This year’s Design for Humanity was all about sequins, pleather and rock and roll! For the third year in a row, Billabong rocked out a sold out crowd at the Avalon, Hollywood for its annual Design for Humanity Charity Event. The charity event gave 100% of ticket sales, in addition to sales from the silent auctions of art and one-of-a-kind designs, to this year’s charity: water, whose mission is to bring fresh drinking water to developing nations by building wells.
The main event: a fashion show with unique and inspiring Billabong swimwear.
This year’s inspiration appeared to be all about classic, head banging, sweat-dripping, rock and roll. A glam rock paradise of sequins, zippers, fringe, neon and pleather strutted down the runway in the form of hot pants and daring one-piece cut-outs. My favorite stand-out piece? A hot pink fringed vest over a skimpy Brazilian cut pleather bikini. Insane!
To top off the rocking swim collection, it was only fitting to follow the show with alt-rockers The Airborne Toxic event and indie pop stars Iglu and Hartly. With hot pants and getting your pants rocked-off, this year’s 3rd annual Design for Humanity was definitely the best yet!
Missed out? Usually I’d say too bad, so sad, but this time you can watch the video and still donate by buying the Billabong Tori Praver bikini. $5 of the sale of this paisley print bikini goes directly to Water, and $5 is enough to give 5 people fresh drinking water for an entire year! Sip on that! Get a the limited edition Tori Praver Bikini HERE.

Irvine, CA – (May 18, 2009) — Billabong USA is proud to announce that highly acclaimed alt-rockers, The Airborne Toxic Event, and indie pop stars, Iglu & Hartly, will perform live at the 3rd Annual Design For Humanity event on June 17, 2009 at Avalon/Bardot in Hollywood. Design for Humanity, Billabong’s charitable initiative, will benefit charity: water (charitywater.org), a non-profit organization that works to bring clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations. One hundred percent of ticket sale proceeds will go to charity: water. (more…)

Here’s some killer tunage to get your week started right. Turn it up, rock out, make a video of you singing to it on youtube…whatever rocks your wold. Just don’t forget to get a good stretch in before you start the leg kicks.  

As a side note, you want to check King Khan’s Myspace page for some inspiring wardrobe selections and dance moves. Trust me, you do. Oh, and his gold-gilded crew is on tour right now. You definitelywant to see this one–you might not know it yet, but you do. 

Listen HERE

Enjoy.

Bad Brains, the seminal hard core punk rock/reggae band from the late ‘70’s, has teamed up with classic skate shoe maker Vans to create a throwback kick that begs to be in the eye of the pit.  The reggae-inspired Bad Brains Vans Chukka low takes the original waffle sole to the next level with the band’s album cover graphics, and updates the shoe’s upper with some irie Zion Lion stencil screens. “No, not I. I and I will would never try” to live without these limited edition sneaks. Grow a pair and get a pair at Swell.com.

This past Saturday dished out some killer jams and sick shredding at the Roxy Chicken Jam held at Mammoth Mountain. A free Santogold and Cold War Kids concert, combined with a few solid days of riding at Mammoth, topped off with a cush ride in the Spy Optic van, made the trek from San Diego to Mammoth a pretty sweet little journey. 

Although the snow was a little slushy, the free concert at the Village at Mammoth more than made up for its mediocrity. The packed crowd brought a great mountain town dynamic to the outdoor show with a heaping portion of dancing boots, sparklers and Coors heavy. Santogold kicked it up with some stage diving action, her infamous metallic backup dancers, and a sexually ambiguous character in a panda hat. After Santogold hyped up the dance crowd, the Cold War Kids turned up the rock factor with killer energy and heavy keys. It’s safe to say the show’s energy and large crowd size made for pretty sparse slopes the next morning. Not that I was awake to witness this first hand, but I could only imagine. Above is a little taste of the Cold War Kids. Sorry about the video quality; dancing and filming make a poor combination sometimes. 

Check out the event photos after the jump. (more…)

This Saturday is all about fresh powder, killer contest action and the Cold War Kids…for free! Tomorrow is the return of the Roxy Chicken Jam at Mammoth Mountain, and with a free Santogold and Cold War Kids show, you better believe more than a few of us are packing our boards and heading East to get in on the action. With the past week’s Spring storm bringing in 14″ of new snow, added to two bands that are guarenteed to put on a killer show at a Roxy event, missing out on a sunny beach weekend won’t induce any tears this time. Can’t make the trek? Check back in a few days, and if you’re lucky, you might get a peak at the fun you missed out on.  

Fresh from the furry-lipped musician Donavon Frankenreiter, comes a collection of free-spirited, surf and ocean-inspired gear. The line is a reflection of his melodic tunes and soulful surfing style. “The collection embraces my surfing philosophy and the musical side of my life and everything that surrounds it,” says Donavon. “It’s a reflection of my life over the past 15 years.” If you like Donavon’s earthy vibrations and retro style, you’ll dig his harmonious collaboration with Billabong.

NIXON HAS STEPPED INTO THE AUDIO GAME, ENTER HEADPHONES! 

Nixon offers three models, the  above pictured studio-type “Master Blaster“, the “Nomadic” and of course ear buds called “Wire“.  Notable features of Nixon headphones include stylee  faux aluminum and  leather construction (the leather is real on the “Master Blasters“), stealth volume pot and detachable cord, (good if you break it as it can be replaced).  The “Nomadic” and “Wire” models feature an optional mic.

I tried the Master Blasters which retail at around 200 bucks. These Headphones are substantial and comfy. The thin inconspicuous wire, unlike some stayed nicely out of my way!  The firm ear surrounding leather cans did a nice job keeping out unwanted ambient noise, allowing an environment in which great  sound (with a little e.q. tweaking) was easily attained.  For my taste, midrange boost was required to get to get things sounding nice and warm.  Lastly, I was impressed with the volume control on the right can, this proved very convenient for quick volume tweaks.

Throw on a pair of Nixon Cans, and you’ll be rocking inside and out!

 Depending on who you ask, the definition of what is punk is going to vary. But however you want to explain it Tim Armstrong and his Rancid band members have continued to carry on the true fundamentals of punk rock. Even the June/July ‘08 Issue of Foam Magazine gave the group deserving recognition of being, “an iconic symbol of the neo-punk movement”—also going on to say that “the platinum-selling foursome is no stranger to a sea of fans who are flushed, sweaty, and exasperated from the sheer outpouring of energy it requires to engage in a Rancid show.” After their performance earlier this month at Soma, a small venue in San Diego, I can agree that the energy the band puts out is matched by the crowd. Rancid lived up to their reputation and put on a great show, performing classics like “The Wars End,” during which the crowd went off—singing along to every word and making an even bigger group in the pit. With an audience of old and young I don’t think anyone was left dissatisfied. Almost two decades since Rancid first came together they are still performing with the same force and liveliness, making it a no brainer as to why their music is a favorite for so many. Listen for yourself right here.

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Going to a Face to Face show is definitely not your usual concert going experience. Having toured for over 10 years and released an incredible five albums, the band split in September of 2004—and didn’t play again until five years later. The time apart definitely didn’t hurt their ability to put on an amazing live show. Two weeks ago at the Anaheim House of Blues, a diverse mix of young and old came out for their latest west coast event. Now, a neat venue like House of Blues is always a bonus when seeing any show, but considering this crowd was filled with young, new fans and their parents made it especially cool. I watched the show from the side next to a mom and her six-year-old son. The dad was also there, although a little bit closer to the stage, and despite the varied age differences there was no question whether or not everyone was loving the music. I also saw another kids sitting on their dad’s shoulders near the pit, as well as met a Grandma who was stoked to be out of the house and away from her own kids. Along with the difference in ages came a difference in everyone’s style. There were couples rocking rock-a-billy, plenty of RVCA tees, as well as my personal favorite: A guy wearing a black New Kids on the Block t-shirt. From surf to rock-a-billy to ages six to fifty; it shows everyone loves good music.