Wednesday, January 28, 2009

COSMONAUT: upandcoming

emerging los angeles artist tony hong has just revealed his cosmonaut clothing line to the public.  the first shirt to be released is a european take on the four gospels.  it is called, the storyteller.

i managed to get my gurbby little hands the very first packaged shirt.

i would tell you the philosophy of the pig logo and the cosmonaut brand name, but you should find out for yourself at,

WWW.TONYHONG.NET

and

WWW.COSMONAUTLIFE.COM

the brand carries a lot more depth than a stupid picture of some idiotic swarming koi fish or crystallized skulls. 

1/70 suckas.

tony hong is definitely making waves as of late.  he won the coveted, "best in show," award at the create:fixate lucky seven art show.

here are some people drooling over the immaculate design and ultra-detailed masterpieces of the man himself.

"his art was the best art of all the art."

-roy

some more people in shock and awe.

a message to all artists: keep it simple, keep it clean. 

the man, the myth, and the legend.  rockin' the eye of the tiger.

congratulations, mr. hong.  

you are on your way.

fin.

PS: BUY SOME SHIRTS AT WWW.COSMONAUTLIFE.COM~!!! 

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

PHOTOSHOOT: My Personal DUB EM DEEZ

it has been a long, hard (that's what she said) and expensive road to build the first element of my musical arsenal, but finally, i have a pedalboard that is worthy of showing off.  

name: pedal pad asx road series (customized)

msrp: $249.95

"always use protection"

i used to just carry my effects strapped onto a plywood board from home depot, but as my collection got more and more expensive, i realized that i needed to protect my investment in a serious way.  the pedal pad cases are definitely road worthy but i didn't like how the board inside was divided into two mini boards.  i used my home depot skills to manufacture a single board that would hold all my pedals without the divide.

before

after

name: monster rock instrument cables - 8 inch, angled plugs (count: 5)

msrp: $24.95 each

"get gold, or go home."

most people think that patch cables don't have an effect on the sound, but they are seriously mistaken.  as someone who has used both cheap and quality cables, i can confidently say that primo cables reduce noise and buzzing tremendously.  plus, monster cables are extremely reliable and coupled with a lifetime warantee, there's no other substitute.  

name: dunlop dc brick

msrp: $190.95

"you've got the touch, you've got the power!"

ask you can see, i only use mxr/dunlop effects so it would make sense to use a power supply from the same manufacturer.  this power supply sits velcroed under my pedal board where it silently feeds power to 9 volt and 18 volt effects.

name: dunlop zw-45 zakk wylde signature series crybaby wah

msrp: $200.55

"don't wake up the baby."

my guitars enter the effects chain via zakk wylde's signature series wah.  this wah features a fasel inductor like the vintage dunlop wahs to get that classic sound.  however, this wah is tuned specifically to zakk's standards so it nails those thick tones exceptionally well.  it is also adjustable via the torque wrench so you can set the speed of the wah's pedal mechanism.

name: dunlop jd-4s rotovibe expression pedal

msrp: $371.46

"good vibrations"

this effect is probably the least used of all my effects, but just like the tweezers on a swiss army knife, i do need it once in a while and am happy when its there.  this pedal switches between chorus and vibrato modes, but i use it for the vibrato exclusively.  this pedal gives me the watery sounds of hendrix and robin trower.

name: mxr EVH signature series phase 90

msrp: $247.95

"set phasers to eruption"

this pedal is irreplaceable.  i use the script switch to bring out the vintage sounds of the original scripted phase 90 to spice up solo riffs and even clean strumming and picking.  if i use this with the chorus, you can bet panties will be on stage in a second.  and the eddie van halen taped paint job is just icing on the cake.

name: mxr zw-44 zakk wylde signature series grind and clear overdrive (dunlop custom shop)

msrp: approximately $300.00

"put it into overdrive!"

you couldn't buy this effect even if you wanted to.  there was a very limited run and i was lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time.  i replaced my original wylde overdrive with this one and i haven't looked back.  people say that this overdrive is too weak, but that's because they aren't throwing it in front of a distorted amp like zakk does.  do your homework junior!  i almost always have this pedal on and cranked to maximum to get the notorious wylde tone.

name: mxr m-134 stereo chorus

msrp: $314.79

"it ain't over 'til the fat pedal sings."

this may be the bread and butter of my effects chain.  i always have this pedal on.  in studio guitarists can double, triple or even quadruple their guitars on any given track, but live, you have to rely on a nice chorus pedal to fatten up your sound.  the stereo chorus does a great job of warming up any guitar and with the three band eq built in, i can create any chorus effect i need.

name: mxr m169 carbon copy analog delay

msrp: $254.61

"there's been a slight delay...or a long one...depending on what you want."

this is the newest addition to the family and a welcomed one at that.  the analog delay gives my solos the extra "bam!" that they've been needing.  and since it is analog, i'm not falling into the compressed, digital conversions that sound so fake. keepin' it real, baby.

name: mxr m-135 smart gate

msrp: $229.47

"smarty pants"

i acquired this pedal to tame the noise that the overdrive produces in front of a distorted amp.  this pedal really lives up to it's name.  it really is smart about what to silence, and what to let go.  the unwanted noise is gone, but my tone rings true until it's last dying breath.

total msrp: $2484.48

is it worth it?

you bet.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

electric drool

i am never going to get all these auto show pictures up.  i don't even know how the guys at speedhunters do it.  anyways, here are shots of the dodge ev.

it definitely stands out in a crowd of ugly electric vehicles.

if it looks familiar, you wouldn't be all that far off.  lotus makes the lightweight chassis for dodge, tesla and other electric auto makers.


i like these stock wheels.  stylish with a racing bloodline.

check out the aerodynamic undercarriage.  since the electric powerplant isn't built to bang out major amounts of horsepower, weight reduction and aerodynamics are key.

much prettier than a prius.

i don't get it

this is a given.

this is deserved.


this i completely do not understand.

read all about it here.

i mean, come on, its called the ROCK N ROLL hall of fame, not the ROCK N ROLL SLASH RAP hall of fame.

what do you think?

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

how do you say happy birthday to a god?

tony hong informed me that today is zakk wylde's birthday.

he is 43 and rocks harder than ever.

happy birthday to you,

happy birthday to you,

happy birthday, zakk wylde

happy birthday to you.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

best of 2008: musical femme fatales

2008 is dead and gone forever.  here are some songs by some women that i discovered during '08.  check 'em out and give them a download.  they will not disappoint.

in no particular order, the top 10 musical femme fatales of 2008 and their masterpieces (with videos to boot!!!):

m.i.a - hit that

rilo kiley - the moneymaker

jem - crazy

thao nguyen - feet asleep

susie suh - light on my shoulder

lykke li - dance, dance, dance

lily allen - womanizer (britney spears cover)

duffy - warwick avenue

the ting tings - shut up and let me go

santogold - the creator

2008 wasn't all that bad...