Over 150 multi-aged art enthusiasts witnessed inspired Cleveland activists and creators, musicians, writers and performance artists as a unified entity at the Beachland Ballroom, host for the website launch of Experimental Behavior. This new collaborative effort is opening the entire arts community as a cool experiment in "mixing up the arts". Rather than catering to one style or niche, EB concentrates on being the site where all other sites in Cleveland gather together, combining artists, audiences and promoters. Brent Gummow, one of EB's creators, wants to use the site to get people, "to turn off their televisions, get off their blue collar couches and attend the myriad of concerts, art shows, readings, film festivals and other happenings around town."

These events and EB's website "is a place for all of us to meet and speak about the gems in Cleveland that are sometimes hardly advertised." They're looking for Clevelanders to post "informal articles" on local artists, visiting artists, new venues, theater pieces and anything involving artists in Cleveland.

Cool Cleveland got in on a few favorite artists like J. Scott, delivering a live sampling of mesmerizing rhythms with music that presented a psychedelic layering of different sounds and spoken word. J. Scott started out laying down a sorta funky beat by striking the strings of an electric guitar with an open hand near the Guitar Bridge. The beat was recorded, looped, and played back while the process of layering continued. Spoken word completed the process, used strictly as messengers of meaning and never looped with the rest of the instruments. J's verse is reminiscent of a young Jim Morrison, and his performance seemed a little tentative, like the sketchy, light lines of a beginning artist, pencil in hand and no eraser which added great drama to the piece. Trumpet was included to the mix, bold and definitive pulling the piece together and defining its direction. Accompanying J were performance dancers who captivatingly executed improvisational movements to the audio. This was J. Scott's first time collaborating with artists of a different genre. Scott's performance was fresh and energetic - he's an innovative artist not afraid to break the creative barriers.

Another bright spot in the evening was an emerging group, Swimming with Angels. Lead singer Justin Markert stated "The band is all about making music - not making it complicated". Justin is self-taught on the guitar, however he also has formal musical training, and uses music as an alternative to physical aggression; he finds it easier to stand up and perform on stage rather than fight. These musicians have a strong sense of their original music and did an incredible job with cover bands such as The Cure with Justin's strong and expressive vocals. Swimming with Angels has performed at venues in Akron, The Beachland and The Grog Shop. Justin owns a coffee shop in Madison that highlights a variety of musical genres.

Another group that mixed up up the music vibe was Press the Button, who took recordings from the public domain and deconstructed and reconstructed them; it was kind of Dada, kind of Warhol. Much of their effort was pretty fresh, although at times PTB's distortion had no perceivable rhyme or reason and much of the time it was absolutely too loud. They've a new CD out Free Speech For Sale that supposedly Coca-Cola wants out of distribution. The CD takes commercials and once again deconstructs and reconstructs them charging them with new meaning. The idea is that these commercials have etched themselves into the collective cultural consciousness and brainwashed us. The CD had several really smart cuts on it, If you ever run across a copy of Prefound or Catdreams try 'em on for size.

It was evident that the event was well organized and a lot of expertise went into it, however the production value of most of the show wasn't up to the level it should have been. Hopefully the arts community will support EB and they will have funds to improve their shows. Until then, a rehearsal and a soundboard would be tremendously helpful. Organizer David Mansbach says he will attempt to do an event every six weeks, so look for the next gig, get involved, and check out: http//experimentalbehavior.com/board/portal.php

from Cool Cleveland contributors Cavana Faithwalker and Deb Remington

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