This Saturday night, Richmond’s notorious Brain Drain returns to the Hat Factory. Word of advice, get there early unless you like waiting in line. More on the event here.

Our good friend Chewy was there on the spot, camera in his hand, to capture some amazing images from this years Best Friends Day 9 at Hadad’s Lake. Click for the continuation.

The cameras were ready at this year’s 9th annual Best Friends Day at Hadad’s Lake in Richmond. And with summer comes heat and with Best Friends Day comes skin and summer swim suits. Click here to see what you missed at Hadad’s lake.

Do we even need to tell you how stoked we are for this weekend? With the festivities starting tonight, we’ll try and keep you posted on the happenings, photos and fashion (if people even have clothes on) all weekend long. For more information, visit BestFriendsDay.net

VCUarts professor Siemon Allen has put his 10-year collection of South African records, stamps, newspaper clippings and cultural objects on display at VCU’s Anderson Gallery. He calls it: South Africa: Collection Project. Click for the continuation.

Our friends from Philly are coming down to Richmond this Thursday night to play at Capital Ale house and we’d love it if you came. If you’ve never heard of East Hundred, check out their MySpace or click for the video.

East Hundred at Capital Ale House / 623 East Main Street / Richmond, VA / Thursday Aug. 12 / Doors open at 9:00pm / Show starts at 10 /

If you’re in Richmond this Sunday and want to escape the stickiness of the Watermelon Festival, then head down to Hull Street for the 13th annual Gwar-B-Que. What is a Gwar-B-Que you might ask? Just what it sounds like. BBQ, tattoos, gurlz, skating, shredding, karaoke, spew olympics and you guessed it, GWAR! Click for the continuation.

Need Supply Co. just won first place in Richmond Magazine’s category for Best Designer Denim Selection. “In 14 years of business, Need Supply Co. has won the allegiance of shoppers from Richmond to the Ukraine (no joke) with more than 200 denim varieties for both men and women. Owner Chris Bossola says the women always go for the dark skinny jeans while the men grab the raw APC denim. Why? Versatility of course, Bossola says.”

Click here to shop our men’s denim. Click here to shop women’s denim.

Richmond, Virginia’s own Born Ugly is coming to LA this week for two art shows and the premiere of Issue #7! If you’re in the Southern California area then come out and see these assholes and show some love. Click for the continuation.

Take the time to shine a little bit. New offerings from Garnett Jewelry allow you to do just that, click to take a peek at what we just got in.

If you’re marking dates in your calendar, make sure to mark down Saturday, August 7th for the Jonny Z festival! It will be taking place on the 200 block of Shields in between Joe’s Inn and Shields Market. It’s a block party featuring the Bizzare Market, raffle drawings, WRIR DJ’s, children’s activities including printmaking by Studio 23.LIVE MUSIC by Josh Small, The Catnip Dreams, Ghostdog & Cinnamon, Photosynthesizers and the Girtles.

The newly opened Virginia Museum of Fine Arts is now showing Chuck Close: People Who Matter To Me. The exhibition is on view in Focus Gallery 3 until October 17, 2010 and presents works by the artist spanning from 1974 to the present.

Chuck Close is an American painter and photographer known for his massive portraits. I’ve had the honor of meeting the artist on a few occasions at previous Art Basel events and I greatly admire his work. This one is a must see! Visit the VMFA websitefor schedule and hours.

There are just 28 days left until Richmond turns into the biggest party on the east coast. If you’re not familiar with it by now, then it would be impossible to explain. But what it all boils down to is a few good friends who shared close enough birthdays. Those few friends decided to get some people together and all go to Hadad’s lake to have a little party. This was 9 years ago. Click for the continuation.

We stopped by The National this past Saturday night to check out Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros. It was amazing, and so many cuties in the crowd, especially the band’s own Jade Castrinos. Click for the continuation.

Kiersyn is a feisty little thing from Richmond with great style and a witty attitude. She’s gathered up a few of her personal selections that are essential for this summer. Click for the continuation.

Well, it happened. I noticed it yesterday evening after my bike ride home. My 8-month old A.P.C.’s had gotten their first tear. Click for the continuation.

Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend, we stopped by Dogwood Dell last night to check out the fireworks. Click for the continuation.

The goal of the Worn Again Fashion shows has been to promote a recycled lifestyle that is innovative, creative, accessible and always fashionable! Part of this mission includes raising money for other local grass roots non-profits and strengthening positive efforts in our community. That’s why TWA is proud to donate all proceeds from Worn Again 2010 to Books on Wheels . We stopped in to Art 6 last Friday and had our camera ready. Click for the continuation.

Meet Julie, a 22-year old country girl who moved to the city. She’s been with us for a bit now and she’s going to give us her picks for this summer. Click for the continuation.

Richmond’s Studio Two Three started in 2007 with a few recent VCU printmaking grads who just wanted a place where they could keep making work. It functioned for years as an artist co-op, and is now becoming a non-profit organization. The studioalso organizes collaborative projects and shows, teaches workshops, and even holds open studio hours for any walk-ins. They are doing big things in Richmond, and you can get involved now and contribute to the community! studio two three

Richmond, Virginia is known for it’s hot and hazy summers and the amazing James River that runs through it, cooling the city off when it needs it most. The river attracts just about every genre of people that city has to offer. Summer Spots is a small collection of some of the best spots for enjoying the James River in this summer heat. So to start things off, we’ll visit one of the less popular and less inhabited jewels of the James: Pipeline. Click for the continuation.

We’ve just got in a few new great pieces from Richmond, Viginia’s own Maslodesign. Come take a look.

Last night, the beautiful state of Virginia lost a little bit of flavor. Everyone’s favorite sausage maker, whether they choose to admit it or not, died at his home in Varina, Virginia, on Sunday night at the age of 81. Not bad Jimmy, not bad. Read more.

This is why we love Virginia summers. Hot, damp, sweaty and sunsets that last over an hour. The weather feels like a piece of damp silk being dragged across your face. Read more…

Here’s a little bit of Richmond History right in front of you. First of all, you’re looking at the original and only album cover (still in plastic) from the 1976 release by Richmond, Virginia’s own Whole Darn Family. In fact, if you look closely, the album cover was shot in front of Richmond’s historic Ethyl Corporation. Click for the continuation.

We just got in a whole new line of Thief & Bandit headbands and necklaces from Richmond’s own Amie Cunningham. Click for more.

Children of the sixties and seventies may remember Robert Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Over the course of a 17-day motorcycle trip across the northern United States, Pirsig’s narrator uses the relationship between man and bike to reflect on technology and reason. “The Buddha, the Godhead, resides quite as comfortably in the circuits of a digital computer or the gears of a cycle transmission as he does at the top of a mountain or in the petals of a flower,” reads a typical passage.

Richmond, Virginia’s own Matthew Crawford takes a modern day approach to giving us all reason to leave the desk job and create sometime with the simple tradition of manual labor. Click for the continuation.

If you were lucky enough to enjoy the amazing back yard night under the stars this Saturday and hear the sounds of Richmond’s own, Amazing Ghosts then props to you! If not, well…

You missed homemade dandelion wine, green grass, food, beer, brownies, friends, cops, Billy Gross, it was all there. And if you’ve never heard Amazing Ghosts, then we highly suggest you check them out here. photos

Click for the continuation

After long and extensive renovations, the brand new Virginia Museum of Fine Arts is finally open to the public! Some 165,000 square feet have been added to the VMFA’s existing 380,000 square feet. It is open daily, general admission is free as always, and there are extended hours on Thursdays! Visit the VMFA website for more information and to plan your visit.

Tony from RVA Magazine invited me out to come through the weekly Tuesday night party, RVALUTION, so Patty Sweet Face and I went to check it out. Honestly, I haven’t been out that late on a Tuesday night since Broken Beat Lounge at Richie’s, so I had to motivate a little bit. “Party” can’t describe what goes on every week at The Hat Factory. It’s a part-carni/Buzz/frat party/Barnum & Bailey/sex convention/birthday party/Spring Break/candy raver/Anime/burlesque blowout that Richmond promoters have been striving for for years. Well,  it’s finally come to fruition.  Residents DJs JReinhold (PLF) and Doddie (Audio Ammo) killed it along with DJ vs. Wild (Audio Ammo) and Cobra Krames (Cobra Kai NYC). Be sure to roll up mad early, cause we got there at 10:30 PM and the line went from the Hat Factory to Cary St.! It’ll be worth the wait!

The 3/50 Project was founded by Cinda Baxter last year. The basic idea is choose 3 of your favorite locally owned businesses and spend just $50 each month in those 3 businesses. From local clothing stores and bookstores to coffee shops and restaurants. That’s it.

The results are surprising. If just half of the employed population spent $50 each month in locally owned independent businesses, it would generate more than $42.6 billion in revenue.

And for every $100 spent in locally owned independent stores, $68 returns to the community through taxes, payroll, and other expenditures. If you spend that in a national chain, only $43 stays local.

It all starts with you. Shop local. After all, it’s the locally owned stores that makes your city what it is!

(Photo courtesy of The Valentine Richmond History Center – Carytown 1928)

Here are some pics (courtesy of Joseph Moss Photography) and a video of the Johnny Cupcakes Suitcase Tour at Need Supply Co. stop in Richmond, VA last Thursday! Tons of heads came out to show love for Johnny. Huge thanks to Johnny Cupcakes, Carytown Cupcakes, DJ Doddie Fresh, Joseph Moss Photography and everyone that braved the heat to support! Ch-check it oooouuuuttt! *if the video is slow to load, change to 480p.

Click here for the video of Johnny Cupcakes Suitcase Tour – Day 27 – Richmond, VA!

Some various snapshots from a beautiful weekend in Richmond.

First of all, if you’re not familiar with Washington DC’s Long Walks on the Beach, then click here immediately to listen. LWOTB is a DIY bedroom project from our friend out of DC and his sound is like no other.

A DC based website is hosting a Long Walks On The Beach show this Saturday May 8th in a rad DIY warehouse space in the city.  Its in conjunction with the release of LWOTB’s new tune metaPhysical which you can listen/download here:  http://beachtheonwalkslong.com

A good friend of ours from Richmond is going to be DJing: http://hitslikeahammer.com/rrl7

Last night I stepped into the Diamond for my first time in probably 10 years. I witnessed the Richmond Flying Squirrels put an end to their 7 game winning streak with an 8 to 1 loss. However, they did have 32oz. beers. Click for the continuation.

I’ve known this gnarly little dude for sometime now. From his video part in What We Do is Secret to his two wheeled creations, he’s definitely made a name for himself in Richmond and beyond. Andrew Schrock, aka “Hippie” can shred your face off while fixing the moped that you just bought and have no idea why it doesn’t work.

The gnarly dudes over at The Least Most just sat down with Hippie, the mechanic, sculptor, and shredder for a few questions. See the entire interview here.

Need Supply Co. would like to proudly introduce Richmond’s own Maslodesign, a creation of our cities own Nicole Maslowski. Since 1994 we’ve been in Richmond and love this city, thus introducing more local product is always at the top of our list. Maslodesign parallels the philosophy of combining the past with the present and traditional with the cutting edge. Each piece is designed with delicate details that customize a look and brand Maslodesign’s unique style. Click here to shop.

This past Friday, Richmond’s own Reference Gallery hosted a show with a little bit of a twist. All of the hundreds of hand-screened posters on the wall were FREE. As soon you took one down, they would replace it with another. To top it off, they had hand screened boxes to store your gifts in. Click for the continuation.

If you haven’t heard of JNKFD yet, then it’s about time you have. JNKFD represents a process, that involves friends, cameras, freedom and a strong & constant “fuck it” attitude. Nothing to loose. Junkfood is compiled of Bob Quirk and Christian H. to collectively create the online zine viewed by thousands. On the Thursday of Slaughterama weekend, JNKFD proudly released their first printed issue to the public, outfitted with an art show, indoor ramp and ton’s of friends. Click for the continuation. all photos are from the amazingly awesome Least Most blog.

This year’s Slaughterama, presented by Richmond’s very own Cutthroats was phenomenal. If you didn’t get a chance to experience it, that’s a shame. It truly was, as our friend Steve Crandall quoted, “…A whole lot of freedom going on.” Click here for more pics, via Howard Tarpey.

Need some new tunes for this weekend? The Blaaahg has compiled a quick little dosage to make this beautiful east coast weekend that more enjoyable. With tomorrow being the first day of spring, and the majority of the east being in the 70′s, it’s time to put those coats in the closet. Click here.

With just 18 days left until the first morning of Spring 2010, our options for warm weather are getting heavier by the day. We just got in tons of stuff from Cheap Monday, Shades of Greige, Comune, Sperry, Vans, Levi’s, Free People, Jeffrey Campbell, Dolce Vita, Eryin Brine and much more. Click for the continuation to see some of The Blaaahg’s favorite picks.

A 2 day event and month long exhibition, showcasing the best of Richmond’s fashion industry. Model Citizen seeks to informat the audience of the abundance of local talent and offerings, to encourage local shopping and community involvement.  With the current recession, it is now more important than ever to build a true sense of community by supporting the business owners who are our friends and family and fostering our local economy.  Richmond style is as unique as the city itself. From history to modernity, punk rock to hip hop, Model Citizen celebrates the eclecticism that defines Richmond fashion. For more information on the event, click here.

Editors Andrew Blossom, Tom De Haven and Brian Castleberry, along with Akashic Books, an independent publisher based out of Brooklyn, have teamed up to bring us Richmond Noir. The book is fifteen stories by fifteen different authors, all set in a different location in the city, along with an introduction by Tom Robbins. Click here for upcoming events and other info from Richmond Noir, and don’t forget to pick up your copy from Chop Suey or other local retailers!

Four Life zine by Jamey Sutton – a new contributor to Zine-O-Phobia and longtime zine-dude. This zine documents a little taste of life in Richmond, VA.  More to come from Jamey…. Download the zine HERE only for the next 6 days.

Less is more.

Andrew Rhea is a Richmond based photographer that just got back from Egypt. His work is on display at the Henry Gallery, 212 West Broad Street. Click for the continuation.

We have just teamed up with one of our favorite Richmond illustrators, Emerald Grippa and YouWorkForThem for a collaborative calendar in 2010. The calendar features the Sofia typeface, available here. You can pick up a copy of the calendar by stopping in to see us soon. Click for the continuation.

If you ride a bicycle then you need to come watch this. It’s been called one of the best new films and most anticipated in the track bike industry, according to some trusted pedalers. So hop on your two wheeled friend, and cruise down to The Reference Gallery on 216 E. Main Street this Sunady at 6pm. See you there!

via

Want a break from the electro smeared sounds of today’s music? I would head to The National (Richmond) this Friday and catch Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings destroy the stage and make you sweat without moving. Get your tickets here.