// May 18th, 2013 // No Comments » // Videos
If you’ve been following us, you know all about our experience in Cuba interviewing the punks there.
You probably also know about our attempt to help raise awareness about their situation with “Punktology vol. 1 – Free Cuba Now” CD compilation.
And if you know about those things you know about Cuba Skate, a not for profit giving Cuban youth much needed hope through something as simple as skateboarding.
And you know about the documentary film Cuba Skate is fundraising on Kickstarter to raise $8,000 to help make their documentary film? ah ha! Got ya! You couldn’t know about that because I have never written about that before until now because it’s a new project Mr/Ms. Know It All!
That’s OK. We’ll forgive you IF you donate HERE, even as little as $1 to help these guys raise money for their film. We’ve donated $100 from Punk Outlaw Records partly because we’re good guys, partly because I want to see this film made and partly due to guilt (I promised to contribute 10% of sales from the Punktology CD and our sales, while still growing, never quite made it to the minimum we needed. So now, problem solved.
Forget the fact that I’m strapped for funds to produce my own project “Raw Travel”, (no, I don’t want your money…yet, still trying the commercial route), a deal is a deal and $100 ain’t going to change that project one way or another.
So if you have a $1, or $5 or $10 or $20 or more to spare, I think these guys are worth it. There are a million causes screaming for your $, I know… and you should choose carefully and pick something near and dear to your heart, but if you decide to go this route, I think it’s money put to good use.
// May 13th, 2013 // 2 Comments » // Videos
Respect, Hate or Fear the Police? I’d say it depends on who you are and where you are. I’ve never been roughed up by the police so I’ve always had a pretty positive attitude about them. They get paid garbage and put their lives on the line to keep people safe. But that is here, in the U.S. under my circumstance.
It occurs to me there are 3 basic classifications: The Protected, The Protectors and the Unprotected.
What about in Latin America? Or other countries like Russia? Well, I know first hand in Cuba the police are there to harass and jail not protect and serve.
As I gear up for my trip down through Latin America next month I’m wondering which type of police will we encounter? Will we encounter ones like we did in Quito who made a show of helping me after some local thugs tried unsuccessfully to take my camera but I later learned were probably in cahoots with the robbers?
Or the kind that ignored me in Havana, as they hauled away the punk who’d been brave enough to chat with us on camera about what he really thought of Cuba?
As we roll through Guatemala, a country still reeling from a civil war and where they just convicted their Ex President of genocide, most people just plain don’t trust the police. Will the police protect us or indirectly (or maybe directly) rob us?
In Colombia, the police were very cool to me. But what if I’d had dark skin and didn’t have a U.S. passport? What would happen then?
This video makes me think twice about the police.
Of course, it depicts bad ones at their worst. 9/11/01 in NYC was New York’s finest at their best. Though I met a few who were scumbags, most I met were just good guys doing their jobs as best they could for an often less than appreciative public. On 9/11 they willingly and heroically gave their lives so others could live.
Police and punk conflict goes back a long ways to the early days of punk, especially in Los Angeles. But at a Pennywise concert in NYC a few years back, there were some punk loving, tatted up NYC cops on stage, singing along to Pennywise’s anthems of self improvement and personal power.
Police, maybe they are just like the rest of us, some good, some bad. I don’t know.
What do you think?
This video below is from the song “Polizia” from Spain’s TOTES KONFLIKTO‘s new CD-DVD “Rates, Magpies and Ravens ” and it’s for sale at www.musikaze.com/konflikto
// May 6th, 2013 // No Comments » // Videos
Here is something we don’t present often enough, punk inspired humor.
I love NYC and I love Saturday Night Live (SNL), I will not lie. It’s one of the few shows on TV I try to catch religiously. When Margaret Thatcher died, SNL took full advantage and presented a fake band “The Bizarros” in a very real looking, fake documentary as the only punk band with a lead singer, Ian Rubbish, that ever dug Ms. Thatcher. You might even notice a few familiar faces in skits as well.
I thought it was hilarious. Fred Armisen is hilarious. If you haven’t caught his show Portlandia on IFC or Netflix, you should. Then again, you probably need to be from the U.S. to appreciate Portlandia.
Not so with the Margaret Thatcher skit. Brits should well appreciate this bit of humor and I’m sure our Aussie friends as well. Latin America? I don’t know guys. Weigh in, would love to hear what you think amigos. Does this humor translate? I hate to keep a good joke to myself.
Also, Ian Rubbish has his own website where you can find out more and even download 4 pretty good songs by Ian. Check it out here.
// May 1st, 2013 // No Comments » // Videos
Christian Hardcore? Yes, it exist. Don’t believe it? Then check this film from Canada coming out next month called ChristCORE. Religion and punk… how do you feel about that?
Here is the info on the film from the publicist.
ChristCORE is an inside look at the explosive subculture of Christian hardcore music that is surging across North America. Canadian filmmaker and atheist punk rocker Justin Ludwig goes on tour with two evangelical hardcore bands — driven newcomers Messengers and Christcore superstars Sleeping Giant — culminating in the
important Cornerstone Christian Music Festival. The tribulations of touring combine
with the trials of preaching from the stage for these talented musicians and devoted
evangelical Christians.
// April 28th, 2013 // No Comments » // Videos
Check out our boys from Medellin, The Dorados Rockabilly Trio performing their song “Lucky Ones” for Locomotora Live TV. Nice job fellas!
// April 24th, 2013 // No Comments » // Photos, Videos
Don’t forget to like Raw Travel on Facebook and follow on Twitter so you can keep up with the progress and know when/where to watch. Should be fun… for somebody at least. ha, ha!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AIM Tell-A-Vision Group / info@aimtvgroup.com
Tel (646) 644-6153 / www.RawTravelDistribution.com
“RAW TRAVEL” FIRM GO TO DEBUT IN BROADCAST SYNDICATION FOR FALL 2013
- AIM TV Announces Key Distribution Agreements in NYC, Chicago, San Francisco & More -
LOS ANGELES, CA- April 24th, 2013 – AIM Tell-A-Vision® Group (AIM TV) announced today that their latest production “Raw Travel®” is a “firm go” to debut in syndication via broadcast stations nationwide in early October 2013 and has secured distribution agreements in 40 top markets representing over 50% of U.S. TV Homes.
Leading the way are the Fox owned stations in New York with WNYW (Fox) / WWOR (MNTV) & Chicago with WFLD (Fox) / WPWR (MNTV). Additional top markets include the Cox owned station KTVU (Fox) in San Francisco, Hearst station WCVB (ABC) in Boston and NBC-Universals’ KXAS (NBC) in Dallas. Other key affiliate groups include Sinclair, Raycom, Lin Broadcasting, Local TV, Nexstar, CBS, Belo, Journal and more. The show is projected to be in 50+ markets representing over 60% of U.S. TV Households by launch.
Raw Travel is a first for broadcast syndication, an adventure travel & lifestyle series showcasing the rapidly growing wave of socially and environmentally aware, independent travel. The series weaves together themes of eco-tourism, volun-tourism (giving back) with underground music and authentic culture in a way unique to television. The inspiration for the series occurred when AIM TV Founder Robert G. Rose traveled abroad and discovered a growing number of socially conscious travelers who were striving for more authentic and rewarding experiences.
The ½ hour weekly series is Executive Produced and hosted by Rose, an experienced Executive Producer who has overseen over 300 episodes of 1st run programming and traveled to 30+ countries. For Raw Travel’s initial 9 episodes Rose collaborated with key production members from his previous creations under the “American Latino Syndication” banner which he sold to Los Angeles based LATV in 2008.
Rose & crew traveled to destinations which offered unique opportunities for authentic cultural, environmentally sustainable, socially aware and life changing experiences. True to the title, the program illustrates the raw and, sometimes unglamorous reality of independent travel simultaneously showcasing how this type of travel is not only more affordable, but can spur personal growth and fulfillment.
“Raw Travel offers broadcasters an opportunity to counterprogram the glut of derivative “reality” programming plaguing cable and ignoring authentic travel, which is extremely popular internationally. With U.S. passport possession and travel/tourism spending at all-time highs, local stations realize the time is now for this genre in the U.S. and broadcast TV offers the biggest potential audience for us to tell our story,” Rose says. “Raw Travel aspires to combine the poetic with the practical, not only inspiring people to travel but giving them the tools to do so and enhance their own lives. We’ll also help stations tap into a double digit growth, travel/tourism advertising category that is largely passing them by,” Rose continues.
AIM TV is producing 22 episodes for Season 1, including key Latin American & North American destinations. The site www.RawTravelDistribution.com features information for stations including show trailer, episode summaries, etc. while www.RawTravel.tv will undergo a facelift that, by launch, will allow fans to interact with producers, view bonus clips, get travel tips and help shape the direction for future episodes.
# # #
ABOUT AIM TELL-A-VISION GROUP
AIM TV is an independent content production and distribution company founded by media executive and entrepreneur Robert G. Rose. AIM TV aspires to produce and distribute positive, compelling content that reflects their mission of presenting Media That Matters. Visit www.AIMTVGroup.com and www.RawTravel.tv for more information.
// April 23rd, 2013 // No Comments » // Videos
I can’t help it. Got a kick out of this one. Nicely done.. He Who Cannot Be Named!
// April 23rd, 2013 // No Comments » // Videos
Some folks will argue that Punk music has no business being promoted, it should be so anti-commerce or capitalistic that people should just stumble upon the music and listen for free, while the artists, gets nothing in return but love and admiration. Others will note that the artists can’t feed him or her self on this love and admiration and the artists should be making music with the sole purpose of making as much money as possible.
I fall somewhere in between. Artists should be able to make a living if they can but music is at its best when a higher purpose other than to make a buck is at heart.
It’s a philosophical discussion I prefer to have over a couple of beers. So in the meantime, we’ve cranked out a few more :30 promos to air inside of Raw Travel which launches this fall as the first punk inspired travel show. An independent travel show, independently financed and produced with mostly blood, sweat and tears…. and oh yeah, good old fashioned greenbacks. Nothing is free my friends. sad, but so very true.
I don’t think it gets any more punk rock than this, but then again, who am I to say ? I’m so sleep deprived, tired and stressed out, I don’t really care what anyone thinks anymore. Here are some promos.
Enjoy or don’t… but know this.. more are on the way.
// April 18th, 2013 // No Comments » // Photos, Videos
HOLLYWOOD: The big Orgy concert at Whiskey A Go Go was scheduled for Monday night. I had to fly out Tuesday morning at some ungodly hour. What to do? Go see my boys (AKA and formerly “The Russian Interns”) open up for them and then go home. Tickets were $20 and I’d only get to see the opening act? Well, my friends, that is what friends are for and I wanted to show some love to my buddies from Moscow, Degrees of Freedom.
Before Doors Open On Famous Sunset Strip
But this ain’t about what a great and selfless guy I am (I am of course), it’s about how I, a non fan of “nu-metal” “death metal” or any kind of “metal” other than silver and gold and maybe a little platinum or nickel every now and then, dug the DOF show.. and lest you think I’m playing favorites (shame on you thinking I’d do such a thing), everyone else seemed to enjoy the show even more (which makes sense considering they were there to see some metal). Once the black attired but solidly polite and behaved crowd realized that 3 of the 5 band members were from Moscow, things were like “ohhhhh, ahhhhhh” how “exotic” and became much more enthusiastic.
But when the guys (2 Russian dudes, a Russian girl and 2 Latinos presumably from Los Angeles) played their tribute to recently passed Def Tones former bassist, Chi Cheng, with really good cover of a Def Tones (from, ironically, Sacramento.. the very city I had to wake up at the crack of dawn to fly to) song that even I recognized but still can’t name, well the crowd really erupted and the rest of the night, DOF had these goth and metal heads (and me included) in the palm of their hard working hands.
Moscow Musical Couple
It was my 1st time at Whiskey A Go Go so little did I know I could have brought the good camera gear (but didn’t, so you get the shitty phone pics, sorry), but when I tried a little video, was shut down pretty promptly (but quiet courteously I might add) by the bouncer. But I did get off a few seconds before he shut me down, so you can enjoy the clip below.
I don’t know how the Orgy show was as I elected to get home in an attempt to get some sleep before my trip to Sac town. Yes, I know I’m old, but at least I didn’t complain about how “darned tootin loud these whippersnapper’s concerts are these days”. I’m not there yet. I’m on my way, but not yet.
Good job DOF. Proud of you guys.
// April 15th, 2013 // No Comments » // Videos
As I finally move from my crisscrossing the U.S. to actually producing “Raw Travel” you can bet your bottom dollar we’ll be doing some cool stuff and posting videos here.
First stop, El Chopo in Mexico City, a punk hot bed I’ve been waiting and waiting to get to. Come June, it will finally be time. I’m going to let this cool video from the BBC do the talking on this one.
Thanks to Alex from Normandie Blue for sharing this with me. See you in Mexico City muchachos!
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