This hill of Echo Park is called Angeleno Heights, known for its high concentration of Victorian era homes in Los Angeles. I’ll save some of the grand Victorian homes for another post… some of them are incredible with carriage homes where they used to keep the horses, now turned into second homes and studios. Love this part of Echo Park, it feels like another world.

Our friend Frosty is one of the founders of this truly eclectic radio station. He started this in 1999 and it’s been going strong and getting stronger since day one. Dublab is about bringing community together for the arts, film, and of course, music. Every time I run into Frosty, there is always something new… it could be a film project that is touring the nation, Friday night music events at the Natural History Museum, Djing at the TED conference, or producing and making records by some of LA’s finest. Frosty and Dublab have got their hands in everything…and, it wouldn’t be what it is without the support of Dublab’s global listeners and fans.

Introducing Creative Cultivation 2012, a dinner-music-party fundraiser for Dublab radio. Frosty has lined up Cut Chemist, Julia Holter, Anenon & Yvette Holzwarth, Carlos Niño, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson & Dexter Story. Drinks from Lagunitas Beer, DRY Soda Co., and food from one of our favorite restaurants, Starry Kitchen!

You can support and be part of this event, by buying tickets here. Dublab is a 501(c)(3) creative non profit, so the proceeds go directly to funding their mission and operation…. and of course purchasing a ticket is 100% tax deductible.

More info on the event at Dublab.

This is awesome detail of the gunpowder residue.

This is his first exhibition on the west coast and the night of the opening, he exploded a piece on the outside walls of MOCA. It was insane, the explosion was so loud and big, most everyone in the crowd actually ducked and screamed. Our friend Lana Kim was the video producer for the event, the video and a shot of the aftermath is below.

All the info for Cai Guo-Qiang’s Sky Ladder at Moca.org.

This year, just like last, you can pick up the exclusive Poketo x CicLAvia wallet! There will be bike stations with tee shirts, bags, bottles, and our wallets. Stop by and pick one up to support! Proceeds go to CicLAvia and their mission for a bike friendly city.

For more info, check out this interview we did with CicLAvia organizer Joe Linton. The event is April 15th, 2012, from 10am to 3pm. Here is the route, you can start in Downtown and ride all the way to the Melrose.

This years line up includes heavy hitters Radiohead, Black Keys, Bon Iver, The Shins, and some I’d really love to see, like SBTRKT, Flying Lotus, Justice, M.Ward and more, more, more. There is usually a last minute awesome performance from someone huge, who knows?

Nearly every year, we’ve collaborated with the Coachella Boutique to create fresh Poketo designs for one of the biggest music festivals in the world. This year, it’s a cool little notebook to ramble, jot, and draw your experiences, dreams, and hot weather hallucinations… and if you are practical, remember to write down the set lists from each of the shows. Here is a past Coachella shot of Angie figuring out our next move… writing times and sets on paper… proof that this little notebook is going to come in handy.

One thing I love about this book is that the graphics on each side is inverted from the other… so, when you pull out the notebook it’s oriented correctly. All you have to do is decide… Coachella or Dreams? I’m thinking Coachella Dreams.

Above are a few pics from Coachella 2009. That was a great year… we spent the day lounging poolside at the La Quinta, rolled into Coachella at dusk to catch Fleet Foxes and then ended the night with MSTRKRFT.

Below are some of the past Poketo x Coachella designs in years past…

Peskimo x Poketo x Coachella

Ogi x Poketo x Coachella

Heisuke Kitazawa x Poketo x Coachella

The next UniqueLA is May 12 and 13th. More info here.

What I love is seeing speakers at Creative Mornings trace their success and path back to childhood… Sonja took us all the way back to age 11 when she used to draw shopping catalogs. Pretty funny.

The LAFMS has been around since 1973 and from what I gather is a rotating group of musicians that are more like sound and performance artists. When you walk into the space, you’ll find motion triggered sound sculptures, long tables of abandoned toys and junk that have been used as instruments, and walls of photographs and ephemera that documents the Los Angeles Free music Society’s long history.

The Box is planning on monthly exhibitions, and from the looks of this first show at this new space, they are aiming to push alternative forms of art and media. Learn more and check out their schedule here.

Proprietor of The Box, Mara McCarthy

Most interesting though was their metaphor of the “spark”. A spark produces a flame which produces a fire, builds community, and spreads. In their case, all of their creativity and art starts with a simple act of doing what they love. The spark is their pure, unadulterated art. Often times, their art, their perspective get fused with commercial work with the potential of spreading like fire to millions. But, it all starts with the spark, being themselves and being free to express themselves through art. It’s how it is and how it should be.

Here is our friend, Jon Setzen, the organizer of Creative Mornings, Los Angeles. He is the one that invited us to our Creative Mornings talk last year at the Herman Miller showroom. Basically, Jon rocks worlds.