Paper Ships
July 7th marks the first Paper Ships show, a new downtown event taking place the first and third Thursday of every month. When the creators of Paper Ships approached us with an idea for a new downtown event, we were thrilled. We were immediately smitten by their passion for art forms big and small. After all, their dream for a cinema-meets-concert event seemed right up our alley. We agreed to come on board and, along with our friends at dublab, vowed to do our best to make Paper Ships one of the summer’s coolest events.
The shows will be held at the old LA stock exchange. Once a wood-paneled haven for West-coast Wall Street types, the building has been transformed into a new venue, Exchange LA, in a way that exemplifies everything Paper Ships stands for. Now, with both the amenities of a modern club and the beautiful remnants of an original art deco design, Exchange LA is the poster-child for the re-purposed vintage aesthetic. And, with our own Alex Pelly in charge of visuals, we can almost guarantee that your mind will be blown on a bi-weekly basis.
Though the rest of the Paper Ships shows will have a vintage nautical motif, the first installment is a celebration of ”Beats, Rhymes, and Life,” the soon-to-be-released documentary about one of the most influential groups of the 1990s, A Tribe Called Quest. Michael Rapaport, director of the documentary, will host the evening, at which Phife (of ATCQ) is scheduled to appear. The evening will open with DJ sets from dublab’s Frosty and KCRW’s Garth Trinidad, as well as a rare set by Madlib (of Stones Throw). Peanut Butter Wolf and Prince Paul (of De La Soul) will be bringing their VJ skills to the floor, so get ready for some of the best sights and sounds this summer will ever see.
The inaugural edition of Paper Ships is certainly not to be missed, so come out this Thursday (and every other Thursday after that) and enjoy a fantastic show with us. Who knows, there may even be a special end-of-the-season event in the works, so watch out! Check the website (created by our friends over at The Visual Engineers) for current show info.