Reading Journal

In the New York Times, there was an article titled “Caffeine and Alcohol Drink Is Potent Mix for Young” by Abbey Goodnough that particularly caught my eye. If you haven’t noticed lately, the beverage company “Four-Loko” has been receiving a great deal of press lately. Apparently, these beverages contain toxic amounts of alcohol in combination with caffeine, and numerous teens across the country have been hospitalized from consuming them. There has also been a large debate on the packaging, with its bright colors and fruity flavors, is targeted directly at the American youth. For this particular article, I chose to focus on the quotations. One of my earliest journalistic observations has been that quotes can make or break an article, as well as shape a pieces voice and bias. Trusting the author is simply not enough, legitimate sources are necessary to validate the information in an article. Furthermore, I believe that an article should have a wide array of sources from different perspectives and professions to make an article more multifaceted. For example, in Goodnough’s piece, she has a quotation from a doctor in Pennsylvania, a congressman of New York, a college president, the co-founder of the corporation that sponsors Four-Loko, an Attorney General in Washington, and several student testimonies. The article is filled with factual data from medical professionals, yet is counteracted by quotations such as these- “You can get drunk for $5 all night,” said Christine Binko, a junior at Boston University who said she had noticed Four-Loko cans littering streets near campus on weekends. “But I definitely think it brings out the aggression in people.” I think this method of using a diverse selection of sources, for instance combining the commentary of professionals with the “man on the street” perspective is an effective way to clarify a pressing issue.

A Chat with Ashley Hefnawy

Ashley Hefnawy sits in front of me… fashionable, poised, and radiant with her distinctive head of curly locks. What started as a typical twenty questions evolved into a conversation of music, art, and of course, the Big Apple.

Ashley, a sophomore at Eugene Lang, was born in Westport, Connecticut, a town in Fairfield County. She spent only a portion of her childhood in New England, and the remainder in New York City. She is of Egyptian heritage, a quality that she is particularly proud of, and is also semi-fluent in Arabic. As an adolescent, she lived with her family in Cairo for a number of months. She is the oldest of three children, and has a 16-year-old brother and a 13-year-old sister.

It is clear that Ashley’s passion is music. She describes her melodic tastes as extremely eclectic. Lately, Ashley has been heavily evolved in the electronic music scene, and enjoys artists such as The Chemical Brothers. Recently, she attended the Electric Zoo festival on New York’s Randall Island.

“I got the tickets the morning of the event” she says, “I was so lucky, I had the time of my life.”

Indie and folk bands also fill the contents of her iPod. Despite a multifaceted interest in music, she declared that hands down Andrew Bird is her favorite artist. Ashley is a musician herself… she was classically trained on the violin for ten years, and has picked up the guitar more recently.

When asked what she likes to do in her spare time, Hefnawy said that she enjoys walking around the city, finding new music venues, and meeting new people.

“I really am a people person.” She said.

When asked why she moved to New York for college, Ashley said that she has known she wanted to live in the city as a child. She is extremely interested in pursuing a writing career, and knew that the Big Apple would be the best place to succeed in that dream. When asked what she wants to be doing in ten years, Ashley said she would like to be a journalist specializing in musical reporting.

Ashley describes the New York experience as a unique one.

“When you move to a city like New York for college, you aren’t just beginning your college life” she says, “You are beginning your adult life as well.”

Since moving to the city, Ashley mentioned that she has become more independent and resilient.

What’s on the horizon for our Ashley? I think we will be seeing her name at the top of a Rolling Stone article in the near future.

Bumblebees of Bass

On November 6^th, 2010, beloved electronic music artist Bassnectar will be leaving the bay area and gracing us with his presence in the Big Apple.

We’re lucky, Bassnectar plays over 150 shows a twelvemonth… you know what that means? A third of the year crowds of habitual ravers in North America and beyond can enjoy what is called the “Bass Ritual”, also known as the sweatiest and craziest musical experience around with our main man on center stage.

Bassnectar was born Lorin Ashton in San Jose, California. As an adolescent, he says that he got musical inspirations from numerous rock bands, Metallica and Nirvana to name a few. He described himself as a metalhead teenager, heavily involved with the underground scene, hosting “battle of the bands” competitions in the Cupertino Library’s basement. At 18, he went to his first dance party that changed his life forever. It was at that point that he had discovered his genre and his passion. Shortly after, he moved to Santa Cruz for college and began promoting parties, djing, and studying electronic music. After over a decade of involvement in the underground electronic scene, Bassnectar has become a worldwide sensation.

Here’s a clip from Ashton’s unforgettable performance at our very own Electric Zoo on Randall’s Island.

HERE.

Although he had some previous releases, his first true debut was “Mesmerizing the Ultra”, launched in 2005. Ashton had four EP’s before then, “Freakbeat for the Beatfreaks” (2001), “Beatfreak Mania” (2002), “Motions of Mutation” (2003), and “Diverse Systems of Throb” (2004), however, he was unsigned at that point. His 2005 debut was the first time that Bassnectar’s music was actually distributed in stores.

Here is one of his better-known tracks, “Bass Head”, from the album “Timestretch”, released in 2010.

HERE.

Bassnectar has some of the most unique sound out there. He uses the broad spectrum of speeds in electronic genres to create what he calls, "omni-tempo maximalism” (whatever the fuck that means). Oh yeah, and we must not forget the generous portion of throbbing bass lines.

This fall, Ashton is playing sold out shows around the country. On the 23^rd of October, he will be landing in Bloomfield, Colorado, and will begin his conquest of the Midwest, injecting the bass to cities such as Milwaukee, Minneapolis, and Chicago. Come November, he’s hitting the Atlantic, starting in DC and working his way up to Philly, and eventually landing home at the one and only Terminal 5.

The tickets in New York sold out quick, so I’m trying to make it to his show in Philly. Let you know if I make it!

Until next time!

Rusko WOMP to the WOMP

Starting October 21^st, 2010, dubstep legend, Rusko will begin his conquest down the east coast.

Dubstep, probably one of the youngest genres on the music scene was born in the late 90’s. Many believe that its distinct sound shares its roots with Jamaican dub music, a subgenre of reggae of the early 60’s. The bass pounding sounds of dubstep originated across the Atlantic in the good ole’ UK, within EL-B’s recording studio. EL-B recordings, in collaboration with artists such as Steve Gurley, Oris Jay, and Zed Bias began to experiment with these unique sounds in late 1999. With the help of Londoner club Forward>>, these artists were able to promote their fresh sounds to the British party scene. Little did they know that close to 10 years later, their creation would be a worldwide sensation. I wasn’t until 2002 that the term dubstep was officially coined.

Christopher Mercer, known by his stage name Rusko, was born January 26, 1985 in Leeds, United Kingdom. Greatly influenced by his musical family, Mercer graduated Leeds College of Music with a degree in music production. Shortly after his graduation, he moved to London to pursue his dream of being a DJ and solo artist. He made some crucial friends along the way, including his harmonious sidekick Caspa, and eventually became the out of control rumble king that we know today.

Rusko hopped onto the scene in with the debut of his single SNES Dub released in 2006. Not long after, he released his fist EP, Babylon Vol. 1 in 2007.

One of my personal favorites, Woo-Boost, from the Woo-Boost EP, not to mention some great album artwork.

Many do not know Rusko solo; he is often coupled with Caspa, another Dubstep artist with hailing from London.

My ALL TIME favorite from these two, Jahova, from their album Fabriclive 37.

What a beautiful combination of bass drops and rewinds.

Cockney Thug, one of his more famous tunes, has been remixed by such artists as Diplo, Swich, and Santigold. In more recent years, he collaborated with M.I.A with the launch of her album Maya. It is also rumored that he has teamed up with some big players: T.I., Rihanna, and Britney Spears to name a few.

Rusko will begin his tour in Boston, making his way down to Philly, Richmond, Knoxville, Atlanta, and New Orleans until finally landing in the Big Apple two days before Halloween. On the thirty-first, he will be playing an epic show at the HARD Haunted Mansion in Los Angeles. I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty close to dropping a pretty penny for a ticket to LAX for that one. If only…

You can check out Rusko’s tour dates and music on his Myspace page.

Let me tell you what I love about this genre… it’s ours. These sounds were born in our lifetimes and we will always be known as the generation that gave birth to these one-of-a-kind sounds. Fucking brilliant.

Until next time!

Finding your inner Picasso at Webster Hall

On October 2, 2010, Webster Hall hosted the largest paint party in New York’s history.

What is a paint party you ask? From the looks of the ecstatic party-goers, it’s a bunch of messy, crazy, colorful fun with no boundaries. Guests arrived in white attire meet, mingle, and shine with their favorite colors. Not enough? The party was also equipped with trapeze artists, snake charmers, fire breathers, and Go-Go dancers.

You can check out the Scorsese-esk trailer for this event here. If you ask me, this is some fucking brilliant advertising. How could you resist that trailer?

“It was fucking out of control” Says D. Rodriguez “Well worth the $30 ticket price. Can’t wait till these guys come back.”

However, if fingerpainting isn’t your thing, the venue operated its additional three floors and dance spaces as usual.

Webster Hall is famous for its out of control parties and this was no exception. With its 19+ entry, enormous grand ballroom, and prime east village location, it has always been a go-to party spot for young New Yorkers.

In my opinion, it looks like this is becoming the new “scene” of our generation. Electronic music is back and it’s bigger than ever. With events like Ultra in Miami, Electric Daisy Carnival in Los Angeles, and Electric Zoo in the big apple, each boasting tens of thousands of attendees, it is clear that this genre has reached mainstream popularity. Once alternative artists such as Dedmau5 and Kaskade have gained huge fan bases among young people worldwide. This is an exciting shift away from your typical MTV bands to a completely new realm of music. It’s a new decade baby.

However, with widespread use of MDMA, this emerging subculture is not without its flaws. But I could go on forever about that one, tune in next time.

DayGlow NYC was one of many to be hosted around the country. The tour began in Florida, traveling through Orlando, Fort Meyers, Boca Raton, and Jacksonville. In the coming month, Day Glow will be bringing the color to such locations as Chicago, Philadelphia, San Diego, Los Angeles, and many, many more. Come Halloween, this event will be tinting our fellow ravers across the Pacific in Melbourne, Australia.

If you want to join the fun and get tickets for these events, you can visit DayGlow’s website.

Until next time!