Palace of WONDERS!!!

Let’s see what they’re out of… Hmm… No trendy DJ tonite. No jet-set lounge. No specialty martinis. No smoke machines. (Ok, I’m not sure on that last one)

Let’s take count on what they DO have… Ok… An albino raccoon! Over 500 exotic/weird/odd/strange/amazing/crazy artifacts from around the globe! A rich and wonderful tradition of Baltimore’s Dime Museum, kept alive by James Taylor! The raciest Side-Show, Burlesque, Circus, Vaudeville and Odd-Ball acts performing today! Tonight’s special is a game show called “Go To Hell!”

At some point in time, if you live in Washington DC, you MUST go to H. St. NE, and visit this place. It is one of the few places in this city that actually lives up to it’s name, and is a wonderful and amazing trip into a sideshow/circus that most people believed never existed, and has to be seen to be believed. -kk

Jon Wye

At the Arts on Foot Festival downtown, two weeks ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Jon Wye. Jon’s a local designer, and he’s making some amazingly creative clothing and belts. From his website – In classic American style Jon Wye has spent the last three years building a small clothing design empire in fashion hungry D.C. It started with the classic JUNK belt buckle and a few leather belts, and now includes a small line of cool t-shirts, custom belt buckles, leather belts, and an ever expanding line of mens accessories and womens accessories. Everything is designed to be fun, lively, and drive conversation. You won’t find gimmicks here. We agonize over everything to make sure it is timeless so that we ourselves don’t fade away. – Another district creative! See, they walk amongst us! Check out Jon Wye’s site.

Michael Jantz & The Davenports

As we ease into the second or third day of fall, we can all feel that crisp autumnal 89 degree breeze start to rip through our tank-tops and shorts… What the heck is going on?! Well, the best thing to do when we’re blessed here in thie Mid-Atlantic with a wonderful “Indian Summer” is to get outside and enjoy it. And what better way to enjoy the weather, than to hit up the Arlington’s ‘Clarendon Day’ festival this coming Saturday, noon to 7pm. Events throughout the day include restaurant vendors, artists vendors, and a main performance stage that includes a set from one of DC’s best singer/songwriters, Michael Jantz, and his talented band, the Davenports. Originally from Ohio, Michael has cut his teeth here in the DC area over the past few years, playing such venues as Rock & Roll Hotel, and Wonderland, released an album last year, and is planning a live EP release in the coming months. So do yourself a favor, and get outside this weekend. You never know when this weather is going to change. And get to Clarendon, see MJ & the Davenports, and check out some of Arlingtons’ creatives. -kk

I used to have this problem with DJs. I used to think that all a DJ did was get free drinks, hang out with scantily clad groupies, and play other people’s records and CDs, at clubs. I’ve since come to realize that this is nowhere near the case, here in Washington DC, and I’ve developed a healthy respect for the DJing community that’s here in town. I have even more respect and admiration for not just people playing records, but also performing. That is what Michael Folk and Daniel Merrill, (Aligning Minds) are. They’re musical performers, but they’re also creative artists, and in their attempt to create sonic landscapes, they’re attempting to stimulate your mind and heighten your senses through their landscapes of sound.

For the past few years, Aligning Minds have been performing here in DC, and around the area. They’ve collaborated with tons of local acts, and if you haven’t heard their works, you should really try to give them a listen. What’s great about the group also, is that they’re trying to essentially, build up a community of artist themselves. At their live shows, (example: two weeks ago at XinDC), the club was packed with artists, designers, painters, performance artist, and the entire scene was a sensory overload of local creative talent.

Currently, goals for Aligning Minds is to do something that hasn’t been done since art was really “art” and that is to create a “movement”. They want to take their sounds and make and share them with other creatives and bound ideas, unite people creatively, and spread the seed of common understanding – and (according to their bio) “to drop some muthaf—in’ bass in the process. All ideals aside, this is music from the imaginations, hearts and souls of two producers who want to use music to unite people and assist in positive growth and change. “

In the fall of 1996, Rolling Stone wrote an article, claiming that electronica and “techno” were the future of popular music, and the leaders of this sonic revolution were the British band, “The Prodigy”. They gave them the cover, and a fancy article and we as Americans, took it and gave it it’s 15 minutes. The genre has evolved in the past 10 years, and has given us a hotbed of talent and many different types of music. Aliging Minds are challenging the genre though, and making it more about a movement AND great music, and I for one, think that they’re a more than welcome member in this area of district creatives. -kk

Coming Next Week! New Updates! Daily!

Looking over the horizon, next week, the ships coming into the port of District Creatives include, but are not limited to…

-NEW Photographers!

-NEW Painters!

- NEW Graphic Artists!

-NEW Movie Reviews!

-NEW Stylists!

-NEW Bars + Restaurants!

To all, I wholeheartedly apologize for the delays on some of these postings, but I assure you, I promise a hearty dose of NEW “creatives” for each day next week. In the meantime, enjoy this early showing of (hopefully?!) images that are being considered for gallery pieces, in accordance with the developmental Renaissance taking place on H St. NE, now and in the coming years. Enjoy! -kk

Yoko, Oh Yes…

Ok, so I’ve tried to come up with a review for Yoko K. for the past week, and let’s just say that it’s not working out as planned. It’s completely my own fault though, as I’ve not yet found the words to describe her amazing organic, sonic landscapes. It’s almost like the numerous times where you walk into a club or restaurant, or a gallery or party, and you hear certain music, and in that space in time, it just all sounds “right”. Does anyone know what I mean? It’s when someone puts on a specific song, and in that moment, everything clicks. Well, that’s what Yoko K’s music has been doing to me for the past week, and because of this feeling, I’ve been slacking on her writeup. Barkeep… A round of apologies, on me.

Yoko’s been making music from an early age, and she’s been winning awards about as long. She’s worked with some of DC’s finest contemporaries, and has played some of the city’s finer upscale venues. She makes entrancing hypnotic landscapes and creates emotion and mood with her sonic talents. She puts you in a certain mood, similar to the one I mentioned above, and I am more than happy to put her amongst the growing list of people included in this little project called District Creatives. There’s more that you can learn about Yoko K. on her website and myspace page, so check her out!

American Artistry X

The epitome of District Creatives, “XinDC” will be at BeBar this coming Saturday.

-
Through the inspiration and support of many, the vision and concept of ‘X’ was conceived by David Fogel. David is a community leader and curator/co-founder of 88, a Washington DC based creative community and multi-media production company committed to providing conscientious cutting edge products. The intention behind ‘X’ was to create a 21st century Live-art “happening”. A kick-ass, inspired and inspiring event for all that brought artists out of their personal studios and into a multi-media, live-art environment that would in effect a.) shake up the artist’s creative process through the power of a creatively charged environment b.) expose people to various approaches to the creative process and c.) feature forward thinking artistic talent. The essence of the event was symbolized through the equation: LIVE (Electronica + Projections + Art + Fashion + Performance) + YOU = X

If you have the desire to be surrounded by DC’s creative forces, and you want to be insired by a truly one of a kind event with photographers, painters, graphic artist, musicians, belly dancers, performance artists and more, do your best to get to BeBar this coming Saturday night, because you can go out and have a good time any night in DC. But this will be special…

(some text taken from xindc.com/-kk)

Stephanie deSocio

Some people on districtcreatives.com are illustrators. Some are web designers. Some still are graphic designers who dabble in poetry, and one-of a kind art books. Stephanie deSocio is all of the above, and her brilliant and vivid imagery is what happens when creative worlds collide.

Currently employed at a small studio as a graphic designer, Stephanie is also the co-editor, designer / illustrator of a DC-based arts “Zine” called Gentle Graffiti. Gentle Graffiti is a collaborative project combining the contributions of illustrators, painters, print-makers, photographers and poets. The Zine, (and the “movement, it would seem) has also gained an online presence via the blog with contributions from Alison Scheck, Ross McDermott and Lex Robertson.

Her passion though, and her acceleration in the field of art, lies in her hand bound book-making. She creates one-of-a-kind artist books and blank tablets with everyday items such as papers, recycled materials, an old typewriter, hand lettering / illustration and various found objects. Often times her books are thematic, or based on one particular element; whether it be a poem or some other piece of writing / music. The attention to detail has to be seen to be believed, but the love for the craft and the finished product is all there in her website.

The latest production, Gentle Graffiti Number 3; (a collaboration with co-editior Alison Schreck) was released on September 1, 2007, and can be found online or at various local Zine events. This weekend, Gentle Graffiti will be tabling at the Fuzz event in Charlottesville, VA., and if you have some time and a passion to view really creative talent, take a jaunt down the road and check out another one of the District’s Creatives. -kk

Brotherly Love

DOING BIG THINGS, TIMES THRE3

Impressively, and slowly but surely, the world is going to be dominated by the artistic stylings of three gentlemen from Washington DC, all with the last name “Brodie”. Mark my words…

Whether it’s the wonderfully talented photographic stylings of Photographer Don Brodie, (whom has recently moved to New York City but still has connections here in the District) or the uber-talented young filmmaker Ron Brodie, (who’s talents include, but are not limited to – Treatment’s * Music Videos * Short Film * Feature Film * Spot Commercials * Video/ Film / Photo Editing * more!) the Brodie boys have you covered. …Until you realized that there’s no one to DJ the premier of your movie that has been shot by Ron, and still framed by Don. That is where the sonic sounds of DJ Winterman, aka Munair (you guessed it!) Brodie come in. A popular east coast staple, Winterman has been filling clubs and keeping people moving with everything from drum & bass, to dancehall reggae, to amazing contemporary mashup work.

Big things indeed. These three men embody the spirit that makes sites like District Creatives keep going.