So you love your myspace page, and you love the “social networking” it allows you. You like the idea of putting yourself out there in the world wide web, but you feel that that page, and just a few pictures and one song just don’t do you justice. How about trying PROJECT PLAYLIST? This website allows you to search for multiple songs, and put them on either a myspace/facebook/blog/etc, and entertain the masses, seeing your pages and sites, for days! …Or at least for a number of minutes. And even if you aren’t looking to update your internet presence, it allows you to preview and listen to an entire song for free, just in case you really want to hear “Peg” by Steely Dan, but you really, really don’t want to pay for it. It also serves as a fun way to pass the time in that boring cubicle you’ve been sitting in all day. Enjoy, and click the “Launch Standalone Player” below and enjoy my playlist, perfect background music for reading the latest DISTRICT CREATIVES, in your inbox tomorrow!
From 1988 until 1994, hip-hop in the United States was blossoming into more than just a “sub-culture” of society. Critics who had once dubbed the music as “a passing fad” could no longer deny the attraction, fan base, or money that was being made in the hip-hop community. The art form was truly going through it’s “Golden Age“. However, with the added popularity and financial gains, industry giants decided to capitalize on the target demographic, and exploit the genre, thus spawning what we know today as “Rap”. Which isn’t to say that this over-commercialized, over saturated music isn’t all bad. It’s just being produced strictly to make money and not strictly for the love of the “game”. Lately though, high-profile artists like Nas, and KRS-One have been trying to take the music back from the bigger corporations and make it more homegrown and “real”. One of those groups bringing back the old reliable sound, is Dollabin. Dollabin is DJ Ian Head, and Verbal Math. Two old-skool heads who truly believe in what they do and create. So much so, that they named their group after their favorite recreation – digging into “one dollar or less” crates of records, at flea markets and record stores, and creating something amazing from things that some have deemed insignificant and worthless. On their first EP, the sound and beats are very akin to early ’90’s, (J-Dilla-esque) sonic landscapes, and the content and lyrics bring you back to an earlier era of cognitive suggestion and cadence. For their first effort, it’s a pleasure to hear actual stories told, and not the mimicking of some studio executive with his thesaurus out trying to rhyme “Bacardi” with something other than “party”. I commend them on the efforts, and hope for nothing for good things to come for the men of Dollabin.
Their entire EP, “One More Crate” is available for FREE through MySpace.com, and can be found by clicking the link in the image above, or by going to www.myspace.com/dollabin
As August rolls into town, (and as town rolls out of itself) those of us without our house on Cape Cod, or the Hamptons, or even the Eastern Shore, have to find ways to keep ourselves occupied during the “dog days”. Sure there are swanky new hangouts always starting up, and what have you, but it’s summer! You should be outside, enjoying life, and listening to jazz. (At least that’s my take on summer.) Well, if you have any time this evening, check out the National Gallery of Art’s ‘Jazz in The Garden’. Every Friday at the NGA, (4th and Constitution NW) there’s an open air concert of various jazz musicians. There’s also food and beverages sold as well. So if you’re looking for someplace to hangout while you wait for that 1-2 hour wait at that hot new downtown restaurant, head on down to the NGA. And who cares if you don’t have a pool in your Bethesda mansion? You can stick your feet into the NGA’s wading pool and cool your heels in the warm August nights.
Sonoma, located right behind the Capital, on Penn Ave., is a required DC culinary landmark. I had the pleasure of working with them on some advertising shots about a year ago, and to this day, whenever the ultimate question of “where should we go out to eat tonite?” enters the fray, ultimately without fail, Sonoma tops the list of choices. And sure, they’re known for their extensive wine list, and dozens of them by the glass, but secretly, the real reason to visit this Capital Hill hangout, is their charcuterie board. Goodness, that’s one of the things that has changed the way I serve guests when they come over.
Sonoma, Culinary Creativity at it’s most finest. I’d suggest going over early this evening, and then as the sun goes down, pay for your meal, walk over towards the capital and really enjoy what some of us take for granted, but is truly the best that DC has to offer.
Promotional images for DC based DJ’s Kreamdip. Omar and Steve currently have residence at the downtown club LIMA, and have been working on a follow-up to the Tripple-Dubble EP, released last year. Listen for free on myspace, or go and see them perform every Friday nite at LIMA.
http://myspace.com/kreamdip
http://www.kreamdip.com/
Lance Breger is a personal trainer, and is currently the head private trainer at Mint Fitness in DuPont Circle. This is a promo piece for the gym, and I could tell you all about Lance and what he does, but I’ll let his blog to the talking for me.
Take one part Banksy, add a dash of Henri Cartier-Bresson, and a teaspoon of old-skool hip-hop, and you get Chris Reif., DC based photographer. Take a look at all of his stuff on this flickr page. …Oh, and they’re not all pictures of him. Enjoy!
Billboard idea pitch, to Pensare Design Group. Pensare came to me a few months ago, with an idea to have a fence that went around a new condo being built in Silver Spring, containing imagery from my portfolio of portraits. Here’s what I had come up with.
http://www.pensaredesign.com/
Caryn Langburg, artist and stylist, and Michael Lanni, owner of Volanni. Candid photos, on set, shooting Volanni summer ad II. Caryn’s next project is a 30′x18′ mural, painted on the back wall of the new Erwin Gomez salon in Georgetown.
http://volanni.com/
http://www.erwingomezsalon.com/
Christy Dostal. Personal project. Everything here is lit with natural light.
Personal project. Back Alley Fashion. As a fashion and portrait photographer, I’m constantly looking for locations to shoot. Thankfully, I live in Georgetown, and there are plenty of alleyways that provide wonderful colors and textures and make small spaces seem like they’re worlds away from where they actually are. This is why I’ve started a project entitled Back Alley Fashion. Combining and juxtaposing the content of an old alleyway with higher-end models and clothing just seems to work for me.
Summer advertising campaign for Michael Lanni, for VOLANNI. The image is a similar take to another image we had collaborated on, about 6 months ago. We did however, change up the model, (Kate Kimber, Unsigned) and the make-up artist, (Caryn Kunkle) and used different lighting and stylizing. Overall, it’s one of maybe 3 or 4 shots that we could use in similar email/print, advertising campaigns.
