Coming Summer 2011
The Atrium, Santa Cruz CA
Save the Date
Sunday March 27
The Atrium@Catalyst
Santa Cruz, CA
$12 advance / $16 Door
PANTHELION joins Danish Band QUADRON at the Atrium (Catalyst) Sunday March 27th. We are really excited about this show. Not only because this will be our first time playing at the newly renovated and remodeled Catalyst/Atrium room complete with a brand new state-of-the-art sound system, stage and lighting rig, BUT more so cause we have a ridiculous show planned for you!
PANTHELION & SPECIAL GUESTS
Janelle LaSalle, Vocalist
Ben Henderson, Vocalist
Noah Deeakili, MC/lyricist
and more...
By your ticket in advance. Bring a friend and an enemy. Lets make music and be happy together in Santa Cruz on Sunday March 27th.
Sunday March 27
The Atrium@Catalyst
Santa Cruz, CA
$12 advance / $16 Door
PANTHELION joins Danish Band QUADRON at the Atrium (Catalyst) Sunday March 27th. We are really excited about this show. Not only because this will be our first time playing at the newly renovated and remodeled Catalyst/Atrium room complete with a brand new state-of-the-art sound system, stage and lighting rig, BUT more so cause we have a ridiculous show planned for you!PANTHELION & SPECIAL GUESTS
Janelle LaSalle, Vocalist
Ben Henderson, Vocalist
Noah Deeakili, MC/lyricist
and more...
By your ticket in advance. Bring a friend and an enemy. Lets make music and be happy together in Santa Cruz on Sunday March 27th.
Seneca School, San Leandro CA
Feb 19, 2011
San Leandro/Oakland, CA
Kids are beautiful. What a blessing to be able to present two short programs for the awesome kids at Seneca School. We just played a little, talked a little, and laughed a lot!
Teacher Brian of the Seneca school was at PANTHELION's January show at the Firehouse Theatre in Pleasanton. That Pleasanton performance sparked an idea in Brian's mind that the good kids at the Seneca school need something a little extra special in their curriculum. After a few days of phone tag Brian and I finally got a chance to talk over the phone while we were on our way down to LA. Brian pitched his idea to me to have PANTHELION come out to the Seneca school and present a short program for his kids there. The Seneca school kids had been studying hard all about Black History Month and Brian who is also a guitarist knew the kids would love to see some live music that pays respects to the musical forefathers they had been learning all about.
It was so awesome to see the kids’ reactions to the music. During the music we were like, is this cool? Are we doing ok? Tough crowd… But after the little shows the excitement was perfectly intoxicating. Most of the kids were quite literally too kool for skool, but there were those who were like “Yo, I rap, I produce, I play clarinet, saxophone, bass, drums & piano.” And we were like ummmm, WHAT? That’s AWESOME!!
But on the super ooper real tip, there were like several whole closets of music stuff and even a v-kit (which is a pretty nice electronic drum set) just lying around. I asked one of the teachers if they had any music program, and needless to say the answer included some low murmuring about the lack of and need for and what not. Which, I totally do understand and I DO wholeheartedly believe that schoolteachers are doing the best they can with what they have to work with. Seneca is no exceptions. All the teachers and administrators we met had LOVE smeared all over their faces and in some cases even in their hair for these kids. The staff's dedication and pure love for these kids was really inspiring. Point being, its not so much a lack of equipment or tools it’s a lack of time and love and personal outreach from the community. The arts saved me and most artists I know feel the same way. Lets help those who need it most, those kids who won't get it, and if at all, most likely get it too late.
I encourage all the artists to go to the schools and give a little of your time. Find a community you resonate with and share yourself. Its a little scary at times, but I guarantee you will come out with more than you went in.
If any “at risk” CA school districts would like to have PANTHELION present a short program at their school, please don’t hesitate to call, that’s all Brian did, and we are grateful he did :)
San Leandro/Oakland, CA
Kids are beautiful. What a blessing to be able to present two short programs for the awesome kids at Seneca School. We just played a little, talked a little, and laughed a lot!Teacher Brian of the Seneca school was at PANTHELION's January show at the Firehouse Theatre in Pleasanton. That Pleasanton performance sparked an idea in Brian's mind that the good kids at the Seneca school need something a little extra special in their curriculum. After a few days of phone tag Brian and I finally got a chance to talk over the phone while we were on our way down to LA. Brian pitched his idea to me to have PANTHELION come out to the Seneca school and present a short program for his kids there. The Seneca school kids had been studying hard all about Black History Month and Brian who is also a guitarist knew the kids would love to see some live music that pays respects to the musical forefathers they had been learning all about.
It was so awesome to see the kids’ reactions to the music. During the music we were like, is this cool? Are we doing ok? Tough crowd… But after the little shows the excitement was perfectly intoxicating. Most of the kids were quite literally too kool for skool, but there were those who were like “Yo, I rap, I produce, I play clarinet, saxophone, bass, drums & piano.” And we were like ummmm, WHAT? That’s AWESOME!!
But on the super ooper real tip, there were like several whole closets of music stuff and even a v-kit (which is a pretty nice electronic drum set) just lying around. I asked one of the teachers if they had any music program, and needless to say the answer included some low murmuring about the lack of and need for and what not. Which, I totally do understand and I DO wholeheartedly believe that schoolteachers are doing the best they can with what they have to work with. Seneca is no exceptions. All the teachers and administrators we met had LOVE smeared all over their faces and in some cases even in their hair for these kids. The staff's dedication and pure love for these kids was really inspiring. Point being, its not so much a lack of equipment or tools it’s a lack of time and love and personal outreach from the community. The arts saved me and most artists I know feel the same way. Lets help those who need it most, those kids who won't get it, and if at all, most likely get it too late.
I encourage all the artists to go to the schools and give a little of your time. Find a community you resonate with and share yourself. Its a little scary at times, but I guarantee you will come out with more than you went in.
If any “at risk” CA school districts would like to have PANTHELION present a short program at their school, please don’t hesitate to call, that’s all Brian did, and we are grateful he did :)
Starry Plough, Berkeley CA
February 13th 2011
Berkeley CA
PANTHELION sailed up to the Starry Plough in Berkeley and we were welcomed with a very warm & homey reception from Berkeley local music goers. After our little theatre run in LA the weekend prior it was a nice change of pace for us to be in a relaxed down home pub –style venue with a serious taste for music. I love the beauty of slipping off stage and back into the audience to enjoy a drink with your people after the set. Berkeley was a fun filled & relaxed night of great music and righteous energy.
Berkeley CA
PANTHELION sailed up to the Starry Plough in Berkeley and we were welcomed with a very warm & homey reception from Berkeley local music goers. After our little theatre run in LA the weekend prior it was a nice change of pace for us to be in a relaxed down home pub –style venue with a serious taste for music. I love the beauty of slipping off stage and back into the audience to enjoy a drink with your people after the set. Berkeley was a fun filled & relaxed night of great music and righteous energy.
We were invited to play that night at the Plough by cellist LEWIS PAZTNER (JUDGEMENT DAY) in support of the debut performance by his new project “So” I was really excited about the night because I am a big fan of Lewis as well as JUDGEMENT DAY. Naturally I was honored & stoked to bring PANTHELION as part of the night’s lineup. SO killed! Very interesting mix of modern jazz, classical and funk/rock attitude. I hadn’t got a chance to see the Patzner brothers since the 2009 Sub Zero Festival in San Jose where both PANTHELION & JUDGEMENT DAY were performing. It was interesting catching up with violinist ANTON (Judgement Day) and hearing about the new record the guys are working on for the spring, as well as the trials & tribulations of keeping it all going and moving forward as an independent artist. Keep your ears out for that new JUDGEMENT DAY record, it sounds like it’s going to be a good one!
We were particularly impressed with the audience that night and their openness and willingness to listen. We were blown away during our set that we were gifted with total & undivided attention from the audience. Not a sound to be heard off stage. You are used to those types of clubs just being filled with sonic madness and crazy side conversations galore but somehow Lewis and the SO clique pulled out some cool people to the Plough.
Speaking of cool people, Berkeley was a great learning experience for me too. I had a nice chat with this young lady who told me all about her work at local Berkeley café Freight & Salvage where they specialize in providing a space for the preservation of traditional music. At first I had no idea what she was talking about of course, but she was so matter of fact about the spot that I just had to play along thinking it was probably some uber trendy eco-recycler for green sustainability & redevelopment that if I hadn’t heard of the infamous “freight & salvage” I would be promptly escorted out of the club and asked to never ever return within Berkeley city limits. But as it turns out, yeah, she was nice & cool enough to clue me in on my ignorance and hip me to a really cool spot that supports the arts in a unique way. I would love & encourage others to check it out as well. Berkeley is all right; they got cool stuff, and cool people. I can’t wait to go back ;) Thanks for being awesome and kind to us in BearTown!!
Nakano Theatre, Torrance CA
Feb 3rd-6th 2011
Los Angeles Area
PANTHELION is back from a long weekend in the LA area including 2 awesome shows Friday & Saturday night at the George Nakano Theatre in Torrance, CA. There were so many highlights from the trip, some really touching and others just ridiculously hilarious its hard to know where to start. I guess the beginning...
We arrived in Hollywood Thursday night to relax and catch up with our old friend, actor ZHUBIN RAHBAR before heading down to Torrance the next afternoon. Of course within a half hour of our arrival there is a knock at the front door and to my surprise a beautiful young lady we will call "Ms. N" stands before me requesting the attention of our vary own Mr. CHAZZ ALLEY. Nice as she seamed, I couldn't help feeling a bit nervous as Ms. N stood there smiling while waiting for CHAZZ to collect his luggage. I replayed the story in my mind CHAZZ had told me about the first time he had met this girl up in Oakland a few weeks prior. The colorful story also included a 2 day jail stay for our good friend, trumpeter DOUG ELLINGTON due to some bogus traffic incident involving CHAZZ & Ms. N, which needless to say was the main source of my apprehension towards this sweet young girl. I almost wanted to suggest to CHAZZ he ought to have a quick drink with the girl and stay with us the night in Hollywood... perhaps even get some rest for the weekend ahead. But I figured, far be it for me to be the voice of reason. That's JEFF BORDES' job and after all, even he was off wining & dining with one of LA's top chefs that night. So, off went CHAZZ & Ms. N and the rest of us went out on the town in search of orange juice and sunflower seeds...
Torrance. Okay now I thought we were going down to LA to do a couple of shows at this theatre with a Japanese name, turns out we went thru some crazy geographical warp and ended up in a full-on Japanese suburb of Tokyo. The Torrence Cultural Center for the Arts put us up at a very nice Japanese Business Hotel called the Miyako Hybrid. Now, I have been to Japan several times and I gotta say aside from the larger scale of, well just about everything, this little community was an exact Las Vegas replica of the Tokyo hotel experience. If you don't know what I am talking about, just refer to the fancy electronics on the side panel of that toilet. Well that was all fine & well, but I was most excited about the Japanese bullet-train station inspired mall next door where I was able to promptly fill up on tuna fish donuts from the little bakery inside. YuM! LAXMAN DRIVAS who is a life long vegan was less excited than I about the food selection in the mall. He sadly opted for pack of dried seaweed and a bag of salty dried pickled plums.
The real business. The shows at the Nakano were awesome! What a fun theatre!! The Nakano is the Black Box theatre of the Torrance Arts complex. They set up the room with about 50-60 4-person cocktail tables. This makes for a super intimate experience, but because of their full-scale lighting and dimmer rig you still get that good'ol showbiz feel to the concerts. The audiences were excellent. The Nakano caters mostly to older patrons which, not surprisingly turned out to be a real treat for us. It was an amazing feeling to receive the appreciation and encouragement of folks who really take the time to listen, understand and ask questions about the music.
Of course, there was one beautiful young lady in attendance Friday night that blew us all away! Ms. THEA AUSTIN from the group SNAP came to check us out. THEA is so nice and sweet and humble. THEA blessed us with her presence after the show back at the hotel for sushi and drinks and we all tore it up! I deny ever having so much fun. Just when we thought things couldn't get any lighter Mr. CHAZZ ALLEY and that trouble making Ms. N show up downstairs at the sushi bar wearing nothing but the hotels complimentary bath robes and slippers while sippin' on gin & juice that they had brought down from CHAZZ' room. The sushi chef tried to remind CHAZZ in his broken English that this was Torrance, not Long Beach. But other than ordering another several rounds of sake bombs and soft shell crab rolls, we paid him no mind.
Thank you THEA, thank you ZHUBIN, thank you Miyako Hybrid Hotel, thank you Torrance Cultural Center for the Arts & most of all THANK YOU to all of you who came and supported the PANTHELION performances on Friday & Saturday night. We had an amazing time and look forward to the next opportunity to come back to play in Torrance!
photos by Ariana Perez
Los Angeles Area
PANTHELION is back from a long weekend in the LA area including 2 awesome shows Friday & Saturday night at the George Nakano Theatre in Torrance, CA. There were so many highlights from the trip, some really touching and others just ridiculously hilarious its hard to know where to start. I guess the beginning...We arrived in Hollywood Thursday night to relax and catch up with our old friend, actor ZHUBIN RAHBAR before heading down to Torrance the next afternoon. Of course within a half hour of our arrival there is a knock at the front door and to my surprise a beautiful young lady we will call "Ms. N" stands before me requesting the attention of our vary own Mr. CHAZZ ALLEY. Nice as she seamed, I couldn't help feeling a bit nervous as Ms. N stood there smiling while waiting for CHAZZ to collect his luggage. I replayed the story in my mind CHAZZ had told me about the first time he had met this girl up in Oakland a few weeks prior. The colorful story also included a 2 day jail stay for our good friend, trumpeter DOUG ELLINGTON due to some bogus traffic incident involving CHAZZ & Ms. N, which needless to say was the main source of my apprehension towards this sweet young girl. I almost wanted to suggest to CHAZZ he ought to have a quick drink with the girl and stay with us the night in Hollywood... perhaps even get some rest for the weekend ahead. But I figured, far be it for me to be the voice of reason. That's JEFF BORDES' job and after all, even he was off wining & dining with one of LA's top chefs that night. So, off went CHAZZ & Ms. N and the rest of us went out on the town in search of orange juice and sunflower seeds...
Torrance. Okay now I thought we were going down to LA to do a couple of shows at this theatre with a Japanese name, turns out we went thru some crazy geographical warp and ended up in a full-on Japanese suburb of Tokyo. The Torrence Cultural Center for the Arts put us up at a very nice Japanese Business Hotel called the Miyako Hybrid. Now, I have been to Japan several times and I gotta say aside from the larger scale of, well just about everything, this little community was an exact Las Vegas replica of the Tokyo hotel experience. If you don't know what I am talking about, just refer to the fancy electronics on the side panel of that toilet. Well that was all fine & well, but I was most excited about the Japanese bullet-train station inspired mall next door where I was able to promptly fill up on tuna fish donuts from the little bakery inside. YuM! LAXMAN DRIVAS who is a life long vegan was less excited than I about the food selection in the mall. He sadly opted for pack of dried seaweed and a bag of salty dried pickled plums.
The real business. The shows at the Nakano were awesome! What a fun theatre!! The Nakano is the Black Box theatre of the Torrance Arts complex. They set up the room with about 50-60 4-person cocktail tables. This makes for a super intimate experience, but because of their full-scale lighting and dimmer rig you still get that good'ol showbiz feel to the concerts. The audiences were excellent. The Nakano caters mostly to older patrons which, not surprisingly turned out to be a real treat for us. It was an amazing feeling to receive the appreciation and encouragement of folks who really take the time to listen, understand and ask questions about the music.
Of course, there was one beautiful young lady in attendance Friday night that blew us all away! Ms. THEA AUSTIN from the group SNAP came to check us out. THEA is so nice and sweet and humble. THEA blessed us with her presence after the show back at the hotel for sushi and drinks and we all tore it up! I deny ever having so much fun. Just when we thought things couldn't get any lighter Mr. CHAZZ ALLEY and that trouble making Ms. N show up downstairs at the sushi bar wearing nothing but the hotels complimentary bath robes and slippers while sippin' on gin & juice that they had brought down from CHAZZ' room. The sushi chef tried to remind CHAZZ in his broken English that this was Torrance, not Long Beach. But other than ordering another several rounds of sake bombs and soft shell crab rolls, we paid him no mind.
Thank you THEA, thank you ZHUBIN, thank you Miyako Hybrid Hotel, thank you Torrance Cultural Center for the Arts & most of all THANK YOU to all of you who came and supported the PANTHELION performances on Friday & Saturday night. We had an amazing time and look forward to the next opportunity to come back to play in Torrance!
photos by Ariana Perez
Firehouse Theatre, Pleasanton CA
Jan 8th 2011
Pleasanton CA
The Firehouse Arts Center is a newly built performing arts theatre that was converted from an old... & yes you can still slide down the old "fireman's poll" on intermission (VIPs only)
This was a special homecoming show for Trumpeter JEFF BORDES who grew up in Pleasanton. It was a blast for us all to come and perform in Jeff's hometown and get the opportunity to meet so many of Jeff's old schoolmates and friends who came out to show their support for Jeff and the band.
Back in September PANTHELION gave a short performance at the Firehouse theatre to help kick off the 2010-2011 concert series and showcase a bit of what's to come in the new hall. Needless to say we were all psyched to come get back onto the firehouse stage and let loose in full form.
Speaking of full form, we welcomed saxophonist & bass clarinetist CHAZZ ALLEY to the stage for his official PANTHELION debut... and he killed it!! Chazz has been no stranger to PANTHELION performances, mash-ups and collabs during the past year. Chazz' multifaceted, unique, soulful and at times downright vulgar expression, has become an indispensable part of PANTHELION' fabric. It has always been fun sharing the stage with Chazz and even more exciting to see the group growing and expanding with him now in the core family.
We had a sold-out audience in attendance, and the energy and love that was spread around the room was very inspiring. We saw some new faces, some young faces, some old friends and had an absolute blast with everybody.
Thanks for all the support and love in Pleasanton. Can't wait to come back to the Firehouse, Its always a treat!
photos by Ariana Perez
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