From the Los Angeles Times, Weekend Guide... come through!!
Wokcano weekend (as of 08/01/2008 08:26PM)
Wokcano erupts in Santa Monica
Yes, we know it's a chain. But SoCal's latest Wokcano is different than what you might expect. The highlights? How about happy hour specials on their massive outdoor patio (2-for-1 beers) and a set from DJ Hapa Saturday night in Santa Monica. E-mail this | View Listing
An
amazing spirit with eyes full of excitement may best describe one
Northern Kentucky girl who battles epilepsy on a daily basis. But a
couple times a year she says that she is able to be a “normal kid.”
Allison
Hughes is from Taylor Mill and travels to the YMCA camp in Oregonia,
Ohio, a few times a year to be part of Camp Dream Catcher.
“It’s
very fun, you meet new friends, there are a lot of nice kids here,”
said the 11-year-old. “When I come here, I forget about my seizures and
I’m a normal kid.”
During the camp’s special “Excelling with
Epilepsy” LA-based DJ Hapa, who lives with epilepsy, visited with the
kids and talked to them about how life is too short.
“It’s cool
that some adults have epilepsy like me, it makes me feel better, makes
me happy that I’m not the only one,” said Hughes, who was diagnosed at
age 5.
He taught the campers how to overcome their fears and to live life to the fullest, not to mention how to spin/scratch a record.
“[He]
taught us how to spin, taught me not to give up on my dreams even
though I have epilepsy,” said Hughes, whose dream is to be an actress
or singer one day, just like her favorite Miley Cyrus.
And even though she may have nighttime seizures, it doesn’t stop her from applying herself in sports and in life.
Hughes
is an active teammate in soccer, basketball, baseball, cheerleading,
swimming and tennis. But her favorite thing to do is walk her bichon
frise Max.
“I take walks because my mom wants to keep an eye on me all the time and when I walk I feel free.”
Hughes’ mother Lisa said it’s hard to have a child with this condition.
“I’m
use to being able to fix things and I can’t fix it,” said Lisa, who is
a nurse and is constantly searching the Web for answers to her
questions.
One of those answers is the camp she takes her daughter to.
Sponsored by the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Cincinnati, the camp and the foundation are “fabulous,” Lisa said.
“[The camp] is so neat, she’s so comfortable, and it teaches acceptance. It’s great for parents to know that they’re safe.”
Soon-to-be sixth-grader, Allison said she would like to be a counselor for the camp when she grows up.
“It would be fun helping, talking to [kids].”
Allison Hughes (Jessica Noll/KyPost.com)
She is already helping other kids now by helping the foundation in her own way.
Allison
decided that she wanted to make a difference. Her mom said that
she began making bookmarks and going door to door selling them for the
foundation.
If you’re interested in buying a bookmark to raise money for the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Cincinnati, e-mail Lisa at
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
.
Kentucky Post
Cincinnati Epilepsy Camp- Erin
Written by DJ Hapa
Sunday, 27 July 2008
Program, camp help area girl with epilepsy
Liberty Twp. teen enjoys 'just being able to do stuff' at Camp Dream Catcher.
By
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The 14-year-old Liberty Twp. girl scratched records during a
one-on-one session with DJ Hapa, a Los Angeles deejay who was diagnosed
with epilepsy at age 17. The turntablism was part of Excelling with
Epilepsy, a daylong program held at Camp Dream Catcher, a five-day camp
in Oregonia for children with epilepsy.
Sponsored by Ortho-McNeil Neurologics, the program is designed to
help children with epilepsy cope with the challenges of living with
their condition through the art of music.
"It was super, super fun because I'd never done anything like that
before," Grasty said. "Just to be able to do that was so incredibly
amazing."
In the next room, campers squirted paint on turning vinyl, creating instant "spin-art."
Dr. Tracy Glauser, a pediatric neurologist at Cincinnati Children's
Hospital Medical Center, led a special breakout session for parents and
caregivers to help them learn how to help their child better manage
their condition.
Grasty said the program and the camp allowed her to enjoy activities
she never dreamed she could accomplish, including rock wall climbing,
swimming, horseback riding and canoeing.
"Usually, when you have epilepsy, the answer is always 'No,' " she said.
"There are so many things you can't do because it might mess up your
medication, it might cause a seizure, you might get hurt or fall,"
Grasty said. "Just being able to do stuff like riding horses and stuff
like that is just so cool because at camp the answer is always 'Yes.' "
Grasty's mother, Patty Grasty, said the program and the camp are "a tremendous blessing" to her entire family.
"We know that she's safe and we know that she's with people who
completely understand her condition and yet who make it as normal a
camp experience as possible," Patty Grasty said.
Erin Grasty said she hopes she'll be able to scratch records at the camp again next year.
"Hapa was a really awesome guy," she said. "I really love music and
to be able to let all that frustration go through music is just
incredible."
For those of you Stardum readers who have ever had even the faintest passing interest in the culture or music of all those DJ’s you hear around Los Angeles you need to check out Scratch DJ Academy. A school founded by the late great Jam Master Jay (R.I.P.) of Run DMC. There are campuses in New York, Miami and here in L.A. DJ Spindrift (yours truly) was able to attend one of the classes this last semester and performed during the graduation ceremony as part of the group “The Storytellers“. The day started with a free class designed for those who have never touched the decks before. Immediately following was the grad ceremony featuring students and teachers from Scratch performing various routines. Some students laid down their own mixes, cuts and scratches. Combined with the free interactive art pieces and the BBQ, not to mention the teachers demonstrating their skills, I’d say that the graduation was a success. Scratch offers a plethora of classes for the novice and advanced alike. It’s a nice little spot to meet new people, expand the social network, and learn about the art of the DJ. Sunday’s graduation was only a taste of all the up and coming talent to come out of Scratch. With such a strong faculty I can only see the talent continuing to grow for years to come. The staff not only spends their time teaching professionally but can be seen spinnin’ all around L.A. So if you haven’t already, dust off your parent’s old records in the attic, and get on down to Scratch. Check out their website scratch.com/la and see for yourself what its all about. Come to a free class if your feeling crazy or just stop by for some tunes and see, who knows, maybe you’ll even spot DJ Spindrift layin’ it down on the 1’s and 2’s. Always be on the look out for DJ Spindrift’s mixes circulating Stardum and beyond.
Guest Article & Twisted Designs By DJ Spindrift
Much Thanks to Scratch DJ Academy, Los Angeles, California
SSMF 08
Written by DJ Hapa
Monday, 30 June 2008
Don't know if a lot of people knew that the SSMF- the Sunset Strip Music Festival went on this past weekend- but we were out there getting down with Camp Freddy (Dave Navarro, Billy Morrisson, and the crew from Indie 103 and Red Bull) in the middle of Sunset Blvd-
Theyre trying to make it like a LA SxSW...so watch out for it in years to come....
My boy DJ Fashow and myself were out there throwing down classic rock all afternoon- YES, a whole afternoon of classic rock...was a nice change!!
More pics in the gallery-
the VINYL takeover!!
Written by DJ Hapa
Monday, 28 April 2008
Attention all djs, producers, and music lovers...
Luggage Designer?!?
Written by DJ Hapa
Friday, 21 March 2008
The Goods
You Can't Crush the Music
Published: April 23, 2006
THE globetrotting D.J. is today's paragon of effortless cool, hopping from London to Ibiza to Bangkok in search of good times and hefty appearance fees. It's a profession that many would love to join, but few can make the grade: only those blessed with a rare combination of musical talent, boundless charisma and a sharp wardrobe need apply.
Within the metallic exterior of the Zero DJ Case is a gel-padded foam lining to protect a D.J.'s gear from the hazards of travel.
People who fall short on these counts can take solace in the knowledge that the work isn't as carefree as it looks. A D.J. must contend with plenty of anxiety, especially when it comes to safeguarding equipment: a broken sound mixer can ruin a gig and turn his name to mud. To avoid such problems, savvy D.J.'s pack their gear with great care. One step is to use containers like the Zero DJ Case, priced at $595, from Zero Halliburton.
But the new case may do more than ease the minds of celebrity turntablists. It is also meant to help Zero Halliburton freshen its brand. The company, a division of the Zero Corporation of North Salt Lake, Utah, is known for its line of disaster-proof aluminum briefcases. In the movies, the cases are often seen stuffed with $100 bills and carried by villains. In the real world, they are favored by businesspeople who need to tote delicate components to remote oil fields or far-flung factories.
The briefcases are also sometimes used as props at fashion shows, where D.J.'s provide the beat to which the models strut. It's at such events that Nigel Duncan, the Zero Corporation's vice president for sales and marketing, first noticed how carefully the D.J.'s treated their equipment. He also heard several D.J.'s praise the looks of Zero's briefcases, which have an austere industrial feel that many people associate with the robotic rhythms of electronic music.
Zero reached out to several D.J.'s, like D J Hapa of Los Angeles, to help it design a case suited to their needs. These consultants pointed out that the laptop had become the centerpiece of most setups, so the top priority should be to prevent cracked screens or motherboards. They also insisted on compartments sized to accommodate other vital tools of the trade: mixers, power converters and MP3 players.
Zero's designers lined the case with gel-padded foam, which rapidly dissipates the force of bumps and blows.
The D.J.'s also asked that the outside of the case look identical to Zero's trademark briefcases — the better to give themselves an air of mystery and suaveness. "Looking cool was seen as really important," said Mr. Duncan, who also described the case's unadorned metal shell as "fitting the whole fashionable, edgy, entrepreneurial spirit that D.J.'s exude."
Before the case's official introduction last month at the Winter Music Conference in Miami, Zero handed out free cases to superstar D.J.'s like Louie Vega and King Britt. The first batch sold out quickly, and advance orders for the next bunch are being accepted at Zerohalliburton.com.
Purists will note that the case is designed for D.J.'s who play CD's and MP3's rather than vinyl. Mr. Duncan says a new case is in the works to satisfy D.J.'s who haven't abandoned records and must carry hundreds of fragile black platters from city to city. That can mean transporting them in the cargo hold of a commercial airplane, where things can go horribly awry.
The case will be designed to prevent broken records, and it will be made of plastic, not aluminum. Mr. Duncan say plastic has a little more give, and thus won't be dented or scuffed if a 200-pound bag falls on top of it.
That should please the most fastidious of D.J.'s, to whom appearing onstage with even a slightly dented piece of equipment would be an unforgivable faux pas.
Andy Shore
DJ Hapa is everywhere in the DJ world right now. He’s played two NBA All-Star Games, Michael Jordan’s Celebrity Golf Tournament and spins for everyone from Carmello Anthony to Chamillionaire and Busta Rhymes. As the director and head instructor at the Scratch DJ Academy in California, he gave College News a crash course.
Get to know the equipment Learn about the turntables and the mixers, their functions and their features, and what they are used for. Once you have a feel for the equipment, start playing around with some mixing, or the blending of two songs. “Mix 50 Cent with Bob Marley, Carrie Underwood, or anything like that,” suggested Hapa. “Find songs that artists never intended to put together, songs that are fine by themselves, but a DJ can overlap them and make them sound good together.”
Next, a beginning DJ should learn basic scratching, using the turntable as a percussion instrument. From that you get your rhythm and basic timing. “That is crucial. A DJ is basically a one-man band. It’s
essential you have that in your repertoire.”
Getting some gear
If you’re strapped for cash Hapa suggested buying what you can afford, and added that used deals are a good way to go. “In our industry you get what you pay for. A 100 piece of equipment is a lot worse than a 300 one. I rocked the crap out of my 100 turntables, had a lot of parties and whatever.
You’re gonna go through the experience; however you get your foot in the door.” As you figure out what kind of performer you are, you will be able to get more specialized, top of the line equipment. You can add pieces like a keyboard, foot pedal or midi controller.
Practice...Alot
There is no better practice than gigging. That could even be a backyard party for your family and friends. That way you can gauge the crowd’s reaction to different songs. “DJing is a call and response. You’re playing with the audience’s minds. You’re feeding off the crowd giving and receiving energy.”
Where it’s at
Hapa emphasized two points that make a DJ special. One is their performance; what a DJ does in their live show that makes them stand out. Second is the song selection; whether the DJ is playing tracks you’ve never heard or haven’t heard in a long time. It’s in the way they put it together, in a way that’s never been done before.
TOP 5 TIPS FOR BECOMING A DJ
1. Don’t use iPods, especially to start.
“It’s like learning to drive a car. If you learn on a stick shift, you can drive any car.”
2. Learn background and history.
Gain an understanding of where things have been in order to understand where you are going or can go.
3. Learn basic song structure and music theory.
“Knowing what goes together is a big part. I didn’t even understand that until fairly recently, when I looked at it from a musician’s perspective.”
4. Strive for something more creative than what is available.
5. Pay your dues.
“I hooked on with a crew of DJs when I got to college. Some nights I’d have to carry crates. Sometimes I never got on, but you have to start somewhere.”
Why vinyl?
There is something special about vinyl, even though it might be more of an investment. “What you can get from a vinyl - the way that record sounds, the feeling of finding one you’ve been looking for, the cover art, everything. It’s a unique experience that only DJs really understand.”
“There is a feeling that you get when you’re able to control a crowd, and you know that every single person in there is loving what you’re doing,”
The digital revolution
The digital revolution has made the barrier for entry much lower. Today someone has a hard drive chock full of mp3s, a laptop, and a program and calls themselves a DJ. “A lot of programs aren’t DJing for you, and if they are you’re missing the point. People need to remember what DJing is all about, what the point is, the foundation and roots. Where it all comes from. It’s not just about making money, or doing this or that. It’s about a lot more. It’s all about the music.” - CN
Posted on Monday, March 03rd 2008
Sounds of Change Review (Feb 2008)
Written by DJ Hapa
Friday, 21 March 2008
"Sounds Of Change" Celebrates Music's Power
February 7, 2008
GRAMMY Foundation event charts music's role in shaping society
GRAMMY.com
Bruce Britt
During Wednesday night's 10th Annual Music Preservation Project — "Sounds Of Change" — at the Wilshire Ebell Theater in Los Angeles, Recording Academy President/CEO Neil Portnow triumphantly put the evening into perspective. Introducing a video featuring heartrending clips from the Jim Crow era, Portnow noted that when The Recording Academy was established in 1958, many black Americans had little hope of voting in an election. The idea of an African American presidential candidate was unimaginable.
Amidst the backdrop of a dramatic U.S. election marked by public pleas for reforms, "Sounds Of Change" celebrated music's formidable role in shaping and reflecting society, culture and politics. Hosted by the GRAMMY Foundation, and sponsored by AARP, the event featured live performances by Natasha Bedingfield, DJHapa, Chrisette Michele, Ryan Shaw and Musiq Soulchild, all the while reminding attendees that musical visionaries can rival politicians and industrialists when it comes to driving progress.
To underscore that point, "Sounds Of Change" also included performances by two legends whose recordings and original songs helped bring about considerable shifts in world culture. Rock and roll pioneer and GRAMMY winner Jerry Lee Lewis performed an electrifying version of his 1957 classic, "Great Balls Of Fire," a tune whose revolutionary fusion of supercharged country & western and R&B panicked white parents fearful of race mixing.
It seemed only fitting that Lewis should be followed on stage by one of his many musical disciples — namely, former Creedence Clearwater Revival singer/songwriter and solo artist John Fogerty. Looking like a rakish Southern gentleman in a blue velvet jacket and trim-fitting jeans, Fogerty delivered a poignant acoustic solo version of "Déjà Vu (All Over Again)," the title track from his 2004 album. Listening to the song's anti-war lyrics, it became clear that Fogerty's penchant for sharp social commentary is still intact: "Day by day we count the dead and dying/Ship the bodies home while the networks all keep score."
Kicking up the intensity (and volume), Fogerty donned his Gibson Les Paul electric guitar and reeled off performances of "Long Dark Night" and "I Can't Take It No More," both from his acclaimed 2007 album, the GRAMMY nominated Revival. The GRAMMY-winning rocker then brought his set full circle with "Fortunate Son," the 1969 Creedence Clearwater Revival hit lamenting the inequities between middle class kids sent to war and their wealthy, pampered counterparts.
Extending the evening's theme of sociopolitical action through music, GRAMMY nominee Ryan Shaw offered up a bravura version of Sam Cooke's immortal 1965 protest ballad, "A Change Is Gonna Come." Performing the song's opening verses a capella, Shaw's spiraling vocals underscored the yearning for freedom evident in Cooke's lyrics.
Backed by the Christ Memorial Church Choir, fellow GRAMMY nominee Chrisette Michele offered up a medley of the black spirituals "We Shall Overcome" and "Freedom," singing in a sweet but powerful voice reminiscent of the late jazz singers Billie Holiday and Dinah Washington. As performed by GRAMMY nominee Musiq Soulchild, Bob Marley's reggae classic "Redemption Song" took on a soulful lilt, while Natasha Bedingfield's reading of John Lennon's "Imagine" ran the emotional gamut from wide-eyed sensitivity to prayerful urgency.
Representing the hip-hop/mixer community, DJHapa treated the audience to a mash-up of classic protest tunes including Edwin Starr's "War," Bob Marley And The Wailers' "Get Up, Stand Up" and Public Enemy's "Fight The Power." Bedingfield, Michele, Musiq Soulchild and Shaw concluded the evening with a rousing, improvisational take on Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On."
Wednesday's live performances were interspersed by film shorts produced by the GRAMMY Foundation. The resulting clips combined footage from key movements in history with filmed commentaries culled from The Recording Academy's own Living Histories interview archives, including insights from the late Coretta Scott King, folk legend Pete Seeger, producer Peter Asher, soul pioneer Rufus Thomas, and others.
Backstage, Fogerty explained how he grew up listening to protest singers like Pete Seeger and Bob Dylan. "Music with a conscious is an important part of songwriting," Fogerty said. "Every now and then, when there's something that we should be addressing, if a great song comes along about it, it can move an awful lot of people."
The GRAMMY Foundation's Music Preservation Project is one of the organization's most high-profile events. Protecting the world's cultural legacy for future generations is a cornerstone of the GRAMMY Foundation mission, and the Music Preservation Project furthers that mission through year-round activities like preservation grants and the Living Histories archive.
World's Coolest Jobs
Written by DJ Hapa
Friday, 21 March 2008
The World’s Coolest Jobs
By Wyatt Myers
If you’re getting tired of the daily grind, then perhaps you can gain inspiration from these eight people, the lucky holders of some of the best jobs in the world.
For most of us, work is not an option. Every day (or at least five days a week), we get out of bed, leave the comfort of our home and spend the next eight to 10 hours doing something for money in order to pay for that comfortable home. This is the way of life, and it’s something few of us question.
Of course, getting up and going to work is a lot easier when you love what you do. And we found eight people for whom going to work is easy. Through a combination of luck, passion and hard work, these folks have managed to find one of the world’s coolest jobs. With jobs like this, loving what you do is simple.
Professor DJ
With the proliferation of hip-hop in recent decades, the world’s clubs are now filled with DJs, the scratch-masters who keep the parties jumping with the hottest beats and sounds. And Los Angeles-based DJ Hapa has capitalized on this trend with the world’s first DJ “school,” the Scratch DJ Academy (scratch.com).
At the Scratch DJ Academy, DJ Hapa teaches people age seven to 55 the art of the DJ through three educational classes, DJ 101, DJ 151 and DJ 152. When he’s not teaching, DJ Hapa is still rocking the house daily at Scratch LA, as well as working private parties for the likes of Michael Jordan and other celebrities.
FR*A Interview
Written by DJ Hapa
Monday, 22 October 2007
For 3 days, TEAM FR*A (Future Rockstars of America) has followed HAPA around like little pests. From the KTLA Morning Show, to Scratch Acadamy @ Rehab, to speaking at an epilepsy camp, "Hapa World" is an in-depth look at "The world's hardest working DJ”. Check out the exclusive interview only at futurerockstarsofamerica.com!
Listen to Hapa
Erin
Grasty, 14, of Liberty Twp. (left), Diana Hoffman, 15, of Hershey,
Pennsylvania and Jessica Waters, 11, of Beavercreek, Ohio dance to the
music in an Excelling with Epilepsy program given by DJ Hapa at Camp
Dream Catcher.
Erin
Grasty, 14, of Liberty Twp. takes her turn at scratching a record while
at Camp Dream Catcher. DJ Hapa, a California deejay, taught the
children his spinning techniques as well as talking about how he lives
with epilepsy.
Erin
Grasty, 14, of Liberty Twp. made a music CD while participating in the
Excelling with Epilepsy program at Camp Dream Catcher. 
If you’re getting tired of the daily grind, then perhaps you can gain inspiration from these eight people, the lucky holders of some of the best jobs in the world.
Professor DJ