Rusty Knuckles - Motors Music & Moonshine

Metallica Creaties Orion Music Fest In Atlantic City

2012-02-09T08:35:00.000-05:00

This summer is going to be another one full of music festivals far and wide. Just heard about this new festival created by Metallica and maybe it could be damn cool. Great line up of bands that go across many spectrums it they say in the video they are playing Ride The Lightning in its entirety. Hearing that album in its exact sequence would be worth the trip.

Link to more news on the Orion Music Festival

"We are beyond excited to announce the introduction of the Orion Music + More Festival, a brand new festival that we, your friends in Metallica, will be the headliners, curators, and instigators of. After many years of playing at legendary festivals around the world including Reading, Roskilde, Werchter, Rock Im Ring, Rock In Rio, Lollapalooza and countless others, we're hoping to spread the good times and diverse musical feel here in the States and bring the amazing good vibes and spirit of our 30th anniversary celebration at the Fillmore Theatre in December to a larger, outdoor setting. We've got two nights of live 'Tallica mixed with all kinds of cool bands, activities and stuff to see wrapped into one incredible weekend planned for you. And for the only time in America this year, we're planning to continue the 'Black Album' anniversary celebration by playing it in its entirety on one night AND something we've never done before... drum roll please... all of 'Ride the Lightning' on the other!

If you had a chance to watch the live webcast, you know now that our location will be Bader Field in the heart of Atlantic City, New Jersey on the East Coast on June 23 and 24, 2012. We've joined forces with our friends at C3, who bring you Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits each year here in the U.S. as well as presenting Big Day Out to our Australian friends. Together we've invited a wide range of bands and musicians to play on multiple stages (at least three!) including Arctic Monkeys, Avenged Sevenfold, Modest Mouse, The Gaslight Anthem, Cage The Elephant, Fucked Up, Best Coast, Hot Snakes, Titus Andronicus, Gary Clark Jr., Lucero, Roky Erickson, The Black Angels, The Sword, Liturgy, and more to be announced in the coming weeks. We've also put together non-music activities for you to experience when you take a break between sets... hopefully a chance for you to interact with us and see some of the stuff we're into.

Weekend tickets go on sale SOON! Met Club members should log in for details on their pre-sale with discounted tickets and special packages that begins on Wednesday, February 8 at 7:00 AM PST and ends on Friday, February 10 at 7:00 PM PST. Tickets will be available for everyone starting Saturday, February 11 at 7:00 AM PST... all the details are here: www.orionmusicandmore.com. The entire weekend ticket is $150 with no service charges... what you see is what you get for ticket prices with no surprises.

Needless to say, the details will keep flowing... keep watching here and the Orion site for ongoing updates.

Ticket Info
Tickets will be available for the early bird price of $150 starting Saturday, February 11 at 7:00 AM PST at www.orionmusicandmore.com. Supplies are limited at this special price and ticket purchases are limited to no more than ten per person.

Travel packages including tickets, hotels, and shuttle busses will also be available. Please note that some hotels have age restrictions due to gambling laws, so be sure to read the fine print and book carefully.

A special VIP package is also available for $750 so you can experience the festival in style and comfort with special amenities in the Orion VIP lounge. Situated with a great view of the stage, the Orion VIP lounge has an elevated viewing platform perfect for music and people watching!
What You Get:

Your Orion VIP Pass gets you daily VIP wristbands (one each for Saturday and Sunday) to enter the festival. It also includes:

Unlimited access to the Orion VIP Lounge
Viewing platform of the stage with premium sightlines
Complimentary beer, wine and specialty libations all day
Complimentary catered food servings daily
Reserved air conditioned restrooms
Shaded and relaxed lounge seating"

Rory Kelly, Your New Guitar Hero

2012-02-07T07:57:00.000-05:00

It is now 2012 and the end of the world as we know it, is coming to an end in December. Ok, don't fret maybe the Mayan calendar was wrong and it is potentially just a shift in mind set, but in all reality do you have the power to appease the gods? Nah, why worry on it, so get your groove on with some of the finest guitar shredders out there today. Rory Kelly has been clawing his way up through the ranks for some time now while being in metal thrashers Intethod and after that with the southern sleazers in Crank County Daredevils. Rory's new self titled band is defining its own sound in the Southern Rock genre and many big guns have been taking note. It is just a matter of time before these compadres are seen far and wide as their live show seals the deal.

Here is also another interesting fact for you die hard metal heads. Ever heard of the Old Bridge Metal Militia? Well, Mike Kelly the drummer aka Pops, was part of that crew and a go to drummer back in the early 80's thrash metal scene.

Link up with Rory Kelly on Facebook

Listen to more tracks by Rory Kelly on ReverbNation

Rory Kelly, guitar hero and shredder

Rory Kelly - (Don't Shake My) Family Tree by RustyKnuckles

Rory Kelly, Mike Kelly and Billy Miller are one heavy hitting power trio

Rory Kelly's new album out in May 2012, (Don't Shake My) Family Tree

"Blame it on the heady highs in the air that permeate the Black Mountains of North Carolina, but the state has produced an artist in Rory Kelly that will surely bring new dimension to the tour de force that is America’s beloved Southern Rock. Possessing a playing ability in league with prodigies, Kelly is a self-taught musician that picked up the guitar as a boy and cut his chops in the rural town of Marion. While his mother slung drinks behind the bar, Rory strummed alongside his father, drummer Mike Kelly, in a family dominated house band in a local music dive. Mike Kelly has quite the backstory in thrash metal as well, being part of the infamous Old Bridge Militia of thrash metal fame.

Tapped a few years later, first by heavy metal outfit Intethod and later by Asheville based sleaze masters, the Crank County Daredevils, who found success both in the US and abroad; Kelly developed a keen ear, and playing ability to match, for what would develop into an ever widening spectrum of rock n roll sensibilities. After the unforeseen dissolution of Crank County, in 2010 Rory Kelly began to hone his own dirty rock n' roll based signature sound and recruited his former musical partner and father Mike to form two-thirds of what would ultimately become their current band. Together they recorded, and Rory Kelly produced, what critics deemed a “swamp rock” sound in their first release, Better Than The Blues.

When demand for that record began to outweigh supply, Rory Kelly began to branch out regionally, playing live with a hired gun on bass and gaining footholds with venues and audiences throughout both the Carolinas. In March of 2011 they scored a coveted series of showcases with Texas Rockfest, which takes place in the heart of downtown Austin, Texas each year during the world famous South By Southwest music conference. Those showcases brought Kelly interest from endorsement companies and rekindled a connection between him and Rusty Knuckles, his former label from the Crank County days, that was in the midst of successfully developing its’ own niche signing renegade artists from within the ranks of southern sleaze. Summer ’11 brought more recognition to Rory Kelly as they were thrust into and embraced by the Southern biker circuit and a permanent bass player joined their ranks. Billy Miller, also a seasoned musician from touring gigs with Voodou and Super Sport, brought the final element needed to round out this dirty rock n' roll trio, forming a mercurial rhythm section with the elder Kelly to compliment the smoldering swagger of Kelly’s rock riffs.

The addition of Miller has brought a new dynamic into the band and, with that, an ever evolving definition of what Southern Rock means to Rory Kelly and how they intend to translate that to their followers. The new album is done and scheduled for release in late Spring of 2012, and has captured the interest of well-known NC radio personality Steve Blanton who will assist Kelly in the production of their second effort. Revealing a band edging toward a harder sound, (Don't Shake My) Family Tree, will be released to world-wide distribution through Rusty Knuckles with both US and European tours planned for early 2012 in support of the record."

- Tammy Moore

The Unauthorized "Scott Free" Technique for Changing Buell Isolators

2012-02-07T07:29:00.001-05:00

How often have you spent hours working to take apart a piece of machinery and walked away frustrated that the manual in no way shape or form was created by the person actually working on the object in question? Yes, this happens all the time unfortunately. Our Buell build left us hanging this past Saturday with utter frustration over the isolators on the swingarm. Our chain block was put into overtime lifting, descending, lifting, hanging, banging and cussing like there is no tomorrow in frustration over removing these damn isolators that dampen the vibration where the swingarm and motor mount connect to the frame on early Buell models.

When in doubt, search out the internet and type in a myriad of questions on how to fix what ya need. After a few queries we found several options and one amazing link lead us to the page of Daniel C. Starr and his ingenious tool. Below is a repost from Daniel's site and his home made custom tool for replacing the isolators. If only we could have found this before we started to tear right into the bike, doh!

Link over to The Unauthorized "Scott Free" Technique for Changing Buell Isolators

Tube frame Buell islotator that is damaged and needs replacing

"Tube-frame Buells use what are more or less the same rubber biscuit "isolators" as the Harley touring bikes (no surprise there; Erik Buell is said to have invented the system). And, from time to time, these isolators wear out. The symptom I noticed was a lot of vibration through the footpegs, especially when the bike was heavily loaded (i.e., with gear for the week-long trip to Deals Gap I was about to depart on) and hitting any kind of a dip in the road. And when they start failing, riding is not an option--these things are chunks of rubber and metal that are glued together and support the weight of the bike and rider in a shear mode. When they start coming apart, there ain't nothing keeping your ass off the pavement. The photo at right shows just how far my right-side isolator had gone by the time I discovered it was failing. The end plate (which nestles into the frame) had separated from the rubber over close to half the isolator's circumference. Not at all a good thing. I had to replace these puppies right now. Here's how I did it.

On some bikes (the Harleys, the S2 and earlier models, and the X1 Lightning), the rear isolators are held in place by a bolt-on plate that lines them up and squeezes them into position. On these bikes, replacing the suckers is easy. But on some models--S1 Lightning, S3/S3T Thunderbolt, and M2 Cyclone), the isolators are slipped into recesses in the frame before the engine and swingarm block are lifted in from below. That is, there's no removable piece providing access.

The shop manual says you're supposed to remove the engine from the frame to change the rear isolators. Aiee! most customers say in response. So various imaginative people have come up with schemes to free the rubber biscuits without having to hang the frame from an engine hoist while strapping the motor to a floor lift (and by the way, disconnecting every oil hose and half the electrical wiring on the bike). We had some motivation here.

Oh, and of course you may not be doing this because the isolators have died; you may simply want to replace a worn drive belt (especially if your belt was set up too tight by the selling dealer, which many tube frame Buell belts were). That's what led me to develop this scheme. Word to the wise: if you're going to go to the effort (even the significantly reduced effort under my scheme) to remove the isolators, you might as well replace all the stuff that's replaceable here. In other words, if the only thing "bad" appears to be the belt, replace the isolators at the same time; if the isolators look bad and the belt looks OK, replace the belt anyway. There's nothing worse than having to rip the bike apart a year later because a belt or an isolator that looked OK the last time you had the bike apart is now going south on you. How did I learn this? Because I replaced the belt at 40,000 miles and didn't replace the isolators while I had things apart, of course...

Also, keep in mind that I'm not a Buell employee, and Buell didn't approve of this procedure (or even look at it, far as I know). It worked for me, and it was a lot easier than the procedure found in the manual--but remember that 30 years ago some aircraft mechanics were saying the same thing about using a fork lift to remove/install the engines on a DC-10, and we all know how that turned out. I make no warranty that this procedure will work for you. Be careful out there...

So, with that in mind, let's get started:

Step 1. Get the bike up in the air and remove the back wheel, hugger and belt guards. Make sure you have plenty of room to move around beneath its nether regions.

Step 2. Put a jack (preferably one with wheels) under the transmission to support its weight, and then remove the two big allen bolts that hold the isolators to the swingarm block. These are 1/2" head allens. If you don't have an allen socket of that size, Lafayette has a cheap substitute: buy a 2" long by 1/2" "coupler nut" and stick it into a (six point) 1/2" socket. Voila! An Allen substitute! Be careful removing the bolts; you don't want to mess up the threads. In particular, make sure you've got the jack adjusted so that the bolts aren't snagging on the isolator base plates as you take 'em out. It's surprisingly easy to monge the threads.

Step 3. Assemble the spreader tool shown below (Note--click on any of these pictures to expand it). The center piece of the tool is about six inches of 3/8" threaded rod from the hardware store. The pieces on it, from left to right, are a 3" piece of stout tubing (I used a leftover Harley Sportster turn-signal stalk, thereby keeping the whole thing an "Authentic Harley Special Tool"), a regular 3/8 nut, a jammed-together pair of 3/8" nuts (one of them's a locknut; it's inside the wrench and the two are held together with Loctite. In the best of all possible worlds, the central nut would be welded to the threaded rod), half of a 9/16" box wrench, and the other turn signal stalk.

Custom Buell isolator separator tool

This is what it'll look like when it's assembled and ready to go:

3/8ths threaded rod, jam nuts loctite together, 9/16th wrench, steel sheath = Buell isolator tool

Step 4. Slither up under the rear end of the bike, taking a 1/2" and 9/16" wrench and the tool you just fabricated with you. Remove the 9/16" bolt that fastens the turnbuckle to the swingarm carrier (this allows the engine and transmission to move side to side in the frame). Then remove the 1/2" bolt that holds the battery ground strap to the swingarm carrier. You'll find the hole goes all the way through the boss on the swingarm carrier, and it's tapped all the way through. So re-install the bolt from the left side, so that about 1/4" of it sticks out the right side of the boss. This provides a pin for the left end of the special tool to align on.

Step 5. Brace the cut-down 9/16" wrench part of the tool against the top of the swingarm carrier, and turn the nuts (fingers should be adequate) until the other end of the tool is pressed up firmly against the inside of the frame just above the right isolator. See the picture below:

Notice the red bar, need extra torque, use the handle of a your portable car jack

Step 6. Then, as the picture above also shows, put a big long wrench on the first nut (the one that presses up against the turn signal stalk on the left end of the tool) and turn this nut to spread the tool out and shift the engine/trans/swingarm carrier to the left. This is not actually spreading the frame; it's just compressing the left isolator. You will need to apply a lot of torque, which is why I put a long lever (a jack handle, actually) on the wrench. The cut-down wrench that's a part of the tool keeps the threaded rod from turning. Keep turning the wrench and extending the tool until you can pop out the right isolator, as seen below:

Buell isolator tool, used effectively to drop out the isolators for replacing

Notice how you've shifted the engine/trans/swingarm carrier about a quarter inch to the left--you can see this in the misalignment between the adjustment turnbuckle and the hole in the boss on the swingarm carrier. This picture also clearly shows how the cut-down 9/16" wrench is braced against the top of the swingarm carrier to keep the lock nut (and the threaded rod) from turning.

Step 7. Turn the nuts on the tool the other way (the cut-down box wrench part will flip around and brace itself against the swingarm), until you can remove the tool.

Step 8. Give the swingarm a yank to the right, and the left isolator will drop out. Now that you've got both isolators out of the way, this is a real good time to run a thread-chaser tap down the holes in the swingarm pivot. Remember that these pieces are assembled with heavy-duty red Loctite at the factory, so there's going to be some residue in there that could make it hard to get the bolts started when you re-assemble this piece. So clean those threads up now!

Step 9. Slip the new left isolator into place. Make sure it's aligned properly (see your Buell service manual). Reinstall the special tool, and repeat step 5 until you've compressed the (new) left isolator enough to slip the new right isolator into place. Make sure the belt's in the right place before you install the new isolator; the last thing you want to do is button up the job and discover the belt's dropped out! (Matter of fact, given that you've got the isolators off, inspect the belt closely--if it's even remotely near needing replacement, slip in a new one now. You'll thank yourself later!)

Step 10. Repeat step 7 and remove the special tool. You'll probably find the threads on the threaded rod are a bit monged up by now, so you may need an extra wrench to keep the rod from turning in strange ways.

Step 11. CAREFULLY start the allen bolts through the isolators and into the swingarm pivot. This can be tricky. You may have to fiddle with the jack a bit to align things properly. Be patient; you don't want to mess up the threads. The last time I did this, I found that the passage of time (and previous removal/replacement of the bolts when I did a belt replacement two years ago) had messed the threads up slightly. A quick cleanup with a 1/2" SAE fine tap solved the problem, and everything went together nicely. Don't forget the Loctite! Once both bolts are started, and you've again checked that the isolators are in the correct alignment, tighten the piss out of the bolts, to whatever monstrous amount of torque the manual specifies (about four grunts, if I recall correctly).

Step 12. Re-install the turnbuckle to the swingarm carrier. You may need to give the swingarm a little shove one way or the other to get things lined up. Re-install the ground strap (remember it bolts to the right side of the boss). Re-install belt guards, hugger, and back wheel. Lower the bike, give everything one last check, and you're ready to go."

- Daniel C. Starr

Cafe Racer Season 3 Trailer

2012-02-07T07:06:00.001-05:00

It is damn cool to see that Cafe Racer TV has started to build a solid following and plenty of on air viewers to be renewed for a third season. Looking forward to see what builders are involved season three and hopefully some more modern day street fighter style bikes.

Check out CafeRacerTV.com

Advertising Killed the Radio Star: How Pop Music and TV Ads Became Inseparable

2012-02-04T14:38:00.000-05:00

Ever heard of the term synchronization? Are you in a band that likes to make money instead of eating Ramen at truck stops? Well, a dilemma may be on hand at some point if you are lucky, talented and willing to see how far you can push your music career. What if you happen to pen a song that is so damn catchy and the melody makes everyday folks want to sing along, yet you feel tormented about losing your artistic integrity. Quite the conundrum isn't it?

There will always be the individuals who talk on who sells out, or what is cool and what is the new buzz, but guess what, they don't pay your bills. Trends come and go, but careers can be made in an instant (don't ever forget that the Beatles were only around for about eight years). Remember that amazing lick you just whipped up on the guitar and recorded it with your iphone, what if you could get that out to the masses in another format such as advertising. This might help the Ramen noodle budget turn into sushi addiction while riding in a bus, compared to an old church van.

This is a slippery slope when it comes to what we term artistic integrity, but our popular culture is moving towards the diet of fast food compared to home cooked meals. So think on the decision about where your music goes and what company's advertising you might potentially work with. Did the Transplants write about hair care initially? Don't think so, but I hope they got paid well for the song.

Dig into the article below, re-posted from Time Magazine online and see what you think about having music and advertising working together. Would you as a band member be critical on the type of company who wanted to use your song? Or would you rather take a payout and put that money in the back pocket and start to work on the next batch of songs?

Link to original article on Time.com

"Chances are you’ve heard indie singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson. But not on the radio. Or in a music video. And probably not from buying her album, or even downloading her songs from iTunes.

Instead, you might’ve seen an Old Navy commercial featuring the 32-year-old’s lilting “The Way I Am,” a song that seems almost too perfect for selling sweaters. Or the Google Chrome ad with an instrumental version of her song “Sort Of.” Then there’s the Mott’s Apple Juice spot, the Ritz Crackers ad and the Stand Up to Cancer commercial, all with Michaelson’s catchy, sunny single “Be OK.”

Those ads might’ve been broadcast while you were watching Grey’s Anatomy, One Tree Hill, Parenthood, Hellcats, Scrubs, Bones, The Big C, Brothers & Sisters, Army Wives, Pretty Little Liars or Body of Proof — all television shows, and all of them featuring Michaelson’s music. And we haven’t even gotten to the movies and DVDs that include her songs.

The ways listeners are discovering Michaelson, a skilled multi-instrumentalist and vocalist who writes unequivocally upbeat songs, says nothing about her exceptional talent but everything about the music industry — or lack thereof — which has become a dwindling yet evolving business in which ads break emerging artists and TV spots are music videos.

Last year, worldwide licensing revenue from synchronization — a fancy term for pop music in ads — hit an all-time high at $2.5 billion, according to Heartbeats International, a music-branding agency. The tangled relationship between popular music and advertising has evolved over the past decade. Many in rock ’n’ roll long believed that any artist helping to sell something was “selling out.” Today, our consumerist culture has fallen in love and married our most popular art form — and the old arguments about using pop music to sell a product don’t seem to matter in an era when profits for musicians have fallen away. The idea that licensing music is somehow different from selling music through iTunes isn’t taken seriously anymore.

Michaelson, who released her new album, Human Again, on Jan. 24, doesn’t seem worried about any of this. It was far from her mind in 2007 when Old Navy contacted her through her Myspace page and later decided to use “The Way I Am” in an ad. And most of today’s musicians are of the same mind-set.

“The hope when licensing your music is that a few people will like what they hear,” Michaelson says. “Then those people will seek out the song and buy the song and/or record and become a fan.”

In fact, she did exactly that — became a fan — when Volkswagen featured the late songwriter Nick Drake’s “Pink Moon” in 1999, in an ad that many in the industry saw as a game changer — and that some say was work of art in its own right.

“There are so many emerging artists. Very few of them endorse the philosophy that it’s selling out in any way,” says Josh Rabinowitz, senior vice president and director for ad agency Grey Worldwide. “It’s not even a part of their culture anymore.”

So why isn’t licensing music for advertising selling out? How did we get from Neil Young singing that shilling for Pepsi would make him look like a joke to pop musicians writing songs specifically for TV spots? As Americans approach Super Bowl Sunday, we’ll see a number of popular bands featured in ads — OK Go and Mötley Crüe, to name two — and likely a few emerging artists who a decade ago would have never considered being in an ad. Somehow, the line between pop music and advertising became blurry and then disappeared altogether. How’d that happen?

The Jingle’s Jangled Morning Almost a century ago, songs in commercials were recognizably distinct from popular music — even though tunes in both genres were often extremely catchy. The jingle was its own art form and had its own artists who realized, before science proved it years later, that melodies get lodged deep in our brains and don’t leave. What better way for consumers to remember your product?

While there’s some debate over the first jingle, many point to “Have You Tried Wheaties?,” a radio ad that aired on Christmas Eve in 1926. Sung by the aptly named Wheaties Quartet, a barbershop male group, the ad melodically asked, “Have you tried Wheaties?/ They’re whole wheat with all the bran/ Won’t you try Wheaties?/ For wheat is the best food of man.” The story goes that Wheaties executives had planned to discontinue the struggling cereal until they noticed that sales had spiked in areas where the jingle aired. After broadcasting the song nationally, Wheaties took off, and the first true commercial tune was a success.

By the 1950s and ’60s, jingles began morphing into full-fledged songs. “See the U.S.A. in your Chevrolet,” “If I were an Oscar Mayer wiener” and “Plop plop/ fizz fizz/ oh what a relief it is!” all became part of the American lexicon. But they remained distinct from what most Americans heard on the radio.

That started to change in the 1980s and ’90s, when now legendary jingle writers like Mary Wood started writing songs like “Everybody Needs a Little KFC” and “7 Up: It’s an Up Thing.” Those songs sounded like, well, songs. Peter Nashel, a composer at Duotone Audio Group in New York City, began writing music for commercials around that time.

“It wasn’t like the jingles from the ’60s and the ’70s,” says Nashel. “This was like the type of music you’d hear if you turned on the radio or MTV, which at the time was exploding.” Musicians like Nashel quickly realized the money that could be made in scoring original music for TV ads, while others saw potential legal problems in the way the industry was evolving.

At the time, Nashel wanted his music to sound like whatever band was hot, but doing so required him to make sure he wasn’t bumping up too close to existing songs. That’s why the company hired guys like Matthew Harris, who studied at the famed Juilliard School of Music. In the mid-’80s, Harris couldn’t find a job teaching, but a new career was opening up: musicology.

As advertising agencies began composing songs for commercials, they started getting sued on the grounds that those songs sounded too close to existing tunes. In the U.S., a country with strong intellectual property rights and copyright protections, it’s fine if you’re a musician and want to cover someone else’s song. But if you’re using a song to sell a product or service, that’s a separate issue.

That’s where musicologists come in. Since 1987, Harris’ job has been to vet ad agencies’ music, a task that requires a vast mental library of songs and the judgment to determine when a musical resemblance creates a legal risk.

“Before I got involved, until just before the ’80s, a jingle was its own genre,” says Harris, who says he has evaluated more than 7,000 songs. “And jingles didn’t sound like pop songs. No one expected them to. They had too much information. They were telling you to take this, drink this, do that. They didn’t need musicologists in those days.”

But after about a decade and a half of sound-alikes — and some infamous and pricey lawsuits, including Bette Midler vs. Ford Motor Company and Tom Waits vs. Frito-Lay – ad agencies and companies had an epiphany: Instead of recording a knockoff, why not get the real thing?

Moby’s Play, Nick Drake’s “Pink Moon” and Napster In 1999 Moby released Play, an electronic-techno album layered with samples, gospel and house music. It was a mild success at first. Then he decided to license every track — all 18 of them. Suddenly, Play was on TV, it was in movies, it was in advertisements. Since then, it has sold 10 million copies worldwide and is widely thought to have obliterated, once and for all, the wall between popular music and advertising. At the time, Moby’s managers said they made a “conscious effort to create a marketing plan that had nothing to do with radio.”

“I think that by the time Moby did it, it was almost like the floodgates had opened,” says Ray Loewy, composer and sound designer at Tonefarmer, another New York City–based agency that pens music for ads. “I just think the wave was already moving, and he had a really cool album out that everybody loved.”

The beginning of that wave included the Rolling Stones’ licensing “Start Me Up” for Microsoft’s Windows 95, Sting’s singing “Desert Rose” for a Jaguar commercial (while also appearing in the car in the ad) and the use of Drake’s “Pink Moon” in the Volkswagen ad.

Read more: http://business.time.com/2012/02/03/advertising-killed-the-radio-star-how-pop-music-and-tv-ads-became-inseparable/2/#ixzz1lROG2yJB

Also in 1999, a little-known online music-sharing service called Napster debuted, and the industry was about to be transformed. Over the course of the next decade, rock and pop music sales fell by half, and Napster and other sites like it complicated things by planting the idea that consumers didn’t have to pay for music. Then iTunes debuted in 2003, MP3 players like the iPod spiked in popularity, and physical-CD sales plummeted as people downloaded individual songs for less than a dollar instead of buying entire albums. And many just pirated what they wanted for free.

All that money artists had been making needed to be recouped. But it still seemed relatively uncool for musicians, especially newer bands, to hawk products — until Apple changed things. In addition to reinventing the personal computer, the mobile phone, the handheld music player and the tablet, Apple’s Steve Jobs transformed TV advertising and the music industry along with it.

First featuring well-known artists like U2 and Eminem in its iPod ads, the company started including emerging musicians: Jet in 2003, Feist in 2007, CSS in 2008. Apple ads were suddenly the vehicle to break new bands, even becoming Billboard magazine’s No. 1 place for “Maximum Exposure.”

(MORE: Is Freddie Mac Betting Against the American Homeowner?)

“It’s such an overused phrase, particularly in my industry: Advertising is the new radio,” says Loewy. “Well, it kind of is.”

Write Something Happy! Lynn Grossman is the owner of Secret Road, an artist management and music service that represents unsigned musicians, including Ingrid Michaelson. She started with Secret Road about six years ago, when advertisers were discovering the magic of emerging artists.

Grossman represents two types of musicians: the ones who will allow their music to be in an ad if it’s a company they believe in or an ad they like, and the rest — which is most of them — who are actively trying to get their songs in any commercials. There’s a good way to do that, she says: Stay upbeat.

“We get approached by people usually looking for positive messages in songs,” she says. “Things like, ‘I feel good,’ ‘Life is great,’ ‘I’m the man,’ ‘I feel good about myself,’ or something about coming home or feeling at home. They’re all pretty similar.”

After getting a request, Grossman will either find existing songs from her collection of artists or guide musicians to write songs that the company wants. When Michaelson’s “The Way I Am” got picked up by Old Navy, it was no accident that clothing was in the lyrics.

“I think Old Navy actually looked for sweater,” Grossman says. Michaelson’s song has since sold 1.5 million copies.

Singing for Expedia, Singing for Allstate While Michaelson isn’t writing songs specifically for ads, some artists are. Matt Mahaffey is the lead singer of the Nashville-based pop-rock band Self. But you’ve probably heard “Expedia — dotcom!” rather than Gizmodgery, an inventive Self album recorded with all kids’ toys.

“They hired some nasally dude to do it now,” says Mahaffey of the jingle for Expedia, a travel website. “But I wrote that.”

Mahaffey writes compositions for movies, commercials and cartoons, and also composes pneumonics, which are essentially micro-jingles. Is it discouraging to him that he makes more money from three-second ad spots than from his Self work?

“Oh, it’s a bummer,” he says. “But I’ll get paid a lot more to do a 30-second commercial than for something with the band, and it will take less time to do it.”

An emerging indie artist can get $10,000 for a song for a 30-second ad, while bigger acts can earn up to $1 million. “You can’t do that with a major label,” he says.

Jason Wade views the changing landscape similarly. Better known for alt-rock songs like “Hanging by a Moment” with his band Lifehouse, Wade was approached by Allstate a few years ago to pen a song for one of its auto-insurance ads.

“I can remember it like it was yesterday,” says Wade, recalling when Allstate sent him a 30-second clip of the TV spot. “A friend of mine died in a car accident when he was 16, and when I saw the clip, I had this visceral reaction. I had my guitar, I picked it up, and it was almost like I was channeling something. The whole song took, like, 10, 15 minutes to write.”

“Our band started out in the post-grunge movement, and doing anything commercial was kind of a sellout. But it’s evolved since then,” he says. “If it was just about hacking a song out, I wouldn’t be interested.”

While Wade says he feels bad for emerging bands because it’s so difficult for them make a living now, he thinks advertisers are interested in just those sorts of musicians because they’re new and exciting.

In fact, the movement toward emerging artists has cut into the business for composers like Loewy, who has been writing music for TV spots for years. “I think everybody in my business would say there is much less work for people like us,” Loewy says. “What we do isn’t necessarily cheap.”

Original music written by people like Loewy, Nashel and Rabinowitz can cost $30,000 for a 30-second spot. And Loewy says fewer advertisers seem to be asking him to make knockoffs of existing songs. There have been too many lawsuits.

But composers like Rabinowitz are adapting; he’s constantly bringing in new artists and musicians that advertisers might want to use. “There’s been a migration from the record world into my world,” he says.

Has that migration gone too far? After all, indie-sounding songs have become almost commonplace in the ad world.

But maybe pop music and commercials are just a perfect match, and more similar than we thought. Michaelson’s commercial output certainly doesn’t appear to be slowing. Grossman says two more songs off her latest album will be licensed soon. And, she adds, “I expect a lot more to come.”"

- Josh Sanburn

Beautiful Women, Dirty Rock N' Roll, Motorized Mayhem...

2012-02-02T10:16:00.002-05:00

Beautiful Women, Dirty Rock N' Roll, Motorized Mayhem and much more is what we have in store for our new catalog coming out later this spring. As things have grown within the Rusty Knuckles camp so has our foot print world wide. We are shipping massive amounts of merch and music all over the US, Europe, Asia and Australia and can't thank everyone enough. We couldn't think of a better way to spread the good times than to create a full new catalog for everyone to oogle over for later this spring and to expand our distributor list. Not only will there be gorgeous women, but all the bands on the label will be a massive part of this catalog along with feature interviews. The catalog will be free to download by pdf and available on ipads. More details on everything soon.

Here is just a sample of some of the imagery that will be lurking onto your screens in May...

Replica Knuckle And Pan Motors From Germany

2012-02-02T10:02:00.000-05:00

Been digging around to find more info about these dudes over in Germany making replica Pan and Knuckle motors but can't find too much more about them. Anyone got more info detailing their pricing or if their motors are any good? Looks like they have the casting and machining dialed in, but that is just one piece to the puzzle.

Motortechnic Mfg of Germany

Motortechnic Mfg of Germany with a Flathead and Knucklehead reproduction motors assembled

Bottom end cases ready for assembly

Inside view of the cases

Flywheel assembled

Cam gears

Cast casing ready for assembly

Fuel Magazine Issue 9 Launch Party

2012-02-02T09:44:00.002-05:00

To all of our friends down under, get out to the Fuel Magazine launch party on March 4th at

Rancho Deluxe 1A 119 McEwan road, Heidelberg, vi 3081

Fuel Magazine

Fuel Magazine Issue 9 Launch Party

View Larger Map Get Directions View Bird's Eye

Revelation Records 25th Anniversary Showcase

2012-02-02T09:36:00.001-05:00

There is no way you can claim to be into any type of hardcore without knowing about Revelation Records. Trace back through their deep catalog and damn is it amazing to see the depth of the bands that were affiliated with the label and how they helped to shape underground punk music. With bands such as Rage Against the Machine, Sick Of It All, Judge, Gorilla Biscuits, Quicksand, Orange 9mm, Shelter, Youth Of Today and an endless score of great bands Revelation has planted the flag and made their mark. Check out the shows coming up this summer at the Glass House in Pamona. A flight might be in the works for sure.

Revelation Records

Revelation Records 25 year anniversary party with Youth of Today, Gorilla Biscuits, Sick of It All, Bold

Revelation Records 25 year anniversary party with Underdog, Gorilla Biscuits, Statue, Shai Hulud

Revelation Records 25 year anniversary party with Youth of Today, Gorilla Biscuits, Sick of It All

Heading To Cincinnati This Weekend For The V-Twin Expo?

2012-01-30T10:31:00.005-05:00

By chance are ya heading to Cincinnati for the V-Twin Expo? If so, get out to the Biltwell and Lowbrow Customs after party.

"This coming Saturday, February 4th, 2012 in Cincinnati, Ohio come on out for The Biltwell Brodown, brought to you by Biltwell & Lowbrow Customs! Stay up to date in this age of technology by visiting the website (and vieiwng a nice Dandelion Death video from the party last year!) or perusing the Facebook Brodown event page. We don't screw around here in the midwest, when we are ready to party we burn it down, so bring your drinking shoes and don't be late!"

Biltwell & Lowbrow Customs Brodown after party at V-Twin Expo 2012

Screen Printing The Ramones Tribute Record Packaging

2012-01-30T10:10:00.001-05:00

When it comes to understanding the process of how things work, that is something we can nerd out on all day long. Whether it be an engine running, watching a mill shape metal into a new part to be used or simply hanging out at our local print shop and watching Aardvark Printing do their magic. We can't thank them enough for their continual hard work on all of projects and their lightning fast turnaround. Some items sell out instantly and Greg and Mark keep us restocked within days, thanks fellas!

The photos below are from some recent projects being completed. Do yourself a favor, if you need some of the best screen printing done we have two shops that are beyond top notch. Out in Asheville, Matt over at BluBus Printing is a mad scientist on making new setups and can print anything. Here in Raleigh, Greg over at Aardvark is the go to man for all that is music industry for printing. If ya didn't already know, he is also the former drummer of Antiseen. Both are top notch and the only folks we work with for screen printing due to their quality work and competitive pricing.

White ink separation for the Ramones Tribute 7" vinyl - Hail To The Chief

Green Lady Killers Poison Skull tshirt graphic ready to be burned to screen

Underside view of the white ink screen for the 7" vinyl with Antiseen & Flat Tires

Cleaning the black print screen after covers are completed

The ink well

Hellbound Glory Rooster Tshirt design separations ready to burn to screen

Antiseen & Flat Tires 7" album, Hail To The Chief, custom screenprint poster, insert and vinyl

Green Lady Killers To Return To Arizona With Two Shows in March

2012-01-29T15:53:00.001-05:00

"It's been a minute since I've seen The Green Lady Killers in action. The hometown garage rockers relocated to Los Angeles some time ago, but before that I used to enjoy dipping into random dive bars to catch a live show by the grrrly trio.

Needless to say I was pretty stoked yesterday when they announced on the band's Facebook page, two Arizona shows coming up in March.

You see, GLK always reminds me of the first and last time I walked through the ally entrance of the Emerald Lounge, one of the Valley's premier local music venues before it closed down in 2005.

Located just below what is now Sidebar on Seventh Avenue and McDowell, I only have feint memories of the musky club, but I hold them near and dear. A transplant from the City of Angels, I was still finding my bearings back then when a friend and I stumbled in. We heard some bands were going to be playing later on that night so we loaded up and hung out.

I only remember two of the bands that played that night. The first, was some touring death metal act fronted by this chick with a wicked death growl followed by GLK.

Cherrybomb, with her signature black bangs and animal print something or other, accosted the crowd with her gaze as she flailed on drums, while the leather-clad, high heeled Lady Van Buren wailed and shredded on guitar. This was how I was indoctrinated to the Arizona music scene. It also marks the one and only time I've bought band merch that wasn't a CD.

The Green Lady Killers play Friday, March 9, at Hollywood Alley in Mesa, and again, Saturday, March 10, at Inkenstein Tattoo's annual anniversary party.

I may have to bust out my GLK T-shirt, I'm not sure yet."

- Anthony Sandoval

Link to article over the Phoenix New Times

The Green Lady Killers featured in the Phoenix New Times

Mondo Film Posters - Reimagining Classic Film

2012-01-29T14:18:00.000-05:00

There is just something about classic movies that continue to make us want to view them over and over and over. Is it the plot lines, the depth the characters plunge into our psyche or is just damn good cinematography? If we had to pick one choice of that bunch, we would have to go with character depth, but then again, without a solid plot line the characters could be as flat as pancakes.

Mondo prints classic movie posters re-envisioned by a plethora of designers, illustrators and mad thinkers. Their approach is DIY and the way in which the posters are printed in small editions makes them even better. We have missed out on quite a few gems that we would dig for our walls such as the ones below. Dig into their archives and blog and see what Mondo is all about.

Mondo Archives for their gallery of posters

Mondo Blog for up to date info

Werewolves On Wheels by Phantom City Creative

Assault On Precinct 13 by Tyler Stout

Down By Law, featuring Tom Waits by Rich Kelly

Star Wars, Return Of The Jedi, by Olly Moss

Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, by Tyler Stout

Dirty Harry, by Olly Moss

The Warriors, by Tyler Stout

Rock N' Roll High School, by Print Mafia

Hellride (variant) by Tyler Stout

1958 Ariel Square Four MK II and Ariel Motorcycle History

2012-01-29T13:37:00.000-05:00

"You will never find, see, or ride, a better example of the famous Square Four Ariel. It was restored to absolute show condition by a very experienced Texas restoration expert and collector. The engine/transmission was built by Keith Martin of Big D Cycle fame. It has been the center piece of a private museum for the last several years. The bike starts, runs, and rides just as it looks. The torque of the four cylinder engine is amazing. It starts very easily and after a few minutes of warm up runs out better than it did in '58. This is obviously not an everyday bike, but it can, and should, be ridden regularly. There is no problem keeping up with modern traffic, but you must remember the bike has brakes from the fifties era. The bike will be delivered to the new owner with a fresh service, fully charged battery, and ready to show or ride. This is isn't a distress sale, and is not cheap, the best never is.

I've been collecting vintage motorcycles for over 30 years and I've never seen a Square Four even close to the condition of this bike. You can be assured you won't see another like this at a show or Sunday ride. If you are interested in seeing the collection's website visit www.vintagememoriesinc.com PLEASE DO NOT email me about other bikes that might be for sale. If anything is for sale it will be on ebay at a future time.

I'm selling this bike only because I don't ride it often enough. I'm selling a few of my bikes that are not ridden often enough, or that I have more than one example. The bike has a clear and open Texas title. It has not been registered in Georgia since I just never used it that much."

Need a rare vintage bike for your collection, bid now

1958 Ariel Square Four MK II

More information about Ariel Motorcycles from HowStuffWorks.com

The 1957 Ariel Mk II motorcycle was developed by one of the British motorcycle industry's more adventurous manufacturers. Begun in 1902, Ariel produced an array of singles and twins of both two- and four-stroke design, but it is this unusual four-cylinder model that is perhaps best remembered.

During the 1920s, Ariel's Edward Turner had dreams of changing the world of motorcycling. For many years, twin-cylinder engines were the powerplant of choice, but Turner had grander ideas.

Envisioning a four-cylinder engine that would fit neatly into a typical frame, he devised the unusual "square four" design. It used two crankshafts geared together and four cylinders arranged in a square pattern, with a pair of pistons tied to each crankshaft.

Displacing 500 ccs, the first Ariel Square Four appeared in 1931, venting its exhaust through only two pipes. The four was enlarged to 600 ccs in 1932, and then to 1000 ccs in 1936.

In 1953, the Ariel 4G Mk II version appeared, carrying a four-pipe exhaust system and an alloy block in place of the previous iron version.

Some other changes were evident by this time as well. The tank-mounted instrument panel was eliminated and the gauges were now mounted atop the wide headlight nacelle.

A new plunger rear suspension provided a softer ride but needed fresh lubrication every 250 miles. The girder front fork had been converted to telescopic in 1946 and went largely untouched.

Turner left Ariel to join Triumph in the mid 1930s, where his talents in developing the Speed Twin helped revive the ailing concern.

Ariel's success with the Square Four continued through the 1950s, after which the company concentrated on medium-displacement two-strokes that were a cross between a scooter and a motorcycle.

The engine of the 1957 Ariel 4G Mk II motorcycle used the "square four" design, which consisted of two crankshafts geared together and four cylinders arranged in a square pattern, with a pair of pistons tied to each crankshaft.

Vintage Ariel Motorcycle Sign

Vintage Ariel Motorcycle advertisement

Ariel Motorcycle engine diagram for parts list

Ariel Motorcycle gearbox diagram for parts list

Ariel 500 Hunter Motorcycle

1930 Ariel 500 Square Four

Dr. No Effects Pedal Graphics Rebrand

2012-01-29T13:09:00.000-05:00

We were recently passed along these pedals and graphics by a project introduced in a class. If you happen to check out music gear, often times it can be quite lack luster in the visual design department and could use a major overhaul. DRNO pedals repackaging have just that new kind of allure that is sure to attract many new folks on first glance. Now its up to the sound to be as top notch as the design motif.

Check out this video review below on the Black Magic pedal and peep the old artwork. Easy to tell that the revamp was a huge success visually. Also, have a listen to that low end fuzzed out tone, damn right!

Recently I created the logo artwork and packaging design for DrNo Effects, a range of vintage guitar effect pedals. It has been an absolute pleasure to work on this job as I always love to mix graphic design, custom lettering and illustration. This project had all of these elements. I started by doing some rough sketches, and created six different vintage styles, one for each guitar effect. Within each artwork, I tried to reflect the sound and style of the effect. I created custom letters to make every effect unique and special. Finally, I placed the sketches in Illustrator, traced them and added colour.

As I'm a guitar player myself I have to say these vintage guitar effects are truly amazing and really take you back in time. But I guess this goes without saying as Alain Johannes of Queens of the Stone Age is one of the many users of DrNo effects. The effects are produced using the best components and materials available, and every stomp box is 100% handmade by DrNo himself.

- Eric Van Der Boom

For more from Eric visit boomartwork.com

New Dr.No Effects Logo

Dr.No Effects Pedal Mad Fly Distortion

DRNO Effects Pedal Mad Fly Distortion artwork

DRNO Effects Pedal Mad Fly Distortion

DRNO Effects Pedal Heavy Blues More Garry Stompbox

DRNO Effects Pedal Heavy Blues More Garry Stompbox sketches

DRNO Effects Pedal Heavy Blues More Garry Stompbox

DRNO Effects Pedal Octofuzz artwork

DRNO Effects Pedal Kafuzz artwork

DRNO Effects Pedal Kafuz

DRNO Effects Pedal Black Magic artwork

DRNO Effects Pedal Black Magic

DRNO Effects Power Driver & Booster artwork

DRNO Effects Power Driver & Booster Pedal

DRNO Effects Pedal Packaging

DRNO Effects Pedal Packaging Detail

DRNO Effects Pedal Packaging during printing

DRNO Effects Pedal Packaging artwork dielines

Passo a due - A Short Film by Cafe Twin Through Rome

2012-01-26T11:01:00.000-05:00

Do yourself a favor if you are ever in Rome, always look both ways before crossing the street. Yeah, laugh it off until you go there and see how nuts the scooter mafias are between stop lights or the tight and narrow old streets. We can only imagine how cool it would be to be rollin' around on a bike through the timeless city. After being there on a couple of trips, we still have yet to rent a bike to roll around Rome, but one day it will be done!

We found the post over on Silodrome

Still image from Cafe Twin film Passo A Due

1938 Harley-Davidson Knucklehead

2012-01-26T10:50:00.003-05:00

1938 Harley Davidson Chopper. This is a fresh build with less than 200 miles on the engine. Will start with one kick even ice cold.61in lower with 74in top end fully rebuilt and fresh.1941 knucklehead frame.1940 knucklehead transmission.linkert M-74B.star hubs.original drum brake.original 45 springer front end.original floor boards.bates seat.narrowed original pan hand shift tanks.hand made one-off tail light assembly.hand made custom touches throughout the bike.This bike is fresh and full show quality. It recently took second place in its class at the David Mann Chopperfest.It is fast, aggressive, and not for kids. This is an absolutely gorgeous bike and would be at home in a Harley Museum or in front of a bar.Please see photos for serial numbers and hallmarks.Clear California Title as 1938 Harley Davidson.805-637-3083 for more info

Link to Ebay auction

1938 Harley Knucklehead

Does Giving Away Your Music Equal New Fans?

2012-01-26T10:40:00.001-05:00

Everyone has an opinion on what they feel is the best way to get their music to the masses. We are of the mindset that with hard work, perseverance and hammering away at all the angles, it is still a crap shoot of what band will get attention or become yesterday's news. This scenario for the most part sucks. Not that everyone should succeed or else we would all be winners and that isn't how the story goes.

But there are many ideas which have validity and it just comes down to how much do you believe in the music you are creating. Take for example the article below about the electronic artist Pretty Lights. He is of the mindset to give away his music for free and it will drive more individuals to come to his shows.

Their free song give away plan of attack has literally paid out and thus you are reading about the story. Personally, we feel that if the music is good enough to cut through the mass of bands begging for attention, then folks will buy it in one form or another. Is giving away your hard earned songs worth it? Entirely up to you as a band, but we think ya have to do something unique and different to be heard or be as talented as Adele to be heard on a large scale. Should this deter your plan of attack, no way in hell. Just figure out what works best for your band and dig in. We need debauchery back in Rock N' Roll and we need some danger. Rock has been stale for a long while unless you happen to listen to some of the bands we work with. Go out and bend the world to your liking, the masses are waiting for the next great band and why shouldn't it be you.

Link to original article on Hypebot

Here's a question: What digital media download service has access to hundreds of millions of people, who are extremely engaged in the content available through that network? That would be Bit Torrent (and U Torrent, which is essentially the same thing, just a separate approach from a branding perspective). If PL is giving away music for free already; and essentially ONLY utilizes his site to do so, why not break down the barriers of access?

Put every track he has available on SoundCloud as a free stream - want the download? OK, to go to the website.
Put every track available on a Mobile Roadie application (iPhone version available now, Android coming soon) for free streaming anywhere and everywhere - want the download? OK, go to his website.
Make a download bundle of his 3 popular EPs (“Glowing in The Darkest Night,” “Making Up A Changing Mind,” and “Spilling Over Every Side”) + his newest single “I Know The Truth,” and a video from his Bonnaroo Show, then distribute those assets to 4 million people in 2 months, increase email sign ups by 60,000+ people, increase web traffic by 700%, and Facebook Likes by 30,000+?
BitTorrent... check.

And now the power of PL’s music-for-free model has just increased by A LOT.

The PL Bit Torrent Bundle was, and still is (as of this writing), featured on the Bit Torrent website:

The bundle was additionally an opt-in inclusion for anyone who downloaded the Bit Torrent software:

The Results

Millions of downloads in a short time period = top of Pirate Bay’s overall downloads section, and Audio section for over a month (as of this writing, it’s actually still up there):

I picked up the phone and called Red Light Management (manager for PL) as soon as I saw that the BitTorrent bundle had hit #1 on Pirate Bay. Think of Pirate Bay as the underground / music pirate’s version of the Billboard Top 100. In fact, I would say the Pirate Bay’s Top 100 might be the BEST indication of what digital content is reaching the masses on the Internet, because it includes the metrics for the millions of people “illegally” downloading content; and those top downloaded items are fairly similar to the top audio, TV, and movie downloads on iTunes and other “legal” paid services.

UPDATE: As of 1/22/12, The Pretty Lights / BitTorrent media bundle has surpassed 6 million downloads worldwide.

Randy Reed, PL’s manager, put it perfectly:

“Here we are celebrating hitting #1 on Pirate Bay, while major labels would be kicking, cursing, and sending take-down notices.”

The Reaction

Hitting #1 on Pirate Bay lead to reactions such as:

…and then ushered in more downloads.

And:

The Metrics

Effect of BitTorrent Promotion on PL web traffic:

Then the promotion went down for a bit...

Then BitTorrent loved PL so much, they re-ignited it:

PL is HUGE in the US, but we are definitely working on spreading his name to other countries, and this promotion certainly helped.

Last month and a half, traffic to PrettyLightsMusic.com:

...compare to the previous month and a half period:

Traffic from sources overseas also saw massive spikes, as BitTorrent has a large user-base in Europe.

Soundcloud plays (each spike represents when the promotion went live, twice):

...and YouTube:

NextBigSound Big Picture Data:

Some Press:

Monetization

My co-worker, and frequent Hypebot contributor Hisham Dahud, put it well when he said Pretty Lights’ business model is “embracing the chaos” of the current state of the music industry. And the ever-apparent, and frequently asked question is “well, how does he make money if he gives all of his music away for free?”

Take a look at this video and see if you can answer for yourself how Pretty Lights is one of the biggest and fastest growing acts in the electronic dance music scene, and how he monetizes his business while giving all of his music away for free:

And then check out this video and see if you can guess how he creates multiple revenue streams:

...and finally check out his webstore.

If you haven’t answered the question yet, you’re stupid… just kidding.

Big buzz in a specific geographic region (Denver) among college kids, pursuant to great live shows and free music… leads to free great music to larger and larger audiences as time goes on… leads to more shows in more places = massive distribution of a FREE valuable product = increasing interest = $ for shows = $ for merch, then at a certain level = $ from brands.

Bob Lefsetz said it perfectly:

"Just because you give away your main product for free does not mean you can't make money. We live in an attention economy, your biggest chore is getting people to listen, not to pay for your music."

Selling music? Who cares anymore?

- Michael Fiebach (@mfiebach), Founder of Fame House LLC

Working with Randy Reed and Adam Foley of Red Light Management

MORE: Pretty Lights & BitTorrent Release Free Media Bundle

Disclosure: In addition to writing for Hypebot, Hisham Dahud is also employed by Fame House.

Hellbound Glory - Whiskey Bent And Hell Bound

2012-01-26T10:25:00.000-05:00

A few months back Hellbound Glory stopped into Lexington, Kentucky and Blake Judd over at Judd Films was able to film a few short viral videos. Here is another gem of a cover song originally by Hank Williams Jr.

How Musicians Used Facebook in 2011

2012-01-26T09:55:00.000-05:00

Some of yall may have noticed on a few of the band pages on Facebook a particular looking music player on the landing. You know, the one with the cool graphics and enables you to play the music and buy it or also pass it along. Well, that player is called RootMusic and we currently use it on a few of the pages we help to maintain. Not only is it a superior choice over ReverbNation but you can customize the graphics and the features are far more vast.

To really get the app working the best way, also build out a SoundCloud page for your music to be delivered from. With these two apps working together you can direct your music to the masses far easier and let the end user also listen and share or even better yet, repost into their blogs. Dig more into the article below to find out how other bands are using RootMusic to their advantage.

Rusty Knuckles Facebook page using the RootMusic Player

Link to RootMusic to add to your Facebook Page

At RootMusic we’re constantly asking ourselves how we can give the most value to musicians through providing tools, guidance, support, and today we want to give you information. We’ve been tracking the Top 250 Musicians on Facebook, looking at best practices and strategies to be successful on the Platform. In most cases, these are musicians that have teams of people working with them and making their Facebook presence really effective, so we’d like to share with you what they’re doing that has worked for them over the past year.

Imagine handing out fliers to 10,000 people every day, starting a conversation with each person, letting each one listen to a few of your songs, and telling them about your upcoming show. With Facebook, you can have the same effect with just a few clicks of the mouse. We’ve put together this Infographic to provide a picture of what the most popular artists are doing with Music on Facebook.

Click on the image below to see the hi-res version, and read after the image to see some additional info and takeaways:

RootMusic has a phenomenal music app, see who is using it

The important points to takeaway from this is that there is a huge active audience of music fans on Facebook, and a large part of your success comes down to how to properly engage those fans. Even just posting updates a few times a week or more on your Facebook Page can make a big impact and lead to success in other areas. Actively posting and engaging your fans leads to more people talking about you, leads to more new fans, leads to more people at your show, leads to more cash in your pocket, leads to a sustainable career as a musician.
More info to takeaway:

The Music category is extremely popular on Facebook, and the amount of people following musicians is massive! Of the top 1000 pages on the platform, the most common type of Page are those of musicians and bands. Over 2 billion Likes are spread across the Top 250 most popular artists we tracked
More and more artists are using Facebook to engage with fans like never before, especially when on tour. We found that, of the artists we tracked that are currently on tour, 78% use Facebook as one of their main platforms to share that content with their fans.
Most of the top artists on Facebook are posting new content and messages for their fans at least once a week. In fact, 88% of the top 250 Artists are posting at least once a week on their Page. This is important, as the more that your fans Comment, Like and Share your posts, the higher your Facebook “EdgeRank”, meaning the more often Facebook’s system will display your page’s content in News Feeds.
Most artists use Facebook to share music and tour dates with their fans. 89% of Artists are using some sort of Music App like BandPage to share their tracks and tour dates.

We believe in helping every musician be successful, and today Social Media can be a very effective part of that. We hope that you can use some of this information to grow your career using Facebook.
Comment below with your feedback on the infographic, as we’ll be making more in the future. Also, let us know if there are any nifty infographics or subjects that you’d like to learn more about next!

Flywheels Magazine Japan, Lance Dawes Photography From Bonneville Salt Flats

2012-01-24T11:15:00.000-05:00

Flywheels Magazine out of Japan recently put out another high quality issue and they featured 20 pages of photos from our pal Lance Dawes. We are still on our quest to make it on the salt at Bonneville but not doing so until our Buell is ready to race. Seeing these photos makes us realize that once again another year at Bonneville went by and we never made it out. The hunt is on...

Flywheels Magazine from Japan, featuring photos by Lance Dawes

Coupes lined up on the Salt Flats of Bonneville for Speed Week

Pull out section of the track at Bonneville

Van is ready for the push start, lined up in the pits

Julio's Flat Head bellytanker getting prepped

No. 55 on the picturesque salt flats

Racing across the Salt Flats of Bonneville

Flywheels Magazine from Japan, featuring photos by Lance Dawes

Lefty's Speed Shop aka Julio and his Bean Bandits race team Belly Tanker

Flywheels Magazine from Japan, featuring photos by Lance Dawes

Need A Portable Stereo Or Amp, Try An Old ToolBox

2012-01-24T10:55:00.000-05:00

Do yourself a favor and dig into sites such as MakeZine.com if you enjoy actually creating things from scratch or recycling old materials. Many ideas for cool projects are on there and most of all, many of the ideas are well explained. Whether it be toys, tech or mechanized mayhem, surely there is a topic you can enjoy and dive into.

Link over to MakeZine.com

Craftsman Toolbox converted into portable boombox

Farmageddon Fest - July 20th to 22nd - West Yellowstone, Montana

2012-01-23T15:39:00.000-05:00

The 1st Annual Farmageddon Records Music Festival July 20-22, 2012 on Hebgen Lake, 10 Miles NW of West Yellowstone, Montana!

Farmageddon Records Music Festival is a three day outdoor festival that will celebrate contemporary American roots music by showcasing the emerging and established artists of Farmageddon Records -an ambitious new Montana-based record label featuring an eclectic roster of edgy, roots fare from around the country. A few friends of "The Farm" and several very special guest headliners will also appear at this highly anticipated event.

The Festival will be located in a private setting among the foothills surrounding Hebgen Lake on the property behind The Longhorn Saloon, just a short drive away from the town of West Yellowstone, the Western entrance to Yellowstone National Park, promising attendees a remote and scenic backdrop for the performances of some of the best talent in underground and national American roots music on a single stage. The Longhorn Saloon will be the official headquarters for Farm-Fest, located a stones throw away from the lake. All of the event details will be be sent to you via email once you purchase your festival pass. Festival passes willl be limited to 1000 or less this year! Currently we can only guarantee parking and camping to the first 500 people who purhase a ticket. We are working on securing the use of more land next to the property for additional parking and camping. Please visit our website for all of the festival details! If you are planning on bringing a camper or RV, there are very limited tickets availlable for those who need more space. Campers will be permitted to set-up their campsite a day early if they choose to do so, there will be a pre-party and live music the night before the festival starts. If you wish to come any earlier than July 19th you can contact us at farmageddonrecords@yahoo.com

There will be multiple options for food available on the festival grounds, including vegetarian fare. If you are a vendor you will need to contact us asap about securing your retail location as we are limiting availability to 10 spaces this year. You can email us for details, first come first serve!

Get your tickets now!

Farmageddon Fest in West Yellowstone, Montana on July 20th - 22nd

Artists scheduled to perform:
Shooter Jennings, Slim Cessna's Auto Club, The Goddamn Gallows, Ando Ehlers, Angie & The Carwrecks, Black Eyed Vermillion, The Calamity Cubes, Carolina Still, Carrie Nation and The Speakeasy, The Cheatin' Hearts, Cletus Got Shot, The Deadnecks, Dogbite Harris, Soda Gardocki, Filthy Still, Graham Lindsey, Hard Money Saints, Highlonesome, Husky Burnette, James Hunnicutt, Jayke Orvis & The Broken Band, J.B. Beverley & The Wayward Drifters, McDougall, Owen Mays, The Perreze Farm, Phillip Roebuck, Saint Christopher, Ronnie Hymes & The Carolina Freight, Sean K. Preston, Shivering Denizens, The Harmed Brothers, Izzy Cox, Slackeye Slim, Stevie Tombstone, Tales From Ghost Town, Tom VandenAvond, The Ugly Valley Boys, Whiskey Dick, and many more to be announced, including more guest headlining acts!

Farmageddon Fest featuring Ronnie Hymes and Carolina Still

Q. When can I arrive to set-up my campsite? Am I guaranteed a campsite and parking spot?A. Attendee's will be allowed to set-up their campsite the day before the festival begins, starting at noon Thursday July 19th! The first 500 festival ticket holders are guaranteed a parking space for one vehicle and a campsite.

Q. If I buy an RV Camper pass do the people camping with me need to purchase passes also?A. Yes, they will need to purchase general admission passes, there is only one required RV Camper pass needed per RV campsite.

Q. Will there be a designated camping area?A. Yes, when you arrive at the festival you will be pointed in the right direction of where you can set-up your campsite if you purchased one of the first 500 tickets.

Q. What is parking like?A. Parking availabilty will depend on how many people attend the festival, there will be several parking options to suit your needs and everyone will get a spot, prime spots on the festival grounds are available for the first 500 ticket holders.

Q. Is this an all ages festival?A. Yes, persons 17 and under will need to be under adult supervision.

Q. Does my 5 year old child need a ticket?A. Children 7 and under get in free.

Q. Is there an airport in West Yellowstone Montana? A. Yes, it's a small airport but flight do come in and out daily. Your best bet would be to look into airports within 150 miles of West Yellowstone Montana for the cheapest flights.

Q. When I arrive at the festival will I need to register?A. Yes, there will be a registration office inside of the Longhorn Saloon, you will need to provide valid ID and your festival pass in exchange for your personalized festival bracelet and a parking slip. We will be carding everyone who attends the festival.

Q. Will sundries be available?A. There will be a tent that will be selling everything from asprin and batteries to rain ponchos, tents and sleeping bags.

Q. What is the handicap access like?A. There will be handicapped access for those who need it, we request that you contact us in advance so we can make appropriate arangements for you.

Q. If I lose my bracelet can I get back in?A. Once your bracelet is snapped on, you are responsible for keeping it on, if you lose it you will have to buy another.

Q. Will there be security at the festival?A. There will be an event staff on hand supervising all aspects of the event from start to finish.

Q. Can I be ejected from the event for bad behavior?A. Yes, if you are beligerant, violent, abusive or disrespectful you will be asked to leave the festival grounds immedietly.

Q. Is it all seating or standing room only?A. You are welcome to bring camping chairs, please respect others if you do.

Q. Will there be a place to shower?A. Yes, we will have a warm water showering facility set-up.

Q. Can I get a refund or exchange?A. There will be no refunds on festival passes. The festival will take place rain or shine.

Q. Are all of the artists guranteed to perform at the festival?A. There are almost 45 live acts performing, and sometimes things prohibit a band or artist from making it to the festival to perform, transportation problems, personal problems, etc. Everyone that is advertised to perform is likely to be there, unless one of the above reasons is applicable.

Q. What items are allowed/not allowed?A. Firearms, weapons, illegal alcohol, drugs, glass bottles, pets.

Q. Do you offer any discounts?A. None at this time.

Obey Your Master - Metallica Art Show

2012-01-23T10:34:00.000-05:00

PARTICIPATING ARTISTS AND BIOS

Andy Biersack: Born on December 26, 1990. Lead Singer/Founder of Black Veil Brides. Andy started the band when he was about fourteen and is originally from the Cincinnati area.

Black Veil Brides is an American rock band based out of Hollywood, California. The group is composed of Andrew Biersack (lead vocals), Ashley Purdy (bass, backing vocals), Jake Pitts (lead guitar), Jinxx (guitar, violin), and Christian “CC” Coma (drums). Black Veil Brides are known for their distinct appearance, mainly being inspired by Kiss’ stage persona as well as numerous 1980s metal acts.

Their freshman album, We Stitch These Wounds released on Stand By Records sold nearly 11,000 copies in its first week, reaching the position of #36 of the Chart Billboard 200 and #1 Independent Release, following their major release Set The World On Fire on Major Label Lava Music/Universal Republic Records. The song, Set the World on Fire was featured in the Transformers: Dark of the Moon movie soundtrack. The album debuted at number 17 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. The album reached #73 on the Canadian Albums Chart.^[14] It also achieved moderate success in the United Kingdom by reaching number 3 in the UK Rock Chart.

Gerard Way: Gerard Way began his artistic career after graduating from New York’s School of Visual Arts with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1999. He is the front man and a founding member of the heralded rock band My Chemical Romance. Way is also the creator and author of the 2008 Eisner Award Winning graphic novel series, The Umbrella Academy, published by Dark Horse and recently optioned by Universal Pictures. Source: Gerard Way

Gail Potocki: born 1961, in Detroit, Michigan, U.S.) is an award-winning Symbolist artist utilizing the skills and techniques of the Old Masters in the 21st century. Gail Potocki chose an arcane path of study, training intensely to learn to wield oil on canvas. Influenced by the elegant strength of Anthony Van Dyck and the melancholic mystery of the late 19th century French and Belgian Symbolists artists like Fernand Khnopff, Jean Delville, and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. This blending of inspiration and technical ability creates a method of expression rooted in compelling realism, branching both seductively and effortlessly into the realms of possibility. Potocki’s first monograph, The Union of Hope and Sadness: The Art of Gail Potocki was released in the Summer of 2006, a hardcover book from Olympian Publishing thoroughly examining the first six years of her career and features text by Thomas Negovan, Richard Metzger and Jim Rose of the Jim Rose Circus. Gail was the First Place winner of the First International Online Symbolist Art Exhibition, and has exhibited worldwide, sharing wall space with Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, H. R. Giger, Salvador Dalí, and Ernst Fuchs. Gail potocki currently lives and works in Chicago. Source: www.gailpotocki.com (official site)

Paul Chatem: Paul Chatem was born in 1974 in Bellevue, Washington, but grew up in La Crescenta on the outskirts of Los Angeles. He spent most of his time hunting snakes and scorpions in the Tujunga Wash, exploring ruins of forgotten ranches, shantytowns, and asylums, and ducking punches at punk shows with his friends. Growing up in an environment where nature, history, and the impoverished were constantly being pushed aside to make room for golf courses and mini-malls, Paul developed a keen talent for representing the rift between rich and poor, the working man and the boss man, in his surreal, often nightmarish, narrative paintings.

Chatem’s folksy, yet modern illustration style is deeply rooted in vintage advertising, comic books, and animation. His finished pieces are subtly aged and worn, creating the sense that they could have just as easily been constructed in the 1920s as much as they are very characteristic of the times we live in now. is current works focus on a series of large- and small- scale kinetic pieces that invite curiosity and interaction. By simply turning a crank, Chatem’s hand-cut wooden gears spring to life, and the viewer is able to manipulate the composition and create movement within his vivid, carefully painted scenes.

Major influences in his creative life include Max Fleischer, E.C. Segar, Tom Waits, Charlie patton, The Cramps, and a host of early advertising illustrators. He has been honored to show his works at the Shooting Gallery, SF; Copro, Black maria, C.A.V.E., and Dialect Galleries in Los Angeles; Feinkunst-Krueger Gallery, Hamburg, Mondo Pop and Dorothy Circus, Rome; as well as numerous group shows in Europe and North America. Paul is currently hiding out in the fog-bound sierra foothills with his tortoises, the mud, and the bugs. Source: www.paulchatem.com (official site)

Sammi Doll: was born in Northampton, England and raised in various parts of Los Angeles. Always inspired by life itself, she took upon anything creative to get away from the pressures of a highly religious or drug induced surroundings of a small town. Completely self taught, her creative journey began at 16 – learning an instrument and fronting a rock band, later moved to videography and conceptual music videos, onto concert and live entertainment photography for LA based magazines and newspapers, onto still portrait photography ranging subjects from actors, red carpet, events, and modern rock bands. Some recent work and collaborations appearing in Juxtapoz magazine, Guitar World, and Rock Sound (France) Magazine.

Influences ranging mostly from motivation and inspiration, her style has a lot of edge to a simple style. Contrast and bright colors muted by the mix of shadows and subject. “I know exactly the type of photo it’s going to be by the energy and vibe the model or subject gives off. If everyone or everything isn’t 100% into it, it becomes painfully obvious. You can’t force it to be something it isn’t, every shoot is completely unique to the next.”

Sammi is currently involved in playing in the Los Angeles based indie band, My Satellite. Along side members Bryan Stage (vocals, guitar, ukelele), Ryan Ward (guitar), Andy Marshall (bass, midi, vocals) and Justin Paul (drums), she plays keyboard and backing vocals to the electronic, rock 5 piece, with a dreamy almost new wave sound complimented by 3 part vocal harmonies. Source: Her work can be seen here: http://www.sammidollphoto.com http://www.facebook.com/mysatellite

Kaves: Michael McLeer a/k/a Mr. Kaves’ life up to this point represents all that is amazing, albeit and tumultuous about growing up as a street kid in Brooklyn, NY. Rising up from a loving, yet chaotic family life, Kaves began flexing his artistic urges in the tunnels of the NYC transit system at the ridiculously young age of 10. These activities were well documented in Henry Chalfant’s (Style Wars) pioneering book in 1984 titled, SprayCan Art. While these endeavors secured him a spot in the graffiti hall-of-fame, they almost landed him a rap sheet.

Realizing that his creativity could be applied in more productive areas, Kaves utilized his boundless energy and well-oiled savvy to knock down the doors of several major corporations and became their go-to street artist and trend forecaster. Kaves has designed exclusive material for NIKE, Rockstar Games, WWE, PONY, MTV, RECON, ADIDAS, Van’s Warped Tour and many others. Kaves has also designed logos and various graphics for world- renowned artists such as Beastie Boys and Everlast. Additionally, Kaves’ has been commissioned to do paintings by various musicians, entertainers and athletes. His work has been displayed in magazines and at various art shows and events. He has been published in books including SprayCan Art, Burning New York, Mascots & Mugs: The Characters and Cartoons of Subway Graffiti, Fresh Paint NYC, Graffiti Planet 2 and Piecebook: The Secret Drawings of Graffiti Writers. Most recently, Kaves was commissioned to contribute paintings to the MTV Real World Brooklyn loft, as well as, contributing works to the permanent installation in the Gunter Sachs Museum of Fine Arts in Germany, The Blackstone Hotel in Chicago, Illinois and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio.

Mr. Kaves also holds title as co-creator and producer of the JAM Awards, a tribute concert and award show benefiting the Jam Master Jay Foundation for Music, which raises money for public school music programs. The event was sponsored by Adidas and Current TV among others. Some of the performers included Snoop Dogg, Everlast, DMC, LL Cool Jay, Mobb Deep, De La Soul and others.

Another huge piece of Mr. Kaves’ life has been spent as a rap pioneer. His hip-hop group formed in the early 90′s, Lordz of Brooklyn, left a substantial impact on the music business worldwide for over a decade. Today, Kaves continues rocking the mic as the co-frontman of the punk/rap group, simply titled The Lordz. The band’s debut album The Brooklyn Way was recently released via Warner Music Group.

Branching out to television, Kaves co-created and produced The Brooklyn Way, a multi- episode docu-series about life as The Lordz, which premiered last year on Fuse TV. The show incited a remarkable regional groundswell during its first season on Madison Square Garden’s MSG network and was then picked up by nationally by Fuse. As a result of the tremendously received album and TV show, the group’s music has been heard recently on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Good Day New York, New York Knicks, Giants and Mets games, CBS TV’s CSI: New York MTV Real World: Brooklyn and a performance on NBC’s Late Night with Conan O’ Brien.

In addition, Mr. Kaves owns and operates a successful art, apparel and tattoo shop, called Brooklyn Made Tattoo which also serves as the hub for all his creative endeavors. Source: www.mrkaves.com (official site)

Sylvia Ji: Possessing an artistic voice as unique as the times we live in, Sylvia Ji is at once contemplative, spiritual, enigmatic, and yet whimsically funny. Above all else, it is perhaps beauty that emerges as her defining characteristic, and her art reflects this: an extension of herself; a passionate appreciation of simple aesthetic pleasure fused with intimately complex subject matter.

Make no mistake – Sylvia Ji is the real deal: an artist of genuine, sometimes brutal, sincerity in a world of swirling uncertainty and constant change. Yet, she does more than consistently adjust to the change that life brings, she thrives on it; taking life as it is, content to simply “be”. Using the simplest of materials to create her work….she would say “letting it magically happen”… the results obliterate the antiquated lines between ostensibly “high brow” and “low brow” art. A self-professed lover of travel and life long student of international culture and art, Sylvia’s experiences and relationships continue to shape her exploration of indefinable human emotion. And while the future remains as mysterious to her as she may be to her audience, Sylvia stands confidently poised to continue to surprise. Now, and in the years to come, her life’s journey is more than the sum of its parts –drawn from her past, built on the present and beyond fascinating expressions of love and lust, beauty and decay, delicacy and passion.

Born In 1982 BFA Illustration ‘05, Academy of Art, San Francisco Currently resides in Los Angeles, CA Source: www.sylviaji.com (official site)

Shawn Barber: Shawn Barber’s body of work focuses primarily on painting, portraiture, and documenting contemporary tattoo culture. Barber’s intimate renditions of tattooed individuals balance both meticulous brush strokes and loose energy. Figurative in nature, these large paintings take on abstractions with explosive colors, meandering lines and paint dripping down the canvas.

Barber earned his B.F.A from Ringling College of Art in 1999 and has paintings held in private collections throughout the United States, Canada, Asia, Europe and Australia. His paintings have been exhibited in diverse solo and group venues including: Joshua Liner Gallery, NYC, NY; Billy Shire Fine Arts, Los Angeles, CA; The Shooting Gallery, San Francisco, CA; Mesa Contemporary Arts Center, Mesa, AZ; Yves Laroche Gallery, Montreal, Canada; FFDG, San Francisco, CA; University of Houston, Houston TX.

His first published book of art titled ‘Tattooed Portraits’ was published by 9mm Books In 2006, followed by his tome, ‘Forever and Ever’, a 256 page hardcover book dedicated to the Tattooed Portraits Series. Shawn is currently working on a third book in the Tattooed Portraits Series with Last Gasp Books to be released in July 2012.Among his extensive achievements, he has taught drawing, painting and the business of art for 10 years at various art schools throughout the country. After years of documenting the art of tattoo, it was a logical progression to pick up the tattoo machine and add tattooist to his resume. When he is not traveling or painting, he can be found working at Memoir Tattoo in Los Angeles, CA. Source: www.sdbarber.com (official site)

Kim Saigh: I’m pretty sure my tattoo career began the day I received my first tattoo at the age of 16. I remember wanting to take the machine out of the guy’s hand & do it myself,but instead I kept trying to backseat drive the tattoo-I would’ve hated me if I were him. Two years later,my hopes of holding the machine in my own hand became a reality when I was offered an apprenticeship based on a drawing for a friend’s tattoo.

I relocated to Chicago in 1994 & a year later was offered the humbling experience of working next to Guy Aitchison at Guilty & Innocent Productions-the person who is solely responsible for melting my brain when it came to tattoos. Several years later, I opened Cherry Bomb Tattoo & worked alongside my friend Patrick Cornolo for 10 plus years & simultaneously cultivated a deep love for yoga.
The idea of living in California had haunted me since my teens, and when I had just about resigned the idea of doing so, I got a call to join LA Ink…..and so I did, for 3 seasons.

Aside from whisking me away to Los Angeles,the experience introduced me to many inspiring new artists & friends, and has re-acquainted me with old friends from the tattoo community-it’s been the best move of my life to date. My life in tattooing has been no less than serendipitous, and 18 years later, I’m still privileged to do what I love to do-and I love it more than ever! I feel truly blessed. Source: www.kimsaigh.com (official site)

Shepard Fairey: Born Frank Shepard Fairey, February 15, 1970, in Charleston, South Carolina. In 1992, while still an illustration student at RISD, Fairey started his first business venture, Alternate Graphics, to showcase his emerging design and silkscreen printing talents. He created stickers, t-shirts, skateboards, and posters which were all available via black and white mail order catalogs that he distributed. He also did small commercial printing jobs for clients to help cover some of his expenses. In 1994, Helen Stickler created a documentary film, Andre the Giant Has a Posse, that focused on Fairey and the growing phenomenon of his subversive stickers and posters. By 1995, Fairey had two or three full time employees, two of whom were long time friends from Charleston, whom he had known through his many years of skateboarding. During this time, he also created a small sister brand, Subliminal Projects, with Blaize Blouin, and released several skateboard and poster designs using this moniker. Fairey created a skateboard video, ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder), that showcased the small group of skateboarders that he sponsored via Alternate Graphics.

In 1996, Fairey moved from Providence, RI, to San Diego, CA, to partner with Andy Howell in Giant Distribution. Shortly thereafter, Fairey partnered up with Dave Kinsey, Phillip De Wolff, and Howell to form First Bureau of Imagery, FBI, a branding, marketing and design firm targeting the emerging action sports market. In 1999, FBI was dissolved and Fairey, Kinsey, and De Wolff formed BLK/MRKT, another branding, marketing, and design firm. During this time, Fairey met his future wife, Amanda Ayala, who began working with him. In 2001, the BLK/ MRKT offices were moved from San Diego to Los Angeles and expanded to include a small

art gallery. De Wolff’s partnership was purchased by Fairey and Kinsey, who became the sole propietors of the operation, now doing business from an office in the historic Wiltern building located in Koreatown. In 2003, Fairey and Kinsey decided to make a professional split; Fairey kept the location and most of the employees, renamed his agency Studio Number One [1], and renamed the art gallery Subliminal Projects [2]. Kinsey took the name BLK/MRKT and its gallery, and relocated it to Culver City, CA, where it is still in operation. In 2004, Fairey teamed up with long time friend Roger Gastman to create a quarterly publication, Swindle. The magazine documents pop culture, fashion, and music, and each issue is released in both soft cover and hard cover. In 2006, Fairey released a comprehensive, hard cover monograph, Supply and Demand, that documents much of his personal and professional design work. The entire book was designed in-house at Studio Number One and it is published by Ginko Press. It is currently in its third edition. Source: www.thegiant.org (official site)

Usugrow: A skull, flower, horror character, delicate line drawn by black ink on white paper in a pointillist, and complete commitment to the detail. Whether its motif is negative or positive, what you will feel consistently from his piece is the dignified beauty. He came accross a hardcore music when he was a teenager, and he found a path to go by experiencing not only its sound and attitude but also a lot of artworks there. Then, he got himself involved in skateboard, graffiti, hiphop, tattoo, anything that was related to hardcore music. He was deeply in the style wars revolving around the underground. He started his activity by making a flyer art at a local hardcore scene in Sendai which is his hometown Fukushima in early 1990. Since he loved drawing from the beginning, it was natural for him to set up his stage of creation there, as he said. And his artwork got gradually spread to the hardcore scene through the network of underground by word of mouth. Around the same time, he also established his own clothing line and it did not take long for his artwork to become popular besides the hardcore scene. Usugrow’s activity has been supported by a broad range of people, such as bands and kids from underground harcore and metal scene, skaters, hip hop heads, kids bombing streets. And it’s none other than the proof that his inquisitiveness towards music and art has been reflected to his art piece. Right now, he is working based in Tokyo, doing album covers and merchandises for foreign hardcore and metal bands and hip hop groups as well as domestic bands. He’s been also working on artworks for several clothing brands and skateboard companies, and trying some paintings instead of using an ink and some experimental artworks by using organic materials such as wood for several years now. White and black, in other words, light and dark sides of life. Since most of his current artworks have been created for clients, it’s hard to state positively that his own message is fully contained in an art piece.

However, he’s got the simplest and minimal methodology of black ink on white paper and hand- drawing and his stoic attitude that he has never catered to insubstantial media’s propaganda and continued to be supported by the network which was developed by word of mouth, and these might be representing his own style, message and identity as Japanese. Source: www.usugrow.com (official site)

Chloe Trujillo: Chloe was born and raised in Paris ,France around a true creative artistic energy :her parents were successfull fashion designers,her grandfather was a baritone at the Opera,her grandmother a pianist. Their place was a constant gathering of artists and personalities from all over the world.

As a Scorpio, Chloé is a tied to her passions, needing to create and create endlessly, but she is also very secretive and rebellious. So as a young shy child, she started using art to express herself and get people’s attention. The oldest of 3 siblings, Chloé felt like an observer of the life around her, she developed a taste for danger, a craving for experimenting life at its fullest to prove to herself that she really exists… Going from one extreme to the next, she uncovered some of her inner truths ,encountered new ways of expression in music-through her voice and through street culture (hanging out with punks in squatts, spending nights in the catacombs,etc..), she also enriched herself finding humanity’s soul starvation could be her own…

Having another passion in abstract mathematics, she received a degree in science and matter structure, and while in University, one of her drawings was picked to promote a little art exhibit there. So she submitted her artwork and was accepted in different art schools, one of which was the “Ecole du Louvre.” She discovered all new spectrum of expressions through a lot of different mediums and techniques, widened her artistic horizon and knowledge. She continued to practice music, solfeggio and singing. Meanwhile, she also appeared in a few Parisian theatres performing. It was all fun in appearance… Until she felt a void… Something was missing, she began to feel doubt, questioning the meaning of it all. A shift occurred when she was assaulted by a serial rapist and murderer, she fought for a life that she previously thought had lost its value. More than ever, she needed to exorcise some emotions . The incident triggered a rise of consciousness in her. She had made that event happen in her own unconscious mind to open herself up to the different realms of reality and truth. She discovered meditation,studied works of great spiritual masters and began utilizing the connection between the “Source” and her work. She became a Reiki practitioner and a channeler and the connection became even be stronger. The purpose of her work switched, it became an alley for spiritual liberation. She found she could heal herself and others through images, colors, sounds-vibrations – Shortly after, following her passion for performing, she entered the American Musical Academy of New York City and played in a few off-Broadway productions. She then moved to Los Angeles, continued her exploration of vocal work, sang anywhere she could, from underground rock bands, operas to a gospel choir, started writing, connecting lyrics with images and sounds. She soon married her true soulmate Robert and gave birth to a boy and a girl. Motherhood added a new dimension in her previous knowledge of Love and Share.

Passionate about life’s mysteries and fascinated by our dormant human potential, she still continues the search through her multi-sensorial work … After so many years of performing, one night she experienced the ultimate, magical Oneness!!! And that’s what she unknowingly starved for….

We are One, all connected, all energy, bringing the scientific and the spiritual worlds together again for good! Source: www.chloeinart.com (official site)

Robert Trujillo: Born October 23, 1964 in Santa Monica, California. He’s got rhythm, and he’s most certainly got music. Now Robert Trujillo’s also got the job of being Metallica’s new bassist and family member…one that will doubtless fit this most righteous and cheerful of Southern Californians like a glove.

Although he sometimes does use a pick, Trujillo is best known as a baaaad motherplucker, a finger-playin’ bass monster who’s dexterity, tones and attitude have seen him grace the bass of Suicidal Tendencies, Infectious Grooves and Ozzy Osbourne’s band since his first professional work with Suicidal in 1989. It all stems back to a childhood filled with variety and spice. Growing up in Venice Beach “Dog Town”, Trujillo heard everything, from Led Zeppelin to Motown with a chunk of funk in between. Joined with a young love of surfing, Trujillo developed a rhythm and a vibe that saw him play with a variety of local bands through his early 20s until he met Mike Muir of Suicidal Tendencies via his High School buddy, Suicidal guitarist Rocky George. the two got on infamously well, and thus began a rich and fruitful relationship which saw Rob establish himself as one of the most exciting bass talents in the rock world.

In the early ’90s, he and Muir formed the experimental funk-rockers Infectious Grooves, and then in the mid-’90s Trujillo joined up with Ozzy Osbourne. Together with drummer Mike Bordin, Trujillo formed one of rock music’s most soild and reliable rhythm units. Rob’s name first floated by the Metallicamp during Suicidal’s supporting role on the Summer Shed tour of ’94, when all the band noted his enthusiastic style and performances. Thus when it was time to consider who could step up and take the bass full-time in Metallica, Rob’s name was an obvious choice. By all accounts, Trujillo’s audition dared the band NOT to give him the job, and even producer Bob Rock was heard saying how complete and unequivocally whole the band sounded with Rob playing. And so it was that on Thursday, February 24th 2003, Robert Trujillo walked in to the HQ and saw Ulrich, Hammett and Hetfield immediately start applauding him. Again, Rob is the perfect fit, a calm, even-keeled man with experience and full bass props…and genuinely one of the nicest guys around. It all adds up to the 4th member, an equal part of the Metallica family and an exciting new stage in Metallihistory. Source: www.metallica.com (official site)

Lauren Bergman: Lauren Bergman grew up in Washington, D.C., before relocating to Manhattan in 1987 to study painting and design at Parson’s School of Design and The Art Students League in New York. Influenced strongly as a young woman by her mother, a model and activist, Bergman began her quest to explore and discover the complexities of female identity and relationships. Bergman grew up observing her mother’s revolutionary disposition, reacting against cultural expectations of the times, an environment that encouraged Bergman to become an accomplished artist.

As a high school student Bergman was involved in art courses at the Corcoran School of Art . Her exceptional talents and mature narratives quickly landed her gallery exhibitions in Washington, D.C., exhibiting among renowned American realists, including Burton Silverman and Sondra Freckelton. Lauren Bergman is now regarded as a preeminent female contemporary artist emerging in the 21st Century, respected for her contributions to feminist- inspired art. Select solo exhibitions in New York City include New Works at O.K. Harris Gallery, and American Dream at Makor Gallery. Group shows include Charity By Numbers and ?The War: The Anti-War Show at Corey Helford Gallery, All About Women at Carl Hammer Gallery in Chicago, and Innocence and Insight at Claire Oliver Fine Art in New York City. Bergman has been published in The New York Times, Xlr8r, Boing Boing, Fecal Face, Juxtapoz, Absolute Arts, Glasstire, and Vinyl Pulse. Bergman currently lives and works in Manhattan. Source: www.laurenbergman.net (official site)

Per Øyvind Haagensen: “I’m a concept artist and freelance illustrator producing art for books, film and games. Working mainly for US clients through my New York based agency, I live in my home country of Norway. At present I’m continuing my work for Warner Bros. as a style guide artist on the latest Batman film by Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight Rises, having previously created art for the Green Lantern movie.

Although I’ve always had a deep passion and inherent need to express myself through visual media I didn’t really pursue an artistic career until my mid twenties. Having been born and raised in a small village up by the Arctic Circle in Norway I looked upon my creative aspirations little more than a dream without solid ground. I chose to go for a more practical education within electronics and computers. I realised early on this wasn’t something I’d necessarily want to do for the rest of my life, but it did also open my eyes to the many creative possibilities the computer can offer.

I went on to spend many years experimenting with 3d animation, sculpting and even music before settling with digital painting as the preferred medium of choice. This background has been invaluable in the development of my current aesthetics. It has also made me more open to continue expand my toolset in whatever way to help bring my visions to life.

In 2005 I moved to England to get an art degree at the University of Lincoln. While still finishing my degree I got connected with the agency Shannon Associates, and was fortunate enough to start my career pre-graduation, creating illustrations for magazines, books and advertisements. One of my paintings from this period, ‘Satan I’, also ended up being used as cover art for Heaven and Hell’s album ‘The Devil You Know’.

I received my Bachelor of Arts in 2008 and landed a job as a concept artist for Age of Conan, the MMORPG computer game. After a couple of years designing ancient monsters, weapons, armors and temples with the other amazing artists at the Funcom studio in Oslo I went on to freelance for Warner Bros. Parallell to this I have also been involved in many other great projects, producing art for franchises like The Lord of the Rings, World of Warcraft and The Walking Dead.” (Per Haagensen)

Nate Van Dyke: Nate (N8) Van Dyke is a prolific artist and illustrator who began drawing at the age of two and has yet to stop. N8′s medium of choice ranges from: pencil, ink, marker, watercolor, gauche, acrylic and oils. Regardless of what medium N8 picks up, his signature style can be seen in the contrast of his thin and thick lines in his pen and ink work and the high sheen contrast in his mixed media pieces. N8′s heavily detailed illustrations feature his heavy metal humans and his well-known future primitive apes with dark menacing personalities. His color work features studies of animals (apes, elephants, giraffes) against lustrous backdrops.

N8 is a full time illustrator and artist. His former job was as a senior concept artist at NCsoft working on City of Hereos. Prior to that, he finished creating concept art and storyboards for the Sega video game, Iron Man. His work has also been featured in several magazines such as JUXTAPOZ, XBox, PlayStation and Heavy Metal. Over the years N8 has attracted clients such as Converse, Levi Strauss, Scion, EMI Records, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Burton Snowboards, Slayer and Wired.

N8’s work has been commissioned and showcased internationally. In 2008, he had two gallery shows: London and Portland, Oregon. In February 2009, he won a Silver Award in the Editorial category of Spectrum 16. Source: www.n8vandyke.com (official site)

David Stoupakis: Born David Michael Stoupakis on the 26th of July, 1974, in Brighton, Massachusetts, to Greek-Italian, first generation American construction foreman George Stoupakis and his Cape-Briton Island Nova Scotia wife Anne, a hard working woman to say the least at everything she does. Both of them being artists themselves they would go on to push and encourage David to become an Artist.

David was born premature with numerous complications at birth and many thought he would not make it home from the hospital. Mother Anne knew she had to set strength in her new little one and so she gave him the name David and believed with this name little David would be able to beat the giant complications. Just one month later, David left the hospital to see his new home and two older siblings, brother Alex and sister Laura.

Within the first grade of school David was found to have a severe learning disability and his Doctors informed that David would develop more on the artistic side and that he may have the ability to become a great artist. So when the talents in David truly started to shine. His parents were proud and very supportive however his newfound artistic ability concerned his teachers. On several occasions David’ s “gloomy” drawings were the subject at teacher parent meetings. A few years later a wild art teacher entered David’ s life and encouraged him, opened his mind and drove him to experiment. Within that year David made the choice to dedicate himself to his artwork.

In 1992 David gave the Art Institute of Boston a one year try and quickly found that being schooled was not for him. In 1993 he began his road to developing himself and became a self- taught Artist. It was around 1995 when the first painting sold and by 1996 David was working as a contract 2 D / 3D Animator Artist for a game company. Then in 1999 David left the gaming industry and refocused his talents to painting full time. Also, that year he met his companion Aprella, and the two became muses for each other. David lives and works in New York with Aprella and their lovely rescued cat. He continues his dedication to painting and his remarkable works continue to grow. Source: www.davidstoupakis.com (official site)

Joe Petagno: (born January 1, 1948) is an artist primarily known for creating images used on heavy metal album covers. His work has graced covers for bands such as Motörhead, Marduk, Nightshade, and Illdisposed. Petagno was born in Portland, Maine and left the United States in 1972. He worked with Hipgnosis before meeting Motörhead’s Lemmy Kilmister. In 1975, he designed “Snaggletooth” for the band’s Motörhead album and has continued to design the majority of the album and single sleeve covers for the band.

In 1979, Petagno went with a travelling exhibition, sponsored by the Shah of Iran. During this time, he visited France and met his partner, Sanne, in Denmark, where he has lived ever since.

It has been said that Joe Petagno’s paintings never fail to smash the retina like a broad sword to the skull. Petagno’s unmistakeable art has spanned several generations and crept into the very sinews of the contemporary counter – cultural media. His work appears worldwide on Posters, Record and CD covers, Collectable card games, Comic- and Sci-fi book covers, Magazines, Merchandise, Advertising campaigns, videos and Film. Source: www.petagno.dk (official site)

Tony Alva: Tony Alva was born in 1957, in Santa Monica California. In 1968, Alva got his first surfboard and skateboard and developed a passion for surfing, skateboarding and rock-n-roll. In 1972, he joined the legendary Z-Boys skateboard team along with Jay Adams and Stacy Peralta. Alva later went on to win the Men’s World Overall Professional Skateboard Championship in 1977. In the 1980s, Tony formed the infamous “Alva Posse” and sponsors innovative skaters including: Christian Hosoi, Ray Barbee, Mark Gonzalez, Dave Duncan, Eddie Reategui, Chris Cook, John Thomas, Jeff Hartsel, Craig Johnson, John Gibson, Bill Danforth, Fred Smith III, and Jim Murphy.

In 1999, he was presented the X Games Life Time Achievement Award from Tony Hawk, and in 2000, he received the Legend Award from Transworld Skateboard Magazine.

Recently he was featured in the Sundance and Independent Spirit award-winning documentary “Dogtown and Z-Boys”

(2002). Tony Alva was an authenticity consultant and stunt coordinator on the upcoming Sony feature film, “Lords Of Dogtown” (2005), based on his life with the Z-Boys. Source: www.alvaskates.com (official site)

Brian M. Viveros: Celebrated fetish artist Brian M. Viveros is internationally embraced for his erotic paintings of doe-eyed beauties with Marlboros dangling seductively from their lips and has also recently been utilizing the medium of film to capture the dark and evocative debris that radiates from his mind. His paintings are a drunken mix of oil, airbrush, acrylic, and ink. In his work Viveros shines a light on his own inner world and society at large and aims to captivate even the most jaded eyes.

Viveros’ recognition accelerated with his participation in ‘The Art of Porn’ exhibition held in Switzerland (1997), where he exhibited alongside H.R. Giger. Since then Viveros’ work has been exhibited extensively in North America and Europe in numerous gallery shows and at Aqua Art Miami (2009) and GenArt’s Vanguard Fair (2008). His work has also been featured in numerous books including Les Barany’s ‘Carnivora: The Dark Art Of Automobiles’, Harry Saylor and Carolyn Frisch’s ‘Edgy Cute: From Neo-Pop to Low Brow and Back Again’, Matt Jordan’s ‘Weirdo Noir’, and Erotic Signature’s ‘The World’s Greatest Erotic Art of Today – Vol. 1 and Vol. II’.

His work has also been featured in the pages of Juxtapoz (no. 118), Secret Magazine, In the Flesh, Skin Two, Drawing Blood, Darks Art, Joia Magazine, Tattoo Extreme, XFUNS Magazine, Let’s Motive, Truce, Digital Temple, Riviera Magazine, Uce Magazine, Ego Magazine, Real Detroit Weekly, .ISM Quarterly, Tattoo Society, Dark Art’s Parlour Magazine, Revolution Art, Iniciativa Colectiva, Fetish Magazine, and was also recently featured on the TV show ‘LA Ink’ (where artist Nikko Hurtado tattooed one of Viveros’ paintings onto a client).

Viveros made his directing debut in 2005 with his quietly eerie, boldly stylized short film Dislandia, a psycho-drama revolving around a young girl who exists in a desolate world full of dreamlike images that range from bizarre to symbolic and erotic. Southern, his latest surreal film, returns cinema to the unclean. Southern is an experience of primordial sights, sounds, and sentiment, blanketed by a fog of troubling eroticism and violence. Viveros was also recently featured on the Sundance Channel’s ‘Pleasure for Sale’ where they featured a behind the scenes look at the artist and the dislandic crew that helped him to create his film Southern. Source: www.brianmviveros.com (official site)

Victor Castillo: Victor Castillo is a Chilean painter currently residing in Los Angeles, California. He was born in Santiago in 1973, the year of Chile’s military coup.

He began drawing obsessively at the age of five, inspired by the animations he saw on television, science fiction movies, and the illustrations on his family’s record covers such as Pink Floyd’s “The Wall”.

Following a disillusive experience with art school, from 1995, he participated in an independent experimental art collective in Santiago, creating mixed media sculpture and video installations.

Victor travelled to Barcelona, Spain in 2004, where he established his painting style with references to comics. After seeing the Prado Museum in Madrid, particularly Goya’s Black Paintings, he adopted aspects of classical painting in his work.

Today Victor Castillo is represented internationally by Merry. Source: www.victor-castillo.com (official site)

Robert Hardgrave: Robert Hardgrave, a Seattle resident for the past 18 years, is an improvisational painter and mixed media enthusiast. He lives with his lovely wife Stephanie and two sweet dogs, a Beagle and a Pug. Robert was recently featured in “Further”, a book featuring 7 artists with their varied takes on contemporary abstraction, mysticism, futurism, and surrealism, “The Upset Young Contemporary Art”, a current survey of contemporary artists and “Magic Beans” , a small monograph of his work, published through ROJO Magazine. He is represented by David B Smith Gallery in Denver, Joshua Liner Gallery in New York, EC Gallery in Chicago and Fetherston Gallery in Seattle. Source: www.roberthardgrave.com (official site)

NAZRN: Naserin Nancy “NAZRN” Bogado, born and raised in Los Angeles, CA. NAZRN has always had a passion for expression. Her artwork is a sci-fi adventure through her head. Packed with the visions of death, love, the nostalgia of youth, survival and the question “who are we really?”. NAZRN is inspired by her youth, own spirituality, the future, the universe and its “aliens”.

Creative Director Assistant to Richard Villa III, has worked creatively on all art shows up to date for Exhibit A Gallery. Art Director’s Assistant for Black Veil Brides “Perfect Weapon” working along Andy Biersack, Patrick Fogarty and mentor Richard Villa III. Source: www.nazrn.com (official site)

Travis Louie: Travis Louie was born in Queens, New York, about a mile from the site of the 1964 World’s Fair. His early childhood was spent making drawings and watching “Atomic Age” Sci-Fi and Horror movies. There were many Saturday afternoon trips to the local comics shop and noon matinees at the RKO Keith’s cinema on Northern Blvd. , where he marveled at the 1950’

s memorabilia: the rocket ships, the superheroes, the giant monsters, and old pulp art covers. He did thousands of sketches of genre characters like Godzilla, King Kong, and a host of creatures from Ray Harryhausen movies.

After high school, he went to Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, and graduated with a degree from the communication design dept. with the intent on pursuing a freelance illustration career. The work wasn’t as rewarding as he had anticipated. After a few years freelancing, he created a body of paintings and began showing them in local art galleries. The response was very encouraging. He stopped actively pursuing illustration work and began taking on more private commissions and concentrating his efforts on gallery shows.

The visual style of his work is mostly influenced by the lighting and atmosphere of German Expressionist and Film Noir motion pictures from the Silent Era to the late 1950’s. Films from directors like F W Murnau, Fritz Lang, Orson Welles, Robert Siodmak, Robert Aldrich, Jacque Tourneur, and cinematographer, Greg Toland, had a great effect on the way he wanted his paintings to look.

To achieve the dramatic “mood” in his paintings, they are produced primarily in black and white or limited color. He uses acrylic paints over tight graphite drawings on smooth grounds, like “plate” finish illustration board or finely sanded, primed wood panels. When he is not painting, his time is spent writing in his notebooks and journals. Many little drawings and sketches are made from those writings, most of which are less than 10 centimeters square.

The influences for his work are many; the genre films, his fascination with human oddities, circus sideshows, old Vaudeville magic acts, Victorian portraits, and things otherworldly, are all blended together to enable him to bring life to the characters and stories he writes in his journals. Source: www.travislouie.com (official site)

Jon Chase: Jon Chase is a illustrator and clothing designer in the action sport lifestyle world for the past decade. In the action sports world he is know for his bold graphics and unique designs. In the fine art work he is know for his black and grey airbrush portrait pieces. Jon has worked for some of the most sought after brands which include, Monster Energy, The Salvation Army, Mobil 1, Hart And Huntington, Scion and many others. In 2008 he created DSTROYR a lifestyle clothing brand focusing on his many interests and influences. Source: Jon Chase

Nathan Ota: Ever since I can remember, I have always found myself drawing over doing my homework. My early influences came from cartoons on television, comic books, photographs and Punk-rock flyers. I can still remember sneaking into my older brothers room and raiding his ,”Vamperella” comics and trying to copy or trace all the covers I could get my hands on. Classical art never really interested me at that time so I turned to what really spoke to me with artists such as, Robert Williams, Olivia, Puss Head and Raymond Pettibon. Traditional art never came into the picture till I started high school but it still didn’t speak to me. I always found myself gravitating toward popular culture and at that time it was graffiti. I was completely hooked! I loved everything about it, the clicking of the ball in the can when shook, the sound of the constant flow of the paint, the scraping of the can against the wall when drawing, the colors, the scale, the friendships and the complete feeling of freedom. Till this day, whenever I smell spray paint in the air, it brings back good times. I still dabbled a little in graffiti once I entered the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California but a whole new world of art was opening my eyes with Illustration. I never knew what I wanted to do when I entered college and kind of left it in the hands of the instructors to lead me in whatever direction I was going. It was a bit frustrating at first but soon after, I started to get it and knew that I was going to be an Illustrator.

Shortly after graduating in 1993, I started working as a freelance Artist for newspapers, magazines, recording companies, background art for the gaming industry and gallery. Source: www.nathanota.com (official site)

Katy Rodriguez: Born and raised in San Francisco, where she studied fine art and photography, Katy Rodriguez initially made her mark in 1996 as co-founder of America’s premiere designer vintage store, Resurrection, which currently operates in Los Angeles and New York. Over the past fifteen years, Rodriguez has curated several fashion exhibitions and has become a fixture on the international fashion scene. In the late Nineties, Rodriguez collaborated with her business partner, Mark Haddawy, on a satirical women’s collection they called caitie et marc. In 2000, she designed a capsule collection with the artist Raymond Pettibon, based on his ink on paper drawings. In 2005, Rodriguez struck out on her own, designing a group of dresses that drew on her extensive knowledge of fashion’s history, but which featured modern revisions. Rodriguez has continued to build on her original designs, assembling collections that focus on architectural volume, perfect symmetry, and exaggerated elegance. Chosen as one of Gen Art’s “Fresh Faces,” Rodriguez showed her Spring 07 collection at the Gen Art Show in October 2006 as part of Los Angeles Fashion Week. In 2007, Rodriguez was selected to participate in the prestigious California Design Biennial at the Pasedena Museum of Art. Rodriguez has collaborated with artists Richard Villa lll, Sara Glaxia, Wynn Miller, and the fore mentioned Raymond Pettibon on signature prints for her various collections. Since 2008, Rodriguez has shown her collections at Los Angeles, New York and Paris Fashion Weeks. In 2012, she will re-release her controversial “Porno” print to celebrate the seminal collection’s 10 year anniversary.

Katy Rodriguez has been featured in every major international fashion publication including: American Vogue, Paris Vogue, Italian Vogue, W Magazine, Vanity Fair, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, Dazed and Confused, I-D, The New York Times, WWD, and Style.com. Source: Katy Rodriguez

Dan May: Dan May was born and raised in the suburbs of Rochester, NY. He attended Syracuse University, where he received a BFA in illustration. Dan spends his days (and nights) painting dreamlike environments that transcend space and time. These delightfully haunting images are often based in personal observations of both human’s and nature’

s relationships with each other. His artwork has been exhibited in galleries throughout the US and abroad. Dan has collaborated with numerous publications, design firms, advertising agencies and publishing houses. Some of his clients include WIRED, St. Louis Magazine, The San Francisco Chronicle, Aspen Magazine, Village Voice Media, AOL Productions, 20th Century FOX and VIZ Media. Source: www.danmay.net (official site)

Chris Peters: Chris Peters creates his art in his Los Angeles studio. He trained for 3 years at the Gage Academy of Art, completing their program that emphasizes academic painting techniques. His work has been exhibited in numerous galleries devoted to the Los Angeles Pop Surrealism/Lowbrow art Movement, inclluding Copro/Nason Gallery in Santa Monica, La Luz De Jesus in Hollywood and Last Rites Gallery in NYC. Source: www.chrispeters.com (official site)

Dan Harding: Dan was born and raised in central New Jersey where he grew up with a passion for anything to do with horror. Early on reading old horror zines , comics and books as well as an unhealthy amount of watching television. This sparked his interest in art, wanting to create his own monsters. He spent his teenage years doing art for friends and bands until he moved to PA for quite a few years where art had taken a back seat to life. In the late 90’s he began to feel the urge to get back into art so he started to pick up oil painting.

Never having any formal training it was a long process but he loved every minute of it. He eventually began to get jobs doing CCG art and magazine and book covers here in the US as well as Europe and Canada. He eventually moved back to NJ where he still resides continuing to paint and work in fine art restoration.

However, Dan has never been content with his work ” I feel like I was always so suppressed by creating what publishers and game companies wanted to see that I began to get stale with art. I never really painted something I thought was cool. The past couple of years I have begun to paint what is inside me and I am excited about where my work is heading! Source: www.danhardingart.com (official site)

Shawn Crahan: M. Shawn Crahan, better known as Clown, is the percussionist and founding member of the Grammy Award winning hard rock band, Slipknot. Shawn is also the art director for Slipknot and directed their DVDs, Disasterpieces, Voliminal: Inside The Nine, Of The (sic), (sic)nesses: Live at Download and Goat. He has been the creative vision behind the band since their inception.

Outside of Slipknot, Shawn has had a few other projects of note, To My Surprise who released one album (executive produced by Rick Rubin) on Roadrunner Records in 2004, as well as the alternative group, Dirty Little Rabbits. Crahan produced, played drums and wrote in both groups. In 2009, The Dirty Little Rabbits released the EP, Simon, on The End Records, which was followed by their self-titled full length in 2010. Recently, Shawn has been focusing his musical energy on his newest band, The Black Dots of Death. In this latest band Crahan can once again be found behind the drum kit in addition to writing, recording and producing the band whose debut album, Ever Since We Were Children, hit stores in the spring of 2011.

In addition to producing his own work Shawn has also worked as a producer for several bands including Gizmachi and Dirtfedd as well as serving as an executive producer to bands such as Mudvayne. Shawn has also remixed several songs for artists including; Marilyn Manson, Coheed and Cambria, Mindless Self Indulgence, Suicide Silence among others.

Away from music, Shawn is also very passionate about photography and film. In recent years he has taken to directing Slipknot’s videos, co-directing all four videos for their latest record, 2008’s All Hope Is Gone. Shawn had his first gallery showing in Iowa in 2010, displaying a number of paintings, photographs and other works of art. He’s been a featured speaker, performer and panelist at seminars throughout the country, including South by Southwest. Crahan’s first photo book consisting of medium format Polaroids, will be out in May 2012.

Crahan currently lives in Des Moines, Iowa with his wife of 18 years and 4 children. Source: Shawn Crahan

Steve Caballero: Skateboarding legend Steve Caballero has accomplished so much during his 30-plus years of skating, he’s one of those rare guys who is known simply by his nickname, Cab. As an original member of the Bones Brigade, the eighties skate super team that Stacey Peralta envisioned to redefine skateboarding, Cab appeared in perhaps the most famous skate video of all time, The Search for Animal Chin. Cab has invented tricks including the Caballerial and the frontside boardslide and, in 2009, Cab and Vans celebrated the twentieth anniversary of the first-ever signature skate shoe, the Vans Caballero, while 2012 sees the twentieth anniversary of the longest running and “greatest” skate shoe of all time, the Vans Half Cab. Source: www.vans.com

Patrick Fogarty: Patrick Fogarty – Born July 30, 1981 in Minneapolis, MN.

Patrick acquired an interest in filmmaking at the early age of 13, when he learned how to edit on a linear VHS editing bay at his local public access station, making music videos out of his favorite movies. After a brief stay in film school at Columbia College in Chicago and playing bass guitar in the divisive noise/blues atrocity No Doctors, he moved to California to pursue more practical experience in film production.

In 2005, he began directing music videos as a way to combine his two favorite art forms. After working with dozens of unsigned bands on shoe-string budgets and mastering the craft, Patrick has carved out an audience with the help of a few rising stars in the music industry, most notably, Hollywood’s own Black Veil Brides, who he has directed videos for at every stage in their career, thus far. Source: Patrick Fogarty

Chad Michael Ward: Chad Michael Ward is a critically-acclaimed self-taught artist, photographer and filmmaker who has spent the last 14 years shooting musicians, celebrities and pretty faces in the urban wilds of San Francisco and Los Angeles.

His unique portraits and hyper-stylistic imagery has made Ward one of the more sought-after talents in the music and art industries with work appearing in numerous galleries, magazines, album covers and books including the forthcoming The New Erotic Photography volume II from TASCHEN.

Ward’s work has also been collected into several monographs including Black Rust, Autopsyrotica, DevilEngine, Dangerous Beauties, Storyteller and Storyteller: NUDE.

He is currently represented by Shannon Associates in New York. Source: Chad Michael Ward

Squindo: Born in New Jersey in September of 69, Squindo grew up on heavy doses of Saturday morning cartoons and the smells of gasoline and grease. At age 10 he attended his first drag race and was instantly fascinated with the hot rod world. From that moment on he was either drawing a car or under one.

In the summer of 1999, after years of pushing his art, he met Lars Ulrich of Metallica and the luck began to change. Since then he’s been creating Metallica merchandise nonstop. He has designed album art, clothing, DVDs, and toys for some of the most influential bands today including the Misfits, Ramones and GreenDay.

In 2005, he finally quit the daily grind again to pursue art 100%. Since then his lowbrow work’s have shown on gallery walls from the ASR Ripper Show, Gasoline Gallery and Gallery 1988 in LA to east coast galleries The Parlor, Art N Soul, East Atlanta Gallery and the Spacejunk Galleries in France. His art has been published in two books thru Korero books and in several magazines from IronHorse to Tattoo Life, with the growing popularity of his use of wood stains and hand carved panels, auto body filler, fiberglass and acrylics, strongly influenced by his cartoon and gearhead upbringing.

Squindo is steadily designing merchandise and countless show posters for bands and venues, ski design for Rossignols ‘Seven Artistic Sins’ project, Hasbro design and layout, and skateboard design for several skaters including legend and brother-in-law Tom Groholski with Pocket Pistols. At the same time, painting, sculpting, tattooing and wrenching on his hot rods in a secluded North East Pennsylvania studio and log cabin home. Source: Squindo

Sorrow: There are a few different paths a devoted family man can take immediately after a handful of his loved ones are prematurely stripped of life. One path leads to a realm of unanswerable questions and emotions—a world of defeat. Another path leads to a fantastical world, where art is therapy, colorful worlds are created, and a hidden passion is rediscovered in honor of lost love. A decade ago, Sorrow chose the latter path. After adopting a name that summed up his feelings, he conjured up old inspirations like HR Giger and Aiden Hughes, and dove headfirst back into his childhood love of drawing, graffiti, and skateboarding. For the last 15 years, he has used a mixture of acrylics, spray paint, and inks to forge a galaxy of octopus-like skulls and Cronenberg-esque flowers mixed with a cup of street culture on everything from walls and trains to canvases and kicks. Now, both his life and his art are constantly getting brighter. —Alex Pardee Source: Sorrow

Travis Smith: Travis Smith, born in 1970, is a self taught mixed media artist who is best known for his album cover artwork. Since 1995 he has produced hundreds of works for several Hard Rock and Heavy Metal artists including Katatonia, Opeth, Devin Townsend, CKY, Death, All That Remains, Avenged Sevenfold, Amorphis, We Are the Fallen, Overkill, and Psychotic Waltz. His work has also appeared in comic books, band merchandise, posters, and DVDs. He lives and works near San Diego, California. Source: Travis Smith

Wynn Miller: Wynn Miller’s career as an artist has spanned over 30 years, both as an award-winning advertising photographer and photojournalist. His late- 1970′s work — capturing skateboarder Tony Alva and his fellow Dogtown skateboarders has achieved iconic status. Miller’s now – infamous Freshjive Mad Dog Chronicles has been traveling the world in exhibition, with extensive showings in Tokyo, Paris, Los Angeles and New York.
Early in his career, Miller chronicled a year in the life of a East Los Angeles street gang known as “Arizona Maravilla”. He hung out with the gang, earner their trust and was allowed to photograph them on their own turf. This was a gang culture born on tradition and dedication, a far cry from today’s Crips and Bloods. Nonetheless, violence was endemic and after the shooting death of young gang member with whom he was very close, Miller called it quits and never returning.
Miller, a Los Angeles native, studied photography at Santa Monica College. Source: Wynn Miller

Even Street Gangs Need Business Cards

2012-01-23T09:57:00.000-05:00

Found this random post from a blog called We Are Supervision on old business cards from the 70's and 80's that gangs in Chicago would pass out. Never thought we would see literal calling cards and now all we can think of is the Warriors...

Link to We Are Supervision

"Today, we are pulling out some goodies from the archives for everyone. Every city has its own gang history, part of Chicago's are Gang cards, most prominent in the 70's and early 80's, back in the day when a gang was more of a neighborhood crew then what it is today. Fists, bats, and bottles days, before guns became the norm in the gang. Most of the gangs were just about the neighborhood and hanging out together. Stock art from the printer as well as some hand drawn illustrations were the back bone of many of the cards. Some cards are pretty humorous, with some off the wall illustrations, logos, sayings, and rhymes. They don't make them like they used to..."

We took some inspiration from the original gang cards and did a little round of our own, revamped cards...

Is Nitrogen Better than Air in Tires?

2012-01-23T09:27:00.000-05:00

Got a newer car and been hearing about how great nitrogen is in replacing your tires over regular old fashioned air? We have been on the fence and did some digging to find out some more data on this which wasn't easy. Low and behold we found a canadian car guy that might just be moonlighting as a high school science teacher. Listen to his discussion on Nitrogen vs Air and you might be in for a surprise. Not quite what you will hear from a tire dealer or but there is also more info from Popular Mechanics below.

Q: Is there any advantage to using nitrogen instead of compressed air in tires? Will I notice improved fuel economy or a smoother ride? Will my tires last longer?

A: Sort of. From the top: Air is 78 percent nitrogen, just under 21 percent oxygen, and the rest is water vapor, CO2 and small concentrations of noble gases such as neon and argon. We can ignore the other gases.

There are several compelling reasons to use pure nitrogen in tires.

First is that nitrogen is less likely to migrate through tire rubber than is oxygen, which means that your tire pressures will remain more stable over the long term. Racers figured out pretty quickly that tires filled with nitrogen rather than air also exhibit less pressure change with temperature swings. That means more consistent inflation pressures during a race as the tires heat up. And when you're tweaking a race car's handling with half-psi changes, that's important.

Passenger cars can also benefit from the more stable pressures. But there's more: Humidity (water) is a Bad Thing to have inside a tire. Water, present as a vapor or even as a liquid in a tire, causes more of a pressure change with temperature swings than dry air does. It also promotes corrosion of the steel or aluminum rim.
If I ever need to top off a tire when I'm out on the road, I'll always briefly depress the tire chuck's valve with my thumbnail and vent some air. If my thumb gets wet, there's water in the line. Some gas stations don't do a very good job of keeping the humidity out of their air system. I don't even like to use a water-based tire-mounting lubricant unless I can let the tire bake in the sun for a couple of hours before I air it up and seat the bead. I've dismounted tires (not mine) that had several quarts of water inside—probably from a compressed-air hose that collected water and was never purged properly.

How is water relevant to a nitrogen discussion? Any system that delivers pure nitrogen is also going to deliver dry nitrogen. Filling tires with nitrogen involves filling and purging several times in succession, serially diluting the concentration of oxygen in the tire. This will also remove any water.

It's certainly simple, although time-consuming, for a tire technician to fill and bleed tires. But most shops use a machine that not only generates almost pure nitrogen by straining the oxygen out of shop-compressed air, but will also automatically go through several purge cycles unattended. Some shops have been charging as much as $30 per tire for this service. I think that's too much. If you're buying a new tire, it should be far less. Still, the nitrogen generator, filling system and technician's time aren't free—the dealer is entitled to some return for that.

So, to answer your specific questions: With nitrogen, your tire pressures will remain more constant, saving you a small amount in fuel and tire-maintenance costs. There will be less moisture inside your tires, meaning less corrosion on your wheels. You will not be able to feel any difference in the ride or handling or braking, unless your tire pressures were seriously out of spec and changing to nitrogen brought them back to the proper numbers.

Read more: Nitrogen vs Air In Tires - Why Nitrogen in Tires - Popular Mechanics

$43 bucks for a nitrogen fill... hot air?

Air filling station at your average quickie mart

Forget Nitrogen or Air, don't need them at all with airless tires and wheels

Nitrogen valve stem caps

Want to see more marketing on why to use Nitrogen filled tires

The Green Lady Killers At NAMM

2012-01-22T22:21:00.002-05:00

This past weekend the Green Lady Killers had a chance to make it out to the NAMM convention and check out some new gear and hang out with Fender and Gretsch, who officially endorse the band.

Link to NAMM

NAMM Convention 2012 in Southern California

Lady Van Buren in front of a massive Marshall stack

The Green Lady Killers at the Gretsch booth

Ivy Rose checking out a new Gretsch bass

Cherrybomb at the Sabian booth

More information on NAMM

NAMM, the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), commonly called NAMM in reference to the organization's popular NAMM trade shows, is the not-for-profit association that unifies, leads and strengthens the $17 billion global music products industry. Our association—and our trade shows—serve as a hub for people wanting to seek out the newest innovations in musical products, recording technology, sound and lighting. NAMM's activities and programs are designed to promote music making to people of all ages.The Model for Industry Growth—The History

Before there was an industry or an association, there was a belief...in music. That belief led to a mission: to unify, lead and strengthen the global music products industry and increase active participation in music making.

More than a century later, that mission has attracted a growing, thriving worldwide community of thousands of deeply passionate, talented companies that make, buy and sell the instruments that allow millions of people to make music. That community is called NAMM, the trade association of the international music products industry.

NAMM is able to support the association's mission with a business model based on a circle of benefits that promotes industry growth. The circle begins with the revenue derived from NAMM's trade shows, which is channeled back into the industry through the NAMM Foundation's funding of industry charities and in the form of advocacy and market-building programs and initiatives, further increasing public awareness. This leads to increased demand of music products, growing the industry and, ultimately, promoting trade show growth, which completes the circle. To support individual Members, NAMM offers industry education through NAMM University, publishes valuable one-of-a-kind statistical reports, and brings the industry together at events and global meetings.

Founded in 1901, NAMM has been the engine driving the music products industry, enabling both large and small businesses to maximize productivity and reduce the costs of doing business. With more than 9,000 Members in the United States and 100+ other countries, NAMM is ultimately dedicated to expanding the market and giving people of all ages the opportunity to experience the proven benefits of making music.

1975 Suzuki GT550 Indy Custom Cafe

2012-01-22T14:35:00.000-05:00

Recent find on ebay for a new street fighter, built by the folks over at MotoHangar.com

Link to ebay sale listing

Recent winner of the "Best in show" and "Trick Bits" awards at Fighter Fest 2011 Carlisle PA. Started life as a 1975 Suzuki GT550. Created to combine the old and the new, with updated suspension the bike handles like a modern sportbike with all the charm of a vintage two-stroke motorcycle. Modifications include custom subframe and tail section. Modified Kawasaki H1 expansion chambers. Elk skin leather seat and fiberglass seat pan. Custom Honda headlight. Kawasaki 636 rear suspension and Suzuki GSXR front forks. Bike completed entirely, including the paint and graphics, here at MotoHangar.Recently featured in Streetfighter Magazine, BikeExif.com, and various international and local blogs. Soon to be in Option Moto Magazine (France).

For a full feature article, check out http://www.bikeexif.com/suzuki-gt550

SPEC:MAKE: Suzuki
MODEL: GT550
YEAR: 1975
DISPLACEMENT: 553cc
CYLINDERS: 3CYCLE:
2COLOR: Storm Grey Metallic
MH SERIAL: MHC003

Things to know before purchasing: This bike has been ridden since completion in July 2011. The carburetors have been rebuilt and the bowl gaskets, needles and seats for each carb have been replaced, though if the fuel is not shut off then there is a bit of seepage. Along with this, an inline shut off valve has been installed as the original petcock was vacuum operated and wasn't very reliable. Bike is very clean though there have been a few small nicks in the paint. One chip mark below the key on the frame about the size of a nickel, and a couple very small spots, almost unnoticeable on the tank. Electric start has been removed to save weight, but bike starts on first kick every time. Bike is very quick, handles and stops very well. Please feel free to ask any and all questions before bidding and contact the seller if you would like to speak over the phone. Bike was hand built, painted and completed at motoHangar.com a Virginia based custom motorcyle shop. There are 5451 miles on the title, but everything has been restored or rebuilt and only ridden a handul of miles since completion.

"Honduki" by Moto Hangar

"Honduki" by Moto Hangar, custom hybrid Street Fighter and Cafe Racer

"Honduki" by Moto Hangar

Nine Bullets Radio Reviews Hellbound Glory

2012-01-19T17:08:00.001-05:00

"Outlaw country is all about doing the best you can with what you were dealt in life. No excuses. No regrets. In that way Hellbound Glory and their self-described “scumbag country” are the archetype of the modern (upper-case) Outlaw movement. Compared to the current crop of Nashville (lower-case) “outlaws”, Hellbound Glory has a look and sound that makes you believe that, even if they may have not personally lived the life in their songs, they very likely have been close to someone who has. They describe the life of those on the lower end of the economic spectrum with intimate detail without resorting to cliches and stereotypes (cough…BrantleyAldean…cough).

From start to finish, the characters in Damaged Goods are people that are easy to relate to. Like many of us, they are trying their best to make the most of their lives, but despite their efforts they seem destined to fail. At times they fight the inevitable to their last breath (“Knocked off That Horse”), other times they accept it and enjoy the ride (“Bastard Child”, “Till the Lights Go Out”). But in the end, they realize that no matter the situation you were born in to, what you do with it is your own choice and within your own control (“You Better Hope You Die Young”).

As with Hellbound Glory’s previous releases, musically they are once again very solid. They let their musicianship shine on the more lighthearted, uptempo romps, but keep it subdued on the ballads. Lyrically, they paint such vivid portraits you can almost smell the stale beer and burnt crack. Not to mention they wrote one of my favorite lines of the year: “If your gone I’ll be a goner/I’m gonna hit the ground like a shot down B-2 bomber” (“Gonna Be a Goner”)

This isn’t the type of country you’re gonna hear on your urban, soccer mom listening, mini van driving, corporate controlled, mega-Clear Cumulus radio station. And that’s a good thing. Listening to country-lite helps keep the masses off the Valium. Keep the real stuff for those of us that can handle it.

Definitely Essential Listening."

- Sean Kelly

Link to original article on Nine Bullets

Hellbound Glory reviewed by Nine Bullets Radio

Johnny Ramone's Memoir To Be Released At Last

2012-01-18T20:07:00.001-05:00

For all you diehard Ramones fans, the great Johnny Ramone will finally have his autobiography released, posthumously by his wife Linda. This should shed some epic light on many of the stories surrounding one of the greatest and most influential punk bands to ever take the stage.

Link to article on MSNBC.com

NEW YORK — Eight years after he died of prostate cancer, Johnny Ramone's autobiography is finally being published.

"Commando: The Autobiography of Johnny Ramone" is set for release April 2 by Abrams Image. In an interview Tuesday, his widow, Linda, described the book as "kind of his last word that he knew would be out."

Johnny Ramone of the punk rock group The Ramones speaks after the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in New York in 2002.

"It is a really powerful book because his whole life has gone before him and he knows it's going to come to an end, and he really needs to tell everybody what he's feeling inside, so that's what makes it so amazing," she added later. "That is the biggest, most powerful thing, writing a book when you know you're dying."

Johnny Ramone, whose real name was John Cummings, was one of the founding members of the legendary New York City-based punk band the Ramones, members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Considered one of the most influential guitarists in rock, he died in 2004 at age 55 after battling cancer for five years.

Linda Ramone said he started writing the book when he first became ill: "Johnny's legacy to him was so important, even while he was sick. ... It was like he knew he was dying, and he wanted to do something."

The 176-page book is filled with pictures selected by his wife. It includes Ramone's musings from his childhood to his struggle with cancer. It also features other personal stories, including the attack on him that left him hospitalized, his altercation with Malcolm McLaren and his romance with Linda, who once dated Joey Ramone, the Ramones' frontman, leading to a yearslong rift between the two musicians.

"It's whatever people make out of it. I guess it was some sort of love triangle — Joey, Johnny and me. It happened, and of course he talks about it and he talks about how he feels about it," Linda said. "The three of us all probably have a different story, but this is Johnny's story."

Band mate Tommy Ramone, the only surviving member of the original band, wrote the foreword. In a statement, he said: "Johnny Ramone's autobiography is a no holds barred, straight-forward book written in a no-nonsense style that is Johnny personified. His story is written in his own actual words, so the reader gets an insight into what made him the unique, charismatic and exciting individual that he was. It also gives a great view of The Ramones from Johnny's perspective."

The epilogue was written by close friend Lisa Marie Presley.

Linda Ramone said the book was originally planned to have interviews with Ramone's friends, but she decided to only include her husband's words.

"It didn't make Johnny Ramone's book more powerful by having other people in the book talking about him," she said. "This is nobody else's story. This is Johnny Ramone's story, talking about Johnny Ramone."

She said several factors were responsible for the delay in the book's release, including lawsuits involving the band after Ramone died and other projects she was undertaking for his fans.

"Between all those years of doing different things for his legacy, I always had the book. But there was never the right time for the book," she said.

Linda said her husband never stopped working on the book, even during chemotherapy treatments.

"He wasn't feeling well all the time, but that never stopped Johnny," she said. "Johnny was indestructible."

She hopes to publish another book of photos of Ramone, and hopes the book will lead to a Ramones biopic.

"This is the first book I can honestly see that really has enough in it to make it such an interesting story, because this is Johnny talking about Johnny," she said. "No Ramone movie could be as cool as Johnny's story."

Antiseen & Flat Tires - Ramones Tribute split 7" vinyl record

Red Nose Studio And A 1965 Harley 175cc Two Stroke

2012-01-18T09:40:00.002-05:00

Creativity comes in a plethora of forms. It could be the combustible engine that provides the transportation we all dig so much or it could be mixing sculpture and illustration with a similar rationale. Whatever the case may be or the element we individually enjoy, folks such as Chris Sickels are truly gifted with their design ideas.

If you happen to read any design magazines or seen any advertising with his work, his style is truly distinctive. The fact that he digs motorcycles and adds them to his work, just heightens our appreciation for his craft. Dig into the video below to learn more about Chris Sickels and his company Red Nose Studio out of Greenfield, Indiana

How Design Blog

"Chris Sickels is an illustrator from Greenfield, Indiana. He rides a 1965 Harley-Davidson Pacer, a 175cc two-stroke with unabashed nicks and dings. We visited Red Nose Studio where his world of sculpted puppets and miniature environments line the walls and crowd his desks.Chris creates three-dimensional scenes built strictly for photographic illustrations that will later be utilized in magazines, books, and other marketing collateral. Two particular pieces commanded our attention. One is a dapper, gangling fellow on a fictitiously elongated BMW and the other is a café racing character on a gritty Norton. The latter features a headlight made from a Dremeled-down eyeglass lens, some faux-rust for convincing patina, and a tiny-but-accurate pudding bowl helmet atop an oddly proportioned rider, all contributing to the awkward authenticity of Chris’ work."

Red Nose Studio character sculpture and illustration Cafe Racer

Red Nose Studio character sculpture and illustration film maker

Red Nose Studio character sculpture and illustration detail of Cafe Racer

Red Nose Studio character sculpture and illustration wild west gunslinger

Red Nose Studio character sculpture and illustration in a Shelby Cobra on blocks

Pirates Press Record Of The Week Collection

2012-01-17T09:56:00.001-05:00

The manufacturing side of vinyl records has very few players and we have talked on a few here in the news section, but another great one is Pirates Press Records out of San Francisco. They continually produce great packaging and high quality vinyl products. One cool site they have is their Pirates Press Record of the Week. So if you are looking for ideas on your next vinyl album for art and vinyl color ideas, have a gander.

Pirates Press Record Of The Week

She's Still Dead 12" vinyl LP

Movers & Shakers from Cigar Box Recordings

Lacuna Coil from Century Media Records

Speedwolf from Hells Headbangers Records

Goatwhore from Metal Blade Records

Vinyl Sales Up 39% in 2011

2012-01-17T09:47:00.001-05:00

According to Neilsen soundscan reportings, vinyl record sales are up 39% in 2011. Now this doesn't reflect all labels as some reports are not even directed to their service such as ours. We don't even worry about barcodes on some releases as they are going directly to the fans. There is a huge push for vinyl in fan packaging demand, but a majority of the music still sold is by CD. Also, it would be interesting to see what albums are the top sales for these numbers. A lot of albums are being reissued and hearing that the Black Keys are reaching gold status for their new album, with 3% being sold in vinyl that roughly accounts for around 15,000 vinyl albums sold. Damn cool for sure, and those vinyl junkies out there are in hog heaven.

Vinyl record sales in 2011, from Digital Music News

The Parody Created When Some Punk Bands Go Country - From Saving Country Music

2012-01-16T12:37:00.005-05:00

Saving Country Music continues to be a solid resource for all that is roots and underground country music and we are glad to pay monthly advertising to help support the site. Some of the discussions turn to the invigorated growth of the DIY punk ethos that have been brewing in this particular scene. Triggerman crafted a great article about folks such as Hank 3 towing the line of country and punk and J.B. Beverley addresses the topic in a great manner.

Being that we are a label who works with punk, country, americana and upcoming this year our first metal band, we definitely look at the current wave of country crossover music and give it two thumbs up as we also did while growing up in hardcore and thrash of the 80's. In many ways we consider country to be the last untapped "punk" genre by the mass consumer music culture or the folks who only know the music on the radio dial. Country music has always had punk ethos. Maybe the folks who didn't grow up with it or weren't exposed to the story telling had no clue about it, but it was there in a different format.

At the end of the day stories are the only thing that lives forever. No matter what genre of music is being played, or what is currently popular, true characters will always rise up. To see this being done within underground country music over the years is just damn cool and its great to see music forever evolving.

Link to original article on Saving Country Music

It’s always been my assertion that Hank Williams III‘s 2006 album Straight to Hell was one of the most important albums in country music history because among other landmark achievements, it officially unionized a country music underground that had been building a foundation for years. Similar to the undergrounds that existed in punk music and other genres, now there was a network of support for artists who did not want to mess with the mainstream country oligarchy and their heavy-handed managing practices.

Straight to Hell also was significant because despite his famous country name, it was a punk musician taking country to the edge of the line, though not crossing it. As edgy as the album was, it was still undeniably country. Later Hank3 would leap right over that line, but in the mid-oughts and still in some respects today, Hank3 showed reverence for the traditions of country music by delineating his punk and country in different sets live, by tying his hair back during his country set, etc., and showing that he can do it “the right way” when representing the Hank Williams name in more traditional settings like the Country Music Hall of Fame, and Marty Stuart’s RFD TV show.

Of course, Hank3 was not the first to mix punk music and country. Jason & The Scoarchers were doing it in the early 80′s as one of the first Cowpunk bands. John Doe and Exene Cervenka of the punk band “X“, and Mike Ness of Social Distortion had forays into country in the mid 80′s. But in this current era that most music brains are branding “post-punk”, the influx of punk artists and fans into country and roots music has become huge, similar to how pop and R&B artists in the mainstream are flocking to country, looking for support as the music world coalesces into the two super-genres of country and hip-hop.

For some punk bands, the transition was obvious, for example Larry & His Flask, or The Goddamn Gallows, which both started as punk bands and then went in a roots direction. Others formed out of the ashes of punk scenes, like the .357 String Band. Generally speaking, the burgeoning country music underground welcomed these bands and their fans with open arms because they still showed respect to country music traditions, but soon parody began to creep into the equation as some bands and artists, armed with a knowledge of country only skin deep and Hank3′s Straight to Hell as their primary reference point, began to ape Hank3′s style instead of trying to be inspired by it.
I first broached this subject when reviewing Hank3′s album Rebel Within in May of 2010:

Hank III reinvigorated the “hellraising” attitude in country. One of the reasons it seems overused is because Hank inspired an army of copycats who can’t craft an original idea, throwing out “whiskey, devil, cocaine” references with no direction or purpose.

This theme also came up in a review for the band The Honky Tonk Hustlas. Whether it is punk bands that simply interchange their electric instruments for acoustic ones, or bands that have a more traditional country sound, but overload it with “whiskey, devil, and drug” references, parody in the “punk gone country” movement has become a problem, primarily by the way these artists can typecast other country punk bands, fans, and entities who actually do approach the country genre with respect, knowledge, and creativity.

And the dilemma is especially hurtful to bands like Hellbound Glory & Whitey Morgan & The 78′s for example, who never did time in the punk ranks, but have used the underground country network for support. Typecasting anybody and everybody coming out of the underground country ranks as foul-mouthed Hank3 clones is not fair to anyone, including Hank3.

JB Beverley is a musician who has spent time in both the country and punk worlds. His Waywards Drifters are about as country as it gets and have been around for a dozen years, while his Little White Pills have been playing hardcore punk music since 2002. Beverley did time as the frontman of the infamous Murder Junkies, who for a while backed up GG Allin, the notorious frontman who was another one of the first punk musicians to dabble in country. According to Beverley, parody in the “punk gone country” world is becoming a problem:

For as much as I like metal, punk, and hardcore music, I grew up on country music, and I don’t want to hear thrash metal with fiddles and banjos. I also don’t like to see and hear people who only know about the three Hanks, Johnny Cash, and Willie Nelson talking about how “country” they are. You might know Hank3′s catalog inside and out, but if you can’t name a few Hank Thompson, Lefty Frizzell, Patsy Cline, and Hank Snow songs, you might want to rethink telling everyone how country you are.

Beverley says that the influx of misguided punk gone country bands have made it harder for bands like The Wayward Drifters.

As much as Hank3 has done to open doors for a lot of folks, the copycat image-jockeys not only take away from what he has done, thereby minimizing his efforts and hard work, they also make it hard on the rest of us who actually write original songs and don’t subscribe to that “whiskey, Satan, shotguns, moonshine, cheap thrills” formula.

All these copycat bands are actually driving the price down for the rest of us who are trying to make an honest living playing non-Nashville country. I recently had a promoter ask me: “If I book you, do I have to worry about heavy metal rednecks showing up and trashing my bar, or do you have at least some real country fans?” Statements like that are sad, and while they may not have much effect on Wayne Hancock or Dale Watson…. they kill guys like me who are covered in tattoos and have a history with aggressive forms of rock and roll.

Saving Country Music has been typecast from this trend as well, branded by many for only covering and supporting artists that fit a stereotypical “punk gone country” mold.

One way I commonly describe country music to people who are unfamiliar with the genre is to relate country and other genres to the difference between Christianity and Judaism. Anyone can be Christian, but being Jewish is not only a religion, it is a culture. That doesn’t mean you need to be born in to country music to play or listen to it. What it does mean is that the roots of tradition must stay in tact for the music to be respectful, and respected. Punks merging into country with little knowledge or respect for it is no different than the pop stars that many country punks complain about that do the same thing.

There is nothing wrong with having a fun, “punk gone country” side-project band even if it doesn’t respect the traditions of country music. It becomes a problem when that band begins vying for the fans, money, media attention, and performance slots with bands and artists that are touring nationally, and making sacrifices in their personal lives to attempt to make music full time.

Just like in the 70′s, when the “Nashville Sound” pervaded Music Row and it was left to West Coast rock n’ rollers like Gram Parsons and The Grateful Dead to preserve and carry on the country music traditions, today it has fallen to punk rockers and metalheads. This can be exciting, but it is also an honor that comes with great responsibility. To preserve and pass forward these country roots to future generations, these artists must show reverence to the music, be better than Music Row, while still allowing the music to innovate, evolve, and when it is appropriate, infuse with the punk, metal, and rock music that makes up their own individual roots.

Antiseen News And Releases for 2012

2012-01-14T18:50:00.000-05:00

There will be some major Antiseen news underway this year in the Rusty Knuckles camp. Below is directly from Jeff Clayton and the fellas about new projects they have cookin'. Being the competitive folks we are, of course the ante will be upped just ever so slightly and the details will be coming out very shortly. But what is life without a teaser... Whooo!

Nature Boy Ric Flair

ANTiSEEN NEWS

2012 looks to be very busy for me and the boys. Besides our return to Europe in May we have a tons of new & reissues coming out at the first of the year. Here is what's scheduled so far.

1. Expanded reissue of BADWILL AMBASSADORS on vinyl w/ download card on Green Mist Records

2. Split 7" w/ FLAT TIRES on Rusty Knuckles w/ silk screened cover and download card pressed on white vinyl

3.LIVE IN AUSTIN, TEXAS lp on Digital Warfare Records

4. NEW BLOOD - singles 2008 -2011 compilation on 12" vinyl & CD from Switchlight Records in Sweden (features all new tracks)

5. GG ALLIN & ANTiSEEN - Violence Now b/w Cock On The Loose 7" reissue for Record Store Day from Green Mist Records

6.Vault Of Antiseen Series - BLOOD OF FREAKS : Singles from 1988 -1991 12" LP w/ download card from TKO Records

7. Split singles with NUNSLAUGHTER, POWERBALL & MALCOLM TENT just to name a few.

8. Long awaited NEW full length album!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Plus lots of other crap I shouldn't let out right now.

ALSO : MUDDY ROOTS 2012!!!!!

Thanks for giving a shite!!!!!

Rusty Knuckles - Motors Music & Moonshine

Metallica Creaties Orion Music Fest In Atlantic City

Rory Kelly, Your New Guitar Hero

The Unauthorized "Scott Free" Technique for Changing Buell Isolators

Cafe Racer Season 3 Trailer

Advertising Killed the Radio Star: How Pop Music and TV Ads Became Inseparable

Beautiful Women, Dirty Rock N' Roll, Motorized Mayhem...

Replica Knuckle And Pan Motors From Germany

Fuel Magazine Issue 9 Launch Party

Revelation Records 25th Anniversary Showcase

Heading To Cincinnati This Weekend For The V-Twin Expo?

Screen Printing The Ramones Tribute Record Packaging

Green Lady Killers To Return To Arizona With Two Shows in March

Mondo Film Posters - Reimagining Classic Film

1958 Ariel Square Four MK II and Ariel Motorcycle History

Dr. No Effects Pedal Graphics Rebrand

Passo a due - A Short Film by Cafe Twin Through Rome

1938 Harley-Davidson Knucklehead

Does Giving Away Your Music Equal New Fans?

Hellbound Glory - Whiskey Bent And Hell Bound

How Musicians Used Facebook in 2011

Flywheels Magazine Japan, Lance Dawes Photography From Bonneville Salt Flats

Need A Portable Stereo Or Amp, Try An Old ToolBox

Farmageddon Fest - July 20th to 22nd - West Yellowstone, Montana

Obey Your Master - Metallica Art Show

Even Street Gangs Need Business Cards

Is Nitrogen Better than Air in Tires?

The Green Lady Killers At NAMM

1975 Suzuki GT550 Indy Custom Cafe

Nine Bullets Radio Reviews Hellbound Glory

Johnny Ramone's Memoir To Be Released At Last

Red Nose Studio And A 1965 Harley 175cc Two Stroke

Pirates Press Record Of The Week Collection

Vinyl Sales Up 39% in 2011

The Parody Created When Some Punk Bands Go Country - From Saving Country Music

Antiseen News And Releases for 2012

- Jeff Clayton