There's a new video feature up in the Propaganda section. We talk with the all girl moped crew from Los Angeles, The Gaskettes. These girls are good at cutting loose and riding mopeds. I don't think there's anything wrong with that.
http://obeyclothing.com/propaganda/features/the-gaskettes/
What would the Boss do? And by the boss I'm referring to Bruce Springsteen. Well, he would probably go to Asbury Park this weekend to see Shepard's show. After all that's where the Boss got his start. Our friend the notorious Lobo Jones will be shooting the show this weekend and was nice us to compile some of his photos and give us a little background of the legendary Asbury Park. As a former resident of the Garden State I'm really loving his photos. Make sure to check out his shop on ETSY too.
Enjoy!
With the OBEY Revolutions exhibit heading to Johnathan Levine Gallery as part of the All Tomorrow's Parties Festival in Asbury Park this week, we thought we'd take a closer look at the New Jersey shore town that has revolved around music and art from it's inception.
Founded as a religious retreat, Asbury Park first served as a getaway to wealthy Manhattanites seeking respite from the bustling Big Apple. Early grand Victorian hotels commonly hosted formal ballroom dances while along the boardwalk sand artists carved elaborate sculptures from the beachfront. It was a favorite stop along the big band and ragtime jazz tour circuit in the 20's & 30's. By the 1960's the boardwalk's Convention Hall was headlining The Rolling Stones and The Who.
Today Asbury Park is in the midst of a revival, and once again it is in large part due to music and art. Asbury Lanes is still showcasing everything from punk & rockabilly to burlesque & hot rod shows. The Parlor Gallery in the Cookman Avenue shopping district features local art and photography while Asbury's own independent movie theater, The Showroom, screens festival winning films. Along the boardwalk, Hot Sand teaches glassblowing, the old Grand Casino Carousel House has live "theater in the round" while the photographs lining the walls of the Asbury Galleria serve as an unofficial historical society. Once again Asbury Park is becoming a destination for all things creative.
Bruce Springsteen's debut album "Greetings From Asbury Park" brought the New Jersey shore town worldwide exposure in the 1970's. And during the height of his Born In The USA fame, it wasn't uncommon for The Boss to jump in on a local band's performance at The Stone Pony. But by the end of the decade nationwide economic downturn brought hard times to Asbury. The once vibrant boardwalk was a ghost town of shuttered storefronts and failed construction projects. Graffiti artists however saw the vacant town as a blank canvas and practiced their art throughout. The Bouncing Souls adopted it as their home in the early 90's and together with Asbury Lanes & Van's Warped Tour helped to keep Asbury's music scene alive in it's toughest years.
These photos, taken between 2005 and 2008, capture a time just before Asbury Park began to bounce back. Some of these things have changed, some remain and some are gone. But after all these years I'm still coming back to Asbury Park - for the people, for the art, for the music.
-Lobo Jones
REVOLUTIONS: The Album Cover Art of Shepard Fairey
Presented by Jonathan LeVine Gallery
Opening Reception:
September 29th, 2011, 6-9pm
On Exhibition:
9/30 – 10/3/11
1200 Ocean Ave
Asbury Park, NJ 07712
For more information please contact Jonathan LeVine Gallery
There's a new documentary coming out about the life and death of Jimmy Lee Lindsey Jr aka Jay Reatard. I got to see Jay Reatard play a few time including a very memorable show at the Eagle Rock Lanes. It reminded me of being a teenager and everything that was so good about it. His songs were infectious and just looking at the band you knew these dudes were classic from their flying V guitars, the drummer in his Hawaiian shirt and their general swagger. Below is a clip from the new doc and I think it looks pretty good. Make sure to read the article on the creators of the movie in our PROPAGANDA section HERE.
Last week, I traveled out to the Bowery Hotel in NYC to attend the launch party for our artist series collaboration launch party with Blanda. In summary, there was great music, great people and a great time...a big thanks to BLANDA and to all the people that came out in support!
Check out the limited edition OBEY + BLANDA product and learn more about the collaboration here.
BLANDA!
Photos by: Aley Latimer, Mike Damski, Kaja Eggenschwiler
See more photos from the event here and here.
-Vanessa
The Doobie Brothers might have taken it to the streets but SABER took it to the air today protesting the City of Los Angeles's moratorium on street murals. He had 5 sky writers blanket the space above city hall with tags of different graffiti writers and crews, past and present. We're honored to get a little shout ourselves. LA has a rich history in public murals and they are becoming more scarce everyday as they fade away or are covered. I give a lot of respect for SABER for speaking his mind and doing something about it.
From SABER:
"The reason I hired five jet planes to sky write over City Hall and downtown Los Angeles is to bring awareness to how ridiculous a moratorium on public art is. The city states that all public murals are signage, effectively banning art from the walls of Los Angeles. And it is removed at the taxpayers’ expense. Money is given to private graffiti removal companies, who have broken onto private property to paint murals beige. The owners of small businesses where murals have been painted have been harassed and threatened with fines if they do not remove the artwork. Police officers raid homes and places of work, intimidating artists and building owners. During this time of economic crisis, “mural signs” are an easy target for the city to extract money. This moratorium is a clear violation of the first amendment right to free speech and enforcement for these unreasonable laws is a complete waste of taxpayer funds...."
photo courtesy of Linda LOVEMADE
LA Weekly blog coverage HERE.
The Hundreds has some good pictures up on their site HERE.
Juxtapoz coverage HERE.
Check out this feature Urban Outfitters did on Obey Clothing's Men's designer Mike Ternosky
GIANT UPDATE: At the end of the month Shepard will be making his way to the Jersey Shore to perform at the All Tomorrow’s Parties Festival . Well you know us, we like to take advantage of every travel opportunity we can get so we’ve decided to bring the noise to Asbury Park, NJ. In collaboration with Jonathan LeVine Gallery we are proud to present the east coast version of the REVOLUTIONS exhibition. On exhibition will be over 80 pieces of Punk, Rock, New Wave, Jazz, and Hip-Hop inspired artwork based on the 12″ record cover format. In addition, will we have a very limited quantity of the Album Cover Print Box sets that will be available in person at the exhibition. Please join us for the opening celebration on Thursday, September 29th, 6-9pm with after party to follow!
REVOLUTIONS: The Album Cover Art of Shepard Fairey
Presented by Jonathan LeVine Gallery
Opening Reception:
September 29th, 2011, 6-9pm
On Exhibition:
9/30 – 10/3/11
1200 Ocean Ave
Asbury Park, NJ 07712
For more information please contact Jonathan LeVine Gallery
and if you're in town... of course.... ATP w/ Portishead.
- ROAM
Hey Everybody, Roam here... I just wanted to update you with a few things going on in the next two Fridays at OBEY Radio.
This Friday, Sept 9th, we've got OBEY Radio x Shift with DJ Rhettmatic (Beat Junkies), Plann.B, Free The Robots (DJ Set) as well as a few other retards not worth mentioning.. Let's party!! Details HERE.
Next week, Sept. 16th, we team up with the ladies of Lovemade, with special guest Ngoc Lan (Food For Ya Soul, Switzerland). It's Free, we've got Fun International Music, and of course, Filled with babes... psyche out!!
See ya!
- ROAM
Come on down to American Rag at Fashion Island (in you love in SoCal) where we're going to be getting weird hand screening t-shirts and playing the classiest of jams.
Every once in a blue moon the Wedge down in Newport goes off with 15 - 20ft waves.. I stopped by earlier and snapped a couple shots. I wasn't the only one..
it was a good day! enjoy the labor day weekend..
do something fun like this
or
O, CANADA!
