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Friday, May 29, 2009

Eminem - 3AM (Travis Barker Remix)

Definitely refreshing to see before the weekend is kicked off! Ranked as my #1 favorite drummer, Blink 182's Travis Barker puts on another mad and stunning performance as he remixes Eminem's 3AM track with his clever and unique style. I'm glad to see this dude ripping the drums again after that near death plane experience with DJ AM! More importantly, we're all anxiously waiting to see him and the rest of the gang back together when they go on tour and make the trip out to the Bay Area.



Jonathan (Bastard & Friends)

Thursday, May 28, 2009

AIDS/HIV IS A BASTARD

In an effort to fight the growing epidemic of AIDS/HIV, Bastard & Friends has teamed up and sponsored Team Stat for the fundraising event, AIDS Walk San Francisco this coming July 19th. And if you're in the San Francisco area next Friday June 5th, come join us with the supporters of fighting this pandemic at Monkey Club (21 + up) located on 21st Street.



Jonathan (Bastard & Friends)

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

WEEKEND RE-CAP

The weekend agenda consisted of this:
* Getting away
* Food
* Gatherings/Party's
* And, more of the above

I also had a chance to test out a few of my new lenses for my camera. I know some of you have asked what camera I use and currently I have a Nikon D60. I've been shooting a lot of my shots with the standard 18-55mm (52mm) lens and occasionally the 55-200mm as well. Both have been working just fine for quite awhile now, but I decided to step up the game a bit more with some new lenses. I shot the below beach scenery shots over at a place called 'Pebble Beach' located by nearby Monterey, CA to see the outcome. During this escape, I used both an Nikkor 85 mm telephoto lens and a wideangle 20mm lens. I utilized various manual and aperture settings for both. The first 2 pictures had the following settings set: 85mm lens: Aperture f/14; ISO 100; WB Cloudy; Matrix Metering. While the following were shot with the 20mm lens with the settings of: Aperture f/14; ISO 200; WB Cloudy and Sunny; Matrix Metering. All with manual focus enabled.






Circled back to the Bay Area to enjoy another case of good soul food at Home of Chicken and Waffles in downtown Oakland



And finally...ending a good long weekend celebrating the birthday of Ivy Leegue's own, Skuba in good ol' fog town Daly City






Jonathan (Bastard & Friends)

Friday, May 22, 2009

LUDACRIS WITH OUR VERY OWN

While I'm still on the topic of exposing some of our team members, our very own Justin from the East Coast (ATL) is responsible for helping with the promotions and other business activities on the other side of the continent. While he's doing a superb job with the normal B&F projects and while living in the ATL, he religiously gets his haircuts from his long time personal barber Cassius aka 'The Celebrity Barber' whom is the same personal barber for more then a handful of celebrities such as: T.I, Usher, Rick Ross, Lil Wayne and Ludacris to name a few. As so it happens today, Justin synced up with Cassius, Luda, and his manager 'Chaka' over at Cassius' place to get faded up before the long weekend.

Big shout out to Luda, Chaka, and Cassius for the support. And don't worry fellas your stuff is on the way as promised!



Picture courtesy of Justin (B&F) and Cassius aka The Celebrity Barber
Jonathan (Bastard & Friends)

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

GO SPEED RACER GO

If you've been following the Bastard & Friends project for quite some time, you'd come to realize the family has been growing from all different angles. And every so often, I like to highlight some of our team members. This time around, I wanted to introduce another cat on our team that has a pretty rad ride and not only represents our other extended crew members of Team Hybrid, a crew dedicated to fine tuning their rides for race, street, and show, but also represents us as well. If you recall I did a blog back in February displaying some of our boys' cars: WEKFEST Import Car Show - SF

Before you view the pics, here are some fun facts about this tricked out RSX and it's Driver, Peter:

* One of a kind paint - Satin/Matted/Flat Pearl White Rsx
* 2003, but converted everything to 05-06 model
* Retrofitted TSX headlights with HIDs
* First MAX RACING hood in the USA
* Two sets of wheels, Volks CE28N Mercury Silver and Work VS-XX flat black
* Car is currently winning for best regional RSX on the website: Clubrsx
* C-West front bumper with Canards
* Custom molded Mugen rear lip and Mugen carbon fiber license plate
* Fully built sound system by Alpine with in dash
* Auto power roll bar
* Spoon calipers
* Power slot custom bigger rotors rear rotors
* ARC intake system
* TODA full catback exhaust system
- More work to be announced in the near future.







Stay tuned for upcoming shows that this car will be showcased at.

Jonathan (Bastard & Friends)

Sunday, May 17, 2009

SKATE OR DIE

Headed over to the skate park today to hang out and watch some of our guys (Ryan and Bryan) shred the landscape in the blistering heat. These two dudes from Northern Cali (Contra Costa County) display some rad and technical tricks with ease. I wish I caught the other tricks that they as well as the other guys were performing such as: tre flips over the 5 stairs, rail slides, nose slides to shove it and many more. Not to mention, it was around 98 degrees outside and skating in that type of weather tends to wear you down relatively fast. Next time I'm back, I'll have to capture all of it. But for now enjoy the quick video and a few pics I managed to gather.

Ryan - showing how it easy it is to Ollie to nose slide

Ollie over a wide 5 stairs

Ollie to nose slide over the pyramid

Bryan displaying a melon grab

Getting air over the gate. Bryan landed it with ease


Jonathan (Bastard & Friends)

Saturday, May 9, 2009

DRAGATOMI CONT...

Just got back from visiting Agent R and Joanne from Dragatomi over at their new home in Sacramento. As I mentioned the other day, today was their grand opening of their storefront. And, what better day to finally open their doors on one of the most busiest days of every month, Second Saturday. On this particular day, art galleries along the Sacramento strip leave their doors open late inviting guests and art enthusiasts to participate in the Art walk. Not your typical Art walk, this type of gathering boasts guests from all over the Sacramento area as well as vendors showcasing their talents ranging from art, music as well as simply hanging out and hosting parties. Droves come out for this event that starts at 6pm and lasts throughout the night. I have to admit, I'm very proud of our good friends Joanne and Raymond (aka Agent R). Talk about guts and a lot of heart, this couple has managed to open a brick and mortar store amid our nation's financial crisis. While some retailers have closed their doors and other's have scaled back on production due to the recession our nation is facing, these two entrepreneurs decided to open a store on the Sacramento downtown street within walking distance of Upper Playground as well as other Urban Boutiques. Sacramento definitely has things set out for them as Dragatomi is one of the only, if not the only store within miles that carry these types of unique and collectible items. For the most part, people from Sacramento had to drive to San Francisco to step into a type of boutique like this in order to get their hands on vinyl and designer toys. The store setting is immaculate; the ambiance is chill and represents a boutique like environment and the displays are flawless that house cool figures that are designed by some of the most prominent artists in the industry today. So, if you're ever in the Sacramento area, stroll on through and pick up a few things. As a side note, we dropped off a bunch of hats to them as well. So, pick one up if you get a chance.



Joanne and Agent R






We supported these kids by purchasing a few of their items (cupcakes, chocolate dipped marshmallows etc) in order to support their cause in fighting human trafficking. Keep up the work guys! We need people like you to help fight an epidemic that is simply depraved and downright illegal




Jonathan (Bastard & Friends)

Friday, May 8, 2009

DRAGATOMI STOREFRONT OPENING

Our good friends over at Dragatomi are opening their doors at their very first brick and mortar store this Saturday, May 9th in Sacramento. For those looking for the coolest and trendy pieces of vinyl figures, designer toys as well as items inspired by both pop and Asian cultures, this is a shop you definitely want to visit. Not to mention, some of our own items are being sold here as well.

Opens tomorrow at 12pm. Below is the Address:
2317 J. Street (Btwn. 23rd and 24th St.)
Sacramento, CA 95816

Come stop by and say hello as we'll all be there to CONGRATULATE and celebrate the grand opening of this new and cool storefront!



Jonathan (Bastard & Friends)

Thursday, May 7, 2009

PLANET SWAG MIXTAPE

Our brother's from another planet, Skuba & The Ivy Leegue along with Slim from 112 put together another hot new mixtape that was just released. And, get this...the whole album is free and can be downloaded HERE. Hard copies of this mixtape will also be available in the near future. But for now, enjoy the free download!



Jonathan (Bastard & Friends)

Monday, May 4, 2009

UNIQUE LA RECAP

After a long and exciting 2 days over at the show, it finally came to an end yesterday. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to blog about Saturday's show experience since we ended up doing a few things right after the show and getting to bed late. Also, had a long day yesterday that involved getting out of the building with all of our stuff and driving home relatively late last night. So, I'll just give everyone a brief recap of what went down over the course of the 2 day period. Sonja, the person responsible for putting together the gathering did a nice job. With the exception of the air conditioning situation in our area and our booth location, I'd have to say the event was put together quite nicely. A good number of vendors showcased their items; an ample size crowd attended the intimate and engaging show as well as a selection of various music choices were being spun by the show DJ which in turn were being projected throughout all of the show speakers. Met a lot of great people throughout the entire time! All the vendors that I got a chance to speak with were all super nice and cool! The same holds true for all of the customers and attendees. The overall response from our customers, as well as those that just wanted to hear the idea and story behind our company were surprisingly very interested. They embraced and championed us all the way. As with our past shows, there's always an individual or group of people who share stories with us that tend to be touching and brightens our day. True story -- a 3rd grade teacher. Yes, that's right a 3rd grade teacher from LA said she had to stop by our booth because she said she see's our stuff all over the campus and wanted to know 'if it was a bad thing?' After Sharon explained to her what the company is all about, the teacher then said our brand was 'cool and awesome' and now she knows why she see's our stuff around her school. So, for those elementary kids rockin' our gear at school, please hand the item(s) back to your older brother/sister/cousin until you get a little older. And, no more placing our stickers all over the campus. THANKS KIDS! ;) Overall, vibes were good and it was another successful and exceptional show, to say the least!





Perfect view from our booth of the LA area


Our good pal Jameel, from Saleem Films stopping by and hangin' out with us


Victoria, Girlie Pants. Awesome chick with cool swag from Boston. One of the most down-to-earth people I've come across.


Dave from Seibei put in a lot of time putting up his design full of post-its


Rob, cool dude who was our direct neighbor at the show from Wear Children


Keeping the vendors and attendees upbeat, Sonja and the DJ (Bryan) of the hour(s).


I didn't get a chance to get a picture, but also check out Jason and Patty from Fat Rabbit Farm. A genuinely cool couple with a far future and good vision!

After the show on Saturday, we all bolted out to catch the Manny Pacquiao vs. Ricky Hatton boxing fight on TV -- which was live in Las Vegas. Unfortunately, no places in the area and even the hotel were displaying it. So, after countless minutes of stress trying to find it streaming live on the internet, we finally found it and watched it on the MAC. But get this, it wasn't commentated in English. It was in freakin' Portuguese! Nothing against this at all, it was just we don't understand the language. LOL! Oh well, Manny came out victorious by basically almost murdering Hatton in the 2nd round by TKO. Shortly after, we all headed over to Pasadena for Leah's surprise B-day get together at a Japanese BBQ Hot Pot style type dinner, Gyu-Kaku. After a delicious dinner, a lot of funny and interesting stories from all the ladies and a few sake bombs later, we finally ended the night in good vibes.





Sunday evening was also pretty delightful! After the show, we all went to a place where everybody and their mama it seems raves about this place. Sharon and I never been, but apparently the combination of certain items just make you go crazy. That place...Roscoe's Chicken' n Waffles located in LA on W. Pico Blvd. I have to admit, this combination is pretty 'DAMN' good IMHO. The #3 consisting of a 1/2 chicken prepared southern style with 2 waffles and sides of candied yams, macaroni cheese and being topped off with their sweet tea is not only fulfilling, but as we Northern Cali folks would say, 'hella good!'



The team, always putting in long hours and time away from family while always having a blast!


Next up and coming back down to LA again...Anime Expo. Stay tune for more info. about this massive 4 day event!

Jonathan (Bastard & Friends)

Friday, May 1, 2009

Bastard & Friends in LA

We touched down at our second home, LA earlier today to setup at the UNIQUE LA show that will be held tomorrow and Sunday. The first thing we did today was check-in at our hotel -- which is a few blocks away from the event in the heart of the Jewelry & Fashion Districts. If you're ever in the downtown LA area, you may want to check out the Biltmore Hotel. Known for it's history of hosting numerous movies on the property, you've seen this particular hotel many times in the entertainment biz (see a partial movie list below). Shortly after, Sharon and I headed over to the Market Center where Unique LA will be jumping off (Penthouse 13th Floor Booth#219). Right around the corner from us are some good folks: Dave aka Seibei, Wendy from I Heart Guts, and Johnny Cupcakes to name a few. Aside from transporting all of our stuff up and down the elevator and across the building, I'd say things were pretty nifty. Also, the window view from our booth is amazing as well! A few hours after, we were on the road again to meet with a couple of our vendors. The next stop was over at one of our printing places located in Beverly Hills. Then onto Simi Valley to go visit our other manufacturer/vendor responsible for putting our new product line together in the near future. But, before that trip over to Simi Valley, I got pulled over before jumping on the 405 Freeway for making an illegal U-Turn due to the dang GPS telling me to do so. Funny story -- as the cop approaches the car, he see's the B&F sticker decal on my back window and the 'Don't be a Bastard' license plate frame. After asking for my license and telling me my wrong doing, he then asks about the things on my license plate and on my window. After telling him about what we are all about and having him crack up and than announce a few of his Bastard experiences, miraculously he let's me go without a ticket! I can't remember his name, but I told him I'd blog about him. So, if you're reading this...THANKS for not being a 'Bastard!' ;)

Awesome movie list the Biltmore Hotel has become so affiliated with: Grandma's Boy, Rush Hour3, Ghost Busters2, Spiderman just to name a few.


1st pass at our booth setup. This will probably change once Leah and Corinne report to duty tomorrow


It's getting late even though the night life here in LA is just getting started since Sharon and I have been up since 3am. Having said that, I think I'll call it a night and try and get some sleep before the long day tomorrow. Hope to see some of you there!

Jonathan (Bastard & Friends)