Events

Mr. Wonderful

Events, My Dudes, Stan Ipcus, Youth

I’m coming off three performances from last week, the most live appearances I’ve made all year.  It felt good to be back in action.  The first, an industry showcase down in the L.E.S., was a little too stuffy for me.  The crowd was fairly wack, and I wasn’t digging the scene.  It confirmed that I am not a fake industry cat, and I am proud to say that, though I must say I got busy on the mic for all the non-believers.  The picture above is from the Bombin’ Magazine party at Premium Laces, which was VERY FUN.  I rocked “My Ferris Buellers” and even pulled off an amazing performance of “Ippylicious” that had everyone dancing in the joint.  Mad cool people and a great vibe, and Premium Laces is a fly store.

And finally, Max B and I joined Matisyahu in Baltimore at Ram’s Head Live this past Saturday night.  So much fun, with lots of fam in the crowd including my beautiful fiancee.  Max and Matis did an unbelievable beat box set, and I joined in for “WP”, “Victory”, and even an impromptu performance of “My Ferris Buellers” with the band in front of the sold out crowd.  Awesome.  I hope to get a hold of some footage and pics from the night, but until then, peep my new video, “Mr. Wonderful”, filmed, edited, directed, and produced by Stan Ipcus, ya heard?

Here’s a bonus video, all up in your GRILL PIECE.  “Let’s Walk” might be my hottest song right now, KEEP UP WITH ME…

Finally, A VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU to Matisyahu, The Flobots, and the rest of the tour crew (thanks BEN!!!) for hooking my boy Lonnie from the BGC up with backstage passes to the show last Sunday in New Jersey.  Lonnie is a very talented 9th grader that frequents my Cultural Arts Center, and he was the first person I knew that was up on The Flobots hit song “No Handlebars”.  Of course, he is also a big Matisyahu fan, so I pulled some strings to get him and his Mom some tickets and V.I.P. access.  Check the pics he got backstage.  He told me he had the best night of his life…

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The Only Living Boy in New York

Events, My Dudes, Stan Ipcus

Let’s be clear.  I made a conscious decision about a year ago to take a break from doing shows.  In fact, my only performance since last August 2007 at the Thirsty Turtle in White Plains was with my dude Matisyahu at Roseland last Hanukah.  Check the videos, first from Thirsty Turtle, then from Roseland with Matisyahu…

Instead, I’ve been doing alot of blogging (obviously), both here and with Westchester Magazine’s GROOM GUY, and still recording and putting out music, just a little more stategically than I had in the past.  It’s brought me some great success! Say it with a Borat accent, it feels better.  GREAT SUCCESS!!  HOT 97’S!!!  NAHRIGHT.COM’S!!!  THE WORLD WIDE WEBS!!!!

Well, I’m back in NYC this week with two performances.  Both will be short sets, a few songs.  Still, they should be fun.  The first is this Thursday, October 23rd, for the WE PUT ON FOR OUR CITY industry showcase…here’s the flyer…

Should be interesting huh?  Supposedly some major label heads are going to be in the building checking me out, p-p-pause.  Ha!  And this Sunday, October 26th, I’ll be performing at the Bombin’ Magazine issue #4 release party at Premium Laces.  Check the flyer for more info…

Pumpkin carving and Stan Ipcus.  Wow.  If you want to come through to either event, holler at ya boy directly and I’ll put you on my list…

daniel.isenberg.ip@gmail.com

Oh, and one more thing.  I’ve go so many songs that sometimes I’m not sure which ones I should pick to perform, although both promoters have made their requests.  If you have any thoughts on a nice three song set, please leave it in the comment section, just a fun little thing for the real Stan Ip fans.  If not, no worries…Hope to see you out this week.  TW-TW-TWIIIIST!!!!!

P.S.  Catch me with Matisyahu in Baltimore Saturday, November 1st too….And check for Matis’ new EP Shattered dropping manana!!!!!!  It’s ill.  Especially the song “Smash Lies”, my personal favorite.  And those of you who saw that Asher Roth is opening up for Matis at one of his Hanukah shows in New York, well hey, it is what it is, everyone loves that guy I guess, though Matis told me he was booked before I ever put out “The Great White Hope”…small world though huh?  Jewish Geography is crazy.  First Peter Rosenberg, then this.  Oh well.  Don’t worry about Ip, it’s nothin’…I does this regardless of any situation or affiliation.  True talk, real story.

Prepare to Sample

Events

The Menehan Street Band, a group of Daptone Records affiliated Brooklyn based white boys who play instruments with Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings and the Budos Band, are releasing their very own full length instrumental album today on the new Daptone label Dunham Records.  The title track of their debut, “Make the Road by Walking”, was sampled and spit all over by Jay-Z on “Roc Boys” about twelve months ago (“Roc Boys” was named the Song of the Year for 2007 by Rolling Stone magazine).  Check out Hov’s performance of “Roc Boys” from Chicago with a little help onstage from Kanye West…

Hip Hop producers get your samplers ready because it looks like The Menehan Street Band have plenty more sick cuts for you to chop and loop on this album.  Just don’t be surprised when everyone tries to beat you to it, pun intended.  Check them out live at Southpaw in Brooklyn this Friday, October 17th for their album release party (see flyer above).  And if you can’t make it to the show, BUY THEIR ALBUM.  And while you’re at it check out the video for my favorite Daptone Records release thus far, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings “100 Days, 100 Nights”…

Listen to Menahan Street Band album cuts here

The Great Schlep

Events, My Dudes, The Good Old Days

The Great Schlep

I figured I would write about this in celebration of the Jewish New Year.  At first, when my uncle Steve sent a video of comedian Sarah Silverman to me (see below) talking about “The Great Schlep”, I thought it was a joke.  But in fact, it wasn’t.  There really is a movement of Pro-Obama Jews organizing a trip to Florida with the intent to persuade their not-so liberal grandparents to vote for the Democratic Candidate in the upcoming presidential election.  Read this opinion piece from the LA Times for a closer look at “The Great Schlep”…

Off on the Great Schlep by Joel Stein 

My Grandma Sooky, who just turned 90 (see pic above from her party, Happy Birthday!!!!), lives in San Francisco, but actually she was born and raised in Florida.  I doubt she will need much persuading from me to vote for Obama, she’s a pretty hip grandmother.  But I miss her and wish I could make “The Great Schlep” to California just to hang out with her, and that’s the truth jack.  

However, it’s specifically Florida that Jews are worried about, being that it’s a swing state with 27 electoral votes up for grabs.  And of course, we all remember what happened in 2000 don’t we?  Check out the Sarah Silverman video, it’s pretty funny…

Shout out to my uncle Steve for sending this to me, no one on the planet makes me laugh harder than him, plus he’s the biggest Borat fan I know…which reminds me, I’ve got a Best of Borat post on the way, don’t sleep it’s gonna be sick!!!  And here’s the website for “The Great Schlep”…

www.thegreatschlep.com

Fox Trot

Events

First of all, how awesome are these album covers?  Pretty rad huh?  So is the band.  Fleet Foxes are one of the newest members to the SUB POP Records family, which also includes my two other favorite bands, The Shins and Band of Horses, and my dude Iron & Wine.  I first discovered their Sun GIant EP (pictured above) on the “Staff Picks” shelf at a random Borders in Farmington, Connecticut this past spring while visiting my fiancee’s family.  They were described as “a modern day Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young”.  I was so intrigued by the cover and the description (and the fact they were on SUB POP) that I tried to hunt down the staff member responsible for making the pick.  Turns out he wasn’t in, but supposedly he came to work the day before ranting and raving about them.  So I bought the EP.

I wanted to love it, so badly.  But I didn’t.  I LIKED IT ALOT though.  One song in particular stood out, “Mykonos”.  Check out this video a fan of theirs made, it’s set to pictures of the Greek Island the song is named after, which perfectly accompanies the sort of natural harmonic sound this band has (haha you like that description right!)…and after that, check them performing the song live on tour in Denver…

Friends honor Mykonos is on my TOP 5 PLACES I WANT TO VISIT BEFORE I DIE…best believe I will be pumping this track heavy on the portable IPOD speakers whenever I get there… 

Then a couple months later, their full album dropped (cover second from the top).  I LOVED IT.  Particularly because of two songs.  The first was “Blue Ridge Mountains”, it’s so ill.  Check out the fan made video for this one, and their performance of the song on Late Night with David Letterman…

Also on their self-titled album is another gem, “Tiger Mountain Peasant Song”…first video is again set to a landscape of American beauty, and the latter is a live in London clip…

Definitely cop the album, it’s a breath of fresh air.  Lots of other great songs on there too.  Check the Fleet Foxes live in New York CIty next weekend on October 4th at the Manhattan Center Grand Ballroom and October 5th at Webster Hall.  Both shows are sold out so scalp off.  Peace, love, and harmony….

BONUS STAN IPCUS TRIVIA QUESTION:  

In the beginning of “My Ferris Buellers” video, I snuck in a clip of a Fleet Foxes track.  What was it?  Name it in the comment section and I will mail you an official copy of my last three mixtapes, FLIRTING WITH FAME, REAL BREEZY, AND BACHELOR PARTY complete with bonus tracks…be sure to include an email contact so I can contact you for your mailing addresss…..holllerrrrrrr.

P.S. Stay tuned for my video tribute to The Shins…and for those of you not up on Iron & Wine, peep both the official video and a live acoustic clip of a song from his latest album The Shepard’s Dog, it’s called “Boy with a Coin”…

Sub Pop is the shizz.

 

Dirty Jax Fall/Winter 2008

Events, My Dudes

The New Season of Dirty Jax Clothing is here.  Some new shirts are finally in print, and some old favorites are back (with a twist).  Check the look book…

Here are my personal favorites…

I like it in this color too…The Dirty Jax Crests are always sick, every season…

For all orders, holler at dirtyjax@mac.com

Tell ’em IP sent you….

Oh, and peep the background music in this video (hint hint “My Ferris Buellers”) made by Nieves TV, from the Dirty Jax x Deko Lounge Fall Trunk Show in Northern New Jersey…

www.dirtyjax.com

 

 

Mr. Youtube

Events, Youth

The GET LIGHT style of dance is spreading quickly throughout New York, and every crew is trying to make a name for themselves both in the streets and on YOUTUBE.  But there is only one Mr. Youtube.  Also known as Swiss, Mr. Youtube hails from the Bronx (arguably where the GET LIGHT phenomenon started), and according to the kids in the streets he is the NICEST.  Supposedly no one wants to battle him.  I must say he looks older than the rest of the middle to high school age teens in most of the videos, but if you are familiar with the dance style you can clearly see why Mr. Youtube is highly respected.  Check him out…

Mr. Youtube is also a heavy innovator of new dance moves, or “tricks”.  He posts videos of himself dancing in his bedroom and suddenly his moves are all over the streets.  Here’s one for you to watch…

Brotherhood is the name of Mr. Youtube’s crew, which also includes Kid Patt (who I featured a couple months ago click here to check out his battle with Mr. Styles it’s sick).  According to the kids up here at the BGC in Mt. Kisco, most of whom live at group homes in the area but are originally from Harlem and the Bronx, Brotherhood is no joke.  Here’s one of their sessions…

There’s others too, like my fam from White Plains TEAM GET RIGHT.  I just saw them perform at the Westchester Arts Council this month during the Hip Hop Legacy event hosted by my dude Lord Judah.  Most of these kids I’ve known since they first got to middle school.  Check the video out below from the performance…

Check out more videos of TEAM GET RIGHT below, and stay tuned to the GET LIGHT movement…

TEAM GET RIGHT YOUTUBE PAGE

Step in the Name of Love

Events, Youth

The Souljah Steppers are the BGC step team made up of 3rd-6th grade club members and coached in-house by one of our after-school staff and led by one of our volunteer teen club members.  2007-2008 was their first year, and I was proud to be a part of getting the team off the ground.  Check the video of their first full performance live from Mount Kisco…

More performances to come…

Glow in the Dark

Events

The last time I was inside Madison Square Garden was when Matisyahu pulled me on stage to perform “WP”.  Before that it was for Jay-Z’s famous Fade to Black concert.  These performances are MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS from my life, but Kanye West’s GLOW IN THE DARK show Tuesday night topped them both.  It was THAT GOOD.

I met Kanye West on Halloween of 2003 back when I was recording at Sony Studios.  I was walking to the elevator on my way to a recording session with my headphones blasting the Kanye West produced John Legend song “Live it Up” on my DISCMAN, when he opened the door to one of the first floor rooms to let someone in.  He looked at me and said “What up” and I said “Yo, I’m listening to your shit right now.  That John Legend shit.”  He said, “Oh word, let me hear that.”  He took the headphones from me and started bopping along, and said “Yeah, this is my shit.”  Keep in mind this is before Kanye’s first album dropped and way before anyone knew who John Legend was, but I was already a big fan of both of them from hearing them on mixtapes.
Kanye invited me in to the studio (which was way bigger and nicer than the closet space I was using downstairs), and introduced me to all his boys.  He told me he wanted to hear me spit after I told him I was there for a recording session.  His whole crew was mad cool, watching the “Thru The Wire” video (see above) on their phones (this is right when video phones first started popping up), cracking jokes with me while Kanye played Connect Four.  I chilled for a few minutes, soaked it in, and then kept it moving to go downstairs for my session (I was focused).  I went to say peace to Kanye, and he said “Yo, I thought you were gonna spit something for me”, so I spit the first sixteen bars that came to my head (which ended up being the third verse of a song I never released, “Marinate On That“).  He gave me my props, I dapped him up, and went on my way.  That was that.  Crazy.  Check a vintage video of Kanye in the studio making a beat below…
Five years later, Kanye West is the biggest thing in music.  And his show is absolutely incredible, weaving all his hits into the story of him crashing his spaceship on an unkown planet and trying to get home.  Other than his talking spaceship, Jane, and a closing cameo on “Touch the Sky” by opening act Lupe Fiasco (see pic below), Kanye is solo dolo on stage the whole show with no token hip-hop hypeman helping him with his lyrics, and manages quite easily to keep the crowd completely captivated.  The stage design is bananas, along with all the lighting and special effects (hologram babes and some huge dinosaur that eats Yeezy).  For real, he LETS HIS SOUL BLEED ON THE STAGE.  So much energy, so much emotion, in every word.  And for a guy with three albums, boy does he have a lot of STADIUM STATUS BANGERS in his arsenal.  
Kanye in his element…
Chi-Town’s Finest.  I took these pics myself, don’t sleep on my photography skills (they’re ok i’m just talking shit)…Below is opening act N.E.R.D. wilin’ out on stage to “Spaz” with the help of guest spazzers Busta Rhymes and Diggy from Run’s House.  Dudes put on a good show, they had the crowd hyped.  And Pharrell might be the coolest guy on the planet, p-p-pause.  No Rihanna at our show, my girl was disappointed…
All in all, I was impressed by the whole performance, but more importantly, I was fully entertained and truly felt like I was a part of history.  Simply put, KANYE IS NICE.  He is the voice of my generation (he’s almost exactly my same age), and an inspirational artist that I have always looked up to.  HE REPRESENTS ME and the music I grew up on.  And to think I chilled with him right before he blew up worldwide.  I probably should have scratched my session that night and stayed with Kanye, rather than go downstairs to work with a record label that folded six months later.  Oh well, like Jay-Z said, “gotta learn to live with regrets”.
Speaking of Hov, Kanye pulled him out on stage Wednesday night to perform a new song (produced by Kanye himself) called “Jockin’ Jay-Z”, supposedly off the upcoming BLUEPRINT 3.  I knew he was gonna bring Jay out the night I wasn’t there, I had a feeling.  It’s all good though, peep the video, it’s official.  This is as classic a hip-hop moment as they come…
Want another classic Jay-Z hip-hop moment from this week?  Check this bonus video of Nas bringing Jigga out at Jones Beach this past Sunday during Rock The Bells to perform “Success” and “Black Republicans”…
Stay up to date with Kanye West on his personal blog, he’s very active on it, and he always has sick content, dealing alot with music, design, models, artists, technology, etc….Check the link below…

Best of Westchester’s Top 5 Tables

Events, Fly Spots, My Dudes, Published Material

Best of Westchester

Last night was Westchester Magazine’s annual Best of Westchester party, held at the Glen Island Harbor Club (check the picture below, the place is super pimp, right on the Long Island Sound in New Rochelle).  My fiancee and I had a blast (and got blasted), checking out all the tables, eating free food and drinking free drinks, fully enjoying the live music and feel good ambiance.  It’s basically set up like a job fair except instead of going table to table talking to prospective employers, you pop shit at a bunch of chefs and get loaded off free drinks and deliciously creative small portions of high quality food.  Me personally, I was really getting after it last night.  “Best Chili in Westchester huh fellas?  We’ll see about that.  UMMMM.  Not bad, it’s got a little kick to it!  Not Bad!”  So fun.

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I saw my boy Billy Henderson last night, Pelham Bay’s finest food critic.  Great times.  Shout out to “Lawyer Mike” Martinelli too for hooking me up with the free tickets.  Anyway, here’s veteran Best of Westchester party-goer Billy Henderson’s assessment of the 2008 event:

Billy Henderson’s TOP 5 TABLES:

1.  Sushi Mike’s
146 Main Street
Dobbs Ferry, NY
http://www.sushimikes.com

Once again, there was a line. Once again, they ran out of food early. Once again, the sushi was insane. I asked the non-english speaking chef what is in the poppy seed roll and he replied, “EER”. I think that means “awesomeness” in Japanese.

 
2. The Willet House
20 Willet Avenue
Port Chester, NY
 
   Sliced “melt in your mouth” Steak on a crustini, with three phenomenal sauces to choose from, next to a free bar, on an outside deck, at high tide. Hard to screw up.
 
3. Sonora
179 Rectory Street
Port Chester, NY
914.933.0200
  
   Braised Duck on a jonnycake with a dot of saffron aioli. I could of ate a hundred of those things.
 
4. The Kittle House
11 Kittle Road
Chappaqua, NY
 
   There were many “shots” of food this year. X2O had the shrimp-watermelon cocktail, 44 Tapas had the shrimp in gazpacho and 42 at the Ritz-Carlton had the ceviche with the beads of ginger. The Kittle House decided to serve a gazpacho with a cilantro foam that just exploded with flavor. Impressive.
 
5. Belle Havana
35 Main Street
Yonkers, NY
 
   Although the owners are very suspect, he might be french and she might be a man, they make an incredible mojito. I didn’t eat their food but I did have a dozen mojitos.       

Billy Henderson’s special thanks:
I’d like to thank “Uncle Ralph” Martinelli for another great year. I’d also like to thank the electricians who are tearing up my office as I type, FORCING me to drink beer and grill burgers on my boat. Holla at the kid.

 

Thanks Billy. Stay tuned for more TOP 5 posts from Billy Henderson. And check out my blog, GROOM GUY, up now on Westchester Magazine’s website, all about the male perspective on getting married. Here’s the link…

GROOM GUY