Brandi Shearer & Cracker at SPACE

Click here or the image above to watch the slideshow

On Tuesday (thanks to Barmey over at Lumino Magazine) I headed over to SPACE in Evanston to shoot for Brandi Shearer and Cracker. The last time I had seen a live band performance was in the Philippines with my cousins (in December), so it was a treat to get out to see these two acts do their thing and let us forget about the frigid Chicago weather for a couple hours.

The acts were nothing short of amazing and it made me realize how much I missed being immersed in the music scene. I didn't have too many chances to sit and talk with the artists, but during the break I had a chance to pick Barmey's mind about how he writes for Lumino and his own musical pursuits over some 312. Really inspirational stuff going on with Barmey's projects - can't wait to dig into some of them!

Anyway, the space at err...SPACE is incredible for any of you artists looking to book a gig. It manages to be acoustically sound but stylish and trendy at the same time. It's easy to miss from the street (since the front is actually a restaurant), but if you're in the area, it's a nice concert nook you should definitely check out. Here are some of the photos from the night:

Bill Murray Having Coffee with Wu-Tang

During my daily blog reading sessions, I came across one of the shorts from Coffee and Cigarettes called "Delirium". I hadn't seen this movie since it came out, but I was happy to re-immerse myself in it because I remember how much I dug the concept. Essentially, it's 11 shorts set around the theme (you guessed it) coffee and cigarettes. But if you delve a bit deeper, it's about exploring a common space with common events at a more microscopic level - taking a look at people's lives at different angles of seriousness, randomness and dry humor. Strangely enough, it also gets you to take a good look at yourself and how you've been approaching life of late. It's easy to forget that sometimes the simplest interactions in simple places can be the most memorable.

Delirium probably runs the most heavy on randomness and dry humor of the lot, but that's not a bad thing. After all, how cool is it to see Bill Murray hanging out with Wu Tang??

Link Up x Mix Media

The guys over at Mix Media and I linked up over the weekend to talk about some future collabs. Ever since the Midcoast F.Show, our brands have been mixing it up and making each other even stronger. It's amazing what happens when good people mash up.



I've been working on a fairly big project under UMG that means bringing some fresh minds and more creativity into a space that everyone can share and grow. I've already started to contact a few people to get involved, so creative people...stay propped and keep your heads up if I give you a buzz.



Rex (DJ Rex) actually had a Mix Media gig that night at his resident spot - Empire Liquors. Had an opportunity to see how they get their set together and get educated on fresh, new music. Pretty sweet. You can really never have too many sources for music, especially in the creative field. By the way, if you haven't seen him tear it up on a Flare Scratch, check it out.



Had a chance to do some work on the site. The new project should bring about some fairly big changes to the site to streamline it a bit from where it stands right now. Make sure you stay up to date on The Car Park and I Am Selfless in addition to the main UMG blog.

How to Make it in America

Anyone else sick of waiting an entire year for eight episodes of Entourage?

Me too. The solution?

HBO's newest show (premiering Feb. 14th) called "How to Make it in America". I just watched the pilot (err, well...3 times) before it airs and I gotta say...I know the show is going to be HUGE. Why? It's the perfect combination of street culture (think hip-hop, skateboarding, art, fashion, photography and the sneaker game) and an all-star cast (Kid Cudi, Shannyn Sossamon, Samaire Armstrong and Luis Guzman). If that's not enough, Mark Wahlberg is behind the production so you know it'll be an Entourage-like heavy hitter. And can I just say it's so nice to see Shannyn back on the screen?? Filipino represent! I'll let the show do the rest of the talking - enjoy!

Oh and just a sidenote, this show makes me love New York even more.

New York, New York

Click here or the image to watch the full photo slideshow

I posted a little preview of my recent NYC trip on my personal blog, but I figured I'd post up the full series of pics here too. More than just capturing New York from my perspective, I haven't gone out just to shoot for the sake of shooting in quite some time. In addition to that, I wanted to challenge myself in a couple ways:

1.) to capture the city that never sleeps using only my Canon 35L f/1.4 lens rather than traveling fully armed with all my gear.

2.) continue to shoot in .jpg rather than RAW to not only be kind to my lack of hard drive space (haha), but also make me increasingly strict towards my exposures right out of the camera.

In the end, I was incredibly happy with not only my photographic pursuits, but the trip as a whole. It was cold as heck, but that wasn't about to stop us from seeing the city top to bottom. It was an amazing amount of fun to finally visit New York, indulge in great food and really embrace the identity of a city so world renowned. I can truly understand why people love New York so much after they visit.

Here are some snaps from the trip, though if you want to check out all the pics from NY, check out the slideshow above. Enjoy!

2010 BDPA Awards Banquet

Click here or the image above to watch the photo slideshow

In lieu of the ever-expanding scope of UMG and what it will become in the near future, I wanted to continue the trend of collaboration that really took off in 2009. That being said, I (along with Bhargav from Channel Awesome and Mark Reyes) linked up with Justin from Mix Media to cover the 2010 Black Data Processing Associates (BDPA) 21st Annual Awards Banquet here in Chicago.

The event was flawlessly pieced together - from the food, music and general ambience to the eloquent speeches and professionalism that this organization and its sponsors exude. Huge thanks to Millie Liggins (the event coordinator) for having us out for the event and congratulations to all the award winners and newly elected president - Pamela Sexton!

In typical UMG fashion, I put together a photo and video slideshow and included some snaps below. Enjoy!











BDPA is a global member focused organization that serves the professional well-being of its stakeholders. BDPA remains committed to excellence and providing a wide spectrum of resources to members, corporate sponsors, businesses, educational institutions and the community. The organization is a catalyst for professional growth and technical development for those in the IT industry. [Via BDPA Chicago]

Also, be sure to check out the video edit that Bhargav did using our collective footage here - good stuff!