The Wake-Up Show

Before Sophal had to take the flight back to Boston, we headed out to Beat Rock where they were hosting an event for Pancho Abalos’ new series of ‘The 23 Nin-J’s’ paintings. I loved the paintings when I first saw them and even purchased one of his shirts a while back, but upon his explanation of how the pieces came about made me appreciate the art much more. This was one heck of a wake-up show.

This piece was kind of the genesis of the series, in that, all the ninjas are wearing Jordan’s first signature shoes. Pancho’s explanation behind it was that before Jordan had Jordans, Converse’s Weapons were the shoes helmed by professional basketball players and fans alike. That all changed when Michael Jordan swooped in (like a ninja) and took the whole sneaker game by storm.

–dinoxsketchpad

Just Eat It

First and foremost, just thought I’d take a bit of time and share my Michael Jackson moment. I’m sure billions of bloggers have already blogged about this huge loss. “Man In The Mirror” was one of the most powerful videos executed even though it was one of the few without Michael actually being in it. Something about the visual aspect of it really caught my attention as a child. Very thought-provoking, carefully collaged, and it echoes in relevance until this present time…we just found a way to magnify the catastrophy. One more thing I’d like to add, it’s unfortunate that kids of this generation know more of Michael’s court-cases and/or allegations than they do of all the positive music he’s crafted so heartfully. There will never be any other entertainer who can impact the entire globe as Mike did. R.I.P. MJ! You deserve it.

Now, onto the rest of the blog. My friend, Sophal, from Boston came out to pay a visit for the week. First thing we did was head out to one of my favorite sushi spots here in Long Beach — Tokyo Wako.

The next big eating ‘event’ was at The Corner Place for Korean BBQ. Even MORE food this time. We were actually looking for a specific Tofu House, but got too hungry to scour through the city for it so we settled upon this spot. Food was great, though a tad pricey.

Now the tough part…working all this food off.

–dinoxsketchpad

Pancho Abalos

This Sunday @ Beat Rock. All the way from Hawaii…

–dinoxsketchpad

Celeritas @ SURU

–dinoxsketchpad

Obey Everything

I headed out to the Shepard Fairey x Arkitip show @ ALIFE Hollywood. Didn’t know we had to RSVP but we got hooked up at the entrance anyways. After a few drinks at the open bar, I socialized with everyone and networked with a lot of interesting people. I talked my way into having a quick chat with Shepard Fairey and getting my magazine autographed. Overall, great night. Great people. Great fun.

Oh, and haven’t done this in a very long while…Toi on Sunset. I’m going to go out on a limb and say this is my favorite Thai food joint. Not only is the food great, but the atmosphere and the service is awesome.

–dinoxsketchpad

Live To Learn

So, I know I’m a bit late, but here’s a quick update on the whole panel discussion I participated in at my old high school. Mrs. Chamberlain — who I had for speech class years ago — contacted me through my Myspace and asked me to come speak to the seniors in her class. I’ve never been a motivational speaker and haven’t spoken publicly in a long time so I was glad she laid out some questions on index cards for us. The kids were more than awesome and some of them had great questions which shows they’re really concerned about their futures. I think I spoke the least out of everyone of the speakers, but I think they got the gist of things. Oh, and I read an old spoken-word piece to a couple of classes. Pretty rusty. I hadn’t done it in years. Anyways, congratulations to all the graduates this year. Welcome to LIFE.

Camera died out on me after a few pictures, hence, the lack of pictures.

–dinoxsketchpad

Behind The Scenes with Shepard Fairey

Here’s a small teaser clip to get you excited about the Shepard Fairey x Arkitip show this coming Friday evening. The event is to celebrate the magazine’s 51st issue which is a commemorative to Shepard Fairey and his Obey campaign which has garnered so much critical success throughout the years of establishment.

 

 

 

–dinoxsketchpad

“Back Like I Left Somethin’…”

That was a Freeway quotable for all you Hip-Hop heads…Anyways, just letting you guys know that I was asked to give a speech to the graduating class of 2009 at the school of which I was an alumnus — Paramount High School — tomorrow morning and I can honestly say that I’m scared brainless. I have thought about what I would say for days now but I think I’m just going to go in there and freestyle it. If anything, most of them might be too busy whispering and passing notes about what parties they’re going to after the ceremony, that they won’t pay much attention to me. We’ll see how catastrophic it’s going to be. I’ll keep you posted.

–dinoxsketchpad

Grateful Bear

The iconic creature used in various DJ A-Trak projects, and designed by artist Dust La Rock, has been crafted into an 8 inch plastic toy. Kid Robot will be releasing a limited run of 500 “Grateful Bear” figures, which come outfitted with a gold-plated A-Trak necklace, leather cuff, cotton sweatband, snowcapped igloo, fitted cap and wayfarers.

The A-Trak x Dust La Rock x Kidrobot “Grateful Bear” will be available July 2nd at Kidrobot and other select retailers for $50USD.

–dinoxsketchpad

This Must Be The Place

Opening on June 20, Scion Installation L.A. Gallery in Culver City and Faesthetic magazine present This Must Be The Place, a collection of art and oddities by eight American artists inspired by the zine’s minimally toned aesthetic.

Featuring work from Gluekit, Maxwell Loren Holyoke-Hirsch, Damien Correll, Joel Speasmaker, Matt Curry, Skull Phone, Dan Funderburgh and Jemma Hostetler, the acclaimed multimedia artists and designers explore the theme of “home” with the loose limitation of a two-toned color palette.

Produced and distributed in close partnership with Chicago-based crowd sourced t-shirt company, Threadless.com, Faesthetic began in 2001 as a photocopied zine and developed into a high-quality experimental arts magazine with international participation and readership.

–dinoxsketchpad