10th Annual Big Apple Barbecue Block Party!
June 11th, 2012 by Mr. C
The Big Apple Barbecue Block Party came, conquered, and then drifted into the hog smoked gotham sunset this past weekend but not without creating some kind of slow cooked-carnivore frenzy! About 17 BBQ pit masters from all over the U.S. converged into Madison Square Park in NYC on friday night to setup for the weekend to show us the best of the best in smoked out goodness! By the end of the day, we managed to try 7 out of the 17 BBQ joints before we were wheeled away into the porky penalty box. We had a little racket going on where the 3 of us stood on 3 different BBQ vendor lines and before we could say miss piggy – we had 3 pulled pork sandwiches at our paws ready for consumption! Our main goal was to get to the most revered BBQ pit masters before the lines would get out of hand. The three vendors that we choose to hit up 1st were BIG BOB GIBSON BAR-B-QUE for their pulled pork shoulder sandwich, MARTIN’S BAR-B-QUE JOINT for the whole hog pulled pork sandwich, and ED MITCHELL for his North Carolina style whole hog pulled pork sandwich!
After inhaling the heavenly trio of wilbur inspired sandwiches before noon time, we developed a heavy heart from the steady flow of pork grease running through our veins! After some meditation in addition to some deep Deepak Chopra thoughts while watching mondo-curry do his best rendition of the running man dance move in order to burn off some calories – we braved the BBQ trenches once again for the final round! This time we shared 4 plates from the likes of JACK’S OLD SOUTH – Brisket, JIM ‘N NICK’S BAR-B-Q – smoked sausage, THE SALT LICK – smoked sausage, and HILL COUNTRY – brisket!
Getting right down to it, our favorite of the day was Big Bob Gibson for their pulled pork shoulder sandwich. The meat had a nice subtle smoke flavor with just enough seasoning and char. The roughly chopped/pulled meat was moist and when you lightly bit into it – you can taste the pork flavors getting stronger exponentially right up to the swallow. All the meanwhile, the juices slowly oozed out when your teeth made contact with the meat causing the bun to soak up the carnage! We lathered up the sandwich with a dash of Big Bob Gibson standard BBQ sauce as well as with some of their white sauce! I also dug the crispy cole slaw mixed with a citrus based blend.
The second favorite of ours and it seemed to be unanimous was ED MITCHELL’s pulled pork (whole hog) sandwich. The succulent dry rubbed meat was finely chopped and mixed with a vinegary base. The meat was also very moist and light in color but the flavors were definitely very colorful upon impact with your mouth! The sandwich did not look as sexy as the others but no doubt – there were some heavy hitting explosions of pork juices being overrun into the buns which acted as a safety net! Cole slaw was the ‘side that they gave me’ but I barely took notice because the smoked out ED MITCHELL whole hog kept flashing her titties at us resulting in love at first bite!
The 3rd favorite was a mixed bag between us porky crackheads as SHI preferred the side dish that ‘played the Robin to the Batman’ at Jim ‘N Nick’s – the homemade pimento cheese! It was tasty and slightly spicy from the jalapenos and I probably would of took a bath with it if no-one was watching! It sounded like a tossup for 3rd place for Mondo-Curry but he seemed to be hinting at the main dish at JIM ‘N NICK’s – the smoked sausage! It was juicy, it was smokey, it was dee-licious! My contender for 3rd place was from THE SALT LICK – the smoked sausage! The casing that held the flavorful ground up smoked pork meat was very snappy to the bite! The white bread that the sausage was sitting on also provided a nice way to slop up the juices!
All the BBQ we had at the block party was tasty! I was even glad to have finally tried NYC’s own – HILL COUNTRY! The brisket was tender and the layer of fat certainly helped with that! How many days left for the next Big Apple BBQ Block Party 2013?!
To cap it off, the surf guitar riffs and rockabilly sounds of SOUTHERN CULTURE ON THE SKIDS added some extra sauce to the event! Their music almost inspired us to head back into the block party trenches for some more BBQ! Where did that wheel barrow go?
Enjoy some of the photos from the festivities!
(Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Que – Decatur, Alabama – Bigbobgibson.com)
(Ed Mitchell – The Pitmaster – Raleigh, North Carolina)
(Martin’s BAR-B-Que Joint – Nashville, Tennesee – Martinsbbqjoint.com)
(The Salt Lick Bar-B-Cue – Driftwood, Texas – Saltlickbbq.com)
(Jim ‘N Nick’s Bar-B-Q – Birmingham, Alabama – JimNnicks.com)
(Hill Country – NY, NY – HillcountryNY.com)
(Jack’s Old South – Unadilla, Georgia & Miami, Florida)
(Rodney Scott’s – Oil Drum/Mad Max looking smoker! – Didn’t get a chance to try their ‘Cue)
(Mike Mill’s – Pit Master from 17th street Bar & Grill)
(Ed Mitchell – Pit Master from North Carolina)
(Southern Culture on the Skids)
(Photo Credits: mr c)
Tags: big apple barbecue block party 2012, big apple bbq
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ACTION BOYS (2008)
June 8th, 2012 by Mr. C
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Director: Jeong Byeong-gil
Stars: Kwon Gui Duck,Kwak Jin-seok,Sin Sung-il,Jeong Sye-jin,Kwon Moon-cheol,Byung-gil
Genre: Korean documentary on stuntmen
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I’ve been anxious to get my hands on this film ever since I found out that some of the subjects in this documentary on stuntmen have worked in two of my favorite Korean movies: CITY OF VIOLENCE and THE GOOD-THE BAD–THE WEIRD. And one of the stars also had a role in CRYING FIST – another recent favorite of mine thanks to a wandering…asian!
ACTION BOYS is a behind the scenes look at the life of a few stuntmen that were lucky or (unlucky) enough to make it to the school of hard knocks — The Seoul Action Stunt School! The particular year that this film was documented was from the class of 2004. Oh and by the way – the director of the movie was also a student at this academy! The Seoul Action Stunt School runs a 6 month INTENSE program and only 36 can make the cut through auditions and interviews. 17 candidates would drop out before you can say bulgogi. In the end, only 8 would complete the entire program! The film is not a technical one so don’t expect to see training sessions or the nuts and bolts of the academy. However, we will get glimpses of off the wall stunts, crazy car maneuvers as well as some intense fighting scenes on film shoots! The doc seemed to aim at getting a more personal look at what makes these stuntmen/ragdoll wannabes tick by interviewing the subjects, their family members, and trainers. To be frank, the film is quite disorganized often meandering about led by the narrator which then unsmoothly transitions to interviews then to showing footage from auditions, back to behind the scene film shoots, then back to interviewing again. It seemed like the film could of used some structure by editing, BUT the content of the film was tremendous right down to the human story level. The filmmaker didn’t just showcase the superhuman feats of the stuntmen – he also flashed the mortal, personal, and more realistic side of the coin as well. I suppose they could of trimmed down the run-time of the film a bit but I kind of liked the raw dog style of the edits!
After 4 years removed from the graduating class of 2004, only 3 are still working in the business during the filming of Action Boys. The doc would basically concentrate on 4-5 of these stuntmen. Among them are GUI DUCK who worked in construction, fancies a few dance moves, and is a real daredevil-outlaw type known for performing dangerous stunts; JIN SEOCK – a real life boxer turned hairdresser known for his six pack of abs. Jin Seock played a boxer in Crying Fist; SUNG-IL passed the audition based on his good looks and personality despite demonstrating mediocre martial art kicks. Sung-il was called in to work on The Good, The Bad, The Weird which was filmed in Shanghai. SYE-JIN was the supposed horse expert who let a fortune teller convince him to embrace a tiger on his back! Byung-gil, the director of this film was flagged as the candidate who was that weird guy with the crazy look in his eye! Byung-gil attributed that creepy look to just being released from korean militiary service. Last but not least was Moon-Cheol Kwon – a specialist in acrobats, dancing, and singing. Would he give up a career as a stuntman to be a singer?
The Seoul Action Stunt School co-produced the film, CITY OF VIOLENCE. As quoted from one of the 2004 graduates of the stunt school, City of Violence was an unforgettable experience. All members of the Seoul Stunt School worked on The City of Violence! It would be the 1st film that the school would co-produce! Gui Duck even choreographed some of the action sequences. There was a scene in COV that involved fighting while running on the roof of parked cars that Action Boys highlighted and slowed down the film in order to show Jin Seock, Sung-il, & Gui Duck in this movie sequence fighting Jung Doo-Hong!
After watching this documentary, I had a sudden urge to revisit City of Violence, The Good-The Bad-The Weird, and Crying Fist!
If you are a fan of any of these 3 movies or just a plain action fanatic, I highly recommend tracking down Action Boys! Besides showing that the stuntman is often the guts with no glory piece of an action film, this documentary reminds us that they are the true unsung heroes to the films that we love!
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Tags: action boys, city of violence, documentary, good bad weird, korean
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CBGB Festival — July 5-8th in NYC — *Music*Film*Conference*Drink
June 7th, 2012 by Mr. C
The Legendary club at 335 Bowery by Bleeker street no longer exists, but the new owner of the brand – CBGB’s is throwing down a music and film festival from July 5-8th across many venues in NYC with the possibility of opening up a CBGB’s at a new location. We’re not sure how we feel about that but there will be some really great bands playing at this gathering like D-Generation, The Dirty Pearls, David Johansen, Agnostic Front, Sick of It All, & Superchunk to name a few. There are also some really neat films being screened at the festival as well. And what? – Reggie Watts at the Bell House with his own brand of comedy, music, & spoken word! See schedule below:
For more info. about the CBGB Festival: http://cbgb.com/
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Film Schedule
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July 5
The Devil and Daniel Johnston
5:00 PM @ Landmark Sunshine Cinema
Awesome; I Fuckin’ Shot That!
5:15 PM @ Landmark Sunshine Cinema
New York Doll (Followed By Q&A)
7:00 PM @ Landmark Sunshine Cinema
End of Century: The Story of the Ramones (Followed by Q&A)
7:15 PM @ Landmark Sunshine Cinema
What Did You Expect? The Archers of Loaf (U.S. PREMIERE) (Followed by Q&A)
7:15 PM @ Landmark Sunshine Cinema
The Rise and Fall of the Clash (WORLD PREMIERE) (Followed by Q&A)
7:30 PM @ Landmark Sunshine Cinema
Vinyl (EAST COAST PREMIERE) (Followed by Q&A)
9:00 PM @ Landmark Sunshine Cinema
Color Me Obsessed (Followed by Q&A)
9:25 PM @ Landmark Sunshine Cinema
Hit So Hard (Followed by Q&A)
9:30 PM @ Landmark Sunshine Cinema
Blank City (Followed by Q&A)
9:45 PM @ Landmark Sunshine Cinema
SuicideGirls Must Die! (Followed by Q&A)
10:00 PM @ Landmark Sunshine Cinema
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July 6
The Sacred Triangle
5:00 PM @ Village East Cinema
American Hardcore
5:15 PM @ Village East Cinema
Exit Through the Gift Shop
5:15 PM @ Village East Cinema
24 Hour Party People
5:15 PM @ Village East Cinema
Punk’s Not Dead
6:15 PM @ Village East Cinema
Dig!
7:15 PM @ Village East Cinema
Gimme Some Truth (Followed by Q&A)
7:15 PM @ Village East Cinema
Rock ‘N’ Roll Exposed: The Photography of Bob Gruen (Followed by Q&A)
7:15 PM @ Landmark Sunshine Cinema
Just Around The Corner (NY PREMIERE) (Followed by Q&A)
7:30 PM @ Village East Cinema
The Other F Word (Followed by Q&A)
7:45 PM @ Village East Cinema
Patti Smith: Dream of Life
8:15 PM @ Village East Cinema
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
9:15 PM @ Village East Cinema
Sid & Nancy
9:30 PM @ Village East Cinema
Let The Fury Have The Hour
10:15 PM @ Village East Cinema
Kurt Cobain: About A Son
10:15 PM @ Village East Cinema
Hype!
10:30 PM @ Village East Cinema
The Dead Boys: Live at CBGB 1977
11:15 PM @ Village East Cinema
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Music Schedule
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July 5
The Dirty Pearls, Bebe Buell, The Killing Floor, The Noise, Ingrid and the Defectors, Lights Out
7:00 PM @ Highline Ballroom
Agnostic Front, Madballs
7:00 PM @ Webster Hall
Man On Earth, New Cassettes, Two Lights, Edelweiss, Gone By Daylight
7:00 PM @ Pianos
Popa Chubby
7:00 PM @ B.B. King Blues Club & Grill
Orion Experience, My Pet Dragon, Eytan and the Embassy, Brothers NY
7:00 PM @ Littlefield
Baseball Project, Craig Finn, Joe D’Urso & Stone Caravan
7:00 PM @ City Winery
Harry Waters, Willie Nile, Dayna Kurtz
7:00 PM @ Joe’s Pub
Escort, Xylos, Firehorse, Ursa Minor
7:00 PM @ (Le) Poisson Rouge
David Johansen, Liza Colby & The Sound Machine, Daddy Long Legs, Andy & The Rattlesnakes
7:00 PM @ Sullivan Hall
Ben Taylor, Shayfer James, Outside The Box
7:00 PM @ Canal Room
Richard Lloyd, The Bowery Tones, Faith NYC, The Indecent, Waldos
7:00 PM @ The Bowery Electric
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July 6
Jonathan Toubin
7:00 PM @ The Box
Hollis Brown
7:00 PM @ The Living Room
MXPX
7:00 PM @ Best Buy Theater
Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds, Empire Beats featuring Camille Atkinson
7:00 PM @ Knitting Factory
Men, PS I Love You, So So Glos
7:00 PM @ Gramercy Theatre
Reggie Watts, Radio 4, The Jigglers
7:00 PM @ The Bell House
New Cassettes, The Naturals, Two Lights
7:00 PM @ Pianos
Willie Nile
7:00 PM @ Joe’s Pub
Cro-Mags, Sick Of It All, Vision of Disorder, Sai Nam
7:00 PM @ Webster Hall
Superchunk, Redd Kross, Labor Pool
8:00 PM @ Beekman Beer Garden Beach Club
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July 7
D Generation, Romans, Brass Knuckle Evangelists, The Bamboo Kids
7:00 PM @ The Bowery Electric
Guided By Voices, Pains Of Being Pure at Heart, War on Drugs, Cloud Nothings
7:00 PM @ SummerStage in Central Park
Wyclef Jean
8:00 PM @ Beekman Beer Garden Beach Club
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July 8
Spirits Festival (2pm-6pm)
2:00 PM @ Beekman Beer Garden Beach Club
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
8:30 PM @ Beekman Beer Garden Beach Club
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DIRTY HANDS: The Art & Crimes of David Choe
June 7th, 2012 by chocko
Director: Harry Kim
Genre: Documentary
This documentary is about a passionate Korean-American artist named David Choe who travels the world, gets paid to be a fool and creates art inspired by graffiti, comic books and porn. Choe’s friend, Harry Kim, documented him for eight years to create a portrait of the artist while capturing his formative years, hustling for recognition in the art world.
DIRTY HANDS is a manic tale told with videos from childhood, animation, footage from every corner of the globe and introspective interviews. The movie isn’t in any real chronological order…right from the start we find Choe in the jungles of the Congo in search for dinosaurs. From there we follow Choe, a self proclaimed man-child as he shoplifts, creates his outlaw art on an unapologetic path of criminality and destruction.
There are many highlights in the 2008 documentary…one memorable scene finds Choe working on a piece and then punching himself in the face repeatedly until the blood dripping from his nose on to the canvas becomes used as paint. There are a lot of funny moments to keep the viewer entertained including the scene where he tells the story of how he got arrested for forgery and got slapped around by a bunch of cops. I enjoyed the scenes where he spray paints Munko, Choe’s signature bucked-tooth whale, on the streets of Los Angeles at night.
A turning point for the young artist happens during a trip to Japan where he punches an undercover police officer and is arrested for 3 months. With little or no contact with his family and friends, Choe survives prison with the help of his art which he creates in his sketch books with limited resources…pens, soy sauce and urine. Choe also discovers Christianity while in solitary confinement but it is his “dirty” art and relentless, driving force to create that ultimately and truly saves him.
I met David Choe at the San Diego Comic Con way back in 1999 where he sold me a copy of his book, Slow Jams. He was so friendly and easy to talk to. I didn’t buy one of the shirts he was trying to sell me. I believe it had Snake Eyes of G.I. Joe holding a boombox on the front of the shirt! He did draw a sketch of me which is a favorite in my collection. I’ve been a huge fan of Choe’s mind-blowing art ever since. I really enjoyed DIRTY HANDS and can’t wait to see it again. You should definitely check it out!
DIRTY HANDS will be screening during the Korean American Film Festival New York on Thursday June 7 9:30pm at Anthology Film Archive (32 Second Avenue NYC). That’s tonight! DVDs will be available for purchase.
Tags: david choe, dirty hands, documentary, kaffny 2012, movie, review
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REEWIND – Planet Chocko
June 7th, 2012 by Mr. C
On this throwback thursday from Planet Chocko Zine circa 1997, we flashback to some capsule movie & music reviews + some wounded heart poems + the WE WILL FALL: IGGY POP Tribute CD signing at Tower Records including guests – The Misfits, Joey Ramone, D-Generation, Lenny Kaye, Lunachicks, Blanks 77, & Joan Jett + a visit to the Temple — Alan Lee’s Kung Fu Wusu Temple on 27th street that is!!
Tags: alan lee, hong kong movie reviews, iggy pop tribute, planet chocko, poems, we will fall
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ULTIMATE CHRISTIAN WRESTLING (2010) – playing at Korean American Film Festival in NYC – June 8th & 10th
June 2nd, 2012 by Mr. C
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Director: Jae-Ho Chang and Tara Autovino
Stars: Modern Day Warrior (Rob Adonis), God’s Property (Billy Jack), Custodial Crippler (Justin Dirt)
Genre: Documentary – wrestling, religion
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The thought of preaching christian faith through the ranks of professional wrestling may seem like a foreign idea but the more and more I thought about it, this progressive method doesn’t sound so strange after all. Everyone knows that professional wrestling is part super human feat and part acting – playing a role. Wrestlers who have devoted their soul to christianity have a strong mind and body so why not use them to relay the message of the gospel especially when a lot of our youths look up to the sport? This is the exact case with ULTIMATE CHRISTIAN WRESTLING, a professional organization based in Georgia with wrestling in mind but with the teachings of Jesus in the heart. They perform at free shows in small towns throughout Georgia. Rob Adonis – the Modern Day Warrior is a wrestler/founder of UCW who uses wrestling as a vehicle to spread the teachings of Jesus through reenactments before & after the matches. The UCW mixes ministry with wrestling. As Adonis recites John 3:16, he also reminds his wrestlers that a modern day 3:16 for him while working out in the gym can also mean 3 sets – 16 reps!
This documentary would follow 3 members of the UCW around to show us the day in the life of a devout christian worshiper while also revealing their more personal side as well as other everyday musings with relationships and other day to day hardships. The trio that got spotlighted in and out of the ring are: Rob Adonis (Founder of UCW), Billy Jack (God’s Property) & his young son Kody, & Justin Dirt (Custodial Crippler).
The film does not really go too in depth with the faith but rather it exposed individual relationships to us viewers in order to reveal the nuts and bolts, the guts of who they really are whether a father, a brother, a husband, a modern day christian warrior, a person with strong faith, or just a young man trying to find their channels in life while abiding by the teachings of the bible wholeheartedly.
The Modern Day Warrior – the founder of UCW, Rob Adonis is the driving force behind this movement, this unique organization. He is ultimately responsible for keeping the UCW boat afloat while also mentoring his younger christian warriors like the Custodial Crippler. There are struggles with trying to find sponsors and hosts for this rag-tag wrestling ministry but if anyone can do it – Adonis can!
The 2nd person that we would get to know is Billy Jack aka God’s Property. Billy is a blue collar worker currently employed as a handyman at Dr. Fix It. Kody – Billy Jack’s young son is a wrestling fanatic and is ‘religiously’ involved with his dad in the UCW. Unfortunately, Kody is caught between a crossfire custody battle between the mom and pops. Billy is also struggling financially with paying his mortgage. He carries about $36 in his pocket with a savings account that barely equals that. The father and son relationship will tug at most hearts.
Last but not least is 22 year old Justin also known at the Custodial Crippler in the ring. He works the grill at the Waffle House when not suplexing his opponents in the square. He is portrayed as a genuinely nice kid with great values deeply steeped in Christ. Justin’s relationship with his younger brother is also of merit even though they don’t share the same religious beliefs. The Custodial Crippler struggles with finding a niche for himself in the working society. He contemplates a life in the armed forces.
Ultimate Christian Wrestling broke my mold and perception of the overly obsessive, religious type and intimidating physical creatures that these athletes could be as I find myself cheering them onto better pastures in god’s country while they do the good deed spreading the holy fight with words and examples leading to the salvation led by our saviour – Jesus Christ. Even more than that – though as I look around to make sure lightning does not strike upon me, I found myself feeling quite sympathetic with the main characters as they struggled living day to day with things such as family dynamics, relationships, money, and “finding” themselves. It was quite impressive though that through their religious beliefs, they maintain a certain resolve, a certain pride, and morality to not steer to the dark side when things get tough. I think we need a UCW in every major city!
Ultimate Christian Wrestling screens at the Korean American Film Festival in NYC on June 8th – 7pm at the Anthology Film Archives and also on June 10th at 6pm with the Directors on hand for a Q&A after the film at both screenings!
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Tags: documentary, korean american film festival 2012, ultimate chrisitan wrestling
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GIRL WALK // ALL DAY screening at the Korean American Film Festival in NYC – June 6
June 1st, 2012 by Mr. C
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Director: Jacob Krupnick
Stars: Anne Marsen, John Doyle, Daisuke Omiya
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I wasn’t sure what to expect with GIRL WALK // ALL DAY – a feature length dance music film shot in the streets and public spaces of NYC, but as soon as the visuals and the music unfolded on the screen – I started to get the fever for the flava’! Can I kick it? Yes – you can! Can I kick it? You most certainly can!
The movie follows three dancers around the city : The Girl (Anne Marsen), The Creep (John Doyle), and The Gentlemen (Daisuke Omiya) as they unleash impromptu dance moves to serenade the unexpecting crowds to the entertaining mashup-mixtape soundtrack – ALL DAY by GIRL TALK with an insidious blend of tunes from the pop, rock, rap, metal, & punk genre’s! The 3 performers in the film specialize in different styles of dance such as The Girl who blends ballet with street and modern dance. The Gentlemen has a hybrid specialty of the pitter-patter, light on your feet, tap dance grooves with a modern broadway flare while The Creep’s style is all about urban swagger while freestyling to the beats of the streets offering signature pop and lock moves with a B-Boy stance as well as other modern day hip hop gyrations!
More importantly though, each of these three performers’ main goal in my mind at least was to invoke emotions of dance and the freedom of expression to the concrete masses. There’s a time for organization and structure within the everyday grind but with Girl Walk, it was time to let the hair down and boogie! The film delivered a subtle message and maybe to even a bigger extent – a movement to just enjoy life, let loose, and just be happy in general to have the privilege to roam planet earth while creatively expressing yourself in a constructive fashion! And who can find a better way to have a flashdance attack while taking the viewers on a tour of the greatest city in the world, New York – New York! Some sights that the fleet footed dancers would take us on included: The Highline Park, Wall Street area, Madison Square Park, Red Hook, The Williamsburg Bridge, Staten Island Ferry, Yankee Stadium, Harlem, the L Train, Grand Central Station, and the Chinatown shops on East Broadway underneath the Manhattan Bridge! We would watch the trio get busy struttin’ their stuff to the wonderful mashup mixes with millions of miles of samples fused together by Girl Talk! Some of these well known tunes & samples would include Black Sabbath’s – War Pigs, Ludacris – Move Bitch, N.W.A. – Express yourself, Fat Joe – Lean Back, Portishead – Sour Times, The Toadies – Possum Kingdom, INXS – Need you tonight, U2 – With or Without You, and De La Soul – Me, Myself, & I to just name a few! Some of my favorite mashup mixes from All Day includes Black Sabbath – War of Pigs with Ludacris’ – Move Bitch, Radiohead’s – Creep with ODB’s – Shimmy Shimmy Ya, Young MC’s – Bust a move with Kylie Minogue’s – La La La, and Depeche Mode’s – I just can’t get enough with Sugar Hill Gang’s – Rappers Delight.
Some of my favorite segments from the film came on Chapter 7 // High and Low – when The Gentlemen had some outlaw run ins with a Parkour performer before proceeding to literally run into a Rage Against the Machine lady with a vengeance! Luckily, the Gentlemen was saved by the Buster Keaton-Charlie Chaplin like – fun & goofy style of The Girl. It truly was a high voltage scene enhanced by the music and performances!
To put it quite simply, Girl Walk // All Day is an infectious, contagious, & collective work of art that makes you want to just get up, appreciate life, and dance! Now, pass that along and get your freak on!
Girl Walk // All Day screens at the Korean American Film Festival in New York on June 6th at 8pm at the White Box in the Lower East Side of Manhattan! Bring your dancing shoes and attitude to match! The director and producer of the film are scheduled to be in attendance for a Q&A after the screening.
Other screenings for KAFFNY are held at the Anthology Film Archives on 2nd avenue!
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Tags: all day, girl walk, korean american film festival 2012
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POK DONG (2006) – part of the KAFFNY – L.A. Riots 20th Anniversary Program – June 10th
June 1st, 2012 by Mr. C
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Directer: Alex Dongwan Ko
Producer: Jarrett Lee Conaway and Joseph Suh
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I couldn’t find a better way to celebrate KAFFNY by acknowledging the Korean-American experience by wrapping my eyes around POK DONG, a no frills documentary telling the story of Alex Ko’s (director) family and their life changing experience during/after the 1992 L.A. Riots as narrated by him and his parents. No – this was not a controversial in your face short film to blow your mind but rather a subtle & honest look at an immigrant family from Korea and their struggle with life while living the american dream. The documentary was a bridge of sorts for the family to open up their feelings, relive their experience to let go of the past, and to learn from their emotional scars in order to move on to a new rhyme and verse. Old family photos and video footage would help tell their tale. It’s less about a story of the riots and more about the aftereffects of the family dynamics resulting from it.
The Ko family had moved away from Korea to escape the chaos in their own country only to experience a bit of chaos in the streets of L.A. after the unjust verdict of the Rodney King case on April 29th, 1992. The Ko’s american dream with their video store that they had opened up in 1985 on Catalina & 3rd in Los Angeles began to slowly fizzle away on April 29th, 1992 – literally. The desecration of their store after the L.A. Riots had also destroyed a bit of their soul & spirits which left deep scars even a decade later. The parents fought constantly which left a gaping wound of emotions to ponder about for their children. This documentary was served up and directed by the son – Alex Ko which seemed to provide a nice therapy session for the family in order to fully come to grips with their ordeal. The parents had a zen like aura about them at the time of filming with their life of ‘building a new dream’. Some hard hitting quotes from the film included:
“In life, the only thing you truly have is family.”
“Don’t give up to hardships, there’s always another chance.”
“It’s not the end of the world. You have to live with determination.”
“I have to be buried here. This is my country too!”
The Ko’s story shares a similiar tale to many 1st and 2nd generation immigrants coming to America to plant a better seed of life for their children. It’s certainly a story that will hit home!
Pok Dong screens at the Korean American Film Festival in New York on June 10th at 12:00pm (Free): Part of the L.A. Riots 20th Anniversary Program. The screening will be held at the Anthology Film Archives in Manhattan.
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Tags: kaffny 2012, korean american film festival 2012, L.A. Riots, pok dong
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Adventures of an Autograph Hound Part Deux
May 31st, 2012 by chocko
One of my favorite French street artists, Fafi made an appearance at The Hole Shop (312 Bowery) in New York last week for a signing of her new graphic novel from Rizzoli titled The Carmine Vault. There were also prints for sale, along with a limited edition tote bag for $25. Fafi signed and sketched for fans who were also treated to free drinks next door in the Hole Gallery. For future events at The Hole…theholenyc.com.
Gregg Allman was at a signing for his new book, an autobiography titled My Cross To Bear at Barnes & Noble in Union Square NYC last week. The blues (Muddy Waters In Effect) pumped through the speakers while the huge turnout got their books signed. Gregg only signed the book, fans with Allman Brothers albums and guitars got rejected at the table. The signing took place a day after it was announced that he was engaged to his 24-year-old girlfriend. Good luck to Mr. Allman and wifey #7!
Lloyd Kaufman of Troma Entertainment stopped by Forbidden Planet in NYC to sign the LIMITED EDITION BIG BOX VHS of The Toxic Avenger. No need to adjust your tracking…yup, VHS is back. This release is only limited to 300. All you tapeheads, grab ’em while you can! These ain’t cheap, at 30 bucks a pop. Save up that allowance money, kids! Mr. Kaufman, the president of Troma and the creator of The Toxic Avenger signed and talked with fans of the 1984 cult classic. He signed a copy for me along with a bunch of other Troma movies. He mentioned that a remake of Class of Nuke’Em High was being filmed this summer in the NY/NJ area. There is an open casting call, so if you think you got what it takes to be in a Troma film…check out their website for more info.
Micky Ward, a retired professional boxer from Lowell, Massachusetts, signed copies of his book A Warrior’s Heart at Bookends in Ridgewood, NJ. You may know him as being the main character in the 2010 movie based on his career, The Fighter starring Mark Wahlberg. To boxing fans, we’ll always remember the epic battles he had with Arturo Gatti in the boxing ring. Chocko brought the camera, but forgot the memory card! Thanks to Mr. C, not only did we get our books and DVD (bootleg?) signed but we also posed for pics in our best wannabe-boxer poses.
(photo of Micky Ward courtesy of Mr. C, all other photos by Chocko)
Tags: book signings, fafi, forbidden planet, gregg allman, lloud kaufman, micky ward, new york city, nyc, the toxic avenger, troma
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OFF! played The Bell House
May 31st, 2012 by chocko
OFF! played a last minute show with The Bronx at the Bell House in Brooklyn, NYC last night. It was a day after they played the Bowery Ballroom and the show was easy on the wallet…FREE! All you had to do was show up and pick up a wristband to get you in. Chocko had some time to kill, so wandering around Park Slope and shopping for some comic books was a no-brainer. Bergen Street Comics at 470 Bergen Street is a recommended spot if you’re in the area. Chocko bought some books including Ben Marra stuff (his art was hanging on the walls…cool!) and the new Super Crooks by Mark Millar and drawn by Leinil Yu. Millar and his crew recently made a trip to The Philippines to do a signing at The National Bookstore. Check out the story behind “The Milla in Manila” here.
10:30 p.m. rolled around. Keith Morris, the dreadlocked, insane lead singer of OFF! and a direct descendant of the legendary West Coast bands BLACK FLAG and CIRCLE JERKS, taped up the set lists and the rest of the band emerged from the back stage. The other band members of OFF! consists of Dimitri Coats (guitar), Steven McDonald (bass) and Mario Rubalcaba (drums), who’ve all been in other bands including Red Kross, Burning Brides and Rocket From The Crypt. Once the pleasantries were out of the way…it was down to business and blowing the roof off the place…old school L.A. punk style. Keith Morris yelled and screamed all night, stopping only to tell brief stories including one of his old friend Jeffrey Lee Pierce (The Gun Club) who tragically passed away in 1996.
OFF! songs are fast and furious…some clocking in at less than a minute. They played a lot of songs from their first four EP’s and it wasn’t until the eighth song in their set that they played a track off their new self titled album which is highly recommended. The new album delivers and is the musical equivalent of a roundhouse kick to the face. Brutal stuff. It looks like OFF! have a busy summer ahead of them…tons of shows in Europe, back in NYC and the East Coast in July and opening for the Red Hot Chili Peppers at The Staples Center in Los Angeles in August. The Bronx played after. I’m sure it rocked but Chocko needed to escape from New York and get back to the cave for some serious slumber.
SET LIST
Panic Attack
I Don’t Belong
Borrow And Bomb
Poison City
Now I’m Pissed
Jeffrey Lee Pierce
Blast
Feelings Are Meant To Be Hurt
Wrong
King Kong Brigade
I Got News For You
Vaporized
Crawl
Rat Trap
Wiped Out
Peace In Hermosa
Cracked
Black Thoughts
Darkness
Upside Down
Tags: black flag, brooklyn, circle jerks, keith morris, new york city, nyc, off!, punk, show, the bell house
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Throwback Thursdays: Planet Chocko Issue 3 – Fall/Winter 1997
May 30th, 2012 by Mr. C
Let’s take this muthership back – way back to the fall of 1997 to issue 3 of Planet Chocko when we chit chatted with our favorite live action anime girl – APOLLO SMILE. By the way, Apollo Smile can sing, dance, and kick your ass, too! And not necessarily in that order! We also had the privilege to talk to one of America’s finest in the KiNg of SlEaZe realm with filming/producing B-Movies, gore, exploitation, & sexploitation flicks of the low fi variety – DAVID FRIEDMAN (R.I.P.)
Chocko also shared some of his rad photos of Jerry Only from The Misfits (Misfits/Sick of It All show at Birch Hill in Old Bridge,NJ), Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden) + Geezer (Black Sabbath) from their Coney Island High Show on St. Marks Place – October 1, 1997!
Please enjoy the artwork on the front/back zine covers by our very own caveboy resident – Mr. Chocko! Now sit back – smoke a bone, roll up a crepe with nutella & bananas, eat a bloody rare steak, or just enjoy your vegan treats as we flashback to some repugnant writeups – planet chocko style! Please secure the safety of all women, senior citizens, and children!
Enjoy your day – freaks, ghouls, & fiends!!
Tags: apollo smile, david friedman, planet chocko issue 3, throwback thursdays
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east village and lower east side street art + graffiti
May 26th, 2012 by chocko
Chocko took the photos above at Second Ave. and Houston St. in NYC. Beware of the gaping hellmouth the size of Illinois behind the fence.
This Eviar piece is near the old Mars Bar location on 1st St. and 2nd Ave.
Music Machine by Sonni is located at Artist Alley behind the original location of the legendary CBGB. Sonni got his start painting murals in Buenos Aires, Argentina but now NYC is home base for this talented artist. Check out Music Machine located at Extra Place and E 1 st.
Here are some shots of the Centre-Fuge public art project located on East 1st St. between First and Second Avenue. The trailer will be home to different murals for the next couple of months. Nice job on the Beastie Boys tribute mural by Danielle Mastrion. R.I.P. Adam “MCA” Yauch.
Tags: art, east village, graffiti, l.e.s., lower east side, new york city, nyc, street art
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