LIPSTiCK TrACeZ

Blythe Projects is pleased to present Black Tie, White Noise, the first Los Angeles solo
exhibition of work by John Andolsek. Hinging on the charged energy and aesthetic of punk
culture from the late 1970s and early 1980s (a culture where Andolsek first cut his working artist
teeth in New York's Lower East Side), Andolsek re-contextualizes that spirit into
large-scale paintings, sculpture, sound-works and found objects re-interpreted into musing
objects. Drawing on the legacies of Pop and Abstract Expressionism, Andolsek tackles the
symbiotic relationships between consumerism, politics, patriotism and high society in the
early 21st century.
Andolsek's intent is to create a visually "explosive" environment, an ambience that reflects grit,
greed and glamour, and to provide an experience that is simultaneously liberating and terrifying.
Typical of his artistic style, Andolsek imbues Black Tie, White Noise with elements of both
ambiguity and critique. His recent artistic identity is a position of both rebellion and nostalgia.
The work is physical and intense, made from thick oil paint, asphalt, cows blood, mirrors,
Astroturf, and picturing falling stars, decadent chandeliers, mud flap girls (and boys) and drag
race engines. Yet the work is not raw or brute, rather Andolsek elegantly and honestly examines
the capacity for being human in an age where anything is seemingly attainable and everything is
for sale. Andolsek encourages us to think critically about the future as it carves its path through
the present. And to thoughtfully reflect on what's worth saving.


John Andolsek was born in Nuremberg, Germany in 1961. He studied at the School of Visual
Arts in New York, receiving his BFA in 1983. His work resides in public and private collections
across the United States.
Blythe Projects is located at 5797 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, California 90232.
For more information please contact Hillary Metz at 323.272.3642 or

These gorgeous Smythson  IPAD covers are beautiful.   Clocking in around 450 bucks.

The Fat Jew cracks me up.   Watch Rachel and Joanna move to NY from Orlando to work in PR and "run this town"  on the Skin NY.

Starring Jonny Sollis and Fabrizio Goldstein (the Fat Jew)
producer: Nick Gallo from the Onion

Percussion punk rock masters.    Street Drum Corps//  From John Bonham to Clyde Stubblefield to ?uestlove, the drum has always been the backbone of any successful group. Hell, go further back in time, when drums were at the center of any tribal ritual. It's carnal. Primeval. A good song hits you in the head. A good beat nails you in the stomach. So in an era of squeaky-clean, polished production, Los Angeles' Street Drum Corps (SDC) are more important than ever.


What started as, to quote co-founder Adam Alt, "just a couple of guys playing buckets at parties," has quickly morphed into a mini-empire, complete with affiliates around the world and grandiose, theatrical shows in the works. The trio, consisting of Alt, brother Bobby and Frank Zummo, is currently preparing their Interscope Records debut (and third overall), while their energetic rock-band-meets-performance-art sets continue to astound and mesmerize anyone with the good fortune to catch them.


Bobby and Adam Alt had each been drumming since they were 10 and had played in various bands since high school. After founding Bobby and Adam Alt's Drum Experiment, utilizing, as Bobby puts it, "pots, pans, found instruments or whatever we could get our hands on for a new sound," the pair met up with Zummo, a recent L.A. transplant playing in "trashcan bands" up and down the East Coast in a show called Re:Percussion. Their goals in the beginning were modest: "After we met Frank, it was like, 'Let's just go bang on some stuff in a junkyard and film it and see what happens,'" recalls Adam.


What "happened" was an increasing demand for performances at everywhere from Universal Studios and Magic Mountain (their debut gig) to the Taste of Chaos Kickoff Party at the House of Blues. It was at the latter where Vans Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman, who has since dubbed the group a "punk rock Stomp," was so impressed, he gave the group the resources to record their debut album. The 2004 self-titled debut, released through Lyman and Warcon Records, featured the scorching track "Achilles" with Stomp's John Sawicki, and was followed by sophomore album entitled We Are Machines. On Machines, the sound was more influenced by industrial music than before, but the tribal, percussive core remained.


Since their formation four years ago, the group has constantly refined their sound on the road, blowing away audiences at nearly every major U.S. festival with their combination of thunderous percussion and visual stimuli. SDC's shows are a primordial, stomping blast of energy, theatricality and passion. There's a reason why members of No Doubt, Bad Religion, and Revolution tourmates Atreyu all want to play with them. Why Conan O'Brien invited them to perform on his show. And why The Used's Bert McCracken has practically adopted them as his pet band. SDC are more concerned with rhythm than genre. In their performances, one hears tribal, rock, punk, dance and industrial, all somehow blending together in a chaotic, beautiful mess.


After conquering Warped Tour, Coachella, A Taste of Chaos, and any other tour that's gotten in their way, the trio is currently performing on the Main Stage at Projekt Revolution alongside Chris Cornell, Busta Rhymes, The Bravery and Linkin Park. In addition to introducing Linkin Park (in their own inimitable way), the group has been personally invited to perform select songs with the headliners.


"If you're blind, you're gonna feel an amazing rhythm coming from us 'cause we are all drummers first," says Bobby. "If you're deaf, you're going to see a lot of flashiness and a lot of energy from what we're doing stomping around on stage. We take a lot of the theatrics from groups like Motley Crue, Jane's Addiction, Blue Man Group and Stomp."


As the group's members have extensively toured and evolved, so has their sound. For their Interscope debut, the drums obviously remain, but now horns, keyboards and more make their way into the mix. Drawing from such diverse influences as Adam and the Ants, Led Zeppelin, Jane's Addiction, African Burundi drummers, Latin percussion and Siouxsie & the Banshees, the album's varied sounds ensure that this will not be just "that record with all the drumming."


"The new stuff is definitely more verse-chorus-verse than what we've done in the past," says Bobby. "Where another song would have a bridge or guitar solo, that's where the drums will always pop out. I think a lot of the non-traditional will be in interludes between songs. We really want the whole album to flow together the way The Wall does."


Similarities undoubtedly exist between SDC and other percussion-centric groups like Stomp and Blue Man Group, but this group is far edgier, relying more on the punk rock credo than their peers. "Stomp and Blue Man are amazing at what they do. We don't want to compete with them," says Zummo. "But we want to start something completely new and target a completely different audience."


While the trio may have begun as "a side project gone wild," the range of their upcoming shows makes theirs a 24-hour job. In addition to their main duties of recording and touring, the trio are actively recruiting more affiliates around the world for their popular SDC Presents Bang!, while simultaneously planning both a Broadway and Las Vegas show. If the next few years are anything like the past few, you'll probably get the chance to see Street Drum Corps wherever you are.

Bobby Alt (S.T.U.N., Faculty X), Adam Alt (Circus Minor), and Frank Zummo (The Start) started Street Drum Corps in April of 2004. This "brotherhood of unsung and talented performers" (Las Vegas Callback Newspaper) creates a show that is "well-choreographed" (OC Weekly) and exciting to watch. SDC uses instruments such as hand drums, acoustic  drum kits, buckets, kitchenware, recycled aluminum garbage cans, marching band equipment and a Moog Theremin. People from all over the world, from all walks of life, have witnessed the SDC holds a summer and fall residency at Six Flags Magic Mountain Theme Park in Los Angeles. SDC has also performed at Universal Studios Hollywood.


SDC performed at Chain Reaction for the NAMM kickoff party in Anaheim, CA. The show was a feature story on rollingstone.com. In past performances, Street Drum Corps has enjoyed the company of members of STOMP, No Doubt, Bad Religion, Good Charlotte, Atreyu, 30 Seconds To Mars, Strung Out, Alexis On Fire, and many others. Bert McCracken of The Used has performed with Street Drum Corps several times, and shares the stage with them for the song "Flaco 81" as well as part of his own band's set on their current tour. The members of SDC are currently featured in an advertisement for Ahead's Laser Drumsticks, Peta, Hurley, Monster Energy, Draven Shoes, Protection Racket, and Thunder Echo Drums. SDC is featured in the new Las Vegas reality show "INKED" which debuted on the A&E Channel. SDC has launched their own merchandise line which includes men's and women's apparel, custom drumsticks, a custum drum shoe, and a metronome watch is in production, as well as a feature length DVD. SDC performed at all California and Arizona Warped Tour 2005 Shows. SDC also performed at House Of Blues for the Warped Tour Kick Off Party in Los Angeles, CA. SDC has been performing at many private events in California and Las Vegas. Bio courtesy of SDC website.

Interview with :  Cobra Starship's  witty duo: Nate Novarro II and Alex Saurez


They are not joined at the hip, but like brothers on a good day, they ended up finishing each other's answers, so I am combining them.



R: What do you think of the cool tattoos here at the show?

N/A: There are a lot of tattoos here.   

R: Everyone is practically naked.

N/A: A lot of tribal stuff, kind of on the cheesy side.

R: I think Tito Ortiz lives here.

N/A:  Ok , I'll calm down.    My parents said "don't get sleeves" cause it looks dirty from far away.  They didn't know the term sleeved but that is what they meant.  I probably won't get anymore tattoos.  Mine are covered.

R  Sleeves are very trendy in rock n roll right now.    Besides not getting anymore tattoos, what are your guilty pleasures?

N/A:  Open to everything.  DO as much as we can.   

R- what song inspired you as a kid?    

VAN HALEN....obviously legendary.   The songs haven't aged.   Time less tracks.    Panama....(starts singing and strumming)- love that song

R: I know, I played a small violin when Eddie canceled their tour last year.   

N/A: They were going to tour?  No way.  Rad.   Speaking  of touring- KISS is touring, our friends the Academy are going out with them.

R-I was in the KISS army as a kid- Love  . Another timeless classic. What was one of your favorite tours?

Went on tour with 303.  We are all friends too, it was so much fun.
Interview with :  CobraStarship's  witty duo: Nate and Alex


They are not joined at the hip, but like brothers on a good day, they ended up finishing each other's answers, so I am combining them.



R: What do you think of the cool tattoos here at the show?

N/A: There are a lot of tattoos here.   

R: Everyone is practically naked.

N/A: A lot of tribal stuff, kind of on the cheesy side.

R: I think Tito Ortiz lives here.

N/A:  Ok , Ill calm down.    My parents said "don't get sleeves" cause it looks dirty from far away.  They didn't know the term sleeved but that is what they meant.

R  Sleeves are very trendy in rock n roll right now.    Besides not getting anymore tattoos, what are your guilty pleasures?

N/A:  Open to everything.  DO as much as we can.   

R- what song inspired you as a kid?    

VAN HALEN....obviously legendary.   The songs haven't aged.   Time less tracks.    Panama....(starts singing and strumming)- love that song

R: I know, I played a small violin for when Eddie cancelled their tour last year.   

N/A: They were going to tour?  Rad.   Speaking  of touring- KISS is touring, our friends the Academy are going out with them.

R-I was in the KISS army as a kid- Love  .What was one of your favorite tours

Went on tour with 303.  We are all friends too, it was so much fun.

We went to Indonesia, Japan, and the Philippines recently.  Amazing.    Hundreds of thousands of kids watching us in a tennis complex in Jakarta.   

R- I went a while back, the traffic there is nuts isn't it?

N/A:   I know, families on motorcycles.   No helmets.   Shocking.

The fans were pretty dedicated.

R: Any cultural influence to the music?
N/A:  No    Maybe lyrically, Gabe will write some sweet lyrics about Jakarta.? Who knows


R: What is pop right now to you?

N/A:  Soda Pop?

R: No.

N/A:  Its kind of like a stylistic thing

R: Is there a longevity there?

N/A:  Musically pop is defined by all the top 40 stuff out there.   It always evolves and changes.


R: Do you fit into that genre?

N/A:  Definitely.
 

Cobrastarship is on tour now.

We went to Indonesia, Japan, and the Philippines recently.  Amazing.    Hundreds of thousands of kids watching us in a tennis complex in Jakarta.  

R- I went a while back, the traffic there is nuts isn't it?

N/A:   I know, families on motorcycles.   No helmets.   Shocking.

The fans were pretty dedicated.

R: Any cultural influence to the music?
N/A:  No    Maybe lyrically, Gabe will write some sweet lyrics about Jakarta.? Who knows


R: What is pop right now to you?

N/A:  Soda Pop?

R: No.

N/A:  Its kind of like a stylistic thing

R: Is there a longevity there?

N/A:  Musically pop is defined by all the top 40 stuff out there.   It always evolves and changes.


R: Do you fit into that genre?

N/A:  Definitely.
 

Cobrastarship is on tour now.  All photos and interview by Reggie Casagrande/ August 2010
 

See Line Gallery
Pacific Design Center
8687 Melrose Avenue
Suite B274
West Hollywood, CA 90069
http://www.seelinegallery.com
Todd Gray and Kyungmi Shin
SPIRIT SHACK
Curated by Janet Levy
July 22- September 10, 2010

See line Gallery presents Spirit Shack, a multimedia performance and installation that
includes photography, video, sculpture and sound, the latest collaboration between Todd
Gray and Kyungmi Shin with new works conceived from their joint studio in Akwidaa
Ghana.

Spirit Shack refers to the sacred place or room where divine objects such as masksand
ritual drums reside in West Africa. The performance based installation links aspects of
Western African shamanic ritual with the mythologies created around contemporary rock
stars. Gray and Shin have constructed a divination house within the gallery and will use
it in their performance ritual.

The work is influenced by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe's writing on Ibo cultureand
the daily experiences Gray and Shin encountered in Western Ghana, In 2005they
started to build their studio with the help of twenty local villagers located in a rural area
without paved roads or utilities. While observing some of the customs and rituals in the
village they saw parallel patterns in the Dionysian ritual and life of the rock stars.
Through the use of fetish objects, trance rhythms, intoxicants and other-worldly
communiqués, from another place and time Spirit Shack intersects
and joins this phenomenon into a exuberant performance.









Todd Gray and Kyungmi Shin previous collaborations include performance collective
project, Art Church (2002, 2003, 2008); multimedia performance, Kumasi Market (2008)
and the photography installation,The Promise of Altered States on West Blvd between
Slauson and Florence, (2009)

Todd Gray received his MFA from Cal Arts in 1989 working primarily with Allan Sekula.
Gray's work explores and transmogrifies his experience of pop culture and imagery into
a dark and conceptually challenging vision. Fluent in cultural iconography, driven by
introspection, and steeped in issues of corporate politics and racial identity, Todd Gray's
photo-based works and performances are challenging in almost every sense of the
word.

Exhibitions include MOCA, L.A., Brooklyn Museum of Art, The Los Angeles County
Museumof Art, The Smithsonian, Anacostia Museum and Center for African American
History,the Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago, REDCAT Theater, Los
Angeles,California Museum of Photography, and Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary
Art. Gray maintains studios in Inglewood, California and Akwidaa, Ghana.
Kyungmi Shin is an installation artist whose work weaves the language of sculpture,
photography, painting, and video. She studied at San Francisco Art Institute and
received her MFA at UC Berkeley. She has exhibited at Sonje Museum in
Korea, Southern Exposure in San Francisco, Asian American Art Center in New
York,Laguna Beach Museum, Torrance Art Museum, Virginia University Art Museum,
and Berkeley Art Museum. She is a recipient of the California Community Foundation
emerging artist grant, City of Pasadena, Cultural Affair's Individual Artist grant, City of
Los Angeles Artist in Residence grant, and Durfee grant.

Kyungmi Shin works and lives in Inglewood and Ghana.

Janet Levy curator and director launched her first curatorial project in Luzurn
Switzerland in 1990 she brings years of curatorial, gallery and marketing experience to
her success in producing and promoting significant projects by prominent contemporary
artists. Demonstrating an intuitive talent for selecting talented visual artists. In 2006
Levy founded See Line Gallery, an exhibition space dedicated to supporting the work of
exceptional contemporary artists. Since its launch, See Line Gallery has garnered critical
acclaim from local and national press outlets and quickly working to establish the
careers of several emerging artists In addition to collaborating with established artists
and curators.

See Line Gallery hours Monday - Friday 11am-5pm and by appointment.
info@seelinegallery.com for Further information regarding the exhibition
Please contact Janet Levy cell 917 604 3114

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Toyota Announces Facebook Contest to Celebrate 10th Anniversary of Prius
Toyota Facebook Contest Seeks Most Passionate Prius Fan to Host 10th Anniversary Celebration
( Torrance , Calif. , August 2, 2010)  - The Toyota Prius is celebrating its first decade in the U.S. market this year.  In a nod to the technological innovation heralded and led by the introduction of the Prius to the automotive market, Toyota is announcing an online contest to find the most passionate Prius fan in the United States* to host the official 10 Years of Toyota Prius Anniversary Celebration.

In 2000, the Prius debuted modestly in the U.S. marketplace. Since that time, the Prius has become the leader of an industry-wide shift towards lower emissions and greater fuel efficiency, the exemplar of environmentally-conscious technological innovation. As a result, this car with the singularly recognizable silhouette has attracted a uniquely loyal customer base, a true community of shared pride and purpose. To celebrate everything that the Prius has become, Toyota will honor this community of like-minded buyers by holding an online contest to find the most passionate Prius fan.



Are you a fuel-efficient hyper-miler, an eco-warrior or tech-savvy gadget guru? Do you volunteer in your community? Toyota wants to hear from you! Submit a video or several photos demonstrating your Prius passion for a chance to host the official 10 Years of Toyota Prius Anniversary Celebration in your hometown. Toyota will select the Top 10 finalists and leave it to the Prius community to decide who should be crowned the most passionate Prius fan.

How do you enter and sign up for more information? Visit Toyota Prius on Facebook  (http://www.facebook.com/prius). 'Like' the page and we'll keep you posted on when and how you can enter.

·         Submission period will run from 07.28.10 - 08.13.10
·         Users will vote from among the Top 10 finalists 08.18.10 - 08.27.10
·         The winner will be announced on 08.31.10
·         The winner will host the 10 Years of Toyota Prius Anniversary Celebration in HIS/HER HOMETOWN on 10.10.10!

About Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.

Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A. , Inc. is the marketing, sales, distribution and customer service arm of Toyota , Lexus and Scion. Established in 1957, TMS markets products and services through a network of more than 1,400 Toyota , Lexus and Scion dealers. Toyota directly employs more than 34,000 people in the U.S. and sold more than 1.77 million vehicles in 2009.

For more information about Toyota , visit www.toyota.com, www.lexus.com, www.scion.com or www.toyotanewsroom.com.

2010 U.S. OPEN OF SURFING MUSIC LINEUP CREATES
THE BIGGEST FREE CONCERT SERIES OF THE SUMMER
Weezer, Cold War Kids, Cobra Starship, Switchfoot, Hot Hot Heat, The Soft Pack and others to perform at Huntington Beach over five days next week
 
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. - July 30, 2010 - Top musical acts will join the world's best action sports athletes for five days of free concerts on the sands of Huntington Beach, California for the 2010 US Open of Surfing. From Tuesday, August 3rd through Saturday, August 7th, the following bands will conclude each day's competition with a performance before thousands of action sports fans:
 
Cold War Kids, The Soft Pack, Bedouin Soundclash, Iration, Switchfoot, Timmy Curran, Cobra Starship, Street Drum Corps, Hot Hot Heat and Weezer.
 
Music Schedule:
Tuesday, August 3rd         4:30 - 6:30 p.m.         Cold War Kids preceded by The Soft
                                                                              Pack
Wednesday August 4th     4:30 - 6:30 p.m.         Bedouin Soundclash preceded by Iration
Thursday August 5th         4:30 - 6:30 p.m.         Switchfoot preceded by Timmy Curran
Friday, August 6th             4:30 - 6:30 p.m.         Cobra Starship preceded by Street
                                                                               Drum Corps
Saturday, August 7th        4:30 - 6:30 p.m.          Weezer preceded by Hot Hot Heat
 
"It's not everyday that you get to play overlooking the Pacific Ocean," said Rivers Cuomo of Weezer. "The band and I are excited to be playing at the US Open."
 
"I grew up in the Southland," said Nathan Willett of Cold War Kids. "This will be our first show in Orange County in a long time. It'll be fun to play in front of a home crowd again."
 
The U.S. Open of Surfing presented by Hurley, Nike 6.0 and Converse is an action sports festival that brings together athletes from the worlds of surf, BMX and skate for a week of competition, art, fashion and music -all against the backdrop of the famed Huntington Beach Pier. From July 31st to August 8th, 500 world-class athletes compete before more than 500,000 spectators. All of the action is accessible live on www.usopenofsurfing.com.
 
"This is the strongest music lineup to play along side competitive surfing in Huntington Beach in 50-plus years," said Sandy Bodecker, VP of Action Sports, Nike Inc. "It should be a great experience for fans to end a full day of competition with music of this caliber - all on the beach."
 
Additionally, Hurley's Walk the Walk National Championship, a high school fashion competition, hits the U.S. Open stage on Friday, August 6th. Six schools will create their own five-minute fashion show to win the grand prize of $25,000. 

The man, the myth, the legend: Bob Roberts. Few people have had the impact on tattooing that Bob Roberts has. His sheer artistic genius is sublime, and his biography reads the same way. For over thirty years he has been part of the vanguard of talented tattoo artists who, unbeknown st to them at the time, have pushed tattooing from a craft to an art form.

The list of artists Bob has worked alongside reads like a star-studded who's who of the tattoo artist hall of fame, of which Bob would no doubt be a member if such a thing existed. He apprenticed with Colonel Todd and Bob Shaw at the infamous Pike and then worked alongside Cliff Raven, Greg Irons, Paul Rogers, Jack Rudy and Don Ed Hardy. His own shop, Spotlight Tattoo, continues to house a roster of talented artists bent on following in Bob's footsteps.

Bob's creative genius is not limited to tattooing and painting, he is also an accomplished musician. His musical career reads much the same as his tattoo resume. Bob has played with Ruben and the Jets, Hot Tuna, The Offs, New York Dolls, Johnny Thunders, to name a few. His life has been 'rock and roll' as well; Frisco, New York, LA, Europe, Japan, Bob has done the world tour.

He's also ridden across most of the United States on a Harley, and he's 'ridden it like he stole it.' That is how Bob lives his life, and his artwork reflects it.
But the thing that stands out the most to me about Bob is his persona. Ungovernable, fiercely independent, Bob does not compromise.... He does it HIS way. And thankfully for us, Bob Roberts has forever changed tattooing for the better.