We’ll be bringing back a lot more live music performances.  To kick us off we had jazz violin extraordinaire Luis Mascaro come stop by Knocksville to deliver us some heaters off his strings.  Watch more of his videos here.

Ask and you shall receive…Inspired by Spike Lee’s 1989 classic ‘Do The Right Thing’ , get an eyeful of our second Koreatown tribute shirt. Coming soon…

APPLY NOW AT: http://www.knockstudy.org

*Spots are limited and will go by FAST! APPLY NOW!

Today we drop all our Pocket Tees – Wild Thing, Expo, Don’t Feed, and Helio.  DJ Zo and magic not included.  We’re officially on Vine now so follow us @Knocksteady!

Taxi Driver, one of my all time favorite films, received the Palme d’Or (the golden palm or grand prize) which was presented to Martin Scorsese back in 1976 for best feature film. The film stars Robert De Niro and features Harvey Keitel and a teenage Jodie Foster. Taxi Driver is often cited by critics and audiences as one of the greatest films of all time. If you haven’t seen it yet, here’s a list of reasons to convince you otherwise.

The track ‘Walking in the Rain‘ by DFD and Wax actually features a few sound bites from the film!

The Knocksteady fam would like to recognize this event with a commemorative release of our Reel Talk Tee. Peep Breezy rockin our new design! Only available until the last day of the festival (May 26)

-AK

Congratulations for reaching 10 years Rock The Bells.   Last night was their infamous Launch Party previewing some of the acts for this year.  Tech N9ne and Krizz Kaliko from Strange Music rocked first.

Bone Thugs N Harmony took the stage after.  They played to the coast’s favorites rapping classic tribute songs like “Thug Love” and “For the Love of Money“.

Layzie Bone, Bizzy Bone, and Wish Bone.  Bizzy was getting down the whole night.

Respect to Masta Killa.  A ninth of Wu-Tang Clan.

-Grady

As requested through Twitter, Jamie Nod puts the thinking cap on this week and serves up some easy-going beats to score your study sessions. Free download here.

Tracklist:

Evenings – Babe (Shigeto Remix)
Blackbird Blackbird – Keep It Up (Sun Glitters Remix)
Summer Heart – I Wanna Go
Bibio – You
Luvian – Valley Girl
Washed Out – Far Away
Shlohmo – Later
FTSE – SIRVYVIN
Bon Iver – Perth (Teen Daze Remix)

Brand new Lady Liberty Tee and Lady Liberty Raglan dropped today.  Cop it here now.

Zo‘s been having mad shows lately, Jamie Nod feeds an almond to a squirrel, BL only eats nice, Dee gets a kitchen tour of Beer Belly, AK takes a trip to Lummi Island, and Grady sings for his first time on camera *cringe*.

I’ve been trying save moola for the past 5 years in pursuit of a new point and shoot.  Yeah..savings and me just never worked out.  But the guys at Knocksville got real thoughtful for my birthday this year and surprised me with a Canon EOS M.  Thanks Blee, Byoon, Zo, AK, Dee, and Jamie Nod!

Immediately I noticed that the Canon EOS M gave me the option to interchange lenses.  It gives me the versatility to add a mount adapter that’ll enable this camera to support Canon EF and EFS lenses with image stabilize and autofocus.  Tiny packs quite the punch.

Mine came with a default macro EF-M 22mm | 2.0.  Shallow depth of field shots lets gooo!

Digg that the Canon EOS M features touch screen focus and menu capabilities.  She also gets a dime for coming thru on the clutch anti-fingerprint coating.

All in all, I’m just excited to start shooting with this bad boy.  Thanks KS fam!

-Grady 

My friends at Pioneer Square Pantry flew me out to Seattle to shoot a commercial this past weekend.

We drove two hours outside the city and took a ferry to Lummi Island.   

I stayed at this unique Bed and Breakfast spot called Nettles Farm.

-AK

This week Jamie Nod shines light on one of the UK’s finest genres and buffs up some grime bangers. Free download here.

Tracklist:

Ruff Sqwad – Functions On The Low
JME – Blam
Wiley – Wot Do U Call It?
Kamikaze – Ghetto Kyote
Discarda – Lassie
Allout Krew – Grime Bar Warrior (Point.Blank Remix)
Trimbal – Confidence Boost
Dizzee Rascal – I Luv U

Today we’re dropping our KS Wild Thing and Don’t Feed tees.  These two 30single based pocket tees were hand picked to have their own individual looks.  Cop yours today here.

The big homey Roy Choi invited us to Chego’s Friends and Family night yesterday.  Chego’s one of Roy’s premier fusion restaurants and this Saturday will mark his official reopening since his move from Palms.  It’s now located in the heart of Chinatown on Broadway and Alpine. 

My moms #1 rule: Don’t show up to a guests house empty handed.  Did you peep the headphones?

Tim and Tokimonsta stopped by.

Yes, this is a pigs head stuffed with cash.  In Korea, this is a ceremony named “Gosa” and it is performed for new businesses to ensure safety and goodwill.

Waiting in lines suck.

I got the Chubby Pork Belly bowl.  Two thumbs up.

Rude Jude dropped in.

Mr. All-In-One Actor/Writer/Producer/Director Jon Favreau was in the house.

-Grady

Jamie Nod takes us back this week with some proper old-timey tracks from some quality movie soundtracks. Free Download here.

Track Listing:

The Coasters – Down in Mexico
Kenny Rogers – Just Dropped In
Curtis Mayfield – Freddie’s Dead
The Commitments – Try A Little Tenderness
Clarence Carter – Slip Away
Otis Redding – Sitting on the Dock of the Bay
Marvin Gaye – Trouble Man
Dusty Springfield – Spooky
Ben E. King – Stand By Me

Knockstudy and the apprentices from the MOCA & LOUIS VUITTON YOUNG ARTS PROGRAM collaborate for the third year in a row on MOCA Teen Night. Every year MOCA throws an event where high school students from Los Angeles join and celebrate art and music, honoring a particular theme. Past themes include Art In The Streets, Under the Big Black Sun (Dissent), Conception. This year focused on IRL Rendered. 

The night started out great with a variety of performers covering sounds from experimental to chill wave. The party really took off when our Summer 2012 MC instructor, Alphalevel, along with  Knockstudy, hyped the crowd up to the point where kids were twerking their way to the stage.

There was never a dead moment during this party (ZING!), but I had to go see some of the best work from the Urs Fischer exhibit. Make sure to check it out!

Here’s another view of all the great pieces. Best surprise was having our Knockstudy’s Program Coordinator, Nick, run into Retna and discuss some opportunities to guest speak at one of our workshops.

The night could not have been complete with Zo dropping by in his flashiest attire. Here he is posing behind one of the most popular instillations by Urs Fischer.

Big shout out to all the MOCA apprentices in inviting us back.

- Rox

Brand new KS “Radio Gaga” tee.  Shop now.

Grady witnesses AraabMUZIK’s sleight of hand for the first time, AK treks thru CicLAvia, BL flies out to Florida, Jamie has a bird chilling in his living room, Dee catches live martial arts, Zo gets challenged to a dance battle.

It’s been over a year since I heard some of the guys at Knocksville rave about AraabMUZIK‘s sleight of hand on the MPC.  I had a chance to finally witness the MPC legend myself.

Head nods, fist pumps, and a gang of AYES! filled the air through the night.

Here’s a quick recap of our night out with my boys Ben, BYoon, and Jamie Nod.

-Grady 

Also made sure to lace him up with some beanies including the West Coast Red/Black one he’s rocking above. I’m assuming he won’t be wearing the beanie in Thailand though… In order to rock a beanie with a tank top and sandals you have to be willing to walk that fine line between hipster/douchebag– the delineating factor being whether or not the beanie has a pom-pom ball on top and if the sandals are thong vs. slip on style. All jokes aside, Jesse is hands-down one of the most slept on producers in LA.. check out his latest collab with Mike Relm (below) and make sure you subscribe to him on YouTube!

-Zo

CicLAvia happens only twice a year and this time it stretched from Downtown Los Angeles all the way to Venice Beach.

The second CicLAvia for 2013 will take place on June 23 starting at One Wilshire in Downtown LA and ending at Fairfax Avenue along Museum Row.

-AK

In typical KS fashion we roasted the hell out of Grady with the above meme for an obnoxiously prolonged period of time. In his defense he tried to come back at me saying I look like a hybrid mixture of Luigi, Sacha Baron Cohen, and David Blaine..

Great submission Grady (above) but where’s that oh so loved meme font (with the obnoxious 10-pt stroke)? No way I was letting Grady son me.. time to get lavish.

Do you have a doppelganger? I want to know who people think YOU look like. Hit us up on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram with some pics! The best submission gets this limited edition (1 of 1) CHOseph Gordon Levitt tee!

-Zo

This week Jamie Nod showcases some of the acts he’s most disappointed to be missing at this year’s Coachella. Download it for free here.

Track Listing:

Local Natives – Breakers
Alt-J – Matilda
Beach House – Zebra
The Evens – King of Kings
Cloud Nothings – Stay Useless
Japandroids – Fire’s Highway
Tame Impala – Elephant
Purity Ring – Obedear
Disclosure – White Noise (feat. AlunaGeorge)
TNGHT – Goooo
Danny Brown – XXX

This week Jamie Nod provides us with some washy beach tracks to soak in. Download for free here.

Tracklist:

Pond – Elegant Design
SPLASHH – Sun Kissed Bliss
Mrs Magician – Don’t Flatter Yourself
Surfer Blood – Swim
Bleached – Dreaming Without You
Ex Cops – James
Pixies – Here Comes Your Man
Beach Fossils – Taking Off
Seapony – Nobody Knows
Peace – Lovesick
Beach House – Wishes

Sydney-Allyson Banta of L.A. Girlfriend drops her latest MV for her single ‘Gentlemen‘ off her anticipated VIVA LP which is set to release April 9th. The album addresses many romantic and sometimes lovelorn realities of life. Sydney retains her heavy synth production and continues to grow her sound by mixing analog elements. Really excited for this LP release. Make sure to stay connected with her here.

Chicago’s own Sasha Go Hard held it down for all the ratchet girls.  Following the release of her Round 3 mixtape which dropped back in February, Sasha has been garnering popularity online as one of the leading ladies at the forefront of Chi-town’s drill movement, alongside artists like Chief Keef and Lil Reese. 

Just Blaze was in the house in support of A-Trak; the pair will hit the stage together in May as part of A-Trak’s European tour.

Happy Birthday and cheers for the buzz, A-Trak.

-Jamie Nod

On this weeks Noise Nod segment, Jamie Nod put together a couple of his favorite reggae and dancehall tracks to groove to. Download it for free here.

Tracklist:

UB40 – Tyler
Black Uhuru – Vampire
Wayne Wade – Lady
Sister Nancy – Bam Bam
Peter Tosh – Wanted Dread and Alive
Toots & The Maytals – Funky Kingston
Pupajim – Amplifier
The Jamaicans – Ba Ba Boom
Miike Snow – Animal (Mark Ronson Remix)

Soul gets down better than most high school kids.

What’s up my inter web fam!  Again, this set is for you.  I’ve gone through a lot in the last couple of years, lost a couple of people, had a few taken away… and even with all of that, when I took a step back (putting this track list together with Ma) and looked at everything I have, I smiled.  I never thought I would be able to share my style, my music – with thousands of people!  I’m so grateful for connecting with Knocksteady, the Donuts and everyone in between.  Most of all, really appreciate the camaraderie I’ve enjoyed with Michelle (Mimusa).  This will be the last recorded set we do together on KUCI for awhile, if not ever.  Without her direction these VS. mixes would not be the same.  Shout out to my Shiver crew, and shout to my grandmother and her sister, rest in paradise you two.

Speaking of Shiver, my good friend Samantha’s birthday just passed.  My cracked out, pumped up Nympho 2.HOE remix is for you boo.  Thanks to Beltran for the Tinashe track, and thanks to Vi of Brokebeats.net/LA CANVAS for taking me to all those shows.  I threw a lot of Giraffage in this set because I love his music, and he was great live.

Safe,
Dean

Track List:

Xxplosive feat. Hittman, Kurupt, Snoop – Dr. Dre
Nympho 2.Hoe (feat. Rustie, Borgore, Dr. Dre, TNGHT, Starkey) – dr. oc2pus
Command (Original Mix) – Starkey
Command (DS1 Remix) – Starkey
Close 2 Me – Giraffage
Birthday Sex (Yarin Lidor Remix) – Jeremih
Jump The Gun (Jakwob Remix) – X & Hell
Thinking (Radio Edit) – Submotion Orchestra
Rain (Two Fresh Remix) – SWV
Film Noir – Stinkahbell
Still Can’t Stop – Flux Pavilion
Tidal Wave (Flosstradamus Remix) – Sub Focus
Fucking Problem feat. 2 Chainz, Drake & Kendrick Lamar – A$AP Rocky
After Hours feat. T3 – Onra
If (Katranada Remix) – Janet Jackson
Daft Punk vs Phoenix (feat. Alex Metric, The Tremulance) – dr. oc2pus
This is How We Do IT (Viceroy Jet Life Remix) – Montell Jordan
Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger – Daft Punk
All For You – Air Zaiire
More Than Me – ELIPHINO
Prone – Boddika & Joy Orbison
You Know You Like It (Bondax Remix) – AlunaGeorge
Even Though feat. XXYYXX (Reid Remix) – Giraffage
R.E.J. Bit – Joe
The Last Night On Earth (Giraffage Remix) – Tinashe
We Can Only Live Today (Puppy) Lemaitre Remix – Netsky
We Can Only Live Today (Puppy) – Netsky
Control feat. Ria Ritchie (Joe Goddard Remix) – Disclosure
Home – Giraffage
Take This Up – Star Slinger
Thinkin’ Bout You (Ryan Hemsworth Bootleg) – Frank Ocean
White Noise (Hudson Mohawke Remix) – Disclosure
Cry Wolf – B-Ju
Alive (Sticky Remix) – Toddla T & Shola Ama
Baby Let Me Finish – Bwana
Let Me Put My Poems In You – Coco Bryce
Rude Boy (TC Remix) – Rihanna
Fade (feat. Maiday) Wilkinson Remix – Jakwob
Without You (feat. Kerry Latham) – Lapalux

Cheers!

We caught up with George Watsky while he was on the road touring throughout the states. He talks about low budget strategies he used for Cardboard Castles, his acting career, and Steel Wool Media.

What’s the craic? This week Jamie Nod takes us back with a collection of old-school sounding, boom-bap inspired hip hop tracks. Download it for free here.

Tracklist:

Joey Bada$$ – World Domination
Vanilla – A Chance
Hit-Boy – East vs West
Chance The Rapper – 14,400 Minutes
Reks – This Or That
Pro Era – F A Rap Critic
Czarface – Savagely Attack
Chester Watson – Phantom
BoomBaptist – Toucan Wing
DyMe-A-DuZiN – New Brooklyn
plukk.in – Come Back/What is Love?
Gramatik – Boom Bap Reinstated

Farewell Swedish House Mafia.

Traveled Downtown for the fist pumping madness that’s known as the Swedish House Mafia.  The Los Angeles State Historic Park was filled to the brim with fans anxious to experience the collective’s last group show.

This sums up my night of dancing and debauchery.

The homegirl Marge and ZZ Fuss.  Check ZZ’s shit out here.

Really excited to see Ingrosso, Axwell, and Angello grow as individual artists, but a part of me will always miss seeing them perform together as one.

-Grady

Duke Westlake will be dropping his next album ‘Turn’ on March 12, 2013.  It’ll be available on iTunes so stay tuned.

What’s the craic guys? The Irish refer to house parties as “Gaffs”, and this week Jamie Nod put together a trap/electronic playlist that’s perfect for all your celebratory requirements. Download for free here.

Tracklist:

Avicii – Levels (Plastic People Trap Remix)
Baauer – Dum Dum
G.O.O.D. Music – Clique (TNGHT Edit)
Major Lazer – Original Don (Flosstradamus Remix)
Nero – Etude (Flechette Trap Remix)
Waka Flocka Flame – Let Dem Guns Blam
Young Piff & Sandor – Harry Pothead
Benny Benassi – Satisfaction (RL Grime Remix)
Flosstradamus – Rollup (Baauer Remix)
Captain Murphy – Make Them Feel Free
XCUSE – All Right (Shiftee Remix)

Congratulations Ronda Rousey.

Check Yo Ponytail 2 has proven to be a giant when it comes to attracting electronic DJs.  Two nights ago they added Com Truise and XXYYXX to their expanding roster.  Com Truise is the moniker of Seth Haley who is known for having a heavy 80′s synth influence.  He’s been building buzz off his recent Scion A/V fall tour with Poolside.

Rory O’Connor is a drumming beast who complements Com Truise’s live set.  O’Connor is also notorious for being spotted on stage with ambient techno musician Tycho.  Apart from his live drumming, O’Connor’s non de plume Nitemoves published a humble album last summer called Longlines that you can purchase here.  ***I highly recommend checking it out.

XXYYXX is the handle for Orlando producer Marcel Everett.  He quickly gained popularity at an early age of 16 with his experimental bass sounds that developed out of his bedroom.  Now 17, XXYYXX has been on an exponential growth and was announced one of the headliners at Noise Pop Festival.  ***The festival is going on now in San Francisco.

Here’s a quick recap of the night.

-Grady

Our boy KrNfx was in town kicking it at DFD’s crib.  Inevitably a jam session ended up as an unrehearsed performance between KrNfx and DJ Zo.

What’s the crack guys? This week Jamie Nod provides you with a mix of party-inducing rock tracks for you to lose your mind over…Download for free here.

Tracklist:

Japandroids – The House That Heaven Built
FIDLAR – Max Can’t Surf
Jack White – Freedom At 21
The Vaccines – Teenage Icon
Girls – Honey Bunny
Kasabian – Shoot The Runner
Wavves – Demon To Lean On
Cloud Nothings – Fall In
California X – Spider X
Blur – Song 2

Happy Birthday DFD.

DFD drops his latest album ‘Old Boy Jon‘ today.  16 tracks entirely produced by Duke Westlake BAM!  Download it here for free.

We recently had some new faces join our team.  Some of you guys might know Jamie Nod thru Noise Nod.  Frank is another addition to the squad.  He used to intern for the homey Wax but is now with us.  This weeks episode has some of their iPhone documentaries.

This week Jamie Nod compiles a chill-out playlist for you guys to flake out to.

Tracklist:

Clams Casino – I’m God
Nosaj Thing – Snap
Gil Scott Heron & Jamie XX – My Cloud
Baths – Lovely Bloodflow
Toro Y Moi – Say That
MMOTHS – All These Things (ft. Holly Miranda)
Flying Lotus – Tiny Tortures
Flume – Sleepless
James Blake – Retrograde

Our homegirl Raquel Rodriguez with a brand new single off her upcoming album.

The Greatest Flea Market on Earth is held the second Sunday of every month in Pasadena, CA .

-AK

Here’s what some of the guys at Knocksteady have been up to this past week.

Many thanks to the homey Karsten at Traktor for sending me a replacement. Its much appreciated.

If you haven’t seen this, or this. Now is your chance

-Zo

Whats the crack everybody? Jamie Nod delivers a morning playlist.  Relatively easy on the ears and positive sounding to get you prepared for your day.  Download for free here.

Tracklist:

Tallest Man on Earth – King of Spain
Alt-J – Breezeblocks
Grizzly Bear – Two Weeks
Real Estate – Its Real
Arcade Fire – City with No Children
Fleet Foxes – Battery Kimzie
Vampire Weekend – Oxford Comma
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – Home
Tame Impala – Feels Like We Only Go Backwards

TGIF always starts off with an ice cold beer and a glass of tequila.

Wax and I met up with our good friend Davy Nathan to check out his new set Jazz Crimes at the Rockwell. Davy is an established keyboard player who has developed into an astounding Musical Director working with artists such as Christina Aguilera, Toni Braxton, and Brian McKnight.

A performance shot of Davy isn’t complete without a little motion blur to capture his energy, and that’s not the tequila talking.

After a few more drinks we ended up on a high-speed chase en route for a hearty meal.

The only time you’ll catch me at Pinks is when there are no lines.

This guy was mad cool; he hooked it up with extra chili.

Spicy Polish Dog, the Nacho Cheese Chili Dog and the Bacon Chili Cheese Dog. Besides the horrible stomachache I dealt with in the morning, it was a successful start to the weekend.

-AK

Meet Spliff Hemingway, local westsider who’s about to release a collaborative project with the homey Duke Westlake.  Here’s one of the tracks that’ll be on Water the LP.

We kick off our Noise Nod segment with an electronic/hip-hop playlist from Knocksteady newcomer, Jamie Nod.  Download for free here.

Tracklist:

1. Fields -  XXYYXX
2. Ungirthed – Purity Ring
3. Cbat – Hudson Mohawke
4. Higher – Just Blaze x Baauer
5. Yaow – Baauer
6. Jealousy – The Purist ft. Danny Brown
7. Higher Ground – TNGHT
8. Big Beast – Killer Mike ft. Bun B, T.I., Trouble
9. The Full Retard – El-P
10. Jaded Future – Birdy Nam Nam
11. After Light – Rustie

Calling all High School and Jr. High students!  Knockstudy is back in action and applications have opened up for the new year.  Start signing up if you’re interested in taking an MC Writing class, Beat Making Class, or Film Class.  Scheduling is listed here.  Shout out to Bresee Foundation for always holding us down.

My gramps Robbie Jeffers invited me out on a small road trip this past weekend to the Bay.  Went up with a couple heads from the Stussy and Heel Bruise posse for Under the Radar #3.   Huge shout outs to my brothers Thomas Yu, Remio, Nick Estrada, Victor Bruiser, and Will Nichols who made the trip so memorable.

-Grady

This past weekend marked the 3rd Stussy x Heel Bruise Under the Radar photo exhibition presented by Atlas.  Shouts to Papa Pabst for sponsoring the night.

One of my favorite portrait photos from the night shot by Travis Jensen.  Check out more of his work here.

Chocolate skater Chico Brenes & Heel Bruise proprietor Richard Mulder getting shot by Travis Jensen.  Watch this.

Step 1: Get to the front of the party.  Step 2: Get free gear. Step 3: Be out.  These kids were on a mish.

Grandpa Robbie Jeffers with his compadre Jensen.  Thanks gramps for bringing me on this trip.

Shouts to Remio for the ill still.

Hair game loud.  Whats good Gumby?

Big shouts to the men who made this event possible– Mike and Ryan.  They run Atlas, a very pristine skate shop  in San Mateo that gave me nostalgic feelings of how HUF used  to look when he was posted in Tenderloin off Sutter Ave.

-Grady

Its that time of year again…the time when all the DJs get together and exchange their HDR Instagram secrets…NAMM!

Big thank you to Elliot Marx, creator of the Innofader AKA the Innodaddy (pause?).

Yep, thats Mixmaster Mike skratching on trap beats while Qbert & Jazzy Jeff bump along.

Thavius Beck in the zone.  Remember this?

Big Wax spotted.

Gaslamp Killer was in the house.  Shout out to him and all the homeys over at LET every Wednesday night at the Airliner.

-Zo

JMSN came by to sing a couple songs off his album Priscilla and talk about his vibe, vision as a music video director, and how he got affiliated with TDE.

On JMSN…

JMSN’s more of a vibe, you know it kinda went with where I was going with the music and it just worked…I don’t know it just felt good.

On directing MVs…

They’re made to be emotional and to convey all the emotions you don’t even want to think about. I’m not doing it in a way to where you know its like I’m gonna show you this just cause I can.

On meeting TDE…

Man its all people talking to people like we all somehow knew someone or other that knew each other…and Dave Free who manages all them was hitting us up to chill…and at the same time Soundwave was hitting me up, but they didn’t know they were talking to me at the same time…so it was all this interweb of connections.

Peace. Love. Cali.  Yesterday marked Jessie Ware’s free in-store performance.

Jessie Ware is a British singer/songwriter who’s been on my radar since last year after I heard Disclosure‘s  remix to her hit song Running.  Ware’s personality shines just as much as her vocals do…I smell wifey.

This man wouldn’t stop raving about how much he loved Jessie Ware so I tried to get him to buy me an album.  Found out that he didn’t love her that much.

-Grady

ZZFU$$ doing twerk.  Follow her on IG.

Attended the Highline Ballroom last night to catch The Young Rapscallions.  Formed circa 2007, the 4 piece band draws inspiration from some of their biggest influences like Pearl Jam, Black Sabbath, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and The Melvins.  By the way, the second guy from the left is Chris Mintz-Plasse aka McLovin.

McLovin getting down.  I busted a poor assumption and thought his film presence would trickle into his live showmanship, but I was wrong and it was all confident swagger throughout the night.

Jonathan Sanders is the lead vocals for the group.

Bassist Taylor Messersmith going in.

Nick Chamian on electric.

Had to get a snap with my favorite character from Superbad.

-ItsBongoBoy

One of my New Years resolutions was to film more so I started shooting random snippets of my life.  Let me know what you guys think.

-Grady

Hailing from Berkeley, CA 100s stops by Knocksville to drop an exclusive performance to ‘Hemsworth Outro‘.  Shoutout to Ryan Hemsworth on the instrumental.  Digging 100s ode to Snoop Lion’s Doggfather album.  Make sure you download his album here.

Pictures don’t do justice.

I hadn’t seen Yuna since I shot this for her last year so I was excited to catch up with her again.  Yuna Zarai is a Malaysian singer/songwriter who was discovered thru Myspace by Indie-Pop.  Make sure you check out ‘Live Your Life‘ which was produced by none other than the man himself Mr. Pharrell Williams.

The house was so packed that I was rendered immobile the whole night.  I did my best to post up at the highest vantage point to secure a position to take some snaps.

Austin Brown took the stage shortly after Yuna finished.  His energy, dancing, and vocals definitely resemble his uncle Michael Jackson’s characteristics with a sprinkle of Chris Tucker.  ***cool story bro warning*** Ever since I started working with KS I’ve had many opportunities to meet some of my favorite childhood stars.  Last night I was standing next to Chris Tucker and when I finally mustered up enough courage to ask for a picture he gave me a stank face and said, “No pictures tonight, no pictures tonight man.”   It sucks when your favorite childhood star busts a Hollyweird on you :’(

Pictures don’t do justice, here’s a quick snippet of Austin Brown getting down.

-Grady

God Bless America for Agenda Trade Shows and Honest Abe.  Even our 16th President left his axe at home to come celebrate Agenda’s 10th anniversary in Long Beach, CA.

Here’s one of my favorite entrepreneurs Keith Hufnagel, the visionary behind HUF.  I shot an interview of him last year with my gramps Robbie Jeffers, it was all smiles and hugs at the booth.

“Yes ladies we saw Breezy, not Lovejoy” -DJ Zo.

Head of design for Vans Vault/Syndicate Jon Warren.  Shouts to him for lacing me up with these before they dropped in stores last year.  If you have six minutes go watch this and stay inspired.

If you don’t know who Lance Mountain is go watch Bones Brigade: An Autobiography right now, it’s on watch instantly off Netflix.

Bkerning and Kent the founder and owner of FTC.

I met Bobby Hundreds for the first time today…thumbs up #coolstorybro.

The man, the myth, the legend Jeff Staple, remember this? 

Volcom gave out rad cassette tapes this year.  Zo’s old, he felt nostalgic.  WE EATIN!

-Grady

The Underachievers took over Low End Theory last night.  Issa Dash and Ak complete the Flatbush duo who were signed last summer to Brainfeeder by Flying Lotus.

It took little to no time for the crowd to get warmed up to these guys.

Shouts to the homey Mike Gao who got me on the list last night.  Mike G’s an all-in-one music technologist who creates beats, iPhone apps, and also DJs on his free time.  Remember DJ Zo on Native Instruments?  Yeah well he works with them helping develop new software.

Scoop DeVille was in the house last night.  He’s produced for some of the biggest names on the westcoast– Snoop Dogg, Game, and Kendrick Lamar.

Dibia$e finished off the night with a stellar beat set.  I have not seen a man who can tweak an SP-404 like he does.

-Grady

This song is off Wax’s upcoming album “Continue” that comes out on January 15th, 2013. The album will be on iTunes and all that shit, stay tuned to @bigwax on Twitter to know all the info on that as it comes…

Until then, download this song for free until 12/26, Happy Holidays to you and yours: https://soundcloud.com/bigwax/lewis-and-clark

Happy Holidays!

Got a call from the homey SPEAK! saying that he had an exclusive performance for the folks over at Knocksville.  Songs called Ronaldo and its produced by none other than Syd Tha Kyd from the OFWGKTA collective.  You can only hear it on KS for now but the song will be released on his upcoming album in the near future…

Shouts to Young Corey from Diamond Supply Co. for the dope spot.

-Grady

Caught MellowHype and Trash Talk at Check Yo Ponytail 2 last night.  MellowHype is the non de plume of LA natives Gerard Damien Long and Vyron Dalyan Turner who’re also apart of the Odd Future collective.  Their set was great, albeit short, and security was not lax throughout the whole night as the building was about to collapse from wall to wall mosh pits and front flip stage dives.

I got there just in time to see Trash Wang go HAM on these kids.

Somersaults and canonballs into the crowd were nonstop all night.

Don’t piss Left Brain off…the show almost shut down because he was about to throw down a security guard who gave him the awkward eye.

Hodgy Beats taking a smoke break while Left Brain cooled off.  The kids wouldn’t stop chanting “HODGY! Pass the blunt this way!”

Tyler the Creator was in the house.  He’s been staying low pro these days but you can catch him at most Odd Future functions.

Christian Clancy, Frank Ocean, and Earl Sweatshirt were also kicking it on stage showing support for their compadres.

-Grady

Sean Hayes stops by Knocksville to talk about his latest album, how he developed his sincerity towards music, and the benefits of being a solo artist.

On genres…

I don’t think about genre that much when I write I just kind of use what I have and play…

North Carolina vs California on music

Growing up in North Carolina, theres a real sincerity towards music..you just played music wherever you could..then I remember moving out to California and having this different sense of, “Oh what you pay to play at a place?”

Benefits of being a solo artist

I guess you can make decisions on your own a little quicker you don’t have to think about 3 or 4 people’s lives…Meanwhile, you can just call up the greatest drummer in town, he usually wants to work like they all do, and say hey I got a gig on the 18th..and then if you’re still playing with him 20 gigs later then maybe you’ve got a band.

The big homey Intuition‘s been inviting me out to some recent trap parties held by HAM ON EVERYTHING.  After driving thru many abandoned warehouses I ended up at a low key spot near downtown.

If you were on stage girls came in abundance for the night.  You could have been a totem pole and still got more ass than a guy trying to swoop on girls at a night club.

Hair game. Check. Earswag. Check. Nose ring. Check. Moms hand-me-down jacket from 30 years ago that’s back in fashion now. Check.

Main Attrakionz was in the building.

Adam Weiss has got to be one of  the most swagged out dudes in LA.  From booty slapping ratchets to accessorized steeze– he got the game locked.

The duo twerking the crowd.

-Grady

Yesterday I attended Mod Son‘s show at Webster Hall.  He didn’t waste any time getting his buzz on double fisting the one-two Jack ‘n Coke with some Bud.

Mac Miller was in the house appearing as a special guest on The Come Up‘s set.  Don’t you know sex sells?

Mod Son took the stage shortly after.

-ItsBongoBoy

Bkerning, Zo, and I were in Mister Cartoon‘s neighborhood so we decided to stop by the SA garage to hang out with our homeys Mark and Pete.

Zo’s choice of whip appeal.

This bad boys about to make a feature in an upcoming Hollywood film…

Mister Cartoon’s obsessive zeal on collecting, personalizing, and constructing iconic cars into his own candy chariots has led to a further passion to share it with others.

He created Sanctiond to amplify the beauty of any car and has been focusing heavily on perfecting each product they produce.

Cars deserve Christmas presents too.

-Grady

Our boy Peter over at KONY Pizzeria hosted our Black Friday sale this year.  Kids were lined up around the block eager to be the first ones to get a goodie bag.

Three dudes + 100 boxes = No sweat.  Sike.  I think I’m good on working out for the rest of 2012.

Soul, Breezy Lovejoy, and DFD came thru to show love and do a little meet and greet.

Pops had to get creative when Soul asked for a playground…

This guy showed mad love at our sale last year and came back this year for round 2.

Duke Westlake was in the house killing it with live music.

-Grady

Lasts until 11:59 PM PST tonight.  Don’t miss out.

I almost missed Quadron’s set last night because I was helping prepare for our upcoming Black Friday sale.  (By the way a lot of our items will be only $5).  I got there just in time to catch her perform her last two songs.

Whip up an Adele’esque voice with hipstered out funky soul music and we get Coco.  It’s amazing how great she is live and her energy had all eyes gleaming towards her.

The Internet took the stage next.  You might recognize the main singer Syd Tha Kid from OFWGKTA appearances.

The band was killing it.

Big ups to my buddy Trevor over at Check Your Ponytail 2: 2 Year Anniversary for always coming thru with the 4th quarter clutch press pass.

-Grady