Archive for April, 2011

Cashmere Community: Night at the Arts

Friday, April 29th, 2011

We here at Cashmere encourage everyone to come out and support the amazing music and art from the young students of Manual Arts High School at tonight’s “Night at the Arts” event. The school’s cafeteria will be converted into an art gallery showcasing works from Manual’s student body, along with live performances from their award winning concert band, Jazz band, and Jazz combo. The event will also feature DJ’s spinning records, live painting, and screen printing demos by HIT+RUN.

In partnership with The Thelonious Monk Institute, the Bebop to hip-hop music technology class will be there with special guest artists. Past guests have included Grammy award winners Chris Thomas King and Roy Hargrove. Come see what great arts and music programs can produce when kids are given the opportunity, tools, support and effective instructions.

Due to massive budget cuts in the Los Angeles school system, this may be the last such event for the school. “Night at the Arts” is free and takes place tonight from 6pm-9pm in the school’s cafeterina and auditorium. For more information, please vistit their website.

‘Sugar’ Shane Mosley goes viral with Sugartime

Thursday, April 28th, 2011

There’s been a lot buzz building around ‘Sugar’ Shane Mosley’s upcoming Welterweight title fight with Manny Pacquiao on May 7th. It’s even going viral, as the Sugar Shane team has released Sugartime, a video chronicling his training at his Big Bear facilities.

Speaking with the people who know him best –his trainers, business partners, and long-time friends– Sugartime gives an honest and compelling look at not only the fighter, but the man, Shane Mosley.

Check out the video below and make sure you’re keeping up with everything in Sugar Shane’s word on Facebook and Twitter.

The City of Inglewood Celebrates Earth Day

Wednesday, April 27th, 2011

It’s good to see the city we do business in is involved in sustaining the Earth and helping to promote a sustainable and healthy community. To celebrate Earth Day, Social Justice Learning Institute and the Queen Park Garden Committee hosted Earth Day 2011 at Queen Park to support the Inglewood Gardening Initiative, “100 Seeds of Change.”

Families, kids and music was the common theme of the day, and Cashmere was there to participate. Keeping true to the celebration of Earth, guests enjoyed vegan fare from Veg-It-Up, fresh lemonade made by the South Bay Child Development Center, all to the smooth sounds of neo-soul and hip-hop.

Activities were targeted towards children in an effort to raise a sustainable generation, as kids were taught how to plant herbs in the garden. Adults were educated on backyard composting, ways to save on household energy from Edison, and blood pressure testing and maintenance by an on-site physician.

This event received full support from Disney, the NAACP of Hollywood and The City of Inglewood. Keep our Earth Green!

Check out the photos from this past weekend’s event below and head over here for more pictures.

Cashmere Tech Tuesday: Keepsy

Tuesday, April 26th, 2011

Now, the creatively lazy are being rewarded with a quick way to catalog their photo memories. Keepsy has revamped an earlier product launch that allows users to create tangible photo albums using online photo galleries.

At first, the albums were created using Facebook photo stocks, but now they have been upgraded to include the increasingly-popular Instagram. Here’s how it works: “Instant Albums” compiles around 35 of your best Instagram pictures, determined by an algorithm combining popular photo filters with the number of ‘Likes’ received by a photo. The photos get collected into a book, with similar photos grouped by timestamp and can be shared via Facebook, Twitter, or other social networks.

Customization is simple, as users can change captions, remove or add additional photos, add backgrounds, among other features. Lucky U.S. users can order a hardcover copy starting at $29.99 for 30 pages, 10 more pages than Apple gives you, a fact Keepsy would like to note.

Cashmere Tips: Things Every Graphic Design Student Should Know

Monday, April 25th, 2011

Today’s blog is brought to you by Cashmere’s own graphic artist specialist Grace:

As a graduate of a design school, there are many things I learned but honestly, there are more things that I regret. I regret not diving more in-depth into web design, I regret not doing more experimental work, I regret not setting up my website as soon as I made my first motion graphics. Nobody at school, no alumni, no friend was giving any direction or telling me I was doing this wrong. Fast forward five years and I came across an article that pretty much does what my heaps of student loans could not do: point design students in the right direction.

This list was put together by Jamie Wieck, with comments below of designers adding some more insight, agreeing and debating which one’s are helpful. Each tip is accompanied by whimsical stick figures and followed by the hashtag, #the50. People are encouraged to make their own tips and tweet it.

Here are some tips that I personally loved:

You don’t have to agree with all of them, nor take the advice, but every designer should read through these. You can see the whole list at subtraction.com.

Don’t forget to make your own!

Cashmere Event Recap: Prince Live at the Forum in Inglewood

Monday, April 25th, 2011

This past Saturday, the self proclaimed “Purple Yoda” continued his 21-Nite stand in Los Angeles at The Forum. Prince…live in concert…at The Forum; of course Cashmere’s own Prince fanatic, Anthony, would be in attendance. And today’s blog is dedicated to his review of his very first Prince concert experience.

With the concert tickets stating that the show would start at 7:30pm, I waited nearly 40 minutes, before Chaka Khan came out to warm the crowd up as a surprise opening act, singing her hits “I Feel for You” (a Prince remake), “Ain’t Nobody,” “Tell Me Something Good,” and the always (female) crowd pleasing “I’m Every Woman.” Then it was back…to waiting. Another 30 minutes passed before Prince and the New Power Generation made their dramatic entrance on stage.

Off the bat I noticed three interesting things about the band line-up: no rhythm guitar player, no horns, and three keys players. All of that added up to mean Prince was going to bring the funk tonight up in the Forum. “D.M.S.R.,” “Pop Life,” and “Musicology” were great song selections that got the crowd hyped in the 15,000-seat arena. Then Sheila E. and Larry Graham (aka Drake’s uncle) got on stage and the concert went into funk overload with performances of “Mountains,” “Everyday People,” “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin),” “Sweet Thing,” and “The Glamorous Life.” I might be jaded, but  Chaka Khan’s vocals singing over Prince’s band produced the best live version of  “Sweet Thing” I’ve ever heard.

Prince proceeded to slow it down a bit, turning the spotlight over to his ladies with The Time’s  track “Cool” that also added lyrics from Michael Jackson’s classic, “Don’t Stop ‘Till You Get Enough.” The crowd nearly lost it when he brought Rebbie Jackson on stage to dance. Then I heard the familiar organ chords that begins “Let’s Go Crazy” and I was absolutely floored when it revealed that long-time NPG organ/keyboadist Morris Hayes was playing them. The performance of “Little Red Corvette” was easily the night’s best performance. Especially with the interplay with the crowd where he had the ladies chant “oooooooooo” while the fellas said “slow down” in unison. It wouldn’t be a Prince concert without the show closing stadium anthem “Purple Rain.” It truly is something to witness him perform the song’s guitar solo live along with the reaction from the crowd, who were more than ready to perform the famous “hooo, hooo, hooo, hooo” portion. They  finished off the show with:

Prince decided he too could get in on the whole celebrity DJing trend by playing a couple snippets of some of his more raunchier songs  from his makeshift DJ-booth at his  piano. Yes, his piano. More than just spinning some of his more raunchier tracks like “Nasty Girl” and “Darling Nikki,” he actually used the keyboard to trigger sounds like he was DJing to the amazement of the crowd. He brought the full band back in to run through a few of his more famous love ballads like “If I Was Your Girlfriend,” “Insatiable,”  and “Scandalous.”

Overall impressions.  Going in, I was underwhelmed by the band line up, having been jaded by the awesome backing bands he’s toured with in the 00′s. Hearing this group perform together live, they exceeded my expectations. The chemistry they displayed with Prince is uncanny and the instrumentation of songs like “Adore” and “Mountains” were amazing.

And Prince, for nearly three hours, he danced, played, and sang showing no lack of energy considering this was his third show in as many nights. His vocals were flawless with his falsetto, something many have criticized in recent years as becoming average, on point all night. All in all, it was a great night that I easily recommend anyone with $25 to see him live. With James Brown and Michael Jackson’s passing, the title of “the world’s greatest entertainer” rightfully belongs to Prince Rogers Nelson. Los Angeles, he’s here for 19 more dates, go see him!

Check out a few snippets from Saturday’s great concert below.

Cashmere Food Friday: Bayou Grille vs. King Fish

Friday, April 22nd, 2011

So, being raised in the deep south means that occasionally (by that, i mean constantly) I have cravings for fried, starchy, buttery, unhealthy things. Lately, it’s been fried catfish–perhaps my favorite scale-less fish. Then again, I don’t know much about scale-less fish. Fortunately, there are two spots near Cashmere that serve as purveyors for everyone’s favorite whiskered fish.

Bayou Grille:

The Catfish Nuggets are good. The Cornmeal batter isn’t too heavy, so the fish ends up essentially being steamed inside of the crispy batter–the hallmark of good frying. It’s a bit on the salty side (saltier than what one might expect). The nuggets are about the size of your thumb, so I wonder if it’s really coming from the choicest cut of catfish. I won’t hold it against them, the meal was still solid for about $7. It comes with soda, seasoned fries, and French bread (passing on this though, I don’t think i need THAT many carbs). I give this ****.

King Fish:

As opposed to the 6 catfish nuggets you get at Bayou Grill, King Fish will give you fewer nuggets of bigger pieces of Catfish. Having ordered here twice and receiving meals drastically different in quality, my experience may not necessarily reflect the consistency of King Fish. The batter is definitely more generous and bread-y, if you’re a fan of that. Once the fish was fried perfectly, the other time I received a styrofoam box full stone-like “catfish”. The fries, like Bayou Grill, are skewed toward the saltier side of things, but you don’t get a soda or bread for about $9. I’m giving King Fish ***.

Unfortunately, there hasn’t been a place that has overwhelmingly won me over for fried catfish. In the meantime, send your fried catfish reviews to @cashmereagency, I’ll be busy looking out for another competitor.

It’s 4-20 and #GasIsTooDamnHigh

Wednesday, April 20th, 2011

Cashmere’s resident DJ, Willie Shakes, has teamed up with 99problems.org to educate and create awareness about the ever-so increasing gas prices. It’s interesting to see  celebrities get brought back down to earth when their ‘spaceship’ runs outta gas! How much are you paying at the pumps? Should we continue to drive or pursue other options?

Follow 99problems.org on Twitter @theleague99 and ‘Like’ their Facebook page to be looped in about contests and promotions such as their current $25 gas aard initiative they’re implementing. Log on and join the conversation!

Cashmere Event Recap: Coachella 2011

Tuesday, April 19th, 2011

Today’s Coachella’s recap blog is brought to you from one of the Cashmere Crew’s newbie, Caroline:

No matter how many reviews you read, or slideshows you scroll through, nothing will ever substitute for the real Coachella experience. Thankfully, the Indio heat was kinder this year (although temperatures did teeter close to triple digits), but still not enough to prevent hundreds of thousands of festival goers from  witnessing three days of phenomenal musical acts.

With six stages scattered across the sprawling Coachella grounds, there were plenty of great acts to choose from, but a handful of epic performances had Coachellans awestruck. Even with some main stage sound issues, the Black Keys still killed it, utilizing a full band to round out their soulful tunes. The Chemical Brothers’ late Friday night set didn’t disappoint the electronica fans, with the British duo keeping the crowds dancing to their large-scale visuals until the wee hours.

Arcade Fire took over the main stage Saturday night, playing hits from their Grammy Award-winning album, The Suburbs. The indie-rock band displayed innate confidence and stage presence throughout their set, showing that their monumental rise was certainly deserving of a headlining spot. Halfway through the set, the crowd went crazy as hundreds of white orbs dropped from a giant black box raised above the stage, changing color as they bounced over thousands of outstretched hands.

Although a somewhat controversial choice for the traditionally indie-centric festival, Kanye West’s closing set on Sunday night was emotionally-driven and energetic. Dividing his set into three acts, Kanye incorporated eye-popping visuals with gorgeous dance and artistic elements, as he moved from chart-topping hit to hit. After soaring onto the main stage from a sky-high crane to the opening refrain from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, above thousands of enthralled Coachellans, the finale seemed destined to be great. However, the show ended on a slightly lackluster note. After dedicating the show to his late mother, and “Hey Mama,” the crowd was almost left hanging. Nonetheless, it was still a a great show, and Kanye proved to be a worthy closer.

Other great acts hit the side stages, such as Empire of the Sun, Chromeo, the Kills, Yelle, and Two Door Cinema Club. Notable hip hop performances included Wiz Khalifa, Cee-Lo Green, Lil B, Odd Future and Nas & Damian Marley. Ms. Lauryn Hill and Erykah Badu pleased the soul and R&B crowd with their sets on the main stage.

The Sahara Tent was bumping all weekend with some of the biggest electronic music acts in the world. Steve Angello, Laidback Luke, Boys Noize, Afrojack, A-Trak, Axwell, and The Bloody Beetroots put on amazing, heart-pounding performances, keeping the tent packed to the edges the entire weekend.

Coachella 2012, please come sooner!

Mixtape Monday (R&B Edition)

Monday, April 18th, 2011

Though the idea of mixtapes is mainly a hip-hop medium, the R&B genre has been using the same formula for the past few years to promote their major releases.  Chris Brown arguably used mixtapes to put his career back on track (In My Zone 1 & 2, Fan of A Fan, etc) and Trey Songz has made it a habit of doing mixtapes before and after his major releases.  But what about upcoming artists?  Well in the last month the names Frank Ocean and The Weeknd have been moving around the nets quite a bit.

Frank Ocean is actually a part of the Odd Future crew and is a bit toned down in comparison to his crew, but that doesn’t mean his content is PG-13 by any means.  Songs like Novacane, Swim Good and American Wedding show Frank’s versatile music influence and are the popular picks around the net.  Some of the most “gangsta” rap acts have been seen tweeting song lyrics.  After dropping this project and getting his buzz up it was found that he has been signed to Def Jam and there are rumors he has written and/or will write for Beyonce and other big name acts.

As Frank Ocean’s buzz escalated other people started talking about another artist by the name of The Weeknd.  Many people started sharing music by The Weeknd saying “if you like Frank Ocean you’ll like this too”  The Weeknd dropped a dope EP called House of Balloons that plays like a story.  Many have made comparisons of the artist with The-Dream.  Based out of Toronto, his buzz has been partly attributed to a song quote tweeted by Drake with a link to the music.  The production and content have both received rave reviews.  A few people here at our offices have had these two artists in rotation so if you need a break from the usual hip hop mixtape dropping every day check these two out.

Frank Ocean – nostalgia, ULTRA

The Weeknd – House of Balloons