Join us this Saturday for the gallery opening of Photographer JAS wonderful series of photos including many hip hop legends. 12-5pm with DJ sets from Thes One, Double K and more.

In addition to the dope photos, there will be a limited edition hand signed and numbered PUTS print available both at the gallery and in our store until it runs out. Check it here!

There were of course distinct things we hoped to accomplish with Land Of 1000 Chances. One of the goals I had set for myself at the outset of the project was to help create an album that blurred the lines between live playing and sample use in a way that hadn’t been done before. To that extent, I feel like we surpassed every hope I had, and it couldn’t have been done without the help of Manny Q (Bass), Kenneth Belcher (guitars) and the ever-brilliant Kat 010. Of course, Day brought amazing material to start and every accolade this album receives he should proudly wear across his heart.

As for Day – and I write this as a friend and brother, I want him to know how proud I am of him and how brave he has been throughout this process. Some of the story is known but most isn’t and never will be. I’ll just say there was a lot of artist courage summonsed to finish this record.  I know he was mortified to release the track he made with him singing on it (Daddy’s home), and that other songs which made the album such as Hopefully and Green Fin were never meant to be on the album for a variety of reasons. Those have since become some of my favorite tracks on the album. Most of all though, there was no attempt to hide what was going on personally in the music – the songs are as honest and open as any I’ve ever heard. They document a man on the verge of accepting the rest of his life –adulthood, struggles with sobriety, temptations. There is no shortage of albums attempting to celebrate youthful recklessness in popular music – but very few that curse it. Very few that deal with its inevitable fade and the hollowness it can leave behind. I think that any person, especially those of us who grew up so passionate about hip hop and have struggled to find our place in the new way of things, has had theses moments and can relate to this. It’s a record that reconciles its own adulthood.

So to you, casual listener none of this should really matter. I think the only reason I’m writing this is to remind myself that it really is over and is finally out of our hands. I hope that you love this record, I hope that it touches those that may find themselves in the same position, and I hope that you see the beauty in it. No singles, no club bangers, no hot beats. Just a 1000 Chances.

-Thes

the new album is available here.

This Thursday, January 24th, Join Day, Thes and the rest of the crew at the legendary Ace Hotel in Palm Springs – an exclusive listening party for Day’s new album LAND OF 1000 CHANCES . Exclusive giveaways and surprise guests! 8pm – ???

Land of 1000 Chances, Day’s second album, ships out on 2/6/2013 on animal-friendly leather casebound LP. With foil-stamped back and gold label, it’s truly a  handmade work of art— and only 1000 copies exist on this planet. Once all numbered LPs have been sold, that’s it! No more!

The vinyl LP was mastered and cut by legendary Bernie Grundman Mastering of Hollywood, mixed and executive produced by Thes One of People Under The Stairs.

Get your copy today!

As such, it makes me very proud to help roll out their phenomenal new mixtape The Family Circus. It features Double K, Mixmaster Wolf and countless other talented cats from LA. Its the perfect psychedelic soundtrack to get tanked to. We dig it and think you will too, and it is a proper intro to a crew who will no doubt be bringing some phenomenal stuff to the table.

DOWNLOAD | STREAM

It’s seems like yesterday when I sent an anonymous person a PM on the Soulstrut forum.

This NZShadow guy had written a series of highly entertaining posts about working in a porn shop. Along with everyone else, I felt the stories worthy of release in a more formal fashion. The 3 years that followed were a blur of hundreds of emails, book drafts and all sorts of ups and downs, but one thing remained, I truly believed in the book and in Alan’s talent as a writer. And honestly I am sure he was annoyed with me as I juggled things attempting to get the site ready for this release. I made a few miscalculations and misplaced a little trust, but PL70 is better for it. Through it all, I didn’t want to let him down – It is, after all, his life story we’re dealing with. Now that the dust has settled, the book emerges in beautiful (animal friendly) leather with gold stamping. Better yet, it’s limited edition release comes in a box set swathed in all sorts of random vintage porn and bundled with a promotional 45 written and played by yours truly. It’s handmade in America, printed in a family-run Midwest print house on beautiful stock.

Most importantly, it’s a really good read. It’s an awesome book. It may sound cliche, but it truly is laugh out loud funny and exposes a world most of us will never set foot in (I can only hope) – one where bodily fluids spilling everywhere are the least of one’s worries. I gave a copy of the book to my good friend Pete Lyman and he texted me back the following night: “Read the mop last night. Good read! Funny as hell! How much of that stuff is true?” I suppose that is a fair question and one you will (if you are fortunate enough to read this book) ask as well. I asked Alan the same thing but I already knew the answer. His approach towards the subjects, the detail in which he describes the locations and the humor he finds in it all are not something you can make up; they are surely the coping mechanism one develops from being plunged deep into a perverted world where ji**hunts occur, where DADDY prowls and where Gay Disco Heaven is a respite. In short, you can’t make this stuff up. And fortunately for us, Alan took the time to write down his experience in vivid detail.

Of all the praise this book has already received in the short time it’s been out, the best thing I read has come from Justin Torres, a legendary dude amongst dudes in the bay area:

“it’s really a phenomenal book. im 60pgs in and tripping. its soooo funny. its not even just about his experiences at the shop. its him. his life. who he was… showing who he is. music comments, drug references, and the like i can relate to… to a point. its also a great visual on what the area out there was like at that time. i have never been overseas but through the words i feel like im living it too.

anyway… i love this book.”

I do too, and I’m honored to be a part of helping it become real. Here’s to you, Alan.

Thes One

Available now in the Pl70 store…