Comedy

EVENT RECAP: SheROCKS 2015 (3/28/15)

Posted by tagdmv on April 5, 2015
Posted in: Art, Comedy, Events, Fashion, Music, Poetry, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

There are a lot of artists, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, and good doers in the world. Some you hear about, and some you don’t. In the arts & entertainment industry, there’s a noticeable group of people that you don’t hear about (either not that often or not at all)…women! Timea Gaines, Founder & CEO of Love Life Media, saw that need & decided to meet it through establishing a community (of both women & men alike)…and on Saturday, March 28, 2015, that community came together (for the 3rd time) to simply say, “SheROCKS“!



SheROCKS is “an event celebrating women who are culture curators, innovative artists and industry moguls dominating the arts world and impacting their communities”, according to the Love Life Media team. For the past 3 years, this event has taken place in the DMV area during Women’s History Month, to honor the women who strive everyday to live out their passions through their art. These are the women who step outside of their personal lives and set trends in arenas that are outwardly dominated by male counterparts. 
The venue was the District Architecture Center in Downtown DC…an openly creative space, which helped to foster the artistic vibes and community environment of the evening. No matter who you were in title, status or years of experience…everyone was on a leveled playing field and all that mattered in that moment was sharing in the creatively genius & talented moments that flowed throughout this community. 



Aisha Graham (Art by Aisha)



There were an array of vendors, from food & sweets bar (compliments of Elle & Emma’s Bake Shop), to accessories (such as jewelry, handbags, makeup, etc.), to books (including  authors such as Natasha T. Brown), to paintings (from artists such as Aisha Graham). While a lot of the community was supporting the vending artists, there was also a stage in which the community was able to listen to and support the performing artists. Hosted by comedienne Tea Love, the range of performing artists included singer/guitarist Danni, poets (such as Canden Webb & Just a Vessel), dancers (such as Queen P & Queenlin), rapper Jazzarae, runway fashions by Gerri Beatty, and other performers from outside of the DMV (including Geminelle Rollins & Good Girl). 



Gerri Beatty Designs





Danni



Just a Vessel



Queen P

In addition to these forms of community support, the ultimate show of support is being able to honor these hard working artists. There were 4 SheROCKS 2015 honorees that evening, including Jasmine Crowe (Woman of the Year), Charly & Margaux (Artists of the Year), Jessie Adore (Industry Power Player of the Year), and Neesh Finney (Graphic Designer of the Year). 



Jasmine Crowe (Woman of the Year)



Neesh Finney (Graphic Designer of the Year)



All in all, it was a great time in community and fellowship. The vision of Timea Gaines has definitely come to fruition in ways which will continue to impact not just the DMV artistic community, but the artistic and business communities across the country. You can stay in touch with Love Life Media and their future projects, through Facebook (http://facebook.com/LoveLifeMedia), Instagram & Twitter (@LLM_LoveLife). 



Timea Gaines (Creator of SheROCKS)

-EMW

 

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ORGANIZATION SPOTLIGHT: DMVME

Posted by tagdmv on May 20, 2014
Posted in: Art, Comedy, Events, Music, Spoken Word. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

In the DMV, there are numerous concerts, performances, events, festivals, etc. Often times, the performers/artists are a combination of locals and non-locals, or they’re limited to one type of artistic genre. What if there was an organization made in the DMV, whose sole purpose was to showcase the great artistic talents of the DMV?! Meet DMVME!

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The DMV Music & Entertainment (DMVME) brand provides a unique opportunity for Washington DC metro area artists, songwriters, producers, DJs, managers, music industry professionals and fans to meet, network and further their careers. They introduce some of the hottest up and coming urban music and entertainment artists; from Hip-Hop, R&B, Go-Go, Spoken Word and Comedy. The DMVME team consists of: Janey (Founder of DMVME), Shea Atkins (Event Operations Manager), Ray Williams (Social Media Manager), Alethena McCoy (Sponsorship Coordinator), and TaKeyia Monique (Public Relations, Haute Hipsters Media).

The DMVME team has hit the ground running since their recent initial creation, and has made great strides to set up their initial expo weekend in just the past month, which is set to take place on June 6-8, 2014. “We had to do something different. If you want change, be the change,” said Janey…and that’s exactly what they did! The DMV Music & Entertainment Expo modifies the Hip-Hop shows we’re accustomed to and merges those rap performances with other urban media entertainment (R&B, Go-Go, Spoken Word, etc.) in addition to bridging the gap with artists and their potential fans.

Each night of the expo will focus on various genres, and here’s what you have to look forward to:
Friday, June 6th – Pre-Expo Kick Off Party (Doors open at 10pm) at DaLuft Lounge, hosted by RaRa the Party Starter & music by Mr. Primetime DJ Ron + DJ Naph.
Saturday, June 7th – DMV Music & Entertainment Expo (9pm-3am) at Twelve Lounge, which features artists such as Visto, B. Blunt, Demi Rose, Detroit Boat, Black Passion Band, and more; with an opening reception hosted by comedian Tony Woods.
Sunday, June 8th – Farewell Brunch (11am-3pm) + Day Party (3pm-7pm) at Smith Commons, featuring live performances by spoken word artists DMVPoet, Orville the Poet and more, live painting by Michelle Izquierdo & Music by DJ Zyon.

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We were able to catch up with Janey & Social Media Manager, Ray Williams, to learn a little more about what makes their team!

Q: What part(s) of the DMV are you reppin’?
A: Janey – Ft. Washington & SE for a short time also; Alethena – grew up NW DC, currently resides in Oxon Hill; Shea – NE DC; Ray – Forestville; and TaKeyia – Washington, DC

Q: How has your community influenced you, and vice versa?
A: (Janey) I’ve been a rapper, and I’ve had a lot of difficulty getting material out. I had a label in 2006, and the hip hop was always separated. I want to bring everything together so that we can make enough noise to get out there. Why would you up root yourself and leave the area, when you have success?! Everyone thus far has been on-board and lending a hand in the process, and we’ve received nothing but undeniable support from the DMV community.
(Ray) I’m a fan of hip hop, and I believe that there’s a great means of artists in the area, but they don’t know how to get seen and heard.

Q: If there’s anything that you would want your peers & supporters to know about your organization (assuming that they don’t already), what would it be?
A: (Janey) Our tagline is: connect, network, advance! Even though our tagline is on our site, sometimes it can get lost in the brand, and I wanted to throw it out there just to reinforce our purpose.
(Ray) Something that everyone may not know about me is that…I love different types of whiskey…lol!

Q: What’s next?!
A: (Janey) We will have another EXPO in Sept, and will add a producers battle on a separate night. Also, we will have a monthly industry HH, which starts Friday (5/30) at Pure Lounge, to keep the momentum going from the EXPO and we will more than likely pick a specific artist to perform for each HH as a preview to the next EXPO. DJ DNITTY from Ripped Radio will be the DJ on those events.
(Ray) Even for something that we started a month ago, we had people from Pittsburg to LA to Canada willing to come out and participate. Even though we’re only targeting DMV artists, I think that says a lot about how much we’ve grown and made and impact thus far!

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Be sure to check out their website for more up-to-date info & to purchase your tickets for the Expo on Saturday night: www.dmvmeexpo.com. Also, be sure to follow them on their social media pages also, including FaceBook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. This is going to be a weekend to remember, and you don’t want to miss the action!