Discography

Working my way through the Neil Young discography. I've got the 48 albums he put out between 1968 and 2007 (when I finish I'll pick up the ones that have come out since 2007). One goal in 2014 is to give each album 10-15 listens and get a sense of what he's going for, artistically. I'm going to go, roughly chronologically.

I've been very familiar with Harvest, Everybody Knows this is Nowhere, After the Gold Rush, Rust Never Sleeps, On the Beach, and Decade for many many years.  Given how much I love those albums, I've actually been pretty antsy to give too much else a listen, which is shitty of me. Also, I keep hearing about Tonight's the Night, Zuma and a few other 'classics' which are missing from my vocabulary. So, I'm going to rectify this.

I really respect Neil Young as an artist, and so want to give him his due.

I'm kicking off with:
Neil Young (1968)
Everybody Knows this is Nowhere (1969)
After the Gold Rush (1970)
Harvest (1972)
Journey Through the Past (1972) -- soundtrack to film of the same name, directed by NY, never released on CD
Time Fades Away (1973) -- first live album, never released on CD
On the Beach (1974)
Tonight's the Night (1975 - recorded 1973)

So far, I can say the following:
-- his first solo album is much better than I ever would have guessed -- not sure why
-- I've always disliked the tunes on Harvest with the London Symphony -- that hasn't changed
-- Journey Through the Past has a couple INCREDIBLE live cuts from a CSNY show in 1970. Southern Man and Ohio are frightening in their intensity.
-- Tonight's the Night is as good, if not better, than everyone has always said -- why did I wait this long to get into it?!?

If I created eight objects like these eight albums in just six years, well, I'd be pretty amazed with myself. Really excited about this project.

Time to make the donuts

Not a lot of updates -- have been working a lot the last couple weeks, but here it is, 5:32am on a Sunday and I'm gonna get cracking' on the film a bit more. Slowly but surely, I'll get there.

In the meantime, I've completely re-fallen in love with The Who. When I was a kid, they were one of my all time faves. I remember watching a documentary on them, then practicing the windmill and promptly breaking the light fixture in our low ceilinged living room. In 1989, my brothers came home from a road trip and said they almost bought me tickets to see them in Glens Falls but didn't. I was fourteen and I'm not sure if I've forgiven them yet for passing up the ticket line…..

Anyway, go here to check out their 1970 set at the Isle of Wight festival. So ridiculously good. It's not Leeds, but damn, it's incredible. Tthese four guys were something amazing and special. I saw an interview with Townshend where he talked about how they all viewed their instruments as means of releasing their aggression and rage.

It really seems they put every ounce into every show, which is what I love about 'em. Anyway, back to editing.

Support SAW

The Sequential Artist Workshop is doing their 2014 fundraising drive right now, and you should help 'em out. SAW is a pretty great institution down in Gainesville, FL which helps further comics in great ways. Classes, visiting artists, workshops, etc. These folks are on the ground getting their hands dirty, and are true angels.

While I may have mixed feelings about the term 'sequential art', and  some mixed feelings about comics 'classes', the folks at SAW are legit. And let's face it, donating to folks trying to make things and teaching folks how to make things is a better use of your money than any of the other 500 ways you'll piss it away today.

So, head over to the SAW funding campaign via Indiegogo. They're trying to raise a mere $7000 and have some nice giveaways as thank you's. They're at $4500 with two weeks to go, so, go ahead, make it happen.

You know who's incredible?

Poster for Blammo #8 Release Party

Noah Van Sciver. That's who.

Luke and I were roommates for a year or so, and realized we were both book nerds/collectors. He got me a little more into collecting books of value, and I got him a little more into comics. We bought and saved up books for a year or more, boxes filling every corner of our rented house.

On May 1, we finally convinced the folks at Wax Trax records to rent us the 'in-between' space. That is, the 1000 sf shopfront in- between their vinyl and cd shops. It was left in disarray after a failed attempt to use it as a bike-repair/third hand record shop by one of the owner's wife's family members.

We had no time to waste, so we set a June 1, 2008 opening date, Luke quit his job, I took vacation from mine, and we spent each of the next thirty days cleaning & pricing books, deciding on the layout of the shop, buying and placing shelves, and yes, cleaning out the refuse of thousands of records and hundreds upon hundreds of scattered bike parts. We worked from seven am til midnight most days, seven days  week. We enlisted the help of friends, and generally had a blast. I'd rank May of 2008 as one of the best months of my life.

Blammo #2 Release Party at Kilgore

It was sometime in there that a scrawny kid walked into the shop, looked around, saw the books and
 comics, but was too scared to talk to either of us, so promptly ran back out. I don't think either Luke or I noticed him, as we were likely in the alley hauling old bike parts.

After we were open a couple of days, he came back and spoke with Luke. He asked if we'd sell his comic  book, Blammo #1. Luke said yes and bought three copies for $7.20. The next time we worked together, Luke told me all about this local cartoonists who had brought his stuff in. I read through a copy of Blammo #1 and loved it.

It was rough. It was raw. It clearly ripped off Crumb to a point were royalties may have been due. The writing was decent, but not great. Either way though, we were ecstatic. Our goal had been to help promote comics locally, and part of that would be to promote local comics. So, as out first customers trickled in, we'd say, 'hey check out Blammo, it's by a LOCAL kid -- it's really good'.

Kilgore Bookmark

We sold out of the first three copies within a week or so, and when Noah came back in I got to tell him how much I enjoyed his comic.

Over time he and I became good friends, Kilgore began publishing Blammo for him (which allowed us to become comic publishers, and allowed him to stop worrying about printing up five digital copies every time someone wanted one).

The thing we loved about Noah right away was how much he wanted it. How truly hard he was willing to work to become a great cartoonist. I remember saying to Luke early on that Noah had no other choice in life. This was the thing he could do, and I certainly meant it as a compliment.

The second thing we loved is that he WORKED for it. This guy - like Crumb - always has a sketchbook he's drawing in while you're chatting with him. He works crummy jobs then draws til 3am. He sends out stuff to everybody. He networks, and put stuff into so many anthologies it's crazy.

How hard does this guy work? I just added it up -- since 2008, he's put out 28 solo books -- chapbooks, minis, pamphlets, softcover and hardcover books -- for a total of nearly 900 pages.

This means that since 2008, he's done, on average, 150 pages a year for publication. That's a realized page every 2.4 days, a level impossible to most folks, including many working cartoonists.

But outside of his hunger, he has gotten better over time. Each new issue of Blammo is his best. Every time he puts out a one-shot like 1999 or The Death of Elijah Lovejoy, both the writing and the artwork have improved over the last issue.

The Hypo outtake - Noah decided to leave
much of the political parts of the story out

And his Lincoln book, The Hypo? When he was working on it, he'd come in and show me chapters or section which I'd never see again. He probably wrote & inked over 500 pages to get to the 192 that make up that excellent graphic novel. At one point, he realized he'd drawn modern door knobs, so went back and re-drew all the doorknobs as they were in the 1830's.

He's careful to mix things up. A little auto-bio -- some screamingly funny, some heartbreakingly sad (an early story about his first pair of long pants was the turning point for me, in terms of really seeing him as a high quality artist, and a fella I just wanted to hug), incredible history comics like The Hypo, Elijah Lovejoy, The Denver Spiderman, humor like Chicken Strips (still a fave of mine), fairytales like the Fox and the Hound, and just plain old stories about regular stiffs in stories like Abbey's Road, St. Cole, Julio' Day.

Mixing it up like this has really helped Noah become a great story teller, in addition to a fine artist. His work ethic and commitment to comics will one day make him a master story teller.

As of right now, I know he's nearly finished with St. Cole (a ~100 page story being serialized online), Blammo #9, The Lizard Laughed, I'm guessing his Joseph Smith book, and likely a few record covers, one-shots, and random commission work, all of which I can't wait to see.

I have nothing but respect for his level of work and the quality of that work. It's really a treat to get to call him a friend, because it turns out, he's also a really nice guy. I recently bought a couple copies of his October 2013 diary comic, 'More Mundane', and he threw in the artwork for his Built to Spill t-shirt design. He knows I'm a huge BTS fan, and this meant the world to me.

He loves comics like nobody else I know, and he learns from them in a way that I'm in awe of. Getting to watch this guy grow and learn as a cartoonist, in addition to getting to spend countless hours chatting about comics with him, has been one of the greatest highlights of opening up Kilgore.

Recommended:
The Hypo (Fantagraphics): 192 pps, $24.99 (if you order from FB, you get the free mini, 'Who's Dead in the White House')
Blammo 6-8 (Kilgore): 32-40 pps, $5 each
The Death of Elijah Lovejoy (2D Cloud): 28 pages, $5
St. Cole (serialized at 'The Expositor') soon to be in book form (we hope): FREE for now
1999 (Retrofit): out of print, but Noah might still have some bootleg copies -- check his site for contact info.

Until next time, read more comics.

The Cat Whisperer

I just finished editing down an hour's worth of John P. interviews I'd been saving. It's the first interview I did with him when I started this project. Part one took place on Ruby Hill, a park a few miles south of Denver, and then part two took place at my house.

It's amazing how much John pours out in just an hour. I think I caught him on a grumpy day where he was feeling particularly chatty. I didn't know him too well at that point, and was certainly still getting the hang of how to interview people on the spot. As such, I ended up asking some pretty blunt (even bordering on rude) questions, which John answered with honesty and grace.

He speaks candidly about OCD, his health issues, his feelings of being a weirdo without a place in society, depression, and -- in a lengthy session that won't make it into the final project -- how comics are distributed.

Below is a happy little outtake from when I was getting the gear set up at my house. If you've ever spent any time with John, you know he loves animals, and in particular, cats. It's not crazy to suggest that he views them as being at least equal, and possibly superior to, humans.

We had had a lengthy day of filming, and as I mentioned, John was feeling a bit crabby, so I think by this time he felt much more comfortable chatting with our kitty than he did discussing his life with me. This is another thing that isn't likely to make it into the film, but I think it demonstrates an important side of John.

Enjoy.

A movie, eh?

I promised there would be updates on the John P. project, still tentatively titled 'Root Hog or Die', so here's one. Below is a short except I'm putting up to sate any remaining appetites. Really this clip is intended as a bit of a joke. 

John P. has an intense set of food allergies which he mitigates by eating a very specific diet, with certain types of food available to him on certain days. This diet can also mean a different caloric intake on different days. On this particular day, he was on a low calorie day, and was pretty cranky. He was also drinking a Dr. Pepper made with real sugar. On this trip John drank his first soda in years and years, but I can't remember if this was that one, or if this was his second or third. 

We had spent the previous day with Jeff Zenick chatting mini comics and zines. I taped a lot of the conversation and it was a good day. The next day, I went for a jog around J-ville, and then we drove up to a comic shop which was supposed to open at eleven. By 12:30, they still weren't open, and we were really annoyed, so John decided to treat himself with a soda. 

The soda in question had been sitting in the car ages and was warm as hell, so I asked John if he wanted me to grab him a glass with ice to make the soda a little tastier. This was the response. 

So, what's up with the movie? Well, I'm in hardcore editing mode. I've whittled most of the interviews and such down so that I have usable footage & quotes from each. I'm working on the John P. talks and the 'B-Roll' stuff (us driving, etc.) now, which is pretty fun and exciting. 

My hope is to have it finished in the next couple months, then spend a bit of the late spring/early summer doing any post production work, DVD transfer, figure out what the hell to do, and then debut it at SPX, probably not formally, but around the edges. 

So, that's the plan/hope. Cheers, and thanks for reading. 

Why Don't People Read the GOOD STUFF?

It's about 6:30am and I've been up for about an hour and a half. Had a weird dream that I was castrated and my genitals had to be rebuilt so that I could conceive another child. What the hell was that about? Anyway, couldn't get back to sleep after that.

I came across part II of Zak Sally's 'History of La Mano' over at his blog. If you don't know Zak, you should. I really really love his comics. They're dark and weird, they're sloppy and perfect, they're wordy and sparse, all at the same time.

When I read Cormac McCarthy, it takes months to finish a book because I want to get everything out of every sentence. I pick it up, read a paragraph, I put it down. I come back to it a week later. It's the same with Zak's comics. I find it hard to just tear through one of his comics, the way I do with so many other creators. I want to really soak up every panel, every word, every stray ink speck, because the guy packs a wallop.

You know the expression, 'leave it all on the field'? I really don't care for football, but Jesus H., Zak leaves every ounce on the page, holding nothing back.

Here's the thing, though. Nobody reads this guy's stuff. His incredible collection, 'Like a Dog' is currently ranked at 1,952,838 in Books on Amazon. How is that even possible? He's published by Fantagraphics, he gets amazing reviews, he does stuff for TCJ, did great work at Mome, gets nominated for awards, and is a legitimate, long-term player in indie comics.

And, not unlike the first 27 years of Cormac McCarthy's career, nobody's buying it. Blood Meridian -- arguably McCarthy's greatest work and considered one of the greatest American novels of the 21st century, couldn't even sell through it's first print run of a scant 5,000 copies. A bunch of copies were remaindered and sold for $1.99, and that was perhaps the best-selling of his first five novels. He too won accolades, was praised effusively by critics, but that didn't translate into sales (until 1992's 'All the Pretty Horses' that is).

Zak's a lot like that. 'Like a Dog' is currently the highest ranking of his books on Amazon. His other books, 'Recidivist' and Vols 1 & 2 of the incredible 'Sammy the Mouse' all languish well below the two million mark for sales on Amazon.

While it's infuriating to see such a talented guy go unsupported, it's all the more so because he's not just talented, he has a really unique voice and sensibility. I'm just glad he's a tenacious mother who'll never quit. Otherwise, I could see him hanging up his brushes for good.

So, the question remains, why the hell am I one of seemingly two hundred people who love Zak's comics? At first I went to our similarities. We're roughly the same age, both love comics, both love the cold, like the same music, have similar punk rock ideologies. How could I not love this dude? Plus, he's an incredible musician, is a comics printer and publisher, and a seemingly really good dad. Oh, and he lives in Minneapolis, perhaps the greatest city around.

To test this theory, I gave my fifteen year old comics loving niece a stack of his comics as a gift. She's into the good stuff -- for her last birthday, I commissioned John P. to draw her a mouse with some cheese which she went ape over. But I thought, could this teenage girl dig Zak's stuff? She LOVED IT.  I gave her a stack with some Chris Ware, Jason, Marjane Satrapi, Gabrielle Bell, and others, and it was 'Recidivist' and 'Like a Dog' that she kept raving about.

So, then I got a new theory -- I'm a process guy. One of my favorite things in music is liner notes on a record. I love knowing how things are made. Where did this idea come from and so forth. And the same is true of comics. I love knowing what materials were used, I love seeing artists' studio spaces, I love original art, and sketchbooks.

Zak's the same. The end of 'Like a Dog' comes with ten pages of context, ephemera, stories, and context that -- for me -- really help shape the stories. Knowing the background for me always makes the stories richer and the reading better.

And, let's be honest, Zak LOVES to talk about that stuff. This is not a slam or a tease, I love artists who really get into the background.

This may also explain why so many other artists love/respect Zak's work -- generally it's the insiders who want to know how the sausage is made.

In the late '80's, Rolling Stone did a cover story on R.E.M. in which Peter Buck said, 'we're the acceptable edge of the unacceptable stuff', which didn't make a lot of sense to 12-year old me. I just thought they were weird and neat. Stipe wore dresses on stage, they talked shit about Reagan, what's not to love? For a kid growing up in backwater America, pre-internet, R.E.M. counted as interesting and/or experimental. It took me years, however, to really get into bands like The Minutement, Mission of Burma, or other bands that were a little more challenging than R.E.M.

What I realize now is, in every 'movement' there will be those artists who make a collective idea palatable to the masses. This is not a bad thing. In the independent comics community (very very loosely described) you have folks like Chris Ware, who most folks can read and get into. It's sad, beautiful and totally accessible work for someone willing to give it half a chance.


Zak's work is also sad and beautiful, but it's sorrow is a little deeper, a little darker. Perhaps it's as simple as geography. Zak puts to paper the grim desolation that exists in places like North Dakota and Minnesota. The oppressive dark, the long winter, the places where there's no escape, except perhaps some relief brought by booze. Contrast that to Ware's Chicago. A place that's depressing, sure, but a place where you can escape from. O'Hare can fly you away. Lake Michigan, like an ocean represents departure and travel. Movie houses, plays, concerts, all the benefits of a city exist in Ware's work, but are painfully absent from Zak's.

As a kid who grew up in a town of 900 with winters so grey and long they seemed to last forever, I really identify with Zak's reference points far more than almost any other cartoonist. My niece, by the way, is growing up just one town over from where I grew up. Maybe that's why she was so psyched to get Sammy Vol. 2 this year.