The FlowliciousXperience 2018 Part1: To Jam Is To Gel

The FlowliciousXperience 2018 Part1: To Jam Is To Gel
Woodwork by Brandon Coley

In 2018, The FlowliciousXperience came to Inglewood, this time in a garage near an alley near Ed Vincent Park as part of the Inglewood Open Studios Tour, a festive annual weekend tour of artist studios in the thriving art community within the city spearheaded by resident artist Renee Fox.

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TFX@IOS 2018: Noreen, Ah Dween, Maello, Eli, and the legendary Phyllis Battle jammin...

When I was a kid, we'd ride our bikes up and down the street to the soundtrack of one or two garage bands jammin'. Didn't matter if the lead singer was on key or not, and the raw, loose vibe of the band added to the Saturday afternoon riding experience.

As a recording artist, I cut my chops in alleyway and backyard garage studios where amplifiers and keyboards set next to rakes and shovels. And a flipped-over bucket made the best bongo bench.

Perfection was pointless. Mess didn't matter. We came to JAM. To communicate with each other with spoken word and the unspoken heard. We came to Gel.

The FlowliciousXperience is like a planned improvisational jam inside an estuary of imagination, exploration, and creative expression all in service to a poetic pulse as close as one's own heartbeat.

We find that pulse when we coalesce as a creative community. No need for a lot of words. Let the ones that emerge be...soul spoken. Or maybe an emotional guitarist expresses anger through their "ax". No doubt, we'd feel it and might relate to the emotional tone rather than take it personally. Creative communication?

To Jam is to Gel. And for those of us isolated and thirsting for community open-hearted creativity can be an overflowing well.

Til We Flow Again,

ADB

Part 2: The Momentary Beauty of Temporary Community

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Jamie Larson
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