AZCulture.com sneak peek: Phoenix Fashion Week provides springboard into style for emerging designers

By Matt Marn

Published by AZCulture.com

While fashion is a difficult industry to break into, Phoenix Fashion Week serves as a great opportunity for emerging designers and models to showcase their talents. Phoenix Fashion Week executive director Brian Hill is putting Phoenix on the map in the fashion scene, and helping talent from across the country use the event as a launch pad to begin their journeys down the runway.

"It started out of need for something to call our own - for our fashion industry," Hill said. "In the past, I was a fashion designer myself - sewing, sales, shipping... everything. I was interested in furthering my own clothing line. That's why I can help emerging designers, because I've been there. We aren't afraid to try, even to make mistakes. But we learn from our mistakes, and improve upon them."

Hill and his team were approached by TIME Magazine, asking to write a story on Phoenix Fashion Week. The article ran in October 2012.

"We were blessed by that opportunity," he said. "It gave us credibility... but we try to stay on course, stay true to our mission. If we help a designer succeed, it's a win-win. If we help launch a successful clothing line, it helps us - but mostly, we want them to succeed."


Read more of this article at AZCulture.com!!

AZCulture.com Sneak Peek: State Forty-Eight Clothing - a perfect fit for Arizona pride

By Matt Marn
Published in AZCulture.com

Spangenberg (far right) and the State Forty-Eight crew

From when Michael Spangenberg was a child, he always knew he wanted to start a fashion line. Now, he has a growing clothing and apparel line to share with Arizona.

Spangenberg grew up in Chandler along with his friend, Stephen Polano, and Polano's younger brother, Nick. Stephen was soon on board with Spangenberg's idea to begin a fashion label, and one morning, the name came to Stephen - State Forty-Eight.

"Nick got involved in the graphic design, and after that, we just went all-in on it - just going for it, using our resources," Spangenberg said. "Fashion shoes, community events, talking to stores... just really going for it."

While none of the three have business degrees or backgrounds, State Forty-Eight is truly taking off. New, fresh designs, local sporting team colors in many of their collections, and social media marketing - not to mention word-of-mouth interest - are helping State Forty-Eight grow into a household name in AZ.

"It all starts in sports for us; for me and Stephen in particular," Spangenberg said. "I remember going to Cardinals games, and half of the stadium is full of fans of the other team. It was embarrassing. It's about pride in our home."

What began as a show of pride in local sports teams has quickly grown into a popular show of pride in all things Arizona. Their collections feature vibrant colors, designs and patterns - including colors of the Phoenix Suns, the Arizona Diamondbacks, ASU, U of A, as well as Patrick Peterson Cardinals designs. Clothing and apparel varieties include men's, women's, and youth T-shirts, hoodies, and hats... even infant outfits - something for everyone in AZ.

"It's just like everywhere else," Spangenberg said. "It's about pride in our hometown. Great weather, sports and activities... It's one of the largest cities in the United States. The local movement has grown - what better way to grow support than from local residents, people who feel the same way as you do. It's a great way to wear your support on your sleeve."

Read more from the article on State Forty-Eight in the full article, featured at AZCulture.com!

AZCulture.com Featured Artist Sneak Peek - Luke Dorsett

Photographer Luke Dorsett

By Matt Marn

Published by AZCulture.com

Luke Dorsett has lived and traveled the world over, from here in Phoenix to Japan, Brazil, Australia, and beyond. His camera lens and eye for storytelling have followed him on his countless adventures, and his work continues to draw attention wherever he goes.

As we sit, reviewing picture after vibrant picture he has captured along the way, they display more than a great eye for beauty and detail; the stories told by the images point to a fearlessness - an adventurous spirit, ready to follow wherever the road turns next.

Ever since he was very young, Dorsett knew tomorrow is never a given. When he was 4, his appendix ruptured, but the doctors didn't believe him, since they had never seen a case that young. He was misdiagnosed at first, and it almost cost him his life.

"I realized, life is short - your days aren't promised to you," Dorsett said. You've got to live each day for what it's worth. I think that realization has made me fearless, in a way, to go after what I want."

Ever since, he has applied his tenacity to everything in life, including what he does and where he calls home.

A camera has been in Dorsett's hands from a very early age, when he grew mesmerized by View Masters and kaleidoscopes, and the vivid colors and images behind the lens. By the time his parents gave him a starter Kodak, he was more than ready for the world of photography.

Dorsett also has experience in music, as an electronic DJ, and his music was featured in Australia, Mexico, Japan, and Brazil. But eventually, he found his way back to his first passion, telling stories a thousand words at a time.

"I really dug the visual stuff since I was a kid," he said. "I got sick of the music I was mixing and producing... headphones and speakers forever. Photography is quiet. It gave me the Zen feeling of being at peace. It's almost like a form of meditation: looking back on my work later, going back to revisit those captured moments. Those moments I capture, they are components of my life... things I live and experience, in and out of this country."


Read the rest of this article on Luke Dorsett at AZCulture.com!

Rockabilly group Whiskey Kiss set to release debut album - and more than a few surprises ...YabYum Sneak Peek

By Matt Marn
Published by YabYum Music and Arts

It starts with a slow, sultry tempo, with a woman's voice singing, "I gotta stay low, ain't nowhere to run... If he looks at me, I'm already done... I gotta stay low... he's a dangerous one."

And with that, the tempo picks up, and never seems to let go. But then, Whiskey Kiss is like that.

With a taste for classic rockabilly but with a new twist, Phoenix rockabilly group Whiskey Kiss is set to release their long-awaited dabut album, Dangerous One. And for their release party - November 29 at the Blooze Bar in Phoenix - they have more than a few surprises in store.

Nick and Niki White of Whiskey Kiss

While it began as a few music lovers getting together to follow their passion, Whiskey Kiss has grown into something else entirely, thanks in large part to phenomenal support from their fans.

Led by husband and wife duo Niki and Nick White, Whiskey Kiss is gaining major attention, and with good reason. Niki's powerful voice and stage presence, paired with Nick's musical skill, gets the crowd cheering right away. And alongside the duo, the recently announced official updates to the Whiskey Kiss roster: Bruce Legge on trumpet, Wesley Hinshaw (of the Quakes) on drums, and new addition Tommy Collins - known for many top rockabilly bands on the upright bass - not to mention perhaps the biggest surprise: Nick moving from upright bass to lead guitarist. All this onstage together, and you have a mix that will keep the crowd cheering all night.

Read the full article on Whiskey Kiss at

YabYum Music and Arts!

PSA Art Awakenings and Warehouse 1005 offer help, healing through artistic expression - AZCulture.com Sneak Peek

By Matt Marn

Published by AZCulture.com

Warehouse 1005 artist Barbara Proctor

From the moment you walk in, colors and sounds seem to surround you. Everyone is busy; artists are deep into their easels and paintings, canvases and sculptures fill every wall. In the middle of the main hall, a group of musicians practice. The acoustic guitar player works through his chords while the woman on the microphone sings the words, and the drummer keeps the beat on time. The three are surrounded by spare guitars, maracas, and you guessed it – more artwork. And despite their music filling the room, the painters and sculptors at their workstations are not bothered in the slightest – they concentrate on every stroke. It almost seems like the music helps them, even encourages them to push on.

And maybe then you consider why each artist is here at Warehouse 1005, that encouragement they feel from one another is not that hard to understand.

Organizers describe PSA Art Awakenings as a program seeking to promote empowerment and recovery through the power of creative expression with children and adults who face behavioral health changes. Whether the individual is challenged by serious mental health, general mental health, or substance abuse conditions, PSA Art Awakenings provides safe and supportive environments that foster exploration and development of artistic skills.

In late fall 2000, PSA Art Awakenings was born out of PSA Behavioral Health Agency, a local non-profit organization. From Phoenix to Tucson to Bisbee, these Art Awakenings studios are a new kind of assistance – they help participants deal with issues through artistic expression and art.

“PSA Art Awakenings helps community members deal with serious mental health issues through art,” said David Reno, Director of Marketing and Community Relations. “We always encourage our artists to seek medication and counseling, but for some, that alone won’t work. This program is a kind of ‘psycho-social’ rehabilitation: unlike conventional therapy or counseling, this form of rehabilitation doesn’t just encourage a person to keep moving on, but it gives the person a reason to keep going, to keep fighting.”

Read the rest of the article on PSA Art Awakenings and Warehouse 1005 at AZCulture.com!

Individual World Poetry Slam headed for Phoenix - YabYum Music and Arts Sneak Peek

By Matt Marn

Aaron Hopkins-Johnson

Published by YabYum Music and Arts

The Individual World Poetry Slam is a chance for poets the world over to meet and compete with their original work in a respected competition of peers. And soon, Phoenix will get a chance to host this historic event.

Aaron Hopkins-Johnson, the owner of Lawn Gnome Publishing in Phoenix, is thrilled by the news the Individual World Poetry Slam (iWPS) is coming to town. A former slam poet himself, Hopkins-Johnson was the one who submitted Phoenix into the running for host city of this year's competition.

Hopkins-Johnson got into performing slam poetry during a speech and debate class at NAU. After graduating, he felt he had gained enough experience studying and performing some of the best slam poets that it was time to start composing and performing his own works.


Read more about Aaron and his bid to bring the iWPS to Phoenix, and learn more about how to see the competition in Phoenix, at YabYum Music and Arts!

Diana Lee releases debut jazz album "Mentor," thanks her teachers by making the music her own - YabYum Music and Arts Sneak Peek

Diana Lee performing during her album release party

By Matt Marn

Published by YabYum Music and Arts

So often someone comes into our lives to help teach us something that shapes our lives forever, and so often we never get to thank them. Phoenix singer Diana Lee has managed to pay homage to her mentors, and in a big way.

Lee has recently released her debut jazz album, "Mentor," in which she paid tribute to all the great musicians around the Valley who helped her grow into the great performer she is today.

"I can't explain it to you - to have these amazing people in my life at those exact times," Lee said of her many instructors and mentors. "I remember their names, what they taught me... It was huge to be able to say thank you. Art is very difficult. Music is very difficult. Somebody should say thank you. I really am so happy, so glad I got this opportunity to thank these people, these guides."


Read the rest of this article at YabYum Music and Arts!