Coachella

Okay guys, so I know that this is about 1 million years in advance, but I had to dedicate a blog to this fantastic music festival.

Formally called "The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival", this three day event hosted every April in the middle of the Colorado Desert in Indio, California.

Here is some AMAZING footage of the event directed by Sam O'Hare.

After making the video, he said:

"I wanted to portray a unique view of the incomparable Coachella experience. Following the crowds in the sunshine from arrival, camping, exploring the art in the arena, all the way through to the headliners at night, this film brings a miniature feel to this huge festival."

O'Hare is right... this festival is huge. In 2010, over 225,000 people attended, and it only seems to be growing.

This event is over 10 years in the making- the first ever Coachella was held on October 9th, 1999, immediately following the infamous Woodstock '99 festival held upstate in Rome, New York. Because of the chaos that occurred at Woodstock (including but not limited to the following- violence, arson, and assault), Coachella was not granted a camping permit, ban that lasted until 2002. It was in 2001 that promoters made a crucial decision to move the concert to April in an attempt to avoid the blistering heat of the fall months.

Originally, the line up consisted of artists such as Beck, The Chemical Brothers, and Rage Against the Machine.

Recently, the festival has hosted numerous artists from all different genres. For instance, more mainstream performers such as Madonna and Jack Johnson have played alongside electronic artists like Deadmau5 and Orbital.

In "Pop and Hiss", The L.A. Time's music blog, readers have already began to investigate who will be headlining in 2011. Rumor has it that big players like Lady Gaga, Daft Punk, and Kanye West will be hitting the sun drenched Coachella stage this coming year.

Turkey, Stuffing, and HARD NYC.. yum.

On November 27th, 2010, our brothers who bring HARD to New York and Los Angeles so many glorious times a year will be making a pit stop at Terminal 5 a few days after Thanksgiving.

The official line-up has been released, and its looking pretty good y'all- A-Trak, Flying Lotus, Tiga, and Yelawolf.

Tiga, a Montreal based artist hopped onto the scene in the early 1990's hosting raves around Canada. In 1994, he opened up a record store called DNA records and later founded his own label, Turbo Recordings in 1998. Over ten years later, he has gained popularity with such remixes as Nelly's "Hot in Herre" and the Scissor Sisters' "Comfortably Numb". Also, he has released two albums, "Sexor" (2006---> it won the Juno Award for Best Dance Recording in '07) and Ciao! (2009)

Listen to Tiga's Nelly cover here.

A-Trak (born Alain Macklovitch) is yet another Montreal born and raised man hitting the HARD stage in November. At 15 years old, he was the youngest and first Canadian to win the "DMC's World DJ Championship". Throughout his career, he has been the only DJ to win all three DJ competition titles (DMC, ITX, and Vestax) as well as five other championships. Needless to say, A-Trak has some serious credit in the electronic music realm. ALSO- he is the younger brother of David Macklovitch of Chromeo! You learn something new everyday...

A-Trak keeps his fans up to date on upcoming events and musical escapades on his blog called "Fat Free Since 1982" (his year of birth) On the blog he says. "I’m not really in touring mode right now but I do have various shows lined up… just wanted to draw your attention to 2 in particular, both Holiday-themed." Referring to HARD Turkey Soup and a Halloween show he played with his brother in Chicago.

I have to be honest, I had never heard about Yelawolf until this lineup was released. After some researched, I learned that he is a rapper from Northern Alabama. He has been active in the music scene for about 5 years now and is signed with Interscope Records based out of Santa Monica, California. He is most well known for his collaboration with Gucci Mane "I Just Want to Party". Hmm... Yelawolf seems to be a little bit out of place in this lineup but we will see. Thats the great thing about HARD... they love the diversity.

I got my tickets for this about a month ago at $30, I think they have gone up about ten dollars but it's totally worth it. I'll see you guys there! Can't wait!

1st Article- Fake ID's

New York City- One of the most exciting places on the planet. This metropolis boasts some of the best nightlife in the world. There’s just one problem… you have to be twenty-one to reap the benefits.

So this leaves some underage students in a predicament- stay inside on Saturday night or put on your fancy pants and mingle with the New York twenty something’s at a downtown hotspot.

“Everyone who is not 21 has a fake, seriously, everyone,” said Andrew Simmons, a sophomore at NYU.

“People are honestly shocked when you don’t have one,” said Brittany Mason, freshman at The New School. “I am the only one in my group of friends who is yet to get one.”

Why are undergraduate New Yorkers so notorious for their fraudulent identification? One would think that with the excitement of New York, there would always be activities available for college students. However, according to some, the city does not offer enough 18+ venues for young people living in the city. There are hundreds of thousands of students in New York, yet only a handful of venues that caters to an undergraduate audience. Webster Hall (which you have to be 19 to get into), Pacha (only on certain nights) and a dance club called Europa in Brooklyn.

“You get tired of going to the same places,” said Andrea Moreno, freshman at NYU.

There are many ways to obtain these ID’s. Many students used the expired licenses of older brothers and sisters who resemble them, others buy them off of upperclassmen with similar facial features, as well as the plethora of miniature ID factories scattered around New York.

“I got mine in Chinatown,” said Melanie Sanders, sophomore at The New School. “On the inside, it was a typical bodega, but you went in the back and said a password to some guy and he brought you into a back room where they took your picture and made the ID for you on the spot… super sketchy.”

However, this valuable item might cost you; some “scannable” IDs can run for as much as $200. However, the legal ramifications may be even larger. Worst-case scenario, if you get caught using a fake ID, under New York state legislature, you could be fined up to $1000 dollars. Also, if the identification is legitimate (rather than completely fake) and belongs to someone else, charges of identity theft can be included.

“I’ve never heard of anything bad happening,” said Cater Brandon, sophomore at Hunter. “You will either get rejected or some 300-pound bouncer will take it away.”

“I’ve heard of bouncers taking fakes, and then selling them back to the people they took them from,” said Marcus Corenza, sophomore at NYU. “Everybody’s so corrupt.”

For many students, being in college is synonymous with legal drinking. Going away to school opens endless doors for complete independence, devoid from the hassles and responsibilities of home life. As the legal drinking age remains, many students new to the city are finding ways to adapt to their surroundings. However, it looks like the students of the Big Apple aren’t waiting for 21 candles on their birthday cake to join the fun.

(I MEANT TO SEND THIS TO YOU EARLIER, COMPLETELY FORGOT, SORRY!)