“Rob!”
At this, Rob Perez looked up. Another friend of his was walking up to him, drinks in one hand and a flyer in the other. Rob put down the can of spray paint he had been working with to shake his hand, then thought better of it when he realized his own hand was covered in paint. By mutual agreement, they just nodded heads instead.
“Rob, what up dude?”
“Hey man, nothing much, just doing the usual. Enjoying this?” He motioned toward the crowd around him that had congregated outside of the club. Apparently it was either too full or too loud inside. The drum solo could be clearly heard outside the club where Rob was.
“Yeah, it's awesome. Pirate theme- awesome. Arrggh-Slam.” At this, he put the on an eye-patch and walked away. Rob took a deep breath to clear his head of the fumes that were enveloping him, picked up the can of spray paint and continued working on the mermaid he had started earlier.
The “arrggh-slam” is ArtSlam, a monthly event held at the LimeLight club at 2718 N. St. Mary's on Saturday nights. For one night a month, San Antonio's best artists, disk jockeys, and bands come together to create a unique experience. It's completely different than any other concert or gallery, and it's the creation of the one man now standing in front of me, Rob Perez, with his own eye-patch flipped up.
***
"I would describe it [ArtSlam] as contemporary artists, getting together in an un-contemporary way and doing art."- Diana Gutierrez, waitress
***
Every night is a theme, and this night it's Pirate, in honor of Talk-Like-A-Pirate-Day. Live music plays in back of the club, on a small stage barely big enough for four people and their equipment. The artists, usually painters but others are encouraged, set up at the front of the club, by the door, or even outside against a wall. The electronica-heavy music is loud in the art foyer, so much so that to talk to somebody you have to lean in close to their ear, but nobody seems to mind.
There are people everywhere, outside the club, in the art foyer, near the bar, and especially at the stage. Sometimes it seems as if the people rival the band in their intensity, but again, nobody seems to mind. This is a night to celebrate the other side of the coin, alternative music and alternative art, and for Rob "DeadBeat Hero" Perez it's just another night for him and his little "side job".
***
"It's about meeting new artists locally." -Rob Perez, ArtSlam creator
***
I met up with Rob soon after he finished his mermaids- five or six of them, basically the same but done in different colors. He propped them against the outside of the club so people could admire them and make offers on them. "I'm trying to live the life's dream of being an artist, but having to work the nine-to-five." The nine-to-five is a job at UPS, package handler where he claims to be he man assigned to smashing any packages that come through. He says this in a laid-back voice leaning against the wall as he talks, half finished cigarette in one hand. There's a relaxed air around him, and it feeds into the whole atmosphere at LimeLight.
Every artist there works at their own pace on their work. Some work with wood, some with ink, and some with canvas, but there are really no guidelines. In previous ArtSlams, somebody used a blow-up doll as their medium, while others used discarded television sets. It's different every time, and people always show up.
"I think its doing really well. I'm happy with everything that's going on. I get more people all the time asking me stuff about. More artists come up to me, and that's what it's all about." Rob has been pushing it for nearly three years, and it has gotten more and more popular. "In the beginning we had a few shows that were kinda, meh, but you know, it's just different now. I'm more into the scene. I have more artists that back me up. It's been a good turn out these past few years."
***
"[ArtSlam] is a musical, artistic, collective...ah...local talents together, painting- two vibes actually. Two vibes." -John Reynosa, artist
"When I think of ArtSlam, I always think of art and music. "Cause there"s always artists and they're accompanied by DJs or bands who follow the art, or during the art show" -Brian Torres, barista
