Arts & Music

Astoria musician is aiming for infinity
Astoria musician is aiming for infinity
Arts & Music Alexa Altman 2/22/2012 at 6:09AM

Tatiana Kochkareva scrolled through lists of albums on iTunes, searching for the perfect one – the first one she would ever buy. She came across Fiona Apple’s When the Pawn… Something about it stood out. She clicked “download” and pushed “play” on track seven, “Fast as you can.” Orchestral and biting, the song dazzled her. [...]

Creighton Fraker makes Queens proud on ‘American Idol’
Creighton Fraker makes Queens proud on ‘American Idol’
Arts & Music Alexa Altman 2/16/2012 at 10:18AM

People should get used to pronouncing Creighton Fraker. It’s going to be a household name. An Astoria resident for the past eight years, Fraker grabbed the ultimate brass ring for a star on the rise — a coveted golden ticket on Fox’s “American Idol.” Fraker grew up as a preacher’s kid in South Dakota, finding [...]

‘Framing’ an Institution
Arts & Music Alexa Altman 2/08/2012 at 5:29PM

MoMA PS1 has a brand new “frame.” Congregated in the brand new entryway at MoMA PS1, members of the art community and local officials came to celebrate the unveiling of the very vestibule in which they stood. The new entrance “kiosk,” located on Jackson Avenue in Long Island City, is approximately 140-square-feet of artfully-designed concrete [...]

The Crisis Team: Long Island City band turns it up
The Crisis Team: Long Island City band turns it up
Arts & Music Alexa Altman 1/20/2012 at 3:33PM

Clustered in a hidden room in Long Island City, The Crisis Team is jamming. The roost is the group’s private oasis – a combined practice space and recording studio, known as The Motel Room, owned and operated by the band. A luxury not often seen in the underground music world, the group frequently uses the [...]

Time to Create: Artist Violet Baxter paints L.I.C.
Time to Create: Artist Violet Baxter paints L.I.C.
Arts & Music Steve Mosco 1/12/2012 at 5:37PM

Art is comprised mainly of two elements: time and raw materials. While the art itself is physically constructed with materials – paint, clay, trash, whatever – it is time that decides whether or not the art lives on. Prehistoric people decided to paint on cave walls, and time decided to preserve that work for modern [...]

New year, new direction at Queens Theatre
New year, new direction at Queens Theatre
Arts & Music Alexa Altman 12/27/2011 at 3:50PM

Visionary Ray Cullom, the recently-instated executive director of Queens Theatre, is preparing his new domain for a metamorphosis. Astounded by the 21-year-old theatre’s immense potential, Cullom plans to turn what previously acted solely as a performance space into a full-fledged, talent-nurturing enterprise. “[Queens Theatre] is a unique showplace unlike anything I’ve worked in before,” said [...]

Crooner, guitarist and Astoria resident Aaron Lavigne ‘keeps it simple’
Crooner, guitarist and Astoria resident Aaron Lavigne ‘keeps it simple’
Arts & Music Alexa Altman 12/16/2011 at 3:22PM

Mid-West transplant Aaron Lavigne is more than happy to contribute to Queens’ flourishing music scene. “I’ve been fortunate to have been involved in [the Queens music scene]” said Lavigne. “It’s always been a welcoming sense of community — anytime and anywhere I play, I’ve only met the most positive people and artists looking to help [...]

From heavy metal to opera performer
From heavy metal to opera performer
Arts & Music Nargas Karimi 12/13/2011 at 6:00PM

Astoria artist Adelmo Guidarelli, 40, has been named the 2011 Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs (MAC) award winner for best Comedy/Musical Comedy Performer. “It’s not something I ever thought about. I mean, I think I’m pretty funny, but this is on a completely different level,” said Guidarelli. “The award is for my performance in [...]

Holiday Choral Concert by The Community Singers of Queens
Arts & Music Queens Courier Staff 12/07/2011 at 11:26AM

The Community Singers of Queens will be performing a holiday choral concert on December 17 beginning at 8 p.m. at the Church on the Hill, located at 167-07 35th Avenue in Flushing. The choir, which consists of 30 members, will perform a unique collection of Christmas and Hanukkah songs. Tickets cost $10 and will be [...]

Long Island City artist with space for experience
Long Island City artist with space for experience
Arts & Music demo 12/05/2011 at 5:01PM

BY MISSY BIERI AND GIANNA CERBONE-TEOLI The artistic community of Long Island City is an ever-evolving collection of painters, photographers, sculptors and preternatural inhabitants of every other imaginable art form. They are in L.I.C. for the camaraderie, the easy access to Manhattan and, of course, the gallery space. Ten10 Studios opened its doors to the [...]