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Musicians Smith Westerns and the Lived In Chambray Shirt.

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ORIGINAL PENGUIN

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INTRODUCING

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PEPSI LIVE FOR NOW CAPSULE COLLECTION A Capsule Collection of leading-edge streetwear, accessories and electronics, featuring artwork from six globally renowned artists and inspired by the artistry of soccer.

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WorldMags.net 72 32 PRO SHOP taste 20 letteRS Master vintage curator Brian Procell takes us along for the hunt. By Ashley Hoffman

24 cOntRibutORS

genius

34 Haute Stuff:

26 HiP cHeck

22 Jump Street star Amber Stevens shows us how to spot a hipster. By David Walters

usher photographed by kenneth cappello. stylist: j. errico. hair: curtis smith. grooming: cole patterson. photo assistant: gabriel hernandez. shot at big studio, atlanta. sweater by versace, tank top by public school, pants by diesel black gold, usher’s own jewelry.

28 eleVentH HOuR Worlds collide with the unlikely pairing of DJ/ producer Guy Gerber and P. Diddy. By Nicolas Stecher

30 PiPe dReamS He may have just turned pro, but for teen skateboarding phenom Louie Lopez, it’s just business as usual. By Stefan Marolachakis

douglas booth photographed by isa wipfli.

One seriously classy bicycle

35 geniuS newS 38 tecH & gaming 40 take it OR bReak it: The Black Lips’ Cole Alexander

42 cHOw 44 gROOming

56 gentleman gym Upgraded athletic bags

58 like tHe wind Windbreaker jackets

60 let it Slide Slip-on sneakers

62 tHink tankS Tank tops

64 bRigHt eyeS Lucite-framed sunglasses

66 alOHa SPiRit Hawaiian shirts

68 POint blanc White jeans

drive thru 46 gOing tOPleSS

70 tHe fliP Side Beach sandals

The best convertibles out there. By Nicolas Stecher and Michael Crenshaw

vol 10 issue 3

07.14

NYLON GUYS (ISSN 1931-2784) [Volume 10, Issue 3, June/July 2014] is published 6 times a year (Feb/Mar, Apr/ May, Jun/Jul, Aug/Sep, Oct/Nov, Dec/ Jan) by Nylon Media, Inc., 110 Greene St, Suite 607, New York, NY 10012 for $19.97 per year. Application to Mail at Periodical Postage Prices is Pending at New York, NY and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to NYLON GUYS, P.O. Box 5796, Harlan, IA 51593-3296.

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74 bucket bRigade Bucket hats

radar 76 tRackS Of HiS teaRS Unrequited love and raw emotion fill Sam Smith’s debut album, In the Lonely Hour. By Joshua Glazer. Photographed by Anna Rose

80 gOin’ back tO cali Rapper YG’s tales of L.A. hood life will soundtrack your summer. By Clover Hope. Photographed by Nick Sethi

82 wORldS aPaRt EDM star Porter Robinson shakes

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photographed by nathanael turner. below: photographed by eric helgas.

things up on his first album, Worlds. By Laura Studarus. Photographed by Jay Hanna

84 Stating tHe ObViOuS The wacky and wonderful Jenny Slate takes on a new kind of pregnancy rom-com with Obvious Child. By Denise Martin. Photographed by Bryan Sheffield

88 HigH geaR

With exciting roles in both film and theater, Jim Parrack is lovin’ life. By Claire Howorth. Photographed by Sunny Shokrae

89 HeaRt muRmuR For Tom Krell of How to Dress Well, music is an existential experience. By Dan Hyman. Photographed by David Shama

90 On tHe RecORd: bOb mOuld By Mark Yarm. Photographed by Jay Blakesberg

92 PablO HOney Don’t call Orange Is the New Black ’s Pablo Schreiber “Pornstache.” By David Walters. Photographed by Beth Garrabrant

93 Seeing StRyPeS Teenaged Irish band The Strypes are reviving old-school pub rock. By Diane Vadino. Photographed by Alex Brunet

features 94 HOuSe Of uSHeR After almost two decades of stardom, Usher isn’t ready to

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07.14

yg photographed by nick sethi. jenny slate photographed by bryan sheffield.

relinquish the R&B throne. By David Peisner. Photographed by Kenneth Cappello. Styled by J. Errico

102 tRue bRit English actor Douglas Booth discusses his upcoming sci-fi flick, Jupiter Ascending. By John Ortved. Photographed by Isa Wipfli

108 dOwn tO cHinatOwn Take these savvy summer styles to the streets. Photographed by Jimmy Fontaine. Styled by Allan Kennedy

118 intelligent deSign Tyler, the Creator built a hip-hop world with his own two hands. By Jeff Weiss. Photographed by Steven Taylor

126 SHOPPing liSt 128 ROad waRRiOR John Waters talks the art of hitchhiking. By Mike Guy

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WorldMags.net executive chairman marc luzzatto executive vice president, chief revenue officer, publisher dana fields executive vice president, digital daniel saynt

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features

senior editor melissa giannini senior editor mallory rice contributing editor ashley baker grooming director katie dickens editorial assistant lisa mischianti grooming assistant jade taylor contributing automotive editor nicolas stecher contributing copy editor matt schlecht

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art

fashion director joseph errico market director rachael wang senior men’s market editor mitsu tsuchiya associate market and accessories editor tamar levine fashion assistant marissa smith style editor-at-large dani stahl

bookings director beth garrabrant senior designer haley stark designer kelly shami design director, nylon evan campisi contributing photo editor xenia rollinson

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senior web editor liza darwin digital design director liz riccardi associate web editor steff yotka newsletter editor jackie yaeger men’s content and marketing director josh madden men’s associate web editor christian lavery tv producer blair waters editor-at-large, native beca alexander contributing writers

rebecca bates, paul caine, michael crenshaw, matt dolby, joshua glazer, mike guy, ashley hoffman, clover hope, claire howorth, dan hyman, banu ibrahim, ariana labarrie, stefan marolachakis, denise martin, taylor morgan, john ortved, alexa pearce, david peisner, laura studarus, diane vadino, jeff weiss, mark yarm contributing artists

will anderson, sergiy barchuk, alex brunet, kenneth cappello, katie ennis, leo flores, jimmy fontaine, jay hanna, eric helgas, michael hernandez, akiko higuchi, jarno kettunen, brad ogbonna, ollanski, anna rose, nick sethi, bryan sheffield, sunny shokrae, chris shonting, sakke soini, steven taylor, nathanael turner, george underwood, eric t. white, isa wipfli interns

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dear nylon guys, I giggled like a schoolboy when I read Shayne Oliver’s favorite jean style: “Anything slim, worn-in, and dirty.” My mind may be in the gutter 99 percent of the time, but it sounds like he’s talking about more than just jeans. What’s that? My personal jean style? Dark, heavy stitching, and boot cut…if you know what I mean. ;) ZAYNE MCGIBBONY ANTIOCH, CA dear nylon guys, Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s current haircut just is not OK with me. Why would he ever chop off those locks?! If you’ve got it, flaunt it. And HOT DAMN, he’s got it. My girlfriend would weep tears of joy if she could run her fingers through Vronsky’s hair instead of mine. This is the kind of problem even Kiehl’s can’t help me with. NICO TAYLOR WALTHAM, MA dear nylon guys, I think your editorial department made a mistake—they forgot to mention Brooklyn Decker’s middle name is Perfection. Andy Roddick is literally the MOST ~hashtag blessed~ dude in the universe, and it has nothing to do with tennis. CHUCK SMITHSON KNOXVILLE, TN dear nylon guys, Wondering how many models are in the office each day on average. I am considering joining the team, but I am going to need complete assurance that I will be surrounded by many, many models. Please advise. ALEX NATHANSBERG HELL’S KITCHEN, NYC

dear nylon guys, Yo…no ice for Rick Ross? You’re lucky I’m not famous enough to be in the magazine…or old enough to actually drink rosé. But I plan to be interviewed soon, and my apple juice better be super fucking cold! TOMMY RODGERS PENSACOLA, FL dear nylon guys, As much as I liked the “Test Drive” piece in your last issue, I really need to know more about the Canton Kitchen behind the motorcycle. Are they 24/7? Do they deliver? Can I get

fried rice without veggies? Please hurry, so hungry! CHASE EVERTON SEATTLE, WA dear nylon guys, As cool as CGI is, I’m really pissed they used it in the new Godzilla film. There are plenty of us giant, city-destroying reptiles out here who never even got so much as an audition. I can’t be a waiter forever. LEONARD WORDLY TEMECULA, CA dear nylon guys, Super inspired by those guys at the Knickerbocker Manufacturing Co. and

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illustrations by leonardo flores. disclaimer: nylon guys cannot guarantee the authenticity of any of these letters.

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022 letters

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send mail to: nylon guys letters 110 greene street suite 607 new york, ny, 10012 or email: letters@nylonmag.com

their idea for well-made caps. Even more interested in how I could convince my boss to build a half-pipe in our office…any ideas? LEO PATTERSON OWATONNA, MN only things keeping me dear nylon guys, from finally achieving Tried Bar Paly’s “spill prank” “bawse” status are a blue on my girlfriend’s new fur coat, ice cold rosé, and Céline bag. Turns out, that a shiny leather hoodie. Let stunt might only work for the hunt begin…. ridiculously gorgeous MATTHEW LOPEZ supermodels and not GREENSBORO, NC accountants from Virginia, currently working dear nylon guys, weekends to pay for the Thank you for finally overpriced purse he ruined. cracking the code on PATRICK CAMPBELL men’s style. Ingeniously, HERNDON, VA you recommend the unexpected combination of dear nylon guys, being cool yet also If anything, this issue has incredibly handsome, while made me realize that the also being rich enough to

afford all possible luxuries. As you cleverly suggest in your May issue, readers looking for a style update should purchase a Dior Homme crocodile portfolio ($19,000)—in hindsight, an easy tip! I really don’t see how anyone could mess it up unless they’re simply too lazy to hop in their vintage Range Rover and drive to the closest highend retailer. JEFF JOHNSON DENVER, CO

dear nylon guys, Thanks to your May issue, I am finally starting to find my summer look. I’ve felt nothing short of dapper rocking the makeup you showed on Boy George, page 94. And guided by the suave styling of your Aaron Taylor-Johnson cover story, I now always make sure I am sitting next to a funny-looking dog. I’ve never looked better, and I owe it all to you, Nylon Guys! MARCELO THORNBY SAN FRANCISCO, CA

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024 contributors

WorldMags.net Julie MurPhy

DaviD Peisner

Illustrator, Chicago

Writer, Decatur, GA

Drew the portrait of John Waters for “Road Warrior” (page 128).

Interviewed Usher for “House of Usher” (page 94). “I’ve met Usher before, so this interview was very casual. Talking to him at home with his kids around, constantly popping in to climb on him or ask him questions like, ‘Do I have to eat this green stuff?’ made it feel extra relaxed.”

GeorGe unDerwooD

Photographer, Brooklyn

Hometown: Suburban Detroit Twitter handle: @DavidPeisner Latest discovery: Cold fusion. Just don’t tell anyone I’ve figured it out. It’s kind of a big deal. Playing on repeat: Lydia Loveless’s Somewhere Else, JPNSGRLS’ Circulation, and The Antlers’ Familiars Online fixation: meninblazers. com, a soccer-focused, popculture-obsessed podcast/blog Compulsively reading: Remembrance of Things Past by Marcel Proust—well, not really, but it’s been sitting on my nightstand for an awful long time. Mode of transport: A 2006 Volvo station wagon, chariot of the gods (or at least the totally uncool ones who have two kids) Secret skill: A Magellan-esque sense of direction Sartorial signature: Pants. I wear them most days.

“I am a huge admirer of John Waters—I think he’s brilliant, creative, weird, and unique, and I particularly like the honesty of his writing—so I was thrilled, and a bit nervous, about illustrating him. My creatures and characters are paying homage to him in this drawing.”

seth howarD

Stylist, NYC

Shot Louie Lopez for “Pipe Dreams” (page 30). “It was so exciting to meet Louie Lopez after watching him come up in the skateboarding world. It was amazing to work with someone of his caliber who can lay down tricks again and again—it made my job easier.” Hometown: Auburn, NY Instagram handle: @georgegnarlywood Latest discovery: GoPro Copter Travel plans: A cross-country trip to take pictures for Freedom: Volume 3, part of a series of photo books about the American landscape Playing on repeat: Hannibal Buress’s stand-up Online fixation: freaksleeper.com for funny pictures of humans and animals sleeping Compulsively reading: Spider-Man comics Mode of transport: A skateboard, always Secret skill: I have an excellent memory. Sartorial signature: Alexander McQueen shoes with HUF weed socks

Hometown: Lombard, IL Instagram handle: @queenrooster Latest discovery: There seem to be a lot of wild rabbits running around this spring. They play in a most entertaining fashion; I could observe woodland creatures for hours. Travel plans: I’ll be visiting Portland for the first time this summer. Playing on repeat: DeBarge’s Greatest Hits Online fixation: I often end up on YouTube watching old music performances. I also enjoy voyeuristically browsing apartments and houses for sale through Zillow. Compulsively reading: Role Models by John Waters Mode of transport: I’m omnitransportational—I walk, ride public transit, bike, and drive—but I like the first two because they provide the greatest opportunities for people-watching. Secret skill: I can dance salsa, cumbia, cha-cha, bachata, and samba with some competence. Sartorial signature: Fitted dresses and jeans—I don’t like baggy clothes.

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Created the looks seen on Douglas Booth in “True Brit” (page 102). “Booth was great. He had amazing energy and was up for having some fun with the looks we chose. And let’s face it: The guy looks great in everything.” Hometown: Fountain Run, KY Twitter handle: @SthHwrd Latest discovery: Minton’s Playhouse, a 1920s-style jazz club in Harlem Travel plans: L.A. in June, Mexico in August Online fixation: businessoffashion.com Compulsively reading: Textbooks—I’m currently working on my master’s degree. Mode of transport: Whatever is easiest Secret skill: Keeping cool, calm, and collected Sartorial signature: I like where old-school tailoring meets casual comfort.

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S I L V E R J E A N S . C O M A V A I L A B L E A T M A C Y ’ S A N D S I L V E R J E A N S C O .™ L O F T S LOS ANGELES CHICAG O HOUSTON DALLAS MINNEAPOLIS WorldMags.net

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hip check 22 JUMP STREET STAR AMBER STEVENS MAKES JONAH HILL—AND THE REST OF US— A LITTLE BIT COOLER. BY DAVID WALTERS. PHOTOGRAPHED BY MAGDALENA WOSINSKA

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WorldMags.net stylist: sean knight. hair: rob talty at the magnet agency using sachajuan. makeup: jo strettel at the magnet agency using dolce & gabbana beauty. romper and belt by martin grant, rose gold ring by tomtom, ring with crystals by cc skye.

some good, old-fashioned youthful rebellion never hurt anybody, but one early act of revolt almost derailed amber stevens’s career before it began. “my dad [actor, radio host, and current The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson announcer shadoe stevens] was on a sitcom called Dave’s World, so i attended live tapings every single friday for four years,” says the 27-year-old los angeles native. “i went through that phase where i wanted nothing to do with what my parents thought was cool, so when they told me, ‘You know what? You love putting on a show,’ i was like, ‘get out of here! i’m not doing what you think i should do!’” stevens wisely came around, landing commercial work and small roles in CSI and The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, eventually becoming a series regular on the aBC family drama Greek, an experience that sold her for good on the family business. “now i want to work on a sitcom,” says stevens. “i want to do comedy because it was so much fun watching my dad do it.” The sitcom dream will have to wait, but a role opposite Jonah hill and Channing Tatum in sequel-of-the-summer 22 Jump Street will earn her plenty of laughs. “my character is a cool art student who is somehow linked to a murder that Jonah’s character is investigating. We develop a romance, and he starts to become a little more hipster himself—wearing skinnier clothes and stealing my scarves,” she explains. since the condition is apparently contagious and stevens has done some real-life field research anyway (“i do live in los feliz,” she cites as a credential), we asked her to identify the classic warning signs of hipster art student syndrome.

1. On Saturday nights, you forgo keg stands and beer pong for boxed wine and pottery making.

5. You think Wes Anderson was robbed at that awards show. Every awards show.

2. The only radio station programmed in your car is NPR.

6. You maintain an herb garden exclusively for the purpose of craft cocktail infusions.

3. Your significant other taught you how to crochet. 4. Your monthly artisanal coffee bill is more than your car payment. Because you don’t have a car. Because you ride a bike.

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7. You think David Byrne has contributed more to artistic culture than da Vinci, Michelangelo, and the Mayans combined.

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PERCEPTION CAN BE A funny thing. Back in 2008, Sean “Diddy” Combs hosted a party at Cameo during the height of Miami’s Winter Music Conference. Diddy, to much surprise, tapped the then-obscure DJ/producer Claude VonStroke to headline, and spent most of the bassheavy set on the balcony, sporadically spraying the crowd with champagne. Dance-music critics cried cultural poaching: What was the originator of blinghop—the man who brought the world 112 and Danity Kane—even doing at WMC other than soiling the underground with Krug and bottomless sponsorship dollars?

eleventh hour

grooming: thea istenes at exclusive artists using oribe.

DARK-HOUSE DJ AND PRODUCER GUY GERBER LINKS UP WITH SEAN “DIDDY” COMBS ON ONE OF THE SUMMER’S MOST ANTICIPATED—AND LEAST LIKELY—COLLABORATIONS. BY NICOLAS STECHER. PHOTOGRAPHED BY JAY HANNA

“It was the definition of worlds colliding,” explains Diddy, in a back room of Hollywood’s W Hotel. “A lot of people didn’t know I was such a fan of certain producers, but I always want to see the DJs who aren’t afraid to clear the dance floor, the ones who are fearless. That’s why when I heard Guy’s stuff and went to see some of his sets, I thought it would be cool if we worked together.” If you’re not familiar with the Israeli-born, Madrid-based producer and DJ Guy Gerber, it’s safe to

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say his sound is dark. Hypnotic. The type of deep house that’s as welcoming as a hooded figure in a dark alley. Together, Diddy and Gerber have been working on an album dubbed 11:11 for two years, with Gerber alternating between the Bad Boy mogul’s New York studio and his own to craft more than 50 tracks (aptly, 11 of them will be chosen for the final product). After months of anticipation—and pre-judging—dance-music fans will finally get to hear 11:11 this

July as a free download. On the hotel’s sun-drenched balcony, Gerber explains the album’s title: “In some cultures, it’s a date or an hour or a moment when two worlds collide and open a gate to another dimension—and in that dimension, anything can happen.” The closest real-life analog they’ve come up with is the mood at an after-party: a psychotropicinduced sense that anything can happen, and that reality is a malleable dimension in which

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music and texture are nutrition. “In the after-hours, people are kind of fucked up,” explains Gerber. “If the music is not great, it fails. If you put a track on that’s not next-level, it’s going to feel awkward. So it has to be.…” He trails off, making a sound like water rushing over a cliff. Diddy concurs, a wry smirk firmly in place: “We’re, like, really serious after-hours guys, so when we were making the album, it was definitely those types of vibes; there were after-hours-type things going on, just to be honest.”

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IT’S A CLOUDY Tuesday morning on the banks of the Hudson River, and Louie Lopez is effortlessly tearing up and down the empty canyons of the Chelsea Piers skate park. His father—affectionately known as Big Lou—leans on a chain-link fence, watching quietly and attentively. The lanky 19-year-old’s style is both calm and commanding, and it’s not until he hops off his board for a moment to check his cell phone that it becomes fully apparent that he wasn’t simply born with a skateboard as an extra appendage. ÒI was probably four or five when I started skating,Ó the Hawthorne, California native explains. ÒMy cousin always had this cheap plastic skateboard lying around; the wheels barely turned.Ó Lopez begged his father for a real board, and his wish came true the day Dad backed over the plastic one in the driveway. Big Lou details how his son made sure his new board didnÕt suffer a similar fate: ÒHe slept with it in bed every night after that.Ó ItÕs more than just an endearing origin story of an on-the-rise skating phenom; it goes a long way toward explaining his style. This is a kid who, at the age of four, watched the X Games and nonchalantly thought, Oh, I can do this. ThereÕs a pervasive sense of confidence that colors his every move, an ease born from having skated in contests since the age of seven. ÒI was never the kind of person who thought, ÔIf IÕm not going to win, IÕm not going to go.Õ I heard about a contest and I was like, ÔWhatever, IÕll give it a try. I have nothing to lose. IÕll just go and see what happens,ÕÓ he says.

His graceful style has been only further accentuated by a recent growth spurt. ÒI was always the short one, and then finally I grew a bit. Skating feels way different now. I have more pop and it feels like a whole new thing. It opens up more opportunities to do different tricks. The higher you can ollie, the better you can be.Ó He officially turned pro this past fall, and Flip Skateboards, one of his longtime sponsors, announced his arrival on the circuit with a video unveiling his Pi–ata pro model board. ÒIÕm hyped. Seeing your name on the bottom of the board is the best thing,Ó he says. The clip features Lopez beating a pi–ata with a little help from friends like Tyler, the CreatorÑwith whom he grew up skating in HawthorneÑ and ends fittingly with a shot of him soaring above the crowd gathered there to fete him, the innards of the pi–ata raining down around him. While going pro has been a thrill, not too much has changed for Lopez. ÒI still go out and skate every day, do the same things IÕd be doing if I werenÕt pro,Ó he says. ÒThereÕs a little bit more responsibility, but itÕs all good.Ó He certainly has a full plate with an

impending return to the Dew Tour as reigning champ, a freshly inked deal with Converse, and his first invite to serve as an alternate for the X Games. The kid who grew

pipe dreams SLEEPING WITH HIS BOARD (AND, OK, LOTS OF PRACTICE) YIELDED GREAT THINGS FOR SKATING SENSATION LOUIE LOPEZ. BY STEFAN MAROLACHAKIS. PHOTOGRAPHED BY GEORGE UNDERWOOD

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up watching the competition is now a hair away from participating in it. ÒItÕs definitely overwhelming skating with a bunch of people youÕve looked up to,Ó he says. ÒBut at the same time itÕs like, ÔDamn, IÕm actually skating with these guys.Õ ItÕs a good feeling.Ó

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BRIAN PROCELL looks a bit like a hunter-gatherer with his full beard and backpack covered in Turkish kilim (a special-edition Purple label North Face)—it’s fitting, considering the day’s plans include hitting up New York’s best flea markets to replenish Procell, his popular Lower East Side vintage shop. “Looking at me, you’d never guess I was obsessed with DKNY bicycle shorts,” he jokes, walking up to the West 25th Street Market, where two old friends recognize him and promptly stroll over. They embrace and share memories of a long-ago party. “I remember getting really high with Dizzee Rascal,” says Procell, laughing. “I slept in a Bronco!” Sniffing around for sartorial relics—like the bright blue cap with a rainbow Apple logo that he recently posted to his Instagram (which prompted an “oh i love that” from Cara Delevingne)—is a seven-days-a-week operation THE ’90S ARE ALIVE AND WELL IN for Procell. “People put their best BRIAN PROCELL’S NEW YORK CITY VINTAGE STORE. BY ASHLEY HOFFMAN. shit out on Saturday,” he explains, surveying a table of sun-dappled PHOTOGRAPHED BY BRAD OGBONNA

pro shop

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curios. He’ll usually pull about four pieces per trip. “If what I carry existed in abundance, I wouldn’t be who I am.” In addition to running the shop, Procell has consulted for Marc Jacobs, curated for Opening Ceremony, and styled Rihanna. At the moment, the street aesthetic he’s most excited about embraces saturated colors, clean lines, logos, and numbers, but his bread and butter is cult classics. His secret: filling his 200-square-foot shop with time-tested pieces, like old-school rock and hip-hop shirts, “items that have already done all the legwork,” he explains. “They sell themselves.” Procell pulls a Harley-Davidson mock turtleneck from a rack and

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twists the hem of its neckline. “These are coming back,” he says. “It’s too progressive for Harley to make something like this now.” He flips past a stack of green jerseys in an open suitcase to find a blue basketball jersey. “Oh, this is dope,” he says. “Yeah, I’ll definitely grab this.” He’ll take it to his tailor, who will crop it—Miley Cyrus wore one of his Chicago Bulls jerseys with the same update. “When something like that happens, I know I have to start stocking up on them,” he says. The next market we hit is The Antiques Garage, located, appropriately, in a parking garage. He makes a beeline to one of his favorite vendors, Ziegfried, where he spots a Mary Quant denim jacket. “Super rare,” he says. “Look at this detail. It’s a work of art.” The designer is a mod-era legend, but Procell doubts anyone under 20 would be familiar with her work. “I don’t think anyone under 40 years old knows who that is,” concurs Ziegfried. Procell has a cool-hunter’s instinct, but his taste took years to cultivate. When he was younger, he’d take the train into New York on the weekends from Elizabeth, New Jersey, and run with a graffiti crew. Back at home, he’d study the fashion in magazines, catalogs, and films. His entire personal history informs his impeccably curated, shoppable museum. “As a kid growing up with nothing, I became obsessed with everything,” he says. Speaking of obsessed, what ever happened to the blue cap with the Apple logo? “Of course that didn’t last,” he says with a laugh. He paid $3 for it and sold it for $68. But good luck finding another one, warns Procell. “If you want it, you’ll have to come see me every day.”

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S I L V E R J E A N S C O.™ P R E S E N T S:

not for girls.

summer music tour

wITh:

cage the elephant #NYLONGUYSxSILVERJEANS / FOR TICKET INFO, VISIT NYLONGUYSMAG.COM/MUSICTOUR20 14

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(haute

stuff)

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[NEWS]

joy

ride ELEVATE YOUR CYCLING EXPERIENCE WITH THIS EXPERTLY CRAFTED BIKE FROM HERMÈS. PHOTOGRAPHED BY ERIC HELGAS

bicycle, $12,500, hermès.

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DENIM NEWS:

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THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN STYLES, FITS, AND WASHES.

[dkny jeans]

[NEWS]

this season, dkny is releasing two new washes, “tacoma” and “otis,” which mirror the brand’s premium offerings but come at a more affordable price point.

[silver jeans co.]

[a.p.c.] in case you never had the determination to break in a pair of raw a.p.c. denim (lightweight!), the brand now offers stretch in three styles.

the denimheads over at silver have a new style, dubbed the “joga,” that looks like their standard denim on the outside, but feels like a sweatpant on the inside. it can be your little secret.

TEE TIME:

the beautiful ones

OFF AND ON Due to the popularity of the monthly Prince party that friends Mac Huelster, Jams Jolliff, and Jade Chang host in Brooklyn, the three friends decided to start making “loosely R&B-inspired” T-shirts for fans of the event. No surprise, then, that the resulting line, The Beautiful Ones, has been a hit, too. We’re partial to the Chanel collage shirt, created by artist Kalen Hollomon, but spring for anything on the Sad Boy Club webstore, where these tees and the gang’s other creative friends’ wares are sold, and “U” will have “Got the Look.” MALLORY RICE SADBOYCLUB.COM

In a classic case of striking while the iron is hot, rather than basking in the success of his wildly popular streetwear line Pyrex Vision, designer Virgil Abloh elected to start something else entirely. That something else is Off-White, a collection of hoodies, T-shirts, and the like, which was dissected by various obsessives online as soon as it debuted during spring ’14 fashion week. “For me, Pyrex was more like an art project than a concept to run with for a clothing line,” explains Abloh. “But it gave me the confidence to believe in my bigger idea of a lifestyle brand, like OffWhite.” Abloh has already earned his design stripes as a gallery owner, member of the Been Trill collective, and Kanye West’s right-hand man at his creative agency, Donda, so it goes without saying that fans will be interested in what “lifestyle” may exactly entail. “Off-White is sort of like a blank canvas—literally the color of a blank canvas—but when I think of it, I can imagine linen sheets, a living room, a closet,” he explains. “I can think of, like, a knife set and china.” You might as well start making space in your apartment now. MR OFF---WHITE.COM

off-white: photographed by sergiy barchuk. stylist: mitsu tsuchiya. grooming: megan lanoux at exclusive artists using malin and goetz. model: nic lafrance at soul. all clothing by off-white.

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big time advertisement nylon x g-shock

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Singer Leroy Sanchez and dJ/ producer ryan hemSworth are making their markS on different SideS of the muSic Scene. here, they diScuSS their JourneyS, work, and truSty caSio g-Shock watcheS.

LEROY SANCHEZ

SINGER LoS ANGELES, CA as a kid growing up in rural spain, did you dream of one day becoming a musician? I always loved to sing and I imagined myself performing in front of a crowd, but I never thought it would become a reality. That’s all it was then: a dream. what are your earliest music memories? I’ve been singing in the shower for as long as I can remember, and I was in my school choir growing up. One day I picked up the guitar my mother used to play in church when she was younger and gave it a try. It took me a while to figure out what I was doing, but eventually I started learning the chords by myself. what was it like getting your start on youtube? I began uploading videos back in 2007 when barely anyone was known for YouTube covers—it was just for fun. I never thought it would be the beginning of a career; I just thought it’d be interesting to see what other people thought of my singing. who are your musical idols? I grew up listening to Top 40, so I’ve always been in love with those voices and techniques. I like Beyoncé, James Morrison, John Mayer,

gdx6900cm-8 Bruno Mars, Tori Kelly…and the list goes on. what can we expect from your debut album? The record portrays my journey from when I first came to the U.S. from Spain in 2010 until now. I’ve grown so much, not only as an artist but also as a person. Musically, the album mixes pop melodies with a big orchestral sound. how would you characterize your personal style? I don’t like my look to be “too much.” I’ve never considered myself as a very trendoriented person. I just like things to be simple. how does your casio g-shock watch keep you on top of your game? My granddad and my dad used to wear Casio watches all the time. Now, I can’t get away from my Casio G-Shock. I’ve tried so many other watches and I always end up going back to it. It’s just the best: so comfortable and classic.

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ga110ts-8a2

ryan hemSworth DJ/PRoDUCER ToRoNTo, CANADA

how would you characterize the tracks you create? Genres don’t matter to me anymore—it’s just about capturing a mood and making other people feel it, or at least understand it. what are your favorite types of events to dJ? Small basements of clubs: 150-capacity rooms where you can look up and see people smiling and reacting. I don’t get much from huge EDM festivals; they feel more like competitions. who are some producers whose work you admire? I’m inspired by producers who can take on any genre and who understand the importance of sound design, like Cornelius from Japan, Jacques Greene from Montreal, and Sophie from the U.K.

what artists are you listening to right now? A.G. Cook of the Internet label PC Music does some really forward-thinking stuff. I also like these Scottish kids DJ Milktray and Inkke, and I can’t stop listening to Alex G on the label Orchid Tapes. Otherwise, I’m just crying to Lykke Li or old Brand New albums.

ryan hemsworth photographed by katie sadie. photo assistant: kim harkness. grooming: amanda blair robertson. leroy sanchez photographed by chris shonting. grooming: thea istenes at exclusive artists.

you studied Journalism at college in nova scotia—how did you end up in music? I didn’t want to turn music into boring homework, so I chose to study journalism. This ended up allowing me to talk with musicians and learn more about the industry.

how would you describe your personal style? Confused kawaii goth grandpa. how does your casio g-shock watch keep you on top of your game? I use the watch’s timer function when I’m heating up my Alphagetti on the stove and the glow for when I’m drinking my Capri Sun in bed at night— not to mention it has proven to be quite resistant to Pizza Pop sauce!

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GAME ON:

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THE WATCHMAN

PEBBLE FOUNDER ERIC MIGICOVSKY’S SUCCESS IS ALL IN THE WRIST. BY DIANE VADINO. PHOTOGRAPHED BY MARIA DEL RIO ERIC MIGICOVSKY was hoping to raise around $100,000 on Kickstarter to produce his new smartwatch—$190,000 if he was lucky, which would have been enough to cover the manufacturing of 1,000 pieces. Ultimately, Migicovsky and his three-person team raised over $10 million in April 2012, breaking crowdfunding records and providing more than enough money to manufacture the Pebble, which takes all of your phone’s notifications, alerts, and alarms and presents them, handily, on your wrist. When the Kickstarter drive was launched, they were all hanging out at their respective homes in Palo Alto, California. “But then we realized something big was happening, and people had to get showered and dressed,” says Migicovsky. “By the time we hit $200,000, everyone had made it into our office-slash-my living room.” Migicovsky dreamed up the Pebble while studying at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. “I was cycling all the time, and I always had my cell phone in my back pocket,” he says. “I would constantly miss text messages—I never knew if I should pull over. I wanted to see what was happening on my phone without taking it out of my pocket.” Migicovsky reasoned that even if the product appealed only to tech-centric athletes looking for an easy way to remote-control fitness apps like Strava or Run Keeper, that market alone would be enough. Luckily for him, lots of people hate rooting through a bag to locate a chiming phone. For Migicovsky, the crowdfunding days are over. The second-generation Pebble Steel debuted in January, and it’s benefited from a community of developers who have already designed over 2,600 apps for the device. Pebble’s app store, he proudly notes, is the first built around wearable tech and features Pebble-specific apps from Evernote, Yelp, and Pandora, among others; a GoPro app even allows videographers to control the camera from their wrists. Migicovsky will soon face competition from tech mega-monsters (think: Apple iWatch), but for now, he seems focused on the new landscape, and how Pebble may figure as part of the coming wave of wearables. “It’s pretty cool, because you can look back to the ’70s or ’80s and see how a lot of these concepts were played around with, with no care as to the technological complexities—just the moral possibilities—and I think a lot can be learned from that discussion, how this technology integrates into our lives,” he says. Connecting Pebble to “your thermostat, your car, your house, and helping you interact with them easily” is just one of the next steps for the smartwatch. As for the future? Migicovsky will let us know when he gets there.

(tech)

BY MATT DOLBY

MURDERED: SOUL SUSPECT

How do you investigate a homicide when you’re the dead guy in question? That’s the ghostly premise of Murdered: Soul Suspect. Set in Salem, Massachusetts, this supernatural thriller follows detective Ronan O’Connor, a spirit on a quest to find out who killed him by reading the minds and influencing the thoughts of the living, all while fending off malevolent forces also occupying the in-between world known as Dusk. Gameplay is pretty straightforward, and the look of Salem is wonderfully detailed, making this a must-have for mystery enthusiasts and anyone else who likes the idea of avenging himself Swayze-style. AVAILABLE JUNE 3 ON PC, XBOX 360/ONE, AND PS3/4.

THE WITNESS To understand The Witness, you have to be familiar with two games at the core of its DNA: Braid, the best puzzle game in recent history, with which The Witness shares a creator, and the adventure puzzle title Myst. That pedigree alone proves that this game is something special, a full and detailed desert island filled with mazes to navigate while losing yourself in the sprawling surroundings. And unlike many games that ramp up the pressure to conquer the next level, this one actually feels relaxing—like a working vacation for your brain. AVAILABLE MID-2014 FOR PC, IOS, AND PS4.

WOLFENSTEIN: THE NEW ORDER

[NEWS]

Moving beyond the World War II setting of previous Wolfenstein games, The New Order takes place in an alternate 1960s reality in which the Nazis won the war and conquered the globe with mysterious superweapons. Protagonist B.J. Blazkowicz returns to lead a counter-offensive through Europe, and purists will be happy to see that the blood, guts, and black humor of previous chapters remain. Lucky for stealth enthusiasts, sneaking is as useful a tactic as the shoot-’em-up style of games past, adding a new dimension to this legendary franchise. AVAILABLE NOW ON PC, XBOX 360/ ONE, AND PS3/4.

ROCK ‘N’ DOC You’ve assembled a supergroup of the most talented musicians for miles, practiced well into the wee hours, and opened for the best acts to hit your parts. Still, your band’s video search results are, shall we say, lacking. You might not have a few thousand to drop on pro videography, but that doesn’t mean you have to sing into your laptop’s webcam to go viral. GoPro’s new Hero3+ Black Edition ($399.99, microSD card not included) has instrument/mic stand mounts and clamps for sweet POV recording. Use your cell phone as a remote between solos with the GoPro app, and then edit your footage using the free software included. YouTube celebrity awaits. MELISSA GIANNINI

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gopro photographed by kelly shami.

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NATURAL SELECTION [NEWS]

London-based menswear brand Natural Selection is nothing if not thoughtfully conceived. The line, which was launched back in 2009 by designer John Park, began as a denim label founded on the theories of Charles Darwin. “Denim is a fabric that evolves and changes with use. And to wear a pair of jeans in, it has to become your favorite, so it’s actually been ‘naturally selected,’” Park explains of the concept. This fall, the brand will expand to include a full ready-to-wear collection, which, once again, involved careful consideration, particularly of its customer. “Our guy is someone who doesn’t feel he needs to shout,” says Park. “He wants to express style and individuality in a subtle way, to wear stuff that is subversively daring in the details.” The resulting offerings, in stores this summer, are a sophisticated and often understated array of pieces ranging from a reversible collarless Mac to a slim tartan shooting trouser. LISA MISCHIANTI NATURALSELECTIONDENIM.COM

LITTLE RASCALS In 2008, Martin and Patrick Jørgensen, despite no formal training, cobbled together what they knew about fashion design to launch Rascals, a line of fixieculture-inspired clothing, in their native Denmark. “At first, it was a small collection only consisting of track suits inspired by the scene that was really emerging in Copenhagen,” explains Patrick. But soon, the duo expanded it into the broader sportswear collection that it is today. This season, the line will be available in the U.S. for the first time, and while it has evolved from its fixie roots, its biking DNA is still evident in details throughout the collection–even if Patrick has had some trouble keeping track of his own set of wheels. “A couple of weeks ago my mountain bike just got ripped off. So I just went to a small bike dealer and bought one that’s like 20 years old,” he says. “If it gets stolen it’s fine.” MR RASCALS.DK

000

rascals: photographed by sergiy barchuk. stylist: mitsu tsuchiya. grooming: megan lanoux at exclusive artists using malin and goetz. model: nic lafrance at soul. all clothing by rascals, hat by kangol. natural selection: all clothing by natural selection, shoes by bally.

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take it or break it:

cole alexander

In whIch we ask a fashIon-conscIous dude to fIeld your most pressIng questIons about style. [news]

AS A BAND, THE BLACK LIPS HAVE NEVER BEEN ONES TO FOLLOW THE TYPICAL path of the music biz. One easy example: Their latest album, Underneath the Rainbow, was rolled out this spring along with a “scented” cassette and “scented” live performances. Guitarist Cole Alexander has applied a similar flair to his wardrobe over the years, making his own modifications to vintage pieces and collaborating with brands like April77. With a strong affinity for the unique and worn-in, Alexander offers his take on your inquiries.

Cole! Your hat game is so strong— where do You get them? do You have a preferred stYle? —sean, Baltimore, md I’ve gotten some beanies from the gas station. I have one cowboy hat for more formal occasions. I have another cool hat that’s made from pure snakeskin. I always want to wear my hats to nice restaurants. I’ll tell the manager, “what if lady gaga came in wearing this hat?” I kind of want to start masculinizing hats with veils…. oh heY, Cole, seems like You have a ton of awesome vintage pieCes. do You have a favorite? —trevor, greenwich, Ct It’s actually something I wore on the album cover. I was at a garage sale where these kids were selling stuff and there was this bomber jacket from world war II, and I was like, “what’s this?” and they were like, “yeah, our dad was a paratrooper during world war II and fought in that jacket.” It has this patch of a ghetto knockoff mickey mouse with a parachute. I asked, “how much?” and they said, “fifteen bucks,” so I said all right and just got it. I think they should have cherished it more, but I

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cherished it a lot and took care of it. one time I got beat up by these kids in atlanta, and I would wear a black eye and my cool bomber jacket and I was all tough. help me here, Cole, what should i wear to the rest of the musiC festivals this summer? i’m Coming to You BeCause i’m not looking for that hippie-CoaChella shit. —justin, miami, fl I’m not knocking urban outfitters or stores at the mall...but it’s all the same garments, [so people who shop at mall stores] end up looking like everybody else. I always recommend people just go to thrift stores and find recycled goods and weird designer brands from back in the day. but sometimes the mall will have a trend that I’ll like and go along with. native american patterns kind of got played out, but I always liked them, so I keep wearing them. heY Cole, mY girl is reallY getting into lorde’s purple lipstiCk thing, and i’m not sure how i feel aBout it. what’s Your take? —leonard, Chicago, il I think the lipstick look is fine–it’s a very unique thing. I got a bit of flak for dissing her song, but I actually have

nothing against her personally. I remember when kesha did, like, candy blue lipstick. I thought that was a bit much, but it’s all about the person. I actually wear red lipstick sometimes. Coooooooole, so, puBertY has finallY hit me at age 30, and i’ve deCided that i’m going to sport some faCial hair. anY tips for growing and grooming mY new faCe mane? —Christian, denver, Co I can grow a good mustache, but not a good beard. I tried a beard once and my mom told me it looked like pubic hair was growing out of my face. If you have cool hair follicles, then just go for it. I like the salt-and-pepper look, so I’m waiting to get gray hair. hi there, mY girlfriend is trYing to throw out mY favorite pair of jeans. sure, theY have holes and stains from a deCade ago, But what good pair doesn’t? how do You deCide when to get rid of something? —stephen, mobile, al I try to wear clothes until they fall off my body. holey jeans are great, and you can always patch them up. I got this pair of wranglers in thailand at a random market for seven bucks, and they have what I call solar bleaching: the jeans have actually started to change color just from sitting out in the sun. people have been wearing holey jeans since the ’50s or ’60s. [throwing them away] sounds like something a grandma would say to do. but I know grandmas who probably even like them.

got a question of your own? send it to letters@nylonmag.com. WorldMags.net

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READ THIS:

THE BIKERIDERS

Suiting is, of course, the most classic pillar of menswear. But in the hands of designer Joyce Darkoh, tailoring gets the modern streetwear treatment. “It’s traditional masculinity taken to its farthest limit,” she explains of her eponymous line, Darkoh, which just launched this season. “I wanted to keep the quality and fit while adding some color and making it feel younger.” Bold hues and boundary-pushing designs indeed abound—the spring ’14 main-line collection’s suits range from sky blue to camouflage. Meanwhile, the season’s special color-block collection features more neutral suits with contrasting-shade swatches across the torso or checkered all over. “You have to have the right attitude to wear my suits,” she says, and we’re pretty confident we can sport these. LM DARKOH.NET

[NEWS]

In 1968, when Danny Lyon published The Bikeriders, motorcycle gangs were nothing new. Brando and Dean had already romanticized the leather-jacketed roughrider, but Lyon, then a budding journalist and photographer, wasn’t interested in Hollywood’s version. Through interviews with prominent motorcycle gang members and dozens of photos, Lyon presented America’s bikers as they were: grease-stained, poor, ambitious, simultaneously jaded by workingclass life and fixed on the next big ride. This summer The Bikeriders is back in print after a decade, an exhilarating time capsule of a subculture in all its filth and glamour. For many, motorcycle gangs offered the chance to build an individual legacy. One biker tells Lyon: “You don’t just ride that son of a bitch. You put thousands […] of hours in that son of a bitchin’ bike.” Lyon’s photos also show the tragicomedy of races and booze-fueled rallies: riders and their girlfriends outside a dirty clubhouse, grim-faced gang members carrying a coffin, and a stylish girl at a jukebox identified only as “Big Barbara.” In Lyon’s short volume, men and women strive for greatness with the motorcycle as a source of power, roaring down open highways toward the next race, or, as Lyon puts it, “into oblivion.” REBECCA BATES

STRONG SUIT

U N DE R CO V E R When it comes to buying underwear, you’re better off not dabbling in various brands—it’s so much easier to just find the perfect pair, buy it in bulk, and forget about it until it’s time to restock. This fall, we’ll be switching

over to Buffalo’s brand new line of loungewear, which includes perfectly constructed briefs that, at the fair price point of $22 each, won’t break our hearts if they get lost at the laundromat or left behind in a hotel room. WILLIAM FLOOD

darkoh: photographed by sergiy barchuk. stylist: mitsu tsuchiya. grooming: megan lanoux at exclusive artists using malin and goetz. model: nic lafrance at soul. all clothing by darkoh, shoes by bally.

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WorldMags.net [news]

after a decade of preparation, together and independently, including brewerycentric road trips, Deck & Donohue set up shop in Montreuil, on Paris’s eastern edge, at the site of a former printing company that had been occupied by squatters until they took over the now completely renovated space. they’ve just finished production on the first run of their five-beer core presentation, ranging from Monk Brown ale to trouble #6; the latter name plays on the French word trouble, which can also translate as “hazy.” another, dubbed Mission Pale ale, memorializes their first brew, produced in San Francisco in 2005. Setting up shop close to Paris allows them to streamline not only their distribution process but also the labor-intensive demands of rallying chefs and restaurant owners to the possibility that brewing can be as closely considered as the practice of winemaking. “you can go to a three-star restaurant and they’ll have Heineken. no one asks if they have a beer, and if they do, it’s easy stuff,” says Deck. “We’re trying to progressively change that.”

nouveau brew

BOTTOMS UP:

The founders of MonTreuil-based deck & donohue are deTerMined To Make The french fall in love wiTh beer. besT of luck, Monsieurs. by diane vadino For a country obsessed with the provenance of its foods, France has maintained a curiously anemic interest in the concept of the microbrewery—instead entrusting its beer supply to corporate producers like the ubiquitous Kronenbourg. that’s changing, though, with a new generation of craft breweries—including the Franco-american Deck & Donohue. thomas Deck met Mike Donohue when Deck left his native France to attend Georgetown university in 2002. “I’m alsatian, so Mike thought I knew everything about beer,” says Deck of his German-inflected home, which has actually traded hands between the two countries several times and retains an affection for beer that outstrips many other regions in France, but still, Deck says, prefers wine. the two kicked off their brew studies at their local Whole Foods (“It would be Belgian abbey night and we’d buy eight beers and go home and try them,” says Deck). they stayed in touch over the following decade, as Donohue worked as a brewer across the u.S. and Japan (with stints at San Francisco’s landmark 21st amendment and Flying Fish in his native Philadelphia) and Deck went back to Strasbourg to finish his studies.

cooking the books:

HOLD TH E M EAT E DITION

in which a Guy who is kinda-sorTa inTo cookinG evaluaTes The laTesT publicaTions by our favoriTe chefs and resTauranTs.

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some vegetarians are morally opposed to meat. others have health concerns. and a number of people just don’t want to eat things with eyes and tongues. but for every happy herbivore, there are countless omnivores who nod along to these arguments in between bites of fried chicken or

whet your PALAte with these new ArtisAnAL French beers.

Blanche A medal-winner for two-year-old brewery Parisis, this springtime brew has peach and banana notes. brasserieparisis.com 3Ter A new collaboration with coffee hot spot café Lomi, this is brewed by 18-month-old La goutte d’or, which offers tastings at its 18th-arrondissement brewery. brasserielagouttedor.com

filet mignon. Most of us could stand to eat more vegetables, but this understanding dissolves in the face of a perfectly seared pork chop. veggienomics (duncan baird), a new cookbook by british author nicola Graimes, tries a different approach: if you skip the meat, she says, you’ll

Ligne 3 named for the metro line that connects their breweries, this new amber ale is produced via a partnership between My beer (in Levallois-Perret, northwest of Paris) and outland (in bagnolet, in the city’s eastern suburbs). mybeercompany.fr Loirette this blonde, brewed at the brasserie de la Pigeonnelle near tours, is one of Paris’s most popular craft beers. brasserie-pigeonnelle.fr

spend less money and eat like a king. hardly breaking news, but easier said than done. without a strategy, preparing meals from vegetables and grains is too often just a reshuffling of similar textures and flavors, resulting in forgettable hippie mush. an hour later, it’s time for delivery pizza.

deck & donohue: photographed by heidinger jean-marie / haytham pictures. veggienomics: WorldMags.net

(chow)

Drink this:

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host with the most

when iT coMes To suMMer booZinG, you can alMosT always counT on The facT ThaT iT will be done ouTdoors, wiTh aT leasT double The aMounT of people you drink wiTh durinG any oTher season. These are boTh GreaT ThinGs, and when iT’s your roof or backyard ThaT’s occupied by The ThirsTy Masses, you’ll wanT To have soMeThinG ready so ThaT you don’T becoMe a slave To The cockTail shaker. enTer vincenT Mauriello, who oversees The beveraGe proGraM aT The viceroy new york, hoMe To one of The ciTy’s buZZiesT roofTops. here, he shares a cockTail of his creaTion usinG belvedere pure, a liGhT, buT subsTanTial concocTion, Thanks To The spiriT’s subTly peppery Tone. belvedere’s head of spiriT creaTion, claire sMiTh, concurs, callinG iT a “delicious base To a baTch cockTail.” puT This one ouT in a punch bowl or piTcher and have GuesTs pour iT over fresh ice To Make sure The lasT servinG is as Good as The firsT.

proMoTion

CHEAT SHEET

ONES TO WATCH The days of sifting through endless blogs for new music are over, thanks to Ones To Watch with Skype. This platform escorts you to the edge of music culture with exclusive interviews, performances, concerts, and more. Follow @onestowatch on Instagram and visit onestowatch.com to fall in love with your new favorite acts, like rising rapper Kid Ink.

TROUBLEMAKER: (MAkes 22 cocktAiLs) 33 oz. (1 one-liter bottle) belvedere Pure vodka 22 oz. bonal French aperitif 16.5 oz. simple syrup 16.5 oz. fresh-squeezed lime juice 1 liter club soda 1 large english cucumber 24 large, ripe strawberries

Meat lover’s? yes, please. Graimes organizes each chapter around a cheap and ubiquitous staple: beans, rice, pasta, nuts, eggs, and cheese. from here, she adds vegetables to create strikingly sophisticated dishes. Take the lentil, squash, and crispy chickpea salad: three low-cost ingredients

cut cucumber into 1/4″ wheels and strawberries into one-quarter pieces. combine belvedere Pure, bonal, lime juice, and simple syrup with strawberries and cucumber and refrigerate overnight. when ready to serve, pour cocktail into punch bowl, add club soda, and pour over ice.

cooked simply, tossed with goat cheese and parsley, which wouldn’t be out of place at a pricey farm-totable restaurant. page after page, a few bargain components coalesce into a complete dish. There’s always a tension present in cookbooks that focus on saving money. it’d be cheaper to eat rice and

beans every night, but a lot of us are willing to pay a little extra for fresh produce, eggs, dairy, and sundry herbs and spices. veggienomics doesn’t throw around numbers so much as it says: you could have so much more if you dropped the meat. PauL caInE

ALOFT HOTELS Designed for the always-on next-gen traveler, Aloft delivers a fresh approach to the traditional staid hotel scene. Book now at alofthotels.com/wxyzbar for two free drinks each night of your stay.

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photographed by kelly shami. drink this: photographed by xenia rollinson.

WorldMags.net KICK THE

(grooming)

SLICK

Although summer is the most fun season, it’s not a day at the beach, so to speak, for those plagued with oily skin. Rising temps can exacerbate the situation and increase the frequency of acne flare-ups. Kiehl’s feels your pain, and enlisted its skincare experts to craft a guy-specific three-step Oil Eliminator line that, as the name implies, acts as a de-greasing agent for the face. The regimen includes Deep Cleansing Exfoliating Face Wash, packed with crushed apricot seeds to eradicate pimple-causing debris, Refreshing Shine Control Toner, a cooling mist that mops up excess sweat, and 24-Hour Anti-Shine Moisturizer, formulated with Aerolite (the lightest solid material on Earth) to weightlessly hydrate and totara wood extract to shrink pores and mattify. JADE TAYLOR KIEHL’S DEEP CLEANSING EXFOLIATING FACE WASH, $22, REFRESHING SHINE CONTROL TONER, $20, AND 24-HOUR ANTI-SHINE MOISTURIZER FOR MEN, $27, KIEHLS.COM

pro rated

[NEWS]

ROLLI NG I N TH E DE E P

Between Davidoff Cool Water’s distinctive aquatic scent and those iconic ads that depict sexy surfside hijinks, it’s pretty clear the fragrance is inextricably linked to the ocean. So besides launching a watersport-based iteration called Night Dive (who doesn’t love a nocturnal scuba?), this summer, Cool Water is recommitting to its Love the Ocean campaign in partnership with National Geographic Society. The charitable work benefits the National Geographic’s Pristine Seas project, which strives to safeguard the last of the unspoiled marine spots. Every bottle sold equals 100,000 square feet that will be protected through support of scientific expeditions that help locate the areas, survey them, and work with local governments to establish preservation zones. This past April, a team of scientists and filmmakers was dispatched to Mozambique to check out an untouched reef they hope to add to the protected list. You can help simply by snagging a bottle of Cool Water—easiest conservation effort ever. KATIE DICKENS DAVIDOFF COOL WATER NIGHT DIVE EAU DE TOILETTE, $68.50 FOR 4.2 FL. OZ., MACYS.COM

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cool water illustration by sakke soini.

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Fellow Barber owner Sam Buffa and his crew know a thing or two about what men need in their medicine cabinets: Buffa’s been in the business for eight years, and his small but mighty army of barbers tend to the beards, mustaches, and hair of grooming-savvy guys in his San Francisco, Brooklyn, and Manhattan locations. Plus, his front-of-house shops have given Buffa an opportunity to do a bit of crowdsourcing. “Our apothecary has given us insight into what our customers want,” he explains. “And I’ve always wanted to create an in-house line. So for the past two years, the team took a hands-on approach to develop products that work for both professional use and at home.” The result is a straightforward collection of hair and shaving essentials, scented with a blend of vetiver, cypress, and cedar, that anyone can use, regardless of hair type or choice of razor. KD FELLOW BARBER GROOMING COLLECTION, $20-$24, FELLOWBARBER.COM

BASIC ZONE

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COS EFFECTIVE

Attention, Europhiles: One of the best-loved purveyors of understated basics is making moves stateside. We’re talking about Cos, a sibling to H&M that stands for “Collection of Style” and already bankrupted us once with its pop-up shops at Opening Ceremony earlier this year. “Our design ethos is always focused on a modern and understated aesthetic,” says Martin Andersson, the brand’s menswear designer. “The essence of Cos is really clean designs with a subtle twist that make every style a little different.” In other words, consider it a pre-eminent resource for damn solid tees, pants, sweaters, and jackets made of quality fabrics that, contrary to what we just said, won’t actually bankrupt you. ASHLEY BAKER COSSTORES.COM/US

Q&A:

ASTRID ANDERSEN

British designer Astrid Andersen is one of the major players in the latest resurgence of cult streetwear, so this summer, Andersen’s capsule collection with Topman will come with a generous helping of fanfare. (Thanks in part to A$AP Ferg, who will appear in the campaign.) Here, we catch up with Andersen about the collaboration.

WHAT WAS MOST EXCITING TO YOU ABOUT THE CAPSULE COLLECTION? At the moment, there are so many of these really young kids who support my brand, and they’re really into it—like a tribal thing, really rooting for my team—which I’m just super grateful for. But I also realize that a lot of them can’t afford to buy the real pieces. So to be able to offer a simpler range that these kids can buy was a great opportunity.

WHAT WAS YOUR BASIC DESIGN CONCEPT? I wanted it to feel a little bit like a diffusion line. So, I used very accessible signature pieces like the basketball tank, the shorts, and the oversize T-shirt, kind of carrying them through. The pink velour is a fabric from one of the mills I use for my main line, so that’s a fabric that will also appear in my own collection. I also wanted to use the logo, but hide it a little bit, so you don’t get a full “Astrid Andersen logo T-shirt.” You get a peek.

AS A SHOPPER, WHAT DO YOU THINK MAKES A GOOD HIGH-LOW COLLABORATION? It’s really when two brands have a history that makes sense— Topman supported my shows in London and made it possible for me to develop my own brand, so that’s a story that’s very relevant.

HOW DID A$AP FERG BECOME INVOLVED? I just think he’s amazing. I’ve worked with those guys before—Rocky, too— so I know that they’re into it in a very genuine way. It’s not just them saying, “I’ll make a few bucks on this.” They won’t do it if they don’t like the clothes. I really respect that, and it keeps everybody on their toes.

cos: photographed by sergiy barchuk. stylist: mitsu tsuchiya. grooming: megan lanoux at exclusive artists using malin and goetz. model: nic lafrance at soul. all clothing by cos.

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[NEWS]

When it comes to basics, no brand has more credibility than Levi’s, the undisputed king of plainly perfect denim. So pay close attention to the brand’s new “Basics” line, which stands to transform your wardrobe with its ingeniously simplistic take on T-shirts, tanks, Henleys, underwear, and socks. Available in July, all of the categories will come in various treatments and packs, too, from the “200 series,” which includes two-packs of each offering in red, white, blue, black, and gray, to the “400 series” made from premium 100 percent Merino wool. MR

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[ SPECIAL EDITION ]

photographed by NathaNaeL tUrNer

by NIcoLaS Stecher

Summer’s finally here, and what better way to celebrate the balmy months than by climbing in a sleek roadster and dropping the top? Whether you’re taking a drive up the Pacific Coast, sneaking a weekend getaway to Lake Winnipesaukee, or escaping to the remote confines of the

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Smoky Mountains, there’s no better way to conquer the road ahead than with warm sun on your face and 100-mph wind running through your hair. We gathered 10 of the best convertibles the automotive kingdom has to offer to give you the lowdown on the world’s finest roofless options.

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From the terrifying 691-horsepower, half-million-dollar Lamborghini Aventador Roadster to the go-kart fun Fiat Abarth Cabrio, the splendidly elegant Ferrari 458 Spider to the ruggedly mobile Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, we’ve got you covered. Or, more accurately, uncovered….

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ferrari 458 italia spider photographed by ISa WIpFLI “Look,” a Ferrari rep once told me in a moment of candor, “the world is a better place with both Lamborghini and Ferrari in it.” Boy, was he right. While there are many elite boutique coachbuilders in the world—Spyker, Koenigsegg, McLaren, Gumpert— no automakers define the highperformance market duality quite like the two diametrically opposed Italian brands. On the one side is the brash, cocky Charging Bull—like a precious cut stone, all geometric planes and glass-slicing angles. And on the other, the muscular, fluent Rearing Stallion—all kinetic energy like effortlessly flowing water. They appeal to different buyers, they push each other to greatness, and like any classic literary foil, they define the other’s existence. While most car companies add all Continued on next page...

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sorts of exterior spoilers and ground effects to increase downforce (and performance plumage), Ferrari improves its aerodynamics not by addition, but by subtraction, re-crafting wind channels and moving vents. no modern Ferrari encapsulates this less-is-more ethos better than the 458, and because of this there is none more beautiful (and that’s including the ultra-rare LaFerrari and Berlinetta). In fact, it’s so exquisite that Ferrari deemed it worthy of being named after its proud

homeland—and anyone who’s been to Italy knows the love affair is equally reciprocated. There is nothing garish on a 458 Spider, and nothing unneeded. It’s extraordinarily clean in its line work, somehow both prodigiously muscular and femininely curved. It’s so beautiful it makes you ache; the Spider ignites a yearning in the heart of anyone who simply walks by. It’s also the only car tested here that looks better as a convertible— the lost roof exposing the two buttresses above the engine, an iconic Ferrari design cue. Ultimately, nothing compares to the sensation of driving a Spider. Though great pains have been made to domesticate the Ferrari experience, there’s no question it was conceived with the track in mind. There is no “comfort” setting; even its default street mode feels poised for a back-alley knife fight. The 458 runs through gears with a

thoroughbred’s swiftness, screaming to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds with brusque shifts. As you decelerate for red lights, the Spider mournfully runs through downshifts, exclaiming its disfavor of slowing with a series of barks, all 570 horses objecting simultaneously. You’ll feel its pain. Convertible: the first mid-engined sports car ever made with a folding metal (aluminum) roof. topless in 14 seconds. ConvenienCe: a shockingly large trunk, able to absorb two weekenders and backpacks. cargo area behind seats can fit a golf bag. the ultimate road-trip roadster. Cost: $257,412 base / $331,781 as tested

eFFIcIeNcy: 13/17/15 mpg (cIty/ hIghWay/combINed) 0-60 mph: 3.4 SecoNdS top Speed: 198 mph horSepoWer: 570 hp @ 9,000 rpm torQUe: 400 Lb-Ft @ 6,000 rpm

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photographed by NIcoLaS Stecher

[ SPECIAL EDITION ]

by NIcoLaS Stecher

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bentley motors v 8 -s convertible

When Bentley announced it was making a V8 version of its normally W12-powered Continental, gearheads wondered what in blazes it was thinking. The Continental GT, by all accounts, was a roaring success—the apotheosis of opulent GT driving—and one of its greatest attributes was its heavy-duty 6.0-liter 12-cylinder. But once you actually get behind the wheel of the V8-S—a 2014 upgrade from last year’s base V8 model—you realize there’s no reason to fear. The 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 offers an obscene amount of juice: 521 hp to be exact. With 40:60 rear-biased power being channeled to all four wheels, the GT V8-S manages great grip even while it whips around a behemoth tipping the scales at nearly 5,500 pounds. Still, it’ll hit 60 mph from a standstill in 4.3 seconds, en route to a truly mind-boggling speed of 197 mph. That’s quicker and faster than a Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet, from a vehicle that weighs about as much as a Ford F-150. Ponder that. And thanks to its V8, the Bentley boasts 24 mpg on the highway and over 500 miles of driving on a single tank. Moreover, since the engine is smaller it provides better balance, making the car less front-loaded. And as can be expected from anything with a flying “B” on its hood, the GT V8-S offers a level of craftsmanship that is as sumptuous as it is exquisitely rendered. Convertible: an insulated soft top folds in 25 seconds. With air scarf and wind deflector, the ‘vert is conversationquiet, even at 100-plus mph. ConvenienCe: the biggest barge you can still call a gt, it’s the most luxurious way four people—and their luggage—can travel. Cost: $216,200 base / $273,825 as tested

2014 B M W 435i Con v e rti B le photographed by ISa WIpFLI

Not so long ago, BMW was akin to your crazy drunk uncle spouting nonsense at a party, hoping others would believe the hype and comply accordingly. The styling was…lost. The “Bangle era” started with the 2001 7 Series and began a decade-long reign of highly questionable design language. The period was an outlier in BMW’s famed tradition of building lust-worthy, iconic “Ultimate Driving Machines.” The new 4-Series returns that sparkle of lucidity to your uncle’s eyes, that internal knowledge you knew would return after the inebriated state. Wider, lower, and lighter than its predecessor, the 435i has a torque curve worthy of Jen Selter’s Instagram feed, but with fewer followers, because this perky Bimmer is appropriately quick: a combined 8-speed transmission and 300 horsepower. With the push of a few buttons, the experience shifts from sporty to luxury, a car able to swallow whale-sized potholes with the greatest of ease. So while you might cringe every time you nail a foot-deep hole in the earth, the BMW just smiles and says, “Enjoy the open air; I got this.” MIChAeL CRenShAW Convertible: For the hard top to close in 20 seconds at speeds up to only 11 mph, it’s a parking lot closure system—not functional for street driving.

ConvenienCe: a containment device must be in place, or you have to get out and manually arrange the trunk before dropping the top. rear seats are functional—a true four-seater.

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Cost: $54,900 (base) / $64,625 as tested

WorldMags.net laM Borg h i n i av e ntador roadste r photographed by NathaNaeL tUrNer

In the past decade or so, much effort has been made to exorcise the brutality from supercars—to sand off the rough edges with supple leather, soften the jackhammer shifts through double clutches, meter the kindness of tracktuned suspension via adaptive dampers, and, in general, to smooth out their torque–laden mechanics. You can safely say this supercar pacification has passed over the Lamborghini Aventador. Not that the Aventador isn’t categorically more humane than its predecessor, the straight medieval Murciélago. But for those who lament the sissification of 21st-century supercars, we

suggest you take Lamborghini’s flagship out for a spin. Around the track or around Palm Beach, the Aventador is in no mood to cower to your commands of comfort. The most merciless aspect of the Aventador is its single clutch transmission—at low speeds it runs through gears roughly, while inspiring your best Angus Young impression against the headrests. This can be tempered by switching from strada (street) mode to sport (or even further to corsa), which unlike many supercars doesn’t change suspension, throttle mapping, or steering— it only quickens shift times and opens exhaust valves for more boorish behavior. Slip it into manual mode and you can further soften the locomotive blows via better-selected shift points. Once you’re in third gear, however, the Aventador grows much more sympathetic to your vertebrae.

But here’s the funny part: Its churlish sensibilities won’t matter at all. Because having the keys to an Aventador is like having possession of Mjölnir. It will straight-up turn you into Thor, both in the swell of power that overcomes you and in the reactions from others. Even the most humble man will feel a surge of potency. Families will hold up their children as you pass. Kids at bus stops will give you props. People will be kind to you for no reason whatsoever. And that is the added dimension of the Roadster, the somewhat-roofless Aventador sibling. There is no being inconspicuous. It is you and a half-milliondollar supercar on display, everywhere you go, ready to take questions. If you’re a man who does not like human interaction, this may not be the best

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vehicle for you. You’re already in a car worth more than some counties in the Ozarks, so if you can’t summon the strength to be gracious then choose another set of wheels. While there are all sorts of corollary advantages to being Thor, the real thrill comes when you’re alone—when the sun is setting on a warm Sunday evening, and you’re slicing across open highways. There’s no point in pushing it to its 200-plus-mph limit; the joy comes from simply enjoying the full torque available anywhere on the power band, overtaking everything in your path. Hear the low rumble of the massive, naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12, and realize it’s just you and the road. No radio, no GPS, no distraction.

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[ SPECIAL EDITION ] by NIcoLaS Stecher

StatIStIcS: eFFIcIeNcy: 10/16/12 mpg (cIty/hIghWay/combINed) 0-60 mph: 2.9 SecoNdS top Speed: 217 mph horSepoWer: 691-hp @ 8,250 rpm torQUe: 507 Lb-Ft @ 5,500 rpm

Convertible: pop off the two 13-lb carbon fiber panels manually, and then tetris them into the tight frunk (front trunk). Learn to do this adeptly, as onlookers will be watching…and critiquing.

ConvenienCe: once you remove the hard top and store it, storage space is zero. prepare to ship your luggage.

Cost: $441,600 base / $480,415 as tested

fiat 500 abarth cabrio photographed by mIKe herNaNdeZ even if you were a gajillionaire and could afford any and all sorts of automotive wonders from houses Bugatti and Pagani and hennessey, there should be a spot saved in your garage for the Fiat 500 Abarth Cabrio. Few cars encapsulate the joy of driving the way the tiny Italian imp does. It’s just, well, fun. Unlike most high-performance cars that’ll see you risking jail time for testing their speed thresholds, the Abarth feels like it’s going 150 mph when you’re barely breaking 60. Sure, that stinks on the highway—where you’ll be reaching to shift into a gear that doesn’t exist—but it turns city commuting into a game. Zip between cars, squeeze through tight jams, and basically maneuver (and park) like you’re on a sportbike. Adding to the hooliganism is the fact the Abarth only comes in manual (!), which means you’ll have a ball throwing the short-shifter around, hands gripping the thick flat-bottomed steering wheel, expertly manipulating the turbocharged four-banger as it fills the air with a delicious high-pitched wail. Waaaaaaah! The Abarth makes a quick jaunt to the post office feel like a scene in Need for Speed. Throw in the Beats premium audio system and you have the funnest street-legal go-kart this side of the Ariel Atom. Convertible: more like a giant sunroof than a true convertible, the cloth top opens at speeds up to 60 mph. With the roof down all the way, rear visibility disappears, however. ConvenienCe: the backseat is virtually useless, but short trips can fit three. Storage space opens up when rear seats fold down. Cost: $26,095 base / $31,704 as tested

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porsche 911 turbo s cabriolet photographed by ISa WIpFLI With gut-wrenching, face-melting acceleration that rivals—even bests—so-called “supercars,” the 2014 Porsche 911 Turbo S Cabriolet is a progressive piece of history, still defying physics at 50 years old. Porsche’s 0-60 mph claims always err on the side of caution, so we’d estimate this 911 cab does the march in 2.7 seconds with launch control activated. Porsche uses technical wizardry: Computers and mechanical parts work in harmony to achieve time- and spacealtering statistics. And, if the acceleration police call for the fun to stop, massive 16.1-inch carbon-ceramic front brakes fight gravity so hard you’ll feel your frontal lobe smack your skull. And the Porsche can also function with the cushiness of a Camry. The automatic transmission—Porsche’s 7-speed, racing-derived PDK—is a workhorse of efficiency. enthusiasts may complain there’s too much progression with the 911 brand: computer control, “lack of feel,” and the driver-machine interaction that suffers for it. But those people are living in the past while this 911 heads toward the future at record speeds. MIKe CRenShAW

j e e p W rang le r u n li M ite d ru B iCon e dition photographed by NathaNaeL tUrNer

Convertible: porsche claims this soft top can drop at speeds up to 31 mph in 13 seconds; we got it going at over 40 mph.

Convertible: two topless options— a simple pop-off “Liberty roof” for front seats, or whole hard-top removal—make for roofless party action.

ConvenienCe: you can fit your girlfriend in the back, but don’t bother inviting your buddies. Interior compartments are lacking, but the bonnet is surprisingly deep and roomy.

ConvenienCe: the only vehicle tested that can literally conquer the rubicon trail. optional 115-volt plug means you can take your laptop (or coffee machine, margarita blender, etc.) and “work” while you’re there.

Cost: $193,900 (base) / $210,620 as tested

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While the Fiat Abarth is the most pure fun in this class, the Wrangler stakes an argument of its own. It’s the only car tested in which you can rock crawl through Utah, never mind conquer Zuma Beach with friends. The optional rear speaker acts like a mobile sound system, and with the roof off, it encapsulates summer the way no other vehicle can. Of course getting that roof off can be tricky, as it requires a torque wrench that Jeep does not include with the off-roader. Taking the front “Liberty Roof” off is a cinch, but popping off the rest will require a friend’s help. But don’t sweat it—you’ll have no shortage of volunteers hoping to benefit from the Wrangler’s many amusing possibilities.

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Cost: $34,795 base / $43,715 as tested

WorldMags.net aston martin vanquish volante

[ SPECIAL EDITION ] by NIcoLaS Stecher

photographed by NathaNaeL tUrNer Your first visceral connection to an Aston Martin is the hefty key fob. It has mass, crafted of Swarovski crystal and black glass. It’s an item of importance, instantly informing you that the mechanical chariot to which it is connected is similarly ponderous. Open the swan doors, slip inside the leather-wrapped interior, and fit the crystal into the awaiting keyhole in the center console. Like some Tolkien sorcerer unlocking daemons from an ancient chest, woof!, the 5.9-liter V12 breathes to life. The spirits are released, the spell canted. The display flips up from the dash, and twin Bang & Olufsen tweeters rise from the corners in ceremony. In one of the venerable British automaker’s many, many quirks, you shift into gear not by lever or shifter or paddle, but by pressing one of four buttons (P, R, N, and D) on the center console. Roll forward and out; the experience has begun. If Aston Martin failed to stir loins, it would’ve been out of business many moons ago. Aesthetics is its greatest strength. The Vanquish coupe is simply one of the most beautiful vehicles ever imagined, and although the soft-top Volante model loses a touch of splendor in chopping the roof, its sheet metal is still heartbreaking. Wrapped around its aluminum monocoque chassis are exquisitely stamped carbon-fiber body panels: bonnet, trunk, quarter panels, and doors with perfectly placed side strakes. Creases this sharp would be impossible on any other material, as would be the geological shape of its integrated rear spoiler with sculpted air portal. Exposed carbon fiber touches like sideview mirrors and front lip spoiler add fine flourishes of performance pedigree. While the Vanquish Volante may pale in brash statistics to its direct Italian competitors, what it offers that the others cannot is a driving experience that is categorically luxurious. Testing it back-to-back against a Lamborghini or Ferrari underscores just how drivable and comfortable the Aston Martin is. The Vanquish is a true Grand Tourer, as enjoyable on the first mile of a long voyage as it is on the 500th. For a 565-horsepower supercar, that’s saying something. If its presentation is proper cotillion in normal driving mode, in sport mode the Vanquish morphs into Sasha Grey after a couple tequila shots. Located on the steering wheel, coincidentally like a missile launcher, the sport button transforms the machine instantly, terrifyingly. Hellhounds bark from the exhaust, and the car actually lurches forward while driving—so make sure there’s no one immediately in front of you, and that the horizon is clear. Once the Vanquish gets its legs under it, it won’t want to stop.

eFFIcIeNcy: 13/19 mpg (cIty/hIghWay) 0-60 mph: 4.1 SecoNdS top Speed: 183 mph (eLectroNIcaLLy LImIted) horSepoWer: 565 hp @ 6,750 rpm torQUe: 457 Lb-Ft @ 5,500 rpm

Convertible: the insulated triple-layer cloth top drops at the push of a button in 14 seconds at speeds up to 30 mph. Windscreen has to be applied by hand.

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ConvenienCe: decent trunk space, enough for a couple weekenders. has nominal back seats, but only a couple really cool babies could fit back there—sans child seats.

Cost: $297,995 base / $315,795 as tested

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WorldMags.net jaguar f-type v8-s

by NIcoLaS Stecher

au di rs 5 CaB riolet We recently concluded that Audi’s spectacular RS 7 executive saloon is a car approaching perfection. And while we love any car Audi deems worthy of the “RS” (Rennsport) designation, the RS 5 Cabriolet may be the first convertible we’d prefer in Coupé format. As a Cabrio, the excision of its roofline transforms the A5 sportback profile into a traditional three-box sedan, more akin to the A4—a significant loss, in our opinion. Also, weighing nearly 400 pounds. heavier than the Coupé, the Cabrio loses some of the fixed-roof RS 5’s nimbleness. not that the naturally aspirated 4.2-liter V8 gives any reason to lose faith—it is, in fact, the RS 5’s greatest attribute. With 450 horses, the V8 not only feels powerful, but sounds divine piped out of massive dual oval exhausts. One of the inherent advantages to convertibles is exposure to the powerplants, and with the top down the RS 5 is almost as loud as the V12s covered here. It’s just that at this price point (nearly $90K as tested), we’d be tempted in other directions. Convertible: the button-activated soft top rises in about 15 seconds.

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ConvenienCe: one of the biggest trunks of all the cars tested, with back seats that you can actually use. one of the few cars in which you can roadtrip with friends.

Cost: $77,900 base / $86,795 as tested

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We’ve covered the V6-S version of Jaguar’s F-Type in the past, but any convertible roundup missing this predatory cat would be woefully incomplete. The F-Type would’ve claimed many more Car of the Year honors had it not been for its price tag, but is sub$100K for a roadster of this echelon unwarranted, or even unwieldy? Sure, it’s not an indisputable world-class value like the Corvette Stingray, but, really, what is? Stunningly beautiful, the Ian Callum design will stop you in your tracks like a concussion. The front air inlets breathe like gills on a tiger shark, the running day lights defining an angular form on the fascia. The linear profile is rigid, tough, elegant. It sounds less like a British roadster and more like an American muscle car bolstered

for drag racing. When you unlock the car, the sideview mirrors swing into position, and its flush door handles spring out for easy grabbing (a feature you won’t find in the $300K Aston Martin). The center vents remain invisible until you engage them, at which point the dash rises like a hidden servant to condition the air to your liking. Turn the F-Type on, and that’s when the British civility ends. You’re greeted with a pronounced gurgling of gas and explosions sparking from the exhaust, a beating of the chest from the 5.0-liter supercharged V8. If you dare to press the Active Sports Exhaust switch, the volume becomes almost

comical. You’ll scare senior citizens as you pass, who will yelp and turn as if a mugging were afoot. That is not hyperbole; it is anecdotal. But the F-Type isn’t just a lust-worthy trophy cat. Performance of the droptop roadster starts from its all-aluminum monocoque chassis and aluminum alloy body panels—making it the stiffest convertible in the world. Unlike many brands just experimenting with the ultra-lightweight material, Jag has been crafting aluminum-framed cars since the 2003 XJ. Add a perfectly balanced 50/50 front-to-rear weight ratio, short wheelbase, low seating position, and 8-speed ZF transmission channeling 495 galloping horses to the rear wheels, and you have a rigidly planted track star that will spook a 911.

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Cor v ette sti ng ray Con v e rti B le photographed by ISa WIpFLI

Looking down the deeply grooved barrel of the new Corvette Stingray Convertible’s hood— lacquered, in this case, in a dazzling yellow—you’re overcome by a collusion of aesthetic riches: a bassy thrum wobbling from its quadruple howitzer tail pipes, the pulpy feel of its thick, suede-wrapped steering wheel, the stiff yet twitchy handling of rubber playing on asphalt. And perhaps the biggest shock: an interior worthy of European inspection, including bright HUD, contrast stitching, and seats so well-bolstered you’d think the Stingray was giving you a victory hug. The C7 Corvette Stingray is not as refined as the Aston Martin, not as opulent as the Bentley, not as nimble as the F-type, not as sensual as the 458 Spider, and about five Richter points less terrifying than the Aventador, but it has more than enough of each attribute, especially for a $65,000 vehicle (195 mph top speed, 0-60 in 3.8 seconds!). Exponentially more expensive cars will fumble to explain their worth to exasperated owners. Not only is the 6.2-liter V8 brimming with 450 hp, but those horses have been so wellengineered they return an eyebrow-raising 29 mpg on the highway. Half the cylinders shut down in cruise mode, but when you choose not to cruise, you’ll be served by the best engine GM’s ever made. Mated to a tightly sprung manual gearbox, you’ll swiftly run through seven gears of up-and-down action with a grin as wide as the ’Vette’s whale shark maw. Helping to keep the ’Vette’s obese Michelin tires from spinning uselessly is the optional Z51 package. Its finely tuned electronic limited-slip differential (eLSD) masterfully meters out power between the rear wheels to maximize stability when cornering in, while optimizing torque boost on the way out. Matched with GM’s superlative Magnetic Selective Ride Control, you have a true GT that can mash with supercars on the track, and yet rides like a Cadillac when in town. This is technology licensed by the Ferrari F12 and Audi R8, supercars with significantly higher price tags. Convertible: the soft top quickly drops in 12 seconds at speeds up to 30 mph. ConvenienCe: No back seat, but the trunk will fit golf clubs and small luggage. about as good as you can hope from a roadster. Cost: $92,000 base / $98,620 as tested

photographed by jay haNNa

Convertible: the soft cloth top activates in about 20 seconds at speeds of up to 30 mph. but wait—you can actually drop it remotely via key fob. Why can’t all convertibles do that?

ConvenienCe: No back seat, but there’s a large trunk. Front lip is high enough that you don’t have to tiptoe around inclines like many other sports cars. cushy comfort setting makes it a viable daily driver.

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Cost: $58,800 base / $76,465 as tested

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TRACKS OF HIS

TEARS SAM SMITH GETS EMOTIONAL ON HIS DEBUT ALBUM, IN THE LONELY HOUR. BY JOSHUA GLAZER. PHOTOGRAPHED BY ANNA ROSE

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shirt by burberry prorsum.

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Sam Smith really wants you to buy his album. he really wants me to buy his album, too, which he loudly proclaims to everyone in his Berlin hotel suite after i mention receiving an advanced copy of In the Lonely Hour, his upcoming debut, from his publicist. “he should pay for it!” he scolds.

He’s joking, of course, though it’s a little hard to be sure. At 6'3", with another two inches of pompadour on top, the 22-year-old British singer-songwriter, who first appeared on electronic duo Disclosure’s 2012 hit “Latch,” is an imposing figure. But the real force doesn’t lie in Smith’s physical stature as much as the sheer power of his personality. To call Smith a character is a bit of an understatement. He’s more like a fit constantly on the verge of happening, and whether that outburst is one of pure joy or utter sadness doesn’t seem to make a difference. One minute he is brashly ordering glasses of champagne for the room, and the next, he’s wickedly offering to “get dark,” before going into confession mode about the subject matter of In the Lonely Hour. “This album was almost a form of selfharm,” he admits, referring specifically to the five out of 10 songs that directly address an autobiographical story of unrequited love that took place during the recording. “I was so lonely and in love with a person who didn’t love me back. If I weren’t writing the album, maybe I would have cut the person out and not spoken to them. But because of my situation, I courted it a bit. Literally went out and set the fire.” That level of honesty has become Smith’s calling card, in interviews as well as in his music, and he delivers it with aplomb. It can be heard on the album’s lead single, “Stay With Me,” which starts out as a quiet confessional of a one-night stand gone wrong, until the gospel choir suddenly cries out the chorus, pleading for the stranger to remain. It’s dramatic in the way all good pop music should be, and

refreshingly absent of the sheen of swagger that coats most radio tracks these days. In its place are Smith’s plaintive tales, delivered in his soulful voice with a doe-eyed stare that’s equal parts Boy George and a pre-stubble Justin Timberlake. From that sincerity standpoint, it’s appropriate that Smith’s breakout moment stateside took place on an episode of Saturday Night Live hosted by Louis C.K., a comedian whose mega-success has resulted from unabashed honesty in the face of his everyman tribulations. The biggest difference:

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While C.K.’s middle-aged struggles are usually resolved with a comedic “fuck it,” Smith’s youthful naïveté means he’s likely a long way from a similar resolution. And while that’s probably good for fueling his songwriting fire, it’s hard not to feel a touch of sympathy when Smith’s headstrong denials kick in. “I think the album has completely, once and for all, killed my obsession with unrequited love. I’ll never put myself through that again,” he insists. When I joke that he, like everyone, most certainly will repeat that particular mistake, Smith’s huge blue eyes become

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“THIS ALBUM WAS ALMOST A FORM OF SELF-HARM. I WAS SO LONELY AND IN LOVE WITH A

PERSON WHO DIDN’T LOVE ME BACK. IF I WEREN’T WRITING THE ALBUM, MAYBE I WOULD HAVE CUT THE PERSON OUT AND NOT SPOKEN TO THEM. BUT BECAUSE OF MY SITUATION, I COURTED IT A BIT.”

STRAND OF OAKS PHILADELPHIA Timothy Showalter, a.k.a. Strand of Oaks, is no stranger to defying the odds. In 2003, the same year his fiancée left him, Showalter’s house burned down, leaving him to write and play acoustic guitar on the Philadelphia park benches that he called home. On Christmas Day a decade later, a semi-truck hit Showalter and his wife on the freeway, leaving the songwriter with severe head trauma. Once again, he translated tragedy into musical catharsis. His latest album, Heal, is a series of autobiographical tracks that ditch symbolism for raw honesty. Bursts of guitar catapult weathered vocals, forming an exhilarating romp inside Showalter’s subconscious. Or, as he puts it in his Facebook bio: “It’s sad, but it sounds like a celebration, like I’m crying and laughing and sticking both middle fingers in the air all at the same time.” BANU IBRAHIM PLAY THIS: “Goshen ‘97” photographed by dusdin condren.

steely: “If I start fancying someone who is unobtainable, I will run the other way. I promise you.” Then again, there might be good reason to believe in his determination; he has conquered challenges before. An overweight child, Smith battled his issues with the help of his father, who went so far as to become a certified fitness instructor to coach his son. Smith says that his emotional openness comes from the Y-chromosome as well. “We don’t think before we speak. We say how we feel. We live with our hearts completely out there,” he says, comparing jacket by suit. stylist: nina byttebier. grooming: sabine szekely.

himself to his dad. But Smith is careful to include his whole family in the support network that helped In the Lonely Hour through its difficult birth. “My family was on the other end of the phone every night when I’d ring up sad. In a way, it’s a magical album for them because they were there living it with me.” Despite his family’s intimate participation in the making of his music, there may still be a few confessional surprises for them on the album. Smith begins to squirm a little when he thinks about it, although there is a sense of extroverted thrill mixed in with the trepidation. “The things I say in my songs are things I won’t say to my mother. And the whole world is going to know now,” he says. While that vulnerability is both scary and exciting, Smith admits that it’s a necessary part of finding himself as an artist, as well as growing as a person. And he knows that ultimately, his soul-baring is the reason why the audience has responded to his music in the first place. “I always get panicky because I get so emotional in everything I do,” he says. “I call my mum up, and she says, ‘Sam, it’s your job to be emotional.’”

MAHD DETROIT Like the city he hails from, Mahd’s work represents stark contrasts: grit and beauty, aggression and vulnerability. One minute, he’s seducing the ladies with “Red Lipstick” (which features maybe the most surprising yet brilliant use of a sample since Jay Z’s “Hard Knock Life”). The next, he’s clearing his throat to spit a low-lit street-brawl soliloquy over an ominous loop of boom-bap beats in “Godfather Favors.” Mahd cites Motown and Slum Village as influences, and he’s quickly making a name for himself among Detroit’s latest hip-hop exports— Danny Brown, Black Milk, et al. ARIANA LABARRIE PLAY THIS: “Red Lipstick” photographed by joseph mcfashion.

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GOIN’ BACK TO CALI

WITH AN ALBUM FULL OF SUMMER PARTY ANTHEMS, YG IS LEADING LOS ANGELES RAP’S RETURN TO FORM. BY CLOVER HOPE. PHOTOGRAPHED BY NICK SETHI

EVERYONE IS YGÕs hype man tonight, including Keke Palmer. The actress, decked out in all red with a backwards Compton cap to match, is among the 30-plus entourage members and media whoÕve swarmed the backstage area of Irving Hall after an hour of limb-flailing to the L.A. rapperÕs party-starters like ÒMy HittaÓ and ÒWho Do You Love?Ó The creaky floorboards are showing their age, and the window unit is barely cooling the cramped space. Standing toward the back in a bright white tee, tube socks, and RVCA shorts held up by a Fendi belt, YG greets Palmer and waves her into his inner-inner circle.

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The 24-year-old rapper’s ability to sketch tales of his L.A. hood—and make people dance in the process—has everyone from gang members to small-town girls like Palmer looking to join his movement. “Compton is a place people always want to visit,” says YG over the phone, three days removed from his energetic performance. “They want to know about our lifestyle. My music is like the culture of L.A. gangsta-slash-party shit. It’s like watching an action movie.” A blunt narration of life on the illicit side, YG’s Def Jam debut, My Krazy Life, could’ve easily dropped during the era when Snoop and 2Pac reigned supreme. Like his West Coast forefathers, YG remains unapologetic about his street lifestyle. He raps about burglarizing homes (see the true-to-life “Meet the Flockers”), and his album cover art is a mug shot. His odes to recklessness have simultaneously sparked criticism and made him a prime representative of L.A.’s rap rebirth. “I wanted to come out with a classic,” says YG. “So I was studying classic albums while making my album—Chronic 2001, Ready to Die, Get Rich or Die Tryin’. Doing a lot of homework.” Academics weren’t exactly a priority for YG as a kid. Back then, he just went by Keenon Jackson, and stumbled into street activity by association. Born in Compton, he’s openly flaunted his membership in the infamous Bloods gang—his song “Bicken Back Being Bool” incorporates their “B” vocabulary. “I ain’t go looking for it,” says YG. “Being from L.A., that’s all you’re around. So you eventually become a gang member if you’re about that life.” Robberies and school brawls became his unofficial occupation, before he found a professional path in 2009. The humorously titled “Toot It and Boot It” became big enough to land him a deal with Def Jam, though a parole violation for a prior home burglary held up his progress. Nonetheless, My Krazy Life’s debut at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 is a huge leap forward. And YG’s success has run in tandem with that of his DJ, Dijon McFarlane (a.k.a. DJ Mustard), whose keyed-up production and club thumps are the perfect complement to YG’s ruthless raps about crime, sex, and everything explicit in between. “He wasn’t producing at first. We sat in the studio, and he started making beats around my rap style,” says YG. “That’s why our chemistry is what it is, and we got this shit down pat.” Back at Irving Hall, the clock strikes midnight. YG’s most dedicated followers, those who’d like photographic evidence of their allegiance, have formed a line in the emptied-out venue. One by one, they walk up to him for pictures and autographs. There’s a kid with toilet paper stuck to his sneakers and a girl in a black My Krazy Life T-shirt and shorts that read LEFT and RIGHT on each cheek. This is only the beginning, but clearly his music has resonated. He already has disciples. And his modest goal of “taking over the world,” as he says, has been set in motion.

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TAKE THE STAGE

Enter for your chance to be the next Project: Aloft Star winner. You’ve got the band and the sound. Now here’s your chance to be heard and seen. Enter for your chance to get in front of NYLON Records and be a part of Aloft’s 100 Days of Music festival.

Submit your song by July 31st for a chance to win: • A meeting with NYLON Records Execs • A featured spot in Aloft’s 100 Days of Music festival this fall • Aloft Hotels room nights to use on tour Check out the details at LiveAtAloftHotels.com

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PORTER ROBINSON HEADS to the minibar and fishes out a Red Bull almost as soon as he enters the hotel suite. It’s been a long day for the 21-year-old producer, but he can’t help but pace the room as he speaks, his statements peppered with little bursts of enthusiasm. He’s excited about what’s to come—grueling work schedule be damned. Things have always seemed to move quickly for Robinson, though. He began composing beats on a family computer at age 13, in the same bedroom he still works in. “My family dynamic is eerily perfect—it’s a comfortable place for me to be writing music,” he explains. At the outset, his goal was to do little more than emulate some of his favorite musicians. By 18, he began making a name for himself as a DJ, spinning in clubs he was too young to patronize. Now, three years later, he’s about to leave the dance scene behind with the release of his pop-leaning debut, Worlds. “It’s a weird way to go about a music career,” he admits. “Everything that I released up until now was a different genre every time.” Introduced by a 10-hour-long YouTube video, Worlds is a big, unabashed pop album, full of sweeping hooks and grand choruses inspired by his love of Passion Pit and The Postal Service. A significant departure from his previous beat-driven work, the dramatic tonal shift has been confusing for some listeners. He laughs when recalling SoundCloud comments for the album’s first single, “Sea of Voices,” featuring Amy Millan of Stars. A large number of the dissenters called out Robinson for not

producing another EDM track. “I expect some degree of backlash,” he says. “People who have been listening to me for three years are never going to shake the feeling of wanting to hear something like the first tracks I put out. It’s a really powerful psychological force.”

WORLDS APART

grooming: sydney zibrak at the wall group.

ON HIS DEBUT ALBUM, EDM PRINCE PORTER ROBINSON TRIES POP ON FOR SIZE. BY LAURA STUDARUS. PHOTOGRAPHED BY JAY HANNA

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Worlds thrives on a similar sense of nostalgia. Inspired by the multiplayer games (particularly Star Wars Galaxies) that he played as a teenager, Robinson strove to create a virtual reality where the listener could feel totally engulfed—if only temporarily. “I’ve never talked about the album in this way before,” he says, pausing to gather his thoughts and take another slug of energy drink. “It has to do with games and fiction and dreams, the feeling that takes root when you read a book. These places totally exist and they aren’t real at all. But they feel real to you. It’s a very modern experience, to feel convinced of a place that’s not real. I’d say that fiction is a motif of the record. It has nothing to do with the real world.” Of course, recording wasn’t an entirely high-concept, tightly conceived endeavor. In the 11th hour, and still looking for a singer for the Vocaloid software/human duet “Sad Machine,” Robinson was forced to work outside of his comfort zone. For the first time ever, he stepped behind the mic and sang the part himself. “I was like, ‘Hey, do you have any alcohol?’” he recalls, laughing. “‘I’m going to go take three shots and sing my ass off!’”

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STATING THE OBVIOUS JENNY SLATE HAS MADE THE FUNNIEST ABORTION COMEDY OF ALL TIME. BY DENISE MARTIN. PHOTOGRAPHED BY BRYAN SHEFFIELD

UNABASHEDLY, JENNY SLATE leans in and says that the best part about fulfilling her childhood dream of becoming an actress is getting to dress like one. Specifically Michelle Pfeiffer circa 1993. Over micheladas at Bar Ama in downtown Los Angeles, she explains, “The outfits I wear to work are what I like to imagine the outfits Michelle wore to the set of Wolf were: high-waisted jeans with a white tank top tucked in, no bra, clean, wellmoisturized face, hair pulled back into a bun.” An impish laugh bubbles up, but she’s nothing if not earnest. “I’ve waited my whole life to be an actress, and this is what I imagined it would be like, going to work in basics that didn’t stress me out and made me feel like a woman. In control.” She raises her extra spicy drink. “Cheers!”

To be familiar with the work of the petite comedian is to know she’s often cast as— and kills at playing—the cuckoo (Parks and Recreation’s klepto-nympho-pyro Mona Lisa), the frenemy (the girl who “water-birthed her truth” into a memoir on Girls), and the selfassured ditz (all her characters on Kroll Show). Her new film Obvious Child is a swing in the opposite direction. It’s the kind of grown-up role she’s been obsessing over since first seeing Amy Irving navigate love in the wry 1988 rom-com Crossing Delancey. “For me to really connect to a comedy, it has to have heart,” says Slate. “Things that are bawdy or sassy just to be that way are too easy.” Enter Obvious Child, a tender and bawdy romantic comedy about an abortion—that’s not a spoiler; it’s the point—hatched way back in 2007 after pregnancy comedies like Juno, Knocked Up, and Waitress charmed theatergoers but left filmmaker Gillian Robespierre cold. Robespierre wanted to tell the story of a woman who’d gone a different way. Slate plays struggling comic Donna Stern, who, following a bad breakup, goes home with a sweet guy she meets at a bar, gets pregnant, and immediately decides to terminate. “It’s not a tragedy for her. It’s a huge relief. She’s never confused about that,” says Slate, who gives an especially affecting performance as Donna comes undone in life and onstage. The movie opens with a great cringeworthy set from Donna about female flatulence, hard truths about worn panties, and embarrassing details from her sex life. “She’s bombing. She’s out of control,” says Slate. “She has to do a little bit of cleanup before she can start again.” Slate’s been there. She famously dropped an F-bomb by mistake her first week on

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Saturday Night Live in 2009, and was not asked back for a second season. The professional snafu shocked her, an otherwise meticulous hard worker who received raves in New York’s underground comedy scene while auditioning for film and TV. She’s never been shy about wanting to be better known for acting, and even wrote the quasiaspirational one-woman show Jenny Slate: Dead Millionaire, in which she played a more eccentric, more famous version of herself (think modern-day Little Edie) hosting her own funeral via pre-taped video. Her confidence in poking fun at both her goals and insecurities makes for an enjoyable cocktail, and she can be even more candid one-on-one. To wit: Slate tells me she was asked to wear short shorts a few hours ago for a photo shoot and had to warn the photographer, “‘I’m not really ready with the bikini line.’ They were asking me to climb something and I said, ‘I can, but your magazine is going to have to throw itself in the trash.’” Slate chalks up the SNL experience as one to grow on, and she’s been doing more than OK since. In addition to her roles on Parks and Kroll, she recurs on the Showtime drama House of Lies and the animated Bob’s Burgers, and tomorrow, she’s getting up early to do her Pfeiffer routine and head to the set of the FX comedy Married, where she’s landed another of those adult roles she craves. It’s all been going great so far, except for the “shitty lady” who, until recently, handled the show’s wardrobe and made the mistake of not treating Slate like the 32-year-old she is. “She bought clothes from the juniors department at Nordstrom, and when I didn’t fit into them, she told me I was ‘big-bottomed,’” she recalls. “It’s called having an ass, ma’am.”

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LISTEN UP:

DOE PAORO BROOKLYN Alt-R&B pianist and chanteuse Doe Paoro felt like her life was lacking direction, so she headed for the Himalayas to train under a master of Tibetan opera. Seven months later, she returned with not only personal clarity, but the seeds of what would become her debut EP, Ink on the Walls (out this past April). Her sound, which she describes as being “moved by heart” is defined by delicate vocals over soulful piano, reverb oscillations, and occasional xylophone-induced whimsy. Keep an eye out for Paoro’s full-length, slated for release at the end of this year. ALEXA PEARCE PLAY THIS: “Walking Backwards” photographed by gary he.

GLASS ANIMALS OXFORDSHIRE, ENGLAND MEMBERS: Dave Bayley, Drew MacFarlane, Edmund Irwin-Singer, and Joe Seaward Discovered by Paul Epworth (who also introduced us to Adele, Crystal Castles, Bruno Mars, and Florence and the Machine), Glass Animals were the first signing to the producer’s Wolf Tone record label. The electro-R&B band holed up in Epworth’s London studio to lay down a collection of sexy, witty, spacious tracks of elegant savagery (think: songs that nearrhyme “just gonna cry” with “peanut butter vibes”). After spending last winter opening for St. Vincent, the band released their debut EP, Gooey, in April. On June 10, their full-length Zaba will wash up on U.S. shores, courtesy of Harvest Records. TAYLOR MORGAN PLAY THIS: The band’s cover of Kanye West’s “Love Lockdown” photographed by liam cushing. dress by west & main, boots by ash. stylist: dani michelle. hair: aaron light at celestine agency using oribe. makeup: amy chance at celestine agency using nars.

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Tour de Force Silver JeanS Co. preSentS the SeCond annual nYlon GuYS Summer muSiC tour StarrinG indie roCk outfit CaGe the elephant.

Cool bands and badass denim have forever gone hand in hand. This summer, that legacy continues as Cage the Elephant take the stage for the NYLON Guys summer Music Tour presented by silver Jeans Co. The Kentucky-born four-piece makes music that can be described as indie rock, although vocalist Matt shultz isn’t eager to label it. “our sound is just whatever we’re in the mood for at the moment,” he explains. “John lennon once said that he wanted every one of The beatles’ songs to feel like a different band wrote it. I like that idea.” Cage the Elephant have been on the scene since their 2008 self-titled debut album, and they’re now fresh off the release of their third record, Melophobia. “I think with each album we allow ourselves to be a bit more transparent, to have a bit more freedom. We make strides against fear-based writing,” explains shultz of the evolution of their discography. The current record is particularly raw and genuine. “We worked really hard to write without overstrategizing,” he says. “our main desire is to make music that isn’t weighed down by ulterior motives.” You can catch some of their awesome songs live this season, courtesy of NYLON Guys and silver Jeans Co.

S I L V E R J E A N S C O.™ P R E S E N T S: not for girls.

summer music tour

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from left: jared champion, matt shultz, daniel tichenor, brad shultz.

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graphic t-shirt, indigo denim jacket, and all jeans by silver jeans co. photographed by eric t. white. stylist: jessica margolis. grooming: megan lanoux at exclusive artists.

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HIGH GEAR

THANKS TO PROJECTS ON BOTH STAGE AND SCREEN, THINGS ARE RIGHT ON SCHEDULE FOR JIM PARRACK. SORT OF. BY CLAIRE HOWORTH. PHOTOGRAPHED BY SUNNY SHOKRAE

FiFty-two minutes into my lunch date with Jim Parrack, i marvel at what a mystery the actor remains. what was it like to play lovable simpleton Hoyt Fortenberry on five seasons of HBo’s True Blood? what are his current Of Mice and Men co-stars Leighton meester and Chris o’Dowd like away from the stage? what’s it like to be James Franco’s BFF? so many questions, zero answers. that’s because Parrack hasn’t shown up yet. When he finally lumbers into the Times Square restaurant, he’s laden with a giant Army-issue backpack (left over from a role) and just enough guilt. The excuse: A crappy phone charger left him alarm-less back at his apartment in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. And when you’re working nearly around the clock on both

coasts—starring as the ranch hand Slim in the Steinbeck show on Broadway; preparing for the release of A Night in Old Mexico, a film he made with Robert Duvall that premiered at SXSW; wrapping Fury, Brad Pitt’s Nazi-slaying vehicle due this fall—you need an alarm clock that works. Oh, and also, “I fell in love with a girl last Wednesday,” adds Parrack, 33, breaking into a goofy grin. Not that he even needed to say it— his Instagram feed is already filled with shots of Leven Rambin and their week-old relationship. “She’s a refreshingly bright, exciting, sweet, wild, talented actress,” he gushes of the Hunger Games starlet. Parrack is almost as enthusiastic about everyone else in his life—his co-stars in the play (Meester and her father came over recently to watch a fight), his ex-wife (whom he divorced last August, though “we’ve been able to maintain the most beautiful friendship”), and, most of all, Franco, his friend of 12 years and collaborator in roughly half of Parrack’s projects from the past couple years, including Of Mice and Men and both of Franco’s William Faulkner films, As I Lay Dying and The Sound and the Fury. The two are also working on a collaborative set of acting schools, Franco from Los Angeles and Parrack from Brooklyn, with plans to open this summer. The theater is where he met Franco, who happened to be in the audience of a play

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Parrack was in. That was 2002, only a year after Parrack had left his hometown of Allen, Texas—where he says he “barely graduated high school”—to pursue acting in Los Angeles. There, he studied at Stella Adler and Playhouse West, though it wasn’t until 2006 that he appeared in Annapolis, a Navy drama starring Franco, and his career began to pick up. In those earliest days of his career, “I was pretty lost,” says Parrack. “Anything I could do to derail myself, I was doing it, and I didn’t know how to stop. I have a great family, a lot of people who cared, but none of it took, until it got so bad I thought this was gonna be the end. James inspired me to a point that it made a different kind of life seem worthwhile.” The admiration is mutual. “Jim is such a big presence,” says Franco. “He’s a devotee of Robert Duvall and Jon Voight, and lends a wacky Southern authenticity to whatever he’s in,” adding that Parrack is “loyal as hell. Loyal to his friends and to the art he loves.” Parrack’s loyalty is certainly evident: The only person he doesn’t say nice things about is Ben Brantley, the New York Times theater critic who recently gave Of Mice and Men two and a half stars and slammed Franco’s performance. (Brantley was kind to Parrack, however, calling his portrayal “even, convincing.”) Otherwise, Parrack makes a habit of avoiding his own press. Too bad, then, that he may never know I forgive him for being so damn late.

WorldMags.net “I COULD KEEP breathing fast and push away from it,” says Tom Krell, sitting up, arching his back, and eyeing me, like a professor about to reveal the central conceit of an hours-long lecture. “But if I really let my body tune in to the effect and respect it, it’s not challenging to get in the head space.” Krell is in Chicago, backstage at Lincoln Hall, where tonight he’ll perform as How to Dress Well, attempting to explain how music fully envelops him while performing live: “Once the violin comes in, and when I go through the motions of producing the melodies by singing them, I am completely there.” Spend enough time with the Coloradoborn musician, and expect to go on a deep philosophical dive centered on finding and maintaining the proper space for him to perform his emotionally jarring—and, one senses, draining—material. Krell can’t help but get heady when talking about his craft. It’s integral to his well-being to make sense of it all. At his core, Krell is an angelic-voiced singer with a floating falsetto—but he’s also a student of philosophy (working toward a PhD at DePaul University) who views his musical pursuits as out-of-body experiences. “It all comes from a very real experience of intense

HEART MURMUR HOW TO DRESS WELL’S TOM KRELL SURFACES FROM A SEA OF SOMBER R&B WITH HIS MOST OPTIMISTIC ALBUM TO DATE. BY DAN HYMAN. PHOTOGRAPHED BY DAVID SHAMA

pain and intense emotionality,” he says of his songs, which hit the ear like a waterslide of futuristic-R&B twists and turns rooted in minimalism and introspection. His latest work, What Is This Heart?, is the third in a progression of chilling, beatific albums, after his 2010 breakthrough Love Remains and 2012’s more somber Total Loss. Both of his earlier albums were painfully intimate and ultimately lonely affairs below surface-level prettiness. “There’s a saying: ‘No one creates except to get out of hell,’” explains Krell. “That’s partially true. But there are other strong emotions that push me to write. Typically, people only think of sadness, but

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really intense happiness is a powerful emotion, too. It’s interesting.” Krell immediately began writing new material upon completing Total Loss, spending 14 months demoing tracks. He commissioned that album’s producer, Roddy McDowell, to join him for two months in Berlin, where they spent 14-hour days recording and polishing the demos. “We just worked like dogs,” recalls Krell. “Every single idea we were articulating in a new, much more full-bodied fashion.” What they wound up with was Krell’s most confident and upbeat work to date. “Change is coming,” he murmurs amid chiming bells and subtle horns on “What You Wanted.” And

“Precious Love,” an ’80s-channeling synth fantasia, may be the most hopeful track of his career. “It’s all still the same pain that fueled the first records,” he offers. “But I did want to see what a record would sound like that started from the thought, ‘I want to share and I want to be open and I want to be confident and I want to be inviting.’” Onstage, though, is where Krell feels most powerful. “It’s a weird thing,” he says. “I hate that singing is taken as something normal and casual. The people who could sing in ancient times, it was a fucking sacred thing. He pauses, and smiles. “It certainly feels sacred to me.”

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BOB MOULD o n t h e r e c o r d:

BY MARK YARM. PHOTOGRAPHED BY JAY BLAKESBERG

THE COVER of Bob Mould’s new solo album features a photograph of the rocker around age 19—head cast down, cigarette held to his lips—partially overlapping a ghostly image of the now 53-year-old Mould, bearded and grizzled, his eyes staring straight into the camera from behind designer frames. The album, Mould’s 11th solo release, is called Beauty & Ruin, but the musician hasn’t decided which one each portrait represents. “I don’t have a clue,” says Mould, singer and guitarist for ’80s underground trailblazers Hüsker Dü and ’90s alt-rockers Sugar. “Nor do I think I’m ever going to have an answer for that.” Though some things might best be left in the dark, Mould has been doing an awful lot of reflecting as of late. In 2011, he released a memoir, See a Little Light: The Trail of Rage and Melody, and later that year he was fêted at L.A.’s Walt Disney Concert Hall, where Dave Grohl, Ryan Adams, Craig Finn, and others performed his songbook. “There are those times when people say, ‘Oh, if not for you, the Pixies would never [exist],’ but until you’re having people sing your songs at you, it’s still sort of this abstract idea,” he says. Then came the 2012 death of Mould’s father, which forced the singersongwriter to contemplate his own mortality—after years of “growing up in a world where I’m encouraged to act like a child”—and informed the themes of loss and acceptance on the melodic Beauty & Ruin. We recently asked Mould to look back some more, this time to the albums that helped make him the man and musician he is today.

10 OF THE ALBUMS THAT HAVE SHAPED BOB MOULD’S LIFE AND MUSIC, IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER.

the Byrds

younger than yesterday

I liked The Byrds as a kid, but it was in the early ’80s, when Hüsker Dü was active, that I started to dig in a little deeper to the edge of psychedelic records from the ’60s. Younger Than Yesterday was a record where The Byrds were starting to get into flipping the tape over and recording guitar solos backwards. Great, great stuff. Roger McGuinn’s playing—the chimey sound, those open strings—was pretty important to me.

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germs (gi)

When I first listened to it, about 10 minutes in, I was spellbound. Just the tone and the aggressiveness, and especially [singer] Darby Crash. I was 18, 19 years old, and even though you couldn’t make all the words out without the lyric sheet, they had a real profound effect on me. This guy was a real thinker, but also very primal. Not until years later did I understand his struggles. Whether it was his battles with his sexuality or whatever it was that was driving his anger, it hit me when I first heard it and left a deep impression.

my Bloody Valentine

the Beatles

loVeless

I was over in England in December 1991 on a car ride from Manchester to London after a show. The fellow who was driving asked if I’d ever heard of this band or the record, and I hadn’t. He just cranked it up, and it was a revelation. I had never heard anything like it before, but all of it was very familiar—the layers, the whispered vocals, the in-and-out-ofpitch guitars. It just floored me. It’s a record that 23 years later still sounds different every time I listen to it.

reVolVer

I’m 99 percent sure I bought that record as it came out, at J.J. Newberry department store on Main Street in Malone, New York, where I grew up. I was probably six. The Beatles were everywhere then, and that record was fascinating to me: the collage cover, and what I know now was their transition away from being a straight-up pop band to really digging into experimentation in the studio. I came to appreciate it more as I got older and started to learn to write music and make records. That’s an invaluable record to reference.

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Joy diVision unKnoWn pleasures

There are all these musical elements at play, and then this voice that was fighting from underneath the mix to be heard. Ian Curtis— similar to Darby—his words meant something to me. Joy Division were supposed to come to America—we know how that went [Curtis committed suicide on the eve of the tour]—and Hüsker Dü was supposed to open for them in Minneapolis, so I was really sad about the whole thing. Hüsker Dü opened for a lot of bands in the Twin Cities, but that one, for me, would have been real special.

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richard and linda thompson

shoot out the lights

It’s early 1988. Hüsker Dü is no more. I’m up on the farm in northern Minnesota. I buy a blue Strat and a plasticback 12-string acoustic. I start trying to write in a completely different style. About seven months in, I played a handful of the songs for my friend. He handed me Shoot Out the Lights and another Richard Thompson album: “You really need to listen to these.” I did, and I was like, “What the fuck?” Apparently I sounded a lot like Richard Thompson. I simultaneously felt like I was unintentionally copying somebody and finding a kindred spirit.

Foo Fighters ramones ramones

I listened to Kiss, Aerosmith, Fleetwood Mac, and all that mid-’70s stuff, but I’d read Rock Scene magazine, and they would have these threepage photo spreads of the Ramones going to the record store, and I thought, “These guys look really cool.” So for my 16th birthday, I got that record, and it really did change everything for me. Looking at Aerosmith in that same magazine—private planes and guns and cocaine and groupies—and then hearing the Ramones, I thought, “I don’t want that other thing. I want this thing.”

interpol

there is nothing leFt to lose

Starting in 1999, I was working in pro wrestling [as a scriptwriter and onsite producer], doing those long drives, and when it was my turn to get the car stereo, I would always blast this album. It was funny because I would also listen to the radio at that time, and I would hear [the single] “Learn to Fly,” and I would just be like, “Who is this? ” I knew who it was, but I was just like, “Wow, this sounds really familiar! ” [Laughs] Like Hüsker Dü. But it’s a great record—it got me through a lot of long drives.

garBage

Version 2.0

When this came out, I was starting to become more of a fan of beat-oriented and sampled music. The way that they constructed sound—it was like, fuck, people haven’t done that in a really long time, and done it so well and so effortlessly. And Shirley [Manson], of course, is charismatic—and strong, strong words. I was getting a little tired of just straightup guitar music and was looking for new things, and this record helped me cross over to [recording] more electronic stuff.

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turn on the Bright lights

I was living in New York City, downtown in Tribeca. We all know what it was like after 9/11. All of that intensity and all of that heat—it gave way to a new sense of community. It was time to really take care of people and say “please” and “thank you” and stop being a dick. That record had an energy, and at the same time it had these somber tones, that muted red artwork. It summed up a lot of things for me. It was a really good soundtrack for when I was home.

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pABLO HOney

orange is the new blaCk star Pablo sChreiber wants you to see beyond the PornstaChe. by david walters. PhotograPhed by beth garrabrant

STUFFING hIS hULKING 6'5" frame into a chair in the lobby bar of Manhattan’s Ace hotel, pablo Schreiber requests a Balvenie neat and begins talking about the great outdoors. The British Columbia native (“Canadian rocky Mountains,” he specifies) spends a lot of time communing with nature, building chicken coops at his home in upstate New york and parking pop-up campers in the hills of Ojai, California. The conversation grinds to an awkward halt, however, when I mention that I’ve always wanted to take up whittling. “Whittling?” he asks with mock incredulity. “Let’s at least call it carving.”

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Schreiber’s easygoing attitude tends to shock people who conflate him with the characters he plays—recently a bunch of, well, Grade A jackasses. “Thank you for saying ‘recently,’” he jokes. “It kind of makes me angry that every person in the world is like, ‘Oh, you’re the bad guy!’” He takes a calming sip of scotch. “Did I just turn red and start spitting?” In truth, Schreiber’s career, like any good actor’s, has plotted many points on the morality continuum, from the hustling dockworker Nick Sobotka on HBO’s The Wire to Charlie, the dutiful father-to-be in the indie hit Happythankyoumoreplease. But random New Yorkers still give him the stink-eye for playing William Lewis, the sadistic criminal who tortured Detective Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) on Law & Order: SVU. “You don’t fuck with Benson,” he reasons. “She’s kind of a New York institution. I learned that the first time I took her on a three-day raping spree.” And then there’s George “Pornstache” Mendez, Schreiber’s ruthless prison guard on Netflix’s hit series Orange Is the New Black, which recently returned for a second season. Pornstache’s drug smuggling, inmate harassment, misogyny, and general crudeness (sample dialog: “Thanks to this missed opportunity for cradle death, you’re here with me and all these other shit-birds.”) has made him the character everyone loves to loathe. “My agents actually put me up for Jason Biggs’s role, but a friend on the writing staff told me I should ask about Pornstache because they were writing a bunch of great stuff for him,” remembers Schreiber. “When I read the pilot, he had one scene. Normally, that wouldn’t be something I’d pursue, but since I had inside intel….” He laughs and continues: “I was very happy to have friends in high places.” The trademark facial hair is fake, by the way, and has evolved over time. “When I got cast, I had a mustache fitting, just to see how it would look. In the first episode it’s kind of like a walrus’. But it became a lot subtler,” he says. “I wasn’t privy to the conversations—all I knew is every day I’d show up and my mustache would be a little smaller.” Late this summer, he’ll head to Los Angeles to film The Brink, an HBO black comedy about impending geopolitical crises, also starring Jack Black and Tim Robbins. Schreiber plays a fighter pilot on a mission to bomb Pakistan. Each season will follow the characters in different end-of-the-world scenarios, as if anyone doubted his inextricable connection to chaos and destruction. Today, though, he’s heading back up to the Catskills, far away from the turmoil, to continue his “intimate relationship” with nature. “And that doesn’t involve whittling!” he says, snickering at his own callback joke before dropping his head contritely. “I’m being a bit of an asshole.” stylist: jessica margolis. grooming: joanna pensinger at exclusive artists using la mer and oribe. shot at alan’s alley, nyc.

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seeing strypes

Meet your dad’s favorite new band—we think you Might like theM, too. by diane vadino. PhotograPhed by alex brunet The STrypeS will be photographed today, on a hotel rooftop in paris’s Montmartre district overlooking the eiffel Tower, but this exceptionally promising group (average age: 17) from Cavan, Ireland, will not be cajoled into suitably on-brand clothes. “We don’t do any of that industry shite,” says bassist pete O’hanlon. When asked how long the band expects to maintain control of their appearance before a marketing team gets their hands on them, drummer evan Walsh is quick to answer: “Until I’m in a retirement home and someone’s changing my nappies. It’s just something we despise—why should you not be able to dress yourself?” Their style philosophy, their name’s Byrdslike misspelling, their influences (ranging from 1920s barrelhouse to the Kaiser Chiefs and Arctic Monkeys), and their high-profile supporters (including Jeff Beck, who gave them a standing ovation following a London show in 2012) all underline the fact that The Strypes—Walsh and O’Hanlon, plus singer Ross Farrelly and guitarist Josh McClorey— are the rare band composed of European high schoolers whose rapturous YouTube comments come from 60-year-old men reliving their pub-rock glory days, not star-struck teens offering up their virginity. Take away the success of their debut album,

Snapshot, though, and they’d be spending this temperate April afternoon back in Cavan, preparing for their year-end exams. They’ve known each other since early childhood and have not been primed for stardom as much as they’ve been steeped in blues and rock. “Me and Pete spent a lot of time in Evan’s house growing up, and that’s where our music comes from—Evan’s parents’ record collection,” says McClorey. “We were surrounded by Chuck Berry and the Stones, and this is what we liked.” (Farrelly was talent-scouted by the band later, after he sang Oasis’ “Wonderwall” at his dad’s behest at a pub in a nearby village.) O’Hanlon says he’s perplexed by the

fascination with the band’s musical affinities: “People are like, ‘Why are you liking good music?’” he says. “Too many people liking shit music is the problem.” In some ways, The Strypes seem to harbor a sense of shared fondness for the political and social movements that gave punk rock its power: “Everyone’s too apathetic—they’ll go, ‘It’s shit, but we don’t really mind,’” says O’Hanlon. “It’s an apathetic, dystopian world we’re living in right now.” Perhaps, in part, because they so forcefully reject this dominant tone, The Strypes have found a welcome reception both at home and abroad; they appeared on the esteemed John Peel Stage at the Glastonbury Festival in 2013, and played seven shows in three days at this year’s South by Southwest, followed by a March appearance on the Late Show With David Letterman. (The band is still parsing whether the host concluded their breakneck rendition of “What a Shame” with a cry of “Buddy!” or “Money!”) In the morning, the group will leave for Barcelona, where, by coincidence, they’ll be in the city at the same time as some of their field-tripping classmates they left behind in Cavan. Though they’re quick to contextualize the perks of success (“It just tires you out,” says Farrelly), there’s no looking back, either. “If you had to pick a way to do 16,” says O’Hanlon, “you’d definitely do ‘being in a band.’”

FROM LEFT: pete o’hanlon, ross farrelly, evan walsh, and josh mcclorey.

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AFTER SUCCESSFULLY EXPANDING HIS REACH TO FILM AND TELEVISION, ANY POP STAR WOULD BE FORGIVEN FOR LEAVING THE HIT-MAKING TO THE NEW GUYS. BUT TWO DECADES IN, USHER STILL HAS SOMETHING TO PROVE MUSICALLY. BY DAVID PEISNER. PHOTOGRAPHED BY KENNETH CAPPELLO

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left: shirt by dkny pure, pants by dolce & gabbana (available at mrporter.com), usherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own jewelry worn throughout. right: shirt by alexander wang, tank top by calvin klein collection, pants by public school.

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USHER IS BEING IGNORED. The guy has been a star for nearly two decades, he’s sold tens of millions of albums, starred in Hollywood movies, appears on prime-time TV twice a week as a coach on NBC’s hit reality singing competition, The Voice, and has had his personal life dissected by the tabloids, but at the moment, his chosen audience couldn’t care less. “Hey! Hey! Are you listening to me?” he says, his voice rising with annoyance. “Are you?” His five-year-old son Naviyd doesn’t so much as glance up from playing Minecraft on his iPad: “No.” “You’ve got to wash your hands and get ready for dinner,” says Usher. Silence. “I don’t want to have to take the iPad from you, but I will.” Still nothing. “Naviyd!” Finally, Usher’s youngest son is roused from his Minecraft-induced trance and directed toward the kitchen. Usher looks at me and shakes his head. “The eye-contact thing...” he says. “He’s fine. He just loves staying connected to the computer.” It’s a warm Saturday evening in late April and Usher’s home—a large, modern structure situated behind a wooden gate on a shaded piece of land in an upscale Atlanta neighborhood—is buzzing with activity. His two sons, Naviyd and his older brother, Usher V, stomp around the way most five- and six-yearolds do, Naviyd frequently attached to an iPad and Usher V occasionally toting a baseball bat and whiffle ball. In the spacious kitchen, Usher’s mom—who was his manager until 2007—sits at a long counter, tallying the carbs in the chili beans and cheese that’s about to be served for dinner (Usher V is diabetic), while Usher’s girlfriend, former Def Jam executive Grace Miguel—who’s also his

current manager—cajoles the boys to the table. Usher, dressed down in a plain black T-shirt, black shorts, and black socks, sits on a couch in a living room adjacent to the kitchen. “Full house,” he says with a weary laugh. The living room is pristine and white, filled with provocative art hanging on the walls, large coffee table books, and a massive hand-drawn book under glass on the table called The Illustrated Guide to Not Being So Fucking Racist. “This is Grace’s room,” he says a little sheepishly. “The rest of the house is mine.” In the background, songs from his upcoming, still-inprogress album play over the house’s sound system. The LP will be his first since 2012’s willfully eclectic— detractors called it unfocused—Looking 4 Myself, and, for the moment anyway, the plan is for the new one to be more streamlined. “I had this idea to create an eight-song album that from cover to cover is just undeniable,” he says. “I’m also desperate in some odd way to get back to the era of tying all the songs together like on Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On.” In person, Usher is soft-spoken but confident. He has the reserved manner and easy charisma of someone so used to attention that he knows he doesn’t need to draw any more of it to himself. When he speaks, it’s often in meandering sentences in which the words seem to flow out before he’s actually decided what he wants to say. As such, you hear things like, “There has been such a focus from me to re-establish or remind, not even re-establish, to refine what the experience of R&B is, which is why on this project I’m sitting behind the drums, I’m playing the bass, just showing people that the origin of what we love about R&B comes from true instrumentation,” which, when parsed, means not much more than “I played some bass and drums on this album.” Usher Raymond IV has been famous since he was 16, and was working on it for quite a few years before that. He first appeared on Star Search as a 13-year-old, and scored a record contract off the back of that. His first album came out in 1994, when he was 15, and was a moderate hit. His second, My Way, sold six million copies. By the late ’90s, he’d branched out into acting, with roles in The Faculty, She’s All That, and Light It Up. By the early 2000s, he’d established himself as a sweet-faced, velvet-voiced hit machine, churning out well-crafted R&B, just slinky enough not to be bland but never so raw as to risk offense. 2004’s Confessions changed the narrative considerably. Released in the wake of his very public split with TLC’s Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas, many of the album’s songs sounded like a reflection on the relationship, particularly the temptations and infidelities that accompanied its demise. Powered by hits like “Yeah!” and “Burn,” the album was gigantic, selling more than 10 million copies and turning Usher into a bona fide superstar.

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WorldMags.net “there aIn’t shIt

worse than standIng In a club and they don’t play your record.

that does not feel good.”

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shirt by greg lauren, jeans by paige, usher’s own shoes.

“I had WorldMags.net thIs Idea to create an eIght-song album that from cover to cover Is just undenIable. I’m also desperate In some odd way to get back to the era of tyIng all the songs together lIke on marvIn gaye’s What’s GoinG on.”

shirts and pants by greg lauren, shoes by adidas by rick owens.

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By the time of the follow-up, Here I Stand, Usher was married to Tameka Foster, and much of it is given over to songs celebrating his newfound domestic tranquility. Fans were decidedly lukewarm on Usher as Family Man, and Here I Stand sold only a fraction of its predecessor’s tally. His marriage crumbled shortly thereafter and 2010’s Raymond vs. Raymond, despite some big hits (“OMG,” “There Goes My Baby”), felt like a slightly too anxious attempt to recapture Confessions’ dirty-laundry vibe. Since then, a custody battle over the couple’s two kids has periodically played out in an uncomfortably public way. Currently, Usher’s sons split time between this house and Foster’s. When they’re here, he works while they’re at school during the day, and again after they go to bed. “I don’t record here,” he says. “I would never get anything done. The problem with music and the creative process is that it has to be uninterrupted. If you’re constantly being pulled away, it’s hard.” Nonetheless, the new album has been something of a stop-andstart production. Work began last year, but during the first week of recording, Usher V nearly drowned when he got caught on the drain in the pool behind the house. Usher nods toward the pool, which is visible through the living room windows, and currently covered with a tarp. “My son had an accident right here,” he says. “I completely stopped and didn’t go back into the studio for damn near three months.” Soon after getting back to recording, the process was interrupted again, this time so Usher could spend several months training to play Sugar Ray Leonard in the upcoming Roberto Duran biopic Hands of Stone, and film it in Panama. Then came another break for The Voice. Now, as he finally finishes up the recording, Usher finds himself at an unfamiliar crossroads. Looking 4 Myself was his first album since his debut that failed to sell a million copies. While he’s become a ubiquitous media presence, it’s not clear what the future holds for him. Hell, it’s not even clear what the present holds. With The Voice and his return to film after nearly a decade’s absence—not to mention his ownership stake in the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers and a chain of wine bars in Atlanta—it’s tempting to see him as a guy who is smartly diversifying his portfolio. After all, can a 35-yearold divorced father of two ever define the pop moment the way he did 10 years ago? More to the point, should he even try?

Usher Used to have a mUsic room in the basement here, his “musical man-cave,” as he called it. Members of his band would sometimes come over, and they’d jam for hours. But with kids in the house, it was impractical. (“I was just too loud,” he tells me.) Today, the only musical instrument left down there is his son’s drum kit. Most everything else needed to be cleared out to make room for the boxing ring. “This is my boys’ club, right here,” he says, as we walk in the door. Usher constructed this room after being tapped to play Sugar Ray. Although his early forays into acting had the veneer of youthful dabbling, anyone needing proof of his commitment to Hands of Stone, which is due out next year and stars Édgar Ramírez as Duran and Robert De Niro as his legendary trainer Ray Arcel, need look no further than this room. Besides the large boxing ring at its center, there is a speed bag, heavy bag, elliptical machine, free weights, jump ropes—pretty much everything he needed to transform himself into a believable welterweight champion. “I wanted to show a different side of who I am, not just throw my acting chops toward a romantic comedy,” he says. “When I played

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WorldMags.net Sugar Ray, everything was Sugar Ray. Every day I trained like a boxer. I ate like a boxer. I moved like a boxer. I talked like a boxer.” He also hung out with Leonard. “We spent some time at his house. I spent time training with him here and out in Los Angeles, just to get the nuances of how to move and to understand his approach.” As if to prove it, Usher walks over and begins to work the speed bag like a pro. One person impressed with his dedication was Leonard himself. “When they said that Usher would play Sugar Ray in Hands of Stone, a lot of people said, ‘Usher?’” recalls Leonard. “But I saw it right from the start. He hopped on the speed bag and kind of pissed me off, because he hit it better than I did. The first thing I told him when I met him, I said, ‘You have to surrender Usher to be Sugar Ray.’ You’ve got to know what it feels like to be a fighter. It’s a bitch. You’ve got to go through the moments in training where your lungs are about to burst, your legs are about to collapse.” Jurnee Smollett-Bell, who plays Leonard’s wife Juanita in the film, had watched Leonard’s two fights with Duran as research for her role, and believes Usher’s intensive preparation paid off. “When people see it they’re going to be blown away,” she says. “He worked his butt off to get in the physical shape of Sugar Ray. He was always jogging the stairs in the hotel. When you see him in the ring, it’s scary how much he was able to embody Sugar Ray’s posture, his quickness, his whole boxing style. He knew Sugar Ray inside-out.” The role has clearly stuck with Usher. He says he still spars, and has maintained the same diet he adopted for the part. More than that, the boxer’s mentality has stayed with him. “I have bodyguards around me all the time, but I ain’t got no worries,” he says. “Somebody step to me, I know how to handle it. I don’t because I don’t want the lawsuit, but I know exactly where to hit them.” If Hands of Stone is Usher’s attempt to show the world he can become someone else, he views The Voice as a way to reveal a little bit more of himself. Usher was 15 when he moved to New York to live and work under the probably-not-all-that-watchful eye of Sean “Diddy” Combs. In those early years particularly, producers, songwriters, record company A&R executives, and others were among his valuable guides and confidantes. “Artist development made me who I am,” he says. “Somebody took the time to help me find what it is that works for me as an entertainer and who I am as a music maker.” He’d already shown a predilection for paying that forward with his mentorship of a young YouTube sensation named Justin Bieber. And while Bieber’s path has obviously gotten a bit rocky in recent years, according to Blake Shelton, Usher’s fellow coach on The Voice, that relationship made Usher an immediate asset to the show. “Usher’s really the only one who has accomplished what we’re trying to do on this show, and he didn’t even do it on a show,” says Shelton. “With his mentoring and nurturing of Bieber, he actually did have a hand in helping to create a superstar. That’s what we’ve been trying to do for six seasons now. With that on his résumé, he brought credibility right off the bat.” Bieber’s recent public stumbles—a string of arrests for assault, vandalism, and DUI—have certainly caused Usher concern, but there is a sense that at some point, every pupil must sink or swim on his own. “I gave every bit of advice and always told him it was up to him if he really wanted this,” he says. “Now that he has it, as an adult, it’s his to manage. Do I turn my head in shame based off of what I see, what I know? Nah, I don’t because it’s all part of life’s process. Am I in it with him? Yeah. It’s unfortunate. I hate some of the things I hear. Is it all true? I don’t know. But I will tell you this: Success comes with a price. Every person that has grown up, grows through something. It ain’t just perfect from the beginning.” In the lIvIng room of Usher’s hoUse, there’s a long shelf lined with awards—MTV Video Music Awards, People’s Choice Awards, something called the ASCAP Golden Note. “That right there is the last

Diamond Award given in history,” he tells me, pointing at a statue commemorating Confessions’ 10 million copies sold. His eight Grammys get their own place of pride near a black grand piano in another part of the house. Even beyond these trophies, much of the house seems devoted to subtly telling the story of Usher’s myriad accomplishments. It’s not just the nice things, the high-end electronics, the beautiful furniture—and there is plenty of that stuff—it’s that nearly every item seems to come with an enviable origin story. These are black-and-white photographs Usher saw and fell in love with when he was in Morocco. That’s a massive painting by the famed L.A. street artist Retna, who sold his very first piece to Usher 15 years ago. He found that statue over there when he was in Beijing. Oh, and that large print of a famous strip of photographs taken of a young Barack Obama? He’s hoping to get the president to sign it soon, a distinct possibility since Usher knows him personally after campaigning for him. When I ask about two wooden horses that are perched outside next to the front door, Miguel explains that they found them during a working trip to upstate New York, where Usher was finalizing the track list for the last album. “We walked around a little town called Hudson and there was an antique store,” she says. “These are from a carousel from 1901. He’s Chinese Year of the Horse and this is the Year of the Horse, so it’s a whole thing for him.” In general, despite this bevy of no doubt pricey items, the overall vibe of Chez Usher is exceedingly tasteful. There’s nothing nouveau riche about it, nothing particularly blingy. In short, this is quarry from a life well-lived. Which brings us to the slightly uncomfortable present. Barring anything unforeseen, Usher will put out his new album in the fall. It may be the exceedingly tight, conceptual eight-song R&B masterwork that he’s planning on now—he admits the eight-song thing may be augmented by “a few bonus records”—but even if it is, that may not be what the world wants from him. You believe Usher when he says that Here I Stand, Raymond vs. Raymond, and Looking 4 Myself are honest reflections of where he was at those times, but does it bother him that fans weren’t in those same places? “In all honesty, I give one shit,” he says. “I do hear them—that’s why I say one shit. I do give a shit, but not two shits. Two shits is a lot. I care enough to make sure they understand that I’m making it for them, but I’ve got to be true to where I am.” And where he is, is here: 35, divorced, in a gorgeous

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shoes by WorldMags.net

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“I gave [justIn bIeber] every bIt of advIce and always told hIm It was up to hIm If he really wanted thIs. now that he has It, as an adult, It’s hIs to manage. I wIll tell you thIs: success comes wIth a prIce.” house, with a beautiful family. Maybe that guy doesn’t have much to say to 21-year-old kids dancing in a club. Maybe he shouldn’t. Pop has always been a young person’s game, and Usher is nothing if not an old soul. Does it matter whether or not his next album churns out zeitgeist-capturing hits? Maybe he shouldn’t give even one shit. But he does. “There ain’t shit worse than standing in a club and they don’t play your record,” he says. “That does not feel good. I’m not turning my nose up at youth culture. Hell, no. You can’t consider yourself a real artist and not recognize what it is. If your kids like it, you’ve got to find a way to make sure you talk to them, too.” We argue a little about aging gracefully in R&B, and he mentions Prince. I point out that Prince can draw 5,000 fans in any city in America on a moment’s notice, but hasn’t had a hit in decades. That doesn’t seem like a bad life. “But wouldn’t it be great to be able to do that and have a hit record?” he says. Usher craves respect— whether it’s for music, acting, art collecting, whatever. But the key to understanding him, at least right now, is to realize he doesn’t want to be Prince. That’s not enough for him. He doesn’t want to play decades-old material to 5,000 people. “My ultimate desire is to have all my fans gathered in a dome,” he says. He wants the club kids and critics in his corner. “I want to figure out how to bridge those worlds. I don’t think I’m ever going to stop trying to figure it out.” Only time will tell if the public follows him as he tries, but if not, don’t worry. Usher will be fine. “I hope to have fans that love what I do, but if I don’t, I’m not going to lose my head,” he says. “If I just stop right now, I’ve done enough to ride for the next 40 years.” He looks around his home, then smiles. “Maybe 50.”

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nylonguysmag.com

101

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douglas booth wants to know what a london-bred chap has to do to stop landing roles in hollywood blockbusters and snag himself a nice little festival film instead. by john ortved. photographed by isa wipfli

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sweater by burberry prorsum, pants by salvatore ferragamo, socks by original penguin, shoes by bally.

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jacket by billy reid, shirt by atm anthony thomas melillo, jeans by denim & supply ralph lauren, socks by original penguin, shoes by santoni.

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opposite page: turtleneck by david hart.

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“I was partakIng in a space orgy,” says Douglas Booth. “the space orgy was floating, which is trickier than it sounds.” seated in the courtyard of the Crosby Bar, tearing into “the smallest piece of cod [he’s] ever seen,” the 21-year-old actor is talking about his upcoming role as titus abrasax, the youngest and most debauched member of an intergalactic regal family bent

on universal domination in Jupiter Ascending. the film, also starring Channing tatum and Mila kunis, is the newest action— and one assumes, blockbuster—flick from the wachowskis (of Matrix fame), and his second megabudget project this year. Having just played opposite russell Crowe and Emma watson in

Darren aronofsky’s Noah, Booth is on the short list of some of the most powerful directors in the business. now that the zero-gravity freak-fest is out of the way, what’s next to scratch off of the ol’ Hollywood bucket list? “all I want to do is an independent that goes to sundance,” he says, shrugging in his black leather

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jacket, a gift from his friend and Burberry designer Christopher Bailey, who placed Booth in a recent campaign and, a few weeks after our interview, took him to the Met gala. Born and raised in London (“London will always be my home,” he says), Booth’s artsy mother moved her dyslexic son toward the trumpet, and then acting, and he became a member of the national Youth

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“darren [aronofsky] said to me in london, ‘douglas, it’s not a race. it’s just about working with good flmmakers on good projects and you’ll get there.”’ theatre and Junior guildhall. He was first cast in From Time to Time, a drama from Julian Fellowes, the writer-director behind Downton Abbey, then headed to the Middle ages for his turn as a young nobleman—alongside Eddie redmayne and alison pill— in the starz miniseries The Pillars of the Earth. He managed to keep up with his castmates, on and off the set. “I was 16, but I was drinking them off the table,” he says with a laugh. these days, it’s fellow Englishman and Noah co-star ray winstone who’s inviting him to drinks. “I got an email from him yesterday,” says Booth. “Everything is like British-British with him... always loads of Union Jack emoticons.” Booth’s star turn came in the 2010 BBC biopic Worried About the Boy, in which he felt like he didn’t just play, but subsumed the legendary pop star Boy george. “as a kid, I dreamed about living a thousand lifetimes within my own,” he says. when I suggest that such a statement sounds mildly psychotic, he jokes back, “Or very pretentious. I sound like James Franco.” But the sentiment is not without depth; Booth is aware of what he wants, creatively and professionally, and of the

pitfalls that lie between a handsome, capable young actor on the rise and his goals. “I try not to let myself get pigeonholed into one thing, like nicholas sparks adaptations. the only power you have as a young actor is to say yes or no,” he explains. “that’s the only power I can wield at the moment.” after working with aronofsky and the wachowskis, Booth refuses to do anything he doesn’t find interesting. “It just means being really patient,” he says. “Darren said to me in London, ‘Douglas, it’s not a race. It’s just about working with good filmmakers on good projects and you’ll get there.’” aronofsky also turned the once social-media-phobic actor on to the promotional power of twitter. “Dustin Hoffman said, ‘the more people know you, the harder it is to act,’” recalls Booth. as a philosophical compromise, he only tweets about his projects. “what else am I going to use it for?” he asks, pretending to photograph a cup and saucer. “‘Here’s my cappuccino’?” Booth is more concerned with other facets of this being-an-actor thing—namely, the acting part. “I’m still learning what it means,” he says. “part of acting is relaxing and feeling free, and then great work can be created. Because once you

take down your boundary, you can create anything. But then sometimes you think, the carpenter makes an amazing chair, but he couldn’t do that at the beginning of his career. You hone.” that some of that honing has taken place on films with budgets comparable to the gDp of small nations provides its own unique challenges. “In the [ Jupiter Ascending] script, they describe his spaceship as a cross between the playboy Mansion and a gothic cathedral. My character gets what he wants. when that’s your brief, it gives you a lot to play with,” he says. there are also complicated sets, hundreds of crew members, video villages, and green screens. “there are a lot of technical elements,” he concedes. “But when you’ve got masters like the wachowskis, they guide you brilliantly. they complement each other perfectly. Lana is creative. she goes through the character. andy is dealing with the crane, but he comes in and gives amazing acting notes, too. they’re seamless.” He was especially impressed with the wachowksis’ lack of reliance on computer effects. “Everything is done for real,”

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he says. “Filming in Chicago, they closed down the whole city and flew this helicopter through the skyscrapers, swinging these stunt people.” Back here on terra firma, Booth is figuring out his own way. while it’s not the smallest movie ever made, he’s also found an indie, The Riot Club—about a couple of Oxford lads who join an infamous university society— which he hopes will premiere at the toronto International Film Festival this september. all well and good, but does it have a floating orgy? “well, no,” says Booth. “But I did bring a prostitute to a dinner.”

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sweater and pants by todd snyder, shirt by original penguin, boothâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own jewelry (worn throughout).

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the freshest takes on knits, prints, and athleticwear will

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ensure that you stand out on these crowded streets. photographed by jimmy fontaine. styled by allan kennedy

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jacket by paul smith, tank top by louis vuitton, jeans by buffalo david bitton. PREVIOUS SPREAD: from left: jacket and pants by paul smith, tank top by calvin klein; sweater by burberry prorsum, jeans by buffalo david bitton, stylistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own belt; jacket by marc jacobs, pants by 3.1 phillip lim. OPPOSITE PAgE: from left: all clothing by prada, shoes by marc jacobs; all clothing by prada, shoes by marc jacobs, sunglasses by paul smith; all clothing by prada, shoes by y-3.

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d e IN THE BEGINNING,

s i

TYLER, THE CREATOR

BUILT AN ODD FUTURE EMPIRE SPANNING HIP-HOP, FASHION, AND TELEVISION.

AND HE SAW THAT IT WAS GOOD.

BY JEFF WEISS. PHOTOGRAPHED BY STEVEN TAYLOR

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BoB Dylan once DefineD success as getting up in the morning, going to bed at night, and doing whatever you want to do in between. A halfcentury later, Tyler, the Creator has forced an addendum to that original philosophy: Success is having a trampoline inside your house. “I put it in my room two weeks ago, and for the first time it felt like I made it,” says Tyler, wearing a mint green Stray Rats shirt, black shorts, checkered Vans, and a Golf Wang hat, and bouncing Tigger-like in the cavernous bedroom of his Los Angeles mansion. The walls are covered with posters of The Neptunes, Eminem, and Madvillain. There’s also a beanbag couch and an arcade-style mini-Ferrari cockpit made for Xbox. DVDs of Chappelle’s Show and Diane Arbus photography books haphazardly line dorm-esque display racks. The whole scene looks like a cross between Moonrise Kingdom and Big. “Who else has a trampoline in their room…with enough space for another trampoline?” asks Tyler, rhetorically, in mid-air. It’s been less than four years since Odd Future first mesmerized teenagers and enraged Internet moralists with “kill people, burn shit, fuck school” chants. During that span, Tyler, the Creator transformed himself from a teenaged enfant terrible into a multimillion-dollar brand, boasting his own sketch show (Adult Swim’s Loiter Squad), clothing lines (Odd Future and the year-old Golf Wang, worn in these pages), Fairfax Boulevard

“

I told Jay Z that I had a trampolIne In my room and he’s lIke, ‘dude, keep that Inner chIld. you’re one of the few who have It.’ your Inner chIld lets honesty be your maIn outlet.” boutique, an annual carnival (complete with custom rides and cotton candy), and an independent record label distributed by Sony Red. His idols, Pharrell and Eminem, are now his friends (Odd Future is opening for the latter at London’s Wembley Stadium in July), and Kanye West has called the 23-year-old a mentor. His influence has become pervasive in pop culture, from Miley Cyrus’s space-cat performance at the American Music Awards to Seth Rogen wearing a Golf Wang shirt throughout Neighbors. Fashion trends from tie-dye to the felinecentric tees that clutter racks at Urban Outfitters—Tyler sees his own influence in their ubiquity. “I was the only nigga in school writing on everything. Now it’s the cool thing to draw on your shoes and be different. I used to get so much shit for that. It’s just crazy how things change and what’s considered cool now,” says Tyler, removing vinyl records from a shelf and neatly arranging them in two columns. The albums comprise much of his musical DNA. There’s Pharrell, Clipse, French fusion kings Cortex, ’60s psych-rockers Strawberry Alarm Clock, jazz legend Roy Ayers, and Motown mainstay Leon Ware. His shock-value lyrics and riot-starting arrests foment

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all clothing tyler, the creator’s own.

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“

I don’t want these 15-yearshIt on tumblr and beg people go do somethIng wIth your lIfe.”

outlandish headlines, but Tyler’s musicality and monastic devotion to craft have quietly made him one of the most realized artists of his generation. When asked what he’s been working on, he cues up a new beat—a blend of gorgeous jazz-fusion chord changes subverted by sinister tones played over a soundless loop of Napoleon Dynamite projected on the holding the DVD case of Napoleon Dynamite. “Niggas don’t do this. Look at my wall. There are rumors of a new album due later this home. I have a pet horse in jeans.” He gestures toward a stuffed equine sportsummer. He’s also coy about a screenplay, acknowledg- ing denim on only its front legs. “That’s Chancho, by the way.” (A second horse, ing its existence, but refusing to confirm specific details. a bronze statue near the entryway, has been dubbed Stan.) “I’m secretive,” he says, flashing a toothy grin. “I like to Tyler’s fun house is also inhabited by his 14-year-old sister and his mother, just drop shit and surprise people. I could announce an who stretches out in a pink velour sweatsuit on a downstairs couch. There’s a album next week, and you’d be like, ‘Fuck, why didn’t he tennis court in the backyard, along with a half-pipe ramp and a basketball hoop. tell me?’” Today is a Saturday, and Tyler’s friends, including Loiter Squad castmate Jasper To prove his point, Tyler begins flipping through a Dolphin and photographer Sagan Lockhart, have stopped by to skate and notebook containing storyboards for future music stage raucous kayak-jousting matches in the pool. videos, commercials, and next season’s Golf Wang line— “Why? Because we’re into doing shit,” says Tyler. “I don’t want these 15-yearneatly drawn, colored, and fleshed out—all awaiting olds to turn into insecure people who only want to re-blog shit on Tumblr and execution. His creative streak is instinctive and without beg people for likes on Instagram. Go play an instrument, go hike, go jog—go filter or block. “I told Jay Z that I had a trampoline in my do something with your life.” room and he’s like, ‘Dude, keep that inner child. You’re The irony, of course, is that the same contingent he terrifies would probably one of the few who have it,’” recalls Tyler. “Your inner agree with the core of his message. He is a self-made millionaire who grew up child lets honesty be your main outlet.” poor in South L.A. and turned a Tumblr into a small empire cutting across There aren’t many artists who tout their toy collectelevision, music, commercials, and fashion. He doesn’t do drugs, supports his tions as evidence of their hip-hop cred, but Tyler’s adofamily, pays a mortgage, and implores young people to get off the Internet and lescent whimsy is the connective tissue that binds him play outside. to his cultish following. “I love my fans because I am “I’m trying to tell kids, you can have all of this,” says Tyler, surveying the propthose kids. This ain’t no rapper’s favorite movie,” he says, erty that sweat and Odd Future socks built. “I’m not rich yet, but I’m doing OK and still want to get better. Kids need to know that they can do this. They can do everything that I did better than me.”

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olds to turn Into Insecure people who only want to re-blog for lIkes on Instagram. go play an Instrument, go hIke, go jogâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;

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road warrior

HitcHHiking is an art that few people who still have their sanity, much less a bank account, actually practice in this millennium. Leave it to John Waters, the man who has elevated filthiness to the level of gospel in such cult films as Pink Flamingos and Cry-Baby, to rediscover it without any irony whatsoever. He left his home in Baltimore with a credit card, a magic marker, and a fresh piece of cardboard that read west on rt. 70. Lucky for us, he wrote a book about the experience called Carsick, which affectionately recounts the cast of characters who carried him all the way to san Francisco.

John WAterS’S LAteSt CroSS-CoUntrY eSCAPADe DIDn’t Go oFF WIthoUt A hItCh. BY MIKe GUY. ILLUStrAtIon BY JULIe MUrPhY

So you’re a 68-year-old gay icon filmmaker who hitchhiked acroSS america. what a ridiculouS idea. I didn’t realize exactly how ridiculous until the second day when I asked myself, “Am I really doing this?” When I left, it was an abstract idea. I recommend that people do this. I mean, I would never do it again. But I also know now that when you’re late for something or your flight gets canceled, hitchhiking is definitely a travel option.

that would never occur to anybody i know. But I’m old, and I hitchhiked a lot when I was young. this was a midlife crisis thing. Some people buy sports cars; I hitchhiked across America. i gueSS that SoundS like Something you would do. no offenSe. none taken! I’m flattered you’d say that. no one was that surprised when I told them. I mean, people tried to talk me out of it, but no one seemed to think it was that surprising. In the book, I say I’ll write a follow-up where I take every drug I’ve ever taken at once. A lot of publishers have expressed interest in that. I think I’ll pass, though. So what did you learn, on a practical level? Well, the worst thing you can ever get is a local ride. You never want to be in a city. You’re looking for long riders, the kind who will take you for hours and hours on the interstate. never leave the highway. I know friends who had guns pulled, but not me. I get along with criminals, too. But I wrote my own death in this book. I feared the worst. it’S illegal, right? Killing? Yes. Completely. hitchhiking isn’t, though; you just have to stay off the interstate. Put up your sign on the on-ramp. I even got a ride from a cop. the allure of life on the road Seemingly doeSn’t exiSt anymore. but you Sort of found it. there’s a truck stop that I imagine in the book, you know, with thumbelina the stripper. there are truck stops like that left. I’ve never been to them, but they are there, off the major routes. they’re illegal, but there’s still something like that. the truckers who picked me up were great gentlemen, really. they couldn’t have been nicer. And they were straight bears. they’re everything that the bear movement wants to be: macho, good-looking, chubby. they were bears; they just didn’t realize it. waS there a Sexual fantaSy that you wanted to play out on thiS trip? waS that part of your midlife criSiS? everything in hitchhiking is sexual! I collect cheesy porn books about hitchhikers. everybody who hitchhikes or picks up a hitchhiker is thinking about it. But did I think I was going to have a lot of sex? no. When I was a kid I was looking for it. not this time.

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