"TRANSITION" An art exhibition by DOES

     The crossover from graffiti artist to fine artist is topic which divides quite a few members of the scene from the others... Some believe graffiti belongs solely in the streets, while others believe if the artist has put in considerable amounts of work in the streets, then the transition is a commendable one... Whichever side you fall on, if any, even the most naive of artistic eyes could tell you - this DOES guy, he can fuckin' paint!! And paint he does, astonishingly, in fact...

     Having had the opportunity to play soccer for his national team, DOES afforded himself time to paint numerous places abroad and see numerous different styles, all while perfecting his own... In his late twenties he was forced to give into his injuries and hang up his elite cleats, to which he responded by devoting himself fully to his art... He founded the European based Love Letters crew, which allowed him commission walls and mural work, gaining more and more notoriety for himself and his razor sharp artwork... Australian based Ironlak even got him on their team, and gave the guy his own shade of orange titled "Dieci Does..." It reflected his soccer status as "dieci" translates in Italian to 10, a number typically worn by captains and highly skilled members of soccer teams... He has been producing extremely precise and methodical pieces for years, and now has his own solo exhibitions such as "TRANSITION" at Maxwell Colette... Also, for any Chicago dwellers in the know, he did an amazing mural on the outside of the James Beard recognized "Violet Hour..." So go see that before someone fucks it up... Oh, and if you do happen to make it to Violet Hour, sip on their "Crema de Mezcal" neat - it's entirely too fuckin' delicious!!

Soundset 2015 - Shakopee, MN

     As any veteran Soundset goer will tell you, good weather at Canterbury Downs is never a guaranteed thing... Though some years have been nice, there is the occasional overcast and tornado threat... This year's treat was consistent rainfall... Nothing horrific, and at some times it added an almost majestic quality to watching your favorite artists fiercely spit bars while the rain falls upon them their whole set... But did that stop anyone from not enjoying their Soundset experience?! Well obviously some, but a high percentage of those that showed up stuck it out for the long haul and enjoyed it all the while...

     Having been to other festivals: Warped tour, Curiosa, Riotfest, Paid Dues and Rock The Bells, I can confidently say that Soundset is my favorite of them all... Granted I am biased, as Minnesota is my home state, but it's more than that... It's a TRUE Hip-Hop festival in purest sense - there's B-Boys & B-Girls, graffiti, DJ's, emcees, beat boxers, as well as skateboarders, and a car show... Not to mention the fried cheese curds were fucking delicious, and Fulton brewery's "Lonely Blonde" blonde ale and "Once Upon A Vine" IPA were excellent local offerings as well... The roster is another consistent draw in, as it was once predominantly midwest acts but has since grown to include some of the hottest and classic names in the Hip-Hop world!!

Nothing Like A Stick To The Nuts On All-Star Weekend

Many moons ago I had my first affair in the craft beer world with Rogue's "Hazelnut Brown Nectar…" I credit that brew alone with being the one that got me interested in the craft beer world and everything that it has to offer… Needless to say, I now have an affinity for nut brown ales, as they are extremely nostalgic to me… So much so, I made sure my first home-brewed beer was a honey-nut brown ale!! I had other experimental trials in my home-brews, but the one I was most excited about was the one I screwed up during the bottling stage… It was supposed to be my "Peanut Butter Chocolate Milk Porter," but after reading that I could use maple syrup as my conditioning agent, I chose to take that option over the tried and true priming sugar… It turned out to be a complete failure as my brew was severely under-carbonated and tasted like weird chocolate milk… That was the last time I had thought about peanut butter in a beer… Then I came across "Stick To The Nuts!!"

When my eyes first grazed the bottle, I was immediately drawn to it's graphic due to the hockey influence of their brewery's name - "SlapShot…" As one of my previous articles states, hockey and beer is the perfect marriage!! The graphic has a little peanut hockey player as well, further intriguing me to the quality of its' contents… The only downfall I could find upon my initial inspection of the bottle was it's from Chicago, and not that Chicago is a bad place, but I'd assume the brewery is full of Blackhawks fans… But with this being All-Star weekend, I figured I could put my distaste for the 'Hawks aside and enjoy a hockey influenced brew in the spirit of the best sport in the world!! Also, as much as I'm NOT a 'Hawks fan, I respect the players of the game, and the fact that they have five individuals from their roster in the All-Star competition is no small feat…

So with a small, weird sense of disloyalty, I chose to enjoy this brew as I watched the final day of the All-Star weekend… Hopefully I'll be able to find out what a beer brewed with peanut butter is TRULY supposed to taste like… And for the record, I'm only hoping "Team Toews" wins due to them having Minnesota's Ryan Suter on their roster!!

Focal: A Photo & Film Expo

     On Friday December 12th, the Locallective Loft made its' space available for "Focal: A Photo & Film Expo" hosted by Modest... The venue was somewhat hidden, as the only indicator that there was a show being held upstairs was a small slab of wood with "Modest Show - Please Shut Door!" written on it... Once inside, the stairwell led immediately to a beautifully painted graffiti piece with the silhouette of the Chicago skyline seemingly "burning" through the upper right corner of it... That led you past a row of stickers, flyers and business cards of those associated with the shows production, all in front of a studio area, where it looked as if pieces were in the process of being completed... After collecting some memorabilia, we did what any respectable art-show-goer does - We hit the bar!!

Video: Grant Skate Park, Chicago - Opening Day

Image borrowed from SkateNoize.com

     Skateboarding has always been a staple in my life... Having learned how at a young age, I've come to appreciate and love the simple joy of smooth pavement and wide carves... In the beginning I put many miles on a hand-me-down John Lucero X-2, so longboarding is much more my style these days... Not to say that I don't enjoy rocking out some street lines from time to time, it's just that I've found that my roots have translated to a greater affinity with the longboards... I've always had the luxury of living relatively close to a skatepark, thus I've always been able to acquaint myself with the scene whether on solo missions or through good times spent with friends... That scene has been kind to me, so I do what I can to show it support in any way I can!!

     I came across Modest Inc., which is a dope boutique shop in Forest Park, IL when picking up some art supplies one afternoon... I began following them on Instagram and they posted a flyer which promoted the opening of a new skatepark in Grant Park!! I thought it odd that Chicago would be opening a park in the first week of December, but a little research has has lead me to believe it was to allocate funds from a budget back into the city, thus ensuring further funding in the future... With three acres of street park being strewn across downtown Chicago a few hundred yards from the lakeshore, it's no wonder $2.65 million is the tab on the project... So hopefully someones fiscal year was saved with the official opening of this project occurring when it did, even if it'll most likely be covered in snow within a matter of weeks...

Riot Fest 2014 - Chicago, IL

   It's a difficult thing, deciding where to begin when describing the hedonistic debaucheries that occur during the three day epic event that was Chicago's leg of the 10th Anniversary Edition of Riot Fest... A multitude of bands to appease the pallets of many a rocker, carnival rides, an extensive amount of different styles of food, plenty of beer, the occasional zombie, and of course the mini-golf course!! As every Patti Smith fan needs to keep their short game sharp, making sure not miss a sunday afternoon on the city links...

  Though there were an excessive amount of great sets to see, I can only recount the highlights from each day... This is mainly a writeup, but  a more extensive photographic diary of event is available, so please check out our Facebook Album and like us there, as well as follow us in Instagram!!

  It all began quite sketchy, with the cloudy morning's ominous weather coming to fruition at varying levels throughout the day... Which initially was no big deal, as the rainfall itself never got too horrifically bad, but the consistency paired with the attendance of thousands of treading feet led to extremely muddy and wet conditions on the ground... Once one came to terms that their footwear and any long leg-wear were essentially collateral damage for attending this fantastic event (Aside from the potentially hundreds of dollars spent just to attend,) the joy began to flow heavily all around...