Rules of the Game

To make megabucks in the music business, it’s a good idea to have your fingers in more than one pie. Rap artists design clothes; rock stars buy restaurants. It’s all about the Benjamins, baby. Houston-based Omni Distribution
has jumped in the game, too. For the past five years, in addition to its regular
business of selling records, the distribution company has sponsored the Omni Music
Festival, a weekend of networking and music.Industry professionals from all over
the country will converge here to learn about the rap game from attorney Dedra
Davis and Wreckshop CEO D-Wreck Dixon. In the evenings, some big-name hip-hop,
R&B and gospel artists — including Michelle Williams and Lil’ Flip — will take
the stage. Lil’ Flip, who won last year’s DJ Screw Award, will bestow the honor
on another promising performer.

Gary Wade, CEO of Omni Distribution, is serious about educating people about the ins and outs of the biz. “I want independent labels to understand what it takes to be successfulThat’s the mission of the festival.”

The conference runs from Thursday, April 3, through Saturday, April 5. Thursday: 8 a.m. registration, 7 p.m. award ceremony and 11 p.m. hip-hop showcase. Friday: 6:30 p.m. rhythm and blues night. Saturday: 7 p.m. hip-hop
night. Radisson Hotel Astrodome Convention Center, 8686 Kirby Drive. For a full seminar schedule, visit www.omnidistribution.com/conference.
For more information, call 713-222-7891. $200 registration fee includes breakfast and lunch, seminars and concerts. — Felicia Johnson-Leblanc

Let It Slide

THU 4/3

Slides do sometimes jam at the Contemporary Arts Museum’s Slide Jams, but usually
things go off without a hitch. For the series, the CAM invites real live local
artists to show slides and talk about their work. This week features Rice professor
John Sparagana, who recently created an eerie series of photographs of popular
magazine covers with ominous shadows cast over them. Michael Golden, painter
and Houston Community College instructor, will also present his work. Both the
CAM and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston are open until 9 p.m. Thursday nights,
so you can view art till you drop. 7 p.m. Thursday, April 3. 5216 Montrose Boulevard.
For information, call 713-284-8250. Free. — Kelly Klaasmeyer

Pass the Kama (and Your Number)

SAT 4/5

Lonely? Scope out the peeps at this year’s Japan Festival at the Japanese
Garden in Hermann Park. Sidle up next to someone during the traditional tea
ceremony and say, “Would you please pass the kama?” (A kama is
a kettle.) If this display of worldliness doesn’t turn heads, try the origami
area. We know, we know — origami isn’t easy. That’s why you should bring a
store-bought creation to the festival. You can tinker around a little, then
pull it out of your pocket. Your “talent” will reel in new friends. 2 p.m. to
9 p.m. Saturday, April 5, and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, April 6. One Hermann Circle
Drive. For information, call 713-963-0121. $3; free for children 12 and under.
— Cathy Matusow

Helios’s Circumcision Soda

It was almost one in the morning,
and I’d already mixed too many different libations around town. But my date
was far from finished, and besides, the wee hours are really the best time to
hit Helios (411 Westheimer, 713-526-4648). Medicine Show was playing
free-form jug-band music and the joint was jumpin’, but we managed to find a
table in the front room. Then I remembered we were empty-handed. I returned
with a beer and a concoction called a Circumcision Soda, thinking I’d let her
decide who got what. I got the giggles when I told her the name of the drink,
but after we both tried it we decided to ditch the beer altogether. The band
was getting looser by the minute: “Dickens Cider, Dickens Cider, everybody
wants to have a Dickens Cider”” That catchy refrain got stuck in my head for
three days.

2-1/2 ounces Smirnoff Green
1/2 ounce Chambord
Splash 7-Up

In a highball glass, combine vodka and Chambord over ice. Top off with 7-Up. Great for graduation parties, bar mitzvahs and baby showers. — J.W. Crooker