Art/Design New York City D.U.M.B.O. Brooklyn: Art, Nostalgia & Idyllic Facades

September 15, 2009 - 10:42 am

cam-mural2

D.U.M.B.O., or Down Under The Manhattan Bridge Overpass, is the first subway stop when you traveling from Manhattan to Brooklyn on the F-train. It’s a tranquil little area bursting at the seams with eye-popping street murals, old-style New York nostalgia, artists, assorted creative types, and a bevy of kitschy, drinking spots. The buildings here are mostly old warehouse monoliths housing modern photo /music/art studios, avant-garde galleries, underground ‘zines, indie film shops, fashion/furniture showrooms and band practice spaces.  Surprisingly, there are also a high number of pet and baby supply shops – apparently the art of domestication and home-building is also held in high regard around these parts.

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Art/Design Cement Jewelry – Charms for Real Men

September 15, 2009 - 10:38 am

cement-array

They say blood is thicker than water, but in the case of Toronto-based jewelry line Cement, it’s also heavier than gravel. Founder and designer Russell Gozlan comes from a family four generations deep in the jewelry industry, so every necklace is carefully crafted from conception to completion at the Gozlan family factory.

“I have the luxury of being hands on with the manufacturing process, which is really important to me,” Russell says. “Creating a new necklace is an exciting process and usually takes around one week from start to finish.  Once I have an idea of what piece I want to create, a mold is made over a few days which then goes into production.  Everything is made in Canada and either with sterling silver or gold.”

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Fashion Skrapper: Skrap or Die

September 14, 2009 - 12:21 pm

Skrapper

Many fashion brands on the scene these days claim to be making “wearable art,” but in the case of the NYC label, Skrapper, this tag takes on added meaning and importance. This art-heavy t-shirt line is based on the paintings of celebrated artist William Quigley and the photography of the talented Katie Theophilos. Even hearing how Quigley discovered his painting craft, it’s obvious he takes artistry and skill very seriously.

“My first painting was a Christmas gift to my mother of Raphael’s Madonna of the Chair,” Quigley begins. “When I finally went to college, and then Rome, I was convinced after seeing Carravaggio and Michelangelo that I had to try painting. I love oil paint, the smell, the possibilities, and the idea that it takes time and is hard to master. I remember how frustrating it was in the beginning. Now I see a painting almost before it is done, but it always turns out being different. The subconscious has to be alive through the experimentation and manipulation and surprise of the brush.”


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Music The US3 Posse is Back

August 12, 2009 - 12:42 pm

US3

Anyone who went to college parties in the 90′s will recall that when the US3 hit song, Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia) came on, all those hot, scantily-clad sorority chicks would go absolutely bananas – and if they were drunk enough, they might even flash you some totally gratuitous boob.  So while you might have moved on to some boring desk job after graduation, the US3 clique, led by funky London producer/instrumentalist Geoff Wilkinson is seven albums deep into their jazz/hip-hop journey and still going strong.  Their newest opus is the newly released, harder-edged, stripped-down LP titled stop, think, run.

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Music La Roux at APW: Ravers, Rollickers and Doobies

August 6, 2009 - 10:23 am

La Roux's Elly Jackson at APW

La Roux’s Elly Jackson has a hairdo to kill for. It’s a striking red coif that’s a mix between Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust Era and that famous Poindexter cut David Johansen used to rock. It’s quite magnificent actually, and on this day, she tamed it a little bit by donning a fitted Fedora hat. Vocally, she’s kind of like a modern day Cyndi Lauper, and she’s backed by an arsenal of speaker-rattling, floor-shaking, ‘80s electro-pop beats.

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Music The Black Keys at All Points West: Swampy Akron Blues

August 6, 2009 - 10:23 am

The Black Keys at APW

A Black Keys show brings out a different kind of concert goer. Try on this (true) gem of a story for size: Whilst jockeying to get a good vantage spot to take in the set by the Ohio duo, I ran into a friendly hippie-type lady in her early 50s and we struck up a cool conversation. She talked about how she was a Social Services professor from Baltimore, and how she’d been able to sneak in and out of different V.I.P. sections the entire day because the security staff let her go wherever she wanted. “I don’t know why they do that,” she said, “maybe it’s one of the advantages of being a little older.” But her best quote was this: “Last year at Bonnaroo, some guy died in his tent and no one really noticed because there was so much going on,” – then she paused and continued – “I guess he was going to die anyway.”

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Music Silversun Pickups at All Points West: Absolute Dedication

August 6, 2009 - 10:22 am

Silversun Pickups at APW

The Silversun Pickups have been called many things: the next Smashing Pumpkins, LA garage rockers, the leaders of a neo-grunge rock movement, etc – whatever tag you give them, know this: these Silver Lake dwellers rock really, really hard. Matt Pinfield, the famous rock savant, came out and introduced them as one of his favorite new bands, and when the group finally came out, they didn’t waste any time in getting down to business.

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Music Black Gold: Sharply Dressed at All Points West

August 6, 2009 - 10:22 am

Black Gold at APW

Eric & Than of Black Gold were handed a pretty rough time slot for their All Points West performance. Their set time on Saturday was 12:45pm, and the majority of festival goers were still making their way on to the Liberty State park grounds. But that didn’t stop the Brooklyn duo from throwing down a heluva show. The Brooklyn duo (signed to Red Bull Records) came through with a complete supporting band – including a back-up singer section and more. They even had a group of about 5 bikini-clad girls painted in gold from head to toe throwing black and gold beach balls into the crowd.

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Music Arctic Monkeys Attract the Ladies at All Points West

August 5, 2009 - 12:37 pm

Alex Turner of the Arctic Monkeys

A trio of sexy Spanish girls was waiting in rapt anticipation to see their fave rock band, the Arctic Monkeys hit the stage. It wasn’t so much that they were ready to dance their cute behinds off, they were interested in seeing one thing: lead singer Alex Turner’s face. When the Sheffield, UK rockers emerged from backstage, the girls erupted in pure glee and simultaneously lit up cigarettes to calm their sexy nerves. The one who seemed the giddiest looked ready to fall out when Turner said in his thick English accent, “We are the Arctic Monkeys – How is everyone doing today?” Thankfully, she held it all together and screamed and shrieked like a wild banshee instead.

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Music Gogol Bordello: Bedlam, Mayhem and a Freakin’ Awesome Good Time

August 4, 2009 - 11:20 am

Gogol Bordello at All Points West

Eugene Hutz and the Gogol Bordello posse are absolutely badass! And when they took the stage at All Points West on Saturday afternoon, they made it immediately known that they were in the mood to blow the house down. With their infectious, machine-gun paced, ska and punk-infused Gypsy rock, the collective from NYC’s Lower East Side rocked so hard that a mosh pit magically appeared with kids buggin’ and wildin’ the fuck out.

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