The Final Farewell: A Tribute to Polaroids.

I'm sure that all of you know by now that Polaroid is discontinuing its line of instant film products this year to focus on rebranding shitty digital cameras and consumer electronics. I personally know of a handful of people that started stockpiling film for the land cameras and Polaroid backs the very same day they heard the sad news.

After the initial shock has worn off, I'm glad to see that some people have stopped brooding and have started celebrating the life and death of our favorite auto-developing film Irish wake-style. Echo Park's L'Keg Gallery will be host to The Final Farewell: A Tribute to Polaroids, a group show composed entirely of photographs shot on Polaroid instant film. The artists showing includes Whisper friend Jennifer Pacia and Whisper acquaintance Keeley Higgins. The show will also have musical performances throughout the night.

The opening reception takes place on September 12th at 8PM. There is a $5 cover charge, but there will be free beer. Look at it this way, that cover charge is at least a dollar less than a tall can bought at most Los Angeles bars, so two drinks more than makes up for it.

Flock Shop: Technical Difficulties.

Los Angeles-based retail boutique, Flock Shop, is celebrating its one year anniversary and upcoming renovation by having an art show in its retail space. The artists chosen to exhibit and do live painting all seem to have a graffiti-slant towards the work, so if that's your thing, make sure to go.

Personally, I'm interested in the band that is performing that night, Whisper friends and favorites, Blue Key Coretet. Delivering their own brand of jazz-tinged instrumental hip-hop (or is it hip-hop tinged instrumental jazz?), the Blue Key boys know how to put on a great show, so make sure to check it out.

There will be complimentary beer and wine and it's free. There's no excuse not to go.

The show goes up on September 6th, from 7-11PM. For more information, check out Flock Shop's MySpace page.

Birdmonster

San Francisco indie rock band, Birdmonster will be having a free in-store performance at Fingerprints in Long Beach this Labor Day. Their new album will be available for purchase after the set.

Fingerprints: 

4612 E. 2nd St

Long Beach CA 90803

www.fingerprintsmusic.com

They will also be opening up for Sons & Daughters at the Troubadour on Tuesday.

Their new album, "From The Mountain To The Sea" is now available on itunes and will in stores September 2nd.

More info visit

www.birdmonstermusic.com

Workshops with Remind & Flomaster at Hope in West Covina

the line.

You've got to love Hulu. Not only do they have prestigious films like Hoop Dreams, but they also show geeky web-series depicting even geekier characters. The Line, starring SNL's Bill Hader and The State's Joe Lo Truglio, can now be seen in its entirety at my favorite corporate-owned online media viewing site.

The Line is a seven-part web series depicting two aging geeks (Hader and Lo Truglio) waiting in line eleven days early for their favorite science fiction space opera. Hilarity ensues, of course, as the two encounter people who are even more rabid and hardcore then they are and as they suffer the repercussions from attempting to put their normal lives on hold in order to stay in the line.

The first episode can be viewed above. The rest can be seen here at Hulu. First taste is always free, guys.

christopher nolan's following.

To celebrate it's fifteenth anniversary, indie film festival Slamdance is planning a year-long series of special events. The first of these events is a special screening of Director Du Jour Christopher Nolan's debut feature film, Following. For those who don't know Nolan by name, you surely have seen his work, whether it be the neo-noir instaclassic, Memento, or his latest, The Dark Knight.

The screening is scheduled for 8PM on Friday, September 5th at LACMA's Bing Theater. A Q&A session with Nolan will immediately follow the screening along with a hosted reception. Tickets can only be purchased online here, going for $20 each.

ian francis @ kinsey/desforges gallery.

Bristol-based mixed media painter, Ian Francis, will be having his second solo show at the Kinsey/DesForges (formerly BLK/MRKT) gallery in Culver City. The opening reception is on Friday, September 6th from 6PM to 9PM. The show itself runs until the 4th of October. One of my favorite up and coming artists, Francis is able keep his visual narratives fresh and alive by at once showing just enough, but revealing very little.

For more information about the artist and more examples of the work itself, I recommend reading this interview on Fecal Face regarding his inspirations and process. Also, check here for a step-by-step documentation of the creation of one of his paintings.

golden half camera.

I'm the first to admit that years ago, I was once a member of the toy camera bandwagon. I fell in love with the spotty metering and the dubious glass and went everywhere with my LOMO LC-As. Eventually, my love for it disappeared as more people were interested and it finally got on my last nerve when it became accepted and ubiquitous enough for photography students to include their toy camera work in their entrance portfolios. The newly rediscovered Golden Half camera by SuperHeadz, however, might just bring the fun and irreverence back to the toy camera community.

The Golden Half shoots two vertically oriented shots on one 35mm film frame, essentially turning a 36-shot roll into one that produces 72. Unlike similar cameras like LOMO's ActionSampler and POP9, the two shots are not exposed at the same time, thus allowing users to easily create photographic diptychs on the same frame. From the looks of it, the resulting images are surprisingly crisp. It's not anywhere Leica glass, but it doesn't aspire to be.

The shutter speed is set at 1/100 and the only two available aperture choices are f8 and f11, so make sure you have a lot of light. If you're not the outdoorsy type, the camera also comes with a hotshoe, a feature that no other 35mm toy camera has besides the LOMO LC-A+ which comes at a lofty $250 price tag. Fun and unpretentious, the Golden Half is a steal at $80. You can see a sample image taken by the camera below, with more to be found at the Golden Half flickr pool.

Freestyle Session 2008!

After party!

spare the air festival.

We here at Whisper are interested in random, seemingly unrelated things. It is a rare occasion when two or more of our interests converge into one magical moment and thankfully, I am the one lucky enough to write about it. On August 30, 2008, the South Coast Air Quality Management District combines our love for public and alternative transportation with our love of music in their Spare The Air Festival. Spare The Air is an all-ages outdoor music festival created to raise awareness of clean air issues, public transportation options, alternative fuels and energies, and global warming. Musical acts are diverse and include The Used, Lit, and Saosin as well as Whisper faves Peanut Butter Wolf, Free the Robots, and DJ Pubes of Dance Right fame manning the appropriately named Ozone Dance Tent.

The event will be held at the Fullerton Transportation Center (aka the Santa Fe Depot Parking Lot) on Commonwealth and Harbor. Tickets are only ten bucks and some change.

Random Fact: I Like To Whisper Too... Founder Kim worked at the Knowlwood Burger on the very same block where the festival will be held. Nice place to get a good shake, malt, or burger. Oh yeah, they serve beer.

Flyer designed by Ryan Bubion of Cal State Fullerton.

siteLA.

To commemorate its new women's collection, iconic surf label Quicksilver has selected six young women to be their "Visionaries in Residence" at siteLA, their multi-purpose creative space on the corner of Sunset and Rampart in Silver Lake. The ladies practice disparate disciplines, with their interests ranging from art to fashion to music to transportation design. The space has events that are free and open to the public.


One particular event/project that sounds fun and interesting is resident Sarah Anderson's collaborative mural for her drawing collective, Sumi Ink Club. The group is decorating siteLA's facade during rush hour in an effort to encourage passing commuters a chance to park their cars, grab a brush, and dream up their ideal method of transportation for the future. The project started on August 19th and will continue until August 27th. More info and exact times of when you can drop by and paint can be seen here.

SK8OLOGY!

This Saturday, the ISM Gallery (Koos Art Center) in Long Beach will be hosting the opening night of Sk8ology. Sk8ology will showcase over 150 individually designed skateboard decks created by a broad range of the most talented and creative professional artists and skaters. The skateboards will then be auctioned off (online) and all proceeds will be given to two very good non-profit organizations: ISM: A Community Project and Now That You Know.

The exhibition is free, will begin at 7 o'clock and continue until 10. The Show will then travel to San Diego, September 4th-6th for the Action Sports Retailer Trade Show and then to Florida, September 12th-14th for the Surf Expo.

Saying that this night is going to be cool is a lot like saying that Superman was just an all right guy... Clearly, he was much more than that. So if you're in the neighborhood, come check it out before it's too late. If you're not, come anyway.

For more info or to RSVP check out: http://www.ismcommunity.org/

passengers.

Lou Reed's voice seems to get better as he ages. With this in mind, it was a major coup for Dutch composer, Stephen Emmer, to get Reed to participate in his upcoming album, Recitement. A breathtakingly fresh project, Emmer hand-picked a variety of literary material and basically composed a score of each. The kicker is that each track uses a reading of the text as a voiceover of sorts. As described on the official website for the album:

A kind of rap 2.0 but then created the other way around: first the text, then the music. You could also call it Spoken Word Goes Pop where poetry becomes a film- soundtrack, classic prose rap & rock and travelstories become jazz-noir or chamberpop.It's in fact the Music of Words.

This beautiful and melancholy video, directed by Paul Faas, is for the track, "Passengers". Lou Reed provides the voice for Paul Theroux's text and the results are nothing short of magical. The full album will include the work of Borges, Ginsberg, and Samuel Beckett. Sounds like a great pick-up for fans of literature, spoken word, music, and film.

proust was a neuroscientist.

I just wanted to take the time to inform you that Jonah Lehrer's Proust Was a Neuroscientist, one of the most interesting reads I've has in quite a while, is now available in paperback. The book argues that Proust, as well as other creative folk like Walt Whitman and Cezanne, made discoveries about the brain and its processes decades ahead of science. The book weaves the two together gracefully, convincing you by the end that the separate studies are closer to each other than what is widely believed.

For those that want to try before they buy, I recommend heading over to the author's blog, The Frontal Cortex. His daily writings are very close to how it is in the book, with most posts combining art and culture with science in an easy to read manner. Also, make sure to check out his lecture at Google around the time of his book's publication. There's a short bit at the end regarding the musical genius of Kanye West (my words, not his).

guerilla gardening.

Why shoot the breeze about it when you can be about it? -Nas

Guerilla gardening is defined as "the cultivation of someone else's land without permission". In practice, it is an act that traces back to the 1970s wherein Green Guerillas cultivated abandoned lots in the Lower East Side of New York. The current figurehead of the movement is Richard Reynolds, who has been getting some press lately because of his cultivation campaign and the recent publication of his book, On Guerilla Gardening. You can now join in on the movement by spreading DIY seed bombs. A how-to video can be viewed here.

Be a rebel by making your city and neighborhood more beautiful. Perfect for all of those that still secretly like wheatpasting, but missed out on the ground floor of it being hip and edgy.

Helping hands.

I'll admit it, I still log into my Myspace. Most of the time I just log on and spend the rest of my time checking out photos, random music and flipping through bulletins seeing if I missed out on anything important. Most of the time it results in about 45 minutes (around average for me) of skimming through useless surveys with clever titles while listening to singles from the Damned.. not exactly productive. On the rare occasion that I do come across something that matters though, it makes up for all the time mired in stuff that quite frankly, no one in their right mind would really care about. What I'm about to repost is of the former category, something that really does matter. A little less than a year ago a friend of mine's family was changed when her father was involved in an accident. The following was written by her little brother. Take a few minutes and give it a read.

My dad, Van Leer Kirkman Patton III, is and has been an extremely important part of my life. He's always been encouraging, and I've had many deep philosophical debates with him. He's made some mistakes, but I know that he is a great person. He's a person with a great sense of humor, a great spirit, and an overall positive attitude about life. He was the person who introduced me to music in the first place, always making it an important part of the home life, as well as getting me involved in piano lessons starting in 3rd grade. He also encouraged me to take up drums (5th grade) as well as guitar (7th grade). He had always been an extremely active person: bike riding, running, swimming, tennis, guitar, and piano to name a few. He is also a very accomplished engineer.

About this time last year, I received a call from one of my best friends telling me that my dad had been in an accident. I assumed it was a minor thing, and didn't truly understand the severity of it until I talked to one of my dad's (Van) closest friends about the situation. Turns out he was in a biking accident, and had been helicoptered off to USC medical center for urgent care. I drove down there with my friend's mom and waited in the waiting area for a chance to see him. When I did, he was covered in blood, and deeply deeply bruised, and could hardly breath or talk. However, he could only see one person, and requested to see me. I tried to be as encouraging as possible, but it was difficult to look at my dad on the verge of death.

After hours and hours of waiting in the hospital, we received the news that he was completely paralyzed from the waist down, and would probably never walk again. He had suffered a severe spinal cord injury, as well as numerous other broken bones. He also was semi paralyzed in his hands and many body movements. This news struck hard. This was the worst day in his, and my life. My family and I visited the hospital very frequently for the next few weeks and months. About 6 months or so after the accident, he was released from the hospital in a wheel chair. However, he had regained some feel of his toes (he could move them slightly), and he could even move his legs very very slightly. This was very encouraging and inspiring.

He, as well as myself, have been pushing HARD for his recovery. We believe he will be able to walk again, and the doctor's also think there's a chance. I've been helping him stretch his leg muscles on a daily basis for the last several months, and we've also taken regular trips to the gym in order to try to build back muscle in his upper body.

The point of this bulletin is to talk about the financial strain this has put on my family. My mom is unemployed, and my dad had been the sole provider for the family. He was making a good salary, and now he is completely unable to work. We need to get him walking again, as well as bike riding, running, and swimming, he needs financial help.

He wants to participate in a program called Project Walk. Project Walk is made just for people with spinal cord injuries with the sole motivation of getting them walking. We believe that if involved in this program, he will be able to walk again. However, this program is very expensive.

You can read more about it here: http://www.projectwalk.org/

A fund-raising campaign has been established in his honor with the Catastrophic Injury Program of the National Transplant Assistance Fund (NTAF) for Van's uninsured injury-related expenses. NTAF is a highly regarded nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable organization which has been providing fund-raising support to organ and tissue transplant patients for over 20 years. In 2000, NTAF began working with spinal cord injury patients and their families.

Any and all contributions are greatly appreciated. PLEASE TALK TO YOUR PARENTS ABOUT THIS, AND FEEL FREE TO HAVE THEM READ THIS BULLETIN.

If they or you feel uncomfortable about making a donation, please check out the NTAF website here- http://www. transplantfund. org/

In order to donate by check, please do the following:

Make checks payable to: NTAF Southwest Catastrophic Injury Fund
Note in the memo section: In Honor of Van Patton
Mail to: NTAF
150 N.

Radnor Chester Road, Suite F-120
Radnor, PA 19087

For credit card contributions, call NTAF at 1-800-642-8399 or visit www.catastrophicfund. org

It's never easy to ask for help, and now is no exception. Your help would be appreciated more than you could ever know, and would directly improve his recovery.

All donations made are tax-deductible.

So please, if you would like to help further, or are unable to donate, feel free to copy and paste this into a bulletin of your own, or show as many people as possible.

Sincerely,
Casey

Converse Connectivity Commercial

I know I posted about the Converse Connectivity "My Drive Thru" last month, but I am totally all about this commercial right now.

Babylon A.D. in Theaters August 29th

Oh Vin Diesel...

Nike Windrunner Ride.

Nike Windrunner Ride L.A. from Veesh on Vimeo.

There's something about riding with windbreakers that just makes perfect sense to me.

Make Something From Nothing: Beautiful Losers

Beautiful Losers film trailer from beautifullosersfilm on Vimeo.

• 9/05/08 - 9/12/08 Landmark Lumiere, San Francisco, CA
  


• 8/29/08 - 9/08/08 Landmark Nuart, Los Angeles, CA


• 8/08/08 - 8/28/08 *US Theatrical Premiere* IFC Center, NY, NY
  

http://www.beautifullosers.com/

For anyone that was ever afraid to fall off the beaten path...

just check it out.

Daedelus at Low End Theory!!!

Be there when Daedelus drops "My Beau." It's lovely... On Wednesday, August 6th, Low End Theory is back (hint) for another unforgettable night under the stars. We're proud to present a headline performance from one of our proudest family members, the one-and-only Daedelus. Opening set on the main stage by matthewdavid, plus an upstairs kick-off performance by Leo 123. All residents on deck for the sonic devastation you're accustomed to.

As always (and with any Daedelus show at Low End) early arrival is highly suggested for this special engagement:


DAEDELUS
[Ninja Tune]
One of L.A.'s most daring artists, this young musical romantic weaves together a true "love-sound" that falls between honeyed melody and avant-electronics. Daedelus chops and splices disparate acoustic sources into incredible works of staggering resonance. Contrasting IDM styled cut-ups with childlike 30s arrangements, he has refined a style that has no imitators. Daedelus has been a stalwart of Low End Theory since our inception, and we consider him to be one of our residents-at-large. This night he returns home for his first Low End show in over six months.



MATTHEWDAVID
[Dublab]
It is indeed a pleasure for us to bring you a close encounter with one of L.A.'s most fabled new talents.

His Spills EP on Plug Research exposed him to the masses, while his co-production on Flying Lotus' Los Angeles cemented his rep even further. Now, matthewdavid will unveil his new live show for the very first time. Witness the birth of another star on the Low End stage.




LEO 123
[Dark Party]
As one-half of Dark Party (alongside Eliot Lipp) and as a solo producer, Leo 123 has proven himself as a force to be reckoned with. An electro genius, Leo 123's beats have serious knock. Leo is on a West Coast tour right now, so it's only right he's rocking Low End for his Los Angeles date.


As well as your Resident DJs


DADDY KEV
[Alpha Pup]
Batting first on the Low End Theory lineup is legendary producer and label boss Daddy Kev. As a producer and engineer, he's spent the last decade crafting classics for the likes of AWOL One, Busdriver, The Grouch, Sage Francis, Mix Master Mike, Abstract Rude, D-Styles, Freestyle Fellowship, The Shape Shifters and many more. His DJ sets are a high-tech affair with Kev primarily engaged in live remixes, slicing experimental beats and hip-hop classics to shreds.



NOBODY
[Plug Research]
From his adventures on the road with Mars Volta and Prefuse 73, to his production and remixes for Postal Service, Mystic Chords of Memory and Busdriver, coupled with his own solo work on labels such as Rough Trade and Plug Research, Nobody is a living tour de force of creative genius.



D-STYLES
[Funkshitup]
His virtuoso skills on the turntables have been compared to that of Jimi Hendrix and John Coltrane. As a former member of Invisibl Skratch Piklz and Beat Junkies, he toured the globe, helping transform turntablism into a global phenomenon. Now, the legendary D-Styles is back on the frontlines of underground culture, shredding your soul every week at Low End Theory.


THE GASLAMP KILLER
[Low End Theory]
Over the course of the last few years, Gaslamp Killer has established a solid rep for devastating beats and intricate cuts. This nomadic West Coaster has steadily smashed the scene from San Diego to Los Angeles to San Francisco, earning the respect of heavyweight players in the process. Bear witness to one of his epic sets and see what the buzz is all about.

Plus Resident MC


NOCANDO
[Alpha Pup]
He's no longer a secret. After winning the 2007 Scribble Jam MC Battle Championship, Nocando has been catapulted to new levels of international fame. He spent many Thursday nights honing his skills at Project Blowed, and has broken the dreams and hopes of countless would-be-MCs.

Screening in the movie lounge:
PULP FICTION + RESERVOIR DOGS

Low End Theory goes down every Wednesday
@ The Airliner, 2419 N.

Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90031
18+ $10 guests, $5 members 10PM-2AM Fully stocked bar


Upcoming Shows

8/13: BUSDRIVER + FREE MORAL AGENTS
8/20: CRYSTAL ANTLERS + MORE TBA
8/27: EDIT + LAZER SWORD
9/3: TO BE ANNOUNCED
9/26: LOW END THEORY JAPAN - TOKYO @ UNIT
9/27: LOW END THEORY JAPAN - FUKUOKA @ BASE
9/28: LOW END THEORY JAPAN - KYOTO @ METRO



A special thank you to everyone that has participated in the filming of the Low End Theory documentary. A few more nights might be captured, but for the most part, filming has wrapped. We'll update you as things progress. Click the image above to check out the teaser trailer now.

http://www. myspace. com/lowendtheoryclub

88 Boadrum

If you haven't heard of the awesome Japanese band called The Boredoms check them out here: http://www.myspace.com/boredoms.

And if you haven't heard of next week's 88BoaDrum event, prepare yourself.

[Last year's 77 Boadrum event]

On 08/08/08, 88 drummers will come together at 8:08pm and drum for 88 minutes at the La Brea tarpits.


The show is free, but unfortunately it has been sold out.


But if you are really interested in being apart of this great LA event, I highly reccommend you volunteer.


We will be needing any kind of help we can from setting up mics, managing lines, doing runs for the drummers etc. We will have a huge volunteering team and it's going to be a lot of fun.

'
If you're intertested. Email volunteers88boadrum@gmail.com with

• all your contact info
• which show you would like to work
• your skill set
• why you want to be part of this event.