The Cool Kids Special Guest At DJ A-Trak & Travis Barker Fool's Gold Showcase

Photos:
Nah Right - Travis Barker x DJ A-Trak at SXSW

The Cool Kids In California Working With Travis Barker

as seen on Fake Shore Drive

Kid Cudi & Lil Jon Join In At Travis Barker And DJ A-Trak Hollywood Show Report

via MTV

Fans who packed Hollywood's Roxy Theatre on Wednesday night (March 10) to catch Travis Barker and DJ A-Trak's second-ever performance no doubt left the place feeling like the dynamic duo had rehearsed their airtight set to within an inch of its life. But, in actuality, nothing could be further from the truth.

"We pretty much came up with everything in the past couple of days," A-Trak told MTV News. "Like, we came in with nothing."

This is nothing new for Barker and Trak, who decided to perform together after a lengthy jam session last fall. So it was somewhat fitting that their "rehearsals" for the Roxy gigs flowed in much the same way.

"[It was like] the earlier times when we had gotten together. It was jamming. It was just ... seeing, like, what song he would throw at me and what I would do. Just seeing what the chemistry was like," Barker explained. "And now it was like, you know, piecing it together. And we found that we used a bunch of my remixes and his remixes, [plus] some of his original songs, so it's really cool."

And while the duo were cuttingly precise Wednesday night, there was also a liberating looseness to their set. And that's what really got the crowd — which included Kanye West and girlfriend Amber Rose, Tim Armstrong and Rob Anton from the Transplants, Samantha Ronson and onstage guests Kid Cudi and Lil Jon — moving. Because despite the fact they were watching just a drummer and a DJ, the Roxy gig seemed more like a genuine, honest-to-goodness show, be it rock, hip hop or something in between.

"I think the show is really, like, a concert performance. It's a spectacle," A-Trak said. "It's, like, really condensed and in your face, and I think that every minute, every moment is like a slap in the face. That's how I described it."

"There's something for all music fans. If you're a fan of music, you'll dig it," Barker added. "And then if you're a fan of A-Trak and all his music or you're a fan of me and you wanna see us just mash, then I think you'll be stoked to see it."

Photos:
MTV - Travis Barker, DJ A-Trak Play Hollywood (night 2)

Related:
Travis Barker & DJ A-Trak Concert At The Roxy In West Hollywood, CA (night 1)

(video courtesy of dloc311 & TheBeatsnBeats)

Travis Barker & DJ A-Trak Concert At The Roxy In West Hollywood, CA

1st night of the newly formed live pairing of Travis Barker & DJ A-Trak at the Roxy on March 9.

Photos:
Film Magic

(video courtesy of mixmason & vickuno)

Mary J. Blige Takes On Led Zeppelin's 'Stairway To Heaven' With All-Star Band

via Los Angeles Times

Pop & Hiss was privy to a top secret recording session Tuesday (Feb. 2) night involving a supergroup of sorts covering one of the most recognized songs in rock history: Led Zeppelin’s classic “Stairway to Heaven.” The players? Soul queen Mary J. Blige on vocals, guitar god Steve Vai and his pop protégé Orianthi on rhythm and lead guitars, respectively, Travis Barker on drums and “American Idol” judge Randy Jackson on bass, with producer Ron Fair (Christina Aguilera, Pussycat Dolls) handling piano, the arrangement and all-star recruitment. The track’s destination: Blige’s 10th studio album, due out later this year.

“What people don't know about me is I've been a rock 'n' roll fan for years,” Blige said after wrapping her 17th vocal take at Capitol Records Studio A. “I loved soft rock as a child. I'm full of this stuff, naturally.” She also had one massive international hit with a rock song, a cover of U2’s “One,” which Blige performed with Bono on the 2007 Grammy Awards, but it never had the same success stateside that the single saw in Europe.

Still, ever since the collaboration, it’s Bono who’s been pushing Blige to embrace her inner rock star, so blame him if you hate the concept. “Some people might consider it blasphemy, but Mary’s voice really is a nice match [for the song],” said Fair. “Robert Plant’s high-pitched blues thing is right in step with Mary's vocal range, and she brings the soul music to it, which is what Plant was going for in the first place.”

Indeed, Blige had no trouble hitting “Stairway’s” sweet spots and making its boldest moments her own, but she was also keenly aware of not just replicating the original. “You approach it as yourself, you don't try to be the artist,” she said.

That sentiment was echoed by the various players in the room, who found themselves strangely star-struck by one another. In one corner, Jackson sang the praises of Blige (“She can do anything, Mary is the truth!”), in the other, Orianthi was admiring Jackson and “what a monster bass player he is,” while Blige was ogling over Orianthi, whom she remembered seeing in "Michael Jackson's This Is It” movie. “What a surprise it was for Ron to bring her here,” said Blige. “I really love how she plays.”

Because the track was recorded backward, with the drum-heavy second half finished before the four-minute acoustic first act, Barker was out early, around 5 p.m. And amazingly, though they only started working at 3 p.m., the mostly live recording was pretty much finished by 7 p.m. “This is how records used to be made, and I love it,” said Orianthi, who also participated in Monday’s “We Are the World” remake. “Everyone comes in, you do your best, put everything into it, and by the end of the day, you have a song.”

This one, she said, was simply “magical.”

Travis Barker Showcases Hip Hop Side On Upcoming Debut Solo Album

via Spinner

Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, RZA, Swizz Beatz, the Game, Beanie Sigel -- this may sound like a list for the 2010 Hip-Hop Summit, but it's not. It's actually a preliminary list of guests for Travis Barker's first solo album.

"I'm not signing or being an MC or anything," the former Blink-182 drummer tells Spinner. "I think over the last five years, when Blink wasn't around, I played a lot by myself or did a whole bunch of stuff with just me -- whether I was playing with T.I. or doing whatever -- it just opened another world for me."

After Blink-182 announced a hiatus in 2004, Barker became a chameleon of sorts. There were a handful of short-lived side-projects, such as alt-rock supergroup +44 with Blink-182 bandmate Mark Hoppus, the Transplants with Rancid's Tim Armstrong and the rap-rock trio Expensive Taste that produced a mixtape with southern rapper Paul Wall.

Barker then set out on the road with Adam "DJ AM" Goldstein as the DJ-rock duo TRV$DJAM, which faced eminent doom a year ago when a their private learjet skidded off a runway killing two members of their entourage and injuring both Goldstein and Barker. Eleven months later DJ AM would overdose on a deadly mixture of prescription painkillers and cocaine. Given the tragedies, it's incredible that Barker still trudges on. Since he's hopped around working with everyone from Slash to Mary J. Blige, and appeared more recently at the Grammys drumming during the Eminem, Lil Wayne and Drake hip-hop medley, 'Forever.' As his latest endeavors would suggest, Barker admits there's a lot of hip-hop on the solo effort.

"I'm rounding it out right now," he says of the album's many guests. "I just love music. The more I can be around it the better. So with my album -- it's no one genre. It goes from everything from punk rock to hip-hop to some electro stuff on there to a metal song with Corey Taylor from Slipknot. It's been really fun and interesting up till now."

Snoop 'Malice N Wonderland' & Travis Barker Co. Party In Hollywood Recap

via Ballerstatus

In celebration of two milestones -- 10 years in clothing biz and 10 albums deep in the game -- Travis Barker, his Famous Stars & Straps brand and rapper Snoop Dogg rocked Los Angeles on Tuesday (December 8) with a mega-party where the West Coast was in full effect.

Celebrities like DJ Quik, the Lakers' Lamar Odom, Rob Dyrdek, Tila Tequila, Pharrell, The Game, Joe Budden, and Mister Cartoon among others, came through to support the huge achievement.

Everyone finally made their way into the event, had some drinks and mingled. Then, late in the evening, Snoop (drapped in a long gray trench coat) and Travis (Barker) (rocking a sleeveless Famous tee) finally made their way to the stage to treat the crowd to a medley of songs. When the DJ announced Snoop's arrival, he hopped on stage immediately with his now-classic "The Next Episode" with Barker right on que providing the drums.

Shortly after, the rapper called out for singer Butch Cassidy. "How many people in the house got love for my n**** Nate Dogg? You know Butch Cassidy is his first cousin, so we gonna do a little song from Nate Dogg. It go a little something like this." The beat dropped for Snoop's classic "Ain't No Fun" off his debut, Doggystyle, and the crowd went wild. Cassidy jumped right into the first verse, originally sung by Nate who wasn't in attendence.

As the performance continued, Snoop and Travis brought out a slew of their collaborators and other West Coast acts. At one point, Pharrell (of the Neptunes) graced the stage to assist Snoop with his hits, "Beautiful" and "Drop It Like It's Hot." Later, Game checked it, breaking right into his collaboration with Barker on "Dope Boys," before spitting an off the dome freestyle.

DJ Quik performed "Tonite," while Kurupt dropped a freestyle or two, in addition to rocking verses from several Snoop gems.

If you were in the crowd, you probably also noticed newcomers like Problem, Nipsey Hussle, Tyga, and plenty of others on stage just vibing, lending a verse here and there, and laughing alongside big Snoop Dogg.

PHOTOS:
Getty Images
Film Magic
Wire Image
WENN Photo

Paul Wall New Video Made Exclusively on an Apple iPhone 3GS

via press release

Houston, TX; Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) September 23, 2009 -- AV1 Productions and Gatecrasher Films are pleased to announce that their recent music video production, "I Need Mo" by platinum-selling artist Paul Wall and featuring Travis Barker and Kobe. This is the first music video with major label artists shot exclusively on the Apple iPhone 3GS.

In making the video, director Amir Valinia explains, "We wanted to do something that was more than just unique. We wanted to take an available technology and really push the envelope. We wanted to see how far we can go in making a high-quality music video with something that is fast becoming a common item, the Apple iPhone." The iPhone 3Gs is Apple's latest generation of smartphones. It comes with a simple video camera that shoots with 30 frames-per-second capability

G-Dash, the owner and CEO of Swishahouse, Paul Wall's record label, responded, "I was excited that Amir approached us at Swishahouse and afforded us the opportunity to be a part of this innovative way of shooting a music video using the iPhone....We have always been known for setting trends for others to follow, so when the concept was presented to me , it was a no brainer." Amir explains, "We didn't want production values to be any less than how we've worked in the past. But we knew that at the same time we had to make many adjustments to how we shot the video because of the iPhone."

Producer Ron Finberg also stated, "We knew going in that there would be challenges during post-production, especially with how to turn the footage into broadcast-quality. We are so pleased with how the video turned out.

Production began in mid-July in Houston, Texas and wrapped in Los Angeles with scenes featuring Kobe, who collaborated with Paul Wall on the song, and special guest star Travis Barker of Blink 182. Barry Strickland, the director of photography, created and customized several mounts and adapters specifically for the iPhone. Producer Ming Wang adds, "Even though the camera itself was simple enough, this was still a full-scale music video production. We still employed a professional crew, lighting, equipment, set design, make-up and so on. We wanted to maintain a cinematic look. The video also incorporates several greenscreen effects.

Post-production was spearheaded by Vic Tamborella, president and CEO of VT2 Studios in Houston, TX. "We had worked with VT2 Studios on several projects before and their work has always exceeded our expectations. We knew that their expertise in all aspects of editing and VFX would be valuable in working on something revolutionary as the iPhone video," says Amir Valinia.
Vic Tamborella states, "When Amir first approached me with the idea of working on the iphone music video I immediately said yes. We're just excited to be a part of something innovative and truly groundbreaking in media today. We were blown away at the response when news first broke of our intention to use the iPhone on our next music video".

The overall effort was a collaboration on several fronts. Producer Ron Finberg explains, "We at AV1 Productions and Gatecrasher Films were able to execute and complete the iPhone video because of the cooperation from G-Dash & Paul Wall of Swishahouse, VT2, Justin Seyb and Barry Strickland of APS along with Christian Heuer who assisted in producing the Los Angeles segments. After we came up with the concept for "I Need Mo", we were very fortunate that everyone had the same insight when it came to shooting this project... it was definitely a team effort." "We're very excited about this video", says Amir Valinia.

"We've truly reached a milestone with all the recent advances in film and video technology. I have directed and produced music videos for over 10 years now, and saw the opportunity to utilize that experience to try something different, something unique. The production values for this music video is not any different from all the other music videos we've worked on in the past. It was still a professional production. We utilized a soundstage, green screen, professional set-design, etc. The major difference is, we used the iPhone as our camera. Of course new shooting techniques were incorporated using this new type of camera, but it's just another way of embracing technology. This is not just revolutionary, but evolutionary."

Warren G gets busy with 2 back to back high profile shows in LA

Warren G works overtime on his live show to prepare for his 'The G Files' release dropping Fall 2009 on TBD Records.

First show is at the House of Blues Sunset Strip show with Bishop Lamont on Saturday May 30.


Second is from the Activision DJ Hero party with Travis Barker & DJ Am warming up the audience before Eminem and Jay-Z hit the stage June 1 at the Wiltern.

DJ Hero Jay Z and Eminem show: scenes from the Black Carpet

Instead of posting parts of the Jay-Z and Eminem show from last nights Wiltern Theatre show in LA, I'd thought I wouild go 'Hollywood' and show the Black Carpet courtesy of HollywoodTV. The celebrities who attended Activision DJ Hero event included Ryan Phillipp and girlfriend Abbie Cornish, Pete Wentz, Aisha Tyler, Ali Larter, Taraji P. Henson, DJ Am, Michelle Trachtenberg, Tyrese Gibson, Amy Smart, Kelly Osbourne, Vannessa Minnillo, Danny Trejo and many others.

In watching this, it's really sinking in that Hip Hop has gone really Hollywood.