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Cosmo Baker Feeling Good Mix
Here is your treat for the week, βFeeling Goodβ by Cosmo Baker. Perfect for those long summer days. Enjoy
-THEΒ BAGΒ MESSENGER
Β
βOften times Iβll wake up in a certain mood and Iβll want to make a mix that will accompany me during the day. This is how the first βLove Breakβ came about β just a mix for me to listen to in my car during a road trip. Anyway, a few weeks ago, I woke up and it was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, the temperature was just right. It made me think of a certain sound that just means βspring/summerβ to me, so before I headed out I made this mix to listen to while I ran around New York. Thereβs nothing like New York in the springtime.β
- Cosmo
Β
TRACKΒ LIST:
- Benny Golson βIβm Always Dancinβ To The Musicβ
- Maze feat. Frankie Beverly βGolden Time Of Dayβ
- Brenda Russell βIn The Thick Of Itβ
- SSOΒ βFaded Ladyβ
- L.T.D. βDonβt Stop Loving Meβ
- Toto βWaiting For Your Loveβ
- Harvey Mason βTill You Take My Loveβ
- Eddie Drennon & TheΒ BSSΒ Orchestra βDo What You Gotta Doβ
- Patrice Rushen βFeels So Real (Wonβt Let Go)β
- Brass Construction βGet Up To Get Downβ
- Roy Ayers βLove Will Bring Us Back Togetherβ
- Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway βBack Together Againβ
- Mtume βLove Lockβ
- Bernard Wright βSpinninββ
- Teena Marie βI Need Your Lovinββ
- Stevie Wonder βLove Light In Flightβ
- Karen Silver βNobody Elseβ
- James Mason βSweet Power of Your Embraceβ
- Donald Byrd βLove Has Come Aroundβ
- Chaka Kahn βCloudsβ
- Coke Escoveo βI Wouldnβt Change A Thingβ
- Black Ivory βMainlineβ
- Change βA Loverβs Holidayβ
- D-Train βKeep Onβ
- Earth Wind & Fire βRunninββ (Danny Krivit Remix)
- John Paul Young βLove Is In The Airβ
- Norman Connor presents Aquarian Dream βLook Aheadβ
- The Isley Brothers βHarvest For The Worldβ
Cosmo Baker with theΒ North To South Messenger bag.
Brian Gossettβs The Heist Series
I was immediately attracted to the use of clean type and noisy photography in the album art forΒ Brian Gossettβs,Β The Heist Series. However, the series goes deeper than just the pretty covers, it also has a great concept. Gossettβs love for the heist film genre becomes apparent through his vast knowledge of the filmsβ scores and his ability to compile the compositions in a cohesive manner. Check outΒ his site, where you can download the mixes and read his wonderful accompanying descriptions.
-THE BAG MESSENGER
Will Van Zandt Interview
Will Van Zandt is a man full of stories. Son of famous folk singer Towens Van Zandt, who is as legendary for his wild antics as his song writing; Will is a bit of a legend Β himself.Β He was once run over by a tractorΒ trailer on the interstate in Nashville, passed up by the responding ambulance, and lived to tell about it.Β He is about as genuine a person as anyone could hope to meet. I have had the pleasure of knowing him forΒ some time and share a few crazyΒ stories with the man myself. Β This interview wonβt be covering any of his wild past or give you specific insight into his fathers song writing process (sorry Townes fans). Instead we will cover WVZβs obsessiveΒ passion for crusty old sprayΒ paint cans. Perhaps this will give you more insight into his father than a world full of unreleased demo tapes. Perhaps you will learn about the hunt forΒ Jungle Green. EitherΒ way,Β while βthere areΒ two kinds ofΒ music. (The Blues, and Zippity-Do-Daβ-Β TVZ), there are many canβs of spray paint yet to be unearthed.
-THE BAG MESSENGER
Β
THEΒ BAGΒ MESSENGER:Β How did you first get into collecting cans? Β Β
Will Van Zandt: Β I got into it through graffiti. Back before all the specialty paint brands were around, you were very limited as far as colors and shades. In the mid nineties krylon had discontinued a lot ofΒ their more vibrant colors. My guy Verse, who basically schooled me as far as graffiti is concerned knew about some local mom and pop hardware stores who still hadΒ a good stock of discontinued colors, so weΒ started cleaning those out, just getting paint to use. Every now and then I would find cans that were real old, theyΒ wouldnβt even spray, little off brands I had never heard of, some with crazy graphics. I wouldΒ stick those on a shelve to display. Over time it was less about findingΒ paint to use, and more about the older cans themselves.
THEΒ BAGΒ MESSENGER:Β How long have you been doing it? Β Β
Will Van Zandt:Β It started in 98β so around twelve years. I slowed down for a while until I realized people were paying good money online for some of these cans. I defiantly got a second wind after that.Β
THEΒ BAGΒ MESSENGER:Β HowΒ much are some of these worth? Β Β
Will Van Zandt:Β In this economy no one is safeβ¦ Stuff isnβt going for what it was say, five years ago. At one point it was nothing to get on ebay and see cans goingΒ for a couple hundredΒ dollars. Iβve seen single cans go for close to eight hundred dollars, thatβs unheard of right now. Most stuff isnβt even selling. Right now itβs moreΒ about trades with other collectors. Β
THEΒ BAGΒ MESSENGER:Β What brands are you into? What types of cans are you looking for? How many cans deep are you? Β
Will Van Zandt:Β Probably my favorite right now are what are called picture cans. They were made by a few different brands, and basically every color has a differentΒ illustration that describes it.Β Also Iβm into Rustoleum Β stuff 1965 or older. They sent out a lot of cool advertising stuff back in the day. Giant display cans, transistorΒ radios that look like cans, I have a gold money clip, and aΒ company softball team jersey from the earlyΒ seventies. Iβm looking for 1950βs βgrenade and soup cansβ,Β called this because of their shape. I donβt think most people would even recognize the βsoup cansβΒ as spray paint. Iβm into greens, avocados,Β limes, and aquas.Β I would say i have around a thousand cans that are worth mentioning, but Iβm defiantly trying to downsize. Itβs gotten a bit insane, so a lot of stuff is boxed upΒ these days. Β
THEΒ BAGΒ MESSENGER:Β What is theΒ furthest you have gone on a trip digging? Β Β
Will Van Zandt:Β With Verse Iβve been down into Mississippi, on all back roads. We made it to Vicksburg Miss before we ran out of room in the truck and had to turn around. Same deal in Georgia,Β South Carolina, Kentucky. Those are forsure some of the best come ups. Β There is not really anybody else in the South doing this. It isnβt like in the North East where you have a lot of guys going to theΒ same spotsΒ competing. It was all untouched old family owned hardware stores. You know, βGrandpa opened up after the war, then my dad took over, now itβs mine.β Β These guys donβt recycle, and theyΒ donβt throw stuffΒ away. Prime digging.
THEΒ BAGΒ MESSENGER:Β Can you describe what a digging Β mission might look like? How do people react when you tell them you want to dig up their old paint cans? Β Β
Will Van Zandt: Β We leave at three or four in the morning, and by the time we get to the next state the stores are starting to open up. We map it out, then hit every little town. When they start to close weΒ get aΒ cheap ass hotel room, and figure out where to go the next day.Β Most of the time you just get looked at like a psychopath, β Your looking for what!?β Β Iβve been called a βlong haired paint huffing drug addictβ and toldΒ to get out of peopleβs stores.Β Sometimes you come across an old man whoβs happy to have somebody whoβs actually interested in his business, and wants to show you everything upstairs,Β in the basement, and tell stories about the βgood oleβ daysβ. Β You can spend full days in a place like that. Iβve been in basements where cans were literally stuck up in the spaces under theΒ floorboards. Β Then his buddy over in whateverville has a store so he calls him up and sends you over. These places are far and few between now, if they even still exist.Β
THEΒ BAGΒ MESSENGER:Β What other kinds of stuff do like to collect? Β Β
Will Van Zandt:Β Iβve collected everything at some point. Stamps, coins, comics, baseball cards. If I see a shiny rock I want that shit, but thereβs a fine line betweenΒ a collector and a hoarder, and Iβm trying toΒ cut back. I donβt want to end up on A&E!Β
Digging For Records In Mississippi
This past weekend my friend Nick and I made the trip from Nashville to Memphis to eatΒ BBQΒ and dig for records. If you have never been to Memphis, or some how overlooked these activities on your trips to the city, its hard to quantify exactly how much you have been missing. Perhaps this story will help.
Intelligence In Lifestyle Magazine
Itβs been acknowledged that information graphics have recently become a huge trend in graphic design. Some people see this as aΒ negative trend, but I think that there are some really great things happening within the realm of information graphics.Β IL magazineΒ is an Italian menβs publication that is full of wonderful examples within the genre.Β
-THE BAG MESSENGER
Paul Nice Brazil Volume 1 Mix
Happy Monday folks. Being that it is sweltering hot outside and everyone is still recovering from the weekends festivities, I thought this would be a good time to share one of my favorite laid back mixes. Paul Nice Brazil Volume 1. Enjoy
-The Bag Messenger
Tucker and Bloom Prove E-Commece is the way to go for smart looking bags
Nashville Style in the BAG
David Bloom and his son Case definitely have the best-looking bags in J.J.'s coffee shop on Broadway- this despite the fact that we're surrounded by Vandy students and young professionals with their designer-brand briefcases and laptop totes. Boom's been a "bag nut" for years, and says the first time he ever worked with a hide of leather he felt like he'd been reborn. In the early 70's he befriended a Greek handbag-maker while living in Boston and studied the traditional craft with him and other skilled European artisans there and New York, knowing it was what he was meant to do,
From these experts he learned the fine art of leather-crafting, based on complex European techniques passed down over decades. "I leaned from a lot of the old school guys in the industry in New York" says Bloom. "I worked side by side with the last of a dying breed, many of them survivors of the concentration camps, who do things in a way we don’t in this country today".
His son and business partner Case interrupts, reminding me that true craftsmanship is a fading art, and that the few people who still practice those old skills have an obligation to take back what bags once were from the hands of the mass manufacturers and return them to a level of high craftsmanship and durability. Which s exactly what their company, Tucker & Bloom, aims to do.
Bloom has built a long career on his bag design and construction skills. His first company, Bloom Fine Leather Accessories, produced a much-in-demand roll-top bag that made the New York Times fashion section and sold at Macy's. Henri Bendel, Saks and Neiman Marcus. The small company (Bloom, his wife Dru and one additional employee) eventually closed when the births of their children Case and Maddie meant the couple couldn't keep up with demand. During that period Bloom began working with handbag companies including Etra, Sirco International, L.J. Simone and Ishihara Industries, which held the licenses for Courreges and Valentino. In the 1990's the family moved to Nashville, where Bloom headed the design team for Hartmann Luggage for five years. Independently, he's designed for Valentino and Perry Ellis, at one point moving back to New York to work for Coach, heading their travel line in 2000. Following 9/11 the travel industry slumped, however , and Bloom left Coach.
In 2006, Bloom and his now- grown son decided to give it another go family-style and started Tucker & Bloom (Tucker is Dru Bloom's family name and Case's middle name). Together, they decided to capitalize on David's exceptional design and construction skills and MTSU grad Case's promotional abilities, building a middleman-free business in Nashville. The Key is e-commerce, which allows them to reach out to the community, craftsman to buyer, in the old world tradition-just online instead of in a private atelier.
The target audience for the bags is wide, though common traits are discerning taste and the desire to differentiate themselves from the herd. Bag designs are separated by lifestyle needs – work, leisure or travel. Styles are not gender-specific; there's something to appeal to every customer. Fabrics are both sturdy and attractive, with leather, cotton canvas and ballistic nylon in a wide assortment of colors. Lush trim like calf-skin is obtained as food by-product from the agriculture industry. Checking out the website, you'll find an exciting assortment of messenger bags, laptop cases and other bags suited to all urban and suburban professionals. Neoprene product lines focusing on travel and leisure are expected to be available shortly.
The Blooms are hoping their band becomes something the public is looking for, and there's every reason to believe that's possible. The next step online will allow customers to customize each bag's color and materials. There's no question that e-commerce has changed the way we live and buy, and Tucker & Bloom provide an example of the best sort of e-business. They make cutting edge products available to the public without a middleman, working from a very forward-looking model even as they revisit the old values of craftsmanship and design. No brand name can give you that.
Published in Nashville Lifestyle Magazine June 2008 – By Stephanie Stewart