Open Road Music & Arts Festival Recap

This past Saturday was the Open Road Music & Arts festival up in Worcester, Massachusetts. I heard about this festival from Lori of Cavata Clothing and thought it would be a great opportunity to get some up close and personal exposure in part of the New England area. Tiff and I drove up the night before, so the following day it was easier to find the location for this event. 

First, throughout the week I was nervous as I'm sure the people at Open Road, because of reports of Hurricane Earl. Luckily that day it was beautiful weather. We arrived, started to set up, and was excited to see how the day would turn out. The event was fenced, so anyone who wanted to enjoy the festivities had to pay to get in. A lot of the other vendors there were "Go-Green" awareness and promoting "Go-Green" options, which was cool, but it sort of felt out of place for a music & arts festival. They had two food vendors, which I hope next year they had more and they seemed to have only vegan food. I will say that the Vegan Thai food was delicious. What I thought was funny was that there was a hot food truck that parked right outside the fence and wasn't a food vendor for Open Road.

The day was slow and my main fear, before the Hurrican Earl ruining the event one, was that it wouldn't have been promoted right and not the turn out would be low. The vibe was great, but I felt there needed to be a lot more people to fully make this event really good.

One of my highlights was playing with the glider, which you see Tiff playing in the video. Those brought me back to my childhood days and they will be given as a freebie to those who order any Red Baron t-shirts. 

The other vendors were cool and I definitely chat it up with Peter and Lori of Cavata, who brought a nice size crew along and Peter even copped a Red Baron tee. They're definitely cool people. Jeff of Elen's Candles was good guy who gave Tiff a free moisturizer. I used it and it's nice, girls it smells pretty. 

The music ranged from jazz to folk music to rock 'n roll, which definitely made the day go by fast. There were some good bands that I'd like to see again if the Open Road festival happens again. Some notables were The Black Raspberries, The Roadkill Orchestra(whose pianist goes by Dr. Gonzo and reminded me of a professional wrestler when he spoke) Love In Stockholm, Goosepimp Orchestra, and Sam Kininger Band. Some band members from all the bands seemed to like what was for sale and some purchased a shirt or two. I personally think the jazz bands killed it. It does not matter what kind of music that you like, their sets were on point.

Overall, Tiff and I had a good time which is important when selling at events, besides the most important part which is the selling. If Open Road has the event again, I could see myself bringing Branded Baron back and hopefully they make a couple improvements as well. Now a piece of Massachusetts knows about Branded Baron and I know the people that bought shirts are happy.

Here are some pictures from the event.

Little sculptures on display

Tiff helping with the set up as I snap a picture

 A glimpse of the Cavata Clothing tent.

 Lori, Tiff, Myself, and Paul posing

 Upclose and personal of the glider. Tiff and I were playing with them, because they were fun.

 Some people that there watching and enjoying the music.

Here are 3 pictures of those who are now Branded Baron:

 We have exclusive shirts, so if you know where Branded Baron will be sold come out, because you'll never know what goodies we'll have.

The painter had some good stuff, especially water color compositions. He had a technique which I thought was smart and think would work best the next time I pick up the brush.

Hoola Hoop

Love In Stockholm

She plays with fire

Enjoying the music by Goosepimp Orchestra. One of their band members is rocking the Astrohop t-shirt.

Tired and driving back to the hotel.

Stay No Less Than Stunningly Fresh,

     Joe

Boston Recap Part 2

The next day in Boston was fun, because Tiff and I got to explore Boston a bit more. I knew two companies would be at the SOWA Vintage Market, so we went there first. This market was packed with a bunch of vendors and ton of people. It looked great and I think I should go up and sell there as soon as possible.

I saw the Regan Smith Clarke's booth and I told him via twitter that I would stop by. Regan's apparel is great and the designs are cool and clean. I liked one of his designs and was hoping to buy it as a tee when his fall release drops, but he had the design on a tank and since it was hot, I bought it. Regan is a chill dude and I definitely chat it up for awhile. I recommend checking his stuff out and maybe a Regan Smith Clarke/Branded Baron collabo in the future. Who knows? You guys let us know if you want that. View the apparel and print by Regan Smith Clarke. http://www.regansmithclarke.com/

That wasn't the only person that I knew would be there. I saw Lori of Cavata Clothing who was there also selling. Her, her brother, and friend John schooled me on the usage of "wicked." It's cool to say, but "wicked awesome" isn't cool, only out of towners like that. I guess it's the same when people say "New Joisey", because no one says New Jersey like that. Cavata donates a certain percentage to save the music and art programs, which is great. I own Cavata attire, so you know that they have some good apparel.

  

Photo with Lori of Cavata Clothing while holding up the classic Astrohop t-shirt. Yes, I switched into the tank, because it was hot. It has me thinking of Branded Baron tanks for me next year.

Cavata Clothing

Guess which book I thought was funny? At these markets you'll see some old and vintage items, besides some fresh products.

Tiff and I ate some hot dogs that were huge and they tasted good. That's mustard, but it looks like cheese.

After the market we went down to Newbury Street, which I was told to check out. We stopped by some stores and I got some more inspiration at the Johnny Cupcakes store. We spent the whole day in Boston, because it was a beautiful day to walk around and I knew Cape Cod traffic would be ridiculous. I forget that Boston has a bunch of colleges, because on the way I saw them and remembered others. The scenery is nice, but I'm not sure if I would like to live there. I don't think I can deal with seeing Red Sox stuff everywhere. One question, what's with all the circles in Boston? It seems like I'm driving around in circles to get to one destination to the next. I'll definitely be back up in Boston and would like to have some more fun. 

Here are some scenic photos

Tiff wearing a Cavata Clothing pin while we sat outside.

lol I thought this picture was funny.

Stay no less than stunningly fresh,
      Joe

Boston Recap Part 1-UFC Fan Expo

I should've posted this right away, but the past week was another busy week for Branded Baron. Good things to come. Anyway, the last weekend in August was awesome from the anniversary to the White Train event to the UFC Fan expo, and chillin in Boston.

 Anthony wanted to head to Boston for the UFC Fan Expo and it was cool to go. Josh from MMAValor.com went to the last one in Vegas and said it was fun. Unfortunately Anthony and I didn't link up until fight time, even though we were in the same facility. Weird, I know. There were some cool games at certain booths like the American Gladiator jousting and this speed punching bag game that Tiff wouldn't play with me. I did that by myself, but you had to punch the target as fast as you can in 30 seconds. Tiff said I had a score of 166, which is okay I guess. See the picture below on what it looked like.

If you wanted to get a picture taken with any fighter, you had fun waiting on line. I didn't care to take a picture with anyone, nor did I want to wait on any line. Anthony got a bunch of pictures with a couple fighters from Roy "Big Country" Nelson to Martin Kampmann. I'll see if I can have him send me some photos, because he's not the fastest person to upload photos. There were a ton of UFC fighters and even the latest Celtic Shaquille O'Neal aka The Big Shamrock were in the building. I watched a Chuck Liddell answer questions from the fans and some from Mike Goldberg. I enjoyed that very much, but some people were asking ridiculous requests. Some guy asked Chuck to sign his bald head and then we found out that Chuck was going to shave his head for charity. His mohawk is part of his persona. Here's a great question and I'll title this video, "What's a Chuck Liddell?" 

It was definitely cool to see everyone having a good time and the fighters showing appreciation to the people that help pay them. I thought it was weird that Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez was signing at one of the clothing line booths. One thing I didn't like, besides it being incredibly packed was the clothing lines weren't that great. They all looked like copies of one another.


That was on the way to go watch the fight.


Tiff and I picked up Anthony, his wifey, and future sister-in-law and headed to watch the fight at a bar that happened to be across the street from Fenway Park. Being that I'm a Yankee fan I had to rock my New York Yankees cap which I matched it with the original "To Live Is To Fight" shirt. You know a picture of Branded Baron and the Yankee had to be taken right in front of Fenway. It's my obligatory duty as a Yankee fan. The fight was great and Jersey's own Frankie Edgar was able to retain the title he won months ago from B.J. Penn. Congrats to him.

Mike Goldberg and Chuck Liddell

Blurry picture of Rashad Evans

Matt Hamill

Tito Ortiz

Anthony & I at the bar watching the fight.

Rockin the original "To live is to fight" t-shirt and Yankee baseball cap in front of Fenway Park.

Boston Recap Part 2 coming shortly.

Stay no less than Stunningly Fresh,
     Joe

Labor Day Weekend Sale- 20% off

20% off your next order with the discount code "PARTY". Labor Day is a day of no labor, so you should PARTY.

Stay no less than stunningly fresh,

      Joe

Photo of the day: DJ spinning w/ Branded Baron tee

DJ Alex Edge was rocking the Listen To Your Heart t-shirt at the White Train event. It definitely caught me off guard when I saw the dj wearing it. It was so unexpected and cool. More info on White Train's event and them selling Branded Baron on their site later. This photo was taken by Joel John.

Stay no less than stunningly fresh,

     Joe

Open Road Music And Arts Festival THIS Saturday

Hey Everyone! I wanted to let you know that Branded Baron will be at the first annual Open Road Music & Arts Festival this Saturday. Branded Baron will be a vendor at this festival up in Worcester, Massachusetts. I'm excited that Branded Baron will get to meet and sell to people further up the North East. We're definitely working on traveling to other states around the nation for 2011 and have some things in the works, but in the meantime this is the next stop. It should be lots of fun and if you're in the area or if you're from Boston and need something to do, come on out. I know there's plenty of music and great vendors, so let's have some fun.


Here's more info from the Open Road Festival website:

Open Road is Worcester’s first sustainable and earth-friendly music and arts festival. The festival will take place September 4th, 2010 at Institute Park. On top of the great live music, there will be an eclectic variety of cuisine, many local artists and vendors, family-friendly activities and much more. Live music kicks off at 11:00 am and will proceed until 6:00 pm.

The goal of Open Road is to raise the awareness of alternative and sustainable lifestyles while bringing the Worcester community (and beyond) together to enjoy local art and extraordinary music.

Here are a few examples of the Open Road green initiative:
- Our sound system is powered by a bio-diesel generator
- Recycle bins located throughout the festival grounds
- All marketing/promotional materials printed on either organic, recycled or water based material.

Vendors will be located around the perimeter to sell art, crafts, food, and more. A portion of the proceeds 

I hopwill go to the Joy Of Music Program in Worcester.

Info:
Date: Saturday, Sept. 4, 2010
Where: Institute Park @ Worcester, MA
Starts at: 11a.m. 

I hope to see you there.


Stay no less than stunningly fresh,
    Joe

HideYourArms.com posts about the Sugar Skull Tee

Thanks to Andy, who posted on Hideyourarms.com about the new Branded Baron tee. You know we did something right when the shirt is referenced as "Badass". I definitely appreciate the post and like I've said before about his site, it's definitely a good site for tees & hoodies.(It originally was a hoodie blog hence the name "hide your arms") So check the Hideyouarms blog  and comment on the Branded Baron post or any of the others that are mentioned on the site.

If you haven't purchased a shirt yet, make sure you pick one up, because these bad boys are very limited. http://www.brandedbaron.com/product/sugar-skull

Stay no less than stunningly fresh,
    Joe