inspired by car shows, Porky continues pushing his craft by making exact replicas of places and cars you might see around San Jose.

Art Walk San Jose returns from summer break, August 4th, featuring their STREET MRKT urban arts faire happening the first Friday of each month through October. In preparation, Content continues to recap @subzerofestival, which takes place on the first Friday and Saturday of June, organized by @artwalksj.

We hope this artist mini-profile from SubZERO Festival 2023 gets you fired up for the return of @artwalksj & STREET MRKT urban arts faire.Thank you to @subzerofestival and @artwalksj for bringing together the arts community and allowing us to spotlight these artists' work. Stay tuned for the release of more SubZERO Festival artist mini-profiles over the next couple of months.

Episode #99 - Athenna Crosby, TV Host/Journalist, Actress, and Model

Athenna Crosby devotes her time to inspiring young women and positively impacting the world through modeling, acting, and entertainment journalism. Her San Jose roots keep her grounded in her mission. She recalls, “[San Jose] is just a bunch of hard-working people who go to their nine to five and put food on the table for their families.”Pageantry called to Crosby after she discovered the significance of pageant competitions in her mother’s native Venezuelan culture. Venezuelan women often utilize pageants to guide their families out of poverty. Crosby began participating in pageants at 14 and later won Miss California Teen, Miss Teen San Jose, and Miss Congeniality. Her experience in pageantry enabled her to create long-lasting friendships and connections.

Currently, Crosby is the spokesperson for San Jose’s Cinequest Film Festival. Her initial encounter with Cinequest was through a summer camp in high school hosted by the company, which resulted in one of her proudest successes. As Cinequest spokesperson, she spreads the word about the festival and the importance of film.Get your tickets and passes on cinequest.org and enjoy food, drinks, and entertainment at Cinequest’s summertime film festival.

@athennacrosby

TV Host/Journalist @hotinhollywoodtv @cinequestorg @heartstringsstories

Actress @kitinternationaltalent

Model @therossagencyincHappening

The Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival August 15-30

CinequestOrg

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#Contentpicks #contentmag #film #cinematography #theater #actress #model #journalist #cinequest #siliconvalley 

Episode #98 Rhonda Holberton @rhondaholberton - Interdisciplinary artist and Professor of Digital Media @cadre_sjsu @SJSU

Oakland-based artist and SJSU digital media professor Rhonda Holberton grew up in the Dulles Corridor, referred to as “The Silicon Valley of The East.” Holberton saw technology’s impact on society at an early age. She recalls, “I watched farmlands get steamrolled over, and subdivisions pop up.” Holberton’s work investigates technology, history, and modernity through research-based digital media and interdisciplinary art.

In a piece entitled ‘The Best of Both Worlds’ currently on display at The San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, Rhonda created 3D scans of her body practicing yoga framed by a digitized desert. The piece contrasts peaceful yoga practice with 3D technology developed by the military while presenting the human form in a cyborgian context to expose a world where humans and technology are fundamentally intertwined.

In our conversation, Holberton talks about her interest in engineering and its influence on her work, what it means to be a steward of creation and the digital world, and her moral obligation to "leave this place better than it was when she arrived."

Catch Holberton’s show at ICA San Jose until August 13th, and prepare to ponder the modern world and your role in it.

@icasanjose

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#Content #contentmag #art #technology #engineering #atrificialintelligence #Sanjose #stanford #siliconvalley 

Featured: Issue 10.4, Kung Fu Vampire, @kungfuvampire

Kung Fu Vampire is a genre-bending rapper and performer born and raised in San Jose, California. He has spent the last 20 years curating a sound and image that has gained international interest among fandoms, including horror and hip-hop. His interests in Gothic style, music, and rap converged around a film concept conceived in conversation with friends. This concept has since led him on a career path that includes national tours, high-profile performances, and, most recently, a feature at the 2023 Gathering of the Juggalos in Thornville, Ohio, where he performed for a crowd of 8,000.In our conversation, Kung Fu Vampire shares his origin story, the development of his image, and his relationship with San Jose.

Check out the Content Magazine Podcast and read more about Kung Fu Vampire: https://www.content-magazine.com/articles/podcast-kung-fu-vampire/

Catch Kung Fu Vampire Live at the Ritz on July 14th, as he returns to his hometown for the first time in four years to perform with @chowmane @cole.wav & @Yo.Izz