Just before they released their sophomore album, You’re Nothing, the Copenhagen four-piece, along with guest guitarst Bo Høyer Hansen, gathered in a hometown recording studio for an on camera, live performance of new song “Morals.” Watch the only high definition, live footage of the band performing in a setting like this below and see Iceage like you’ve never seen them before. Then, head out to Churchill’s and catch them live Friday.

Doors open at 9 and Iceage will be joined by another danish punk group, Lower. The show will also feature sets by South Florida’s New Coke and Suede Dudes.

Churchill’s Pub
5501 NE 2nd Ave.
Miami, FL, Miami 33137
United States

Event Web Page

Atomik rides up on a bicycle, and at first glance, is nothing like what I had imagined, which is probably my fault. His hair was longer than I expected, his features kinder and more relaxed than the typical paranoid tenseness constantly present on the face of graff artists on the street, vigilantly watching over their shoulder. Still, from the friendly smile he greets me with to the art he paints on our city walls, he is all Miami, crediting the city’s influence not only for his iconic and recognizable Orange, but also his color palette.

A child of South Florida’s growing and dynamic 1980s graffiti scene, Atomik took notice of the artwork that covered the city, and that would later shape his creative career. A true Miami-an, Atomik considers himself lucky to have been able to grow up in the Devonaire area of the city, frequently visiting Hot Wheels as a youngster, interacting with artists who would come down from throughout the tri-county area to showcase their skills, breakdance, hang out and share black books. Drawn to the creative world, Atomik went on magnet schools for art until he went on to study Graphic Design 1999 until 2002 when he received his bachelors degree from the Art Institute of Ft. Lauderdale.

Atomik began painting almost 20 years ago, and throughout that time has established himself as one of the most visible and active artists in Miami. More recently, he’s taken his work from the streets to the studio, moving into the small space on Calle Ocho in which we met for this interview, during which he hand-finished a print of one of famous oranges that he sells through his instagram, one that he silk screened himself as well.

Now, after putting in his time and paying his dues to the street, Atomik is about to open his first ever solo show on Saturday, May 18, at the Terminal Gallery in Wynwood, showcasing two dozen versions of his orange character. He also recently launched his online big cartel shop which allows fans from all over the world to get their hands on his art and merch. I sat down with Atomik to prepare myself for overexposure to all that citrus, and a chance to ask him just what it is about this city that brings him back after trips abroad, and what it is that keeps him on the street.

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MG: So, what or where do you draw your inspiration from? what made the Orange become this iconic symbol for you?

ATOMIK: The orange came from the destruction of the Orange Bowl. When they were knocking down the Orange Bowl, I started my own little voice for that. And I painted him instead of having a smile, he had a frown and he was angry about the Orange Bowl being knocked down. So that’s where it really stems from thats why I started doing the Orange.

MG: That makes a lot of sense. What about now, the Orange Bowl is long gone, what still compels to continue to draw on everything? Why do you just keep writing on stuff?

ATOMIK: Well, now its more of a logo for me, and more of a representation of Miami. So when I leave and I travel to other countries, I’m still able to represent where I come from and leave my mark there with the orange.

MG: Speaking of leaving your mark all over the world, I saw that you recently went to Europe and South America. How was that?

ATOMIK: It was fun. It was my second time in Brazil, my first time in Rio and I had such a good time out there. I love Brazil. It was so much fun, I got to go to the tower of Chris and we stayed in Ipanema and there was a place called something like Devil’s beach. Theres a surfer’s paradise there somewhere in between copacabana and Ipanema, and I painted a really spot right there and its like, still running and people that go there get to see it.

MG: Is that the one you did on the side of the sidewalk with Reams?

ATOMIK: No, that’s another one. The one that Im talking about specifically, it had the Atomik in the bubble letter with the orange, and then underneath it it said “que bola Rio de Janeiro”. Its so awesome, I love that piece . I believe its still there because there’s on like a big rock, like a big mountain almost. Well, its not a mountain its a rock.

MG: For us it’s a mountain regardless, Im sure.

ATOMIK: Yeah, haha. It’s right at the end of Ipanema and the surfers surf right there and its a very famous spot.

MG: Having painted internationally like that, what, aside from the obvious geographical difference and the risk of stroke you run being outside in the daytime here in Miami, would you say makes doing street art different in another city or country than it does in Miami.

ATOMIK: I don’t know really, I guess it depends where you’re at sometimes. It could be very easy to do and very stress free. Like in Brazil, no is really tripping about it, you know, if you’re just there painting on the street. But then if you go to LA and just try to paint in the street, or London, and try to do your thing, you get like fined or jailed or whatever it might be. But it’s different though, you know, like I said, I painted on the side of a mountain there. Here in Miami it’s like the flatlands. So you go to all these different places and there’s all these different things that we don’t here in Miami, you know? They have all these hills, mountain and everything. I don’t know. I guess the geography really is the biggest difference, like the land itself is different. The people, the weather, its all different. I saw snow for the first time in Germany and painting in the snow, painting in that cold was an experience.

MG: yeah, I can imagine. So, of all the marks, what is the favorite mark that you’ve left up in the world right now?

ATOMIK: Actually, I’m proudest of a commission I just did last year for the Welcome to Little Havana Mural on 27th avenue and Calle Ocho.

MG: So four years ago, you did an interview with bombing science in which you mentioned that you weren’t very keen with the modern art world’s then recent embrace of the graffiti scene. Since then, your work has made it’s way into a couple galleries and you yourself are now working out of a studio.

Do you still feel the same way? or do you think that the public’s perception of graffiti writers has changed at all since that time, or do you think they are still considered criminals, as you had then mentioned?

ATOMIK: I think, well, I want to to say yes and no. I still feel the same way, in that a lot of art out there thats being considered street art isn’t really graff. I don’t know how to explain it. It’s like not supposed to be there, It’s someone trying to step into that arena now that its hot, you know. it’s like now that people are making making millions off it and people are really successful from it, other people just want to jump in and get a piece of the pie so I still don’t agree with the majority of the stuff that goes up. But, I mean, I’m very critical of a lot of the stuff that I see. I’m kind of a purist, you know, spray cans, certain approaches to putting your work up in the street.

But then, it has changed also. I’m in the studio, I’m doing shows, I’m trying to tap into that market to make a living, you know. Before I was doing graphic design and now, within the last year or two, I’m starting to see income from my paintings. I feel like you just have to put in the work and pay your dues before you actually go into the streets and start trying to be a street artist, be a graffiti artist.

MG: And do you think that Miami, and specifically Art Basel and what goes on in the Wynwood Arts district has played a part in that decriminalization of graffiti and graf writers in people’s minds? At least in the sense that it offers their work a safe harbor from the buff?

ATOMIK: Definitely. I mean, I can go and paint in Wynwood and not get arrested, you know. If anything, the worst case scenario, someone is going to tell me to leave because I don’t have permission to be there. But there is so much out there that they kind of just let it fall by the wayside and dont really trip when they see you painting. They sort of assume that you have permission and assume that it’s legitimate or the probably even like it, you know. They see someone painting something they like and they’re not going to stop them from doing it.

So I feel like, yes, South Florida has played a big part in the decriminalization of it but I can’t say that it applies to the rest of the world. It’s not every city that has a scene like we do and place that we have like Wynwood where you’re able to just go and paint.

MG: Has that decriminalized mentality made the competition amongst street artists here more intense? Like, have people stepped up their game or has it opened the doors and made it easier for anyone to just put whatever they want up on the streets?

ATOMIK: Well I think the competition is definitely more fierce now that everyone from across the world comes over here and leaves their mark, but also it kind of lowers the bar because everyone and their mother is going out in the street and putting something up so along with the incredible celebrity street artists that come and paint here you also have the kid that’s trying to do it for the first time and goes out there and some whack shit. So it’s a little bit of both, I guess. The competition is fierce because you have people like Os Gemeos that are awesome, and so many others. So many people come out here that its very fierce and yes.

MG: Are there any awesome local artists that you have collaborated with?

ATOMIK: I’ve collaborated with Abstrakt, we’re working on a piece right now. Hox, Hest, Quake, Poocho, I mean, I could go on and on. But when it comes to actual pieces for canvas or print, Not many. But as far as the streets go, the list is endless because my crew has like 3 dozen people in it, you know.

MG: and how is working on a collaboration out on the street than it is in the studio? Is it more organic than it is inside?

ATOMIK: Yeah. it definitely is. When you’re in the street it just kinda comes naturally and you do your thing. When you’re in the studio, you really have to think about up close details since people are going to be looking at this in a different setting and not in the street, so they can almost see every details, every little touch that you add to a piece is visible. The collaborations that I’ve done though haven’t really been done right there, live with the artist. Its more like I do something and then they do something either in the studio or on their own time, you know, we never collaborated right there on a piece at the same time.

MG: So, as far as going from being a street artist to being a considered a fine artist. What to you is the biggest challenge to break that stigma, at least for you, personally?

ATOMIK: For me, I have to stay in the street. I have to keep producing work on a street level. If not, then I don’t have my mojo, so to say, I’m not staying true to where I started. So, as long as I’m out there in the street still producing work for the public eye and the graff culture, I’m still able to do what I’m doing. But I feel that the moment that I stop that, then my paintings have to take and they’ll have to take on a new approach because the integrity is gone.

MG: The purpose behind it all becomes muddled.

ATOMIK: exactly.

A couple weeks later came the official announcement: Wood would be opening a sister shop directly adjacent to their existing location on NW. 2nd Ave. and this new space would be home to a pizzeria. For hungry bar patrons, this couldn’t be better news, especially those who may want something more substancial than Wood’s fantastic tacos.

Still, the bar owner Cesar Morales’ ingenuity really began to shine through once the space was prepped for building. White washed and gutted, Morales opened the space up this past weekend, passing out 1,000 to locals who are wiling to let their inner child rage and draw something on the space’s bare interior.

While the exact date for the new space’s opening hasn’t been announced yet, Morales did mention on Facebook that depending on what the final product looked like, he may end up keeping it. Until then, peep the video shot on site by Wood Tavern themselves, and check out our photos below that.

Photography by Melanie Gapany

Kicking off on Wednesday Night at the Wynwood Walls with a craft beer tasing presented by CBIZ. Nearly 100 craft beers and micro-brews at dozens of tasting stations including some local breweries. Gravity Brew Lab, for example, brought with them a roster of the offerings they will have on hand once their new Wynwood location opens up.

The festival will continue through the weekend with a wine tasting, an interactive dinner and a dinner auction aimed at VIP guests. Tonight, attendees will converge at the Village of Merrick Park for a Fine Wine Tasting presented by the Miccosukee Resort and Gaming, where they will be able to sample award winning wines while listening to the music of the Spam All Stars. The following night, at the JW Marriot Marquis Miami on Biscayne, chef Daniel Boulud will be on hand to offer guidance and instruction as tables team up to prepare their own three course meal. The festival’s conclusion will take place in a restored 1940s Naval Air hangar, as guests enter a time warp to enjoy a post World War II celebration, complete with vintage fighter planes, military vehicles and period cars contrasted by the modern Italian cuisine of a four course meal prepared by chef Davide Brovelli.

To learn more about Veritage Miami or to purchase to tickets to any of the events, visit the Veritage website. Be sure to also check out our photos from the Craft Beer Tasting that took place on Wednesday Night.

To learn more about Veritage Miami read our feature on the festival or Visit the Veritage Miami Website to purchase to tickets to any of the events, visit the Veritage website.

Year round, we celebrate the individually of our city’s inhabitants, with South and Miami Beaches as a bustling center of homosexual life in the City. It comes as no surprise then that the city annually holds one of the most entertaining and popular gay pride parades in the country, bringing together the LBGT community with supporters, family members and friends for a day of amazing fun.

These amazing shots, taken by Soneath Sao showcase of some of the happiest faces in the city of Miami. In what is a truly uplifting set, Sao captures the joy and pride in everyone present at this weekend’s event, a mood that even the police department helped to contribute to.

Photography by Soneath Soa
Text by Melanie Gapany

What was truly amazing about the Bizarnival was the scope to which they were able to bring together the varied performers to create a unique and fluid experience for the attendees. From Dubstep heavy djs such as Somejerk and Ashworth to violin playing performers to full on live band sets, there really was a little something for everyone.

Originally to take place at Moksha studio, it didn’t seem that the eventual move to LMNT hurt the event in any way at all, but we remain in anticipation to hear about announcements for next year, as it would have been welcoming to experience such an event in Moksha’s vast outdoor area (and also something tells me they would have had that bus set up)

This Week’s featured IG Photographers (in order):

@hippiefresa
@gagiewagie239*
@prince_phillipe
@gagiewagie239
*cover image

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Ladies and gentlemen, party people ages twenty-one and up!
Get ready for the greatest show on Earth. Birds and beasts, monsters of the deep, reptiles of the land, and elephants of the East. Come see what we have in store for you

The copy calls to mind carnival callers, standing on their soap boaxes with elaborately sequined tuxedo blazers and overly greased hair, luring us to make our way through velvet curtained doorways in order to take in the strangest of the strange.

But inside of LMNT, you will not find the two headed puppy or the man who swallows swords, hopefully, you also wont run into the bearded lady. Nay, this is not a carnival to showcase a gang of freaks, performing odd physically perplexing contortions and consuming more steel than most humans can stomach. This is a carnival celebrating the strangest and most unique in Miami’s local creative circles.

With performances from Dusthead, Y Diz/Parker, The Beat Machines, Okulus Anomali, Komakozie, SomeJerk, Seven D, Ashworth amongst many others in addition to many local artists and performers, such as Reinier Gamboa, Olivia Curry, Sea See and Kazilla the event promises to be an interesting delight for senses.

The event takes places this Saturday at LMNT, located at 55 NW 36 ST, Miami FL from 9pm-4am. Tickets will cost $10 at the door, and the event is 21+. For a full list of performers and more information, check out the facebook event page.

This Week’s featured IG Photographers (in order):

@sweet_speed
@united_dnb*

*cover image

Follow them on Instagram for more photos like these!

Submit yours by tagging #miamialive on instagram (note, we cant see your images if your profile is private).
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