GO!GO!7188 Pulp ~artblog exclusive

I was lucky enough to attend one of my all-time faveorite Japanese bands GO!GO!7188 (go go nana ichi hatchi hatchi) very 1st USA performance on 3.11.07 at the Knitting Factory in NYC with my pals Jeff & Mike! This piece is a tribute to GOGO & my fave girl, Yuu, setup like a "pulp style" cover or t-shirt, & inspired by the 60's & 70's exploitation film grindhouse-style surf-rock that seems to fuel GOGO's wonderful music!


The show itself was called "Japan Nite US Tour 2007" & was made up of 6 bands, the only one (even with our vast knowledge ^_^) which we were really familiar with was GOGO as we are longtime fans, but it also featured some REALLY nice surprises, like the marching rock band "Asakusa Jinta", Okinawa Jpop band "HY", & all girl-brass aces "Pistol Valve..." There was also some nice moments by the loud alt rockers "The Emeralds," & the wacky punk-inspired "The 50 Kaitenz." We had an awesome time, Jeff took a TON of pics, & treasured cd's & coveted t-shirts were bought by all!

Anyone who knows me well enough, (or was @ the concert for that matter) knows what a GOGO fanatic I am as well as that I have a major crush on lead singer/guitarist oober cute shortstuff Yuu, so I made sure I got as close as I could and spent the show about 3 feet away from her & her gorgeous axe! *heart*
Being this close to Yuu made my my night ultra sweet & absolutely unforgettable as they ran through a barrage of my fave GOGO surf-rock songs from their earliest days to their current hits!

*wicked pictures taken by Jeff Katin*

http://www.breast.co.jp/gogo7188/
http://sxsw-asia.com/JapanNite2007/tourdate.html

Leslie ~Queen of Terabithia

A special dedication image to Leslie Burke, Queen of Terabithia...

Ever since I've seen the film "Bridge To Terabithia," & become quite enchanted with it, I've felt the need to do some artwork based on my faveorite character... Leslie, here she is leading you away from the troubles of day-to-day, & into a magic land ready to capture your imagination, while making you strong enough to confront your greatest fears!...
Since the movie is based on a book, the image is presented as a "breaking the frame" book cover...


BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA - PAN'S LABYRINTH ~MOVIES January - February 2007

BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA
From time to time I like to take a moment away from my artwork gallery & mention some artistic things that I find inspiring or that I just really enjoy, & events, movies, & music are in that catagory... so I'm gonna do a little fanlove here for 2 movies I saw these past 2 months that really blew my doors off...At first I thought Pan's Labyrinth was going to be "the movie to beat" this year when I saw it in January (& I am still with high hopes for fan faveorites like Spider-Man 3 / Transformers / 300 etc. possibly taking the #1 spot for me as "Best Film of 2007.") ...I also think in taking an overview of the year as a whole it seems that 2007 will easily be one of the best movie years we've had in recent times ... But then sometimes a movie shows up like this one & it just hits me... hard... although I never expected it to...never mind having it possibly be the BEST film of 2007!
That brings me to this FANTASTIC family film that way surpasses anything in depth, emotion, & real-life types of stuff with a mix of fantasy & imagination than I have seen in years... I highly recommend seeing "BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA"... The cast is sensational & the movie is brilliant! It's the first time I had seen this type of subject matter handled in such a realistic way for a young cast & even though the fantasy element is what drew me to see the movie, the movie ended up being so much more than that & I can't praise it enough for how refreshing, charming, & what an emotional experience it was. So ya, I loved it...
"KEEP YOUR MIND WIDE OPEN..." One of the major reasons why I loved the film so much was for starlet AnnaSophia Robb, who played "Leslie" in the film... a quirky, fashion savy student writer, & basically summed up why we need more artistic, creative imaginative, free-spirited people in this world, who are able to take you away from the day-to-day, and invigorate your passion & mind. I know everyone who I went to see the film with adored her & she took us on an emotional rollercoaster ride. She was basically the girl-next-door us artsy-types wish we had growing up next to us when we were in our youths...
So go see the film & find out exactly what I'm talking about, it's definately a bonified classic in my opinion... ^_-
PAN'S LABYRINTH
So...I've seen quite a few films already for being so early in 2007 but the other STAND-OUT feature I saw (so far) this year was the dark & somewhat disturbing "Pan's Labyrinth." definately a hard film to watch & like BTT, the fantasy aspect was only a smaller part of a bigger story. This film is astonishingly beautiful, & also very emotional & violent, so it's defianetly for the 16 & up crowd. The film is presented in it's original Spanish dialogue with English subtitles (which I vastly perfer) and has a haunting soundtrack that you will immediately recognize upon hearing it again. This film is more about war (& growing up inside of one) than the mystical elements, but presents both aspects in a solidly frightful way & will defiantely be a film you won't forget, although I can't recommend it to everyone like BTT, (although with the multiple academy awards it just won, I'm sure it will reach a broader audience) I can recommend it for those with an open mind & a love for indie-house foreign films that break all the normal stereotypical boundries... brave films that make bold statements, instead of being the usual types of films that we are bombarded with & get immune to... so if it sounds like your kinda movie... do yourself a favor & check it out... it ROX!