2nd Year Anniversary Issue Swagga Digital Magazine by Swagga Digital Magazine

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KAIRON JOHN RISE OF THE PHOENIX

OCCUPY OAKLAND LOST IN TRANSLATION ART BY EVE HARLOWE ROCKING HARD WITH “PLANET B”

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ADVERTISING MANAGER | PETER RICCI GRAPHIC DESIGN ~ CREATIVE SERVICES | SDM PUBLISHING CO. PHOTO EDITOR ~ ART DIRECTOR | RON FULCHER/ SANDRA MINOR COMMUNICATIONS & PR | ARCHIE BRUMFIELD

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What’s Inside this Issue

DEC - JAN 2012 Volume 2 Issue 09 C O N T A D V E R T I S E M E N T ENTS

FEATURES

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24. MAKE A STATE WITH LEATHER: WESTCOAST LEATHER 44. LOST IN TRANSLATION: OCCUPY OAKLAND 46. FOOD & DRINKS SHOWCASE 50. URBAN WEAR: A FASHION STATEMENT 56. AUTHENCITY: FLASHBACK OF STYLE 64. EN NOIR et BLANC 80. TOP 20: BERNARD’S B LIST 82. KAIRON JOHN RISE OF THE PHOENIX 84. ART EXPRESSION BY EVE HARLOWE 93. ON THE RADAR: CENTERFORCE ORGANIZATION 100. ROCK HARD WITH PLANET B

FIND US ON FACEBOOK FACEBOOK.COM/SWAGGADIGITALMAGAZINE EDITORS NOTE

This issue is dedicated to my mom whose courage, strength, tenacity and love has been a rock for me in the production of this issue. There were so many people who were instrumental in the production of this issue, and I could not possibly name them all in this writing, but I just want to thank all of you and you know who you are for assisting me with this issue. Many thanks to all of the wonderful and talented models, MUA’s, and Hair Stylists. Reproduction of any material within this publication, in whole or in part is, prohibited without expressed consent of publisher. The publisher assumes no responsibility to any party of the information, claims or ads herein to include errors, inaccuracies or omissions. By advertising the advertisers agree to indemnify the Publisher against all claims relating to or resulting from said advertisements.

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Contributors #swaggadigital magazine.com 20 SWAGGA DIGITAL MAGAZINE

DEC /JAN 2012

PHOTOGRAPHERS RON FULCHER TIMBRE ROGERS

CURTIS JERMANY JINGGO MONTENEJO ANTWORKSTUDIOS GREGORY PRESCOTT VINCENT G.

WRITTEN WORDS

OCCUPY OAKLAND LOST IN TRANSLATION BY: RON FULCHER LIFE IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT! RISE OF THE PHOENIX BY: RON FULCHER / KAIRON JOHN ROCK HARD WITH PLANET B BY: RON FULCHER CENTERFORCE BY: RON FULCHER

ART EXPRESSION EVE HARLOWE

MUA/HAIR STYLISTS/DESIGNERS

JESSICA LEE KIMBERLY VANILLA TRAVIS STANSBERRY CHRIS COFFEY BRANDON PARIS / MICHAL BROOMFIELD DUPREE GANT AMIT LAL FILIP KHARON LITO ZAP GRACE GABBANA KAIRON JOHN REYHAN HAKKI PIERT SYLVESTER ROBERTS SHANA PEETE CHYNA MACK NICANOR YIZHEN DONG CARLOS PRADO

SPECIAL THANKS EMPORIUM ARMANI NYC BERNARD HENDERSON DUPREE GANT OXFORD WAY CLOTHING VINCENT G. URBAN OUTFITTERS MACY’S UNION SQUARE BARNESNOBLES AMIT LAL ACADEMY OF ART UNIVERSITY APPLE COMPUTER WALTER ISSACSON

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FEAT URED MODELS

RJ RIVIERA CONSTANCE NG SIRAY KONG KIYA BREWER ADDICTIVE IMAGES KELLI SWANK K.SWANK RICKIE LEE ROC RIO DESIGNS SANDRA HUNTER JOSETTE VIGIL-JELVEH DAHAE KIM JUSTIN JAMISON EMPORIO ARMANI NYC CALVIN KLEIN CHRIS FLORENDO

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CULTURE

LOST IN TRANSLATION OCCUPY OAKLAND

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Occupy Oakland has been somewhat a thorn in the City of Oakland’s side for the simple reason it has exposed many leadership gaps in the city government in Oakland, California. While the whole Occupy phenomenon has gripped this country on a nationwide scale from its origin in the “US, dubbed Occupy Wall Street (OWS) is an ongoing series of demonstrations in New York City based in Zuccotti Park in the Wall Street financial district. Canadian activist group Adbusters initiated the protests”. “They were mainly protesting social and economic inequality, corporate greed, corruption and influence over government—particularly from the financial services sector—and Lobbying lobbyists”. The protesters' slogan, “Income inequality in the United States difference in wealth and income growth in the U.S. between the wealthiest 1% and the rest of the population”. “The first protest was on September 17, 2011. In its first month, List of Occupy movement protest locations similar demonstrations were either ongoing or had been held in over 70 major cities and over 600 communities in the U.S. Worldwide Occupy protests similar to OWS have occurred in over 900 cities”. However, as the protests, demonstrations, violence and destruction of city property has taken its toll on the City of Oakland’s limited financial resources, as well as the drain on police services the feeling amongst true City of Oakland residents is that the Occupy Oakland movement is blurred. When you visit the once serene Frank Ogawa Plaza near the Oakland City Hall, you find an encampment with over 180 tents, there are dogs, food stuffs, and a general sense of un-cleanliness. It is definitely, prevalent that the financial divide in this country is deepening due the financial meltdown and its slow recovery. Last month there was a general strike in the city supposedly to send a message to the city and country about the Occupy Oakland, which dubbed an “Anti-Capitalistic Revolution”. However, it spiraled down to violence, breaking of windows on commercial property, destruction of property, disruption of city services to the citizens of Oakland, occupation of public buildings and the stoppage of commerce from the Port of Oakland. As of lately, there is a growing consensus whether this movement, or encampment is not an exercise of First Amendment rights but an nuisance to the City of Oakland. Indecisiveness, by Mayor Jean Quan, has come under fire from both camps for not being able to formulate a cohesive plan to deal with the situation. At the end of the day when the Occupy Oakland participants decide to leave, the City of Oakland will suffer. The city already has an image problem with all of the crime related incidents. In an economy that is anemic already, it is very difficult for cities to make ends meet. The revitalization downtown Oakland has been on an upswing recently, now to take two steps backwards. Future business opportunities, leasing of commercial space to bring commerce to downtown has now eroded. Resulting in a loss of potential jobs for the citizens of Oakland. While exercising your First Amendment rights is paramount in this country, at what cost! The “Occupy” mantra is “protesting social and economic inequality, corporate greed, corruption and influence over governmentparticularly from the financial services sector—and Lobbying" lobbyists. The protesters' slogan, “We are the 99%, refers to the income inequality in the United States difference in wealth and income growth in the U.S. between the wealthiest 1% and the rest of the population”. In Oakland, there is a great absence of these variables. City leaders, residents, business leaders alike feel that their mission has slowly becoming Lost In Its Translation. ▲

CULTURE BY RON FULCHER

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Poached Lobster in white wine, orange juice, cream and butter. You always need a bit of heat in a dish, then add a Piment dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Espelette. Bon Appetit

fashion Style Matters urbanwear

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Models: Chris CoďŹ&#x20AC;ey Reyhann Hekkai Brandon Paris Photographer: Ron Fulcher Stylist: Ron Lee

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flash Back Models: Pie Sylvester Robe s Shana Peete Chyna Ma

Photography: Cu is Jermany - GZ PhotoZ.com Photography Make Up: Kiya Brewer - AddicÂ&#x20AC;ve Images Styling: Kelli Swank - K.SwanK Wardrobe: Ri ie Lee - Roc Rio Designs Earings: Sandra Hunter

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en noir et blanc

65 SWAGGA DIGITAL MAGAZINE Model: Nicanor Wardrobe Stylist: RJ Rivera Hair: Josette Vigil-Jelveh Clothes Provided By: Dahae Kim and Justin Jamison Photography: VinCentG. for The Candy Factory Studio

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Bernard's B-list Top 20 The A-list For African-american Books Hardback Non-Fiction

1. The Wealth Cure by Hill Harper 2. Straight Talk No Chaser by Steve Harvey 3. Sister Citizen by Melissa V. Harris-Perry 4. How To Get Out Of Your Own Way by Tyrese Gibson 5. Commander In Chic by Mikki Taylor 6. The Neelys' Celebration Cookbook by Pat and Gina Neely

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Paperback Non-Fiction

1. The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore 2. The Warmth of other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson 3. BMF by Mara Shalhoup 4. Priceless Inspirations by Antonia "Toya" Carter

Hardback Fiction

1. Perfect Peace by Daniel Black 2. Mama Ruby by Mary Monroe 3. The Eternal Engagement by Mary B Morrison 4. Secret Obsession by Kimberla Lawson Roby 5. The Choir Director by Carl Weber

Paperback Fiction

1. Dynasty 2 by Dutch 2. Murderville by Ashley & Jaquavis 3. Bitch: A New Beginning by Deja King 4. Love Honor and Betray by Kimberla Lawson Roby 5. Justify My Thug by Wahida Clark

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LIFE IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT! “RISE OF THE PHOENIX” Kairon says “it has been one old journey, I have been at the bottom of the barrel and I know what that feels like. The two movies written will explain what his statement means. I have truly, truly visited that bottom. I have gotten through it, and that goes back to what he has been saying, trials and tribulations come and go, and the bottom line is that is temporary and you get through it”. Words Ron Fulcher photography by Gregory Prescott. Photo Editing & Concept by Kairon John.

As we conclude our interview, Kairon says it has been one old journey, I have been at the bottom of the barrel and I know what that feels like. The two movies written will explain what his statement means. I have truly, truly visited that bottom. I have gotten through it, and that goes back to what he has been saying, trials and tribulations come and go, and the bottom line is that is temporary and you get through it. It is always temporary. Now if it is a disease or something like that is not temporary. Nevertheless, the pain associated with it is temporary. You can move on, you can continue your life as usual. No matter what the doctors are telling you. In the end, it is what you believe and what you accept. He says he is also working on his vocals, so get ready, and get ready! You can ﬁnd out more information about Kairon John at his website www.kaironjohn.com” www.kaironjohn.com and he can be followed @kaironjohn. ▲

Fast forward to surgery four (4) the external fixator removed, and did a bone graft with pieces from his left leg and fibula replaced the radius in my left arm, as well as replacing the skin with skin from my left leg also. The reasoning for taking the bone, and skin was that it would reduce the possibility of contracting another infection, or possible rejection of the new cells by my body. As of this writing, there have been no complications. I am so happy, at this point, I got a few ultrasounds to make sure the skin and bone grafts are taking hold. I am ecstatic at this point. I am having buyers remorse for lack of a better analogy the skin looks old and wrinkled, Kairon says. I am not sure if that is normal, but I will ask my doctor when I return for a follow-up appointment he says. With that in mind, Kairon remains upbeat and looking forward to walking soon. However, now the only walking he can do is in a wheelchair, or scooting through the room in an office chair. I am not ambulatory, at the moment states Kairon. I ask the question, has this been a journey of courage for you? He replies, OMG and then some! It has been over a year dealing with this! He exclaims. I have been unable to work for over a year, now to me that is just insanity, you can only imagine my wallet at this time. The only income I have coming in is residuals from projects I have done. It’s has been one of the moments, that is why I decided to take pictures of myself and let people know what I have been dealing with this past year. Life continues no matter what your speed bumps you encounter.

Kairon says, what is interesting is he acquired Lee Hayes to write his story, of which there are plans to do two films on his life. The first is years 5 through 30 and the second are years 30 to present, written by Kairon which makes you think 30! What is up with that your only 27 going on 28? Moving on, what that being said Lee Hayes is working on the first premise, so let us just call it the early years, and it is moving right along. The script is complete and still in the works its looking brilliant. Lee is a brilliant writer, and Kairon says he is very excited. Pre-production hopefully will begin in March of next year hopefully he says. Both films needs some tweaking, and he is very hopeful they can be released sometime next year, Kairon says. The goal is for these to be on the big screen, and he says not one person will walk out of that theater with a dry eye. Then there is the possibility of B-Boy Blues that has gone through some transitions, with the Director, cast, everything is new except for the writer, James Earl Hardy, who actually has now written the script this time around. Another is No Homo the movie - a movie that will change lives. Kairon will play with Raz B from B2K.

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As, a result of the hospitalization, a second surgery was done, the wound was cleaned, and a (PICC) peripherally inserted central catheter was inserted, for prolonged intravenous therapy with antibiotics. I had six weeks of antibiotic therapy, which did not work, because the metal in my arm should have been removed first. Subsequently the staph infection attached its self to the metal further complicating the recovery. After all of this a third surgery was indicated, opened me back up, clean out the infection, remove the metal, insert another PICC line, and I had another 6 weeks of antibiotic therapy. At this time Kairon, says I am ready to fight! The metal removed; I was fitted with an external fixator on my left arm, now I had a metal rod on the outside of my left arm as opposed to on the inside. I now had for pins that penetrated the skin, which went all the way down to the bone. At this point, Kairon took some pictures, to inspire him and others that even in a handicap situation and no matter how bleak things get you can still shine. You can still be sexy; you could still work for that matter. Go on with your life as best you can. Kairon says I actually missed out on a commercial with Amber Rose, under the direction of David LaChapelle because of this external baggage that was on my arm. I was very upset about the missed opportunity at the time, but in hindsight, I love them all and there will be more opportunities. He did do an audition for a series on Fox called The Jump Off, when he was literally fresh out of the hospital and I had all these contraptions on my arm. I went just be a trooper, Kairon states I wanted them to know my determination, and show nothing is going to stand in the way of my career.

So with his inequities, as he calls it he has decided to turn his situation into art and show the world. It is like the movie Cowboys and Aliens. In the movie, the character had a gun attached to his arm, so he improvised and took pictures with that analogy in mind. The photographer, who took the pictures, was Gregory Prescott and he worked with him to create his vision. After, this Kairon now is reflecting back on last year, in going forward, as crazy as it might sound I have to go to work in two weeks on this new series called My Brother’s Keeper, in which he as a role and has reconnected with Lamont Pierre who also directed him in the independent film Tequila Sunrise. My Brother’s Keeper now, filming its third season is a socially conscious drama series about the intertwined lives of young people in four cities: LA, ATL, NYC, Miami. Shooting begins in Los Angeles in literally two weeks, he says he plays a role of a guy who is trouble prone, always in trouble, in jail, doing stupid things and there are some very prolific things going on in the film. Keep in mind you are still on the mend! I state to Kairon, and we both are wondering just how much he can physically do. He is determined to try to do the best he can. He has a number of other projects that are in the works and his cinematic future is looking good, once he heals. What has worked for him is there have been many production delays so it gives him more time to heal. One more project he is looking forward is a project by the author Lee Hayes who has written Passion Marks, Flesh to Flesh, and recently The Messiah (Zane Presents Series) which is in pre-production in Washington D.C.

We began our interview with Kairon talking about how he was getting around the house after his surgery. Kairon says, he is hanging in there getting better with each day, just ﬁnished walking around the house using the walker; I am even getting better using the walker, in the beginning it was somewhat of a challenge for me, at this point I getting around a lot better. Kairon says this is his most challenging, life experience to date. It all started last year in 2010, when he was initially diagnosed with a bone cyst, and subsequently, he didn’t worry too much, they would just drain it and I would continue on in life he says. However, after another evaluation by another doctor it was determined it was a bone tumor. It was benign so “I did not have to undergo chemotherapy treatments”. I was told the tumor was located in my left radius, for all you non-medical types it is the left arm, Kairon jokingly explains. He underwent surgery to remove the tumor, closed up the wound, and metal rods and pins were inserted to facilitate the healing process. One, long rod and about 4 to 5 pins. His appearance had changed somewhat. “I liken my appearance to the Terminator, says Kairon. “It was kind of interesting, Kairon jokes, and at the sametime it is kind of bad ass too. This is how it looked under x-ray. Shortly, after the surgery, not remembering the timeline, one of the pins began to protrude out from his skin. Keep in mind two of the pins were temporary, and two were permanent. As a result, he developed a staph infection. He started to develop fevers, which is commonly associated with infection, started to have pain, and ultimately hospitalized.

ART by Eve Harlowe

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Her work for this series is based upon a good friend named Warren usually her work embodies females, so this time Eve decided to do men. Initially, I was challenged Eve says, however what you see displayed is a result of that endeavor. Generally, what I do is I take a photograph, a very basic portrait of a person, then with photoshop the picture is transformed into an art form of that person. The photographs have been digitally manipulated. They are not paintings or sketches. Eve describes her motivation for her art has a lot to do with religion, race, and culture. This is the catalyst for her artwork. With the three kings, they represent the Asian, African-American and Caucasian kings. They were created to illustrate culture and race in our world. Everyone is equal because the depictions are the same person! “The are beautiful”. There is so much negativity and racism in our society today, she says. Ultimately the genesis of her work for this series was to illustrate and convey through art expression that from every spectrum of color from the brightest white to the darkest black is beautiful. We all are equally, beautiful, and also we have hideousness within us as well. “Its the universality of humanity”. More of Eve’s work can be found at: www.eveharlowe.com WORDS RON FULCHER

“King Kan”

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“King Tu”

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“King Yu”

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“The Pearl Earring”

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“The Lovely Gardenia”

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“Weeper”

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Lifestyle

92 SWAGGA DIGITAL MAGAZINE Model: Daniel Srour Coats And Scarves by: G Star Raw The Herringbone Blazer by Calvin Klein Photo: Antworkstudios

“Centerforce is a California-based nonprofit organiza on at strives to improve e lives and streng en e co uni es of incarcerated people and eir loved ones”. There is no way to keep the instruments clean, contaminated ink, etc. Centerforce has a great video entitled “Myth Busters Hep C” that consists of four vignettes complied by Centerforce staff and peer educators at San Quentin State Prison, in an effort to educate participants about the dangers of Hep C, HIV transmission, and questionable health practices. Streaming on YouTube, it is viral and really speaks to what is happening inside prison. People who are on track to be leaving the prison system, and are at high risk with a history of IV drug usage, and unprotected sex there is an effort to help them develop a safety plan with the expectation of them committing to safer health practices. Within the area of HIV positive individuals Centerforce works with them and help them disclose this to their loved ones. This support helps inform everyone, and would more likely reduce the transmission of HIV.

CENTERFORCE maintain the relationships when family members are incarcerated. In addition, in some ways we help to mend relationships damaged before the incarceration. Other times because of the incarceration, sometimes we actually make relationships for family members who are estranged, kids who never knew their father or their mother. Nevertheless, long to know him or her and also for the person who is in prison that has finally came to terms with the realization that yes, I am a parent and they need to be accountable and responsible. As a result, of our efforts relationships are forged. “The Three (3) “M’s” that’s what we do”! With that being said, many people in prison take extraordinary health risks prior to going in prison and while they are in prison. A significant number of people in prison have substance abuse history, and or substance abuse related crimes. The abuse is varied, alcohol, intravenous drug usage, unprotected sex, of which all of these things contribute to a serious decline in each individuals health. Let’s face it prison makes you sick in a sense, its designed to break you down, isolate you, bottom line you no longer have your freedom or support. People most definitely are depressed and despondent once incarcerated and do things that they would not ordinarily do in the free world they take risks. Tattooing in prison, is very prevalent, and one of the main catalyst for Hepatitis C.

www.centerforce.org

circumstances. This is the core of Centerforce, and they do not have any difficulties finding families who are seeking their assistance. Families find Centerforce, which puts this organization in a unique position, which is necessary to do the work that they do. The other dynamic of this organization is the kids are not responsible for what their parents have done; all they need and want is to have the best parents they can get. It does not really matter what the crime was, because the majority of people in prison did not commit a crime against their children. The children want to be with their parents and desperately want to establish a relationship with them. Their goal is to be the best person they can be, these are children ranging from ages 16 to 18. This is a delicate time for them; most are going through different stages of identity and trying to ascertain who they are. Most are very clear they do not want to be like their parents, however some are conflicted resulting in over identification. It is human nature wanting to be loved by your parents in most cases. Many times children of inmates boast and have a sort of bravado to shield themselves, from the reality of the situation. Many parents of adolescent children hid the truth of incarceration. This kind of deception is an attempt to shield the adolescent children from the reality of the situation. However, kids are able today to discern fact from fiction and do know that a parent or both parents are in jail. Ultimately, when you do not tell kids the truth they do not trust the world. The message to the parents is clear, you are not off the hook because one of you is in prison, and you have to be the best person you can be.

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Words: By Ron Fulcher

R on The

adar

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SDM: How do you get that message to people? Ms. Burton passionately says our mission casts a wide net, one of the aspects our organization is supporting families, educating and advocating. Sometimes, people maybe loosely connected, to their loved ones. Prior to going to prison, they might have been living together, possibly a custodial parent, breadwinner, and or a vital piece to the families function and now they are missing. “I like to call it the three “M’s” Ms. Burton says, “What we do is we help to

Because of this chain of events families feel a lot of shame and stigma that comes with the territory that they must endure, due to the fact society is not very forgiving when it comes to people who are and have, been incarcerated, although today we see a lot of glamorization of celebrities beating the system. Ms. Burton refers to this as the “conspiracy of silence”. With that theory, the inference to some of the writings of Randall Robinson, author of an Unbroken Agony, in the telling and un-telling of the crime, and all of the social consequences of a family who has someone in prison. As, a result of this family members hide and only come out and discuss the circumstances with people who they feel safe with. Centerforce serves as a beacon, the organization was created over 37 years ago, with a house outside of San Quentin, which served as a sanctuary for family visiting someone in San Quentin, our motto is “come in you do not have to stand out in the cold.” “Come in from the heat, wait here, and when they open the gates we will make sure you get in”. Potential visitors are, given meals, information and access to resources. More importantly, validation is, necessary to ensure the family members that they are not alone and there is a commonality of people with similar

We sat down and had a conversation with Carol F. Burton, LMSW, Executive Director of Centerforce whose mission is to support, educate, and advocate for individuals, families and communities impacted by incarceration. As we begin our interview Ms. Burton, began talking about the mission and the vision of the organization, as I familiarized myself with the organization and its mission, I could not help but wonder about the families who are seriously impacted by the chain of events, ﬁnancially, spiritually, and sometimes even physically.

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“His values were much aligned with mine. He emphasized that you should Never start a company with the goal of getting rich. Your goal should be Making something you believe in and making a company that will last.” Markkula wrote his principles in a one-page pager titled. “The Apple Marketing Philosophy” stressed three points. The ﬁrst was empathy, an intimate connection With the feelings of the customer: “we truly understand their needs better than Any other company.” the second was focus: “in order to do a good job of those Things that we decide to do, we must eliminate all of the unimportant opportunities.” The third and equally important principle, awkwardly named, was impute. It emphasized People form an opinion about a company or product based on the signals that it Conveys. “People do judge a book by its cover,” he wrote. “We may have the best product, the highest quality, the most useful software etc.: if we present them in a slipshod manner, they will be perceived as slipshod; if we present them in a creative, professional manner We will impute the desired qualities.” Excerpt from Steve Jobs written by Walter Isaacson

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ROCK HARD FEATURING T INSER “PLANET B”

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ROCK HARD WITH PLANET B WORDS RON FULCHER SDM: What is electronica and what style of music is Planet B?

Our sound is a very nice fusion of material, there is no trend, to our music, and we genuinely love Hip-Hop, Rock, and at the same time electronic music. We combine the electronics of sense, different programs, and live instrumentation to make our sound. Having a nice combination of these music disciplines plays an integral part of whom Planet B is today. When Shaun and Sason embarked on their journey, Planet B was a little bit ahead of the curve when it came to producing their music. With all of the fusion of many different styles, but now things are starting to catch up. SDM: Do you consider yourself a group, artists or what exactly - who are you? PLANET B: Planet B is the brainchild and collaboration of multi-talented artists Sason Bishope Parry and Shaun Bivens. We are a group, in the sense of a lot of bands in the 80’s, where there were just two people, like the eurhythmics Annie Lenox was the lead vocal, and Dave Stewart did all of the music. We are like that! Shaun says. Most of our time is in the studio. In the studio, we are a two-man partnership. Then when they go out and perform live, we bring other musicians to play with us. When Sason Bishope Parry and Shaun Bivens came together, they brought their two vibes together, and created Planet B, which is a fusion and balance of many different styles into one innovative sound. “Therefore, we are deﬁnitely a band, a group and individual artists all in one”. The translation of their sound did have some challenges initially. Especially, when performing live, “things change, when you go from the studio to live stage it is sometimes challenging to reproduce that sound that you do in the studio to a live stage performance”. With the evolution of digital music, production those challenges have disappeared. There is much excitement in their voices; a lot of the music can now be sequenced, meshed and ﬁne-tuned for live performances as well as in the studio. This has now become the norm for Planet B and just about everyone else as well. This process makes it a lot easier when you go on the road, with some of your tracks sequenced, you can take (4) four people as opposed to 40 people. Ultimately, they can go into a club, do a 2-person track act with a DJ or full-blown set with multiple musicians including keyboard players, drummer, guitar player and whatever the gig calls for. There is much versatility in Planet B’s repertoire and given that they cross musical genres, they can play a dance club or hip-hop event and also go out and rock a festival or rock concert! .

PLANET B: We have been friends since childhood, as they both laugh. We hail from Oakland/Berkeley, California. We have been hanging since we were kids! SDM: Does Planet B consider itself hard rock? PLANET B: Shaun says he considers himself heavy metal as a person; and plays rock & metal guitar and loves it and Sason loves it all, but gets excited about electronic music and all of its fusions. Our music has tinges of heavy metal through the guitars, but that is just one element, our music is a fusion of rock, dance music and hip-hop. Electronic dance music is huge now! Every R&B singer and rapper has a dance song out right now. SDM: So do you consider yourselves trendsetters? PLANET B: We want to be! We want to take down the whole thing that you have to be one thing in order to make it in the music business. Back, in the day if you were doing hip hop and attempted to put rock guitar in your music, the record executives would tell you no, you could not do that! You are, going to disenfranchise many people. The record company would say we want to market you in a certain way and would not let you go outside of that box. Until Run DMC, Lincoln Park, and several others kicked open the doors. We said to ourselves, why we should be doing one thing in the context of one band. Now with electronic music and dance music it is the same thing. Several years ago, Planet B was trying to introduce lot of rock and hip-hop sound with dance music. Sometimes, it went over well, and sometimes the audience was not ready for it yet. They wanted to be purist, now it is catching up and everybody is doing it. It is a perfect time for a fusion band like Planet B. We do not see ourselves in a certain kind of genre. Sometimes music can be so straight. Shaun jumps in and we are not like that as people! So why should be like that as artist? People on their iPod for example, you could listen to one track, and then another track comes on and it is a completely different type of music. Look at Lady Gaga; she is doing dance music, mixed with pop and sometimes rock tinges. Some people would say Lady Gaga is the white Grace Jones, mixed with Madonna. Shaun says she is going to, eventually go back to her roots, and start playing the piano again and singing, singer songwriter songs again. People say, she will be the next Elton John. While at the same time, some people do not get her, maybe it’s the shock of her image and clothes that takes away from her music. Nevertheless, she is the present day phenomenal right now. Sason says she has helped kick the door open and opened people’s eyes to dance and electronic music in the US. With that, Planet B feels they are on the right path to a good place in the music industry right now. SDM: Have you done any video productions? PLANET B: Several years ago, we shot a ﬁrst video, called End of the World, which was a banging electronic piece with a hip-hop tip. We ﬁlmed the video at a club called Temple nightclub in San Francisco owned by Paul Hemming and Ian Levesseur directed the video. The concept of the video was we were in the year 3000, and the vibe was a club in the year 3000, it came out awesome, however, we did not release it yet because people were not ready for it. We try to be innovative in our thinking when it comes to our music. Fast forward to now we have a few tracks on iTunes. However, we pulled the tracks because we did not feel they represented Planet B and stuff that we are doing currently.

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PLANET B: In seeking a clariﬁcation of what is meant by “ELECTRONICA” & WHAT MUSIC THEY CONSIDER PLANET B, I ask are you speaking of how the music is delivered, with instrumentation, Shaun and Sason stop me and says it is a style, it can get techie! It is a combination of both, where we utilize programs with live instruments and mix together multiple musical styles fusing electronica, dance music with rock and hip-hop by adding live instrumentation with electronic beats. Music is, categorized today, in genres, rock, techno, R&B, hip-hop, dance, reggae, etc. Planet B’s music does not seem to ﬁt in the boxes of the typical genres. “We have no box”, says Shaun. Our box is a circle, if you know what I mean. The genesis of Planet B emanates from rock, playing the guitar, dance, hip-hop and everything else. With that concept in mind, everything Shaun and Sason grew up listening to they have molded into their music and sound, all wrapped up into one innovative style. Nowadays, people listen to all kinds of music anyways. Why not give them a blend of everything!

SDM: How did you connect?

“WE LIVE IT, BREATHE IT AND EAT IT”.

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PLANET B: Our balance is the fusion of style for Shaun and Sason, vocally & musically Sason’s style is him and Shaun represents his vibe. In addition, both of them branch out a little bit which they have never done before. Shaun reveals he was more of a rapper and now he is pushing himself to do more singing, which he has not done much of and Sason, being more of the singer is now rapping too. Its ying and yang. Sason has a nice cool and lush sounding edgy voice, and Shaun says he has this thing like pissing vinegar, a pack a day and bottle of Jack Daniels kind of voice. The balance between that is what makes the vocal thing cool. In our music there is always going to be some hard rock guitar and a beat that you can dance too. Planet B is always going have hard and soft vocals in our sound. Fast forward, we shot a video this past summer, entitled “Tramp Stamp” which is a lower back tattoo on women; however, the song and video is a celebration of all tattoos, mainly on women. We were excited about the concept, we wrote the song and went out and casted and found 70 hot females with tattoos to be in the video. In addition, we casted a girl who actually got a live tramp stamp tattoo of our logo during the video and captured it on film. Paul Velez a San Francisco tattoo artist did the tattoo. We shot the video at the club called Butter in San Francisco, owned by Vlad Cood. We released the video on YouTube and got a few thousand plays in a week without much promotion. The song is Planet B, with its core foundation with a hip-hop vibe to it. Next, we wrote a song entitled, Rock Hard. We just filmed a video for it at Fuel Lounge in San Francisco. The song has two meanings, the first is a girl gets you rock hard, and the second is your rocking hard to the music. The lyrics of course were talking about a hot chick, at the same time we are describing her by naming all of these rock and heavy metal bands of the 80s, 90s. Our dance rock vibe truly comes out in this song and you can really rock out and groove to it. The, video was directed by Rick Haynes who also directed a video for another song Planet B wrote called Cocaine Cowboys. Sason says, “we got inspired to write Cocaine Cowboys after meeting John Roberts (The infamous cocaine drug trafficker in the 80’s) alongside the artist Akon in Miami and later superstar DJ Paul Oakenfold remixed it, with the hopes of landing a spot in the upcoming slated feature film, which is supposed to star Mark Wahlberg”. SDM: What is the process for your creative flow? PLANET B: Shaun says very candidly, “how many girls have I dated, many of my ex-girlfriends have had tramp stamps how much porno have I watched”. Why is there not a song about this phenomenon? We were committed to rock it, despite some of the controversy associated with the name. We wanted to do what we do and not be so serious, just have fun. Nevertheless, at the same token, we wanted to ensure we communicated a positive message about women with Tats. We wanted to project a fun tone, about the tramp stamp without being offensive & not being misogynistic. The females who participated in the video loved it. The video was co-directed by Doyle Johnson. SDM: Do you see yourselves getting a deal, in the future? Do you want a deal?

“PLANET B STANDS FOR PLANET BALANCE”

“PASSION FOR OUR MUSIC”. PLANET B: Personally, Shaun says he has had several record deals, if the deal is right we will take the money, run with it, and work with the record company and make the music successful. However, now we have so many other resources. We do not want to sign a deal, and have to compromise on our sound to fit the mold of what they think we should be or represent with our music. The perfect scenario would be a label that let us spread our wings and make good music would be ideal. Sason says we have enough content for two albums right now. We are being creative and doing as much as we can do on our own right now. We believe in ourselves, and our music, we would love to expand our music internationally. If we get a deal that would be great, but with our current viral support system in place that will afford us that opportunity ultimately. We will grow virally, on Facebook, YouTube, and other social media outlets. It would be great; to have our material marketed and distributed by a major label would be ideal and were hoping the right one comes along. Then we can focus our efforts on creating more music. We are already, a one-stop shop with the, editing, directing, and creation and producing of all of our music and videos. We can give the record label a finished product and its turnkey. SDM: Have you thought about pitching it to the label? PLANET B: We are almost at that point, after we finish editing our latest Rock Hard Video, we will have a lot of videos, that all look great, locations are fantastic then will just give them all the videos and see what’s up. Things were a little different in the past; you had to have a demo and stuff. Now, all the songs are on the videos, our presentation is visual as opposed to just some audios on a CD. What’s make us unique, you do not find an African-American and a Persian dude partnered up. Who both love rock, hip-hop and electronic music not your typical musical collaboration. We have a nice buzz going locally; we got a lot of good support from a local level, and an underground vibe. We are always working to get mainstream support. All of our songs are radio friendly. SDM: What do you mean radio friendly? PLANET B: Big hooks well put together, chorus, verse, but at the same time, you really do not know what radio is friendly because so much music is on the radio it makes you wonder. 90% of the most music on the radio is paid for by large corporations or record labels. In the past, you actually had to have talent to get on the radio, perhaps it will get that way again but realistically, probably not. Not knocking all of the music today on the radio, most people have talent. There are so many different avenues to listen to music nowadays anyway. That said, our fan base is growing and people are starting to embrace our music, and we are getting sponsorships too. We recently, were sponsored by Rebel316.com jewelry for our Rock Hard video displaying some amazing jewelry, Cocoa Jeans sponsored our tramp stamp video and magnetapicks.com has endorsed us for over a year now. SDM: Do you feel you will outgrow the Bay Area and go elsewhere?

“OUR BALANCE IS THE FUSION OF STYLE”.

ROCK HARD WITH PLANET B

SDM: So do you feel your fan base is here? PLANET B: Our core base is here! We are from the San Francisco Bay Area region. We think we are going to make a big splash in Europe. We are optimistic that we make a splash on both continents. Our sound is international. SDM: Do you think because music goes through these cycles that your music will stand the test of time? PLANET B: Yes, we were ahead of the curve starting out and now things are catching up and were hoping our music resonates and stays. We want people to hear our music loud, that stadium rock sound. Planet B wants to represent that stadium sound, that live traditional sound the look and feel of it! We want to rock the big shows then bring that sound and vibe back in the clubs too. If we could get away with pyrotechnics, in the club we would, they smile! We want to bring both of those worlds together and it is happening now.

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As we concluded our interview, it was obvious that Sason and Shaun have a passion and commitment to producing and delivering their music to their fans. Their music is deďŹ nitely an audiovisual sensory overload. It is a heartfelt journey for them; they want their music to get out there, and be heard! The timing is right and because they have this mix, people will get into their style of music, it is a nice and comfortable fusion but more importantly, Sason and Shaun known as Planet B want to appeal to more than one genre. They are the real deal; it, is not a bunch of jewels and a Mohawk haircut, and rock and roll attitude it is in their blood. It is a generational thing. It is not an act, some gimmick it is real. They live it, breathe it, and eat it Planet B.

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PLANET B: No, We have been playing many shows out of town for several years, in places like Miami, and Texas. We performed at the Ultra Music Festival in Florida, many times. We have been lucky to open up and share the stage with a lot of big artists like the Cure, The Killers, Chemical Brothers, David Guetta, DeadMau5, Tommy Lee and DJ Aero, The Prodigy, Perry Farrell, Paul Oakenfold, Skrillex, Black Eyed Peas, Wu Tang Clan, Hieroglyphics, The Roots and many others. To be honest, we do not do many performances in the Bay Area, but we are starting now. We have been cultivating our sound in the studio, and then we go out and test it in other places, come back and do shows in the Bay Area.

Upfront and personal during the video shoot of Planet B’s latest video, entitled “Rock Hard”.

BEHIND THE SCENES VIDEO SHOOT

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planet B

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MAKING THE COVER Winter 2011 Anniversary Issue 1

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Model: Amit Lal our Winter, 2nd Year Anniversary Cover Model, Clothing courtesy of Oxford Way Clothing, and Tailoring. Stylist Ron Fulcher Photo: Ron Fulcher. Eyewear Courtesy RayBan速

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