Join Me in this Obsessive state that I am in.

I saw this band a couple of weeks ago. I even for the first time bought a band T-shirt at a show. I had been playing their album incessantly since I got it last Nov. I just came across this video...Makes the obsession run deeper.



Just as I started to get annoyed with the repetition, I noticed something different. Then they repetition became awesome...

-R39W

I'm asking you nicely...

Exhibition: Mars Gallery - May 1, 2010

I am gonna be showing 3 pieces in a group show of America's Top Pop artists on May 1st.

http://www.marsgallery.com/pop_show.shtml#postma

This is gonna be a good one.

Sponsored by Details Magazine, Absolut & Pernod. Come out celebrate with me...

-R39W

Gonna be a crazy one...

I can feel it.

-R39W

4/15/10: Nite-O-Fun

I was hanging out with some friends of mine last night. The first stop was an exhibit of Shari Belafonte's photos from Cuba. That was a pretty cool show. Very small space, so I got to know a few people sort of intimately. Haha. But as that was over, Jayson, Jason and I were outside trying to figure out the next steps. I was texting my roomie Ekene to see where he was. Meanwhile Jayson was working on the next option as well. Turns out I had just missed a performance by Phoenix on the rooftop of where my roomie was. So that was done.

We (Jayson and I) head to this party for Zac Posen. It was his release party for his line Zac Posen for Target line. We get there and there is a line around the world. We ignored it and went to the front. Jayson said a few words, and we were in. (Thanks again Atienza)


The party is already looking pretty good. Lots of people. We try to find the bar. We find it. They only had wine or this red fruity drink. Jayson and I both said red fruity drink. They handed it to us in martini glasses. Sofia will get a chuckle out of that. We had them switch it to a regular glass. We mill around. Meanwhile the drink is disappearing. I get us a couple more. We drank. We mill. We pose.




Zac is posing as well.


I am taking a look and liking to some of the collection and looks. This one was one of my favorites.


We decided to head out. Upon leaving, we pass the post office. I never realized that the Tax deadline was such a thing to celebrate. They even had a marching band.



They began to play...



I never knew the tax deadline was such a thing to celebrate in NYC.

My night was supposed to go on. I wasn't aware that the B train was replaced by the D train. I let 3 D's pass by waiting for a B. 45 mins passed me. I decided to take the next D and just walk the 3 blocks to my bus. Duh. Then once I got on the D stopped at my stop. Damn. I let 3 trains pass.

The night ended. I was burnt. But it was a fun one. No regrets...

-R39W

Wow is the word...

A few weeks ago, my friend Neisha and I set out to rekindle our friendship. Like the good old days. The days before we both moved to NY and got lost on the vortex of the rat race. We had remained friends by simply sending one another good thoughts into the universe. Amazing how good friendships work.

Neisha pulled together a group of friends to come out and to Jazz Standard for Kids. I was thinking it was gonna be some babies, trying to play jazz. Or just on stage giving us the Jazz Hands to a Miles Davis track. I had no idea I was gonna be in for this treat.

"On Sundays, we present the Jazz Standard Youth Orchestra, our resident ensemble of talented musicians directed by Conductor and Arranger David O'Rourke. In lieu of a cover charge, guest give a $5 donation that benefits the Jazz Standard Discovery Program, whose mission is to foster a connection between NYC schoolchildren and the jazz art form. Jazz for Kids offers student musicians the opportunity to play exciting new arrangements of big band classics and families the opportunity to connect with the music in a fun environment."

The kids got on stage with their instruments and began to play...The first song was one of my favorites. "In a sentimental mood" By Duke Ellington and John Coltrane. I was UPSET that I didn't have my camera ready to record. I was floored immediately at how wonderfully they played. With every note, I began to hear Jazz taking a deep breath, as if it was being resuscitated. I sat enjoying the homage and respectful detail to the artform. It was delightful.

They went on to play a good hour or so, and I was able to capture this video of one song. It just so happen to be the first song with a singer. And boy was I glad I was ready.



She went on for another few minutes challenging another kid to Scat contest. I didn't catch all that but it called to mind "Chall-unge!!" from the Cosby show days.

With the exception of that damn dude always finding my camera lens and standing in front of it, I really enjoyed the show that day. And the $5 donation seemed like nothing after this performance. I felt pleased and full...did I mention the Blue Smoke BBQ. Mmmmm mmmmm.

Thanks Neesh. Keep the good times coming...

-R39W

Logorama

This is really awesome. A friend of mine posted this and I watched it really enjoyed it. Very well done. The Academy thinks so too.

"This is a short film that was directed by the French animation collective H5, François Alaux, Hervé de Crécy + Ludovic Houplain. It was presented at the Cannes Film Festival 2009. It opened the 2010 Sundance Film Festival and won a 2010 academy award under the category of animated short.

In this film there are two pieces of licensed music, in the beginning and in the end. All the other music and sound design are original. The opening track (Dean Martin "Good Morning Life") and closing track (The Ink Spots "I don't want to send the world on fire") songs are licensed pre-existing tracks. All original music and sound design is by, human (www.humanworldwide.com) "

Logorama from Marc Altshuler - Human Music on Vimeo.

-Rodney

Reminisce: +Bonus: "When n***** stop biting, that's when 3000 starts to worry"- v2

There was a time when I had only one stamp on my passport. I got that stamp from a trip to Jamaica for a wedding with one of my best friends. That trip would start our many travels together and it was the first passport trip for me. I was dying to collect more stamps. I was hooked.

So I booked another trip that same year. I had recently decided that I was gonna quit my job soon and leave Advertising for good. That was the first time...So I planned a trip to Costa Rica. I spoke not a lick of espanol. Just the basic stuff I remember from high school. But I was fearless...Kinda.

So I set out on my first international trip ALONE, with the added "No Hablo Espanol" factor. I was gonna be gone for week.

I arrived in San Jose and made it to my hotel in the city. I decided that I could base out of the city and do day trips out. That actually wasn't a bad idea. It was rainy season, which means it would rain for a couple of hours then the sun would come out a dry everything up til it cracked...

I got around pretty good. The taxis were cheap and the buses were cheaper. I would take 3 hour bus rides to different oarts of Costa Rica and see various things. Jaco, Manuel Antonio, Arenal. I remember the hot springs was awesome. I did the ziplining thing. I was touristing it up.

I was a little worried about not being able to communicate. That soon dissipated after a few days of actually communicating. I remember walking into a general store HOPING they would have a doo-rag. I had dreadlocks and needed something to keep my shit neat!

I walked in and started motioning to the girl. Using whatever spanish words I knew. Drawing and acting and everything. We stopped and started laughing really hard about the situation. Finally she was like "Ahhh", and she pointed to a doo-rag hanging up on the wall. I was like "Siiiiii!" Then I said "Tiene en negro?". She laughed said disappointedly said "No."

I walked out shaggy and frizzy and carried on.

Then when I was out at another beach, sitting and drinking the local beer. When it hit me about how nervous and afraid I was coming here and not knowing the language. It was the first time I left the country alone. I thought, "Self- why do you worry about these things? You can do anything. You are THAT dude!" I was a little to myself-cocky this time. It was my way of psyching myself up.

As I took another sip of my beer I noticed the beer I was drinking. It was Pilsen. But I didn't read Pilsen. I read Relax. I saw it, I swear. But after a blink i realized that I was delusional. But I heard the universe telling me to "Relax. Sip this."

However it wasn't a 40oz. How did I not know about that when I was there.

So that was the inspiration behind the piece of mine "Relax"


The story continues...

So I am in Chicago this past weekend and my business partner emails me. He said his family was just in The Cayman Islands. They were staying at the Ritz and they saw this...


It is clearly a straight lift of one of images. They didn't even try to hide it.

There is a tiny bit of flattery in seeing this. The irony is- it's used to advertise a tropical destination. Which is where the imagery was inspired. The second layer of irony is, this is the second image that was copied from me that was also inspired by my trip to Costa Rica.

The first image was Green Lights...

And here is the imitation-

The story on this one is a little more obtuse. I was on the bus heading out of San Jose 2 times and kept passing this billboard. I have no idea what was on it. I don't remember what was on it and I tried to snap a picture, but the bus moving too fast. But what I did remember was the distribution of colors. Since that is what was drew me to it to begin with. So I hung on to that hazy incomplete visual in my head. This painting could have gone any number of ways. But I remember the night I was painting this one...And one of the songs that came on while I was doing it.

This was one of them...

I was so moved this night by the sounds. This is still one of the my favorites pieces of music.

This is a long post just to I was robbed...Hard...Again.
-Rodney

Reminisce: +Bonus Daily Obsession: Jonelle...We had a moment.

Last year sometime, my friend and roommate, Ekene invited me to roll to a Fashion Week party in Chelsea. At a gas station. It was a crazy thought. Party at a gas station? Hope there's a no smoking rule. But it worked out very well. That night there were a few performances. Santigold was one of them. That was very good show. A party at a gas station. Who would have thought? They also had it to where the entire inside of the store was up for grabs. All the candy and snacks in the ailse were there for the taking. I saw people stuffing pockets and I was like, is that okay? Then I realized that that was the point. I started stuffing. Immediately I regret not bringing my "murse".

While at that show outside under the garage, I saw Jonelle Monae.


She was literally a few feet away from me near the stage. I thought that she was gonna do a surprise performance. I was amped about that. I admit, I noticed her. Hard. After I did a sneak picture taking, which turned out to be not so sneaky afterall. The guy she was with pointed at me and whispered something in her ear. She noticed me back. We had a moment. We gave googly eyes to each other. She was in love with me. I knew it would happen. She never hit the stage- so I realized that she was merely a spectator like myself.

That night ended with a pocketful of Chick-o-sticks and caramel cubes, which made made happy for two weeks straight.

On to the Daily Obsession part of this posting. I give to you "Tight Rope".

Love the shoes. And the footwork done in them...



-Rodney