This week for me is being spent relaxing at home in Solvang, CA located in the beautiful Santa Ynez Valley before heading down for an epic summer in LA. One thing that the Valley is know for above all else are our wineries.

Today I headed over to Roblar Winery to check out their new restaurant and grab some lunch. As far as an outdoor patio and surrounding views, it doesn’t really get better than this.

The patio.

It has become a running joke in my family that wherever we go out to eat, no matter what, I order a burger. There is just something about the truly American combination of well cooked ground beef, cheese, tomato, and lettuce that I cannot resist. So in my traditional style, I ordered the “Roblar Burger” this afternoon.

Great on all accounts, but the heirloom tomatoes and sharp Vermont cheddar were the kickers. Of course no true meal is complete without dessert…

After lunch I walked around the winery for a bit and soaked up the feel of the place.

Nothing like a great lunch.

I love the exhausted but happy state that you are in when coming back from a full day at the beach. For a few summers growing up, my extended family would all stay for a week in a beach house in Ventura, California. After a long day in the surf, relaxing with a cool drink and reading a book on the deck as the sun started to set was always a great feeling. Inspired by that mood, here’s a post beach look.

Moscot Yukul Frame Glasses

Polo Ralph Lauren Fine Slim Custom-Fit Oxford

J. Crew Cotton-Cashmere V-Neck Sweater

Apolis Activism Katin Board Shorts

A.P.C. Suede Moccasins

This past Tuesday, I had the privilege of working in one of the on campus music studios thanks to my friend Cal. Check him out seated below, the master engineer completely in the zone and getting the studio ready for whatever needs to be done.

As you may have noticed, from time to time I make beats. (See previous “MPC Needed” posts) I love listening through old records and trying to find the perfect sample. Even if a record doesn’t have anything worth sampling, getting exposed to so many different types of old music is always enjoyable. Also, I make a habit of trying to get my hands on the sample source of my favorite hip hop records. So far I’ve yet to be disappointed. Anyways, once I get the samples, I throw them into Audacity and try my best to create something that people might enjoy listening to.

Recently, my friend Ben told me his roommate Devin was looking for some beats to rap over. I met up with Devin and he agreed to lay some of his sick rhymes on a couple of tracks. He’s in the booth below, about to drop a verse.

Hailing out of the Bay Area, Devin (AKA D Sax) is only a freshman, yet he is already on his game as an MC. When I first called him up and heard a Dilla beat on his ring-back, I knew working with him was going to be sick.

Without further ado, check out the two tracks we put together below, and you can be sure to expect to see more D Sax and Kul De Sac collaborations on the blog in the future.

“Whatever (prod. by Kul De Sac)” – D Sax

“Speed (prod. by Kul De Sac)” – D Sax

Over the weekend I went through a great deal of the Ed Banger Records label discography in preparation for an eight hour compilation that took place live on the airwaves Saturday night. Maybe not the easiest to listen to, but definitely one of the more interesting artists from the label is Quentin Dupieux AKA Mr. Oizo.

Now lets hop in the Wayback machine and set it to 1999. Turn on any TV in Europe and more likely than not you’ll be staring at the bouncing body of Flat Eric. Who is Flat Eric you ask? Why he’s the yellow muppet below.

At this point you might be wondering what Flat Eric and Mr. Oizo have to do with each other. Well in 1999 Mr. Oizo teamed up with Levi’s to direct a series of ads promoting the Levi’s Sta-Prest line featuring his soon to be hit record “Flat Beat”. Sta-Prest were wrinkle free pants and shirts styled such that you always look like you had just finished ironing and threw them on.

The ads follow the aimless wanderings of Flat Eric and his pal Angel across Los Angeles set to the pulsing track provided by Oizo. Something about these ads completely captivates me. They bizarrely capture this youthful abandon of anything that one should be doing with one’s life, suggesting instead that you should be spending your time driving wherever your beat up old car takes you with a muppet as your co-pilot. Check out some of the ads from the series below.

As I gear up for a summer in LA with lots of driving and an iPod full of bass heavy beats prepared to be blasted out of my vehicle, I’m a little bummed knowing that I won’t have a rad yellow muppet rocking out as I cruise around in the warm Californian sunshine.