panda head interviews...

seattle-based band panda & angel start off their US tour - which includes a stop at this year's sxsw festival - tomorrow night in DC. catch them (along with karmella's game and ingrid) backstage at the black cat, where they're playing in support of the riot girl/women in punk documentary 'from the back of the room.' panda & angel bassist/keyboardist laura enderle, pictured far left, was rad enough to sit down and answer style questions for panda head.

how would you describe your style?
Form-fitting. Street meets neat.
do you pay attention to trends? if so, how do you stay current?
Trends are not concerning but I like them. I like new fashion movements and the creativity that fuels them.
how do you pack for tour?
I have no idea how to pack for tour - touring is always a constant surprise. The cities, the weather and my mood usually are at odds so keeping it simple, very simple, is important as well as being creative.

what do you spend money on, clothing-wise?
Oh money and fashion such a shame. Once and a while the high dollar slips through my fingers but mostly you can find me at some type of clothing graveyard where unloved and overstocked items are brought together. It can be either a bit entertaining or completely maddening while sifting through all the crap in a cloud of fluorescent lights and chemicals from the clothing.
what's your absolute favorite item of clothing? did you bring it on tour?
Right now it is this rhinestone owl necklace, it is so cute. I bought different versions of it for my two sisters and mother for Christmas this year. I love jewelry. And yep, I brought the necklace.
do you make or customize any of your own clothing?
Screen printing, cutting and hemming, yes. It sometimes sits unfinished for quite some time and sometimes it gets tossed. I would love to and have thought about designing my own clothes I just have not developed the patience or skill to really sew.
who or what do you find inspiring, style-wise?
Everyone. Well not everyone but not only all the cute stylish girls on the streets and in the clubs, but also older generations and both [those with] very traditional as well as eccentric personal styles.
how would YOU define 'style'?
Style is at its best when personalized. Stylish is that which one is trying to or is not trying to communicate to the world.
what city do you find to be the most stylish?
I would say the cities with the largest diversity. Too much of the same is boring and then the style is lost on the trend.

interview by morgan. photo of panda & angel by landreth + riffle.

calvert street: adams morgan.

18th street: adams morgan.

SNOW. columbia road safeway: adams morgan.

redeem: prevue revue.

under construction.

panda head is getting a bit of a makeover this weekend, but we're still updating! please ignore the nine million header changes and anything else out of the ordinary, i hope to have it all sorted by monday.
love, morgan.

rock and roll hotel: akron/family, kitty hawk, deleted scenes.

outside asylum: adams morgan.

18th & columbia: adams morgan.

930 club: lily allen.

rock and roll hotel: thunderbirds are now!, oxford collapse, olympia.

black cat: red room.

930 club: jonathan richman.

black cat: bliss.

styleistics, the second.

panda head features...

name: DJ STEREO FAITH
www.stereofaith.com
stereo faith on myspace.

how would you describe your style?
my style is an eclectic mix of early 80s punk rocker, mid 80s skate rat and late 80s inner city drug dealer.
do you pay attention to trends? how do you stay current?
i do pay attention to style trends. as a d.j. i’m consistently in nightclubs, on the streets promoting, and reading music/fashion magazines. so, i’m constantly aware of the shifts in style. however, i’m not much of a follower of what’s “in style.” i buy what i like whether or not it’s cool or trendy. in fact, i’m quite pleased when someone criticizes something i wear. it lets me know that i’m bucking the trends.
where do you like to shop?
i shop at NEIMAN MARCUS and SAKS FIFTH AVENUE for evening and semi-formal wear. i shop at PREMIUM GOODS (brooklyn, ny), PITCREW SKATEBOARDS (frederick, md), ELITE BOARDSHOP (fairfax, va), GENTEI (baltimore, md) and MAJOR (washington, dc) for streetwear. i have an allegiance to these stores and i generally don’t shop anywhere else.
what do you spend money on, clothing-wise? are you a collector of anything?
i’m an avid sneaker, t-shirt and vinyl record collector. i have been collecting all three since the 80’s. however, in the past few years, i’ve sold large portions of my sneaker and t-shirt collections to supplement my record purchases. at one time i owned around 400 pairs of sneakers. at present, i’m down to about 225 or so. i still own hundreds of band and streetwear t-shirts and well over 1000 records.
what's your favorite item of clothing?
my favorite item of clothing would be my red and black NIKE air jordan 1’s. the air jordan 1 made its debut in 1985 - my freshman year of high school. it’s a clean and simple sneaker with none of the bells and whistles that appear on most current sneakers. i prefer simple sneakers, hence my lifelong obsession with NIKE dunks, air force 1’s and air jordan 1’s. i consider those to be timeless classics. they have never gone “out of style”.
any favored denim company?
my favorite denim company is LEVI’S. once again you have another timeless classic. i’ve seen many denim brands come and go as far as being “in vogue” (AJ’S, DAMAGE jeans, USED jeans, GUESS, etc.). but, in my opinion, LEVI’S have never fallen to shifts in trends. i also own jeans by NUDIE, SEVEN, ROGAN and H&M, but i guarantee you in 10 years they will be relegated to KARL KANI, FUBU and SERGIO VALENTE status. you’ll be embarrassed to wear them.
what inspires you to get dressed?
the things that inspire me to get dressed are 80’s rap videos, the BONES BRIGADE skate team (POWELL PERALTA) and the people who performed at and frequented CBGB’s in the 70’s. movie like “fast times at ridgemont high,” “rad,” “thrashin,” “rock and roll high school,” and “beat street.” books like “please kill me,” “banned in dc,” and “lexicon devil”. i wouldn’t say that my style mimics any particular one of these things. they are simply an inspiration for what i wear and how i choose to wear it.
how would you compare DC's style with that of other cities you frequent? what's your take on DC style in general?
in comparison to many of the other cities i frequent, dc falls somewhere below new york and philly, yet light years ahead of more southern cities like atlanta. i’m a firm believer that ny sets the trends that most other cities follow. new york is commonly known as the fashion capital. dc’s style, in my opinion, is a result of the city’s transient nature. you rarely meet people that are born and raised here. everyone seems to have relocated from somewhere else. next thing you know, they’ve moved on. i think dc’s style is a direct result of the merging of different cities' styles.

interview and photo: morgan. stereo faith photographed on hanover street, NW.