I.J.R.

Here's a portrait of I.J.R. that I took.

briguy, what do you think of the shots?
what can i do to make them better?

-r'fari

"yep" by thomas campbell

Above is a snapshot of my new painting. To say the least, I am completely stoked to have some original art by Thomas Campbell. The brownish sketches are a silkscreen on giclee paper, and all the color you see has been painted by the artist. I first discovered Thomas Campbell after watching a surfing documentary he directed called "Sprout". Sprout is an incredible movie that aims to show "how truly lucky we are to live in the lush life of the ocean experience, and to emphasize all the diverse possibilities we have in accessing this fountain of youth". He's a dreamer, surfer, and he has the best narration voice ever. Trust me, go find this movie, have some good beer, and totally veg out.

Thomas Campbell makes art that is dreamy, whimsical, and grateful... which is why I like it. In 2006 he was featured in the New York Times, and I am completely stoked to own a cool piece of art such as this. Check out the video on youtube for a bigger take on his work. Elements from my print/painting are seen in this overview of the exhibit "Beautiful Losers".

ode to someday records

many of you remember someday records, the indie label started by myself, jess, and steven. well, although we didn't sell a million records (ok, we didn't sell 5 thousand), i must say we were well ahead of the curve. today i was listening to my xm radio and they played the bees, who were featured on our "under the needle" soundtrack released 3 years ago. in addition, all of the artists featured on our compilation are still touring musicians and half of the artists have record deals. not too bad!

my town is a wonderland

So here's a little update as to what's been happening...

1. I saw My Morning Jacket at the Ogden Theater in Denver. Just when I haven't seen the Jacket in over a year, they swing by and once again put on the best show I've seen in ages. It reminds me of that epic night in Birmingham with Saliba going apeshit. Saliba, you out there? Anyway, MMJ are unstoppable. They are the best American rock band in concert. Can anyone dispute this?

2. In other music, I purchased The Slip's new album, Eisenhower. I really really dig it. "Children of December" is a great jazzy indie rock song, and "If One of Us Should Fall" is a classic anthem song. You just want to hear them both on repeat. If you're a child of December you will especially appreciate The Slip. You will indentify, you know, when your birthday gets the shaft b/c it's around christmas.

3. The Bolder Boulder. It's America's biggest 10K run - with 50,000+ people. Well, I'm going to run it this year. It's Memorial Day weekend (late May) and the Boulder Creek Festival is also the same weekend. If you're a runner or if you're not (like me), this is a great opportunity to come to Boulder and visit! Consider that an invitation. Run the race with me!

4. A wild winter. We have had so much snow and lots of crazy wind. Usually winters in Boulder are mild, but I guess this is the harshest winter in 20 or 30 years. It has snowed every week for the past 4 weeks. Picture above is near my house, facing the South with the Foothills to the West.

Peace...

the flatirons in the new year

"flatirons winter '07"
by rusty.



i took this picture last week after our third
big snowstorm.for those out of town, the
flatirons are part of the foothills before the
rocky mountains and they hang directly above
boulder. they are jagged mountain faces that
look like upright irons.chief niwot, an american
indian from years past, said that if you ever see
the sun rise on the flatirons and behold the orange
glow above town that you will never leave boulder.
that's the curse of the flatirons.

my house is about a 1/2 mile
from where this picture was taken.
hope you like it!

click to enlarge.

hennajenna

One of my new hobbies in the last year has been brewing beer. It is absolutely one of the most rewarding hobbies because it is creative and makes you slightly intoxicated. But seriously, you get to invent your own beer and reward yourself with the end results (unless it tastes like shite). So, my latest beer is a reddish beer similar to Anchor Steam in hops, but brewed with the techniques used for a Czech Pilsner a la Pilsner Urquell. The technique is called "lagering" and means that you have to let the beer ferment at colder temperatures and longer than normal. My cellar is the perfect temperature, then after bottling it will be moved to the fridge for 4-6 weeks.

My sister helped me out when we made it on Christmas Eve, so due to her red hair and her involvement, it is called Hennajenna Pilsner. It will be bottled next week!

Next up, I have plans for a German Dortmunder and either a Creamy Stout or an Imperial IPA.

This might sound boring, but come over and drink some with me and I can guarantee it will not be a boring night!

dave chappelle is my neighbor

Dave Chappelle, overheard on the street in Yellow Springs, OH:

"When you're climbin' up a ladder
and ya here something splatter...
Diarrhea" Ha...

My family happens to live 5 miles away from Yellow Springs, OH. It's a small eclectic hippie town in the middle of Ohio. Home of the most liberal crew in the Buckeye state, and one of my personal favorite towns, it also happens to be the home of one of the funniest men in the world: Dave Chappelle. I've seen Dave a couple time when stoping through Yellow Springs, and this last time (Jan. 2nd) it was refreshing to see him hanging with the locals and just being a real person. When I lived in L.A., celebs weren't really down with hanging at the coffeshop talking to the locals every day, so props to Dave for shunning the self-absorbed lifestyle and sticking to his roots in a great little town in the middle of the midwest.
Here's another reason Ohio is a great state.

The Godfather of Soul

Yesterday, James Brown passed away. He was a legend. Maybe he had a laundry list of criminal activities, but HE WAS JAMES BROWN! An absolute legend. An American original, and he knew it. He put himself next to Elvis. He wasn't humble, but he was unforgettable. There will never be another man like James Brown.

I was fortunate enough to be in a press conference with 25 others as James Brown was being interviewed in a tent in the sweltering tennessee summer. I have never before witnessed such an event. James Brown was larger than life, he looked at the biggest rock journalists of our day, and belittled them like school children on a playground. It was ridiculous, he turned these men and women into his personal examples of meagerdom. It was an amazing display, as my friend Jessica can attest to. In fact, if you have a chance to rent the Bonnaroo 2003 DVD, watch for me in the white hat and my friend Jess next to me. Here are some samples of his brilliance at work from that press conference in '03.

Rolling Stone Reporter: "Hello Mr Brown, I'm So-and-So from Rolling Stone..." (cut off)
James Brown: SO WHAT!?

USA Today Reporter: "So Mr. Brown, If you go out in the campgrounds, you will find all these hippie kids dancing around to funk and R&B... listening to your music. Have you ever played at such a concert like this?"
James Brown: "YEAH, EVER HEARD OF WOODSTOCK!?"

Billboard Reporter: "Have you thought about your setlist tonight, what will you be playing?"
James Brown: "I DON'T KNOW, HAVEN'T GOT THERE YET!"


There it was, James Brown dismissing reporters like it was his job. It was an amazing place to be that day, one of my favorite moments of living behind the scenes in the music business. They didn't call him the hardest working man in show business for nothing!

Do yourself a favor and download some James Brown today.

Make it funky,
-rustafarian

ps: i believe that is me on the stage balcony - red fro and headband...

merry christmas from colorado!

Because of the Blizzard of '06 (seen below),

Christmas has been cancelled.

Well, not really, but my sister and I are not in Ohio as planned, and instead will be going next weekend. Our flights were cancelled along with everyone else in Colorado. So, without family to spend the holidays with, Jenna and I decided to make a drive up to the mountains and spend Christmas Eve in Breckenridge, and Christmas back in Boulder. Yesterday, we made our way to Breck, did some boarding, then stayed the night in Frisco (pictured above). After some time at the Breckenridge Brewery and meeting some locals in Frisco, we stayed at the Holiday Inn (wishing it had a Holidome with sweet orange carpet, blue walls, and fake ferns), then went to Keystone in the morning to do some more boarding. We suck at boarding, but it's still fun. That was this morning, Christmas Day.

Merry Christmas Everyone, May the Lord give you Peace.
-Rusty

snow graffiti

by rusty.

that's a car, by the way.
yeah, beneath 24 inches of snow...
update 12/22: final count is almost 40 inches of snow!

snow in boulder... 6 inches... 12 inches... 24 ?

"down to earth"

thoughts?