Arts DEVOté

I WISH YOU WERE MY DAD If a 5-year-old’s pop draws coloring books and sings in a rap trio, it’s a lock that he’s going to win the kindergartner -with-the -raddest-dad award. Cohen Morano’s parents, Meka and Aye Jay (creator of the Gangsta Rap Coloring Book and Indie Rock Connect-the-dots and one-third of the Becky Sagers rap crew), might have to soon give up a little radness cred to their artist offspring.

With the help of his dad, Cohen has been taking part in an ongoing art project, collaborating with some of the hottest underground artists in the country, adding his visual interpretations to pieces they send to him (check the www.fecalface.com blog site for samples). One of these collaborators, Travis Millard, graphic artist and head of Fudge Factory Comics, asked Cohen to provide art for a line of skateboard decks he was curating, and the new Cohen Morano “Monster Board” has just been released by Foundation Skateboards.

Congrats, Cohen. Now can you make a flier for my band?

Visit Foundation online at www.foskco.com and check out Millard’s work at www.fudgefactorycomics.com

MAKING WATER Call me an anti-nature, pro-concrete fool, but I friggin’ love the look of the new downtown park. The huge ground-level fountain is breathtaking, the lighting surrounding the plaza is gorgeous and the concrete planter borders offer plenty of open spots to enjoy lunch while people-watching in a clean, open, European-style plaza. Sure, there’s no shade yet in this one square block of Chico, but I hear Bidwell Park’s got some trees now if you’re jonesing for cover.

GET IT ON Banging a gong has to be cathartic, and apparently it can also provide a more sustained experience. On Sun., Nov. 12, at 7 p.m. at Blue Lotus Yoga & Wellness, “sound pioneer” Richard Rudis will strike the “sound of the primordial AUM—the Universal Chord” during a live Gong Bath performance. Tickets are $20, and pre-registration is appreciated: 895-YOGA.

For hardcore gonging though, check Bay Area experimental musician Karen Stackpole’s heavy metal collection at www.myspace.com/karenstackpole.

SONIC YOUTHS Speaking of music—and lot of people around town are speaking of music, and music venues—there are some great examples of young folk creating and running dedicated music spaces around the country, and it’s about time Chico music folks made a run at doing the same. Visit and learn: Vera in Seattle (www.theveraproject.org); The Firehouse in North Manchester, Ind. (www.thefirehouse.net); The All-Ages Movement Project (www.allagesmovementproject.org).

WEEKLY DEVOTIONS • First exhibition at the new Crux Arts location (1421 Park Ave.): B/W photos by Kyle Delmar. Opening reception, Fri., Nov. 3, 6-10 p.m.

• Lou Reed at Chico State’s Laxson Auditorium, Sun, Nov. 5, 7:30 p.m. Tickets: 898-6333.

• Student-Directed One Acts at Chico State’s Wismer Theatre, Nov. 8-11, 7 p.m., with 2 p.m. matinees Nov. 11 and 12. Tickets: (530) 898-6333.

Jason Cassidy is a former CN&R arts editor and current calendar editor, and is on the board of the 1078 Gallery.