INFO:
Lucid was founded in 1998 by Salena Ugalde, (and a few others). They performed several shows until 2000, including the City Hall show for the Burning Man street party. The dot-commie take-over forced them to move out of the city and Lucid was on hold for 2 years. Salena returned from Thailand in late 2000, and Adrian in 2002. Lucid has performed several shows with varied guests; however, it has been difficult finding the right dynamic of core musicians, (especially a permanent cellist and violinist).
Present members include: (original member) Salena, (songwriting on keyboards, eclectic tribal percussion, vocals, lyrics and fire/candle-dance and sometimes strange dance/ritual/performance, costume design, photo art, video editing, and as of now, video projection design and website development); (original), Adrian Plamondon, (vocals, lyrics, performance and dance); Krystl Chamber, joined in 2001: (vocals, lyrics, percussion and ritualistic performance), and Aaron Goldstein who, in 2003, started off as a guest tribal percussionist, (mallets and toms), website contributor/ updater and helped with booking; he has done far too much to be called a guest now including: bass, vocals/ritual in their Goth Opera, (see below), recording most of their new CD, and providing the equipment to do so. These four, along with Maria-5, performed a preview of their new Goth Opera ritual piece, “The Forgotten Magick”, in addition to their set at Studio Z on 2/11/04. The performance is based on deep symbolism, ancient lore and Pagan faerie magick and is the first of its kind within the project; (music by Salena: a blend of Medieval Opera music with some operatic and unique singing styles; story by Adrian and Salena with help from all). The complete performance will be on the Summer Solstice, location as of yet unknown. Mike MacKevitt also regularly guests with them on sitar. Lucid’s other music and performance styles range from Classical to Psychedelic Industrial, Butoh, Circus, ethereal and more. Information on these events will be posted as soon as confirmed),
OUR MESSAGE:
Our vision with this project has always been to blur the lines between live music, dance, art and "ritual theater" or soulful performance art. Lucid creates an alternate reality on stage and takes the audience "somewhere else", much like in the dream state, like a live collage with music.. We believe that music and sound has the ability to heal and with the state of the world today, it can only help. We have many messages-some more obscure than others. One being: Don't be afraid to be who you really are, in fact, there's really no need for fear at all. We are dedicated to our cause and believe it is important to stay in tune with universal energies and when we perform, we like to psychically connect with our audience on a deep level. Thru our music, we attempt to open people's mind to new experiences.
* LIGHT * COLOR * MOVEMENT * SOUND *
Members of Lucid have been studying and playing music anywhere from 10-25+ years. Of the 4 original members: Salena Ugalde, Albert Garcia, Adrian Plamondon and Maneli Keshavarzi, only two remain, Adrian and I, (Salena). Adrian has 20+ years trained singing including Opera, arias, Ava Marias and more. She has a full vocal range that is incredibly rich and diverse. I started playing music at the age of 4, learning from one of my mom's cool hippie roommates named Buzz. I started taking piano lessons at 5, did concertos from about 12-14 years old and became a member of the NPPA American College of Musicians. That was about the age that I decided I needed something more-I got my first analog Mini Moog. My mother was a true hippie and instilled in me the deep spiritual beliefs, creative arts, magic and Rock-n-Roll,(Pink Floyd and Bowie were my strongest influences). She, in a sense, kept those channels open in me that most parents tend to inhibit. Most of my friends have/had parents that have blocked the growth of their true talents and many didn't know they even had talent until they became adults. I was fortunate. My mother taught me all she new of her strongest art form, collage. Since I was a child she taught me and I find I use those compositional skills by doing collage in every aspect of Lucid. It's all a collage! The sounds and textures I layer endlessly, the images, colors and lights, the voices with all; I involve everyone in this layering process. We are a lot like a moving collage-with our prop and sometimes costume changes, different people on each song, our changing lights, (colored, UV and candle), and projections. Like a painting with sounds coming out! Each person involved contributes their creative insights and create their own parts. We have one other permanent member, Krystl Chamber from Galaxxy Chamber. Krystl has been singing in Galaxxy Chamber for 10 years and has an extremely original voice. She joined Lucid in 2001. I do fire-dancing for Galaxxy Chamber and played percussion in the band from 94-95 and from 2000-2003.
Lucid was born in the New Moon House, a collective from the 70's. We lost the house due to the dot-com take-over/crash on 11/11/1999, (check out that numerical line-up!). Everyone moved away temporarily-(Adrian to Mexico for 2 years and I went to Thailand-I learned to do fire poi while I was there). I wasn't going to let Lucid die- it was to be my life's work. Yet I was forced to halt the project for 1-2 years. We had already recorded our first CD, but when I returned, Lucid had problems reassembling properly. My keyboards got erased and we couldn't find people who weren't flaky to join. Eventually it all erupted when conflicts of interests started becoming more pronounced and 2 original members left the band. At this point, Adrian came back and everything had changed. But these ‘deaths’ allowed for ‘rebirths’ and expansion in all directions. Now the music has changed dramatically. Our first CD entitled,”Enter Dreamtime,” has a slower, more ethereal vibe. We've now picked up the pace a bit. The music is a bit more driving. We are recording our new CD, “Time to Awaken,” which will be released on the Beltaine- May 1st.
We have had difficulties in finding a cellist and/or violinist who likes our eccentric styles and is willing to play without compensation, while we try to rebuild our following. We had only been together for one and a half years before we had to split up, so our following was just starting to build. The first year or so, back in early 2001-2002, had been rough. We were down to 2 members, Salena and Krystyl and 1 guest-Mike, who played sitar for one of our shows. I've performed alone before with fire and I had a one-night only one woman band-keys and industrial/tribal drums for Circus X, an underground circus I was a part of for 10 months. It felt lonely, I didn't really like it much, but at least I knew I could do it. So I decided as long as I had at least one other person, I could put on a show. I performed one show in 98 with only one member of Lucid as well. I've seen many musical projects with only 2 people that sounded great, such as Loop Station. However, I prefer having a full ensemble. We've gotten by with my keyboards being the only music source besides percussion and vocals because of my layering and looping techniques, (8-track sequencer). I can make it sound rounded, but we need the live strings. I rarely play the keys live because 1) I enjoy composing in multi-layers and; 2) I prefer to dance, sing, drum and do performance art live.
Like life, Lucid goes through many changes and cycles, yet some things that stay the same. The project is very fluid and multidimensional, it is constantly mutating, taking on many forms. I always say, "You will never see the same show twice.” We are not into merely "entertaining” others, rather, we are giving a piece of ourselves, while channeling essences and energies from the dreamworld and other dimensions, into real-time. Like the Aboriginals, we believe that dreamtime and real-time are equally important. We strive to express our dreams and visions in our performance, music and lyrics.
We have many messages, (we even have a song called Message which is actually a message from someone else!) some more obscure than others. One of these is: Allow change, death and rebirth to happen. Don't settle for a mundane life that is unfulfilling and never live in fear of actualizing your dreams or being true to yourselves. We believe in the light and dark, since they obviously both exist and are both necessary (yin and yang, night and day). It's all about the contrast. When we perform, we like to create a magical and exotic environment, (lighting effects, alters, projections, hand-made costumes and props) and we seek to express our artistic and musical ideas as one. Let us take you to a magical place. Welcome to dreamtime, and let your dreams become Lucid!
(I switch from "we" to "I" because much of my vision is shared by all).
LIGHT COLOR MOVEMENT SOUND
I Salena (founder of Lucid), believe in the endless possibilities of creating a world of all our own personal worlds combined. We strive toward the group mind, utilizing the best potential of all who are involved with Lucid. We create an all encompassing show; I call it "environmental performance". We can create a variety of different vibes or atmospheres such as Ceremonial/Ritual, Dayglo/Butoh, Tribal Afro-Celtic/Industrial, Classical, Space/Psychedelic, Euro/Circus, Goth/Opera, Ethereal, Indian/Mid East blends and more. We tend to blur the lines between ancient past, present and futuristic styles, and have influences from all over the globe. I like to delve deep into the past to the richly romantic yet savage Medieval/Gothic Classical and merge with the eclectic/psychedelic rock of today and the obscure sounds of the future. We have leaned away from the sort of heavier circus vibe and into more of a Tribal Gothic vibe with a Psychedelic twist. We also incorporate many cultural blends, as our tastes vary widely.
Our shows are unconventional, yet not offensive. All ages are welcome (unless of course the venue has age restrictions). We are available to perform at art shows, clubs, bars, parties (even corporate), dance studios, outdoor festivals, etc. For evening performances, I also do some ritual fire and candle dancing.
I've always said, "I don't really want a traditional band set-up of guitar, bass, drum kit and lead singer.” I prefer exotic and orchestra instruments, as well as more harmony in the vocals and alternative/organic percussion. Despite this preference, however, I decided as long as the instruments were played exotically or sounded unique, I would be open to bass and guitar on some songs. Aaron's use of the bow on his bass has helped tremendously with our lack of a cellist. Soon Adrian will be introducing some guitar. I've been working on some new songs with my autoharp, which will be ready for our May 1st Beltaine show we are planning. We are looking for more yang musicians/performers, as we have predominately been too yin in the past.
There are 2 musicians who have been regular guests with us: Mike McKevitt on Sitar, and Aaron Goldstein on Bass (with bow on some songs), and tribal drumming. Aaron also has a part in our new Gothic Opera Ritual Theatre piece called, "The Forgotten Magick". We have had many guest drummers, dancers, musicians and theatre/circus performers, (stilt walkers, puppets, fire) and are always looking for more. We would like to work with performers interested in expressing the songs thru dance and performance. We are also interested in a contact juggler and any other mystical circus acts or talents.
OUR HELPERS:
Photography: Tom Houston (35mm), Joel Hood (digital images), and a few random shots by miscellaneous others
Website: Maintained by Aaron Goldstein and Joel Hood; content created by Salena with help from others
WHAT WE NEED:
Musicians: Lucid is currently seeking an eclectic cellist and/or violinist with experience; however, I'm open to other exotic stringed instruments such as the zither, mandolin, etc. We've incorporated accordion, harp, cello and violin into past performances and recordings. We also need another dynamic tribal/industrial drummer/percussionist who can also play loud and soft Hand drums on select songs, as well as big sounding drums w/mallets and other original sounding alternative percussion is preferred (metal, gongs, odd cultural instruments and sound effects a plus!). We have varied guest performers and are open to new ones all the time. Males preferred to balance-we need more yang! If you enjoy the music and would like to supply your talent by the addition of a diverse sound, please contact us! (Salena: 415-252-1275).
Performers: We are looking for dancers who like to experiment, express the songs creatively, and are good with costumes. Call for details.
Visuals: We are always looking for new lighting effects, especially live choreography and projection artists.
Patrons: Calling all patrons of the arts! We need your support. We are currently looking for anyone interested in managing, promoting and/or booking. We need dedicated individuals who have business skills & connections. We need funding for touring places like Europe, New Zealand and other eccentric places; also towards a professional recording / rehearsal space, set design and compensated performances.. The unique shows that we do require many components to truly deliver a most inspiring production. I envision this project growing with many people involved, harmoniously working together like parts of a brain or an elaborate machine. Eventually, we would like to have our own performance space as we work our way towards achieving a growing amount of success. We all consistently work hard towards making our goal a reality. Salena devotes 40 hours or more each week to Lucid, often leaving little time for a paying job. We are all tired of working stressful jobs that consume most of our days which take away from the project that we are so dedicated to..
Lucid will be available to book shows starting late May 2004. Please call Salena at (415) 252-1275 for booking info.
Thank you for your interest and support!