FlavorInnovator .:Feb 09 09:.
When I moved up to Union City a little more than a year ago, and it
came time for me to find an internship for my graphic design program at
Chabot College, I found a local studio in Newark, of all places, on
Yelp. It was called FlavorInnovator (www.flavorinnovator.com).
I emailed the studio, sent my portfolio, and maybe a few weeks later,
Steve Ha had me working on a di-cut sticker for one of his clients.
What was a weird coincidence is that I had seen this record at Amoeba
by a cat name "E Da Boss" a couple weeks before that, that had caught
my eye on the cover alone. Turned out he designed it. Romali was going
to buy the same record coincidentally on the design alone. He's
actually designed a few covers of records I had bought in the past.
I
put in a lot of work at FlavorInnovator, in exchange he had taught
me how to use Photoshop, and is always there to give me some guidance
and constructive criticsm for my work. Fast forward to the present,
about over 100 beers, 3 bottles of Jack Daniels, 5 packs of cigarettes,
1 run-in with a security gaurd, a few toy freestyle sessions, and a
couple Jo_iLL tags on some random trash cans, we have become good
friends, and he a mentor to me.
(Jo_iLL, Romali looking hard as usual, and Nam aka FlavorInnovator)
Vimby (www.vimby.com) had just did a feature on him, and I'm proud to see him getting some shine. Here's to good luck on the design tip in the '09.
- DJ Jo_iLL
Small Actions Can Facilitate Change .:Feb 06 09:.
I met this dude a while ago at a downtown pad off Broadway Street who was kinda loud and overly excited, two things that I usually attribute to people who are fronting. As a usually defensive person towards that behavior I thought this loud guy was especially fraudulent when he showed me his self titled CD. I introduced my CD, Hate Your Way to Harmony: An American Criticism, and we put mine on and he was really excited about some of the instrumental tracks. 
I was a little skeptical of the guy after I left that night but thought he was harmless. Over the next year Dulok Shaman and I had some correspondence about collaboration and all of my prejudgments subsided; he was willing to collaborate and work hard at it which in my book were a bigger sense of character than anything else. Dulok is a good dude. So after some time he put some lyrics on a track from my album that I thought was nice and had a strong vibe, something we were both feeling. Us vs. Them was born. He called me one day not too long after completing the track and asked me if he could lace it in honor of the Versus Store in Temecula which sells nice clothing dedicated to an urban lifestyle. I thought it was a good idea and gave it my blessing. In August of 2007 I get a call from Dulok asking me attend a video shoot for the store for the song along complete with many heads from SD and the Inland Empire. The video got a lot of reaction and became an anthem for many which was beyond any expectations I ever had for making the track(with the help of my homie NoS LeRatZ from the Bay, Big Ups!!!).
Fast forward to this year 2009, I went with DJ Argonaut to the Agenda Trade Show in downtown San Diego which showcases independent clothing lines and kept peeping orange stickers with familiar font that I have seen associated with the Versus Store in Temecula which read 'Us vs. Them'. In fact the bottom line is that the Versus Store had changed the name of their design to Us vs. Them, which blew me away. Even though I had no exact input on the decision making for the change, our song had made an influence on a whole style and the nomenclature of a line of clothing. So next time you think that your creativity, no matter how insignificant you may think it is, cannot be influential, think again.
SERVIN' CONVERSATION .:Feb 06 09:.
Come check out our Saturday night spot at Gordon Biersch (5010 Mission
Center Rd, San Diego, CA 92108). I will be in the rotation this
Saturday, the 24th.
This is a very chill spot, where you can
come and listen to some dope beats, have a beer, and chop it up with
your fam. Most folks come through here before they start partying
Downtown or elsewhere. We play outside on the patio, but I must warn
you: dancing is strictly prohibited!!! It is partly covered, so don't
let the rain scare you away this weekend...
We have been doin' this gig in conjunction with Mel Kapone of 15West for over a year now.
Big Up to Jo_iLL
for designing the vintage flier. That pic makes me want to have a nice
cold Blonde Bock from GB, but I gave up drinking beer over a year ago.
Love the taste, but can't stand what it does to my spare tire!
So I had to stick with my other favorite drinks instead:
Scotch Whiskey...mmmmmm....My Father-in-Law brought over this Johnnie
for Xmas, so I had to introduce him to The Glenlivet. Personally I
prefer The Macallan. The best was when I bought DJ Hektik some
Johnnie Walker Black and he said it tasted like STEAK! Next time you
see Pauze, ask him about the time he kept drinking Glenlivet at a
Turntable Lounge gig...
Ketel One Vodka...on the rocks...yeah....so smooth...creeps up on ya.
Even my dog drinks it.
I recently tried Effen and it was pretty good. Those Dutch folks, man...
Kona Coffee.
Yeah I know, its not an alcoholic drink, but it is just as addicting,
yo. I once stopped drinking coffee cold turkey, and it was harder than
quitting cigarettes. Kona turned me into a coffee snob, though. Plus
I got this French Press now. Sheesh. The beans on the Big Island are
hand picked, so only the ripe ones are chosen. That way you wind up
with coffee that is so freakin smooth. Other kinds of coffee beans are
machine picked so you get all the unripe ones in the mix, making the
coffee bitter. My Uncle recently brought me back some Cafe Amadeo from the Philippines. Haven't tried it yet, but I hear its the ish, too...
- DJ Bojo
Lab Rat .:Feb 05 09:.
[IMAGES COURTESY OF KEEN OF "BEAUTIFUL MUSIC BABY"]
This
is my record collection. I've been buying records since '98, and my
collection pretty much takes up 95% of that 5x5 cube shelf thing
from IKEA. About 5 crates of these are a collection of funk and soul
passed down to me from my parents, aunts, and uncles. The rest is a lot
of underground hip-hop from 98' to the present; a small collection of
classic hip-hop; and a few crates of jazz, funk re-edits, uptempo,
midtempo, downtempo, electronica, nu-jazz, etc. And given the diversity
of my collection, I'm mainly known as a scratch DJ. And I only own
like 4 scratch records...1 of which I "borrowed" from DJ Argonaut in 2000 (thanks Jay...I gained much skill from that record). I remember when he used to always tell me to "return your rentals".
These
turntables get scratched on at least once a day. For a long time
scratching has been very therapeutic for me. Listening to your
technique, and mastering it is like learning a new language. The brain
waves coming from my mind, translate to sounds, and if recorded,
translate visually on screen in the form of a WAV. It has fascinated me
for years. When my mind is cluttered, scratching has always been my way
of "venting", and focusing my thoughts, and energy. I would share that
fun fact with kids sometimes when talking about hip-hop, and they'd
look at me all crazy.
Musically
with my style, I take a lot cues from jazz, old-school/foundation
scratch techniques, and I'll funk it up as best I can if the beat calls
for it. There IS a foundation and there IS
a vocabulary for scratching...no matter how much you want to say "I
don't really follow all that, I just do my thing". Well the elements of
"your thing" was probably created by somebody else. If you recognize
that, and build on it, then you will ultimately create your own style.
"Style" is a combination of technique and personality. Style is a
reflection of your influences since the day you were born. This is how I understand art...it's all about style and technique. 
I
haven't been mixing, or listening to my records as much as I would like
too ever since I've been pursuing graphic design as a career. But last
night while working, I was listening to my records, and realized how
much I've lost touch with them. It was refreshing to hear some of the
stuff I got. I need to remember a big chunk of my style came from
incubating myself in this room (as much as it has traveled). I am
looking forward to what 2009 has to offer. I will definitely be making
more music. Now is the time for me to build with new cats, expose myself to new things, and stay inspired.
- DJ Jo_iLL
