As I’ve told you before, Sessions LA is a program that teaches youth and young adults music writing, production, recording, and DJing. Their mission is to promote development, nurture critical thinking, and foster community building through the process of creating music.

So next Thursday, December 27, help us keep this program alive and join us for THE HEATWAVE.

DETAILS:
-Thursday, December 27
-NOLA’S 734 E 3rd St Los Angeles
-10p to 2a
-21+
-Hosted by Bambu
-Performances by House Shoes, Dibia$e, Amp Live, P-Trix, Duke Westlake, and Open Mike Eagle
-$12 Presale/$15 Door
-ALL PROCEEDS GO TO SESSIONS LA

Peace to Jowee and Mon and stay tuned for more projects involving them. Can’t wait!

Yesterday I tweeted that there would be an announcement posted. This is it: CA will no longer be updated regularly. I’m only going to commit to it when it’s required. The best way to know if there’s new content is to follow me on Twitter or like CA’s Facebook page.

Lately I’ve been exposed to a lot of death/birth, full circle stories. I am near the end of CA, but it has birthed so many opportunities that I am inclined to focus on 100%. I hope that the same people that have kept up with me here will follow me as I make more of an investment into Rick & Ray and Tastemakers.

It’s been an amazing run - I’ve fostered solid relationships, I created new ventures, I have fans. But most of all, I was constantly given the gift of time. Your time. You paid attention to me, my shitty photos, and my stories. Thank you and please remember I’m not completely done!

We met the co-owner, Mega, a few months ago at a bar; purely coincidental that we were at the same spot. We had a little liquid courage in us, so we went up to him. A brief conversation about the Black Scale women’s line and his Pilipinas passport turned into a Tastemakers feature. We exchanged numbers and after a few more months, we finally got our schedules together to get it done.

And here it is. It was probably the most intriguing interview we’ve conducted. No format, a whole lotta nerves, and an open mind about what Black Scale really means. We were taken aback through most of it, and we hope you will be, too.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Here’s how it looked pre-show in the green room.

And outside on the deck, we hung out with Rick & Ray’s producer, Bambeeno.

And Duel (Oishi Media).

And Sabzi (Blue Scholars), Pretty, and DJs Rhettmatic and Felt1.

Me and Shelly’s (Rick & Ray/Tastemakers) obligatory pre-show bathroom shot.

Then it started. First up, Rey Res.

Next, Kix. He brought out some guests, performed tracks from the upcoming 7AM Mixtape (produced by Bambeeno), and got trill with the crowd.

Finally, Bam. He did a set of old stuff and new stuff, and closed it out with his ode to LA, “Where You From” from ...one rifle per family. He made it known to everyone that that would be his final full length album, but promised he’d still work on music.

Congrats to the guys on a very successful run. I’m hella proud of you.

And then to celebrate the culmination of a very successful tour, hang out with us at Blu Monkey after.

Let me bring you up to speed: SESSIONS is a program in Los Angeles that teaches youth and young adults music writing, production, recording, and DJing. Their mission is to promote development, nurture critical thinking, and foster community building through the process of creating music. SESSIONS currently needs financial help in order to continue into 2013. Before I get into the collaborative event that we are detailing, I need to say that I am 100% in support of SESSIONS and I hope you are, too. I’ve been to the program, whether it was to meet with the staff or to hang out with the kids, and I’ve experienced the positivity that comes from learning. For many reasons, those kids may not have outlets to chase a dream but SESSIONS is there to help. And even if they haven’t quite figured out what they’d like to do with music, there are genuinely good people involved in the program to help them think it through.

So we have come together to throw a fundraiser. We are developing an event that will involve a beat contest and performances. You’ll know full details by the first of next month. In the meantime, please mark Thursday, December 27 on your calendar.

Now onto the food at Los Molcajetes. Check out the size of those pupusas, tho! I would recommend the all pork one. It actually tastes like chicharon.

The aftermath. I couldn’t even finish my food. No wonder why Ali and Phat only ordered one!

First off, sorry for the major blog break. I’m actually suffering from a shoulder sprain and I haven’t done anything worthy of posting. Until yesterday.

My Wednesday was spent with these two: Shelly (the other half of Tastemakers and Makeup Artist in the Rick & Ray collective) and Alex (buyer at Backside).

It started at the Black Scale store to interview co-owner, Mega, for his feature on Tastemakers. We learned a lot from him - not only about the brand and its story, but about open mindedness and energy. He’s easily one of the coolest and most intriguing people I’ve met in my career. Shelly and I are aiming to get this done by next week, when Black Scale celebrates its 5 year anniversary. Stay tuned.

We were hungry after all that, and made our way to Fairfax.

We ended up at Golden State for their Wednesday rib eye special.

Instagram told us that the vintage shop Tried & True up the block had some Niners gear and some Chanel accessories on deck. So Shelly and I went to check it out while Alex went to visit his friends at The Hundreds. We left empty handed, but got to chat with the owner, Crystal. She got our math and promised to let us know when the stuff we’re looking for becomes available. Yay!

Now Alex wanted to walk up to Melrose to check out the SSUR pop up. We didn’t want to make the trek but did it anyway. On the way, I saw this. Facebook is killer? Discuss.

We finally made it, only to find out that it was closed. Alex was upset because it wasn’t even 7p yet. And then he realized that they were only open from Thursday - Saturday. SMH.

But like all situations, we make the most of it. Like for example, pretending to be tourists with Peter Pan.

We checked out the new Wild Style store on the way back to the car. Wild Style is a shop owned by Joyrich (just across the street). It carries other brands like Boy London and Adidas, and also has a hodgepodge of knick knacks. Wella, if you’re reading, you’d love it there.

Slinged self.

Then finally we were back in Burbank at Backside. We caught up with the staff and picked up these goodies from HUF.

It was a good day. Glad to be back blogging.

Has everyone read the TASTEMAKERS: Team Manila feature?

Hope so. Now let me share something else that you need to get hip to. It’s Shelly’s website (she’s also in the Rick & Ray collective as our makeup artist), updated to include new photo galleries that make it easier to view her work in fashion, editorial, and beauty. Take a look at what she’s been working on: magazine covers and spreads, celebrity clients, TV shows, etc, etc. Besides her talent, I hope that her passion translates through these photos. I see it on the regular, and experiencing that amongst my peers has got to be one of the best parts of this job.