The Godfather Is Dead.

R.I.P. James Brown.

?uestlove's Tribute
O-Dub's Tribute
O-Dub's Video Tribute

Skillz's 2006 Rap-up

Listen via Real Player or grab the MP3 from Spine Magazine.
I'm glad he does these, because most years are a blur to me nowadays.
On a related note, Pitchfork posted their Worst Album Covers of 2006. Personally, I dig Chuck Anderson's work on Lupe's album, but whatever. And, I'm surprised that I managed to see 5 of Pitchfork's Top 25 Vids since I cut my cable (by choice and necessity) in September.

Spreading Myself Thin Online

It just occurred to me that I might have too many online community haunts. Here are the top 5:

1. Gigposters.com: Surprise, surprise. Hell, this place is one of the reasons I get up in the morning. In my 5 plus years on this site, I've learned stuff that I couldn't learn in school, and I think I've become a better illustrator and designer because of it. This site gave me (and continues to give me) the impetus to do projects that keep me happy outside of work, so one day, I may actually get hired to do this fun shit.
2. flickr: Over the past year and a half, I've transformed into this chronic shutterbug. Flickr has only fed this sickness. Sharing my pics with complete strangers and my contacts (who ain't strangers no more, especially the ones I've seen naked), especially when they deem something I shot worthy of a comment - or better yet, a "favorite" designation - gives me an unimaginable high. Someone oughta bottle that.
3. MySpace.com: Yeah, I know...shut up. I can't put my finger on what makes MySpace so addictive, but that bastard Tom obviously knew what he was doing. I mean, I didn't fuck with Friendster one bit, but along came this, and I got hooked. I started a profile because Johnny Crap said he was getting a number of jobs through this thing, so I gave it a go. Now I've got 702 "friends" and counting (some of them I've actually met! In person!). Admittedly, I consider myself a bit of a "collector". Among my "collection" are notable folks like emcees Mr. Lif and Blueprint, Roots leader ?uestlove, anal sex expert Tristan Taormino, Ashlie Atkinson (in her Maggie T. and Chunky Pam personae), cartoonsists Bob Fingerman and Peter Bagge, and porn director Eon McKai. Now if only it weren't so full of bugs.
   
4. The Fat Forums: You know me, I like porn. And, I love fat girls. Well, whaddayaknow...a site where BBW models and their fans can shoot the shit?! I think I'll kick my shoes off n' stay a while.
5. The Break Bread Board: I've been a fan of Peanuts & Corn Records and its roster practically from day one, and this is the place to find out what's going down. It's quieter compared to its ezboard days, but it remains essential nonetheless.

The rest, to a lesser extent: Illustration Mundo, Drawn.ca Community, BBWRadio Forums, and The Drawing Board (which is a shame, since I've been there for over 4 years).

I should spend more time outside.

(EDIT: When I said "to a lesser extent", I meant that I'm not there as much as I should be. That wasn't a remark on the quality at all, y'nahmean?)

Surly Santa

For Sugar Frosted Goodness! Click the picture to view larger.

Xmas Rap!

For a show next Sunday. If they get 50 people on such short notice, that'll be dope. Dope, and amazing.

Random Thoughts: December 3rd, 2006

Top: My favorite parking lot.
Middle: The Disraeli Bridge, which I've become quite familiar with.
Bottom: Mark Saunders' statue keeps watch over a wintery Portage Ave.

• So, I've just put one week behind me at my new workplace. Everyone's been really cool so far, and I've been teamed up with a fine mentor, who's been showing me the rather complicated ropes. In a month or two, I should be working the evening shift I was hired for. Until then, it's all about waking up at 5 (occasionally 5:30) to get there for 7:30.
• I'm SO stoked to be down with the first print version of I Want Your Skull. When Ryan (August, the creator of this skull-based art thang) has a full list of contributors, I'll post it here.

Photo courtesy of the good folks at Anti.

• Yeah, I was amped for Lupe and The Roots' albums, but when I found out a couple of months ago that Tom Waits was dropping a 3 CD set, I nearly swallowed my tongue. Now that I have a new job and Christmas is comin', the possibility of getting those joints in my hands is far greater.
• Speaking of albums...the new Clipse? HAWT! Normally, I hate on all that drug-dealing shit (no matter who's doin' it), but good music is good music. Admittedly, when "Grindin'" was hot, I was a very outspoken critic of that song. I thought the chorus was dumb as the dumbest thing imaginable, and it was about the drug hustle. But like most things The Neptunes have touched, it got under my skin. I remember hearing "Young Boy" at a Hunnicutt and Co-op jam, and from there, I was down to hear anything that the Neptunes put their name on. "Wamp Wamp" will get me on the floor. I don't give a fuck who's playing it.
• Gotta get ready for bed. Peace, y'all.
  

Lil' Rider

Click the picture to access the larger version.

If I sent this in on time, it'll be in the print version of I Want Your Skull.
Admittedly, I waited until the last minute to do this, but I like the spontaneity of it. The genesis of this lil' thing was a sketch I did in preparation for Fecal Face's Sketchbook Monday (aka SBM, an homage to Illustration Friday). The topic was "Rider".

John K. Hates Rap...And That's Okay.

I was visiting The Beat blog on Friday, and noticed a link to all kinds of stuff, the weblog of Ren and Stimpy creator John Kricfalusi. I realized that I hadn't visited his blog in while, so I went n' checked out the entry that The Beat linked to.
John's been posting notes here n' there to educate younger folks as to what made classic 2D animation, well...classic. Some folks, though, have a problem with what could be labeled as his curmudgeonly statements about a living "in an age when knowledge and skill is completely out of fashion". Me, I couldn't be more thankful. No matter what kind of art education you've had, you never stop learning.
I scrolled down to see an entry on Buster Keaton, which I thought was dope, because I've loved Keaton's work since childhood. In that, he stated that only the truly gifted should be
entertainers, not average folk:

Nowadays we have cartoons by people who can't draw (or write), "voice actors" by people who don't have distinct voices or acting ability, "songs" where people talk instead of sing and tell you how great they are without having to prove it to you with skill and talent.

I agree with him to a point. While it'd be great to have more Jackie Chans and Busters, I kinda like being able to see the average schlub do something that makes me laugh or causes my jaw to drop. That's what makes YouTube so great...in moderation, of course. I read further:

Is there anybody alive that couldn't write or draw Family Guy? Anyone looking at that or listening to a rap "song" can easily imagine himself with a couple weeks practice and some luck being able to be a big star.

That caught my attention, and the attention of a few others. To see where his head was at, I thought I'd make a comment:

I highly disagree with your digs at supposed lack of talent in accordance with rappers...to a degree. The majority of what's touted in the mainstream variety of rappers and/or rap groups, well, they suck ass. Putting out less than memorable, filler-saturated albums is no way to get my entertainment dollar. And that goes for the "underground" indie emcees, too.
And I fully understand that rap music (and hip-hop culture as a whole) isn't everyone's cup of tea, either.
I hear you as far as Buster goes. I've been a fan ever since I saw The Railrodder when I was a kid. We could use more folks like him nowadays.
And for the record, I totally appreciate the notes you post here. You can never learn enough.

Someone named the clownninja followed up with:

you can't dismiss a whole musical form that offhandedly...

John shot back with:

If there was any music in it I wouldn't.
Music requires a melody.

That's where I got my dander up. I'm fully alright with someone not liking rap music, but disregarding it as a form of music altogether? Yeah, I've got a problem with that.
So I responded:

"Music requires a melody."
I never saw eye-to-eye with that argument. I can't find melody in a Gene Krupa drum solo, but that's some of the finest music around, to me.

...and his response:

listen before and after the solo. You're supposed to play the whole song.

I thought about what I would say next and came with this:

"listen before and after the solo. You're supposed to play the whole song."
And I have. The drum solo happens to be my favorite part.
I can actually hum the odd rap track, even if it's based on a borrowed/re-recorded/cobbled together melody.
Does your distaste for spoken vocals extend to CW McCall and Phil Harris, or just this genre? Not tryin' to bust your balls, just curious.

I think he got angry after this...

To compare Gene Krupa's superhuman skill, talent, charisma and taste to anyone in rap is beyond arrogance. It's really stupid too.

Krupa, like all instrumentalists of the time knew that they were part of a bigger thing called music. They took their turns soloing amid the beautifully and intelligently arranged and scored melodies and rhythms.

No comparison at all with anything today.

Anita O'Day was Gene's main vocalist btw and could actually carry a tune - unlike rappers.

For a second, I was like, "did he just call me or my argument stupid?"
Gaining my composure, I responded with...

I wasn't comparing Krupa to anyone, really...I just brought him up as an example. And not that I was trying to change your mind (now THAT would be stupid), but I'm sure we can agree to disagree. I'm inspired to listen to The Drum Battle.

And I left it at that.
I don't know why I decided to dwell on this for so long, but I tend to obsess over trivial shit. I guess not seeing eye-to-eye with someone I respect affects me a lil' bit.
At any rate, I gotta say that John K.'s blog is still worth frequent visits. His wealth of knowledge makes it a must for any young animator (or illustrator, for that matter)...despite the crankiness.
Related links:
Bill Wray • William Wray (Bill and William are the same dude, but stylistically different) • ASIFA

English Al Jazeera

(click to access "all sizes")


For an opinion piece in The Manitoban. I haven't been able to read the article yet, but the writer himself said that he hoped the English version of Al Jazeera would give us North Americans a more balanced view of the Arabic world, and that's what he wanted to express in his piece.
I'm hoping that the angry Muslim hand puppet doesn't cause offense. I was trying to get across the reinforcing of Islamic stereotypes, and how condescending such an action is.
Originally, Ted (the graphics editor of The Manitoban) thought it was just going to be on a black and white piece, but found out otherwise. I came up with the color version relatively fast.

Random Thoughts: November 19th, 2006

• I already wrote this at gigposters.com, so I'll just cut n' paste it:

  So, I quit my job last week. No more Icelandic community newspaper for me as of the end of this week.*
  On the 27th, I'll be working for a company that produces publications for different businesses, and I'll be one of several ad designers.
  I'll be workin' in a cubicle, but the folks seem pretty cool.
  I figure what I'm gonna have to do is put the heat on my personal creative endeavours during my off-time hours, so someday I'll be able to that kind of shit full-time. For now, this is a good gettin' married/get outta debt sort of thing. Word 'em up.
  
  Uh...that is all.
  
  *For the record, I ain't leavin' because the job sucked. On the contrary, I've never felt more appreciated. I redesigned the paper, got to throw the occasional bit of illustration in there, and get my feet wet in the world of layout, which I never reallythought I'd mess with. I'm leaving because I've gone as far as I can with 'em...and I'm poor. Being that it was only a part time job, I was livin' hand-to-mouth for most of the year.

• Don't you just hate it when motherfuckers cut pages and/or pictures out of library books? It's infuriating! Twice, I've come upon volumes of Golgo 13 that have the sex scenes cut out. I'd like to slap whoever did that. I mean...the shit isn't even yours! So lame.
• Got tickets printed for our social. Time to work on the poster that I'm gonna e-mail to everybody (due to liquor laws, I can't promote this thing by traditional means. It'll be all about e-mail, MySpace, word of mouth, and running into people.)
• Two folks that have been totally kicking my ass mentally on the illustration tip: Rick Geary and Jen Wang. I've liked Rick's work for a long time, and I've been getting more n' more into because of his A Treasury of Victorian Murder series on NBM. His line is fuckin' exquisite. Jen, on the other hand, I found out about recently via Drawn!, and I'm SO glad I did. Her sense of anatomy has no equal, and the humor in her work is biting. And don't get me started on the sensuality of the women she draws! Whew!
• Well...time to get my hustle on. Got an illo for The Manitoban to do, and it's a little weightier than what I've usually done.
  

Fecal Face Meerkat

Did this to win a skateboard deck. We'll see what happens.

4th Anniversary Random Thoughts: November 8th, 2006

October 30th: first substantial snowfall of the season. It don't look like this now. It's kinda like a mild spring. God is teasing us!

• So...four years ago today, I started this thing. Why? I dunno, it seemed "neat". I've changed how I write about stuff here over the years. There's a little less swearing (a little), less porn-related stuff, and less whiny bullshit "feeling" crap. Lately, it's been about my creative endeavors and shit I think is cool, and I think I'm gonna keep it that way.
• Today, I looked back at the passing of Mandy Coyne. Her death really hit us all hard. We didn't recover (if you can call it that) for a long time. Crazy, how it's been over two years.
• On a more positive note, I just finished reading Paul Has a Summer Job. At the end, I shed a few tears. You can call me a colossal pussy for doing so, but there are some very sweet moments in that there book. I've read Paul Moves Out, so now I gotta catch Paul in the Country. Michel Rabagliati, I salute you, sir.
• I'm slowly re-watching Crumb for what's probably the sixth time. On DVD, I can catch every fucked up nuance.
• I love flickr, but it's become a bit of a burden as I have a huge backlog of show photos to post, and I know folks wanna see 'em (because they were in 'em, yo.). I gotta make sure they're lookin' good n' shit.
  
• MySpace is good for something. Thanks to that techno-marvel, I'm gonna do a tattoo design for a fine lady from Chicago that I first got acquainted with at good ol' Fat Forums. I can't wait to tackle that!
• Yo, if you're lookin' for something to do on Friday, you can check out my man Peter Farmer's art show and auction at the Fairmont. 100% of the proceeds from one of the paintings will go to ArtCity. Great art, a good cause, and Bothwell cheese!
• G'night, y'all.
  

GorillaJellyfish

For an article on mad science in The Manitoban:

Guy Fawkes

For The Manitoban:



For some reason, this is currently credited to graphics editor Ted Barker (a swell guy) online. I haven't picked up the print version so we'll see if that's happened there.

So a Klingon and a Romulan walk into a bar...

Click this thing to access the larger size or go to this page.
The Manitoban article it appears in.

Random Thoughts: October 27th, 2006

Sweet box o' goodness.

• I got this here box pictured above from print guru Andy MacDougall, which not only contained copies of the poster I designed for Flatstock 10, but also FS (and related) posters from Jamie B. Wolcott, Amy Jo, Mark Pedini, Delicious, Erick Montes, Strawberryluna, Bobby Dixon, Lonny Hurley, Gregg Gordon, Andrew Vastagh, Billy Perkins, Jim Mazza, Paul Imagine and Daniel Danger (plus one I believe to be a FS print designed by Jeral Tidwell). I'm a lucky boy!
• Also, I got a sweet Black Keys poster from my man Jon Smith (no, not the rapper). It folks into a stage! Really! Check it out! Mr. Smith has talent to spare, and he's a helluva guy.
• There are so many albums that I've gotta purchase. The Roots and Tom Waits' upcoming release are tops on my list. Being broke sucks much ass.
• Got some photos from two WCMA showcases to post at some point. I just put up 37 photos from August to October of this year that I just sorta forgot about.
• Fellow GP member and kick-ass colorist Rob Schwager has himself a blog, yo.
• It's WAY past my bedtime. Later, y'all.
  

I've been busy. Really busy.

What it dew, muhfukas?!?

2 posters for Athavale:


(click this one to see the larger version)

An illustration for The Manitoban (on the subject of bad Hitchcock films):

(click it to see the larger version)

...and a painting for my friend Ana's wedding social (Ardilla Atómico Hates Winnipeg Weather):


Word 'em up.

Random Thoughts: October 1st, 2006

• What up?
• Clay is back from Flatstock 11 (and the rest of his European trek), so there are over 500 new posters to check out at gigposters.com! Start here.
• If you're out East, you gotta check the "Maurading Manitobans" tour with Hot Live Guys and American Flamewhip (which I did the poster for). They'll rock your fuckin' face off.

  Oct 1 2006 10:00P The Velvet Elvis, Oshawa ONT
  Oct 2 2006 10:00P Call the Office, London ONT
  Oct 4 2006 11:00P The Cazbah, Hamilton ONT
  Oct 5 2006 11:00P The Circus Room, Kitchener ONT
  Oct 6 2006 11:00P Coach and Horses, Windsor ONT
  Oct 7 2006 11:00P Bovine Sex Club, Toronto ONT

• Birdapres and John Smith are headin' out on tour with DJ Hunnicutt to pimp Bird's new album Get It Done and Smitty's Growing Pains (which is droppin' soon). And CBC Radio 3 is backin' 'em, which is really cool. For a taste, check the lastest episode of the CBC Radio 3 Podcast, where both of those dudes get a spin, plus mcenroe's "Cereal For Dinner".
• It's a nice day out. I'm gone. Peace.
  

The Hold Steady's Boys and Girls in America

Not too long ago, the Hold Steady played a show here in Winnipeg. I was indifferent, so I didn't go. The short bits of songs I heard The song used in the UMFM ad for the show didn't convince me that these dudes were worth the money to see 'em (which probably wasn't much cash in retrospect). For some reason, I just wrote 'em off.

That was until I heard "Southtown Girls".

I happened to be visiting my pal Zach Hobbes' MySpace page, and he had that track in the Flash-based player. As with most things on MySpace, the player was buggy at the time and didn't display the artist name properly. I was taken by the southern-sounding harmony of the repeated opening line:

Southtown Girls won't blow you away/But you know that they'll stay...

Then the organ came in. I had to know who this was, and when I found out it was them, I was taken aback. Call it a musical moment of clarity, or somethin'. Gee, maybe I was wrong about these motherfuckers.
Yes, yes folks, I was wrong. Right now (until Tuesday, I'm thinkin'), Vagrant Records is streaming Boys and Girls in America in its entirety, and I can say that I'm blown away. It feels like a concept album: guys n' girls in love, gettin' fucked up on booze and whatever else they can get their hands on, etc. This album has the youthful exuberance of high school (a time in my life that I admittedly pine for perpetually), and I don't drink, so I can live vicariously through this disc.
I'm thinkin' this is what Springsteen was like back in the day, but these dudes drink harder and have more guitar muscle.
I'm telling you right now...I want this album. So there.

Boys and Girls in America Listening Party

Random Thoughts: September 23rd, 2006

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Random Thoughts: September 18th, 2006

• On Saturday, I met the great John Van Hamersveld, creator of iconic 60s images. Really nice guy. The secret to his success boiled down to "just do it". Make connections, formulate a plan and just do it. You'd think I'd have learned that after all these years, eh?
• I'm painfully broke. Nothing new.
• Issue 7 of the MASSIVE PDF magazine Candy is out now. Cop that shit. Read it in fullscreen mode for full effect. It's free! This one has interviews with heavy hitters from all sorts of disciplines including WK Interact, Jason Munn (aka The Small Stakes), Alan Hynes, and Stefan Sagmeister. It's free illustration/design porn. There's nothing better! Well, except for free regular porn.
• Looks like I'm part of an informal art collective at the moment. More news as this develops.
• Thanks to Candy, I found the flickr™ photostream of Montreal expatriate Other. Killer writer.
• Gonna eat some Breton crackers n' go to bed. Peace.
  

My UMFM Shirt!

Word 'em up!

Random Thoughts: September 10th, 2006

My first tour poster!


Weddin' plans in full effect:



To follow along, keep your eyes on this flickr™ set.

Other stuff:

• I reached a year at the newspaper! It's cool, but it feels kinda weird at the same time. Cool: I work with great people, and I got to give a facelift to the oldest community paper in North America. Weird: I'm feeling the need to bounce, as I'm only there part time. I'm like, poor. Yup.
  
• My internet friend AnnMarie has found herself a UK guy, and I couldn't be happier for her! I always said she was too fine to be alone.
• Yesterday, I took in the second last day of the WAG's Funny Papers: Marvel Comics, Canadian Political Cartoons, and Conteporary Art and had a blast. I've been a fan of the late Duncan MacPherson's work since I was a kid, so seeing his shit up-close reinforced his position as "the dean" of Canuck political cartoonists in my mind. Malcom Mayes does some incredibly hot shit, too.
• If you're in my town in the next little bit, I recommend checkin' out the WAG's Manitoba Modernist Architecture 1945-1975 exhibit, which I also viewed yesterday. That, coupled with the Rodin exhibit coming through on the 30th of this month should be a good time.
• I neglected to mention a while ago that you can search my photos on flickr™ by their tags. Here's all of 'em.
• I'm goin' outside. Peace.
  

I'm losing reasons to watch Much.

Hannah Sung has left Much. I can't blame her, really. Apparently, she's shooting a documentary. Good for her.
All that's left for me is The Wedge, The New Music, and Going Coastal, all of which I don't watch as regularly anymore. *sigh*...whaterygonnado?

Self-Caricature With Mask

Illustration Friday: Run

First one in ages, and it's a bit of a quickie.



The Day He Retired Was the Day He Started Living, 2006 • graphite and Photoshop®

For a larger version, click the image and go to "all sizes" (it's a flickr™ thang).

The original sketch for this was initially for "play" installment of Illustration Friday, but it never got finished. When "run" came along, I saw an opportunity to adapt it. Here's the original:



I should go to bed. It's crazy late. Take care!

MPLS 2006

All the photos are here. I recommend doin' the slideshow thing, then checking 'em out individually for the notes and stuff.

Plumpr (NSFW)

This site has become a regular stop for me:
Plumpr
The concept is simple: Plumpr is a blog that sifts through the millions of flickr™ photos and finds all the ones with thick girls. Tasty.

Gez Fry: Perseverance Pays Off

Gez Fry's work is mindblowing. SO damn good. Apparently, this gentleman spent long hours in his bedroom working diligently on his skills, and eventually emerged as this amazing illustration colossus that I am now crowing about.
I gotta spend less time in front of this infernal box.

via Drawn!

Thunderbirds Are Now!/You Say Party! We Say Die!

Exclamation points galore!!!!

I (heart) America.

The View From 28.

Say what you will about its foriegn policy n' whatnot, I've got it bad for the U.S.
Well, it's not a deep ocean blue love, really. It's more like a shallow wading pool kind of love.
I love America for its STUFF. It has so much of it.
Here are these folks we share a border with, who are just like us, except they have all this cool shit. It's kinda like when you're a kid, and you're visiting a friend that has the coolest fuckin' bedroom filled with the most boss toys imaginable. The U.S. is like that. It's one cool bedroom.
Sarah and I are heading on down to Minneapolis for 6 days. Initially, it was for the opening of This Side Up, but the opening got pushed to the 12th of August. Yeah, that kinda threw a spanner in the works, but we're gonna have a good time anyway. A visit to the Walker Institute is on the agenda, along with visiting the AA dudes and the Unitus Family Unit. I'm probably gonna eat myself into a coma, too. The plan is, however, to do an about face once I return.
It's time I made this public: I'm hoping to lose 100 pounds by my 32nd birthday.
It is do-able, but it's gonna be hard. It's gotta happen, even if I don't reach my time limit.
At any rate, "mad fun" will be had by both of us. We have many stores to visit and sights to puruse. I can hear P.B. Loco callin' my ass.

The Unitus 3!

A huge congrats goes out to my man in Minneapolis, Lonny "Unitus" Jerome and his lovely wife Jaime, as they are now the proud parents of a baby girl! Let all give a sizeable round of applause to welcome Alice Mae Jerome to the world! Come on, y'all...I can't hear you! There...much better.
For the inside scoop, look no further than There's A New Girl In Town, the new Unitus blog.
And now that you've seen that go to Lonny's site and buy some shit so he can send his daughter to college! Actually, as I'm typing this, he has nothing for sale (I looked), but you can e-mail him about availablity. He's a good fuckin' guy, trust me.

The Anatomy of My flickr™ Account

The PhotostreamThis is where everything happens. So far, I'm rockin' 159 pages...and counting. If you want, you can view them slideshow style.

My Sets
This is the section where I gather some of my photos thematically. Some would say I find beauty in the mundane. Others probably find such things dreadfully boring. Perhaps a tad creepy.

My Favorites
If you wanna know about me, this is the place to look. This section represents everything "Al". Corgis, naked women, wrestling, food, cats...it's all there. I recommend a slideshow viewing, f'real. Some of them are only viewable to me, as a few of my contacts have designated a number of their photos (or all of 'em) as "friends/family only". 'Cuz they're dirty.

Gigposters.com Folks in the "Blogosphere"

The amazing Dan Grzeca (pronounced "Jetsah". Really.):
http://dangrzecaart.blogspot.com/

Kick-ass Mike aka Mictron from the gritty Motor City:
http://uselessweaponry.blogspot.com/

Now y'all know.

FRINGE!!!

CRUMBS at MTC Backstage, July 22, 2006.

Sarah and I are doing 10 shows in 3 days this year. Hectic, yes...but fun as always. I'll do a post-mortem once the dust settles.

BBW Gwen Raises The Bar! (NSFW)

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Free Album!

[Click above image for FREE to download of Greenhouse Effect album
"Columbus or Bust"]

Yup, you read it right. Free. Courtesy of Blueprint himself! Add this dude on MySpace so you know when he's comin' to your town. And yes, his (current) profile photo is one I took.

Another Athavale Show!

athavaleonline.com
myspace.com/athavale

And hey, I can't think of a better thing to do than go to Assiniboine Park on a Sunday; this Sunday in particular, as my man Erik and crew will be performing at Assiniboine Park's Lyric Theatre at 4PM with DJ Hipnotic (who hosts 101.5's Sweet Dreams with Erik) spinning tunes between sets.
Erik was also one of the winners of Cool FM's Project Cool 2006, receiving $25,000. Isn't that wicked?

Random Thoughts: July 8th, 2006

Mike Relm points with authority!

• It's been kinda hard not having Sarah around for the summer, but the fact that I've been able to visit her (and vice versa) has softened the blow. We'll have 4 days together for the Fringe (in which we'll pack in 10 shows) this month, and we're heading for Minneapolis in August.
  
• As I type this, my request on CBC Radio 3 is playing. I won a Sirius unit and a year's subscription several months ago, and have yet to activate it, as I'm without a home kit. I must remedy this.
• I finally finished a logo project, which was my personal albatross for months. It's not my best work, but the client is happy, and that's all I care about.
• As usual, I don't draw enough, but I've been drawing a shitload more than I usually do.
• I had dinner with my man Andre a few hours ago. Dude's a class act. We're workin' on Pip Skid's website, and it'll hopefully kick much ass. Pip is a fuckin' superstar, or at least he should be.
• In speaking with Andre, I gotta wonder if I should just get my shit together and move the fuck out of Winnipeg. It's not like he was encouraging me, it's just that he's been thinking of bouncing to Van City (Vancouver for you Yanks out there. :) ), and my man J. Lapeyre has relocated to Hogtown (Toronto) with his lady and child. As much as I love Winnipeg, I probably could use a change of scenery. I'd have to run that by the ladyfriend, of course. That Minneapolis trip could help to clear my mind. We'll see.
  

Good readin'.

• Gettin' back to Mr. Lapeyre, Jason wrote an extensive article on P.E. and the legendary Bomb Squad in waxpoetics (pictured above), THE mag for beat fiends and vinyl fetishists (uh...not that kind.). I've flipped through waxpoetics before, but this was the first time I really felt compelled to buy it. This is their hip-hop issue, and so far, it's a killer read. I just finished a story on J Rock's Streetwize (peep the "Neighborhood Drug Dealer" vid), and a track-by-track listing of Thes One's wedding mix CD from the man himself. Awesome so far.
• Also in the photo above, is a copy of the brand new Communication Arts Illustration Annual, which has some inspiring work, in addition to profiles on Illustration Friday's Penelope Dullaghan and the superdope Heads of State. Cop that.
• I actually finished this joint on Sunday. Right now, I'm listening to an interview with the legendary Rakim (link and transcript here). I'm out. Peace.
  

Wrestling Boots

Larger versions of these sketches can be found here, here, and here.

This Side Up: an update

Pictures from the show taken by Jeremy Boyd.

More photos, these by Adam Swinbourne.

One piece from all 56 people...including me!

I can't wait until this hits Minneapolis!

Illustration Friday: Jungle

Interrupting Tea Time Was a Bad Idea In Retrospect, 2006 • graphite, Steadtler pigment liner and Photoshop®

It's been too damn long since I've done Illustration Friday. Gotta get back in the ol' habit.
The texture in the background is from a cardboard box, which I also used on my Athavale poster.
Not much else to say about it. It's a pissed-off gorilla holding a cup of tea.
Here's a much larger version!

I'm not dead.

I'm waking up.
Two posters:

Athavale



Neil Hamburger



I keep telling folks I've been "artistically comatose". It's pretty much true. Other than these posters and a few other things, I've been doing like, nothing. Writing, drawing for fun...nothing. I have a logo to finish for someone and I'm crippled by self-doubt. Just plain afraid to approach the desk and spending too much time on the web. This logo project and the "demon of failure" (I gotta put a name to whatever's psyching me out) have housed me, to use some old dialect. I'll get over it.
Anyway, I'm gonna try n' be a little more active artistically and physically (I didn't leave the house today).

At any rate, I just finished that Athavale (pronounced "ah-TUV-lay") poster tonight. We might be doing a series based on that there couple. We'll see.
You can listen to Athavale's smooth-ass joints on their myspace page. "Bounce" is my joint.
I'm looking forward to the Neil Hamburger show. If any of you have been watching Jimmy Kimmel, you just might be familiar with him. Sam (the talent agent at the Albert) told me the place was packed the last time he came here. I'm anxious to see how his almost "anti-comedy" schtick goes over with the faithful and the curious.
For a taste, go here. Holy shit.

Joey Styles...

...has my undying love for his swan song promo on Raw last night. Yes, I know he'll be commentating for the ECW program, and yes, I know he said what he said with McMahon's blessing. It was still fuckin' great, because it was 100% truth. Joey's scripted, yet heartfelt disgust with the current product was entirely shared by me, and several millions.
Best moment on Raw in months. Really.

EDIT: Shawn Michaels' blind ref schtick was pretty cool, too.

I'll admit something.

Nickleback's "Savin' Me" video is pretty dope with the sound off. Nice concept, and the band ain't in it that much. If they weren't in it at all, it would fuckin' rule.

Illustration Friday: Robot

Barbuddyhelperbot, 2006 • graphite, Pentel® Brush Pen and Staedtler Pigment Liner

I'm feeling rusty. That's a sign I should draw more. For fun. I've also been sick for a couple of weeks, so I haven't felt quite, y'know...creative.
This was a little experiment for me with light and shadow. I should've extended that shadow under the robot's foot. Live n' learn!
This mechanical dude is taking the drunk-ass dude home. Now that's convenience!
Barbuddyhelperbot was sub-consciously modeled after Canti of FLCL/Fooly Cooly.
Here's a larger version.

Random Thoughts: April 18th, 2006

Dirty-ass Confusion Corner bus stop.

• The usual has me down...money woes. Whatever. Life's too short for that shit.
• Gotta get away from this fucking computer...mainly in regards to the web. I've been messing with it for 10 or so years, and it has given me a boatload of good and bad. Equal handfulls of both, I figure.
  
• Got some projects going down with Slo Coach, Erik Athevale, and the superfuckinawesome Pip Skid (with my man Andre of PegCity.com). More later when I can properly speak on 'em.
  
• Sarah's gonna be away for a good bunch of the summer...more like 95% of it. She'll be working at BB Camp in Lake of the Woods, ON. She's like, "thanks for letting me go." Fuck, letting her go? What kind of asshole would I be if I said no? Well...an asshole, plain n' simple. She's gonna do well financially and in terms of experience. I'm just gonna cope with her not being here. I'm gonna miss her. I'm gonna miss going to the Fringe with her! I just hope I do better than when she was away in 2002 for 2 months. That was the hardest thing ever, as I never really had anyone to miss before.
• Right now, I'm wondering what to do in regards to the just announced Flatstock 9 in Chicago. I'm already trying to make it down for the MPLS opening of the This Side Up show, which is just a week before or so. I'm not sure if I can do it financially. I'm at the breaking point as it is.
• Lastly, plain n' simple...gotta get my hustle on.
• P.S. : If you haven't copped J Dilla's Donuts yet, yer trippin'. It's a fuckin' masterpiece. It's life-affirming. You NEED this. Trust me.
  

Spring Mêlée

The show was pretty cool! Believe it or not, I forgot my camera (that's a rare thing for me, lately). What can do for you though, is post the stuff I did.




Studio Angsta

Mortimer

They Don't Understand Our Love
all 2006
graphite, watercolor, pigment liner, marker and oil pastel