2009 Highlights

Here is the year in review in the world of the Youngest Indie blog. There was a steep decline in illustrations. This makes me sad. I really miss doing them, but I can't fit it into my schedule anymore. There is no real convenient time. Work was non stop busy throughout the year which kept me fighting to stay healthy and sane. Also, this year I completed my most ambitious stop motion video yet, called the Hedi Boys. Please check it out. And, it was an amazing year in the world of live shows. We started the year off with a Rick Rubin sighting at Glasvegas where Carl Barat supported at the Troubadour. Then there was Razorlight. I got totally smashed at the Black Lips show at El Rey. Spring came and so did the Horrors and the Kills. During the summer time, we hit up 2 free shows at the Getty Center, first with Cut Chemist, then with the Dodos. We went to the huge FYF Fest in Chinatown, the old corn fields area with performances by The Thermals, Dillinger Escape Plan, No Age, and Black Lips. Jet returned with Shaka Rock at Key Club and Club Nokia. Saw Amazing Baby and Band of Skulls at the Hammer Museum. Franz Ferdinand and Weezer at the Palladium (on separate dates, of course). We saw OK Go in the Spring at the HOB Anaheim, and then at their secret show at the Grammy Museum in November. But the best highlight of this year in rock shows would be that I saw the Horrors. Four Horrors shows this year alone. Seven in total. And their album Primary Colours totally blew everyone away. I hope everyone had a great 2009. I was thinking about my 2000~2009 and it was seriously incredibly amazing and filled with so many priceless memories and I actually felt so alive for the first time in my life. Thanks for all the memories and I hope 2010 will have so much more in store for us. Have fun partying it up on NYE! Let's get ready for 2010! It's going to be great.

Five Songs Show #1

I know this blog has been on kind of a hiatus. I will fill you in on what's been going on and a recap of this blog and what's to come. But I will save all that for my next post sometime next week (hopefully) when I do the end of year/new year thing. But I would like to introduce you to my new project called "Youngest Indie's Five Songs Show". This is the first one. It's really time consuming and I never have time to do what I want, but I will try to do this monthly. Basically, I'm picking 5 random cool songs I really think you should listen to. The fifth pick will be called my "forever favorite" and introduce you to some of my favorite tunes when I was a little kid. Since I'm music obsessed and love making stuff, this is a good outlet I think. I hope you like and I'd love to hear your comments. Thanks and have a Merry Christmas!

Don't care what faithless people say

This was my first time going to Club Nokia. They said cameras were not allowed. I didn't want to risk it so I didn't bother bringing it. I just hate it when I get to the door and they make me go all the way back to my car to leave my camera there. Been there, done that. Not fun. I was totally annoyed when I got in and everyone had their freaking cameras. We got there to see the two opening bands, interesting. Then we saw Jet. After Jet was Papa Roach and there was no way we were gonna watch them, so we went outside. When we went outside, Green Day was still playing their set on the LA Live plaza in front of the Nokia Theater. We actually knew about the Green Day performance because we are signed up with 1iota and we got email invitations. It fell on the same day as the Jet show and we already had bought tickets for Jet. Even if we didn't there is no way I would get in that insane line that would put any Disneyland ride line to shame. Anyways, when we came out to the balcony, the sound of the screams of that massive crowd was unbelievable and I kept thinking how amazing it is to be Green Day and on that stage and to have that kind of support and love. We listened to them play Holiday. Then we went downstairs and kind of kept walking by the side, so we got to see them real close. It was a magical night. Nights like these, it makes me realize how lucky I am to live in Los Angeles. Only in LA can you go see Jet at Club Nokia and then come out to see Green Day performing to a huge audience, decked out in New Year's hats for a Carson Daly New Year special show taping, on a beautiful clear fall night with all the LA Live lights and the beautiful half moon high above. Wish I had brought my camera along to capture this magical feeling, but at least I have crappy cell phone pics to share with you. Oh, and have a happy Thanksgiving Day!

Why are you so far away from me

This is going to be a long post because I have so much to say, but it won't be as long as I'd like it to be because I won't say everything I want to. Where do I start. This is Weezer's first big show in Los Angeles in what seems like years. I'm not counting the Forum or Long Beach or secret shows as official LA shows. The last time I saw Weezer was 4 years ago at the Long Beach Arena when Hot Hot Heat opened and Foo Fighters co-headlined with the band. I went for two consecutive nights in that massive floor section. The first day, the guard in the front had to take scoop me out after Weezer's set because I was drenched in sweat, shivering, and was suffering from being crushed on all sides, I then proceeded to walk away towards the side and collapsed on the floor.

Well, fast-forward 4 years, it's October 24, 2009 and Weezer plays the Hollywood Palladium. How excited I was! Over a year ago, randomly, I bought glow bracelets at a craft store and said to myself, "These are for the next time I go to a Weezer show." And it came true. I was front row, but way to the side, with no complaints. Especially since Rivers came all the way over to our side several times. And now I finally have photographs of Weezer to add to my rock photography library. So happy. They opened with "Hash Pipe". The flow of the show was great. You could tell that the band really enjoyed playing for us, too. Of course, the show was sold out and the fans were very happy. I freaked out when they played my favorite "Why Bother" from Pinkerton, I danced so hard that one of my glow bracelets flew off. Funny. They sang "Photograph", I freaked out again, and then they went into a cover of "Song 2". I just truly had a really good time and felt so happy. There was a moment during "Island in the Sun" where I kind of teared up and felt this weird bittersweetness. That song is special to me. Weezer is special to me. Their music was a big part in helping me get through the early stage of my dog eat dog world cut throat industry career. Anyways, back to the show. Sara Bareilles made an appearance to duet during "If You Want Me To", and I, in all honesty, was kind of annoyed. Maybe it was jealousy or what not, but I didn't like it. I like the song, though. Chamillionaire came out during the new track "Can't Stop Partying", and surprisingly added a nice touch to the song. Okay, but here goes. The thing is, if you are like me and you listen to Weezer and indie rock, you have no idea who Sara Bareilles and Chamillionaire are. I think most of the people around me were the same way. We were slightly confused and didn't know who they were. I mean, I know their songs because of mainstream airplay, but I don't know their names or faces. Weezer's encore set consisted of the Kids/Poker Face medley. When they started playing "Buddy Holly" and I realized it was the last song of the night, and how special and magical everything was, I literally got goosebumps. Seriously, I had the best time and I've been to many rock shows but only a band like Weezer can make me feel this way. It was definitely an epic show I will remember for a long time.
Weezer's new album "Raditude" to be released this Tuesday November 3, 2009.
















We saw Butch Walker on our way out. I love his work. Such a cool guy.

A beautiful perfect night in Hollywood.

Youngest Indie presents "Hedi Boys"

Finally! Here it is! I had so much fun making this one. It took a long time because I really wanted to make it special. Making the play-doh boys were fun. Shooting the scenes were the hardest part, but I am happy with the outcome. This time around I played around with lighting and had better sets. I have memories of painting the brick wall this past summer before going out to the Getty Center. I spent a lot of my weekends working on this project. Thanks to my sister who bought me a tripod for my camera. The editing process got me super excited. I really hope you like it.

**Big thanks to the websites that linked my video!!
Fashionista
FashionMagazine
Hedi Slimane Japan FanPage's Blog
BrandBanzai even posted some of the fashion show pictures.

Hedi Boys: A tribute to Hedi Slimane

Finally I am finished with my next play-doh film! Two years ago, when I started rediscovering the possibilities of play-doh and someone told me I should make fashion figures, I knew that I wanted to do a rock boys theme as a follow up to my JCDC girls film. I also knew that it had to be a tribute to the amazing Hedi Slimane and all his contributions to this fantastic and exciting men's fashion scene. The very look he created that influenced so many. During his days at Dior Homme were most exciting for me. I couldn't wait to see the next collection. Even now, I enjoy his beautiful stylish photography. Besides having a demanding full time job keeping me from working on this, there was another bit of a problem. I couldn't find black colored play-doh. And I needed a lot of it. I couldn't even find it online. I printed and selected looks from the Spring 2006 show, my favorite collection. Then it was earlier this year in the winter that I drove around to toy stores, and amazingly enough, I found individual cans of white, peach pink, and, yes, black. It was amazing because I had tried looking for it at the same stores before, and they didn't have it. Anyways, I stocked up and went to work right away I was so excited. I was done with the figures by Spring/Summer and spent the summer working on props and painting sets. I also finally got a mini tripod. Can you believe I used to make my stop motion without a tripod? So difficult and the quality lacked. But this time around, I focused on areas of improvement and was very ambitious in creating a great rock video. Finally, I was able to execute what had been stuck inside my head for years. I hope you enjoy it. The video will premiere this Thursday night! Come back on Thursday!

See yourself, your image in the eyes of someone else

The Horrors at the Glasshouse in Pomona. I almost didn't make it to this show. I've been really exhausted from work. I wasn't feeling too well. But I said to myself, if the Horrors are in town, you should definitely go. It's not that often that you can catch an amazing band. And since I like them so much, I drove 35 miles to Pomona. It was closer to me than Costa Mesa, so why not. I got there just as Japanese Motors were finishing their last song. I had never been to the Glasshouse before, but my friend told me it's smaller than the El Rey, so that was the deal breaker for me. Three Horrors shows in three nights. It was one of the best weeks of my life. The Horrors are way up there and easily one of my favorite bands. They remind me of how much I love music. Truly love music. They're on a world tour, so if you haven't seen them already, mark your calendars. If you don't have their new album yet, purchase one asap. Epic.