Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Main Street's 11th Annual Summer SOULstice




Look who's on the bill!...that's right, the CHOCOLATE CHIPS! It's the largest free outdoor music event on the West Side! This Sunday, June 26, 1pm at the New Orleans Bldg. Courtyard...Main Street, Santa Monica. Later that afternoon we'll be performing OceanPark MerchantsMart...come one, come all!
Click here for details.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Here it is! the OFFICIAL Room 28 (That's How We Roll) MUSIC VIDEO!!!

Here it is!! The online premiere of ROOM 28 (That's How We Roll)!!!

Introducing Mr. Valdez & the Kids of Room 28--Ava Flava's 4th grade class!!!

LA teacher, Mr. Valdez & his class present their year-long music project, "Room 28 (That's How We Roll)." With the assistance of musician and classroom parent, Mista Cookie Jar, Mr. Valdez & Room 28 have created themselves an anthem that will live on forever!

The song features all 28 students of the classroom as well as Mr. V on the M-I-C. Both the song and video were crafted together as a class with Mr. Valdez and Mista Cookie Jar every Tuesday in the 2010 to 11 school year.

A You're Benched Productions in association with the Love Bubble
Filmed in LA, CA

For best quality, watch in 1080p HD!
(Just change your youtube player settings.)



Watch video with lyrics @ http://bit.ly/room28_lyrics

It goes without saying, that I am just so incredibly over-the-top proud of the students of Room 28. Jenna, Ava Flava's mom, and I have been blessed to be able to work with these kids each Tuesday this entire year. It started as something very casual and, with the help of their teacher, Mr. Valdez, and support from the school community, it’s turned into this grand music video production. I'd like to give a very big special thanks to Mr. V for his enthusiasm and dedication to the project. He was as much a part of the process as these kids were. I’d also like to thank Mr V as the master 4th grade teacher that he is, bringing his unique wisdom to these kids, putting his heart into helping them find their true potential. As an artist, the chemistry between Mr Valdez and his students has been my inspiration throughout the whole year. And as this school year marvelously comes to a close, its sad to let it go. This is why Jenna and I have put so much time and energy into this project--we never want to forget the spirit of Room 28. Its AWESOME. Its magical. Its a rare bond this classroom has--the way they get along with each other, their humor, the way they collectively help each other grow. If you were fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of the inner workings of this classroom (any room parents out there reading this?! lol), you would have seen it serves as a visceral example of unity, how its engine runs, how it gets down from day to day. Jenna and I were fortunate enough to witness it as these kids do, blessed to have been able to document it weekly. It was our mission to transform this spirit into song---hip hop--as chosen by the kids, and a music video so that their anthem will live on forever.

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We have also created a “Behind the Scenes” 13 minute mini-documentary. We wanted to take a closer, slower look at how these kids in fact “roll.” The music video you can say was set to nitro to keep up with these kids so full of adrenaline. With the Behind the Scenes video, we've attempted to break the music video down and the meaning of room 28 at a pace for all to follow so you too can catch in detail the fast, ever-moving spirit behind Mr. Valdez’s class.

This is a behind the scenes look at the making of the music video, "Room 28 (That's How We Roll)." Directed by LA kids music composer and room-parent, Mista Cookie Jar, this 13 minute mini-documentary takes a closer look at the classroom spirit of the 4th grade students of Room 28 and their beloved teacher, Mr. Valdez. The video breaks down the meaning of the classroom anthem, "Room 28," (as composed by Room 28 & Mista Cookie Jar), the Room 28 recording & creative process, the quirks of Mr. Valdez's classroom (Valdez Bucks, the Mobi Tablet, disco parties & more), and hilarious yet touching moments between Mr. Valdez & his kids. THIS is how they roll, son!