Get Audio+
Hot FM
Kool 101
Eight FM
Fly FM
Molek FMConverse Turns 100 @ The Loft
Text Muna Noor
Image Converse
Usually when you turn 100, you’re too wrinkly to care about getting dressed up, too cranky to be nice to the folks that turned up at your party and just too damn tired of life to want to dance up a storm. Not so rock and roll shoe brand Converse. The American cult sneaker brand and creator of the iconic Chuck Taylor® All Star®, Jack Purcell® and One Star® shoes celebrated part of its Converse Century celebrations with the Converse Connectivity 2.0 Party.
Held at The Loft in Zouk in August, the punctual arrived to pick up posters and Converse tees at the door while upstairs Converse teased all comers with a display of its hotly anticipated 2009 models to come. The highlights of the night however was the premiere of the ‘My Drive Thru’ video, a collaboration initiated by Converse and featuring Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas, musical alchemist Santogold and beatmaker and producer Pharrell of The Neptunes and funk rock outfit Nerd fame.
The free-to-download single released in June, and the video released in July, forms part of Converse’s summer advertising campaign and so far has generated a crazy amount of publicity (750,000 video streams in the first four days of release and Top 10 most viral videos in its first day out) and put a smile on Pharrell’s mug, saying “Working together on original music that crossed all of our inspirations was completely refreshing and I love the track. As for partnering with Converse, I only wear and support the things that I like. The Chuck Taylor is the golden goose egg.”
The party continued as the TAG crew dropped tracks from Converse supported artists like MGMT, Kid Sister, Gallows, Fiery Furnaces, Does It Offend You, Yeah?, Care Bears on Fire, Sid Vicious, Common, MIA and The Ramones and street urchins rocked their Converses off. But not as much as one lucky local fan, who was finally able to hang up his most lived in, loved up pair of scuffed up, worn out Converse sneakers, when he won a brand new pair of Japanese exclusive One Star V3 OX for his loyalty.
The Converse Connectivity 2.0 Party was held on 1 August at The Loft at Zouk. To download the ‘My Drive Thru’ single go to converse.com or view the vid at http://mnr.onthescene.com/converse/mydrivethru.html.
