les
Watch the Gonz's New Short Film '08NOBEL80'
A few nights ago, I received a late night phone call from artist and skateboarder Mark Gonzales a.k.a. the Gonz. We made plans to meet at midnight at Astor Place. Over the next few hours, the Gonz shot footage of us riding skateboards and bikes through...
Catching up with Krussia, New York's Best Russian Rapper
For this week's Mahal, I hit up Russian rapper Krussia's 2 AM performance at CMJ's international show. Over the last few years, I've ran into Krussia from time to time as shredded the streets of New York on his bike. Here's a live video from his CMJ...
Jill Di Donato Talks About Her Book About Sex in the Lower East Side
For this week's Mahal, I met with author and sex columnist Jill Di Donato at a garden to discuss her new novel and video project, Beautiful Garbage, about the commercialization of sex and the art scene in the Lower East Side.
TV Killed the Lower East Side
This week, I'm presenting my friend Jade Katz's new video, TV Killed the Lower East Side. With the help of Jade's pet rat, Petunia, the video shows how television and movies convinced millions of people to move to New York City, ruining the...
Billy Rohan Left Florida to Create Illuminati Videos
This week, I caught up with my forever friend, the pro skateboard personality and filmmaker Billy Rohan. After spending a year in Florida to gather his thoughts, he’s back in New York City to launch a new video series called Illumignarly.
RIP Taylor Mead
The Lower East Side lost yet another piece of its diminishing history on Wednesday, when Taylor Mead, an actor, poet, and staple of the LES, passed away. Not long ago I was in Taylor's apartment, discussing the changes to the LES with both Taylor and...
Clayton Patterson's Music Week
For this week's Mahal, I got to talk music with legendary Lower East Side photographer, Clayton Patterson. Over the decades, he has documented just about every memorable show in Lower East Side and today is still getting out there and seeing relevant...
Spring Break on the Lower East Side in an Old School? Surf's up!
The Spring/Break Art Show, a new group show taking place in the Old School (spring break and school don't usually jive, but this is an exception) on the Lower East Side just opened and visiting just might make you feel a little better about your lack...
Taji's Mahal – Talking with Clayton Patterson About the Lower East Side
For this week's Mahal, I headed over to St. Mark's Bookshop, for the release of Clayton Patterson's new book, 'Jews: A People's History of the Lower East Side.' I got to catch up with the man himself to learn a bit about the historical culture of LES.
Requiem for a Shithole
Today, in the wake of the shittiest storm New York has ever seen, Manhattan’s shittiest dive bar is shuttering its doors for good. St. Jerome’s was a horrible and fantastic place, a peerless dump in the belly of the Lower East Side where I used to DJ...