Conversations with Jason Sugars

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jason Sugars.

Hi Jason, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Born and raised in VENICE, CA [4th Generation], I started out as a dancer [in a crew called the GHOST TOWN LOCKERS].

Pretty odd, for a young Blaxican kid at the time [early ’80s], I was also pretty heavily into the local Beach, Sakte, Punk, Electro, New Wave, and Death Rock [née, “Goth”] scenes, back in the day. Hip Hop was still new, and not yet named.

While I’ve lived in VENICE.CA pretty much all my life, I never attended any of the local schools. I was originally schooled at my Mother’s Afrocentric Black Power-era learning center [Ujamii Uhuru Schule or “Community Freedom School”.]

The dance-for-money thing started out with my Pop-Locking on the Venice Boardwalk for weekend Arcade money and led to me going out on tour – with my Mom’s permission… then dropping out of middle school – without Mom’s blessing.

Longish story made a little shorter… got a job at a Funky-Punk store in Santa Monica [the Original NaNa, on Broadway]. Hung out at [VERY] adult clubs and parties… Jewel’s Catch One / Odyssey 1 and so on… promoted some early House and Alternative Parties… BBC / MACs Garage / Brass / Plastic Passion / PowerTools and so on… none of these were MY parties. I passed out flyers and kept the dancefloor vibes high! The people that ran the parties were L.A. heads like Marques Wyatt, Matt Dyke, and so on.

Then – I went into intermission. A brief stay with the California Department of Corrections, in Chino and Tracy, CA.

Upon returning home, I went on to work for CBS Records, Fred Segal in Santa Monica, and Vertigo in DTLA [I stayed on for GLAM SLAM when PRINCE took over] and eventually ended up at CalArts – living and hanging, I didn’t attend the school.

It was during the CalArts days that I met a cat that would become my best friend, frequent collaborator, long-time employer, and mentor… but first, he was my partner in a rap group… we were called The Vice Squad and changed the name to Elemental Pros[e].

I went on to work for him in the land of Film and Television, on and off, for over 25 years.

In the late nineties or early 2000S, I had the good fortune of running into a small, independent DJ Booking and Artist Management company that had space for my eclectic tastes… I worked for that company and the powerhouse that ran things there [Digital-Media Mogul, Asya Shein] for years… working my way up to a lower-case partnership as the company evolved into the multi-media marketing biz now known as FUSICOLOGY.

A few years ago, I started to feel like I may have aged out of any position as a tastemaker or early adapter in the spaces of Soulful House Music and Urban Alternative. So, in 2017, I decided to push my [then 10-year-old] side project out of the shadows and into the spotlight.

In 2017, THE NONSEMBLE hit the ground, running… with its roots in Hip Hop, Dance, Electronic, and JAZZ, the brand has since taken on a life of its own.

With my co-founders [Don Cheadle, Kenny Finch of my CalArts / VICE SQUAD Jazz-rap days], we started doing small things across our hometown of LA.

Our first really strong presentation might have been our 2019 show at The Ford in the Hollywood Hills.

That show, “[UP]RISING an Afro-Future Her-Story”, was featured the U.S. debut of two incredible femme jazz artists, Thandi Ntuli and Siya Makuzeni, each hailing from South Africa.

The show took place on South Africa’s National Women’s Day and saw our special guest artists, backed by Inglewood’s very own KATALYST COLLECTIVE, with an opening set that featured UK Jazz blaster, Theon Cross!

The event was Hosted by Don [Cheadle] and MCd by our dear friend, Garth Trinidad [Chocolate City / KCRW], was definitely the start of something good!

Last year [06.NOV.2022], we presented the inaugural edition of our very own alternative jazz festival – [ ]AZZ-IS REBEL JAZZ FEST… now in its second year on/at the beach in VENICE.CA – just this past weekend [04.NOV.2023] was our sophomore outing, back in Venice with bands from around the world playing for FREE to a great audience of attendees!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
To be honest… while it hasn’t been ‘easy’, I’ve been lucky enough to kind of “BUBBA-GUMP” my way into the position I find myself in, today.

I can’t really speak to the road being bumpy or smooth since not everything is in my rearview, just yet.

The festival is brand new. THE NONSEMBLE is just now coming into a more public space, and we are still very much on journey – or “Voyage”, if you will.

So, I suppose I can share more about the road behind us when we finally get to where we’re going.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I curate and create medium to large-scale cultural events that generally include live music, a DJ/Dance component, and a strong Humanist Cultural Subtext.

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I’m generally rather risk-averse. More so as I hit an age where every step could cost me more in the long run.

That said, “Scared Money Don’t Make Money” and “A Closed Mouth Can’t be Fed”… so I do what I have to – whether that means taking on gigs that I love [regardless of prestige or money] or even personally bankrolling projects that I feel are too special and important to be held down by budgets.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.TheNonsemble.com
• Instagram: TheNonsemble
• Facebook: TheNonsemble
• Twitter: TheNonsemble
• Youtube: TheNonsemble
• SoundCloud: TheNonsemble