Monthly Archives: September 2011

The District
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Why I Love DC: David Huzzard

Photo courtesy of
‘US Capitol’
courtesy of ‘specimenlife’

The question should be easy to answer, it is a personal one, but it isn’t. It has become quite hard, and I am left with nothing to do but try. At times I find it hard to love a place that is as unsure of itself as DC, but then I find myself driving on its streets and seeing row houses next to marble buildings next to modern commercial zones and realize something. DC’s beauty and identity comes from its unsure nature.

It might be easier to answer the question if I think of the times I haven’t been in DC. After I went away to college the plan wasn’t to return to DC it was to stay in the southern part of Virginia or move to the Tidewater area. Much quieter places with a more laid back feel. None of the rush and worry that comes with city life, but that didn’t pan out and I found myself back in this area.

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The Features
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DC Graff: The Case for Open Walls (Part II)

Continued from Part I…

Just a few blocks from the Capitol South metro stop, alongside children tackling the jungle gyms and dogs chasing after Frisbees, Hill staffers play pick-up games of football and soccer on the greens of Garfield Park. Until a few years ago you might have caught a pick-up basketball game, too, at the cement-paved court nestled under the Southeast Freeway. But not so true anymore, ever since a group of young skateboarders discovered the court and claimed it as a skate park, installing improvised rails and ramps, decorating their domain with sneaker chandeliers and aerosol tags. “We had never had graffiti before” says Bill Phillips, President of Friends of Garfield Park, a community group that maintains the historic Capitol Hill locale. “We’d call the city and they’d paint it over and that did nothing but create a canvas for brand new graffiti.”

A canvas perfect for the work of Albus Cavus…

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Entertainment, Interviews, Music, Night Life, The Features, We Love Music
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Q&A with Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. is a talented duo from Detroit. Blending electronic elements with traditional rock instruments and vocal harmonies reminiscent of the Beach Boys and Paul Simon, they have crafted a unique and catchy sound.  Their live shows demonstrate their flair for the dramatic- with hand-crafted marquees flashing their moniker “Jr. Jr.”, bubble machines, and fans-onstage dance parties. Riding on the high of playing Lollapalooza 2011 this summer they are touring the US, spreading good times and harmony as they go.

Co-founder Daniel Zott took some time out of his busy tour schedule to chat with WLDC’s Alexia Kauffman about the band, their roots, and living your dreams.

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The Daily Feed
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DC passes tax increase on those earning more than $350,000/yr

Photo courtesy of
‘DC Residents Federal Tax Dollars Paid: $2,849,954,367.04’
courtesy of ‘afagen’

The debate was loud, and it found some odd bedfellows, but the DC Council yesterday passed an income tax increase on those residents earning more than $350,000 per year, increasing the taxation rate on dollars earned after the 350,000th to 8.95% from 8.5%. The move is expected to increase revenues by about $100M over four years.

The increase, initially partnered with a removal of the controversial bond tax but later separated from it, represents a pretty significant defeat for Council Chair Kwame Brown, who was seeking to repeal the bond tax and prevent an income tax increase. Yesterday also marked an odd political alliance between Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) and Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) who found themselves both opposing a tax increase. Evans because he didn’t want to see wealthy residents squeezed, and Barry because he doesn’t believe in paying taxes at all.

The good news, though, is that there’s a four-year sunset provision added to the tax, courtesy of Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3) who fought hard to make sure this is a temporary measure that will need addition council battles in the future to extend, for more information you can check with chartered accountants ireland

How contentious was the debate? The Washington Post felt it was appropriate to include the swearing that happened related to the increase in their coverage. There are now three people, according to columnist Mike DeBonis, who have been granted the right to say fuck or shit on those august pages, and they are Jack Evans, Phil Mendelson, and Dick Cheney.

When will swearing privileges be extended to minorities and women, I ask you, Mr. Ombudsman?

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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First Look: TruOrleans

graffiato 001

TruOrleans Restaurant & Gallery sits on the early part of H St NE, before all the hustle and bustle you’ll find closer to Sticky Rice, Toki Underground and Granville Moore’s. If you stand across from it (by Ethiopic), TruOrleans really seems to command the entire block.

It is 2 floors with an open deck. The space is great, and the staff is friendly. Every time I make my way around the place, I’m greeted by the hostess, a waiter and a bartender. This friendliness is a saving grace.

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The Features, We Love Arts
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DC Graff: The Case for Open Walls (Part I)

Murals DC Piece at Fuller and 15th NW

The debate is fresh but the line seems to already have been drawn.

On one side, facing an uptick in tagging that has cost the city hundreds of thousands of dollars in removal fees this year alone, DC officials agree that illegal graffiti is criminal before artistic: “I appreciate art,” said Nancee Lyons of the Department of Public Works (DPW) at a panel discussion on the issue earlier this summer, “But if Picasso made a painting on the side of my house—it may be beautiful but if I didn’t ask him to do it it’s still vandalism.”

While the event—titled “The Art of Vandalism: A Closer Look at DC Graffiti”—featured an eclectic panel of experts on the art form, including a former graffiti artist, DC new brow art collector Philippa Hughes, a graffiti documentarian from Georgetown University, and Cory Stowers, Art Director at Words Beats Life (a hip-hop nonprofit), the debate still served as the official kick-off for the MuralsDC Project—the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities’ answer to tagging.

Launched in 2007 in partnership with DPW, the program aims to “replace illegal graffiti with artistic works” and “promotes respect for public and private property as well as community awareness for the young people [involved].” According to the website, sites are chosen “in collaboration with the Department of Public Works’ assessment of areas with high incidents of illegal graffiti. Each mural reflects the character, culture and history of the neighborhoods in the District.”

But the character, culture and history according to whom? Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Howard’s Afro Blue rocks Week 1 of the Sing Off

Afro Blue

Photo courtesy of Howard University

It’s hard to express just how much I love a cappella music. My undergrad degree is in Vocal Performance, but of the solo variety, I never quite had what it took to sing in an a cappella group, even if I loved what they were all doing. I think that, more than anything else explains my absolute love for NBC’s The Sing Off, which premiered its third season last night. Featured in the eight groups that performed in the 2-hour block last night was Howard University’s Afro Blue jazz ensemble, a marvelous vocal group of incredible talent.

They absolutely knocked it out of the park last night, so we’ve included the video below the cut here for you to enjoy. They’re singing Corinne Bailey Ray’s “Put Your Records On”, and they completely nailed it.

Congrats, Afro Blue!  They’ll be back in two weeks for the next round.

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The Daily Feed
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“Downtown Scene” Series Brings Films About Art to Galleries

Photo courtesy of

Curated by Adrian Loving, the “Downtown Scene of NY” Film Series brings films about the hailed underground art scene of 1970s and 80s New York City to galleries in DC. The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Phillips Collection, and National Gallery of Art have partnered to screen the four selected films, for free, until the middle of October.

At the Corcoran, Downtown Calling and Downtown 81 have been selected to dovetail with their much-buzzed-about current exhibition, “30 Americans.” Iconic pop artist Jean-Michel Basquiat is one of the titular thirty notable African-American artists of the last thirty years, and features prominently in both films.
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Featured Photo
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Featured Photo

Photo courtesy of
‘Performer’
courtesy of ‘yostinator’

The rock and photography gods smiled on yostinator with this photo! Between shooting into the sun, the chaotic crowds of the H Street Festival, and trying to get an interesting photo of a rocking rocker, quite a bit could have gone wrong. But she pulled it off, and came away with a Prince of the Universe shot. Rock on!

Night Life
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We Love Parties: BYT + Spain Present YES!

BYT+Spain 2

On Friday, Brightest Young Things and the Embassy of Spain joined forces to put on a fabulous party, bringing new life to a previously-abandoned (though totally beautiful) building. This event, YES!, marked the opening of the new SPAIN Arts & Culture program which produces a variety of programs highlighting Spanish culture and will be using the former Ambassador’s residence as an event space in DC. Events coming up on the calendar include Euronight 2011, an exhibition of the work of young Spanish architects, and a film series examining cinema from shortly after the end of the Franco regime.
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Entertainment, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Fela!

The music from Fela! can only be described as infectious.

The Broadway musical that won the 2010 Tony for best Choreography certainly deserves its praises in regards to dance- but the show’s music is worthy of recognition as well. Presented by the Shakespeare Theatre Company, the Broadway World Tour of Fela! opened at STC’s Harmon Hall this past weekend to the fusion of Jazz, Cuban, and Big Band beats that make-up Fela Anikulapo-Kuti’s iconic Afrobeat genre. When the lights went down and the sound rose up, audience members were already dancing in their seats as the stage was transformed into Kuti’s nightclub, The Shrine. Fela! takes us into the life of Kuti’s life as a Nigerian musician/activist/social leader.

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Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Cupcakes & Cocktails Benefit for the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America

Photo courtesy of
‘red velvet cupcakery II’
courtesy of ‘vee*’

Get your sweet tooth ready for the 2nd Annual Cupcakes & Cocktails event benefiting the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America. Six local bakeries, including Cake Love, Red Velvet, Batter Up and Georgetown Cupcake, will compete in a friendly bake-off to raise money for the foundation tomorrow night from 7 til 9 PM at One Lounge.

Tickets start at $50 and a portion of the events proceeds go to the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation. Besides getting to gorge yourself on cupcakes, there’s a silent auction, door prizes and an open bar.

Sports Fix
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Redskins defeat Cardinals 22-21

Photo courtesy of
‘Roy Helu’
courtesy of ‘Keith Allison’

The Washington Redskins are 2-0. Before the season began there were more than a few people employed by large sports networks that predicted the Redskins would win only two games all season. The Redskins 22-21 victory over the Arizona Cardinals wasn’t pretty, but the Cardinals are a good team. The Cardinals are favored over the Rams to win the NFC West and the Redskins were picked by most to go nowhere but last in the NFC East. Based on the strength of their win against the Giants the Redskins found themselves favored against the Cardinals. While the Redskins did end up winning they did not make it easy on themselves and neither did the Cardinals.

Looking at every offensive stat except for points the Redskins dominated. They out rushed the Cardinals 172 yards to 93, they out passed the Cardinals 283 yards to 231, and they had the ball for 17:00 more minutes and ran 31 more offensive plays. Yet the Redskins narrowly squeaked by with a one point victory.

The game started off well for the Redskins until they made it to the red zone. Rex Grossman and Tim Hightower led the Redskins down to the Cardinals six yard line where Grossman was intercepted on a third down attempt to Santana Moss. It was not a good decision by Grossman and cost the Redskins three points and all the momentum they gained from the sustained drive.

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