Case currently lives in Philadelphia where you can find him riding his bike looking for records, hunting for hole in the wall diners, or drinking excessive amounts of coffee. He loves travel, clean design and vintage sneakers.
Brazilian Bank Notes
- Nov 03, 2010
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I stumbled across this site through ffffound! I believe it’s a link from some type of Brazilian travel site. I don’t speak Portuguese or Spanish so it’s anyone’s guess. However, I know sweet money when I see it. U.S. notes seem so bland after looking at these.
- The Folks at TWIRK ETHIC
Strobelight Heathens Remixes
- Nov 02, 2010
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Our friends the Strobelight Heathens have recently released a pack of wild remixes on the public. These come from a range of different producers and we're reinterpreted in interesting ways. Also make sure to read the interview we did with them last year (re)posted below.
-THE BAAAAAG MESSSSSENGER
Don't Go - Strobelight Heathens (XRY Religious - Remix) by burleius
Boomerangs - Strobelight Heathens (Siamese Sisters Remix) by burleius
Tucker & Bloom recently caught up with LA creative force, and street observers Strobelight Heathens. The group has been hitting the studio hard working on new material, and adding crust to old drum tracks. Read the interview to gain insight into how fashion, music, and taxidermy can be forged into raw funk.
THE BAG MESSENGER: What is Strobe Light Heathens and how did it come about?
STROBELIGHT HEATHENS:: The group is a collaboration between vocalist Dono Dagger and producer Braxton Nations. The sound of Strobelight Heathens emerged from just living day to day in LA being involved in Fashion, Art, and creative circles. We wanted to create a big sound that fused together a progressive approach. Just straight up in your face music with that grittiness that we like. Drums, basslines, and emotion.
THE BAG MESSENGER: I know you guys are involved with fashion, how did you see music and fashion working together? Do they co exist?
STROBELIGHT HEATHENS:: We definitely feel that these worlds co-exist. Fashion is an interpretation of self...it's a documentation that people carry, that displays how they feel most comfortable within ones skin. Being out here in LA you have a broad culture. You have some cats who just follow whatever is the bigger trend, lookin like they are high school not knowing how to wipe themselves. But then you have people who get it, and they wear their clothes and their clothes don't wear them. Music has that same aesthetic. You got clowns who literally don't know up from down. The music that's made is transparent and only relevant to whats goin now. We are aiming to make something that is an extension of who we are as individuals and at the same time speak for the underdog. Our goal is to make memorable songs that will someday be played at Sports Arenas 28 years from now. Anthems.
THE BAG MESSENGER: Where do you find inspiration in life?
DONNO: The grind, duke. Things are crazy. Riding my bike in LA I see everything from Homeless pirates and tranny hookers. I've helped Elton John buy a chandelier from the boutique I work at. Also thanks to Ronald Regan, the Father of American Homelessness in LA, a lot of these Joneses are walking around having conversations with themselves with booty shorts on, nah I mean. I also can't forget the lady vixens that flock to this city from all over the world, the roach coach taco joints, artists and colleagues that we have relationships with, random found objects on the street, and taxidermy. I feed off the city.
THE BAG MESSENGER: What are the tools of the trade in your line of work?
DONNO: The number one tools of the trade is an open mind. Once you got that, you can orchestrate what you feel, you feel me Presley? When we record our doodles we like to do things in the moment. We try to keep it as live as we can.
BRAXTON: We don't like producing music that sounds like it just came from technology or from a specific formula. We really aim for creating a sound that's more so emotion so people can relate to and feel. Whether it be making our drums patterns on old tape machines or playing live patterns the sides of bicycles or pipes, we know its right when we achieve that mutual feeling. We approach the vocals just like any another instrument, customizing the sound to get that raw feel. Cadence and noise are all equally important...Its how you glue it all together.
THE BAG MESSENGER: What is in the future for the group?
BRAXTON: Definitely hitting the road doing shows. We are gonna be dropping a few songs each few months for the first part of the year with remixes of each song from other bands and groups. Its gonna be really out there, we have some really great colleagues we really dig and respect who will be working with us to make that happen. We are working on Fashion, design ideas, and art that will all tie in with Strobelight Heathens and the vision behind it. A lot of these items will be only available exclusively through live shows, special events, boutiques and pop up shops online.
DONNO: Look for lots of internet exclusive downloads, collaborations, and girlfriends leaving the lefties.
THE BAG MESSENGER: I know you have been really inspired and into taxidermy. Can you tell me how that all started?
DONNO: The first time I knew I was into taxidermy was in preschool. We would have story time in the library and there were animal heads all around the library. As a kid, just those natural forms really intrigued me. I would just stare at the different teeth, the different eyes, the fur, and emotions in the facial structure and I would just think about where it came from and the life it lived. I've always collected bugs, found abandoned wild animals and tried to raise them. Ya dig. I guess in a weird way I have that primitive connection to animals like I'm some type of lost indigenous person...Fast forward to now, I have started acquiring quite the slew of taxidermy. I have collected everything from grizzly bear claws, coyote teeth, bison teeth, different types of carnivore antlers, and bones. Whether it be animals, plants, or crustaceans, I draw inspiration from it on some level.
STROBELIGHT HEATHENS: Boomerangs
STROBELIGHT HEATHENS: Paradigm
Continued....
THE BAG MESSENGER: Alright some quick ones..Favorite Cranny Food Spot in LA?
STROBELIGHT HEATHENS: Benitos
THE BAG MESSENGER: Favorite Films?
STROBELIGHT HEATHENS: Holy Mountain, The Elephant Man, Rosemaries Baby, Metropolis, Original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Raging Bull
THE BAG MESSENGER: If you had to name 3 songs off the top of your head right now, that would give us a glimpse into the mind of Strobelight Heathens world what would they be?
STROBELIGBHT HEATHENS: ESG - Dance - Come Away with ESG - 1983 Animal Collective -My Girls - Merriweather Post Pavillion - 2009 Ghostface Killah - Daytona 500 - IronMan - 1996
Dilla’s Rock Crates Mixed By Bowls
- Nov 01, 2010
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Bowls is no stranger to record stores. When we both lived in the same city, I felt as if I was perpetually in a race against time. Speeding from shop to shop, stretching to snatch at records before he got his hands on them. I would often see him later to compare finds, only to hear that he had already seen the records I bought, silently passing over them, tallying their worth, and moving on to other things.
That is Bowls in a nut shell, quality over quantity. He isn't looking to own every good record (where would he put them all?), only the ones that he loves (believe me those are plenty of enough). The same applies to his mixes. Many break mixes are crammed full of short clips and sound bites, they play the samples your familiar with in the way you are familiar. In contrast, these two mixes give the listener space to hear the decisions a producer makes, and room to appreciate the process of selection.
Much like Bowls, Dilla had no desire to use everything. He took his time, selecting finds, and moving on. The selections on both of these mixes are well thought out. Do your self a favor and let these two weed out the dreck, I promise you won't be disappointed. -Case
Architectural Photography By Kim Holtermand
- Oct 27, 2010
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Danish photographer Kim Høltermand creates some incredible architectural images. He captures every interesting vantage point on each structure and emphasizes the sculptural qualities of his subjects.-Nick Sigler
Tucker and Bloom Interview
- Oct 26, 2010
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Here is a cool little interview we did with German bag design magazine The Bag Stage Report about the creation of Tucker and Bloom and our roots.
-THE BAG MESSENGER
What is the name of the label and what is the idea behind the name?
Tucker & Bloom: We are a family owned company, with deep roots in design, and a dedication to old world craftsmanship. The name comes from the combination of the two sides of our family.
The Tucker's were British relatives that settled in Northern New England as ship builders, and whalers in the 1800’s. The Bloom's were Eastern European craftsmen that moved to America after the First World War and became involved in the New York garment industry. The brand strives to meld these two histories through clean functional design and use of rugged, durable materials.
Where are you from?
The company was founded in 1978 in Boston Mass as Bloom Fine Leather Accesories where it found success in its first line of handbags. It than relocated to Brooklyn NY and is now based in beautiful Nashville TN.
What is the inspiration behind your collection and what kind of materials do you use?
Our bags emphasize organization, and individuality through the use of functional design. We were inspired by a combination of things when designing the collections. The function of the bags came first. We also felt that designing them for domestic manufacturing and having the bags fit into specific lifestyles were important. We currently offer three lifestyle lines Work, Transitions and Leisure. Each line has a particular feel, use and purpose. The materials that are used in the collections are 1980 denier Ballistic Nylon, Heavy Cotton Canvas, Neoprene and Leather (Some
vegetable tanned and some chrome tanned). We have also used some small rubber micro-injection branding patches, as well as satin nickel side release buckles with our logo laser engraved on them.
Since when do you run your own collection?
The Tucker & Bloom bag collections have been available since 2007.
How or why did you start designing bags?
I started designing bags in the 70’s and was lucky enough to find a mentor in Kosta Spyrololous(a small handbag manufacturer in Boston). I became fascinated with European classical handbag construction, though in my early years the handbags were far from classical construction. After moving to New York I worked side by side with aging holocaust survivors who passed on knowledge learned from many years in the business. I’m not exactly sure why I have found bag design so endlessly interesting but I continue to learn everyday. What more could a person hope for in work; passion for the product and the opportunity to learn something new everyday.
Do you exhibit on trade fairs?
It is our desire to make our company a sustainable US manufactured product, with our main distribution direct to consumer and very little wholesale. Although, we are looking at doing some co-branding b2b, and will be offering our Transitions line through the wholesale channel in the spring of 2010.