photo by Kevin Moore

2016 has been a decidedly difficult year for most people…we would be remiss if we let the year pass without acknowledging the death of someone close to TGP.

We met Mike Pinkney aka Mike the Mover around 2002 when we were located in Berkeley.  At the time, he was doing jobs for VC groups and a number of notable Bay Area families.  He started out giving us extra furniture, and then he helped us move our warehouse to Oakland (and later Alameda).   He had an extensive knowledge of wiring and completely rewired two separate offices for us.

Mike would always tell us stories about his life…growing up in New York with neighbors like Lena Horne, moving out west, working for much of his life at Pac Bell, and losing one of his children in a terrible accident.  He was a biker who enjoyed having an Irish Coffee at Brennans. He survived cancer and rehabbed himself after a stroke.

We will miss his kindness and wit, rest easy Mike.

photo: Complex

This weekend ComplexCon descended upon the LB Convention Center.  The extravaganza was put together by Complex with guidance from Takashi Murakami, Pharell & Skrillex, the event features art, clothing, musical performances, and of course, shoes.  Nathan & Natasha went to check it out.  Thank you to Capsule for thinking of us…

(Click twice on images for larger view)

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We’re trying to make it to L.A. to check out the new show at Subliminal Projects,  Banned In Babylon: The Art and Culture of Bad Brain featuring works by Darryl Jenifer, Lucian Perkins, John Mousheghian, Jeannie “Aunt Jean” Pawlowski, and Shepard Fairey.  Open now through August 20th,  1331 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles (usually 12-6pm).

Shepard Fairey

Obey Clothing just dropped a fairly extensive capsule collection with classic Bad Brains designs as well as some new artwork.  We have a sampling here.

Darryl Jenifer

Dr. Know by John Mousheghian

HR & Dr. Know by Lucian Perkins

Recently reconnected with Adisa, The Bishop.  He has been busy with the Hip Hop Chess Federation which fuses chess, hip hop & martial arts to promote unity, strategy and non violence to kids across the world.   He also has a new book coming out focused on how the work of Bobby Fischer, Bruce Lee & Afrika Bambaataa overlapped in the 70’s and how to use their principles to guide your life decisions now.  The kindle version is available now with the hard copy coming out on April 10th.

We are currently giving the site a much-needed refresh.  You may encounter some broken links or missing images…please bear with us while we complete all of the changes.

Rest in peace to Hunafa /African Identity who passed away last week.  His children have established a GoFundMe page where you can help with final arrangements.  Billy Jam (who introduced us to African Identity’s music in the 90’s) wrote a touching remembrance on the Amoeblog.  Check out a song he did with Del called “17 Slaves” from his release, You Won’t Come To My Funeral.

Stretch & Bobbito teamed up with Omar Acosta to create a documentary about their legendary WKCR show (and the subsequent success of the artists they broke).   They are currently doing a Kickstarter to help fund post-production.  Please pitch in if you can!

Two of our favorites together: Bill Withers is as snappy as ever in conversation with Aloe Blacc at the 10th Annual ASCAP “I Create Music”  Expo 2015 which was held in April-May.   If we can only get them together on a track…

DJ Neil Armstrong found out his dog, Poh,  was terminally ill.  When he embarked on his #dinnerandamixtape road trip, Poh was in tow.  They visited 35 cities stretching across the US (they had to return home when Poh started not to feel so well)

You can find Poh on Instagram @pohthedogsbigadventure

Wishing him many more good days…

Shepard Fairey is making a guest appearance on Portlandia on January 29th.  He says:

I’m a big fan of Portlandia, Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen’s comedy show based on poking fun at the idiosyncrasies of bohemian Portland Oregon, so I was very excited when they asked me to do a cameo.  I’ve spent a bit of time and done a few art shows in Portland, so I know where Portlandia finds its inspiration.  In fact, the part I play, a jaded art store employee, was set in the exact art store where I bought my art supplies while staying in Portland for a stint a few summers ago. I’m no actor, but this part, along with maybe “jaded art student” or “jaded skate shop employee,” are the closest I’ll ever get to method acting.  Fred and Carrie are a blast to hang out with and made the whole experience a lot of fun for me. Here’s a clip from the segment, but you can catch the full episode Thurs. night on IFC.  -Shepard

Portlandia airs Thursdays 10pm EST on IFC.