Issue 04

DRUM LINEZ

Once upon a time, American teenagers could easily be split into two categories: band geeks and those who laugh at band geeks.

Some would argue that band nerds are natural targets-the Liberace-esque costumes can be pretty out there, for a start.

WEIDMAN’S WORLD

David Weidman lives in his own world. By no means is he an aloof loner; the artist is, in fact, one of the friendliest, most jovial 85-year-olds you’ll come across. The world of David Weidman is simply a reflection of his unique creative touch.

DISARM

The last time Brian Liu was in Afghanistan, he made a metal stencil with the word “Disarm,” giving it to local cops and children to spray it on the burnt-out tanks and walls of Kabul. At first, his translator was uneasy about doing graffiti.

FRIENDS WITH YOU

Friends With You isn’t kidding; they’re really friendly. Get these Floridian friends-individually known as 25-year-old Sam Borkson and 29-year-old Tury Sandoval-on the phone and it’s a sea of goofball giggling.

Swoon

Countless artists take to the streets each day and integrate their imagery into the city landscape, but few have achieved the level of reverence and respect given to Brooklyn-based artist SWOON.

TARINA TARANTINO

The “downtown” area tends to be at the heart of most cities; however, in Los Angeles-where The Industry reigns supreme-Hollywood is the oft-engorged heart, while downtown is more like the city’s fertile, swaggering groin.

You Are The Star

Before Playstation and Xbox, before the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon and the Kids’ Choice Awards, before Transformers and GI Joes with the kung fu grip, kids didn’t have much say on anything besides the flavor of their ice cream.

BATTLE OF THE BANDS

Southern California high schools are noted for churning out fame and talent. Any tour-bus driver worth his or her salt could drive you around the Greater Los Angeles area and point out the alma-maters of any number of famous actors and musicians.

MONSTER PROJECT

Street art will forever be the rollerblading to graffiti’s skateboarding. Like rollerblading, street art is safer, more readily understood by yuppies, and takes about an afternoon to learn. Like skateboarding, graffiti is a risky, closed system.

BOX BOTS

Life in the 21st century often feels like a farce. Where are the flying cars, food pills, and robot butlers we were promised? Are Segways, downloadable ringtones, and low-carb bread the best today’s brilliant minds have to offer? What a fucking disappointment. Humans used to be more ingenious.

THE PIGEON MUMBLER

Forty years ago, Big Mike Alicea was Little Mike, skinny, and minus the tattoos on his forearms. He was 11 years old, staring out the plate glass window of his Bushwick classroom not two blocks from his current home.

Block Heads

The memo comes in from headquarters, and Steve Gerling has a new assignment: build a four-foot statue of breakfast kingpin Cap’n Crunch out of LEGO. Gerling is a trained fine-art sculptor, and has the fatherly, fussy bearing of so many endearing New England Yankee men.

Uprising

Sonali Kolhatkar is not afraid of change. Formerly an astrophysicist, she now works for women’s rights in Afghanistan and hosts Uprising on progressive radio station KPFK in Los Angeles, tackling subversive and uncomfortable topics, such as the corruption of journalism through public relations, drug testing on minority orphans