Monday, October 5, 2009
2009 National Yo-Yo Contest
Looking for videos of Pat Mitchell's winning 2A routine, and Hank Freeman's winning 3A routine. Send 'em on over if you got 'em!!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Vannen Watches
Remember Swatches? Looks like someone finally took that idea a step further.
From their site:
"Vannen watches capture the electrifying worlds of art, fashion, and pop culture and infuse them into every limited edition timepiece we produce. Designed by some of the world’s best artists, we construct wearable art that appeals to forward-thinking, style-conscious individuals while honoring the distinctive vision of our faction of artists. Our watches are stylish, compelling and intriguing. Each watch not only tells time, it tells a story from a unique point of view with an opinion and perspective. By taking a pro-art stance, we also strive to build a global community that invites people to discover new art, embrace it and incorporate it into their lives. This is Vannen."
My buddy Chris Ryniak has a watch in their line-up, as well as personal favorite Brian Morris. The other two artists rounding out the line-up are Damon Soule and Buffmonster.
Watches are limited editions of only 500 pieces, and will never be produced again once the initial run has sold out. More artists are slated for the next series, but in the meantime rock 'em like your old Swatches....three on every arm. ;)
Vannen Watches
Monday, August 31, 2009
Greasebat Masks
My buddy Jeff sent these off to Rotofugi for the "Toy Karma 2" group show. Super rad!!
http://www.greasebat.com/
http://www.rotofugi.com
http://toykarma.rotofugi.com/
http://www.greasebat.com/
http://www.rotofugi.com
http://toykarma.rotofugi.com/
The Weeping Tree
New painting by fellow Jacksonvillian, Dan May.
Aside from being an AMAZING piece, there's a yo-yo on the ground.
How much more awesome can you handle?
http://dan-may.com/
Aside from being an AMAZING piece, there's a yo-yo on the ground.
How much more awesome can you handle?
http://dan-may.com/
Monday, August 17, 2009
2009 World Yo-Yo Contest
I didn't make it to Worlds again this year. Just too much going on, had a paying gig booked, and just didn't have the cash to make the trip. But thanks to the live streaming video, Yama18's constant uploading of freestyles, and assorted commentary from the message boards I still got a pretty good view of the event. And just had a few thoughts I would throw out in the the world so that people can argue with me. Ha! ;)
--- Hiroyuki "Mickey" Suzuki turned in an odd and kinda lackluster routine, and was beaten by someone who basically did....Mickey's old routine. I don't have any opinion on either player, but I found this to look really, really weird from a non-attending perspective. I tune in to the 1A finals to have my mind blown, and I was really quite bored. Bummer. I didn't even watch 3rd place yet, since 1st and 2nd were just so uninteresting to me.
Really high skill level and polished routines. Can't deny that. Just nothing new. I was really bummed.
--- I can so NOT hang in 5A anymore. At one point I harbored delusions that I could still hold my own with the kids. Nope. Time for the old man to have a seat and enjoy the show. I'm really, REALLY happy to see the creativity still coming in that division...I would worried it was going to head in the same homogenized direction as 1A and I'm pleased to note that it hasn't. The Top 3 finishers were all pretty stunning. I'm not a fan of the clipped, clinical style that the Japanese players bring to everything, but Takuma sure as heck brought the tricks to win it. And he nailed 'em. So while what he did wasn't really my bag, I also can't really find any fault with it. I guess when I comes down to it, I just prefer the aesthetic of American & Brazilian players. More familiar, maybe? I dunno. But he deserved the win, for sure, and the Top 3 had to have been neck-in-neck.
Worlds 2009 / 5A - 1st Place (Takuma Inoue)
Worlds 2009 / 5A - 2nd Place (Miguel Correa)
Worlds 2009 / 5A - 3rd Place (Tyler Severance)
-- I didn't hear much about product releases this year, other than Yo-Yo Factory. Granted, they stole everyone's thunder by releasing TEN NEW MODELS AT ONE EVENT but still....maybe they just completely outshined the others or maybe there just weren't many new models released.
I heard rumblings of a couple of new metal yo-yos from Duncan, but then heard there was a packaging problem and they might not make it. Then I didn't hear anything else. Did they get released? No idea.
Yo-Yo Jam released one or two new models, but again...didn't hear much noise about 'em. No idea what else came out / was supposed to come out. Was this a slow year for product releases across the board, or were people just not promoting them and expecting the usual gang to just snap 'em up without any need for hype? Curious.
-- Rei Iwakura won the AP Division with a routine that was pretty funny by yo-yo player standards, but kind of defeats the purpose of the AP Division. This annoys me. His routine was a really clever, and well-executed series of impersonations of other yo-yo players and their routines. It was well-paced, he really nailed some of the impersonations, and he choreographed/timed it incredibly well! But...it wouldn't ever entertain an audience other than the World Yo-Yo Contest. The purpose of the AP division was to encourage yo-yo performance, and produce routines that were entertaining to a non-player audience. This was the exact opposite of that, and it won. I'm more than a little baffled by this.
John Higby turned in a stellar performance, in-between gigs at Disney World. His was most certainly geared towards a non-player audience, and built for a much wider appeal. So, of course, hegot 2nd Place didn't even place.
I doubt I will ever understand what the judges are basing their decisions on from year to year. It seems to change with the wind, with little to no explanations. Glad I'm not competing anymore.
-- Reports of attendance were up from last year...over 800 registered attendees!! That's pretty amazing, especially in a down economy. I hope this bodes well for the industry in general, and yo-yo play as a whole. Toys R Us has a full endcap of yo-yos in stock, and everyone's sales seem to be spiking a bit.
I'm not going to use the "B" Word, but I'll keep my fingers crossed just the same....
--- Hiroyuki "Mickey" Suzuki turned in an odd and kinda lackluster routine, and was beaten by someone who basically did....Mickey's old routine. I don't have any opinion on either player, but I found this to look really, really weird from a non-attending perspective. I tune in to the 1A finals to have my mind blown, and I was really quite bored. Bummer. I didn't even watch 3rd place yet, since 1st and 2nd were just so uninteresting to me.
Really high skill level and polished routines. Can't deny that. Just nothing new. I was really bummed.
--- I can so NOT hang in 5A anymore. At one point I harbored delusions that I could still hold my own with the kids. Nope. Time for the old man to have a seat and enjoy the show. I'm really, REALLY happy to see the creativity still coming in that division...I would worried it was going to head in the same homogenized direction as 1A and I'm pleased to note that it hasn't. The Top 3 finishers were all pretty stunning. I'm not a fan of the clipped, clinical style that the Japanese players bring to everything, but Takuma sure as heck brought the tricks to win it. And he nailed 'em. So while what he did wasn't really my bag, I also can't really find any fault with it. I guess when I comes down to it, I just prefer the aesthetic of American & Brazilian players. More familiar, maybe? I dunno. But he deserved the win, for sure, and the Top 3 had to have been neck-in-neck.
Worlds 2009 / 5A - 1st Place (Takuma Inoue)
Worlds 2009 / 5A - 2nd Place (Miguel Correa)
Worlds 2009 / 5A - 3rd Place (Tyler Severance)
-- I didn't hear much about product releases this year, other than Yo-Yo Factory. Granted, they stole everyone's thunder by releasing TEN NEW MODELS AT ONE EVENT but still....maybe they just completely outshined the others or maybe there just weren't many new models released.
I heard rumblings of a couple of new metal yo-yos from Duncan, but then heard there was a packaging problem and they might not make it. Then I didn't hear anything else. Did they get released? No idea.
Yo-Yo Jam released one or two new models, but again...didn't hear much noise about 'em. No idea what else came out / was supposed to come out. Was this a slow year for product releases across the board, or were people just not promoting them and expecting the usual gang to just snap 'em up without any need for hype? Curious.
-- Rei Iwakura won the AP Division with a routine that was pretty funny by yo-yo player standards, but kind of defeats the purpose of the AP Division. This annoys me. His routine was a really clever, and well-executed series of impersonations of other yo-yo players and their routines. It was well-paced, he really nailed some of the impersonations, and he choreographed/timed it incredibly well! But...it wouldn't ever entertain an audience other than the World Yo-Yo Contest. The purpose of the AP division was to encourage yo-yo performance, and produce routines that were entertaining to a non-player audience. This was the exact opposite of that, and it won. I'm more than a little baffled by this.
John Higby turned in a stellar performance, in-between gigs at Disney World. His was most certainly geared towards a non-player audience, and built for a much wider appeal. So, of course, he
I doubt I will ever understand what the judges are basing their decisions on from year to year. It seems to change with the wind, with little to no explanations. Glad I'm not competing anymore.
-- Reports of attendance were up from last year...over 800 registered attendees!! That's pretty amazing, especially in a down economy. I hope this bodes well for the industry in general, and yo-yo play as a whole. Toys R Us has a full endcap of yo-yos in stock, and everyone's sales seem to be spiking a bit.
I'm not going to use the "B" Word, but I'll keep my fingers crossed just the same....
Saturday, August 1, 2009
stevebrownismyhero.com down for maintenance
Hey everyone!
http://www.stevebrownismyhero.com is currently down for maintenance!
For all booking information, please contact Steve at unklesteve(at)gmail(dot)com.
Thanks!
http://www.stevebrownismyhero.com is currently down for maintenance!
For all booking information, please contact Steve at unklesteve(at)gmail(dot)com.
Thanks!
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Thrown: The Art Of Yo-Yos
"Thrown" is an exhibit of yo-yo related artwork, created entirely by yo-yo players!
Ink drawings, paintings, airbrush, silkscreen, customized yo-yos, and plenty more from a motley assemblage of yo-yo players young and old will take over the Shoparooni Annex.
Yo-Yos are a creative endeavour that is generally abandoned with youth. Through this assemblage of works from adults and young adults who never stopped playing, we hope to present the art of yo-yo play as seen through the eyes of the people who never gave it up. Also, there will be beer.
Participating artists include:
Seth Peterson (IA)
Mark McBride (CA)
John Higby (MA)
Krisgoat (OR)
Steve Brown (OH)
Sonny Patrick (CA)
Drew Tetz (MO)
Jensen Kimmitt (Canada)
Doc Pop (CA)
Paul Escolar (CA)
Ashkahn Shahparnia (CA)
Eric Carlson (WV)
Saxton Moore (OH)
Mark Hayward (PA)
For those who cannot attend, all works will be available online after the opening at www.shoparooni.com!
Ink drawings, paintings, airbrush, silkscreen, customized yo-yos, and plenty more from a motley assemblage of yo-yo players young and old will take over the Shoparooni Annex.
Yo-Yos are a creative endeavour that is generally abandoned with youth. Through this assemblage of works from adults and young adults who never stopped playing, we hope to present the art of yo-yo play as seen through the eyes of the people who never gave it up. Also, there will be beer.
Participating artists include:
Seth Peterson (IA)
Mark McBride (CA)
John Higby (MA)
Krisgoat (OR)
Steve Brown (OH)
Sonny Patrick (CA)
Drew Tetz (MO)
Jensen Kimmitt (Canada)
Doc Pop (CA)
Paul Escolar (CA)
Ashkahn Shahparnia (CA)
Eric Carlson (WV)
Saxton Moore (OH)
Mark Hayward (PA)
For those who cannot attend, all works will be available online after the opening at www.shoparooni.com!
Monday, June 22, 2009
Steve Brown @ The Waterloo Cafe!
Monday nights I'll be at the Waterloo Cafe! Slinging booze, coffee, yo-yos, and anything else I can get my hands on!
8 PM - Close, every Monday!
15601 Waterloo Road
Cleveland, OH 44110
www.thewaterloocafe.com
thewaterloocafe@me.com
8 PM - Close, every Monday!
15601 Waterloo Road
Cleveland, OH 44110
www.thewaterloocafe.com
thewaterloocafe@me.com
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