RetailNext is Expanding in Downtown San Jose

RetailNext is a "big data" startup that has just raised an extra $15M and is about to sign a lease for a new space Downtown. They will be doubling their footprint from around 8,000 SQFT to between 15,000 and 16,000 SQFT. Their CEO said they like it Downtown, and cited the improving restaurant scene, proximity to the airport and hotels, and how affordable it is compared to other business districts in the Valley.

With the larger office comes more jobs. They are expecting to add 15-20 more people to the current 50-person team over the next year or year-and-a-half.

A smart strategy for Downtown would be catering more towards startups like RetailNext that could grow in San Jose as opposed to trying to hook the largest fish in the ocean with whole-building leases. We already have tons of incubators and organizations like NextSpace Downtown, plenty of infrastructure, and some success stories like Pinger and Intacct. These companies are the future of Silicon Valley, so I hope to see many more of them making Downtown their home.

Source: SVBJ

Doctor Faustus is Playing at The Rep

A World Premiere Adaptation of Marlowe's Classic

Experience the fantastical world of "Medieval punk" (think Steampunk, but Medieval instead of Victorian) in this re-imagined adaptation of The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus.

This world premiere adaptation of Marlowe's Faust conjures a darkly bawdy, delightfully mischievous world using stylized, state-of-the art stagecraft, and leading-edge light and sound gadgetry to spirit the viewer right out of this world – projections, shadow puppets, life-size cage puppets, and actors playing multiple roles, sometimes simultaneously. All of the normally hidden aspects of a play will take place on stage – you'll see the stagehands and wardrobe folks, costumes changed, and props provided, making this not just the telling of a great story, but of how the story is told. If you love theatre that tells bvc a great story while pushing boundaries and demonstrating how theatrical theatre can be, this is one you will want to see.

Bold, ambitious, and stirring... Brandt has become a disciplined and inventive theatrical storyteller. -- San Diego Union-Tribune

Click here for tickets.

TWO BUCK Tuesday Tonight at KALEID

from Phantom Galleries by PG

Join us at KALEID Gallery for this upcoming TWO BUCK Tuesday, May 21st, 7pm-10pm!

Come enjoy an inspired evening of performances, live painting, $2 art, drop-in sketching table & quirky people get together! It’s open to all ages and free!

Here are some of of the participating artists who will be joining us this time:


Artists Murphy Adams and Christine Benjamin whose feature show “The Weird and the Wonderful” is up in the main gallery will be there doing collaborative drawings which they’ll have for sale. They’ll also be on hand to answer questions about their work. Each artist will start a drawing then switch, coming up with something completely unique in the spirit of the Exquisite Corpse.


This upcoming Two Buck, get a dose of the high fashion that will be featured at the Blitz Runway show that will be on the main stage of the upcoming 6th Annual SubZERO Festival!  Lacey Bryant, one of the collaborating artists for the fashion show, will be practicing some of the face paint techniques that we will be showcasing on the runway in exchange for donations! Help us put on this awesome event and get some cool designs on your face at the same time!


The San Jose Yarnbombers will be working on their upcoming yarnstorm.  Stop in and knit or crochet a 6 inch square and you can be a part of the action!  You can also help us stitch squares together into patchwork.  We'll bring the yarn, you bring your needles or hooks.  If you have squares to drop off, this would be a great time to bring them by, too!


Lara Sophia will host a meditation, yoga, martial arts themed drawing session.  Bring your sketch pads and draw folks in poses of concentration or take a turn posing yourself while others draw you.

Live Art By:

David Mejia

Erica Atreya

Jeff Bramschreiber

Nik Caesar

Felipe Jimenez

John Hageman

Al Preciado & friends
Enjoy Live Music By Rebelskamp!

TWO BUCK Tuesday is May 21st, 7pm-10pm!


88 South Fourth Street (@ San Fernando)
San Jose, CA 95112
info@KALEIDGallery.com
408-947-1785
Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, noon -7pm
Free admission

Is SXSW Coming to San Jose?

South by Southwest (SXSW) is an epic-sized event located in Austin that is part music festival and part tech conference. To give you and idea of scale, last year 300,000 people attended and it generated $190 million for the city of Austin. This is one of the largest events in the US. For some perspective, the largest show in Las Vegas is CES, it takes up millions and millions of square feet of event space, every hotel is booked and you can barely walk in the streets... it attracts about 150,000 people.

Well, I have some good news. It looks like Dan Pulcrano, the CEO of Metro Newspapers, wants to recreate something similar to SXSW in Downtown San Jose! Given his background with the San Jose Jazz Festival and Music in the Park, he might just be the person to pull it off. The new event is called Creative Convergence Silicon Valley (C2SV) and it is scheduled for September 26-29 this year at the newly remodeled San Jose Convention Center.

While it's not quite up to the scale on SXSW, it will be one heck of a start. Dan and the rest of the organizers are trying to book over 100 musical acts across 20 different venues! There will also be all sorts of tech events and exhibits, as well as keynote speeches from tech luminaries.

Given the timing of C2SV, there is also a chance that this could coincide with ZER01 in future years. How awesome would that be? See the tentative schedule below and the festival website over here.

Source: SVBJ (Requires Subscription)

Schedule

The 2013 C2SV schedule is shaping up very nicely, and we’ll have additions to add and announcements to make.

In the meantime, here are some highlights to calendar.

Thursday, September 26, 2013

C2SV Opening Party
First Night of Music

Friday, September 27, 2013

Keynote Speakers
Conference Sessions
Music at 20+ Venues
Expo at Convention Center

Saturday, September 28, 2013

Keynote Speakers
Conference Sessions
Music at 20+ Venues

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Final day
Closing Party

SWSW in Austin, Texas

C2SV Mockup

Cukui Collaboration with 49ers' QB Kaepernick

Last week you saw the photo of what the San Pedro Square Market looked like when the 49ers hosted their 2013 Draft Bash there, but there are other connections being made to San Jose as well. Cukui is a really cool clothing store in Japantown that embodies San Jose street art and culture. They approached 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick to see if he would be interested in a clothing line inspired by his tattoos. Kaepernick agreed and the new shirts shot up Cukui's business by 200-300%, with most of that being new customers. They are also one of the few pieces of 49ers gear designed and printed right here in San Jose.

To check out Cukui's online store, just click this link. You can also visit their retail location at 229 Jackson Street.

Source: SVBJ

Saturday Stats: #7... Worst Traffic in the US

Okay, so this week's stat is not exactly the most uplifting. With a thriving economy comes some additional traffic, but there is a bright side. This stat can help make the case for bettering our public transit system and it could actually be worse. There are six major cities with worse traffic, including NY, LA, and San Francisco:

Top 10 Worst Cities for Traffic in America, along with total annual hours wasted in traffic:

1. Los Angeles (59 hours)
2. Honolulu (50 hours)
3. San Francisco (49 hours)
4. Austin (38 hours)
5. New York (50 hours)
6. Bridgeport (39 hours)
7. San Jose (31 hours)
8. Seattle (35 hours)
9. Washington, D.C. (41 hours)
10. Boston (31 hours)

Also, San Jose and Austin were the only two cities that saw traffic increase last year (6% and 3% respectively), every other city had a slight drop in congestion. I don't think it is a coincidence that these are also the two cities whose economies performed extremely well in 2012. I'm hoping BART, highway improvements, and building housing closer to jobs (and vice versa) will help us get out of the top 10 for this stat.

Source: SVBJ, INRIX

Gordon Biersch 25th Anniversary “Big Bands, Brews & BBQ” Event

Just in case you haven’t yet heard, Gordon Biersch is celebrating their 25th anniversary year by hosting a “Big Bands, Brews & BBQ” event tomorrow, Sat, May 18 from 2-7 p.m. at their brewing and bottling facility at 357 East Taylor Street (not to be confused with the Gordon Biersch brewery restaurant in downtown San Jose).

I wrote an article about this event in this week’s Metro issue, which includes several quotes from Dan Gordon himself. Dan shared some other things as well. First, he talked enthusiastically about the trio of groups scheduled to perform at the anniversary bash, including:

• The San Jose Jazz Festival All Star Big Band featuring drummer Tommy Igoe and vocalist Kenny Washington at 2:30. Dan added, “Kenny is simply amazing and a regular performer at New York City’s Lincoln Center.”
• Pacific Mambo Orchestra – a 19-piece band led by pianist Christian Tumalan and trumpeter Steffen Kuehn at 4. Dan added, “They have to be one of the top five salsa groups out there."
• Carlos Reyes and his Super Group featuring Santana vocalist Tony Lindsay at 6. Dan shared, “Carlos is a virtuoso and plays Paraguayan harp and electric violin.”

Dan also talked about the risks taken in opening the brewery restaurant in downtown San Jose, back during some tough economic times; for instance, the brewpub at the location Gordon Biersch was taking over lasted just three months. Fortunately, Gordon Biersch has lasted much longer and has continued to call San Jose their home.

For ticket information for the 25th anniversary bash, click here.

Sake San Jose 2013

Japantown is going to host the 8th Annual Sake San Jose event on May 23rd, which benefits the Yu-Ai Kai Community Senior Service. If you want to sample a variety of sakes while checking out over 20 Japantown venues and listening to San Jose Taiko, now is the time to get your early bird tickets before the discount expires! More event info below:

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WHEN:	May 23, 2013 Registration – 4:30PM Opening Ceremony – 5:00PM Sake Tasting - 5:30PM-8:30PM
WHERE:	Japantown San Jose On Jackson Street Between 3rd and 7th Streets
TICKETS:	Early Bird – $40 until May 19, 2013 General Admission – $50 after May 19. 2013

Yu-Ai Kai’s 8th Annual Sake San Jose event will be held on Thursday, May 23, 2013 from 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM. Join the hundreds of sake tasters as they embark upon the streets of historic Japantown San Jose (on Jackson Street, between 3rd and 7th Streets) for one of the most anticipated fundraisers of the year.

This year’s opening ceremony will again feature a lively performance by the San Jose Taiko group followed by our guests of honor in a ceremonial sake cask breaking (Kagami-wari) and a toast of Kampai! More than 20 Japantown businesses will host a pouring station, where Yu-Ai Kai volunteers will offer samples of sake made both in Japan and the U.S.

Early Bird tickets are $40 when purchased by May 19th; $50 after May 19. There is also a VIP ticket for $60 which includes admission, a Horitaka design Year of the Snake T-shirt, and express check-in line at Registration.

New this year will be celebrities participating at various pouring stations. So don’t be surprised if you see a familiar face.

Registration opens at 4:30 PM with Opening Ceremony beginning at 5:00 PM.

Ticket holders must be 21 years of age and must have valid photo identification.

No refunds or exchanges.

Sake San Jose is a fundraiser benefiting Yu-Ai Kai Community Senior Service