Fistful of Fingers

Rock4aCure

Hey, Rachel speaking!

Rock4aCure, for those of you who don’t know, was a cancer research benefit concert that took place at the Great Neck Library’s Levels teen center, this past April 12th. For those of you who could not make it, it was really a blast and based on the turnout and the reaction of the crowd, there will DEFINITELY be a Rock4aCure 2009 on the way.

Just wanted to thank everybody who played at Rock4aCure, everybody who came, everybody who donated, and everybody who helped make it happen. Even though we didn’t raise as much as I had hoped that we would, I still think that this concert was the proudest moment of my life. I cannot even lie about that, I truly have never been prouder than I was when I got up on that levels stage and made my dream a reality. 

I won’t bore you with details of the long hours and careful planning over months and months that went into the production of this concert. I will tell you that it took more out of me than anything I’ve ever done before, but in the end, the smiles of the people in the crowd truly made it worthwhile.

After the concert, i told a friend of mine why the concert truly was a success. It wasn’t the sheer awesomeness of the bands, or even the money raised. It was the smile on one girl’s face. perhaps it was the first time she had ever been to levels. Perhaps she had only come for one band, perhaps she didn’t even buy a cd tonight. But during a performance, something told me to glance over to this girl. As I took my eyes off the result of so many months of hard work and planning, I saw something better than music. It was the face of joy. Joy that music had brought to her, joy that I helped bring. It was like a little miracle to my inexperienced eyes. It may have been the first time that I truly understood how music can make a life worth living, outside of the frame of my own mirror. I finally understood how I wasn’t responsible for the true beauty that this concert conveyed. It was the music. I suppose it has been all along.

Once again, I’d like to thank everybody for their contributions to the concert, and I want to let everybody who is reading this right now know that if we never open our eyes, we will never see. There is no way to make our dreams come true if we don’t get a little bit crazy. And most importantly, when your heart tells you to take your eyes off the big picture, it could make all the difference in the world. Sometimes the smaller picture is what makes the music worth making and our lives worth living.

Please, I ask all my readers, never feel like you can’t make something happen. In our open world and open eyes, everything is visible, everything is possible, and everything we do and see brings us closer to what we need. 

 

Thank you.

Rachel Marks

Ben Paints? WTF?!

This was one of my first paintings.  The different colors are supposed to be ideas and originality and they are trapped in a cage. The ideas are breaking out of the cage and are about to run rampant.  It is a spin on the phrase “Think outside the box.

One of my favorite paintings.  The idea of the painting is that the white represents the spirits traveling on the River Styx to Hades or Hell.  Can you see the naked lady? ô_O

Tulsa spelled backwards is “a slut”. Tulsa is what i call the jappy obnoxious girls in my school.  The idea of the painting is that the different colors are fighting for the center of attention.

I made this painting when I felt like I was all alone.  I felt like no one understood me so i painted this to reflect my feelings.  The white stick figures are all the same black and white wearing the same ties and have their eyes and mouths shut.  The yellow is in his own background and has his eyes and mouth open.

random levels 2

Fred not here

Fred is a king. there are many kings. like Kris Bauman. and Kris Bauman. and lets not forget the other king…Kris Bauman. Also Kris Bauman and Kris Bauman

Kris Bauman is as cool as Jesus

If I could be any person I wanted to it would be Kris Bauman followed by Kris Bauman

I respect Kris Bauman

Kris Bauman’s real name is Kris Bauman

I will probably name my child Kris Bauman

I wish Kris Bauman was Beetlejuice so I can say his name three times and he would appear….. Kris Bauman Kris Bauman Kris Bauman

Kris’s last name means mason man

Kris Bauman is a gentlemen of the highest caliber

Kris Bauman likes Luftkissenfahrzeugs

Denysson’s First Post

Hey everybody, my name is Denysson Arboleda and I have been coming to Levels since 2004, so its been around 4 years. I’ve been in a lot of Levels shows, shows that I have been involved in were Cabaret, The Children’s Hour, Aida, Jekyll and Hyde, Gypsy, A Doll’s House, Tommy, and now Little Shop of Horrors! The show that was sad to end was Tommy because it was the last show for my friends Danielle Garcia, Erica Hill, Rachel Wolfsohn and Crystal Estey. Let me tell you people of how I met these girls. I remember when I first came to Levels in ‘04, I met Danielle Garcia. Our friendship grew stronger and stronger each year and at last we became great friends during the show, Tommy and I’m glad that happened. After that, I think that the second person I met was Erica Hill. I learned that she was a nice, funny person. As time went by, we became good friends and we still are, even though she’s at college. Next, I became friends with Rachel, who is caring and loving. She cares about Levels and her friends and that’s what I like about her. Crystal became an awesome friend to me after the show, Tommy, and she did a great job in the show. Having friends like these girls help me become a much better person than I was 4 years ago because before I came to Levels, I didn’t have much friends. Time is running out for me cause I’m almost on my way to college but I will try to make my time at Levels the best. Having friends is better than having no friends. Levels is like a home to me because of the great, nice people I have met and I’ll probably put up a second post so bye for now! Levels rocks!

 

-Denysson Arboleda

 

This post was written on Feb. 16, 2008 

Battle of the Sexes

Last Friday, Levels hosted battle of the sexes. Check out these pics of high-heel races, Drawing contests…and the staff looking really, really thrilled about some nastiness they’re eating.Also check out the dancetastic video!

Spark Video from Feb 2nd!

Improv, Stand-up, and Fall-down

old skool Spark Videos

Tyree and Benny Wii!

Other photos from Spark