Kaitlyn Mason is a 19 year old model out of Dallas TX. Although only in the industry for a short period of time, she has excelled and created a name for herself from here to Los Angeles CA. Growing up she was involved in beauty pageants, dance, and competitive cheerleading. At the age of 17 she was on her own supporting herself entirely, and that’s when she discovered her passion for modeling. Once she finally turned 18, she was having the biggest names in Dallas asking to shoot with her, and offers from low rider to playboy magazine. this girl has her mind set and this is what she wants to do with  her life.

Photos by Teo Salinas : www.teosalinasphotography.com

This is a small outbuilding which has been extended and transformed into a house – now a bed and breakfast. The aim was to introduce steel sheets into the existing structure to create a mezzanine floor; the aim then was to extend these sheets outdoors in order to create a living room enclosed solely in glass which opens out generously into the natural surrounding environment. The architect has taken care to blend the new elements into the existing building. The work carried out has not been to the detriment of the old building. The original heavy and solid features of the old building are still clear for all to see, and these features contrast with the extremely soft touch of the more recent work which has been carried out, the intention of which is obvious: the inclusion of features which create a contrast and which are not a close replication of the existing features.

Fizzmatik, the alter-ego of Canadian artist Axel Enzar, captivates electronic music fans with its mesmerizing instrumentals. The imaginatively named Paris-based musician fuses both shadows and light into each song; he creates a depth of melancholic dark tones on the outside that upon further introspection reveals a luminous core.

Fizzmatik reflects on his fascination with electronic music: “What appeals to me is the freedom and creativity of this type of music, the fact that it doesn’t fit into a specific genre. It’s an area where you have the most musical freedom because you have unusual new types of sounds and music structures. You can do tracks that are 10 minutes long, you can do tracks that are 2 minutes long.”

This perspective is embedded in Fizzmatik’s premiere album Chaos Is The New Order that launched in late 2010. He composed, performed, and mixed all ten tracks. While a few songs incorporate some vocals, the majority utilizes solely instrumentals. Each track takes the listener on a journey filled with rich harmonies and beautiful haunting melodies. The album has hints of Chemical Brothers, Depeche Mode, Massive Attack, and Moby. Fizzmatik creates a sound of his own with its mysterious overtures that emit a quiet strength.

Fizzmatik has released videos for the tracks EDO and Brave New World which fans may view via his website and on YouTube. More videos are in the works. Listeners can follow the artist via Facebook and Twitter and purchase the album’s songs through iTunes, AmazonMP3, eMusic, and Fizzmatik’s website. The artist plans to schedule live performances later in 2011 and explore music festivals and venues in Europe.

Fizzmatik’s strong interest in electronic music developed through his work in the film industry. After watching the movie Blade Runner and listening to its rousing electronic music, he became instantly enthralled. Other artists in the field who influenced him included John Barry, Harold Budd, Brian Eno, Philip Glass, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Tangerine Dream, and Vangelis. With this foundation of inspiration, Fizzmatik created his own songs. Now with Chaos Is The New Order completed, Fizzmatik is working on a second album with an expected completion date in late 2011.

How would you describe your musical style?  Dark electronic music with a luminous core… Or the opposite, seemingly euphoric electronica with a melancholic heart. I often combine conflicting emotions, looking for an ambiguous sound that would take you to unvisited places. It’s also often very cinematic, very visual.

When did you start recording and what inspired you to get into the musical business? My love for music in general really started out of my love for film music (and film of course). When i was younger , i became fascinated by some film soundtracks and their otherworldly sounds like Vangelis’s «Blade Runner» or Ryuichi Sakamoto’s «Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence». I just wasn’t interested in pop/rock songs at that time, whereas this type of music just appealed to me. The first few seconds of «Blade Runner» mesmerized me… just the right notes with the right sound , combined to create powerful and evocative mental images.

From there i decided to learn music by myself, as well as recording and synthesis techniques.

Later i composed for all sorts of visual media. Then started working on my own album under the moniker «Fizzmatik».

«Chaos is the new Order» is the first one. The second one should be ready early next year and will keep exploring the same vein. Then later in 2012 , i’ll be releasing a different project under my name Axel Enzar , that will be a fusion of contemporary classical and electronic elements.

Who are some of your musical inspirations?  Of all arts, music is probably the most able to bypass the filter of rationality and directly access your soul.But my musical inspirations incorporate more than music. For example the surreal world of writers like Jorge Luis Borges, Kafka, or Julio Cortazar influenced me probably as much as some musicians. Also film directors like Andrei Tarkovsky, Stanley Kubrick or Antonioni. Painters like Giorgio De Chirico, etc..

Then you have musicians of course, that range from Tangerine Dream to Philip Glass or Ligeti, from Depeche Mode to Keith Jarrett or Brian Eno. My musical tastes are really all over the place..

Another big source of influence are my dreams…

What are your goals in the industry?  Be the first to play on planet Mars ? Ok , maybe not…

Actually i’m not sure anyone knows what the term «industry» really means anymore when applied to music. We are in a very shifting and chaotic music business landscape, and things can equally get either much better or much worse. Technology has made it easier for independent musicians like me to release their work and control many aspects of it, yet made it even more difficult to make a living out of their work.

My music is not really «Lady Gaga» kind of stuff, so i don’t expect it to sell by the truckload, but hopefully it will reach and speak to an audience that’s looking for a different experience.

Where can we hear your music or see you perform?  You can listen to the whole album on my website  HYPERLINK “http://www.fizzmatik.com” www.fizzmatik.com , and buy it online from a variety of places like iTunes, Amazon, and eMusic , or preferably on my own website store.

I don’t have any dates firmly set for touring yet, but i’m planning some shows later this year in Europe, and hopefully North America next year. My website and Facebook/Twitter page will be constantly updated with new information as it comes.

Is there anyone in any creative field you think we should be keeping an eye out for?  I’ve been really enjoying recently the music of Keith Kenniff who releases beautiful and strange piano music under the name «Goldmund» , as well as more electronic ambient stuff under the name «Helios»

Also photographer/illustrator Michal Karcz who does some amazing landscapes, and danish photographer Kim Holtermand.

There are a lot of interesting artists out there to keep an eye on , but these are just a few examples i can think of right now.

Any parting thoughts you would like to share with the readers?  Well, first thank you for these questions, and the readers for their support of artists and musicians.

And lastly, i still keep the faith in the idea that music ( and art in general) can affect , maybe more indirectly than directly, the linking of humans to each other through this strange abstract experience called «listening to music». United through sound…

Lastly, the social linkup, what are your URLs for Facebook, Twitter, etc?

my website is  www.fizzmatik.com

Facebook :  www.facebook.com/fizzmatik

Twitter :  www.twitter.com/fizzmatik

The girl next door in the neighborhood of your dreams, free-spirited Brittney Palmer is a professional dancer, model, painter, and ring-card girl for the UFC. She spends her free time cresting waves, hitting big air on the slopes, and jumping out of airplanes. When not traveling, she can most often be found in her studio cranking Led Zeppelin and diving into her passion for art, painting the night away.

A native of San Diego, Brittney is returning to her roots as a California girl and is attending art school in Los Angeles beginning in the summer of 2011. Her future plans include…everything!

Tell us a little about yourself.  Who is Brittany Palmer?  I’m an artist, classic rock lover, flower girl at heart, and model and host. I was born in San Diego and was raised in Las Vegas. I started working in the entertainment world right out of high school, first as a promotional model for live stage shows, then as a magician’s assistant. I then was the lead in a burlesque show until I began working as a ring card model for boxing, followed by WEC and UFC.

How long have you been involved in modeling and what are some of your aspirations in this field? I’ve been modeling since right out of high school. It wasn’t something I necessarily aspired to do, but there are a lot of opportunities for modeling in Las Vegas. In fact I recently saw myself on a billboard from five years ago in Las Vegas! I’d love to continue on the path I’m on: focusing on my artwork and building partnerships with brands and products that I love to be a part of.

What got you started and who are some of your inspirations or supporters who helped you make the decision?  I was working for a timeshare company doing their promotions. I saw showgirls with their giant headdresses and I really wanted to wear those cute outfits. I took the next step and never looked back!

Seems you have more than one trick up your sleeve, let’s talk about your art work. When did you get started and why? I started in art in high school. It was a great let out of

How would you describe your style?  I paint iconic rock and pop cultural figures from the 1960s and ’70s era. I prefer to paint with acrylic on canvas. I think that era was the most artistic because of the synergy between music, art, and lifestyle. It’s not an inspiration for me as much as it’s a way of life.

As you know, BackPocket Magazine is part of the Never2Funky family. So how would you define funky?  To me, being funky is to be different, original, and not be afraid to show your own style. That’s what makes funky so interesting and important.

So what makes you so funky?  I’m funky because I end up breaking a lot of stereotypes. I don’t think I’m a typical model in that I’d rather be on a beach painting instead of on a beach in a bikini posing.

Sounds a bit strange, but could you describe what would be your most perfect day?  Be as detailed as you want.  My perfect day gets me excited just thinking about it! It starts with surfing and yoga class, then I’d sketch some paintings on the beach. And I’d spend the rest of the evening at my new studio, painting with a glass of wine in hand for hours. Can we make this happen tomorrow please?!

Any talented or up-in-coming people we should be looking out for?  Me! Kidding! You’re already looking out for me, and I’m really glad you are. Thanks to my really crazy work schedule with painting, class, and travel I don’t have too much time to discover other artists. Send me some recommendations!

How about a shout to the people you consider part of your support system.   My grams and mom are my rock. They are the strongest women I know and inspire me to be the best person I can be. Also everyone in my family. They mean more to me than anything. And my lifelong friends that I’ve kept since I recently moved from Las Vegas are always here for me. I couldn’t do it alone, that’s for sure.

Lastly, any parting comments to the readers?  Stay in school! Haha seriously though, I’ve found that treating life like an open book is the key to happiness. I just moved to Los Angeles to enroll in art school, and I’ve never been happier. That all sounds cheesy, so maybe just Rock N Roll!

And of course give is your all-important URLs: I’m on twitter at www.twitter.com/brittneypalmer and search facebook for my fan page. Also, check outwww.brittneypalmer.com for all things me, including my 2012 calendar and artwork.

Originally from San Francisco, California, this former college football star and Slamball juggernaut began his career in acting long before gracing the grid-iron. At the age of nine he appeared in his first role as Justin in “Help is on the way”. After studying theatre at Central St. University of Ohio, LaMonica Garrett moved to Los Angeles to follow his passion for acting.

LaMonica has appeared in dozens of national commercials. Pinesol, Delta/AMEX, Home Goods, Lincoln, and Wells Fargo are a some of his most recent as well as multiple print campaigns for powerhouse companies such as Sony, Ketel One Vodka, and Adidas to name a few. Over the past 3 years he’s really been turning up the heat on television, film and even gaming.

He got his first break guest starring on One Tree Hill as bad boy Jerome in 2008. Since then, he hasn’t skipped a beat and has appeared on shows like Parenthood, CSI Miami, Single Ladies, and recurred on Hawthorn and Dark Blue. Currently he’s recurring on 2 of the more popular shows on television. Sons of Anarchy(FX) playing Deputy Sheriff Cane and NCIS(CBS) playing Marine Captain Craig Quincy.

This summer he had a supporting role in the blockbuster movie Transformers 3 Dark of the Moon which is now available on DVD. And this past March EA Sports released their first video game with a storyline and M for mature rating “Fight Night Champion.” LaMonica starred in the lead role opposite Eliza Dushku as Andre Bishop. In his latest project in post production, LaMonica Garrett is starring and executive producing an edgy and sexy short called “Mouthpiece.”

Sky is the limit for this young talent, there’s no telling where you may see him next, so keep an eye out!

For our inagural BP Transgender, we decided to just let the photos speak for themselves and bypass the normal introductions.

The question has come up several times, along with many warnings, about why we would go there and feature transgender models.  The easy answer is simple, because we can and because it’s you that hold the bias and not us.

Over the coming issues, we will be featuring straight, gay, lesbian, and trans gendered models.  If that disturbs you, then awesome, we have achieved our goal.  The goal to make you face that facts you you still harbor dangerous and awful bias.  Bias that may be based in your upbringing, your religion, or your own hidden homoerotic desires that you fight so hard to repress.

If on the other hand you are not offended, putout, or insulted, then welcome to our club.  The club of the unrepentantly open-minded and funky clan of free-thinkers and free-spirits.

But on a more complex level, the very real condition called gender dysphoria is a serious and complex condition that is part of the everyday lives of more people than you may want to accept.  See Transgender is not a sexual deviancy, it’s that absolute belief that you simply were born in the wrong gender.  Whether you choose dot accept it or not, it’s just the way it is.

Just like biological men and women, transgendered can also range from butt ugly trolls to extremely beautiful people who have, through modern medicine, transformed their physical being to match their soulful being.  Thank goodness for modern medicine.

So let me end this rant of sorts, by saying thank you to Tais for taking the first step for us and we will slowly add our BP Boy, gay or straight, we don’t quite care to our already impressive list of BP Girls, who may be lesbian for all we know, but again don’t care.

Oh, and fellas, it’s ok,  if you think Tais is attractive, you are most certainly NOT gay and you are not going to catch “the gay” bug, lol.

Celebrate this and Enjoy

-Alex

I don’t exactly remember when I first laid eyes on her…but I remember the various occasions when we would run into each other. Time has a weird habit of changing the order of events…and when I initially met this woman, I was about 18 years old. To say that she was beautiful would be a gross understatement. Her ebony skin beckoned for you to caress it. Most of the time, she would pull her shoulder length hair into a quick pony-tail and still managed to look as if she were ready to pose for the cover of any top fashion magazine.

I would watch her dance, her body moving rhythmically to the hypnotic beat of the music, the barest hint of smile on her lips as if she secretly knew how incredibly gorgeous she really was.

We never talked too often. She was a woman of few words. But every time my eyes fell on hers, I always wondered what was going on in her head. A few times, I had the nerve to ask her, and she would always give me a response…and yet, I cannot tell you what those responses were if my very life depended on it. She had sharp features, a model’s high cheekbones and full, voluptuous lips…the kind that if you kissed just once, you might find yourself never wanting to kiss anyone else again. She had the perfect female body…and never once did she ever dress too provocatively when she was out.

She has evolved over the years from being a twenty-something party-girl to a statuesque woman, and in that timeframe, we’ve managed to get to know one another a little bit better. She attends services at my church from time to time. As a matter of fact, that was how we managed to reunite. I think that she may have been as surprised at how much I have changed from being an eighteen year kid to a forty one year old man…almost as much as how much she hadn’t changed physically, from being the beautiful party-girl to the woman that she has become. I had to admit, a certain part of me had retained feelings for her, but over the years, I believe that those feelings were one of admiration as opposed to lust or wanting. She didn’t strike me like any woman that I’ve ever met. She was never loud or boisterous. She always appeared as if she was in thought…and you never knew what those thoughts were, unless she wanted you to know.

On this day, we decided to meet for coffee. This had been something that I had been planning for a few months now. We would often talk about having coffee together after church service. We picked a cool, bright sunny day after church service to go to X and O. She took my arm gently as we walked down the street chatting idly about the weeks’ events. Once we reached the café, I took her coat and placed it on top of mine next to where I would be sitting. I pulled out her chair as she sat down, giving me the faintest of smiles. When I arrived back at the table with our drinks, I sat before her taking a minute to look at her in her form, fitting turtle-neck sweater. Even now, time had been good to her. She had changed her hair color from black to blonde and it suited her. Her full breast showed no visible signs of sagging. She still had that quiet, almost demure way about her.

I reached into the front pocket of my jacket and removed a tiny tape recorder.

I placed it on the table and looked up at her again. She gave me another one of those wistful smiles.

“Are you ready?” I asked while taking a sip of coffee.

She nodded.

I switched on the tape recorder.

“Can you tell me what life was like for you as a boy?”

Nearly everyone of us has absolutely no idea what we want to accomplish in life until we graduate high school and experience different obstacles and opportunities, and that is when we finally figure it out. Unlike most of us, Demi DiClaudio knew at the solid age of 3, singing in front of the mirror modeling her mothers high heels, that singing was her passion and that’s all she ever forsaw herself doing.

Hailing straight from the City of Brotherly Love – South Philly – a city that has launched careers from some of the greatest artists of all time such as: Patti Labelle, Jill Scott, and Musiq Soulchild – with that Demia was bound to have an aspiration for this industry. Writing music since the age of 14, Demia is very passionate about the music she creates and wants to bring something debonair to the industry.

Her artist name “DEMIA” stands for: Drive Enlightens Magic in Anyone.

Being faced with struggles at an early age Demia would write poetry and songs as an outlet to deal with the rough life she was forced to live. She has tons of respect for Eminem because in a lot of ways she feels connected to the struggle he faced as a young kid trying to make it out and succeed all while dealing with a broken family. Having her first album at 15, Demia experienced success quite early with her album making it on the top of WorldJukeBox Touchtones.

Demia is a mix of Pop intertwined with Hip-hop. Many would compare her to Nicki Minaj with the plethora of different sounds of rapping and singing. New Yorkers got the pleasure of witnessing just how talented Demia was when she performed February 9th, at the Empire Hotel for New York Fashion Week, 2011. She received a very positive response from the audience, “I had a woman in tears telling me that I would definitely make it and she loved my music”, which was a huge accomplishment for me to come from Philly to the Big City and people actually screaming at my show,” stated Demia.

This is all just the beginning for the thriving career of Demia as she will bring edge, passion, and swag to the table and will be very connected with her audience always!

How did you get started in the modeling industry?

Quite a few photographers asked me to shoot with them. I ended up doing a shoot with a photographer, and I got a lot of positive feedback. Then, I started to get paid offers for gigs. It just kind of took off from there.

How long have you been modeling and what has the experience taught you?

I just started about 4 months ago. In these 4 months, I’ve learned that there is so much more that goes into getting the perfect picture than you think. It’s all about styling, lighting, hair and makeup. It’s a lot of work to get that perfect picture.

What are your goals?

My goals in modeling include getting signed by a major agency and doing commercial print work. Hopefully, I’ll grace the cover of a magazine.

Who are your role models?

I don’t have any role models as far as modeling goes, but I do look up to President Obama because he broke the mold; he was the first to break through a barrier; and, he’s trying to change the world for the best.

What recommendations do you have for young aspiring models?

To any aspiring model, I would just have to say be confident in yourself; be confident in your own skin; and, just have fun with it. Follow your passions. Do it because it’s what you like to do. Don’t just follow the money. Do it for yourself.

If you could redo any aspect of your career, what would you do differently?

The only thing I would change is that I would have started modeling years ago.

What makes you funky?

What makes me a funky fresh model is that I am very spontaneous. I like to try new things. I like having a good time and that’s what makes me funky fresh.

Describe your perfect day.

My perfect day would be to be on the beach by the ocean with my family and friends eating lots of bar-b-que and soul food.

What are your hidden weaknesses?

I have bad taste in men.

What are your personal passions?

I love my family. I love to travel. I want to travel the world. I have a passion for just living life day by day. That’s my passion: just living life.

What should we be on the lookout for from you this year?

Within the coming year, I am, currently, a brand ambassador for a tequila company. So, look for me in commercials, print advertisements, and on their website. I am also working with a jewelry designer. So, look for me in her catalog and on her website.

Give a shout out.

I want to shout out to the photographer, Shannon, and Iris, my stylist. I also want to thank my makeup artist, Ana. You guys are the bomb. You guys rock.

Interview with Kimberly Yohman from Alex Chaney on Vimeo.