DJ Caviar (aka Robin Bennett Stein) has DJ-ed many a design & arch event like SCI-ARCH’s fundraiser for the Schindler House, the 2023WestEdge Design Fair, but in a galaxy for away he once fronted various Art-Punk ensembles at SF’s Mabuhay Gardens & NYC’s CBGBs, Danceteria, and guitared for Afro Punk legend Neon Leon at NY’s Webster Hall; he exec assisted Oscar winners William Hurt, Marlee Maitlin, Kevin Spacey; was PR assistant to Frank Zappa and ran his FZ-4-President steering committee; he was producer/editor-in-chief for the Jimi Hendrix Foundation website; at the Ford Foundation/LA Music Center’s behest, he conducted blues comp & performance workshops for LatinX teens in a gang-torn San Fernando Valley high school; wrote scripts for Cartoon Network’s anime series “Immortal Grand Prix” & “Cyborg 009”; was co-writer on Comedy Central’s “Captain Jackson Disco-Dancing Superhero;” wrote Morgan Freeman’s monologue of a Black Panther’s creed, “PhD In Streetology” for an Actor’s Gang fundraiser; directed theater in NYC and for Denzel Washington’s Hollywood theater company Mojo Ensemble; wrote a feature script in preprod about the making of Miles Davis’s 1959 record, “Kind Of Blue;” directed several independent films including the multiple Indy Film Festival-award winning feature “The Divided,” now available on Amazon Prime.
Riley E. Smith is an author and comedian who brings warmth and wit to a variety of genres. She loves crafting colorful characters to be your new best friends, and describing whole worlds so distinctly you could fall into them. Riley lives in California with her rarely-mad scientist partner and so many full bookshelves it’s an earthquake hazard. Follow her on Instagram for more @rileyisyelling.
Justin Hershey is a pianist/composer based in the Greater Los Angeles Area. He has performed at many prestigious venues around Southern California, including The Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach and the Queen Mary. As a bandleader, his ensembles have featured local legends Joey Sellers, Ron Stout, Jerry Pinter, Benn Clatworthy, Kendall Kay, and many more. His compositions are wide-ranging in style and influence, often reflecting a variety of interests, including architecture and poetry. In addition, he has maintained a working relationship with local assisted living communities for many years, performing regularly at memory care facilities specializing in the care of individuals with Alzheimer’s and/or dementia.
Sean Knibb started Knibb Design Corp. in 1995 with-creative, human, experience – as his mantra. His goal was and still is to enhance the way people feel in their environment, from the luxury of Beverly Hills to the The Line Hotel and Locke High School in South Central Los Angeles. Knibb Design blends contemporary art, architecture and landscape while redefining our traditional understanding of outdoor and indoor space, bringing sophistication to everyday objects. Knibb has put together a team to oversee select offerings from the distinct collections to create objects and environments that are sparked from tradition. Our commitment is excellence through design, materials and craftsmanship.
Of Lithuanian heritage, composer Veronika Krausas was born in Australia, raised in Canada, and lives in Los Angeles. She has directed, composed for, and produced multi-media events that incorporate her works with dance, acrobatics and video. Krausas has music composition degrees from the University of Toronto, McGill University in Montreal, and a doctorate from the Thornton School of Music at USC in Los Angeles, where she is a faculty member in the Composition Department. She is a pre-concert lecturer and interviewer at the Los Angeles Philharmonic and serves on the advisory boards of Jacaranda Music and People Inside Electronics. Learn more about Veronika at veronikakrausas.com.
Jennifer Trotoux is an architectural history and planning professional with over 25 years of experience in the practice of historic preservation. She serves as Director of Collections and Interpretation for the Gamble House, where she is responsible for the presentation, preservation and care of the collections, structures and landscape. Overseeing educational content for their docents and the public, she works with her colleagues as they pursue new avenues of inquiry about the house, its artistic and historic context, and the work of its architects, Greene & Greene.
Sam Hirschfelder has fulfilled many roles within the music industry, from writing music for film and TV to musical directing and performing at some of the biggest international music festivals and popular late night shows in the US and Europe. Sam also co-owns Forager Records, a Los Angeles based reissue label and publishing company (Foraged Sounds) specializing in rare and under-appreciated sounds from the past. More recently, Sam has begun co-managing grammy award winning artist Kimbra. Sam has degrees in both music performance and law from Monash University.
Film Projects: Ascendant | Dance Academy | Infinity Train | Keloid | Markie in Milwaukee | What We Found | The Whistleblower | The Workout
Live Projects: Benjamin Booker | Biig Piig | The Blossom | Chet Faker | Chrome Canyon | Craig Stickland | Dave Harrington | Deb Never | Fractures | Morly | Sharon Van Etten | Weird Al Yankovic | Younger Hunger | Zero 9:36
Matthew Biancaniello creates adventurous cocktail experiences. He formulates cocktails based on farm-fresh and unique, organic ingredients. Never working off a set cocktail menu, Biancaniello visits at least five different local farmers markets a week to source his ingredients, which inspire his imaginative cocktails. This is the Art of Omakase, honoring how the customer and bartender create a special experience together. To learn more about Matthew, please visit him at Eat Your Drink. You can also purchase his book here.
