DC Record Fair #4

Another DC Record Fair. This one was not as fruitful as the first two, in photos and records. The Black Cat is like a dungeon. Very little light and insanely crowded. But I left satisfied. Check out my photo blog and Flickr.

DC Record Fair #3

Today I attended the third DC Record Fair. I bought a lot of things. More pictures here!

The Budos Band & Chopteeth

Last Thursday I went to see The Budos Band and Chopteeth perform at The Black Cat. The show was amazing, but I didn't get many good photos. The lighting was dark enough when Chopteeth was opening. As The Budos Band took the stage they lowered the lighting even more. So I did a few long-exposures. I took the last few seconds to take some flash shots, since they're not technically allowed. But that's all fine because it was a really intense show! More photos on Flickr.

DC Asian Festival

Pictures of a few of the dancers at the DC Asian Festival in Reston, Virginia. More here.

Otakon 2009

When I was in high school I was a serious anime fan. I attended the Otakon anime convention in Baltimore, MD 5 years in a row. When I finally got to college, I became less interested with the scene and stopped going. But I decided to revisit the convention this year with three of my cousins and my girlfriend. It was wild. I also managed to get some decent photos, although the overwhelming amount of people to take photos of made it hard to concentrate. I posted a lot more on Flickr.

July 4th At The Washington Monument

I went to the Washington Monmument to see fireworks on July 4th. Other than the millions of people trying to leave the area at once, it was fun. More photos here.

DC Caribbean Carnival

Thanks to my cousin and grandfather I had the chance to go to the DC Caribbean Carnival. It was basically a parade down Georgia Avenue celebrating Caribbean cultures with loud music, colorful costumes and a lot of dancing. Of course, I took this as an opportunity to take some crazy photos. There are more here.

Duke Ellington Jazz Festival

I got a nice surprise this weekend. On Saturday and Sunday I attended the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival on the Mall in front of the Washington Monument. I saw a few groups, but the highlights for me were The Terence Blanchard Quintet and The Nicholas Payton Quartet.

What made Nicholas Payton's set so special was the surprise inclusion of two of my current favorite musicians, bassist/singer Esperanza Spalding (top) and drummer Karriem Riggins (second). I had no idea they would be performing, so I was a little bit in shock when I saw them setting up for their equipment. It was the highlight of my week. Maybe my month! I managed to take some interesting shots, thanks to being able to get right in front of the stage. There are more shots here.

SoWeBo Arts Festival

I'm tempted to start a photo blog, but I will resist. My girlfriend's father was displaying work at the SoWeBo Arts Festival in Baltimore, so we decided to stop by. I got some interesting photos, my favorites being that of a band called "Ms. Sara & The Help", above. There are a few more shots here.

DC Record Fair

Today I got to visit the DC Record Fair. It was fantastic. Not only did I find a lot of records and CDs I've been searching a long time for, but I also got to talk to some interesting people, get Go-Go music inventor Chuck Brown's autograph and handshake, and got some decent photography out of it as well! I love things like this. More photos here.

Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra At The Black Cat

I saw the Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra perform a few days ago, a group I've been listening to for a few years. They play African funk, derived mostly from the work of Fela Kuti, the inventor of "Afrobeat". Ignoring the "No Camera" signs posted in the club, I took about 300 shots anyway. (Their website says photos are allowed, so...) It was a great show, despite my ears ringing for over an hour afterward. You can see some more photos of the show here.

Record Store Day

Today was Record Store Day, a day to celebrate independent record stores across the country. I have a thing for indie music stores and have to visit new ones whenever I travel. (Records in Italy are overpriced) DC has a decent amount, but two of the best recently closed (DJ Hut and CD Warehouse). But I managed to run by a few and get some free stuff along the way. Record shops are usually good for photos as well. In this case, Som Records (top) was especially photogenic. Below are older shots from two of my favorite shops, Plan 9 in Richmond, VA and Safe As Milk Records in Roanoke, VA which has been closed for several years now.

Trip to Richmond

Some photos taken during a weekend trip to Richmond, including some shots from the VCU Intercultural Festival. More of that here.

Bivings.com

Haha.

COAD

My friend Stefanie Lutz and I started a forum for fellow VCU Communication Arts students (graduates or otherwise). If you're one we'd love for you to join: http://coad.forumdes.com/

#712

I've moved into my new apartment in DC.

SHHO TeaCo Show (Again)

Hannah made me aware of this video today. It's a little promo for the Student Hip-Hop Organization show from a few weeks ago. It has our work in it! Also, fellow artist Chino from the Painting & Printmaking department makes an appearance, as well as Rian, the art director of SHHO. Cool! I wish I could be in Richmond longer to get more acquainted with the group.

Graduation!

Graduation was today. Look at all these Communication Arts students. I'll miss VCU. Time for... real life. Below are the stilt walkers, dancers, balloons and cyclists that made the School of The Arts graduation so much cooler than all the others.

Senior Show

I neglected to make a post about the Senior Show we held last week. It was a good show! Nice turnout. It's always fun seeing all my Communication Arts buddies in one place. Good times. My Owl Boy piece was hanging. Below is the poster of the show, illustrated by my friend Justin Jackson with type design by me. I'm never using the Ghostown font again.

SHHO TeaCo Show

Bone Burnisher – B U D A
Bone Burnisher – Rap Music
Bone Burnisher – Wood

Hannah, Stefanie and I have work being shown at TeaCO, thanks to the Student Hip-Hop Organization. The opening last night well cool. It included a beat battle that I entered. I was beat out by a guy with a krunk-ish beat which I was no impressed by (!) by that's fine. The experience was good. People nodded their head to "Ghost" and the DJ told me it was a good track. The only downside to the show is that I didn't spray mount my work well enough so I had to fix a few with Elmer's glue. Hopefully they stay put. They probably won't.
Also, I'm posting three new beats I made before the show opening.