Mister Fongstarr » Captures

IDLE WARSHIP @ YOSHI’S SF

fongstarr — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 19:24:24 +0000

Without deliberately giving out the coordinates to my secret lair, I am conveniently located within blocks of the Yoshi’s jazz club on Fillmore St.

Fillmore St. bleeds music from the soul. I don’t think it has the same street cred as say Chicago, but the feelings and passions are pretty much the same.

Coming into the show, I had lost faith in the Blackstar camp mostly through seeing two bad performances from the Mighty Mos Def. I would say as far as star power is concerned, Mos should rank higher then his brethren brothers Kweli and Hi-Tek. I mean the guy did after all do a movie with Marky-Mark and Charlize Theron in Italian Job….but after seeing Kweli’s performance with Idle Warship, I think he just bumped him off the pedestal.

Kweli is good for a couple of reason. One of the most important things in a live performance is creating a relationship with your audience, even within only a 2 hour time span. Kweli took control of the show but made sure it wasn’t a straight shot experience. I want to say him talking about some dude shitting on his performance on Twitter was only something that we saw, but maybe I could be wrong.

It also helps that you have a pretty good range of songs to get yo damn hands up. I have a pretty hard gripe on hip-hop shows for this very reason. Some of my favorite hip-hop songs have been disasters live on stage due to the song’s impact not being necessarily appropriate for a live audience. Not to attacking Mos Def again but Umi Say is a pretty boring song to hear live, but on the Bart train to work it can be kind of uplifting to hear.

And throw me a late pass on Res and Graph Nobel. I never really heard of these chicks but I hope Idle Warship produces more star power for the two. Their voices don’t resonate but they compliment each other as a trio doubling up as MCees and singers. Think Fergie but with more talent and a cuter face.

Good to know that some of the rappers that I listened to in college are still doing there thing in this industry. Overall the show was good and most important, it didn’t put a dent in my pocket.

ODE TO THE SPRAYCAN & PHILLY SHOOT

fongstarr — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 18:04:14 +0000

The story of graffiti is a pretty interesting story, but nothing we haven’t seen through other channels (see skateboarding for further proof of this theory). I think Style Wars may have been one of the first mainstream exposures of the illegal lifestyle of graff. Something as simple as writing your name on a wall can either put your ass into jail and get you butt-fucked by Bubba the Love Slave or grant you the utmost respect amongst your peers.

Fast forward to the millennium era. Now getting up is as cool as popping ping-pong balls out of your cooter. People with half a talent in this art form hardly feel the need to bomb trains or wait till 3am to get up on that sweat billboard that they just put up on 6th street with the half naked dude modeling that shitty underwear company.

Nowadays we have shows….legit ways to get your name exposed without the repercussions of getting your ass stomped by NYPD’s finest. Even though the culture is relatively still new (hip-hop culture spans only about a little over 30 years old), I think a lot of these older artists will tell you that they just don’t have the same mentality that they used to. They have careers to worry about and family to support….but regardless of it all, it is still cool to know that they can throw down with the best of them.

Probably my personal favorite. Something about an giant octopus with a spraycan.

Make sure to check out the show at the 1AM Gallery and to also check out the Estria Invitational Graffiti Battle in Oakland on October 10th.

And to cap the weekend off, did a quick shoot of some simple photos for Phil’s wedding.

The Velasco Family family in their entirety….Phil, Kana and their dog Haru.

CITY OF SIN

fongstarr — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 10:43:49 +0000

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

EASTER SUNDAY

fongstarr — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 05:22:25 +0000

For today, I tried to do the noble thing. Past couple of days have been nothing but drinking and hanging out so I decided to spend some quality time with my cousin, uncle, aunt and my Bachon (grandma in Japanese) at the Japanese Tea Garden.

There is a lot of history affiliated with my family and mainland Japan (for those that don’t know, I am half Japanese). My late grandfather fought in World War 2 where he lost his brother in the line of duty. I remember when I was a kid, there was always a shrine downstairs in the basement for his brother and everyday my grandfather would take some time to pay his respects. Now we have a picture of my grandfather down there in its place and sad to say, I haven’t seen that thing in quite some time.

At my grandparents place, there used to be a Japanese garden in their yard. Nothing nearly as nice as what I had seen today but the silhouettes and shapes are the same. A bridge, ponds with fish, afro looking bushes and other plant life.

Shinto shrine in the building.

Ironically enough as clean as everything was in the garden, the pond was just infested. Sad to see even koi fish in San Francisco water. Half of them didn’t even move and the other half looked dead.

The cherry blossoms are in full effect. Gotta love this time of the year! Everything and everyone looks so damn good. Hope everyone had a good Easter. Back on the grind starting tomorrow.

I AM WITH THE DJ

fongstarr — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 16:12:19 +0000

Sometimes offers get thrown my way and as I input all the info, I am like For real? About a month ago, I received an e-mail asking if I wanted to shoot a photo gig for a DJ that would be spinning at the Warriors vs. Memphis game on Monday night. In return, I would get the golden pass to sit courtside with other season ticket holders that either a) have old money b) fucked someone that has old money c) fucked a basketball player that has money but doesn’t love you enough to call you “boo” so as a consolation prize, he tosses two tickets to a game for you and your fat friend to watch him play. I have fortunately/unfortunately have done none of the sorts but managed to be sitting side by side with these mongrels. Holy hell these basketball players are big as shit in real life!

The cool kids Derrick and Jeremy. Props for the opportunity to let me shoot at a GS-Dub game like a true poporazzo.

IN THE JUNGLE, THE MIGHTY JUNGLE

fongstarr — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 17:18:34 +0000

THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING

fongstarr — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 18:45:29 +0000

Last weekend for making gift ideas into a reality. The list was only so long this year but there were a couple of people that I had to hook up. My good friend Susan is in for long nights of self satisfaction……and yes, that is the famous rabbit vibrator from Sex and the City. Maybe this is due to the fact that I don’t like sticking things in my ass, but have you been in the market for one of these bad boys? I mean it’s a plastic thing with a motor in it! Didn’t think it would cost me so much….but when it comes to the season of giving, I guess you can’t put a price tag on a gift, let alone a device that rotates in your vagina (and ass if that tickles your fancy) while two plastic ears play with your clitoris monster. Should have got the matching colored anal beads as a stocking stuffer.

And a little gift got myself. Possibly the best skateboard film ever and the first to be on Blue-Ray. Thanks to the DLX crew for hooking it up with a discount.

THE GETAWAY

fongstarr — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 07:39:41 +0000

Sometimes when life gets hectic, you just need to get away. Get away from the lies, the deceit….and more important, the bullshit. I knew the feeling about a year ago and I feel like I owe it to anyone that feels those same emotions, to be by their side in comfort and support. But one day things will get better, and we’ll look back at this god awful mess and shit in our pants in hysteria. For now, we can only wait….and heal slow.

THANKSGIVING WEEKEND

fongstarr — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 07:37:10 +0000

Remember, more useless junk can be seen here. Respect to all who read and hope everyone had a good holiday….