Pick Three is a column where we ask some of our favorite musicians to choose three pop culture picks – this can be a fashion label (“Levis are the only jeans that make my butt look good!”), an instrument manufacturer (” I can’t imagine playing anything but Gibson guitars!”), a movie (Gone with the Wind changed my life!) , tv show, book, comic, internet video, album, etc… whatever they want to talk about! We all have our favorites – these are their favorites. And now for Justin Siegel’s of Stars In Stereo Pick Three Column!
1. Gallery 1988
If I took the money that I’ve spent at this gallery and put it towards college, one might be able to now call me Dr. Siegel. It combines two of my favorite things in the world, pop culture and art. The artists selected by the owners/curators are always innovative, relevant, and insanely talented. The themes of the shows have geeks and non geeks alike salivating from the initial announcement alone, especially the annual Crazy 4 Cult shows. Every time I go to an opening, there is a line around the block that sometimes commences a whole 24 hours prior. Lately, I’ve been collecting every He-Man related piece that comes through (you’d be surprised). When they had their Mattel sponsored He-Man show, I picked this piece up as soon as I laid eyes on it:
Some of my favorite artists that consistently display there are N.C. Winters, Luke Chueh, Dan Goodsell, Greg Simkins, Alex Pardee, Daniel Danger and Robert Brandenburg. We also went through the gallery to commission artist Greg “Craola” Simkins to design our Stars in Stereo starbolt logo.
2. 42 Entertainment
I’m a very big fan of smart marketing campaigns. I’m a consumer, I eat it all up, give me the same toothpaste I already have but in a cooler box, I’ll probably buy it! So when I first started hearing about the buzz happening around the release of Nine Inch Nails’ Year Zero album, I got hooked hard. This was a multi platform campaign happening that not only encompassed the internet, but it ventured way outside to an alternate reality video game, and ultimately to the real world, utilizing murals, telephone numbers that led to pre recorded phone messages, USB drives that were found by fans at NIN shows, and ultimately climaxed at a secret show that was disguised as a “resistance meeting” in a Los Angeles Parking lot. The video of that show can be seen here:
The next campaign they produced that caught my and many others’ attention was the “Why So Serious?” campaign for The Dark Knight film. This campaign sent fans on a massive online and real world scavenger hunt to ultimately unlock a new teaser trailer for the film and the first photo of the Joker which obviously went on to become one of the most iconic roles ever played on the big screen. They had a series of the these scavenger hunts each leading to more content, sometimes digital sometimes physical, but it always kept the fans consistently excited and engaged, it was fun as a fan to watch it all unfold. They’ve done campaigns like this for Tron and for Halo as well, I really hope that one day we can engage our fans in the same way and create an experience as incredible as this company has done in the past.
3. Rick Owens
Fashion has always been an incredibly important element to my life and it is no different for Stars in Stereo. My mother went to the Fashion Institute in NYC and since I was very young, she has always kept me up with fashion trends and really fueled my interest in fashion overall. I was very late to the game when it comes to Rick Owens but as soon as I heard of him, I immersed myself in what he’s done in the past and how he continues to push the envelope with his sometimes wearable sometimes not as wearable fashion sense and style. When we began to talk conceptually for what the overall look and vibe of Stars in Stereo was going to be, I immediately latched on to many of the same principles that Rick Owens introduced to the fashion world. I’m very lucky to be in a band that is so fashion conscious. It’s another way to express ourselves and it can be an undervalued medium in the music world. We like to get a little weird, and push it, which makes wearing Rick Owens and Rick Owens inspired clothing possible. I’m always excited and consequently very pleasantly surprised to see what he’s going to come up with next.
Justin Siegel is the bass player for the LA-based band Stars In Stereo. The band’s passion is apparent on the songs from their upcoming album out later this year, broaching a variety of themes and united in art and philosophy; Stars in Stereo have bonded equally in music and real life. For them, their work is about many different things and as they move forward on their journey they plan on leaving the masses singing along.
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