The SPICE Movement is Here, and Invites North Carolina to Savor the Experience of A Lifetime!

On Friday, October 17, 2003 (from 5 PM to 10 PM), SPICE invites the Triangle community to be at the forefront of this exciting celebration of the dynamic and diverse cultural elements inherent to the triangle community, by attending the kick off event at Black Tie Nightlife on New Bern Avenue, Raleigh, NC. The October 17thinaugural event will feature the celebrated charcoal artist, Woody Charcoal" Chaimongkol, wine tasting by the African American Wine Tasting Society, and the incredible jazz saxophone artistry of Marcus Silky Smooth" Mitchell.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

The SPICE Movement is Here, and Invites North Carolina to Savor the Experience of A Lifetime!

Raleigh, NC, October 8, 2003 -- Promoters have gotten lazy, and the public at large is mad! What started as murmurs of discontent has slowly grown to a roar of demand to be rescued from the mundanely predictable venues that are presently offered in the region. No longer is merely attending an event satisfying, but to experience an adventure is slowly becoming the standard. Are you ready for the next Revolution? The opportunity is here, and its name is SPICE. The spirit of SPICE is to create an environment favorable to the growth and evolution of the progressive fusion of music, spoken word performance, and visual arts in this region. The SPICE Movement events also serve as an excellent platform for emerging artists, allowing local talent in respective communities to showcase their offerings to a receptive and appreciative public. SPICE recognizes that the term starving artist" is still very relevant, and allows the artist to freely market their craft without the burdensome processes, costs, and politics that has become associated with showcasing at more established galleries. On Friday, October 17, 2003 (from 5 PM to 10 PM), SPICE invites the Triangle community to be at the forefront of this exciting celebration of the dynamic and diverse cultural elements inherent to the triangle community, by attending the kick off event at Black Tie Nightlife on New Bern Avenue, Raleigh, NC. The October 17thinaugural event will feature the celebrated charcoal artist, Woody Charcoal" Chaimongkol, wine tasting by the African American Wine Tasting Society, and the incredible jazz saxophone artistry of Marcus Silky Smooth" Mitchell.

Woody "Charcoal" Chaimongkol is from a small village near Chiang-Mai, Thailand. After he finished grade school, he became a novitiate in the Suandak Monastery. He studied and practiced there throughout high school. By the time he graduated; he completed the third and highest level for a novitiate and received the title Nugtum. He then moved into the monastery where he practiced Buddhist precepts, meditation and the sacred art of Lai Thai, landscape painting. Woody also audited classes in religious art at Chiang Mai University. In 1992, Woody studied portraits in oil with J.Bunjalun and was introduced to working with charcoal dust. He watched artists in the market and began to develop a unique style and technique.

The 20 year old extraordinary saxophonist Marcus Mitchell is considered to be a remarkable young man. Marcus is not only a growing sax player on the jazz scene, but he is also an owner and operator of 24th records (under BMI), and MHM Music. Marcus started playing the sax at the age of eight after hearing stories about how his father playing the sax as child along side sax great Ronnie Laws. Marcus first hit the professional music scene in 1996 playing with local gogo band Fatal Attraction. Before this time Marcus played with local churches and talent. In 1998 Marcus caught the eye of Sax great Kim Waters as He credits him as a strong mentor. Mr. Waters helped him to land his first endorsee with the LASAX company, at age 18. From there Marcus has worked with Kirk Whalum, Destinys Child, Monica, Blaque, Ramon Simone, Solange, The Airmen of Note, Marcus Johnson, Jareed, Mike Phillips, just to name a few. In 2001 Marcus worked along side the Destinys Child camp as a consultant as one his greatest accomplishment was getting to perform for President Bush at his victory celebration. The same year Marcus took what he learned from Destinys Child and Mathew Knowles to form his own record company with friend, vice president and A&R director Shannon Parker. Marcus plans to release his first CD under his own label in august of 2004, and plans to make history as the youngest jazz artist to have his own company and release his own CD nation wide.

Other artists scheduled to perform include the talents of local R&B singers, songwriters and lyricists FIN (who has opened for Lil Kim, Ginuine, and Betty Wright), and Bishop, who has a self titled debut album Still in Love With You". Spoken word to be delivered various laureates, featuring Michael Hall (DRAMA990), and a dance performance by the Ethyln Lassiters Dance Ensemble (the only African American Dance company in Raleigh).

The SPICE Movement is a floating gallery (moving the events to appropriate venues), whose primary objective includes creating an environment where interaction is promoted and protected, creativity is encouraged, multicultural appreciation is fostered, and inspiration is fashioned. Inspired by the vision of co-founders Antoinette Alexander (President of Jaraya Solutions) and Michael Hall (President and CEO of Footprintz Unlimited), SPICE events are a response to the growing demand for access to diverse and artistic venues, providing a perfect marriage of food, art, spoken word, and dance. Antoinette notes that, When we (Michael and myself) began this project, we did so keeping our focus on our primary target audience, the artists and our customers." The Elements of the partnership is conducive to that view because of the professional and personal elements that both founders bring to the project. Michael Hall is a trained graphic designer and artist in various disciplines and both recognizes and appreciates the struggles that artists face in the marketplace, while Ms. Alexander is a seasoned marketing professional who has a strong history within the artistic community and is familiar with how best to market the services and goods showcased at SPICE events.

CONTACT INFORMATION :

Jaraya Solutions            
Antoinette Alexander         
919-866-0635            

Footprintz Unlimited
Michael Hall
919-881-0576