Tonight we recorded some dope vids put together by Mr. Darius Jackson. "In The Room" is a concept curated by DM, which puts a heavy focus on the artist and the song. There are few things more intimate than stripping a track down to its bare bones, whipping out a field microphone, pressing record, and seeing what happens. Expect magic!
Studio Fun
Had a great time last night in the studio with our big bro DM. Collectively we've decided to create more music together, so here we are doing what we do. On the agenda was to work on one of his new songs titled, "Get A Chance". At this point, the direction of this particular track is kind of up in the air, so that allowed us plenty of room to be open and experiment. Montrell already had pretty much all of the vocals laid down and we contributed by adding a background vocal part, Wurlitzer keys, and some layered guitar parts.
Accompanying the the thrill of in-studio creation, we were also excited to try the TC Electronic Ditto for the very first time. The guitar parts Thurman laced into this track were actually composed using the Ditto! It's simplicity and ease of use makes it a great tool to help get those juices flowing. Peep the audio below to hear some of what we came up with.
Meet Matthew
Matthew Patton is the owner of Cut Fine Jewelry.
Is y'all's first location gonna be in Baton Rouge?
Yes, it is. it's gonna be over there on Jefferson next to the H2O Carwash. They just build a new shopping center right there. When they built that building in late November, early December, I eyed it and thought that would just be cool. I always expected to have to start in a smaller more off the beaten path location, came across this spot and thought, 'This is just too good to pass up, so let me at least look into it', and it all worked out.
So do you think your niche is totally different from everybody else in Baton Rouge as far as jewelers are concerned?
More than anything, I'm creating a certain type of experience and I offer something you can't get anywhere else...incredible customer service. The thing that I really really excel in and the only reason I keep clients loyal as I do is because I take such good care of them. I just enjoy helping people.
That's beautiful man. That's definitely the way to go.
Customer service is really what I'm after and technically anybody could pop up a shop and sell that same stuff, but–
–it's the experience that you're creating to get people to come to you and get them to tell other people, "Hey, this dude is awesome. He treats me like a million bucks!"
And I think that's the only reason I did as well as I did because I was in an office, not a retail store. I was tucked away in an office park and I'd literally have to email someone directions to get them to the door. You'll never find it, unless I tell you. And so that was telling me, "Hey, I must be doing something right because people keep sending their buddies." Right now, I'm 95% referrals.
Do you design as well?
Yeah, that's the other part that will set me apart from everybody else. All the jewelers in-town say they do custom, and their definition of custom is picking a loose diamond and then picking a diamond to set it in. For us, custom is so much more meaningful and involved, and we do it better than anyone else around here. A lot of jewelers don't have any interest in doing custom. They invest a lot of money in their inventory and they want you to buy that. Which I understand, but I love doing custom stuff and I like making those one-of-a-kind pieces. It's really cool!
TBT
Shot by Michael Tucker
ANDREWMURDAFACE
_SAYLEX
Meet Shelby
"Do you feel like this is more than swimming lessons? What is it to you?"
"I may be the only kiss they get on the forehead for who knows how long. I may be the only 'I love you' they get. I can see it in their eyes and it's not me making that up. As soon they walk around the corner, she books it to me and she jumps as high as she can around me and gives me the biggest hug. It's like, alright, no one gets that excited for swimming lessons, you know. It's like you're excited to see me and I'm excited to see you."
Cut FJ Shoot Day Two
Yesterday was the last day of Cut Fine Jewelry's #cutopen2014 shoot and it's been a pleasure to be apart of it as both models and stylists. Below are some behind the scenes shots of Raine Landry and Aaron Carmouche while some of the crew captured them. For these particular scenes, we opted to give both models the liberty to choose their own wardrobe picks as a ploy to ensure their comfort and confidence.
Thankfully, they both possess style that falls right into place with the aesthetic we were going for, so the bulk of our work was in making sure the details were just right. Huge thanks to Ashley Webre for covering for us while we weren't there and taking extra care in making sure Raine's looks were breathtaking.
MCHLTCKR
Cut FJ Shoot Day One
Today we had the distinct privilege to be involved with the launch of a new brand called Cut Fine Jewelry. Ok, we know what you're thinking...black background studio shoots with seemingly elitist, Caucasian female models showing off their beautifully carved collarbones…right?
This shoot, and this brand is nothing like the aforementioned! We love playing a part in progress, and with this shoot, we had the unique opportunity to strut our creative stuff with this new brand. We were summoned to be apart of this shoot to style and cast talent, as well as adding creative input to the already well-seasoned gumbo of ideas. Even more exciting, this project employed the likes of our good friends Drew Reilley and Michael Tucker, with the man over the motion picture end of things being the highly experienced Brock Gomez.
For assistance in styling as well as modeling for this project, we called upon our resident mainstay, Miss Ashley Webre ("Let's Make a Mood") to accompany a new friend of ours (this was our first shoot with her), Alexa Hudgens. We assigned ourselves in pairs and went to work making magic, showing off this awesome new jewelry collection with Leah Gray's new Aristocracy store as our backdrop.
Big shout out to DezinsInteractive for giving us the opportunity to be a part of such a great project. Be on the lookout for Cut (@cutfj) this fall and be ready to #CutOpen2014 with us.
Shot by Michael Tucker (@mchltckr)
Barbershop
There are few things more sacred than the bond shared between barber and faithful client. Reuben Francois, aka "Paw Paw", has been our barber for the last eight plus years and through that time, he's earned a special place of rank and significance in our lives. The other guy featured here is Kiefer Jones, whom Mr. Reub affectionately calls his son. Kiefer has been a mainstay at One Stop Barber & Beauty over the past couple years, sitting under and learning from one of the best around, all while providing the shop's daily dose of comedic relief.
