#cali bock

[microaustin-blog]

MicroAUSTIN Social Snapshot: ACL Through the Crowds Eyes...Tweets, pics, videos etc.

[microaustin-blog]

MicroAUSTIN Snapshots: Austin City Limits 2012 

A photoessay by Cali Bock  

Royitos Hot Sauce Company Airstream at the ACL VIP Grove 

Royitos is a 15-year-old Austin company that gives recipes, love and not-so-mild salsas to the city, and now a wider customer berth due to social media and brand recognition through word of mouth. 

        Royitos' motto is to 'never do mild', and to always follow your passions and desires in life. Click to read more about their mission statement. 

Get Social with Royitos  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Royitos

Twitter: https://twitter.com/royitos 

Website: http://www.royitoshotsauce.com/ 

Sweet Leaf Tea Gives Freebies to VIPs 

At the VIP Grove to the right of the Honda stage, Austin, Texas-based Sweet Leaf Tea representative Sarah handed out free samples of the local peach, citrus green and mint & honey chapsticks. 

     Above: Photo by Sweet Leaf Tea on Facebook. Click here for more of their team's festival photos 

Above: Sweet Leaf Tea's new marketing venture || Active ingredients read: Octinoxate, Oxybenzone, organic palm oil, beseswax, organic virgin olive oil, flavor, organic hemp seed oil, Vitamin E and rosemary extract. 

Get Social with Sweet Leaf Tea 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sweetleaftea?fref=ts 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SweetLeafTea

Website: http://sweetleaftea.com/ 

Instagram : http://www.gramfeed.com/sweetleaftea (sweetleaftea) 

Fest Watch, Up Next in Austin: Royitos Hot Sauce is sponsoring a Fun Fun Fun Fest Ticket Giveaway 

Next week, visit Royitos Hot Sauce Facebook page for a chance to win a pair of 3-day passes to Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, a music lineup preparing to host its seventh year of independent artists at Auditorium Shores from Nov. 2 through Nov. 4.  

  Click here to view the entire 2012 FFF Fest Lineup. 

You may also be interested in: 

MicroAUSTIN Social Snapshot: ACL Through the Crowds Eyes…Tweets, pics, videos etc 

[microaustin-blog]

Cascal Cruiser Parks and Promotes in Austin  

The all-natural soda hits Whole Foods, Texas shelves 

By Cali Bock 

(Austin, TX)- Last month Cascal's Cafe Cruiser parked itself at the Whole Foods in Bee Cave, a suburb about 17 miles northwest of downtown. The sparkling, corn syrup-free and sparkling soda- a segment of Coca-Cola's Venturing and Emerging Brands initiative- was handed out to promote not only the product, but its uses in the cocktail and cooking department as well.  

"We had samplers at Town Lake come up and thank us for actually making it taste good," said marketing representative Paola Belen.   

Karla Raphail, also part of the soda's marketing team, said that Cascal's taste is unique, like wine, and was crafted at the company's Chef's Summit. Its taste is also attributed to the beverage's natural, fruit and veggie coloring, fermented fruit, Stevia extract from sunflowers and sparkling water.  

"There were so many sodas out there. Yet we could not find a beverage that satisfied our adult desires... something that is interesting and complex with low sugar, no caffeine and natural to boot. So we set out to raise the bar," site mission statement. 

About two years ago, Cascal was created by 12 chefs creating a beverage to pair with food and libations, as well as Whole Food's mission to offer a natural alternative to corn syrup allergists and the like. 

"So, we held a Chef Summit, where we worked intensely to create unique and sophisticated flavor combinations. The chefs helped us develop a soft drink with delicious layers of complexity."- site 

The complexity, according to the brand reps, was attributed to the process of the natural fermentation of the fruit juices. 

"We were ecstatic to discover a unique fermentation process that brings out the more complex and subtle flavors of fruits—all naturally without adding sugar to the process."- site

According to Raphail, the product- 60 to 80 calories per can - was originally promoted as an alcohol base to a variety of drinks. 

"Pregnant ladies love us," she said, laughing. "But so do chemo patients," she said seriously, "Because its fermented base gives them the alcohol taste they crave." 

Crafting Drinks and Cooking with Cascal 

As Whole Foods patrons browsed between and sampled the flavors of Ripe Rouge, Fresh Tropical and Crisp White, marketing coordinator Mellie Soumano handed me a recipe pamphlet with food and alcohol pairings:  

        Below: Fusing Food and Cascal

         Click here to browse all flavors and recipes

Digging Deeper, Cascal 

Cascal is part of a 2-month promotion by Busy Bee Promotions, The label is partnered with Coca Cola's Venturing and Emerging brands that also includes the start ups Honest Tea, Naked Juice and Issimo Illy.  Cascal is brewed in Cold Springs, Minnesota and their Cafe Cruiser location can be found here (Facebook link). Hint: whisper the secret passcode to the marketing representatives, found on their Facebook page, for an additional 'complimentary gift'.   

Whole Foods partnered and got involved with the brand as well as the Venturing Brands initiative, because they were interested in stocking bulk quantities of an all-natural soda. 

Contact Cascal  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Cascal  

Twitter: @CheersCascal

Website: http://cheerscascal.com/ 

Instagram: cheerscascal (Cascal)   

You may also be interested in: 

A Taste of KoKo blog. Click here for her product review of Cascal. 

Whole Foods Bee Cave, location 

Whole Foods Bee Cave is located at the Hill Country Galleria, an outdoor shopping mall northwest of downtown Austin.

View Whole Foods Bee Cave, location in a larger map

[microaustin-blog]

MedMob Takes it to the Streets at the Car-Free Viva Festival in East Austin

A photoessay by Cali Bock 

(Austin, TX)- On May 20 MedMob Austin took their movement- to spread love through public meditation- to the Viva Street Festival along Sixth Street in East Austin. 

Below- Staked out route for the Viva Street Festival 

 Med Mob was established in July of 2011 by a group of peaceful, likeminded locals.

  Above- Dustin Fedako , one of less than 10 founding members of MedMob, reflects in silent meditation. The flash mob has expanded to more than 300 cities across the world 

"A "flash mob" is a large group of people meeting in a crowded public place for the purpose of engaging in a coordinated, unexpected, inspiring activity."

Med Mob Mission Statement

"MedMob aims to create spaces for public meditation. This creates opportunities for people to explore the practice of meditation and brings meditation into the public eye. Meditation cultivates an attitude of response rather than reaction, and this stimulates major paradigm shifts in thinking that sends ripples through all levels of society!" 

  Above- Left to right: Gregory Nathan Hammond, 'Thom Thumb' Clint Greene and MedMob founder Markbob Bennett Shaw in silent meditation at Earth Day Celebration 2012 at Mueller Park in Austin 

From their Facebook

"MedMob will meet in silent meditation at high traffic areas around the city to promote meditation as a means to self discovery. MedMob believes that meditating reveals deep inner truths and inspirations.  Our intention: ... 1. To create an environment for people from all walks of life to come together in meditation. 2. To expose the World to meditation through public display of meditation. 3. To come together as a global community to send positive intentions out into the world. 4. To show that leading by example is the best way to lead. Simple acts can stimulate major paradigm shifts in thinking."

  Mueller Meditation: Earth Day Celebration 2012

[microaustin-blog]

The Austin Tea Syndicate: If you dig through all the tealeaves, local Nathan Davis is inspired by and promotes Taiwan’s independent art scene

After eight years of traversing Asia, Davis brought back tea knowledge, the first Taiwanese band to perform at SXSW and a passion to keep the region’s art and music culture alive

By Cali Bock  

(Austin, TX)- On Saturday, I joined Nathan Davis and eight other Austin locals at the  'Urban Tearoom' to contribute to the progressive dialogue (Click here to view the preview post if you'd like to catch up). 

Below- Our group's shoes gathered outside our makeshift tearoom at The Daily Juice in Austin on Sat.

Photo above 'Instagrammed'  by Nathan Davis  

Above and below-The Daily Juice in Austin, Texas. Temporary home of the 'Urban Tearoom'                                                                                                                     By Cali Bock 

Daily Juice customer candid

  Above- Come in, come in. Anyone's welcome in the tearoom at The Daily Juice  

Davis generously poured our nine-member group 10-year-old Pu'er, a tea only produced in Yunnan , a province in Southeastern China. 

  Above and below- Davis steeps the Pu'er tea - click here to define- a third time, effectively drawing out its robust flavor.      

                                                                                                                  It was earthy, steeped correctly, - I didn't know there was such an imperative, at least '3-steep' process to extract the leaves' prime flavor- and I also learned that to get a brick- one pound- of Pu'er imported to America, it'll run you about $1,000. 

Read for yourself, Nathan previewed the loot we sampled Saturday on Facebook last week: 

  After sampling the Pu'er, we discussed its complexity, much like wine. 

I grabbed descriptive snippets as the group chatted about and sipped on the expensive leaves:  

"I taste dates."

"Smoky." 

"Campfire!"

"Earthy!"

   Above- Yunnan province, Southeastern China, sole home of Pu'er tea - Wikipedia 

Most importantly, Davis used tea and also Sufi music to spark our table's intrigue and dialogue concerning the East as we lounged on pillows, laughed, crouched and even meditated.

Below- University of Texas neuroscience graduate student Sucharit Katyal and guest drummer Amlan take a break from playing and singing to enjoy some Oolong tea themselves

Local friends Nick (left) and Elliot (right) analyze the second steep of aged Oolong tea (pictured below) 

"It has a slick quality," said Eric, after draining his cup. 

Above- Davis peacefully clanged medicine bowls to give us the opportunity to level and ingest what we had learned as well as to meditate. 

  Above- Austin local Eric listens in quiet meditation as Sucharit sang ancient Indian love songs in his eery, nostalgic timber 

  "You have stolen my identity, by looking into my eyes. 

After drinking the wine of love, you've made me crazy... 

intoxicated by looking into your eyes."- 700-year-old Indian love song, performed by Sucharit

  As the tea steamed, Sucharit Katyal (pictured above) accompanied himself with his harmonium, and his Radel digi 100, defined below.  

  "The Taalmala digi100 Plus digital tabla produces an amazingly realistic sound of the traditional tabla by utilizing the latest state-of-the-art sampler technology.  It is a sophisticated instrument which not only plays 100 pre-set tabla thekas, but is capable of simulating a 'live accompaniment' effect, so that it can be even used in concerts." - -- Read more

Below- Alam and Davis join in with their drum cadences. 

       Above- Davis on the Djembe, a rope-tuned, skin-covered drum. 

After eight years traversing Asia, Davis said he learned about tea organically as he wandered the streets, pulling up to random tables of elders sipping out of ‘gritty’ tea things. But he also became 'distracted' by a passion that originally, currently drives him to share his Chinese culture knowledge trove today: Taiwan’s fledging music scene.

Davis made history by not only introducing Austin and the United States, but the entire world to KbN -the first Taiwanese band ever- to perform live at SXSW in 2008. 

Snippet from archived article highlighting KbN (May 2008) from the Taipei Times: 

  Above- Bobo Chen, front left, Cheer Hsieh, front right, of KbN, with backing musicians, back row from left, Bob Moody, Jimmy Brettell, Nathan Davis and sound engineer Remi Huang, in Austin, Texas, on Thursday, May 17, 2008. Photo by Ron Brownlow

               “When Cheer Hsieh (謝青翰) and Chet Liu (劉鎮) formed KbN (凱比鳥) in the late 1990s, they were just another group of guys with another punk band. Now, 10 years, several lineup changes and a major musical redirection later, the group made history when they played Saturday night at the Elysium club in Austin,...” – Click here for the full article.

The ‘Urban Teahouse Remix Project’: A work in progress

Davis' passion continues to pour into his current project today, ‘The Urban Teahouse Remix’, an electronic resampling of archival East Asian music with current studio recordings.

I’ll let Nathan Davis take it from here. I asked him to fill the gaps in my notes from Saturday, and he Facebook messaged me with a bit more than gap fillers.

Below is Davis’ story, straight from the tea ninja- in his own words- to you:  

Urban Teahouse Remix Project: Resample, reinterpret East Asian music with modern digital tools, but remain true to its melodies, its roots 

The project: "It's hard to sum it up in just a few lines, but basically it's been 'brewing' in my mind for quite some time. I've been working on blending many different aspects of Eastern and Western culture; ancient, modern etc.

I realized that in a time where there are so many electronic subgenres of ‘global’ music, there has yet to arise any true ventures into electronic resampling of East Asian music, and I don't mean ‘electronic sounding’ music, but utilizing modern digital tools for sampling and reinterpreting traditional East Asian sounds while remaining true to the essential aspects of its roots: the melodies, rhythms, etc. 

Above and below- Davis -on his  Djembe - jams Sufi music with Sucharit and Amlan. 

'The Taichung Archives': 20-year-old Chinese folk music archives meet the modern studio, resampling

The samples come from what I'm calling 'The Taichung Archives', and they came from my good friend Alex Peng in Taichung, Taiwan. He used to be a well-established music producer in Taipei for radio, television and film before retiring.

We connected over the idea of the remix project because he had a similar vision several decades ago to do something similar in Taiwan.

Peng's vision led him to China, where he collected field samples of indigenous music from villages, and he also conducted studio recordings of traditional Chinese folk and traditional music.

He planned to create his own music from these samples, but just never got around to it.

When we connected, I told him that I wanted to do some studio recording with traditional musicians for the Urban Teahouse Remix Project, and he thought it would be easier just to help me create the project by passing along some samples from his extensive archive that he had already collected more than 20 years ago.

‘Scene’, not heard: Taiwan’s Indie art and music landscapes gain momentum without local, global support 

As for the ‘independent arts and music scene’ in Taiwan I wouldn't say that it's nonexistent, just that it's extremely small and not very well supported.

Being from Austin, and having lived in Brighton, England, I was used to having tons of great independent arts, music, and events at my disposal, so I became very inclined to find ways to aid the budding scene in Taiwan.

This led me to bring the first Taiwanese band ever to SXSW in 2008. 

The inspiration behind this was to help the independent music scene in Taiwan to grow by connecting with the rest of the world. 

           "They're basically starting this connection that will turn into something that's much bigger than themselves," said Nathan Davis, a Taipei-based musician who plays with KbN and organized their trip to Austin. "It's much bigger than just one band coming to play a show at South by Southwest."- Taipei Times Article, 2008 

"But KbN's participation has added significance because the band is paving the way for other Taiwanese artists to play here in the future. A survey conducted by Austin   Koop Radio Station found the station's listeners want to hear more independent music from Asia. And SXSW organizers are keen on putting together a Taiwanese showcase next year."-  Taipei Times Article, 2008 

   Above- KbN played the Elysium club in Austin, Texas, on Saturday night becoming the first Taiwanese band to perform at the South by Southwest music festival, March 17, 2008. Photo by Ron Brownlow 

Shifting back to the ‘Urban Teahouse Remix Project’.... 

This project left me extremely exhausted because there's still not a lot of support for this scene from within Taiwan.

It's still going to be along time before things really sink in while the artists and society at large in Taiwan gain a true perspective from this and realize its significance on a long-term global scale. 

While participating in the underground arts scene in Taiwan I was really longing for a connection with traditional culture, something that the younger generations in Taiwan and Asia are not very interested in anymore. 

Most of my Taiwanese artist friends think of traditional music, tea culture and things like Chinese Medicine, Taichi and Qigong to be things for old people.

They would tell me," 你是老人！" (Nǐ shì lǎorén!) 

Literally, "You're an old man!" Haha. 

Some of my Taiwanese friends even experienced brewing traditional tea for the first time with me. Seriously!!

I'd often be told that my close friends were more American than me, and I was more Taiwanese than them. (Jokingly of course, as for sure this is not literally the case)  

So while being involved with the independent arts scene in Taiwan, I was never truly fulfilled by any of it.

A true blend between the ancient and the modern was missing, and this is what I've always truly longed for.

I went there out of an interest in Chinese healing philosophy and ancient wisdom, but working on pop-culture with no depth distracted me. 

This is where I draw my inspiration to create movements to bridge Eastern and Western culture. 

The idea is not only to draw upon ancient wisdom to inspire modern progressive culture in the West, but also to re-inspire the youth in the East to rediscover their own past & truly embrace the culture from which they come as they continue on their path as a modern society. Here's an article that details my first experiments in ‘Sound Art’ while in Asia.... 

Click here for full article, Sound Art: Like Music to Your Ears

            "Davis - who has also played with KbN and visiting musicians like Austin, Texas and world music group Atash- will do an acoustic set using a Djembe hand drum and, possibly, a drum kit and/or some 'random objects.' He will improvise on the drums and run the beats through his Macbook Pro laptop computer. It's hard to describe exactly what this will sound like without using abstract words like 'textural,' 'dynamic' and 'Minimalist'." 

article continued: 

"I guess it's [Sound Art's] like a lot of things," said Davis, who sat down for an interview Wednesday night at Salt Peanuts Cafe in the Shida (師大) neighborhood, where he deejays on Friday nights. "You probably really like it or you really don't."

       "'I'm going to basically sample myself live,' said Davis, who performs under the name (Sounds) In Transition. "Most people who didn't know what it was would probably use the word 'weird' to describe it.'"

     "So what is the uninitiated listener supposed to do?"

    "'As lame and cliched as it sounds, I guess just experience this,' said Davis."- article

As far as timing and release of the Urban Teahouse Remix Project...

I'd love to say ideally it would be done in a few months, and it will be accompanied by some sort of evolving multimedia and interpretive live performance projects but in reality, I can't say for sure at this point. 

I'd just say.... keep an eye out for it. ;{D 

- Nathan Davis 

Find him on:  

Twitter: @syndicatedtea 

Facebook: The Tea Syndicate 

Instagram: syndicatedtea 

Blog: http://syndicatedtea.wordpress.com/ 

[microaustin-blog]

I realized that that in a time where there are so many electronic subgenres of ‘global’ music, there has yet to arise any true ventures into electronic resampling of East Asian music, and I don't mean ‘electronic sounding’ music, but utilizing modern digital tools for sampling & reinterpreting traditional East Asian sounds, while remaining true to the essential aspects of its roots--the melodies, rhythms, etc.

  Nathan Davis, of The 'Urban Tearoom', on his Urban Teahouse Remix Project, Davis' endeavor to unite Eastern and Western cultures through the remixing of archival, resampled East Asian music.  Click here for the full article with photos.

[microaustin-blog]

Meet Jenn Fougerousse: This Frenchie joined MicroAUSTIN's editorial team

By Jennifer Fougerousse

I’m Jennifer Fougerousse: a backpack, multimedia journalist for MicroAUSTIN, a hyperlocal blog. I’m a Communication Media major at St. Edward's University where I learn the in-depth steps a journalist must take to succeed as a reporter. My goal at MicroAUSTIN is to expose the true beauty and passion of Austin’s small businesses and provide a deeper look into how they benefit our amazing city. Coming from a small town, I appreciate close, personal relationships within the community and the people in it. These people are what make the city a desired place to experience and live. Austin is not just the capital of Texas, it’s a big city with a small town feel, and I hope to portray that in every post I create. I conduct personal interviews as well as shoot and edit my own footage. By 'Keeping Austin Weird', people aren’t just doing bizarre things; They are being themselves in a town where independence and individuality are not just accepted but ENCOURAGED! Don’t get me wrong, the weird and strange make more than just an appearance in this city, but the closeness of such a strong and thriving community needs more than just a head nod. I want Austin’s “weirdness” to be seen, heard and shouted from the rooftops, and as a journalist I will make sure this happens. 

[microaustin-blog]

Live Art: Collaborative painting in public places… and gasp! you have to interact with public people

What Joel D'Angelo can, and really wants to do for Austin locals 

By Cali Bock

(Austin, TX)- Photographer Joel D'Angelo had those kind maple eyes and the easy smile that never fails to spark my interest, my trust and hopefully progressive dialogue. I met the  Shoot in Manual worker and Boom Light blogger at Whip In, Austin's 26-year-old convenience store transformed into a restaurant/open-mic/wine/beer bar.  

J=Joel | M=MicroAUSTIN

J- I'm taking a local angle with my work. Me and, well, also four other friends had an idea to just set a big canvas up in front of any statue in the city. Then, we'll provide paint, lay brushes all around, and we'll just ask everyone that walks by to come and contribute to the interpretation of the art. 

M- How did you guys think of organizing this? 

J- We were just hanging out in the living room, all of us painting a statue that was on the table and we thought, we could definitely take this into the community to do something positive. It can bring people together.  

M- You're hosting a public event. You obviously have to emanate a  'don't judge me', carefree attitude about it. 

J- We want everyone to get involved, that's what this 'live art' concept is about, bringing Austin locals together. 

If you're interested in getting in touch with this modern-day D'Angelo and taking him up on his collaborative gesture, tell MicroAUSTIN or contact him directly through his blog  Boom Light, an archive of his Austin photography and wanderings.  

If you have any mural, sculpture or other art suggestions for these public painting events, I really encourage you to photo reply MicroAUSTIN with a picture of the art tagged with a location. Suggestions are so much more than welcome. 

Above- A MicroAUSTIN view of Whip In. In the last four years the convenience store exploded from mere convenience stop to wine/live music/African-infused Indian food/local beer mecca.