d p d
E-Mail: dpd@futurerockstarsofamerica.com
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Web Page: http://www.sleepytakeover.com
Registered Since: 2007-07-31 09:33:32
Profile: DPD is a designer/rockstar whose clients include the likes of William Shakespeare, Amadeus Mozart, Abraham Lincoln & Snoop Doggy Dogg. He has lurked behind the shadows plotting his sleepy takeover and intends to begin world domination after lunch. Currently he heads creative direction for FR*A and runs a gamut of freelance projects. Did I mention www.futurerockstarsofamerica.com and www.sleepytakeover.com?
Posts by dpd:
COSPLAY
July 8th, 2008I was at the Anime Expo this past weekend doing a digital painting demo for Vision 21 who shared a booth with Nexon.
To make a long story short, I got hit in the face with the unexpected. Growing up, one of the things that got me into drawing was Dragonball, along with a slew of other Japanese comics. Back then, you couldn’t really find any of it in English. So I would have to drive all the way to Koreatown and find Korean translations of the Japanese comic (now known as “manga”) just so I could see what would happen to Goku and his friends. Eventually my interest in manga faded over the years. Now fast forward to today. I haven’t really been keeping up with manga and how popular it’s gotten in the U.S. I’ve been hearing of things such as “cosplay” here and there, but never really experienced it first hand. I got a glimpse of it at “Video Games Live”, but wasn’t prepared for the sheer weirdness of it all.
1. After a long day of ninja-ing around, Snake Eyes decides to holla at the ladies. 2. Check out the detail on this model!!!
There were thousands of kids dressed up as their favorite characters walking around as if they did it everyday. I was totally fascinated by it. I kept on thinking how awesome life would be if everyone dressed like this everyday. Life would never be boring. I also liked the fact that so many kids could come out and be totally consumed by their eclectic sub-culture.
1. Dammit, was I the only one who didn’t know that I was a geek???
In the end, I met a lot of good peole, had a blast, and left inspired. If you still don’t get a sense of how different things can be check this clip out:
It was seriously like that all the time.
FGF Aftermath
June 30th, 2008
1. Welcome 2. The Nice Penguins get nice.
1. That’s just about what it looks like now.
As always, I had a lot of fun. Hello to: Denkym (the singularity is upon us), Nice Penguins (love the piece), Mantron (you got some good ghost stories), Richard (V21 represent!), Lisa (thanks for the drinks!), Paul (my personal extension cord finder), and of course Peachies.
Till next time amigos.
The West
June 24th, 2008Went out to the Whiskey A Go Go Monday night… kinda random eh? Haven’t been there for maybe a year… I almost forgot that it sucks… and that it’s good. Confused yet?
I’ve ranted about the Sunset Strip before, but my rants have been refreshed. I don’t want to make this whole blog a rant so I’ll whine about one thing; it’s expensive. You always gotta pay a shitload to park because it’s impossible to find street parking, you gotta pay a door fee, drinks are expensive (albeit standard for LA), and now you gotta pay to take any video footage. I was there to shoot another band for a video project and I agreed to the fee ($25). What I didn’t know till later was that the fee was only for ONE camera, to shoot ONE band, only when the band was actually ON stage. SO~ if the band is standing around ready to get on stage, you can’t shoot them. You can’t even shoot another band performing with a small digital camera.
So while I waited for my band to perform, turned off camera in hand, I started to think about their policy. Maybe they only granted video recordings to those who were given permission by the bands performing? Maybe that’s why I could only shoot the band I was there to capture…
And maybe tons of kids were taping bands with poor cameras with bad audio, giving the impression that the Whiskey has bad sound.. maybe they decided to charge to discourage amateurs? Maybe these are true, but maybe it all makes the Sunset Strip a lot more boring then it used to be. I thought the Whiskey was supposed to be a Rock venue. It feels more like Disney Land.
Anyways, one thing that can never be denied is the great sound. Almost all the venues on the strip have the best sound. The lights gave the place a nice effect as well.
Enough of my geek speak, The West caught me by surprise and put on a hell of a show. They sound like what their band name would imply. Great Rock N’ Roll - the band members have long, unkempt hair to prove it.
Here’s a clip:
Crash Mansion Monday
June 17th, 2008Swung by Crash Mansion the other night to check out some bands. Along with Django James, I got to catch Foreign Academy.
1. Foreign Academy doing their thing. 2. “YEAHHH!!!”
Foreign Academy sounds like a flying elephant sneaking into LAX unnoticed. What the hell does that sound like? Go to their myspace and find out.
1. Django dancing to the beat. 2. It’s the Restitution Press at Crash Mansion!
What I saw:
Father’s Day is Coming Up!
June 11th, 2008
When I was a senior in high school there were only 4 things I cared about; drawing, film, music, and partying. The last of the four got the best of me and I moved to San Diego to attend college. Two years later my dad called me out on that. He knew I wasn’t learning anything (except those life lessons, a.k.a. how to best remedy a hang over). My dad knew I was always into the arts, but I never gave a hard push into pursuing it seriously. On my last day of my sophmore year, my dad picked me up from SD, and on the long drive back to the valley talked about my situation. He was the one that suggested I get a real education in what I loved so much. I had heard about a school in Pasadena called Art Center College of Design. A friend of mine was on his way and said nothing but good things. After two hours of talking about this with my dad, when I actually got to my “home home”, my decision was made. I pulled out my pencils and started building my portfolio that day. Six months later I was accepted into Art Center, and never went back to UCSD.
As if that wasn’t enough, right around that time I got into my first serious band. It consumed my life and I struggled to find a balance between music and the visual arts. My dad had a hard time with my decision to pursue music so intensely, but in the end supported my decision. He himself loved to sing and found interest in my endeavors with music. Six years after I got into Art Center I found myself a new graduate and in the real world. What the fuck was I going to do with my education? I didn’t know quite yet, but I felt like I had received the foundation for the rest of my adult life.
Now I get to work with everything that was so important to me when I was a senior in HS on a day to day basis. I only get to do this because my dad had faith in me, and supported me along the way. It’s a bit early, but this post had to be written right now. Thanks dad! I guess in return I’ll have to write those letters for you till the day I die (who knew realtors had to write so much?)!
Christian Audigier, Macy Gray, Snoop Dogg, Fergie, and um, Michael Jackson
May 27th, 2008FR*A went out to Christian Audigier’s 50th bday bash and got to hang out (I wanted to finish watching the Lakers game, but open bar was hard to pass up on!). Gotta say, Chrissy knows how to throw parties. It was a fun night with special performances by Macy Gray, Snoop Dogg, and Fergie. There were some definite moments throughout the night that felt Zoolander-ish, but that just made it more amusing (imagine a huge statue of C.A. in the middle of the floor and many sporadic bouts of break-dance fighting).
The event was held at the Peterson Auto Museum on Wilshire and Fairfax
1. Macy Gray does her thing 2. Lo and behold, Macy’s DJ for the night is Hapa!
The night had some oddball run ins. I was filming Macy Gray performing and started to capture shots of her band when I zoomed into her DJ, I realized it was DJ Hapa! Click here to see his FR*A interview.
1. Snoop Dogg and Kurupt 2. Ben of the Jabawockeez!
It was cool to see Snoop Dogg with Kurupt on the stage, takes me straight back to the ’90s when I was the most gangsta suburban kid on the block. Gotta say, I was a huge fan of the Jabbawockeez throughout their run on America’s Best Dance Crew. So it was a surprise when I met them and one of the members from the group, Ben, recognized me! We actually went to high school together, but the whole time they were on the show, I didn’t connect the dots. The world is small indeed.
1. Fergie, “1, 2, 3….yup, 6 pac 2. The man of the hour, Christian Audigier.. or Michael Jackson?
You know you’re huge when after a slew of celebrities show up, the house goes nuts when you simply walk down the room.
Michael Jackson is huge.
Blue Album vs. Pinkerton
May 25th, 2008
As a child of the 90’s I grew up loving Weezer. Their first album, widely known as “the Blue Album”, was highly acclaimed and loved by casual fans across America. Their second album, “Pinkerton” flopped initially and the band faded into obscurity. Of course we now know that Weezer would slowly make a comeback and release a steady flow of albums starting with “the Green Album”.
A classic debate amongst Weezer fans has been about which of the first two albums was best. When Pinkerton first soaked in, I was sold on the later being the greatest. I think the fact that the album was so unappreciated had a lot to do with it. As if I was the only one in the world who knew how good the album truly was. Fast forward to 2008. I haven’t popped in a Weezer album into my car stereo for the past… two years. I randomly found the Blue album in my gf’s car. Popped that sucker in and now, i just might have to change my vote.
All time favorite Weezer song: “Only in Dreams” - Blue Album.
Weezer has a new album coming out June 3rd! From what I hear fans of the Blue Album will love the Red Album.
Here’s their first single, “Pork and Beans
and here’s a classic live performance of “Undone (the sweater song)”
