Lummis Day - 2007 / Schedule

Steve Abee is the author of the novel The Bus: Cosmic Ejaculations of the Daily Mind in Transit (Phony Lid Books), and a collection of short stories and poems King Planet (Incommunicado) . Beck Hansen has called Abee "The Love Powered Bull Horn blasting down from the altitudes," and Lydia Lunch has remarked that his "... savage poetry demands the reader devour passage after passage, only to be left soul seared and simultaneously re-invigorated. " Born in Santa Monica, Abee holds a Master of Fine Arts Degree from Antioch University, Los Angeles and has taught Middle School English in Los Angeles for 12 years. He lives in El Sereno.

Suzanne Lummis' poems appear in the anthologies California Poetry from the Gold Rush to the Present (Heyday Books), Poems of the American West (Knopf), Poetry Daily (Sourcebooks) , Place as Purpose: Poetry of the Western States (Autry/Sun & Moon), Stand Up Poetry and in major literary publications in the US and UK. She has recent or forthcoming poems in The Hudson Review, Ploughshares and Pool. Her last collection, In Danger, was part of The California Poetry Series (Heyday Books/Roundhouse Press). She's completed a new manuscript, Open 24 Hours. She teaches several levels of poetry through the UCLA Extension Writers' Program including a course she developed "Poetry and the Movies: The Poem Noir." In 2006 she taught "L.A. Stories," fiction and film, at Emerson College in Burbank.

Lynne Thompson, a native Angeleno, is an attorney who currently serves as the Director of Employee and Labor Relations at UCLA. A recent Pushcart Prize nominee, she has published two chapbooks of poetry, We Arrive By Accumulation and Through A Window. Her poems have appeared in numerous literary journals and anthologies including Runes, Indiana Review,Crab Orchard Review, Poetry International, Voices From Leimert Park, Mischief, Caprice and Other Poetic Strategies and, Blue Arc: An Anthology of California Poets. Her first full-length manuscript, selected by Perugia Press for its 2007 Book Prize, will be published later this year.

Charles Harper Webb's book, Amplified Dog, won the Saltman Prize for Poetry and was published in 2006 by Red Hen Press. His book of prose poems, Hot Popsicles, was published in 2005 by the University of Wisconsin Press. Recipient of grants from the Whiting and Guggenheim foundations, he directs Creative Writing at California State University, Long Beach.

Following the opening reception and poetry reading at Lummis Home, the event shifts to Sycamore Grove Park at 4900 N. Figueroa Street, where music, dance performances, puppetry, art exhibitions and food service begins at 12:30 pm. A broad cross-section of the city's cultural traditions will be represented at the community-building event.

Quetzal To Perform at Lummis Day Festival, June 3

Critically praised Los Angeles band, Quetzal, will perform at Sycamore Grove Park. Quetzal, formed in the early 90's by Quetzal Flores, has consistently pushed musical boundaries to create a new Chicano music experience.

The band has recorded a large body of work and and has toured extensively with internationally recognized artists ranging from Los Lobos and Ozomatli to Aerosmith, Taj Mahal and Michelle Shocked. Quetzal's mix of Mexican and Afro-Cuban rhythms, Jazz, R&B, and Rock, supercharged by the dynamic vocals of Martha Gonzalez, has established the band as of one Los Angeles' most important and successful groups.

Praised by Los Angeles musical icons, Los Lobos, as the group that's "ready to carry the torch for Los Angeles' Chicano community," Quetzal is committed to community organizing efforts and has been instrumental in developing Fandango Sin Fronteras, a dialogue between Chicanos from California and Jarochos (musicians from Veracruz, Mexico). Quetzal's fourth studio album, “Die Cowboy Die,” was recently released by Vanguard Records.

Ollin To Perform at Lummis Day

Ollin, who have refined hybridized Chicano alt rock, world music and post-punk elements into one of L.A.'s most difficult-to-characterize sounds, will perform at the second annual Lummis Day.

Ollin (Aztec for movement/earthquakes) has been recognized for their inventive hybridization of Chicano rock and world music. The group incorporates Celtic, African and a potpourri of other world musical forms into their music into an instrumentation that has its heart in the music of rural Mexico and its spirit in the post-punk musical uproar of North American and European cities.

Ollin used Tex-Mex barn burners and stomping Jarocho tunes as a musical point of departure, but as the group matured, they began to look beyond the walls of their own culture for inspiration. Ollin soon discovered musical and social parallels in African, Irish, Klezmer, and other world genres.

They have appeared on the college circuit with Ozomatli and have had dates with Lucinda Williams, Los Lobos, Meshel Ndegeocello, and most recently The Pogues - all at San Francisco's fabled Fillmore Auditorium. Ollin's impression on The Pogues was so significant that the group called their booking agent and demanded that Ollin open for them in Los Angeles at The Wiltern Theatre in November 2006.

The group's most recent recording, “San Patricios” pays homage to the Irish soldiers of the 1847 Mexican American war. The record also features songs about one of their favorite subjects – L.A.'s backdoor politics and the seedy side of the city's history.

The Susie Hansen Latin Band will perform at Lummis Day

Susie Hansen plays fiery Latin Jazz and Salsa is a well-established jazz musician with a unique and exciting style that features her electric violin as a lead instrument. Her repertoire draws on various forms of jazz and Latin music, integrating her own interpretation of traditional Cuban Charanga -- a predecessor of Salsa which often features the violin -- utilizing Afro-Cuban rhythms and incorporating the compelling harmonies of straight-ahead jazz.

Her all-star band features George Balmaseda on lead vocals, Joe Rotondi on piano, Rene Camacho on bass and Jimmy Branly on timbales, among other great musicians.

Critics have taken note of her music and her performances: Susie has been described by KLVE's Oscar Abadia as "the greatest Salsa violinist in America." Don Heckman of the Los Angeles Times has written that Susie "creates a brand of music that is as physically moving as it is intellectually stimulating."

A Mount Washington resident, Susie has been featured as a soloist with Orquesta Los Van Van, Cuba's premier dance orchestra, both in Los Angeles and in Havana, Cuba, and with Orquesta Aragon, the world's most acclaimed Cuban Charanga ensemble.

The Evangenitals (hillbilly rock music) will perform Lummis Day

The Evangenitals, whose witty and highly original alt-country hillbilly rock sound has attracted a loyal following in the So Cal club scene, will join the eclectic lineup of musical performers apearing on Lummis Day.

The band, which played its first gigs at Highland Park's Mr. T's Bowl, will perform on the Sousa-Hiner bandshell at Sycamore Grove Park (4900 N. Figueroa Street) along with top east side ensembles Quetzal, Ollin and the Susie Hansen Latin Band.

The Evangenitals recorded their first indie collection, "We Are The Evangenitals" in 2005. Their sound has been described by Musician Magazine as"..like the Dixie Chicks being beaten with their own guitars at the playful hands of the Violent Femmes." The band's sophomore CD will be released in the summer of 2007.

The Evangenitals are Juli Crockett, principal songwriter, on kid guitar, lead vocals and kazoo; Lisa Dee on nylon guitar, harmonies and heavy breathing; Brett Lyda on lead guitar, lap steel, Casio and vocals; George Bernardo on drums, shakers, ooohs and ahhhs; and Jason Chesney on bass, guitar and pots and pans. The group is frequently augmented by Brian Landers on pedal steel and electric banjo; Dave"Salad" Salardino on mandolin, ukulele and banjo; and Zoe Moss on accordion.

Ann Likes Red, the "Highland Park House band" will perform

Ann Likes Red the "Highland Park House Band," will be part of the eclectic lineup of musical performers at the June 3 Lummis Day: The Festival of Northeast L.A. and will have unusual guest performers: Cypress Park's Nightingale Middle School Choir.

According to band spokesman, Eddie Rivera, the Nightingale Middle School choir members will join the band in performing a tune which Rivera will only identify as a "rock classic." The choir is under the direction of Desiree Fowler, guitar and choral teacher at Nightingale.

Ann Likes Red, who will also perform their regular set as part of the Festival, has been Highland Park's "House Band" for nearly ten years now. Since their inception, the band has traveled up and down the state, performing at the LA Marathon, the San Francisco Examiner Bay to Breakers, ArroyoFest, the Eagle Rock Music Festival, and every year of the Highland Park/Arroyo Seco Music Festival. While New Times once called them "working-class roots rock,' leader and Highland Park native and journalist Rivera more aptly calls his band, "The Ramones meet the Grass Roots at Ritchie Valen's house." The music is revved-up versions of rock and roll favorites, along with a mix of obscure and unique covers. "Big drums, cool vocals, and noisy guitars," Rivera elaborates.

Ann Likes Red is Rivera, rhythm guitar, vocals and muckraking; Christopher Runowicz, bass, vocals and beefy tees; Eric Mendoza, lead guitar and automatic transmissions; David Auslender, drums and social espionage, and Deborah Ray, keyboards, vocals and lipstick. The band will be touring California and Nevada this summer. Get the noise at www.myspace.com/annlikesredband.

Also Featured at the Festival

Likas Pilipinas Folk Arts, whose interpretation of traditional Filipino dance has earned accolades for its skillful performance and lavish production values, will join the eclectic lineup of musical and dance performers for Lummis Day, appearing at approximately 4:00 pm.

Likas Pilipinas Folk Arts (“likas” translates to“riches” in Tagalog) is directed by choreographer Sally Salcedo-Manguramas, a former member of the world renowned Bayanihan Dance Company, who formed the group after being approached by church groups to produce a performance for the Filipino Christian holiday tradition, Simbang Gabi. Likas Pilipinas Folk Arts had its first major traditional Filipino dance performance in Fall, 2006. The troupe has been notable for the quality of its dance performance, the elegance of its costumes, and the grandeur of its presentation.

According to Ms. Salcedo-Manguramas, the goal of Likas Pilipinas Folk Arts is to spread and share Filipino culture and tradition to young and talented Filipino-American children through dances,costumes, and music.

Food, food, FOOD !

And in another contribution to the Festival's multi-cultural spirit, Alejandro's, the Glassell Park restaurant that served crowd-pleasing Filipino treats at last year's Lummis Day Festival, will make a return appearance at this year's day-long event.

Alejandro's of Glassell Park, a Filipino restaurant that has drawn the attention of Zagat's guide since opening at 4126 Verdugo Road, will be vending a variety of the specialty treats at the event. Food critics have described Alejandro's as a ”place that exudes warmth from both inside and outside the kitchen" (CitySearch) and have described its Filipino cooking as "outstanding. " Alejandro's will join Mexican, Italian and Thai restaurants at the event, helping to offer Lummis Day Festival-goers “a taste of Northeast Los Angeles."

The second annual Lummis Day Festival, which showcases L.A. history and multiculturalism, will also present art from Northeast L.A. galleries and food from a half dozen of the area's restaurants in a moveable cultural feast set for Sunday, June 3, beginning with 11:00 am poetry readings at Lummis Home (200 E. Avenue 43) and traveling to Sycamore Grove Park (4900 N. Figueroa Street) at noon for continuous music, art and food until 7:00 pm.

Additional performances will include dance by Native American, folkloric and Filipino groups and interactive art installations that will unfold during the course of the afternoon. Other artists are being added to the line-up.

Admission to all Lummis Day events is free.

The event will include activities for children and families. Restaurants serving Mexican, Filipino, Italian, Thai food will provide an international smorgasbord of snacks. Community booths will offer information regarding local issues and activities.

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Contact: Eliot Sekuler (818) 535-9178
Or email: lummisday@yahoo.com