Q&A with Shiba San
SHIBA SAN. This French native is making waves globally, taking house music from his home to yours. Paired with his background in hip hop, Shiba San's music style contains bits of deep house and ghetto funk. The artist is scheduled to play his premier U.S. festival at HARD Summer 2014. The electronic dance music festival takes place on August 2 + 3 at the Whittier Narrows Recreation Area in Los Angeles. "Okay," one of Shiba San's latest songs, has garnered quite a bit of attention throughout the EDM realm. Bust out your speakers, take a listen, and let it soak in. Okay? Okay. Shiba San is very chill and bassy, perfect for summer.
Name: Shiba San
Age: Changing all the time
Hometown: Paris
Location: Paris
Where do you gather inspiration? It's coming from everywhere. I'm listening to a lot of stuff coming from a lot of countries. Sometimes when I'm riding my scooter--that's a very Parisian thing to do, riding a scooter--I have an idea for a melody, I stop and I record it on my iPhone. Thank you Steve.
Why the name "Shiba San?" It's a Japanese dog, which I like a lot, with a similar personality as mine. Moody.
How do you define success? Berthillon on a sunny Sunday afternoon in June. You have to be Parisian to understand.
What is your favorite thing to see in the audience while you're on stage? I obviously like to see people reacting to my music, jumping up and down, booties & boobs, you know what I mean.
What are you most excited about for HARD Summer? That's going to be my first festival in the US. I saw the videos, so I'm very impatient to be there.
What's the best film of all time? Se7en.
What do you do when you're not making music? I listen to music.... a lot. I like to play tennis too and I like spending time with my friends and not with my manager.
If you could have one superpower, what would it be? The one from Sangoku.
Find Shiba San on:
How to Tie Dye a Shirt with Bleach
If you've heard of tie-dying with bleach, you might be wondering how on earth you do it. Is it complex? Nope, dyeing with bleach is pretty simple, and you can switch up the results.
* This post may contain affiliate links.
Supplies you'll need:
+ An old t-shirt (must be cotton!)
+ Bleach
+ Water
+ Rubberbands
+ Spray bottle
+ Spray bottle
+ A well-ventilated area outdoors
Other optional items to bleach:
+ Sweatpants+ Sweatshirt
Hello, my dear friends! It's been a long time coming, but I'm proud to bring you a super easy DIY project. This is an easy bleach tie dye DIY project to do with any old t-shirt that leaves you uninspired. We all have some old tees that we never wear anymore. Once you learn how to tie dye with bleach, it gets easier to create patterns.
Of course, you could do this do-it-yourself project with anything you have, a sweatshirt, sweatpants, or an old towel. It doesn't have to be a t-shirt, but this is a great starting point. Go through your closet to look for items that need to be upcycled or tossed out.
Of course, you could do this do-it-yourself project with anything you have, a sweatshirt, sweatpants, or an old towel. It doesn't have to be a t-shirt, but this is a great starting point. Go through your closet to look for items that need to be upcycled or tossed out.
This bleach tie dye DIY project only takes a few minutes & you can witness the magic as it happens. Using bleach to tie-dye shirts is fun, but make sure you're safe.
I recommend you find a well-ventilated area, and let's get to it, and wear rubber gloves. The total time of this tie-dye technique should take no more than 20 minutes.
Other optional items to bleach:
+ Sweatpants
+ Sweatshirt
Love DIY? Try this easy DIY sugar scrub.
+ Sweatpants
+ Sweatshirt
Love DIY? Try this easy DIY sugar scrub.
Materials you'll need:
+ An old t-shirt (must be cotton!)
+ Bleach
+ Water
+ Spray bottle
Note: this is my way. I didn't do it the standard way, which required way too much bleach. I really like how it turned out. But that's usually how I roll. I like to do it my way. If you like how it turned out, here's how to do it:
Steps:
1. Grab an old shirt that you don't care for anymore. Make sure you're wearing old clothes yourself in case any bleach gets on them. Prepare your shirt for dyeing. Make sure it's clean and ready to go. Twist the shirt haphazardly and add 2 or 3 rubber bands. Locate your spray bottle. Now mix equal parts bleach & water. For this particular bleach tie-dye DIY project, my mixture amounted to about 1/4 of a cup.
Protect yourself. You need to be in a well-ventilated area. Make sure you go outside for this. Bleach is extremely toxic, so get a lot of fresh air! Gloves are also recommended.
2. Twist or fold the fabric into a shape to create a pattern. You can do a spiral pattern, make it random, or follow a particular design online.
3. Applying the Bleach: You're going to spray the bleach solution mixture directly on the t-shirt. As you apply the bleach, the more you spray the solution (the more damp it is), the lighter it'll get. Depending on the color of your shirt or how dark it is, the bleach could potentially turn it white. You want to make sure the bleached parts are damp. On my shirt, the lighter sections had a considerable amount of bleach, versus the reddish areas that had less bleach. I like the contrast and color change.
4. Spray your shirt. Now take out the rubber bands & relocate them. Essentially, you're going to do steps 1 & 2 several times until you get your desired result. Your bleach tie-dye DIY is your creation. If you only do it one time, your shirt will be mostly unbleached (& incomplete). Let it sit to let the bleach continue dyeing the shirt.
I would've taken a photo to document the process, but my hands were bleary, so that was a no-go. Keep spraying to keep bleaching. Take out the rubber bands & replace them until you have your desired look.
5. After it's dyed with bleach, wash and rinse your shirt in the washing machine. Rinse it separately since there's bleach on it. After the rinse and washing, you can add color to the bleached areas if you want.
How long do you let the bleach tie dye sit?
Leave it for a few minutes to let the bleach continue dyeing the shirt.
This easy bleach tie-dye DIY method only takes 10 minutes, a maximum of 20. It only takes a few minutes to see the initial results. Of course, there are various methods, but this one is quite simple. If you're outside on a nice, sunny day, you can literally see the bleach working as you spray it. Give your revamped shirt as a gift to someone else or enjoy your 'new' shirt. It made this plain, black tee so much fresher & fun.
You can even dye the bleached areas for added color and dimension.
Before you dump those old, grimy clothes, you should see if you can DIY it first! Have a great day. Stay crafty and add this to your list of craft projects. The best thing about this home project is that you can use something from your own closet, something you might not have wanted. It gives you the chance to revamp it. You can experiment with different fabrics, too. Hope you enjoyed this tutorial.
So go ahead—dig through your tee pile, grab that worn-out cotton favorite, and get ready to watch bleach transform it from meh to masterpiece. It’s fast, fun, and endless experimentation in a spray bottle. Your wardrobe (and your followers) will thank you.
Dreams // A Poem
As the night turned to the day
& our bodies turned to dust,
I thought about life's purpose
& what will happen to us.
I pondered about my past.
I wondered about yours too.
Will we accomplish our dreams,
everything we wanted to?
We are dreamers, my dearest.
We've got our heads in the sky,
but I like us like that, love.
We can make it if we try.
So if we end up falling
we can land high on a cloud.
Let's do our best & do it hard.
Then we can always be proud.
Q&A with SoundSnobz
SOUNDSNOBZ. Why so snobby? SoundSnobz, established in 2012, consists of TroyBoi and icekream. The London-based trap duo claim their inspiration hails from all across the globe due to their varied backgrounds. The group is well-traveled, playing mainly in London, but they aim to grow drastically this year. After a delay in responses, the sound snoots very apologetically answered my questions. This brought to light their sense of humanity and warmth, which I appreciated as a writer. It's something about their personality. They care. They care about their music and they respect their fans.
Age:
Troy: 26
ice: 28
Hometown:
Troy: London
Troy: London
ice: Paris
Location: London and Dubai
Where do you gather inspiration?
Troy: Literally from anything! From the knocking of a pen on the table to the Taiko drums of Japan. We both come from extremely cultured backgrounds (Lebanese, American, Nigerian, Indian, Chinese, Portuguese) and we take a lot of influences from music from there too. We like anything quirky and love to explore anything out of the ordinary.
What do you think the other person brings to the duo?
ice: Another flavour. Another interpretation. Another banger. Another opinion. Another sound, amongst other things!
What can we expect from SoundSnobz in 2014?
Troy: Expect a lot of noise from us! Shows, tracks.....it's gonna be a big year! We don't wanna give too much away just yet ;)
Where can your fans see you perform live?
ice: At least every week in London, of course. Always check our IG/Twitter to stay up to date on our moves...
How have you evolved since you first started?
Troy: We have really learnt to embrace each other's styles of production and by doing this we have come off with the perfect formula in order to create a SoundSnobz track. We both have perfected our styles individually and this has been key in order to bring out both our musical characteristics in our tracks that are done together. We really feel strongly about each other's sound and the musical chemistry we both have is incredible.
Why the name "SoundSnobz?"
ice: One of my boys coined it actually. We were in Abu Dhabi arguing over dinner time music selection and I was like: “Sami, there's no way in hell I'm eating to this music!” He then looked at me with disgust and said: “Geeeez! You're such a sound snob! What the hell!!” I instantly knew that name was a keeper and asked my friends permission to keep it forever. He said yes but only if we give him 5% of everything we make.............forever!
What's the best film of all time?
Troy: We both love films! It's hard to pick the best but the Lord of the Rings trilogy might have to be up there!
What's your all time favorite food?
ice: Lebanese
Favorite drink?
Troy: Alcoholic or nice cold Fanta!
What do you do when you're not making music?
ice: Listening to it! One way or another: Radio, Podcast, iTunes, Driving/Walking around blasting it on the speakers/headphones. Also thoroughly enjoy TV shows, movies & current, global affairs.
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| Photo by Skyler Greene Photography |
Check them out:
Q&A with Lizzie Armanto
A couple years back I did a Q&A with Lizzie Armanto. She was 19 and several years into her skating career. She's one of those girls you want to be. She chose a career and she's blowing the competition away. Skateboarding is normally a male-oriented sport, but that's rapidly evolving. Gender roles are not so defined. There's a whole hub for ladies in sports, especially skating. The good news: she's still aiming for success in the skate world. The bad news: she's sporting a knee injury which has kept her from practicing and competing. What has she been up to?
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| Photo by: Ken Hada |
Name: Lizzie Armanto
Age: 21
Hometown: Santa Monica, CA
Location: Santa Monica, CA
Since our last chat, what has been the biggest change for you? Since our last chat, I've traveled to many more places and acquired more knowledge. I visited Japan last year and that was one of the top places I've wanted to go.
How often do you skate? Recently I have been injured so I haven't been able to skate. Before that I wast skating 4/5 days a weeks, not sure how many hours.
Where can your fans see you skate? I hope to be skating in the next Exposure event around the end of this year in San Diego.
What was the hardest trick for you to master? It took me a while to learn how to do airs properly but that was a few years ago.
What's been the proudest moment in your skate career? Last year, I won my first X Games in Barcelona, Spain. I was really proud to be there with my mom and my best friend at the event.
What goals do you have in 2014? Right now my main priority is to continue rehabbing my knee so I can get back to skating.
What's your all time favorite food? My mom's chicken adobo with rice is my favorite, I could go for that anytime.
What's the coolest thing to do in Santa Monica? The coolest thing to do in Santa Monica would be to check out some of their restaurants and hang out at the beach.
Where's one place you'd love to visit? I want to visit Finland, preferably when its warm out.
What hand do you write with? I write with my left hand.
The last few months have not been the same for Armanto, but she's working hard to grind the grip tape once more. "Recovery always seems to go super slow, but I'm really looking forward to getting back!" Armanto said.
Check her out:
Check her out:
Q&A with GAWTBASS
GAWTBASS. Remember the name. Graham Gawthorpe, more commonly known as GAWTBASS, is an up-and-comer in the trap and electronic music scene. "For the last 10 months, I have been in my apartment almost 9 out of 12 hours in the day working on music and perfecting a style that has always interested me: hip hop and trap."
Although he's 22, GAWTBASS has done his fair share of moving around. Chicago. Utah. England. Florida. Colorado. He just wanted a change of scenery; he wanted to experience more than one place. After all, the world doesn't end in Chicago. But what's it like to move around so often? "It's depressing sometimes starting over so much, but at the same time exciting to meet new people," he said. "I look at life as having only myself to rely on." Who is he? Where is he going from here? Get to know GAWTBASS.
Although he's 22, GAWTBASS has done his fair share of moving around. Chicago. Utah. England. Florida. Colorado. He just wanted a change of scenery; he wanted to experience more than one place. After all, the world doesn't end in Chicago. But what's it like to move around so often? "It's depressing sometimes starting over so much, but at the same time exciting to meet new people," he said. "I look at life as having only myself to rely on." Who is he? Where is he going from here? Get to know GAWTBASS.
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Name: Graham Gawthorpe
Age: 22
Hometown: Chicago
Location: Boulder, CO
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Where do you gather inspiration? I usually gain inspiration by taking a walk outside to the gas station to buy myself some cigs. I just listen to some of my favorite artists or some classical piano and by the time I get home I'm ready to knock out another banger. :)
What's the process for starting a new song? Listen to some tunes, brew some coffee, and sit there until I finish my first draft.
How have you evolved since you first started? 2 followers at the start to about 6,250 followers, EDM.com features, I think almost 1 million total views.
What can we expect from GAWTBASS in 2014? Always on the grind for my music, so probably within the next week... new music wise. Shows... not for another half a year to year. I'm still working on a few aspects to my production before I play shows. But I've had offers to play some decent sized shows so I'm sure that won't be an issue when I want to make it happen.
Where can your fans see you perform live? Not yet ;)
As an artist, how do you define success? Making goals, planning every angle (aka the pros and cons) and just making the first step to do it. Then from there all it is, is consistincy and staying inspired and motivated. It's hard but if you look at my progress I had no idea this was possible with just those things.
Where's one place you'd love to visit? Sweden. I have no idea why, it just seems like a nice place and the accent is beautiful to me.
What do you do when you're not making music? Think about making music.
What's your all time favorite food? I love all food!
Who are some of your favorite musicians? Luminox, Beethoven, Yo-Yo-Ma, Tincup, Kai Wachi, Ulrich Schnauss and a lot of acoustic bands.
GAWTBASS, aka Graham Gawthorpe, is a kind soul whose passion for his craft is evident, even through a computer screen. "Comfort is what holds everyone back," he said. "Once you make the step to go and do something, that's when things start happening." Things are happening.
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Mini bio:
GAWTBASS started playing the cello at age 7, performing around the world with orchestras as well as solo and group concerts around Chicago. By age 13 he switched gears and picked up the guitar. He was self-taught but eventually took lessons until age 19.
He instructed guitar for a year then moved to England to pursue a career in computer programming. One year later, he traveled back to the U.S. to attend Florida's Full Sail University in order to focus fully on music. "This didn't go too well, since I've always had a hard time in school and focusing in class, so I dropped out," said GAWTBASS.
"Life got really hard at that point, meeting some bad people and leading me down paths with bad decisions and I had to pull myself out of it and I moved again," he said. Before he moved, he went to popular clubs in Florida, Roxy and Firestone, and "would just spend hours watching the DJs wishing it was me, while everyone would get drunk and dance."
Eventually, he made the final decision to venture to a little peaceful town in Colorado called Boulder. He cleaned himself up and went hard into music. He's been there the last 10 months cranking out songs. Listen to his work and let your ears be your guide.
Check him out:Let It Go
I said I 'd never do this again
But I did now & did it then.
Let it go, let it go, let it go.
Let it go, let it go, let it go.
I should let it go.
Turns out we are all just lost.
Yearning success at any cost.
Find a penny pick it up;
maybe you'll get good luck.
But you really never know.
You should let it go.
Let it go, let it go, let it go.
Let it go, let it go, let it go.
I think you should let it go.
We're bickering daily it seems, baby.
I was thinking, I dunno maybe.
Maybe it's you, maybe it's me.
Maybe it's us and that makes we.
Who's right? Well I dunno.
I think we should let it go.
Let it go, let it go, let it go.
Let it go, let it go, let it go.
We should just let it go.
Time for the world to see some change.
Peace shouldn't seem all that strange.
Enough with the wars and the hate.
Two words: mortality rate.
Something for something, quid pro quo.
We really should let it go.
Let it go, let it go, let it go.
Let it go, let it go, let it go.
Let's all let it go.
By Carmen Varner
But I did now & did it then.
Let it go, let it go, let it go.
Let it go, let it go, let it go.
I should let it go.
Turns out we are all just lost.
Yearning success at any cost.
Find a penny pick it up;
maybe you'll get good luck.
But you really never know.
You should let it go.
Let it go, let it go, let it go.
Let it go, let it go, let it go.
I think you should let it go.
We're bickering daily it seems, baby.
I was thinking, I dunno maybe.
Maybe it's you, maybe it's me.
Maybe it's us and that makes we.
Who's right? Well I dunno.
I think we should let it go.
Let it go, let it go, let it go.
Let it go, let it go, let it go.
We should just let it go.
Time for the world to see some change.
Peace shouldn't seem all that strange.
Enough with the wars and the hate.
Two words: mortality rate.
Something for something, quid pro quo.
We really should let it go.
Let it go, let it go, let it go.
Let it go, let it go, let it go.
Let's all let it go.
By Carmen Varner
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