Issue 16 by Edge Magazine

ISSUE 16 | JANUARY 2015

is a free quarterly online magazine for

the young adult who loves everything about undiscovered pop culture. Issues include eclectic interviews & articles covering music, charity, art & entertainment.

MEGAN GALEMA Email us if you are interested in contributing and being apart of Edge!

GLOBAL YODEL

JARED WOHL

BABYCAKES ROMERO

COUCH SURFING STONE + CLOTH

LUKAS

PLAYLIST

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A PLATFORM FOR OUR COMMUNITY TO CONNECT WITH ONE ANOTHER AND TO INSPIRE ONE ANOTHER.

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First off, what exactly is Global Yodel? Global Yodel is a travel website but its different than any other travel website. Its an experience! We feature the most amazing photography and local secrets you wouldn't find in a guidebook or web search. Global Yodel is a web-based community that beautifully looks at destinations around the world from the perspective of the local. Its based on one simple idea: Your home is someone else's destination. Typically travel media looks at place from an outsiders perspective, when in actuality learning about a new city is better from a locals perspective. Global Yodel is a platform for our community to connect with one another and to inspire one another. It’s such a great concept! How did GY start? How did you come up with the idea for it? My inspiration came from my intense curiosity of our globe and all the slivers of interesting places/

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cultures. There is nothing in the world I love more than to travel. I want to go everywhere and there is nothing I love more than seeing a place for the first time. So I decided to create a forum where people could see and learn about all different parts of the world, when they weren't able to travel. The goal is not to replace the want or need to travel but to inspire and learn about the world when you cant be physically out there exploring, meeting people and learning. A way to travel when you can't. I also thought it was a funny how the travel industry usually uses the perspective of an outsider looking in at a place. A travel writer or commentator reports on a city and culture foreign to their native roots. I think that is a limited way to learn about the world. With a few exceptions I don’t want to hear about a New Yorker’s take on The Maldives. I want to hear about cultures and places

“ THE GOAL IS NOT TO REPLACE THE WANT OR NEED TO TRAVEL BUT TO INSPIRE AND LEARN ABOUT THE WORLD WHEN YOU CAN’T BE PHYSICALLY OUT THERE EXPLORING, MEETING PEOPLE AND LEARNING.“

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around the world from locals of that area. It takes years to really get to know a neighborhood, and who knows a place better than a local? I want to hear about The Maldives (and New York for that matter) from a person who has lived there for the last 10 years. They have, ingrained, expert knowledge of the secret spots and happenings. Global Yodel is changing that old tradition of how media looks at places. Where did the name come from? A random brainstorming session. We just liked the way Global Yodel sounded. Can anyone join the community and contribute to the site? Yes! And we encourage everyone to. We have such an amazing community of people from all over the world and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s growing quickly. We invite and welcome everyone to join our amazing community.

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Submitting a Yodel is super easy and fun. Simply go to our website and follow the prompts. You can upload a photo or video, the only criteria is that the photo/video must have been taken in or near the city or town you live in. Then there is a series of interview questions to compliment your beautiful photo/video. What does 2015 hold in store for Global Yodel? We have a lot of big plans for Global Yodel in 2015. One exciting component is our Travel Inspiration Design Collaboration. We are launching an awesome new series of travel inspired design prints in our shop. We are teaming up with some of our favorite designers around the world. We have complied a list of really cool travel quotes and sayings and are having these creative designers run wild with it. We have launched a few already, but many more are coming soon. Its a super cool way to bring some travel inspiration into your home or office when you can't be out physically traveling.

BY MEGAN GALEMA Jared Wohl tunes in with Edge to tell us about his musical journey. From donating his liver, to releasing his EP “You Are” in October, he’s inspiring others and is stronger than ever. His fun fact?—He’s a teacher!

How old were you when you first started playing music? It was the trumpet in early elementary school and that was my first instrument. I don’t know what particularly drew me to that instrument but I kept playing through the years and then I stopped my sophomore year of high school. It just kind of got to the point when it wasn’t cool anymore. I enjoyed it, though! I picked up the guitar when I was in seventh grade and took lessons but never wanted to practice. I just wanted to skip the tutorial and get right to the song playing. Clearly it doesn’t work that way. Then, my sophomore year in high school, my brother came up to me and brought up the idea of splitting the cost of an acoustic guitar, needless to say it spent most of its time in my room. When did you gain that musical conscience of taking it to the next step? My “ah-hah” moment was when I was graduating college (Montclair State University). I hadn’t tried writing music up until then and I sat down one day, told myself, you know what? I’m going to try to write a song and I did. I wrote my first song and it was written kind of, effortlessly. When I was done with it, I sat back and was just like, wow, I can do this! It didn’t sound like it was a song that would have been my first song. That’s when it clicked; it was sort of like a drug. I was addicted. I had to see what else I could come up with. Who are your biggest musical influences? I’d have to say my first true inspiration was the Motown generation, the oldies, soul music. That’s really what I always seem to

gravitate to. I like all type of music but those are my roots. Growing up, I can remember my dad putting on 101.1 CBS-FM, before it became a pop radio station, it was all oldies. At the time I didn’t really appreciate it but that’s what I grew up listening to. It wasn’t until I got older, I went back in time and starting digging up all those old songs I used to listen to. The Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye hits, that’s what today’s music lacks, the rawness. I love Allen Stone; he’s one of my biggest modern day influences. Then there’s Brandon Boyd from Incubus, Jungle, Hozier, Rainwolf, Sam Smith, Vacationer, Royal Blood, Death from Above 1979. How does the whole song-writing process kick off? My process seems to unfold typically first with a melody that kind of just pops into my head or I’ll just be playing around with guitar chords and all of a sudden it’s like piecing together a puzzle. You start with one piece and then all of a sudden here’s another piece and before I know it, I’m piecing all of these different parts together and then I have a song. Usually it’s the melody, music and then lyrics. Just to challenge myself I’ve tried writing in a different sequence but it’s always been easier for me to pair lyrics to music than the other way around. Where do you draw inspiration from for the lyrics? I’ve been through a lot in the past year. It’s a combination of things. The people that are in my life: my friends, family, girlfriend and then going through experiences in

“My six graders always ask me to play my music. One time, last week, I played them my EP. ‘You Are’ played through and they’re all jamming out, then ‘Hostage’ comes on and I hear this one kid. He’s like, ‘Yes, I love this song!’ I just chuckled and thought to myself, that’s awesome. It’s a cool feeling.” 4

in my life that have had a profound effect on me. As a whole I find that my lyrics usually focus on the topic of love, celebrating life and finding what inspires you. I like to keep my lyrics somewhat vague and not too directive because I want people to interpret my music the way they interpret it. What’s amazing about music is that you may hear a song and I may hear a song in two completely different ways, and that’s okay. Let Edge get a chance to know you. You donated 65% of your liver to your little brother. Tell me how that whole experience has defined you. It’s been a roller coaster for my family and I as you can imagine. My brother has been living with the disease [ulcerative colitis] since he was diagnosed at 13. We’re actually born three years to the day; we have the same exact birthday. Everything throughout the years has really unfolded in synchronization. We knew at one point he was going to need a liver transplant but the actual experience of going through that…you think you’re prepared for it and you can prepare yourself as much as you possibly can. But until you actually go through it, you kind of just do. Something instinctual inside you takes over. I mean, it was painful going through something like that. I endured a lot of anguish but having gotten through it all and overcoming all of the adversity that I was faced with, I feel like such a stronger person now. When I’m having a bad day or stressed out about something, I revert back to what I have been through, it allows me to really appreciate life for what it’s worth and to not worry about the little things because it could eat you up inside. I’m very grateful for having the opportunity to not only donate a portion of my liver to my brother but to have essentially saved his life. Now I get to go out there and share our story with others in order to increase the amount of organ donors. You released your EP “You Are” in mid-October. How was the experience? I had a couple of projects before this. I had my first band and then I had my solo

project under the name Farewell Luna. Then I decided it was time to reintroduce myself as Jared Wohl. I started recording this EP, which is the first part of a two part EP. I started recording these songs back in August 2013. The way it unfolded was my manager texted me and said, “Yo, I could get John Mayer’s drummer with you next Thursday.” I was just sitting there, my mouth dropped and I’m thinking in my head, I can’t let this opportunity go to waste. So I texted back and said, “Let’s make it happen.” It turned out, after texting back and forth that he was able to get not only the drummer, Aaron Sterling, but also Sean Hurley, who is the bass player, and Andy Burton, the keys player. It was an amazing opportunity. They ended up having a day off during their tour. We ended up banging out six tracks in six hours. It was probably the most incredible musical experience I had. Getting to play with musicians of that stature, who are so on point, I mean it’s hard to describe what that’s like. With everything that happened, I held back on the release because I wanted to be active in promoting it. But I think it worked out the way it should have. Is there a certain song that you have written that really hits home? There’s one song that I haven’t recorded but I have written and it really speaks to me and my whole idea of life in general. It’s called “The Brink,” and I’ll record it at some point but this one line pops out in my head. “Paint a picture of yourself, in a world you feel alive, while lives you inspire.” It’s a testament to being true to yourself. Do what you love to do because in turn that passion is going to speak to others and hopefully resonate with them in order for them to do what they love to do. So tell me, where do you see yourself taking your music career in the next year or so? My goal is to establish myself as a strong singer/song writer. I really want to get into the realm of writing and producing. I’m working with an artist, her name is Bethany Zorn and we’re co-writing some songs. We’ll be producing her EP in the upcoming

months. So I’m excited to really get my name out there. If an opportunity came about to tour, I don’t think that’s something I could ever pass up, although I really love the art of song writing and that’s my strong suit. I want people to recognize that, more so. If you could choose a past decade to grow up in, which one would it be and why? The 70’s because I would have loved to see the artists that I listen to currently, perform live. You know, Marvin Gaye in his prime. I would have loved to see Stevie Wonder when he was first starting out, The Jackson Five. I would have loved to see a lot of the classic rock artists like Pink Floyd, I think those experiences are hard to recreate today. You can grab a beer with any musician, dead or alive. Who would that be? Dave Grohl, as much as I want to say all of these dead musicians to have a beer with, I think he is such an awesome dude. From what I have seen and read, he just seems like the most genuine guy in an industry that allows people to change their personality just because they’re in the lime-light. He just seems genuine. I’m sure he’s got a lot of cool stories to tell. What song can you listen to for the rest of your life? A song that I haven’t written? “Stand By Me,” by Ben E. King, it always puts me in a relaxed mood.— A song that I have written? I really like this song I wrote for my girlfriend, it’s called “Monday,” that’s a song I never get tired of playing. It makes me feel uplifted.

“Don’t write to try to be like any other artist, write what happens to come out at that point in time.”

For other musicians trying to kick-start a career, what piece of advice do you have for them? Try to listen to different types of music as you possibly can and find influence from them. Don’t write to try to be like any other artist, write what happens to come out at that point in time. The further you get away from letting the writing process happen organically, the less fulfilling it is for the artist. I think any artist will tell you that.

BABYCAKES ROMERO PHOTOGRAPHER

Tell me about yourself. What is your background? How long have you been photographing? I was born and raised in London where I still live. I am continually excited by London which is easily one of the most stimulating places to live on the planet. It is constantly evolving and growing and it generates a huge amount of my inspiration. I am self taught as a photographer and survive mostly on instinct and very little technical knowledge. I guess I started photographing seriously about ten years ago. It was the invention of digital photography that changed everything for me. Previously, photography had been quite an expensive business with buying and developing film and although I had always been into photography I did not start doing it full time until I got my first digital camera, a panasonic lumix lx1. It was small enough to fit in my pocket and the quality was great. I used to take it out on specific occasions and then I started taking it with me everywhere and that was that. I haven’t stopped since. I have a daily photo series called #MYLDN which highlights the melting pot of my home town. I have also covered other cities such as Chicago, Berlin and Paris. I am also a gig photographer and recently took exclusive pictures for Massive Attack and also Despacio, a sound system featuring 2manydjs and James Murphy.

How did you come up with “The Death of Conversation”? What prompted you to explore and document this topic? What is the story behind it? It was something I kept seeing over and over again as well as experiencing first hand. It originally caught my eye as there was a certain symmetry to these people locked simultaneously yet separately in the same action and it appealed on a visual level, but as I continued I noticed an inherent sadness to the proceedings. I saw that smart phones were becoming a barrier to communication in person. I saw how people used it as a social prop, to hide their awkwardness, to fill the silence but as I con-

tinued to observe and document this modern phenomena I felt that the devices were actually causing the awkwardness and the silence. They basically allow people to withdraw rather than engage. All social etiquette regarding the use of phones in company seems to have disappeared. The device takes precedence over the person that is present and that felt wrong. It is a form of rejection and lowers the self-worth of the person super-ceded for a device. I feel it also highlighted a growing sense of self-absorption in people as they would rather focus on their world in their phone rather than speak to the person they are with. When I noticed and photographed these people, they do not even seem present in the real world. They are “plugged in” to a virtual world of their own making. I have nothing against technology at all but I feel it is starting to affect social cohesion and we need to know when to switch it off or we will become permanently switched off from each other. The strange and interesting phenomena is that people are starting to derive more pleasure from their “computer cuddles” than from their person to person interactions. Personally, I find online communication quite sterile and a very poor substitute to its face to face counterpart but you can see that a lot of people are searching more and more into the virtual world for their emotional fixes than in the real world which is crazy. I think the visible rise of narcissism might be the tipping factor as they know that every single thing that arrives on their device is somehow connected to them whereas in conversation you are not always the focus. Its almost as if we are starting to become incapable of processing someone else’s life because we have become so pre-occupied with our own. What has the general response and exposure of it been like? There has been an incredible global response to these pictures around the world and they have been syndicated on hundreds of websites and

across countries in every continent. They seem to have really struck a chord with people who are experiencing this first hand as everyone is really starting to get fed up with it. Hundreds of comments have been left discussing this topic with people both defensive and confessional about their own use but the most poignant remarks are how miserable and rejected it makes people feel. I hope now at least that those that are suffering at the hands of their partners, families and friends can maybe now confront the use and set up some basic boundaries. The rise of the smart phone has been so rapid that we have not had time to work out the social etiquette but we desperately need to put

some ground rules in place to stop it having a detrimental affect on our inter-personal relations and to combat the withdrawal process. What were you hoping to get out of â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Death of Conversationâ&#x20AC;?? Were there specific questions you wanted answered or was it more about raising awareness of this topic? The only thing I ever hope from my work is to highlight the world around me, to reflect society back on itself and maybe make it question things that are possibly taken for granted. I felt that if I showed people through my photographs what it looked like maybe they would at least consider how they used their smart phones and question whether it is appropriate

to do it at the expense of those around them and also themselves. This has happened on a global scale and I couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be happier with the response as it shows you that everything is questionable, movable and changeable. The internet allows for instantaneous mass consumption of an idea that connects and to have your own work be a part of that experience is a beautiful thing. What are your plans for 2015? Any new projects you are working on? I am actually currently writing a tv comedy which I am planning to shoot in the new year. I will also be continuing with my photographic documentation of London through my daily

#MYLDN series I mentioned earlier and am just finishing a viral commercial for the Equality Trust to help tackle the growing problem of inequality in society as outlined in the book The Spirit Level. I have already done a series of films for them and is a something I believe in passionately. Human beings have an innate sense of fairness which is why everyone is so incensed at the increasing widening gap between the top 1% and everyone else. Apart from that I am planning on seeing and doing as much as is humanely possible as I am very much of the opinion life is for living not just for documenting.

STONE + CLOTH [BAGS THAT GIVE BACK]

Tell me about yourself? What is your background? I grew up making stuff. I used to fill sketch pads and journals with drawings and doodles, I always excelled in the creative arts classes like ceramics and painting much more than I did any other subject. Heading off to school I ended up taking fine arts for a while and started dropping into classes in the college of design. I took the history of architecture, urban planning, graphic design and a bit of industrial design. If it was a class focused around creating things, chances are I took it. I also spent a lot of time making tables, birdhouses, chairs, and doing home renovation projects with friends. If I wasn't doing any of that, I was spending time outside exploring. It was one or the other. How did Stone + Cloth come about? How did it all start? I was inspired by a trip I took to Africa to climb Kilimanjaro. I set out with the goal to get to the summit. After four days of hiking, I accomplished my goal. The thing I realized as I was descending from the top of the mountain, was that my porter Benson, who was waking me up with meals and showing me the way to the top, was the reason I was able to make it their. After getting to know him a bit better, I learned that education is something that they really value in Tanzania, but many struggle to make it past primary school. Arriving home, I wanted to do something to help, so designed a symbol for education -- a backpack, with the intentions to use the money to help provide scholarships for students in need in the foothills of Kilimanjaro. I literally started the project after buying a sewing machine and learning how to make a backpack! Why education? Why not another cause? I started by identifying a need. I think it's really important for anyone that's trying to solve a problem to start by asking questions. By asking questions I learned that education is something they really value and want help with. From that point, it's made me realize that education is a global issue and something we're excited to be advocating and investing in. Your products are backpacks and tote bags. Are there any plans for more products? Our goal is to stick to bags. We think it's really important to stay focused and do a few things really

well. So we'll be testing out other styles of bags, and responding to certain customers that are asking for other styles of bags, but for the most part, we just want to focus on making the best bags possible. What are your statistics? How many children have you helped gain an education so far? We're partnered with the Knock Foundation and they have 40 students in their scholarship program now. We're on track right now to hit our goal of providing 10,000 hours of classroom learning to students in this program. It's something we're very proud of and believe it's only the beginning. What is the most rewarding part about this company for you? I think the most rewarding part about this company is twofold. First of all, I love being able to work on multiple projects at once all the time -- it keeps things exciting, and I love being able to work with so many different talented people from different backgrounds. The other part is knowing that the work we're doing is a part of something much larger than ourselves. Knowing that we're helping provide scholarships for students, and knowing that a solid education can potential influence an individuals life in a positive way is really exciting. What are you currently working on now? Any new designs or projects? Right now we're working on getting better at everything that we do. As I said earlier, we want to stay focused and do a few things really, really well. For us, thats focusing on making the best possible products, listening to our customers, and doing whatever we can to make a positive impact through education. One more specific thing that I'm really excited about is expanding our giving efforts. I've just started spending time with local organizations in Los Angeles to see who we can partner with here to help young students. What does 2015 hold for Stone + Cloth? 2015 is going to be all about organized chaos! We have some really exciting opportunities on the horizon, and we're a very small and nimble team that's going to do whatever we can to bring them all to fruition to so we can continue to execute and work toward providing scholarships for students and championing education!

BY MEGAN GALEMA

You can surf the web, surf the waves and surf on couches. Yeah, that’s right, you can surf on couches. What am I talking about? I’m talking about couchsurfing.org, a website for the adventurous soul. I’m talking to you vagabonds. First you have to sign up to become a part of the couch-surfing community. From there you fill out a profile. It’s almost like a dating site but instead of finding your significant other, you’re trying to find the perfect house and couch to crash on. Here’s the deal, people who are a part of the online community have two options, to be the traveler, the host or even both. It’s really simple. Once you complete your profile you can start surfing for couches. On the top of the web page you’ll find “surf,” click it. It will then bring you to a page where you can start planning your home away from home. You indicate where you want to go, how many people you are traveling with, for how long and give a brief description of why you are going. Your details will match you up with hosts that are available and you can start making arrangements. This is an awesome solution for traveling on a budget because it’s free. Your fellow couch surfers are just as adventurous as you are! All you have to do is pay for your flight, pocket money and pack your bags. If you are interested in hosting, you have to complete your profile and must have a background check done. Background checks on this website costs about $25 plus tax.

COUCH-SURFING TIPS

LEGITIMIZE Make sure your host is legit. Is there any missing information? If there is, don’t contact them.

TRAVEL IN NUMBERS Let’s face it. You can’t trust everyone in the world. Travel with a couple of friends. Remember, there is power in numbers.

COMMUNICATE The chances are that there have been other people who have crashed on the host’s couch before you. Most likely they’ll leave a review. Get into contact with them and ask questions that might concern you. If you can find someone that lives in your area, try to meet up with them so they can give you the load down of how everything turned out. Reviews and comments cannot be deleted by the host, whatever couch surfers say, stays. Tell your family and friends. Give your family and friends every detail of your stay. Where you are going, who your host is, provide them with the conversation you had with your host, tell them everything! The more details, the better, it gives them something to work with.

LOCK YOUR BAGS Lock your bags after every use. Don’t take any risks of leaving important documents in your suitcase, especially if it’s not locked.

HELLO, I’M LUKAS. I TRAVEL THE WORLD DESIGNING & DEVELOPING ONLINE WORK AS AN EXCHANGE FOR SOMETHING YOU HAVE TO OFFER OR WANT TO TEACH ME.

Tell me about your background. What got you so interested in traveling and technology development? I’m German and grew up in Portugal, in the south of Europe. I’ve always been working with computers and am a mostly self-taught web developer and designer. I studied Applied Media Economics in Berlin and worked in various agencies and studios before departing on my journey. I guess the travel bug has always been in me, growing up in an expat community and since I first visited South America ten years ago. I only realized how flexible my job is after becoming a professional and spending some years at a desk. How did you come up with the concept for “working as an exchange for something you have to offer or want to teach me.” I don’t agree with many of the things that are happening on our planet. It’s a never ending list, starting with what we eat, the way we consume and pollute, the privacy of our data, to the actual systems we

live in. Capitalism is a system I greatly benefit from but I don’t necessarily like the turn it is taking. So I decided to give money a secondary role in my plan, to barter my work instead, trying to have less impact and to buy less too. During one of my first long trips I had the Idea of a pop-up agency, which then developed into what I’m doing now. First I saw how expats in faraway places struggle to get design and online service. Then I realized that there’s this massive demand by NGOs, non-profits and community projects, specially in developing countries, to get their hands on a media professional. Organizations supported by Volunteers often find a good Photographer by sheer luck or someone knows someone. I can do a lot of good out there! What is a typical day like for you? Hard to say, it’s ever-changing. When I’m bartering my work I work really hard and give my best. They’re times where I travel, others where I try to settle down and relax, do some writing. In the last

year I photographed the over 60 rooms I slept in (thats one every 6 days). What has been your favorite or most memorable experience so far? There are many. One of my favourites was definitely camping in the Breakaways in the Australian Outback, where they filmed Mad Max. As you are answering these questions, where are you and what are you doing right now? Right now I’m in Tatajuba in Brazil. It’s windy coastal desert in Ceará where everyone comes for Kite surfing. I’m visiting my brother who’s a Kite instructor before I head to my next trade project in Bahia. So who would have thought that I’d ever do this… but I’m learning Kite surfing. What are your plans for 2015? Any exciting trips? I’ll be traveling South America until mid 2015, heading to Peru, Bolivia and Colombia.. nothing set in stone yet and as usual on a shoe-string budget but answers and projects will come. Maybe the US after… Any advice you have for young, eager travelers and entrepreneurs? Support projects you like, be aware of your impact, look after the planet and learn about sustainability for your endeavors. Watch the Gringo Trails documentary. And visit my website.

MOST OF ALL, ENJOY LIFE.

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