Art/Design Gallery Gen Art Kicks Off LA Fashion Week at Club Tropicana

March 20, 2010 - 3:27 pm

On Tuesday, twenty cutting-edge designers and much of LA’s fashion elite swarmed Club Topicana at historical Hotel Roosevelt to join Gen Art in kicking off Fashion Week with a bang. Hosted by former model and emerging style icon/former exotic dancer/Kanye West playmate Amber Rose, the “Alumni Reunion” celebration drew exceptionally attractive crowds to mingle, ogle, and imbibe – all while expertly maneuvering around the Roosevelt’s huge [and, admittedly, inviting] pool. Armed with a camera, a pair of fierce stilettos and Clint Catalyst, I headed into the belly of the fashion beast to explore.

Gen Art

Each of the featured designers was flanked by a model showcasing one of their creations, and we waded through the ocean of heels and hair to track them down, with much success.

 Jeffrey Sebelia’s red Jedi made a lasting impression with her sizable shades and crimson lips.

GenArt

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Gallery Music Dam-Funk: L.A.’s Modern Funk Ambassador

March 20, 2010 - 12:54 pm

Rocking a Jheri curl, wife beater, and boxy shades on the stage of Carniville Austin, Dam-Funk looks classically West Coast. Taking on both selector and vocalist duties, he breaks a sweat circling around, asking the crowd to “just bounce” to his ‘80s-inspired funk while performing the track “Hood Pass Intact.” Dam (pronounced Dame) may have only recently been embraced by the music industry, but he’s no fly by night throwback act trying to play a role—this DJ/producer/singer is a lifetime lover of funk who’s finally getting his time to shine.

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Austin TX Gallery Taking Time to Enjoy the Randomness of Austin’s Street Performers

March 20, 2010 - 11:58 am

One of the most interesting moments of SXSW for me so far happened not inside a venue but outside on the corner of 6th and Congress. Here, a duo of xylophone players from Africa are joined by a local clarinetist named Roy Coon in a completely unplanned collaboration. The mixture of raw percussion and melodic woodwind sounds evoked a number of passersby’s to gather round. And this street session was made possible initially because of the clarinetist’s curiosity.

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Featured Gallery Music Lords of Altamont: ‘60s State of Mind

March 20, 2010 - 11:25 am

During their second show in Austin this week, L.A.’s five-piece band The Lords of Altamont plus their go-go dancer are crammed on to the small stage in the corner of Cheapo Discs. This garage punk crew doesn’t let tight quarters confine their energy though as frontman Jake “The Preacher” Cavaliere leads the way shoving his vintage organ around and at one point, jumping on top of it and still performing. That’s the way the Lords roll.

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Art/Design Gallery Austin Speed Shop

March 20, 2010 - 10:59 am

The Austin Speed Shop is somewhat of an Austin institution, and renowned within the hot rod and custom car culture scene.

Their passion is apparent in everything they do. From the shop’s reception area which is decorated with original work by Ed “Big Daddy” Roth to the garage with its “Hot Rod Church Of God” sign, these are people who live and breathe their craft.

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Daily Dots Daily Dots: Alex Chilton Tribute, U2 Remixes, Buy Perry Farrell’s House, Watch Spike Jonez New Film

March 19, 2010 - 3:51 pm

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Today’s bloggin best…

- Alex Chilton tribute to take place at SXSW tomorrow. NME

- Hot Chip, Justice and Trent Reznor remix U2 on vinyl. Artificial Horizon

- Buy Perry Farrell’s Venice Beach House for $1.6 Million. Huffington Post

- The Black Keys played a new Danger Mouse produced song on the BBC. URB

- Spike Jonez debuted a new short film online (if you can get the Flash site to work). I’m Here

Event Sweet 16 : Ugly Betty Edition

March 19, 2010 - 3:17 pm

Sweet 16 with Mark Indelicato of Ugly Betty

This past weekend, while the monsoon Nor’easter was wreaking havoc, flooding basements, whipping up 40mph gusts and uprooting century-old trees all through NYC’s five boroughs, the scene at Soho’s Red Bull Space was quite different. It was the Sweet 16 Birthday event for actor Mark Indelicato, the sweet-faced kid who plays Ugly Betty’s nephew on the popular ABC Primetime show, and there were several cool elements at play.

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Gallery Music Japanther Rocks Carniville

March 19, 2010 - 3:15 pm

The first hard rays of Austin’s afternoon sun were going to have to work a bit harder to beat back the crowd at Carniville on Thursday afternoon. As it was, the heat was no match for the lure of free beer, a wild musical lineup, actual carny rides and corndogs. Those assembled quickly formed the beer recyler line – that is getting in line for a beer, then getting to the back of the line, drinking it in time to get a refill. Surely not a great combination with the Tilt-aPuke spinning madly in the background. In the background, DJ Paul Devroe spun some slow southern fried rap cuts, perfectly made for such lazy sun drenched and immobile afternoons. The line started swaying and jiggling, and just waiting for something to really catch hold.

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