The Amar Collective is an L.A. based community of artists, musicians, filmmakers, writers, activists, and creative thinkers who aim to promote social justice through creative expression. It is our humble belief that the freedom to make and share art and ideas should not be constrained by economic status or social class, and so we created Amar as an opportunity for all of us to share our resources and engage in dialogue and make sure everyone can feel welcome in a city that often finds itself all too divided. We also created it to pretty much have an excuse to get down and dig on some good ass art and music.
Through our work with Amar we've also established a way in which we can give back to the community while doing what we love to do, whether it be hosting benefit shows for various causes on the local or global level or putting together workshops at shows or coordinating volunteers for social programs throughout the city. Over the past few years we've addressed a number of issues through our events, including war and imperialism, the crisis of public health and education, women's rights, prisoners' rights, just to name a few. It's all been pretty damn good times and we've met some great people along the way.
Though we've tackled subjects that have been little bit all over the place for our 3 years of existence, we've decided our main objective for 2009 is to do what we can to ameliorate the problem of homelessness in the LA area and at the very least open up some discussion about it. We're going to be addressing the issue by publishing a zine and an audio documentary/podcast, hosting an art/music festival featuring collaborations with artists from skid row, and releasing a compilation cd to raise money for organizations that work to improve the lives of the homeless in LA. All of this will debut on August 22nd at one big event, so be sure to mark your calendars!
If you'd like to help participate in any of our upcoming projects, then feel free to send us a myspace message or e-mail us at info@amarcollective.com. Pretty soon (as in sometime this coming week) there will be a downloadable pamphlet at the bottom of this page in the section that says "How You Can Help" that will explain all the different ways in which you can get involved (believe us, there are lots). Keep checking back until you see it there! All of the work we're doing is open to anyone who wishes to participate, so don't be shy!
Oliwa and the Pleasure Circus Band - "Crooked"
The nine-member Pleasure Circus Band from first introduced us to their unmistakable brand of jazzed out psychedelic dance music at one of our festivals way back in early 2008, and since then we've been addicted to the otherworldly spectacle that is their live show. You can check out more choice cuts on their myspace, and it won't take you too long to discover that the demented gypsy-style brass of "Crooked" is only the tip of the iceberg. While they may have to go through some lineup changes due to some members moving away from LA, they will always be welcome to play with us and we're eagerly anticipating whatever Oliwa and crew come up with next!
Share-a-tories - "Sun Suspends Water"
Share-a-tories is the brain child of Ohio transplant Andrew Morehart, a maven of all things D.I.Y. who recently came out west to share his deliriously blissful experiments in fractured pop music. For someone who has only been here for a few months, this music pretty much sounds like a summation of everything that is awesome about California. You can check out his new album in our downloads section below or even buy one of the 100 limited edition CD-R's with individually designed artwork by Ashley Edwards. You can also catch Share-a-tories' first show with the Amar Collective at the Tribal Cafe on July 10th along with other fine bands.
Alpha MC - "Detox"
Aside from being involved with a mess of groups including Swim Team, Red Foxx, and Legendary Prospects, this young MC with ties to Project Blowed has long been a friend of the collective. Sometimes he'll even show up to drop a few verses on Ars Poetria's live sets, exhibiting a natural willingness to jump into a new sound and make it his own. This sense of sonic fearlessness and the raw talent to back it up is summed up perfectly on his recently-released album "Loving Life" featuring production from Maestroe, Dakim, Alwayz Prolific, and Kuest1, available for free in our featured downloads section below.
Psychic Hearts - "Fangs"
Psychic Hearts is the solo project of Sade from the guitar-and-drums duo Pow Wow. While still retaining some of the same influences that inform her work with Pow Wow, Sade approaches this project with a newfound sense of daring, taking the opportunity to explore much more atmospheric territory than her earlier work and even busting out the loop pedal now and again with some eerie consequences. In "Fangs", she constructs what may be her best arrangement of guitar and vocals yet. Sade will probably be playing some Amar shows soon, so keep an eye out because you don't want to miss her!
Tales of Banyan - "Beyond the Castle Gate"
Marcel Camargo, the soft-spoken mastermind behind the folk-pop genius of Tales of Banyan, tends to spend most of his time aptly complimenting the genius of others as a guitarist for artists like The Watson Twins, Inara George, local cinematic rock heroes Hour of the Shipwreck, and even legends from his native Brazil like Airto Moreira and Arthur Verocai. While Marcel's resumé may paint the impression of a virtuoso (which he most definitely is), the sheer beauty and simplicity of Tales Banyan is decidedly not based on virtuosity but rather an unrestrained love all things simple and gorgeous.
This is the brand new music video by Amar mainstay Bizzart. The track appears on his most recent album, "Future Stars and Small Wonders", a collaboration with producer Innaspace out on Joyful Noise Recordings. The video was directed by Nina McNeely, a choreographer and visual artist from L.A.'s unique half-band/half-dance company "We are the World". Check them out cus they're insane.
This is Son Ark rehearsing at their famed Valley Villains house, where some insane nefarious activity tends to go down. Dig around on youtube and you'll find footage of them imbibing various fluids and attaching cameras to toasters and playing other great tracks like "What's Your Name". Robin and Sherman and Chris and the gang have been playing with the collective for quite a few years now, and although haven't played with us in a while, these videos make us miss them a lot and want to send them a flirtatious text message asking them what they're wearing...
We're currently working on a downloadable pamphlet that will explain pretty much every possible way you can get involved (believe us, there are a lot), but for now the best way of getting involved is just sending us a myspace message or emailing us at info@amarcollective.com. We hope to hear from you soon!
24 bangin tracks all the way threw...produced by asop (living legends) , elusive , adept , xcallibur, green tooth , don pro and soooo much more... this album is truly a needle in a haystack...limited time only... dont miss out...
Come and experience this new venue and great live music + Art & Photo Exhibits + Music by Dj Santi & Jungle Groove!!
TEX-TEX IS SET TO HEADLINE FIRST SHOW OF LATIN MUSIC INVASION SERIES ON JULY 11TH AT THE 3100 CLUB IN LA
The veteran Mexican rockers will share the stage with Profécia, Fittér, Buyepongo, Amargo and Indigente
A&M (Art & Music) Entertainment is an independently owned company that has been producing and promoting events since 2003 with bilingual L.A. based ska, cumbia, punk, rock, reggae, funk and soul bands. In addition, the company offers promotional services, such as photography, event planning, marketing, email blasts, graphics, printing and street team promotions.
Who: A&M Entertainment presents
What: Latin Music Invasion Concert Series: Featuring TEX TEX, Profécia, Fittér, Buyepongo, Amargo and Indigente
24 bangin tracks all the way threw...produced by asop (living legends) , elusive , adept , xcallibur, green tooth , don pro and soooo much more... this album is truly a needle in a haystack...limited time only... dont miss out...
7/09/09: qallective's going to be having a faux New Year's eve celebration where we stage a new year's eve kiss and encourage more PDA among queer couples. YAY~!
you bring the peyote, we'll bring the mystical jams.....
Subject: br />
REPOST
From Riverside, take the 91 to the 215 North, to the 15 North. From LA, take the 10, 210 or the 60 to the 15 North. Take the 15 North, through Hesperia, until you reach Bell Mountain (in Apple Valley). Turn LEFT onto Bell Mountain and follow it. Take the dirt road for 10-20 minutes INTO THE DESERT. The event will be marked by a blinking hazard light. Look for the group of people. Make sure your cell phones are charged and you have a spare tire. The road gets bumpy.
MUSIC STARTS AT 6:30 SHARP
set times:
6:30 - 7:00 The Raga 7:15 - 7:45 Narwhal Party 8:00 - 8:30 Cardio Pulmonary & Michael Nhat 8:45 - 9:15 Summer Twins 9:30 - 10:00 Halloween Swim Team 10:15 - 10:45 American Gil & The Major Dudes 11:00 - 11:30 Slumber Beast 11:45 - 12:15 VOICEsVOICEs 12:30 - 1:00 HoneyBody Moonbee 1:15 - 1:45 Mothers Of Gut 2:00 - 2:30 Voice On Tape 2:45 - 3:15 Jesus Makes The Shotgun Sound 3:30 - 4:00 Sleeping Me 4:15 - 4:45 Mass Mass
THINGS TO BRING:
Flashlights Water Fireworks Friends Tents Good spirits.
the page looks and feels great. I'm almost done with the new track, re-worked it just for The Collective. It should be in your email box by Monday Morning. Happy Independence Day Ya'll. Cheers.
Hi Andrew, we did met last night. I like Juana Molina, she perf for free @Pasadena Music Festival, but I didn't go. I'm glad you enjoyed Natalia Lafourcade. If you like her, then please check out Ximena Sarinana, People Project, Hello Seahorse, and Ceci Bastida, they're all from Mexico. That's good 12 nets are going to be bought. Thank you for doing something good. Keep me posted on future shows. It's always good to meet new interesting people. Monica.
We're currently working on a downloadable pamphlet that will explain pretty much every possible way you can get involved (believe us, there are a lot), but for now the best way of getting involved is just sending us a myspace message or emailing us at 
