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Tall Robot founder Rene Chargois in downtown Long Beach. Photo by Esther Kang.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cNetworking” as a musician or artist typically happens by accident, and at the most unlikely of places, while loitering in the parking lot of a venue or taking a smoke break between sets at a show. Finding compatible collaborators, especially for those new in the scene, is more often than not based on serendipitous circumstances.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why Long Beach-based arts\/entertainment entity Tall Robot, in partnership with The Prognosis, is launching a new monthly event called the Inspiritment series, a creative networking showcase for aspiring artists in the local community. The inaugural event on April 9, featuring performances and a live Q&A with established artists such as musician Avi Buffalo (Sub Pop) and visual artist Punk Picasso, will take place at The Brass Lamp.<\/p>\n Sam Marsey.\u00a0Courtesy of Tall Robot.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s what Tall Robot is about \u2014 bringing intimacy,\u201d Tall Robot founder Rene Chargois said. \u201cI wanted to flip the script where at our events you\u2019ll get a chance to meet the artist, either through a Q&A or a meet-and-greet situation.\u201d<\/p>\n Officially launched this past October, Tall Robot is the brainchild of Chargois, a 24-year-old Carson native who is finishing up his first year studying music business at the Berkelee College of Music. His first definitive exposure to the Long Beach music scene was seeing Beat Theatre, a local film\/beat-scoring group, at the Cultural Alliance of Long Beach about three years ago. He immediately got involved, and today he is one of the organization\u2019s core event producers.<\/p>\n Chargois\u2019 impetus for conceiving Tall Robot came from a desire to help aspiring artists succeed. With a strong interest in entrepreneurship and a business-savvy mindset, he wanted to create a traveling platform showcasing contemporary art and music, starting here in Long Beach.<\/p>\n Avi Buffalo. Courtesy of Tall Robot.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI hated the fact that there was a lot of great talent and they fell through the cracks,\u201d he said. \u201cEspecially in this age they don\u2019t know how to market themselves or how to navigate. That\u2019s where Tall Robot comes in.\u201d<\/p>\n Over the last few months, he and his multi-talented team of five members, including Omaha-based artist Kevin Franz as creative director, have been plugging away at a number of projects. They\u2019re working on a web series called That Bumps<\/em>, an intimate look into the lives of a dozen Long Beach-based beatmakers. So far, they\u2019ve released one episode on north Long Beach hip hop artist T-mon. Chargois plans to compile the series into a cohesive documentary.<\/p>\n The company is also taking on distribution, partnering with the Long Beach-based jazz\/psych\/experimental outfit Furcast to help distribute the group’s much anticipated upcoming LP and deluxe EP.<\/p>\n Mike Becerra of Don’t Trip. Courtesy of The Prognosis.<\/em><\/p>\n While still in the nascent stages of developing the company, Chargois has grand visions for Tall Robot. As a devout appreciator of many forms of art and entertainment, he envisions Tall Robot as a multi-pronged brand, eventually publishing a photography\/videography quarterly magazine, opening up a contemporary art gallery in Long Beach, featuring original films at festivals and distributing records worldwide.<\/p>\n The upcoming Inspiritment Series will jump around to different venues in L.A. and the O.C. in the following months. The event on April 9 will include 30-minute performances and 15-minute interviews with musicians Avi Buffalo, Don\u2019t Trip, Sam Marsey and self-taught visual artist Punk Picasso, the creative force behind Long Beach clothing brand Four Figures. The entire showcase will be filmed for viewing on the company’s Vimeo page, and the interviews will be conducted by host Brandy Brim.<\/p>\n Work by Punk Picasso. Courtesy of The Prognosis.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWe want to get to the heart of the person, then the mind,\u201d Chargois said, explaining the nature of the interviews. \u201cWe want to get down to what drove them here, their creative endeavors, personal experiences, then go into their creative process. I want to make every artist a person. They\u2019re people. Fans often forget that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy dream is to close the gap between fans and artists, or even artist to artist,\u201d he continued, \u201cbut also having a project actually happen because two, three people met at the Inspiritment series and they end up making a record or a short film or a music video. That\u2019s what I\u2019m most excited for.”<\/p>\n![\"sam](\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/sam_marsey.jpg\")
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