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SXSW 2012: Part 2 of 2

Posted on April 5, 2012 by MOFOZ

The first half of SXSW 2012 was pretty amazing as evidenced in the previous post.  We had already hung mad banners, traversed endless blocks 5 times over, and witnessed some amazing shows where we shelved the camera in addition of a back break and freedom to move a little slicker through crowds. One of these shows was Warner Brothers amazing showcase headlined by Mofoz fam and Austin native Gary Clark Jr. Gary and his band continuously amaze me with every show we witness. Gary was fresh from a round of shows including the White House, private events countrywide, as well as a schlew of sold out shows virtually everywhere these Austin representers set foot. I could write all day about the amazing songwriting of Gary’s, just as easily as I could write about his vocal range which ranges from panty-dropping Motown swooning to full out swinging rock; however, Gary’s brilliance is in his ability to make the guitar his bitch. During the Warner Brothers showcase,  he did just that. He and his tightknit band jammed a break where Gary commanded his six stringed Gibson into fits of scratching sounds that would have given the most respected turntablists a run for their money.  Being no stranger to hip hop, Gary lends his talents on Phranchyze‘s latest project S.T.A.R.S on a song called “Be Here”.

We woke up the next day to meet up with our good friends and make it happen brethren, Moshe of Hour Band , as well as  Chris and Shane of Electric Touch.  Chris and Shane were up bright and early to perform a few acoustic songs for Austin’s KXAN morning show to promote their much anticipated new album,” Never Look Back” which features fan favorite “Dont Stop”. Electric Touch has recently toured with Evanescence and is currently on the road with Hot Chelle Rae.

Anchorman 2.

Chris of Electric Touch hanging at the KXAN studios.

Moshe Mosh holding it down.

From the studio we hightailed it to downtown for the S-O-TERIK showcase that ET was playing at and debuting a new signature tee from the clothing company. S-O-Terik has been a strong supporter of the band as evidenced by the nice magazine ads in JUXTAPOZ. The company’s party showcased some of the great tees , as well as a lot of space and paint open for artists or would be artists to use and express themselves. We had a chance to meet a lot of the great artists and talents involved with S-O-TERIK and really dig the approach they are taking in creating apparel as well as marketing their products…pretty much being real with it.

From there we went back to the HQ Hotwire Unlimited office to take a breather and catch up with our friend and Houston MC, Perseph One who was in town to blaze a SXSW showcase later in the day. We both watched this 6th street showcase for a good 45 minutes from the window. This was actually one of my more memorable SXSW shows and it was the most unofficial and unconventional shows I’ve ever witnessed. I don’t even know who the band was but they did it up right, brought a generator and just started plugging in. any other week of the year these guys would have probably been tasered by the APD, but this was SXSW and they just let it ride. The band played what seemed like a full set. From song to song passerbyers took time to check out the music, some stayed, others danced, some took pics while others even circled the band real Jaws-like continuously on inline skates, while others even displayed some great break dance skills. Long story short, you are standing on a stage; and even if bands do not have corporate backing, large show promotion, slick booking agents, or roadies there is always a chance that a little ingenuity in addition to good music can and does transcend into the masses. Sure, I didn’t catch there names but I witnessed a line of people after the show waiting to talk to the band and network with them.

Here on the other hand, there was a crazy ass line to attend an early day Gary Clark Jr show at the MOG showcase at the newly renovated Mohawk. This line did a somewhat U-shape into Red River…

…and well down the adjoining block.

Heres Gary getting his guitar on in a barely salvageable photo.

Gary Clark Jr and band at the Mohawk.

I like this photo because you can see our friend Chris from Electric Touch chilling front stage style.

This kid thoroughly enjoyed the show also…he actually started dancing nuts as Gary soloed.

Immediately after Gary’s dazzling set, we traversed into the inside stage at The Mohawk with Phranchyze and our friend Jessica who was raving about a femcee named K-Flay. Jessica had already seen  2 of K-Flay’s showcases earlier in the week; this marked her 3rd and I believe she was also planning on seeing a 4th set later in the day. K- Flay gave a great performance that showcased her dynamic skills on the MPC as well as her poignant lyrics she delivered in an almost Eyedea-like rapid fire but with a more Atmosphere like sound. I dug that she had a drummer also to keep the music organic, this was one of my favorite sets during SXSW and I look forward to catching this rising MC again if given the chance. Also, she has a really cheeky website.

K-Flay at SXSW 2012

The Roots. The Legendary Roots. The Legendary Roots Crew. This was by far one of the best examples of musicianship displayed at SXSW 2012….and that says a hell of a lot. Black Thought is one of the most underrated emcess in the rap game, and although they do enjoy a great chunk of mainstream success, they still make music that talks to real people and talks on real topics.  The professionalism and showmanship of this band should be heralded in the music industry always and continuously over some of the horrible excuses for shows some of the top rappers in the game put there fans through.

This sousaphone player brought it to the crowd to make sure he was heard.

The Roots at SXSW 2012…thats DJ Jazzy Jeff in the back who was welcomed on stage for a percussion jam with Q-Tip and the band.

SXSW is not all about the concerts, there is a fair amount of great panelist and speakers that present and talk on every possible aspect of the music industry. We caught a session with Nas…but left out early due to the slow talking, mostly boring interview that literally had me falling asleep. In his defense, this was almost a full week into a very busy SXSW.

Another surefire SXSW staple is the Austin clothing company MadGods. MadGods represented their brand and art along with fellow Austin clothing brand ,33 and a 1/3, with a downtown pop up store offering fresh threads to style hungry SXSW’ers. The pop up store also featured live artwork throughout the week as well as a small art gallery housed in the pop up shop.

All in all, SXSW 2012 kicked much ass.

 

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FREE WEEK. Music, art, cars, and bacon.

Posted on January 24, 2012 by MOFOZ

FREE WEEK came and went in Austin. As we all know this is a week of the capitol city being chalk full of great free local music and events, kind of like a pre-sxsw warm-up. This particular week I was feeling a little like a shutterbug and carried my camera virtually everywhere and took an obscene amount of shots. Photos of some great musicians, cars, street art, and…bacon. enjoy , these are pretty jumbled, but you can get an idea of what a week in the ATX looks like.

This shot of Austin rapper, Phranchyze, is especially Austin because of the fans throwing up the longhorn signs. This photo was taken during the #ATXTAKEOVER show at Antones which together with ZAPATA! and Hour Band was the most heavily attended FREE WEEK show at Antones.

This photo is the exterior of one of our favorite venues in Austin, the very DJ friendly, PLUSH. The best hip hop DJ’s in Austin every Saturday, and the homie Bruce who is our favorite bartender in the ATX.

Phranchyze holding court at the legendary Antone’s.

Here’s some dope graffiti we caught on Lamar headed to downtown.

Art by Marc Zuazua

Graffiti at Plush

Phranchyze is readying for his upcoming album , STARS.

 


This was the first of two Hour Band shows we caught in the week. Red 7 is where it was, and their system is mad loud, awesome, and their green room is purty cool also.

Moshe of Hour Band hustling it on bass at Antones during the #ATXTAKEOVER show.

 

Ron English sticker in Austin? interesting.


ZAPATA! rocked he house during the #ATXTAKEOVER show at legendary Antone’s.


In between catching shows, we had a chance to check out our friend Chris’ new ride…a sweeeeeeeet 63 T-Bird. After the photoshoot ,we journeyed ion a cruise around Austin on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.


DJ Tako is one of the realest doing it. We had a great time catching up with opur old friend at Ruta Maya as we talked music and food. When Tako is not dropping beats for b-boys, he is commandeering the kitchen at Austin sushi hotspot, Imperia.

B-boys and b-girls can sometimes seem like the forgotten stepchild of hip hop culture..well at least to mass media, but here in Austin there is no shortage of talent. Break dancers battled at ruta Maya for tickets to the Wu-Tang show and some of our Mofoz art and clothing.

Karthik of Hour Band at the #ATXTAKEOVER show


When Austin favorite Gary Clark Jr isn’t whirlwind touring to and fro, he also helps out on drums for ZAPATA!.

DJ Charlies is a Dj’s DJ. harlie is rooted in unapologetic, real hip hop and his mixes always get feet moving. In this photo Charlie was spinning for a b-boy competition at Ruta Maya.

Always good to see the homie Sertified of Die Slo  at the best Austin hip hop shows, check out some of his new music on his website.

The Hi-Tones at Mohawk

DJ Orion is a great DJ to catch, his almost eccentric mixing of everything from kumbia, hip hop, funk, and soul, sometimes feels like a fun case of musical terrets.

The Hi-Tones are one of our favorite Austin rock bands. Their sound evokes classic rock but with the subtleties of modern ideas.The band is readying for their west coast tour in early March.

Johny Flores of the Hi-tones

More PLUSH graffiti.

Kris Krishna and Mr Access, ATX.

This is a wall outside of Stubbs BBQ on red river..every time I walk by this place i guesstimate at howmany trillions of staples from posters and handbills are on this corner.

When Austin Surreal is presenting a show you know its as good as it gets.

Artists of South Austin Soul Amber and John.


Had lunch at some point in the week at this uber amazing restauraunt aptly named Bacon. What do you know about Chicken and bacon waffles?

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Favorite photographs of 2011

Posted on December 30, 2011 by MOFOZ

Looking back through our digitally archived photography for this past year has helped us realize how lucky we have been to have witnessed so many great times and great talents. We have put together this photography post  just to reminisce and share some great visuals with you. enjoy.

Gary Clark Jr sxsw 2011

This photo of Gary Clark Jr was taken during SXSW 2011 during his Rolling Stone showcase in Austin, TX. Albeit, this photo isnt all that great of a technical feat, I picked it out because this was an exciting time for the fam, and Gary in particular who had an amazing roster of shows for SXSW. In this picture , Gary is also wearing one of our tee shirts, which later made it into a Rolling Stone issue…so yeah.cool.marc ecko at sxsw interactive

Also during SXSW we caught a seminar with ECKO founder, Marc Ecko. Marc has long been an inspiration of ours stretching from his clothing line, magazine, and his amazing community efforts.During his stay in Austin, Ecko was speaking against and set up a mobile app that would send lawmakers correspondence against paddling in schools. This pose was meant for the photographer next to me, but i stole the shot so to speak.

J Cole sxsw 2011

J.Cole was one of the performers at the B.E.T. SXSW showcase and we had a chance to snap a few pics of Jay-Z’s protege, along with a schlew of other really talented performers.

gary clark jr sxsw 2011

This is a behind stage shot of Gary Clark Jr during SXSW at the Hotwire/Warner Brothers showcase. This was my favorite event of SXSW. With this event we saw the fam/crew pull together and offer an amazing showcase of music and arts that was highlighted by Gary putting down some of the best guitar licks I’d ever witnessed. This was a great day.

marsha ambrosius sxsw bet showcase

Marsha Ambrosius also performed at the BET SXSW showcase and blew us away. Mostly known as half of the duo FLOETRY, her solo set was definitely a highlight of the evening. The soulful songstress performed amazingly, and this is one of my favorite pictures from 2011 SXSW.

custom TDK Boombox

This is a close up[ shot of one of those snazzy new TDK boomboxes we painted for a friend of ours.After playing with some lighting for awhile, I finally got this great photo. The reflection of the characters onto the glossy surface gives it a ghostly, coming out of the ground quality.

The annual EMERGE graffiti art show in Austin is almost always a great place for photo opportunities. I snapped this photo of artist Dave Lowell while he was painting live at the show. After about 15 different settings/flash combo, I finally came away with the shot I saw in my head originally. The light and shadows along with the intent focus of the artist is amazing.

This is another shot from EMERGE…this one definitely not as well composed, however, the content is priceless. I didnt get a chance to get the artist name that made this piece, but I heard at some point in the evening someone ran into it and broke it. Too bad.

The above and below photos of Gary Clark Jr are from San Antonio at Sam’s Burger Joint. Aside from having some delectable burgers and fries, Sam’s also has a great venue for live music. This followed Gary’s whirlwind tour of virtually everywhere in the US and beyond, and this show acted as somewhat of a homecoming show to Texas. The sold out show was a great chance to attempt this shot of Gary and the appearance of the Blues Brothers jamming right along with him. After a grip of attempts to get the lighting right in a raw form, I finally had to resort to photoshop to lighten the Blues Brothers to make them more apparent…something I don’t really like to do, but had to resort to for the sake of this shot.

The below shot was an off focus soft shot of Gary during his set that just kinda works. Sometimes you have to let the camera do its thing.

Snoop Dogg, the Doggfather. We hopped on the tour van with Phranchyze as he opened for Snoop for a few shows including New Mexico, Lubbock, and Austin. This shot was from the Lubbock show where Snoop set the party off.  I was lucky enough to get right up front as well as be equipped with a newly fixed “nifty fifty” (5omm 1.8f) to shoot with and came out with some great images. Snoop on stage is an all out character and is a flat out great entertainer. It was pretty surreal to be shooting him just a few feet away as he was performing all the bangers from The Chronic and Doggystyle.

This shot of Phranchyze in Lubbock was done with the same lens as the Snoop shot. I really like this shot because it shows the focus and intent of the soulful lyrics of the song that was being performed. I also like how his head is framed by the static stage lights that offer a soft glow to one side of him.

Muggzy Flowz at Flamingo Cantina in Austin.

2MEX at Flamingo Cantina in Austin. Every time we see LA hip hopper 2MEX perform its amazing. He is the type of performer to leave it all on stage and has been touring non stop for what seems to be forever. The rapper has kept true to his “underground” style and because of that has avoided the mainstream success he surely deserves; however, because of that he is able to stay true to his roots and is able to keep his fanbase happy and supporting his projects for all of these years.

The above and below photo were from the first day of Occupy Austin. The first day saw well over 1000 protesters standing in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street and many of the other occupations going on around the globe.  The above photo shows a man who has the bill of rights tattooed on his back, which is pretty rad.

This photo is just some cool street art we came across while walking to the Pecan Street Festival on 6th street.

This super player doghouse was one of the designs being auctioned as part of Barkitechture. The program allows many well known designers and architects a chance to build creative dog houses that are later auctioned to raise money for various pet rescue agencies.

DJ Casey Cuts came out for THE GOOD LIFE x Victory Lap art exhibit.  I really like this shot because of the stickers on his computer repping the 78704 in Austin where its all good.

 

 

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Gary Clark Jr on David Letterman

Posted on December 16, 2011 by MOFOZ

Tune in to The David Letterman show on Friday Night (dec 16) to see our friend and all around super awesome musician, Gary Clark Jr. This is a great time for you guys and gals to get familiar with the name. Gary is the Austin, TX phenom that has been selling out shows everywhere hes played lately and has been getting recognition from some of the worlds best musicians including Paul McCartney, QuestLove, Alicia Keys, Bon Jovi, and has even touched stage and jammed with Eric Clapton in South America a few months ago.. Suffice to say, We Austinites love a hometown hero, so be sure to tune in and check out what is sure to be an amazing set. If you miss this, you are just plain silly.

Gary Clark Jr sxsw 2011

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Gary Clark Jr – SOLD OUT in San Antonio

Posted on September 30, 2011 by MOFOZ

Here’s some pics of the Gary Clark Jr show at Sam’s in San Antonio, TX. The show was sold out, and people were waiting for hours before the show to get in. It’s pretty cool to see that Gary is now truly being recognized for the talent he is. This San Antonio show was somewhat of a homecoming to Texas, as Gary and band had been touring for months selling out shows from NY, to Chicago, to all over Canada. More recently, Gary has been invited to 3 Brazil show dates in the next few weeks to open for guitar god, Eric Clapton. Kudos.

Enjoy the pics.

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ACL Austin City Limits 2011

Posted on September 14, 2011 by MOFOZ

Another ACL season brewing in Austin. I can tell this by the general interest in wall posts and timeline discussions by friends or internet connects located everywhere but Austin. Austin’s biggest and maybe most prolific weekend festival I feel doesn’t generate so much excitement within the usual Austin music community. I feel ACL is for the  superfans or the type of music fan that only goes to festivals and throughout the year misses the tons of great local and regional touring acts that bless this city on a daily basis. I also presume it may have something to do with the cost of ticket prices, or maybe the fact that you can catch most of the great ACL acts at after parties and secret shows for a fraction of the cost and a whole lot of convenience.Either way, its a great idea to go out in Austin this week and support some great musicians no matter the size of the stage. Here’s some information about the festival and the afterparties.

It is impossible to ignore the festival’s impact on the city -  the city does seem to turn into a party atmosphere going into the weekend in a quickfire (no disrespect) way that not even SXSW does. SXSW is like instead a slower, more exciting, year long build in hype, whereas ACL is like the broseph festival that takes shots of Jager to get the day started. The usually rock…classic rock heavy festival this year however, actually seems to have a pretty fair lineup for a hip hop/soul fan this year I mean Stevie Wonder..STEVIE WONDER headlining…thats going to be coke classic. Then thrown in for good measure C3 has also gathered Kanye West, Nas and Damian Marley, Cee Lo, Big Boi, Aloe Blacc and the Grand Scheme, Chiddy Bang and others. This is all fine and good,  but kudos to them for having some legitimate Austin acts that are on the verge of stardom in soulstress Susanna Choffel, rockers Electric Touch, and soul.bluesman Gary Clark Jr.

Gary Clark Jr to most of the music industry right now has been an overnight success. Yes, Gary has recently recieved 4 Stars in Rolling Stone for his Warner Brothers debut 4 song EP, yes, that was Gary who stole the show at Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar festival, Yes, that was Gary you saw jamming with the legendary Roots crew a few weeks ago on the Jimmy Fallon Show, and yes, that is the same Gary that is selling out shows seemingly everywhere he goes from the US to Canada to wherever hes going next…..but, most Austinites will remember the years that Gary has put in playing in probably every venue in Austin alongside legends and amateurs alike. I first saw Gary at a happy hour probably about 6 or 7 years ago at the The Continental Club on SoCo and at that point was amazed by the versatility in range that the musician can access and dominate songs genre to genre. I believe he was doing a Cody Chessnutt cover at that time, and then went into some old blues right after all awhile mesmerizing the crowd with his insanely fast guitar hand.  Gary will ascend into ACL straight from months of touring to bless the festival with some magic I’m sure. Gary Clark Jr’s homecoming ACL set is on Friday September 16 at 6:30 on the BMI stage.

Gary will also be doing an official ACL after party at the legendary Antone’s that same night at 10:00 ($15-$17) -tickets available here. Get them quick. You can visit Gary Clark Jr’s Website here.


I first recall seeing Suzanna Choffel singing as part of the popular organic San Marcos hip hop band called Liquid Stereo Project..this had to b probably well over 10 years ago. Fast forward to today and she has grown into  a successful solo career who tours regionally and nationally as well as has recently headlined one of the popular Blues on the Green shows.  Suzanna’s voice is packed to the brim with soul and her songwriting is a fresh breath in the current state of music, as it is very personal and endearing. Choffel’s set should be on your list if you are attending ACL, she plays Sunday September 18 at 2:30 on the Austin Ventures stage. You can visit Suzanna Choffel’s website here.

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Austin’s Electric Touch will also play the ACL fest. The Island recording artists who are working on their studio album have also just come back from an insane tour schedule in part to their duties during the east coast of Van’s Warped Tour, as well as their dazzling Lollapalooza set. ET’s brand of indie rock is a great listen and they are gathering quite the buzz lately with their new single “Don’t Stop” which is as catchy of a song as they come. Electric Touch will play on Friday at 3:45 on the Austin Ventures set. You can visit Electric Touch’s website here.

 

I’ve had a great time at every ACL Festival I’ve attended and stumbled somehow into, however, ACL is usually out of the average music goers reach- costwise and timewise, and thats where the afterparties come in- These are the sweet morsels of awesomeness that happen because tons of great acts from the festival are around to play and would rather get paid for playing a show then sitting up in a hotel room I imagine. These are more affordable…can you say $10 for Nas and Damian Marley, $20 for Big Boi with Phranchyze and Perseph, and $15-17 for Gary Clark Jr. These are where you wanna be.

Big Boi will be performing at Mohawk on Friday September 16th at 8:30. Joining the half of Outkast and performing will be Austin MC, Phranchyze who is fresh from an MC buffet at the Houston leg of the Red Bull EmSEE rap battles. Phranchyze will go on to the finals in Atlanta sometime in November to compete for the championship. Houston’s own Perseph One Gunz will also perform , she is a monster on the mic that sort of Aesop Rock’ish for lack of a better comparison. Big ups to Proper Entertainment, Knuckle Rumbler, and Attal Recordings for this one.


Nas and Damian Marley will also be playing on Friday, September 16th with DJ Green Lantern at the Haven. Tickets are $10  but you have tp RSVP on do512.com here is the link.

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NEW Poster/Flier Design: Gary Clark Jr at Antones January 7

Posted on January 6, 2011 by Mofoz


Heres the latest design we did for the Gary Clark Jr show at Antones this Friday, December 7th. Conceptually we wanted it to look like a used and abused scrap piece of paper at a screen print shop…the text was generated and frazzled using illustrator, while the photographic image was actually manipulated in photoshop.

Ideally we would have liked to add some more rough touches to it in PS, along with “registration” marks and hand written notes on top of the image…but alas, a quick deadline is a quick deadline….
anyways. enjoy.

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Shadow Paradigm Office..our latest murals

Posted on July 22, 2010 by Mofoz


Heres some pictures from inside the Shadow Paradigm office…We helped to paint and imagine this space. The Austin office is home to the management,creative services, and networking of some of Austin’s favorite musicians.

The murals showcase emcee Phranchyze, bluesman Gary Clark Jr. , and rock band Hour Band, and soon will feature images for electronic musicians Chopigula.

The space is a community all in its own.
We were happy to work on this project with some of our best friends including artist Rick Osborne as well as the make it happen dude, Kris Krishna.

Everybody in all of these bands as well as friends helped to see this project from start to finish. This space was worked with new flooring, new paint from top to bottom and well pretty much had the input of everyone involved.

Be warned- SHADOW PARADIGM is taking over.






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