Tag Archive for 'Brain Chemistry For Lovers'

The “Monoamine Cocktail” Mixology Contest!

Published on January 21, 2010 in Brain Chemistry, Events and Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .
January 22, 2010 4:00 pmtoFebruary 5, 2010 10:00 pm

We just had to know – is it possible?  Can a cocktail be designed that simulates the feelings of falling in love?  For all those in search of the perfect Valentine’s Day Love Potion we present the “Brain Chemistry for Lovers” Monoamine Mixology Contest at 3 Doors Down Café.

The“Brain Chemistry for Lovers” creative team put on their lab coats for this effort.  Aided by expert mixologist Matthew Stiles, bartender at the fantastic 3 Doors Down Café, OHSU neuroscientist Dr. Larry Sherman Ph.D., (Brain Chemistry For Lovers resident science advisor) and other experts, we aimed for nothing less than the perfect love potion.

It turned out it was too hard to create just one cocktail. So we created three delectable drink recipes – the Don Juan, the Mata Hari, and the Scarlett O’Hara – that combine all three monoamines using different ingredients. And so a contest was born. You can decide which monoamine cocktail is the new Love Potion #9.

How the contest works:

Step 1 TRY THE THREE MONOAMINE COCKTAILS
at 3 Doors Down Café between Jan. 22 – Feb. 5 or
at home by viewing the recipes online at:

www.brainchemistryforlovers.com or
www.3doorsdowncafe.com

Step 2 CAST YOUR VOTE IN THE “Monoamine Mixology Contest”

Vote on the Brain Chemistry For Lovers CONTACT PAGE
OR on the Brain Chemistry FACEBOOK PAGE
OR at 3 Doors Down Café

Those who vote at 3 Doors Down Café will be entered in a drawing for a $75 dinner gift certificate, an OMSI family membership and other great prizes. For reservations and information, call 503-236-6886 or visit www.3doorsdowncafe.com.

Step 3 HAVE SOME LOVE POTION

The highest-rated cocktail from the contest will be served at the upcoming performance of Brain Chemistry For Lovers presented by OMSI Science Pub Series on Tues., Feb. 9, at 7:00 pm at McMenamins’ Bagdad.Theater.  Order your tickets here.

Brain Chemistry For Lovers at the Bagdad Theater

Published on November 17, 2009 in Brain Chemistry and Events. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .
February 9, 2010
7:00 pmto8:30 pm

science_pub_header copy The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) presents Brain Chemistry For Lovers at the Bagdad Theater on February 9th as a part of their Science Pub Series. Come learn about the science behind one of our most complex human emotions through a combination cabaret, concert and science lecture. Following the performance, neuroscientist Dr. Larry Sherman PhD. will answer any lingering questions from the audience.

Doors open at 5 PM. Show begins at 7 PM. Come early to eat and drink and get a good seat.

Tickets are $15 and are available at the Bagdad Theater or Crystal Ballroom box offices,
or are available online at TICKETMASTER.com. Please note that Ticketmaster charges significant service fees for tickets purchased online (sorry!), but tickets purchased at the theater box offices will only have an additional $1 fee per ticket.

Brain Chemistry For Lovers from Valerie Day on Vimeo.

Brain Chemistry For Lovers on Oregon Art Beat

Published on April 2, 2009 in Blog and Brain Chemistry. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Vince Patton and the Oregon Art Beat crew goes behind the scenes for “the making of” Brain Chemistry For Lovers with Valerie Day, Darrell Grant, Jim Blashfield, John Smith, Dr. Larry Sherman, and the Portland Chamber Orchestra. (for those who can’t see the OPB widget and would like to see the show – click HERE)

BRAIN CHEMISTRY FOR LOVERS on Oregon Public Broadcasting’s ART BEAT

Published on March 16, 2009 in Blog, Brain Chemistry and Events. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .
April 2, 2009
8:00 pmto8:30 pm

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On Thursday, April 2nd at 8 PM, Oregon Public Broadcasting’s Art Beat will air a program about “the making of” Brain Chemistry For Lovers. Producer Vince Patton and crew follow Valerie Day and Darrell Grant through the different stages of the creative process with filmmaker Jim Blashfield, orchestrator/arranger John Smith, and OHSU’s neuroscientist Dr. Larry Sherman – culminating in a premier performance with the Portland Chamber Orchestra at the Newmark Theater in Portland OR.

This program will be rebroadcast on Sunday, April 6th at 6 PM.

Valerie Day and John Smith on All Classical 89.9 w/Andrea Murray

Published on February 13, 2009 in Blog and Brain Chemistry. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , , .

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Here’s an audio clip of the recent conversation that John and Valerie had with Andrea Murray from All Classical 89.9. In it you’ll hear about the man behind the orchestrations for Brain Chemistry for Lovers, the collaboration with the Portland Chamber Orchestra, and…..how Jimi Hendrix thwarted one medical career!

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Valerie Day and John Smith on KBPS with Andrea Murray

Published on February 12, 2009 in Blog, Brain Chemistry and Events. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .
February 12, 2009
3:00 pmto3:30 pm

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Valerie and her husband, orchestrator/arranger/composer John Smith, talk with Andrea Murray on NW Previews about the music for this weekend’s Brain Chemistry For Lovers performances with the Portland Chamber Orchestra.

In Portland you can listen on All Classical 89.9 FM, or for streaming radio, go to All Classical’s website: http://www.allclassical.org

Valerie and Darrell Interview w/Paul Linnman on KEX

Published on February 12, 2009 in Blog and Brain Chemistry. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

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Valerie Day and Darrell Grant go in the 1190 KEX studios to talk with Paul Linnman about their upcoming Brain Chemistry For Lovers performances this coming Valentine’s weekend with the Portland Chamber Orchestra. It’s an action packed three minutes of fun…and you don’t even have to get up early in the past to hear it!

Brain Chemistry For Lovers opens for Dr. Helen Fisher at Illahee Lecture Series

Published on February 4, 2009 in Blog, Brain Chemistry and Events. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .
February 18, 2009
7:30 pmto9:30 pm

On Wednesday, February 18th, Brain Chemistry For Lovers w/Valerie Day and Darrell Grant will open for Dr. Helen Fisher for the Illahee Lecture Series. Also appearing for this 20 minute abbreviated version of the show (both onscreen and in-person) will be OHSU’s Dr. Larry Sherman Ph.D. (advisor for Brain Chemistry For Lovers, Dr. Sherman also plays himself in the film for the show created by filmmaker Jim Blashfield).

Brain Chemistry For Lovers is one of Valerie’s most recent projects. Fusing cabaret, concert, and science lecture, Brain Chemistry For Lovers uses music, film and the latest discoveries in the world of neuroscience to explore one of the most universal of all human experiences – Romantic Love.

helen3Dr. Fisher is often called “The Doyenne of Desire” as she is one of the most prominent experts on the study of love and the brain. Her book “Why We Love – the Nature and Chemistry of Romantic Love”, and a ground breaking fMRI study she and her colleagues conducted to study the brain circuitry of romantic love, are are used as a part of the science lecture in the Brain Chemistry For Lovers performance during the phase of love having to do with Dopamine.

This lecture is a part of the 2009 Illahee Lecture Series on The Nature of Desire. For more about the Lecture Series and to purchase tickets, go to : www.illahee.org or click HERE.

Where: First Congregational Church (1126 SW Park, Portland). 7:30 PM (Doors open at 6:30). Tickets are $20

The SOUND of Brain Chemistry For Lovers

Published on February 4, 2009 in Blog and Brain Chemistry. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

One of the reasons music is so powerful is how it makes us feel. In spite of myself, I have an emotional reaction to some of the most inane and psychologically manipulative movies or even commercials because of the background music that’s used in conjunction with the images. My husband John Smith, who has composed and produced the music for 1000’s of commercials, talks about the psychology of chords and how easy it is to manipulate an audience to feel what you want them to feel. For instance, let’s imagine that we’re being shown a scene in a film where little Johnny is about to blow out the candles on his birthday cake. His loving family is around him, but the camera moves to a figure smiling in the background – Johnny’s uncle perhaps. If the chords being played underneath the Happy Birthday song are in a major key (the ones we usually hear) we experience a sense of happiness and that all is well. If the film composer instead uses some disturbing sounding minor chords – or a violin section playing a rhythmic figure that we associate with the soundtrack to horror movies we’re familiar with – we feel discomfort. “Oh no! Something horrible is about to happen to little Johnny! Maybe his uncle is about to go mad and smash his little head to bits!”

You get the idea. Continue reading ‘The SOUND of Brain Chemistry For Lovers’

Brain Chemistry For Lovers – a video preview

Published on January 4, 2009 in Blog and Brain Chemistry. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Just click on the arrow below to see some of the images from Brain Chemistry For Lovers created by Jim Blashfield.