Skinnie Magazine Issue 123 - July/August 2012 by Skinnie Magazine

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THErundown

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SOUND THE STRIKE Music and Entertainment Take A Backseat to Social Upheaval

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AND THEN THERE WERE FOUR Bloc Party Emerges Even Better

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CREATIVE FREEDOM Kottonmouth Kings Continue To Crank

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THE MASTER OF DISASTER Duane Peters Reigns Supreme

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X GAMES - TNE IMAGES Photographer Cody Black Captures Magic

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A LITTLE CULTURE AND CURVES Meet Skinnie Girl Nazanin Mandi

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HOLE IN THE WALL 320 Main Does Beach City Cuisine Something Special

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Issue123 JULY/AUGUST2012

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Editor’sletter The how did I

Get here edition

JULY/August 2012 J ISSUE NUmber 123 www.skinniemagazine.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PUBLISHERS Jimmy Clinton and George Giordano ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EDITORIAL Editor-In-Chief Ramon Gonzales Jasen T. Davis, Alex Mendoza, Eric Bonholtzer, Katie Evans, Kristie Bertucci, Patrick Douglas, Lacy Ottenson, Elysia McMahan, MM Zonoozy Contributing Writers

For editorial submissions, email editorial@skinniemagazine.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ART & DESIGN Art department

Art D

PHOTOGRAPHY Michael Vincent, Alan Rivera, Sean Myers, Joanna Miriam, Wil Marques, Damian Tsutsumida, Genevieve Davis, Karen Curley, Harmony Gerber, Edison Graff, Timothy Sheppard, Erik Faiivae, Christian Sosa, Cody Black Tammy Rapp, Todd Scheuerell

Contributing Photographers

Sales & Marketing Advertising

Marketing Director Jason Zahler Matt Lee, Jose Lanza and Julius Lopez

For all sales inquiries email sales@skinniemagazine.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Administrative House Of Designs Morgan Desmond Angela Jugon Raquel Lopez, Cynthia De Los Santos and Ryan Mercer Webmaster

online editor

Contributing Staff

FASHION Fashion Director

Michelle Ngo Linh Duong

Fashion Coordinators

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------SUBSCRIBERS If the post office alerts us that your magazine is undeliverable, we have no further obligation unless we receive a corrected address within two years.

There really is no way to say any of this without sounding like I am bragging. Please, I assure you, I am not. It’s just important for me to frame this properly. During my time here at Skinnie, I have had the good fortune of meeting some amazing people. I have had the good fortunate of experiencing fantastic shows, having interesting and interestingly shitty conversations, and shaking hands with a few heroes. I think one of the most surreal moments during my career here was on the rooftop of the MGM in Las Vegas. My best friend David and I were talking to Floyd Mayweather about his take on what MGM stood for – “Mayweather Get Money…” the shock from that day never really settled in, even after hours of “holy shits” on the drive home in my piece of shit Mitsubishi. Having said all of this, the most valuable aspect of my time here at Skinnie hasn’t been a collection of photos

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I can use high sign on Facebook. Skinnie, for as long as I have been affiliated it, has had a backbone fortified by a team of good people that always go unappreciated and unmentioned. From the interns that spent hours on minor design details and photo collection, to the writers who spend hours researching and putting lipstick on the occasional pig of an interview – these are the people that have made my time at Skinnie worth while. If you have ever worked on the editorial or design portion of Skinnie, please know that your efforts did not go unnoticed and WILL not go unappreciated. Snapping a photo with a celeb that isn’t gonna give a shit in 5 minutes isn’t of much value – working with you however, have been nothing but value.

Ramon Gonzales

LEGAL DISCLAIMER The content in this magazine is for entertainment and intended for mature audiences only. Advertisers are responsible for their ads placed in the magazine. Skinnie Magazine is not responsible for any actions taken by their readers. We may occasionally use images placed in public domain. Sometimes, it is not possible to identify and/or contact the copyright holder, if you claim ownership of something we’ve published, we will gladly make a proper acknowledgement. Skinnie Magazine does not share opinions and/ or views stated by the writers and or photographers. Some of the content published may be of a mature nature; we do not, in any way, condone underage drinking or any other illegal activity. All submissions become property of Skinnie Magazine, be it text, photos, art, etc. Skinnie Entertainment Magazine All Rights Reserved. 2012

Cover Photo by Michael Vincent

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foreplay

Sound justice from the

SounD strike Encouraging Generation Facebook To Get Off Their Ass

On April 23rd, 2010, the implementation of Arizona Senate Bill 1070 – also known as the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act – turned the media world upside down. The sun-drenched state was converted into a politically charged battlefield catering to a more than a local audience, but rather the world at large due to the surprisingly strict elements outlined in the Republican favored legislation. The bill stipulates that those registered as Resident Aliens within the borders of the Arizona state must carry their documentation with them at all times. Law officers are also allowed to perform a lawful stop, detention or arrest if they suspect the person in question is an illegal immigrant, even if it is not connected to any particular suspicious activity. In addition, local and state officials are prohibited from imposing on Federal immigration laws, and those assisting, or housing immigrants, are subject to punishment as well. The reactions from within the state, as well as the rest of the world, were an immediate media fixation. Headlines proposed the birth of a contemporary form of prejudice, supposedly justified due to the bill’s intent to support the “attrition through enforcement” doctrine, or by rooting out the illegal immigrants in the states would prevent the further decay of the state’s structure with recent crime rates on the rise related to drugs and various murders near the Mexican borders. Overall, the bill’s passage was amongst the primary sources of countless heated discussions detailing America’s recent adoption of laws such as Proposition 8 and SB 1070 – all targeted at limiting the freedoms of particular sexual orientations and ethnicities. Though the Supreme Court struck down three other provisions implied by the legislation of SB 1070 due to violation of the US Constitution’s Supremacy Clause, they upheld the right for law makers to request immigration documents during any law related stops. As such, the bill’s continued existence spurred the political juices of people such as Zach de la Rocha and Connor Oberst, who in early April began talks of forming a coalition that would unite to boycott against the politically unjust motives of the Arizona government and anyone supporting the legislation. “Sound Strike kicked into gear around May 2010,” Javier Gonzalez explains. “I was an activist in LA for years, and through my association with those types of causes I met

By Alex Mendoza

Zach and grew to know one another through a common just cause. As the idea of Sound Strike spread out and needed more people to help out, I was approached and more than willing to lend a hand.” Sound Strike is a unique organization that boasts the support of many politically charged acts/artists/groups and political organizations against all forms of prejudice; especially those tied with the controversial aims of SB 1070. With the Rage Against the Machine frontman and Connor Oberst providing the foundation and funds necessary to fuel the group’s humble beginnings, within two years it has attracted acts such as Immortal Technique, Lupe Fiasco and countless others willing to lending their talents as a means to bring awareness to a worthy cause. “There are obvious expectations when big names are involved. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve been called if Rage can do a show, and I’m thinking to myself, ‘Yeah, sure! Let me give ‘em a call right now,” Javier laughs. “There’s lots of politics both within the movement, and outside of it with the perpetuators who spread the hate. Plus different musicians come from different perspectives, so there are challenges to get everyone on the same page, but it’s cool to make such a huge impact when everything come together.” 2011 brought forth another series of bills aimed at further limiting the rights of undocumented immigrants; some of which targeted those who were children of undocumented parents directly at schools, or even going as far to denying American citizenship to those born to illegal immigrants within Arizona. Thirteen major concerts were cancelled in the course of a few weeks, and the financial impact was significant; not to mention those cancellations were among of the most viewed news stories of the entire year, but still begging the question as to why the support numbers from other key entertainment figures were still low – regardless of the coverage involved. “The entertainment industry frowns upon people taking political stances. When we have artists reach out to artists, it’s easy, but when we get into the web of managers, representations and publicists, those are the ones we end up on a road block with,” Javier states carefully. “The industry is in a bad economic state with the music available online, and the artists need the labels to get their music into films, to get good budgets and big

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distribution deals, so the artist can’t always say ‘Screw it, this is what I want to do!’ It also takes thought and some research, but in most cases these people don’t tend to do a whole lot of that, and it’s not just being down with activism. It’s about money, and less and less people – artist wise at least- are getting involved cause they’re dependent on labels to get their stuff out and they don’t want to rock the boat if it is going to hinder their image, or their sales.” Recent social activist trends such as the infamous 2012 Kony Campaign illustrate the sensationalist nature of Generation Facebook, assuming that millions upon millions of people clicking ‘Like’ on one’s cause is an immediate guarantee for immediate support, but without actually having to stand up and do something. Fast-forward to a few months later as the proposed April date passed, with nary a Kony poster in sight. And just like that, the cause that spread like wildfire within days registered with little more than a whimper, say for the stories of Kony frontrunner Jason Russel’s mental breakdown for the inherent backlash of his campaign – to which all his family and supporters state that he devised it all with the noblest of intentions. “It’s kind funny how you’re asking people to stand up for something on Facebook, and they’re sitting down. You somehow think that when you click like that you did something, but like anything else, it’s an alternative form of communication, and people wanna’ be lazy and turn it into activism,” Javier observes. “To me, it’s just a fascinating way to talk to people and I personally don’t know anyone who goes on the Internet, or watches TV, and suddenly they want to go do something noble. In the end, it is more about the fact that people have false expectations. It is the same with bands, too. They say: ‘We have 7,000 likes’, and then only 100 people show up to their show. You still gotta’ promo, man, and pass out fliers!” With such politically centered discussions, it is impossible to ignore the lingering phantoms of the Occupy Wall Street movement, designating another form of prejudice between the financial advisors holding all the keys as the elite “1 %”, while the remaining 99% find themselves in dire straits more so than any generation in recent history. Particular artists found themselves amidst the crowd – such as Kanye West – while his “Watch the Throne” cohort Jay-Z proceeded to create a political trend through fashion with his short-lived “Occupy All Streets” t-shirt line.

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In situations such as these, especially considering the genuine hard work that people such as Javier partake upon to defend the human rights of people in this nation, it is nearly impossible to question whether or not these artists are doing it for a legitimate cause, or simply out to earn press. “We really mean it when we say these guys don’t ask for anything. They give a significant amount of their personal money, and they’re not trying to get on the cover of Time magazine. We’ve had a couple of meetings with artists and Zach explaining stuff to them, and they’ll be like ‘Wow! You’re really articulate and I just thought you were a big shit talker’,” Javier recalls. “If you’re not there, you don’t see the hard work they put in, so of course it’s easy to say these guys are faking their motives, but they don’t have an alternative motive and these guys are legit. Bands like Rage have quite a record of accomplishment when it comes to these types of issues. This one time I actually had a reporter ask me ‘Is this soundtrack a gigantic cover for promoting Zach’s new album as One Day as a Lion?’ and I’m thinking to myself, ‘Sure, he’s going to spend 2 years and hundreds of thousands of dollars to promote an indie album?’ Honestly, I think it’s just the cynics trying to get some bullshit reason to say something.” “And because of that unsettling trend, the American people have a hard time connecting and going deeper, because there are distractions forged not just in entertainment, but in the manner upon which the media displays these skirmishes and they are forced in your face. It is a different kind of system and form of communication in media and American viewers do not want to be offended when they are watching TV.” “The American people need to understand the types of activism we see here are much different from the activism that takes place in the rest of the world. What we have here are more like skirmishes, getting Christians hating on the Gays and get the whites southerners hating on the Mexicans and prevent people from figuring out hey we probably have more in common than we thought. But a lot of that takes sacrifice and struggle and we love going to the ball game, having a 50 inch plasma, got a nice ride, good music, drinking beer, smoking a joint and life’s good – but no money in the bank account.”

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bloc party

Limelight is Fleeting Words by m.m. zonoozy

“When you have this wonderful opportunity to make music for a living, you don’t want to stop because you never know when that’s going to be taken away from you,” explains Bloc Party’s Matt Tong. For bands, that want sometimes clouds the bigger picture – it drives backstage brawls with siblings. It takes a special kind of maturity to step away and refuse to force creativity. Even more so, it takes a particularly authentic group of musicians to do it with grace, and reconcile several years later to create their purest album to date. In fact, it takes a Bloc Party. With the release of their aptly titled fourth album, “Four,” the British indie band has reformed with a proper purpose of wiping the entire slate clean to start from garage. Their first new album in four years has no synthesizers and very little programming distort the band’s rawest sound to date. The group has shed any sort of hybrid electro-whatever label, and it couldn’t be more refreshing.

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I was really worried that when I came to “ the age of 60 and my children would be like, “What was it like being in the band?’ and I would be grumbling and complaining. For me it was about reclaiming the lust that we all had when we started out.

”

Coincidentally, “Four” is rather confusing in its stylistic spectrum. So He Begins to Lie and 3X3 open the album rather aggressively, and make quite the “this is not our last album” statement. Alternatively, tracks like Real Talk and Day Four take front man Kele’s bridges to the soprano and strike quite a different chord. V.A.L.I.S. is almost poppy with its hooky background sing-along. Coliseum is post-punk revival, and Healing is visceral. We’re Not Good People almost scares me. On paper, this album should not work. From one song to the next, you might as well be listening to two separate block parties – one in your basement and one in a park. Yet the overarching lo-fi aesthetic pulls everything together nicely. So many bands say they are creating something stripped down, few do it. But Bloc Party does it nuanced and well. Occasionally you’ll hear some strings here and there, and at times some backup vocals creep in, but that’s really it. Otherwise, it’s just Kele, Russell, Gordon, and Matt. Now, in “Four,” the friends are reeling what had slipped away years ago. As Tong recalls pre-hiatus, “In a sense, the band had sort of gotten away from all of us. It had become this separate entity that we at times didn’t really understand the nature of.” Understandably, it’s easy to lose control of a ship hurling full-speed ahead. “A couple of the members wanted to carry on and go straight into a fourth album,” recalls Tong. “In hindsight, I think that may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back – the donkey’s back, rather.” And after approximately seven years of touring, it seemed only appropriate to take a breather. “We were just exhausted, and I think sometimes it’s hard to see the bigger picture . . . I thought it would be a really good time to pause, and to reflect.” Although that sounds delightfully flowery, time to reflect comes at a high price. It’s not just leaving money on the table; it’s a risk of inundating a fan base, or the entire industry. “People grow tired and weary as a group being around each other at all times,” Tong insists. “I thought it would be a good time to stop.” And so they did. Bloc Party pseudo announced an indefinite hiatus in 2009. Since, the various members revived their personal projects, some other bands and some families. “There have been babies, breakdowns, tantrums and hospitalizations,”

Okereke explains. “Gordon had a baby, Russell joined Ash, Matt built a studio in his basement with his bare hands and I moved to New York to finish a book that I had been writing for the last 3 years.” This all came with a question mark in every sentence written about Bloc Party and their future. Okereke himself deliberately took a “year without music” upon arriving in New York. With him he brought four records: Led Zeppelin’s “4,” the Deftones “White Pony,” Nicki Minaj’s mix tape “Beam Me Up Scotty,” and “Al Green’s Greatest Hits.” Apparently, that was enough. But four years is a long time to be away from your significant others. Towards the end of 2011, the Brits seemed to come to a meeting of the minds and started turning the wheels of a comeback. Each came back with his own reason - all requiring a collective effort. “I was really worried that when I came to the age of 60 and my children would be like, “What was it like being in the band?’ and I would be grumbling and complaining. For me it was about reclaiming the lust that we all had when we started out. For Okereke, it was an opportunity to rediscover his musical passion. After initially meeting to discuss the possibility of the new record, Okereke established his longing for playing in a band again. “With this record we have to move forward,” Okereke explains, “we have to challenge ourselves by not relying on ProTools or the invisible grid that seems to be mapping out all of popular music these days.” Coming off their third album, “Intimacy,” Bloc Party had transitioned into the indieelectronic space, and Okereke even more so with his solo effort, “The Boxer.” Both were successful, but maybe a bit forced. The new effort is a step back in the right direction - a leap towards authenticity. The future for the indie quartet seems optimistic, more natural, more patient. Perhaps Tong was right all along: the years off may have been a necessary break for a band of brothers.“It’s sort of the happiest we’ve been as a group of people on tour,” notes Tong. “I think the years we’ve had off helped.” More importantly, the four are not afraid to step away from the band from time to time to figure themselves out. And thankfully, we don’t have to worry when they do. Simply put (by Tong himself), “Bloc Party is a band vainly trying to grow old gracefully.”

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FREE

Kottonmouth Kings Roll On By Jasen T Davis

While they have often been imitated, no other band has been able to match the punk rock attitude, hip-hop style, and ferocious independence of the Kottonmouth Kings. Since the release of Royal Highness in 1998, Brad X, Johnny Richter, DJ Bobby B, Lou Dog, The Dirtball, Dustin Miller and the rest have delivered album after album of highly-stylized, deliciously unique music for audiences who crave something too controversial for the mainstream.

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The group was first formed in Placentia, California in 1994. Orange County is a place of surf and sand, but like any other city thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s guns and drugs along with the good times. Those good times can involve marijuana, a subject that can be too taboo for radio, which is how the band ended up owning and operating their own independent studio to make their own music, something Brad X is glad they did, and so do their loyal fans.

“It gives us total creative freedom,” he says. “We do it all on our own terms. The band and I have a studio including cameras, a green screen, recording equipment and everything we need to produce and mix our own records. We do it all ourselves.” This do it yourself attitude is a hallmark of the punk music movement, ever since Richard Hell starting decorating his clothes with black markers, rips and safety pins. Decades later, not relying on the mainstream means relying on your own wit and resources, something the Kottonmouth Kings have always done. “I first got my exposure to music because of punk rock. Do it yourself has always been how we do things. Technology has really leveled the platform for independent artists like us. It’s still the Wild West out there on the Internet,” Brad X says. 2011’s Sunrise Sessions was an incredible hit. More dedicated to cruising than rocking, fans and critics alike gave the melodic, almost introspective album lavish revues. A year later, do they feel like they have a hard LP to follow? “The recording of that album went on for almost two years. It started out as an acoustic, completely organic production. It definitely had a slower vibe because we were setting out to make a more mellow record.” Brad X says. In contrast, their latest album, Mile High (to be released on August 14th) is calculated to be a barn burner. “This one is a complete polar opposite. We have slamming beats, big rhymes, huge jams…its Kottonmouth Kings on steroids,” Brad X reports. “We’ve been working with this new type of bass, it has a really powerful, original sound to it, and it’s going to blow stereo systems away.” While the ‘Kings enjoyed creating Sunrise Sessions, Brad X admits it might have given some fans the wrong impression. “I think maybe people thought that as we were evolving and becoming more melodic we were also getting too mellow.” Mile High is a scorching reminder that the group is still aggressive. “We still have a lot of fire, a lot of passion. We have a long way to go. Sunrise Sessions was cool. It was a left jab, but Mile High is a right hook.” Brad X reports that the album will show a big punk rock influence combined with dubstep, reggae and rock. The Kottonmouth Kings has spent hours perfecting the beats, jams and bass lines that will end up in the album, inviting artists like Saint Dog, Twiztid, and Mickey Avalon to get in on the action. “There are eighteen tracks on this album,” Brad X says. “The beats are just insane with this one. We have a couple of punk tracks like the song, ‘This Addiction,’ and hard slammin’ party songs like ‘Roll It Up.’ There’s another heavy song called ‘Boom Box’ that we just shot a video for.” It’s great when your favorite band puts out another LP, but you always want more of the same to go along with some of the new. “As much as Mile High is turbo-charged, the overall sound and lyrics is still vintage ‘Kings,” Brad X says. “It’s progressive, though, and the guest artists introduced many new elements to the album.” The Kottonmouth Kings have put a lot of new elements into their tour as well, Brad X is proud to report, from the scary stylings of Prozac to the underground hard-hitting power of Big B. There’s even a jolt of country hiphop thanks to The Moonshine Bandits. “We are always pushing ourselves to keep from being stagnant,” Brad X says. “I’m not really big on nostalgia. I’m really into embracing the future, living for today, but going through it all and then looking back at our past to get something out of it.” The artist is serious about his statement. The band has been through a lot together, including failures and successes, but Brad X acknowledges that the pain has made them all stronger. “Some of us have lost friends and family, but we’ve also traveled the world and have had great experiences. All of that is reflected in our show. Music gives us resilience and perseverance.”

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A TRUE

SonIC YOUTH

Madison Marie and Mackenzie Paige Show Promise By Ramon Gonzales

At 14 and 16, Madison Marie and Mackenzie Paige have already managed to do something most musicians never do – gnab the attention of a jaded Southern California market. In a sea of fall-hearted musicians chasing fame one song and one stage at a time, these two teenage songwriters have not only cultivated a strong following, but have rustled up some real industry buzz with their brand of pop rock. Recently signed to DiCarlo Productions, the duo have gone from internet presence, to stage presence performing at Southern California staples like the House of Blues and the Roxy Theatre. What’s more impressive is how two girls still south of 18 have their heads screwed on straight and have a real goal in mind. Now comes the fun part – making the music… Here’s the obvious question - how did this quest to be musicians begin? We began taking vocal lessons when we were in elementary school, and after we performed in our first summer “Rock Project” singing with a live band in front of a real audience, we were sold. We were only10 and 8 when that happened but we learned early on that there’s just nothing like the feeling of being on a stage. Everything changed however when we decided to put our talents together. Instead of playing in different bands and singing different things, we realized that we were a lot better together than apart. That’s when we started madnmack, which was about two years ago. Because you are still very young, do you run into times where people don’t take you seriously? Definitely. We always try to be as respectful as possible to everyone we encounter, but oftentimes we sense that many people are skeptical about us. But most of the time, after they watch us perform, people’s minds do a total 360 and are totally changed about us. There are also times when we tell people that we have a band, or

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we can’t do something because we have a rehearsal, but they just can’t imagine the gravity of all of it. What is wrong with music right now...anything? We’re kind of old fashioned about music. We like real music made by real people; so for us there is just too much that is synthesized, auto-tuned. It’s important that we can perform our recorded music live and have it sound just the way we want it to. We couldn’t do that if we weren’t using real instruments or if our vocals were computerized beyond recognition. Mom and Dad into you guys hanging around rock clubs? Weeeell it’s not their first choice of places we could hang out, that’s for sure … but when we do play at clubs, they are always there with us, and keeping track of what’s going on. They are very supportive of every aspect of our music, so the clubs are just part of it. If there was one song you had to perform every night for life, what song would that be? If it was a cover song, it would have to be “Jaded” by Aerosmith – we agree on that. A classic song by a timeless band. Musician you get compared to that makes you cringe.. We really don’t want to name anyone, so let’s just say that we REALLY don’t like being compared to any “tween” female pop stars! We think we are different than most of them because we create our own music and we can sing without the use of autotune… Dicarloproductions.com MadnMack.com Facebook.com/MadnMack

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fullcontact

Duane

peters Dying Like a Pirate Words by Elysia McMahan

As a kid you could have found him dodging trains. There was a packing house to the left of where he lived, where bums hung out under the bridge next to a wash. Him and his friends would go and watch the Mexicans shoot cows.These days… kids are too distracted by the digital world to be concerned with trying to be Evil Knievel and jump over streams with only a football helmet on; too afraid to get their hands dirty.The potato chip kids. Only future pirates grew up mimicking a record like Diana Ross and creating dance routines for old Hispanic ladies while jumping out of trees. Real ghetto shit. He’s faced the death of his first son at an early age, struggled with sobriety and managed to lead countless projects. Legendary skateboarder, fashion muse and musician, Duane Peters “The Master of Disaster” was born and raised in Orange County, California where he basically learned how to do the two most important things in life aside from cheating death and living the life of a poor ghetto kid: surf and skate. At first glance, you wouldn’t guess that he grew up in Costa Mesa. Fans have often called him “An indestructible motherfucker.” Let’s put it this way - when he was 16 years old he did a loop and that was 19 years before Tony Hawk did one. The circus started it all. “How can I be in the circus? How can I be on the road?” These are the type of questions a young Peters was asking himself. One must be careful what they dream of because they’re going to get it. Duane recently joined Iron Fist’s current roster of Heritage Icons. Iron Fist and Duane have already begun collaborating on a new footwear line (dPBroadways & dPClashers Hi-Lo’s) which pony-headed the party at Bread and Butter Berlin in July 2012 and will be showcasing at various other trade shows throughout August and September with

the actual release scheduled for Spring 2013. Duane learned a tremendous amount of business from constantly having to be on the road and come up with merchandise. “I shopped hard. I spent two years searching for the right company because the previous one I was working with…the factory work and quality was horrible. The product began going downhill. When they stopped using glue and the rubber started falling apart - I was done. I want to be able to promote my product the right way. These places didn’t care about the fact that my name was on it.” Fortunately, Iron Fist is everything he has ever dreamed of.Who wouldn’t love a company that doesn’t penny pinch on the essentials? The guys over at Iron Fist are pretty rad and they want to do it all. They’ve also got some pretty awesome artists to work with. “My gig is old school. I honestly just want a good product out there that I can totally back up and believe in. And I want my fans to buy another pair because their previous pair lasted so much longer than everyone else’s. I want my shoes to be way cooler than the next guy’s. It’s all about quality and style. I can’t even believe how great Iron Fist is. I’ve never seen such a large run of samples coming in from a company with so many colors. The first run was phenomenal! Everyone’s working so hard right now for that last dollar and who wants to be the enemy of the public when it comes to the last dollar? Everyone is getting ripped off so much these days. I just wanted to put a great shoe out there.Yes, I am very fanatical about my shoes.” Duane started to launch his own brand a couple years back. He did all the work of finding a factory…in Mexico. They even had a name for it but he had to withdraw the deal. It’s a possibility that the guys he was starting the company with are probably still mad at him. “The meetings that took place just went really sour. I hated having the feeling that there was a secret government in the boardroom.You know, the top

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I dig on raising my kid and “ I support Ron Paul all the way. I’ve

gone on tour for him but shit you can only do so much. I have a beautiful family and what am I going to do? I don’t believe that this is our only life. We have all been here before. Consciousness never dies. If you believe that this entire orchestration is just a fluke then you are fucked.

”

of the pyramid. We had no distribution and no money to really start it. So, of course, it went badly. We would have had to take out a big loan and deal with all this crap I didn’t want a part of. All I wanted to do was get a damn shoe out. I hate knocking on doors, “Hey, you got any work?” It gets so old asking and a lot of people at these places, whether it be a record label or what have you, they don’t even know their jobs anymore. It’s annoying.” Duane Peters and the Great Unwashed just came out with a new record tentatively titled “Busy Dying” which is a collaboration with producer/composer Greg Kuehn (TSOL, Bob Dylan). Next month they are scheduled to play in Las Vegas at The Magic and the Double Down to debut their record, promote Duane’s new shoe and just have a fun time. Once their new record soaks with people for a month or two they are looking to book some small bars. The Gunfight and Hunns just got an offer so he’ll most likely be playing with them at the Galaxy in Santa Ana, CA in August. To what degree are we all truly living? Duane lives life fully and is still stoked that he skateboards. He’s 51 and is still skating pools and pipes. “When we were kids we thought someone who was 27 was an old skateboarder. I remember seeing Bob Moore in Skateboard Mania and we looked at him like he was a fucking reptile! How was he still doing a 360 at 27?” With 26 records out there in circulation he thrives on what has always kept him going. You can’t beat life. He will be speaking Charles Bukowski poems aside an orchestra in Europe in the near future.The act just recently picked up a tour, Bukowski Rocks. “With this Bukowski gig…I still feel like it’s pioneering upon something extraordinary and that’s what I love doing.” There have been so many rewarding moments of his career. Considering that he did not have a shoe out for two years and having his youngest son saying, “Daddy is a shoemaker,” and being proud that he designs shoes has made every moment worth it. “Shit man, I’m 51 and the economy is eating shit. It’s not looking good you know. There aren’t many companies that want to take any chances. Everyone is so serious about that last dollar that people are forgetting to truly enjoy their lives but I’m getting back to that. I won’t be known as a cheapskate.” Although Duane is not currently completely sober, he proclaims that he is no longer doing drugs. Dope was a huge problem for him while in his twenties. “We lost a bunch of guys due to opiates. It’s a big bummer with these types of action sports. Even I have broken about 12-15 bones in my career. The sober world really saved my life for about 20 years in and out. I’m either training or I’m not. To tell you the truth, the worse thing I do is smoke cigarettes when I’m training. Oh, and I take a shitload of dietary supplements to keep my body agile,” says Peters. Hey, we all have to find a way to keep on keepin’ on. “Being a punk rock musician comes with the opportunity of being able to experience many crazy, crazy things,” DP says with a hoarse chuckle. “We’ve had so many weird experiences on the road I wouldn’t even know where to begin. Everything was mainly sex-related. One time a guy approached me and demanded I have sex with his wife.

They had an entire bedroom set up for us. The whole deal.” These guys were on the road ten months out of the year. We can only imagine the type of madness an everyday individual would get themselves into…let alone a pirate. “Typically, we’d find a way of demoralizing our road guy. There’s a rule of thumb in the states, anywhere for that matter. When you get to a quarter tank you fill up and don’t fuck with it. You don’t run out of gas. Well, our roadie runs out of gas on a hill in Oakland and it started to roll backwards with the trailer attached and it jackknifes in the middle of traffic in the total ghetto. This was a two-lane road. We pissed off so many people. They were livid! The whole time our roadie was gone getting gas about 20 of us tried pushing our ride off the road. When he finally returned, I opened up the trailer and said, ‘Hey dude you gotta fix this pack,’ I took the gas can from him and then locked him up in the trailer. From Oakland to Seattle that dude was locked up.” Do you think he ever ran out of gas on the road, again? Probably not. It’s a hardcore planet on the map in the universe we are living on. People just aren’t getting it the way they should. “We’re being ran by a corrupt government and a lot of people don’t have the time to learn about what is really going on. All you have to do is look a little bit deeper…Kennedy, 9/11, FEMA camps that are being built and employed, and the Illuminati. I’ve written so many songs about it for years but there comes a time when you just get tired of waving the flag. My upbringing taught me that once anything gets too fanatical that it’s time to ease up and get back to life. Punk rock etiquette for me is pulling up when things get too crazy.” Despite the collapse of the world what Duane teaches us is to wake up and simply dig on life. “I dig on raising my kid and I support Ron Paul all the way. I’ve gone on tour for him but shit you can only do so much. I have a beautiful family and what am I going to do? I don’t believe that this is our only life. We have all been here before. Consciousness never dies. If you believe that this entire orchestration is just a fluke then you are fucked.” Perhaps everything in this life does happen for a reason because there aren’t any mistakes – just lessons to be learned. The longer you live, the less you know. “I’m in my 50’s now and I’m telling you, I’d never want to be 40, again. I knew everything back then. As you keep on living, man, you lose more people. The ones that do time on this planet must be shape shifters. Life is all about visualizing and manifesting. In retrospect, looking back on my own mind as a kid…I know that it doesn’t matter what God you believe in. Just believe in yourself and keep striving and you’re going to get wherever you’re supposed to.” At the end of the day, The Master of Disaster is just attempting to do something really good, really fucking rad. Someone who doesn’t want to feel like they are just surviving. How amazing is it to come here as a cowboy, to live like an Indian and die like a pirate? Think about it. There is still a prospect of a thrilling time ahead of him and there’s no telling where the future will take him because it’s not all glamour and booty – it’s also a lot of hard work. Many people clock out early in life but for DP there is no such thing as being done because to him…that would mean death.

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Los angeles is

BURNING

X Games 2012 Sets New Standards Words by Ramon Gonzales, Photos by Cody Black

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fullcontact

18 years â&#x20AC;&#x201C; way back in 1995, Rhode Island played host to the very first X Games. In nearly two decades, the event has gone from an obscure collection of niche athletes, to the premier action- sporting event on a global scale. If you do anything in action sports, X Games is your Olympics and has turned alternative athletes into household names. Fitting that over the course of 4 days and nights of the 2012 installment, 18 events help to determine the best in brightest among the various disciplines of action sports. From moto to rally car, from skateboarding to bmx, if it has wheels, it likely caught some very serious air. How important has X Games become? During X Games 18, the event was the biggest trending topic on Twitter â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a long way from 1995 and Rhode Island.

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HIT THE DECK Skinnie has been fortunate to have him on the cover of this publication twice and he proved yet again that he is the man when it comes to street skating. PRod, Paul Rodriguez took home his fourth X Games gold medal for street skate beating out two of the best in the world in Ryan Sheckler and Nyjah Huston. The back and fourth battle came down to each of the riders last few runs on the course to really determine who would run away with it. In the end, Rodriguez pieced together a series of switchflips, kickflips, and rail grinds that saw him as the victor on the LA Live Event Deck STEP YOUR GAME UP Ronnie Renner and Matt Buyten went seven rounds back to back in what resulted ina standing ovation from the rabid crowd inside Staples center. For Moto Step Up, the goal is simple – GET UP. Riders are positioned 30 feet away from a dirty ramp and have to get as high as they can, no judges. Shattering the 2011 record of 36 feet, Renner climbed to 47 feet, gnabbing his third X Games gold. DEFYING GRAVITY Skate legend Bob Burnquist was likely not supposed to complete this year, having a back injury the Tuesday before competition was set to begin. Good thing that didn’t stop him. Earning top honors in Big Air, Burnquist garnered a top score of 94.33 from judges with massive attempts that included an Indy 720 over to Fakie in flawless fashion. Not to be outdone by silver medalist Mitchie Brusco – who at just 15 years of age landed a 720 over the gap to a 900 for a score of 93.00 off the 50-foot jump. Brusco became just the second person in X Games history to land a 900 in Big Air. BEST IN SHOW For the last five years, Jamie Bestwick has dominated BMX freestyle vert – there has been no one better. He proved it yet again by earning his sixth consecutive gold medal. Competing against guys half his age, Bestwock earned a score of 86.00 with a series of huge flairs, alley-oop 540s, and turndowns to X-ups that bordered absolutely perfect. WHIP IT Having scored some 9 X Games medals in over 13 years of competition, Jeremy ‘Twitch” Steinberg won his second consecutive gold medal in Moto X Best Whip. Judged entirely by the fans, this one really is about who can get a 350 pound dirtbike sideways in the air and bring it back before hitting the dirt. No small feat – and some of the toughest judges around. There isn’t enough room here…in fact, there aren’t really the words that can describe it as well as seeing it for yourself. Next summer can’t come fast enough – 19 s the magic number, see you in 11 months. ESPN.com

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skinniegirl

a combo of culture

And Curves

Meet Skinniegirl Nazanin Mandi

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Black & White Photographer Isaiah Mays Mua/Hair Rokael Lizama Body Suit Photographer Kenny Sweeney Mua/Hair Laura Mendoza Jean shorts/White blouse Photographer Kenny Sweeney Mua/Hair Nadia Mohammadpour Black Bikini Photographer Solmaz Saberi Mua Liz Castellanos Hair Traci Garrett

Vocal performance at Carnegie Hall at 15? Most 15 year olds are performing at their high school hall, not Carnegie Hall - wanna tell us about that? It was an experience of a lifetime. Being so young singing the Mozart Requiem in front of a sold out crowd was inspiring and frightening all at the same time. I remember standing center stage and my knees started shaking but the second I opened my mouth all the nerves vanished. I felt so at home. So you can sing in 5 different languages, are you fluent in all 5? What is your favorite language to speak? In all honesty I’m not fluent in all five(laughs). It’s always been much easier for me to sing in other languages. Is it true that your modeling career started at In-N-Out burger? (Laughs) It sure did. I was eating lunch with my Mother and a photographer approached me asked if I modeled before. I lied and said yes and well… The rest is history. Considering you have done a Bobby Valentino video, do you consider yourself a video vixen now? (Laughs) No, not one bit. I’m an actress that booked a music video. My goal was to never go down that road, absolutely nothing against it it’s just not my path of choice. Modeling, Singing, Acting - Which does boyfriend Miguel prefer you to do? Whatever makes me happy. He’s always been very supportive and believes in me immensely. Born and raised in California...how important is remembering where you came from as you continue in your career? Extremely important to me. I’m most definitely a Cali girl at heart. If you want a bright future you should always remember your past. What is new we can expect from Nazanin? Well I have an editorial in Worlds Most Beautiful Magazine, Two different summer Campaigns for Two in the Shirt. I’m a new Slickforce Girl, a Hair Campaign for FHI Heat, National Campaign for KUPA Nails and keeping my fingers crossed for a Feature Film…

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nittygritty

The Creative side of

Comfort

320 Main Brings Big Flavor to a Small Beach By Ramon Gonzales

There is something very special about a restaurant that can include a fried Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich and house made Wild Boar bratwurst on the same menu and not bat an eye. Moving south down scenic Pacific Coast Highway, just before you get into the tourist nightmares of Huntington Beach and the pretentiousness that comes with Laguna – Seal Beach remains one of Southern California’s true small beach cities. Quaint storefronts and a genuine locals only vibe ensure that this small stop halfway between the LA and Orange county beaches is indeed, a gem. Of the handful of restaurants in the area, all remain very intimate – but do not let the size of the location fool you – culinary care has found a home in Seal Beach.

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Introducing, 320 Main THE AMBIANCE With lots of bars and restaurants traveling back in time to try and channel a prohibition era feel with their food and drink, most times it comes off campy, more of a theme park-esque homage to the speakeasy – not 320 Main. Because the place doesn’t seat more than 50 people, it is very easy to take everything in immediately. From the open kitchen complete with chefs working their magic in plain sight, to the perfectly sized bar decorated with vintage bottles appropriate for their stellar cocktail menu, the writing is very much on the wall at 320. You have walked into place that cares to put their best foot forward and appeal to people looking for a culinary experience that is just as discerning as it is delicious. THE DRINK Because 320 Main doesn’t deal in high volume, the bar keep has the ability to be meticulous about the beverage they are making and it is very evident. What is not to love about a bar that makes it’s own ginger beer? In much the same way the kitchen has a very competent understanding of flavor balance, expect your bartender at 320 Main to work the same. The Pimm’s Cup is the perfect example - Pimm’s No.1, Creole Shrubb, Fresh Lemon Juice, Housemade Ginger Beer, Cucumber, Mint, and Orange. Anchoring the drink menu, 320 Main prides itself on crafting timeless cocktails including a proper Old Fashioned with Buffalo Trace Bourbon, Gomme Syrup, Bitters, Citrus Oils, Marasca Cherry. Looking for something a bit more modern, need a little flair, the Hu Hu Hala-Kahiki is a incendiary combination of Jalapeno infused Tequila, Mezcal Vida, Pineapple Shrubb, and Fresh Lime Juice. Thirsty yet? THE GRUB Head chef James Wilschke really has crafted the kind of menu that manages to have a very broad appeal, without needing to be pages and pages long. Some of the standout daily specials have created a cult following – remember that wild boar bratwurst mentioned earlier –that happens on Mondays. On Sundays, a fitting brunch special pairs succulent pan-fried chicken with brioche French toast and black forest ham that is an insane tribute to sweet and savory. Or maybe a cut of prime rib is more your speed – 320 Main does that on Thursdays and only their Prime Rib is crusted with garlic horseradish – unreal. On the daily, the Niman Ranch Pork chop is an apple cider brined double bone-in pork chop served on a bed of mustard greens and Swiss chard with Pork Jus and mustard crusted fingerling potatoes. Another standout has to be the Barramundi - a pan-seared Australian white fish with rum and mango gastrique served with Israeli couscous tossed with roasted tomatoes and cilantro. Even the starters at 320 Main aren’t dumbed down – smothered duck fries, roasted bone marrow, bay scallop ceviche, braised pork egg rolls… 320 Main has set a new standard for small beach town cuisine.

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Consumables

Spoil The World Is Ending Soon Anyway Right? 1 Polaroid GL10

Mobile Printer Remember how rad Polaroid cameras were? Remember being able to instantly see a print? Well, Polaroid figured why fight it? Keep your camera phones and snap away, we still want to give you a print. This mobile device is battery powered and syncs via Bluetooth with whatever you are using to snap photos, smartphone, point and clicks, or even that fancy SLR – if it connects wirelessly, you can send a print. $100 Polaroid.com

2 etón Rukus Solar

Wireless sound systems are already dated. Every company has cranked out some Bluetooth functional stereo system that allows you to crank music from you phone or asshole or whatever. So it was only a matter of time before the solar powered edition made it’s way onto store shelves. In addition to multiple inputs for whatever you need to jam to, this also has a USB port to charge that phone while you creep out in the park or gym. $150 etoncorp.com

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3 Karotz

Wifi Interactive Smart Rabbit Because we love the kids - Karotz speaks, sees, listens, obeys, and wiggles his ears to serve and entertain you. It can wake you up to the song of your choosing, monitor your home, and let you know when your kids get home. It is packed with WiFi, RFID, USB, and is voice-activated in 9.6” tall bunny frame. Not to mention, you would likely be the coolest dude in the office with this. $129 thinkcomputers.com

4 City Boy Picnic Grill

Pretty confused as to what the fuck this is? We were too until we realized how awesome the potential could be here. This is travel sized grill coming in at just 7.1” x 7.1” and just 8.7” tall. There is one knob, one 225g gas cartridge, and infinite ability to cool the shit out of anything, anywhere. Not to mention this looks like something from IKEA. Win, win. $229 finnishdesignshop.us

5 DIESEL Matte Watches

Of the high end fashion companies that crank out wristwatches, there is likely

none other on planet earth that are coating their watches with the same ceramic stuff that protect military tanks – and then came DIESEL. These flat matte designs are of the highest quality and well, strong isn’t even a question. $160 dieseltimeframes.com

6 TASCAM IM2

This is 0ne of the most legit products for any Apple iOS products on the market, some real James Bond shit. This portable stereo microphone transforms your iPhone, iPad into a pro quality recorder with a pair of condenser microphones on par with TASCAM’s DR Series – studio shit. The iM2 contains its own microphone preamp and analog-to-digital converter for low noise and great audio quality throughout. $79 Tascam.com

7 Adidas CLIMACOOL

Seduction Shoes Consistently releasing an evolving product line dedicated to reaching the active and the stylish in one shot, ADIDAS launched the CLIMACOOL line for the crossfit, running community

to rave reviews. Complete with lightweight cushioning, mesh lining, and 360 degree ventilation that ensures the athlete’s foot stays cool throughout the workout. $78 adidas.com

8 Levi’s 511

Commuter Pants For all of you dorks out there that have jumped onto this biking craze, Levi’s has a pair of pants especially for you. Get this, these cheek chillers are water resistant, dirt and odor repellant, and designed for movement with stretch fabric, reflective tape, and even have a U-Lock pocket for cart around your lock for your ride. Not to mention, Elvi’s will never, ever go out of style. $53 Levis.com Want a Review? Ok, say you have this really cool product and you’re wondering to yourself, “How do I get my really cool product reviewed by Skinnie Magazine?“ It’s simple. Email us at reviews@skinniemagazine.com

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pressPLAY

For your viewing By Ramon Gonzales

Digging Deeper than Blockbusters 1

Compliance

Samsara

The Campaign

Inspired by true events at a McDonald’s in Kentucky of 2004, a false accusation of theft becomes a brutal inquiry when a fast food restaurant manager begins strip searching an employee after a phone call from someone claiming to be a police officer demands the manager must help in the investigation. Wildly provocative, and obviously edgy, Writer and Director Craig Zobel does an incredible job of probing an eerie element to human nature, in just how far people will go to follow authority, despite their better judgment.

The Tibetan word for lifecycle, it might be easy for this film to written off as pretentious cinematic dick measuring, but for cinematographer/ director Ron Fricke, this film, shot entirely on 70mm film is without question a stunning visual masterpiece. Made famous by his wordless, examination of one day of life, Baraka, Samsara is time-lapsed journey from birth to death with a masterful collection of people and places that are the finest examples of humanity. Ambiguous in it’s plotline, the film functions like the intended moving picture to encompass the beauty of life – full circle.

All you really need to know here is Will Ferrell and Zack Galifanakis head this one. Nevermind some of the toilet humor, the pop culture references, or some of the slapstick puns you might expect from the duo – the real magic from these comedic dickheads happens in the obvious improvisation that no writer can script. Ferrell plays a fourth term congressman running, uncontested, or so he thinks, for a fifth term. Enter Galifanakis, an effeminate man with a heavy Southern draw and no idea of what a congressman does. Laughter ensues.

Martine and Louise are identical twin sisters that have a very peculiar occupation in that they are 69 year old prostitutes that continue to work Amsterdam’s famed Red Light District after some 50 years. Credited with started one of Amsterdam’s first trade unions for hookers, this documentary examines an unsavory career with none of the gloom and pity the viewer would likely anticipate. As the sisters discuss the practicality of hooking at their age (battling arthritis make doggystyle rough), they become more and more endearing. This is a must see.

´´´´´

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Meet The Fokkens

360 Considering Anthony Hopkins, Rachel Weisz, and Jude Law headline this film from famed Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles (City of God), it would be difficult not to pick this one. A series of interconnected vignettes mingles an alcoholic father, a blackmailed businessman, an unfaithful wife, and a paroled sex offender. Considering the character roster, there aren’t many uplifting possibilities, but Meirelles proves once again that his ability to craft a complex story is unparalleled. It’s definately worth seeing.

´´´´

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bendear

choice By Alex Mendoza

Listen Closely... 1

“Channel Orange”

“Go! Pop! Bang!”

“Vows”

“Gossamer”

“In Pursuit Of…”

Frank Ocean

Rye Rye

Passion Pit

Kimbra

perfection

If one track summarized the tempered ambition of Frank Ocean’s latest R ‘n B opus, the mantle would immediately find itself in the hands of “Pyramid” – a 10minute long suite of various half-lidded movements, Ocean serving as the soulweary narrator. Streaks of soul-tinged energy work harmoniously with Ocean’s lyrical delivery; various meters chronicling the personal state of cloudy affairs, all too ironic within the confines of Ocean’s own personal Sunny California backyard where the chaos unfolds in lethally small doses.

Call it the abridged rap version of “Chinese Democracy” if you will in terms of the delay factor. Though it is interesting to observe Rye Rye flirt her pop ambitions, as her debut “Shake it to the Ground” featured impressive lyrical prowess and a clear-cut chemistry with Baltimore rap producer, Blackstar. Boldly, she decides to play the role as the daring musical omnivore, tackling dance tunes such as “Never Will Be Mine, ft. Robyn” before shifting to a tribal shuffle with Tyga on “Shake, Twist, Drop” – all with relative ease and authenticity.

Beneath the hazy allure of Passion Pit’s impossibly catchy choruses (“Constant Conversations” and “Take a Walk”), there is an unabashed sense of relenting. Frontman Michael Angelakos designs lyrics that suggest a deeply rooted sense of a nameless longing, creating relatable characters and concepts involved that peer beyond the synthetic aesthetics of the David Guetta Lite club landscape. An ideal soundtrack to the end of the world, but not without a sense of fuzzy flair and melody to spare.

The sultry voice of New Zealand’s latest import, Kimbra, suggests maturity well beyond her years. Similar in terms of vocal tone to Lana Del Rey, Kimbra succeeds where Lana Del Rey failed – delivering on the hype following her involvement on the Gotye single, “Somebody I Used To Know”. She embraces a distinctive sense of rhythmic and melodic savvy, utilizing exposition to an effective degree on “Settle Down” – adding layers upon layers that never feel like a burden, but a breathtaking experience with each listen.

The Los Angeles based electronic duo clearly has an affinity for the icy and pristine electronic sentiments of Depeche Mode and prose-like lyrical narratives, but they are not afraid to indulge on their penchant for employing broad, dramatic strokes that focus on the ambiguous emotional palette of the human condition. Tracks such as “On Display” and “Sapphire” are part dance anthem, part tragedy, while others such as “Plague Fixed on Repeat” and “No Consolation” entrench themselves deep within delicately tempered tales of loss and salvation – all of which are constantly ever-fleeting.

www.FrankOcean.com

www.RyeRyeMusic.com

www.PassionPitMusic.com

www.KimbraMusic.com

Google it... Son!

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plugin

cntrl - AlT By Alex Mendoza

Play at Your Own Risk 1

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Dawnguard

NCAA Football 2013

Spelunky

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance

Spec Ops: The Line

PC, PS3 & X Box 360

PS3 & X Box 360

X Box 360 Arcade

Nintendo 3DS

PS3 & X Box 360

Bethesda’s monolithic RPG receives its first DLC title in the form of “Dawnguard” – catering to an epic journey that deals with your hero contending against the legion of Pop Culture’s favorite bloodsuckers, vampires. But unlike the sparkling denizens of Stephanie Meyers’ “Twilight” series, these are more ruthless creatures. While it does not exactly seem as “ambitious” as contending with dragons, rest assured the additional story content and expansion of this world is well worth the trip.

The “NCAA” franchise has been one the flagship titles for Electronic Arts, and its latest incarnation provides a sense of authenticity that provides you with the feeling that you are truly at a football game. The expert presentation is but a small morsel of the game’s strengths, which lie in the core changes to previously clunky mechanics and the game feels more realistic than before, though most of the modes feel familiar with the exception of the new Heisman Mode.

“Spelunky” will go down as one of the most polarizing 2D platformers in recent memory. It caters to the hardcore gamers of yore, yearning for nostalgia and difficult, and within the confines of “Spelunky’s” unforgiving design and difficulty, it still somehow entices gamers to endure. You will die, so fans of “Dark Souls” will enjoy the abuse – although the cute art design and sound only seems like a developer slap in the face. But if you’re looking for a challenge – then look no further.

The journey of Sora and crew continue on the beloved Nintendo 3DS platform, celebrating the franchise’s 10th anniversary with a fitting evolution to appease old fans, as well attract new ones. The artistic style is gorgeous, displaying the 3DS’ considerable graphics power, though the story is a bit convoluted, like with most “Kingdom Hearts” titles. But the new Drop system and Flowmotion provide an invigorating action RPG experience that is difficult to put down.

Unlike the ADD-centric design of the “Call of Duty” series, or most FPS in general, “Spec Ops: The Line” is centered on characters who deal with morally ambiguous consequences. There are no “heroes” amidst the blazing sandstorms that find the city of Dubai overtaken by factions attempting to avoid an early death, and everything has a feeling of dread attached to it. Multiplayer is not the reason you’ll play the game, but it definitely offers the most realistic take on war and the issues it imparts on those involved.

Final Verdict: Buy it!

Final Verdict: Rent it!

Final Verdict: Buy it!

Final Verdict: Rent it!

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Make your device

WATERSAFE

EDISON AWARDS

2012 WINNER

Order at Liquipel.com Follow us on Facebook and Twitter skinniemagazine.com 41

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SKINNIEScene

Arianny Celeste, Rachelle Leah, Kenda Perez, Chrissy Blair and Vanessa Hanson @ Palms Pool & Bungalows

INDEX

LOS ANGELES

LAS VEGAS

ORANGE COUNTY

SAN DIEGO

INLAND EMPIRE

p.044 Weekly Club Listings

p.046 Weekly Club Listings

p.048 Weekly Club Listings

p.050 Weekly Club Listings

p.052 Weekly Club Listings

Calendar Club Pictures

To Receive Updates on Skinnie Scene Club Listings or To Submit Your Events, E-mail: Update@skinniemagazine.com to be Added to Our Weekly Skinnie E-blasts.

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Los angelesSkinniescene

Photos Courtesy of Hiltron Bailey, Jamie Barren

LA CALENDAR

08/12 Sigur Ros @ Hollywood Forever Cemetary

Boots w/ The Fur @ Vanguard Hollywood

LA:YIKES @ Vanguard Hollywood

Wale @ Cecconi's BET Awards Party

Chris Paul! @ Cecconi's BET Awards Party

Common @ Cecconi's BET Awards Party

Too Good @ Vanguard Hollywood

Rick Ross @ Cecconi's BET Awards Party

Deep V @ Vanguard Hollywood

Dude Bro @ Vanguard Hollywood

Judge Mathis or Brown @ Cecconi's BET Awards Party

08/03 HARD FEST w/ Bloc Party @ LA State Historic Park 08/04 Fear Factory @ House of Blues 08/05 Juicy J @ House of Blues 08/10 Agalloch @ Echoplex

08/14 The Kills @ The Mayan 08/10 Childish Gambino @ Hollywood Palladium 08/16 Neil Diamond @ Greek Theatre 08/17 - 08/18 THE SUNSET STRIP MUSIC FESTIVAL 08/23 Civil Twilight @ El Rey Theatre

08/16 Peter Murphy @ The Roxy 08/25 Madison Marie and McKenzie Paige @ The Roxy 44 skinniemagazine.com

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Las VegasSkinniescene

Photos Courtesy of Tony Tran/ Hyde Bellagio, Joe Fury / N9NE Group, Emilio Gonzales

LV CALENDAR

08/08 BECK @ PEARL CONCERT THEATER

Arianny Celeste @ Palms

Rashad Evans @ Palms Pool & Bungalows

James Woods @ Tropfest

Avicii @ XS

Avicii Killing XS Nightclub

Delta Spirit @ Tropfest

Chuck Liddell, Arianny Celeste, Brittney Palmer, Rachelle Leah, Kenda Perez, Chrissy Blair and Vanessa Hanson @ Palms Pool

B.o.B @ Hyde Bellagio

B.o.B Chillin @ Hyde Bellagio

Brittney Palmer and Arianny Celeste @ Palms Pool

08/01 Kill Devil Hill @ Cheyenne Saloon 08/02 Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles @ Beauty Bar 08/04 10,000 Maniacs @ South Point Hotel & Casino

08/04 RUSKO @ RAIN NIGHTCLUB at The Palms Casino 08/05 Fear Factory @ Cheyenne Saloon 08/10 Pitbull @ Red Rock Resort Amphitheatre 08/19 YES @ Pearl Concert Theater 08/25 RUSKO @ RAIN NIGHTCLUB at The Palms Casino

08/11 Bloc Party @ The Cosmopolitan 08/29 Cee-Lo Green @ Planet Hollywood

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Las Vegas | Skinniescene

Skinnie magazineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 10th anniversary party @

ghostbar day club, the palms

Photos by Alan Rivera

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Orange countySkinniescene

Photos Courtesy of Michelle Kelley, EventVibe.com, Milus of EventVibe.com

OC CALENDAR

08/01 Soulfly @ Yost Theater

Above & Beyond @ Sutra

MadNMack @ HOB

Above & Beyond @ Sutra

Giant Thursday James Zabiela @ Yost Theater

MadNMack @ HOB

Giant Thursday James Zabiela @ Yost Theater

08/01 Adam Corolla @ The Improv (Irvine) 08/03 US Open of Surf with TV On The Radio @ Huntington Beach Front 08/08 Suicide Silence @ City National Grove of Anaheim

08/12 Zedd @ Yost Theater 08/09 The Kills @ The Observatory 08/11 Duran Duran @ Pacific Amphitheater 08/20 RZA @ The Observatory 08/21 Hank3 @ The Observatory

08/22 Madison Marie & Mackenzie Paige @ House of Bues 08/25 Summer Slaughter Tour @ City National Grove of Anaheim

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Vans Warped tour

@ The GREat park of irvine

Photos by Jen Reightley

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Photos Courtesy of Sean & Bobby Reyes of EventVibe.com

SD CALENDAR

08/03 YG @ House of Blues

Crystal Method @ Hard Rock

Intervention @ Hard Rock

Crystal Method @ Intervention

Crystal Method + Boner City @ Intervention

FLUXX

Designer Drugs @ FLUXX

Fit Birds @ FLUXX

08/01 Big K.R.I.T. @ Porter’s Pub 08/02 Murder By Death @ Casbah 08/04 Suicide Silence @ House of Blues 08/10 Diana Krall @ Pala Casino

08/15 Aesop Rock @ Belly Up Tavern 08/11 Me First & The Gimme Gimmes @ House of Blues 08/19 Hank3 @ House of Blues 08/22 Twin Shadow @ The Casbah 08/25 311/Slightly Stoopid @ Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre

08/31 Kottonmouth Kings @ House of Blues 08/29 Old 97’s @ Belly Up Tavern 50 skinniemagazine.com

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inland empireSkinniescene

Photos Courtesy of Jonathan Velzquez

IE CALENDAR

08/11 Suedehead @ Glass House

Andy of ETID! Is Big

New Found Glory @ Warped Tour Pomona

ellowcard - Really? @ Warped Tour Pomona

Bayside @ Warped Tour Pomona

EveryTimeIDie! @ Warped Tour Pomona

Transit @ Warped Tour Pomona

Taking Back Sunday @ Warped Tour Pomona

I Am The Avalanche @ Warped Tour Pomona

Into It. Over It. @ Warped Tour Pomona.

Polar Bear Club @ Warped Tour Pomona

08/01 Night Ranger @ Stewart Park 08/04 Spineshank @ Industry Theater 08/11 DJ Scotty Boy @ Luna in Pomona

08/18 ROCK THE BELLS @ National Orange Show 08/09 Die Antwoord @ Fox Theater Pomona 08/12 Comedy Grand Opening @ Marquee 15 08/14 Franz Ferdinand @ Glass House 08/15 Showcase Wednesdays @ Marquee 15 08/19 ROCK THE BELLS @ National Orange Show

08/25 Twin Shadow @ Glass House 08/25 John Waite @ Marquee 15

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MEZ Sports Presents

PANDEMONIUM VI

Photos by Alan Rivera

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