August | 2010 | ChinaShop

page 5 of 6 ←first … ←previous 3 4 5 6 next→ last→

Featured Gallery Music All Eyes on Flying Lotus: Hard Fest 2010

August 10, 2010 - 1:21 pm

I have photographed Steven Ellison, a.k.a Flying Lotus, 5 or 6 times in the past 2 years. It was during the first set of his which I photographed that I noticed Flying Lotus had certain, “tell”, as they so call it in poker. Just before the baseline is to drop through the floor, into the basement and most likely end up in the water table, he would pause as if floating Wylie Coyote style in mid air. Just hovering there above his Eve bitten clamshell which contains the soles of well worn Samiyam 8-bit beats and most likely photos of a black tee clad Thom Yorke.

Read the full story →

Music Erol Alkan: The Dark Horse of Hard Fest

by Dustin Downing

August 10, 2010 - 1:16 pm

The Hard Fest tour, which made is way through LA this past weekend, is at first glance another dance/electronic show with a killer line up. But it’s the little things that you can’t see behind the scenes which make this show a favorite for the performers and a pain in the ass for yours truly. There’s basically a media blackout. No cameras are allowed in the VIP, Artist Area, or on stage, and there no photo pit. Interviews are granted only if you can hunt them down. “Por que?” you say in a comically bad Gerard Depardieu accent. Well, it’s so the Rock stars can be Rock stars and don’t have to worry about the restraints of being politically correct. A time to relax and be amongst their peers and mingle with some early 80’s Madonna looking groupies.

Read the full story →

Featured Gallery Music How I Spent My Summer: Camp Spin-off

by Barbie Brady and Sidney Bensimon

August 9, 2010 - 5:49 pm

I think a lot of people have memories of camp as a kid. Long hot days, mosquitoes, friendship bracelets and camp fire smores. Now imagine for a minute that you are a kid into DJ culture! You love music and you spend pretty much all day listening to songs wishing you had an outlet for your creativity. Well DJ Tina T decided that both of these experiences needed a home, and thus Camp Spin-Off was born.

Read the full story →

Gallery Music Sex, Drugs, and Sunglasses: Hard Fest 2010

by Dustin Downing

August 9, 2010 - 1:07 pm

A pupilometer is a device which is used by an ophthalmologist to test the response of a person’s pupil to visual stimuli. Ya know that hole in your eyeball that a friendly police officer tends to enjoy shining a light in when you’ve had 2 or 16 beers. It’s been determined that the amount of dilation of the pupil in the eye can be proportional to the amount of particular interest in a subject. The size of dilation indicates an increase in mental processes, but the speed of dilation can also be a sign of drug use or intoxication. I.e. Mr. Flashlight. HARD fest was this weekend in La-La land and I decided that this would be an opportune time to study this very phenomena my scientific self. But, with a camera flash. The following gallery I believe will duly support my early hypothesis: I believe the crowd will be very into the show and thus pupils will be dilated to reflect said peeked interest. Either that or as one police officer in attendance relayed to me, “These f#@king kids are whacked out of their GD minds”…

Read the full story →

Music Caspa the Dubstep Ghost

by Dustin Downing

August 9, 2010 - 12:36 pm

White Men Could Jump…Now Just Dubsteps. Once upon a time in jolly ol’ England, Gary McCann was a promising basketball star. Like all stars though, it eventually ran its course and sadly burned out. But, in its place, a ghost named “Caspa” was manifest and now bounces a different beat intent on dribbling your eardrums. While listening to this poltergeist murder the crowd at HARDfest this past weekend in Los Angeles, I could see that there was definitely no one reaching for a phone to call you know who.

Read the full story →

Gallery Oddity Behind the Scenes: Venice Beach Freakshow

by Nicole Pajer and Sidney Bensimon

August 6, 2010 - 11:31 am

Venice Beach has a reputation for being an outstanding location for people watching, but if you’d like to venture beyond the world of crazy tourists, eclectic beach vendors, Muscle Beach, and tattooed passerbys, walk through the doors of the Venice Beach Freakshow. It’s usually hard to miss. Todd Ray, who runs the operation with his son Phoenix, is often outside trying to lure people in with a sneak peak at one of his two-headed turtles. Once inside, you’ll find a world of wonders. The Venice Beach Freak Show currently houses an impressive array of two-headed and very much alive animals, over sixty strange creatures, and a continuously running live show with extraordinary acts such as sword swallowers, the Rubber Girl, fire eaters, the Electric Lady, and Larry the Wolf Boy.

Read the full story →

Music Karl Hector and The Malcouns: Bathe in the Funk!

by Shop Keeper

August 6, 2010 - 11:29 am

As far as musical devotion, Funk is certainly the shrine at which Karl Hector and The Malcouns worship first and foremost. But their musical palette is a diverse, chaotic one, and muddled with a mosaic of different musical tastes. So…don’t start running for your predictable verse/chorus/verse pop yet: this is an anarchy of the good kind, a delectable kind of disorder that even the most hard-assed funn-duddys will find it impossible to resist (more likely if under the influence of illegal substances and/or alcohol). Listening to the somewhat tried-and-true reggae and boogie stylings of Hector, however, the more middle-eastern flavor that’s really the centerpiece of the band’s sound could go entirely unnoticed. It goes without saying that they’re extremely talented, weaving in and out of that vaguely Ravi Shankar-esque-pseudo-sitar-sounding melodies, with some acid jazz and psychedelic riffs and what sounds like a nodding off Buddy Rich behind the skins. But again, I might emphasize that the more you listen, the more you appreciate them. It’s a hundred-miles-an-hour impromptu free for all, but also an afrocentric-tinged party that sounds like The Animals or even a Grateful Dead style jam session at times. And well worth listening to should you have the patience. Sample yourself some now at Red Bull Music Academy Radio.

Featured Music Swedish House Mafia: Block-Shaking-Audio

by Geo Hagan

August 5, 2010 - 10:30 am

When the winter of 2010 descends upon us, and critics & connoisseurs alike start to narrow down lists for the “Best Dance Song of the Summer,” the supreme banger “One (Your Name)” by Swedish House Mafia will indubitably be frequently mentioned. SHM is made up of a sonically advanced trio of House DJs/producers (namely Axwell, Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso), and simply put, these audio merchants do not fuck around. “One” is the penultimate dance cut; play it at a dive bar, club, barbecue, lounge or rave and the results should be exactly the same – people getting crunk and going completely ape-shit over this up-tempo electro gem with synth riffs so sharp they could slice right through Buju Banton’s dreadlocks. The remix featuring Pharrell Williams makes the track even hotter, and when you throw in the rapacious official video for the song, it’s a done deal.

Read the full story →

Music Gallows: Old School Punk-Metal at Breakneck Speeds

by Shop Keeper

August 5, 2010 - 10:25 am

With a band called Gallows — on a label like Epitaph, no less — one might not be expecting the most uplifting or positive musical vibes from a British quintet dressed like they’re ready to go to a funeral. Then again, if you’ve been to Britain during the winter, you might understand why the group might choose to dress that way (or look a bit on the glum side). And just to solidify their stance on society, their lyrics couldn’t be any more straightforward: “We have no fear, we have no pity/We hate you, we hate this city.” The boys were banned from playing the House of Blues by Disney, after all — and if you heard the first few seconds of the track “Misery”, which sounds a bit like a cross between a military march and a funeral dirge before it gallops into a full-blown, old school thrash/punk hybrid, it’s apparent the band is only being truthful with such a moniker. It gets better: the track ends with what sounds like a pig being slaughtered, or maybe in heat. But the boys get bonus points for saluting the British metal sounds of the late 70s and early 80s (check out their somewhat unfaithful but undeniably true-to-their-own-sound cover of Maiden’s “Wrathchild”). They’re coming to get you, OOOOO YEAH. Oh yeah, check out Red Bull Music Academy for more.

Art/Design Red Bull Art of Can: “Buzz-Pop” Art

by Shop Keeper

August 4, 2010 - 10:05 am

DALLAS, TX – August 2, 2010 –This weekend, more than 25,000 people experienced the grand opening of the Red Bull Art of Can exhibition at Galleria Dallas. Fifty unique pieces created from the iconic Red Bull cans or inspired by energy and the love of life are now on display. The exhibition is free and open to the public through August 22. So, what’s all the buzz about? It’s the inspiring collection. There’s a life size racing airplane made entirely from recycled cans, an old world style painting, a baby bull sculpture, a ball gown and much more. Innovative artists – professional and amateur – spent countless hours creating pieces that express their personal point of view through pop art creations. More than 200 hopefuls from around the country applied, but only 50 won an esteemed spot in the collection. Who made the call? The panel of judges included: sculptor Brad Oldham, winning producer/director Michael Cain, Dallas style editor, Jason Sheeler, fashion stylist Tammy Theis, ASK ME ABOUT ART Founder Gail Saschson and art professor Bob Wade.

Read the full story →

page 5 of 6 ←first … ←previous 3 4 5 6 next→ last→