DRIVE A

Hailing from Los Angeles California, the members of DRIVE A come together to forge a killer mix of pounding drums, lethal guitars, cascading bass lines, and fierce vocals that converge to create a sound that pays respect to the past, stands up to the present and will kick down the door to the future.

Tell me about how you guys originally got into your craft, Jason.
All of us have always loved playing music and grew up playing in other bands. One day Bruno and I met, Drive A was born.

What is your favorite thing to do in the whole wide world?
Hang out with friends, see movies, but most of the time we're playing music or writing songs.

What is your biggest challenge when it comes to running your business?
Figuring out how to keep the fans happy and updated, we also practice constantly so that our live show is always kick ass!

When you were a kid, what did you think you were going to be when you grew up?
First I wanted to be a secret agent then I wanted to be a hockey player but by the time I turned 9 I realized I wanted to play music.

In what way has your community impacted your development as a musician?
I don't know that it has really impacted it seeing as i never play music around my community haha

What other artists out there do you love?
Anyone who can put on a show I won't forget and leave me wanting more. Bands like: Gallows, The Bronx,Green Day...

What does your future hold?
Lots of touring!

Check out Drive A on MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, or their official online store.

Magickal Realism Perfume Arts

Magickal Realism Perfume Arts is an all-natural perfume house that is venturing into other art forms such as decoupage and bookmaking. Diana's perfumes are natural in that she composes perfumes from chemicals that are as close to their "origin" as possible - i.e. essential oils and absolutes, and she avoids synthetics.

Tell me about how you originally got into your craft, Diana.
I've had a lifelong interest in herbalism that led to friends gifting me essential oils since they didn't know what to do with them. I wound up mixing and found it was incredibly fun, so I started mixing for others. My intent was to get rid of a few bottles of eo and raise some book money, but after working on Ebay and finding people would present me with "wish lists" I instead wound up increasing my inventory until it took over my kitchen.

What is your favorite thing to do in the whole wide world?
Just one thing? Really? I'd hate to pick just one!

I love to dance - I think if I had to pick a single favorite, it would be dancing.

What is your biggest challenge when it comes to running your business?
Balancing my life around the needs of my business and my other interests. I always have a lot going on and sometimes I have to prioritize what's most important at any given moment - say, my writing deadline here or my custom order here.

What item in your shop would you most like to receive as a gift if someone were shopping for you?
My Book Dust perfume, definitely.

Yes, my tastes are shamelessly expensive. I also designed it as a way of giving myself a sense of comfort - as a teenager, I always felt the safest surrounded by old books and a big warm quilt.

When you were a kid, what did you think you were going to be when you grew up?
All the time, relentlessly. I did not think I would be a writer/perfumer, however. I started with nurse, went to journalist, then to environmental scientist, and then tried the journalism thing in college...and now I'm here. Writer/perfumer/artist.

What other shops or artists out there do you love?
Dancing Jems jewelry - she's a friend and neighbor of mine, and her work is just gorgeous. EmilyBalivet.etsy.com has some impossibly gorgeous artwork that I'd love to decorate with, and ArtsyChica.etsy.com is a woman after my own heart, full of bright-light irreverence.

What does your future hold?
Hee! I've got a trick up my sleeve to make online perfume shopping a LITTLE bit easier, that I'm working on now. While scratch'n'sniff monitors are a long way off, I have worked out something that I'm looking forward to premiering before Christmas season. I'll also be having a Christmas in October sale this year - I'm getting married and going on my honeymoon in December, so it will be time to stock up early beforehand, because my shop will go into vacation mode on Thanksgiving day.

Visit Magickal Realism Perfume Arts on Etsy and at magickalrealism.com

Yuto Nagayama

21 year old half Japanese and half English producer Yuto Nagayama started creating music just five years ago. While he had no formal music production education, he knew that he wanted to create music for as many people as would listen.


Tell me about how you originally got into your craft, Yuto.
I was 16 years old. I was visiting a friend in Chiba, and at some point during my stay he introduced me to trance music, and I just connected with it! I knew I had to try to create all these sounds I was hearing in my head, so I soon as I got home, I went online and downloaded a trial version of FL Studio (music software). And yeah, everything kinda fell into place after that.

How do you describe your music to people?
Well, considering that I now have 4 different projects I'm working on (all in different genres), I sometimes have a hard time labeling myself, and what kind of music I make. So I'd just describe my music as anything from Electro to Psytrance to Deep house, to Cyber trance to DnB, to Breakbeat to Techno to Rock and anything in between! Haha, sorry, but I don't think I could say it any other way.

What is your favorite thing to do in the whole wide world?
Well, in the interests of keeping this PG-13, my all time favorite things to do include (and very likely in this order) Making tunes, writing books, talking, talking, talking, going to clubs, more talking and eating. That pretty much does it.

What is your biggest challenge when it comes to running your business?
Competition man, there's just a whole lot of that. There's a sea of great producers out there, and to be able to be truly successful, you have to somehow find a way to stand out from the crowd. That's probably the biggest challenge for any producer in the early stages (like me). But honestly, I'm an Aquarius so I just love competition, and I like the fact that there are so many better producers out there than me. Knowing that is what makes me push myself everyday, and that's the only way to really make it in any industry.

When you were a kid, what did you think you were going to be when you grew up?
I really couldn't tell you what I thought about being when I was a kid. I vaguely remember wanting to be a lawyer from time to time, but that's just because I figured that lawyers just got paid just to talk about nonsense 24/7. Other than that though, I don't remember giving my future much thought. I had a great childhood though, and I never really wanted to grow up (still don't, hahaha)....so I don't remember committing much time to that sort of "soul searching" in my younger years.

In what way has your community impacted your development as a musician?
I won't lie, if my understanding of the word "community" is correct, then I'd say my community didn't impact my music much at all. But, seeing as how I grew up in a big family, I think it was them more than anything else that helped me develop into the musician I am now. Haha, what I'm trying to say is, in my house, I always had 8 or 9 willing "music critics" who put their two-cents in. It helps more than it hinders.

What other artists out there do you love?
Ahhh, there are so many! Okay well current favorites of mine in the electronic genre have got to be Infected Mushroom, Skazi, Prodigy, Benny Benassi, The Crystal Method, Paranormal Attack, Ferry Corsten, Daft Punk and more. But my all-time favorite band is (and probably always will be).....the rock band Korn! I just can't get enough of their music and I'm patiently waiting for their new album to come out. Hurry up, I'm getting old here guys!

What does your future hold?
My future? Gosh, well I'm only 21 so I can't even pretend to know what my life will look like 20 or so years from now. But I'd like to think that someday I'll make it as the biggest producer/DJ ever! And even though that probably won't happen I have no problems with settling for a little less. Haha, besides, we're all allowed to dream aren't we?

Check Yuto out on MySpace where you can learn more about his latest projects!

Summer Photo Canvas Print Giveaway!

So, I take a lot of photographs. A whole lot. I'm not that hot at it. You won't see my stuff up for sale anytime in the near...ever. But I take tons of family photos, and it makes me happy. It makes the family happy too. Check this one out of my nephew enjoying his first strawberry.

Cute, no? I'm thinking of having this one done up as a photo canvas print for my sister from Online Poster Printing, but I haven't totally made up my mind. We take literally thousands of photos of this kid, and any one would be darling blown up on canvas.

Online Poster Printing also does vinyl banners, wall stickers, and rolled or mounted poster prints. Pretty handy.

Know what's better?

They are offering a free 16x20" Gallery or Museum Wrapped Canvas Print for one of my readers! All you have to do is leave a comment here describing a summer-themed photo you'd like to have printed on canvas, whether it be a family photo, artistic composition, what have you. Don't forget to include a way to reach you!

The giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents only. They ask that you pay shipping, but the canvas and printing are totally free. The giveaway is open through the end of July. Other than that, the standard rules apply.

So, what would you have printed?