Reyes 78 in Chicago

The Empty Bottle x Knuckle Rumbler x Pawn Works Present: oOoOO @The Empty Bottle 7.5.12

Moving right along with our on-going music series, we’ve got a very exciting month coming up as July in Chicago is gonna be insane at Pawn Works. Alongside our partners in crime, Knuckle Rumbler, we are very excited to be working with The Empty Bottle (home to one of our most active sticker machines in Chicago) to bring oOoOO back to Chicago, this time with some amazing support from DOLOR and Chicago’s own Push Beats crew members COS and X!. Currently based out of San Francisco, oOoOO is the brainchild witch house project from producer Chris Dexter Greenspan. The electro-goth synths and trap rap like drums offer up a collective sound that is both dirty and atmospheric with emotional overtones that help the artist stand out while never quite pigeon holing him either. The repetition found in his music can, at times, be debilitating but if, like us, you are a fan of the sound that oOoOO has helped to pioneer, you won’t find it keeping you from purchasing his next record. oOoOO will be on tour for his most recent record release, ‘Our Love Is Hurting Us’ EP. He will be performing right in our backyard on July 5, 2012 @ The Empty Bottle in Chicago’s Ukrainian Village, show starts at 9:30. Advanced tickets are available through The Empty Bottle.

‘While Supplies Last’ Clearance Sale: Up to 20% off Everything Thursday 5.31.12

As we are in the last days of the shop here with ‘While Supplies Last’ we are announcing our ONE DAY ONLY Clearance Sale. The sale will include almost all products with up to 20% off everything in the store this Thursday from 12-7pm as we start to go through whats left and even unveil some bonuses then, that’s it! Soon after we will be closing the doors to work on the upcoming installation and exhibition from New York City based artist 5003 which will be Opening up in the middle of next month, stay tuned for more on 5003′s hijacking of Pawn Works.

Chicago Sticker Review in Photos: May 2012

Knuckle Rumbler x Pawn Works Present: ONRA in Chicago 5/24

In continuation of our on-going sound series, this month with the help and support of Knuckle Rumbler we are keeping it going with one of our favorite current producers, Parisian beat maker extraordinaire,  ONRA. The multidimensional  French producer’s tastes vary across the board and often include layers of cloudy,dusty samples that define his genre bending, bouncy, 80′s funk sound. His knowledge of music (which goes deep into genres like classic Southeast Asian music)  lends itself to the ability to infuse a variety of eclectic sounds into one pulsing rhythm that somehow is often as laid back as it is up-moving. Inspired by J-Dilla-like techniques and tricks and utilizing that inspiration better than any of those who claim to be ‘carrying the torch’, ONRA is as comfortable making beat tapes as he is making full lengths, like  2010′s Long Distance.

Garnering attention from some extremely established artists from around the world, ONRA should be on your radar by now if he wasn’t already. On Thursday May 24, 2012 we will be hosting a set from ONRA himself at Beauty Bar Chicago alongside the ever-popular Knuckle Rumbler. With support from Supreme Cuts, Push Beats (Doc ILL & Raj Mahal), Cutz on Cuts(DJ Moppy and RTST) and Pawn Works resident, Phil Mixtape, we are very excited. Some of the best performers and collectives in Chicago’s beat movement, including  budding stars, Supreme Cuts, will be playing alongside a performer at the forefront of the movement Internationally, ONRA.

We’ve got DIBBS

Its no surprise that the interest in DIY art campaigns and craft festivals has been increasing over the last ten years. Here in Chicago, the craft world has always had a bright light shining. As one of a few hosts of the Renegade Craft Fair (one of our favorite Chicago street-fests of the Summer) and former home of  the  Renegade Handmade storefront, Chicago has its fair share of ‘crafty’ artists whose folk interests are often seen clearly within their work. With the store closing due to more focus on the ever popular festival/fair circuit we may have to go somewhere else for hand-printed cards but aspects of the aesthetic once embraced by the store itself has been prevalent on walls and mailboxes around its neighborhood over the last year.

Following up on a post from a year ago when we arrived to find the work of DIBBS stuck to our building. The multi-layered, pint sized, hand-done wheat pasted pieces stuck in our minds from that moment and we had no choice but to accept it as it was also the best applied piece we’ve seen in the city in a while. Its still riding the same as the first time we saw it. It was fun, different and didn’t seem to take itself to seriously. That seems to be the theme for DIBBS. Upon being asked often of DIBBS and DIBBS’ work on the streets we decided to look into it. We didn’t have to go far thanks to the help of one of our past interns and sometimes it helps to just look up. We came into contact with DIBBS and arranged a quick visit to her Chicago based home studio. Very open to the visit and somewhat shy of her work the artist seems to be still figuring out her practices and methods as far as outdoor work and seems more concerned with learning then preaching, very refreshing. Little does she know there are plenty of people who should take a lesson from her and her application process. We’d like to thank DIBBS for sharing with us some of her more recent works including what looks to be some new stickers.

KWT Sticker Party w/ Amuse 126 & SNACKI

Sticker Party! Local graffiti fun-crusher’s and prolific KWT crew members AMUSE 126 and SNACKI  are making lots of stickers these days. From crew and city shout outs to plugs for partners like MORGAN and BROCK the sticker party yielded what looked like hundreds of fresh new slaps varying from hand-done to printed labels. Collectively boasting possibly our favorite hand-style in Chicago (AMUSE 126) and one of our all time favorite Monikers (SNACKI), we are extremely grateful and always excited to be able to, often, have leads to whatever it is they are currently working on. Photos by Brock Brake.

GOONS at 45rpm

It’s Sunday evening at a Logan Square bar here in Chicago and the Impala Champion DJ’s take to the turntables to select their finest tracks, vinyl only of course. Upon our entrance for a celebration of our friend and Impalas own Esteban LaGrue, graced ourselves to some homeboy handshakes and joined the group. Not long after being there we set our sites on the one of a kind, hand-done 45rpm/7″ record box created by Chicago’s own GOONS. Some may believe or not believe in GOONS’ Chicago disappearance but we sure believe in the existence of this new original piece done for the Impala Champion’s. Capturing the images as best we could (in the bathroom of one of the city’s most dim-lit bars) check out this great one of a kind, admirably kitschy piece ensconced in many layers of GOONS imagery that is right up our alley. Sorry for the obnoxious description but it’s late and we got excited about GOONS, especially the denim and bandana interior of the record box.

ADER Sticker Packs: ‘While Supplies Last’

We are very excited to announce the release of the extremely limited, never before available sticker packs from NYC graffiti writer and ATM Crew member, ADER. The notorious graffiti writer who many know for one thing or another as his many practices have had a large influence on the ‘new’/current generation of graffiti writers. Not only are these sticker packs from ADER limited, they should almost not even exist. Never before has ADER made stickers, unstuck, available to the public, let alone a variety of original,hand drawn labels and postal’s done by Ader himself. Limited to ONLY 10 packs, each similarly different in their own way and all accompanied by a pin, this item is certain to not last too long on the shelves, if anyone hears about their availability that is.

Knuckle Rumbler x Pawn Works Present: How To Dress Well in Chicago

As part of our on going music series which had last seen a performance on 11.11.11 from Brainfeeder’s own Teebs, we are now teaming up with the steady rolling, Knuckle Rumbler for whats sure to be a soul warmer of a night this Spring. On April 26, 2012 We will be supporting an event alongside Knuckle Rumbler featuring recent Chicago transplant, via Brooklyn, New York and Germany, How To Dress Well. Experimental pop producer and R&B singer Tom Krell, a.k.a. How To Dress Well is notoriously known for his deep-rooted interest in late 1980′s and 1990′s R&B which influences him to create a layered, washed-out version of the sound, seemingly, referencing how music wears on oneself  and disintegrates over time.

On 4.26 How To Dress Well will be at Beauty Bar Chicago (1444 W.Chicago Ave. Chicago, Illinois). With supporting DJ’s from local beat aficionado’s  Push Dj’s, Therm One & Itch as well as Phil Mixtape, Shazam Bangles(Cutz on Cuts) and Phenom its sure to be a night filled of head nodding and fellas playing the wall. Don’t fret though ladies as How To Dress Well is quite the song selector and certainly knows how to tug at the heart strings. The performance begins at 9pm and is FREE before 10pm, $3 after.