We reviewed the Pentax Waterproof camera (The W20) at this years Austin City Limits Festival– declaring it Party Proof. While we were there we used our press credentials to creep around back stage (yes, we were stalking Ben Kweller) when we got this funny picture of a fairly well known rock star wearing bright pink boots. If you know who this is, drop us a note with your answer, we’ll pick names out of a hat next week and announce the winner. Send us an email, don’t bother leaving it as a comment, we won’t approve it– we don’t want to to spoil the guessing fun for everyone else. Full size picture of the mystery rock star after the jump!
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You can’t help but notice John Mayer. The self-described awkward kid from Connecticut turned what was once an escape into an inspiring career. Recently he has been actively involved in the street fashion scene, playing an intimate set at ALIFENYC, featuring graf legends such as Futura in his latest music video, and even collaborating on John Mayer x _____ crossovers from guitars to amps. You may have been turned off by his freshman effort, Room For Squares, dismissing it as yet another pop studio production. I wouldn’t blame you and neither would Mayer. Things were quiet for a while then he released Heavier Things and people starting paying attention. The world was witnessing the duality of an artist. On one hand, we have the artist who can’t seem to escape the heavy influences of record label marketing machines. Then we have the artist who was performing incredibly soulful guitar solos at Austin City Limits and in his jazz ensemble, the John Mayer Trio. In his latest effort, Continuum, Mayer let’s the world in on a secret that many fans already knew – this man is a serious musician. From the Sting-y “Belief” with it’s catchy opening guitar tabs to “Slow Dancing in a Burning Room” where he manages to flawlessly integrate a curse word into a beautiful song without any ill effects, the album is worth a listen.

Details for Men, is the best place we’ve seen to order high-quality men’s personal care products online–they recently set us up with a bunch of products to sample, and the following three really got my attention. (Yes, they advertise– No, they do not pay for editorial, we write about what we like here at JoshSpear.com and do not accept compensation for editorial). My best experience had to have come from the Marvis toothpaste line ($9). Made in Italy, and packaged in the coolest tubes ever, Marvis blows conventional American toothpastes out of the water. My favorite flavor was the ‘aquatic mint,’–it truly reminded me of the ocean; their ’strong mint’ flavor was a close second–it packed a wallop like a mouthful of Altoids. I was also impressed by Nickel’s ‘cold sweat’ deodorant ($15)–it has a high-end cologne scent to it, but doesn’t have all of those heinous anti-sweat chemicals in it. Finally, I found the ‘brave shave’ shaving cream by Brave Soldier ($15) to be a formidable opponent of my week-and-a-half beard when paired with my Mach 3 Turbo. I had to lather it on pretty thick, but the finish was super smooth. Details has a bunch of other good stuff too, but these are the products I really liked.

When it comes to customized and limited-edition skateboards, Mekanism runs the block. We’ve seen some amazing deck-collaborations with the likes of Katharina Grosse, Zevs, John Maeda, and others. In their latest effort, Mekanism joined forces with the elusive Invader. This time Invader created three original decks, each covered by a mosaic made of real tiles, signed, titled and dated. The Matrix Deck (left) is classic, reminiscent of the space invader mosaics plastered by the artist around dozens of cities worldwide. The second deck, Above the city (middle) is made up of black and white micro-tiles. Finally, last but not least, my favorite deck in the series is the Rubik Deck (right), is composed of tiles taken from rubik’s cubes (details on far right). Check out more detailed shots and info on Mekanism’s website. Also, check out a great ‘making of’ shot after the jump– look at all those poor rubik’s cubes!
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A quick update on Andrew Gellar’s Pearlroth House for all the modern architecture fans out there. Demolition on the 70’s additions to the construction took place last week– now for the first time in over 30 years the original double-diamond is standing on it’s own. It’s time to raise restoration funds, so Jake Gorst, who is heading up the entire initiative alongside Exhibitions International, is holding a cocktail reception and benefit at the Center for Architecture, 536 Laguardia Place in NYC on October 27th. Look forward to lots of visuals and slides documenting the progress and a raffle of some of Geller’s artwork. Gorst will also be hosting a modernist beach house tour, details coming soon. A printable registration form can be found here.

I think DJ Danger Mouse’s “The Grey Album” is really what brought the term mash-up to the masses. The idea of mixing and matching sound bites and guitar rifts is nothing new, but to do it in a fashion that is more refined than can be found on the turntables yet still gritty enough not to be mistaken for a record label produced piece is what draws people to these modern mix tapes. Combining mashups with my favorite non-profit, The Creative Commons, Splice offers a unique and completely legal way to produce, share, and use music. Every piece on the site is licenced under CC which means that you are free to use it in your homemade videos, movies, or even video games. If you are an aspiring musician yourself, you can use the online sequencer to create your next masterpiece. There is a heavy communal element to the site with forums, blogs, contests, and profiles. Take a moment to check it out!