Loto Ball performs May 31 at Redwood Bar, Los Angeles

Loto Ball performs May 31 at Redwood Bar, Los Angeles

Niki Pretti photos from May 20 Loto Ball Show - San Francisco 2013

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nikipretti/sets/72157633988911474/

Loto Ball "I Say No" played on berkeley liberation radio 6/19/13

http://screamqueensradio.tumblr.com/

PLAYLIST 06/19/13

Whitewash Cannonball - The Need

My Friends - Marching Girls

Megaton - Suburban Reptiles

Fang Klang - Sternenstaub

Soul Wolf - IBNUBO

On A Day Like This - Vita Noctis

L.A. Shaker - Cobra Killer

Sex - Xina Xurner

Fastblood - Metalux

Blind or Dead - Lost Cherrees

Backslide - Maestros and Dipsos

Animals - Half-Breed

Lulu - Y Pants 

Over Fire - Neonates

Condenado-  Tortura

Blind About - Trashley

Slap Dash - Kyah!

At Midnight - Mutators

High Society - Erase Errata

SecondFace - Alabaster Choad

I Say No - Loto Ball

Lack Of Light - Daybed

Kolme Askelta - Belaboris

Hard Spirit - Macho Blush

On The Roof Of A Very Large Building - Waxy Tombs

At The Dark - Group Rhoda

I Froze - Stacian

One Hit - The Knife

Rising - Uncanny Valley

Loto Ball

Rk Shuquem traveled to the Bay Area in May and Denver in June with Loto Ball. Heading back to the Bay end of August to join the west coast leg of tour of The Funeral and the Twilight out of Minneapolis, MN

R.k. Shuquem poems CD is in progress.

R.k. Shuquem poems CD is in progress. 
Lyrics from the Loto Ball Show, the Phantom Limbs, and the BoyScouts of Annihilation.

Other artists are reading the poems of R.k. Shuquem and it will all be compiled on a compilation CD.

So far we have submissions from: 

Josh Indar (Severance Package, Black Fork) reading Active Verbs (The Phantom Limbs) and Mucous (BoyScouts)

Matty Rue (Holy Kiss, No Good Lovers) reading Castanets Cookie (The Phantom Limbs)

On the Air

Loto Ball "I Say No" was included on March 12 episode of the "Cake and Polka Parade" podcast on WFMU http://wfmu.org/playlists/shows/49789

Loto Ball coming to KXLU

Loto Ball has been scheduled to perform on KXLU 88.9 FM on the Neuz Pollution show - Thursday April 4th @ 10 PM www.kxlu.com

New Piece - CLOWN ART!!

THE YAWNING CLOWN - just finished this up for Sev Ven gallery's next opening March 16th. https://www.facebook.com/events/129328820556147/?fref=ts

Good Bye to Reversible Eye gallery 11-30-12

Feb 2011 - Arts of Life Band video

Loto Ball performance 2/5/13 - Hollywood

filmed by Tuesday Glennan

R.k. Shuquem Recruited as Apprentice to Nicola Verlato

December 19, 2012
R.k. Shuquem to begin apprenticeship with Nicola Verlato. 

Nicola Verlato was born in Verona, Italy on the 19th of February 1965. He started to paint about the age of 7, and to sell his paintings about 9. His artistic education has been quite unorthodox, he consider himself almost self thought, however, from 9 to 14 ,he spent every summer at the studio of a monk-painter ( Fra' Terenzio) in the monastery nearby his village in northeast Italy, he consider that the place where he learned how to drawing in the academic style.

His first serious show was at the age of 15 in the town hall of Lonigo, a 3 person show in collaboration with other 2 artists of the area. Nicola has been also trained in classical music from the age of 9 ( classic guitar, Lute, piano and composition) at the conservatory in Verona, later, he drove his attention toward rock music playing electric guitar, bass, sinths, composing song, jingles and soundtracks for documentaries. He also studied architecture at the university of Venice where he lived for almost 13 years painting portraits and allegorical scenes for the local aristocracy and the affluent foreigners living in that city. During this period in Venice he worked on almost everything that was connected with drawing: stage design, temporary decorations, illustrations, comics, storyboard etc. Around 28 he started to be interested in contemporary art, and, consequentially, to show in numerous gallery in Italy and abroad in solo and group shows.

After spending 7 years in Milan, where he created his well grounded notoriety in Italy, in 2004 decided to move to NY city. In these last years he showed principally in NY city and in various galleries and museum around the States, Italy and Norway, but also in India as well as Germany, Holland and other Europen countries. His major achievement has been his participation with an installation of paintings and sculptures as a representative of the Italian Pavillion at the 2009 Venice Biennale. Since 2011 Nicola Verlato lives and works in Los Angeles

Robert Johnson and the Devil - Nicola Verlato

airplay december 2012

"I Saw Your Lines" from the first Loto Ball EP was played on this radio station last night and is streaming for a week. It's a fun eclectic show if you'd like to check it out.  http://stream.ashevillefm.org/beyondtherealmstream.m3u

progress on 'Air'

Getting some work done on drawing #2

POISONER FUNDRAISER

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    Saturday, December 15, 2012
  • 7:00pm

• KIMBALL ARTS CENTER • 1757 N. Kimball Ave



• Join us on December 15th at the Majestic Fraternal Lodge of Kimball Arts Center for an evening's entertainment in support of the completion of Chris Hefner's second feature-length film "The Poisoner". ONE YEAR AGO we held our first, pre-production fundraiser and what a glorious night on the town it was! I'm happy to say that the money raised that fine night brought us all the way through principal photography and editing of The Poisoner. All that remains now, a mere one year's time later, are the co ncerns of SOUND, MUSIC and various other expenses necessary to the completion of our work. For these things, my friends, we humbly request your assistance. Your suggested $25 donation will contribute to the following: • Recording and mastering of all foley sound and voice-overs • Recording and mastering of our gorgeous original score by Mr. Daniel Knox • Payment of musicians performing on that fine score • Festival submission fees, so that our film may have a proper shot at finding its audience upon completion Details concerning the particulars of the evening's events are forthcoming, however you may expect your night's drinks, snacks, entertainment and dubious holiday photo opportunities to be squarely and luxuriously attended to. A lot has happened in a year! YOUR GENEROSITY allowed us to set out on this harrowing safari a mere 12 months ago, and what a splendid hunt it has been! YOUR GENEROSITY will bring us home again, resplendent and handsome kill in tow! We have slayed the beast, now let's set it up where the world can get a good look at it's sumptuous, sable hide!

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Site Re-vamp in Progress

Changes coming soon, not yet, but soon. Currently working on the new version of rk.shuquem.com - ALL CSS DESIGN

Wordpress wasn't working out for my site!

Interview with filmmaker Chris Hefner

http://notesandboltspodcasts.blogspot.com/2012/09/033-chris-hefner-director-of-pink-hotel.html   Newly released interview with Chris Hefner, director of The Poisoner. I play "the Husband" in The Poisoner

Reversible Eye Gallery to Preview Ambitious Residency Projects at California Avenue Art Haunt

Renowned as a beacon for avant-garde art since 2005, Chicago’s Reversible Eye Gallery is further expanding its repertoire by hosting its first 8-month long artist residencies with a public preview to take place on October 31, 2012 and November 3, 2012 as part of the California Avenue Art Haunt. Reversible Eye’s founder R.K. Shuquem is using the maiden residencies as an opportunity to strengthen the bonds between the artists and the gallery, allowing them a studio space to create striking art. The initial residencies focus on the diverse works of Heather Lynn, Samantha Acosta, and Shuquem himself.

Fans of Chicago-based artist Heather Lynn recognize her as the mastermind behind the multi-faceted experience Pure Magical Love, which Lynn herself describes as, “a girl masquerading as an army of girls masquerading as a congregation masquerading as a myth masquerading as a dance masquerading as a band.” Like a Maryoshka doll of fine arts, Lynn reveals a myriad of artistic facets in her projects with talents running the gamut including story composition, set design, costume design, choreography, and musical composition. Lynn’s work renders boundaries obsolete, featuring diverse endeavors such as the design of a room in a haunted house infused with her unique vision, erecting a holy monument within a church, and orchestrating a “neobaroque ballet”. For her residency at the Reversible Eye Gallery, Lynn is composing, directing, and choreographing a rock opera to debut at the close of her residency in Spring 2013.

Samantha Acosta’s work aims to find a balance between resistance and resignation of the social mores of sexuality. Her body of work primarily consists of a myriad of self-portraits, each expressing a different facet of sexual conflict, overcoming or submitting to the piece’s provocative theme. The title of each piece purposefully draws awareness to humanity’s voyeuristic nature, never criticizing, never condoning, never ignoring. Acosta has often employed photography in her art and has collaborated with many artists on a variety of projects in the mediums of photography and film. During her residency at the Reversible Eye Gallery, she intends to continue confronting the barriers of parallel sexual dimensions that co-exist and overlap, yet rarely touch. Acosta plans on using her residency to challenge herself with unfamiliar mediums such as sculpture and mixed media combined with her experience in photography and video to discover new vistas of her vision that have yet to be navigated.

In addition to his intensive work as founder of the Reversible Eye Gallery, Chicago-based multimedia artist R.K. Shuquem is well known for his work with unpredictably infamous musical projects like California synth punks The Phantom Limbs, Chicago gonzo marching band Mucca Pazza, and his own erratic and chaotic Loto Ball Show. With unwavering devotion to the arts, Shuquem became Artistic Director for the Illinois-based non-profit organizationThe Arts of Life, Inc. which encourages the creative work of artists, with and without disabilities, within the community. Shuquem’s ambitious residency focuses on the design of four albums for a yet-to-be-formed black metal band called Pantocon. Working in reverse, Shuquem will begin by designing artwork for all four Pantocon albums, titled Earth, Air, Fire, and Water, before composing the music, with the project finally culminating into the actual formation of the band, Pantocon. While the entire scope of the project is anticipated to take 3 years, the artwork for all four albums is expected to be on display at the Reversible Eye Gallery for the residency’s major exhibit on March 30, 2013. Influenced by the elaborate DIY packaging of Crass Records’ artists, each of Pantocon’s albums will feature maddeningly detailed fold-out posters while each album’s cover will be on display as 5.5 foot x 5 foot intricately penned ink pieces. Shuquem plans to explore themes of surveillance, self-consciousness, and God throughout the process of the Pantocon Project.

You can marvel at the foundation stones of Heather Lynn’s rock opera, Samantha Acosta’s multimedia exploration of sexual mores, and R.K. Shuquem’s Pantocon Project on October 31, 2012 as part of the California Avenue Art Haunt with an encore viewing scheduled for November 3, 2012.

New Press for Arts of Life Band

FIRST REVIEW!! we've had press, but never a press testimonial.. and this one is really super. THANKS! http://www.chicagoinnerview.com/index.php/2012/08/25/the-arts-of-life-band-2/ As a fearless joint effort between disabled and non-disabled Chicago artists, The Arts of Life Band has shown the power that music has to unite on an instinctual level over the last six years. Although their sound spans a variety of genres from guitar-driven pop to rap to psychedelic jams, as a whole they display the kind of blunt enthusiasm and lack of pretension that defines what it means to be punk rock. Having performed at a variety of venues around town (including the North Coast Festival), the band is very familiar with putting on an expert show and often welcomes other Chicago musicians to join in the festivities. Far more than just an outlet or healing tool for its members, The Arts of Life Band is an assembly of skilled and engrossing performers offering an original perspective on life, and musicianship to boot. –text: David Willming

Aurora Art Walk

I showed art and hung out in Aurora, Illinois last night at the Aurora Art Walk. My buddy Matt Schwarz accompanied me. We had a good time talking to art appreciators and then visited the Two Brothers round house then the Casino. Matt won a bit at roulette. I am broke so was very boring and just did some slots and came out even.