(Published by UANews.org on Feb. 9, 2016 and includes quotes from this article, as requested by the researchers.) The Barrio Stories Project speaks to how downtown Tucson's physical and ethnic landscape has been drastically altered. In the late 1960s, a culturally diverse, 80-acre residential and business district in downtown Tucson was demolished as a consequence of urban renewal and the construction of the Tucson Convention Center complex. More than 100 years of historically … [Read more...]
Copper & Congress’ “Fault Line”
(Published by Zocalo Magazine on September 12, 2014.) Vocals by a siren/oracle, a perfect balance of bass and understated drumming comprise Copper and Congress’ sound and the trio of amazing musicians conjure magic on Fault Line. There’s glorious, haunting sparseness – a sparseness that is just one element constituting the album’s many auditory seductions. There’s exquisite, measured tension and release that teeters and edges and splashes and dives into soulful, jazzy bliss. The moody … [Read more...]
Downtown’s Shifting Landscape
(Published by Zocalo Magazine on May 1, 2014.) All progress is precarious, and the solution of one problem brings us face to face with another problem. – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In the mid-‘80s and through the ‘90s and early ‘00s, Downtown was considered a schlumpy locale eschewed by seemingly many Tucsonans. It was the artists, musicians, the writers and photographers, galleries, bars, a handful of entrepreneurs, restaurants, long-established families, some smart investors and … [Read more...]
Sacred Machine: Creation, Evolution & Moving On
(Published by Zocalo Magazine on May 1, 2014.) It’s easy to get deep with Daniel Martin Diaz and Paula Catherine Valencia. Diaz’s art and Valencia’s writing—plus their music with Blind Divine and Crystal Radio—dig into the heart of the mysteries of existence. One cannot look at Diaz’s work without feeling pulled into a rabbit hole of esoteric human inquiries; his pieces—especially in his recent book Soul of Science—are individual time machines of ancient knowledge and futuristic anomalies … [Read more...]
Sweet Ghosts’ “Certain Truths”
(Published by Zocalo Magazine on April 2, 2014.) Transcendent and ethereal are not adjectives to be taken lightly, but such descriptions of this gloriously heart-wrenching debut release are more than apropos. The 10-track album features poetic storytelling, presenting evocative slices of life that put the listener into the thick of alternately uncomfortable and uplifting tales. The lulling songs are reflective, haunting; there’s lightness to the depth, a deft touch that features spaces … [Read more...]