Event Recap: Incase x THIS los angeles x Parentheses

Friday, November 2nd, THIS los angeles and Incase hosted the opening night of co-exhibition “PARENTHESES” from South Carolina-based artists Paul Martyka and Reed Elliott. For the occasion we worked with gallery co-owner Justin Van Hoy to create 100 limited-edition, custom cut & colored totes featuring the collaborative work of Reed and Martyka. Yes, brown cats rule.

Thanks again to everyone who came out to the opening. Extra special thanks to Paul Martyka, Reed Elliott, and THIS Los Angeles. The exhibit runs at THIS now through November 24th. Plaster your eyeballs with our Flickr recap.

Odd Future – The OFWGKTA Carnival

Odd Future hosted its first ever OFWGKTA Carnival in association with Incase as part of the final stop of the Camp Flog Gnaw tour in Los Angeles. There were games, rides, prizes and, of course, performances by the Odd Future crew including Tyler, Hodgy, Left, Domo, Mike G, Earl, The Internet and Trash Talk, as well as surprise guest Lil’ Wayne.

THIS x Thom Lessner x Incase

This past Friday THIS los angeles and Incase hosted the opening night for the new exhibition “TURBO LOVER” from artist and musician Thom Lessner.

For the occasion we worked with Lessner and gallery co-owner Justin Van Hoy to create 100 limited-edition, custom cut & colored totes. The 80s hesher-inspired black skulls on a blood-red bag might be the scariest/funniest/most ridiculous tote we’ve ever made.

Thanks again to everyone who came out to the opening. Extra special thanks to THIS Los Angeles and Thom Lessner. By the way, Glen Danzig spotting his band mates in the weight room was our favorite work of the show. It must be seen in person to be properly appreciated. The exhibit runs at THIS now through end of October. Primer your eyeballs with our Flickr recap.

Room 205 x Tropic of Cancer: Helmut Lang Journal

Excited to see an episode of Room 205 with Tropic of Cancer on Helmut Lang’s Journal. The song & video were also used during the recent Helmut Lang Spring 2013 runway show.

Exclusive Heathered Pearls Mix

Jakub Alexander, aka Heathered Pearls, curator of the ISO50 blog, compiled a selection of tracks for us that reminded him of the days when he DJed an on going weekly with Matthew Dear (Ghostly International) and Ryan Elliott (Spectral Sound) in Ann Arbor, MI in the early 2000s.

Keep Heathered Pearls in check, as he drops a new album on Ghostly soon…

Damon Way ISO 400 Zine, 2012

Arkitip recently launched a Zine Project and for their second issue they asked Damon Way (our Chief Brand Officer) to contribute some of his black and white photos. It includes photos from a lot of artists that Incase has done collaborations with.

Our friend Parra is not only featured in the zine but also has a show opening at HVW8 Gallery in LA this weekend!

Order your copy of the zine now before they are all gone!

MusicFestNW, Keeping Perfect Time

After five days of non-stop shows Portland’s MusicFest NW is now finally over. As part of Incase’s 6th-year returning sponsorship, this year festival organizer Trevor Solomon tasked us with curating two nights of shows at the downtown PDX venue Ted’s (formerly Berbati’s Pan). Rad.

On Friday, Sept. 7th, we debuted ‘Room 205 live’, bringing together a cadre of recent Room 205 musical guests for a night of live performance and sweaty, spasmodic dance moves, (including sets by Tropic of Cancer, Craft Spells, Crystal Antlers, Chelsea Wolfe, and hometown favorites BLOUSE). For this special event we filmed a concert documentary with celebrated director Greg Hunt, dp Gregg Schmitt and audio engineer Griffin Rodriguez. Look for the first episode of the doc to launch mid-October and the second half in mid-November.

On a related-but-entirely creepy note, Incase also sponsored the MFNW art show and pop-up shop of enigmatic entertainer Neckface at the One Grand Gallery on East Burnside. Titled “A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL!!!”, the exhibit showcases a wide range of Neck’s newest pen & ink drawings and a bevy of chilling tchotchkes, (including t-shirts, hoodies, poster prints, and pentagram-frosted chocolate cupcakes). For the occasion Incase created custom laser-etched Incase iPhone 4s cases brandishing one-of-a-kind Neckfacian one-liners like, “DRUNK AGAIN…,” “Snake Eyes,” and the ominous “YOU LOOK LIKE A MESS…THAT’S THE ONLY LOOK I’VE GOT LEFT”. Yes, it was a packed house. And yes, Ako Jefferson DJ’d using only an iPhone 4s and an RCA cable connected to a blown out PA. Brilliant. The gallery show and pop-up shop run Sept. 7th—Oct. 5th. Go if you’re feeling ghoulish.

On Saturday, September 8th, we hosted the Captured Tracks label showcase with Mac DeMarco, DIIV, The Soft Moon and Wild Nothing. From doors at 9PM until last call at 1:45AM, it is no exaggeration to say both night’s were sold out and sweaty beyond belief. All in all, both showcases went far beyond our expectations and made a lot of super-fans and festival attendees very, very happy.

Thanks again to Trevor Solomon, Matt Manza, Nathan Ostrander, Kenric Ashe, and Fasil Debeb at MFNW. Thanks again to our A/V crew Greg Hunt, Gregg Schmitt, and Griffin Rodriguez. Your friendship and considerable kindness have truly made this festival our favorite event of the year thus far. Thanks again to all of the performing artists and the extended Portland music community. We love this festival and are excited to return next year. Enjoy a quick Flickr set from MFNW 2012.

FYF—Done and Dusted, All Other Festivals Are Busted

This past Saturday and Sunday, September 1st and 2nd, roughly 52,000 independent music fans braved the sweltering heat to attend the ninth annual FYF Fest at the LA State Historic Park near Downtown Los Angeles. Featuring more than 90 performing artists and a plethora of other entertainments (including four music stages, one enormous dance/comedy tent, boatloads of beer gardens, a cavalcade of food trucks, massive shade tents, comfy VIP lounges, and the dazzlingly spastic visuals of Videothing’s Michael Reich), the promoters aimed quite literally to provide “The Best Two Days of Summer,” and then some.

As a sixth-year returning sponsor of the festival, Incase gifted custom ‘F#@K YEAH FEST!” totes, custom “FYF” Snap Cases for iPhone 4s, Incase-branded earplugs, and Boxed Water to the first 500 lucky attendees through the gates each day. It could safely be said all 1,000 totes were snatched up in under ten minutes, thank you very much. Huge thanks to Sean Carlson, Phil Hoelting, Michael Gutierrez, Mariko Jones, Goldenvoice, The City of Los Angeles and the entire California State Parks Department. We’ll see you again next year.

Gold Coast Opening Night at THIS LA

This past Friday THIS los angeles and Incase hosted the opening night for the new co-exhibition “Gold Coast” from artists Danny Gibson and Mike Bertino.

For the occasion we worked with Gibson, Bertino and the THIS gallery to create 100 limited-edition, custom cut & colored totes. The yellow print motif on orange canvas might very well be the best looking bag we’ve done yet. Good job Justin Van Hoy!

Thanks again to everyone who came out to the opening. The night was hot as hell and a helluvalotta fun. Extra special thanks to THIS Los Angeles, Gibson and Bertino. The co-exhibit runs at THIS from August 31st—Sept 21st, 2012

Incase x FYF Tote Bag Filled with Festival Necessities!

As part of Incase’s sponsorship of this weekend’s FYF Fest we’re giving away 500 custom Incase x FYF tote bags to the first 500 attendees through the gate each day. Filled with a variety of festival necessities, each tote includes a custom FYF Snap Case for iPhone 4S, custom Incase-branded earplugs, a thirst quenching 16oz Boxed Water, and the always useful/hilarious FYF Guide Book. Arrive early to swoop a tote, stay late to enjoy the sounds.

Oh, and bring a hat! It is shaping up to be a scorcher all Labor Day Weekend-long at ye olde LA State Historic Park. We look forward to seeing you there.