BORN FREE
This MIA video, now banned from You Tube due to full frontal nudity and extreme violence, is some seriously insane shit. If you haven't seen it yet here it is...and beware, this is definitely NSFW.
It's a pretty bold video...touching on a lot of emotions. A lot of people are wondering "what the point" of it is while others are simply ignoring it and voicing an angst view of, 'why the hell did I bother watching that?' Well, take the ten minutes and watch it. Maybe even watch it twice.
And for the record, why hasn't anyone asked how our lovely Gingers feel about this video? Hmmm? Drats. Check out our pics with MIA when she was Bamboo Bangin'.

DEVON CLIFFORD (1979-2010)

Last month we launched our first issue of the Shadowzine and for our feature we interviewed the Canadian five-piece, You Say Party! We Say Die! before their gig at The Echoplex. We hung out with Beckie, Krista and Devon and let's just say they were all the sweetest little Canadians to boot. We especially loved hearing how they'd all been childhood friends and basically started the group out of sheer winter blues and boredom.
That being said, today we were super shocked and bummed to hear about the devastating loss of their drummer, Devon Clifford. Our hearts and thoughts go out to all his friends and family as well as the rest of the band. The statement issued from his family was that he "experienced a massive brain hemorrhage resulting from congenital defects while on stage in Vancouver on Friday night and fell into a coma. A surgery was performed but sadly doctors were unable to save his life. He was 30."
We'll skip the details here but you can read up on Devon a bit more from the Vancouver press. He was definitely a wonderful person and a true gem to meet.
In honor, we'd like to share the interview from our 'zine here as well as a video from their show in Los Angeles this past March. Much love to you guys!

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

FADE AWAY
So another Coachella has passed...and with it the ups and downs. There were a few tragedies but nothing that can hold us back or slow us down. There was a lot of hot tubbin' and a million fake wristbands that totally worked for the entire gang. Go team, go! Our entire adventure consisted predominantly of the actual festival, Anthem Lagoon, VICE Cougars, ACE Hotel party crashing and too much Sailor Jerry rum. Let's just say there were a lot of band-aids in use by Sunday morning.
I also decided I absolutely NEED an old Airstreamer RV. Need, need, want. Need. And futhermore, in my opinion it's now summer. Even though our entire world is 20 degrees colder than it should be and we now experience UK blackouts, alien invasions, volcanic eruptions and 7.2 earthquakes on a weekly basis. 2012?
In other news, the Philly | Los Angeles bi-coastal Shadowscene bash blast is really taking off. We've got new events in both cities popping up including School Night here in Los Angeles, Tiger Beats in Philly, and a RAWK Tuesdays on the LA Eastside. It's definitely time to change things up and spice up the sauces. We're cleaning out the closets so to speak. The past 6 months have been sort of stagnant and full of theoretical assumptions and guessing games. We're ready to get back to the good life and ditch the after school specials along with every moniker and bit that goes along with it. And...for those of you who actually read this shit, I've invited a few of the crew to contribute here an there. This means you'll be reading the dazed thoughts and fucked up opinions of other robot worthy folk starting today. Yep. Oxenfree...Pink Avenger...Goo Goo Fruit and more. Bookmark this muthafucka.

AU NATURAL WINS
Let's talk about teef. Err, teeth. Teeth are apparently right up there with a twinkle in the eye, good biceps and a chest lift. Ha, chest lift. But I've always loved the natural, crooked toof, buck toof, gapped toof etc. Even when I was younger and all the kids had braces, I wanted them! I even went the extra effort of bending a paper clip into what I thought was the closest thing to having metal mouth so I could "wear" braces too. That didn't last long since the damn thing kept falling out. But look at Kate Moss, Jewel, and Kirsten Dunst for examples. Half of their signature look is that whacked out grin. Au natural! And let's face it, if you smile at me and your teeth are whiter than the whites of your eyes...something is wrong. I'm blinded and I'm thinking you either don't eat or you are consuming way too much peroxide or bleach or whatever the hell and you're lucky your gums are still pink.
Crooked teeth are where it's at! Gapped smiles win! An off sized denture is rad! Shit, I even still have my wisdom teeth. And now...I guess it's catching on. Because the new dental trend...is messing up your teeth! I mean, I say go with what you've got. Maybe crack your smile chasing after a squirrel or ping-pong ball. But hey, at least people are finally realizing that imperfections are the true perfections. Grin and bear it; or something. And go Bullwinkle!

REAL-ITY
Avenger and I are kickin' it at the Castle talking reality shows and found this gem. How it came up I don't remember.
The other comic relief is sitting at home and having someone ring your doorbell...and when you answer, they say, "Hi, I was at a party here on Friday night an lost my phone. I think I left it next to the rabbit." What...? Well...bun bun didn't eat it. We'll take a number and get back to you. What party? And who the hell is Gregory?
Today is SXSW focus time. And tonight is Dragonfly with VDRK. And some stenciling with Iron Aidan. And more. To be announced shortly.
This new kitten...keeps walking all over the table. Drinkin my water. Next thing I know he'll be meowing at me telling me how he lost his catnip...near the fishbowl. It's only Monday?

VIMBY - Shadowscene

HEAVY COACHELLA-A-A-A
I swear...it may as well be a holiday the day Coachella releases their line-up. It's the one universal cheer heard around the country it seems. How can cheese go moldy when there's Coachella!? How can socks go missing when there's Coachella?! How can anyone be mad at anything when there's Coachella!? Now that being said, this year is one helluva line-up. I'm super excited to see some great old school bands in the mix along with a few of my friends tacked into the roster. Super excited for Matt & Kim, Sleigh Bells, Gossip, The XX, Major Lazer and our own IAMSOUND family Little Boots and Florence & The Machine. These three days in the desert might be the best to date.
On another high note, our good friends The Heavy rocked Letterman last night. When the hell has Dave ever asked a band to do an encore!?

These guys are amazing...you might remember one of their tracks from a year back as part of the Shadowscene videobooth. The newest album, The House that Dirt Built, is phenomenal so get on that now! Check out some classic pics from their show in San Diego on the last Shadowscene tour and back in Los Angeles for mayhem.
And when in doubt...Coachella!

FOOD NIGHT FIGHT
If there were ever a reason for me to move to NY, other than the fact that I already spend a good bit of time there and half my best friends live in BK...well..it'd be because of this video. Or maybe I need to launch a little private dance warehouse party. Nice job, Chromeo! This video is classic and I don't know many people who wouldn't be down for this night by night.



In other bits...tonight and every Tuesdays should also be official dinner party night. You can watch Dinner with the Band while having a din-din party. Maybe even a food fight to cap it off. I've already started with my meatball a la carte. A meatier meteor meatball...and Pickles isn't having it. Pickles aka Meatwad. And what if there were pickled meat. Is that nasty? Would that be delicious? What if you could buy pickled meatballs...is that gourmet or ghetto? I'm sure someone out there knows some little secret about the pickled meatball special on some lovely menu at a hidden gem restaurant.
Private dance parties. Pickled meatballs. And hidden gems. Now that's a plot line.

TAPS WRAPS & BEATS
There's too much going on; but what's new? Now that everyone is back in reality action after Thanksgiving boozin', schmoozin and food fuelin it's the hustle of getting everything wrapped for the holidays. Literally.
I spent a few amazing weeks in LA soakin' up the sunshine, DJing, doing some fashion shoots and learning how to cook some homemade soups. I got to enjoy Club Rhonda after missing it for nearly a year and can easily say it's one of the greatest parties in that city right now. I DJ'd Hang the DJs with Valida and was literally raising the roof...not to mention banging the walls in between and during tracks. Plus, LeCastlevania and I finally ran into each other which is a feat in itself since we both switch coasts on each other on a daily basis. And now I'm back on the east coast for a bit...enjoying the...rain? Just snow already!
On the Shadowscene front, there's a ton to be excited about. I'll be in NY this Thursday for the new Shadowscene weekly with Whit Fierce, LEWD Thursdays at Orchard Bar. Tonight I'm checking out TigerBeats indie dance party at The Barbary in Philly and Awesometown is still rocking twice a month in Los Angeles. Plus, our vintage collection is in full boom and you can check out new pieces each week in the store and I'll be releasing some select limited prints from the "Fragments & Figmentations" collection in the next week! Our buddies Finger on the Pulse had a kick-ass premiere for their new weekly show, Dinner with the Band on IFC. This week check out Final Fantasy and record that bizzle if you can't catch it every week. Speaking of music...KC and I have finally locked down some deadline dates for our recordings. Get pumped! And I'm stoked on what Diplo and Robyn are up to...lock in to Mad Decent for more updates.
Of course...I had to tap into some old Robyn anthems and here's a fave. It's very Pee-Wee'esque.
All it needs is a little Chairy the Chair and Meka High Meka Highney Ho.

OH HOLLYWOOD
So I've been back in Los Angeles for a couple of days and already it's right back into the world of the bizarre. Where anything goes, all is acceptable and it's a boring day if you...well, it's never really a boring day. Spiderman was arrested today while loitering around on Hollywood Blvd. I'd like to say it was because he was spinning webs in the traffic but alas, too many outstanding warrants or something. I told you those folks in costumes were up to no good! What better place to hide than in a circus or under a mask right out in plain view!? Other than that, I realized Monkey's favorite toys are all bananas. Anne says it's cause he's Monkey. And of course, there's the ever random postings on craigslist that never get old. This guys just wants a companion. And no worries ladies...no personality or age requirements necessary. Ah, Los Angeles: the land of opportunity.
On a different note, everyone is still full from last night's soup party. Yes, SOUP Party. 6 soups, 30 bottles of wine and 20 people. I immediately went into a soup coma. I'm not kidding. After the full afternoon of prep and cooking and about five bowls of soup I laid down and past out right in the middle of everyone. I woke up this morning...still full on tater leek and brazilian beans. Oh my!

MILKY MISERY
I love ET. I also love Mr. T. So obviously...I pretty much love this. It's beyond weird, beyond freakish, and beyond uncomfortable but somehow absolutely enticing. I now want a Mr. ET doll. I also wanted a milkshake this evening; seems pretty legit, easy to get, fulfilling. So I head out with Rog to get a milkshake and we are floored and in high anticipation of housing these milkshakes. Plus, we did the ultimate and decided to get fries to go with them. Score!
So there we are, all pumped and literally pulling into the driveway when...boom! What happened? I don't know what happened! Except Rog was saying "oh shit, it's on the floor." Oh, naturally the cup fell out from the ever so famous knee grasping cup holder. But then it progressed to "oh my god it's all over the floor." Now, that's not sooooo much of big deal except for when we were ordering I got the small size. And Rog said, "a small, that's nothing." And then when his large came he realized the large could pretty much knock you unconcious for three days with a milkshake dairy-coma-buzz. So, that being said, a three day large milkshake was all over the floor. And...there were no car floormats. I couldn't really do much other than laugh, and of course shoot a video of the soppy mess.
My weekend kicked off with getting my tattoo at Inkwell which I won over a game of pool followed by treking to Delaware for a Scion party...at Klondike Kate's. Arch and I came up with a lot of silly songs about that name and I witnessed a lot of sloppy drinking behavior. Come on college kids, learn to juggle those five vodka redbulls (or as Eric of Wallpaper calls them, Redka Vodbulls). Even if they are $3 a pop, you gotta stock up, right? I also hosted the premiere in Philly and Los Angeles for Men Who Stare At Goats. Amazing. I thought the movie was peculiar and hilarious, especially watching George Clooney really let go and show off his dance moves. And of course the goats. Goats are so underrated. I think I would like a pet goat. I will name him Goat-T. Maybe I'll get three. Goat-T, Mr-T and ET. Now that's a trilogy.

GROGGY ROBOT
So I had a dream about aliens last night, so naturally it's all I can think about first thing when I wake up and for about the first couple hours of my morning. Now, keeping in mind I have yet to have my coffee, I am just gonna throw it out there. My sleepy little head came to the concept that aliens are simply a futuristic human. Am I moving from robots to aliens? I'm talking light years ahead, metamorphasized and shit. Or maybe not. But that was what I woke up thinking. Then I also thought, how could people not think they existed. Um, hello UFO conference and ancient Mayans. And not to mention, if we still don't even understand or aren't even aware of over half of what is in our ocean alone, how will we ever fully grasp what is in the galaxy or space when it's a million times larger than our little bodies of water. Maybe aliens are gooey robots? But...I guess all in all, robots and aliens sort of go hand in hand. At least in this little 48hour movie...haha. It's so ridiculous I have to watch it again. "Robot, quit fooling around!"



On another note, I'm ready for my coffee. And I'm all over Lisa Loeb's Stay and The Knack's My Sharona. Hello Best Buy...cuz I'm about to pick me up some Reality Bites or A Life Less Ordinary. Someone send over some UFO photos...maybe throw in a little Lochness too.

TATTOO LOO HOO
Let's be random. Here are some things I am entertained or amused by: the sounds of a jingle ball, kitty feet creaking in a wicker basket, the smell of winter, rain and snow (yes, they have scents), cotton balls, blue walls that look green, pets in windows, mismatched socks, tin robots, falling down, text written on dirty cars, insect antics, honest street folk signage ('why lie, i need a beer'), finger puppets, goofy glasses, food fights, silly putty, kool-aid mustaches, clouds, riot rock and oh...free tattoos. Free anything is pretty awesome. I mean, even if the shoe doesn't fit you know we'll wear it.
But in the terms of tattoo-ville and hoo-ville...little ellei loo hoo is getting a tattoo new.
Tomorrow I get another tattoo...and this is exciting for many reasons, one of which being I won the tattoo over a game of pool. Hustlin! Ya put the ball in the corner pocket and you turn yourself around...ok so NEXT.
In addition to that, I decided to give away a few freebies of my own. So...for the rest of this week, if you purchase any tees in the shadowscene shop, you get one of our limited edition posters for free! Kind of a great opportunity...get some gifts or just stock up on botwear and stuff.
Maybe you can put on some goofy glasses and mismatched socks, chug some kool-aid, cause a food fight and run around tagging cars with a finger puppet. Just saying, some things have yet to be done.
P.S. Los Angeles next week!

WEIRD FU
Today has seriously been an exhausting, strange, yet exciting day. I'm all over the place, getting things done but still struggling to really focus. I ran around Philly, hit up Deli Mag, chilled at Rocket Cat and scoped out some premises. I even discovered a new bit for laughter; the FU Funnies as I have coined them. Little stick figure comics cracking jokes on the weird shit that pesters all of us. This one is definitely top five for me. The funniest part is I've always had shower doors but lately have been experiencing the shower curtain and why the hell does that steamy shower seem to devour the curtain!? Or more or less, why does that curtain feel the need to devour you when showering!? Gettin bored at the office...check out some more FU Funnies to enlighten your day.
The other bit of excitement was prepping for the launch of a Shadowscene weekly event in New York starting this week! I've teamed up with a good pal from Los Angeles and we'll be kicking off Lewd Thursdays at the Orchard Bar which, hooray, is re-opening! What's even more rad is we get to start off with Womanizer (the members of IAMSOUND's Telepathe) and Kap10Kurt. And yes, Philly, you are next in the big scheme of the party scene. I also jet back to Los Angeles next week, New York this weekend and maybe Miami for Art Basel next month! And tomorrow night is Islands in Philly...yarg! If you're not familiar with this Montreal act, definitely get into it. More bitty bits on this tomorrow.
For now, I'm sleepy. I'm too headwrapped up in design work and this entry is laggin on the humor. I'll be funnier when I wake up. Promise.
This is the end of my weird day. And if you don't like it, FU.

SMASHED BASHINGS
Welcome to the Shadowscene recap of this years CMJ. Okay, it's really not all that formal. I'm just going to lay it out and tell you what bands you need to be watching. Oh, and I might bitch a little bit about having my window smashed in. Let's start there.
Two weeks ago in Philly Carney told me to get my damn pennies out of the tray; because I may as well be asking for it. Pennies. Threw those things into a "give a penny, take a penny" jar and moved on. A week later in New York I park the Shadow-mobile in Brooklyn. Bresnitz helps me clear it out of anything remotely important (robots, cardigans, box of almonds) also enforcing the "smashed window shenanigans". 48 hours later I have a smashed window. And the typical thoughts ensue: wtf!? why!? and why didn't they bother to take anything?! I mean seriously. If you're gonna go the mile of busting in a window and causing all that mess, at least take something. Even the rearview mirror. An air freshner maybe? Make it worth my time. The loose pieces from the console were strewn about on the sidewalk and all we figured was they broke in because the shadow-mobile came with a stupid garmin sticker on it. Thanks pre-owner. Bresnitz and I decided to just cut that piece of the dashboard with the sticker on it right out and then half heartedly attempted to tape a garbage bag to the window...with tape that didn't want to stick. Naturally. After a year of the worse car luck ever, I may as well start leaving my keys in the ignition with the windows down. Maybe even a sign...take me, please.
Now take this. Moving on to the real point of CMJ...bashes with smashed people and music clangs. I hit up the IAM Sound showcase which was listed by Stereogum as the best showcase of CMJ, the High Rise PR fiesta with Via Tania and Midnight Juggernauts, Dovecote Records bash, Green Label Sound with Chromeo and a bunch of random running arounds including the Santos Party House, Fader Party and Brooklyn Bowl. I fortunately rolled a strike in my Dr Martens. I got drenched in the rain and was completely content with it since it was 78 degrees. I ate way too many pork chops thanks to Bobby Flay. I watched the mural for Dinner With the Band take up a wall in Brooklyn: step by step. Drank a shitty chai latte. Drank way too many screwdrivers.

After a week of nonstop music and car repair here are Shadowscene's picks for the top artists to watch based upon my galivanting: Restless People, Apache Beat, Suckers, The XX, Yacht, Duchess Says, Sleigh Bells, and Fools Gold.

But the best part is, I spent the week defrosting and ended it with a nice even thaw.

Check out this video from The XX:

SEE EM JAY!
Yep, it's that time of year again...fourth year of hitting up NYC for a full week of music mania. It's like SXSW...but colder. This year I'll be spending quite a bit of time with Fool's Gold, Casxio, Midnight Juggernauts and Hollywood Holt while launching the week off with a Dovecote Records release party. It should be interesting without the Fader Fort to be our daytime fulfillment; what will we all do without our free hangover fixes and awesome showcases? I guess it's okay, since this year instead of a Pickle festival we will get to partake in a Dumpling festival. Oh my deliciousness. I feel a rock n' roll dumpling dance coming on...
Here's a tidbit from the Sasquatch Dumpling Gang. No actual dumplings included.



Check all of our CMJ events and updates on Shadowscene!

OH, HELLO
I was tired. I am tired. Now I'm sleepy. Had the music on repeat. Now it's on repeat through headphones. Neighbors prefer alarms buzzing to my late night rhythms.
I realize most people put headphones to secretly listen to that...well, wait. Apparently, whenever you are listening to headphones it's to privately zone into your own world. So whether you are 9 or 90 you wear your headphones for a reason. Otherwise, we would all be on level 20 LOUD.
What if we had our songs on full blast. And in the middle of a metro station or a store, or on a bus or in a school yard, or in a grocery store aisle 3, or in the kitchen next to Mom...we just took them off and pulled the plug so everyone could hear? What if we took them off and placed them on the head of the stranger next to us? And then we just stared at everyone...waiting for a reaction. What if we actually got one that mattered?
Hopefully...no punches would be involved. Hopefully, just wide eyes and open ears. Open mouths and big ass dreams.

MOONTOWER, RUFF
The tower of power used to be one of my favorite sammy's over at Fred 62. The infamous "moontower" is one of my favorite iconic moments in cult cinema. And towers of empty cans are pretty schnazzy as well. So, I decided that I was finally putting together the official "Party at the Moontower" which kicked off this past weekend. I wasn't really sure what to expect other than a lot of rock jams and a lot of keg fouls and face planting in the field. All my expectations came true and more. Not only did I faceplant a few times what with all those sticks and twigs, tall grass and rocks along with the tumble from the top of my mini Colt 45 tower, but about a dozen other people wiped out for sure. The keg stands were free. The Colt 45s were free. The rock jams were endless and the party was just over 12 hours long.
Moontower is now a monthly blasting off again in July. But for now, you can see photos of the '76 party special and pay attention to this instead:
What the hell is with the city of Los Angeles and their dogs? All weekend long I was inundated by people and their cuter than hell pets that had a bit more class, and in some cases sass, than I do. Just this morning I was walking to get a tea and this prouder than mary cockerspaniel poodle thing jaunts past me. He's got the hair cut of a lion and polished toenails. I look like a wild animal who was roping through the jungle all night. And my converse are dirty as balls. And no kidding, Poodle Spaniel raises his nose as he walks by and gives me the eye. What a turd. I actually stopped and turned around to watch him walk away. His saunter was even rectified better than my own, I'm sure.
Regardless, some of these LA pooch got some serious snoot. I'll continue to maintain my wayward swagger.

CASIO COACHELLA
I can't believe it's Coachella again. I am lagging and not even getting to the desert until probably 4 or 5pm at this rate. But alas, three days of raging in the desert is a pretty good handful regardless. This year, Casio is sponsoring Shadowscene so I'm kicking it off with documenting tons of stuff at Coachella with my fancy new Exilim gear. This oughtta be interesting!!!
I'll be at the Indioasis party both Saturday and Sunday...and possibly the Jelly NYC party for a bit on Saturday too, just to catch my Kenan Bell boys and shoot some footage for Flip!
Of course, I need to try and take it somewhat easy this year; maybe a few more dips in the pool to keep my cool? Next week is the official Shadowscene artshow so I have a ton of biz to take care of before doing the installation on Thursday. And the awesome news is my artshow is now going to be in New York and Miami as well!!
Well, I'm off...let's get this temperature kicked up about twenty more degrees, shall we?

EYES
So tired...my eyes are actually burning. All day and all night. So tired...but I can't sleep at all. I don't know why. My pillow doesn't hug back. My blankets don't wrap me up the same way. So tired, but I can't sleep at all.
My mind works like an auto-bot. A mind of it's own really. Trekking around, building new paths and creating new lines of existence. My mind is a mind of it's own. So tired, but I still can't sleep.
Conjuring up concoctions called meals but they're really a diabetic heart attack diet. Mac n cheese with jalapenos and hot sauce. Someone throw some broccoli on there; now we'll call that a snack. Rambling late nights and hitting up heavy metal stage sets. Booing and hissing like a wounded speaker. And that's a so called good time.
So tired and I still can't sleep.
Got taxes but don't wanna file receipts. Got love and it runs way too deep. Got expectations and guarantees and a funky plee for a paycheck. Got donations and nothing to spare. No cares, just wear and tear.
Next month I'll record an album. Next month I'll disappear. And if you follow it won't be on twitter; because the brown noses know what is clear. So tired but I still can't sleep.
Tomorrow I'll write something basic. Perhaps it'll be a review.
Tomorrow I'll go outside and reflect. Relax. Recline.

Sometimes no sleep is divine.