Whispertown 2000

Whispertown 2000 frontwoman Morgan Nagler travels with an inflatable mattress. She used to live in a two-bedroom tent in her mother's back yard. She slept under a dining room table when the band shared a Los Angeles apartment, and she currently calls a converted laundry room home. Even her drawl is versatile and free-flowing, shifting a line like “tell everyone I’m done with love” from nonchalance to concern with a fluid change of timbre. And her band’s influences? All over the place. “Tod and Casey are very punk,” says vocalist Vanesa Corbala. “I came from a Hispanic background and Morgan grew up listening to Joni Mitchell. We like everything from Dr. Dre to The Beatles.”

Whispertown’s contemporaries like them right back. Nagler formed the band—which inflects her lo-fi folksongs with grubby country-soul—at the 
encouragement of Rilo Kiley’s Blake Sennett and Jenny Lewis. Jimmy Tamborello of Dntel produced an early track. And after hearing their harmony-laden cover of “Look at Miss Ohio” at a Nashville show, Gillian Welch signed the band to her label Acony Records.

Fuzz: Fashion Unplugged

Fuzz is the name of my newest blog dedicated to fashion & style. As a stylist, designer and now publisher, I gather inspiration from many areas. One of those areas is fashion. With fashion you can do anything. I like having no boundaries, no limits in the things I do. Fuzz is a blog that will examine styles that inspire me, what drives the things I design, my style and my creative projects. Please check it out and let me know what you think.

John Lennon Oct. 9, 1940 - Dec. 8, 1980

Fancy Barbecue?

As mentioned, I am spending a lot of time in Austin lately. It has somewhat become the official "unofficial" meeting/hangout city for Refueled magazine and staff. Between meetings, scouting trips, photo shoots and collecting, we like good food and drink. One of my new favorite joints is Lamberts Barbecue.

Lamberts Downtown Barbecue is located in the historic Schneider Brothers Building, in the heart of the 2nd Street District in downtown Austin. Lamberts' open kitchen serves up modern Texan cuisine: all natural barbecue, wood grilled steaks, fresh seafood, family style sides, and homemade desserts. Two bars offer inventive cocktails, locally brewed beers on tap, premium tequilas, scotches, bourbons and live music upstairs six nights a week.

The decor has a industrial loft feel, but with lots of leather and wood. Modern lighting works well with the overall vibe of the building. Try the maple/coriander crusted country style pork ribs and smoked bacon braised collard greens - you won't be sorry.

Oh Dana.

While in Austin this weekend, meeting with my Refueled magazine staff, I took time out to have lunch with 00:02:59 recording artist Dana Falconberry. We talked about her new music, her love for vintage clothing and her upcoming music/style feature in the next issue. Hear a cut from her new release “Oh Skies of Grey” here.

John & Yoko Said It Best.

Inspiration

The "So Cal Girls" of Refueled Magazine

Rumi Neely & Kristen Reiter. Check out their spread in the "style" issue of Refueled magazine - page 53.

Click HERE to view issue 2 of REFUELED online at Issuu or
Download in PDF format directly to your desktop HERE.

Big Thanks

A week after the release of Refueled magazine no. 2, "style" edition, the issue finds itself with not only 7,000 views/downloads but also on the most popular list in the "creative" category at issuu.com. For this, I extend a big "thank you".

If you haven't yet experienced what has been called the "bible of alt country style+design", please feel free to do so.

Click HERE to view issue 2 of REFUELED online at Issuu or
Download in PDF format directly to your desktop HERE.

Refueled Magazine No. 2 - Free Online Now!

The Fall/Winter issue of Refueled, "STYLE" edition, is now available for free at the Refueled magazine site. The issue features Eisley's Sherri Dupree on the cover. When I started the magazine I knew I would dedicate a full issue to style at some point. Style and fashion play an important role in my life.

Downloads could be slow due to heavy traffic. As a matter of fact, last night when the issue was officially released, the site crashed due to the volume of people trying to get a early look.

Click HERE to view issue 2 of REFUELED online at Issuu or
Download in PDF format directly to your desktop HERE.

Result Press

"Designed and edited by Chris Brown, Refueled is an extension of Chris’s website, Urban Prairie. With an uber-hip perspective of country design ~ urban styling ~ and unusual collections, Chris offers a peek into his eclectic style that works to solidify a new definition of design that is definitely emerging."
Tracy Smith, Cactus Creek Daily

"Visual feasting is right! This shit's like tryptophan on paper!"
The Lil Bee

"A lot country, a lot rock-n-roll...this is 102 pages of visual feasting that won't require a nap afterward. But maybe a daydream or two."

The Bedlam of Beefy

“Refueled magazine is like Raygun on fertilizer.”
Boyd Dupree

“I'm in love.”
Auburn & Ivory

State of the Personal Magazine

This — more than any other time — is the age of personal expression, for good or bad. Facebook, MySpace, blogging, camera phones, reality tv, etc., etc., etc., have created a worldwide generation of shrewd and shameless self marketers. The internet has become a far reaching and cheap forum for personal projects, visions, and ideas. The niche genre of personal magazines, existing outside the realm of the commercial hoard, has been experimenting with this ethic for years. But, can it, or does it, still have a place in our ever more electronic world? Coupe Magazine chatted (ironically, via email) with a couple of magazine mavericks, Neil Feineman (original editor of RayGun) in LA and Brit magazine guru Jeremy Leslie in the uk, about the state of the personal magazine. Check it out.

Graphic Packaging

Lovejoy is a vodka that stands out from the crowded liquor shelves because of its design concept. Lovejoy Vodka comes with a variety of labels, allowing customers to choose the design that fits their mood, décor, or gift situation. Design by ID Branding.

Fashion, Ocean, Art & Music

Fashion is playing such a big part in my life and design work at the moment. The “style” issue of Refueled magazine is a short few weeks out from release and it has brought forth this new fascination with clothes and lifestyle. My life long love affair with the beach and surfing continues to draw me towards the West coast and it’s people. The magazine FOAM (Fashion, Ocean, Art & Music) is a great example of girl meets beach.

Another is Texas native Erin Wasson and her line Erin Wasson x RVCA. Known throughout the industry as not only a respected blue chip model, but also for her edge, low-key style and effortless sense of fashion. Now RVCA and Erin are developing a capsule womenswear collection set to debut Spring 2009. The collection will embody Wasson’s iconic style and edge. From the streets of New York City to the beaches of Southern California, Erin believes that style is more than just clothing, it is an expression of soul. That philosophy, paired with her love for street art and culture, makes Wasson an ideal partner for RVCA

Green Campers

Tonke builds old-fashioned wooden campers on a modern undercarriage. With four different models to accommodate either a solo journey or a trip to Yellowstone for three, this is traveling in style. Tonke is a dutch company that handcrafts these beauties. The simple mahogany exterior is based on the classic design of yachts and gypsy caravans. Not only are there the usual amenities associated with the giant ma-and-pa variety of camper but there are teak floors, chrome faucets, porcelain sinks, a combi-boiler with hot water and heating system, an on-board battery, a fridge, and a freezer. The showers and toilets use less water than a traditional RV. The best part is that the campers can be detached and can stand alone becoming a guest room or backyard home office.

{ fotos }

Photos by Jon Bergman.

Pass the Buck

Art by Mark Wagner.

Inspiring Me at the Moment.

Hope

Poster designs by David Carson.

The Stronghold

Over the weekend I descended upon Houston to meet with the Refueled staff. While being photographed for the next issue, we talked about style and how each one of us brings an individual voice and aesthetic to the magazine.

Style has been a running theme for the next issue of Refueled.

Don Weir, a certain arbiter of American workwear fashion, introduced us to a company that embodies what we plan to achieve. As far as a brand concepts go, it doesn’t get much better than the Los Angeles based Stonghold.

The company was founded in Los Angeles in 1895 as the area’s first denim manufacturer, and operated continuously until its closure in 1949. Fast forward to 2004 when Michael Paradise and Michael Cassell revived the defunct work wear label as a contemporary brand with every bit of authenticity as the original. Stonghold offers off-the-rack denim for $285, as well as made-to-measure trousers which start at $485, and are truly custom. The company develops a pattern specifically fit to your body and allows you to choose all of the components (fabric, hardware etc.) that go into your jeans. All Stronghold garments come with lifetime alterations and repairs free of charge. As you would expect, Stronghold only uses selvage denim in the construction of its jeans.

(Left) Stronghold manager William Sack. (Right) The wall of denim options for made-to-measure jeans. The glass tube display holds choices of hardware.

Hotel Design

Friend and fellow blogger Don Weir turned me on to the Ace Hotel. Ace, Portland, is grounded in specifics of place and zeitgeist. Part of the Ace philosophy is to create an egalitarian atmosphere by bringing together creative types with tight budgets and more affluent travelers willing to trade down, as it were, in exchange for cool. The hotel’s name is inspired by the card: the highest or lowest in the deck. Rooms with a shared bath, including three “band rooms” with bunks for touring musicians, are $85, while luxe penthouse rooms top out at just $250.

Hotel staff members (left), many of them recruited from hipster enclaves like the Tube bar (right), wear a look developed by Nom de Guerre: basic white shirts and Dickies pants accessorized with Ace-approved vintage items like pinstripe vests, skinny ties and bike-messenger caps.

The functional aesthetic of midcentury office design runs throughout the Ace, from the water bottles wrapped with a simple rubber band (an idea suggested by the New York design firm Roman & Williams) to the sober stationery, customized with the help of a hotel-issued style guide and embossing stamps.

Room numbers inspired by the numbers on Oregon telephone poles are made by the 113-year-old local company Irwin-Hodson. Blankets that refer to the city’s iconic elk statue are made by Pendleton Woolen Mills.

Music and art fuel the Ace’s mood. Many rooms come with turntables and a mix of vinyl from shops like Mississippi Records. Each room also has a one-of-a-kind mural; Room 428’s (right) is a reinterpretation of sheet music by the New York artist Kenzo Minami.

Wooden apple boxes used by photographers became tables and bathroom step stools.

Signs of Marfa

Vilis Inde presents photographs that portray Marfa as it once was and as it is today.

There are two types of signs relating to Marfa: the natural beauty of the surroundings and the manmade signs. "Signs of Marfa" presents both, although the primary focus is on the manmade signs. Many have weathered and are hardly visible, while others are fresh and announce yet another new venture. Combined, the 175 photographs in the book summarizes the history and people of Marfa and shows what it has become.



"Signs of Marfa" is available in either hardcover or softcover from blurb.com. This site allows you to take a look at the first 15 pages of the 80 page book.