Writing, reviews, interviews, photography.

Eliot & Eads’ Kickstarter Campaign & First Single

Posted on May 8, 2012

[vimeo https://vimeo.com/41766260 w=1000&h=600]

As you’ve seen over the past few weeks we’re doing a lot of work with Eliot & Eads, an Americana Rock group originally from St Louis, MO., now scattered across the country. I drum for the group and we’ve been playing music together for several years. To see this album finally come to fruition, after attempting to record this several years ago without proper knowledge of what we were doing, is a personal victory on a number of levels; In addition to playing in the band, I produced the record with Peter (the singer/songwriter for most of these tunes), mixed the entire album, and edited all of the video. Steve Streisguth, your immensely talented director of photography here on The American Classic, shot 95% of the video used in the promotion of this record. Today the Kickstarter campaign to complete the record (The Flyover States) has launched in addition to the first single from the upcoming release, titled “Yellow Rose”.

“Yellow Rose” was an interesting track from the get-go. It wasn’t written for the original album and, I believe, was initially intended to be an acoustic track. After getting the band together (a rare occasion when the members live in Philadelphia, Washington D.C. and New Orleans), it sounded too good not to record it this way. Take a listen and I certainly hope you enjoy it. If you’ve got any spare change in your pockets or are looking to fund some arts-related things, we’d certainly appreciate your consideration. While we understand that many folks can’t part with cash right now, help us spread the word and we’ll be just as appreciative. Thanks in advance.

Links:

Eliot & Eads’ Kickstarter Campaign

Eliot & Eads on Vimeo

Eliot & Eads’ website

Categories: Announcements

Confirmed Stock: A Recap

Posted on May 1, 2012

This weekend we drove down to Baltimore, MD. for a visit with the fine gentlemen of Drexler, the firm behind Confirmed Stock, and the 18 stellar brands being presented at menswear’s latest pop-up shop. The event took place in an old church, perfectly matching the interesting blend of heritage brands, vintage shops, and new companies pedaling goods pandering to classic American sensibilities. The turnout was great and the space gave the illusion of being enormous but provided just enough walking room and vendor spaces to make it feel very cozy. We spent much of our time getting to know the dapper dudes from Lumina Menswear, Ed from Hellbrand Leatherworks, Andrew from Ball & Buck, Sandtown Millworks, Randolph Engineering, and Federal Shop but had the opportunity to say hello to nearly everyone in the room. We took a ton of photos but whittled it down to a few dozen; that being said, these photos are enormous and take a lot of time to load. When you’re viewing all of them, please be patient with your internet connection. To enlarge, open any image in a new tab/window. Make sure to click the link below  to see the entire set.

Categories: Photos, Travels, Writeups

The Standard Relay: Outlier x The Hill-Side, Bottled Cocktails, Field Notes’ Beginnings, & more.

Posted on April 25, 2012

Outlier x The Hill-Side Spring Vest

Two of our favorites

Outlier, one of our consistent favorites, has launched a collaboration with The Hill-Side bringing forth a very nice springtime vest, just warm enough to get you comfortably through the chillier days and nights but just sharp enough aesthetically that you probably won’t want to take it off. Speaking of both of these brands, Hickoree’s has just put up a few other items from Outlier in their web shop. Certainly something to check out. (Photo: Hickoree’s)

Kevin Diedrich’s Bottled Cocktails

Old article, great news

These things are ingenious. I’ve had those crappy canned/bottled cocktails from the corner liquor store and if you haven’t, you know you’ve been curious what they’re like. Well let me go ahead and spoil this for you; these things aren’t a damn thing like that and praise the high heavens for that. They sound delicious and seem to be of the highest caliber of quality. Check out the whole article from Bon Apetit.

Field Notes’ Beginnings

Insightful view on Field Notes

Pocket notebooks in recent years have become ubiquitous with folks being “creative types” or harkening back to yesteryear when people didn’t tote around smartphones in their pockets, tablets under their arms, and laptops in their bags. I use smaller notebooks for remembrance or note taking, granted not this particular brand, but you can find them pretty much everywhere. This is a neat video discussing the initial inspiration for Field Notes. Note: If the video does not play, it’s because the theme developers haven’t figured out how to make this work yet in two-column format. We’re sticking with two-column so here is the link to the video if all else fails.

[vimeo https://vimeo.com/40182652]

Gentlemen’s Reserve 2012

It’s happening again

The second iteration of the Canadian menswear event has announced a date: May 5th & 6th at Old Faithful Shop in Vancouver, BC. The event’s run by FREE/MAN Brand and has a very nice selection of participants. I recommend taking a look on their site. Embedded promo video included.

FREE/MAN Brand Spring Kit. No. 5

Sharp looks

Truthfully, I usually don’t dig the “Kits” that F/MB puts together but that’s a personal thing. Because I liked this one so much, I couldn’t help but tack it onto the end here. Really well done. Minus the cargo pants (via FREE/MAN Brand).

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Categories: The Standard Relay

On the Lookout vol. 03: Confirmed Stock 4/28

Posted on April 16, 2012

Finding out that Confirmed Stock is happening in not-so-far-away Baltimore, MD was very exciting for us; we don’t get to go to many big events like this as they either happen in New York and require big budgets or in Los Angeles and we simply can’t make it out there. This is happening close to home and we’re happy to be covering it. It’s an “innovative menswear-focused pop-up market” featuring some seriously excellent brands from around the country. The event is organized by Neal Shaffer and Drexler with the idea that these brands, largely unavailable in Baltimore currently, will bring awareness to the forward-motion of menswear and drive a need to have such brand’s presence in the city.

“Confirmed Stock is really about giving men in the Baltimore area a chance to not only buy great stuff but also make more mindful decisions about how they spend their money,” said co-organizer Neal Shaffer. “Our vendors offer amazing products and that’s the main thing, but equally important is the fact that these are people you can buy from and feel good about where your money is going.”

“We’re looking to move the landscape forward for men’s style in Baltimore,” said co-organizer Chris Walbert. “The brands we’re showcasing have never had a Baltimore presence before, or if they have, it’s been a small one. In that regard, we see Confirmed Stock as just the beginning.”

We’re stoked to make the trip down to check out the excellent event these guys have planned. If you see Steve or I wandering around taking photos, do make sure to say hello. This will be the first event I’ve covered with more than one shooter/schmoozer so we’ll be covering quite a bit of ground. We’re very excited to see all of the brands and can’t wait to share the photos with you.

[vimeo vimeo.com/34173469 w=1000&h=600]

Here are the dirty details:

Confirmed Stock

04/28/12

11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

2640 St. Paul St. (in a former Church)

Baltimore, MD. 21218

Here’s a list of the featured brands:

Almanac Industries

Ball and Buck

Blue Claw Co.

Cause and Effect

Corter Leather

CXXVI

Federal Store 

Fischer Clothing

Greenwich Vintage Co.

Hellbrand Leatherworks

Jack Robie

Lumina Clothing

Mister Crow

Randolph Engineering

Ruell and Ray

Sandtown Millworks

Sixteen Tons

Two Inch Cuffs

Categories: Announcements, On the Lookout

Hammarhead Industries Day Pack

Posted on April 9, 2012
–EDIT: September 12, 2013
In light of recent events regarding Hammarhead Industries’ customer service reputation, we would like to warn our readers against purchasing from them online. While their online shop is still ‘functional’ in the sense that you can still pay for an item, they have not been responsive to any customer inquiries regarding lost payments, deposits, or delivery of product. Their lack of any kind of presence is disappointing for us, as I’m sure it does for you, and we will keep our readers abreast of any information that might help them recoup their losses.–

Hammarhead Industries just released the newest addition to their line of soft goods, the HHI Day Pack. Built at the request of a Jack Pine (modified Triumph Scrambler) customer, this bomb-proof bag is made out of the toughest materials available and paired down to the absolute (modern) necessities. 15″ laptop sleeve, iPad sleeve, Kindle & passport sleeve. No key-ring, no ice-axe loops, and no headphone port for your discman. But how big is it, you ask? The HHI Day Pack is specifically designed to hold an entire bag of groceries standing up. The steaks and beer you will carry in it are kept safe from the elements by boot leather stitched onto 15oz Martexin Waxed Duck Canvas. The straps are the same that hold you into a racing harness, and the buckles are designed to attach you to a parachute. Oh yea, and it only comes in black. Matt Trigaux, Creative Director for Hammarhead Industries, invited The American Classic down for some photos and his first exclusive interview. Afterward, we chased Mason around Philadelphia on a Jack Pine to show you just how nicely this thing carries your daily necessities, be it steaks & beer, cameras & clothes, or gasoline & croissants.

Categories: Interviews, Photos, Uncategorized, Writeups