Big Ass Murals

Yep, that's right, the time has come... we are finally working on those big ass murals for that New York project I have been alluding to. But first...

Whiskey Tasting!

We were invited to check out Seven Grand, that new fancy-smancy bar in Downtown brought to you by the same guys who own Golden Gopher and Broadway Bar.

Free Whiskey is always lovely... but as my friend Lobo said, "this place is full of Tools." I, reluctantly, must concur. Hey, if I wanted to see a bunch of guys in suits, I'd get a job.

Then we checked out Royal Claytons in downtown. It was French Connection Night, so live swanky beats were provided by the Mad Alsacians.

Definitely check it out... but only for drinks. The food is pretty dismal.

So here we are to the mural. The CW Network asked us to provide four artist murals for a project at Madison Square Garden. We start 'em here and finish them off at a live event at MSG next week. Yoskay Yamamoto is one of LA artists, along with John Michael Gill. From the ATL, UrbanMedium and TindelMichi round out the roster.

Here, Yoskay is startin' it off...


I'll post some more pics tomorrow of the almost finished product.

And finally, with yesterday being Cinco De Mayo, what better way to celebrate then by grabbing some food from my favorite Westside Mexican joint, Cinco De Mayo.

Sure its next to Tito's Tacos, the "#1 Mexican Stand in LA", so it gets no play. Hold on, don't say that, of course I love Tito's... but man, if you want REAL dirty Mexican food, don't want to wait, and want to pay Three Bucks to get full, then this is the place for you.

So I grabbed some to go and put on old favorite, "Convoy". Ernest Borgnine, Kris Kristofferson - one of several classic 70's movies that has no real plot but still wants to show some segment of society that gets over-looked.

The difference here is, this movie wasn't based on a book or TV show... it was based on a SONG! and what a song! "We Got A Big Ol' Convoy, Ain't She A Beautiful Sight!" For full crazy lyrics, go Here. In fact, if you read the lyrics, you don't need to see the movie... its all there.

Because of this movie, as I kid, I wanted to be called Spider Mike and make Big Rigs honk their horns and force my parents to ride up behind the Kentworths so we could start our own Convoys... ahhh the memories.


mike
www.project.bz

My Dinner with Al

Last night, I had John Gill and The Love Movement meet up in Redondo... they both dig each others work, they both approach their art in the same way, and they both have some similarities in their style that just would make them a perfect match for a future collaboration.

But, unfortunately, everybody was pretty beat down from the week, so no Bull Pen, no Dive Bars, no causing havoc through the streets of the South Bay... just some beers and quiet art talk. Here, TLM shows Gill a piece for an upcoming show...

2008 there is talk of a possible project... but that is a ways off, but stay tuned.

Tonight, I met up with long-time Gill pal and old man art guy Poor Al. We are working on a June curation at our gallery that should really have people talking. Its been in the works for a while, and Poor Al has really worked his ass off the last year to line-up all the pieces. If things go according to plan, this show will be something no one has ever seen and should create a lot of buzz.

But more importantly then that, Poor Al is now sporting the 'stache. I didnt get a chance to take a picture of him with it, so instead, I rendered one myself from an old 2006 photo. The resemblance to 2007 Poor Al is striking.

2006 Poor Al


2007 Poor Al artist rendition


Now, hold on, that can't be right... maybe he had more of a handlebar moustache...


Wait, thats not right... that's not right at all. I think was all chopped out with his soul patch and crazy long Scott Ian style goatee...


No, No, No! That look is definitely not right. He had more of an 1880's old-timey feel:
No, that's not quite 1880's old-timey enough.


Ahhh, much better. Yes, there it is, that is how Poor Al now looks. Dead on. By the way, tomorrow I am applying for a job with the police dept as their new sketch artist. I only know how to draw facial hair though, its my one weakness.

If you have some renditions of your own, send em over, I'll post em...

mike
www.project.bz

John Gill and the CW

The CW Network contacted us about helping them with a marketing/advertising project. No need to bore you with all the inside, behind-the-scene dealings or the concept of the undertaking itself (its alot of corporate speak and marketing lingo) . So basically, we gladly accepted and after pouring over all the details about the project, went through the entire roster of artists we know and found the perfect match.

John Gill and I headed down to their offices in Burbank yesterday to get the party started. 10 hours and 15 bottles of water later, John had somehow managed to pull off a 9' by 23' mural.



Amazing work. John really worked hard on it and came through huge. CW nearly crapped their pants. They were ecstatic about it. But probably the best thing to come out of it was getting to reconnect with John Gill and Sophia Pottish, two artists that project: loves who we just have lost contact with the last year. Its good to have 'em back. Check out John and Sophia at Thinkspace next month, they are doing a window installation, and over at Alpha Cult the month after that, where they are putting on a huge show. Congrats you guys...


mike
www.project.bz

mmmm....

Friday, I was able to reunite with artist John Gill at Bob's Big Boy in Burbank (mmmm...), whom I haven't seen in about a year... he has been in hiding over in the LBC. We are working on a big project together for the CW network... but more on that on Sunday.

Speaking of Bob's Big Boy, don't you remember eating there as a kid, plowing through your Big Boy Combo, because you just could not wait to get your greasy hands on that hot fudge sundae for dessert? yeah, those were the days... mmmm...

Later on Friday evening, through a freak coincidence, Beau ended up finding the wallet of our old intern Diane Chang, who is now onto bigger and better things at Conde Nast. We celebrated its miraculous return by getting some BBQ over at JR's (mmmm...). She has a fashion blog, check it out: http://eyeprinciple.blogspot.com/


After a few drinks (mmmm...) ...


...somehow I ended up eating this mess (mmmm...) at 3 in the morning.

The great thing about this stuff is that it looks the same going in as coming out.

And finally, a big thank you and an up yours to good friend and fellow gallery owner Jensen Karp for correcting me on my vast yet limited knowledge of Hip Hop. Also a congrats and condolences must go out to Jensen... A congrats for opening a new gallery in SF Here, and a condolence on the upcoming demise of Hot Karl, classically seen Here. We are gonna miss you HK.

mike
www.project.bz