“Ch-Check It Out”, a new Beastie Boys exhibit is set to open in Los Angeles next month. Featuring memorabilia and artifacts from the band’s archive—many of which have never been seen by the public—the exhibit will open on December 10th at Beyond the Streets.
The street art gallery, set to run through January 23rd, will include hand-written lyrics, outfits, instruments, and more used by the pioneering hip-hop trio of Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz, Michael “Mike D” Diamond, and the late Adam “MCA” Yauch. Beyond the Streets founder Roger Gatsman personally worked with Ad-Rock and Mike D to comb through their extensive archives and put together the 4,000-square-foot exhibition (titled “Exhibit”).
“Not only are we honored to be a part of Beyond the Streets, we’re happy that someone besides us appreciates all the weird shit we’ve collected, and made music on for the past forty years that will be on display,” Horovitz said in a statement.
Related: New York City Approves “Beastie Boys Square” After Nine-Year Battle
Gatsman told The Hollywood Reporter that he was inspired to curate the exhibit after reading Ad-Rock and Mike D’s 2018 history of the band, which was later turned into a documentary by longtime director Spike Jonez. The gallery founder connected with the band’s management and began asking “‘Where’s all this stuff? You know, where’s the lyrics? Where’s this flyer? Where’s this T-shirt?’ And they’re like, ‘We have bits and pieces of it. It’s in the guys’ houses. It’s in a storage unit. It’s in an old apartment. Some of it’s in this office.’ It wasn’t centrally located and archived is a nice, clean way to say it.”
He eventually met up with the two surviving members to comb through the collection together. Over the course of several months, Gatsman, Horovitz, Diamond, and the band’s management sifted through the trove of artifacts for the exhibit, which also features a handwritten note from Madonna from when Beastie Boys toured as her opening act in 1985.
“Beastie Boys were a part of so many people’s lives. It was hard to be anywhere in the ’80s through the early 2000s without seeing, hearing or having something to do with Beastie Boys. We’re excited to tell their story in an authentic, real way that the fans can relate to,” Gatsman said. “I remember when License to Ill came out — watching the videos on TV. I was in grade school. I probably still have the cassette tape at my mom’s house in storage. And then I remember Paul’s Boutique came out and so many didn’t like it at first. And then the next record [Check Your Head] came out. I was like, ‘Holy sh–t, this is amazing!’ And then I listened to Paul’s Boutique again and I was like, ‘Roger, you’re an idiot. This is one of the best records.’ They’ve just continued to stay so relevant in my life.”
Beastie Boys will also launch limited edition merchandise at Beyond the Streets (located at 434 N. La Brea Ave.) including zines, collectibles, and apparel. The exhibit is free and open to the public, with timed-entry tickets for the show available via AXS. Check out exclusive images from the Beastie Boys exhibit on The Hollywood Reporter.
View this post on Instagram
The post Beastie Boys Exhibit Culled From Band’s Archives To Open In L.A. appeared first on L4LM.
