For our last event of the month, we were so thankful to be able to celebrate the 4th annual Skate Shop Day with so many of you from our community. Whether you came over early for coffee and donuts, stopped by to drop your THPS HiScore or pulled up with the late crew for the Image Supply Co. premiere, we felt the love all day long.
"Our People" Collection by Kees Holterman
This years Skate Shop Day felt like the perfect day to release our newest shop design done by Philadelphia artist Kees Holterman. With Kees finding inspiration from the time he spent interacting with our community, we couldn't think of a better time for the release. The design was originally finished when the world was shut down and we are super proud to finally be able to release the "Our People" collection. We were super stoked to have Kees hang out for a few hours during the day and he even signed some limited edition prints.
If you missed out on Skate Shop day, you can find the "Our People" collection HERE
This past June, we debuted our newest shop video "HB" by Matt Pepe for our 20th anniversary. For Skate Shop Day, we released DVD's and limited edition photobooks of " HB" as a gift with purchase to say THANK YOU to our customers. If you missed out, there's just a few copies left. You can find them HERE
Watch "HB" on Thrasher HERE
None of this would be possible without the Scotty Coates, Chris Niertako, Jim Thiebaud and everyone over at DLXSF. Because of you guys, so many skateshops around the globe get to truly enjoy Skate Shop Day.
Also, thank you to the entire HB/2BV team for holding it down and thank you to everyone who came out to help us make Skate Shop Day special. Thank you to everyone who has continued to support our shop over the last 20 years. Because of all of you, everyday is Skate Shop Day.
Photos by: Quintin Fernandez
]]>Dilla Day is an annual worldwide celebration the life of J Dilla and the impact he had on generations of musicians, artists and for us, skateboarders. This year, we celebrated with our neighbors, The Tastesmokers BBQ to get together with good music, good food and good friends to share how Dilla impacted our lives and beyond.
"Geek Down" The Life and Legacy of J Dilla By Professor Andrew Mcintosh:
"I used to say that I moonlighted as a DJ and that my real job was being a professor. I now realize that their isn't much difference between the two" - Andrew McIntosh aka DJ Arm18.
To kick off the night, DJ Arm18 (some of you may know him as Professor Andrew McIntosh) schooled us all on everything James "J Dilla" Yancey. The presentation began in Detroit where James came up and the experiences that helped shape his sound. It went into the details his music career and the effect he had on hip-hop before and after his passing. A true masterclass on everything J Dilla.
Watch the full "Geek Down" presentation by DJ Arm18 here:
J Dilla's Impact On Music, Hip-Hop and The LV: A Roundtable Discussion.
To explain how J Dilla's music has influenced hip-hop culture all the way out here in the Lehigh Valley, the evening included a conversation with Arm18, Cap Cee, T the Human, Andy Po and hip-hop legend Mr. Len of Company Flow. They discussed how Dilla effected the music industry and beyond from their unique perspectives.
Watch the full round table discussion here:
Fall In Love: An Homage To J Dilla By Regional Producers & MC's
Dilla left an indelible mark on the music world. His sound continues to influence future generations including musicians in the LV who might have still been in diapers when he passed.
We were honored to have such a diverse group of local artists come share how Dilla impacted them before they performed. The line up of producers and emcees included an opening tribute by Quartez, owner of The Tastesmokers, EBT Josh, RJ Tha Guru, Running To Utopia, Safiyah Hernandez, T the Human and Black Dre.
Dilla's artistry also inspired the renowned family of mixed media artists, Maltas Con Leche who painted an incredible homage to J Dilla over the course the evening. The evening closed out with an emcee and B-Boy cypher all set to a setlist of J Dilla classics played by Cap Cee.
Dilla Day would not have been possible without Arm18, Cap Cee, Quartez, Veronica of the Tastesmokers BBQ & the entire Homebase team who supported this event. Thank you to everyone involved and everyone who came out to celebrate the life of J Dilla.
We'd like to think J Dilla would be honored that his music brought together what was ". . .probably the most diverse crowd in the Lehigh Valley."
Dilla Day photos available here:
Photo and Video by: Quintin Fernandez
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"It's about love, its about friendship, it's about having a great time and that's what we did here tonight."
]]>We set off the month of February with a massive event that most of the Lehigh Valley had no idea about. IF YOU KNEW, YOU KNEW.
On February 4th we took over the Alternative Gallery in Allentown with the help R4H, Guardin & Sewerperson for A Night With The Homies. It's hard to explain it all in one blog post but I think Sewer said it best:
"It's about love, its about friendship, it's about having a great time and that's what we did here tonight."
Photo by: Quintin Fernandez
A Night With The Homies was truly spent with the homies.
It was a real pleasure for the show to sell out weeks in advance. But the real treat was being able to meet and interact with all of the homies that came in from out of town. After meeting so many of you, it was amazing to hear how far you traveled. Some of you came from as far as Ohio, Virginia, Idaho and a couple even flew in from Arizona.
Photo by: Brandon Davis
Photo by: Quintin Fernandez
Huge Shout-out to the entire ANWTH team that made this happen!
Thank you to Brandon and the entire Alternative Gallery staff for hosting us.
Thank you to Rugged Imperfections and Tristan and Genesis for providing the raffle prizes, live tufting demonstration and caricatures.
Thank you to the entire HB/2BV staff for holding it down.
Thank you to Sewerperson and Guardin for joining us for A Night With The Homies.
Finally, thank you to Reservedforhell for putting this all together. When's the next one?
A Night With The Homies Limited Edition Deck: Just a few left in stock! You can find them HERE
A Night With The Homies Photo Booth photos: Find yours HERE
Photo Booth photos by: Rowan O'Hara
A Night With The Homies Artwork by: @noodles.s
A Night With The Homies Event Photos: Find them here:
Video and Event photos by: Quintin Fernandez
Additional Photos By: Brandon Davis
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