Art Rock

Fort Lauderdale art students, arise! Well, not too early, of course, but try to roust yourself out of bed for Rockin' the Guild, a fundraiser/membership drive/12-hour-long musical bash September 3. Local artists Jeffrey Holmes and David Diaz have organized the Broward Art Guild benefit, putting together a flock of local bands with the concept of introducing the visual arts community and the local music scene to each other and igniting a spark in new artists.

"We're gearing this toward the young artists, the college students, and Art Institute students to get some fresh blood participating around here," says Holmes. "We want to encourage people to come out and bring their sketchbooks, bring their canvas, and paint or draw. If you do spoken word, bring yourself and do what you do."

Acts may be added at the last minute, but so far the music roster includes regional ruffians Deep Down Low, Demented Disc, Vernon's Machine, Freedom Cage, Core, recent Zetafest local-stage headliner Purge, the Livid Kittens, Necrophiles, Chicken Box, and J.C. Riley with Scott Putesky (former guitarist for Marilyn Manson). The bevy of bands will take over Dicey Riley's and the Poor House in Himmarshee Village, and local artists will exhibit their wares in the clubs.

Holmes sees the event as a step toward fostering more interaction between like-minded artists in town and even collaborations between painters and musicians.

"We don't have as much collaboration within the visual arts," explains Holmes. "I run into so much apathy among local artists, and they don't realize that there's so much out there for them. If we can get people creating and have other people watching it... I find that artists tend to feed off of each other, and ideas grow. We want to create an artistic carnival atmosphere and just bring all this creative energy all together at once."