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Joel Mellin
Joel Mellin is a Queens-based multidisciplinary artist whose exploratory career has taken him from NASA space science engineering to studying with the musicians in the remote villages of Bali, Indonesia. He is a composer, musician, sound artist, installation artist, visual artist, and instrument builder. Since 2008, he has studied Balinese music with Gamelan Dharma Swara in NYC, and the group now regularly performs his composition, Synesthesia. His work has been performed in the US at the Smithsonian Institute (DC), the Princeton Festival (NJ), the Chocolate Factory Theater, The Kitchen, Ronald Feldman Gallery, Hartwick College, Adelphi University, and the Gershwin Hotel (NY). Internationally, his work has been performed in London (UK) and at the Dublin Fringe and Dublin Dance Festivals (IE). He has collaborated with the performance artists Faurot/Paulson, dancer/choreographer Jodi Melnick, The Liz Roche Dance Company, Adelphi University, and the Czech-based sound artist and instrument builder, Martin Janicek.
Bob Holmes
Bob Holmes started his performing career in college when attending the Rhode Island School of Design. While everyone else was trying to emulate the success of recent RISD graduates, the Talking Heads, Bob and his bandmates thought the best way to break with tradition was to start an old timey punk bluegrass band, aptly titled Blind Gary and the Foggy Vision Boys. Thus started Bob’s love and appreciation of off-kilter Americana, cowboy and country western music. That same spirit fueled his subsequent band, Rubber Rodeo, which has been credited as a founder of the 1980’s country punk movement. They were also recognized as music video pioneers, gathering one of the first Grammy nominations for the band’s early video work. As a producer and mixer, Bob went on to work with artists including David Bowie, k d lang, Treat Her Right and Nils Lofgren. Bob continued to explore visual as well as music design with his recent project, the ambient country band SUSS, known for their cross-pollination of Eno and Ennio (Brian and Morricone, respectively). SUSS’s subsequent albums “High Line” and “Promise” on Northern Spy Records ended up on many Ambient Top 10 lists for 2019 and 2020. Since that time, SUSS has released 3 EPS, “Night Suite”, “Heat Haze” and “Winter Was Hard” and a double vinyl self-titled album “SUSS” all in 2022.
Christopher Romero
Christopher Romero has been playing music since the age of 7 in styles including concert band, classical, Hindustani, post-punk, experimental, ethiopique, and much gamelan. In 1992 he led Gamelan Sekar Jaya on drums during a tour of Bali. Rock bands in Toronto played that town's leading venues. In 2000 after moving to New York he was named Executive Director of Gamelan Dharma Swara and helped build the group to the point that it mounted a triumphant tour of Bali in 2010. Meanwhile he played electronic percussion with The Code International while arranging some of Mulatu Astatke's compositions for that group. Theatrically he has worked on pieces that featured the music of BIll Spencer, Mahabharnata featuring dalang (shadow puppeteer) I Wayan Wija (with Mabou Mines in NYC), Wayang Jataka (with I Gusti Sudarta and Andy McGraw), and CVRTAIN a VR piece he developed and designed for the Coil Theater Festival in NYC. He played kendang (hand drums) in the Wayang Batel style with Mega Surya. He is also a published poet and photographer.