Let the Feathers Fly: 2010

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I have never thought, “I might hit you in the face later this evening,” so many times on the L Taraval before. My anger obviously would not be expressed with fists, but with fluff, as Muni was packed with pillow fighters between 5 and 9 o’clock February 14^th , heading down to Justin Herman Plaza for the Great Pillow Fight; a Bay Area tradition that has been shamelessly copied by numerous other cities across the nation.

This year’s pillow fight enjoyed exponential growth over last years, containing what I would estimate to be around 5000 pillow fighters in total. In fact, when the fighting began, it was so packed in the plaza that the great pillow shove might’ve been a more descriptive term for the event. But as time progressed and the feint of heart left, only true pillow masters remained and one-on-one pillow duels commenced.

“The trick is to not wear anything that distinguishes you from the crowd,” said Clint Wolfrom, cameraman/Captain of a team of Sacred Heart pillow fighters (myself included) that went through the crowd brutally taking on other pillow fight teams and ganging up on people in enraging attire, such as cowboys, Pikachus, Hippies, Jonas Brothers look alikes, anyone wearing purple skinny jeans, and of course that one fool in a Where’s Waldo outfit.

Two hours into the war, we decided to call it quits and marched out of plaza, kicking up downy feathers as we went, which coved the Embarcadero in the closest thing San Francisco will ever experience to snow.

Call it immature, call it stupid, but you definitely can’t call the Pillow Fight gay, as every single member of our team reported some sort of injury by the night’s end. A couple of head shots from fists rather than fluff, nose blows from elbows, and one crushing crotch shot, but nothing serious enough to put a damper on an excellent evening. When in doubt, leave it up to San Francisco to throw the best party on any given holiday.

The Remedy to the Music Industry

In a world of tired rhymes, trite themes, playa haters, and posers, it gives me great pleasure to report that hip-hop has some fresh new faces.

Armani Cooper, Patrick Baca and Camille Zapanta along with Dice and Nel the Producer make up the BackPack rap group The UpperClassMen, which released their debut album on New Year’s Day to a growing group of fans, musicians, and creative people on their social media website, teambackpack.net.

For those of us not blessed to be born in the 80’s, BackPack rap is a subculture of hip-hop that, “focuses all its content towards spreading a positive message and educating those less fortunate,” Armani says.

Don’t think for a second that having a positive message means that BackPack rap doesn’t get the beat going. The tracks on the group’s debut album show versatility, creativity, style, swagga, and a melodic medley of cool choruses and vibrant verses. For example, in BaTMaN, the group samples the 1960’s Batman theme, and lays a killer rap over a fat bass line.

The track that has gotten the most attention however is the only remix of another artist’s song released on the album: Golden State of Mind (a Bay Area version of Jay-Z and Alicia Key’s hit Empire State of Mind). When the group posted a music video of Golden State of Mind to generate some extra hype for their album, the response to the video was simply overwhelming. The video had 40,000 views on youtube, as of January 20th. In fact, the track was so hot during winter break that for two weeks straight it was the most requested song on 106.1 KMEL. Unfortunately the song was unable to be played on KMEL because of legal reasons, but the fans have spoken: the UpperClassMen are here to stay.

The group got their start as the Classclownz while Armani, Camille, and Patrick were students at Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep. “During that time it was nothing serious, we were just having fun spoofing popular songs on youtube,” said Armani of the UpperClassMen’s humble beginnings. Certainly the group is poised to be a part of something much bigger than youtube spoofs as word spreads about their new album, which is available to download for free from their social media site.

If you’re looking for a remedy to the hostility, arrogance, and down right sleaziness of the Music Industry, a trip to teambackpack.net might set you straight. This joinable site, which has elements of facebook, myspace music, and twitter, bridges the gap between musicians and their fans. Up and coming artists can make their albums available for download, and fans not only have front row access to the latest news, music, photos, and events from the bands featured on the site, but also the ability to interact and be part of the creative process for the groups. Armani says the site is creating a, “inclusive community,” to try and democratize music and take some of the game out of the rap game.

As for the future of TeamBackPack and the UpperClassMen, the openness of their site, and the depth of their talent means that the sky is the limit. With possibility knocking on every door, Armani remains humble: “The UpperClassMen will continue to make great songs and I only hope to some day be considered one of the premier talents in the Bay Area.”