June | 2009 | ChinaShop

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Music Tipper: Tweaking Knobs and Then Some

June 23, 2009 - 8:35 am

Call me jaded, but these days it seems like you can’t swing a glow stick without hitting another DJ or producer (and if you did, would that be a bad thing?). It’s hard to know who’s really talented and who’s just remixing somebody else’s songs or recycling ready-made sound samples taken from the latest music software package. But while that debate will rage on in music circles everywhere (ok, maybe not everywhere, but it does seem like a pretty popular topic of conversation), there’s no denying that electronic music is here to stay and that it is one of the defining sounds of this generation.

Why the rant? Because I just saw some really good electronic music that reminded me of why I fell in love with it in the first place. Finally. Tipper, the British breaks producer who headlined at the Echoplex, has been an influential presence in the electronic music scene for over 12 years and is one beat maker I can get down to. (Oh and believe me, I did. You should have been there.)

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Featured Music Yppah = happY

by Shop Keeper

June 22, 2009 - 8:32 am

Yppah (pronounced Yippah), sometimes know as Joe Corrales, Jr., released his debut album You Are Beautiful At All Times in November of 2006 on Ninja Tune records. This stunning debut is a lush mix of beautiful and often times melancholic electronica, breakbeat drum samples with shoegazer melodies set in an atmospheric sound landscape.

Joe spent his early teen years playing guitar and bass in rock bands, then later as a scratch DJ who mixed hip hop and house in clubs sets. He’s also a founding member of the turntablist group The Truth.

Yppah – The Drag

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Film 5 DVDs Guaranteed to Get You Laid

by Chris Gore

June 22, 2009 - 8:26 am

Movie night with that special person in your life can lead to a very romantic evening – one that leaves the entire room a complete mess. Because, when romance ends up a little messy, isn’t it the best kind? I mean, if you aren’t cleaning up the clothes scattered everywhere, doing laundry paying special attention to newfound stains visible only under black light, massaging sore muscles, applying a few band-aids in really awkward places, then did you really have a romantic evening at all?

Of course, all of this is possible, as long as you select the right film. The best part of watching a DVD at home is the ability to take full advantage of the pause button when things get too heated… off screen. The following films set the mood evoke tears, laughs and all those feelings necessary to get the juices flowing in all the right places. And the best part of watching a romantic movie on DVD, talking during the film is completely optional. Of course, one would hope your lips would not be doing much talking at the end of the night. So, if you’re looking to get laid on the “let’s-stay-at-home-and-watch-a-movie-on-DVD-night,” these films will guarantee your best chance.

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Music Sandpeople: Long Story, Short…

by Shop Keeper

June 22, 2009 - 8:26 am

Sandpeople was formed roughly four years ago as an unlikely gathering of hip-hop artists in the Pacific Northwest. The crew that now calls Portland, Oregon home has evolved into a 10-member unit fully equipped to fill a stage and empty a keg (preferably in reverse order).

Sandpeople’s newest effort, the aptly titled EP Long Story, Short…, is the product of the insight gained from their major label courtship and their deeply ingrained work ethic and self-imposed high standards. The result of such motivation is an ironclad project that walks the fine line of being both accessible and impressive, while ensuring the emcee’s talents and numbers are on full display. With concepts ranging from the struggles of being self-funded (“Money is on Their Minds”) to overcoming the adversity of a hypercompetitive indie hip-hop scene (“Hate Aside”), Sandpeople manage to carve their diverse personalities into the inherently brief EP format. From boasting a fierce introduction of back-to-back verses on the lead track “Strands”, to its conclusion with Sapient’s dark and demented ballad “The Dapper Mob”, Long Story, Short… is a well-rounded offering from this rapidly emerging crew.

Sandpeople – Money is on Their Minds

Sandpeople – Hate Aside

Music Chester French: If Pee Wee Herman Had a Cute Younger Brother…

by Christine Spehar

June 22, 2009 - 8:26 am

Nerd rock is back. Actually, I don’t know if it was ever gone, or if it ever existed in the first place, but suffice to say it’s here now in the form of Chester French. Formed by two Harvard freshmen in 2003 and named for the American sculptor who built the Lincoln Memorial, the nerdyness extends not only to their roots, but also to the duo’s stage presence. Take their recent show at Hollywood’s El Rey Theater, opening for Lady Sovereign, for instance. Front man D.A. Wallach bounds on stage in ill-fitting red trousers (you know, the kind of pants your grandma would suggest you wear on your first day school), a somewhat dingy white t-shirt and a mop of unruly strawberry blonde hair. Guitarist Maxwell Drummey is a skinny white kid with a backwards haircut, sunglasses that engulf his face and a skirt.

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Art/Design Twin Atlantic: 3 out of 4 Ain’t Bad

by Barbie Brady

June 19, 2009 - 11:19 am

Ross McNae has tattoos. The bass player for Twin Atlantic has at least 4 that I can see on his stark white arms. He paces back and forth at the Tattoo Lounge in Mar Vista California while awaiting his turn in the chair. He’s the third member of the band to get tattooed today. Guitar player Barry has opted out.

But Craig has had some bad experiences being tattooed, including both throwing up and passing out. In his defense he admits to being completely intoxicated and dehydrated for both, neither of which would he or I recommend.

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Film Everything gets Easier with Practice

by Dustin Downing and Chris Gore

June 18, 2009 - 1:08 pm

It’s easy to take it easy when your film just wins the CineVegas Film Festival Grand Jury Prize. Well, maybe not that easy when the film is called Easier with Practice and the plot involves a phone sex relationship gone awry. (See Easier with Practice review by Chris Gore and movie trailer.)

Relaxing in the swanky surroundings of the Palms Hotel filmmaker courtesy lounge, I found director Kyle Patrick Alvarez and his cast. Lead actors Brian Geraghty, who plays a likable and aspiring novelist in the film and Kel O’Neill who plays his a-hole brother, are getting along fabulously. All the tensions that existed between the two characters in the film are gone as the cast and director clearly became buds. Or perhaps it’s a testament to their acting and the performance in front of me in the lounge is all an act and they do really hate each other. Either way, the award-winning trio’s journey to household names begins with this revealing interview. Yes, phone sex and other types of sex will be discussed.

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Featured Music Moby? Moby Not?

by Barbie Brady

June 18, 2009 - 9:11 am

During an intense period of my life, surrounded by punk rock rebellion, miles of dust and decay, deafening volumes, and emotional upheaval, somebody dropped the needle on Moby’s Play. Nothing that summer, or any summer since, has had such an impact on my psyche. Not to be overly sentimental, but have you ever heard a record and immediately felt like it spoke directly to your exact situation at that exact moment in time? Well for me, Moby does that. He takes the craziest sounds from the strangest places and he orchestrates them into this beautiful symphony of sorrow, sadness, salvation and the sublime.

On June 30th he will release Wait For Me. I’m unsure of what the entire album will sound like, and I hesitate to ever compare Moby’s individual projects to…well anything else out there. He free falls through genre’s using his instinct and talent like a parachute. He has said of this project that he, “decided to just make records that were more personal, maybe more experimental, and a little more challenging, maybe not as easy to like, but things that I found to be artistically and creatively more satisfying.”

We have a little taste of it for you here, you tell me? Moby? Moby Not?

Moby -Pale Horses

Moby – Shot in the Back of the Head

Words by Barbie Brady

Gallery Urban Exploration Freemont Street

by Zoetica Ebb

June 17, 2009 - 4:54 pm

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Film Beautiful Darling

by Chris Gore and Dustin Downing

June 17, 2009 - 4:25 pm

“…Candy was born James Slattery, but you wouldn’t know it from her pictures.”

Andy Warhol’s circus of characters from the 1960s have provided an endless supply of stories filling magazines, books and films. One of the most notable figures from the period, Candy Darling, is now the subject of Beautiful Darling, a work-in-progress documentary screened at the CineVegas Film Festival.

Candy’s story is one of triumph and tragedy, which makes it the perfect subject for a doc by first-time feature director James Rasin. Candy was born James Slattery, but you wouldn’t know it from her pictures. Candy was a stunning blonde bombshell on the level of a Marilyn Monroe or a Kim Novak — a movie star. She or, uh, he inspired not only Warhol, who cast her in several of his art movies, but also playwright Tennessee Williams who penned a stageplay especially for her. Candy lived her dreams of becoming a star, but as soon as she reached this height, she fell just as fast. Her sad tale to be loved for who she was is told through present day interviews, archival footage and Candy’s own words from her journals.

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