THE VAIDER AVAILABLE AT FACTORY413.COM AND OTHER FINE RETAILERS ONEDIST.COM
THIS , THE NEXT FRONTIER
Jonas Bevacqua -- Photographed by Quang Le
We know you’ve had a little trouble finding us. Even if we’ve slung web for a mag you can snag online, getting STATUS in your hands has been a tad bit difficult. Especially when everyone—tired of the same ol’ gangbang of mediocrity that glares from local magazine stands—wants them some as well. But you’ll be seeing a lot more of us now. Having dispatched our sweatshop of gnarly yet eager hipsters with piping hot issues stuffed in their Cobrasnake tote bags, expect a lot more STATUS sightings in your neighborhood; baristas thumbing through pages in-between drags of their cigs and all the trend lemmings burying their faces into our covers, neon shutter shades peeking from behind. This is our launch pad issue, after all, and we’re gonna shoot our fresh cultural load into as many heads as possible; our noble whatever-you-wanna-call-it-zine spaceshifting with less hype and more intel on what’s out there. Way out there. We’re pointing our glowing fingers far and wide—from smokin’ hot joints and force de femmes (mod-gypsy Millie Fairhall and box-office babe Simone Heng); to guys who’ve stepped out of their respective bounds, like musical UN peacekeepers The Out of Body Special and radio gutter kings Boys Night Out; to the spaceman on our cover who’s light years ahead of the curbwear realm with his label LRG. ‘Course, this here space is set on staying light years ahead as well, taking as many people as it can for a free ride on its starship enterprise. When we told you we were all about change, we damn well meant it. And we certainly aren’t frontin’ on this new frontier. Yours monumentally, pLo, EIC
contributors
NICK ST JAMES
Turning in his two-weeks notice from STATUS via the Pentel-outlined psychic blade slash he left on the curb outside our office building, our former art swami has moved on to more distinguished things apart from layout color schemes, blurb skew-age, and contemplating whether a graphic doodle has been dropped in the most strategic location on a page as possible. He’ll drop by whenever any chicks need to be shot, though—like the one on our Right Rider page at this magazine’s end.
ANNA CANLAS
Throwing us a whole kennel of carefully crafted literary bones for this issue’s “LRG-er Than Life” and “Wise Guy” features, Anna Canlas has made the compelling leap from writing chick drivel (she makes even that thought-provoking, though) to becoming our go-to girl for the pot roast article: attentively slow-roasted and most importantly, meaty.
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Paolo Lorenzana FASHION EDITOR Rosario Herrera ART DIRECTOR Revo C. Naval Switchblade! MARKETING DIRECTOR Mesh Villanueva EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Nicola M. Sebastian FASHION ASSISTANTS Josephine Reyes Jessa Lopez DESIGNERS Gia Banaag Mark Gosingtian Paolo Lee
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Gino Dela Paz Anna Canlas Michi Ancheta Marla Cabanban Anna Canlas Carlo Casas Daryl Chang Ant Coralejo Vanna Lim Hannah P Val Tilos Franz Ong CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS: Quang Le Nick St. James The Cobrasnake Revolution Carlo Bandoquillo
FINANCE Eva Ventura MARKETING STAFF Gel Litton Christel Boncan DESIGN INTERNS Nicole Bianco Po Patrick Jamora PUBLISHER Whiz Kids Publishing
This magazine is free, like your right to have an opinion. It’s also available digitally at WWW.STATUSMAGONLINE.COM For advertising opportunities, please email STATUSMAGAZINE1@GMAIL.COM or MAGAZINESTATUS@GMAIL.COM Or call (02)8901708 / (02) 8956833 Status Magazine / Unit 3 / Ecoville / Metropolitan Avenue / Makati
STATUS ISSUE 03 ...is out to launch
STATUSPHERE x CHECKOUT COUNTER.................8 STATUSPHERE x REVIEWS.........................10 GO-SEES.......................................14 ABOUT FACE....................................18 SWAG BAGS..........................................20 HEELS.........................................22 CUP NOODLES...................................24 SCENTED CANDLES...............................25 SHOES.........................................26 TEES .........................................28 JEANS.........................................30 MAESTRO DJ VICE.......................................34 ROCTAKON......................................36 OUT OF BODY SPECIAL...........................38 MASTERMIND KEVION STIRDIVANT.............................40 MILLIE FAIRHALL.............................. 42 MARK ARCENAL................................. 44 LIONEL DELUY..................................46 ERIK BRUNETTI.................................50 PILIPINAS STREET PLAN.........................52 HITMEN JONAS BEVACQUA................................56 BOYS NIGHT OUT ......... .....................62 WORKING GIRL SIMONE HENG...................................66 NIGHT VISION..................................68 TRANSACTION...................................72 RIGHT RIDER x SHEENA VERA CRUZ................80 PRINCIPLES OF SUCCESS.........................99
We owe this badass cover to a few great people. Jonas Bevacqua of LRG is the dude, and we’re proud to have popped his cover-boy cherry. Quang Le captured it all on film at his studio. Thankfully, Jonas knows how to dress himself, so he self-styled the shoot. Supreme graphic designer dude Revo Naval did the layout. And the shiny silver stuff is just a lil’ sum’n extra for you, dear reader. Enjoy.
correction: in the second issue, the stylist on “Mock Star” Ramon Bautista Shoot (page 52), it’s Kc Leyco. We apologize.
STATUSPHERE
MOULIN HUGE ON THE LUXURY
Raise the Heat in Sohotel’s Party Suite S
ure, party people are always looking for a new stomping ground, but that doesn’t mean it’s got to be another over-hyped club. For the nightspotweary, the Party Suite at Sohotel might be that nocturnal remedy they’ve been searching for. Unlike the typical hotel suite that discourages a little fun and madness—turning your room into your own private den of decadence—Sohotel’s equipped its suite to suit the needs and tastes of those who want to get down and dirty but don’t wanna go through the bottleservice brouhaha or velvet rope hassle at your neighborhood club.
With a stateof-the-art karaoke station, three strategically placed plasma screens (for couch, bed, and bath), a high-def sound system, and two rain showers (double the fun) in the bathroom, the Suite calls for its guests’ creativity in getting that party started. For P 15,000 (peanuts when you split that among your amigos; a limit of 20 peeps goes, though, but Sohotel will look the other way if you say “please”) with a fifth of that allotted for consumable hooch and grub, this cosmic pussy palace is yours for the hedonism. And hey, just say the word and those festivities you had in mind can be arranged and rubbed from the genie that is Sohotel—be it a
grilled meat spread or that compulsory stripper for the buddy that’s gonna get hitched—right before you park your car into this boutique suite’s private drive-in space. People these days don’t want to get all dressed up for just that tired club everyone’s grinding at. Hell, you don’t even have to get dressed for any sort of occasion since the Party Suite makes you master of your own ceremony. Of course, it’s up to you to keep that party going all night long.
Sohotel is located at 2016 MH Del Pilar street, Malate, Manila (521-4341-44) - Franz Ong
TEE PARTY FOR ALL! M
aybe, just maybe, you might have noticed the influx of Crayola-bright skinny jeans and Blair Waldorf-style opaque stockings. Seems the ‘80s are back with a resounding synth beat, and for Miko Quiogue, graphic designer behind brand spankin’ new tee line Come Young Come All, the timing is certainly to a T. With popsicles of color, ADD-privy visuals and cotton that seems to be drunk on Downy, CYCA shirts are worlds away from your typically kitschy tiangge finds. With designs like a Jefferson Starship
tribute emblazoned with the band’s immortalized anthem— “We built this city (on rock and roll)”— that young n’ crazy vibe Come Young Come All is championing pulls wallflowers off the wall and urges
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wearers to simply not give a crap. After all, as Miko says, “If you’re out, you’re in.” Although the line carries only XS, S, and M (which run a size larger than the tag states), ladies
F
rench fashion deity Christian Lacroix has wandered somewhere down the Marais District of Paris, where eccentricityadvocating streets intersect with those bleeding history and charmingly classic beauty. What was once Victor Hugo’s neighborhood bakery is now known as Hotel du Petitmoulin. This 17-room roomtopia for the mod bourgeoisie has unique flavor; each bedchamber personalized and individually designed according to ceiling height, view and orientation. With its slightly crooked, off-kilter angles and a 17th century wooden staircase, the hotel is a sober canvas for period furniture, wine-colored ruffle taffeta drapes, antiquated wallpaper and gaudy fabrics. Through corridors via black-lacquered doors, a polka dot carpet provides contrast between baroque and couture rooms, hints of the
and children may soon get in on the action as Come Young Come All sticks true to its name. The kicker in all this? One shirt will run you a mere P 500. That’s roughly the price of two venti lattes and a brownie, which you should probably go easy on anyway. Plus, this gives you another great reason to bust out those Rayban wayfarers you’ve been holding onto since ‘89.
21st century, and dashes of nostalgia; all taking the unsuspecting aesthete from “masculine to feminine, north to south, from flowers to stripes, or from antique gold to fluorescent green.” So the next time you rendezvous weez yor la-ver en zee city of Pa-ree, stroll on down through the rues of ancient stone and modernity and check your tonsil hockey-playing selves into the Hotel du Petitmoutin. In the words of Christian Lacroix, “It is couture, where the harmony is created from a puzzle of inspirations, where the feeling of the moment is nourished with the elements of the past, where modernity lives in the tradition of the present.”
29/31 Rue de Poitou 75003 Paris. For bookings, visit www. hoteldupetitmoulin.com. -Christel Boncan
Come Young Come All is available exclusively online at comeyoungcomeall. multiply.com -Vanna Lim
STATUSPHERE
STREET LIFEGUARDS W
sneakerhead, John Mayer; what you could call a glimpse into the brand’s past and present and a representation of the now-essential DoIt-Yourself aesthetic. And that’s certainly something that can be accomplished by snagging Alife’s Krink Ink Markers and paints—for guys who personally want to label their decks, sneaks, or that 8 x 5 ft blank wall in your ‘hood. All up to you, of course.
3-15-10 Jingumae, Shibuya-Ku, Tokyo JP 150-0001 Tel: (03) 5775-0200 Monday – Saturday: 11AM – 7PM Sunday: Noon – 5PM
-Hannah P
ACT UP
ith NYC label Alife finally landing in Japan’s streetwear mecca Harajuku, it’s a bit like Jesus touching down on earth to hang with his disciples. Considering the store’s superchill staff are probably wearing the shirts you’ve been scouring your size for, these disciples definitely know all about the good life. Imagine flash-on-yourchest tees, high kick-worthy sneaks, fly caps (New Era and Kangol-collaborated), and too-cool-to-mount skate decks arranged neatly for pick-me-up perusal. The store’s interiors capture slick sleekness and simplicity, focusing your deficit of attention on such must-see displays as a pile of ol’ Alife footwear toppled in a corner or an electric guitar signed by singer ‘n’
Go, Johnnys, Go!
Meet the Johnnys, the band that puts the rock in Rockeoke. Every other Monday, Jojo (Barrion, bass, vocals), Edwin (Pastor, guitars, vocals), and Russel (Soriano, drums) are game enough to back up drunken rock’n’roll wannabes that
OFF PANEL PARADISE In the farthest regions of shopping mall space, there is a comic shop free from the reaches of dried-up scripts and wallet-sucking crossover stories. Created by owners Lyle Sacris and Ramon De Veyra, it is a satellite shop called Sputnik, located beside the film resto planet of Mogwai, in the universe of Cubao X. Like the Batcave, it is only open from 6 PM- 12 AM. Its white façade is made out of infinity goo that can trap the likes of Mr. “Up, Up and Away.” As such, it is impenetrable to regurgitated stories about arachnid clones, secret identities being revealed, costume romances, and deaths soon to be retconned at a single bound. Being far from the mainstream of mall territory, you might be bewildered by the titles on the shelves—from Steve Prucell’s Sam and Max to James Kolchaka’s American
Elf. These are independent comics known to a select few and naming them will most likely receive odd stares. The bizarre smoking bunnies from Kid Robot toys might even make you gasp as they are not from your standard skiprope batman line. Yet, it’s all good ‘cause Fresh Manila’s Nardong Tae is even here. So yeah, all the good shit’s right here. Sputnik is the place to bring your wad of comic cash and impulsively say, “I don’t care what it is but I like it.” It is where you will get a real comic break from all those ambiguously gay capes and tights. You don’t need to know who the authors are or who got his mind wiped by whom. All you do need to know is that it is time to exhale continuity hell and breathe in some of that heavenly indie goodness.
earnestly hack rock perennials like “Sweet Child of mine” into tiny, tone-forsaken pieces. “It’s about being a rockstar for a night,” explains Jojo, “so we help them live that dream. We go with the music and perform with a lot of energy instead of just being part of the background like stage props.” But the three-piece band is more than a live, scissor-kicking karaoke machine. You know those Britpop numbers you chug your Super Dry to during those thankful breaks from all the rockstar hopefuls, like the sunny, skirt-shakin’ “She Said”, or the roadhouse-rock “Batong Rosas”, with its classic blues riff? Those are Johnny-boy originals from their independent, self-
titled debut album. From their influences (The Beatles and Ramones, go figure) to the band’s Smiths-sonic vocals infused with a feel-good shot of the Beach Boys, to their hair, it’s obvious which island nation the Johnnys look to for inspiration. Jojo spells it out with an evil grin: “We’re like the Pinoy British invasion.” Cheerio to that.
-J. Vincent Ong
** Twist, shout, and give a rockstar pout to the Johnnys every other Monday at Magnet Bonifacio High Street, every Wednesday at Molokai Bar in Alabang, or every Friday at Booze Stop Bar on Kamagong st., Makati. For bookings, drop Jojo a line at (0927) 837-6763.
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STATUSPHERE
beats
Christina Bartges a.k.a. DJ Miss Badkiss
Steve Bug – Dead Man’s Hand/ Poker Flat Vol. 6 “Momwack” Christina says: “Steve Bug’s like my most favorite DJ. He’s from Berlin and does really good, minimal techno stuff. He also has a record label called Poker Flat.” Vibe: Men in shiny silver jumpsuits solemnly do the robot in Legoland. Mathew Jonson – Marionette “Marionette” Christina says: “He’s not just your regular musician, to me he’s a composer – the melodies of his music sound almost classical. If Mozart was alive right now he’d be doing the stuff that Jonson does.” Vibe: A symphony of leaky taps in an underground crystal cavern. Lupe Fiasco feat. UNKLE – The Cool “Hello/Goodbye (Uncool)” Christina says: “Lupe Fiasco is really a hiphop artist but this song is more rock. I love it because that’s what’s happening in music right now—there’s a mixing, blending, fusing of genres and sounds. With so much crossing over you can no longer define music as one thing or the other; as hip-hop, or rock, or whatever. I think it’s great.” Vibe: The soundtrack to a bank robbery walk-out-in-trench-coats-asglass-shatters-in-slow-mo style. Hard-Fi – Stars Of CCTV “Gotta Reason” Christina says: “I just love the groove of this song. Reminds me of dirty dancing. Very upbeat.” Vibe: Blazing down a desert highway in a stolen 69 ‘stang with one arm slung around your boss’ wife. 10 - www.statusmagonline.com
Kim Marvilla (DJ, NU107)
reviews by
Jimmy Muna (rapper, promulgator of word “janky”) CocoRosie – La Maison de Mon Rêve “Hairnet Paradise” Jimmy says: “Now this sister duo may not be most folks’ cup of tea but if you wanna hear what a unique voice doubled over and under an opera-trained voice laid on top of a guitar, a harp, manipulated children’s toys, and electronic and percussion instruments, sounds like… check this shit out.” Pharoahe Monch Desire “When the Gun Draws” Jimmy says: “Ever wonder what a bullet thinks? If a bullet thought, that is. From the indifference of a bullet’s true being, woven tightly with understanding, lyricism, and proper deliverance, Monch tells one side of the story that never gets heard.” Eric Dolphy- Last Date “Epistrophy” Jimmy says: “A Monk and Clarke tune, Dolphy throws down bass clarinet like the first important bass clarinet in jazz should! The way this cat chops it up, it’ll make you wish you were in Berlin in ’64, watching this happen onstage. And this ain’t his best work.” Buddy Guy – Hold That Plane “Hold That Plane” Jimmy says: “You don’t know? Well Hendrix and Clapton did considering they were influenced by this Guy. The guitar on this record is sick—Buddy makes that muther fucker sang—while Junior Mance is on keys (that cat can play). You gotta play this one a few times and really listen to what they do. I guarantee it will boogie woogie on yo brain.”
Black Kids – Partie Traumatic “I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You” Kim says: “Rolling Stone named this Florida band one of the 10 bands to watch out for in 2008, and I totally agree. Their indie pop/ post-punk vibe, ‘specially in this song, is soothing but is injected with catchy disco punk elements which I find very refreshing and entertaining. I also find the lyrics of this song, about a boy having an affair with a girl who has a boyfriend, pretty witty without trying too hard.” Against Me! – New Wave “Thrash Unreal” Kim says: “I love Punk. Right now I just discovered Against Me!, which is a punk rock band from Florida and have been around for 11 years. Catchy but still heavy. This is a single released last year, and I love everything from the contradicting sound of the vocalist’s screams against the pop melody, to the lyrics that every party girl can relate to and maybe learn from.” The Wombats – A Guide to Love and Desperation “Let’s Dance to Joy Division” Kim says: “This English Indie-Rock band is one of Spin’s 10 bands to watch out for in ‘08. I haven’t really had the chance to check out their debut but this is my song of the moment. I love the vibe and the melody, and I especially love the irony and message of the lyrics. It’s definitely a pick-me-upper, good-vibes song that just might inspire you.” Deftones- Deftones “Minerva” Kim says: “I’m going through a minor Nu Metal phase right now for some reason, and have been listening to Deftones a lot, along with Slayer, Glassjaw, and Greyhoundz. I’ve come to appreciate the genre just recently, and it always manages to hit the spot, whatever that spot might be. I love how this song escalates and takes you on a ride that just gets wilder and wilder.”
STATUSPHERE Box Set/Series:
Metalocalypse An animated series that follows the trail of destruction left by Dethklok, an extreme metal band whose absolute world domination makes the official world powers feel downsized. There’s the blond, airy rhythm guitarist, an embittered bassist who can play his instrument with his, er, other instrument, an alcoholic drummer with a balding mullet, a guitarist with the hottest fingers in the West, and a vocalist who really talks in that growly metal voice, always seeking new and untold heights of “brutal”. Reigning from the dark, dank Dethklok lair, they spend their time getting airdropped into a concert in the Alaskan hinterlands—inevitably crushing hundreds of their devoted pilgrims—to promote their coffee jingle (“We will make coffee metal!”), recording their latest album a thousand leagues under the sea (while distraught fans blow their brains out from the unbearable wait), and invoking all sorts of bloody mayhem, from ancient Nors4e demon to a horde of murderous kitties. The violence is funny in the way that mowing down sweet grannies in Grand Theft Auto is funny—it’s excessive, senseless, and therefore hilarious. Metalocalpyse is equal parts a satire on the commercial fiasco that death metal (and the music industry) has become and a dysfunctionalfamily sitcom from hell. The bandmates knock their heads together to come up with the perfect gift for their nihilist bassist William Murderface, attempt to make stand-up comedy metal, and even order their dead cook to rise from the dead, by the power of Satan, just to make them sandwiches. Brutal.
Documentary:
DiBiDi Pick:
The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters
Bra Boys ‘Brah, not brassiere, boys, that is. Unwilling to let the Yanks have one up on them, even if the category at hand is gang violence, the Aussies are proud to present the Bra Boys, a group of restless and rowdy groms (that’s “surf brat” to the landlocked) from the Maroubra projects that would turn out to be one of the most notorious surf gangs Down Under (next to those freakin’ Great Whites, of course). At the core of the doc is the story of the three Abberton brothers who have lived through the erratic extremes of life in the ghetto, from the high days of their pro-surfing fame (crazy keggers and senseless brawls abound) to the horror of two of the bros being tried for murder. The Boys might seem like a bunch of redneck bruisers (a kangaroo version of Cali’s Z-Boys), but it’s more complicated than you think. For kids that went
screen
home to strung-out mothers, rampaging stepfathers, or worse, the band of brothers offered ‘em a place to belong to and an identity to take pride in, and defend; the boys finding a way out in the pure joy of surfing—and in the immensely lucrative benefits to doing it really, really well.
Yeah, we all remember those old Nintendo games fondly. But these guys take the likes of Donkey Kong and Pacman to levels beyond their 8-bit selves, turning joystick twiddling into a professional sport. Gaming legend Billy Mitchell has reigned supreme as the moustached, mullet-sporting King of Kong for over 20 years, inspiring dweebs all across America with his dexterity and apparently innate coolness (affirmed both by devotees and himself). His four-eyed fan club are adamant that he is the gamer of the century, on par with the likes of Kelly Slater or Michael Jordan. But then records are made to broken and The King of Kong chronicles the real-life quest of Steve Wiebe, an unassuming and much more likeable novice who got into gaming on a whim, as he dares to tackle the Mitchell high-score stronghold, battling with all the evil king’s minions along the way. It’s your classic David vs. Goliath story, except that the battleground is a decrepit arcade in Bumfuck, Florida, the challenge is presided over by a striped referee, and the only ones who care about the outcome are overgrown children obsessed with a gaming relic—and eventually, you, the viewer, as you are unwittingly sucked into a peculiar, hilarious, and strangely dramatic alternate universe, where life is, quite literally, all a game. Let the showdown begin!
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STATUSPHERE
I Have Fun Everywhere I Go: Savage Tales of Pot, Porn, Punk Rock, Pro Wrestling, Talking Apes, Evil Bosses, Dirty Blues, American Heroes, and the Most Notorious Magazines in the World
ink
by Mike Edison
Candy Girl
by Diablo Cody
You know how they say that the characters authors create are often reflections of themselves? Well, with Diablo Cody, the author of the indie-cheek hit Juno, that’s kinda not really. Basic difference: Juno was a teen mommy, Diablo was a stripper. But Cody wasn’t always a stripper; she actually started out as Brook Busey (Diablo Cody is her penname), a Catholic schoolgirl with a penchant for Star Trek and rock’n’roll (no, this isn’t her stripper cover) that went the regular college-corporate job-blah route until she decided to make a few changes in her life. One was changing her
area code to match her longdistance lover’s, their online affection blossoming through the back and forth of a few well-composed mixtapes. Another was beefing up her copy-typist income by baring a so-so set of buttocks and booby that were never meant for the “entertainment” industry. Candy Girl chronicles Busey/Cody’s bizarre, awkward, occasionallytouching-but-mostlyhilarious journey into the world of dollar-lined thongs and girls with names like Sapphire. Sometimes you just need to get stripping outta your system. Who knows, maybe it’ll help you turn out an Oscar-winning screenplay.
Terryworld
by Terry Richardson In the mood for a cock-meat sandwich? Flip through the pages of Terry Richardson’s i n f a m o u s Terryworld and you just might land on an uncomfortably hi-res photo of a schlong nestled in a bun. And if sausage isn’t your thing, the book’s rife with other images, ranging from the amusingly lowbrow to the downright obscene, to satisfy your subconscious cravings, from a girl squirting an arc of creamy substance into and around her mouth (so we’re clear, it’s milk straight from the cow’s tit) to Batman and Robin kissing—and then jerking each other off. The Bearded Lady would’ve blushed. But leafing through raw, off-center photos of raw, off-center situations— 12 - www.statusmagonline.com
each new spread killing a little more of your natural respect for a person’s private affairs (and their privates)—and the emotions pass like waves. C u r i o s i t y . R e v u l s i o n . Arousal. Humor. C o n f u s i o n . Pity. And even: admiration, compassion, and respect. Whether a cunt flash is just a cunt flash, Terry brings you into a world where stifled fantasies are released and masked bodies are revealed in all their pasty, goose-pimpled glory. These are people as they are; caught red-handed, midblink, faking a smile, with their pants (or panties) down. And, as cringingly up close and un-private as the photos are, they are painfully yet heroically, beautiful.
The title itself announces the guns-blazing, freewheeling ride between its covers: the true story (discounting any drug-induced memory loss) of renegade writer Mike Edison during the prebroadband era. From jumping Ivy League Ed ship to start his own Xeroxed wrestling magazine—beating the shit out of his drums for his violence-magnet thrash band, Sharky’s Machine, and churning out smut at a pornnovel factory—to his many real (and somewhat imagined) adventures in the hotbox cubicles of High Times, Edison’s wormhole journey into magazine publishing is nothing like the glossy, stilettostalking world you know in The Devil Wears Prada. This is journalism on the fringes, in the gutter, and deep, deep underground; the darkest corners of counterculture into which Edison cheerfully plunges headlong, with only wit and a gut-busting sense of humor for company.
Gonzo: Hunter S. Thompson Edited by Steve Crist
“He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man.” The height of the psychedelic age—escaping into depravity; saving the world with one great acid trip—“fear and loathing”, and the bitter loss of the American Dream. Hunter S. Thompson (his alterego Raoul Duke is played by Johnny Depp in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas) was a journalist that rode the wave of the ‘60s countercultural movement and recorded its “high-water mark—that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back”. Writing with the anarchical, drug-addled madness of a true genius, drawing himself into the center as the protagonist of his own reporting—a reality-bending style that would become known as Gonzo journalism—Dr. Thompson speaks on behalf of his era, spitting out onto the crumpled pages of his notebook all the political radicalism, chemically-induced mayhem, and overwhelming optimism that marked those bygone days.
Instead of trying to pin down Hunter the man with a lesser man’s words, collected here are personal photographs (such as one of him banging away on his typewriter in Big Sur), various writings, and memorabilia that tell the whole crazy story through his own words and eyes, following Thompson as he immerses himself in San Francisco’s hippie revolution, tags along with the Hell’s Angels, rages against Nixon, and finally, getting old and bored, puts one in the head. “Buy the ticket, take the ride,” and The Good Doctor would be proud.
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GO-SEES
L O O H C S ART DROOL
Inez 20 MMA
John 22 MMA
Gihanie 17 Prod. Design
Alexis 18 Ind. Design
Miguel 19 Music Prod.
Erika 19 MMA
Jan 20 MMA
Sam 18 MMA
Jhelo Production Design
Selina 20 Fashion Design
Niko 17 MMA
Lui 21 MMA
Paolo 19 MMA
Raleene Interior Design
Yeon Jin Choi 21 MMA
Margaux 18 Fashion Design CJ 21 MMA
Ken 20 MMA
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Erika 16 CDA
GO-SEES
It’s a lot easier to ship ass to class when you go to DLS- COLLEGE OF ST. Benilde’s futuro-architectural School of Design and Arts. While school’s out for the moment, STATUS scoured the halls for students making a dent with their threads and majoring in a most valuable art: attitude.
Margarita 17 MMA
Tani 19 MMA
Tracey 20 Fashion Design
Whuna 17 MMA
Celine 18 Fashion Design
LA 20 Photography
Mykel 18 MMA
Miko 21
Kat 18 MMA
Chen Tai-Yao 20 MMA
Nikka 19 MMA
Christina 17 Interior Design
Juan 18 MMA
Denise 20 MMA
Nari Kim 23 MMA
Ciarra 19 MMA
Gerard 18 MMA
Ionica 17 Fashion Design
Sam 18 Fashion Design
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Available
at Shoe Shop ATC, AND1, G4, AKTIV Trinoma, 2B Fairview, Olympic Village ATC, Olympic Village World Trinoma and Locker Room Sta Rosa Laguna.
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PLAY
If you think the Play Ball styling products are unbelievably fun… then watch out this September 2008 as the popular Play Ball range evolves into funner, newer forms! If you loved squeezing, juggling and bouncing the Play Ball pots, then you’ll adore the latest Play Ball sprays with their eye-catching packaging and delicious fragrances. Of course, they can create sensational styling effects too!
play ball
texture tonic
play ball
effect: enhanced body, flexible hol d finish: natural hold: how to play: sha llution & ke it! spritz on -frizz, po hold, anti ng towel-dried hair ro st : and blow-dry. effect tion UV protec ossy gl h: finis d hair volume curls wel-drie hold: tz on to ri sp : ay how to pl rs. with finge and work
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Play Ball products are available only in L’Oréal Professionnel salons! Suggested retail price is Php700 for the Play Ball pots and Php780 for the Play Ball sprays.
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textur
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about face
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ater is at the core of Beauty. After all, what could be better than naturally smooth, soft, healthy, moisturized skin? Let deep sea water infuse your skin with intense moisure and get baby soft skin through Shu Uemura’s Depsea Moisture Line.
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That’s what he said.
www.statusmagonline.com Iza Calzado photo by Nick St James
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www.statusmagonline.com - 21
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www.statusmagonline.com - 29
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MAESTRO
CLUB CORRUPTOR ior and trash whichever hotel room he’s DJ VICE got the cred to pull badass, rock-god behav out of your club. booked in. He doesn’t. But he will shake the shit
by Marla Cabanban
D
Js are the new rock stars,” says DJ Vice. I’d say that’s a pretty good drop-off point to begin this introduction, but here are the facts: DJ Vice is “the hottest nightclub DJ in the United States” (as hailed by the Pure Management Group) and the club scene is picking up and taking the world by storm – one dancefloor-stomping beat at a time. Thing is, Vice is someone a lot of people may dub a kid prodigy. From sparking up his humble career at age 13 and making his way through iconic radio stations in L.A., he’s performed with the likes of Wyclef Jean, Ludacris, Mariah Carey, and scores of other musicians above and below the scene. Engaging a party audience is no joke, more so with this generation of kids being sharper and savvier than ever. And as the urban movement has slowly piqued mainstream media interest in recent years, it’s no surprise that DJs are now being christened rock stars. The new golden gods, if you will. And Vice? A divine force to be reckoned with, indeed, considering his being a turntable veteran, all-genre audiophile, and mass presence that stretches across states, has spun him into a steady fixture in the DJ domain. To serve some spunk up to STATUS, DJ Vice manages to break away from his busy-ass spin schedule to give us some insight on what it’s like to be the hottest nightclub DJ in the United States—and the frustration of not having deodorant named after one’s self.
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“
ow, “Before every sh ory there’s a mandat It’s shot of Patron. ing better than rubb but a buddha’sbelly, a not better then es e danc riverdance. Thos ter the usually occur af 3rd shot!”
”
MAESTRO Tell us about your upcoming 2008 Vice Vice Baby Summer Tour. What should the party people expect? Any special guests onboard—or nifty props that’ll knock our socks off? How crazy do your sets get? Vice Vice Baby Summer Tour is hitting over 30 venues throughout thecountry. It’s basically myself brining the highest energy level to every city. I’m on the tour with myself and my road manager, so we couldn’t fit any props in the carry on luggage...haha. I’m sure your socks will be knocked off by the end of the night, so, mission accomplished! The craziest set can be defined in so many different ways; one example is on a night where it seems like nothing is going wrong and I’m killing it song after song…and a completely different example is a night where I’ve gotten hit with too many shots and I slipped and played the same song about four times. Haha. Hey it happens. Not often, but it does happen. You’ll be flying from coast to coast all summer. Any one tour date you’re excited about? What do you to warm-up before sets? Do you rub a rabbit’s belly and do a little riverdance, perhaps? I have learned to sleep on planes under any circumstance. Hoodie is on, pillow propped up against the window, and I’m out in 30 seconds. I always wake up excited at every city I get to, but for some reason I’m really looking forward to getting back out to Chicago. That city is dope and it’s been a few months since I’ve played there. Before every show, there’s a mandatory shot of Patron. It’s better than rubbing a belly, but not better then a riverdance. Those dances usually occur after the 3rd shot! You’re currently touted as the “Hottest Nightclub DJ in the United States.” What’s the magic ingredient in your sauce? What do you think drives your crowds nuts?
Lil Jon says you’re “really dope.” Any other artists you like to hang with? Of course, Lil Jon is the man when he comes to the booth. He not only can rock the mic, but he can actually DJ and kill it! When I was doing the afternoon show on radio in Los Angeles I met Dr. Dre at a concert and when I said my name was DJ Vice, he said “Oh shit. I be listening to your mixes on the radio all the time.” I basically shit my pants after that. Growing up in LA and being a fan of Dre, that is more than [an] accomplishment. That is an award. Let’s say Madonna, Britney, Paris, and Gary Coleman simultaneously step onto your dance floor. What song are you gonna blast to get that party going? No way around it. You gotta drop the Different Strokes theme to get GC a lil’ attention for the lil’ guy. Madonna probably doesn’t care to hear any of her music in a club because she’s been performing non-stop, so does she really wanna dance to her own shit.? No. Paris, on the other hand, would eat it up. And Britney? Well let’s just drop Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy” and call it a night. What do you think of the whole DJ-as-celebrity (a la Steve Aoki endorsing a shitload of products) shtick? You trying to steer this career into, well, several others? DJs are the new rock stars. I know everyone says dumb shit like that, but we’re on the warpath right now. We really are in the audiences’ face night after night and setting the standard of what people wanna dance to. It’s amazing that DJs are endorsing products now. I just saw a new deodorant made by AXE called VICE. Too bad it wasn’t named after me. Maybe next time.
The fact that I’m partying just as hard as people on the dance floor. If you’re in the crowd and you aren’t keeping up with me, you need to step it up! Which town parties the hardest? Vegas, LA, New York—or some totally random place like India? Well, I recently played in Japan and it was sick! I Love Japan and how crazy they are with fashion. But hands down it’s Las Vegas. The party never ends in that city. You’ve been spinning and mixing for about 15 years now. What was your big break in that decade and a half? Do you see yourself doing something else in the future? You think you’re gonna be a granddaddy DJ, by any chance? In my eyes, becoming a DJ on Power 106 FM in LA in 1997 was a huge accomplishment. I was fresh outta high school and I got on the biggest radio station over there. It saved me from getting a normal job, which I still have never had...ever! DJing’s is in my blood. It’s what I’ve been doing since I was 13 years old, so I know it will never be completely over. I do want to focus on more production and I’m in the process of opening my first store. Details will come soon. And I’m gonna become a sheep herder if all else fails. Obviously your job keeps you out ‘til the break of dawn most nights. Do you do anything in daylight? Every night off, I am hanging with my son who’s 10 years old. He’s my lil’ homie! I just recently took him to his first concert, which was amazing. We watched Linkin Park a few rows from the front. What a way to experience his first concert. My first experience was in the nosebleed sections watching MC Hammer through binoculars.
SLICES OF VICE Best party played at: A Nike event with Kobe Bryant because my son stood by my side and watched me. Worst party played at: N/A Party-starting track: As much as I am over playing it, it’s still 50 Cent’s “In The Club” Party-killing track (and not in a good way): La Bouche, “Be My Lover” Party vice of choice: Patron Platinum, chilled Female you’d like to see at the frontlines/on the ledges: Kate Beckinsale First record purchased: Doug E Fresh- The Show Last record purchased: Coldplay- Viva La Vida Dumbest record purchased: Multiplication rap record…I still can’t figure it out.
www.statusmagonline.com - 35
CAN’T STOP THE ROC
MAESTRO
You can’t prevent the landslide of Top 40 hip-hop and rock hits from consuming you when New York City’s DJ Roctakon is the natural force behind the decks. It’s murder on the dance floor, really, but you won’t give a damn once you’re buried in those beats. by Anton Coralejo
T
here’s only one way to describe it— New York Club DJ,” says DJ Roctakon, explaining what separates him from the rest of the fold in the world of professional deck-popping, rocking and mixing. Like any profanely insane DJ dedicated to his craft, Roctakon dukes it out with his unique style of (hard) house that pays reverence to contempo pop and rock, as well as retro ‘80s sounds—all with the randomness of a sundae on a Monday that gets the crowd screaming for that aural ice cream truck. A venerable King of Clubs, DJ Roctakon hails from the streets of Washington DC, where he took his first baby steps into DJ dominion. “16 years old and sneaking into clubs in DC and going to the raves in Baltimore…as soon as I understood what DJing was, I wanted to do it,” he says, recounting early influences from DC’s rich music scene in the ‘90s—from Go-Go (a sub-genre of funk originating from DC), Punk, Hip Hop, and R&B. Saving up money working as a lifeguard, he was soon able to buy himself his first set of turntables. The guy fiendishly mastered his craft; all the hard work paying off when he started winning local and regional DJ battles, which paved the vinyl-strewn way to New York where he saw through the awesome view of a fish-eye lens what he’d always imagined himself doing since he was a kid: playing as a DJ in the Big Apple. The rest would have been “fuck yeah” history but Roc’s entry into the NYC club scene meant harder house and faster times. “We play 11PM-4 AM non-stop, rocking 4 to 5 or more nights a
week,” he explains about that big city spinning that nearly bled him dry. But then reigning high with the best of ‘em meant extra DJ Ed from other acclaimed mix-masters such as Stretch Armstrong, Riz, and Flex. Skills fine-tuned and niche carved, Roctakon eventually made his own name in the DJing game—local audiences praising him on high and the city taking him in as another of its glorified sons. “A lot of times, people want to prove their city is cool or happening or whatever, but I live in New York, so chances are you’re not going to blow my mind. Don’t talk up your club or your city or your night—let’s just have a good time.” The good time is never too hard to come by when Roc’s up in the booth, however. The fact that everywhere he plays ends up being the venue for an awesome night is what spurs him onto more sets and more crowds—all for that feeling he gets when he’s spinning an audience to greater clubbing heights. It’s all about getting the masses to dance, anyway—and sometimes, it all comes down to knowing what makes your heart skip a beat. “I really just get into a groove with the people in the audience and think what would make me happy if I was them. I know what it takes to do hip-hop or Top 40 in a club, but I don’t know what it takes to be like Tiesto or Louie Vega,” he says, self-assured in his soundstyle. “I have them all the time. If it’s a good night in the club and everything is really rocking, I get this feeling that comes over me in a wave like, yeah, this is the shit.”
www.statusmagonline.com - 37
MAESTRO
Leave
Your Body, … …and let the Out of Body Special take you to aural heights unbeknownst to man. by Nicola M. Sebastian -- Photographed by Revolution
“Y
ou can do anything with Tanduay,” declares Garon the sax god, uncovering, with the wicked relish of a joker, the secret behind the Out of Body Special’s outta-this-world sound and stellar success in the local amp circuit. In a scene where heavy guitar licks and indie electro tinkerings are standard fare, the OBS serves up its own brew of funk that undeniably hits the spot.
“
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Alcohol seems an appropriate topic for the setting of this interview: the a la Las Vegas Party Suite of Sohotel in Manila. The band members are sprawled about the room’s orgy tastic Superbed it could fit a dozen people, and I think that’s the point in various states of
Carlos relaxation. (Magno, vocals), ever the intense leader, sits Indian-style in one corner; Garon (Honasan) and Tmac (Cruz, drums) have plunked themselves down with a couple of pillows and are goofing around; Pat (Co, guitars) and Inky (De Dios, keyboards) are
MAESTRO “What we’re trying to do is stop people from getting locked into a tunnel vision of what OPM is. Because there’s so much more.” happy to look on as Raymond (Fabul) their manager discretely documents the shoot; and Marts (Veerayah, guitar), post-shoot, heads out the door for a wedding, while Niño (Avenido, bass) and Diego (Beltran, percussions) seem to be asleep. Considering the band’s been punching stage-time in since their student/ slacker days in duh Ateneo [circa 2004] and the recent release of their debut album, Is Love, it isn’t just the accidental genius of rum-enhanced jam sessions that have raised OBS up as a formidable act in the music scene.
Containing both fresh tracks and pumped-up version-2’s from their original EP, Is Love is an audio documentary of the OBS flight path, thus far; a by-product of the creative tweakings of each member, endless jamming, and, of course, drunken conversations c/o Mr. Tanduay. The album starts off with a “Soundcheck” that—like its video—escalates into a body-bumping house party that takes off into space. And, believe me, it jumps intergalactic bounds. When you throw a bunch of guys who grew up listening to everything from heavy metal to
More individuals = more influences = more ideas = good music.
salsa together, what you get is “either a great mess,” says Los, “or a great beat.” There’s Mark’s riff, expounded into the sun-drenched, jazzy “Mga Awit ng Kahapon”. Then there’s Tmac’s downtempo “When You’re Around”. And the bassheavy anthem, “What Everybody Said”—or, as Garon recalls his mom calling it, “Okay ‘to anak ha, ‘Daddy Hip by Hop’?”—influenced Los’ hip-hop roots. In the end, though, it’s all about knowing how to tell a good story. “When I put it down on paper,” shares Los, “it’s about how can I relate something as specific as my experience to someone that comes from somewhere totally different.” And the stories Los writes his rhymes about are the band’s very own. “One thing that we do as a band besides play and rehearse, is we have drinks…and we just talk, we share.” With Magno alternately rapping like a happier (albeit equally witty) Eminem and crooning sweet nothings like the best of the R&B brigade, hip-hop is clearly the band’s original flavor. He gets serious as the pillow talk turns to the misunderstood genre. “[Hip- hop’s] always been around. If you check out the history, it’s the first ever hip-hop scene in Asia. We recognised that the industry wasn’t giving hip-hop a chance, so we wanted to prove them wrong. And we’re not even the cream of the crop here,” insists Los, rattling off acts like Third World Project to
the Beatmatics before driving his point home: “what we’re trying to do is stop people from getting locked into a tunnel vision of what OPM is. Because there’s so much more.” T h e r e a l secret behind the OBS is strength in numbers. It’s simple math, really. More individuals = more influences = more ideas = good music. “I think with the individual differences ng band, actually, yun yung sekreto why it works e,” offers Diego. yung chaos “Siguro brings us together.” Singing to so many different tunes means the band defies definition, along with its pesky kid brother, stereotype, making it an out-of-genre experience that carves a prime spot in the local aural universe for OBS. And what exactly is the Out of Body Special? The gang is happy to offer some options. Pat: “it’s the sound of one hand clapping,” Garon: “It’s the nectar of the gods,” Pat again: “it never tastes the same way twice.” Los is decidedly more sober: “having a good time is a big part of it, but there’s more to it. When we say ‘Out of Body’, we try to bring you to an experience. [Whether it’s a] distant memory, a hidden fantasy, or a dream. Some place that you were happiest or you were saddest… because it’s not about you being there, rocking out to a band. It’s about you being wherever you need to be.”
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MASTERMIND
WISE GUY
If a fresh-making mentor like KEVION’s got your back, rocks of wisdom = big bucks and inner P.E.A.C.E.
by Anna Canlas
E
veryone wants to be on top. That’s what she said.” But getting to coveted status through the Law of Attraction and other pearls of wisdom? That’s what he said. He, being
Keven “Kevion” Stirdivant II
, founder of P.E.A.C.E. Academy (where “Positive Education Awakens Conscious Excellence”), mentor to kid millionaires everywhere (Check the Kid Millionaires: Motivation for the Now Generation book and DVD), and, if you like, your own personal Yoda. Helping “brilliant people focus their energy in a creative, positive way”, Kevion is basically a life coach, but in cooler sneakers. He’s inspired many of his Californ-I-A buddies to start their own businesses (Lady Art, Lifted Research Group) and map out their five-year 40 - www.statusmagonline.com
plan, all under the mantra of Be/Do/Have. That is: mentally be the person you want to be, do the needed deeds, and finally, have what you want. “Anything you think about, you get— whether it’s good or bad,” writes Kevion on his MySpace. Echoing this vision is Kevion’s very own bid for world peace - and his P.E.A.C.E. Academists’ own bid for a piece of the world. Called Project Mindset, this five-month mega mission sees Kevion schooling a core group of ten P.E.A.C.E. jedis for two hours each week (“one hour mastermind; one hour music, chill out and Q&A session”). Each of them will then pass on all those positive thoughts to one new person every week, for a grand total of 5.2 million converts all giving P.E.A.C.E. a chance.
MASTERMIND Now for more of what he said..
scan the space below:
What is the happiest day of your life?
Favorite meal?
My 26th BDAY I just had. Started off w/ a mastermind meeting with my business partner/ mentor in PEACE Academy, Greg Carroll. Then went to the Dr’s & heard my baby’s heartbeat for the 1st time which is something you can’t really sum up in words, came home, had some sushi, opened gifts for like 5 hours & relaxed by the pool. Wrapped up the night with an afterparty LRG/Complex/CV threw for me & listened to Neil Armstrong show LA how the job gets done. Spent the night laughing with my people & dancing like a fool with my girl.
My mom’s adobo.
The saddest day? Feb 15th 1987 What part of yourself would you change if you could?
Favorite drink? Marble Mocha Machiatto Favorite movie? Vanilla Sky/ Tommy Boy/ Goonies Favorite song? Red Hot Chili Peppers “Under The Bridge”. Sade “Cherish the Day”. Raekwon “Glaciers of Ice” Most treasured photograph? My baby on the way’s ultrasound pic.
The part where my voice sounds like my dad’s.
Did you take it?
Who is the biggest love of your life?
No but I wanted to.
Alana Dawn Arrieta
Favorite indulgence?
Who would be your guests for your fantasy dinner party, dead or alive?
Haagen Daaz Coffee Ice Cream
Einstein, Ghostface, Sade, my grandpa & Jesus. If you had one last phone call, who would you call and what would you say? I would call my son Eli, tell him I love him, take care of the fam & give him the location of my blueprints to changing the world.
How much are you worth? priceless.com What’s your philosophy for life? Enjoy the process.
P.E.A.C.E. ACADEMY --www.peaceacademyinc.com
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MASTERMIND
E D A M F L E S MIL’
From commissioning ruler-art to buy lollies as a tot to hanging out with the bums in Venice Beach, artist/designer Millie Fairhall soaks it all up to let it all hang out in her DIY label, Eillim—and taking care of that lolly fix in the process. by Nicola M. Sebastian Millie Fairhall is mad. Not mad as in green, stompingHulk mad. But mad as in possessing that rare and mystifying power to create something truly original. Nowadays, anything can be art. You could scoop the poop of your next-door neighbor’s mutt and watch the art geeks go “ahh”, but when you look at this Fil42 - www.statusmagonline.com
Aussie’s canvas creations, you’re experiencing art at its most raw—and most sincere—form. Forget theory; forget composition; forget deconstruction and all the other terms the learned bandy about in the hopes of catching the afterglow of true creation. Millie’s searing strokes, spilt paint, graffiti-inspired figures, and
emotional scribblings are it. “When I was around eight years old, my fellow classmates would pay me 20 cents to have me draw on their rulers,” Millie shares of her early leanings to making pretty things. “Since then I’ve had some exhibitions, commissioned murals for different people, designed
for people, created my own clothing label, Eillim, and generally gone mad in the process.” Her occupational description is a dizzying mess of slashes, which starts with the obvious “artist”, finishes off with the duo “surfer/skater”, and is filled in-between with the likes of “writer”
MASTERMIND and “photographer”. If this seems like way too much for one little lady to do, you’re probably right. But all that energy is natural for a creature so completely free and spontaneous, and you can feel it in her work. If Basquiat were a kooky, somewhat hormonal surfer girl, he’d be something like Millie. “Being creative is probably the only time and place where I do not doubt myself or feel worried or fear anything,” Millie says, attempting to bottle up who she is with some borrowed words: “when I was 16 or something, this boy in my class described me as ‘a rolling ball of laughter, madness, and energy’ and I liked that description.” ‘Course, most prominent on her list of everyday to-do’s is her
clothing label, Eillim. Jumpstarted back in 2001, when she and her friends couldn’t find anything decent to wear, Eillim marries two of Millie’s passions: art and fashion, bearing a love child with a “strong DIY ethic”. The clothing line stirs up “days gone by” while still expressing Millie’s streetedged, socially deviant soul. High-waist skirts in soft, vintage denim alternate with raw graf art tees; those floral blouses your mother used to love hanging out with boldly stencilled, neon hoodies and purple vests covered in cute, tiny owls. “There’s that little bit of familiar mixed-in with a hint of madness”, the 25 year-old designer explains of Eillim’s paradoxical offbeat-yet-intimate look. “I’ve always wanted to create something that is made with
love and care, which people feel is special, so that they feel happy wearing it.” Apart from “the crazy thoughts going around inside [her] head”, Millie’s doodles ‘n’ designs draw color from her travels far and wide. “Everything around me influences or inspires me,” she shares of what gets her pen ink running. “Venice Beach in California has been a huge inspiration in the street sense, I loved it there because it’s a mashup of the ghetto and the sea and it blends perfectly even though they’re two totally contrasting things. The people there are all crazy and I loved them. I loved the richness of Mexico too; it’s kind of similar to the Philippines. They’re both these raw, chaotic places that also have a sense of peace about them.”
But whichever side of the Pacific she happens to be on, whether she’s cutting and stencilling up a cotton tee or defacing a pristine canvas with spray paint, there’s definitely a whole lot more to come from Miss Millie. “I’m like a sponge and sometimes it feels like a curse because my mind is just crammed with so much shit…I’ll be done when I’m dead! I’m not dead yet, so I’m not done…” In the meantime, Millie’s kind enough to keep us amused with some trivia: “I just found out the other day that koalas feed their babies their own crap because it’s full of the nutrients they need. ” Yeah, definitely a little mad.
*** Eillim is available at the I Love You Store (Cubao Expo) and Make Love Not War (Bagtikan St.). Cruise by the Eillim online store, dreamsofeillim.multiply.com or www.myspace.com/eillimclothing, or check out Millie’s blog, milliefairhall. multiply.com. www.statusmagonline.com - 43
MASTERMIND
HEAVY -DUTY L A N E C AR
Making his mark on everything from kicks to rides to concrete, all-over designer Mark Arcenal shifts down-gear long enough to trade-off on inspiration, perspiration, and how he walks—or rather, steers—the talk. by Nicola M. Sebastian
M
ark Arcenal, street aesthete, car and footwear designer, and overall creative WorldWideWebslinger, has “no vision”. He’s not trying to achieve a certain style or catch any particular trend. He does what he does and it “speaks” ‘cause he’s “lived and [grown] up hip-hop.” In fact, doing what had always naturally been a part of him gave birth to fatlace.com, a hip-hop blog—kick-started before the word “blog” was even in your dictionary—and slick store in San Francisco dedicated to the art, the design, and the gear of the subculture. Doing his thing meant graf-handling walls and suping up cars, Arcenal eventually fronting the Bay’s pre-millenium car-decal ‘n’ design revolution and landing the Fil-Am a stint as tripped-out kicks designer for Nike. But even with an underground noodle house in Beaverton as his office and without a play-by-play battle plan, Arcenal always keeps his eyes on the high road. Whether it’ll be test-drives into the world of professional motor sports or steering a couple of music videos with his skills behind the camera, you
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just know that whatever Mark Arsenal does will “speak”—and speak loudly. You were purveying hip-hop cool online before anyone else was, we think. Fatlace was born in 1998. I had a mega contributors’ blog in 1995 called caffemocha. com, where we talked about design and stuff we liked. It was that first time I started what we didn’t call blogging back then—all for fun ‘cause it was all about experimenting—and led to fatlace.com, where I wanted to talk about hip-hop, art, and of course, footwear. I guess we were very early in the footwear blog game. The only other blogs blogs were Crooked Tongues and fixins.com. But then you’ve always been a blogger who lived what he knew and let site visitors know ‘bout it. What was your ultimate vision for Fatlace’s online presence? I’ve always loved designing. I was doing graffiti in ’85 in SF and just following
MASTERMIND
whatever my sister did with her crew. I kept at it ‘til about ’98, when I decided to get a real job ‘cause of the pressures of being from a Filipino family and how, you know, we all have to do something professional. In ’95, I decided to also start my own sign company but ended up starting the whole car decal scene in the Bay. By 1997, almost every person that fixed up cars in the bay knew of us ‘cause of our decal-design work. [For fatlace, there’s] no vision. It speaks ‘cause I lived and grew up hiphop. From starting our
breakdance crew to loving how I fixed up my cars and spending every single dime rebuilding and rebuilding and making it better, it was always a part of me. Fatlace is where I, along with a lot of my friends, can share their experiences with the world. It’s our playground. If we want to talk about b-boying for a week, we’ll do it. If we want to talk about cars, we do that. When I have ruts, I change things up so things are always fresh. And “changing things up” once in a while is always a good strategy for a kick-ass label.
[It all comes down to] dedication. I realized it late in 2006, when I brought Fatlace back from the dead. It stopped in 2003—at the height of the sneaker hustle— because I saw how many people and companies were doing it ‘cause they saw dollar signs. It was the start and the end of shoes for me. How the hell do you do it? For one, I rarely sleep. It’s not like I do this on purpose but I have so much stuff to do that I use up every minute of the day doing something—a
regular day starting off at six A.M. when the alarm goes off, meetings all day, and then working ‘til two A.M. Procrastination is the enemy. I’ve always thought like this and the thing that was hardest to learn was to say “no”. When you’re as busy as myself, you have to choose what you work on. A lot of people don’t see the end of the tunnel ‘cause they’re stuck seeing what’s in front of them. You have to look beyond some things and think of what will happen if you tough it out. Oh, and read any Russell Simmons or
Michael Jordan book. It’ll inspire you. We know you like working from an underground noodle house, but if you were given an office as wide as a football field, what would you do with it? It would be a drift course with an elevated floating office with grandstands so my friends can watch us tear it up.
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mastermind
SHARP SHOOTER For shutterbug-to-the-stars (try everyone from Ashton to Angelina) Lionel Deluy, breaking a few rules in photography (a lot less actual shooting and a lot more Photoshop) is all about getting to that big(ger), more striking picture
By Daryl Chang
L
ionel Deluy waxes lyrical poetry over his subjects in front of the lens: “I look into their eyes and retain that something from their inside. Beauty doesn’t mean anything but when you grab the inner beauty, that’s when you get the best picture.” Photography, when you think about it, has got 46 - www.statusmagonline.com
to be one of the most narcissistic strokes of genius, but it can also be a representation and celebration of beauty and art. Lionel Deluy incorporates all this by making anyone he photographs look as fantastic as ever; celebrity portraits that are startlingly provocative and expressively
beautiful. Drool in jealousy because our fantasies are his reality. Especially when his Glamourwood Rolodex includes an assortment of the hottest names in Tinseltown: Angelina Jolie, Dita Von Teese, Ashton Kutcher and Hugh Hefner are just a few of the stars he’s
mastermind snapped for heavyweight glossies like Vogue, GQ, and InStyle. Deluy initially pursued commercial photography on the West Coast, focusing on glamour, fashion and advertising campaigns, but now shuttles between LA and New York. “The right place for me was more LA than New York because I’m like a sunflower, I just follow the sun,” he says. “But I do miss the creativity, energy, and talent of New York. Getting an apartment there is me trying to come back to fashion, especially since there is so little fashion in LA. Shooting celebrities at the beginning was a necessity, not something I would pursue. But it became more and more interesting and now I really love it.” And his pictures are proof of his passion: beautifully composed images that are brooding yet vivid, jumping out of the page to captivate. So it’s ironic that he doesn’t really rely on a firm set of rules and influences, “I don’t know about inspiration.
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mastermind
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mastermind
I think the creativity is there or it’s not. It’s like a gift—you have it or you don’t. On concepts, I never prepare anything. I just wait for the person to come, feel the energy and I go from there.” ‘ C o u r s e , sometimes that energy translates into Deluy’s Speedy Gonzales approach to photography (“It’s not good for my health but I have the ability to photograph someone in three minutes and get something from it”), such as his having shot Hugh Hefner in three different sets—all in six minutes. But is that velocity perhaps a reflection of the new visual vanguard’s use of Photoshop with photography? “When
you photograph a celebrity they really want to look perfect, meaning no wrinkles no real stuff,” says Deluy. “We are living in an imaginary world that’s all about smoke and mirrors. I’m more interested to go more raw, but I still love Photoshop. I think it’s the best tool ever invented—it’s the painter’s palette of the 21st century.” And like every other visionary, photography is just a preview to more creativity and innovation. “Yesterday I was a Director of Photography for a new TV interview show with my longtime collaborator Hikari Takano, who is also going from print to television. I was
surprised how much I loved to be behind the camera and direct and give my ideas for everything. Some people in the past have proposed to me to do video and I was never really interested. I even got an agent, but I wasn’t into it,” the luminary photographer explains. “But I don’t know, something just clicked yesterday and I loved what I didit was so cool and interesting. I know now that if I have the opportunity and the proposition for something [new], I’ll take it.”
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MAESTRO mastermind
FUCT No one knows the “revolution of rebellion� better than
Erik Brunetti, Venice-bred (gondolas, not muscleheads) graffiti artist and creative warlord behind FUCT, a brand that, since 1990, has been hurling grenades of awesomeness at DIY style with its militantly subversive designs. Definitely a label to attack stores for than to retreat from.
by Christel Boncan
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mastermind “FUCT has always been the company to set the trends for other companies to follow.” So FUCT’s an interesting name… It was meant to look alluring, sexy, and corporate all at the same time, to deceive people into thinking it was pronounced another way, therefore, having them purchase the item out of curiosity. Thus, the joke was on them. I never thought FUCT would last more than a year, though, given a lot of the earlier graphics were based on extreme nihilism, images of Christ, missiles, swastikas made out of flowers, SS insignias, and so on. I honestly didn’t care what people thought and still don’t. But I believe most brand owners now actually care about what the consumers personally think of them, what the banker that gives the line of credit will think of them, and so on. I, on the other hand, don’t, since I try to separate myself from my brand. Fashion statements are disposable—they change every 6 months; it’s a reset button to reinvent yourself for your offensive behavior from prior seasons. And your inspirations for each collection? DIY aesthetics, “situationism”…also, I have a strong fascination with war in general. The way a garment will dictate the wearer’s persona...my inspiration varies from collection to collection. At the beginning, though, the situationist art movement has always had a strong impact on me as a designer and artist. I played in punk bands throughout my teen years and early 20’s and became exposed to art via Xeroxed flyer’s and LP covers during the 70’s-80’s. I researched the meaning, execution, and philosophy behind such works as it had a great impact on me. I carried that idealism with me since I started FUCT. Almost two decades after starting FUCT, how do you keep that keen edge over all the other streetwear brands? FUCT has always been the company to set the trends for other companies to follow. From subject matter to referencing the obscure, we are always the ones to dive in the water headfirst to check the temperature so the rest can come in to play. As for the relevance of my brand, FUCT has directly influenced the multi-million dollar street wear companies that exist now. The longevity of the brand stems from our pure nihilistic attitude. Being poor does not scare me. That nihilistic attitude has to come from a few crazy memories, as well… So many, I can’t list them: handguns, drugs, famous people, rehabs, drugs, more rehab, loud music, etc. And then more famous people, more drugs, darkness, more loud music, more, more...that was what it was like. Although these days, I’m slightly normal, but not really. Do you consider yourself as subversive as your designs?
I
consider
myself
brutally
honest
in
a
world
of
lies.
(Get FUCT only at Greyone Social)
MASTERMIND
FREE PSP
pilipinas
street
P-EECH plan
MASTERMIND
STATUS caught up with A.lien and Egg Fiasco of Pilipinas Street Plan (PSP) during a live spray to talk about respect, street art and why graf’s a hard addiction to kick (apart from the smell, of course). White walls, your days are numbered. by Val Tilos Photographed by Revolution
PSP, yeah
you’ll know them…
a.lien: We’re a community of 30+ street artists in the Philippines who want to exhibit art on the streets for everyone to enjoy. PSP started in 2006 and was originally called Manila Street Plan and the name changed to Pilipinas Street Plan after members from other parts of the Philippines joined. Egg fiasco: We’ve also had Killer Gerbil from Singapore, One Day from Malaysia, Tenfold and MGR (SanFo) and Graver, who’s from Indonesia, session with us. We want to put the Philippines on the map for graffiti. We’re a diverse group of artists, musicians, graphic designers, professors and average guys who all share a passion for street art.
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A passion for defacing public property, maybe? A: Street art is not vandalism. We want to bring art to the masses and what better way to show your art than on the street where everyone can see. E: Not everyone goes to art galleries because they’re intimidating so we put our art on the streets and the streets become our gallery. The illegal part of graffiti— the thrill and danger of possibly getting caught—is what makes it fun. A: We’ll still bomb the streets with our art even if we’re caught by the MMDA or the police. I keep thinking about my “next thing” and how to get away from the
police or the MMDA while tagging. It’s dangerous, but it’s fun. With so many people claiming to be “graphic designers” and purveyors of street art nowadays, what are your thoughts on the street art subculture in the Philippines? A: We want to expose more people to street art and the culture, but we don’t want it to be trendy and the “it thing”. We don’t want posers. We want people to understand and appreciate the origins and roots of street art. I think there’s a lot of talent in the Philippines that is on par with international artists. We just need a chance and a venue to show our work. E: We hope that through PSP, street art becomes more widely accepted. We’re a third-world country and we’re making great art, but we want to share our art and we don’t want to “sell out” to the masses. We want respect. So all PSP wants is R-E-S-P-E-C-T? E: Respect for the art, the artist and the culture. I don’t mind someone tagging on top of my work as long as it’s better than mine. If it’s shit, then that’s disrespectful. And what would be a dream canvas for that tagged masterpiece? A + E: EDSA, for sure. E: The inside of the MRT or LRT. A: MMDA Station E: Bayani Fernando’s house!
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L-
hitman
RG ER than
Life
T
his Vietnamese+”something” mystery baby and CEO-at-30 proves with his skater-to-player story that there’s more to come out of the OC than emo Jewish kids and reality-tv blondies. And we’re still hoping that that “something” was a Filipino daddy-o. by Anna Canlas interview by Nicola M. Sebastian photographed by Quang Le
Jonas needs
Bevacqua
his
Xanax.
Says
it
knocks him right out. Says the birds keep him up. Says without it, he has really bad insomnia. But seriously, what’s to lose sleep over? Everything’s golden for the thirty
year-old,
like
the
four-pound 3D panda ‘round his
neck,
the
chain
that
holds it, and basically, the current state of his life. As co-CEO of Cali-based lifestyle and clothing label Lifted Research Group (LRG), Jonas has been elevated from valet
attendant-slash-DJ
to head of a company-thatmakes-millions-of-dollars-
a-year-it-could-even-
retail-industry friends, and
sponsor-a-skate-team.
sold out LRG’s first product
(It
does.) And it all started
run in San Diego.
nine years ago, when Jonas
Today,
the
brand
has
was parking cars, which made
expanded into women’s wear
him meet a guy who was in
with its label Luxirie and
a band with Jonas’ current
collaborations have led to
business
everything
partner
Wright. for
Having
Quicksilver
clothing
Robert designed
and
mixtapes
other
Turtle from Entourage, and
Robert
even that dude Mrs. Doubtfire
aspiring
have all been seen in LRG.
who only had an
And after getting some and
idea, a logo, and a couple
losing some, LRG was named
of sketches to go by. With
a
Wright
fastest
helped
companies,
from
to motorbikes. Kanye West,
out
Bevacqua,
as
the
his
mentor—and
fierce
fifth
out
growing
Charlie Moothart and Ronnie
in
Ghenender as partners—Jonas
“2007 Hot 500” list.
saved
up,
dough
from
raised
startup
his
father’s
Entrepreneur
of
500
companies Magazine’s
www.statusmagonline.com - 57
L hitman
“Underground Inventive, Overground Effective ”
they
openness is evident in his
and delinquent side of the
be? Behind every Bevacquan
And
why
design influences through the
youth”, and Jonas’ own kick
idea
philosophy
years. At one point, it was
out of being able to “pour
Inventive,
the surf and skate looks of
all of my heart and soul and
Overground Effective”, which
Stussy, Maui and Sons, and
fuckedupness on a piece of
is really just a haiku way of
Vision.
fabric—and someone actually
saying: LRG wants to start
for the ‘80s rich-boy, suit-
something
eventually
jacket-and-wayfarer look in
Now, pulse all that and
gets stronger; that something
Less Than Zero; then got his
you get the power smoothie
being
is
wouldn’t
the
“Underground
that
clothing
Jonas
went
understands it.”
label
Gap and Banana Republic on,
that
discriminate
followed by “sort of a scum
Summer
between hip-hop, skate and
bag look… like I just crawled
patent windbreakers; hooded
surf styles, as inspired by
out of a dumpster,” finished
sweatshirts
Jonas’ own life growing up
off
white stripes (thick, thin…
in the OC.
Polo and Tommy Hilfiger in
or
the mid-‘90s.
slouchy
that
a
Later,
doesn’t
“I mostly hung out with
by
some
all-American
is
LRG’s
Spring/
collection:
zebra);
in
black
black-and-
the
denims;
necessary and
an
the skaters and we just got
“I took all of that stuff
blasted and skated and then
and met Robert and we sort of
Sadly, there are none of
caught
came out with our own look,”
the trippy hoodies that zip
says Jonas.
up over your face to reveal
along
birds. with
But
everyone
I
got like
the surfers and the jocks and
the
punks,”
he
says.
These
days,
inspiration
though,
comes
from
updated, edgy paisley.
an
inner
Jason.
Oh
well,
there’s always Halloween.
“It’s sort of funny—when I
futurist
fashion
lived in Long Beach is when
Nicolas
Ghesquiere,
I surfed but when I moved
retail-ready
to Laguna Beach, I started
collections
skating. You think it would
Lim,
be the other way around.”
(a.k.a. Japan’s Ikea - but
and
for clothes), the “juvenile
one hoodie. The result,
Of
course,
Jonas’
mass
designer
On the other hand, the
the
female line mixes sportif,
runway
street, and safari for its
of
Phillip
retailer
Uniqlo
tracksuits,
overalls,
onesies—blending zebra
prints
and
leopard on
just
‘Less is more’ 58 - www.statusmagonline.com
hitman a playful collection that reflects a
Jonas’
global
anymore. It was just a phase
California Scholarship Fund
for
I went through. Now I just
for Gifted Children.
that
keep it locked in the bank
vision
powerhouse
that
people
and
is
planning
record label, “a crank call
over the whole world” can
I’ve
every
a
album like the new version
resonate with.
‘less is more’ thing right
positive
Jonas
of the Jerky Boy”, or even
now,”
of
says about what compels him
a stand-up comedy gig where
a
what’s gotten him to slowly
to visit different schools
he “makes every joke rhyme,”
priority for the Vietnamese-
detach from the limelight—
on a Career Day motivational
he
born designer adopted into
staying in, watching TV, and
speaking rampage.
getting serious.
a
spending time with his son
This
connection
different
cultures
loving,
to is
multicultural
explains
And his advice to young
“There
are
a
lot
of fit
young adult transition. It’s
great idea, carry it through.”
be
downsizing, but worked hard
weird.
He
businesses
know where life takes you
to make sure Jonas and his
that are still running wild
to get involved in design,
or where you’re gonna take
siblings
in their 20’s, even though I
packaging,
your
can relate to them, sometimes
shipping, marketing, paying
“Life’s
got
what
they
“We didn’t have as much but
it
was
the
life
didn’t first
realizing
that
urges
just
new
have
a
production,
on a t-shirt that need to expressed.
life,”
You
Jonas
about
never
figures.
experiencing
I just can’t rock like that
taxes, and knowing who the
everything it has to offer—
It
anymore... I’ve had too many
client is and if they exist
the good, the bad, the ugly,
my
long nights but at the same
at all.
the
that
time I’m not ready to be like
matter. time
friends
“Don’t
that
won’t
of going from this boy to a
statements
suddenly
was ‘let go’ in a corporate
my
entrepreneurs?
before
Jonas recalls how his father
of
sort
says,
instead.
All
been
[also]
independent
family of eight. With this,
needed.
“I’ve
Jonas
is
message,”
an
side
grow kids’ lives and careers day,
projects:
some
chapter and time in my life. whole
150
As for the future, Jonas
fact
to Japan to the US to all
this
employ
the
vault and it represents on
we
think
anyone “from the Middle East
been
a
“I
sitting on my shoulders.”
in
stuff isn’t always gonna be
my parents.” What he is willing to do,
there.”
This
dedication
every
detail
Jonas’
enviable
has
to
sealed
status
of
beautiful.
The
love,
the hate, the success, the failure;
the make up, the
break up, the birth and the
Which brings us back to
though, is save mankind. In
being able to work at his
the 24-karat panda—bling so
fact, LRG has donated all the
dream
of,
And you just know the guy
big, it could wear its own
proceeds from its Courvoisier
say, being “on acid on the
won’t sleep through any of
bling.
Cognac
corner
it.
“It got so heavy that I don’t even wear that stuff
life
to
the
collaboration Hurricane
line
company of
PCH
instead and
Katrina
chasing seagulls that don’t
Relief Fund, as well as the
exist, or talking to dragons
“Life’s about experiencing everything it has to offer—the good, the bad, the ugly, the beautiful. The love, the hate, the success, the failure; the make up, the break up, the birth and the death…”
60 - www.statusmagonline.com
Main,
death…”
h is t l a we e, “If in lov e h ured are t n s a e e m w y i then famil d.” est orl rich the w of t is n a iv emy ’m d I d d ir St Aca ple pire n o io C.E. pe ins v e e “K E.A. th and f P. e o ced on fluen in .” by
HITMAN
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HITMAN
[un]holy trinity The three wiseass kings of radio give us this day our daily dalliance and deliver us from abnegation.
bt Michi Ancheta -- photographed by Revolution
T
he key to a good threesome, as any (straight) man will tell you, is that two of the parties involved should be XX chromosomal and if luck would have it, share the same monozygotic gene pool (Identical Twins? Double the Pleasure!). For as every (straight) man will no doubt corroborate, deviating from the said rule may result in lifelong regret or worst, a sudden onset of quarter-life crisis as one finally realizes: “HOLY CRAP. I like penis.” Then again most erected rules can be bent (no pun intended) and one fine exception to this law is the group, Boys Night Out. Known for their way with the ladies, B.N.O’s infamous members— Tony Toni, Slick Rick, and Sam YG—have all had their share of crazy women protesting their love, stalking them in badly-lit alleys and devising ways to harvest their sperm in hopes of spawning little badasses of their own. Of course,
the boys are not without fault. After all it’s their radio show and much-visited Multiply site that caused the outbreak of overwhelming estrogen (and in some cases, testosterone) perpetually surrounding them. And with each of them having their own story of conquests— Slick with his beauty queens, Tony with, well, everyone, and Sam with anyone else Tony hasn’t slept with—it almost seems the boys’ mantra came from a Haiku one of them wrote long ago (most probably rejected by the highbrows of his College Literary Press), which goes—“Life is short, but my dick’s long.” Surprisingly however, the boys are more than what other people—or the KBP—have them appear to be, “The common misconception about us is that we’re all just kalokohan,” says Sam YG, the
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HITMAN
“I always love meeting new people, that’s why I took on this job. For me, I do it more for the love of the mu sic and the people who take time to listen to the show, other than the perks that come with it,”
“I don’t think there’s an ything wrong with talking about sex. It’s just that most people aren’t open about their own sex lives because we live in a primarily conserv ative society,”
youngest and therefore most often picked-on member of the group, “But we do serious stuff on the show. It’s not just always sexy time.” True enough the boys have a side to them that listeners don’t get to see. Stripped of their green jokes, their exaggerated self-confidence and ostensible disregard for morality, the boys are actually (I shit you not) honest to goodness, upright young men. “I always love meeting new people, that’s why I took on this job. For me, I do it more for the love 64 - www.statusmagonline.com
of the music and the people who take time to listen to the show, other than the perks that come with it,” Tony explains. “I think what separates us from others is that we talk to listeners the way you’d talk to a friend and on the show, we talk about everything. Nothing is off-limits,” adds Slick. To say “nothing is off-limits” is an understatement. On their show, topics range from holding clutch bags, to philosophy’s outtakes, to political forgeries, and
and talk “they can come out fear th on our show wi And on discriminati .” or les at Be e Th contrary to what at wh y tl ac preach, that’s ex m. do ee Fr w: the world needs no of m do ee fr More specifically, speech.
HITMAN
“I think what se parates us from others is that we talk to li steners the way you’d talk to a friend and on the show, we talk about everything. Noth ing is off-limits,”
everything else in between. But the topic that has the country’s so-called moral compasses raising their eyebrows the most; is sex (no surprise there). “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with talking about sex. It’s just that most people aren’t open about their own sex lives because we live in a primarily conservative society,” says Tony. The guy has a point. Sex rarely gets its due. It’s the easiest and most pleasurable of the vices but society refuses to accept it as one of man’s basic needs. Ironically enough, in a country that claims to be pro-life, we sure suck at accepting how life even comes to exist. “So I guess the show becomes more of an outlet,”
Slick further explains, “because they can come and talk on our show without fear or discrimination.” And contrary to what The Beatles preach, that’s exactly what the world needs now: Freedom. More specifically, freedom of speech. After all is said and done, moral or not, fair or iniquitous, there’s no denying that the guys, for all their madness, strangely enough keep their listeners sane. The boys of B.N.O. are our momentary escape from the noise and excessiveness of life. They’re that little space you pray for when the world’s crush won’t make way; small enough just so you can breathe. And think. And laugh. Before yet another sucky day.
WORKING GIRL
SIMONE TO LOVE
With HBO’s Simone Heng snagging your time as the channel’s hottest trailer, staying in and propping yourself in front of your idiot box has never been so rewarding. by Carlo Casas --Photographed by Nick St. James
1
0 in the morning may not seem early to most of you, but when you’re hungover from a Jaeger-laced night out on the town, lolling in a cold room and waiting for people to show up, it can be a tad bit uncomfortable. Ten minutes later, this has all changed as Simone Heng arrives, practically spitting energy out at everyone, the entire room brightening up from an enthusiasm so infectious, you feel like you’re breaking out in hives of glee. The exuberant countenance she radiates isn’t far from what you’d see on HBO, when the oriental firecracker starts gabbing on about the channel’s new movies you can fondle your remote for. And while you’d think someone whose claim to fame is granting opportunities for major time (and, need we say, intellect) suckage might have a drought of depth on her, the fact that Simone churns out her own material for a radio show, writes a column for English-language Singaporean daily The New Paper, and manages to spark-up for the cameras just so you’ve got intel on spanking new movies you can click to in times of boredom makes you realize that the lady sure can whack that ditz perception outta the park. “You have to work hard at this job because [the channel] has no reservations about letting you know that there are a hundred people in line behind you, waiting for this opportunity,” she explains, alluding to the fact that having batt-able lashes just isn’t enough— especially when you’d always wanted to be a girl on film rather than a glorifed film jock. “I’ve always been more 66 - www.statusmagonline.com
- Purple Top by Totem @ Zona Sul [P4,219.90} - Short by Ilaya [P900]
WORKING GIRL into broadcasting, but I used to want to be an actress—I even took up theater in Australia. But after a while I accepted [that] I had to look at things realistically. I mean, what are they going to cast me as? I’m Asian but I don’t look Asian enough—and I’m European but I don’t look European enough.” The reality however was that the eminently hip Channel [V] knew just what to do with an unabashedly eloquent pixie who could snap the ADD-ridden out of their stupors and get them to look and listen; the audiovisual powerhouse flying the former radio intern over to Kuala Lumpur and immediately shoving her in front of the cameras. And the regular vid gig got her places, of course—keeping every religious couch potato hung up on Heng, especially when HBO came a-knocking and got her to present the latest theatre-to-boob tube flicks rather than the freshest Fergie offering. Then again a forward-looking tough—need we say, hot—cookie like Simone knows she can’t keep her mug onscreen forever. There’s the radio show she’s currently producing; a preview of the girl’s plan of spreading her arms far and wide in broadcast journalism, reaching for everything from writing material for the latest exposé to producing her own television shows. And with Simone’s spunk, you know she definitely won’t be coming back emptyhanded. “It’s all about planning for your life when you’re 40, and this is something that I’ve been thinking about since I turned 21,” she says, revealing a grounded maturity that makes you furrow your brow over where your own life is headed, and want to thump yourself on the head for ever doubting her intellect; or the fact that the dream girl on TV is big on realities. “I’m realistic enough to know that there’s still so much more that I can accomplish,” she asserts, before letting go of the big-girl act long enough to admit that the job has its pretty cool moments. “When I was lounging in my room the other day and the talent manager just shows up to bring me fruits, well, it’s times like that when I can say ‘honey, you’ve made it’. I love my job now ‘cause it’s, in my opinion, the best mesh of being an actress and a journalist as well as allowing me to be myself.” She doesn’t have to pull herself aside for a pat on the back, however. Pretty much covering all bases in media—television, radio, and print—is enough of a heavy mark for Heng to imprint us with. And you’ve just got to wonder: where else does she want to stick those supple hands in? “World Domination,” she says with a grin. You don’t know about that, really, but the fact that you’re glued to your television with some drool escaping your lips might even make that a reality.
Dress by Zona Sul [P3,500] Belt by Topshop Bangles by H&M Shoes by Aldo Php [P6,995]
Dress by Vida Bela @ Zona Sul [P3,765.90] Shoes by Aldo [P6,995]
www.statusmagonline.com - 67
NIGHT VISION
Status Party @ Superklasse photos by Revolution
The Cobra snake Yardsale @ Embassy Fly photos by Revolution
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NIGHT VISION
Nike Hyperdunk
NIGHT VISION
@ Bonifacio Highstreet photos by Mae Dichupa
Metallica Rockeoke Night @ Magnet Cafe photos by Revolution
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NIGHT-VISION
VAIO SETS THE TONE T
he face-off the Sony Vaio C Series’ cinco ambassadors (each repp-ing Pure White, Luxury Pink, Blazing Red, Indigo Blue, and Aroma Black) ended in a color-coordinated walk-off at Teatrino, Greenhills, where Sandwich set the night off with a performance that, er, colored out of the lines.
photos by revolution 70 - www.statusmagonline.com
NIGHT-VISION
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TRANS ACTION
TRANS ACTION
Anaheim Avalon
photos by The Cobrasnake
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TRANS ACTION
Hard Times photos by The Cobrasnake
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TRANS ACTION
Sunset Blvd photos by The Cobrasnake
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TRANS ACTION
Very Brady photos by The Cobrasnake
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Where to find stuff in this magazine 10 DEEP available at Greyone Social Power Plant Mall Makati City (632) 896-5084
310 available at Sketchers concept shop 2f Trinoma Mall Quezon City ADIDAS available at Adidas Stores ALDO available at Bonifacio High Street Taguig City ALL STARS contact 0929-278-3000 ANTHOLOGY available at Power Plant Mall Makati City
ENERGIE available at Theodore’s Bonifacio High Street Taguig City
OFFICINE available at Power Plant Mall Makati City
ENZO ANGIOLINI available at Bonifacio High Street Taguig City
PONY available at SM Department Stores, Robinson’s Department Stores and Selected Sportshops
FreshManila 5 Sgt. Esguerra St. South Triangle District 4 1103, Quezon City Philippines Telephone: (632) 412-8786 GEOX available at Officine at Power Plant Mall Makati City
ARANAZ available at Power Plant Mall Makati City (632) 833-6845
GOLA available at Shoe Salon Power plant mall Makati City and Shangrila Mall Mandaluyong City
BEN SHERMAN available at Shangrila Mall
H&M available at www.hm.com
BILLABONG available at Stoked Power Plant Mall Makati City
HURLEY available at
BUNGALOW available at Adora, Greenbelt 5 Makati City CHARLES & KEITH available at Bonifacio High Street Taguig City (632) 856-3431 CMG available at Power Plant Mal Makati City CONVERSE available at all Converse shop all SM and Robinson Department Store nationwide CREATIVE RECREATION available at Greyone Social, Power Plant Mall Makati City (632) 896-5084 DIESEL available at Power Plant Mall DIM MAK available at www.dimmak.com DUMOND available at Greenbelt 3 Makati City ECCO available at Glorietta 4 Makati City ECKO UNLTD available at Ecko Unlimited Concept Shop 2F Trinoma, Quezon City
Stoked Power Plant Mall Makati City KATE SPADE available at Power Plant Mall and Greenbelt 3 Makati City KENNETH COLE available at Power Plant Mall Makati City LEVIS available at all Levis store LUCA available at Power Plant Mall Makati City MACBETH available at Aloha Sports Power Plant Mall Makati City MALIN + GOETZ available at Adora Greenbelt 5 Makati City MARITHE’ FRANCoiS GIRBAUD available at SM Mall of Asia Pasay City (63) 556-0131 and Level 2, Robinsons Place Manila Manila (632) 567-8580 NINE WEST available at Bonifacio High Street Taguig City NOLA available at Adora Greenbelt 5 Makati City
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PUMA available at Puma Bonifacio High Street Taguig City REPLAY available at Shangrila Mall Pasig City ROXY available at Quicksilver Power Plant Mall Makati City and Trinoma Quezon City RUTH & ESTHER available at Power Plant Mall Makati City RVCA available at J&S Surf 2285 Solid House Bldg. Don Chino Roces Ave. Pasong Tamo Ext Makati City (632) 893-5766 and Stoked Power Plant Mall Makati City SABRE VISION available at Greyone Social Power Plant Mall Makati City (632) 896-5084 SEVEN FOR ALL MANKIND available at Shangrila Mall Pasig City SKETCHERS available at 2F Trinoma Quezon City SOLEA available at Power Plant Mall Makati City SOUL ASSASSINS available at Greyone Social Power Plant Mall Makati City (632) 896-5084 STUSSY available at Greyone Social Power Plant Mall Makati City (632) 896-5084 SUPRA available at Greyone Social Power Plant Mall Makati City (632) 896-5084 TOD’S available at Greenbelt 4 Makati City TOPSHOP available at Bonifacio High Street Taguig City and Power Plant Mall Makati City
TOUGH JEANSMITH available at Shangrila Mall Mandaluyong City TRIPLE 5 SOUL available at Shoe Salon at Power Plant Mall Makati City VIDA BELLA available at Zona Sul Power Plant Mall Makati City
VOLCOM available at J&S Surf 2285 Solid House Bldg. Don Chino Roces Ave. Pasong Tamo Ext Makati City (632) 893-5766 and Aloha Sports Power Plant Mall Makati City VOTIVO available at Adora Greenbelt 5 Makati City ZONA SUL available at Power Plant Mall Makati City ZOO YORK available at SHOE SALON, STOKED and RUSTANS
ARTIST
AL DELEON (Makeup) 0917-893-0689 Carlo Bandoquillo (Photography) 0927-805-4589 www.lorincer. multiply.com Diane De Castro (Makeup) 0915-6917755 Nick St. James (Photography) 0919-250-6714 Revolution (Photography) Email: rev.naval@ gmail.com Vianney Guese (Hair) 0915-208-9007
RIGHT RIDER
S E Y E R E H N I STARS St. James ed by Nick Photograph on Le : Al De Make up by
Dimmak Shirt by abong ll BI by Swimsuit ology th An by Necklace
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PHOTO: SHAWN MORTENSEN