ANYTHING vs. KID AMERICA CLUB vs. PATTA Community Approved
The “versus” thing is still
a big name in today’s marketing of streetwear related releases,
a perfect moniker for every collaboration between involved brands,
artists or protagonists of that specific culture in general.
Emphasizing the like minded background, objectives, general attitude
or mutual respect of the contributors, each can easily target
the other one’s audience, get some media coverage or have
some good times designing the special items. However, this cooperation
makes the difference. aNYthing vs. Kid America Club vs. Patta
cemented an alliance with the only aim to have a good time, joining
for an evening in Amsterdam. Forget about mad limited releases
of shirts or shoes. It was all about the music and booze.
A-Ron The Downtown Don, famous for being Supreme’s spokesman for years and now in charge of the perfectly entitled aNYthing got his buddies from televisionary Kid America Club into a plane, departing JFK and arriving at Shiphol for a serious celebration of the Dutch Queensday. Patta – represented by Gee and his crew, supported by Rockwell’s own Parra- organized the first floor of Amsterdam club Bitterzoet as a venue for performing the versified soundtrack for that collaboration. Without any restriction concerning the music, all DJs played their sets varying from rap to rock to weirdo to psycho to electronic beats, accompanied by the vocal support of everyone who got the mic in his hand. Considering the current gravitas of aNYthing’s name in the street culture business one may have expected a crowd that is even too cool for this event, unable to move, unable to dance, unable to have some fun. Expecting a crowd only attending to present their newest shirts or their sample-sized, never regularly produced shoes. Wrong. The audience was listening. More than that. The audience was dancing like there was no other Queensday in OranjeLand.
It was an amazing show by Kid America Club and their famous Muppets on Acidperformances. Unbelievably funny. Maybe you’ve seen some parts of their show on TV or on DVD, or at least on their website. Almost impossible to put it into right words, the furry animal sketch show is hardly comparable to the Muppets that were constant visitors in your children’s room back in the days. It’s a precise and satirical take on today’s youth culture, disguised as maybe derelict, but cute monsters. Kid America Club actually consists of many different characters that couldn’t be all transferred to A’dam, the monster at large was present and did a perfect job entertaining and crawling through the crowd. Introducing their complete team and supporting act, A-Ron, Kid America Club program was first aired on a local New York City TV network creating a buzz that finally swept Kid America Club into the schedule of Japanese Bape TV, subsidiary of marketing savvy A Bathing Ape. Officially responsible for the premier night of the Kid America/ aNYthing fortune of that evening were the people behind Patta, Amsterdam’s premium sneaker and apparel store, and apparently more than gifted music connoisseurs. Gee and Bizar got the tunes out of box, supported by Parra from Rockwell. Hosting the event, called the Ballroom Blitz, the DJs and MCs got open-minded people on to the dancefloor, willingly to start their national holiday, Koninginnedag or Queensday, the night before. That celebration of the Queen’s birthday lead to furious drinking and a city preparing for the biggest yard sale known to the Dutch. Word on this is that actually not a single item of old garments, furniture or gadgets will be thrown away. On Queensday everything is being sold or traded. In front of every house, in every bigger street little booths and stands are offering what’s not needed anymore, ready to change hands quickly. A community service for recycling products without wasting any energy, except for the impressive consumption of liquor, beer and herbal substances that go along traditional market-day. Considering the gathering of all different people, listening to the different sets played this evening; this may seems like a perfect way of transferring the initial concept of A-Ron’s aNYthing to another European city. Referring to the meaning of his brand’s name, A-Ron says “A New York thing.” That word defines what our lifestyle is out here in New York. This is what it is. Whether you’re skating, writing graffiti or just hanging out. It’s just a perfect titled to put on my community. It means so many things, it’s not focusing on one thing.” So, at this evening with the likes of Kid America Club, Gee, Bizar and Parra, Fat Boy and A-Ron selecting different sounds for a diverse and unprejudiced congregation of even more different people you have a perfect surrounding for party that surely opens the narrow place in which street culture is actually happening in at the time. Therefore A-Ron formed an adequate manifestation of his aim to represent his community with his store based in New York City. Here he recommends everything from LPs, books, DVDs, and foremost his own and other clothing lines of artists and brands, he is friends with. A place where you boost your education in terms of literature, music and pop culture. A place where you’ll meet different people with various backgrounds and dissimilar attitudes. A place where community is not on display, not a marketing phrase. In A-Ron’s store in New York, in Gee’s store in Amsterdam, within the show of Kid America Club at a venue in Amsterdam. It’s not just another collaboration, not only another moniker for an additional “versus” cooperation. It’s a community thing. Community approved.
Text & Pics: Hesse
www.anewyorkthing.com | www.kidamericaclub.com | www.patta.nl
Get your personal invitation
at the untitled exhibition at Bread and Butter
tradeshow Barcelona Hall 4 Level 5 Stand SC 5.05:
THURSDAY, 6TH OF JULY
FROM 10PM TILL 3AM:
A-RON THE DIRTY ROTTEN DON,
KID AMERICA, FATBOY
(ANYTHING CREW, NYC),
GEE, PARRA, BIZAR, HIPNESS MONSTA, VARCO
(PATTA CREW, AMSTERDAM)
LIVE PAINTING BY HVW8, LA, MONTREAL,
JONO WOOD, FRANCE