Neishon

Must… recruit… these… Ninjas…!

Check 1:25… it gets heavy!

ANBU Black Ops… Join us.

-TravisNN

Sup Ninjas,

D-Structure up in SF interviewed me this week and put it up on their site.

If you’re interested in the direction NN is going then feel free to read through the interview in its entirety below:

Q: How long have you been doing what you’re doing?

Been Ninjaing for a long time, we’ve been selling clothing since 2009.

Q: How did you start your brand?

It started as a Ninja Fraternity and we ended up getting into the streetwear scene. Eventually we decided it was time to give Ninjas everywhere some style.

Q: How did you come up with the name Ninja Neishon?

Originally it was called Lumbawear named after the little ‘lumbajaks’ that appear throughout the clothing and on the website. When we were working on the community aspect of it I was like “dam, we’ve got Ninjas all over the place. They could help us promote the clothing. We’d have a Nation of Ninjas. We’d have a Ninja….!” We changed the spelling to ‘Neishon’ because Nation spelled normally seemed too generic and we wanted to confuse people who weren’t in the know.

Q: Where are you based and what do you like (or dislike) about living and working there?

We’re mainly operating out of San Diego and Los Angeles right now. However we have some strong cells in Tokyo that help us a lot. San Diego is definitely a hard place to start a ’streetwear’ brand because the scene is not nearly as strong as in other parts of the world. However it’s also fun because it makes it more of a challenge and it’s cool to introduce the culture to people who might never have appreciated it before.

Q: What qualities set you apart from other T-Shirt making companies?

We used to try and fit in with other brands/stores and whatever. By that I mean we’d think of designs and concepts that places like Karmaloop would purchase. But eventually we went back to our motto ‘Do what you want’ and things started working out a lot better. Now places like Karmaloop (or any other store) isn’t our focus; instead our focus is on just being completely ourselves, whatever that may be.

Q: What is your process for creating a new T-Shirt, do you screen print yourselves? Etc.

We’ve got literally hundreds of designs ready to be worked on and printed, but it’s just a matter of releasing the right ones at the right time. It starts with picking the top designs, reworking it to fit the color scheme we want, then taking it to the local printers that we work with. Every shirt must meet our quality inspections. Then a Ninja hugs it to give it super powers and it’s ready for shipment.

Q: What inspiration/influences do you draw from when creating new designs?

There’s definitely a Japanese flavor in mind whenever we design, but it’s not limited to that. We draw heavily from functionality and design. More specifically we draw inspiration from the bboy, parkour, and martial arts community. You’ll probably see some anime references here and there as well.

Q: Do you bring artists/designers in to collaborate on T-shirts? If so, how do you go about finding them and deciding to include them in your line?

We work with various artists who help bring our designs to life. Mostly they are Ninjas themselves, however we have held design contests in the past. We’re always open to new opportunities so if you have a dope design that you think would fit with our vibe email me: tbass@ninjaneishon.com and we can talk about it.

Q: What were you doing before this?

Dancing at anime conventions for food.

Q: When are you most productive? Do you come up with your best ideas while your just hanging out or in a full-fledged business brainstorm session?

I personally get a lot done in the morning. There’s nothing better than waking up earlier than the world and getting shit done. Coffee makes your mind crazy fast and by 12:00pm I like to be done with anything I have to do. Then it’s just free time for me to bboy, surf or work on new ideas.

Q: Is there any direction you hope to take your line in in the next year or so? Are you planning on doing anything differently?

We’re releasing a new website three weeks from when I’m writing this. It’s going to be a big step for us. The Online Shop will be like nothing out there right now, and our updated blog will feature writers from around the world who are in The Neishon. In addition we’re moving into the ‘cut and sew’ realm and things are getting heavy. You can expect some unique pieces coming from us in the coming months, and it’s only a matter of time before we get our Neishon shops popping up around the world.

Q: Five songs you can’t stop listening to right now?

I’ve got two audio masterpieces on repeat over the past couple of days. One’s a mixtape and one’s a podast.

Mixtape:

Dj Twist One- HOT breakz

-This mix gets me hyped for practice and cruising around in my car blasting it makes me feel like a badass.

Podcast:

Low End Theory- Episode 10: Dj Nobody and Free The Robots

-I’ve been really into the scene at Low End Theory lately and I definitely recommend downloading their podcasts. It’s FREE playa!

Q: What do you like to do when you’re not developing and distributing awesome T-Shirts?

Recruit Ninjas.

Q: Any last words or shout outs?

Keep it easy, do what you want, and Join The Neishon. Peace.

-TravisNN

Yo Ninjas, you remember our post about Chiddy Bang one year ago?

Well they were just starting out their musical career back then, and now they have exploded onto the scene in a big way just one year later. European and US tours, collabs with some of the major artists of our time, it’s been impressive watching them succeed. Just goes to show what determination, focus and skill can do for you in a short amount of time.

We had the chance to check out their live performance at the UCI campus this week. Chiddy is known for his epic freestylin abilities and he proved himself at the show. The audience picked topics for him to work with and he killed it!

Congratulations Chiddy Bang on your success, we look forward to hearing some more music from you guys.

Peace,

-TravisNN

I’ve been getting requests lately to share some of the books I read when Ninja Neishon was first starting out. Looking through countless sources I came across three main resources that really helped me get a grasp on the culture I was entering. I’ll post about all three of them over this month, but this first one is probably the easiest and most entertaining to read:

Cult Streetwear

What I like about this book is its simple layout and surprisingly insightful mini history for the brands that it covers.
Take for example, BAPE. Many people have heard about it and have probably read a few conflicting stories on how it originated. But this book sets the story straight and explores how influential the Teriyaki Boyz and other hip-hop artists were in helping BAPE reach it glory. Pretty fascinating stuff.

Remember the Zoo York cockroach thing?

It covers that as well as other innovative guerilla marketing tricks that lead to the brand’s uprising.

Lacoste even makes an appearance. Ever wonder why those stupid little alligators justify charging excessive prices for a polo shirt? I know I did. Well this book has the answer to that as well.

Converse, Kid Robot, and even our homies The Hundreds make an appearance in this 208 page plethora of information.

You will learn a lot about the streetwear culture (including how it became known as ‘streetwear’) and also a lot about marketing in general. This is especially helpful to brands on a budget (aka everyone).
Taking you from the beginning concept through the tipping point straight to the present, Cult Streetwear is a comprehensive guide to a lifestyle that has captured the attention of many around the world.

Fun, easy read. I give it a 5 Ninja star rating.

Peace,

-TravisNN

Low End Theory hosted a release party for DIBIASE’s debut album Machines Hate Me.
Drivin up to LA, the skyline blurred the horizon-

Airliner Club hosts the Low End Theory every Wednesday night. Probably one of the best LA scenes around. If you’re in the area you need to check out this place.

The grungy feel of the inside and back patio complete the scene. People packed the tiers and flooded to the back patio for the show.
Dibiase’s “Skullcrack” single rocked the speakers as the bass and heavy drum line blasted everyone in the crowd.

Dibiase “Skullcrack” from Alpha Pup on Vimeo.

Mike Gao took the stage later that night.

Nocando rocked the mic over Mike Gao’s freestyle beats created especially for that night.

Saw some other Ninjas in the crowd including Daedelus and Free The Robots. What I liked about Low End is the relaxed vibe going on. Artists who travel the world and have a huge following are just as approachable as the homie smoking next to you. Good times at Low End.

-Photo credit to Posan for the night, thanks.

Peace,

-TravisNN

Yo Ninjas, if any of you are interested in music production listen up!

Mike Gao’s iPhone app Vocal Beater is now up on the iTunes store.

I met Mike in the fall of 2009 when he played a show with the Crown City Rockers. Since then I’ve tried my best to attend some of his shows both here in San Diego, and up in LA at venues like Low End Theory. Mike’s style is unique and recognizable, and his dedication to hip-hop is unmistakeable.
“Music is the organization of sound,” says Gao, “It’s not organization of sound that agrees with a European tradition, or notes on a page. To the people who don’t feel like beat producers are composers: I’m a composer, so is Dilla [and] so are these 19-year-olds making original beats and playing to stadium crowds.”

Everyone around Mike knows he’s been working on an app for the iPhone and iPod for quite awhile. Finally it’s here! Vocal Beater allows you to make beats wherever you are by beatboxing into your iPhone. It’s amazing programming at work. Now you can get that beat out of your head and translated into velocity sensitive MIDI notes! Just email yourself the beat and work on it when you’re back at home with a program like Logic or Ableton. One of the most useful music production tools I’ve found on the App store to date.

So if you want to help a Ninja out and support Mike Gao’s work, click here to buy the Vocal Beater. Rate and review it to show what you think.

Mike Gao, and yourself, thanks you in advance.

Peace,

-TravisNN

As we move into the Fall, here’s a nice summer night song for you Ninjas to chill out to. Enjoy the few days of summer remaining.

Check out more by Populous over at his Myspace. There’s a lot of good stuff to be heard so make sure to take a moment and listen to the tunes.

I especially like this ‘Remixed in basic TEASER’ that is up on his soundcloud here.

Peace,

-Travis NN

It’s always interesting to take a look at how global The Neishon’s reach has become. Much further to go, but it’s a bunch of Ninja steps in the right direction.

Here’s a little breakdown for you if you’re curious:
The United States has been bringing in the most visits thus far with Japan coming in a close second. And good job to The Netherlands for holding it down in third place! Greendland… you’ve got some work to do.
I colored in the winner for this round on the map. Looks like The Neishon has some work to do in many parts of Africa and the Middle East. We’re working on it!

Working off this, and wanting to bring you insight from Ninjas around the world, The Neishon website will soon be hosting multiple bloggers from all over! Yes, right here on this website you will get a collection of interviews, photos, opinions, random stuff, from Ninjas from Australia, Japan, The Netherlands, London, Argentina and of course right here in good ole’ California. More on that in the next few weeks. Get pumped.

Now you know where in this world the other readers of this site are chillaxin. Say hello to someone in the comments and make a friend.

Also, just a reminder that Tokyo Style is tomorrow night for those of us in LA!

Peace,

Travis NN