“Was it a good turnout?”

An innocent enough query, albeit a common script, irrelevant to me. The glitchez and its periodical, WIMBI, is definitely unconventional in the way it's going about things. Like, I get it. When I told folks that I’m having an event introducing the glitchez where artists perform with an after-party of sorts, what do I expect folks to think? How’d it go? It was so dope! Was it a good turnout? Uh…lol. And the convo gets stuck there because the honest answer is no. I did not have a great turn out, regardless of how intentional keeping it small was. I also did not have a great turnout with the invited artists as only one of the five showed up that day. Did that mean it was a bad turnout? Baby, not to me but if it is to you, let me help you re-frame. 

In conversation, I just couldn’t put my passion and my baby in that type of light or energy. One of pity, two of sympathy for the “failed” turnout. By the time we got past that common script, I didn’t even want to explain why that didn’t matter because by then it seemed like a feeble attempt to excuse it. And there it went... My balloon of excitement didn’t pop but floated away. And the opportunity to gush about my successful event floated away with it. So I'd sheepishly grin and bear it while muttering "It still went great!" to end it with “-now it’s just in post!” 

What can I say? Post production can be tedious but I'd be lying if I didn't admit I got lost in the sauce for a sec. I think it hit home that I quit my job and I panicked for a bit. FYI, LinkedIn aint shit for job searching.

So here we are! 

Finally. Hoping this isn't just an oasis nor mirage and I'm actually out of the desert. WIMBI issue #001 is live! This is exactly where I planned to gush about the event and how fucking dope and iconic it was, despite the turnout which we already know wasn’t the point…to me!

What are the Wimbi sessions?

The WIMBI Sessions is a recurring program that produces pre-recorded live performances of curated artists. The format may evolve but at this point in time, its in the vein of the Tiny Desk Concerts. I produced a live performance series at my last job during the pandemic so I've been itching to do it for my own brand.

And this particular event’s theme developed upon finding the location.

The Location

The venue was found on one of those rental space sites and upon the walk-through, I was pleasantly surprised to find it was a boutique art gallery, the Xela Institute of Art. Visual artist, Carla Jay Harris, was currently on the walls. After a short but cordial exchange with the owner, Louis, I left feeling like I found the right place. The conversation got my creative juices going and I finally settled on the theme.

Carla Jay Harris/ Constellation Exhibit

The Theme

The Music artist is art. The conversation I wanted to have was the intriguing idea of the music artist’s place in traditional fine art spaces for contemporary art. On one hand, there’s contemporary art we see in the visual field like painters, video, sculpture, photography, mixed media etc. On the other hand, we have contemporary music which is loosely defined as whatever music is produced at the current time.

But aren’t music artists, artists? Where is their place in fine art spaces like museums and academia? How do we collect their art? How do they exhibit their art? In asking these questions, the glitchez will attempt to define what a contemporary artist in music means to us. It. This platform. The article “Defining the Contemporary Artist in Music”, will launch the official conversation but for our purposes of this event, I simply wanted to treat the artists as the very art they create.

The Set & Session

 

Ashlee Jordan performing live.

I could have let the set be the gallery itself and ask the music artists to simply take up space. I could’ve but I had a little change in the budget and took that opportunity to get creative (of course!).

With my budget I was able to assemble some simple hanging frames adorned with faux flowers. I wanted to give off the vibe of framing the artist as the art during the session. The set and rest of the space were sprinkled with QR codes that linked to content we’ve made throughout the years. The ones on the stage linked to each invited artist’s music and online page/social media.

The Performers

[ASHLEE Jordan SESSION]

Ashlee Jordan blesses the first event with her song "Run Away". Jump deeper into her world with our FULL feature including an interview and a bonus exclusive live session of her song “Good Lookin’” here. 

[GAUDYglitch SESSION]

Now yall know I wasn’t gonna perform but what had happened was…only Ashlee showed up from the invited list. So gaudy was up. I don't want to make it a habit to perform with the ski mask but it seemed appropriate as it's the mascot of sorts to the brand.  Its existence I’m trying to restrict only to the digital world so this moment was fitting. Anyway, mask askew with a sloppy gaping mouth hole, I performed “Heads Roll”. My 2nd “single” and music video. Enjoy. And as luck would have it, I most recently performed this song as a band version with fellow musicians here.

The Space After the Session

After the closed set production, the party portion of the evening opened up and my friends, family and invited artists could celebrate the big moves with me. Besides the set, I had a couple of other things on display to help illustrate the other facets of the brand and platform. So many other ideas and activities, too little time to utilize but it was important to show what else the glitchez platform offers and is about. So in addition to the sessions, I displayed the merch and the back stories behind the designs and turned the set into a photo op.

The Set Is Art, too

The set was left up so attendees could engage with it and take photos. The QR codes were also a way for the attendees to engage and learn more about the artists slated to perform that day. 

Tees On Display

Another lifestyle tee brand. Go figure. The tee proves to be one of the best ways to deliver a message or open up convos.  Our designs are created with intentional messaging for potential conversation.

Here’s a breakdown of some of the designs, past and present:

Political pop tee. Worn in "Sun Beats Hard" Music video. 2017

(above) Dis mine original crop tee. 2017 (below) current design. Tee and sweater. New collection coming soon.

"Home of the Free, Land of the slaves" tee (click for more info)

Original gaudy Tour tee. 

Current Tour Tee available here.

Disillusion is the Revolution tee. Our ethos.

In Memory of...

A small altar was made to honor both creative friends no longer aligned and the ones that weren’t able to make it past our wonder years. I have a list in my head of all the people I’ve met, want to work with and who I’d ask to collaborate with once I was in that position. A list that started back in Atlanta during college all the way up to the creatives and young aspiring careerists I’ve run into back here in LA. Maybe I took too long but the ones that couldn’t wait for me, I honor them because they have been integral parts of my intimate and creative life. This altar was created for two dearly departed souls, in particular.

Thomas

Tommy Walker. Tommy Wonder. Thomas Forrester. BMore. Met him in college. He was a fashion design student.The funniest human being ever and the cuntiest of cunts. Can read you down with a cut eye and a tongue clack. His fashion sense was an early deconstructive look pre-trend, looking like prototypes of Ye’s line that Larry King loved - Homeless chic and retro. During the days of finding weed, he'd walk up to strangers in full cis man mode, slight nod and a subtle square up followed by, "You greening' my ni***a?". Hope he’s at peace and serving grown man cunt while killing spongebob, crazy legs and cherry hill. This world was lucky to have him grace it. 

Sade Williams

Chef Shadey with the great meals and shadiest perspective. Sade. Hula hoop extraordinaire. Beyonce fan? The biggest. Mother of Cashew White Mamba Williams the jack russell. She loved dancing and movement. One of her favorite fun facts was that, as a child, she took a class at the Debbie Allen Dance Academy. Sade passed due to a weirdly invisible but painful disease called Lupus. She found her peace from the pain & complications in 2021. She deserved the love she sought and gave so freely. She deserved motherhood (Cashew) and deserved better care for her health while living. This world was lucky to have her grace it.

Friendship can be very fragile but I just knew that in due time, we’d be solid and golden and living out our dreams together. I connected with each on a creative level and yes, a survival level. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Especially if we're steadfast in our self-awareness and accountablilty.

Today, I know one thing for sure. However much time I have left on this planet, I will live the dreams we talked about. They were a little reckless but always standing on business when it came to being themselves. 

How The Event Was Planned vs. How The Actual Event Played Out

I was just a little surprised that none of the invited artists showed up except my friend, Ashlee Jordan. Just a little surprised because they were previously confirmed and ghosted the day of but to keep it completely honest?... I didn’t expect much from my first event, for intentional protective purposes. Who wants to perform at some random, no name event for free? They say expect to be crap when you start. And it worked out because we definitely had a lot of hitches and the universe gave me what I could handle. Enter, one Ashlee Jordan!

God really did his big one when Ashlee Jordan showed up

All I needed was ONE artist. One artist that would allow me to use them in a mutually cross-promotional way and start building. What am I building, you ask? Let’s think of WIMBI as an online gallery of contemporary artists in music, curated by the glitchez and its ethos. More on that in our article “Defining the Contemporary Artist in Music”. THANK YOU, Ashlee Jordan. I am indebted for your participation.

A quiet celebration. Exactly as it should be. We do unassuming very well over here. The evening ended with my family and friends. Literally. A handful of special people who have always rooted for my ventures and projects even if they didn’t understand them. They may think I’m crazy. Perhaps I am. But they still show up to my self-defined wins and for that I’m grateful. I do things for meaning and I meant tf outta this event. 

I’m happy to present the final product of this event here as the 1st WIMBI issue. Let the record show this was when I decided to “jump”. This may be the glitchez first event but it won’t be its last. We’ve got the next WIMBI session to plan, for goodness sake! Summer is coming and we already have our next featured artist.