Art and Zombie Walk

2011-07-14T20:21:21Z

July’s Second Saturday was the place to be for music, art, socializing, fashion and a zombie walk. During summer more people take to the Streets of Midtown to enjoy Second Saturday events.

Vendors and artists move their venues each month. Many artists move their work from one Art Walk exhibit to the next looking for places to hang their artwork for a month. Other artists have established studios or areas where they exhibit on a regular basis. Local musicians find a street corner to play and then have a show at night clubs as Second Saturday begins to wind down.

Law enforcement presence is reassuring and helps to know they’re patrolling the area.

This month I walked the streets waiting for the Zombie Walk that was to begin at 9 p.m., at the Sub Q Piercing and Tattoo shop on 1715 I Street.

Walking down Capitol Avenue I stopped to listen to DJ Esef who was in front of Urban Hound Properties. Esef was spinning some groves as people stopped and passed by when Second Saturday was beginning to pick up steam. Move visitors were either getting out of cars or looking for prime parking space to enjoy the sights and sounds of July’s Art Walk.

Down on 20th Street, between J and K, I made another stop as I heard Christopher Poulos playing the accordion. If you happen to see Chris during next month’s Second Saturday or elsewhere you can probably make any request and he’ll play it for you. Most requests are obliged including metal. Requests can either be accordion or non-accordion tunes.

I later passed by the Garlic Shack which opened recently and noticed quite a few people patronizing the restaurant. Garlic Shack’s patio had a DJ and artists Lila Solórzano and Randy Rivera creating art. Solórzano and Rivera were in front of Yogurtagogo during last month’s Second Saturday creating other art work.

Last month I heard Clark Reese play and made it a point to go back and listen to a couple of his compositions. Reese was at the Second Saturday Art Show at 1927 L Street.

Reese is a very talented musician who played the acoustic guitar, harmonica and tambourine as he performed. I later found that he also plays the drums, bass, accordion, flute, mandolin, banjo, kazoo and piano at different skill levels. His voice and lyrics are his strong points and as his exposure grows, I’m sure, his following will also grow.

Clark Reese played on the back deck area at the Revel Second Saturday Art Show. As he played his tunes his winning smile, attitude and great song lyrics filled the air. Reese looks for songs that are fun and soul searching.

As Reese played the title track from Machine Undone, a song by the same name from his latest CD, you can feel and hear some deep thoughts and feelings from within as he sang to the audience that gathered.

Reese’s next song “I Feel It Coming On” was another fine example of putting inner most feelings down on paper and creating a song that certain people can relate to with lyrics such as the following:

Come on down to the lair
It’s were we have all the fun
Do you feel the sting of the sword on you now?
Do you feel the wound opening?

Find yourself a matching soul, that will bind to you
When you’re down, and in a hole, that’s when your lover will do, anything for you

That song from his Machine Undone CD exemplifies some of the lyrics that create a great song and is part of his latest 7 song CD.

As other people came to listen to Reese I heard many compliments and after one of his songs I asked for a shot of him and any new fans who wanted to pose by his side.

Down on the L Street I ran into a couple of members of the River City Sisters. Sister LeVita Kiss and Sister Coco Demure stood on L Street posing for photos and talking to visitors as they passed by. By this time the evening was becoming a bit more populated and some artists were still setting up.

Further down L Street I stopped at a table set up by Tiana Vega and Dave Icarangal and Jennifer Richards who were promoting the Designing Dreams Fashion Show (scheduled for August 13) and the Sweet Dreams Foundation.

Some people walked by and stopped for information and were also able to sign up for a mailing list in order to receive more information about the fashion show or the Sweet Dreams Foundation.

After a while one of the River City Sisters, Novice Sister Carey joined the group and helped recruit people who had not heard of Designing Dreams or the Sweet Dreams Foundation.

As the Second Saturday Art Walk was coming to a close Sister Carey had helped spread the word about Sacramento’s growing fashion industry and also helped pass the word regarding the Sweet Dreams Foundation. Tiana Vega and Dave Icarangal were recently selected to be part of the next New York Fashion Week with their Tiana Vega Collection.

Tickets for the 2nd Annual Designing Dreams Fashion Show that will be held August 13 at the Memorial Auditorium are now on sale. Visit the Designing Dreams website for more information on this gala event and tickets.

My final destination for July’s Second Saturday was the Zombie Walk.

A few blocks before I got to Sub Q I noticed many zombies making their way to the starting point. A few stations were set up for zombie makeup and artists from Callson Manor were already at work creating zombie works of art.

A Zombie Walk was scheduled to move from Sub Q to the Crest Theatre where the Trash Film Orgy was going to start off by showing the 1985 horror cult film “Return of the Living Dead.”

The Zombie Walk gathering was much bigger than previous years. I’m not sure how many attended but it looked like over 2,000 zombies made the walk a success this year.

Most of the zombies I talked to had the same comments whenever I posed a question. When I asked Lara Johnson what she thought about this year’s zombie walk she fixed her electrified hair and straightened out her bloody dress and she said, “Aarg!” Once the walk started most zombies stayed in true zombie form. I asked Johnson what she had for dinner and she said, “Braaaiiiiiinnnnnnssss!” I posed the same question to one of her friends who was a vegan and he said "Graaaaaiiiiins!"

I think the hundreds of zombies that claimed several of Midtown’s streets had a great time as did people who watched them pass by. As the zombies arrived at the Crest Theater many roamed K Street waiting for zombie parents to come by and pick them up. Several other hundred zombies were able to enjoy the beginning of the Trash Film Orgy.

As I watched zombies walk up and down K Street I couldn’t help but think of the song “House Of 1000 Corpses” by one of the patron saints of zombie hood; Rob Zombie.

Ending with the Zombie Walk, in my opinion, made this one of the most enjoyable Second Saturdays of the year.

(Note; more Zombie Walk photos can be found here)

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Art and Zombie Walk