lamar sorrento reviews and clips - you suck dude. there's so much shit here you could book the superdome
(Source: WMC Action News 5)
MEMPHIS, TN (WMC) -
You’ll soon be able to see towering works of art around Memphis, thanks to Gibson Guitars.
Gibson Guitar Factory unveiled their latest charity project, GuitarTown, on Friday morning.
The
new eight-foot guitars cannot make music, but they will be seen around
the city, designed by Memphis artists to help Memphis charities.
"What
city deserves this more than Memphis?” Gibson general manager David
Winter said. “As far as honoring Memphis and musicians, and the proceeds
will go to two Memphis foundations, the Memphis Charitable Foundation
and ALSAC St. Jude."
In Spring 2017, the works of art will be auctioned off to charity.
The guitars were commissioned by local artists like Debbie Richmond, Damon Nabors, and Lamar Sorrento.
"It feels good, you know. It's the first time I'm doing something worthwhile this week,” Sorrento said.
Sorrento’s artwork was dedicated to one of his favorite Memphis legends, B.B. King.
"He
played Lucilles all during the sixties,” Sorrento said. “I just wanted
it to look like that, because I thought that was the coolest looking
guitar ever."
Before the guitars go up for auction, you’ll be able to see them across the city of Memphis.
She and Mr. Overby live in a bright two-level house in the hills
above Studio City. Posters from her concerts cover a wall near the
kitchen, where she does much of her songwriting. The living room has
blocky portraits of Howlin' Wolf, Guitar Slim and other musicians
painted by folk artists such as Lamar Sorrento. Ms. Williams brought out
a book by
Birney Imes,
whose photographs of juke joints in the South she used for the
cover of "Car Wheels" and the graffiti-covered interior shots for "Down
Where the Spirit Meets the Bone."
Instead of another album cover with her face on it, "I just wanted something tough and visceral," she said.
Art
is an honest day’s work for Lamar Sorrento. The 65-year-old folk artist
hasn’t worked a “normal” job since 1991, but he says that painting for a
living isn’t much different.
“For most of my life I worked a lot of day jobs, made a
lot of albums and stuff working part time as a musician,” he says.
“When I came back to Memphis 25 years ago, I decided to be an artist. So
I started at the point where every good artist does: broke.”
Sorrento’s work — which can be seen across the South
in the form of murals and commission pieces — showcases a penchant for
bright, acrylic caricatures of blues legends, rock musicians and
barbecue joints from the past and present. “I can’t even draw with a
pencil,” he jokes. “I just kind of shape it with a brush. It took me a
long time at first because I didn’t know what I was doing.”
With no formal training, Sorrento picked up a brush 25
years ago and decided to paint a few of his favorite musicians on a
whim. At the beginning, painting was a challenge. “You ever try to
paint? It’s hard, he says. “I originally got started because I just
wanted a few things to hang up in my house.”
Sorrento learned to paint in private and didn’t think
much of his own work at first. However, his bright, colorful acrylic
portraits of forgotten musicians like Django, Memphis Minnie, Son House
and more soon drew attention. “It took me a lot of time at first
because I didn’t know what I was doing,” he says. “The paintings just
started to pile up in the back of my house.”
A New Orleans-based friend and gallery owner noticed
Sorrento’s large stack of unseen paintings. He shipped a set to New
Orleans and, to his surprise, they all sold. Soon after, commission work
began to pile on. “It just sort of started off small and spread out
eventually,” he says. “That’s just how things happen, you know?”
A laid-back Southern soul, Sorrento embodies the
stereotype of the slow-talking drifter with his ever-present sunglasses
and cowboy hat. He still records and performs his own self-designated
genre of music, “hardcore Delta space jam blues.” “I’m just a part-time
musician,” he says. “Full-time around here would be on Beale Street
every night at the casinos.”
Reviewed 4 June 2015
I was in Memphis recently with a couple of girlfriends, and we had the
distinction of being taken on an insider's tour of the city by a native
'outsider artist'. The artist was Lamar Sorrento, and the first place he
took us was to supper at Central Barbecue. The restaurant is filled
with outsider art, most of it in the form of murals by Sorrento, bright,
colorful, and mostly focused on Memphis and Mississippi delta
musicians, in other words, the founders of blues and rock 'n' roll.
I
ordered a half-rack of dry ribs. Lamar convinced one of my friends (one
with less experience with ribs than I have had), to order a whole one,
on the theory that ribs are half bone, after all. The ribs were
excellent, crusty on the outside and juicy on the inside. I was barely
able to finish mine, and my friend doggy-bagged half of hers, only
because a whole rack is close to two feet long, and the ribs are meaty,
despite being half bones.
The sides were mighty fine, too. I had
turnip greens and potato salad, both delicious, and of course plenty of
sweet tea. Word was that the banana pudding was to die for, and I
expect it was, but was too done in by the ribs to stay for dessert.
One
stands in line near the door to order, but servers bring the food to
the table.The servers were pleasant and didn't waste time announcing
their names, and harassing us about how we were doing. Seating was
available inside and out, and there was decent live music. The location
is downtown. I will be back.
JIMI HENDRIX 2016
MEMPHIS OUTSIDER ART
24"x24" Original Acrylic on thin plywood.
Check out my other rock and roll great originals by Lamar!
ARTIST INFO: Tennessee folk artist and musician Lamar Sorrento
masterfully combines his obsessions with music and art into
bold, colorful paintings of musicians and the music "scene".
Equally as colorful as his paintings, Lamar's works are widely
known and collected by an ever growing list of national celebrities
and appreciative mainstream art collectors.
https://books.google.com/books?id=5QKQCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT44&lpg=PT44&dq=lamar+sorrento&source=bl&ots=zg8OymA6U5&sig=DlP4U7s60U6fNOAgWd_UzJfzbUo&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjcuu23gpTcAhUD7awKHV4QAR0Q6AEIjQIwNQ#v=onepage&q=lamar%20sorrento&f=false
