Matt Walford

Matt is a commercial Photographer Illustrator working out of a studio in England. Originally studying Editorial and Advertising Photography at the University of Gloucester where he received a 1st class BA Hons. Matt was always into manipulating photos he was at college where he used to experiment with scratching negatives and putting things straight onto the enlarger.

At University this love manipulation grew when he started to incorporate Photoshop, which he had been using since a young age as he also studied  Graphic Design (in fact he almost became a Graphic Designer). he also started experimenting with putting things of a flatbed scanner, much like he used to do on an enlarger. he soon found that the possibilities of using all these technologies were boundless and found his own unique visual style.

Since leaving University in 2008 Matt has been honing his visual style and using it to create stunning work for editorial and commercial clients. His personal work is often an exploration into his own mind, showing his interests in Science, Surrealism and Nature. He has been described as a kind of Frankenstein as in all of his work he is deconstructing things in to their constituent elements and then re-building them into his own visions.

R. In your own words describe to us your own style of work?
MW. I would describe my style as quirky, maybe a bit surrealist. I really enjoy creating work that I feel is visually unique and exciting. I would also say that its in between photography and illustration, photographic illustration.

R. What does "being creative" mean to you?
MW. Being creative to me means so many things, predominately it would be the act of creating a new piece of work  or coming up with new ideas how I can build upon my portfolio. But you can be creative in so many ways, I play music, listen to music, watch movies, read. All of these things have an influence on how I work as a creative.

Voyager Extraordinaire

R. What, if anything, do you consistently draw inspiration from?
MW. I find inspiration a lot from nature, this could be a certain flower or landscape I see that I think I can work into a new image, or I could discover a new technique that would inspire to create something new. fundamentally I would say that I find most things inspiring, and that these things stick in my head and manifest themselves as images at some point.

The Botanist

R. How much of your creative reconstruction, is a reflection of you? 
MW. I think that looking into it, it all is. All of the work that I create is because I want to see that image. It is all based on things that I am really interested in of things that I think will look really cool as finished products. I think as artists that is what you have to do, make the work that you want to see, its then an added bonus if other people like what you are doing. 

The Time Machine

R. What came first for you, your desire to be an artist, or your knowledge of the materials your work with?
MW. I would say that my desire to be an artist came first, I have always been into drawing and painting but I was never really very good at it. I then discovered graphic design at college and studied Photography at university, it was the incorporating of these things together where I really fell in love.

The first man in the moon

R. What other styles of art do you enjoy?
MW. I find all art interesting but what I enjoy most is photography, illustration, painting, music, screen painting, I see a connection with all of these in the way in which people can express themselves that I really like.

Mr. Flamingo

R. What's on the horizon?
MW. To keep working on personal projects and gain more commercial work, I would love to exhibit more and it is my dream to one day completely illustrate a book. 

Last but not Least…

R. What is your personal view in whats happening in the art world today?
MW. I think the Internet has allowed art to become a lot more accessible which can be a double edge sword. It's a lot easier to get your work out there these days but its also a lot harder to stand out from the crowd as there are so many people out there doing it. On the whole though there is some really great beautiful/interesting work out there at the moment, you just have to search harder to find it.

Contact Matt Walford
www.mattwalford.co.uk
Behance
www.behance.net/mattwalford

Lauren Rudolph

Lauren Rudolph was born in 1977 and grew up in Chestnut Ridge NY. Art was always a form of expression for her and a way to channel life experiences. Lauren began her college education at the School of Visual Arts and received a BA in Fine Arts from the University at Albany. It was her intention to become an art teacher with the hopes of inspiring young people to connect with their inner artists. Life had other plans and in 2001 Lauren moved to Florida and started a mural and flaux painting business. In 2002 she came back to New York and continued her business until the birth of her first daughter Ava in 2008. As Ava grew, Lauren was very inspired but her need to create and in 20011 she opened an art studio for children ages 3 through 6 called the Little Light Art Studio. The name of the school comes from the gospel children's song "This Little Light Of Mine" which is an expression of the fact that we all have something special that needs to be shared. After the birth of her son Gabriel in 2012 Lauren's creative spark was reignited and once again she is aligned with her path, creating art that expresses connection and speaks from her soul. Lauren currently has an exhibition of her work running to the end of May at Maria Luisa Boutique, Nyack NY.

R. In your own words describe to us your own style of work?

LR. I would call my paintings stylized. Someone recently used the word lyrical, which I really love. There are elements of realism and fantasy that coexist creating a balance that I find intriguing. I love to use mixed media including paint, ink, paper, gold leaf, etc because to me various materials make the world of the painting open up. There are no limitations.

R. What do you think are the qualities that define an artist?

LR. I think an artist is a person that looks beneath the surface of life and notices and absorbs everything around them. We look at life and all that is within in it from many different angles. Artists are very intense and have very profound energy that needs to be channeled. They are very passionate people with strong ideas and feelings. If you combine these qualities with the desire to grow and develop their skill, you have magic.

R. During your time in Florida you worked as a mural artist. Do you consider painting murals more of a challenge than working on a canvas?

LR. I feel like painting on a canvas is more challenging in ways that I love and value. I by nature am not a patient person and there is a lot of patience that is required in creating a smaller work. Achieving detail and really focusing on each and every inch is very important to me when painting on canvas. My desire is to draw people in rather than just make a quick impression. This pushes me more than mural painting and helps me grow as an artist.

R. Why did you choose to do portraits? 

LR. For as long as I can remember I have drawn and painted people's faces.  For whatever reason this is my passion. it is really not a choice but a calling. People are fascinating to me and eyes more specifically are mesmerizing. I can tell a story through a portrait and connect with the person and through this person. I have had an idea recently which is to paint portraits of people how they see their true selves. What is your dream for yourself? Who would be if you would allow yourself to truly claim all that your are? It would be my goal to bring these desires to life through the portrait.

R. Can you tell us how you go about making a painting. Do you make studies first or work from drawings, before you apply them to canvas?

LR. I am open to inspiration, a word, a song, an image, a thought. Once I have an idea i find a picture and do a quick sketch on paper. on the back of the paper I write the intention I would like to express through my painting. I then take a deep breath, let the nerves out and start to draw on the canvas. The start of each painting is emotional. It kind of feels like, "here we go!" The journey begins.

R. What are you trying to communicate with your art?

LR. I am trying to communicate connection with ourselves and with others through my paintings. I feel like we all need to connect and to learn to truly see. I had said earlier that artists look below the surface of life. I feel that everyone needs to do that. What is within us, calling us, inspiring us. I hope to bring up those questions for people through my work. 

R. Throughout the month of May you're exhibiting your work in one of the most artistic communities of the River Hudson Vally in Nyack, NY. What else is on the horizon?

LR. In June I will be a participating artists in an Art Walk which is an event in Nyack, NY. There is also a new group of artists in Nyack called the Nyack Arts Collective that I am apart of. Every artists is selected to exhibit their works in various businesses around town. Then in July I will be showing and selling my work at an art retreat in New Jersey, which should be an interesting experience. Other than these two things, have commissions that I am working on. I am trying to take one step at a time. I have two children at home under 5 who are truly my inspiration and I love spending time with them as well.

Last but not Least…

R. What role does the artist have in society?

LR. The role of art in society, I believe is to open peoples mind and hearts. Art is beauty and energy expressed for all to see, hear, taste and touch. What is more powerful than that? Creation is the essence of life and I am so grateful to be a part of that.

Follow Lauren Rudolph
Facebook
www.facebook.com/laurenrudolphpart
Web
www.laurenrudolph.com
Blog
www.laurenrudolphart.com

Two of a Kind

When Smoke Season's Jason Rosen (former keyboardist of pop group, Honor Society) and Gabrielle Wortman (electro-rock artist) came together, they wanted to create a sound that captured their youthful encounters in the great state of California. With their first release,Signals EP, not only does the group achieve this, but they render a listening experience unique enough to standalone in sound.Smoke Season blends psychedelic folk rock reminiscent of Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes, with searing electronic undertones in the vein of The XX. The result is beautiful story-telling that is musically saturated with the Old West, tumbleweeds, and a pioneering youthful spirit. Smoke Season captures the ears, minds, and hearts of listeners of all ages.

R. How would you describe your music/art/entertainment for the public audience if they have never seen your before?
SS. Our music is a blend of psychedelic folk rock infused with electronic elements. We draw from an eclectic palette of sound. My guitar tones form a rich tapestry around Gabrielle's cascading keyboard lines. The combination of these elements from Smoke Season's intricate sound. With the EP we wanted to capture that feeling of living in California. We're both from New York originally, so our experience out here on the western frontier is over casted by a shadow of our former east coast roots.

R. "Smoke Season" means what?
SS. Smoke Season is a period of time defined by that which is evanescent, obscure and without result. The music we create is our reaction to this. Both of us have had our own interactions with the "smoke-and-mirrors" aspect of the music industry that have left a bad taste in our mouths. We've found that process to be more "radio-friendly". Using this as our inspiration, we decided to create music we found was beautiful and that we loved and, hey, if other people did too then that was a beautiful thing. We ended our "Smoke Season' by making the art we want and rejecting the idea of writing the "next pop hit".

R. Who does most of the song writing/art/literature? (discuss the songwriting process in detail).
SS. Songwriting in our band  happens organically and doesn't have a certain formula at all. In fact, Soleil, our first single, came out of a spontaneous late night jam session. We had not set out to write a song at all, instead one was written without us even trying. This set the tone for the writing process making EP. Our songwriting process is extremely fluid. One of us will start with an idea, like a riff, lyrical phase, or chord progression, and then we'll show it to the other and develop the entire song. The combination of our musical influences and backgrounds makes a really unique vibe. We found that we write our songs really quickly because we trust our instincts and use whatever we come up with. This is also why a lot of our songs have unconventional strictures and seems to flow more adventurously than the standard verse-chorus-verse-chorus format. 

R. Gabrielle Wortman directed the music video for the single "Soleil". Tell us a little about this, and where was it filmed?
SS. Gabrielle came up with concept for the music video. We planned every shot and filmed most of the outdoor shots on location at Griffith Park in Los Angeles. We take a hands on approach to every aspect of our career, so being at the helm of our first music video made sense. Jason even edited it, and the final product is a unified vision of what that song is to us. We wanted to use metaphor and symbolism to tell weave an honest love story in today's world. The first symbol we drew heavily on was color. The video starts in black and white, symbolizing the absence of love for the two characters. They are slowly waking up to a  world with love but haven't yet found it. When the color is introduced, the characters have found love. However, in today's world, love stories are never fairy tales and often times people lose the love they find because the world gets in the way. This is why the color drains out by the end of the video. We also used the dream catcher to symbolize another major theme in the plot. We've found that the most beautiful moments in life, like when you're in love, are very dreamlike. The blending of these dreams and reality are captured by the Polaroid's in the dream catcher. The characters were catching life moments that felt like dreams.

R. Your first EP "Signals" is a song about?
SS. Our EP explores many themes. We set out to make each song the name of someone that is important to us and inspired the music. For example, Felix is named after Jason' s grandfather, and Bianco is Gabrielle's family name.

R. What are your up-to-date performance plans/ New releases? Tours? News?
SS. We have a Stagelt performance on Sunday, April 28th at 5pm PST/ 8pm EST. It's our first live webcast show, and we couldn't be more excited. You can expect us to play all the songs off our EP, as well as some brand new ones. Also, we'll be headlining the Troubadour in Los Angeles on Saturday, May 25th as a big album release celebration. All the rickets information is available on our website, www.smokeseason.com

R. What do you both attribute to your "drive as an artist?"
SS. There is an inner urge to create and play music that is formed at an early age. Both myself and Gabrielle posses this flame that burns at our core. We just absolutely love playing music, and the bond we have with these songs and words in spiritual. There really was never any other path for either of us but of an artist, and to create beautiful music. Also you have to be willing to go the extra mile in every endeavor. When one door closes, another one opens. It's all about determination in the music business. 

Last but not Least…

R. If you had to think of a slogan that could leave a positive impact for everyone what would your slogan be?
SS. Just. Keep. Moving. Give your blood, sweat and tears for your art: it's mandatory. In a world filled with mediocrity and cookie cutter artists, it takes major courage to create something original, something unique. It requires the courage to create something revolutionary that the masses will be moved by. But the key is to write to what you think will be commercially viable. Write what comes from the heart. The most powerful art is honest and it often flows in unconventional ways. Break barriers and you'll capture attention. Also, take control of your career instead of expecting others to direct you on how to create, market and grow.

Follow Smoke Season
Facebook
www.facebook.com/SmokeSeason

Twitter
@smokeseasonband
Web
www.smokeseason.com

Nora Kirkpatrick

Nora Kirkpatrick grew up in rural Midwest, and studied in Spain, England and Africa before graduating from UCLA's school of Theatre, Film and Television in 2007. She has been working steadily in both TV and Film since her graduation, most recently playing Esther, Dwight's new love interest from the farm, on the final season of NBC's The Office.

Active in the indie film world as well, Nora has a supporting role in the film Big Sur, starring Kate Bosworth, that screened at the Sundance Film Festival this year.

She has two other films coming out in 2013: Sexy Evil Genius, starring Seth Green, and a voodoo thriller Bayou.

Nora is heavily involved in the sketch and improv world, often performing at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in Los Angeles. She also co-wrote and starred in two Funny or Die produced and funded webisodes entitled “Happy Place."

On the musical side, Nora has been playing accordion, keyboards and singing in the folk-rock group Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros since its inception in 2009. The band has appeared on Letterman twice, Jimmy Kimmel twice and on Conan three times. Their first album yielded a gold record, Rolling Stone listed the second album in its top 10 for 2012 and the third album comes out in summer. Earlier this month, the band won a GRAMMY with Mumford & Sons and Old Crow Medicine Show for best long-form music video, the film Big Easy Express, that also won the audience award at the SXSW Film Festival. 

The band has played Coachella, Lollapalooza (both in Chicago and South America), Bonnaroo, SXSW, Newport Folk Festival, Outside Lands, among others, and many European music festivals. It curated a series of sold-out concerts and performance art in the Old Vic Tunnels in London at the request of Old Vic artistic director Kevin Spacey.

In her free time, Nora also writes songs and film scores. Her scores have appeared in several short films (Peter at the End, Elliot and others) and she wrote and composed original songs for the upcoming feature film Never, starring Zelda Williams.

R. An interesting journey you've had so far in both television and film. What has been the highlight so far?
NK. Being apart of "The Office" has been a definite highlight. The cast and crew are incredibly welcoming and unbelievably talented. It was an honor to be part of the show.

R. What was it like working with Seth Green and William Baldwin?
NK. Seth Green is one of the funniest people I've ever met. He can get a room laughing like no one else. The whole experience of tat film was great. We shot it in 10 days in one location, like a play. And the writer of his film Scott Lew has an incredibly story. Even though he is almost completely paralyzed by Lou Gehrig's Disease, he still writes diligently every day using these amazing machines that track his eye movement. He is such an inspiration and such a great writer.

R. Tell me a little bit about your experience on "The Office". What was it like being a part of a show which is ending after years of success?
NK. It was a complete honor. Working with Rainn Wilson and the rest of the cast was incredible. They've created such amazing environment over there that really cultivates creativity. It's such a feat to create 9 years of great TV.

R. Musically speaking your also very talented… When did you join the Magnetic Zeros?
NK. I've been with the band since the first album. It's been about 5 year now of touring. I play the accordion, it is a blast. We have our third album coming out late this summer.

R. How did the band get their name?
NK. Edward Sharpe is the name of a fictional character in a novel Alex (the lead singer) was writing. It is not a real person.

R. Thinking back to early childhood, what was your first experience with music for the first time like? What instrument or song do you remember most as a child?
NK. I always loved gospel music, or old doo-wop songs like Sam Cooke. I also love music from Africa, Ethiopa, Bulgaria, a lot of stuff that I find along the way. Big voices singing in groups always gets me.

R. What are your songs about?
NK. They are about a lot of things. But a lot of them deal with questions we all ask ourselves on a daily basis navigating our way through. And a lot of them are about love.

R. How much creative control do you have over your own music?
NK. We put out all our albums on our own label in conjunction with a larger label called Vagrant. Because we record all of them ourselves, we have all the creative control. They are a great support group, but do not try to guide or change our sound. They just like us for us, and want us to do what we do.

R. What has been the biggest challenge for you or the group?
NK. Touring with 10 distinct personalities can sometimes have it's moments, but overall it's really wonderful.

R. What's on the horizon for you?
NK. I have some acting projects in the pipeline and we are about to go on a summer tour of the US and Europe, culminating with a headlining show at the Hollywood Bowl in August.

Last but not Least…

R. What has been your strong influence to continue performing?
NK. I don't know if there's an influence other than my continued curiosity with life's questions and the questions within myself that i feel get dealt with or expressed best through various art forms. Be it through a character in a film or TV show, or through  a song or film score, both acting and music are such viscerally emotional releases, and keep me driven and curious like nothing else. I'll never have them all figured out, but that's the beauty of it. That means I can do it forever.

Follow Nora Kirkpatrick
Twitter
@norakirkpatrick
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
www.facebook.com/themagneticzeros

Avenue Army

Avenue Army is a four piece modern rock band from Saint Paul, MN that has been hitting the Minneapolis/Saint Paul music scene hard for the last three years.  The band was formed in July of 2009, and prides themselves for their original works which are comprised of catchy lyrical melodies, hard hitting drums, harmonies, and gritty guitars.  Avenue Army has a likeable radio friendly sound, and has high hopes to make it to the top.  The members are all professional musicians, who have been in the industry for years and are extremely passionate about making music in all facets.

Using a multitude of tracks that they had written and built up over the previous year and half, Avenue Army recorded their debut album "Words With Action" with Producer Steve Murray and Recording Engineering Matt Bombich from Full Circle Studios in Minnesota in the winter of 2011. They have released several tracks from the album online, including singles "Hey Sympathy," "The Upside," "Emily," and  "Alright Never." The official release of the album is projected to be late May or early June. The Tracks "Emily" and "The Upside" became instantly popular online and satellite radio, as well as being instant sing-along fan favorites.With their fan base building in the Twin Cities and Midwest area of the US, Avenue Army has plans to tour the country in the summer of 2014, along with a second full LP due out later that year as well. The band thoroughly enjoys being heavy hitters in the industry, as well as having a lot of fun doing what they do best, which is a combination of gritty guitars, hard hitting drums, catchy melodies and great vocal harmonies.

R. How did the band originally form?
AA. Avenue Army originally formed between James Paulet and me (Max Eric Bergstrom), in April of 2009.  The two of us had known each other through mutual friends since 2003 and had jammed a few times, but we never knew what good chemistry we had with each other until we moved in together in March of 2009.  I had a bunch of tunes from other projects that didn’t work out on the backburner, and I was dying to get a band together to work them out.  Jimi listened carefully as I pitched each of the first tunes, and he came up with spot on lead guitar work to each song.  After the two of us had gotten a solid list of tunes together, I recruited Chris Libby, the bass player from my high school band Adam’s Room, and met my drummer Josh Mattson while managing a shoe store in Blaine, MN.  Over the summer, we practiced a lot and built our set list.  Avenue Army was born.  Over the next few years, Chris Libby and former drummer Josh Mattson were replaced by Sean Pierce on drums and Maurice Vasquez on bass.  The current line-up has been solid since September of 2011.

R. What are your songs about? (what specific themes do they cover)?
AA. Our songs range in theme from failed relationships to victory songs to songs that are based on psychological concepts.  Most of the more pop sounding such as “The Upside” and “Hey Sympathy” are about the victories and the turmoil of failed relationships, whereas the grittier songs such as “Alright Never” and “You Ruin Everything” are darker, covering such themes as distress, void and jealousy.  “Alright Never” is specifically about my struggles with alcoholism and substance abuse.  This theme is present in many of the present songs, considering what I was going through during the time that I wrote them.

R. Have you ever entered any contest to enhance your musical career? If so, describe in detail your experience and what you had hoped to accomplish when you entered. What was the outcome? Would you enter another contest in the future? 
AA. We have not yet entered any specific concert to further our careers in music; however we have entered and gotten great responses from online press consideration and song entrance contests on sites such as Reverb Nation and Artist PR.  We plan on entering the battle of the bands at the Minnesota State Fair this year, as well as staying tuned to other opportunities that may be available, considering that our number one priority is to do whatever it takes to get to the top of the charts…..and have a BLAST doing it!

R. What can people expect to see at your live performance?
AA. First off, we are what musicians refer to as “gear heads”, so you will definitely see some awesome musical gear and sharp looking instruments.  We have a high energy on stage, and we love to make sure that we have a lot of fun, because it is important for the audience to have fun, and be comfortable being themselves and enjoying the music.  We are easy going and talkative on stage, but we also keep things as timely and professional as possible.  The main thing to expect when going out to see an Avenue Army show is to have an all-around good experience.  We are completely in debt to our fans and those who come to see our shows, so it is important to us to give the crowd what they are paying for.

R. You're currently working on your second LP, what can your audience expect this time around?
AA. The songs that are to be released on our second coming LP will have elements of the pop-rock tone that Avenue Army is notorious for, but there are also added elements of funk, and some heavier distortion.  I would have to say that with the exception of four or five songs on the next LP, this album will have a darker tone to it.  However, we are big fans of upbeat modern rock, and we wouldn’t exclude our so called “classic, 90’s Grunge influenced sound” for anything.  The whole band is completely psyched and proud of what we have so far for the next LP, which may be named “American Criminals”, after one of the title tracks.

Last but not Least…

R. If you had to change one thing about your music/group what do you feel would be the best change to benefit the group overall and why?
AA. I think that maybe experimenting with more diverse instrumentation may be beneficial.  All of the members of this band have classical training to a certain extent, and we are all very multi-versed when it comes to instruments.  Maybe bringing in more piano or synths would be interesting, as well as giving our live performance more of an edge.  Though we are now, and always will be completely head over heels in love with Rock & Roll, we know that the industry and the genre is changing, and we are pretty sure that we can change with it, and maybe even introduce some aspects of Rock & Roll that are more unique and not the norm as of yet.

"sample this bands music"
PitchMyStuff
www.pitchmystuff.com/m/sounds/view/The-Upside
Facebook
www.facebook.com/pages/Avenue-Army/537929439555196