"Epic" Apartment Complex Begins Phase 2 in North San Jose

A 769 unit apartment project on River Oaks Parkway in North SJ is starting it's second phase. This will add 289 new units to the 280 that already under construction and are expected to start leasing in May 2013. No news on when the third and final phase is estimated to start. All of the units are either studios, 1 bedroom, or 2 bedrooms. The entire project is going to cost $192M.

This along with the many other massive apartment projects in the area will help us get toward the density we need in North San Jose in order to justify pedestrian-oriented retail and expanded transit.

Source: SJBJ

A10 Networks Has a New San Jose HQ

A10 Networks is an application networking company that was recently named the 2nd fastest-growing private company in Silicon Valley. They have just moved into a new North San Jose Headquarters at 3 W. Plumeria Drive. The office is 79,800 sqft--double the size of their previous home--and with the new space comes additional headcount. They are planning to hire over 100 new workers over the next year. It's always great news to hear about additional workers in San Jose, especially denser areas with transit like North San Jose.

Source: SJBJ

Saturday Stats: San Jose Area Tops US Pay by Huge Margin

The private sector in the San Jose area is on fire right now. I have done quite a few Saturday stats proclaiming how our salaries have nudged out other regions such as New York and San Francisco. However, today I'm not just going to tell you that our salaries are the top in the nation... no, I'm going to tell you that they are higher by a substantial and perhaps even dramatic margin.

For private sector jobs, average pay in New York is $63,400. For our neighbors in San Francisco pay sits at $64,800. The runner up, Bridgeport-Stamford, Connecticut, raked in $76,700 per private sector employee.

San Jose? A staggering $85,100 average salary per private sector worker. This is substantially higher than last year's record breaking number, which was also set by San Jose: $75,800.

Now the challenge is going to be keeping as much of that money as possible invested in San Jose instead of having all that wealth being handed to other communities outside of Santa Clara County.

Source: SJBJ

Nanosolar Prints Out $70M

A hot San Jose greentech company that specializes in printing solar sheets that are as thin as aluminum foil has just grabbed a cool $70M in their latest round. Not only are they producing the thinnest solar "panels" around, but they also claim to have the least expensive in the world. Perhaps one day you'll even see these types of panels outside of the residential/commercial energy space. I could see wrapping handheld electronics, laptops, cars, and even airplanes with this tech.

Source: SJBJ

Bay Area Native, Alexandra Starlight Returns to Perform At Streetlight Records

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

"Alexandra Starlight bears the lucky distinction of being as captivating as she is talented. Her singing style rivals the greats like Tina Turner and Janis Joplin. And she's got the swagger of a thousand men.”- Guitar World Magazine
 
On Saturday, August 4th Alexandra & The Starlight Band will perform at San Jose’s Streetlight Records alongside San Jose local Stock Foto. The show will be in support of Alexandra’s latest release, Alexandra & The Starlight Band, which already has critics buzzing, hailing the gritty & sultry songstress as the new, 21st century Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll.

Along with CD, Alexandra & The Starlight Band is being released in a never-before-made combination of clear vinyl/rainbow glitter, each painstakingly custom made & hand numbered. Entirely crowd-funded, the release garnered an overwhelming response on the creative platform Kickstarter—resulting in over 205% funding and the limited edition 7” being nearly sold out, months before its release.

For this recording, Alexandra Starlight worked at Henson Studios in Los Angeles alongside Bob Cutarella (Paul McCartney, Alice Cooper, Madonna, Joss Stone, Keith Richards), engineer Paul LaMalfa (Brian Wilson, Colbie Caillat, Sheryl Crow, Loretta Lynn, Mariah Carey), Kevin Mills (Michael Bublé, Tom Morello, Céline Dion, No Doubt, Bruce Springsteen, Velvet Revolver, Gwen Stefani) and Lena Horne’s former band leader, Lou Forestieri (Tori Amos).

"Rushes through the speakers and has all the strength and emotion of Motown’s finest, but also bears its soul with the intimacy of a Southern gospel record...then, Starlight’s smoldering vocals kick in. And I try to pick my jaw up off the floor. It’s just that good." -Guitar World Magazine

Sonically, the 5 song EP presents a fresh spin on classic American music; hearkening back to the golden period in the 1970’s when rock ‘n’ rollers were looking to the sounds of Motown, R&B, funk and soul for inspiration. In the swinging “Without My Sunshine,” Starlight muses on the proverbial calm after navigating a stormy sea of heartache, with a bittersweet sense of gratitude, set to the sounds of gospel backing vocals and a classic Stax Records style horn section. Yet Starlight stands strong and never plays the victim; in the funky & heavy-hitting “T.T.M.F.” she trash-talks her two-timing ex-lover, positioning herself as the victor in her own superhero-esque survivor theme song. The result is a collection of songs that are at once triumphant and vulnerable, introspective and searching, strong and sassy.

"The moment Alexandra belts out her first syllable the audience is under her control. The band stands out partly because their sound is hard to explain, think white Tina Turner, with some Janis Joplin and Joan Jett thrown in for good measure." - Desert Star Weekly Newspaper

Alexandra Starlight’s live show matches the intensity of the songs, earning her a reputation as an artist to watch. She has played alongside artists such as Semi-Precious Weapons, Kate Nash, Trixie Whitley, Intronaut, Jhene Aiko, Vanaprasta, Harriet & Black Math Horseman, at notable venues such as The Troubadour, Hotel Café & The Satellite. Earlier this year, she performed at SXSW for a showcase curated by the Miles Davis family.

For more information visit:

http://www.alexandraband.com

Review: "One-Man Lord of the Rings" @ The San Jose Rep

Last night my husband and I attended Charles Ross' show, "One-Man Lord of the Rings" - an intense, energetic, mind-warping adventure through the full Lord of the Rings trilogy now playing at The San Jose Repertory Theatre.

Last year we saw Ross' "One-Man Star Wars", (actually, our second time seeing it), and loved it and were excited to hear he had another show and would possibly be coming back to San Jose to perform it.

So... before I get into any kind of review, I have to admit something. I haven't seen all three movies from beginning to end. I've seen the first movie and bits and pieces of the rest. I am familiar with key aspects, characters, names, and plots. I was a wee ashamed of this as the show began, however after the first movie, Ross did a quick poll of the audience:

• Who has seen all three movies? (Applause! Excitement!)
• Who has seen all three extended edition movies? (Hardly could tell, but slightly less and yet still excited applause!)
• Who has seen all three extended movies in one day? (A much smaller collection of enthusiastic fans including my husband, applauded, hands above head. Pride, baby.)
• Who has read the books? (Lots of applause!)
• Who has not seen the movies? (Clap clap clap… laughter.)
• Who has not read the books or seen the movie?  (Someone clapped, lots of laughter.)

After the last question, Ross joked saying he didn't know what that person was going to get out of the show. "It's like trying to teach my cat checkers." (*giggle*)

Anyway, because of that poll I felt a wee bit better. And, mind you, earlier in the day my husband, Adam, gave me a complete rundown of the trilogy/story and that HELPED A LOT. 

That said, because this show is much different than others I've reviewed before (one actor, no set, not a musical, no costumes..etc) I'm going to interview my husband to get his take on the show. 

His "credentials"? He's a huge fan of LOTR; he's read the books, watched the movies endless times, AND attended the all-day theatre screening of all extended versions of the movie. Also, as Ross' show was going on, I'd glance over at Adam and he was in full crazy laughter mode. This show was soooo for him.

Q: What are some points of the show you found particularly entertaining?

A: His breaks of the 4th wall were very funny and I liked his mentioning of changing the discs in each movie. His interpretation of Legolas was the funniest (brushing long hair, pinning hair up, blow-drying hair.) His depiction of Denethor (extended eating scene) was hilarious and he had a few impression/mentions of other pop culture movies that was a great touch.

Q: Best geeky moment during this show?

A: It was awesome that he paid tribute to the fanboys of the series by mentioning Tom Bombadil and The Silmarillion. ("Google it.")

Q: Is there anything you didn't like or found difficult to understand about the show?

A: The large scale battle scenes were difficult to follow even for someone who has seen all of the movies multiple times because he was doing the sound effects as well as the voices. (Jen's note: Yet, it's clear how insanely talented Ross is by being able to jump from one sound effect to the next!)

Q: Final thoughts on the show?

A: It was a very funny and entertaining representation of all three movies.  Although to fully appreciate and follow along with the shows, I think one must have seen the extended versions of the DVD's.

------

So there you go! I really enjoyed the show and was laughing throughout the entire thing. Charles Ross performs as 42 characters (42!) in a 60-minute show. Insanity!

Oh and get this - he performed it infront of Sir Ian McKellan (Gandalf) and he loved it!

Grab your tickets FAST as there are only SIX shows left!

San Jose Repertory Theatre

www.sjrep.com

Show Dates:

Wednesday, July 25: 7:30pm

Thursday, July 26: 8:00pm

Friday, July 27: 8:00pm

Saturday, July 28: 3:00pm

Saturday, July 28: 8:00pm

Sunday, July 29: 2:00pm

Wednesday Wishlist: Smaller Spaces Downtown

Think Bigger San Jose has a great post about Downtown San Jose needing smaller spaces. Most of the available retail Downtown is gigantic, ranging from 1,500 sqft all the way up to 10,000 sqft. This is not very well aligned with the demand right now in the local retail space. Mark cites Japantown as a San Jose retail success story because it has availability of smaller spaces as "cozy" as 300 sqft. The one example of smaller retail space Downtown is The San Pedro Square Market, and it has been a raging success.

This also extends to residential living. The cost of housing in San Jose is astronomical, especially for students and young professionals. We need smaller residential spaces Downtown along with appropriately scaled down rents. I'm totally aligned with Mark on this one and if I had the money and resources to put up a high-rise of my own up right now, the top item on my list would be a Micro-condo building. None exist in the South Bay and it would open up the housing and rental markets to a whole new group of people and possibilities.

To read Mark's post in Think Bigger San Jose, click here!

July 2012 Downtown Dimension Highlights

Here are my notes from the latest edition of Downtown Dimension:

• Property owners Downtown have overwhelmingly voted to continue Groundwerx cleaning, ambassador, and beautification program for another 10 years. 91.4% of owners voted to continue and expand the program! [Groundwerx has the highest return on investment of any Downtown program I can rememberfdsa
• Sunday, Dec. 9th will be the first Silicon Valley Santa 5K run. It will start in the late afternoon so that participants can end their race among all the Christmas lights Downtown.
• The SJDA is launching "HER city" which will offer after-work events catered specifically for women Downtown (www.sjdowntown.com/hercity)
• The Aug. 3 and Sep 7 South First Fridays will feature an urban faire to go along with the art walk.
• A joint SJDA and 1stACT Silicon Valley "Small Wonders Fund" will provide seed money for up to 18 new Downtown activation ideas between June 2012 and June 2013.
• Cre Paris is now open at the San Pedro Square Market.
• Cafe Bon Terre (formerly Whipps) will continue to server frozen yogurt but has also added crepes to the menu.
• Zenon's Place is now open at 167 E. San Fernando and will serve Peruvian and Mexican Dishes.
• Dosa & Curry Cafe is now open at 345 S. Fourth St.
• Third and Fourth streets are being repainted with "buffered" bike lanes. Almaden, Grant, 10th St., and 11th St will be getting new bike lanes as well.
• San Fernando St. will be getting a green-painted bike lane.
• A Bike Share program featuring 15 stations and 150-200 bikes will be kicking off this fall!
• For the second year, Downtown San Jose will receive a $600,000 grant from ArtPlace. This year it will support the "Illuminating Downtown" program which will feature futuristic artistic lighting throughout Downtown [sweet!]
• Violent Crime Stats - Violent Crimes Per 1000 Residents:
• Oakland - 16.83
• Sacramaento - 7.11
• San Francisco - 6.59
• Los Angeles - 5.22
• San Jose - 3.35

To read the full newsletter, click here!