Driving his crusade to the farthest corners of the Earth, the last remaining globally-recognized Imperial Moustache Champion, Alexander Antebi, of LA funk-glam band Conquistador, will be making his first New Zealand/Australian press tour this November for International charity event, Movember, which raises awareness and money for prostate cancer research. Men are encouraged to grow a moustache for one month in November (dubbed 'Movember') and have their friends, family and supporters sponsor their hair raising activities. Recently, Antebi became the first American, as well as the youngest competitor in history to win the title of "World Imperial Moustache Champion" at the bi-annual World Beard and Mustache Championships, held in Brighton, England. Antebi came out of left field and owned up to the title of El Conquistador, beating the Germans and the rest of the European old guard at their own game. Recognized worldwide as a moustache pioneer, Antebi is now the Face of Movember and will be a guest at the New Zealand and Australian events, providing advice, and acting as a supporter for this great cause during his time there.
Hosted by The Handle Bar Club, one of the largest and most well-respected moustache establishments, Antebi, the newest club member (featured recently in The New York Times) was crowned world champion at the WBMCs in the Imperial Moustache division. This was the only category judged exclusively by facial hair aficionado himself, Nick Cave. Bestowed with this great honor while donned in a Vermeer, Victorian veneer of his own Alexander Antoinette design (Antebi's luxury clothing and apparel line w/partner Ashley Hester), Antebi has since been featured on The CBS Morning Show, BBC, MTV, Time Magazine, Oyster Magazine, Paste, LA City Beat, Flaunt Magazine, Defamer, and LAist among others and has received multiple endorsements and TV/Film opportunities from all over the world.
After claiming his triumphant and unusual victory overseas, Antebi returned to NYC to finish recording the followup to Conquistador's acclaimed EP, The Royal Fifth. The full-length debut, titled Under the Affluence, was recorded with the help of Embassy Sound Productions and 70s glitter solo guitarist Jason Marcus, and is set for release in 2008. Conquistador has also collaborated on a single of epic proportions with members of Swedish band The Ark, winners of the 2007 Eurovison Song Contest, the global olympics of popular music. The glitter juggernauts, who have played to 30,000+ fans in Europe, recorded recently in Malmo, Sweden, home town of The Ark and The Cardigans. Antebi also sang lead vocals and penned the lyrics on Latin band Kinky's first single "Sister Twisted" off their album Reina, which has been nominated for two Latin Grammies!
Conquistador started when artist, designer and DJ, Antebi got together with Brian Kehew, author of "Recording The Beatles," keyboard player for The Who, half of the Moog Cookbook and producer of Fiona Apple's 2005 record Extraordinary Machine. They started experimenting with everything from Earth, Wind and Fire's old tape machine and Larry Graham's custom bass amp to Mellotrons, Chamberlins and famously customized analogue synthesizers. Soon, it evolved from a two-man operation into a big collaboration featuring, among the aforementioned, members of Kinky, Vhs Or Beta, Banda Uniao Black, and Nefertiti. Paper Magazine dubbed Conquistador a "Glam Rock Peacock," Amy Verner (Black Book, Globe and Mail) referred to the band as, "Tongue In Chic," and Larry King calls Antebi his "illegitimate extraterrestrial son."
In his many journeys, Antebi also came upon the good fortune of meeting renowned Japanese artist Yoshitaka Amano during a recent appearance at the San Diego Comic-Con. Amano, known for his illustrations for Vampire Hunter D and for his character designs, image illustrations and title logo designs for the Final Fantasy video game series, felt Antebi reminded him of a character in one of his works. Thanks to Darkhorse Comics , Amano sketched two separate portraits of Antebi to wish him luck in the competition - one of him, and one of his moustache (in gold ink on velum paper). Antebi also has his own graphic novel and limited edition line of vinyl toys in the works.
http://www.conquistador.net
http://www.myspace.com/conquistador
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