Author Archives: the LIFESTYLE

Feb 13 2012
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Music, Visual Arts

Patchwork: Jade Eyes

Patchwork: Jade Eyes

Jade Eyes

These jade eyes are straight lies that bind us / These jade eyes  (x4)

These jade eyes are straight lies that bind us/ One mind we design our own island/ Or so I thought as I thrust my paw on her/ Didn’t think that I could do her such dishonor/ Back away and I nod my head/ These pretty lights can really play and they’re rocking it/ And these kids eat it up like Lox and spread/ As the clock is lost and we forget our beds/ The jade eyes stay with me and I see her/ Kissing on the dude who arrived in the beamer/ Guess I had weak pop tonight Elisa Steamer/ The jade just caught the light and all disappears/ But she stays florescent cold as December in this northern state that’s the greyest in the hemisphere/ Just like lemmings I follow the trap/ Wonder if she gets off on withholding that vag because

These jade eyes are straight lies that bind us / These jade eyes (x4)

Contradiction many been up her blouse/ But my fingers are some splinters she can do without/ This week’s been weak grime and grout/ Games every day every way tagged out/ But I’m glad for the no’s the strep and the colds/ The effect of the soul/ Is it’s left invincible/ Try me all you want these jade eyes still haunt me/ Thought if I got her I’d find some sense of belonging/ After the show all filed out to rides home/ Chose to feign fatigue said peace to the folks/ Got home restless with the image in my mind/ Of her curves her shirt and her perfect jade eyes/ And I dealt with it the only way I know how/ With the guitar and drums turned up way too loud/And as all else slept and tired of the bass/ In it’s beautiful hum I found a place

These jade eyes are straight lies that bind us / These jade eyes (x4)

Jade Eyes is another classic original track from P. A deep story that’s woven through dope rhymes, wordplay and guitar. The hook on this track has always stuck with me – To me, P’s words and delivery in these lines express the core of what this song is about. Using acrylic paint on 4 rectangular pieces of plexiglass, I created Patchwork: Jade Eyes. I approached this project like a “sampling” project, chopping up the words from the hook into the different panes of plexiglass to create another flexible hook that expresses the original meaning in a new way…

Reflection and Response.

V.

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Feb 13 2012
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Music, Visual Arts

Patchwork: Untitled

Untitled 

Untitled is classic V- Attention to detail that conveys texture, feeling, and meaning. For me piece’s lines stretch into the past and demonstrate the power of Legacy.  For Patchwork Untitled I delved deep into the LIFESTYLE sample archives and found a track that V and I recorded back in the basement sessions at my parents house on Rose St, in Berkeley. Both the drums and the “organ” are from that period. The “organ,” is a sampled instrument from an early electric guitar part of mine.

Family/Generations.

Patchwork Untitled

Patchwork Untitled Acapella


One two three four

Everyday comes from 10,000 more

The family continues all through the lineage

Every single present’s connect to past millions

He stares head down/But no frown instead a smile/Imagines his seed’s achievements in miles away from where he toils each day/The night creeps up/He pees out green stuff/ This is enough/His shoulder gets bolder with every strike/No Folgers to ward off the latest of nights/This is today as the story I write/If it wasn’t for his spade/I wouldn’t have life/The present conditions are results of/Past decisions resolve so tough/That agrarian servant/Perhaps it was urban/ past pain joins today’s hurting/It’s all a current/As together we go/Lonliness lost in the family scrolls/Handed down from places so cold/Details forgot/But the struggle is known

One two three four

Everyday comes from 10,000 more

The family continues all through the lineage

Every single present’s connect to past millions

And they join together 1, 2, 3,4/Fists in the distance/Can still see more/ Moving tide/ Forever’s fact of life/Many times passed the mic/This story is ageless/This laptop was once pages/Before sound was translated/It was written in each language/Learned from the cave wall statements/This shit goes out to the Angulies and Mullers/And the names of my blood that time covers/And your people too/Generations of truth is the reason we get through current disputes/Smiles in the face of the burning sun/He’s got that ticket/Sister waits for him to come/ 200 years after the fact his offspring’s success validates sweat of the past

One two three four

Everyday comes from 10,000 more

The family continues all through the lineage

Every single present’s connect to past millions

Reflection and Response

-P

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Feb 10 2012
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Visual Arts

Feature: Vatche Donikian

the LIFESTYLE Feature Series moves us into February with a look at Reflection and Response in the artwork of Vatche Donikian, creator of Restless and Determined Clothing!! We are PROUD to present Vatche, comin up in the game with undeniable creativity, drive, and talent. From growing up in Oakland and Berkeley and now studying in Irvine, CA, Vatche has relentlessly worked at his craft and developed his unique artistic approach. He recently launched his independent clothing brand, Restless and Determined, which is already off to a solid start and pushing forward to big things! It’s been a truly inspiring process for both P and V to witness throughout the years – don’t sleep on this grounded RR artist!

Peep the Reflection and Response interview followed by photos of his dope T-shirt and crewneck designs!

Reflection and Response means to express yourself to the fullest extent, however you choose to do that.

Leading off with some basics, where are you from? And where are you at?

VD: I was born in Oakland, but we moved to Berkeley when I was around 5. Bay Area born and raised, but I’m currently going to school at UC Irvine.

What does Reflection and Response mean to you?

VD: To me, Reflection and Response means to express yourself to the fullest extent, however you choose to do that. Everybody is different from the way they are brought up and the experiences they have, so you just have to get that out there and be who you are. Sometimes I just sit there and listen to music and feel motivated, so I just pull out pencil and paper or pull up my computer and put in work. Reflecting and Responding, by the way stuff makes u feel and react.

How does Restless and Determined Clothing fit in with that definition?

VD: Well with Restless and Determined Clothing, that’s exactly what I do. I make the designs off what I’m feeling, like the Heart Beats. Music is a big part of my life, makes my heart pump. So I’m just expressing myself with designs that others can relate to also. I’m not doing anything but being me. I’m restless and I’m determined, I won’t stop until I’m satisfied with what I’ve done.

What else have you been working on recently? What are you looking to work on next?

VD: Recently I’ve been working on just getting my stuff out there, like more designs, and I’m always trying to improve too. I’ve started printing on crewneck sweatshirts and girls v-necks also. For now I’m just trying do this stuff and keep expanding the company base.

Who or what inspires you?

VD: A lot of my music inspires me. Rappers like iamsu!, Kendrick Lamar, Dom Kennedy, and Erk tha Jerk really motivate me to make the best designs possible and really get a lot of things done. It’s motivational and inspirational to me; it helps me stay on the grind. Anybody that knows me knows I get lost in my music and those artists just really get my thoughts flowing.

Is there anything else you would like the Collective to know?

VD: Man, I just hope everyone can see through my artwork that I really put my all into this stuff. I really am Restless and Determined, and that’s never gonna change. I’m on the grind 24/7, even if I’m not physically creating a design, I think of them in my head and thinking of ways that I can get even better. I also want to say thanks to everyone that supports me, and those who give me feedback. It really makes me want to go that much harder.

Shout out to…?

VD: Shout out to my big brother Vicken for having my back through everything, and really getting me into art from such a young age. Also shout out to my girlfriend for helping me out with everything, especially all this shirt stuff, she helps me with designs and does some of the lettering also. And to my homie Diego, we use to make shirts back in the day since 2008. And a big thanks all my fam and friends and to everybody who bought a shirt, spread the word or even just took the time to look at the pictures.

Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/restlessdeterminedclothing and follow us on Twitter @RDC_Shirts.

Check out our site and web store at: http://restlessdeterminedclothing.webs.com/.

Heart Beats T-shirts

The Determined (L) & Heart Beats (R) Crewnecks

The Collection

Tools of the Trade

Restless and Determined

Reflection and Response.


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Feb 09 2012
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Photography

Snapshots from the Collective

Photos by Bus by Megan Branch

Meknes, Morocco

October 2008

– Megan Branch

Reflection and Response.

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Feb 06 2012
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Photography

Watch The Sky

These pictures comes from the roof of the Catedral de la Almudena. The figures look out over the city, and I managed to catch the sun behind some of them.

-P

Reflection and Response

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Feb 06 2012
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Visual Arts

POW! BLAM!

Paint marker on canvas.

These are from a couple years back – bought my sister a blank pair of off-white Toms for her birthday, but I took a couple of paint markers to ’em first..

That classic comic lettering. POW! BLAM! one step at a time..

Reflection and Response.

V.

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Feb 03 2012
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Uncategorized

Talk of the Town: What’s OUR California?

Our second Talk of the Town session begins with a question from the LIFESTYLEfam member Megan Branch:

For the Joad family in The Grapes of Wrath and for many during that time their future was California. What’s OUR California? #RR

Quick catch-up: Talk of the Town consists of Discussion Questions focusing on any topics interesting to any viewer that feels like it can spark dialogue. Anybody can email us questions to throw out to the Collective, and we’ll post one every other Friday, with dialogue following up in the comments section below! Thanks to Fran’s question two weeks ago and Megan this week for getting this series off the ground!!

Reflection and Response.

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Feb 02 2012
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Photography

Snapshots from the Collective

Untitled (Toledo, Spain) by Veronica Sanchez

Reflection and Response.

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Jan 30 2012
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Music, Visual Arts

The Patchwork Series: An Introduction

Welcome to the Patchwork Series! In this series we use earlier work to inspire new creations. This is collaboration through space but also through Medium. We’ll be collaborating from NYC to Madrid with V using a visual perspective to reflect and respond to P’s audio tracks and vice versa. For example, on our first patchwork series V is creating an all new graphic piece based off of P’s The City Swells. We look forward to expanding our craft with this series. As always, thank y’all so much for riding with us!!!

-P and V

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Jan 30 2012
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Music, Visual Arts

Patchwork: Landscape

Landscape

Patchwork: Landscape.

For this patchwork I used a sample recorded back in Berkeley from a nearly forgotten session with some old friends. I found an accordion track that seemed to go with the idea of the bicycle journey. I wrote the lyrics the next day (January 30th post day). V’s piece uses motion is such interesting ways- both the narrative and detail of V’s piece stuck out to me and were influences on this patchwork.

Full track

Instrumental

A Capella

Patchwork: Landscape

A friend said they look something like mountains/ obstacles to get around in/ a hill of wheels/ peaks an valleys/ bars and steel/ falling freely/ the feeling of a thousand movements suddenly still/

He said he’ll never again depict bicycles/Minute curves made many lights dull/Into morning/He’s pouring over each individual frame/3 panels later the piece became/What it is today/

Off in the dusk/ Johnny gets up/ Brushes off his must/Hops on two wheels starting to rust/ Heads downtown because it’s market day/ Grabs his mackerel two jars of lard mayonnaise/ Sets up his stand right by the French fry place/ Amsterdam’s morning hours are an early grey/ These surly markets will surely pay/ For a fresh fish sandwich that he’s still learning to make/

To the Southeast/ The second prayer is sounding/ Sarah peddles between beggars and sheiks/ Already the second quarter she’s missing her team/ Qualifying for championships/Rides her 6 speed over the mountain back to her crib/ Fast as shit/ Shifts to evade pebbles/Her gown nestles / Her nerves/If they score she needs it that’s passion for sure/ Cousin sees her fly fast a blur/ Blurts out Salam in time for the third/

A friend said they look something like mountains/ Obstacles to get around in/ A hill of wheels/ Peaks an valleys/ Bars and steel/ Falling freely/ The feeling of a thousand movements suddenly still/

He said he’ll never again depict bicycles/ Minute curves made many lights dull/ Into morning/ He’s pouring over each individual frame/ 3 panels later the piece became/ What it is today/

Back in Seattle/ Northwest’s saddle/ Steve’s done working/ He straddles the lake path’s rambles/ Got miles turned up with Chet Baker on the way/ Goddamn these Husky fans sure crowd up Montlake/ As he turns up that hill on forty-fifth/ Burning in his legs lets him know he’s still fit/ Prefers this to constraints of his car/ Gets home stows the Bianci in the backyard/ Feet up opens that peanut jar/

Joanna in the city where Steve’s bikes are spinning/ In the plant where this week her hours way past 60/ Used to make Ipads till her friend started feeling shitty/ Now can’t move her hands just turned 15/ Lives on the facility/ Her faculty is limited to assembling the same 4 millimeter part times infinity/ But she remembers when she arrived here on her two wheels/ Proud with work she can provide her own meals

A friend said they look something like mountains/ Obstacles to get around in/ A hill of wheels/ Peaks an valleys/ Bars and steel/ Falling freely/ The feeling of a thousand movements suddenly still/

He said he’ll never again depict bicycles/ Minute curves made many lights dull/ Into morning/ He’s pouring over each individual frame/ 3 panels later the piece became/ What it is today/

-P

-Reflection and Response.

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