Grape RVA Photo Shoot Promo.

Grape RVA Photo Shoot Promo. from Matt Reamer on Vimeo.


Here is behind the scenes footage from the RVA Magazine x Matt Reamer x Grape photoshoot. Enjoy!!!

Matt Reamer x Sarah Collins x RVAMag Photoshoot

For Grape's advertisement in this quarter's RVA Magazine we linked with our favorite people to create visuals that brought freshness and school together. Summer is coming to an end and VCU students are back in town starting classes, so what better than to show a student enjoying the fruits of her labor, while simultaneously bettering herself and her mind? 

Life The Good Life.

View Matt Reamer's current portfolio here.

Contact Sarah Collins here.

Grape Interview with Local Photographer Matthew Reamer

Your pans, angles, and filters are very unique; do you plan ahead for shoots or is it a spur of the moment feeling that leads to your cinematic approach?

I like to have an idea of what I want going into a shoot, but I never storyboard. When I start shooting and am actually at the set, or whenever we are filming, I find different angles that I had not thought of prior to the shoot. It is all very fun, I enjoy what I do a great deal, and I think that is what drives me to create the best work that I possibly can. Fun, and love.

You've shot some pretty interesting subjects, everything from cigarette smoking baby dolls wielding pocket knives ("Chucky") to nude male models cradling canines ("Speechless") - what's your favorite thing to shoot?

I shoot anything that catches my eye, or that pops into my head and I think, "Hmm, this could be awesome, visually and conceptually. Let's try it out". A lot of my pictures just feel into place though, I see it, I shoot it. I never really plan on taking the photos, or video I take, It is all there already just waiting for something to hit the shutter.

If you had to narrow down all your work to just one favorite picture, which would it be? Is there a particularly awesome story about it?

Every piece I do becomes my favorite piece, until my next. I am still progressing, in my opinion. I look at stuff from a year ago and think, "Man I could have done this different, and this, and this". I am my own critique. It sucks sometimes though, I will get so bummed on a piece, that I don't even want to edit it.

There's a zombie apocalypse and you have to flee Richmond, but you only have time to save your best friend or your camera - which do you choose?

Well, my best friend is my girlfriend Erin, she is my buddy. Always there for me, and over all the best person I've ever met in my life. And I have always thought the best cameras are your eyes. Storing all it seeings into the big memory card called your brain. It is amazing how your eyes and brain react with every other scenes when you hear a story, tell someone an event that happened earlier that day, hear a song, smell a certain smell. It all brings back stories, film that your eyes have captured and stored in your brain. Every aspect of the event. So, I would choose Erin, and leave the camera.

Check out Matthew's work here

Interview by J. Lawrence Frashure

Follow him on Twitter: @JLFrashure; or head over to The Hollow Corners 

and watch his first novel take form before your eyes.

Bordeaux (Vol. 12)

Determining what your overall goal is key to setting things in place to succeed. Many say they want to be the next greatest rapper, but in reality only want the nicest minks and Rolex's. Hard work helps you break even. Smart work makes you profitable. Assessing yourself and your true desires will lead you to work smarter.

Lately it would seem I've been doing a bit of both. Working hard, working smart, working. I've been balancing a 9-5, leaving and hitting the studio to work on two projects simultaneously. I've been sending e-mails, building partnerships, asking myself if I really want this each week. Each door that closed on me, I've knocked on the next day.

A friend of mine gave me these wise words when I was just a freshman in college: "Ask yourself each day, 'what have I done today to bring me one step closer to my goal?'" I have lived by those words. Truthfully, there are days when I've said "nothing". Those hurt the most, but the honesty makes you work twice as hard.

This week I decided to add this video a friend sent over. It shows a man in football camp training as a speaker is talking to an audience in the backdrop. He's telling them a story about a man who said he wanted to be successful and what that requires. Take a moment to watch.

http://www.worldstarhiphop.com/videos/video.php?v=wshhb5V7kQ2o75Qr4upB

That's all for now. Until next time. Stay positive. Stay focused. Stay 100% Fresh.

-Chance Fischer

RVA Living History: The Cheats Movement X Grape Cloth [Part 1]

Major shout out to The Cheats Movement and curator Marc Cheatham for this impromptu interview on Broad St. in Richmond, VA.
Make sure you visit www.TheCheatsMovement.com to see a hard-working man share his perspective of our hometown, RVA.

Your Social Network (Pt. 1)

When first written on a piece of paper with intent to embody a brand, we had no idea how fast it would take for the word "Grape" to spread its' wings and create flight. Luckily, amongst reading magazine treasures in book stores and squinting to make sense of e-books on smartphones, we had a close family friend who was so knowledgeable about screen printing he helped publish a book about it.With that being said, we entered the shirt printing business with minimalist equipment and a mentor who was busy getting a masters degree in sculpting at Columbia.

Mentor Nick Paparone's newest promotional video for his newest upcoming gallery installation.

Our correspondence was limited and priceless, so we sought out other forms of inspiration and insight.
T-Shirt Forums was, and is, one of the greatest finds in Grape's history. Not only was it a wonderful way to learn from others mistakes and successes, but also fulfilled our constant need for gaining knowledge. Packaging, branding, printing... Thousands of threads pertaining to exactly what we were doing. To say it was a gold mine is definitely underselling their usefulness.


As we spread our initial product to a city that held our attention for over a decade, our newer Richmond acquaintances seemed to believe in us rather quickly.A promotion company by the name of Slapdash gave us an opportunity to vend at one of their HipHop events after linking with us at a Meet & Greet for RVA emcee Nickelus F. We showed up at West Coast Kix, one of the first retailers to share our vision an embrace our brand, with our third design ever produced, the intent being to clothe the headlining artist of the Slapdash event  "Super Soldier Serum". 

This was also the first time we truly realized who our competition was on a local level.
West Coast Kix ended up blessing Nick F with a heather grey  crewneck from local streetwear brand Tout Noir and we set up a table at the show with directions on how to create streetart through the use of wheatpaste. Networking at that event through conversation and hundreds of sticker handouts sparked the emergence of Grape Cloth in the capital of The Commonwealth.

Months later, we were working directly with half of Slapdash, emcee/producer Cain McCoy, on his newest solo project and Nickelus F rocked our Sprayer tee on stage and in Grape-affiliated artist Conrizzle's newest visual music release, "Swangin'".





A few networking events and a lot of diligence birthed the beginning of a lovely relationship between us and our hometown. Never underestimate the power of being as many places as possible. Spreading you and your vision should always start with allowing the world to feel your passion at the expense of a good night's rest.

Cain McCoy

Nickelus F & Michael Millions - Epic Fest

A Word With Black Liquid

cost

Verb: (of an object or an action) Require the payment of
Noun: An amount that has to be paid or spent to buy or obtain something

I live this shit 24 hours a day. I can't choose because I have chose. I can't be because I have been. Today, tonight, man it was so great! It's rare that I feel so me, that I (despite all my constant banter) ever feel so complete.

Sound good? Cool. Let's add some weakness to this strength, and some strength to this weakness. This is 90% of my day. I don't get breaks, I don't get time off. There is only one Black Liquid, which means I'm alone.........can you afford that?

WOFTD

Bordeaux (Vol. 11)

Some say following your passion will eventually net hoards of money and success. This statement does not accurately represent the music industry. Talent garners potential attention with the right outlets, but never guarantees income. Ask anyone in music, getting paid for your talents waxes evasive with each investment.

How does one generate revenue in music? It's not as simple as developing a product for people to consume. Paul Cantor recently stated that music perseveres as an industry with no concrete business model. Following your passion expecting payment for your fervor is equivalent to jumping off a cliff's edge, anticipating you'll grow wings during the free fall.

It's tough. Most are led by blind faith. I would even argue that more faith goes toward making it in music than in actual faith-based ministries. How else do you explain a forty year old rapper with children, a job that pays minimum wage, and eyelid high debt?

Self-exploitation breeds lucrativeness. Exploit your talents before someone else ransacks your natural resources. The peripheral markets your talents reach should be targeted and penetrated. Every single spin off of your passion should be categorized. If record sales aren't bringing in the dollars, maybe merchandising would. Maybe your excellence at writing lyrics is a telltale sign of your dexterity as a writer – write about various topics and get paid for it.

Bottom line: passion doesn't generate revenue, it only fuels drive. Though drive serves as a leading constituent of success, drive in the wrong direction can give birth to prolonged failure. Think about your hard work and where it's applied. If your budget of work does not reflect accurate returns, adjust the budget.

-Chance Fischer

Proverbial is our NEWEST SPONSORED BAND

Grape has many unique opportunities to meet and enjoy tons of music as we blaze our trail of hope and enlightenment. Luckily, our path has organically led us to speak with, and eventually build relationships with, many talented artists - spanning from Lousiana to
New York. 
Most recently, we have had the pleasure of linking with a self-funded, self-booked, touring band from Richmond.
This is an excerpt from this amazing 7-piece group's Facebook biography.

"The musical group Proverbial was originally formed in late 2007 by a group of college friends in Harrisonburg, Virginia, but took a new direction when Thomas Whitesell (saxophone, vocals), Phillip Walker (keyboards, vocals) and Stephen Holicky (lead guitar, vocals) graduated in 2008 and headed for Richmond, Virginia. Upon arriving in Richmond, the group linked up with Stephen’s good friend, Michael Keeter (rhythm guitar, vocals), and reignited the creative flame that was and is Proverbial. After months of searching for percussionists and a bassist, the band was finally complete when Stephen’s former band-mate, Ryan Harlowe (drums) and his friends Scott Gerry (bass guitar) and Kevin Condrey (auxiliary percussion) joined in February of 2009. Jams morphed into songs, songs were spun on an E.P., the E.P. brought about shows, and shows spurned the beginnings of a dream. 


Proverbial is comprised of members as diverse and unique as their compositions. Their various musical backgrounds converge to form an eclectic mix of reggae, hip-hop, and rock and roll; all conjured from the soul. Legends such as Led Zeppelin, Incubus, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Roots, Sublime, Bob Marley, and The Police have all been influential in the shaping of Proverbial’s sound. Though these artists have helped form the roots of this musical tree, its branches reach even further into genres such as jazz, funk, and rhythm & blues.


Since its inception, Proverbial has taken many steps to make their dream a reality. These steps include opening for major acts such as Switchfoot, Papa Roach, Chevelle, Skillet, Crash Kings, The Flobots, Cartel, Paper Tongues, Evans Blue, Jimmy’s Chicken Shack, and The Bridge. Even more, music has provided the band with the opportunity to help others through various humanitarian endeavors. These include entertaining thousands of participants in the Monument 10K Run/Walk, Y101’s Show Us Your Cans food drive for the Central Virginia Food Bank, Relay for Life and several AIDS, American Red Cross and Alzheimer’s benefits. In addition to the aforementioned accolades, Proverbial was crowned as champion of WRLX 102.1 the X’s Local Exposure 2010, WDYL/Y101’s 2009 Rock Off competition and the 2008 Relay for Life Battle of the Bands in Harrisonburg, VA. Further, Proverbial played for a live audience in WDYL/Y101’s studio for their weekly Community Service Show, and has also had several tracks off their E.P. played on-air by WDYL/Y101 and WRLX/102.1 the X.


Keep your eyes and ears open as they continue to spread the Proverbial sound."


We hope you will give them a listen, as they have blessed us with a SUPER-RARE MP3 from their latest OBX adventure:

A Word With Black Liquid

fun/noun

1. Enjoyment, amusement, or lighthearted pleasure
2. Entertaining, or enjoyable

I had no idea it had been so long since I had some fun! The last 14 days of my life have been so amazing! I've learned only a fraction of what I am learning, but lived the entirety of the experience. All these moments I've been fortunate to have, that we have been fortunate to have, are rooted in the same place in which every thought we've entertained has entertained. I know now what I have always known, and I would rather show you than tell you. See you next mission......

WOFTD

A Present For Our Little Friend...

We printed this shirt for the son of one of our oldest friends, emcee T-Jae with V.A.S.K. Entertainment. Sometimes it's nice to throw aside deadlines and be creative. 

Happy Birthday lil' homie!

Bordeaux (Vol. 10)

I want to know what it means to be a fan these days. People are so fickle. There's a budding artist every single day and the people who follow blogs religiously expect us to keep up. It would seem the only true fans belong to cults (i.e. Nicki, Wiz, Marilyn Mason, etc). Honestly, Illuminati may have more fans than musicians actually do.

It seems that if you love an album too much, as was the case for me with MBDTF and Watch The Throne, then people say you're riding the jock of the artist. Somehow we've gotten to where it's ludicrous to be completely enthralled by someone else's work. What makes this one huge clusterfuck is that the industry is over-saturated with artists. Everyone is a rapper, DJ, promoter, model, manager, etc.... But where are the fans - the die hard, "we just like to listen to music" people?

Has the culture become one big room full of hypebeasts? People are just waiting to prance on a new song every five minutes, or hit "first" in the comment section of their favorite blog. I even look at footage from live shows and all you see is cell phones up with the cameras out. How many people are there actually enjoying the show?

I miss being a fan. I'm slowly losing what it feels like. Being a fan, however, is what brings people to good stuff. Word of mouth is how we spread knowledge of brands, whether it's new clothes or new music. The best recommendations always come from people you trust. Be a fan and be proud of it and tell others about the things that make the world a better, or at least more tolerable place.

-Chance Fischer

Monday Nights on WDCE 90.1FM

Black Liquid, The New Juice Crew and HipHopVA.com curator Black Reed on air at University of Richmond radio staton WDCE 90.1FM, playing the dopest Hip Hop for RVA.


Celebrating Juice Crew consigliere Will Stanley's birthday in style, this show was streaming at www.WDCE.org... like it is every Monday night from 11pm-1am.


Support independent radio!!!

Homegrown Freshness

( As our regular readers know, positivity is at the center of everything Grape does. With that in mind we are very excited to introduce our new interview series Homegrown Freshness. Periodically we will be profiling one local teenager who is as committed to active positivity as we are. Know someone we should hear about? Send nominations to Grapeediting@gmail.com. Stay Fresh. -ed.)

Entry Level
Name: Savannah Hatcher
Age: 18
Place of Birth: Albuquerque, New Mexico

Hobbies: I play the piano and electric violin, but also enjoy acting, singing, and creative writing.


Speed Round

Favorite Music: Rock, Indie, Classical
Favorite Movie of All Time: It is too difficult to choose!

Favorite Superhero/Villain: Mojo Jojo; he is a superhero and a villain.


Final Round

If you were a wrestler, what would you signature maneuver be called? The Musical Manipulation
What's your personal motto? Live, Laugh, Sing, and Eat Lots of Enchiladas
Why would a movie about you be worth seeing? I am full of surprises; I always keep you guessing!





How are you keeping it 100% fresh?

I play electric violin with a band called Offering, a non-profit organization that plays about 90 shows a year and tries to use music and art to make a difference in the community. I have helped organize and lead nearly all of our projects since joining the band in June of 2010.

For one project, Christmas in July, we organize a Christmas concert in the summer in order to raise money and food for the food bank, thus bringing the spirit of Christmas to the food bank during the peak of its time of need.





Another project, Rock4Life, is a benefit concert that we created in which we partner up with a local high school orchestra and work with the students to put on a rock concert in order to support a cause of their choice. The cause varies from year to year, but previous causes have been AIDS relief, cancer research, hunger relief, help for children who are victims of neglect and abuse, and homelessness. I have acted as the production manager, musical arranger, violinist, keyboardist, marketing facilitator, and fundraising organizer for this event. Over the past five years, we have raised thousands of dollars.

Lastly, we facilitate Arts in the Alley, a community gathering where we beautify the city of Richmond by signing up people to paint and design beautiful murals on walls in run down alleys and side streets. This fosters a sense of community among the citizens of Richmond as they have a firsthand part in improving the world in which they live.

Grape Status
Give one shout out to anyone or anything in the world in 140 characters or less:
I would encourage everyone to use your passions to help better the world and spread a smile; I am thrilled to use music in such a way.


Interview by J. Lawrence Frashure

Follow him on Twitter: @JLFrashure; or head over to The Hollow Corners and watch his first novel take form before your eyes.

A Word With Black Liquid

reflection/noun

1. the act of reflecting or the state of being reflected.
2 an image; representation; counterpart.
3. a fixing of the thoughts on something; careful consideration.
4. a thought occurring in consideration or meditation.
5. an unfavorable remark or observation.

5 different definitions that cannot define whats in the mirror. I see myself everywhere I go. I guess when I finally get some time to reflect, I'll see what is left!

WE #RVA

WOFTD

First Fridays x The Cheats Movement

Photos by Marc Cheatham, at Richmond's First Fridays Art Walk, on Broad St.
He curates The Cheats Movement Blog - a visual representation of Richmond through his camera lens.
More to come from them and us very soon...


Emcee/Producer/Promoter Cain McCoy in the Grape "Sprayer" Tee
Emcee/Radio Personality Black Liquid in the Grape "Chess Piece" Tee

SUMMER COLLECTION V-NECKS !!!

Match your classic Jordan releases in style with this newest addition to the Grape product line. 
Stay crisp and clean along with feeling comfortable and fresh.
Our Summer Collection brings you light fabric and bright colors.
Be cool and feel good for repping a brand that has attention to detail at the top of their priority list.

SUMMER COLLECTION V-NECKS !!!

Stay fresh and sophisticated with this Summer Collection release by Grape Cloth.
Normal white tees will leave you at the security rope, bitching at the bouncers. 
These V-Necks will get you into the club to start networking immediately.
Everyone needs a break from their day-to-day work schedule... 
let this drop from Grape be your ticket into nightlife.

Grape Skateboarding Presents...

 ALEX RUSSELL

DJ LIZAMA

Phil The Thrill - (s)Ample Time EP

For the fourth edition of the Fly Thoughts EP Series, Phil The Thrill releases his (s)Ample Time EP. In this project Phil creates incredible songs over all sampled production.  If you're a fan of soulful songs then this will definitely become a collection of music that you will consistently have on repeat.

Phil The Thrill - (s)Ample Time EP

Tracklist:  

1. Sample Monae

2. The Dopeness

3. Memories Of Right Now

4. Don't You Let Me Go

5. Steady Aim

6.  One Day

7. California Dreams

Download:

Mediafire:  http://www.mediafire.com/?t21zxctppn6570b

Hulkshare:  http://hulkshare.com/dnjhupv65x4s

Stream:

Soundcloud:  http://snd.sc/pdemSB

Datpiff:  http://www.datpiff.com/Phil-The-Thrill-sAmple-Time-mixtape.256053.html

Related Content:

Phil The Thrill - Ample Time (Trailer)

Contact: 
philthethrillmusic@gmail.com 
Twitter.com/philthethrill21 
Facebook.com/philthethrill21 
FlyThoughts.com 

Bordeaux ( Vol. 9)

There are days when I hate myself as a creative vessel. Today my self loathing set afoot once more. The creative are perpetually plagued by the curse of brilliance undermined by poor execution. The right brain, in many respects, represents a conjoined twin of the whimsical and wanton. The left brain cradles structure and reason - the mature one of the two cranial regions.

Structure pisses me off. It confines ideas meant to be wild, but never truly tames. It rationalizes moments meant to be felt, but never itself feels. Structure acts as the guardian of all things creative, thus its inherent boredom. All the while it holds the key to making leaps toward the unfathomable, and intellectually dangerous, palatable for our blind audiences.

What's my dilemma? I favor creativity over structure, and end up starting many projects I don't finish. That's not to say I just rest on ideas, but rather that I develop a great idea and then stop short when the dangling rod of money I don't have taunts me. This is prime time highlight reel season for Structure, who basks in his ability to crossover monetary problems by rational means like budgeting. As soon as this is realized, however, the creator in me has run up to his bedroom, shut his door, and buried his head in the pillow.

Many times I'm just angry that I'm not what I dream to be right now. I'm a blister awaiting its turn to pop. I say to myself that if I utilized more than ten percent of my brain, I could immediately transform into my dream. But that's not the case, and never will be. Honestly, if we could use more than ten percent of our brains we probably wouldn't need bodies or hobbies.

I digress. The truth is that we wouldn't have two sides of the brain if they didn't complement one another. My choice to make a career out of the side I favor leaves me patching up all the erosion caused by absence of structure. Success isn't one sided. We have to use everything we have, even down to the cognitive ability we understand.

-Chance Fischer

The homie Matt Reamer is a beast.
This is a promo video he did for Glide Skateboards, a Richmond-based brand who crafts their unique skateboards by hand. 
Support local business!

Black Liq x Grape x CBS News ?!?!

Check the last 15 seconds of this CBS Channel 6 video !!!
Black Liquid, who is a Richmond radio personality, Grape-sponsored artist, and a member of The New Juice Crew, speaks on positivity among during August's First Friday's Art Walk in RVA.





GET HIS SHIRT HERE.
DOWNLOAD ALL 15 OF HIS FREE ALBUMS HERE.

Screen Printing Is Dope.

Poster Process - The Black Keys from DKNG Studios on Vimeo.

Grape Skateboarding Presents...

Grape is heavily motivated by our childhood influences. We snuck parental advisory-labeled tapes into our Sony Walkmans, got on our boards and pushed to the only skate shop in Richmond. Back Door Skateboards was where our first completes, our first videos, and our first skate tees were purchased... This shop would later move down the street next to the dopest record shop at the time (Plan 9) and become Dominion Skateboards, to then move next to the Byrd Theater, now the newly-revamped Venue Skateboards.
Ruining markers and knuckles to color our grip tape while watching the latest Skater Of The Year destroy their favorite spot...
Skateboarding has, along with music and street art, always fascinated us.


With great pride, Grape introduces our first additions to Grape Skateboarding:
DJ Lizama and Alex Russell.


Last Saturday, we spent the day with them as they entered a skate contest, got kicked off government property, broke boards, broke skin, and sweated enough to make a weight-cutting wrestler proud. We linked with filmer/photographer Bobby Mitchell, who you will see a lot of in the upcoming weeks, skaters DJ Shears and Marcel Shaw, the Virginia State Police, and the crackheads at Kanawha Plaza to turn heads and skate hard.

A Word With Black Liquid

Scene/Noun

1. The place where an incident in real life or fiction occurs or occurred.
2. A place, with the people, objects, and events in it, regarded as having a particular character or making a particular impression

Tonight I went to Current (a place I have much history with) and performed at my man Cali Dave's show, The Scene. Now this is no ordinary showcase, its all about talent, point blank. You can do whatever, just come out and do it, that's The Scene. What was inspiring about it (what wasn't!) was the universal respect and acceptance of what everyone came out to do! If you ask me, that kind of love, not only must it be shown, it must be seen. See you next mission...........

WOFTD

Bordeaux (Vol. 8)

What makes a classic? The ability to withstand the tests of time and remain relevant. This is why I fear referencing any music from this generation when educating my children. It's also why I'm as meticulous as a cardiothoracic surgeon when making music.

I'm stranded in thought, nursing the question of what my children will listen to. It's a small fear compared to the responsibility of training them to tie shoelaces, ride bikes, and morph thoughts into intelligible means of communication. But I can't stomach the idea of replacing The Temptations or Patti LaBelle with Chris Brown and Ke$ha. My parents inculcated knowledge and respect for the original songs that my generation samples. Sure, I listened to my fair share of Hot Boyz and No Limit, but Soul composed my soul.

Now "neo-soul" exists as the genre R&B once was, wherein the channels between that, rap, and pop remain blurred. The only remnants of true quality reside in those aforementioned samples and writers with flashes of brilliance. Frank Ocean's lyrics pierce the pearly gates of heaven, but he doesn't dance. Breezy moves with vigorous fluidity, but there's an APB out for his soul and voice. The only artist close to inheriting a legacy as praised as Michael is a rapper with a penchant for red suits and an unchained tongue.

Kanye and Jay are on the playlist for the kiddies, but what about the singers? At one point the mainstream possessed enough quality to produce classic hits. Now you're lucky if you'll like a song five minutes after it's played. Popular music practically thrives off rap and anything that sounds like it. No real individuality whatsoever. We hold this evidence to be true based on the fact that country-rap songs exist.

It is imperative that the evolution of music does not lead to the obsolescence of quality. The absence of quality will most certainly bring about the extinction of classics, or at least change the way we define them. Is that a false dichotomy? Perhaps, but I believe the idea to be true. Music appears to devolve with every waking moment. It's hard to imagine "girl drop it to the floor, I love the way your booty go" being a classic moment in music. But this is what our hits have come to be: catchy hooks devoid of substance with a banging beat.

Maybe I'll just have to Watch the Throne.

Grape Skateboarding Presents...

Alex Russell

DJ Lizama