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A Behind The Scenes Look At The Making Of The Ma Dukes Timeless Poster Only On VTech

Monday, May 10th, 2010

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The Sounds of VTech / Suite for Ma Dukes: Poster Trailer

“Lambe-lambe,” “snipe,” “cartel,” whatever you might call them, many cities throughout the world have an indigenous poster industry. Unlike the normal glossy and four color process poster you see nowadays for shows and venues, the ones we’re talking about are usually letter press, quite cheap, and more than likely, overlooked by the Live Nations and the Golden Voices of the world. But for what we were looking for, it was perfect.

In Los Angeles, when we need a poster, the company we turn to is Colby Posters. Established in 1946, Colby Posters does poster work for political electioneering, as well as Salsa, Cumbia, and Reggae shows. The big pop and rock shows don’t use Colby anymore, but back in the day they did. Their day-glo hand-lettered snipes are part of the visual lexicon of our city.

For Timeless, as with many of our shows going back to Keepintime, we wanted to have that authentic feel to our promotions. The sense that someone spent time on setting letters, running screens, and actually going around stapling posters to telephone poles, etc. It wasn’t enough to have these shows exist just online or on flyers.

The poster for Suite for Ma Dukes is a special one. Our friend and graphic designer Stephen Serrato did an amazing job incorporating some of Miguel Atwood-Ferguson’s actual music notation into the format. The poster designs became the template we turned to when it came time to design the whole box set.

In this short, an extra on the DVD, we had Todd Mazer go to the Colby plant and film the posters being made. Eric Coleman brought the posters to Ma Dukes when she arrived in L.A. for the concert to unveil them to her for the first time. It’s a simple exercise in classic design, classic workmanship, and old school sentiment.

Turn it up.

Tags: Colby Posters, Ma Dukes, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, Stephen Serrato, Suite For Ma Dukes, Timeless, Todd Mazer
Posted in Featured Video, Timeless | 1 Comment »

From Timbiqui to LA.. Music Brought to you by Quantic y Su Combo Barbaro

Monday, August 24th, 2009

Often confused with xylophones, marimbas are a traditional folk instrument of the people of Southern and Central America. And though the instrument’s roots lie in West Africa, it ties together the music of the African diaspora and the inhabitants of the Southern and Central American shores on which they landed on in the 16th century.

The Pacific coast of Colombia is home to many genres of music. From its local music of the Afro-Colombian chirimia, the marimba, and outside influence of salsa, the music scene in Colombia continues to blend the old with the new.

When we look to rural towns such as Timbiqui, home of singer Nidia Gongora Bonilla, where musicians play in dedicated marimba houses and listen in awe. The music never stops, and the houses vibrate with the rhythm of the marimba all day long.

Memoria de Justinho By Quantic y Su Combo Barbaro Featuring Nidia Gongora Bonilla on Vocals is a tribute to legendary Marimba player, Justinho Garcia from Timbiqui. It was written by legendary female songwriter Ines Garanja on the occasion of his passing and holds enormous cultural significance. It is a classic song in the tradition of the Pacific Coast and was first recorded by Grupo Socovan, Nidia’s family’s band.

As Nidia introduces the song in the beginning of the video, she explains it is a Rumba from Timbiqui in the style of Quantic; a collision of sounds and influences in the best possible way.

Though the QCB has never recorded this song, it was worked out specifically for their first LA show and in many ways, this was the song that reached the audience’s musical souls. Los Angeles was open to Quantic and the new album and the band he had brought with him, but this song managed to put a smile on everyone’s face and a extra shuffle in everyone’s step.

It is with extreme pleasure that MOCHILLA was there to capture it and for VTech to premiere it. This is history here. With beating hearts and hands in the air, connect your computer up to those speakers, kick back and feel the Afro-Colombian magic.