>>_DJ AMBER FLICKR STREAM

I'm finally taking a lot of new digital pictures of my own and have started a photo stream on flickr. You can keep up with the latest images at http://flickr.com/photos/djamber/. Until I get posting at a faster pace, you can check out pictures other people have been taking.

>>_MUSIC ONLINE: MOONTRIBE

Moontribe, the legendary West Coast outdoor event crew, has posted mixes to their site going back to 1996. You can listen in on the download page. (If you like what you hear, or just feel moved to help, please donate via PayPal to moontribe [at] moontribe [dot] org to help cover bandwidth costs.)

>>_SWEET GIRLIE DJ BAG



Spotted on The Bag Lady and available at artghost these ultra-cute DJ purses are so sweet I'm getting cavities just looking at them. But that doesn't stop the craving!

>>_MUSIC ONLINE: SXSW MUSIC PLAYER

In the spirit of my recent posts about SXSW and great music online, let me combine the two by pointing you toward the "SXSW Music Player." Go to the SXSW Music site and click on the music player button at the bottom of the row along the right side of the page. You'll not only get streaming tunes, but the name and website of each band (like Nickel Creek and MC Lars).

>>_AT SXSW 2006 (CONTINUED)

(Left: Beasite Boys do an open Q&A session. Photo by foresmac)

When the music portion of the South by Southwest (SXSW) conference began I made sure to catch the open Q&A session with the Beastie Boys. I wish I could say the audience questions made the most of the opportunity, but with comments like "I grew up with your album...you know, the one with 'Girls' and the airplane on the cover..." (Ad-Roc replied "Uh yeah, I know that one") it lacked a little depth. The fault wasn't entirely on the audience, in the entire hour only one or two questions got a serious answer from the Beastie Boys. It was a little heavy on the sarcasm, topic-changing jokes, and one-word answers. But, it was the *Beastie Boys* in *person* so I must worship without judgment. I for one welcome my rapping overlords.

In recent photos I have gotten the impression that Mike D (pictured center) has looked sickly. Seeing him in person I definitely stand by that. I hope I'm wrong and wish him well! MCA (left) on the other hand was rocking a wicked wonderful beard and Ad-Roc (right) looked like he has hardly aged a day since the group first went big.

The sneak preview of V for Vendetta definitely delivered. I felt the movie was a pretty faithful adaptation of the graphic novel. Most movies use an original book or graphic novel as a starting point for their own ideas--that was kept to a minimum in this adaptation. I recognized many scenes, and even specific lines, exactly as they were in the graphic novel. I went with two friends who weren't familiar with the story and they both also enjoyed the anti-establishment messages, dark styling, and unique story. I hear it's now the #1 movie in the US. Excellent!

On my last day at the festival I was lucky enough to see the documentary The Refugee All Stars. The movie tells the true tale of West African refugees who form a band that creates and plays deep and joyful music even as they struggle to forget the horrors of the civil war raging in their home country. The song lyrics capture the day-to-day issues of life as a refugee and reflections on the nature of war. Just as importantly, their music rocks! A blend of reggae and West African rhythms. Good stuff. Check out the samples on their site and buy a copy of their CD. I did!

>>_AT SXSW 2006

I've been enjoying myself here in Austin, Texas at South by Southwest (SXSW), a music, film, and interactive (web 'n stuff) conference. And this just isn't like other industry conferences. With great local food, films all day, friendly people, music and mulitple events every night it's the best combination of culture, education, and socializing.

I'm here because I was invited to play the Web Awards for the interactive portion of the conference. I played before the show and selected and cued the music that played after each winner was announced. Daft Punk's "Technologic" for the winners of the Technical Achievement award, Donna Summers' "She Works Hard for the Money" for the Business: For-Profit award, Yeah Yeah Yeah's "Art Star" for the Art category...you get the idea.

Film and interactive have been going on here for a few days now. I've already caught a couple of films including the excellent documentary 95 Miles to Go featuring Ray Romano of "Everybody Loves Raymond"--who was there in person for the Q&A session. Yes, his TV show is terrible but this movie really changed my opinion of his comedic ability.

I'm more excited about a film showing tomorrow: V for Vendetta. I'm sure it will be a zoo but hope to try and get in. The movie is based on an exceptional graphic novel I read a few years back that left me with my jaw on the floor. I am so thrilled that Hollywood is giving it a turn on screen. I'm sure there will be a lot of talk about the topics the film addresses.

So why haven't I brought up music yet? Well, that portion of the conference starts tomorrow. The musicians and industry types are showing up today and it's already a real costume show. I hear the evenings really get wild once the music conference is here. Which, um, considering how wild they already are sounds good to me! The focus of the SXSW music conference is definitely on live music, but I've seen my share of vinyl and laptop DJs doing their thing around town. I hope to find a couple of electronic music artist shows in the next couple of days and get my creative juices going some more...

(Photo by kingryan)

>>_AMBER IN THE BLOGOSPHERE

I am currently featured on Technorati, as one of many bloggers promoting their new Favorites feature. Turns out a screenshot of the Technorati homepage including my image was used in an article for The Ledger, a Florida newspaper. You can see a version of the article online.

You can see more Press in ambervision (go to "Press Clippings"). Thanks to everyone who helps me get the word out!

>>_BROTHERS INCOGNITO

This awesome pic of Brothers Incognito is by sint on Flickr. The one sample I listened to on their site was a nice glitch track with just a touch of industrial (they are German, after all). Thumbs up! Thumbs down to the cheesy "Girl of the Month" feature on their site.

>>_SISTER AT 1015 ST. PATRICKS DAY

Sister SF will be bringing the full force to 1015 on Friday, March 17th--St. Patrick's Day. I'll be on from 10-11:30pm. Go to 1015.com for details and tickets.

>>_SHEJAY ANNOUNCES TOP 100 FEMALE DJS

Congratulations to the 100 female DJs who were voted tops in the world in the Shejay poll. Local credit goes to Scarlett Etienne and DJ Icon representing San Francisco!

>>_MUSIC ONLINE: EVIL BREAKS

Download different sets from the breakbeat DJs of the San Francisco Bay Area's Evil Breaks crew on their music page.

Recommended by Goolie. Thanks!

>>_RECENT RECORDS

I just picked up...

- Ryo Peres & Vincent Malville & Seb D. "Bill Deal / Black Mamba / Fat Bill" [Adrenaline Records] (COMMENT: *Goosebumps!* The first release on a new label I'll definitley be watching.)
- D.A.V.E. The Drummer & Pattrix "Hydraulix 25" [Hydraulix]
- Player "Twenty Three" [White Label]

>>_MUSIC ONLINE: DI.fm

Digitally Imported Radio is a multi-channel internet radio service specializing in electronic dance music. The thirteen free channels include Trance, Vocal Trance, Chillout, Deep House, Euro Dance, Hard Dance, Progressive, Goa-Psy Trance, Hard Core, DJ-Mixes, Lounge, Ambient, Drum 'n' Bass, Classic Electronica, Breaks, and Gabber.

Recommended by Goolie. Thanks!

>>_ANIMATION STUDIO BUYS STAKE IN KIDROBOT


Kidrobot, the shop with awesome art-toys and other amazing limited edition stuff, is coming to a screen near you. Sweet! I love visiting their shop on Haight Street.

"San Francisco animation studio Wild Brain is acquiring a majority stake in Kidrobot, a New York toy maker... The two companies plan to develop animated television, feature film and direct-to-video projects based on the Kidrobot characters and using its distinctive style."

As seen in the San Francisco Business Times