Created for the Element Skateboards film, This Is My Element, the T.I.M.E. Soundtrack is the first of its kind: an original, artist-composed score crafted to the beat of polyurethane pounding pavement. Here, Anticon's veteran producer and beatsmith Odd Nosdam conceives an album where each song is tailored to fit the style and cadence of the Element rider it accompanies. And on its own, quite simply, this album is a banger.
01) ZONE COASTER 02) T.I.M.E. IN 03) COP CRUSH 04) WE BAD APPLES 05) TRUNK BOMB 06) TOP RANK 07) FLY MODE (mp3) 08) ETHEREAL SLAP 09) ROOT BARK 10) ONE FOR DALLAS 11) ROOT LOOP 12) WIG SMASHER 13) T.I.M.E. OUT
Born in South Korea but raised in Minnesota, Mayda may only be 4'11" but she can pack a punch. I had no expectations as played her debut ep Stereotype, but my gut reaction was to make a connection to Cibo Matto. Not for the obvious reason, but for her creative use of beats. However, as you listen closely you hear and edge and anger that wasn't always present in Cibo Matto. Already featured nationally on The Rachel Ray Show and Good Morning America. 2009 is bound to be a big year with the release of her Stereotype EP and a follow-up full-length on the way. Leaving her excited to bring her fresh, unapologetic voice onto the scene.
It's been a little while since I mentioned the work of Evan Voytas. He is the 25 year-old guitar player from LA who has a ghostly way of spinning a melody. You can check out my interview with him here. This week he released two new songs through RCRD LBL, "What Would I Do For That" and "I Live This Live Here For You".
It has been six years since The Bran Flakes released their last full-length album. Now with the resurgence of sample-based music they are returning next month with the release of I Have Hands on Illegal Art (Girl Talk, Steinski). Otis Fodder and Mildred Pittare came together in 1992 amidst tape and zine trading scenes, The Bran Flakes already have seven releases of zany mashups and poppy audio collages that are more likely to cop a riff from Evel Knievel than anything on the current radio dial. Their combinations are fun, light-hearted and always original.
Listen to: Stumble Out Of Bed (mp3) and What It’s All About (mp3)
Ben Kweller is gearing up for the release of his remarkable new album, "Changing Horses," on ATO Records on Feb. 3, 2009. The album is now available for pre-order and Ben is hosting a really cool contest via his official Web site for his fans. Check out the video Ben personally made for the contest and the album where he shows off the record's gorgeous physical qualities (as well as snippets of his spacious backyard)! Ben also appeared on Daytrotter this week.
Dark Was The Night will be released on February 17th, 2009 on 4ad. It's comprised of 31 exclusive tracks and it will be available as a double cd/triple vinyl/download and will benefit the Red Hot Organization - an international charity dedicated to raising money and awareness for HIV and AIDS through popular culture. They are the people responsible for albums including No Alternative, Red Hot and Blue and many more, and this is their 20th year, and this is the 20th release! The album also features tracks from Arcade Fire, Spoon, The National, Sufjan Stevens, Feist, Grizzly Bear, Bon Iver, The Decemberists, The Books & Hose Gonzalez, Iron and Wine, My Morning Jacket, Beirut, Cat Power, The New Pornographers, Yo La Tengo and more!
Listen to: Dirty Projectors & David Byrne - Knotty Pine (mp3)
Listening: 1. Gospel Gossip: I have found a slew of powerful female singer recently and Sarah Nienaber creeps up on my list a little more each time I listen to her. Gospel Gossip is preparing to release a new EP on my second favorite Minnesota label Guilt Ridden Pop as a follow-up to their debut album Sing into Your Mouth. Listen to: Revolutions in Physic (mp3) from Sing into Your Mouth and Nashville (mp3) from the forthcoming Dreamland Ep 2. Said The Whale: Vancouver is beginning to burst with talent again and Said The Whale is leading the way. Listen to: The City's A Mess (mp3) 3. Zach Lipkins: Downtempo soul with a breathy nearly tropical feel. The best comparison I could make is to Jim Noir.
Reading: 1. Amy Tan by Amelia Gray: Her first collection, AM/PM, will be published by Featherproof Books in February 2009. I can't wait! 2. 400 Words by Albert Maysles: This is a charming story of family and life. 3. Scrapbook of Fatal Accidence by Spencer Dew: Spencer is documenting Chicago one story at time. 4. Beastie Rhythms by TR Deeks: This was found at one of my new favorite journals, My Name Is Mud. 5. Let's get tired of cannibalism! by Justin Taylor: I agree salesmen are killing us. 6. MFA/MFYou Expirience by JA Tyler, Yu-Han Chao, Donald Illich, and Saeed Jones: This is a very interesting journal as they examine the difference in literary experience between a MFA writer and a non-MFA writer. 7. Double Bolted Doors by Sandy Florian: This is written in a language all its own.
8. The Day After by Gareth Storey: Have you ever had one of those nights?
Wishing: 1. Heroes And Heartbreakers by Ryan Bubnis: A line of artist designed toys by kidrobot. 2. Saltgrass Issue #3: Just $5 this journal features work from Mike Young, Kristi Maxwell, and many more. The are now reading submission for issue #4. 3. Wishing that the Vets in this country were treated with the Respect they deserve. Here is an update on Richard Leck and all of the issues that the people who for him are facing. Please read and get involved.
Getting: 1. My favorite old school hip hop blogs, Bust The Facts, is back and very active. They have made several posts this year already and among the best was four Grandmaster Flash albums and a megamix from Bobby Corridor. 2. Wip Issue #3: A new pdf photography magazine. The title stands for Work In Progress.
"I closed my eyes and then I opened them, took four sleeping pills and closed them again."
The reason I never ask musicians why they do what do is because the answer is always the same, "Because I have to." I suppose a better question would be, what would you do if you weren't making music? How will you fill your days, or release all that confuses and scares you? For the man behind The Mystery Books, Riley Fink, it is clearly about the thrill of the project. A few weeks ago I received his album Russia in the mail and what first caught my eye was that Riley has sent me a package and not just his CD. Inside were hand written notes (on orange paper), two cds, and poetry. It was an experience, and the album was a joy to listen to. Riley is a great story teller, and uses quiet acoustic instrumentation to tell his stories.
Recently, Riley was kind enough to answer a few of my questions.
Orange Alert (OA): You have a released an album called Russia. What can you tell us about this album? Riley Fink (RF): I can tell you that it has nothing to do with Russia. I put it in quotation marks so that people focus on the word instead of the place. It is not a "concept" album about a country in Europe. It is about what I think of when I think of Russia. I think of a place really far away, that is very isolated and cold and extreme and at the time when I wrote these set of songs I felt isolated and cold and extreme. I felt like "Russia". The music is an acoustic guitar, an upright and electric bass, and an old organ from the 60's. The bass is bowed alot and the organ just comes in every once in awhile.
OA: You are handing out free copies, and also have it available for free download through cllct.com. How did you discover cllct.com, and how did you decide to give away your album for free? RF: Someone showed me the website cllct.com one day and I thought it was good. I like for people to hear or see things that I do. I don't really know what else to do with my time. If I am promoting something then I have something to do, otherwise I get into habits of sleeping for an entire day or just laying around and feeling bad. That is why I do things that I do. So that I have something to do. I wish that everyone would have things that they created with them all of the time. It would be interesting to hear every one's voices and thoughts. That is the only thing I am interested in with people, I think. It is also fun to give people things. I like giving my cd's to waiters that I have in restaurants or just put it in someones bike basket on the street. I also like to hide them in books at the St. Marks bookstore in New York and at the University of Florida library in Gainesville, Florida.
OA: On Russia you have a song called That Night With the Green Sky that was first a poem by Tao Lin. You are also working on turning a poem by Andy Riverbed into a song. Do you see a connection between poetry and music? RF: I think that poetry is just a basic format for communicating. It seems like it is like looking into someones mind and seeing something the way that they see it. And when I write lyrics it is almost the same for me as writing a poem. Poems are easier because you can phase things the right way without having to shorten or condense them for the sake of a melody. But I think that it is all basically the same thing. The final result is that you get to pretend like you are someone else for awhile and hopefully they feel better than you do.
OA: Do a lot of your songs begin as poems? What is your song writing process like? RF: I think that my writing style for songs is that I try to be really vague when I describe my thoughts or feelings and when I write poems it is less vague and more straight forward. It is more of a story I think with poems. My writing process is different for both. With songs I sit down with a guitar and write the lyrics and music at the same time. And with poems I like to sit and stare at a computer and type things and then be distracted for awhile with email or youtube and then write more.
OA: Your lyrics, much like the poems or Tao Lin and Andy Riverbed and many other young poets, seem to center around the idea of boredom. Do you feel that is an accurate assessment? RF: Yes. We are the "Bored Generation". We are very bored all of the time for some reason. It is a strange thing.
OA: What's next for The Mystery Books? RF: I am writing songs for an album called "sleep forever". I wrote the title of the album before I wrote any of the songs. I think that most of the songs will be about over sleeping and dreams and sleeping pills. Maybe it will be dedicated to sleeping pills. I think that would be funny. Maybe we will do that and then maybe we will stop playing. We will just be sleeping all of the time. Maybe we will play more in our dreams. Maybe you will be there in your dream.
Bonus Questions: OA: If you could sit down to coffee with anyone (alive or dead) who would it be? RF: I would want to sit down with the Old Dirty Bastard. No. I would want to be walking quickly with the ODB on the side of a country road with no sidewalk. We would be saying things so fast and not even looking at each other. Just at the ground ahead of us. I would like that alot.
OA: What was the last great book you have read? RF: I read "Honored Guest" by Joy Williams recently. Tao Lin sent it to me in the mail. I read most of it in a park in Florida by my house. I felt like things inside of me were moving around all weird when I was reading that book. It felt good.
For more information on The Mystery Books you should check out their myspace page.
No matter how long you have been writing or painting or making music, even creative outlets require disciplined attention. You need to set goals and limits as you shift your focus perhaps from hobby to profession. It's true that you can not schedule inspiration or creative, but you can focus harder at certain times or place yourself in a setting to create each day. The important part is that you work on your writing or painting each day regardless of the outcome.
As I look through print and on-line journals the one name that I see more often than any other is that of J.A. Tyler. In 2008, he had 139 stories accepted for publication, and I can only image that number will continue to grow this year. His short fiction is captivating and refreshingly original. In addition to that he runs the lit journal Mud Luscious and ML Press. He is also a web editor for Pindeldyboz, a reviewer for Rural Messengers Press, manager of The Trench: A New Play Development Series, & an editorial intern for Dzanc Books.
Recently, J.A. Tyler was kind enough to answer a few of my questions.
Orange Alert (OA): The word prolific really doesn't even begin to describe your activity in 2008. You clearly have no problem getting published on-line and in fact you run an on-line journal yourself, but do you feel their is still cache or validity to getting a story or poem in print? J.A. Tyler (JT): Absolutely. I am honored to be included in any journal, but there is a special thrill to holding the printed page, opening the mail or breaking the binding. cache and validity, most definitely.
OA: How often do you sit down to write? I don't have nearly as much going on as you do, but I have to be very structured with my time. Do you find time management and writing coincide? JT: I have a word count I try and attend to on a daily basis, 1000 – 1500 words, and I do it basically whenever / wherever I can. between things, before things, after things. if it is a heavy editing day, on the cusp of ml press design proofs, a new mud luscious issue, or other editorial reading, I sometimes push the writing off, but I double it the next day and move ahead. I also teach, so the summer is particularly nice, allows me to structure and manage my time a bit more concretely, several hours in the morning and then on to everything else.
OA: I love the cover of your new chapbook on Achilles, Everyone In This Is Either Dying Or Will Die Or Is Thinking of Death. How did you get involved with Barry and Achilles, and what has the experience been like? Any thoughts on Sam Pink in general are also welcomed? JT: I had a flash posted with his dogzplot site, and then a short story later on. we emailed and talked writing, and he happened to mention the arrival of paperhero press / the achilles chapbook series. and of course as any good writer does, I read up. I liked the look of what barry was doing, and he liked my work enough to invite me in. from that point on it has been a great collaborative effort – barry has checked in with me on all aspects of editing and design, and he has worked tirelessly to promote and publicize the collection.
as for sam pink and his brilliant cover, I saw the artwork originally posted on his blog and suggested to barry that it would be a fantastic fit with the book. sam ended up creating several for us to choose from, but in the end this original ‘angela lansbury in decay’ was the one.
in terms of sam pink the writer, I am excited to watch his future moves. ml press recently published his piece BE NICE TO EVERYONE and he was a delight to work with – accepting of edits and completely punctual and professional in terms of design. his work has a twist that not everyone enjoys, but I feel that he grows with each new piece he publishes – YUM YUM is more scattered in terms of focus than I AM GOING TO CLONE MYSELF – and no doubt his next extended work will be even greater.
OA: What can you tell us about Someone, Somewhere? I don't see anything on the Ghost Road Press site, when is it scheduled for release? JT: SOMEONE, SOMEWHERE will be one of two novellas published by ghost road press in 2009. for me, it was a work intended as the biography of a man who hasn’t done anything, accomplished anything, or even lived, but as it grew and expanded it became the story of how lives intersect and connect, how families and their words exist, doubling and re-doubling back on themselves. its official release date is july 2009.
OA: How are things with Mud Luscious? What is the biggest challenge of running an on-line lit journal? JT: In all honesty, there is no challenge with my work on mud luscious. submissions grow monthly and the pieces we are getting test and push our concepts of language with every issue. and we have now expanded to print with the ml press series – single author, unpublished works of less than 1000 words in a small chapbook form, run in a single limited printing of 50-75 copies each, and released three volumes per month. this has allowed us the phenomenal opportunity to work with and contribute to the writing of such tremendous authors as michael kimball, blake butler, norman lock, brian evenson, shane jones, peter markus, ken sparling, david ohle, and a slew of others. very exciting stuff, all of it.
OA: What's next for J.A. Tyler? JT: I have two full-length projects finishing up now: GIRL WITH OARS & MAN DYING, a short novel written in flash segments and focusing on last breaths and loss, and MOTHER FATHER BOY GIRL GIRL, a longer novel centered on the strength of a woman who, while building life on the kansas prairie, watches her family members nod in and out like daily sun and wheat. both of these works are in the final stages of writing / re-writing and have excerpts up in several journals (linked at http://www.aboutjatyler.blogspot.com/).
on the editing front I stay busy as an intern for dzanc books, a web editor for pindeldyboz, a reviewer with rural messengers press as well as keeping up with quarterly issues of mud luscious and looking forward to the next six-month stretch of ml press. hectic and good in all aspects.
Bonus Questions: OA: Coffee? If yes, where can you find the best cup in your area? JT: yes, yes, yes. the eco-friendly bean cycle here makes a fantastic cup. and the alley cat is open 24-hours a day, so you are never left wanting.
OA: What type of music do you enjoy and who are a few of your favorites? JT: I am into a little of everything, but right now I am hooked on say hi to your mom, great lake swimmers, jukebox the ghost, kaiser chiefs, kevin devine, and cold war kids.
For more information on J.A. Tyler please visit his website.
If you have ever been told that nothing positive comes from hatred then you were lied to. Just ask artist Chris Roberts who has turned his hatred of clowns into a twelve year collection of paintings and illustrations. Regardless of his origins or his motivation, Chris' style has evolved into something that is explosively original. Whether working on a mixed media collage or original painting or a book cover, Chris has managed to put the clowns aside and truly push and explore all that his materials have to offer him.
What first drew me to Chris was his unique and uninhibited approach to creating book covers. He breaks all of the rules, but the outcome is visually appealing and compelling enough that the average person would want to pick up a book he designed (example). I have long felt that it is the artist responsibility to take their training, their inspiration, their hatred and love, and all that they see around them, and filter it through their wildest dreams and imagination. This filtration process will eventually generate something unique and distinctive, and it seems to me that Chris Roberts understands this process perfectly.
Recently, Chris Roberts was kind enough to answer a few of my questions.
Orange Alert (OA): How would you describe your work? Chris Roberts (CR): In a word, odd. In more than a word, I'd really like to leave that to those who happen to stumble upon my work. I'd like to think that my work is interesting. I'd like to think that my work is unique. I'd like to think my work is at least something that nobody has ever seen before. But an honest & detached perception of my own work is something I fear I'm totally incapable. Leave it to the end user I say. It's my job to get the images out of my head & on to some surface or other. The rest is up to the viewer. Must I do everything? Well, must I? Wink!
Ultimately I try not to take myself or my work too seriously. Recently came up with a motto of sorts for my freelance company Dead Clown Art. Probably won't go over very well, but here it is: It's Just Art. Wouldn't get me oodles of projects I'm sure, but that's really not why I do what I do. Honest not modest, I think I'm okay at what I do. Just okay. The many artists I flutter & fawn over are truly amazing. I'll never come close to the likes of Dave McKean, Ted McKeever, Henrik Drescher, Ashley Wood, Vincent Chong, Ben Templesmith, Ralph Steadman, etc. But that's okay. I continue to do what I do - hopefully evolving a little along the way - because it's what I'm supposed to be doing.
What was the question again? Let me try another tentacle. My work is guided by the unavoidable collection of weird images bouncing around in my head. These images are compelled by projects I'm working on, random odd-servations of the silly world around me, & every once in awhile a dream that didn't fully abandon my brain from sleep to wake. Or it could just be a wonderful & weird series of accidents. Ideal moment to thank the gods of Accident & Luck. You both rock, & without you, none of this would be possible.
OA: With my interest in literature I have been fascinated by the book covers you have created. They seem unconventional in many ways, but they are so interesting and intense. How do you approach designing a book cover? How did the Ray Bradbury cover come about? CR: I love to read. Imagine it starts there. I'm fascinated by books. The internet or little electro-gadget pretend-o-books will never replace books. Oh they try, but they fail. Miserably. Why? Because they're not books. It's as simple as that.
I'm glad you enjoy my book covers. I enjoy my book covers. I'd pick up a book with my cover surrounding it. Hell yes. If I, um, wasn't me. But all humility aside, I think the covers I've done for PS Publishing are pretty impressive, & fairly unconventional.
My design approach? After reading the words, I let the images take over. Sort of. I'm not much of a sketch person, but I do take what I suppose you'd call visual notes. Words for pictures for words. Then I just let all of the disjointed words & descriptions & images come together in my head. Edit. Organize. Refine. When I'm ready, I dump it all out on cardboard or wood. Few digital pics or flatbed scans later & I'm finishing it up with my good friend Photoshop.
I think one thing that makes my book covers stand out is that they don't know that they're book covers until they're wrapped around a stack of interesting printed pages. Surprise! They always seem quite pleased though. I don't think about the artwork as 'book cover'. I have absolutely nothing to do with that part of the process. I don't think about sizes & margins & file formats & fonts until I need to. I look at every illustration as simply my visual interpretation of the words provided.
And what fabulous gatherings of words! Will Elliott's The Pilo Family Circus, Sebastien Doubinsky's The Babylonian Trilogy, & Ray Bradbury's A Medicine For Melancholy. Ray freaking Bradbury! I'm not anywhere near worthy. Ideal moment to thank Pete & Nicky Crowther from PS Publishing. You both rock, & without you, none of this would be possible.
So how did the Bradbury cover come about? After completing Babylonian & Pilo covers for PS, Pete emailed me, then called me about doing the cover for the second book of a 2-book deluxe edition of Ray Bradbury's The Day It Rained Forever & A Medicine For Melancholy, signed by both Ray Bradbury & Caitlin Kiernan (introduction), with a 100 copy run. Nearly fell out of my chair after reading the email. Damn near dropped my cell while talking with Pete... BTW, I'd love to have Pete's accent & manner, if that could be arranged.
Okay, that answer is long enough.
OA: How did the name and concept of Dead Clown Art come about? CR: I hate, strike that, loathe clowns. They creep me the f**k out. Can I say that here? If not, please replace f**k with heck. So I took my hatred, nay loathe-tred of clowns, spun it around in a cotton candy machine for a bit, stretched it on a taffy puller for a time, dressed it wildly in a bright orange wig, puffy clothes, horrid suspenders, enormous shoes & a red rubber nose... then proceeded to beat it to death with a dull-yellow wiffle bat. Too harsh? Possibly. But it's therapeutic, with a delayed comical shock value.
OA: You have entered a few different contests. Do you do this for the competition or is it more for promotional purposes? How do you handle self-promotion of your work? CR: Neither really. I'm not competitive at all. If pressed I'd pick promotional purposes. Any exposure is good exposure. I've entered every contest that I can recall because, well, it was there. It's really good practice. Here's a problem, solve it. That's what I do. It's almost irresistible. Like throwing a dead chipmunk in front of a wolf & telling it not to eat it. Come on! It's a dead chipmunk for piss sake! Each contest I've entered has been an exercise. Never expected to win any of them going in, & never did. Not important. Just wanted to solve the problem.
Self promotion? Emails & postcards to unsuspecting art directors. Interviews like this. Getting my work in front of as many people as possible. That's always worked for me... that & a big yummy chunk of luck. Hey, check out my online portfolio - has been surprisingly effective. Here's what I've done, now let's see what I can do for you. Repeat as needed. Stir briskly. Serve chilled.
If an art director likes my site, the work that I've done, thinks I can add some value to whatever it is they're doing, great. If not, no worries, thanks for your time & consideration. Peace out.
OA: You are also a writer. How is the process or release different when writing a poem as opposed to painting or designing a piece? CR: Not all that different really. I've never thought of myself as a writer. Just now getting comfortable with thinking of myself as an artist. Labels. Whatever pops into my head that needs rough passage to surface, is handled pretty much the same way. I look at my writing as stuff I didn't think I could effectively translate into an illustration or painting. My writing has the same awareness as my artwork. It knows more than I know. Spooky, huh?
It's taking all of the assembled pieces & putting them into an order. Not necessarily a desirable order. An often bizarre order, yes. But an order that I saw in my head, then moved in whatever format to external surface, so that everybody else could see it.
Like it or hate it. There it is. No matter the medium. Something that wasn't there before.
OA: What's next for Chris Roberts? CR: Waiting for that next project. I'd love to work with Pete & Nicky at PS Publishing again. They seem to like what I've given them so far, so hopefully I'll be hearing from them shortly. I have the infant pieces of an odd children's book floating around just behind my eyes. I'd like to paint more in 2009. A resolution of sorts. Larger format stuff. Possibly put together a solo show somewhere. Your guess is as good as mine. I do know that I'll continue to adore my supporting, patient & way-too-hot-for-me wife; & spoil silly our smart & pretty daughter. Two of my wonderful constants.
Bonus Questions:
OA: Coffee? If yes, where is the best place to get a cup in Des Moines? CR: Yes. I'd say Friedrich's Coffee. Good coffee. Good people. Good atmosphere.
OA: What type of music do you enjoy and who are a few of your favorites? CR: If I had to slap a label on it, probably Alternative. 98% of radio music makes me want to hurl, slit my wrists, or both. Don't get me started on MTV & VH1. Dang. Okay...
Best band ever: Radiohead. And anyone who thinks otherwise is totally wrong. Damien Rice. Portishead. Cold War Kids. Jesca Hoop. Tori Amos. NIN. The Tragically Hip. Sia. The Cure. Fiona Apple. Blur. Tool. Okay, that's all I can think of right now.
For more information on Chris Roberts please visit his website.
The Bird Room will be released by Canongate Books on January 22, 2009, but in the meantime Chris Killen (interview here) is running a competition to giveaway his copies.
Here are the details: Send me an email (chriskillen [AT] gmail.com) with the word 'competition' somewhere in the subject line. Include your address, and say whether you want me to write/draw something in it and (if so) what you would like me to write/draw. Please understand that i am rubbish at drawing. if you don't specify anything, I will just sign my name and draw a picture of a bird in the top right hand corner.
Also in the email, please include one 'line of poetry'. It doesn't need to be any good, it could be very abstract, but make it something specific enough that you will recognise it again ... once the competition is 'closed' (i don't know, a week from now?), I will put up a video on here of me pulling the lines of the poem out of something, to create a 10-line cut up poem. If i read your line, that means there is a book in the post to you.
The competition is open to anyone in the world.
The competition is perfect if you are thinking something like, 'The Bird Room looks interesting, maybe, but i would not want to pay for it' or 'i can't afford it' or 'i have been openly slating it and Chris Killen as a one-trick-pony hack who got lucky (but secretly i would like to read it)' or 'i don't know, i'm bored, why not' or 'i could tear the pages out and wipe my a** with them' or 'okay then; i could give this in to Oxfam if i hate it'.
Under The Influence: The Official Art Tribute to Beastie Boys - January 8 - 29, 2009 (Los Angeles)
Opening last week at Gallery 1988 Los Angeles, Under The Influence is an exploration and examination of the many varied themes that have filled the legend that is the Beastie Boys. From the Brass Monkey to the girls to the robots and fake mustaches, it is all presented by 100 amazing artists. Included in the collection are three former Orange Alert featured artists Mike Maxwell, Leanne Biank, and Tony Philippou.
Not only are these some of the most inventive and fun paintings that I have seen in a while, but a potion of the proceeds from this exhibit will benefit the Gramercy Housing Group. Other artist involved include Shepard Fairey, Ruel Pascual, Ben Walker, and many more. You can view all of the images here.
Sandusky - Jan. 17 - 31, 2009 - Scott Cowan and Katy Keefe (Chicago)
Scott Cowan & Katy Keefe have an interesting exhibit opening this weekend at Caro d'Offay Gallery (2204 W. North Avenue). Presented by a forgetfulness of Self within the mixed up feelings of freedom, hope, fear, and consciousness, Sandusky brings the distance of the historic past and the unimaginable future to one single point: the present.
Upon entering guests are faced with a monumental wall of Moai heads similar to those found on Easter Island dripping with paints of blinding whites and astro-black. The attention is then drawn to the colliding sounds of the intonnations of political speeches, droning frequencies, and the victory of guitar solos. The walls portray a landscape of imagined locations and galaxies, lined with the glitter of gold and silver trees. A rabbit skin tarp hangs above leading to a table of snacks that are free of charge.
As William Black stated, "If the doors of perception were cleansed then everything would appear as it is - infinite". As always, though obviously pressing in the current days of suspicion and anxiety, there is an greatness found in the strength of being powerless; in the dismissal of knowledge there lies the roots of wisdom. There is hope found in that which have the appearance of the absurd and also in a love that is grown with a distaste for self. Sandusky offers a thought on the expectancy of such a mentality - the visitor decides on how it should be carried out.
Howie Good Tommowland (Achilles Chapbook Series, Dec. 1st)
"The future will be just like the present - so cold it burns."
The art of flash fiction, when trimmed and compacted properly, can be a powerful tool in a fast-paced world. Similar to poetry, flash fiction focuses on the essence of the story, the essence of language, and allows the mind of the reader to fill in all of the other details. In fact, it would not be a stretch to say that the writer challenges himself more to tell a story in a flash, then in a full and fluent story. To express what you have observed, what you feel, in the matter of a few sentence is the true nature of the craft.
If stripping down your thoughts is the nature of the craft then Howie Good is a master craftsman. In Tomorrowland he offers up 23 glimpses at life in an array of situations. From the father driving down the road with his daughter to the stream of consciousness of an injuries youth. He presents pictures both bright and warm, and dark and grim. Yet, through it all there is an odd sense of hope that flicker and fades, but remains despite it all.
Tomorrowland is the third chapbook in the refreshing new series that was started in October by Achilles Chapbook Series.
New to the Chicago scene is Little Rock product and multi-instrumentalist Mr. Bear (aka Jack Bishop). After moving to Chicago to attend school he was quickly picked up by the new Minnesota/Chicago label Thru & Thru Records. His first release on Thru and Thru is actually his second full-length album, "These Machines". A mixture of horns and twirling folk romps, These Machines is a mixture of Sufjan Stevens and Beirut which when blended it becomes an exciting style all it's own.
Beneath the joyous musical configurations lays lyrics that are surprisingly complex for such a young songwriter. He writes with an old soul, but adds the right amount of humor and imagination. He also plays with passion and energy, and in fact, from trumpet to banjo, Bishop plays most of the instruments on These Machines himself. This album is a remarkable collection of thoughts, and hopefully it will get the attention it deserves.
01. Disaster, Be The Matchmaker (mp3) 02. Rubber Duckies 03. Jump Ship 04. How Tasty (Are The White) 05. Big Foot Walks (video) 06. The Creeps 07. Put Your Glasses On(Interlude) 08. Objects Unidentified 09. Dead Orchids, Hungry Toads 10. This Beard Is A Symbol (For The Man I Am) 11. The Wolf Man's Sad Song 12. A Chosen Few, Pump Our Fists and Be Proud!
Ryland Bouchard is probably better known as The Robot Ate Me, but for his latest release Seeds he returns to using his given name. He actually retired the name in 2007 when he began working the ambitious project that Seeds has become. This album was written and recorded by Ryland Bouchard and Kevin Michael Mayfield between October 2007 and August 2008 on a 1971 Stephens Electronics 2416 console and an Otari MX80 2" 16 track at his home in Portland, Oregon. This is clearly his most honest and personal work to date, and with a total of 52 tracks over two albums, he also had a lot to express. Next month Ryland will hit the road with Orange Alert favorites Emperor X and Drew Danbury for a set of exciting shows.
Our friends from New York, Murder Mystery are shopping around a new track called "The World". They prefaced it by saying it may or may not be a departure for them, and who is really to say if it is. Sure, it sounds different then their work on Are You Ready for the Heartache Cause Here it Comes, but this track shows growth. It is really quite remarkable and I would love for you to have a listen.
One of my favorite releases of 2007 was Jason Quiver's (aka Papercuts) Can't Go Back. It was nostalgic and inventive all at the time, it a simple and heart-felt, and above all else it was beautiful. This past week Gnomonsong announced that Papercut's next album You Can Have What You Want will be released in April. On this album Jason has stripped down his sound even more using mostly vintage organs, pulsing bass & Kraut-via-Ringo-inspired drum rhythms.
You Can Have What You Want 01 Once We Walked In The Sunlight 02 A Dictator's Lament 03 The Machine Will Tell Us So 04 A Peculiar Hallelujah 05 Jet Plane 06 Dead Love 07 Future Primitive 08 You Can Have What You Want 09 The Void 10 The Wolf
I've know singer/songwriter Brooke Healy since high school, and she has always been fascinated by the process and sound of music. Now she has gone from covering The Murmurs in Midwest living rooms to finally releasing her debut album with her sister Angela as Sister Solace. The self-titled, self-released album is a collection of songs ranging from electronic tones to graceful folk. Yet, what stands out on the album are the harmonies that only sisters could achieve.
If I had to pick one song to represent all of 2008 it would have to be Sleepyhead by Boston's Passion Pit. I can't tell if it is the driving bass line or the swirling electronic, but I cannot get enough of this song. Apparently producers out there feel the same way and remixes have been flooding the inbox. Here are a few of my favorites.
Listen to: Sleepyhead (The Knocks Remix) (mp3) Sleepyhead (Wallpaper. Dio Remix) (mp3) Sleepyhead (Bo Flex Giantess Remix) (mp3) The Mummers vs Passion Pit (mp3) Sleepyhead (original version) (mp3)
I know I mention Minneapolis a lot, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to share with you the music of Lookbook. The combination of Grant Cutler and Maggie Morrision, Lookbook is a sonic adventure through the darkest after hours club to the glowing snowbanks of the Midwest Sunday afternoons. Their self-released, handmade debut ep, I Fear You, My Darkness is now available through their myspace page. This is a completely different sound coming from the music drenched streets on Minneapolis, don't miss this!
Perhaps one of the most anticipated releases of 2009 is Dan Deacon's "Bromst", and this week he offered up a sneak peak at what is in store. Unlike the completely electronic Spiderman of the Rings (Carpark, 2007), the instrumentation on Bromst is a mixture of acoustic instruments, mechanical instruments, samples and electronics. The player piano, marimba, glockenspiel, vibraphone, live drums, winds and brass give Bromst a much richer tone than his previous work. The intricate and complex parts, skillfully executed by the performers, are woven together into a rich, dense, noisy dance pop that has become Dan Deacon's signature sound. Bromst is an attempt to blend the intense energy of Deacon's live performance with electronic madness he creates in the studio, and from the sound of the first single "Get Older" he has succeeded.
It is no secret that I am currently in Chicago, and this weekend we got what seemed like 100ft of snow. I thought about digging my car out of the side of a snow drift, but instead I decided to share a few tracks from the most wintry band I know, Gävle's Twiggy Frostbite. Don't forget that their debut album, Through Fire, will be released digitally worldwide in April.
Listen to: Heroes (acoustic version) (mp3) Heroes (original version) (mp3) Messy Star (acoustic version) (mp3)
Listening: 1. Trezire: Heavy experimental tones from Pittsburgh. 2. The Arctic Circle: Chicago's Anthony Iamurri creates incredible bedroom beats as The Arctic Circle. 3. On We: Bridget O'Callaghan is the strength in this tiny Chicago band. They are playing at Subt on the 16th.
Reading: 1. What Facebook Updates Really Mean by Rusty Barnes: Two little gems from the master of little gems. 2. it's november & you're 30 by j. michael niotta: 30 is tough in any month. 3. from The Evolutionary Revolution by Lily Hoang: This is a glimpse at what looks like a great story. 4. Juggling Spheres of Time by Joshua Michael Stewart: "he lounges in his yellowed briefs drinking applejack out of Big Bird’s head" 5. Celebrity Slumber [25] by Judson Hamilton: You will never guess who the celebrity is! 6. Products by Donald Illich: Everything is a product. 7. Daily Grind by Jared Ward: What a grind that would be.
Wishing: 1. Grow Book: This is the latest book in the featherproof family, and it is not only beautifully designed but it is a book with a conscious. Grow plants the seed of environmental responsibility in young children through a fun and interactive daily routine, with playful graphics and typography. The book is now available for presale through featherproof. 2. Erin Dollar's Fake Beards: Do you have trouble growing a beard? Well, let Erin Dollar take care of your facial hair needs. She just reopened her esty shop this week. 3. Speaking of beards, check out the latest shirt from Michael Cianfrani and Tinyrun.
Getting: 1. The new ep from Chicago's White Devil for free here. 2. The latest album from Chicago's Office is called Mecca. Frontman Scott Masson has decided to give it away for FREE!
If you are in Chicago tonight then you have a rather difficult decision to make.
Friday, January 9 7PM, $1! @ The Hideout 1354 W. Wabansia
The Dollar Store returns, because we feel like it. And so do you! Featuring the Unassailably Cool: Lindsay Hunter, Robbie Q. Telfer, and The Brothers Dodson (Zach and Seth)
Friday, Jan. 9, 2009 7 PM, Quimby's Books 1854 W. North Ave.
THE2NDHAND Broadsheet No. 30 released Marking our 9th anniversary, THE2NDHAND's 30th installment, GIVES BIRTH TO MONSTERS by Chicago-based fiction writer and poet Spencer Dew, is a tale of one man's small heartbreak, the backdrop to a contemporary landscape of well-meaning but ultimately shallow political activism, fractured communicative lines, and more ultimately enduring drives toward total inebriation. In classic Dew fashion, he'll have you laughing all the way to brink of the void. Dew is the author of the short-story collection Songs of Insurgency (2008). Appearing at this reading/celebration with him will be frequent THE2NDHAND contributor Jill Summers, new face on our pages Y.Z. Chin (formerly managing editor of Chicago-based Rhino magazine), and the ever-abundant C.T. Ballentine, our Chicago-based editorial force. It's FREE, and supported in part by a grant through Poets & Writers Inc. give by an anonymous donor.
Growing up in the '80's, when I hear the word sample I think hip hop. I picture a deejay cutting and chopping up portions of old funk records and laying down a solid beat. Or perhaps he throws in a phrase here or there, like "pump up the volume" or "fresh" and so on. So when I discovered a sampled based musician from Connecticut named Joe Frawley I was pleasantly surprised to hear subtle piano tones coating chopped and repeated audio samples. To a writer it is not a foreign concept to feel that there is rhythm and music and pattens contained in the spoken word. Most musicians prefer to utilize words that have been sung, but when sampled the spoken word can have a more mysterious and luring tone and texture. Last summer, Joe released his first full-length album, A Book of Dreams on his own label. On the album he defines the line between music and sound art while creating a world as beautiful as it is frightening.
His latest release, Ritual Research, was released last month for free through the on-line label Clinical Archives. It follows a daydreaming graduate student who slips obliquely into a subconscious underworld of shifting identities. The listener moves through the dreams as if on a cloud moving with each piano note. It is a fascinating collection that has been downloaded over 22,000 times in the last month, and for good reason.
Recently, Joe was kind enough to answer a few of my questions.
Orange Alert (OA): Let's start with the idea of sampling. I have interviewed a few other sample based artists, and they basically operate on faith. As Jon Nelson of Escape Mechanism put it, "faith that our country's legal system would choose to defend the creative act, over the micro management of every single sound byte ever recorded". Where do you find the majority of your samples and do you ever feel the need to get clearance to use them? Joe Frawley (JF): To answer the first part, my samples come directly from my listening experience. I am kind of an audio junkie, equal parts music and spoken word. Public radio interviews, even some dialog from films go in. Certain phrases, whether musical or spoken, will just resonate with me and I’ll have to rip them. Most interesting for me is when I can recombine them with other sounds to create an entirely new context. The old man’s voice in “The Hypnotist” is from a VHS tape of Leonard Bernstein rehearsing “Le Sacre du Printemps”. Sometimes the original source is something kind of weak, or not very evocative in its original context. For example, I have ripped dozens of audio samples from a DVD of Charlotte Church live in Wales, including between-song banter. I rip a lot of audio from public radio interviews. An interview with A.S. Byatt features strongly on my composition, “Tangerine”. I also have a pretty good field recorder, and some of Ritual Research is based on a surreptitiously recorded conversation I had with an individual. As far as legal clearance goes, I have a few thoughts on this: 1. The work would never get made if I did everything legally. 2. In this country, lawsuits aren’t based on principle, they are based on money- of which I make none. (That’s not to say I don’t sell records, but I just about break even). 3. My samples are intentionally obscure, which greatly lessens any economic damage. Negativland sampled U2, I think, to be intentionally provocative. My samples are meant to slip through your fingers, so to speak. One last point, being a musician I do take care to give credit to the musical appropriations from other composers.
OA: Speaking of Jon Nelson, I first heard your music on his program Some Assembly Required. How do you handle promotion of your music, and do you feel there is an adequate forum for your brand of classical/electronic music? JF: I have my own label, Joe Frawley Music, and promotion is hard work, almost equal to the creative process. My work intentionally hovers in the cracks between music and sound art. It fits in between several different genres, which makes audience targeting a challenge. I have the most success with outlets that attract fans of experimental, ambient and post-rock music. I’m hoping the future will bring about a genre where my work will be at home, maybe called “Mind Music” or “Dream Soundtracks” or something like that.
OA: There are two distinct elements at play in your music, the classical nature of your piano play and the electronic and complex nature of your sampled speech and field recordings. How is a song typically built? Do you create a melody on the piano and build upon it or do you find a spoken phrase or vintage recording and create a soundtrack for it or does it all just come together at once? JF: I usually have an archive of piano recordings, which might be stuff I composed, or improvisations. I usually treat these recordings the same way I do the other sound samples I collect. I might use a loop of a piano phrase and combine it with some voice or sound effect and see if it evokes any feeling. The process is remarkably similar to painting, or the way I imagine painting would be since I don’t paint. You can actually hear the audio equivalent of underpainting or palimpsest, where ideas that didn’t take were faded to the background, while a stronger idea was “painted” on top of it later. Some pieces are clearly based around a piano recording, like “The City (Map 2)”, while in others, the samples are more prominent. I try to think like a composer and avoid ear fatigue with any one tone or texture. Regarding structure, I don’t usually plan things out. I’ve read there are two different types of authors, those who outline the plot first, and those who discover the story as they write it. I would fall artistically in the camp of the latter, when working with sound collage.
OA: Your latest release, "Ritual Research", was released last month for free through Clinical Archives. How was this decision made to give this beautifully intense ep away for free? JF: Thanks for the kind words. My friend Alex who curates that net label invited me to submit a release just as I was finishing Ritual Research. At first I said ‘no, thank you’, because I really dislike how my music sounds on MP3s. It’s just not the best presentation for my work. Then I realized his releases get upwards of 20,000 downloads, which is probably more listeners then all my previous CDs combined. I am also still selling “A Book of Dreams” which has only been out for 6 months, so I began to think of the net-label release as a promotional tool for my back catalog. We’ll see if it works. This is a strange time for music making. I’d love to see vinyl become king again, but it not going to happen. I don’t complain though, because if this were 15 years ago, I’d just be some weird guy making sounds in his basement and no one would ever hear it. So you take the good with the bad.
OA: I have really enjoyed the added element of video to a few of your songs, it really helps to visualize the intended or indirect or statement of the piece. Do you see video playing a larger role in your future projects? What motivated you to get into video collage? JF: My first video was basically a slide show of some of my original photography- photographs of some artwork I had made, mixed with pictures of my wife, Michelle- set to the audio piece “Wilhelmina’s Dream”. I did it to feature my visual art, but then got intrigued by the idea of treating video clips the same way I treat audio: looping, processing, mixing to create new meanings out of pre-existing images. I’m currently experimenting with some new video ideas. My music is intended to evoke visual/mental imagery, so I feel a little uncomfortable imposing video images on my audio pieces. I hope to find a balance. The thing I like about video is that I have no idea what I’m doing. At least with sound collage, I had a music background. Video is terra incognita, which is exciting.
OA: What's next for Joe Frawley? JF: I am really interested in pursuing collaborations with other artists, and not necessarily those who sound like me or share my aesthetic. I hope to continue exploring new directions within the same style and to avoid repeating myself. Increasing family and professional demands are making it more and more difficult to find space to create; but with luck, in a year I will have another 30 minutes of new music. That’s about the going rate.
Bonus Questions: OA: Coffee? If yes, where can you find the best cup in your area? JF: Tea. My house. Da Hong Pao (oolong). Order from Harney & Sons.
OA: What was the last great book you have read? JF: Repetition by Alain Robbe-Grillet. Not for everyone.
For more information on Joe Frawley please visit his website.
Growing up I had always heard the phrase "Support the Arts". It was typically associated with funding for the more creative programs in school, or possibility it meant attending a school play instead of a the football game. At the time it seemed like a choice that had to be made, a decision to do one thing or support one thing instead of another. Over time my understanding of support has changed, and a new word has been added to the phrase, independent. In a way it is still about choices, but most of your life is about choices. Supporting the independent arts is more about searching, caring, and desire to feed the most creative aspect in everyone.
Corey Mesler is not just an independent writer, but he is also the owner of an indie bookstore. Now more than ever, owning an indie bookstore has become a noble and foolish venture. Yet, Corey runs an established store in Memphis called Burke's Book Store, and like all other indie store he relies on patrons choosing his service and knowledge over the mega-chain or Amazon. Basically, supporting the independent arts is about thought, making a conscious effort to buy from local shops, directly from the publisher, or the artist. The keyword word, no matter when you go, is support.
Recently, the prolific writer and book store owner Corey Mesler was kind enough to answer a few of my questions.
Orange Alert (OA): Every week I skim through a long list of on-line literary journals and more times than not I see your name. Is there a trick to getting published? How often to you submit to one given publication? Corey Mesler (CM): A lot is luck, of course. And the rest is writing poems that other people might want to read, which is like a conjurer's trick. It's hardest when it looks easiest. I have my favorite sites to submit to which I do probably 2 or 3 times a year. Also, I am always looking for new venues, new audiences.
OA: Do you feel that there is still more legitimacy attached to print journals? Are there certain types or lengths of stories that you submit to print journals as opposed to on-line journals? CM: Yes, I think print journals still have more cachet. I'm a paper and glue man myself so I understand it. That being said, there is a lot of adventurous and exciting publishing being done on the internet. There are smart and creative editors working for literary webzines and I appreciate them. The landscape is changing and soon web publishing will be as highly regarded as traditional print publishing. A good sign this year was Dzanc Books' Best of the Web anthology. Of course it was published as, you know, a book.
I don't have a set of criteria that helps me decide which pieces to submit online and which should be print. Like most of what I do I do it on a whim and a prayer.
OA:The Agoraphobe's Pandiculations was printed by Lulu. How was your experience going through Lulu as it compares to your previous novels and chapbooks? CM: I didn't go through Lulu, my publisher did. What I mean by that is that my two Lulu books are not self-published. They were accepted by Christine Laine's wonderful Little Poem Press and she uses Lulu, I imagine for the convenience. And that's about all I know about Lulu. Unless you wanna talk about the cute singer who had a hit with "To Sir with Love."
OA: This collection confronts the condition that you have lived with for a while now. Has its publication been freeing in any way? CM: In a way, yes. I am still plagued by agoraphobia and still write about it. When that chapbook appeared my therapist said, let this be the last time you write about being an agoraphobe. What he meant was that I identified too much with the debility. I see his point but that's not how my writing mechanism is wired. I write about what I write about and a lot of that centers on how I am feeling. I guess I am a poet who is trapped in his own body. Its contours haunt me and feed me and wake me in the middle of the night with pains in new areas and sometimes with small poems, small middle-of-the-night poems.
OA: The media has made sure that every one is aware of the struggles in each industry in America. How is the book business? From what I hear from the local shops in Chicago is that the regulars are still the regulars, and that things have been fairly steady. CM: Business sucks. I can't sugar coat it. We struggle. The fact that we are still here astounds me and all credit goes to my wife who is smarter than the average bear. This economy is trying to kill us and all small independent businesses. What a world it would be if people only had Barnes and Noble and McDonald's and Walmart and Amazon to choose from. Frankly I don't wanna live in that world. Help your small locally owned independent businesses; that's the message. All that being said, I have great faith in our newly elected president. I have never been this optimistic about the political climate and direction of our country. Wait, what was the question? How did I turn so pontifical?
OA: What's next for Corey Mesler? CM: I have a new chapbook of poems due out any second now. I have a book of short stories, Listen, due out in March 2009 from Brown Paper Publishing, a book of dialogue pieces I am proud of. And I have another novel, called Following Richard Brautigan, from Livingston Press, in the pipeline scheduled for sometime in the dim time-to-come. I have another novel finished which I hope to sell soon. And, finally, and perhaps most importantly, I am making notes for another novel. I love the long haul of a novel and so hope to begin anon.
Bonus Questions: OA: If you could have coffee with anyone (alive or dead) who would you want to sit down with? CM: Martin Luther King, Jr., W. B. Yeats, James Joyce, John Berryman, Kurt Vonnegut, Frank O'Hara, Iris Murdoch, Ingmar Bergman, Alfred Hitchcock, Groucho Marx, John Lennon, Leonard Cohen (because I think he would be less intimidating than Mr. Dylan), David Markson, Zooey Deschanel.
OA: What type of music do you enjoy and who are a few of your favorites? CM: Mostly 60s pop-rock with a special appreciation for psych-pop. Dylan, Beatles, Lennon, Mr. Cohen, The Zombies, The Animals, The Rascals, The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, Fever Tree, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Van Morrison, Elvis Costello, Jethro Tull, Big Star, Captain Beefheart, The Monks, The Monkees. In jazz, miles of Miles.
For more information on Corey Mesler please visit his website and don't forgot to check out Burkes Books here.
The most challenging aspect of pursuing a career as a creative professional (artist, writer, or musician) is taking the time to stop and create. I've talked to writers who say they have to write for 30 minutes per day, but it is the more ambitious projects like Brendan Losch's song per week project that really drive creativity. Since 2005 Chicago's Britton Walter's has been forcing himself to do something similar, and the results have fueled a career that is just starting to really take off. His yearly project is called 4x6x366, and it finds him focusing what energy he left to create a personal painting or drawing every day. It is an ambitious goal, but one that has helped him create hundreds of original drawings.
Yet, Britton is so much more than just drawings, he has created a series of illustrations that are filled humor and creativity. He has been able to turn these illustrations into successfully marketed products. A skilled graphic designer, Britton has been able to take his creation from the canvas and place them on stickers, t-shirts, buttons, and more. Under the heading of Nerfect, he has created favorites like Diabolical Dog, Hip hop hamburger and many more.
Recently, Britton was kind enough to answer a few of my questions.
Orange Alert (OA): Now that you are nearing the end of your 4x6x366 project for 2008 how do you feel it has helped you as an artist? Has your approach to doing this changed since you started working this way in 2005? Britton Walters (BW): The daily drawing series have been extremely helpful to me as an artist. On a basic level, it is an exercise of sorts. The practice helps me build up my skills, and the daily deadline keeps my imagination cranking. I also get to experiment with a lot of ideas on a day-to-day basis. Not every drawing is a winner, but I know that I have another shot the next day. You don’t always get that when you’re working on larger pieces.
When I started doing the daily drawings, it was mainly because I had noticed that I hadn’t done quality personal work in quite a while. I needed to warm myself up by starting this practice.
The drawings from that first year, seem a bit alien to me now when I look at them. I tended to over-think and overwork the pieces. I see them as to too tight, tense even. I feel that as I’ve moved on with this project, I’ve been able to be able to really loosen up and let things flow more naturally. If a drawing stinks now, so be it, but back in 2005, I might have redraw a bad piece again and again.
Now, I’m at a stage where I’m a bit more comfortable just letting things happen, and to trust my gut more.
OA: Have you ever had anyone take you up on your offer to finish their paintings? BW: A handful of folks have and the results have been really good. I think people know roughly what to expect out of me and in the pieces I’ve “finished” have been really well received by the people who submit work to me.
I’m actually surprised that more people haven’t taken me up on the offer to finish their unfinished artworks. Every artist I know has a couple pieces they just didn’t complete lying around, and I don’t charge a crazy amount for the service. It’s a bargain, I get another collaboration in my portfolio and the submitter gets a sweet piece of artwork.
OA: You have created a wide range of sticker designs. What is your most popular and when do you know drawing should or could become a sticker? BW: Diabolical Hot Dog is definitely my most successful creation lately. Anything I put him on moves out the door. The character just has the right magical combination of parts and people dig him.
It’s hard to say what makes me think a particular design is worthy of getting produced as a sticker, a t-shirt or whatever. In the beginning I just put stuff out that I was happy with and I just kept my fingers crossed that someone else out there in the world would be willing to buy it.
Originally, I saw making stickers and buttons a way of getting affordable bits of my artwork out into the world. Now, as more and more shops have begun to carry them, and it has become more like a real business, I rely on feedback from the folks who sell my stuff in the retail environment. If something is doing really well as a button, I will consider turning it into a sticker or t-shirt.
OA: Tales of the Danged looks interesting, what can you tell us about your comic book? BW: I’ve always liked comics, and over the years I’ve tried my hand at the comics form. Tales of The Danged is the last real comic book I put out. It was a real labor of love, and if I had the time and maybe a team to work on comics with to take a bit of the pressure off, I’d love to do more comics in the future.
The original idea Tales of The Danged was for an anthology book that I could try different kinds of stories in, but as I was working on it, one of the stories seemed to grow and grow and was eventually the length of the book. That story was the story of Secret Dog and Doug Nerfect, a couple of unintentional adventurers. There are a lot of twists and turns, a few things that I thought were funny, a 3-D center spread (glasses are included), and a special appearance by Diabolical Hot Dog.
OA: Is Chicago a good place to be a professional illustrator and artist? With the internet does it really matter where you live? BW: Chicago has a large community of professional artists and with a lot of ad agencies and publishing firms located here, it is a pretty good place to find work. The gallery and art scene is pretty healthy, but has a bit of room to grow.
Granted, as you suggest, the internet really frees people up. As an artist, you can really work globally and build a strong network of connections. You can truly set up shop anywhere as long as you have the chops and a good core base of clients.
However, it really helps to be able to physically attend shows and make personal connections with others in the art community offline. You never know whom you might meet at an opening or how going out to lunch with a client can benefit your career.
OA: What's next for Britton Walters and Nerfect? BW: I feel really good about the upcoming year artwork wise. There are a million things I’d like to work on and develop.
I’m moving ahead with the daily drawings. So many ideas come out of that series that are ending up in the larger pieces I’ve been doing lately. I’ve been doing a bit more painting these days and am really excited to show these pieces off.
Speaking of which, I have a couple of shows in the spring that I’m doing work for and planning now. Please check out Nerfect.com regularly to find out more about them. I’m also keeping my eyes open for group shows and new opportunities to show my work.
I also plan to continue developing the merchandise extension of my work. I’ve got a few new items in the works and hope to get my stuff into more environments around the globe in aught nine.
To be honest, the most exciting thing coming up for me are those opportunities that I don’t even know of yet.
Bonus Questions: OA: If you could sit down to coffee with anyone (alive or dead) who would it be? BW: I would really love to chat with physicist Richard Feymnman. He was a brilliant, curious and interesting human being. The collections of his essays and other personal writings are very entertaining.
OA: What type of music do you enjoy and who are a few of your favorites? BW: I’d like to think that I’m pretty eclectic in my tastes in music. There is so much great stuff out there. On a single day I could easily go from bluegrass to old school hip hop or classic soul and funk to hardcore punk. As long as there is some honesty in it and it is a bit rough on the edges, I’ll give most anything a spin.
For more information on Britton Walters please visit his website.
If you are a musician, writer, or artist and would like to see your work presented or reviewed here, we would love to hear from you. You can send submissions to P.O. Box 3897, St. Charles, IL 60174 or contact us at orangealert31 [AT] gmail.com. Thanks!
My Week in Pictures
We talk with local artist Kari Karus about her work and her involvment with Water Street Studio.
We discuss Quickies! (her monthly reading series) and Theodore Huxtable with Mary Hamilton
We explore the layers of sound contained in the work of Benoit Pioulard.
Click the pic to download!
The Orange Alert Reading Series @ The Whistler Jan 18th: Chris Bower, Jill Summers, Nick Ostdick, and Scott Stealey
John Updike (March 18, 1932 - January 27, 2009) Remembered Here
Orange Alert named one of the best web sites in Chicago by Chicago Magazine! Check it out
The material (pictures, mp3's, opinions, etc.) posted on this site are for the sole purpose of promoting the work of the artists that created them. They will only be posted for a short period of time, but if anyone would like them removed please contact us at orangealert31@gmail.com.
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