We began 2007 as the underdogs.
It had only been 8 months since the final break-up of myself and my former DJ/event partner, STEVE AOKI, and the launch of our then new and purposefully competing weekly TUESDAY night party, CHECK YO' PONYTAIL. Our first two records on our record label, MATT &a KIM and PROTOKOLL, were only 2 months old. TRAVIS and I had been in LOS ANGELES for 3 years and we still didn't have a functional website.
A lot has changed since then, we come to the beginning of the new year, bigger than ever and ready to take on the next larger and looming challenges. Despite the efforts of said previous DJ/events partner, STEVE AOKI, to surpress our existence to the world using his greater fame, greater wealth and influence to pressure publications not to write about me/us (yes, we know, NYLON and BPM), pressuring friends and former friends to either not be our friend or work with us (RONYS PHOTOBOOTH, ROYAL RUMBLE, among several others) by threatening them a loss of pay or acceptance into his circle, pressuring THE COBRASNAKE to jettison our friendship almost immediately upon our break-up and consequently, or maybe voluntarily, erasing mine and close friends out of existence on the website and blatantly lying in advertising to steer people away from our events (it's documented in one instance on thefader.com,
HERE), we've been able to make it out at the top of our game, unafraid of the future, unafraid to speak and armed for the wave of shit to come.
We fought tooth and nail this year to stake our claim in the hearts and minds of the kids of LOS ANGELES, of the kids of the world, in pop culture itself. We work harder than everyone you know to bring you the best shit you've ever seen. Even rich kids, jealous of the taste they don't have, couldn't stop us. We moved to LA with nothing, began 2007 on our knees with a plan, and ended standing tall ready to climb the mountain and secure our spot at the top. This is the IHEARTCOMIX YEAR IN REVIEW.
2007 was the year IHEARTCOMIX went global. We began to figure out how to run a record label and properly use interns. We learned our limits, what our strengths are and more importantly, our weaknesses. Our family grew by leaps and bounds and we began to become a household name. It was nothing short of amazing.
Here's a quick overview of some of our most memorable accomplishments of 2007:
-CHECK YO' PONYTAIL 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY! Our newest weekly turned 1 year old. We celebrated with a huge, free blowout featuring SPANK ROCK, FLOSSTRADAMUS, MUSCLES and ROXY COTTONTAIL. It was a phenomenal evening, but also marked the end of the old. 2 weeks later, we relaunched THE NEW CHECK YO' PONYTAIL at THE ECHOPLEX on SATURDAYS. This year we had SIMAIN MOBILE DISCO, BOYS NOIZE, SURKIN, BONDE SO ROLE, CRYSTAL CASTLES, GREEN VELVET, INSTITUBES PARIS TERROR CLUB, VHS OR BETA, DIPLO, SWITCH, JAPANTHER, DAN DEACON, THE TOXIC AVENGER, JUICEBOXXX, LO-FI-FNK, THUNDERHIEST, SINDEN, OCELOT, DANDI WIND, ADULT, ERASE ERRATA, DATAROCK and ANDREW WK to name a few.
-MATT & KIM played LOLLAPALOOZA, made a video for 'YEA YEAH', which got played on MTV2, toured the US and EUROPE several times, even with AGAINST ME!, were written up in every publication known to man and their debut single even spawned a hit remix by FLOSSTRADAMUS!
-For the 2nd year in a row, we were a sponsor of CAPITAL HILL BLOCK PARTY in SEATTLE and helped organize the after parties.
-We launched our first real website IHEARTCOMIX.COM. Still in the beta stage as a blog, it's gone on to become a widely recognized resource on the web and a favorite for DJs, scenesters and fans alike.
-I became part of ONE MORE DAY family, based out of MIAMI. Doing so, gained me brothers and sisters for life. JAKE, XAVIER, CONTRA, NAEEM, ROXY, JACKIE, AMANDA, INDUCE, JEMZ, EGG FOO and a whole shit ton of others, I love you forever. I'd sleep on that couch and hang out in paradise for the rest of my life if I could. You guys have made this year THE BEST YEAR (so far).
-HOLLERTRONIX played a reunion show in LOS ANGELES that was an absolute blast. The after party afterwards and all the drugs made it even better. I ain't ever seen someone drink as much alcohol in one night as I saw DIPLO do that one. Fantastic.
-We launched our first new weekly in over a year, STILL FUCKING AWESOME. It's our tribute to our history in LA by returning back to where we got started (THE BEAUTY BAR) and who we started with (HAR MAR SUPERSTAR), only now it's on MONDAYS, but it's still FREE.
-We threw one of the official after parties for the MTV VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS in LAS VEGAS for none other than JUSTICE. The boys came and played a steller DJ set and were joined by BUSY P, SOME, A TRAK, LA RIOTS, LE CASTLE VANIA, PRESTON and myself.
-We released the debut 12" by THE TOXIC AVENGER (our very own French-man) that featured remixes by THE BLOODY BEETROOTS and MIXHELL. We were consequently picked up by TURNTABLE LAB for vinyl distribution.
-Additionally, following the release of THE TOXIC AVENGER 12", he and I embarked on a month long, US tour to great success.
-We did our first ever EURO party by being part of the OYA FEST in OSLO, NORWAY. IHEARTCOMIX threw the day 1 official after party and we were even able to fly out our buddies FLOSSTRADAMUS play too.
-I went to EUROPE a total of 5 times this year! I even got to bring TRAVIS once and roll around with MATT & KIM another time. I even went to GENT, BELGIUM to see the very first SOULWAXMAS FEST, which was huge, fun and featured almost every DJ I've ever wanted to see. This was the year international travel became a real part of my life.
-As a DJ, I got to travel the world and play some of the most important places and festivals in the world. Not only did I have the honor of playing at places like FABRIC in LONDON and at SUNDANCE, but I also had the pleasure of having slots at COACHELLA and DETOUR. Not to mention the billion other amazing places I got to play as well. Thanks so much to everyone who brought me out, I had an amazing time and I hope you did as well. Let's do it again this year! I promise I'll bring the bullhorn everytime. ;)
-We helped resurrect MOBY in LA by teaming with GIANT to do a rad event with him at a space that is way smaller than he normally would.
-We teamed with GOLDENVOICE for the first time to do our first shows at the legendary HENRY FONDA in LOS ANGELES. We teamed to bring back JUSTICE for a 2 night stint. Both were sold out, it was legendary. I even made my first silk screen posters for the occasion.
-We launched IHEARTCOMIX RADIO on SCION.COM. It's a monthly show that features guests, mixes, music and talk, yet streams all day, everyday. You can check it out
HERE 
-We planned, orchestrated and executed the 3 largest SXSW parties ever conceived. All 3 packed to the brim from the moment the doors opened and all three boasted the most incredible line-ups. Unfortunately, party number 3, which was destined to be the party of the year, was busted after only being open 2 hours. It was a trend that spread throughout SXSW last year, effecting even old staples like VICE and FACTORY PEOPLE and leaving a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths.
-We saw DAFT PUNK play twice on their magic tour, once in LOS ANGELES and once in SEATTLE. It was a life changing experience for everyone involved and the after parties were fun too!
-We discovered and nurtured what has become our family, our friends and this year's roster: OCELOT, HEARTSREVOLUTION, THE TOXIC AVENGER, TOTALLY MICHAEL, JUICEBOXXX, ROXY COTTONTAIL and ACID GIRLS.
-And finally, we capped the year off by teaming one more time with GIANT to help throw one of the largest NEW YEAR'S EVE events on the planet, GIANT MAXIMUS, which featured performances by Z TRIP, MSTRKRFT, LA RIOTS, LAZARO CASANOVA, myself, and even, TIESTO.
It was a crazy year indeed. What's even crazier is that what's above isn't all of it, it's just what I could think of off the top of my head. There's just been so much and it's moved so fast. We are so excited for the future.
We want all of you to know that we THANK YOU so much for all the support that everyone has given us over this past year, through thick and thin. Whether you're the kid coming to dance, he kid screaming along to MATT & KIM, supporters of the underdog or just plain think we do good work, THANKS. Hopefully we were able to live up to expectations. We intend to take it up another notch this year.
I also want to take a moment to thank my partner TRAVIS for all the incredible work he's dedicated (the Jacuzzi is coming, promise!) and everyone else that has slaved away in our offices, at our events and over the web. To all the interns, blog contributers, volunteers, employees, new and old, and genuine friends, we wouldn't have been able to do this without you.
xoxo