Our friends at Blu Magazine in Charlotte launched their 5th issue that also coincided with their 1st Anniversary Party. ATL’s own, Prince Presto, was invited to DJ the event and he proudly rocked his PROCESS Dirty Bird tee that will be release in March. Check out more photos of Presto at the Blu Magazine party after the jump.
Mike Germon of ThoughtMarker put me on to this track the other day. Adron (Adrienne McCann) grew up here in Atlanta honing her talents and moved off to Brooklyn. She’ll be back in town tonight playing for FREE at the Star Bar thanks to HaveYouHeard.net. I caught the Black Kids at the Star Bar at a similar kind of show last year, if that says anything.
Download: Adron - Never Leave My Room Again
photo by Nate Steiner
Our buddy, Stefan Kjartansson received this voice mail on his apartment call box the other day, shortly after visiting Octane Coffee. Instantly, Aaron Byrd (aka Thriller 2), who was responsible for the hit, Cops On Bikes, remixed the message into a hilarious hip-hop disaster. Too funny!
Download: Thriller 2 - Brown Sugar
Name:
Eric Shoemaker
Aka:
ErokCom™
Website:
http://ericshoemaker.com
Where are you from?
Atlanta, GA
Who do you work for?
I am a Sr Designer for RazorFish. I also teach Intro to Interactive at The Creative Circus.
What are your Current Project(s)?
ATL Creatives with BergerHill, learning photography, and my 67 VW Beetle.
Who would you love to work with?
Andy Howell or Twist (Barry McGee)
If you had to give all your sneakers away to charity except for one pair, which ones would you keep?
Well, I don’t have a lot of shoes to begin with… But, I would say my classic old skool Vans.
What’s on your iPod right now?
The battery is dead, so I am not sure. Last train ride home it was DWYCK by GangStarr.
What’s your Favorite ATL food?
My Wife and I have been enjoying Noodle in College Park.
What’s your Favorite ATL hangout?
I am a total introvert, so I would have to say my home office.
What are your Pet Peeves?
Lack of ambition, and spoiled rich kids that think the world owes them a favor.
Shout outs?
My wife Amanda, and all Atlanta friends. My skateboarding pals from back in the day that I have since lost touch with. Keep shredding.
I almost drove off the bridge by Philips Arena the other day when I reached over to turn up the radio (Georgia State University’s WRAS 88.5 to be exact) because I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Classic Pink Floyd melodies and riffs remixed with hip-hop! The Massachusetts-based hip-hop outfit, The Problemaddicts had apparently been influenced enough by the stoner-ific activity, Dark Side of the Rainbow (that involves syncing Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon with the movie, The Wizard of Oz) that they made a concept album about it. The album is called The Dark Side of Oz and this is one of the better tracks off that creative effort.
Download: The Problemaddicts - Breathe feat. Agent 23 & Adam Strange
photo by Jorge Menes
A lot a people haven’t met me and don’t know who the hell I am. So for the record, I am the infamous, silent member of the EC crew. I am “the other George” but it’s spelled J-o-r-g-e. I am currently stationed in Stuttgart, Germany, on a little base called Panzer Kaserne. The U.S. acquired this bombed out ‘tank base’ from the 3rd Reich in 1946. Its home to about 120 Marines and is a great place to be. In March 2008, I got word that Marine Corps Headquarters had decided to create a new Marine Component Command to support ongoing missions in Africa. As the weeks went by, my office was tasked with the creation of the new command’s emblem. I thought it would be a great opportunity for EC to show its diversity.
So being the non-designer that I am, I promptly volunteered our boy, Larry Luk, who I worked with closely throughout the process. The first step was briefing Larry on the history U.S. heraldry design. After a few exciting weeks with countless tweaks and revisions with the Chief of Staff, Marine Corps Forces Africa (MARFORAF) had a new mark.
The arrangement of graphic elements and the use of colors all have special significance in the design. For instance, the famous Eagle, Globe, and Anchor had to be present, yet it couldn’t overlap the continent of Africa for political reasons. Also, it was important to incorporate the official Marine colors of Scarlet and Gold.
It was a wonderful experience for EC. This mark will be carried by MARFORAF for many years to come, and will be the symbol for honor, courage, and commitment to the USA and our African partners.
Its not often that one sees the Chinese, Greeks, and the Cubans all working together for the greater good. Here at EC, it’s the norm. While being Cuban can sometimes catch a few laughs from ‘The Birthday Boyz’ on the El Bar dance floor, being a full-time Marine is a bit tougher, yet I’m proud to have had the opportunity to involve my boys in the other very important aspect of my life. Semper Fi!!
See a close up of the MARFORAF logo after the jump. Read more »
Earlier this week I caught wind of the hotness that is the Dekalb Police Deptartment’s website. The minute your browser pulls up the site, it immediately starts playing one of many lo-fi crunk beats on loop. I enjoyed the website’s soundtracks so much that I sent the link out to lots of friends and received responses such as “Only in ATL…” and “omg this is awesome”. Unfortunately, the DCPD realized that their website was an internet sensation for the wrong reasons and has since taken the music off of their site, but not before nerdcore-rapper, ytcracker, could got a hold of them. He’s since created a six track album where he and his posse drop lyrics to the beats that were previously hosted on the DCPD website. Each song is named after the web URL where the lyric-less track was originally hosted. Don’t believe me? Get the full story here.
Download: ytcracker - http://www.dekalbpolice.com_index_home.html
This week I bring you a pretty interesting photographer. His name is Todd Jordan and not only is he represented by Peter Hay Halpert Fine Art in New York but he is also a professional skateboarder for Nike SB. His photographs are simple and come mostly from his tours across the country. His part in the most recent Nike video, Nothing but the Truth, was one of the better parts of the entire video. Check it out after the jump.
In honor of our new president, I’ve been working on a new poster design. I made it in the style of the PROCESS Bombera tee that will be coming out in March and even made a dirty bird presidential seal. Not only is he the first black president but he is also the son of an immigrant. That means a lot to us here at EC since most of us are 1st or 2nd generation immigrants ourselves. It’s the first time in awhile that it felt good to be an American.
Name:
Christopher Schlitzer
Aka:
DJ Chris Crisis
Website:
www.rehabmusic.com
Where are you from?
Allentown, Pennsylvania
Who do you work for?
Boonbox Records
What are your Current Project(s)?
REHAB, WRBN, making Beats/Songs, Demun Jones’ album, the Lamar Williams Jr. album, mixtapes, filming and editing the Rehab Tour DVD!
Who would you love to work with?
Quincy Jones, Rick Rubin, The Neptunes, and people with unique talent.
If you had to give all your sneakers away to charity except for one pair, which ones would you keep?
My exclusive zooms Hano Leathers gave me. Or my Nike Aqua socks.
What’s on your iPod right now?
RUN DMC! Forever! It never gets old.
What’s your Favorite ATL food?
Papi’s Cuban on Ponce
What’s your Favorite ATL hangout?
Halo!
What are your Pet Peeves?
Popping gum, radio commercials, unstable stages.
Shout outs?
Danny Boone, Steak, MIke Hartnett, Hano Leathers, Foz, Chris Hood, Demun Jones, Lamar Williams Jr., Ron Lewis and of course Epidemik Coalition!
My buddy Jesse Miller sent me this photo from downtown Atlanta the other day. It looks like we’ve put words in the mouth of ATL’s own, Dr. Blade. This isn’t the first time we’ve crossed paths with Dr. Blade. A couple years back, we both participated in Museum of Design Atlanta’s “To A T” show together.
We have a new friend posting up at the EC studio in downtown Atlanta. Meet Kevin Blackwell. Kevin and I have been hustling all week to get our screen printing setup going again. Epidemik Coalition is rediscovering our roots from the days of Portfolio Center when we use to print tees and posters out of a walk-in closet at the school. Kevin has an art show coming up, so we’ve been printing with every given opportunity. We’ve got some new supplies and some great ideas. Like always, we’ve made do with what we have. We have converted Ted’s tub into a wash out station (sorry Ted, we’ll try to keep it clean) and are printing on an architect’s table that Uncle Rick gave us. Take a look at the photos of us screen printing after the jump.
This Tuesday the 20th, come join us at El Bar for the inauguration of our new president, Barack Obama. DJ Lord and Cristo Disco will be supplying us with celebration music all night. Doors open at 9 PM and the music starts at 10 PM. Free Admission.
This week I’m going to take it back a little bit to one of my all time favorite photography pairs of all time. Jeremy and Claire Weiss are a husband a wife team of photographers that I have known about for quite some time now. I first found out about them from a old photo website called The Paper Brigade (R.I.P!) where I found some of their images they shot of one of my favorite bands, Piebald. They always have really interesting projects and outtakes on their blog over at DAY19. Definitely an inspiration of where I want to be a few years from now and the the type of work that I would like to be shooting.
For the new year 2009, Future Digital LLC’s website just went live. Epidemik Coalition designed and developed the site for this boutique fashion photography company based in New York City.
This wraps-up the branding project started in the fall which included other elements such as business cards, custom silk-screened DVDs, laser-cut stencils, and more.
Can’t wait to see what 2009 has in-store for these folks!
Name:
Aaron Martell
Website:
thejonesesway.com
Where are you from?
I’m from outside of Chicago originally. I moved back to Chicago six months ago and have been living in Bucktown since then. Come up here and I’ll show you around
Who do you work for?
I won’t bore you with the details of my nine to five. After the day job it’s The Joneses.
What are your Current Project(s)?
I’m mainly focused on The Joneses at the moment. I’m trying to make it into something worth while that people are excited to be a part of. Outside of that, creating the perfect ice cube.
Who would you love to work with?
Wes Anderson, Richard Branson, and the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company
If you had to give all your sneakers away to charity except for one pair, which ones would you keep?
My white vans seem to be the most versatile shoe I own. So the white vans.
What’s on your iPod right now?
Bill Withers, James Brown, David Bowie, Billy Joel, Chromeo, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, and whatever is new on Kitschworth.
What’s your Favorite ATL food?
Highland Bakery
What’s your Favorite ATL hangout?
Standard and El Bar
What are your Pet Peeves?
One of my biggest pet peeves is people with bad manners. One of our tees from this season was a social commentary on the gradual disappearance of manners. I’m by no means an expert so if you notice something let me know.
Shout outs?
Atlanta. I know that’s cliché but without the support from Atlanta in last year or so the Joneses most likely wouldn’t exist. I owe a lot of thanks to many people down there. The city feels like a second home and I’m always excited when I know a new trip is on the horizon. Thanks for making that the case. EC keep up the good work and thanks for letting me be a part of the blog.
Friend of EC and Atlanta-based designer Mick Bailey recently launched his very own online magazine called Commuter Culture Magazine. I caught wind of this school-project-turned-online-masterpiece last month and have been checking it regularly since.
Mick describes the vision behind the online magazine as showcasing people and communities have a unique way of doing what we all deal with everyday: commuting. Whether that manifests itself in reporting on a customized surfer van, a world-class bicycle culture, or a story about national ridership trends on rail lines, this site covers real info. Aside from sporting a great visual design, the attitude and content of the online magazine is both unique for Atlanta and very topical in this woeful post-2008 America. Quality-over-quantity rules here, as each post is written as an article with carefully gathered or custom-designed imagery.
I’m interested to see where this haven for a good attitude towards commuting goes!
So, we have already started working on some new tee designs for Process Summer 2009 release. Here’s a lil sneak peak into one of the designs, Dirty Octopi MMXII. It’s a play off of the Dirty Bird tee designed by Larry.
Check out more images after the jump. Read more »
Ted mentioned the other day that it has been far too long since I’ve posted any new music. That’s because during the holidays, the music industry tends to focus on releasing albums from mainstream artists that have proven track records. Therefore, there’s nothing to mention that you haven’t already heard. One of the few gems that I’ve been enjoying as of late is Belle & Sebastian’s BBC Sessions. It’s a double disc album that contains an entire live show from Christmas of 2001. One of my favorite tracks is their live cover of the Velvet Underground’s I’m Waiting For The Man. Here’s to looking forward to new music discoveries this Spring/Summer!
Back in the saddle for another installment of Photo Friday. I have always been a fan a telling stories; one’s that are worth hearing. My apologies if you have already heard this one:
When I was a student at Portfolio Center, I was handed a rather interesting assignment: Contact your hero (a photographer), and create a photo in his honor. How do I do that? The pucker factor on this was pretty high, but you would be surprised how easy it is to get your idol on the phone. After just one email, me and Hans Gissinger scheduled a phone conversation (while on vacation with his family in Miami no less). At the end of our talk, I asked him why he agreed to speak to me. He simply stated, “I like to talk.”
Hans Gissinger is the man! Currently represented by Stockland Martel, shooting both portrait and still life for such clients as Nike, Conde Nast, Cartier, and Ford; with his lastest project, TARTAS (exploding pastries). So here’s to one of my heroes; enjoy.
