TARA McPHERSON at NY COMIC CON 2010!
October 17th, 2010 by Mr. C
Check out TARA McPHERSON’s new solo exhibit called THE BUNNY IN THE MOON from Oct. 23-Nov. 20th!
The opening reception is on Saturday October 23rd from 7pm-9pm at the Jonathan Levine Gallery 529 West 20th St. 9th floor.
http://www.taramcpherson.com/
Tags: bunny in the moon, jonathan levine gallery, tara mcpherson
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Cover me with YARN in NYC!
October 14th, 2010 by Mr. C
Just lollygagging around manhatty like I usually do & ran into a few cool subjects embossed in YARN! The volkswagen was parked outside of the Christopher Henry Gallery on Elizabeth Street between Grand & Broome. The yarn bicycle was chained to a street sign on Elizabeth & Broome, a half block away from the volkswagen. And last but, not least the baby yarn bike was on the center island chained to a street sign on the Bowery & Delancey/Kenmare Street intersection! I hope the artist doesn’t have to move the Yarn Volkswagen due to alternate side parking!
After doing a little bit of research, the Polish artist “OLEK” is responsible for these cool yarn creations! Her beautiful pieces of street yarn art is a dog & pony show to promote her new exhibit called KNITTING IS FOR PUSSIES at the Christopher Henry Gallery at 127 Elizabeth Street. Check it out y’all, the exihibit is running till this weekend Oct. 17!
Tags: art, christoper henry gallery, knitting is for pussies, new york city, olek, street art, yarn
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INGRID MICHAELSON performing at Best Buy-Union Square
October 14th, 2010 by Mr. C
Ingrid Michaelson graced some lucky New Yawkers’, a few scholars from NYU who decided to cut class, & a few of us New Joisey’ G-Funks who were in sabbatical mode that day by providing us with a free instore performance yesterday at Best Buy’s-Union Square store in NYC around 12:30pm to promote her new single PARACHUTE which is available on iTUNES!(yes, I know…it’s an epic run on sentence,but bluck it…it’s our blog, we kidnapped the grammar & composition police so EAT ME!). Ingrid was accompanied by her bandmates Bess Rogers, Allie Moss, Elliot Jacobson, & Chris Kuffner! She joked around saying that it was weird to see all of her fans faces on a sterile-brightly lit performance space like Best Buy as opposed to a dingy dark club or theatre. Her Best Buy performance was also being streamed live via the internet from http://www.livestream.com/liveatbestbuy . I’ll post one of Ingrid’s videos that I took at Best Buy sometime tonight so check back at a later time! Ingrid performed a quickie 5 song set including SOLDIER, PARACHUTE, THE WAY I AM, MAYBE, & the MEXICAN FOOD song! Her vocals were spot on! She is always so friendly, engaging, & cheery to her fans which brings a smile to our faces! Ingrid sticked around to meet, greet, & take photos with her fans afterwards. I was stoked as I finally got her to sign my copies of her EVERYBODY, GIRLS & BOYS, and BE OK albums! She also had a gig later on in the night at the BEST BUY THEATRE in Times Square! The performance space was formerly known as Nokia Theatre. Unfortunately, I didn’t attend Ingrid’s concert that night, but instead opted to check out THE THERMALS at Irving Plaza which was a blast and a half! I’ll definitely have to catch INGRID MICHAELSON & her bad self when she comes back around to HIGHLINE BALLROOM at the HOLIDAY HOP on Dec. 10th!
Tags: best buy, indie pop, ingrid michaelson, parachute, union square
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Rob Zombie Signing at Forbidden Planet
October 13th, 2010 by chocko
Rob Zombie was at Forbidden Planet in New York City yesterday to sign the brand new issue of Royal Flush magazine and his latest CD Hellbilly Deluxe 2. The long line of fans stretched around the corner and despite the hour delay and threat of a torrential downpour, the night was a success. Forbidden Planet is a comic book shop in Union Square and the staff there handled the crowd like a bunch of pros, always friendly and once the signing started they got the crowd in and out of there in about an hour. Surprisingly, Mr. Zombie brought along his band which included Piggy D (Zombie bassist), Joey Jordison (Slipknot drummer) and John 5 (ex-Marilyn Manson guitarist). Zombie and the crew signed stuff pretty fast, keeping his head down and every once in while looking up to acknowledge his fans. He seemed like a low-key type of dude that night, wearing a hat that covered his eyes…all you saw was long hair and a beard. The event was part of a week long festival celebrating the 10th anniversary of Royal Flush magazine which is an ultra-cool source for fans of rock music, music, art and comic books. The newest issue has a really cool painting of Rob Zombie by Ed Repka. Repka’s done some amazing album cover art for bands like Megadeth, Death and Municipal Waste. A quick mention about the latest Rob Zombie album, Hellbilly Deluxe 2: Rob Zombie is back with what he does best which is horror influenced industrial metal. If you’re a White Zombie fan and love his early solo stuff, this album is for you. My favorite tracks are the catchy ones: “Jesus Frankenstein”, “What?” and “Burn.” Check out the Deluxe version which features more tracks and drums by Joey Jordison. Good stuff, but I would kill for a White Zombie reunion. 
Tags: appearance, hellbilly deluxe 2, in-store, joey jordison, john 5, new york city, nyc, piggy d, rob zombie, white zombie
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con sketches
October 11th, 2010 by chocko
Here are some sketches I’ve collected over the years going to comic book conventions. It’s always appreciated when an artist takes the time out to draw a quick sketch! The top row from left to right: Alex Pardee, Gabriell Bell, and Sammy Harkham. Middle row from left to right: Glenn Danzig (lead singer of The Misfits), Futura (graffiti legend), and Joëlle Jones. Bottom row from left to right: Sophie Crumb (Robert Crumb’s daughter), John K. (creator of Ren and Stimpy) and Hellboy by Mike Mignola.
Tags: comic books, comic conventions, drawings, quick sketch
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THE LEGEND OF THE 7 GOLDEN VAMPIRES (1974)
October 10th, 2010 by Mr. C
I’m in the mood for…horror…simply because Halloween is near thee! I’m ALWAYS on REWIND-FANG mode for THE LEGEND OF THE 7 GOLDEN VAMPIRES especially when halloween is around the corner! This movie is basically a vinegarette of a wet dream with shaw brother kung fu infused with the lord-count dracula! It’s a 1974 Hammer & Shaw Studios collaboration & it stars PETER CUSHING & DAVID CHIANG! Lord dracula has a thirst for slender topless asian pu pu platters! Can you really blame thy lord? The Count disguises himself by morphing into a character that reminded me of “Lo Pan” in BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA as he quenches his palate of PANDA EXPRESS blood in the boondocks of China! The mission is simple. Lord Dracula must find the missing medallion in order to regenerate one of the seven GOLDEN VAMPIRES that was slayed. But, David Chiang & his basher style kung fu has other ideas with Peter Cushing by his side! Not one of the most technical films in all aspects, but the mashup of KUNG FU & DRACULA is definitely worthy of a looky see especially for trick or treat time! I must BITE you!
Tags: david chiang, dracula, hammer studios, horror, kung fu, legend of the 7 golden vampires, peter cushing, peter kushing, seven brothers meet dracula, shaw brothers
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Skyzoo and !llmind “Live From the Tape Deck”
October 8th, 2010 by chocko
Skyzoo and !llmind performed at a recent in store appearance at Best Buy in Union Square in New York City. Skyzoo is one dope MC straight outta Crown Heights, Brooklyn who worked with J Dilla and 9th Wonder early in his career while releasing mix tapes to get street buzz. He lost to Jin on BET’s 106 & Park freestyle contest, but would later release Corner Store Classic mixtape in 2007 which pretty much put him on the map. Duck Down Records released his album “The Salvation” and the recently released “Live From The Tape Deck” with Filipino American producer from NJ, !llmind. !llmind’s track record is crazy….producing music for artists such as 50 Cent, Eminem, Wu Tang Clan and Talib Kweli. The Skyzoo and !llmind collaboration is hip hop at its finest…raw lyrics, crazy wordplay and dope beats. Some guests on the album include Heltah Skeltah, Styles P, Torae and Buckshot. Skyzoo and !llmind performed a couple of songs from the album: digital analog, frisbees, the now or never and speakers on blast. A lot of people showed up for the event and Best Buy even sold out all their copies of the CD that night.
Tags: duck down records, illmind, skyzoo, underground hip hop
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Big Eyes played Knitting Factory
September 29th, 2010 by chocko
After Cheeky broke up, it’s damn good to see Kate back in a band and rocking a stage. The new band is called Big Eyes and features Kate Eldridge on guitar and vocals, Mark Bronzino (Seasick and ANS) on the bass and C.J. Frederick (Used Kids) on the drums. Killer sound…punk, rock a tad bit of garage. They sound sorta like the Muffs, so if you’re a fan of that band and that pop punk genre, this is the band for you. I caught one of their shows at Silent Barn and they rocked and a more recent show at Knitting Factory (Sept. 15) with Screaming Females and Shellshag. They sounded even better than I remembered…Kate sounded amazing, C.J. solid on the kit and Mark looked like his head was going to snap off with all that headbanging. Right now, they have a CD-R and a 7″ that features 4 brand spanking new songs: Prefer To Be Alone, Since You Left, You Ain’t The Only One and All Alone. The 7″ is on Evil Weevil Records and for all you collector’s, get this…only 400 black vinyl and 100 white. But, you can only get the white vinyl online! For more info, check them out on myspace, facebook or twitter. They’ve got a ton of shows coming up, so check your local listings and show your support by checking out Big Eyes at a venue near you.
Tags: brooklyn, cheeky, d.i.y., kate eldridge, punk rock, seasick, used kids
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LUCY KAPLANSKY played at the RINGWOOD LIBRARY in NJ
September 21st, 2010 by Mr. C
Lucy Kaplansky’s performance at the Ringwood Library in Ringwood,NJ on football sunday & on the last weekend of indian summer on 9/19/10 was entertaining & spectacular to say the least! First off, the Ringwood Library is encompassed in the Dr. Doolittle surroundings of the forest with happy chipmunks, inquisitive coyotes, & cheery bambi’s lulling around with the Wanaque river not too far away. I wouldn’t be surprised if black bears were lurking around somewhere in the vicinity. The library venue seems to be a perfect playground for music lovers with all its earthy glory & organic appeal! It’s always a pleasure to catch Lucy folk out at one of her live acoustic shows because all of her performances are very intimate & she always gives 100% of emotion when performing. Because of her songs & lyrics, it seems like we, her fans are familiar with her entire family including her mother, father, molly(adopted daughter), & her husband. Her stories of her mathematician father with great piano playing abilities to her talented song writing husband to her nurturing mother to her beautiful daughter, Molly who was adopted from China. All of Lucy’s performances are all so personal & we, as her music fans really appreciate her passion & sincerity! By the way, it was a family affair at the Ringwood Library concert as Lucy’s husband & daughter were on hand to run the merch table! Molly helped with unwrapping her mom’s CD so that she can sign them! Nice assembly line! Molly signed CD’s, as well! It was a gorgeous sunday afternoon of pleasant folk music to my ears before the New York Jets clashed with the New England Patriots at the Meadowlands which the JETS went on to eventually shock them! Lucy’s 19 song set list included a beautiful folk song from Scotland(got to get the name of it)<----(Edit...Lucy Kaplansky tweeted me back...name of the song is 'Loch Lomond'), Manhattan Moon, Lifethreads, ten year night, Mothers day, Beauty Way(Eliza Gilkyson), Written on the back of his hand, Sanctuary(Eliza Gilkyson), Brooklyn Train(...on piano), Ring of Fire(Johnny Cash), Don’t Mind me, Blue Chalk(John Gorka), Land of the living(dedication to 9-11) on her Red Thread album, Hallelujah(Leonard Cohen), Song about Pi, & This is Home. She also performed John Lennon’s “imagine” by request of the audience. Lucy played Imagine for the very 1st time, & I think she did a pretty darn good job adding her signature folk stamp on it! Someone even googled the lyrics on an iPad so that she can reference it! Bring it, Steve Jobs & the baby boomers! Lucy rocked out with her encore performance of Bruce Springsteen’s, Thunder Road! It was Thunderous, indeed with a folk twist to it! Folks, no pun intended...Go out and purchase Lucy’s new album, a collaboration with John Gorka & Eliza Gilkyson called RED HORSE! It’s a nut buster of a folk cover album with each artist doing 4 tracks including an original song of their own, two original songs from the other 2 artists, & one cover tune that is mutually exclusive from the trio of RED HORSE! For example, Lucy Kaplansky performed 4 songs: The 1st was “Scorpion”, a song of her own, 2nd was “Sanctuary”(Eliza Gilkyson), 3rd- “Blue Chalk”(John Gorka), & the fourth song was “Wayfaring Stranger”, a well know spiritual folk song from unknown origins, maybe from the 1940’s? Get the RED HORSE album y’all & make sure to get Molly’s signature on one of her mom’s album! She’s an aspiring artist! Molly loves the Beatles & thinks that she is RINGO!
Tags: eliza gilkyson, imagine, john gorka, lucy kaplansky, new jersey, red horse, ringwood library, this is home, thunder road
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GANG MASTER (1982)
September 17th, 2010 by Mr. C
Gang Master, a Shaw brother produced film released in 1982 directed by Chui Siu Ming is one of my top 20 Shaw movies of all time! It’s a costume-period piece epic film & not a modern triad street gang induced flick as the title might indicate. The “Dragon Gang” is an organization created by the Han Chinese rebels in the sole efforts to revolt against the Yuan Dynasty & Mongolian rule. Austin Wai Tin-Chi plays the lead role & is elected to succeed his slain father as the leader of the dragon gang. All seems cheery as a spring roll until Austin Wai gets framed as the culprit who is murdering fellow clan members. The truth also comes out that austin wai’s character may not have been a pure Han Chinese & persecution follows. What’s wicked about this film is that CHAN KOON TAI (one of my fave shaw brother actors) plays a mongolian villain & leader of the Yuan Dynasty clan with one goal in mind, eradicate chinese rebels. Another twist in the wrist in the story is that there is a mole in the dragon gang that is co-conspiring with the mongolian leader & causing chaos within the dragon triad. AUSTIN WAI is fighting for his life & his innocence in these accusations against him. There is also an added sidebar involving an EAGLE & AUSTIN WAI that opens up another can of worms in the film! Another Planet Chocko fave actor, Little Dragon Bruce Leung is also in the movie playing a kung fu fighting machine in the brotherhood! Bruce’s fighting sequence with the rope dart is off the chain gang! The action in GANG MASTER is fast & furious with lots of symbolism in triads & secret hand gestures to authenticate thyself! The fight scenes seemed to have been sped up a tad from the editing but, rest assured the cast of characters can all bust a move! The action sequences filmed in birdseye & panned out views definitely added some mass appeal to the scenes as well! Do yourself some justice & pickup some cheery spring rolls & a copy of Gang Master & go gang busters on it! No doubt, son! If you end up liking the wares of Austin Wai then I highly recommend another classic shaw movie, “FIVE SUPERFIGHTERS” , Ya’ Dig!
Tags: austin wai, bruce leung, chan koon tai, chen kuan tai, chui siu ming, gang master, shaw brother
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toronto graffiti
September 12th, 2010 by chocko
Tags: canadian, graff, graffiti, street art, toronto
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Metric played Juicy Couture NYC
September 11th, 2010 by chocko
Metric performed last night at Juicy Couture in Manhattan during Fashion’s Night Out. It was a fancy event with fashionistas, divas, and wannabes in attendance and pretty much taking over all of Fifth Ave. Metric performed as a two piece with Emily Haines providing the lead vocals and Jimmy Shaw on the guitar. Emily and Jimmy rocked the small and intimate crowd at the Juicy Couture store on Fifth Ave. with a short but sweet acoustic set. Metric played 3 songs from their recent album titled “Fantasies.” They started with “gimme sympathy”, then Emily played the piano for “twilight galaxy” and “help I’m alive.” I was surprised by The Strokes cover of “the end has no end” which they ended their set with.
Tags: emily haines, fashion's night out, indie rock, jimmy shaw, metric, new york city
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