Mr.Rockefeller. Having Fun?

New York is synonymous with New York City and for good reason: the rest of the Empire State doesn't have much on the city. It's composed of straight farmland, orchards, and small cities whose souls left with the industrial revolution. But NYC isn't the capital and therefore falls somewhere other than the top of the state totem poll. Enter Albany, my place of residence and current home of TwentyTwelve Art. It's small and offers little in terms of a skyline, but we do have this masterpiece of concrete and marble: Empire Plaza. It's the architectural epitomey of empire. Not only did it displace 9,000 residents when it was built but it resembles a block where you'd expect to find Lord Vader and Newt Gingrich posted up. Word is it was also built to act as a fortress against rioting citizens during the Civil Rights Era--construction started in '65. I'm sure Rockefeller was disappointed to never see his edifice complex used in full force, but his legacy endures in the mindset of the people who occupy his offices. We're still here, still struggling, still soulful. Some things don't change.

The chance is this might never catch on

I spent a good amount of time thinking of some witty way of starting this whole thing off. A manifesto of the creative class? A tirade about what's been lost in our culture? And while I'm trippin' on our potential come up, I stumble across this picture of a night in the California foothills with the crew. Nothing even moderately crazy went down, probably a night I would not have been able to recall were it not for this picture. But seeing it made me remember that this whole thing began with a few friends in a place where we could create, share and showcase freely. That's what TwentyTwelve Art will showcase so long as we exist. To quote Grouch: "The chance is this shit might never catch on/But my friends like my songs and I like my songs/Life-long endeavors for the pleasure."