Here in Austin, there’s just as much good stuff happening on the street corners and outside of venues as there is on the inside. From dawn to dusk and beyond, it’s nothing but end-to-end music, which leaves very little time to remove oneself from the slipstream and relax. That’s where ChinaShop comes in. We’ve always fancied ourselves as purveyors of good taste, communicating the best of what’s out there straight to your computer monitor, but this week we thought we’d go the extra mile provide a tangible service to the band’s themselves. The music makers. The dreamers of dreams. So here’s what we did.
Tag Archives: Event
Event Gallery Burlesque Bingo
My Pops was kind of a big deal around the, “Loyal Order of Moose #1361-Bingo Hall,” when I was a kid. You see, Pops was the “Caller.” Not a position one would ordinarily expect to garner praise, but the #1361 wasn’t full of your ordinary gamblers and my Pops didn’t just mumble off #’s. This place would be packed full of 250 whiskey drinking-public child spanking-son’s a bitches, out to win that $500 “Speed Bingo” purse come 10 p.m. Thur./Fri./Sat. That’s when Pops, standing behind his Plexiglass pulpit filled with muti-colored ping pong balls, would spit them digits like Busta Rymes snorting strychnine. It was fascinating and I thought not to be beaten in the pantheon of Bingo lore. Until this statement…
Event Gallery Finding Love on The World’s Longest Couch
Being dateless on Valentine’s Day wasn’t the plan for 150 hopeful singles that plopped down on the world’s longest couch in the middle of Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade for a chance at finding love. “The event, titled “The World’s Longest Sofa Speed Date” was hosted by Hurry Date, the nation’s leading speed dating company, in conjunction with BoConcept, the mastermind behind the 213-foot red leather Guinness World Record couch that daters sat upon.
Event Bouncing Cats Premieres in Los Angeles
Uganda has been called one of the worst places on earth to be a child. In the South, children face the threat of poverty and disease. In the North, these threats are enflamed by a brutal, mindless war inflicted by the Lord’s Resistance Army (L.R.A.) that has divided families, displaced millions, and led to the abduction and mutilation of tens of thousands of children resulting in the deterioration of identity and culture.
Bouncing Cats is the inspiring story of one man’s attempt to create a better life for the children of Uganda using the unlikely tool of hip-hop with a focus on b-boy culture and breakdance. In 2006, Abraham “Abramz” Tekya, a Ugandan b-boy and A.I.D.S. orphan created Breakdance Project Uganda (B.P.U.). The dream was to establish a free workshop that would empower, rehabilitate and heal the community by teaching youth about b-boy culture. Based in Kampala, Uganda, B.P.U. has recently expanded to include permanent classes in Gulu, Northern Uganda. Abramz teaches classes three times a week to more than 300 kids from all parts of the country. Many of the children are homeless, victims of war and poverty, and few can afford proper schooling yet they walk from miles away to attend the B.P.U. classes. As Abramz says, “This is where many people’s pride is. It’s a skill that no one can take away from us.”
Event Red Bull BC One Announces Winner: ChinaShop Holds Contest
In celebration of the Red Bull BC One championships that just took place in Tokyo Japan Last Saturday, ChinaShop is giving away 3 prize packages each containing a custom Nintendo DS unit and a Red Bull BC One game.
If you don’t know about Red Bull BC One, I invite you to take a gander at the amazing video below. This year, Brazilian power mover Neguin from the Tsunami All Stars crew took the crown in a spectacular finale battle against Just Do It, a Dutchman from the Rugged Solutions crew. The annual competition, now entering it’s eighth consecutive year, continues to raise the b-boy bar. The talented competitors have taken the art form to a whole new level with double back flips, triple gainers, and self levitating windmills that boggle the mind. These chaps are hardly human, and while the odds are that you probably will never land a triple gainer, at least you could thumb a couple radical maneuvers on your new hand held (should you win).
Contest rules; To win the ChinaShop Red Bull BC One prize package, you must correctly answer the below questions in an email to info@chinashopmag.com. ChinaShop will choose 3 contestants at random and announce the lucky winners this Monday 12/6/10 at high noon. Entries must be received by midnight Sunday and you must be 18 years or older to win. Winners the will be contacted via email Monday end of day. Best of luck!
Art/Design Featured Gallery Creatures and Creators: Designer Con 2010
Designer Con (formerly Vinyl Toy Network) returned to Pasadena to mark the fifth year in a row of the convention that “smashes together collectible toys and designer apparel with urban, underground, and pop art.” The show provides a venue for fans to meet their favorite artists and gives them the opportunity to participate in live events and purchase special edition toys to add to their collection. This year’s festivities brought in a full house of attendees who snatched up the latest toys, gawked at new products, and battled the long autograph lines for the chance at going home with their favorite artist’s signature.
Event Featured Gallery “Kitty in Pink” Sanrio Takes You to Prom
Sanrio’s 50th anniversary celebration culminated last week with an 80s-style prom, aptly titled, “Kitty in Pink”. As if LA’s Hello Kitty fans needed another excuse to wear pouffy dresses and tease their hair! They got creative anyhow, some going with far out 80s prom style and others choosing assorted New Waveisms. Cascades of lace, taffeta, all manner of metallic fabrics, and, of course, spandex filled the Barker hangar, which was decked accordingly in pink bows, balloons and sparkly streamers.
Event Gallery First Fridays in Venice CA
You know you are in for a crazy night when you make your evening destination Venice Beach. It’s a place where anything goes. It’s also the home of Abbott Kinney’s First Fridays, a magical evening that takes place on the first Friday of every month where shops stay open past operating hours, galleries reveal museum-worthy art, and food trucks take over the streets. From 6:00-10:00pm, crowds flock to Abbot Kinney Boulevard to socialize, drink, and mingle with eclectic boutique owners and art-minded individuals. November 5th was my first experience with this street festival, Venice-style, and it was definitely an adventure!
Event Featured Gallery Therapy With a Baseball Bat
Titmouse invited me to their annual Smashing Party and there was no way that I was going to turn down that invitation. I’ll admit, I’ve heard stories of past bashes, so I thought I knew what I was in for. When I walked through the entrance gate and was cleared by security, however, I realized that this might turn out to be a bit more extreme of an evening than I was prepared for. At the door, I was handed a waiver to sign, given an official SMASH t-shirt to add to the souvenir collection, and provided with a paper face mask to block “all the dust and debris.”
Event Film Gallery Bouncing Cats Screening Party in Los Angeles
Tuesday night, a crowd packed into L.A.’s Downtown Independent Theater to show some support for the screening of a very moving documentary titled Bouncing Cats. The inspirational film follows the journey of a young man, known as Abramz, who has utilized his love for hip-hop, breakdancing, and b-boying, to find a way to improve the lifestyle of the troubled youth of Uganda.
Similar to the majority of Uganda’s adolescents, Abramz experienced a tough childhood. After losing both of his parents at a very young age, he looked to art, dance, and music as a way to distract him from the troubles of everyday life. Driven by his personal experiences, Abramz formed Breakdance Project Uganda (B.P.U.), an organization that strives to use breakdance and other elements of hip-hop to promote positive social change and responsibility.
Prior to the screening, I had the opportunity to sit down with Nabil Elderkin (Director), Abramz (B.P.U. Founder), Jolly (Invisible Children/H.E.A.L.S), and Crazy Legs (Rock Steady Crew) to hear fist hand about their experiences with the film. Here is a brief synopsis of my encounters with each of them:
















