Urban Testing Ground: Recent Episodes
Joel Kuwahara
This blog requires Quicktime 7 to view the movies. If you want to contact me, do so at joelkuwahara@hotmail.com. I'm always looking for good story ideas.
On Saturday I was either going to A) Get an iPad or B) Get hit in the face with a pillow. What was I thinking?!
I swallowed a lot of feathers to get this shot. Hope you enjoy it.
Pillow Fight from Joel Kuwahara on Vimeo.
It's been a long, long time since I shot a video for my blog. Part of the reason was work. That's all I've been doing. I set up my own company in 2008, got married and any free time I thought I had quickly evaporated. Well, things have changed. I ditched my DVX100 for a Canon 7D and I'm looking forward to capturing beautiful images of life. Life really is beautiful.
Enjoy my first piece on my 7D.
Cole's from Joel Kuwahara on Vimeo.
Wow, it's been a long time since I last posted anything. Unfortunately, I've been distracted by side projects.
I came across this video today that just inspired me. I wish I came up with idea.
555 KUBIK_ extended version from urbanscreen on Vimeo.
Spent Saturday night celebrating Hit + Run's 2 year anniversary at the Crash Mansion. It's amazing to see how big it's grown. The place was packed and they had two screen printing machines in action to handle the two large lines that went from the stage to the back of the dance floor. As a thank you, partners Mike C. and Brandy Flowers passed out free blank tees to anyone who wore a H+R shirt. There were dozens of custom screens by artists such as Toks, Kutmah, the Gaslamp Killer, Kofie, Haycock and more. I sported Mike C.'s. There are more H+R events to come. So if you've never been or you need to fill out your t-shirt collection with a one-of-a-kind print, go check them out.
(Some of the designs)
(Brandy, Joel, Mike C.)
Chicago artist, Sighn, figures it will take about 60 years to hand cut a million of these pieces. And that's exactly what he's set out to do. The first 500 will be sold in 2007 and only 71 are available for $2o a pop.
He made a video of the painstaking process. I think I might pick one up.
Check it out here!
So I'm back, sorry for the super long break. My editing chops feel a bit rusty, but I hope you don't notice.
Dave Conway owns and operates "LittleRadio.com" it started out as a small pirate radio station and has now grown into a major multimedia enterprise. During the summer, Dave opens up his studio to the public and hosts summer block parties and free concerts. On this Sunday afternoon, "Hello Astronaut, Goodbye Television" and "Future Pigeon" performed. What a perfect way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon.
Watch the video here! [1:38 / 9.5MB QT]
Thanks to Brandy Flowers & Mike C. of "Hit & Run" and Dave Conway.
Last weekend I stopped by the Crewest Gallery, LA's first art gallery dedicated to graffiti artists and met with it's owner ManOne. He was working on a mural for the Washington Post and I brought my camera along to document the process.
Check out the video here! [2:48 /16.5 MB QT]
Thanks to Sticky Rick and ManOne!
LA artists Brandy Flower and Mike C. brought their live t-shirt screening event to Geoff Oki's 4th annual T-shirt party this past Thursday. Curious fans as well as devoted T wearers packed the Mountain Bar in Chinatown to get a one-of-a-kind t-shirt made. Screen designs were provided by various LA designers including Brandy, Mike C and Oki.
Check out the video here! [3:11 / 17MB QT]
Thanks to Brandy, Mike and the rest of the HR crew. Also thanks to Geoff Oki.
This week's been a crazy one and I haven't had much time to shoot. But I am in the process of setting up some new interviews. So until then, it may be a little slow on my site. My apologies in advance. But I hope to bring you some new and exciting pieces in the near future.
I'll leave you with this fun little video from JP Tarver who e-mailed me about the "Meeting Of Styles" piece I did last year.
Thanks JP.
Watch the video here! [WMV /:30]
It was around 3AM when I got the call. Emerging LA photographer, Michael Turner, was having a late night photo shoot and I was asked to document it.
Enjoy....
Watch the video here! [1:27 / 9 MB QT]
I don't normally post other people's videos, but this one is too good to be missed. It's a music video by Mark Ronson covering Radiohead's "Just" and it features some awesome effects of graffiti coming to life.
Check out the video here! [3:21 / 14.57MB]
I know I said no more of the vinyl figures, but since I shot this last week and I left the video posting for this week on my hard drive at work, I had no choice.
David Flores is probably best known for his skateboarding designs but has most recently lent his iconic style to the world of "Dunnies." Some love him, some hate him, some call him "Sam." You decide.
Check out the video here! [1:54 / 11.5 MB QT]
Straight from their big screen debut in Johnny Knoxville's movie "The Ringer," the Kids of Widney High were treating their legion of fans to a rocking evening at the famous Mr. T's bowl in Highland Park, CA. this past Friday. The 7 members (not including their backup band) were belting out their soon-to-be classic headbanging hits such as "I Make My Teachers Mad," "Miss Understood," and "Act Your Age" to name just a few.
If you have no idea who these kids are, check out their website here and then come back and watch their performance. You'll also see an interview I did with one of the band members Daniel.
Thanks to Andy from the band "8-Bit" and the gang from KWH.
Check out the video here! [4:39 / 28.2MB QT] Sorry, the file's a bit bulky.
Got a real late start editing this one together and I'm dead tired. So I'll keep this entry short and sweet.
Nothing I say can describe this band better than the way they describe themselves.
"If the Beastie Boys and NWA raped an old school Nintendo and they had a baby..."
Ladies and gents, I present to you..."8-Bit."
Check out this rare interview. [2:30 / 16.88MB QT]
So much action I had to split it up into two parts. Enjoy the 2nd half of the "Midnight Ridazz" bike ride through LA.
It's a bit long, so expect a longer download.
Check it out video here! [3:05 / 17.9MB QT]
Hey Pam! It's your video debut!
And to the haters I encountered. Eat me. [0:20 / 2 MB QT]
If you're free this Monday night, you might want to go to this event and help out a few good guys.
"Acme Game Store is owned by Jason Jones and Jonathan Bryant. They sell video games. Why? Because video games are fun... On December 12th approximately eight ICE (some new law enforcement agency attached to Homeland Security) agents raided Acme Game Store in riot gear with shotguns in hand. They confiscated 3 modified XBOXs and all Microsoft games in bulk. They have each been charged with a felony account of conspiracy to commit copyright infringement and for violating "The Digital Millennium Copyright Act." The charge of conspiracy carries a maximum penalty of 17 years in federal prison. 17 fuckin years in prison. Think about that. For allegedly selling a video game system that had been modified...a video game system. "Yo man? Whach ya in for?" C'mon..."
If you haven't seen the piece I did on Acme, you can check it out here. [2:00 / 23.98 MB QT]
It was their 2 year anniversary and there was love in the air, or was that chronic. Midnight Ridazz is a gathering of bike riders who meet every 2nd Friday of the month to take over the streets of LA. And as the name implies this doesn't happen during business hours. This month's theme was "I Heart My Bike" but only a few really got into the spirit by decking out their ridez with heart shaped balloons or red firey sex-flames. Two guys wore wrestling masks, maybe they love eachother... who knows. This trip started out at Echo Park and Sunset and toured all through Glendale, Silverlake and then up to Dodger Stadium. Some may say that Midnight Ridazz is a celebration of the biking culture, others may say it's a public protest against our dependence on oil, I say it's an excuse for 600 20-somethings to party on 2 wheels. But that's just me.
In all honesty, if you haven't done it before, you should try it.
Check out the video here! [2:54 / 16.7MB QT]
Special thanks to Pam for reminding me about this month's ride and for getting me off my ass. And a HUGE thank you to Eddie Mort for navigating me through the crazy traffic on his Vespa and risking major traffic tickets.
There's more footage so I broke it up into two parts. So stay tuned.
I had my own Schwinn back in the 80's but never imagined it could be transformed into a work of art. Shot Callers is a bike club from the San Fernando Valley that specializes in custom old school rides. Starting with original frames they add details such as twisted forks, over-spoked rims, spinners, etched seats, upholstery and custom paint to transform these everyday modes of transportation to elite show pieces. I'm thinking about getting one for myself.
Special thanks to Pringle for introducing me to the club and to Eric, Mike, Robert and Cesar of Shot Callers.
Watch the video here! [2:42 / 16 MB QT]
My favorite dunny of the LA Series is Thomas Han.'s "Painkiller." I wanted to include his interview in the last video but thought instead to have it be it's own piece.
Watch the video here! [1:36 / 8.3 MB QT]
I stopped putting up the Quicktime window graphic because I thought it looked ugly and I figured if you hadn't figured it out by now that I post video clips, well then, you're pretty stupid and should probably stop coming here.
Anyway, this past month has been an exciting one for the vinyl figure community. First, Tim Biskup debuted his Acid Head dunny and last week Kid Robot released their LA Dunny Series at Gallery 1988 in Hollywood. It was a fun evening and I even lucked out and got a Gold Baseman..... oh yeah! And if anybody wants to give me an Obey or Buffmonster, I'll gladly take it.
Check out the video here! [2:50 / 17.5 MB QT]
Thanks to Paul Budnitz and everyone at Kid Robot.
Ok, that's it for the vinyl figure videos for a while. On to new subjects, like low rider bicycles. That's coming up next week!
Thursday, Kid Robot released their newest dunny designed by LA artist Tim Biskup. Called the "Acid Head," it was Tim's psychedelic interpretation of what a toon might look like if he were trippin'. Fans lined the block eager to get their hands on this limited run and to get his signature. The line moved pretty slow, but that was only because Tim took the time to pretty much draw custom art for each and every fan. What a guy.
I picked one up for myself. He drew a face on its forehead. Oh yeah.
Thanks to Ace, KC, Yvonne, Atushi, Jason and John of Kid Robot and Jack of VinylPulse.com.
Check out the video here! [2:40 / 15.81 MB QT]
How does a relatively unknown band from Highland Park get to remix a track for famed musician Beck?
Find out by watching the video. [1:19 / 8mb QT]
[GIANT VILLAGE 6 - CANCELED]
Sounds impossible but it happened. The largest outdoor New Years eve party sponsored by "soon-to-be-out-of-business" GIANT was suddenly canceled just hours before it was to start. 15,000 angry and confused party goers were turned away by security guards only to be told that it was the fire marshall that shut it down. But apparently, that wasn't the case. It was the GIANT promoters themselves that pulled the plug. Hey guys, you printed "rain or shine" on the tickets what part of that do you not understand? Maybe it was for the best. Who really wants to ring in the New Year watching the "Black Eyed Peas"? I heard they got a backup gig at the JC Penny's office party.
Watch video from the closed "GIANT" gates and see what my girlfriend and I did instead.
By the way, this video was all shot on my Casio EX-S500 camera!
Click here to watch! [0:55 / 6MB QT]
Say it ain’t so guys! Not sure if you’ve heard, but the owners of the trendy gaming shop, Acme Gamestore in Hollywood CA, were recently busted for selling modded Xboxes (see Sept. 4th entry on Modding Xboxes). It wasn’t so much the modded boxes that got them in deep shit, it was the fact that they were selling them pre-installed with 70+ Xbox games! Come on guys, where’s your heads at?
They both face up to 5 years in a federal penitentiary, so does a third individual “Patrick.” He’s the one responsible for the modding.
I interviewed the owners Jason and Jonathan about a year ago when they held a Halo 2 competition. They’re always having parties and holding tournaments to drum up business. Apparently, business wasn’t as good as everyone thought.
[Acme owners: Jason & Jonathan]
R.I.P. ACME
Watch the video and meet the guys behind Acme. [2:02 / 4MB QT]
Click here to read the full story at Red Herring.
A few weekends ago, the guys from Muttpop invited me to attend the release of their baddest, meanest and very first vinyl figure creation "Tequila." Spawned from the creative minds of Jerry Frissen and designer Gobi, Tequila is a character from their masked wrestling based comic entitled "The Luchadores Five."
The event took place at Meltdown in Hollywood and the eager fans were picking up the limited number of figures by the armful. Muttpop released 3 versions of "Tequila." 1) Original 2) Hot & Spicy and 3) RAW! Gobi (who flew all the way from France) was there to draw sketches on boxes and sign autographs.
The "Luchadores Five" series is beautifully done and I urge you to check it out. You'll be hearing and seeing more from Muttpop in the near future. Guaranteed!
Thanks to Robert Silva (President of Muttpop) and to Jerry and Gobi.
(Jerry, Bob, Joel, Gobi)
Watch the video here! [2:33 / 14.9 MB QT]