Twista's been in the rap game a good while, but now he's fully come into his own. As of Spring 2004 his reputation and success are cemented with two million in sales for his CD, Kamikaze. "Slow Jamz" already has the ears of the hip-hop world and "Overnight Celebrity" will be vying for eyes on the video circuit. Check out Lyle del Mundo's interview with the Chicago hometown hero now in top form. With Twista, the Winter Music Conference (coverage in Soundstage) and Tuner Bash, there's been a lot going on...
We just returned from Panama City Beach, where Spring is eternal. This time of year has long been associated with the idea of fertility -- an uncomfortable notion to certain spring breakers who have to wait out some tense weeks after too much debauchery on their vacations. We weren't able to engage in anything too wild on our trip to Tuner Bash -- hey, we were technically working, if you want to call hanging out by the beach, checking out cars, talking to car and audio enthusiasts, and going to company sponsored parties at night "work." Nice gig, if you can get it, right? Well, it wasn't quite as easy-going as that. We did run our Car Audio and Electronics' Sound & Style Challenge at the show, inviting vehicle owners already entered in the Import Showoff to compete for prizes and a chance to be featured in the magazine.
Overall our goal with the event was to get car enthusiasts to become audio guys. We hope they might even become sound competitors. Beyond that, it's just fun for us and the people who want to get involved...
Some of the cars that we judged were amazing while others left us scratching our heads a little bit. We saw a couple of tiny compacts with15-inch monitors within their cozy confines. I guess that's better, proportionally speaking, than buying a huge SUV and paying out the nose for a 42-inch plasma. But that observation aside, I have to say there were some great examples of car audio aesthetics. That was our primary criterion for judging cars. We did, of course, look at the quality of the installation in terms of fitment, finish, placement and wiring. It surprised us just how many guys and gals had overlooked electrical safety issues under the hood. That instantly became a hot topic for us to cover editorially in the upcoming issues.
A third of the competing cars deserved careful attention. There were some great ideas, whether conventional but executed with such a high degree of expertise that it stood out, or unusual (if not gimmicky) and sufficiently well done that you kept going back to it while looking over the car (e.g. a spinning wheel and tire in the trunk -- this person won an honorable mention). The best cars were those that exhibited a superior level of concinnity, if you will. A system that is well integrated and that matches with other elements on the vehicle. The top five definitely had that. And though we didn't give an award for a team effort I have to say that Team ECI deserves recognition for having the best groups of cars at the show. (Speaking of teams, go to p. 52; and if you're a member of a car club with stand-out vehicles -- contact us!) As for the winner of our Challenge: it was a silver Supra with some elegant fabrication work, owned by Marine soldier Gabriel Smith. And no, we didn't give it to him because he looked like he could kick our butts. This guy just knows how to put together a cool car; and obviously he picked the right guy to help him execute his vision.
So kudos to his installer, Jack Szelepka. And thanks to bikini contest winner Monica Johnson who appears in the layout for the Supra.
If you missed out on Tuner Bash '04 -- don't make the same mistake twice! See you there next year.
Last but not least, in this issue we also have some great product reviews. Lanzar may not be the first name you think of for amps, but their OPTI2000D lives up to its billing as a high-power amplifier. We also have Clarion's trick new touchscreen head unit that might be just the right deck for you show-goers, and a component set from Clif Designs. Stay tuned, we have some cool stuff lined up for the August issue.