Brother Reade vs. the Incase Backpack

Triumph Over Tragedy, Take One

For those of you familiar with the goincase blog’s music coverage, you’ll no doubt recognize the name Brother Reade, Los Angeles by way of North Carolina’s hardest working rapper/dj duo. While on tour this summer DJ Bobby Evans ran over his Incase backpack with the tour van. Prior to this the pack had looked rather nice, we’d just given it to him in Portland during MFNW. But more importantly, the pack had Evan’s MacBook Pro in it. You know— the computer with all the songs, beats, contacts, and contracts for their tour. Woof. Incredibly, Brother Reade’s Jams F. Kennedy claims this story has a happy ending. Read on:

On our recent tour with Girl Talk, we were lucky enough to have a short run of exhilarating shows that were all packed with wild and receptive crowds. We went through the Northwest, where each different city is beautiful and lush, and has its own distinct flavor. We felt on top of the world, able to treat ourselves to regional food and drink that we only hear about in legends down in Los Angeles, and we were extremely pumped for the crisp weather and copious amounts of roadside thrift shops teeming with secondhand wool. Our days were filled with excellent meals and good weather, and our nights were full of febrile dance parties. Everything was perfect. Except that time we ran over DJ Bobby Evans’ laptop with the tour vehicle.

A little back story: Bobby Evans is the DJ/Producer for Brother Reade. I should also mention that for one reason or another, he’d had the same record bag for far too long. So you can imagine, that when Incase contacted us and wanted to furnish us with some pieces of theirs he was elated and couldn’t wait to use their products to organize his road gear and dispense with the (let’s be honest, somewhat tattered) bags he had been using to date. We picked up the Incase shipment at our show at MusicFest Northwest (MFNW) and were truly psyched to get it (very infrequently do the right pairings happen in the world of artist gifting/sponsorship, but those guys over there seem to be on to something).

Now, after MFNW our next show was at the Showbox SoDo in Seattle, where Mr. Evans finally got around to switching out his gear into the new bags. We somewhat ceremoniously trashed the old bags, packed up the rest of our things, and pulled out of the parking lot. And we heard a dragging sound. Everyone’s first thought in the car was that we were dragging the old bags. The old bags had been left outside, not thrown in the dumpster, and were being dragged by the car. We all believed this. So we pulled further out of the parking lot, when it hit us. Oh snap. We’re driving with one of the NEW bags under the tire of the car. The one with the laptop in it. The laptop with all the songs for our set, that we can’t play without. In the middle, not the end of the tour. Uh oh.

So we did the obvious thing, stopping the car, retrieving the laptop, assessing the damage, and something like a small miracle happened. I can’t stretch the truth to say that the laptop or the bag weren’t at all damaged, but I can say that they weren’t damaged beyond repair, and we were able to link the laptop to another computer and retrieve all of the songs we needed to off of it. AND after minor repairs the computer is fine, still in working order, due in no small part to the design of the bookbag, which we can now firmly endorse and attest to, in a true and completely sincere way, devoid of any of the usual cheesiness/self interest that normally lurks behind such sentiments. Now if you come see Brother Reade play a show, it’s likely you’re watching Bobby Evans DJ off of a laptop that HAS BEEN RUN OVER BY A CAR AND STILL WORKS. You might also see him carrying it around in a bookbag with roadrash and the tags still on it. We got lucky, don’t try this at home.

Love,

Jimmy Jams of Brother Reade

Bicycle Film Fest LA: Deerhunter

Attention all bike lovers/lurkers: This week, the internationally renown Bicycle Film Festival is hosting a huge variety of bicycle culture & community events all over the greater Los Angeles area.

On Wednesday, August 26th, we’re particularly excited about the Bikes Rock party at the Eagle Rock Center for the Arts with Atlanta’s finest shoegazing garage band Deerhunter and LA’s own Blank Blue. As a primary sponsor of this touring festival, there’s a pretty good chance we’ll be on hand doling out a few Incase products, getting deeply weird and zoning out with everyone else. Bring your bike, your earplugs and your enthusiasm.

And while you’re in the Eagle Rock hood, ride on over to Auntie Em’s Kitchen or Senor Fish (both on Eagle Rock Blvd). If you need a coffee, go to Swork (corner of Eagle Rock Blvd x Colorado Blvd). To get this week’s rager started right, you’re gonna want a full gut and some pep in your pedals.

Keep an eye on our BFF Flickr set. We recently added some photos from BFF Chicago.

Hey Chicago, Happy New Year from Incase!

For those of you livin’ and lurkin’ in the windy city, the best way we can wish you a Happy New Year is to hip you to the raddest New Year’s Eve party in all Chicago. Join DJ’s Frier Tuck, Logan Bay and Bobby Burg with special guest VJ Brunerd at the Hideout (mayhem begins at 9PM).

For your new tech holiday toys, we’ll be on hand doling out Incase iPod, iPhone & notebook cases while you dance your ass off and guzzle in the new year.

Remember to:

1. Name a designated driver
2. Drink water
3. Get gross on the dance floor

Honk! Bonk! Whee! Tickets available via TicketWeb.

Folks, seriously, pay attention… if this flier doesn’t make you want to go, you’re obviously not ready to party. Take a couple shots, maybe crack your neck, do a few leg lifts and then look again. This one’s gonna be a goner!

Toys 4 Tots at Eagle Rock Center for the Arts

Sooooooo… last Friday night, despite being really tired and having just devoured a half chicken, broccoli, mashed potatoes and four Trader Joe’s choco-mint sandwich cookies, I rallied (after a nap & quadruple espresso!) to attend the Incase-sponsored ‘Toys 4 Tots & Blanket Drive’ here in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of Los Angeles.

Produced by the laid-back, forward-thinking folks at L.A. Record, FYeahFest and Eagle Rock Music Fest, this charity Christmas party took place inside the beautiful, cavernous Eagle Rock Center for the Arts, an olde worldy stucco box featuring 20-ft. high cathedral ceilings and exposed beam construction. Can you imagine? Picture ornately adorned X-Mas trees & lights galore, booze, glitter (?), more booze, hundreds of girls in heels & hairy dudes in denim & hoodies dancing their asses off, Incase product giveaways, and photos with a skinny indie rocker in an ill-fitting Santa suit (think: brown goatee under a fake white beard, waa waa waa).

In addition to its charitable efforts and twinkling vibes, the night also delivered blazing live sets by Blank Blue, Entrance, and Underground Railroad To Candyland, as well as DJ sets by Dennis Owens from Goodfoot and the legendary Keith Morris of Circle Jerks & Black Flag (yes, you read that right). All in all, it was a great, loose night for a worthy cause. Thanks for coming out, and enjoy your Incase goodies. Happy Holidayz!

Incase Sponsored Holiday Events This Weekend

A two man relay race is being held in Fullerton this Friday the 19th of December. The race will take the Skyline route, a very posh neighbourhood in the hills of Fullerton with amazing views and turns.

L.A. Record, F Yeah Fest and Eagle Rock Music Fest will be hosting a Toys 4 Tots & Blanket Drive under the guise of a rocking Christmas Party. Held on December 19th at the very cool Eagle Rock Center for the Arts, the evening will feature music by Blank Blue, Entrance, and Underground Railroad To Candyland, as well as a DJ set by Dennis Owens from Goodfoot.

Admission to this Charity event is $5 for those who show up with a sealed toy or blanket and $7 for those without. While the gift of giving is incentive enough to not show up empty handed, Santa and his helpers will be rewarding those who come bearing a present for the cause. You could receive anything from a bottle of whiskey to a banana seat bicycle to the Beatles discography… even a boatload of Incase stuff.

The party starts at 8pm and is all ages, so everyone can participate in the jingle bell rock. Come on out and do some good while having a blast!

This weekend Incase again returns to Poplife at the White Room in Miami! Shake off your pre-holiday stress with a good old fashioned dance party featuring DJ regulars Induce, Mike Deuce & Aramis. We’ll be handing out iPod, iPhone & notebook cases under the mistletoe for all you sweaty lovers in love! Come spend one of your last nights of the year with us!

Hearts of Darknesses Homecoming Celebration

We attended the official Girltalk afterparty / Hearts of Darknesses homecoming celebration at Santos Party House in NYC on Tuesday night. Hosted by ragtag group of fellas Bulldozier and our favorite party dude Andrew WK, with sets by Grand Buffet, CX Kidtronik, The Death Set, Hearts Of Darknesses, Passions and hip-hop / performance artist Bad Brilliance (holy shit!), the night just made us feel all warm and fuzzy.

It was a party thrown by deeply individual friends working extremely hard to help each other out. We danced so hard we’re STILL sore! Andrew WK took to the stage in between sets to throw out Incase products to an eager crowd. We saw a guy rocking the slim backpack all night after he dove over a couple of girls to catch it.

We also witnessed HOD unloading their guitars from the Incase guitar cases we gave them a few weeks ago for tour to play a SOLID set. They are still stoked on the cases – Frank especially because he doesn’t have to carry his pedals in a milk crate anymore – everything fits into his guitar bag.

All in all, it was a great, sweaty night among friends.

Incase at PopLife in Miami

If you’re heading down to Miami for Art Basel this weekend, be sure to stop by The White Room (1306 N Miami Ave) for a special Incase-sponsored edition of Poplife.

Weekly DJs Blu Gemz. Induce, Mike Deuce and Aramis will hold it down in the Red Room, with special live performances from BFF (Minneapolis) and the mysterious Pizza Dog (Chicago). Rounding out the bill is DJ Dirty Fingers (NYC) and DJ DS.

We’ll be giving out Incase gift bags to the early birds, so hustle over from whatever schmoozy event you’ll be attending before, and come see us.

Finger on the Pulse in Philly

Incase has teamed up with those amazing brother DJs from Finger on the Pulse for another party- this time in Philly!

Saturday November 29th after the last of the Thanksgiving leftovers are done, join us at The Barbary and we’ll hook you up with some great Incase product.

Grab those old high school friends you only see once a year around this time & show them one hell of a dance party!

Finger on the Pulse Party Report

We teamed up with some of our favorite promoters Finger on the Pulse for a special Halloween edition of their monthly Brooklyn dance party, No Big Deal on Saturday, Nov 1.

The party took place at Death by Audio in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. We screenprinted tote bags (to hold Halloween candy!) and danced to 80s-disco funk influenced electro bangers by Grum (in is U.S. debut).

We were super excited to have partnered once again with champion of indie designers, Love Brigade on the artwork for the totes… and it was KILLER. Leif, Snakes Say Hisss, and FOTP resident DJs rounded out the bill.

Wild Beatz and a Prancing Pizza

Last night I attended a TV party with friends, neighbors and strangers in the Arlington neighborhood of Los Angeles. Our purpose—to eat piles of barbecue and shoot the breeze while watching the 2008 Presidential Election results. Good times.

Afterwards, I raced over to the Echoplex to catch the Mad Decent Tour with Diplo, Abe Vigoda, Telepathe, and Boy 8-Bit. While at first it seemed sort of incongruous, even frivolous to be out at a club on such a historic night, once inside Diplo changed my mind real quick.

He and the whole Mad Decent crew were in a pumped up, celebratory mood, giving the crowd exactly what they wanted—bright lights, wild beatz, a dancing hotdog and a prancing pizza. America, yes we can! Enjoy the photos.

And as a bonus, a video from the Mad Decent tour that we shot at Webster Hall on Oct 16.