SOUTHERN SHINDIGS
Let’s talk about parties in Texas. We all know Austin is amazing but how about all the other party zones in that mini self-contained country of a state? Next Spring I’ll let you know about Houston but as for this tour I hit up Dallas. First thing’s first: if you’re gonna go to a party in Dallas, don’t drive from San Diego. It takes 22 hours and all there is to see is an abundance of rocks, retard cacti, tin dinosaurs (actually cool) and long open stretches of vastness. The parties however, are a bit more interesting. Lots of Lone Star, Washington Apple shots and blues funk dancing. It’s a small scene but a rad one and the after parties come complete with tiny bedrooms and wigs. Next time I’ll be sure to stay for more than 24 hours!

BIG DAY
I woke up just outside of El Paso this morning...and heard on the tv:

"So what do you think change is?"
"Um, it's like nickels and dimes and stuff. Not cash."

Awesome. But then I had to laugh because a 9 year old insisted that Obama has better hair. Fuck yeah! Wearing an Obama pin or shirt in Texas is like wearing a vintage Red Sox tee in New York. It looks like things may get radical since I'll be driving through this state all day long. Fortunately, I've already voted and don't need to worry about "changing my attire" before going into vote or even going near a voting facility. It's so fucked that it's illegal...somewhere in places like the Potomac river, to wear your flair on the biggest day that you should be open to voice or at least showcase your support. GO VOTE!!! (But leave your propoganda at home.)
In other news, I am finally getting caught up after all the drama of losing my wallet in New York. A 6 hour flight from NY to LA ended up becoming a 17 hour travel stint complete with a full interrogation process, delayed flights, potential cancellations and re-routed trips, oh....and no more free snacks or drinks on the plane. You've got to be kidding me. I can't even get a damn peanut on a flight anymore! So, my two days in LA were spent running around getting a new license and replacing all the other cards and materials needed for my tour. The good news was my new passport came in so at least I had that going for me but what a bitch it is to spend the small amount of "off-time" I had just dealing with all of my travel mishaps. It was a bit of a bummer since it took away from the enthusiasm I usually have on Halloween. But, The Heavy, Mr Roboto and +1 fixed that for me. Our party at The Echo on Thursday was so damn good I could have been stuck in a vat of molasses and still been thriving on. The Heavy were absolutely amazing and Pop Levi literally had everyone in awe. We had about a hundred random costumes floating around for everyone to mix and match, not to mention the possibility of a dance off if you wanted to swap with someone. There's nothing better than a drunken costume party with kriss-krossed mixed-up costumes and my fruit salad hat with a pineapple weighing my head down. Photos of my favorite costumes coming shortly...but let's just say a striped PJ suit with a strap on and a "zebr-antler" man definitely are high on the charts. Oh the joy of animal costumes...and such.
Wake up Texas!! Dallas, here I come.

LOSING NYC
NY has been exhausting. The week has been nonstop with all the CMJ mania and I was suppose to be in Philly last night but ended up losing my wallet at Studio B. Losing a wallet on tour sucks. I can't get my rental car and I can't hit up the ATM for cash. I can't do much other than wander around the streets of NYC. Apparently Studio B doesn't even open until tomorrow at noon. And who knows if my wallet is even still kicking around there. So argh, the decisions. It looks like I may be skipping out on Philly this time around and just heading up to Boston with the bit of cash I still have. And then it'll be some intense high security scrutiny at Logan when I attempt to get on the plane without an ID. Hoooray!!
So I'll be here, hanging in Brooklyn for a couple more days and then Heart-throb in Boston on Tuesday night. Yarg...the adventure continues.

SNOOZE PORT
So P-tao and I are sitting in the Burbank airport waiting to get on our flight to NY for CMJ!! Yaaarg!!! This weekend in LA was way more hectic than anticipated. You'd think chilling in your home city would be semi chill but no, I had double the shoots and double the work. But I did get to cuddle up with the kit kats. I hit up HTDJs and then the Obamarama party and Blow Up LA. Obamarama was awesome! I hung out with Stessen from People-Food and even scored a few Obey tees. It smells like a bacon egg sandwich in here and there's lots of Jamaican music. Am I on holiday. Oh...so for those of you checking on MISSBEHAVE, I got my first recap up this past weekend, so go check it out. You can read up here daily or go to Missbehave and see what the gossip is.
Tonight in NY it's Angels & Kings for The Bronx afterparty. Of course there will be a million other last minute pop up parties I'll peruse through so I'll try to keep you posted. AAAH! Why are intercoms in airports soooo loud! P-tao just fell out of his chair.
P-tao: "I did not fall outta my chair, bitch."
Hmmm, he's right. He just flinched a bit and squealed like a little girl.
P-tao: "Like a manly girl, with balls."

NYC here we come!! Sleep...please.

OREGONIAN AGAIN
I slept a bit in the car ride from Seattle to Portland since we left straight from the party. And then I slept again for a couple hours once we got back to Hoop's house. And then...at the crack of...9am, Rae and I hit the streets to explore. It's pretty relaxing in Portland, completely different from Seattle. We had an old lady lunch and then browsed around art shops and met some cool people. Then a bizarre dude on a bike rode up to us asking about the knife shop...yeah. Some weird horror film shit. I guess he wanted to talk about his knife, I mean that's totally normal right? After our adventure I ate another sandwich and then watched the debates and Tijuana show in NY live on the internet. Damn the internet is amazing. Ryan and Case showed up and we drove over to Holocene for the Portland fiesta. Apparently Portland and Seattle are always vying to be on top...so I had to try and pick which city was better. I couldn't. One is sassy and dirty with some truly 'real' people where you know someone always has your back. The other is quiet and quaint with lots of smiling faces and interestingly enough, no one even flinches when you take their photo. Let's just say I wouldn't expect anyone in Portland to throw their sippy cup of booze onto my camera (thanks OC).
Rae and I got ridiculous in Portland...limbos and playing jacks, photobooths and dance-offs. Holocene was wild.

click to see all the photos:

SEATTLE SHOCKER
Cold...desolate...Capital chaos. Seattle has lots of crack. I thought Philly had crack. But I guess that's just in the bell. Well Seatown's got it on every corner, every nook and cranny, every doorstep and doorway and sidewalk bench. There's also lots of rusty bikes. And yes...it is gloomy. Rae and I finally ditched the coffee shops and napped on couches curled up like little kittens because we were freezing even under the blankets. I think that's because I somehow used the biggest blanket as a pillow. Oops!! And then the dismal daytime turned into funtime with Champagne, Champagne! Tigerbeat, Hoop Dreams, Hi-Deaf and Case One played some awesome sets and the best thing was people actually danced. Not just a little shuffle, shuffle sway. Motherfuckers in Seattle can get down.
Pearl and the guys put on an amazing show and even flaunted the mic around a bit for me rhyming about Champagne and Shadowscene. Ooh the hits to come. The best was the surprise of The Lashes boys coming out and getting to see them all. Eric and I played with pumpkins and stuff and then I somehow ended up having a pumpkin photo shoot in the bathroom. How these things happen I'll never know. I blame it on aliens. Photos may tell the story better so check 'em out!

PEET'S NOT BEST
I'm in Seattle drinking lattes from Peet's. Their internet sucks. So I took my Peets and walked down to Tully's. Now I'm at Tully's sipping on Peet's and wishing it were Seattle's Best. Last night we hung at Moebar and partied with Tigerbeat and Hi-Deaf. The best though was getting to finally see my friend Pearl who I haven't hung out with in a couple of years. Pearl is fucking awesome. We had some freestyle fun and let's just say it's going to hit a new momentum tonight when I break out some lyrics with Champagne, Champagne at Havana. Seattle is full of hoodies and boots, plaid and beanies. It's chilly and even when the sun is shining it seems a little...desolate. Or maybe I just haven't fully woken up yet today. But walking down the street feels a bit like zombie town. Rdub told Rae and I to pick up some personalities on the way back from the coffee shop. Has the rain seriously already dampened our behavior!? Shitballs. Maybe its the booze consumption from last night draining our fun libidos.
Regardless, it's hilarious how long people spend in coffee shops. And you don't need to buy a damn thing. It's like camp for the homeless (Rae and I included). I had a Greek salad, I'm still hungry. So I think it's time to see what else Sea-town has to offer. Adventures with Pearl are about to begin.

LET'S SHASTA!
So Rae and I had an awesome drive up through Napa and into the valleys past Mt. Shasta. We are finally in Portland and passed through some cute little towns where everyone wears Uggs because they should. We've realized our road trip consists of a few themes (kitties, dogs in bars and MGMT) and our drive sessions are like elementary lessons. First it's english class with Mad Libs, mathematics where we analyze our gas mileage and do long division followed my music class where we scream and sing along to 90's hits. With all this educational focus we were stumped when Garmin told us to get off the freeway!! We had some doubts about following the nav devices route. 101N or a shady back road...hmmmm. So...we flipped a nickel and it landed on heads. Therefore, we followed Garmin's advice and were more than happy that we did. The winding roads and views were amazing and it definitely saved an hour or two on the drive up to Oregon.
Seven hours later we hit Mt. Shasta which was freezing and it was when we really noticed that first of all Jeppy is missing some key insulation and we totally blew it on the packing game. Let's just say fast packing is not encouraged. Since our pre-party and NKOTB bash had us up all night, the 20 alloted minutes for packing with blurred heads led us to forgetfulness when it came to scarves and jackets. And the wind is definitely a bully up north. We rested in Medford for the night at a lovely Motel 6 where the heater was so hot it didn't matter if we had hats, scarves or pants for that matter.
Motel 6 beds suck. When I woke up my back hurt like an elephant sat on it all night. After coffee..a thriftstore...new scarves and fluffy vintage vests we hauled ass to Portland and then celebrated with a brew. Portland is full of insanely colored houses, neon paintings in the street, bridges and dogs in bars. I feel like I'm in a cartoon but its rainy. Oh...and the excessive politeness is amazing. Here's an intersection scenario:

"You go."
"No, you go."
"No, really, it's ok...you go."
"Aww no you go first."
Me: "Ok fuck it, I'm gonna go!"

So yes, now we go. Today it's off to Seattle for Outsourced at Moebar. Rae and I are rocking our jeans for the 6th day in a row and now have plenty of ironic layers to put together so we should be pretty toasted and toasty warm by tonight.

SAN FRAN DISCO
So I'm still here in San Fran...one more night, and tonight we literally Blow it Up. We spent the six hour drive filling out Mad Libs and raging to old school 1994 style CDs and mixtapes while trying to avoid the "gusty winds blowing dust" sections of the highway. It was hot and then it was cold and then it was freezing when we finally pulled up on Haight Street.
Rae and I kicked off SF with some Thai food at 'Visit Thai' where we pretty much set up camp since we weren't squared away on sleeping arrangements yet. From there we found the coolest looking bar which I wish I could remember the name of. Cheap beers, black and white walls with sticker grafitti and some kick ass bartenders. One of them now manages the place after she visited it 8 years ago and decided never to leave. Whaaat!? Two PBR's later we made the two block journey over to SF Underground for "Work". Richard Oh and Sleazemore faced off and Patric definitely blew us away. For fucks sake, there are some sick ass DJs here...put them on the map! We danced a lot, made some rad new No Cal friends and branded ourselves with Sparks slap bracelets. Some dude looked like he was about to pass out, but puked on the sidewalk and then five minutes later was back at the bar. That's commitment. And tonight...let's look for some fuckin' teamwork...cause we're gonna seriously blow .. it... up.

SUNNY MORNING
So I still have to throw some goodies into a suitcase and pack up Jeppy for the haul up to San Francisco. It's bright as hell but at least not 100 degrees like it's been all week. Last night we had Awesometown which was ... awesome! Jasepi and Neil had the dancefloor packed and no lie, people were legit wearing headbands...sweatbands! It's a workout apparently. And then, it was off to the Standard in Hollywood, which seemed soooo much further away than expected. NKOTB had an afterparty for their show in Los Angeles and I've never seen so many ladies in the Purple Lounge or anywhere in LA when it comes to going out. And let's just say there was enough flair to make the dude in Office Space more than stoked. NKOTB old school posters, buttons, t-shirts and more. It was like 1989 reincarnated. The guys were really nice...and there was no hangin' tough. There were however some fantastic old school dance moves being shredded on the floor. Then it was back to home where i snacked on the top of a mini muffin. Apparently Mokey snacked on the rest when I was sleeping since I woke up to the crumbs all over the kitchen counter and floor. Merf!?
Time to put on my jet pack and get on the road. Tons of pics from UNITY, Awesometown and NKOTB coming soon*.

*Soon : As soon as my ass is not driving up north and has more than 5 seconds allocated to internet usage and photo review.

Yarg!

ROCK THE ROAD!!
The 2008 Fall tour is here!! This year we got FLAUNT magazine, IAMSOUND Records and Love-Made to join us on the adventure. And what a time...the tour rolls around weeks directly before and following the huge election and will be covering, or uncovering, some of the best parties and scenes in the country. Last year was amazing and this year is sure to top it. More dates and events to be announced in the upcoming week. If you're in Los Angeles, be sure to come out to Awesometown on Wednesday for the Official Launch party!! And if you are in any of the featured cities...let us know if there's something unique we should be checking out!
Rock!

LATE NIGHT PONDERINGS
i kind of love living alone. because it means i can come home and drop my drawers on an instant. i dont have to worry about fluffing my snarl of a hair in the morning or being embarrassed about my half crooked sleepy eye when i first wake up. cus fuck it. it's just two cats staring at me and ogling my face until i put a biscuit in the bowl. or a triscuit.
i also realized that my dear mokey who is now 15 years old is nearing his lapse of life. its heartbreaking. but, since i've been sort of preparing for the past 3 years, well, i acknowledge the inevitable. but i had a funny. and that was when i considered the concept that if there were a "tales from the kitty crypt" mokey would straight up be the crypt kitty keeper! And yes that's an amazing thing because the crypt keeper is fucking cute. yes...he is. skin and bones and all. and that laugh! holy molasses! Mokey...boney little bastard that he is, is totally the kitty crypt keeper.
i need more sleep. i have been a silly little disrupt character all day. but i like it that way.

p.s. fuck capitol letters. way overrated.

p.p.s. goodnight. good morning. good heavens.

SPEECHLESS
We are so glad to hear that DJ AM and Travis are pulling through and in better condition today. Apparently, Adam was even cracking a few jokes this morning so yaaay! Best wishes to a fast recovery and condolences to families and everyone involved.

BORED?
You won't be able to stop playing with this. Hahaha. That's what sheeee said!

SHADY TOUR Vol2.
The second annual Shadowscene US Tour is lining up with a kick off of October 8th....yip yipppper. Last year's was a blast; more details to come!

WAKING GLOOM
It's really refreshing to wake up to an overcast morning sometimes. I feel like it takes the rest of the world just as long as me to actually wake up. No cheating because of the sun. Tomorrow is Nocturnal...and boy oh boy is that name oh so appropriate.
Digitalism are in town so I'll be running around with Isi and taking photos at the festival with all the So Sweet artists as well. The fest starts at 7pm and Digitalism don't even play until around 2am. Ptao and I are planning on hiding back and sidestage ducking around all the neon that will be flying around our faces. It promises to be an interesting night for sure. Tote bags are almost complete, tees are in printing (half printing which means still rolled up in boxes with a jug of ink beside them) and new stickers and goodies are in the process. Now it's time to run off to a hike before the sun sets sail.
Video!!!!!

UNDERSTANDING
A night...tonight. Where I wander off on my solo mission as usual. And make discoveries so profound, I wish I shared them with you more often. Sometimes headphones are my bestfriend...but outside of them, I have three people that really rally my thoughts and emotions. Three. Out of a million people that I've laughed with, giggled, drank, drunk, tickled, played, fooled, messed, witnessed, accused, forgiven. Just three.

I live in the muckiest and most interesting of places. And I see so many things. And I backstep retreat just so I can fully encompass what is happening, even when I am not photographing. There is so much that is unseen, even though I am ShAdowSceNe. There are some things I file away for people; to protect and hide...in little shadows.

I miss stuff. I miss people. I miss the days of writing. I miss the days of disappearing in a non electro flashing-light singing my heart out and breaking my fingers on an E-string. That's why lately I choose to divide my time a bit differently. There are a couple people who bitch at me for this but damn. If I can't make myself happy, then I can't make you happy.

I live in a day to day world where I hear an abundance of words. I freestyle. I sing. I dance. I echo what I hear and feel within. No, I don't need anyone to make me feel these things, although they do. But I quite easily see them when I look around. I feel them when I wander around. I hear them when I try not to listen. I'm over-observational. I'm too caring. I'm self doubting but at the same time wreckless. I'm too smart for my own good. I think too much. I just spilled a bit of my guts on a bright white screen. Can you feel blue energies writhing in your eyes?

I used to write a lot. And then someone told me I wasn't doing anything for a good cause...and that art wouldn't change anything. Someone's an idiot. However, I shelved nearly five books of text that now sit in a dusty closet. I live to live. I live for all the amazing people that send me messages saying I inspired them...to move to Germany...to learn a new artform...to not care what people think...to be real.

Are you still reading this? Oh, okay. Hai.

I meet amazing people. I meet people that you may have tossed your change to. I tossed them a day of my life by spending an afternoon to really learning what it's like to be someone else. I've had drinks with a homeless man because he protected me from the "unsafe zones". I then was thrown out of a bar for trying to buy him a drink. I've slept in a cemetery. I've slept on a train. I've not slept for three days straight. I'll change my contacts in the dark. I'll cuddle with a stone. I'll recite songs in my head because they'll hit harder than your words. I'll echo your tone with a shotgun lyric and you'll still be prone...to read this...and think about how you could change a wrong. How can you make something right? Why are you so upset? Why so many questions and a wandering mind. Just stop. Have you tried to make yourself smile? It's awkward...and refreshing. Push your skin up and vibrate to something that's not familiar.

Share something today. Make yourself uncomfortable. I promise you'll laugh about it later.

It's a bright day, even when it rains. Find something and lose it. I told a best-friend tonight...that when when things are stolen, they come back twice as amazing.

CAMEL BLOWS
I'll soon give the full update/write-up on why Camel is too corporate for their own good. Get out of the party scene and stop infiltrating my fun. Your filters are useless.



Tonight I'm heading down to Santa Ana for TRUST at Proof Bar. Classixx are djing and last time I was there some chick projectile vomited all over the bathroom. It somehow hit everyone but me. Goooood times tonight for sure! Rawr!

NYC BOOMS
So I'm in NYC again...just shot the final BBQ party for Finger on the Pulse and Dinner with the Band. Sam is a sweet chef. My tummy was well pampered. It's amazing out here in New York right now. I forgot how perfect end of summer weather is on the east coast...well it's basically like year round Los Angeles weather. But somehow different and refreshing. Two more days here in the city before I go to Philly. I think a crew of us are going to head to Coney Island...maybe tomorrow since my jet lagged self woke up way later than planned.
But if you're in Philly...head to The Barbary Saturday night for the return of Live Forever with JHN RDN and Designer Drugs. The Finger on the Pulse boys will be heading there with me and a few of the NY crew will be tagging along for the adventure as well.
I just finished a huge batch of the designer tote bags I secretly spent working on all summer long. The release date keeps getting pushed back but it looks like the first couple weeks of September will be the official launch. More info on that to come.

That's it for now...just a tiny update. Now go outside and play.

COOL AND FUN?
First of all, I can't stop laughing. Second of all, does this really work on people? This could be a new singles ad, no? Look at this shit that I just got in my messages. Click the photo to enlarge.

Oh...and in case you're curious. You can find Mr. Eric Surfer here.

I guess he likes to play golf too...

OH VIMBY
So for a few months now Katz from VIMBY has been following me around at random parties, lending me his camera for tour footage and interviewing me hour after hour all for this interview here...thanks VIMBY.

VIMBY - Shadowscene

It's 100 degrees out today. I woke up at 7am and beat the heat! Haa ahah! I beat you!

DOWNTOWN BITS
Apparently, the last three months have been nonstop. There's been so much I'd love to have written about but the time lapses and the memory is gone. Hooray for all the thousands of photos I shoot on a daily basis. Japan, Austin, SXSW, Coachella, Hangover tour with Party Shank and now onto summer. I have lots of art shows and new events coming in the next couple of months so prepare yourself!!
This week we will be launching artist interviews starting with The Presets and Cut Copy...so check back on the blog for those new goodies as well. I'm also now working on some limited edition fashion goods with Tyler Alexander which you'll hear about in the next month or so.
This weekend was another pool party "weekend warrior" style at The Standard. This hotel is literally my second home in the summer, and I mean in that in the most non-sleaziest way possible. Sunday I cut out early in need for a fresh adventure and that's exactly what I did. Somehow I managed to get lost downtown looking for the metro and I met James. Yeah it's nutters. I spent four hours with a homeless dude and bought him snacks and a sixpack. I also had a couple drinks with him and learned about his 2 times in prison, being born and raised in Ohio and the years spent in the US Navy. James is rad. We danced the Irish jig on the sidewalk, Kodee joined us for some street mayhem and was there to assist in our after dark photo shoot on the streets of downtown Los Angeles. Hopefully I'll run into James again soon.

Ironically
My favorite video of the day...hooray for 4mile long hikes and then 2 hours of Adult Swim. Hot diggity!!!! Watch Stewie be a...high school pimp.

Oh yeah...

myspace.com/photobot

420
Todays adventure : lunch at 10am.
C-star rolled outta bed to come have lunch with me this morning. Yes, lunch this morning. That's what happens when you get up and start your day before 7am. Quite a mind fuck especially when I'm used to going to bed at that hour. Regardless, it's hot as hell outside and we skipped over to the crepes joint where I could fill up on latte and scrambies. As we're paying, I notice that the dude who is making my latte is picking at it...making circles and stuff. Dude, 'I think the guy is making a picture in my latte' I told C-star. So rad!
And yes...he brings me the to go cup and places it down on the counter, placing the lid next to it. Inside the white frothy foam is an intricately drawn "420". What the fuck? The dude is stoked, smiles at me and I look at C-star. We both just start laughing immediately and then walk to our picnic table. 'Do I look like that much of a stoner' I asked him. Like really? Regardless of whether or not I looked, or look, like one I'd say the fact that I spent 10 minutes laughing at foam pretty much sealed the deal for the barista.
From there our adventure continued down to Hollywood Blvd where I swear I saw a pregnant dude walking around with his belly hanging out, Jim Beam (as I call him) polishing the stars and then was attacked by a bunch of shit flying out from a bus. C-star was fortunately wearing sunglasses. My eyes were blitzed. Next we spent some time in iguana surfing the vintage duds where I made an amazing score and then back to my office...to restart the work day. Early Monday morning adventures are fun...and crucial indeed.

INDEPENDENCE
Such a huge thing right now...here's my current favorite video. I wish I could watch it on the rooftop of a building scaled 1,000 times larger to life size fullfillment. Anyone?




SXSW is next week..Shadowscene needs helpers. If you'll be heading to Austin, or already in Austin, and wanna hang out and run around for a week with me..email us asap!!!

LA-TOKYO-OSAKA
The last 35+ hours have been nonstop travel. Ouch. From hot sunny Los Angeles to freezing cold Tokyo to pouring rain to snow to windy ass Osaka. And three hours of sleep. But I'm here, I made it! Also, with the nonstop travel I'm now super accustomed to changing pants on planes and buses. It proves to be quite interesting when scrambling in my seat to change my leggings in a dash. Since I've only really settled for about an hour there's not too much to tell yet other than there are lots of cute vending machines here and free tea and ice cream. Deliciousness. And the chocolate is great. Especially since I don't like chocolate. What's in these candy bars out here!!?

Here are a few recaps posted previously...
(from Wed night/Thurs in Tokyo)
I finally made it to Tokyo where I'm staring at the weirdest concoction of food in the large (by Japanese standards) but cutest lil apartment in the city. The best is the sweet view of the Tokyo tower I have.

45mins from now and back to traveling...8 hour bus ride to Osaka and then a day of bath houses until the party tomorrow night. And by tomorrow I mean Friday...because it's already 9pm on Thursday here. Ouch.

And its coooold!

(from Thurs afternoon/Friday morning in Osaka)
So.....I'm finally here in Osaka...and it's snowing and raining and so cold you forget you haven't slept in 32 hours.

Thanks for all the good wishes and stuff...and hopefully there'll be a ton of pics to post tomorrow. Haven't done much yet other than jet set and steal blankets along the way.

And I'm drinking like corn juice soup or some shit. Everything comes out of an automatic dispenser here...



xoxoxoxo / Miss you guys!

SOMEONE GOT STABBED

And this is what i wrote tonight::

hi.
this is my life and it sucks sometimes...

This is my life
someone got stabbed
on a saturday night

tear the shirt from your back
to wrap round his neck

but no good
no life
no pulse in his lifeless-ness
lying in a penny cent lot
full of parked fucks who
know nothing more than dance
rave.
dance.

prance in your knickers around a 22
year young soul
that only tried to test himself
in a crowd of mush much hush

death by stereo
in utero
and no breath by doubt
in a sea of false glittered dreams

this is my night
this is not my dream
this is somewhere so very very far
in between

someone dies
i ache
and someone else has a heart attack

and i get tattered worked and worn
someone find my loose coins
cuz shit is spilling to the left and right
blowin up sans dynamite

too many wrecked tarts on the floor
got a penny but no whores
gonna finally sleep
no sores
for months i deplore
such a sap for prior bores

this is not my dream
this is somewhere
so very very far
in between

TWO DAYS 'TIL JAPAN
And this is what I wrote last night:

Cause why not?

I once had a Professer named Whynott. I always said, errr asked,...'cause Whynott?! And then I got funny looks in class.



tonight i fall asleep with headphones on
because the world is a dark blurry mess
sometimes you see everything
sometimes you're blind to what's right
in front
of your face
and then a hard slap wakes you up
and you wonder
why?

why a smog of delusional fun can last long enough
to drag you around by the weaves of your own
crocheted existence and then you remember
to remind yourself that you
are you and only you can clearly focus on what
is truly important

but may mean shit to others.

see what is illuminated
and focus on what is hidden in corners
and dark shadows of false bliss.

and then...wake up.

HERMIT
January 2008 is officially the month of Hermitage for me. I feel like I've hardly stepped out of my office or apartment and I work in 12 hour shifts. But it's sort of nice to actually spend time in the place that I pay to be in for once; seeing as I'm accustomed to being here for an average of 18 minutes a day minus the three hours of sleeping. Oh and get this, I've been sleeping more than 3 hours! What the fuck is going on!? 'Hermitage Hibernation', that's what. One more week of this and I call it quits. Although, seeing how everyone in LA is sick and I'm in serious efforts of barricading viruses out of my habitat, the lockdown is a necessity. And hey, along with the confinement comes lots of great movie watching, going to the movies, dvd'ing it, late lunches, double breakfasts, noon naps, really getting to know what my cats do when I'm typically not home and designing some new Botwear and comics and oh yeah, drinking double time on the coffee.
Oh well, Happy '08 and cheers to a productive three hundred and fifty something days. Here's a funny from a guy named Rob.

YIP, YIP
That's it.

GUMBY MST3000
Okay..so that video from yesterday...just literally went up a thousand more notches in the amazing-ometer.
Check this out:

HOLIDAYS and SHIT
Ok really? Really guy? As of the past month I've finally settled back into Los Angeles and had about one day off to rest up. Hmmm. Nice. And I've also come to the conclusion that the joy of robots has taken over. Robot calculator, robot slippers, robot dogs, robot books, robot toys, robot robot robot. Better yet, I'm a huge fan of Gumby and Pokey. My friend Rae and I have a joke about me being Gumby and her being Pokey and...well regardless, it would just sound retarded if I tried to explain. But in that vain, this...thiiiiis, is the best damn video for today.

F$#% MORE
I'm home, finally back in Los Angeles after nearly two months of cruising around and photographing the country. I met some of the raddest people and uncovered some kick ass scenes and dance parties. Check Shadowscene's Fiesta section for all the photo coverage and URB's blog hosting for literary goodness. I'll be sure to give you some tidbits and notes from the journey...but for now, here's a video featuring a shit ton of my NYC friends and Lauren Rocket. Radness indeed:

BLOOMINGTON 4AM
I'm sitting at Fluffy's house...and the family of five is fucken starving. Fluffy says he's gonne make us pasta...with special sauce. I'm guess the special sauce is ketchup and sugar. And my ass is starving. So it better be.
After a nine hour drive from Kansas...where the party was fucken dope ass media funtastic, I made it here where my breath freezes in the midnight air. Bloomington went off...by 2:30am...and some dude dressed up as a silver devil shot torches across the stage and made some girls panties fall off on stage...and of course right in front of my camera.
I'll be in MILWAUKEE tomorrow with THE GLAMOUR...and stuffs. Damn it, where's my breakfast pasta?

WE GOT BORED
I finally made it home to LA for a couple of days this past weekend just for BLOW UP. This month's Blow Up seriously took the cake...that shit was off the wall happy slippy sloppy. Although being home, there was definitely minimal sleep being had. Even all the way up to the wee hours prior to my flight out of LA and back to the middle of the country. On a fun note, my friend RDUB has this crazy fun video series called "We Got Bored". I just spent my last few hours in LA this weekend bouncing around in a parking lot while he worked on the latest...check it out:



And in the meantime, I'm getting ill from all the nonstop plane hopping, city circling, party hop shooting, air mattress non snoozing. But it's worth it. When the hell else am I gonna rock out in the middle of Nebraska and Kansas...

** Party update: Philly still takes the cake on the most riotous midweek bash thus far. Philly you're golden.



And believe it or not...Omaha was pretty damn awesome as well! Yip Yip!!

EYE BLEED
Holy shit, I just spent 13 or 14 or 15 I don't know how many hours in a car driving from Boston to Chicago in one night....and I feel like my eyes are gonna fall out or my head's going to pop or something. I left straight from the shoot at Hearthrob last night, drove to Chicago, and next...it's off to Omaha in the morning to hang with The Faint and then back in LA for the weekend! Yaaay!
And so, now in Chitown, and it's damn freezing here. Literally, since I got to Chicago it's dropped about twenty degrees!! Holy cold right now. Gimme blankies and hoodies! And a pumpkin, cause I haven't carved one yet this year.
But of course with the worse comes the best...which would be that the only way I survived the trip from Beantown to Windy City was with the spontaneous company of my friend Jef who helped me truly believe we were driving the Delorian half way across country. I insisted we were heading back in time, so we just cruised along like we were. So much so, that I even got busted at 6am by a State Trooper in Hamburg, NY. Hamburger is more like it, falling under the Supervision of Mayor McCheese.
But so yeah, the trooper has zero, ZERO, humor, so when he knocks on the dark window and just spits out "State Trooper, 85 in a 65" and my response is..."sorry Officer, but have you failed to notice this is the Delorian? And Doc Brown says I gots to get it up to 88 mph in order to get back in time!" ... wasn't so funny. And the 25 foot long ticket I got, not so funny either.

However, the funny part is, we drove by a sticker saying 'Vote for Strickland', the town of Lorraine and the classic Huey Lewis "Power of Love" comes on the radio. Not to mention that immediately after being pulled over Sammy Hagar's 'I Can't Drive 55' comes on. We remedy the lyrics and sing along changing the words to Ellei can't drive 85...hilarious on no sleep. And holy smack, thank the dust under my tires he hadn't caught me ten minutes prior, when I was solid cruising at 105.
More funnies included non-talking tollworkers, overly knowledgeable sketchy toll booth workers, lone dudes doing calesthenics at a truck stop, a chick blatantly drinking a beer while driving on the interstate at 11am, and about 10 demolitions of deer bodies sprawled out all over the highway. Yay...can't wait for my solo trek to Nebraska!! But tonight it's New Young Pony Club and some quick hang sessions with my Chicago buddies...fuuun! I'll be sure to wear a ski mask.

LA CUCARACHA
Fancy hotels and big ass flying cockroaches. Panic, Anne Lee and I were all a bit exhausted from milling about the city yesterday and had a pretty interesting wake up call around 8pm when a huge, super duper sized cockroach flew in and landed on Panic's head. He dusted it off...and then it was on the bed. And then there was screaming and Panicked Panic and Shrieking girls running around the room. How does one kill a cockroach? Especially when he flies and runs into dark corners heading directly to your pile of clothes and luggage on the floor. We swatted him with shoes and newspapers and literally ended up turning the bed upside down, all of us standing on mattresses and couches and tippy-toes. The bugger was playing dead and when we went to move him he ran off again. More shrieks and screaming. I'm surprised hotel security didn't bust the door down. We eventually tag team squash stamped his ass under a newspaper and sent him floating down the toilet bowl river. High adrenaline hit and we strode down to the Darkroom for a bit. And then back over to Studio B for the Modular party. Cool Kids were awesome, Muscles was amazing and NYPC glittered about. The place turned into a sauna and we then headed back over the bridge to Rebel to hit up my Franki Chan and Le Castle Vania's party for a bit. It was pretty cleared out when we got there, but we got to hang with The Glamour for a bit and Seva from My Open Bar...plus the leftover antics from late night dwellers were pretty interesting. Anne Lee showcased to me some of her freestyle skills...and then we filled up on more crepes and Anne played on the NYC style monkey bars (aka scaffolding). And finally, a bit more of a chill evening in the hotel room...some sort of text wars and Blake Miller melting over his delicious Famous crepe. Mmm mmm good! Too many bodies in a hotel room equals sweaty ass sleeping with the overture of sniffles and snoring.

BETTER OFF BANANAS
Tijuana, San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco and now New York City. A flight with a screaming baby for 5 hours nonstop after two hours of sleep. But finally, balanced in the big apple. San Francisco was nutters, obviously. I hit up Lights Down Low on Friday and then Frisco Disco on Saturday which was also the bachelor party for Jefrodisiac. Holy smack, male stripper hilarity. Poor Jeff. And the best was the high tailing session I decided to make immediately after the party which meant a long ass drive from San Francisco to Los Angeles. Apparently, the Jeep goes faster than imagined, since I made it back to LA in four hours. Whoa. I crashed so damn hard when I finally stumbled into the LA pad. And woke up six hours later a bit dazed and wondered. But now, I'm trying to align my senses on the east coast. Tuesday night we ran around carelessly through the city bouncing to about five different venues with our Vice crew. Lots of cabs, lots of crepes and lots of club dancing. James Murphy at Hiro, The Black Angels at 200 Bar, Simian Mobile crew and some street mania and groveling. Yesterday was lunch with Vito from The Rapture where I learned the intrigues of Dim Sum. Thanks Vito and Anne for the party in my tummy. Last night I rumbled around at Studio B with Dandi Wind and Isis from Thunderheist. The girls tore it up, no lie. Dandi was hanging from the ceiling and climbing anything she could wrap herself around. I played with her dog later...and then headed back to 200 Bar until about 4am.
The bestest was the late night afterparty that continued in the super fancy hotel room I've been hooked up with. It has a sauna...therefore bubble parties and steam fests were in session until 6am. So were Pringles in bed and futon jump arounds. Nicky Digital is hilarious and a champ for not sleeping last night. More to come...from the next four days of Shadowscene tour mania in New York City.

FOUR DAY DAZE

I don't remember. I had something to write. I think it was about the crazy ass four days I've just had...and am still trying to collect my brains' waves around. But here's an amazing video for our dopetastic media that we like to throw at you from time to time.

OUCH
Datarock was amazing the other night...a filled up Detroit Bar and lots of beer spilled down into my shoe and sock. Of course...this was followed by yesterday morning, where an entire pot of hot coffee from Anne's house went spilling into the same shoe, different sock. It was continued retardation starting when the neighbors asked the group of 16 people standing in the front yard what band we were in. What? I glanced back at the pack and realized we were all somehow matching. Ridiculous. From there, it was a walk to the metro, a deliriously hilarious walk full of stumblings and pit stops for snackaroos and such. And then, we took an accidental detour...to Detour fest. And the 12 hours of shooting began. For some reason, most of the festival is a blur, other than Turbo Negro which was AWESOME, especially when I got the crowd covered in streamers and the biggest dudes possible were waving them around like giddy cheerleaders. Then...some pizza nibbles and a long ass walk to The Standard for the Justice afterparty. Jo pit stopped in the shrubs and I lallygagged along shooting and then we cruised into the party. I do believe I napped on the ground for a bit near some little table. And a few moments later, about five of my friends were cat napping with me. And then Tigger bounce, I was back in action....avoiding the spraying champagne from hitting my new camera. The inside of the Standard became a sweat pit soon enough...and the next thing I knew, party was over, and I was wandering downtown LA having been separated from everyone. Yay. No taxicabs with a phone about to die standing on a dirty dark corner. I made buds with some rad homeless dude and by mere luck, a couple I knew dawdled past and dragged my ass to Del Taco. And then home. Oh sweet hooray for fluffy pillows!

AWAKE BRAIN TICKLER
Wake up. Just did...from a killer nap. One of those naps where you wake up and don't know what day it is or where you're suppose to be and hardly remember laying down to begin with. One of those, oh, I'm just gonna shut my eyes for just ... one...second. Zzzzzz.
Life's hectic. Just kicked off the Shadowscene tour yesterday with my boys TJ and Frederik of Datarock. They played a killer show in Costa Mesa at the Detroit bar. Rae came with me to hang in OC and we yet again came up with a million projects and rad things that we have to do. Everything turns into a hilarious mission with us it seems. Oh...and someone remind me NOT to eat avocado. Apparently I'm still allergic, ouch.
Sleepyhead is wearing off. It's colder outside. And dark. Tomorrow is Detour festival. I'm about to spend the next three nights with those darn French Ed Bangers again...including Justice, Busy P, DJ Mehdi and more. Sunday I'll be joyriding in the bus with the gang all the way to Tijuana for what I'm sure will be absolutely mind melting adrenaline foreign fun. Ay caramba!! Not to mention the fact that the tv crew will be riding my ankles for some video documentation of the tour as well. Oh boy!
Starting Sunday the tour updates will be posted up on URB.com so there'll be daily updates of what the hell I'm doing. I'm sure most of those blogs will be written on 2 hours of sleep, no sleep, drunken stupors or painful after party woes. In other words, they'll be a brain tickler for sure.
Oh yeah...and today sucked because I had to buy yet again, another new camera. I do believe a Shadowscene fundraiser is in order. Or maybe someone can write a sweet letter to the girl that dumped her drink on my gear and enclose a bill with the note. That'd be rad too.

SMACK ME
Someone smack me please. The last week has so nonstop it's sort of ridiculous. And yesterday, I actually shot for 14 hours...what the...? But it was all super rad. The Shadowscene tour kicks off in two weeks "officially" although the soft launch or whatever is this Thursday with Datarock. So get your asses out to my LA events; after that I'm gone for a month fools! The wracking of the brain has been pretty daily with sponsorship talks, tour booking, tv show meetings and more. Plus, lots of crazy parties and photo shoots, adjusting my life to working with a broken camera and seeing my friends beat up by security guards for having too much fun I guess? Laaame! Last week kicked off with Get Famous with Editors, the !!! (ChkChkChk) afterparty at Awesometown and then right into Club 82 with Nick from Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Jesse from EODM. Then, Illinois hit LA and I spent Saturday afternoon with them at the first annual Swerve festival. Plus, got to see an amazing set by Snowden. Um..hi, Corinne the bass player freakin tears it up!! I've never seen anything like it, that girl's amazing!
Yesterday was also Neighborhood festival..more like hug-fest. Literally, so much time was spent running around getting and giving hugs all day...what?! Holy fantasticness! And of course taking about 1500 photos and rolling around in the grass. From there it was off to catch the rest of Toxic Avenger at Check Yo and then to a crack house style afterparty where Spank Rock and Juiceboxxx loitered the crowd. The best was the doorguy charging people who didn't know the difference. LAME. Not sure who put that party together but poor folks were dropping dollars where they shouldn't have. I guess it was worth it for some since the party went on for hours and was actually pretty damn hilarious. My favorite moment was watching a girl try to fingerpaint with what was already a dried crayon ink print on canvas. Amazing.
I slept a bit. I jumped around a lot. I think my hand is bruised...but ice cream apparently saves the day. So do squirrels who throw things at you. And cats who eat carrots.

RIGHT NOW
It's been awhile...
and I don't really have much to say. I want to outstretch my arms and spin in the middle of a wide open space...
for hours...
until I fall exhaustedly, and skin my knee.
The end.

ROBOTS ATTACK!

So awesome....

HOT POCKET
Yes yes yes. I'm so beat, there's nothing more I'd rather be doing that sprawling on my couch and watching endless hours of stand up comedy. Let the games begin!!!
Last night's Check Yo' was crazzzzzy retarded. Protokoll and VHS or Beta were great and I was yet again blown away by those French DJ's...Para One, Surkin and Curses! Smack damn. Today everyone was a bit wiped out, so we had bilingual games of Wii for our entertainment. I woke up with a jolt of caffeine and was springing from the banisters in ALee's house...wondering if anyone wanted to hear some Juiceboxxx? Anyone. Ok. Fine. Meanwhile, some buddies of mine are stuck in editing hell...for a week straight. Here's this (three cheers to Honaker and crew busting ass on reverse question semantics and puzzles). So much hilarity in these three minutes...we've for sure all been here:

SLEEPY KABLAMO
I'm so damn tired it's ridiculous...especially since I stayed in last night. Although, I suppose two trips to Vegas, 8 nights of shooting in a row and working yesterday from 10am until 1am this morning will do that to you. Tonight I'm off to shoot in the Har Mar Superstar music video. ALee and I will be caravaning over to the location and sipping on free cocktails and snackin' on free treats for a few hours before roaming out elsewhere. I absolutely love music video sets. Super fun...no matter what really. And what's better than hanging with Har Mar on set? Pffft! Plus...Check Yo' vs. Hang the DJ's is tomorrow with some great friends of mine performing...which means the continued release of nuttiness!!! My Boston boys, Protokoll, finally hit LA where they'll be hanging out for a few weeks and I'm so damn excited to see them! Plus, the VHS or Beta guys get here as well, so tomorrow night will be nothing short of mayhem. And of course, next week I get a visit from the VICE crew and Kaps. Shenanigans galore! Strap on your seatbelts; we're gonna go really, really fast!
And, an update on those awesome Deadly Syndrome boys. After spending so much time together in the spring we finally get to hang again next week. Their first album, The Ortolan, has released and not only that, but the funny dudes have even developed a series of short videos to go along with it all. Here's one of my faves.

HOME SHADYTAILS
It's always so nice to get back to LA, as strange as it may seem. Vegas was amazing...Justice, Busy P, A-Trak and Le CastleVania were all so damn awesome. That city has practically become my second home this month, daaaamn! So, on another note, I came across a super random find today while reading up on my robot shenanigans and going ons. I discovered the SHADOW ROBOT COMPANY based in London. Hi. What? Sorry...Shadow Robot? Isn't that me or something. Well, apparently these guys have been engineering bots since '87 when I was just a wee lil' thing. Holy mania! And of course there's also this stuffs...a DJ JUKE BOT, Chess playing robot, Einstein bot and more. All us DJ's are about to get beat the hell outta the clubs!

It's the future of Humanoid Robots.
Super amazing...check it out. This is what the Shadow Robots are working on...and this is just the hand. Just the HAND! Oh dang. I wanna hold the robot's hand! These guys are demonstrating stuff at the NextFest in Los Angeles through the weekend. If you're around, go meet the future!

GETTIN' LAID
Time to go back to VEGAS!!!! Two more days before heading back to the crazy ass Old Town...and this time to party with A-Trak and Justice! And damn man, what if they actually win that VMA? Shit's gonna get loose. Oh...and what a day. My morning has sort of been broken up between working my ass off, and laughing it off. Somehow I was wrapped up in the livelihood of Choose Your Own Adventure books...which are sooo amazing. And the best, is that you can do that online. And better yet...it's animated. So let's just say, I was big pimpin' at work today and already scored twice. Seeing as I'm heading to Vegas...go play this one. JACK IN VEGAS

And furthermore, when did Giraffes get so gnarly? Eeeeeek...

I'M BEAT
Four hours of sleep in 2 days...what's that? How's that break down? hmph. bogart. No sleep causes interesting sensations I have to say. But what, who how does one sleep? When there's so much funness to participate in...and work...and and funness. Add that to Webster's please.
I went to Vegas a few days, err...weeks(?) ago. It was hot. I came back to LA. It was hotter. But the heat wave has passed, as has the chronic severe dehydration I suffered after eight hours on the Standard rooftop in the hot ass sun. Note* Don't chug vodka cuz it tastes like water after three drinks. This will only backfire on you in the morning...or...early evening.
Last night was the URB issue release party with Perez Hilton. We love Perez. Pretty super. I'm also sort of digging the new Starshoes venue, now called VICE Bar or Club or what have you. Pffft. What have yooouuu not?! I do believe I had dreams of pickles, pancakes and tennis shoes last night. Better than the night before when I was cheering or high-fivin' in my dream and raised my arms and punched the wall above my bed. Oops. Cranked wrist. Bad robot. I'm beat.
Oh yeah....and speaking of Vegas...I'll be back to the hot funky Beauty Bar for the VMA's and Justice party party party. Love those boys too. Check out this battle bot:



Oh...and don't forget, your weekly music download treat from our radtastic contributer iono ... here it is. Dondolo - Dragon (Shit Robot Remix)

HARDER HOT TUBS
Vegas. Ouch. But amazing amazing block party fiestas, so good we managed to be nearly passed out in the middle of the street and hailing a police car down because we thought it was a cab. Fortunately it's Vegas, so they told us to get our asses out of the street and to not sit down on the sidewalks either. Hmmm. Lucky in Vegas for sure. Our drunken stupors somehow didn't interfere with getting back to the hotel, and pre-ordering a delicious grilled cheese from room service an hour in advance. And let's just say a bath tub that fits four...and a bathroom with a television set is somehow spectacular...and hard to vacate, especially with mountains of bubbles. Plus, Monday night was a bit hilarious when my group jumped into a limo with a few random folks and limo hopped between casinos for fun...only to then gamble my 18cent voucher and drink a few crowns while being stickered up by Han Cholo. Kick ass indeed. Tons and tons of photos to come. But in the meantime, check this out...give it a minute, it'll rock your socks.

HIPSTER OLYMPICS
Travis rules for sending this over to me today...take ten minutes and watch this. It's so freakin' dead on. Go PBR! Go Vice! Go lackadaisical hipster!

SLAGGIN' LAGGIN'
We slagged a bit on the dopetastic media for the week...considering it's Thursday. But the scene's been so busy our asses our trying to catch up with ourselves. Four nights of double gigs and daytime work overload. Sleep? No. But here's our kick ass track sent over by our music contributer, iono of suburbia. You can only download it for a couple of days, so gooo, time's awastin'! Go here to retrieve your dope media, Cicada's Cut Right Through (Imaginary Friend Remix).

Oh...and shady video for the week, this shit's creepy awesome:



Strawberry Jam's "Peacebone"... due out next month.

THE REAL T2
As much of a fan I am for robots, its the cute lil wind up guys or the roll around and dance with you bots that I fancy. Of course the old school bots who could maybe just push you around a bit in harmless fun are great too. But when it comes to a robot who is specifically designed for termination, well shit, haven't we all watched that film a dozen times. I recall staying home non sick from school as a kid and watching it daily (along with a few other classics such as Adventures in Babysitting)...but seriously...we all should have learned a lesson or two from the 80's hit. Don't make a robot that knows how to throw grenades, order guns, shoot the shit and maintain a great view through nightvision. But guess what, it may not come in the cyborg flesh the Terminator we know was so well endowed with, but it's only a matter of time; because the Talon Swat Bot is here. Danger, Danger Will Robinson!! The real T2 has come to life, and I can only surmise that within in a couple of years he'll be policing your neighborhood for 'protection'.
Check this...the Talon Bot comes with:
- a Multi-shot TASER electronic control device with laser-dot aiming
("can you say phase plasma rifle in the 40 watt range?" Cause that's what T2 was rockin' in the gunstore).
- Loudspeaker and audio receiver for negotiations
(Sara Conner? Pft. Negotiation my ass).
- Night vision and thermal cameras
(You know, to detect the body temps at night an such).
- Choice of weapons for lethal or less-than-lethal responses
(Bots need options too).
- 40 mm grenade launcher - 2 rounds
(Cause 2 rounds oughtta do the trick).
- 12-gage shotgun - 5 rounds (Really guy, really?)
- FN303 less-lethal launcher - 15 rounds
(It's less lethal, so he gets 15 rounds).

Shit dude...read the rest here.

BAD JOKES
For some reason, today has been the day of really, really, really bad jokes. You know the ones, you tell it and you already know its going to be bad before you even finish. Or the ones that are so bad you can't help but laugh. Here are some joyously bad jokes for you to enjoy:

Knock, Knock.
Who's there?
Dwayne.
Dwayne who?
Dwayne the bathtub; I'm dwonin'!

What do you get when you drop a piano down a mine shaft?
A Flat Minor.

What's brown and sticky?
A stick.

What is a vampires favorite fruit?
Neck-tarines!

Why did the sheep jump into the lake?
He wanted to take a ba-a-a-ath.

What's red, brown and sticky?
That bloody stick again!

What do you call a chicken that crosses the road, rolls in the mud, and crosses back over?
A dirty double crosser.

Knock, Knock.
Who's there?
Control freak. Now you say control freak who!?

READ A B-O-O-K
Sometimes it's nice to get a swift kick in the ass in order to check your self. Sometimes it's fun to make a spoof. Today, the bestest of the best is a sweet combo of the two. It's about time we were reminded to brush our teeth, wear deodorant and for cripes sakes, read a damn book!! Seriously...watch this, you'll laugh your ass off and be singing it all day long. Spread the energy.

DOPETASTIC MEDIA
Here's our dopetastic media for the week...seeing as it's a Tuesday and all, and new releases come out...we are going to drop some releases of our own on you. Our friends in New York started the series, "Dinner with the Band"...so check out one of the first sessions featuring Iheartcomix's Matt & Kim. Check out the goods and full clip with the band on Pitchfork!
And...our music contributer (Iono from Suburbia) has dropped this bomb on us...free for you to download! It's the YELLE - ACDG (RIOT IN BELGIUM) track. Kind of amazing....

BITS and BITS and BILBO
It's hot as shit...like seriously. Speaking of hot...tomorrow night is gonna rule with Pink Enemy and Fembot and more NYC goodies galore. MMM MMM yum. I tried to take it easy this weekend and so had zero shoots and lots of pool bbq lounging. But damn it, I was still up until about 6am each night at up at 10am or so. However, my surprise evening on Saturday was well worth it since I spent the night at Houdini's house in Lookout Mountain. Um..amazing. I feel like there should have been some wizards bumbling around. This place had a moat, caves, hidden trails and labyrinths, a dungeon, ladders to beds on lofts, pools and hot tubs. I think I just stared around in awe for about 5 hours while nursing my drink. It was like a wonderland for people on acid and there may as well have been a Bilbo Baggins walking around too. Of course, no Shady pics because it was the night off...but randomly, there are photos online of this sweet pad which apparently once housed Zappa, Joplin and more. I didn't see any ghosts...although, who knows...everything was misty as hell.
Waking up Sunday morning was rough, of course I couldn't manage to sleep in at all for some reason but did lay around being useless for about 3 hours. And then...it was off to Chavez for some margaritas with Jules and Ebone. I kept it to a minimum of one 'rita and blast off...the conversation exploded with nonsensical and amazing robot and zombie and crazy ass underground 80's movies that half the world's never heard of. And then...it was 'let's get nuttier time' and have a private hair dye party. Hmmm..lovely. Now I'm a redhead. And of course, nothing tops off an evening like chasing the beloved cat around the back yard whispering his name so as not to fully disturb the neighbors, cause we all know they're slightly disturbed as it is. Oh the bonding of Sunday afternoons and evenings. I didn't really make it much further into the evening. 2am was shut down time. Soft red hair on the pillow. Lights out.

IMEEM and MORE
Apparently, I now am on Imeeeeeeeem...
joyriding around Chicago. Oh JTI, posting the lovely late night dawdling of Ellei J at 4am. Those Comfort Suites have some great coffee....and cheers to some of those Illinois boys for crack-a-lackin' with me.
Today...a fuzzy joy came in a box. Oh stop it! It was a stuffed Gizmo...and he wooos and waaahs and gurgles. He's the damn cutest thing I've ever seen. I think I'll pass out now.

LOLLA LAND
So much to tell about the crazy nights and endless days of Chicago for Lollapalooza. Anne and I seriously tore the town up and I actually opted out of shooting the festival so I could just kick back during the days. Rather than sit here and type out nearly five pages of what went down, let's just say I hung out with some super rad people, made great new friends and photographed the best damn parties there were. And, getting to dance around with Daft Punk and see them without those robot costumes was pretty insane. Ed Banger crew, Rapture, The Faint, Weird Science all played some amazing DJ sets, and The Rapture were soooo freakin good at Lolla. I missed Illinois but did get to meet up with them for energy drinks at 4am before going our separate ways, so that was pretty interesting. Energy drinks, in a thunderstorm, at 4am.
Plus, I'm pretty sure Anne and I ended up sharing a brain by the end of the trip, seeing as we each lost half of our own, and began our days with a mimosa or the hair of a thousand dogs. Room service and hotel/venue hopping was awesome. Debonair Social Club was such great hosts to us...yaaay! And man oh man, freakin VHS or Beta came in just to hang and chill on the last day and we checked out the My Morning Jacket show which was amazing. But seriously...some of the things that come out of your head when trippin' on life and boozin' at noon...man oh man. A list...of the weirdest blurts and blurbs from myself and friends I spent each day with during the trip to Chicago.

"What's your name?"
"My name's security."
"Oh, I'm Mike."
"Your name's gonna be Evicted if I have to come up here again." (Thursday 4am)

"Inside voices! Inside voices....what are we 12?" (Thursday, 4:15am)

"This coffee tastes like ash."
"Ass?"
"No. Ash."
"Mmm, it does." (Friday, 1pm)

"Where should I put my cup? (Ellei to security guard)"
"Throw it there."
"You want me to litter?"
"Hey...grass's gotta get drunk too."
"Hmmm. The grass is very drunk now." (Friday, 10pm)

"We are a part of the urination!!"
"Rhythm nation...whatever...don't ask." (Saturday, 5am)

"Did I sit on potatoes? I totally sat on potatoes."
"I spilled gravy on my shirt...." (both shrug) (Saturday, 8pm)

"Man, you need the hair of the dog."
"I need the hair of a thousand dogs." (Sunday, 1pm)

"Don't dip the pen in the company ink." (Sunday, 3pm)

"If someone ever said to me, girl, I like the way you sweat...I'd be like boy, let's do this." (Sunday, 3:30pm)

"Oh yeah, we been tight every since we got so disgusting together." (Sunday, 5:30pm)

"I nailed it! I got it! The scratch n' stiff sticker." (Sunday, 5:45pm) - P.S. this shit's copyrighted

"I used to blow grass real good."
"I never blew grass but I snort sometimes."
"I don't know."
"So we snorted all night and blew grass?"
"Magical." (Monday, 4am)

This concludes my trip to Chicago...I honestly can't wait to get back to that lovely windy city.