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R&D October 23 2011
Sometimes people ask me what keeps me inspired. A lot of times I’ll answer with “life”, or “people”, or “creativity”. Each of those things serve as lessons on how I can improve, how business can improve.
It’s day two in Seattle for me, and I found myself in a familiar position - learning from my surroundings. I started the day at Pike Place Market - a mecca of hustle. Everywhere you turn, there’s someone sharing their craft. A florist, a butcher, a street performer, a painter. I spoke to some of them and asked why they wake up in the morning to do what they do. The consensus was pretty simple: because they believed in it.
Then, I walked to some of Seattle’s best streetwear boutiques. I went to Stussy, which combined UNDFTD gear into the shop. Then Goods, which was a minimally designed men’s/skate store that only featured top brands. And finally, Zebra Club, which I deemed as a grown up Active. It was interesting to see the difference in product when comparing LA retail. It was also interesting to understand style based on geography.
Although completely unrelated to this, I also learned that seasons are more apparent in the Northwest.
I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again. There is opportunity to learn and be inspired everyday, as long as you allow it. Two more sleeps and I’m back home!
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I’M HERE October 22 2011
I’m in Seattle for a few days. After a sleepless night, and then a long morning of travel, I finally touched down to 50 degree weather and light rain yesterday afternoon. I dropped off my luggage at The Westin, and immediately made my rounds.
First stop: Top Pot Doughnuts for a snack. I was mostly intrigued by their bookshelves that housed old school encyclopedias. Geek.
Second stop: Capitol Hill - think Silverlake meets Melrose meets West Hollywood - for shopping.
Third stop: The waterfront for dinner.
Final stop: My room with a view.
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HOLD THE LINE October 21 2011
Funny how I ended up at the Hennessy x KAWS party on Wednesday night, and then ended up at Honor Fraser to see KAWS’ Hold the Line yesterday. The exhibit - which has brand new paintings and sculptures - ends on Saturday. Since I won’t be in LA this weekend, I made sure I saw it before it closed.
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HENNESSY x KAWS October 20 2011
We were invited to the Hennessy x KAWS event that went down last night in Hollywood. It kinda went like this:
Oh, Matt Kemp was there. And yeah, I swooned.
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ONE YEAR AGO TODAY October 19 2011
I spent a good chunk of this morning sifting through the blog archive of all things Rhythm Natives. I was mostly looking for the entries I posted around this time last year. I encouraged readers to attend their listening party, I posted coverage of their listening party, I threw a joint album release/birthday party and documented it all here, and of course, I directed you to locations and links to purchase their self titled debut album. On October 19, 2010, the boys dropped Rhythm Natives to the world. You can imagine I’m a little bit sentimental; all those feelings from that morning are coming back to me. The hype, the relief, the pride, the joy. We always say that our dream came true that day, and it did. It was the culmination of hard work both in and out of the studio, it was testament to anything is possible.
Within the last year, they guys went on tour, steadily gigged around Los Angeles, secured collaborations with artists/brands/media, one of them got married, and one of them had a baby. Now, they are working together on their next musical project. In celebration of the one year, we have decided to put the entire album up for free on Bandcamp. There are a limited amount of free downloads, so jump on this chance as soon as you can. To our supporters, thank you for the love. And to the Rhythm Natives, my eagerness to work with you will not falter. You jump started my professional life and helped me find my path. I am grateful.
Download the ENTIRE ALBUM here for FREE. Fun fact: you can hear me singing on tracks 1 and and 11!
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