Media Contender » Ramblings

Street Dreams: The Movie

Danny — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 20:19:14 +0000

June 12th, Street Dreams finally hits major theaters nationwide. I have been privy to some of the developments of this movie for some time now. My boy Nino, who wrote the film, and I usually get coffee a couple times a week at LA Cafe in Downtown. He has been real clear about this feature film, and although it’s being pushed through the Hollywood pipeline, it truly is an authentic film about skateboarding made by skateboarders.
Rob Dyrdek, who produced and stars in the movie, hosted a screening at his Fantasy Factory in downtown a while back, I went to check it out with Paul Sun and the Social Trust posse and the place is amazing. Boasting an indoor skate park with some of the best ledges and hand rails I have ever seen, a foam pit for practice, a basketball court, fussball table, and a few of his cars. Gotta love open bars and I cant forget to mention that dude even hired a barber shop to come in and give free haircuts. MTV was on hand to film for Rob’s Fantasy Factory tv show, and I managed to get a few shots off…but somehow facebook isnt letting me access them.

The thing to remember is that the integrity of skateboarding had to be preserved in this project. With all the players involved in Street Dreams, I think that goal was met, but see for yourself, starting June 12th.

Street Dreams: The Movie
With Rob Dyrdek, producer + star
Paul Rodriguez, star
Terry Kennedy, star
Nino Scalia, writer
Chris Zamoscianyk, director
Jason Bergh, executive producer – Berkela Motion Pictures
Sal Masekela, executive producer – Berkela Motion Pictures

Staticka Does Nature – Variety Photo Sampler

Jeff Tovar — Wed, 06 May 2009 00:19:39 +0000

Once in a while I need to get outta Dodge and head up to Central California for some nature. My aunt lives in an area known as Wildwood Island which is quite fitting considering the orange groves and farmland that surround them. It’s your typical small-town backwoods kind of life, complete with 20 minute drives to the market, hikes up in the hills, horseback riding, and rodeos. Now, while shooting clubs on the regular is fun, there’s always room for variety, especially when it comes to Media Contender showcases. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll quit the DJ nightlife and become a cowboy after this. Gitty up!

STATICKA DOES NATURE
CLICK TO VIEW FULL SIZE GALLERY

- Staticka Photography -

Visit Staticka Photography for the full galleries.

Nick Dirty’s Bday at Trust – Flicks and a Mix!

Jeff Tovar — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 03:43:24 +0000

Traffic sucks, we’re already running late, making it to the Proof Bar by 7 is not sounding likely. Thanks to the IPhone we made a couple freeway jumps and arrived to a decent sized group of friends. But where’s the birthday boy Nick? Before I had time to complete that thought up comes a stretched black Hummer. Yep, things were going to get interesting.

We all pile in the disco bus and I couldn’t help but feel like I was in a mini strip club, the only thing missing was the pole and flying dollar bills. Why yes, I would like a lapdance! The drinks start flowing and music gets cranked as we head down to Newport for our dinner rendezvous at Joe’s Crab Shack, a place of fine dining for those who enjoy wearing bibs and cracking crustaceans with their own crabby hands. Apparently, while I was outside, the Shack employees dimmed the lights, dropped some fresh tunes (Stayin’ Alive ‘99 with the Will Smith-esque rap verses), and proceeded to line dance. FTW? Maybe it’s best that there is no photo documentation of this occurrence. Thankfully the lights were back on and everyone saw fit to quickly put Mr. Nick into a poodle skirt, red wig, and vaguely sporty track sweater. A fine fashion choice.

After pouring our shellfish-covered selves back into the limo/tank we cranked up Villain’s Volume 2 and made our way to Proof Bar for the main event, Trust. The night was already bubbling along nicely upon our arrival. Our group entered the spot in time to catch Josh Mayhem’s cleverly programmed D&B set and Oh Shit!’s crowd-moving live performance, I wandered outside to check out the art show and throng of happy club-goers. They seemed to like having their pictures taken so I was happy to oblige. Looking at my beeper it was about that time for myself and Origin to perform our first set as Kuru so we took to the decks. A blurry half-hour later, the crowd and ourselves covered in sweat, I realized something great had occurred. We got such a good response from our set that we recreated it for you to download exclusively here on Media Contender!

Download audio file (Kuru_(Origin_&_Sucio)_-_Trust_Revisited_-_Dec_6_2008.mp3)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD KURU’S
TRUST REVISITED MIX (26:20)

1. Kaiser Chiefs – Never Miss A Beat (Cut Copy Remix) – Floor Bangers
2. Lutzenkirchen – Broken Bullet – Great Stuff
3. Wolfgang Gartner – Clap – Kindergarten
4. Tribal Kings vs 3rd Face – Canto Della Liberta (Vandalism Remix) – Tambour
5. Twocker – Stitch (Bass Kleph Remix) – Vacation Records
6. Green Velvet – La La Land – Credence
7. Elite Force – Melodik Hypnotic (Miles Dyson Remix) – U&A Recordings
8. Christian Sims – Flash – Orphaz Recordings
9. Micky Slim – Hit The Club (Stupid Fresh Remix) – Bomb Squad
10. Edison Gem – Things Change (Villains Remix)
11. Leama, James Davis, Graffiti – Ghettotech – Armada Music

Seconds after our last record, Tea Long & MC LD smashed the place down with some heavyweight Dubstep of the finest vintage. Crowd response was immediate and intense, what at first seemed like an odd timeslot decision proved to be the perfect next step in a night full of surprises. After Midnight was on the next time I entered the main room. The crowd couldn’t have been happier. Hands in the air, massive tracks, and Whiskey Pete’s masterful direction shot the energy level into the stratosphere. Before I knew it, there was a line outside that stretched down the street and the club was completely rammed to the hilt. My group was gassing out fast and I was exhausted from all the night’s work, though, so we decided to begin our long journey back to the Downtown Los Angeles hood. It was an incredible night on all counts.

Happy Birthday to you, Mr. Nick Dirty!

CLICK AN IMAGE TO VIEW GALLERY

View the full gallery at the Staticka Photography website.

Website: Staticka Photography, Trust on Media Contender, Kuru

14TH ANNUAL NOCTURNAL FESTIVAL

Danny — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 21:06:04 +0000

My most memorable Nocturnal Wonderland was partying with 43,000 people at the Empire Polo Fields in 2000 in Indio. Every star was shining bright in the desert sky, the palm trees and mountains were the best backdrop you could ask for, pretty much the most epic night of raving I have ever experienced. That was quite a few years back, fast forward to 2008. Nocturnal Wonderland is now called Nocturnal Festival and it’s as big as ever. September 13th (this Saturday) Insomniac will be hosting giants such as Digitalism, DJ Craze, Deep Dish, Claude Von Stroke, Infected Mushroom, Richie Hawtin, Alix Perez, Calibre, So Me, I could go on and on. Below you will find an exclusive mix, timeslots, and site maps. Be prepared, its the NOS center, and it gets HOT.

Shot from last year’s Nocturnal Festival in Downtown LA

In anticipation of their upcoming appearance at Nocturnal, our good friends at Computer Club have put together an exclusive mini-mix for everybody to enjoy!

Tracklist:
01. Mr. Oizo – Flat Beat (Computer Club’s Fat Eric Remix)
02. Treasure Fingers – Cross The Dancefloor (Laidback Luke Remix)
03. Hatitras – Something About You
04. Jupiter One – Countdown (Designer Drugs Remix)
05. John Legend & Andre 3000 – Green Light (MSTRKRFT Remix)
06. Chemical Brothers – Hey Boy, Hey Girl (Soulwax Remix)
07. Computer Club & Le Castle Vania – Messiah (one)
08. Your Dirty Habit – Your Dirty Habit (Computer Club Remix)
09. Kill The Noise – KILL KILL KILL
10. FEED ME – Raw Chicken
11. Computer Club – Load Rocket
12. SebastiAn vs. The Who – Baba O’Reilly (Computer Club edit)
13. MGMT – Electric Feel (True Pseudo Remix)
14. Edison Gem – Things Change (Villians Remix)
15. The American Dream Team – Money (feat. Whisky Pete)
16. Stardust – Music Sounds Betta’ With You (On Off On edit)
17. Wired All Wrong – Elevatin’ (Computer Club Remix)

Download audio file (computer_club_-_nocturnal_festival_2008_minimix.mp3)

Click Here to Download “Computer Club’s Exclusive Nocturnal Mix”

CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE TIMESLOTS AND SITE MAP

Website: Nocturnal Festival, Computer Club Myspace

CLASSIXX TONIGHT AT TRUST OC

Danny — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 17:50:46 +0000

Its VMA weekend and I know there is lots to do, but if your in Orange County tonight (Saturday) come by the Santa Ana Arts District to the Proof Bar where Dirty Nick and Media Contender do their weekly onslaught of Electro and Bass music at TRUST OC. This week’s guests are Classixx, two of LA’s best. Its FREE and there are alot of girls :)

See you tonight!

Website: TRUST MYSPACE

Staticka Goes (to) Hungary

Jeff Tovar — Tue, 20 May 2008 21:57:09 +0000

This is an official warning to the country of Hungary. Be on the look out for an American who will soon be walking your streets, perusing your museums, devouring your heavy food and basically, being the tourist he is. Here in the States he has many aliases so we’re not sure which he may be traveling under- Staticka, L402, Sucio, Phear, Jeff Tovar.

We have found out his mission is to capture photographs of anything and everything visually stunning in your country (particularly Budapest and surrounding areas). For the safety of all, hide your freaks, bring down all historical buildings and leave no angle of interest for this man to steal. Should you not heed this warning, expect exploitation to be presented via Flickr. You have been warned!

If anyone comes in contact with this person, please drag him to the nearest pub for a beer before turning him into the local authorities. Thank you for your time.

- The Media Contender Staff

website: www.mediacontender.com

Art In The Age

Jeff Tovar — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 16:56:20 +0000

Rarely is the urge to publicly babble personal opinions upon me these days. Especially not after living on message boards for so many years. Today is a new day, however, and I may as well go with it.

The subject of this bulletin was inspired by a line of clothing I recently came across and immediately had to own. What better way to represent yourself than with thought-provoking words which describe the times we live in and ring so true…rather than just some cool design or worse, a big name that sells by the billions? Don’t get me wrong, I love shirts whose sole purpose is to please the eye. I will always be visually drawn to objects of distinction, after-all. But when a brand name has such a powerful message, how can you not want to put it on your body and walk around with it? That to me is the very definition of “cool.”

What’s even better is when I first read it, I wasn’t sure which side I fell on.
ART or MECHANICAL REPRODUCTION?
Like I said, it makes me think and question, both of which are good.

Check out their catalogue. Maybe you’ll enjoy it, too.

website: www.artintheage.com