By Melina Paris, Music Columnist
The first time I attended an event there I was struck by the venue’s size, the different activities and multiple mediums employed inside. It’s genius! Known as The Space, it accommodates a theater, live television studio and even a spaceship.
The stretch of buildings on the east side of Pacific Avenue on which The Space resides is bookended by the Warschaw Building on 6th Street and the 8th Street Loft building on 8th Street. This stretch of Pacific has been trying to become an arts, culture and entertainment anchor for the San Pedro Arts District for years. Thus far, it has failed.
The Warschaw Gallery was home to the curated shows of TransVagrant, which opened in 2006. Somewhat contemporarily, the ground floor of the 8th Street Lofts was transformed into a food court. By 2013, a kind of arts district trifecta was completed when comedian James Blackman III opened the San Pedro Theater Club at 624 S. Pacific Avenue.
Today, 8th Street Lofts is empty and TransVagrant no longer operates out of the Warschaw Building. James Blackman and his San Pedro Theater Club disappeared almost a dozen months after opening.
Ron James used The Space to fill that void, building up a venue where multiple artistic and elaborate endeavors happen.
I made it a point to return for a sit down interview to learn more about The Space and how James is making his theater and studio available to artists and businesses. He wants to provide a resource, which they do not have. The full name of the facility is The Ivolve Media Arts Center. James said it really is all about a combination of cutting edge media approaches.
James’ main business is creating online programming for internet TV. He produces nine original shows, several of which are in the world mystery field. His show The Bigger Questions explores what science is now beginning to tell us about things that we can’t explain, such as life after death and the nature of reality.
“My entire media career is based on … the most important questions facing humanity, [such as], ‘Are we alone in the universe?’ ‘Is there life after death?’” James said. “I believe that once the answers to those questions are cemented into the collective psyche, it’s going to be a paradigm shifting event for humanity that could very well illuminate the path that we need, to have a positive outcome without calamity.”
Every piece of media James creates is about exploring those ends. He said he specializes in “conscious media,” which is distinctive from mainstream media. In his opinion, mainstream TV and organizations that produce content are in the business of selling a product. The entertainment and content are nothing more than filler for the ads.
“We have a situation where we have squandered the largest human communication resource the planet has ever seen on dumbing down the population and turning us into a bunch of consuming slaves,” James continued. “There are people who want more from the media that they enjoy. They want it to apply to their personal lives.”
That’s where The Space’s community-centric internet show San Pedro Now comes in. The show creates an online visitor information loop where people can go to a website and watch original San Pedro programming with commercials from local businesses and attractions. Artists, business owners and activists can come and do a segment on the show. Their plan is to grow this show into the San Pedro Television Network streaming online.
The theater is used for live-streaming, during which James hosts various speakers. It’s also used for live jazz concerts, which they have recently started presenting in partnership with Thin Man Entertainment. All of their equipment is state-of-the-art and includes livestream virtual reality. They can utilize The Space where they are pre-wired and streaming wherever necessary.
“I build and create online television networks,” James said. “I have two of them right now, Ivolve TV and MUFON TV (Mutual UFO Network), which is a joint venture with the people behind the show, Hangar One. It’s one of the very first shows that’s ever been shot in the spaceship.”
James has written, produced and directed more than 250 of his own DVD productions. He has worked on documentaries as a producer, camera man or key player in major music shows. He also produced and associate produced award-winning films including, Travis: The True Story of Travis Walton. The film won both People’s Choice and Best UFO Feature Film awards in the 2015 EBE Film Festival (Extraterrestrial Biological Entity).
Endeavors at The Space include documentaries and music videos. Angelica Bridges from television show Baywatch is shooting a documentary on the extraterrestrial phenomenon in the space ship. Grammy winning artist Kendrick Lamar also shot the music video Ain’t That Funkin Hard on You? in the ship.
James also works with hip-hop legend Dame Dash.
“[Dash] helped found Rockefeller Records with Jay-Z,” James said. “He and I have a show we do together called no lines. It’s like the uptight white guy meets the godfather of hip-hop and we talk about anything from two completely opposing viewpoints.
“We put together good shows about things that people care about …. We might have a small audience but we have the ability to produce content cost effectively. I’ve designed an entire production pipeline [that] cranks out good quality content very inexpensively.”
James’ content includes raw food, science fiction and esoteric, new age content like feng shui and tantra. The latter focuses on how to bring a spiritual aspect to your relationship.
“There’s a growing market for this type of content which large entertainment companies don’t cater to because the audiences are too small,” James said.
Much of The Space’s programming is under subscription only websites, where they can track viewers. James also puts content on YouTube and on distribution outlets like Film On.
“When I moved to San Pedro I was looking for a space, saw this theater and thought, ‘Wow! I could combine this all and succeed in doing it’,” James said. “This place provides all the resources I need for the next level of programming that I produce. So my message to the community is to come by The Space and see what we have to offer.”
Details: http://thespaceonpacific.com, http://consequenceofsound.net