This past weekend we, at  the Мишка Echo Park store, got a visit from tennis pro Vince Spadea. He strolled down to the shop to pick up a couple of pieces, well polos to be exact, to rock on the court. It is great to see that our brand is reaching not only musicians but athletes as well. Vince has played against some the best of the best including Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Andy Roddick, Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi. He currently trains celebrities, among them Gwens Stefani’s husband and former Bush frontman, Gavin Rossdale

The menace of tennis who is notable for his staggering comeback in 2005 to rise to an ATP rank of 18, also does more than just play Tennis. Dude  likes to freestyle, earning himself the title of  “ATP Rapper” and is also currently pursuing some fashion projects.  If you are like me and enjoy tennis do yourself a favor and check out Vince’s autobiography Break Point: The Secret Diary of a Pro Tennis Player, an uncompromising look at the ins and outs and personalities associated with being a pro tennis player.

Мишка LA
1547 Echo Park Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90026
213-536-4234

On one of the hottest days ever, we were treated to a random visit by cartoonist and writer Bryan Lee O’Malley who had just come back to Los Angeles from the London premiere of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Bryan’s the guy who created Scott Pilgrim and wrote and drew the comic that Edgar Wright turned into one of this year’s best movies. So it was a real treat (and kind of weird) to have Bryan randomly drop by for some new polo shirts since for the past two weeks I’ve been talking to anyone who’d listen about how they should absolutely see Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Creeeeeeepy, yet cool!

If you’re one of those people still slow in getting on board with this film, just go see it tonight. I swear, you won’t be disappointed. And then when you’re done go buy all six volumes of the original Scott Pilgrim comic and start eagerly awaiting the Scott Pilgrim video game! You can read me gushing on and on some more about the film here.

In the meantime why don’t you enjoy this cartoon (done in O’Malley’s original comic style) that Adult Swim produced to promote the film. I really hope Adult Swim considers turning this into a full fledged show.

Мишка LA
1547 Echo Park Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90026
213-536-4234

Us over here in Echo Park were recently treated to a pretty cool visit from an LA native who’s touring & cooking his way to the top. I’m talking about Toscan Elrod, who is the current tour manager for GBH. Yes GBH, the hardcore punk band that has produced kick ass albums such as City Baby Attacked By Rats & City Baby’s Revenge. You don’t get more punk rock than these true schoolers.

They’ve kept at it for over 30 years and they’ve been touring consistently during that span, most recently on the strength of there newest album Perfume and Piss. The album is reminiscent of their earlier work and just so happened to be mixed by the well known Lars Frederiksen of Rancid.

If any of you bloglin goons are in Europe, Japan, Australia or New Zealand, then check for their next tour which goes from September thru December. As for Toscan, he’s been hitting the road hard and has some culinary treats lined up. Good luck with your future endeavors and oh yea…Those of your looking, we still got a few of that Banned in Moscow tee but not for very much longer!

Мишка LA
1547 Echo Park Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90026
213-536-4234

It’s always a pleasure when rad fans come by the shop, show a genuine interest in the brand and strike up a good conversation. The other week, a young man by the name of Noah Melrod (and by way of San Francisco!) came through the Echo Park store on a visit to Los Angeles.

Needless to say dude is ahead of his years. Noah’s currently entering his 8th grade year & has been a loyal fan of the brand for 2 1/2 years now. In-between hitting the school books, Noah’s passions range from photography to an eclectic mix of music ranging from techno, rap & indie rock, Noah’s a pretty cool dude and we look forward to his next visit down from the Bay. Good luck in school this year Noah!

Мишка LA
1547 Echo Park Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90026
213-536-4234

Gary, Indiana’s finest, Freddie Gibbs dropped by 350 Broadway this past Sunday along with Terrell Blair who was interviewing Freddie for an upcoming Hoodlife Cyphas DVDs. It was pretty awesome to have Gibbs drop by the shop, I haven’t been this excited over an emcee in…well, I can’t remember when. Dude is  mad grimey throwback to late 90s hood raps without sound like some 90s revivalism at all.

Gibbs has been getting praise for his brand new EP, Str8 Killa everywhere from here to there. If you haven’t gotten a hold of it yet, get to it! Or at the very least go download his free Str8 Killa, No Filla mixtape which was also released recently.

Check out the video for “National Anthem (Fuck the World)” and tell me that isn’t the catchiest and gulliest hip hop anthem in a minute!? By the time dudes full length drops he’s going to be H-U-G-E. Mark my words.

Мишка
350 Broadway
Brooklyn, NY
718-388-1725

J/M/Z to Marcy Ave
G to Broadway
L to Lorimer

Not too long ago, our good friend and Swedish Mopster Adam Tensta came to pay us a visit as he was in town for a few shows. By now if you don’t know the dope boy from Tensta you must be listening to solely commercial rap and of course living under a rock!

Adam is currently prepping is his American release and in the meantime working with a slew of producers for it.

One project he’s pushing, alongside his partner in crime Babak is the Saint John’s Dance project: a straight forward electro rap punch to the gut that will tell all about life in the Tensta area! Watch out, this one bangs on the system!

Also part of the Saint John’s Dance project are the Shitsmiths. This duo brings a more fidgety vibe to their production creating a final result that can surely make everyone happy.

Мишка
350 Broadway
Brooklyn, NY
718-388-1725

J/M/Z to Marcy Ave
G to Broadway
L to Lorimer

On another seemingly ordinary day in Los Angeles at the Мишка store in Echo Park, one of the most notorious 80′s guitar slayers dropped in to cop our (initially shelved) exclusive LA Death Adder tee and least but not least, share some memorable stories from his brief but epic run in pop culture history. None other than Billy Bob Brockali of The Rock-afire Explosion band is who we’re talking about here. So after a quick run to the coffee house, we sat for a quick talk and little did we know but the whole gang of Мишка LA mascots joined in on the festivities.

I don’t really know if they were more interested in the LA Death Adder tee we just released or the fucked up story of how The Rock-afire Explosion band got their jobs hijacked by Munch’s Make Believe Band. After talking us to sleep, Billy Bob cracked open some Love, Sex, Fear, Death reading and almost threw up after reading about torturing dogs.

In any event, we over here at Мишка LA are excited to bring this limited run of LA Death Adder tees to life. They come in 2 color-ways of black & magenta and grey & blue. Who knows, maybe we’ll get another visit from Billy Bob or perhaps hard-hitting drummer Dook LaRue will pop up.

Мишка LA
1547 Echo Park Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90026
213-546-4234

I know, I know… we haven’t had a Store Spotting in a while. It’s not for lack of people visiting and us not taking pictures it’s just well, a long convoluted story with as many twists and turns as our dear Toilet Cobra’s mustache… or rather his former mustache! I still can’t believe Oslo is gone, Oslo is what I called his mustache by the way.

While going through our surplus of unedited and unposted Store Spotting images I discovered that TC had actually visited the shop last week or so, mustache still intact. Look at him… flaunting his 60 or so dollars like he’s ballin’, you think you can get away with that without that mustache? I don’t think so buddy!

Sigh… I’m gonna miss that mustache. But on the brighter side of things, the Toilet Cobra may soon be returning to regularly blogging for the Bloglin. We’re in the process of some very heavy negotiations right now and wells some of TC’s demands are just unreasonable and others are just completely absurd. Plus his agent is a total asshole.

P.S. Go check out his crappy awesome band, Fuck School. In case you were wondering it’s Fuck School like in “Fuck This School!” and not Fuck School as in a school where you go to learn the art of fucking. I’ve told TC that he needs to add an exclamation point so that it’s a little clearer but he won’t listen to me.

Мишка
350 Broadway
Brooklyn, NY
718-388-1725

J/M/Z to Marcy Ave
G to Broadway
L to Lorimer

We recently got a visit from Nate “Igor” Smith of Driven by Boredom, who was in town on vacation, as well as the lovely Dana DeArmond. Igor has been documenting a lot of the nightlife party scene through his outstanding Photography for the past decade or so. He has his own blog where he posts his work which I recommend you check, if you haven’t already. Although I am sure you are familiar with his work, as he shot our Spring 2009 look-book.

Like I mentioned before, these past couple of weeks Igor was in town on vacation but somehow ended up shooting a few events. Most notably, he shot the Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC). An event that generated more headlines than it did abortions. Be sure you check out his shots from the mayhem. He also did the Morrissey/Smiths convention for LA Weekly while he was in town.

I have to admit though, I was a bit surprised to see Igor out during the day. He, believe it or not is a vampire, and is hardly ever spotted during the day. Nonetheless it was fun to shoot the breeze with the guy who hardly has any time for leisure.

The lovely Dana, who strolled down to the LA store for her first time, was a blast. She has her own website as well; be sure to check her out. I’m sure you’ll get a kick out of her blog which has an abundance of images that will make you want to befriend her. For those of you who are not familiar with her work, she is an adult film star and model as well as a full time tweeter.

A simple google search will reveal what a web phenom she has become as “the internet’s girlfriend.” Dana herself has even done some modeling for us. In fact, she came in with Igor just before shooting these pics…

Head over to Driven by Boredom to see more of Igor’s photoshoot with Dana DeArmond. We’ll keep you posted on when he puts up part two from his series. And if those pics aren’t enough to satiate you for now, check out Dana’s site and be sure to follow both her and Igor on twitter.

Мишка LA
1547 Echo Park Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90026
213-536-4234

Wassup mopsters, it’s been a minute since we treated you to some LA spots but a neighborhood regular came through the shop for a little Summer gear after a little overseas hiatus so here we go. Antonio Hudnell is an LA-based dancer & choreographer as well as an Echo Park resident who can’t get himself enough of that Мишка.

He’s been getting himself out there by doing some choreography for Ne-Yo, Usher and a little known, up-and-coming entertainer named Justin Bieber. Yea yea, I know what you’re thinking but really, we got Andy’s back in a battle any day.

We also couldn’t be more happy for Antonio & the moves he’s been making. He’s a good dude, he’s working hard and he’s a genuine Мишка fan. I guess you can say he’s completed the grand trifecta in our books. Peep Antonio doing his thing in our Trailblazer New Era Trucker…

Мишка LA
1547 Echo Park Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90026
213-536-4234