Saw this video on Kanye’s blog. One of the funniest songs and music videos I’ve seen in a long time from rapper C-Rayz Walz. I’ve known about this dude for a few years now leading back to the days when he was freestyle battling.

Friday night the usual debauchery continued at iLounge with a performance from the Far East Movement. This was the first time meeting the guys and they were very mellow and cool. They put on a great show and had the whole club rocking. For those that missed out they will be performing at the Formula DRIFT Finals next month at the Toyota Speedway at Irwindale.

A night wouldn’t be complete without a few shots

Saturday night was a special evening for one of my closest friends from high school. After over 10 years he finally got married. Much like all good weddings the reception was complete with food, music, and an open bar…even a semi-celeb showed up (Autumn Reeser from the OC and Entourage). Good times and even though I missed both the UFC and Mayweather fight it was well worth it (just saw the highlights via the MMA forums).

And even though the Chargers lost it was still a great weekend…plus my fantasy team is still undefeated.

For those in the area the Far East Movement will be performing at iLounge this Friday. For those wondering who these guys are they have that hit single, “Girls on the dancefloor.” If you’re in the area and want to go email me at  john at fatlace.com for my guestlist.

If you want to hear the song…(sorry not the official music video – couldn’t find it)

They will also be performing live at Formula DRIFT Round 7: Judgment Day at the Toyota Speedway at Irwindale on October 17.

Most of my MAGIC experience this year was spent working with our new client Famous Stars and Straps. Our agency was selected to help with their PR initiative for their 10th anniversary and MAGIC was one of their key initiatives. Famous unveiled a line of juniors and women’s apparel to round out their collection. Beach wear was also added to the men’s line including board shorts, flip flops, and a beach towel. We invited key media to check out the new line from Famous and the other brands within the family including Expensive Taste, The Wild Ones, and Rogue Status. Media guests such as Complex, Antenna, and Skinnie Magazine were able to find out the latest news from the brands and meet some of the Famous family members.

The booth consisted of bikes on display, a live art show, and a few of the hottest DJ’s performing throughout the day including DJ Spider and Marshall Barnes. A couple times during the show a few kids got down to “Do the jerk.” (mellow orange posted the Quebradita version.)

In true Famous style a party was thrown at the booth. We secured Heineken as a sponsor and they made sure that beer was poured for all. Guests included the Famous skate team, stunt bike team, and MMA fighter “Razor” Rob McCullough (who is now scheduled to fight again in November.) A couple other Famous friends came out to celebrate including Paul Wall, LMFAO, and Estevan Oriol.

To keep the party goin Famous threw a party at the Palms hotel and casino inside Rain nightclub. The entire crew came to celebrate alongside hundred of guests. Special performances by Mixmaster Mike, DJ Jazzy Jeff, and DJ Premier kept everyone entertained throughout the evening.

Later that evening I met up with my brother and checked out the Creative Recreation / Hudson Jeans party at XS inside Encore. The party was a lot of fun and had a great crowd. Ravi Drums from Skam Artists performed along with DJ Vice. The club is gorgeous poolside and I even ran into Ivan from Fatlace there.

Check out this off a bounce, over a person standing, between the legs dunk by Guy Dupuy of Team Flight Brothers. Named the “Dubble Up 2.0″.

Formula DRIFT Round 7: Judgment Day Tickets On-Sale Now;
Features and Entertainment Announced

Long Beach, Calif. – September 3, 2009 – Formula DRIFT heads into the final event of the 2009 season at the Toyota Speedway at Irwindale with reserved tickets on-sale now. Round 7: Judgment Day on October 16-17 to feature the Formula DRIFT Championship finale, Pro-Am competition, Jtuned Auto Gallery, Famous Stars and Straps stunt bike team demo, and a performance by the Far East Movement.

“With the Formula DRIFT Championship on the line, the stage is set for a very exciting finale,” said Ryan Sage, Vice President of Marketing and Co-Founder of Formula DRIFT. “On top of witnessing a new champion being crowned we have added additional features to the event weekend to provide fans with a complete entertainment experience.”

Round 7: Judgment Day will feature the battle for the Formula DRIFT Championship and with the Championship still up for grabs the drivers will be sure to put on another exciting show, but only one can be crowned Champion. The Tires.com Triple Crown bonus prize will be determined at this the 3rd of 3 events. Chris Forsberg in the NOS Energy / Maxxis Tires Nissan 350Z leads the point standings for both the Championship and Tires.com Triple Crown and sets his sights to be the first driver in history to win both in the same season.

To add to the action packed weekend the event will feature the Formula DRIFT Pro-Am competition with top regional and amateur drifters competing for their professional license and a chance prove themselves at the legendary “House of Drift.” Fans can meet the stars of Formula DRIFT during the fan autograph session. The Jtuned Auto Gallery car show will feature the hottest show cars in the industry. Fans will be treated to a stunt bike demonstration by the Famous Stars and Straps team featuring Warren James, Crow, and J-Beats. The event will also feature a performance by “Far East Movement” known for their hit single, “Girls on the Dancefloor.”

The main event will feature an all reserved seating ticket and 2-day ticket packages are available starting at $30. Reserved seating will give fans a chance to save their seat for the entire main event day without worrying about losing their seat and additionally fans can choose the section and specific seat that they would like to sit in when purchasing their ticket online in advance. Reserved seats are first come first served with tickets selling out quickly. A special limited VIP Ticket package is also available. Online tickets can be purchased on the Formula DRIFT website and for more information, visit: www.formuladrift.com.

Following up to my latest Lexus postings. Here is a sneak peak at the Lexus LF-CH concept that will be unveiled at the 09 Frankfurt Motor Show (Sept. 15-27). The 5-door compact body and Lexus Hybrid Drive feature has an electric-only driving capability allowing for virtual silent urban driving and zero emission. More news to be announced soon.

When the opportunity arose to take the new Lexus IS 250C for an extended test drive I jumped all over it. After my previous review of the vehicle I was given the chance to check out the car for myself for a full week.

The only way I feel to fully get to know a car is to take it for a road trip and so the adventure begins. Delivery of the vehicle came one day early and I was able to first test the car on the way to the office from Downtown Long Beach to Downtown LA and for those that know this route it involves a couple freeways and a whole lot of traffic. The IS 250C (without the F Sport package) complete with rear-wheel drive and 6-speed manual transmission was not ideal in the heavy traffic, but it was very manageable. But the real test would come at 4 AM the next day when I had to head out to Infineon Raceway in Sonoma for Formula DRIFT Round 6: Locked and Loaded for the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma weekend. My mission get to the track by 11 AM.

Before any long trip the essentials were packed including energy drinks, water, Silvia (my Tom Tom), blackberry fully charged and with charger, V-moda headphones w/ mic (can’t stand bluetooth ear pieces), camera (thanks Em – Panasonic Lumix LX2), sunglasses, iPod, and a whole lot of music.

To set the mood watch this Bay Area inspired video

For this trip (LA to SF) I knew I would be spending a lot of time in the car and so I prepared myself with the latest mixes from some of my friends and favorite DJ’s including DJ Bandoma, DJ Vice, DJ Hollywood, Colossal Knxn, DJ Fashen, and the “Fix yer Face 2″ mix from (the late and great) DJ AM x Trvs Brkr. Most of the latest mixes can be downloaded on Beezo (if you haven’t checked this site out before it’s worth taking a look at).

Since I can only listen to so many club mixes before I get tired of LMFAO and Kid Cudi remixes, it was a good thing that the car is equipped with not only a multi-disc CD player, but also Aux outlet for iPod’s, USB, and is standard with Sirius / XM satellite radio. The system is clean and clear even with the top down. The only thing that could be somewhat annoying was when the sound would adjust based on the speed, which is a cool idea, but in reality just speeding up to overtake a car the volume would jump up and then stay up. The multiple controls on the steering wheel became my friend through the hours spent in the driver’s seat.

The gas mileage on the car was not bad at all and only having to fill up once on the way to SF. Which came just as the sun was rising and time to grab a quick bite to eat along the way. I don’t even know where I stopped, but I can tell you that there were cows, farms, and lots of nothing.

I did make my goal with plenty of time to spare and reached the track before 10 AM (I swear I wasn’t speeding either). Infineon Raceway is one of the best tracks in California and probably has the best scenery. The track is surrounded by rolling hills and is located next to wine country in the heart of Sonoma and next to Napa Valley.

Formula DRIFT came and went and after a great breakfast with Fatlace’s Mark, Jose, D, and Kel. It was off to start the real test drive – SF to LA by way of Highway 1. The route consists of passing through Santa Cruz, Monterrey, the infamous 17-mile road through Carmel, Big Sur, Cambria, Paso Robles (great wine town), Morro Bay, San Luis Obispo, Solvang (another wine town from the movie “Sideways”), and Santa Barbera. Point B in the above map shows our dinner stop at the “Hitching Post” restaurant in Buellton (again from sideways) and this is my 2nd time now trying the Ostrich steak…great spot.

With 2 additional passengers it was time to start the journey back home. This route is a bit longer, but well worth it and was a great way to test the car’s suspension, handling, and overall driveability. The gorgeous drive consists of views of ocean and cliffsides but also plenty of twists and turns. One false move and an accident can happen at any time especially with the spectacular views to draw your eyes away from the road, but with the Lexus’ superior handling there was nothing to fear. The car nimbly drove through the tight turns with the traction control on and the 6-speed transmission helped make the drive very enjoyable. I was able to pass slower traffic with no problems at all with the 2.5 liter V6, despite the initial 0-60 speed isn’t as quick as the IS 350. The car is great to cruise around in.

Of course part of this drive was made enjoyable by the fact that the car is a hardtop convertible. Within 20 seconds the top drops with 1-touch of a button. The convertible as much I hate to admit was rather nice to drive with the sun shining down and a cool ocean breeze. I do have to also mention that my two passengers were female and they enjoyed it just as much. The backseat was not as tight a fit as I thought it would be, but rather had some headroom and was comfortable according to my passenger with both the top up and down. With the top down the backseat passenger will get pretty cold towards the end of the day though.

The only draw-back is the limited trunk space with the hard top down, but that’s the price to pay for some extra sun rays. We packed light so it wasn’t a problem. With the top up there is plenty of room for luggage, golf clubs, groceries, etc.

After spending hours upon hours in one vehicle it better be comfortable. The Lexus IS 250C left me with minimal complaints. The leather seats were great and didn’t have me regretting my decision for the long drive. One feature that left me very happy was the not only heated seat option, but the cooling seat option. Both had various levels 1-3 for amount of heat or cool to be distributed via the perforated leather. Great touch of detail. I found the seatbelts (as I’m towards the shorter side) to be a little bit bothersome as they sat up really high and with the hard top there were no adjustments. The clutch and shifter were smooth and easy to work (note Reverse can be tricky if you’re not used to a 6-speed as you have to pull up on the shift boot to go into gear.) Another gripe was the touchscreen display which was nice, but the Navigation itself (possibly due to this being a pre-production vehicle) did not have all the cities or locations inputted or available, whether I typed in the address or just the surrounding area. Good thing I brought trusty “Silvia” along. With the top down the screen can also not be seen if the sun is behind the car with the glare. Another function I found to be great was the auto dimming function on the rear view mirrors, which came in handy after a lifted truck decided to tailgate me on the freeway. Overall, the car performed and excelled in every aspect and was a great vehicle for a road trip. Now I’m sad that I have to return the car as I was just getting to know it. This road trip did inspire me and I would love to one day do a cross country trip as I found with the right luxury components and vehicle even extended hours and thousands of miles can become fun. A hybrid might be a better option for longer trips though.

Here are some shots from today’s Round 6: Locked and Loaded championship at Infineon Raceway. Live Results are available HERE. Live Round by Round FD Blog. Live Tweets for Formula D.

packed crowd in Sonoma

NOS Energy Drink drivers from IndyCar Dan Wheldon and Formula DRIFT Chris Forsberg

Miss FD and MYX host

Opening Ceremonies

More photos after the jump
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Tomorrow may be the very last Import Showoff car show. This is a sad day as it’s an end of an era. For 15 years Import Showoff was the most respected car show in the nation and helped start the import tuning car scene way back in 1994. If you won at Import Showoff that meant you deserved to win and your car was basically the “shit”. Ken Miyoshi, the founder of Import Showoff, helped build a generation of car enthusiasts and helped spark the tuning movement that paved the way for many companies and even careers, mine included. For those that don’t I started as a car show fan turned Tuner and haven’t looked back since. Eventually, my hobby became my work and long story short that’s why I still work in the automotive industry.

This news has given me some new motivation to weed through the old hard drives and CD’s (before memory sticks and thumb drives were popular) to find the images from the good old days of car shows. Car shows including Import Showoff and Hot Import Nights easily took up 3 years of my life, but in that 3 years I was able to forge great friendships and relationships that still exist. So after Formula DRIFT Round 6: Locked and Loaded in Sonoma next weekend I will be sure to post some photos from the Garage Life archive.

But wait, the producers of Import Showoff are back with a new show called “Mega Matsuri” (Mega – Short for Large: megadose, Surpassing other examples of its kind; extraordinary:
Matsuri – Japanese for “Festival” Derived from a verb meaning ‘to attend to’, ‘to entertain’)

Too bad I’ll be in Sonoma that weekend, but if you’re in the LA area be sure to check it out. Car show, car parts on sale, Ruckus, Fixies…