ESG

ESG (Emerald, Sapphire and Gold) is a band that emerged from the South Bronx in the early 1980s.  They were totally and completely unique, creating a sound that was unlike anything on the scene at the time – funky post-punk, post-disco dance music.

The band originally consisted of the Scroggins sisters, Renee (vocals), Valerie (drums), Deborah (bass) and Marie (congas, vocals) and friend Tito Libran (congas, vocals).  They were active in the early 80s, disbanded, and the re-formed in the early 90s after their music had become popular sample materials for bands like TLC, the Wu-Tang Clan, the Beastie Boys, Big Daddy Kane, Gang Starr, Junior Mafia, Tricky, Jay-Dee, as well as indie rockers like Unrest and Liars.  Accordingly, in 1992 ESG released the 12″ EP Sample Credits Don’t Pay Our Bills!

While ESG was super influential in NYC, and their influence on hip hop/rock/punk is beyond measure, they quietly hung up their hats to pursue fairly quiet lives in the city.  There have been a few releases, and shows here and there, but all in all the Scruggins sisters have moved on to other (if not bigger and better) things.  But, they will forever be remembered as one of the greatest bands you’ve probably never heard of!

Smarten Up with Wendy Mullin at Above Allen

On Sunday, October 21st, we will be hosting our third Smarten Up Creative Learning Workshop with special guest Wendy Mullin!  She is a multi-talented fashion designer, and Mullin is going to help kids create the most magical, special, and most importantly cool trick-or-treat bag that you could possibly imagine.  Kids can and should come in costume ready to make some Halloween magic happen.  Hope you can make it!

When: Sunday, October 21 from 1:00 – 2:30

Where: Above Allen at the Thompson LES hotel, 190 Allen Street, New York, NY. 10002

Who: Children 6ish to 12ish, tuition $25

RSVP: workshops@smarten-up.com

 

Bad Brains: a Band in D.C.

 

Whether you love Bad Brains or you’ve never heard of them, their story is worth listening to.  Lucky for all of us, it was edited down by Mandy Stein and Benjamin Logan into a perfect documentary titled Bad Brains: a Band in D.C.

The doc begins by bringing us back to the mid-1970s, when the group (four black teenagers from Washington, D.C.) met in middle school. In the beginning, the boys were mostly into jazz-fusion (playing under the name Mind Power) — bassist Darryl Jenifer says he used to write fan-club letters to Stanley Clarke of Return to Forever — but they soon turned to the faster, edgier sounds of punk rock.  The music/movement provided the perfect expression of their energy and angst.  And because of their jazz training, they were the tightest band on the scene, capable of playing the most complicated of parts at breakneck speed.  In a sea of white teenagers playing punk rock with no musical training, Bad Brains were awe-inspiring.

Then, they saw Bob Marley in concert in the late 70s/early 80s and delved deep into reggae music and the Rastafari movement.  They might have been unique to the scene before, but after this awakening Bad Brains melded punk and reggae into an innovative style that has yet to be copied.  Their shows were always amazing because you never quite knew what you were going to get. The clips below are both from their famed 1982 performance at CBGB …

With a cult following, and seemingly limitless talent you might ask what went wrong?  There were a few things along the way, including some organizational challenges, publicity issues, and the increasing insanity of frontman H.R.  You can see it all in the movie.  Bad Brains is revered as one of the greatest (punk) bands ever, whose influence can be heard in groups like the Beastie Boys, No Doubt, Nirvana, Jane’s Addiction and countless more, yet so many people don’t know of them … Bad Brains: a Band in D.C. tells their story in the most amazing way.  It’s a must see!

 

Beastie Boys Hello Nasty Infomercial

To promote Hello Nasty the Beastie Boys went old school, or kind of just weird school, and created their very own infomercial.  The results are pretty genius …

Gotta love it.

X-Large

XLARGE, est. 1991

The clothing company was amongst the first to create underground cool, cult-collectible streetwear; clothing that was so much more than apparel because wearing the XLarge gorilla let people know that you were a part of the scene.  You were into hip hop and skating, you were a hipster before hipsters existed, and above all else, you were really, really cool.

The concept for the store was created by brothers Eli and Adam Bonerz, and their friend Adam Silverman with the help of Mike D from the Beastie Boys.  Their first location was on Vermont Street in Los Angeles, California.  The store carried a few original X-Large design products, classic Ben Davis and Carhartt, and they also stocked old Adidas and Puma sneakers, offering the perfect blend of the best of the old with the coolest of the new.  But they quickly realized that it was a lot easier and more profitable to sell new X-Large t-shirts than it was to restock ultra rare and hard to find footwear.  And so the concept grew across the country, into Japan, and a women’s line (created with indie queens Kim Gordon and Daisy von Furth) called X-Girl.  With the likes of Sophia Coppola and Spike Jonze, Mike Mills, Thurston Moore, the John Spencer Blues Explosion, Chloe Sevigny, Ione Sky, Nigo (a la the BAPE ape), and so many others hanging around and helping out, the X brands were the hippest of hip.

They were a super creative company, with amazingly imaginative friends, which led to one of the greatest promotional videos ever, and the whole reason I felt compelled to write this post – the XLarge Action Suit!  The “commercial” was created by Evan Bernard, shot in Eli Bonerz’s Neutra house, and starred John C. Reilly as the greatest model ever – way before the days of Dewey Dox, Cal Naughton Jr., and all of the other amazing characters.  This video is so insanely good!

The Banana Splits: The Greatest Band in the World?

The Banana Splits Adventure Hour (or The Banana Splits and Friends Show, as many people know it) was a children’s program that ran from about 1968-1970. The show was about a band of animals, supposed to be reminiscent of bands like the Beatles or the Monkees, who played disturbingly good children’s music. Of course, they would get into some kind of hijinks that allowed for comedic results in funny animal costumes, but it was really the music that made the Splits relevant and kept them there.

Michael Stipe once said that the Banana Splits music was more influential for him than anything the Beatles ever wrote.  Joey Ramone has been quoted saying that the only band in the early 70s that he really loved was the Banana Splits.  The Dickies, one of the first L.A. punk bands, covered their theme song, as did Liz Phair, the queen of grunge, and then Hit Girl from “Kick Ass” kicked ass to those covers in the movie.  The great rock critic, Lester Bangs, claimed that the Banana Splits theme song would be in his head until the day he died.  The Beastie Boys even dressed up as them in their “Alive” video.  Maybe that all had something to do with the fact that Barry White was one of their songwriters!

If you listen to Buffalo Soldier by Bob Marley, you can even hear the Banana Splits at 2:12!

I rest my case!

Cookie Puss

Cookie Puss was born in 1972.  The ice cream space alien was the brainchild of chef Andrew Bianchi and Carvel ice cream owner Tom Carvel.  According to Carvel lore, Cookie Puss (his original name was “Celestial Person” and his initials, “C.P.”, later came to stand for “Cookie Puss”) was born on planet Birthday. This amazing ice cream cake personality also has the ability to fly, though he requires a saucer-shaped spacecraft for interplanetary travel.

Once of the greatest part of Cookie Puss (though what isn’t absolutely amazing about him), is that fact that he never appears exactly the same.  While his basic features include his pear-ish shape, ice cream cone nose and two round, bulging brown eyes made from Carvel Flying Saucers, his coloration, extremities, and decorations always seem to vary …

And of course on St. Patrick’s day Cookie Puss would call in his buddy Cookie O’Puss to make an appearance!

He even had a special Valentines day outfit!

Now obviously the wacko level of Cookie Puss inspired some pretty amazing responses.  There was the Beastie Boys song “Cookie Puss,” and Howard Sterns’ amazing imitations, not to mention endless prank phone calls.

Who knew an ice cream cake could be such an American icon?!

Diabolik

Diabolik is one of the coolest superheroes ever because he is the classic anti-hero, with great style and even greater eyebrows.

Diabolik is a ruthless Italian master thief, but of the Robin Hood sort – he steals big, but only from criminals (or mostly I should say).  One would think that ripping off all of the bad guys in town would bring some pretty heavy heat on Diabolik; I mean how does one escape the fury of an entire community of evil genius?  With the help of an ever-chanigng idtentity of course!  Diabolik is also a scientific mastermind with a broad knowledge of chemistry, computers, mechanics, and mask creation - he has an seemingly infinite set of the most lifelike disguises which he uses to fool his opponents, assuming a random identity at will.

Diabolik was raised as an orphan on a secret island hideout of a criminal combine.  It was there that he developed his thieving skills by learning from his neighbors who were all true masters of the trade.  However, when the secret island and its inhabitants had nothing more to offer, Diabolik turned on his “family,” and killed the head of the combine.  He is not one for guns, choosing instead to attack with either his daggers, which he throws with uncanny ability, or a small dart gun with knockout darts. He works solo until issue #3 when he meets Eva Kant, his “moll,” who gains an increasing role as both his partner and lover.

The comic was created in 1962 by sisters Angela and Luciana Giussani.  Since then Diabolik has lived on as a comic book, published in both Italian and English, but it has also inspired an amazing film, Danger: Diabolik (1968), inspired a cartoon and a video game, and provided the perfect plot for the Beastie Boys’ video “Body Movin’.”