DNC Orientation Video!

Add comment August 11th, 2008

Scot Lefavor Look-a-like?

On an adventure through some of the X Rocks the Spot blog, I noticed this sneaky bastard chillin’ with some fixie kids… At first I didn’t think it was Scot but then remembered that he does have a fixie. Knowing LeFavor, I’d say he’s teaching those youngsters a thing or two about what it takes to be so damn fresh. I mean, look at that STEEZ.

For more pictures of Scot on a bike and things in relation to the growing fixie scene in Denver, swing by X Rocks the Spot and say hello.

Add comment August 10th, 2008

The Weekend : Denver

Matthew Clark is opening his show Graphic Nature this Saturday.
August 9th : Plastic Chapel : 3109 East Colfax : 7PM - 10PM ish!

Via Vengeance has booked one more show while he is in town!
August 8th : 3 Kings Tavern : 60 South Broadway : Set starts @ 9ish? Doors at 8!
August 9th : Old Curtis St. : 2100 Curtis St. : Set starts @ 11 ish

Add comment August 8th, 2008

Via Vengeance @ 3 Kings Tavern

Earlier this year I logged post about the one man doom metal band Via Vengeance. Well lucky for all of us here in Denver… we get a chance to see Shane play live. He is opening up for the Git Some at their CD release party this Friday August 8th down @ 3 Kings Tavern. I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am for this show!!!!!! Please spread the word… I’d love Shane to get a warm Denver welcome!… in return I’m sure he will give us one hell of a show! See you there! I’m stoked!!!

Add comment August 6th, 2008

To Be Eaten : Ravi Zupa

Here are a few flix I snapped from the To Be Eaten live set during the DPUMS @ Indy Ink. Also managed to sneak a few pix of Ravi Zupa’s work that is up… and incredible!!!

Add comment August 6th, 2008

Soft & Furry Submisson

Finally managed to squeeze out my submission to Soft & Furry last minute. Chcheck it out! Some other gems this week include from left to right: Scot LeFavor, Markham Maes, and Tilt. These are f-in sweet! It’s a shame we can’t all make the final round!

Add comment August 4th, 2008

Ravi Zupa @ Indy Ink

Sometimes when you add 2 + 2 together it equals awesome! After spotting a flyer for the upcoming Ravi Zupa show @ Indy Ink, I did a little research to fulfill my intrigue… And to my delight I’ve stumbled upon a pretty inspiring body of work from local talent who has been busy collaborating with the underground hip hop luminaries of the anticon. collective, directing a variety of film projects for them… ranging from short documentary pieces to music videos. Check out Ravi’s search result page on YouTube or swing by his website parts and labor union to check out some more of Mr. Zupa’s work! I’m really digging his Illustration style and choices for subject matter, super dark and jarring! Can’t wait to see what is up on the walls come this Friday!

Ravi Zupa : Opening Reception
Friday August 1st @ Indy Ink : 84 South Broadway : Denver, CO : 7PM - 11PM : Get Yer Drank On!

Add comment July 31st, 2008

Dave Palmer @ Indy Ink : Re-Cap

Dave Palmer had a show, at the recently remodeled Indy Ink this past month… above is a few pix I managed to snap during our drive by for the grand re-opening party.

Add comment July 30th, 2008

Markham Maes is Amaesing!

Co_founder of the prolific EHF collective, Markham Maes is hands down one of my all time favorite artists, period! Growing up on a steady diet of Graffiti and the never ending urge to create… Markham is part of a rare bread that has the natural ability to produce some of the most amazing, vibrant, highly detailed work that I’ve had the pleasure of viewing in person. He is also one of the nicest & hardest working dudes I know… three kids, a full time j-o-b, and he still finds time to crank out artwork that consistently makes my jaw drop.

If you haven’t had a chance to swing by and check out Shitty Kitten’s latest show hanging @ The Shoppe… I would strongly urge all that can, to do so. Definitely work that must be seen in person to truly be appreciated. Most of the pieces are already spoken for, though there are still a handful of extremely reasonably priced pieces available!!!

Shitty Kitten (Markham Maes) : Watermelon Bellies : www.shittykitten.com
The Shoppe : 3105 E. Colfax. Denver : www.theshoppedever.com

Add comment July 29th, 2008

Mike Graves solo show @ The 400

Mike Graves of the EHF collective is one of the most prolific artsists that I know… I can’t keep up with him. Every time I turn around he is either preparing for a show or opening a show! Tonight is just one of those instances… Swing by The 400 tonight to check out his latest offerings in a solo show titled Lucha Libre! Say hello to Randy and Kris of The 400 while you’re there!

Mike Graves . Lucha Libre . July 17th, 2008
The 400 : 1010 Bannock Street : URL : 7pm - 10pm

Add comment July 17th, 2008

Pecha Kucha Night

This coming Monday July 14, Jaime Kopke and Angela Schwab are hosting another Pecha Kucha Night in Denver. Pecha Kucha Night is an opportunity to see, meet, and share work with other designers/creatives with only 20 images in 20 seconds a piece. It should be a blast, so def stop by and check out cool peoples like Scot LeFavor, Lynn Brunning, and The Magnet Mafia. Now all we need is a Pechu Kucha Night here in MPLS.

There may still be an small window of opportunity to become a presenter if you can get all your stuff together by this week. Check guidelines here.

Add comment July 8th, 2008

Super Fresh Block Party

Above is a hand-bill created by yours truly for the Super Fresh Block Party taking place this weekend, July 5th ( FIF! ) on East Colfax! Starting at 6pm you can swing by the Rock Bar parking lot for some BBQ and check out Live Painting by: Shitty Kitten, Mike Graves, Robert Maestas, Josh Wills, Eric Cox… and possibly a few other super secret and extra special guests, Hearts of Palm will serenade your soul! The shenanigans will continue throughout the night up until around midnight… A guerilla fashion show will take place along the super block at about 10pm and will feature the Denver Roller Dolls. Opening receptions for the following art shows will also be taking place throughout the night: Watermelon Belly Featuring new works by Shitty Kitten @ The Shoppe, Layer Upon Layer featuring the work of Robert Maestas @ Plastic Chapel, Paul Moschell is showing new work @ The Fabric Lab, and IKON is showing work @ Newspeak! DJ’s will be setup all along the East Colfax corridor pumping out Block Rock’n beats that are sure to seduce your ear drums & make your ass jiggle! We could think of nothing more patriotic than collaborating together to bring you all a FREE event in an effort to celebrate our individual freedoms! Goodie bags will be handed out to all that attend while supplies last… America at it’s finest!

Add comment July 2nd, 2008

Corporate Refresh

It seems harmless enough to take some time every so often to realign yourself based on the changes in the market. People change, their habits come and go and how they spend their money is always effected. Recently I’ve seen a lot of corporate identity refreshes. Honestly none of them seem to be doing a very good job in my opinion and I’m curious why that is.

The two most recent I came across were Walmart and Miller Coors. Neither company holds much of my interest to start with but I realize their longevity and contribution to both of their markets. My problem comes in a few forms. The first being the most important in my mind, which is the relevance of recognition to its own consumers and clients. To me, it’s quite obvious that neither of these logos have done a good job staying consistent with their placement in the each of their markets.

Walmart changed, the colorway, the typeface, changed the name to a title case structure and added a totally unnecessary sunburst icon in an attempt to be seen as a more contemporary company with “bright” ideas. I’m sure if they would have hired the bunch of hippies that make up Pentagram they would have plenty of buzz words and drawn out explanations of what the starburst means and how that color blue influences people during the recession and so on. Whatever. My problem is that the new Walmart logo looks like it should be for an investment bank like WaMu or something. I also feel they missed some great opportunities to address their fastest growing demographic, Hispanics. Shit, I think they took a leap away from addressing their original target market (boomers) and didn’t even think about trying to grab the attention of the second most important demographic, the eco-conscious young person.

Miller Coors is another story all together. Corporate identities are generally used to represent the brand and relate to the consumer or at least the product. This does neither in my opinion. It could be argued that this isn’t the intent and of course it could be said that the generic look and feel is a fair representation of a corporation that holds share in multiple businesses. With this being said I can see the reasoning behind the direction chosen but it’s hard for me to see any longevity in stripping a company of all of it’s cultural equity to prepare for the future. Pentagram takes what many might see as daring steps into reevaluating a brand and bringing it back down to earth. But more times than not, they seem to over simplify everything they touch, which of course is ok by the client as long they have some over analytical interpretation of it’s meaning to calm their curiousities.

Why does this method seem so prevalent lately? Tear it apart and leave it as a blank canvas for those who will be there to critique it in the future? Or should we all leave it alone and just get used to it? What makes more sense in this case or any other similar? Why are these refreshes turning out so poorly? I’m all spent on this for now, but let us know what you think. Give us your opinion on this trend and what you think its significance is if there is any at all.

Side Note: Sounds like Coors is moving their headquarters somewhere outside of CO. I wonder how seriously that will effect all of the CO agencies on the Coors dollar? Hmmm…

Via Brand New & Pentagram Blog

Add comment July 1st, 2008

Soft&Furry™

Our friends at Cypher13 brought to our attention a logo competition for a soon-to-be custom, handmade line of designer collectible toys dubbed Soft&Furry.

You can submit up to 3 logos every week. The S&F™ review board will post the weeks winner every Sunday night. At the end of 8 weeks a grand champion will be picked from the 8 finalist.

The winning logo will appear on all collateral materials for S&F™ and the winner will also receive a complete line of signed and numbered limited edition S&F™ toys, along with a stash of limited edition screenprinted posters, t-shirts, and other wholesome goodies.

The first deadline is this Friday! Get your shit together and submit but eh there’s always next week.

Add comment June 4th, 2008

Some Octopus Hotness

Found this submission today to The Denver Egotist’s Beautiful Losers Contest. I’m looking for the owner, any ideas?

*UPDATE
TDE just informed me that our good friend Matt Schreiber, created this masterpiece! I had no idea Schreibs had it in him to whip up such hotness. Where’s the rest homie? Send that shit our way.

3 comments June 4th, 2008