Santa Monica’s Week In Business

Michael Rosenthal

Ed. note: As Michael Rosenthal is away on his honeymoon, his usual observations on the business scene will not appear this week.

   SHADOE KNOWS
   Zeros & Ones, Inc. has announced its collaboration with Shadoe Stevens, well-known broadcast and Internet executive/producer.
   Headquartered in Santa Monica Zeros & Ones is a holding company with operations in technology, entertainment content, and production. Stevens, founder and chairman of RhythmRadio Corporation (www.rhythmradio.com), will draw on his extensive media and entertainment experience “as a programming and content innovator” to increase Zeros & Ones’ penetration in global media markets, according to Robert J, Holtz, chairman and chief executive officer of Zeros & Ones.
   “Shadoe’s achievements over the years as a radio and television personality, producer, and advertising innovator will play a major part in the push to give Zeros & Ones an international reach. He is working directly with our teams at every level to bring about the kind of recognition the Company needs to penetrate markets abroad,” said Holtz.
   “I have followed the development of Zeros & Ones almost from its inception,” said Stevens. “I’m highly impressed by their mastery of high technology and their innovative animation content is very exciting. I believe their focus on the convergence of technology, entertainment, and production is visionary. I think that my work in the world of media over the past two decades, and the associations developed at management levels in the industry, can provide a strong marketing stimulus for Zeros & Ones.” 
   For a number of years, Stevens commanded approximately 1 billion listeners every week in 120 countries as the host of radio’s “American Top Forty.” As a television personality, he has starred in two network series, most recently “Dave’s World” on CBS. 

   $10 MILLION
   DemoGraFX, 3250 Ocean Park Blvd., will use a $10 million investment from New York-based Baker Capital to commercialize the firm’s video compression technology. DemoGraFX was founded in 1988 by Gary Demos. It recently named a new CEO, Bob Rast. The technology is applicable to the film, television and personal computer industries, enabling the digital transmission of content at bandwidth capacities that are one-half the requirements of current technology. DemoGraFX has 15 employees and is looking for larger quarters to accommodate additional employees. 

   WEAKER LINK
   Activision, at 3100 Ocean Park Boulevard., has acquired the right to develop computer games for the British Broadcasting Corporation’s popular game show, “The Weakest Link.” The game show debuted in America on NBC-TV two weeks ago and has, thus far, pulled high ratings. 

   FANDOMSHOP SOLD 
   Fandom, 2644 30th Street, has sold its merchandise division, FandomShop, to Sacramento, Calif.-based CMI Holding Group. Terms were not disclosed. Fandom is in the process of selling all of its online and offline operations because it was unable to raise additional venture capital funding for the company to survive until it reached profitability.

   NEW BUILDING
   National Resources Defense Council is seeking a Conditional Use Permit for 1314 Second Street to allow ground floor office use within 25 feet of the front parcel line. The Conditional Use Permit request is for a three-story, 10,772 square foot building that will serve as National’s headquarters. The structures now on the site will be demolished.

   NEW LOOK
   Aaron Brothers Santa Monica store at 1645 Lincoln Boulevard has been closed for remodeling. It was scheduled to reopen this week. 

   NEW FINANCING
   USBX Inc. (U.S. Business Exchange), a leading provider of merger and acquisition (“M&A”) services to small to medium-sized businesses, today announced that it has raised $8 million in its Series B financing.
   New institutional investors include Topspin Partners and Avalon Capital Management. The largest existing investors, Carlyle Venture Partners and Evercore Ventures, reaffirmed their commitment to USBX with follow-on investments in the Series B round as well.
   “This round of funding will enable us to continue attracting top talent and acquire the best technology available to support our mission of becoming the leading provider of M&A services to small to medium-sized businesses,” said John E. Mack III, Co-founder and CEO of USBX.
   “With the current uncertainty in the economy, it has never been more critical for business owners to obtain the best available advice when it comes to valuing and selling their business. Our offering creates a better sales process, more accurate valuations and better exposure to buyers. The result is greater market liquidity.”
   Topspin Partners, the lead investor in the Series B round and an affiliate of Renaissance Technologies Corporation, is a technology-based private equity fund focused on startup and later stage companies.
   “USBX is poised to take advantage of the tremendous market opportunity in the small business M&A sector,” Topspin Senior Partner Leo Guthart said. “We are confident that USBX has the right team and vision to execute their business model and to be the leader in their space.”

  LAUNCH SIGNS POPULAR ARTISTS
   LAUNCH Media Inc. (Nasdaq:LAUN) today announced that MCA recording artist blink-182 will join this summer’s Vans Warped Tour for a one-time only performance in Minneapolis at Somerset Park on July 14. Veterans in the Warped Tour, blink-182, first played the punk and skate festival back in 1997. Since then, they have experienced worldwide success, with their records reaping platinum status and their concert tours packing `em in all across Europe, Australia, Asia, and the Americas. 
   Just six weeks away from the June 12 release of their forthcoming album, “Take Off Your Pants and Jacket,” blink-182’s planned return to Warped proves they have not forgotten their roots. The album’s first single, “The Rock Show,” contains the lyrics, “Couldn’t wait for the summer and the Warped Tour/I remember it’s the first time that I saw her ... there,” highlighting the band’s strong ties to the tour and its fans.
   “I’ve always loved the Warped Tour and I love all the bands on the Warped Tour,” said blink-182’s Mark Hoppus on re-uniting with the tour. “Those are some of the best shows I’ve ever played.”
   Tickets are currently available online via Warpedtour.com (www.warpedtour.com) at unbeatably low prices for this summer’s trek, which kicks off June 22 in Phoenix. Heading into its seventh year, this year’s tour combines a dynamic indie-punk line-up, along with extreme sports, the antics of Incredibly Strange Wrestling and youth lifestyle booths.
   Some of the bands leading the charge for the festival are: 311, AFI, Alien Ant Farm, The Ataris, Dub Pistols, Fenix*TX, Guttermouth,
H20, Less Than Jake, The Living End, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, Misfits, New Found Glory, Pennywise, Rancid, Rollins Band and The Vandals.
   Various artists will appear on different legs of the tour and each date will include a local stage with bands chosen by each market’s promoter.

   BLIND EXPANDS
   With an expanded staff and new technology, design and production studio, Blind Visual Propaganda has broadened its creative scope to include branding, main titles and identity campaigns.
   Blind created the main title sequence and signature interstitials for “Dogtown and Z-Boys,” showcased at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival. Directed and co-written by skateboarder-turned-filmmaker Stacy Peralta, “Dogtown” is a ground level, eyewitness account of the birth of an American pop culture revolution, which won both the Documentary Audience Award and the Documentary Directing Award at Sundancer.
   Its collage of archival images, including Super 8 footage, presented both a challenge and inspiration for the distinct filmic look. Explains Designer Thomas Koh, “A lot of the graphic elements and typeset configurations came from examining old film leader. We also studied the way a film leader moved to help nail down the techniques for the animation.” Blind used Adobe After Effects on the Mac to fuse together a variety of film elements including 16mm, 35mm, and stock photos, complementing the mixed media used in the film.
IFP/West Los Angeles Film Festival Director Richard Raddon, for whom Blind did a promotional trailer, said “Blind’s innovative design aesthetic has truly revolutionized the concept of festival trailers. The combination of live-action and graphics in each of the three pieces convey a moving image of what cinema means as an art and cultural experience.”
   Expanding its creative team specifically toward the feature film arena, Blind recently added Designer Steve Pacheco and Editor Erik Buth to its staff.
   Buth started in the industry producing and editing trailers for independents as well as film studios including Miramax, 20th Century Fox and Village Roadshow. He has since worked as a freelance editor, designer and animator on a broad range of projects, specializing in the integration of live action elements and motion graphic design.
   His editorial work include spots for Intel, Voicestream Wireless and the Travel Channel, main title sequences for “Enemy Of The State,” “Lost Souls” and “The Thomas Crown Affair,” as well as trailers for “Saving Private Ryan” and Dolby Digital Sound. Design and animation projects include commercials for Motrin, and Fox Kids, showopens for the Food Network, the History Channel and “RealTV,” and film trailer titles and animation work for programs on A&E, TBS and HBO.
   Pacheco, Blind’s newest designer, began his career as a print designer for Immortal Records in Santa Monica where he created promotional items for bands such as Korn, Far and Incubus. He then enrolled at the Pasadena Art Center where he received extensive training in motion graphics and emerging media, earning a BFA in
   Graphic Design. Pacheco has since worked as a designer for a number of LA-based firms, including Imaginary Forces, where he was worked on projects ranging from main title sequences to broadcast design and commercials.
   Blind Visual Propaganda is located at 830 Colorado Avenue, Santa Monica.