What Now?!

Jeff The Brotherhood

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 01:59:26 GMT

Last night, opening for Ted Leo & the Pharmacists @ Bowery Ballroom.

Max Guy/Remake tribute

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 20:55:26 GMT

I love Lamar Abrams' Remake comic. So in response to this thread, I was inspired to draw this...

Felt great to do some color art for a change. My apologies to Lamar if my color choices for Cardigan and Charlene are off!

December mix

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 01:51:14 GMT

1. AZ & The Golden Filter: Solid Gold From New York (The Hood Internet)
2. Lake Trout: Stutter
3. Joe Jackson: Stepping Out
4. The Dirtbombs: Ode To A Black Man
5. Folk Implosion: Daddy Never Understood
6. Melvins: Heaviness Of The Load
7. Tom Waits: Lord I've Been Changed
8. DOOM: Gazzillion Ear (Thom Yorke remix)
9. Jeff Buckley: Grace (acoustic)
10. The Ex: Frenzy
11. The Velvet Underground: All Tomorrow's Parties (demo)

Complete zip file (11 mp3s, 52 MB) can be downloaded here. Songs will be taken down by the 31st.

*This is gonna be the last mix I post for a while. I've compiled and posted these mixes every month since December 2007 and it's been fun sharing my favorite songs with anyone who gives a damn. Hope y'all have enjoyed them a fraction as much I have!

Pixies @ Hammerstein Ballroom

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 17:47:56 GMT

Saw them play one of my all-time favorite albums, Doolittle, in it's entirety last night. I got pretty shook up at points.

Frank Black's howls shake doors off hinges, Kim Deal's voice wraps gorgeously around them, Joey Santiago's guitar soars and wails, David Lovering's drums keep it tightly together, and a thousand people shout "GOD IS SEVEN" at the top of their lungs.

Now it's time to stuff my face with turkey. Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

Sonic Youth @ Terminal 5

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:15:45 GMT

I wasn't planning on going to this show, but a friend had an extra ticket. Seeing Dinosaur Jr. open for Sonic Youth = LOUD.

Elvis Costello @ Barnes & Noble

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 04:12:40 GMT

The mighty Elvis Costello appeared at the Tribeca Barnes & Noble tonight to sign his new "Spectacle" Season 1 DVD.

I was actually pretty starstruck upon meeting him... Probably because I've spent the last 15 years obsessing over his first three albums!

Can't wait to watch the series. The episodes I caught on air were pretty amazing, particularly the Lou Reed and Rufus Wainwright appearances.

Ting & Terng

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 05:01:55 GMT

I just found out about this series of drawings by some of my favorite artists taking on the conjoined twins from Hellen Jo's great "Jin & Jan". Here's my rushed take on the characters...

I realize now that they look WAY too old. I'm pretty sure they're supposed to be high school age. Argh!

King Con weekend

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 04:37:15 GMT

Damn, this weekend was CHUNKY...

I was surprised to hear about the King Con earlier this week. I would've loved to have a table at this show (especially since it was in my neighborhood!), but still enjoyed walking around as a fanboy.

My biggest fanboy moment was meeting Harvey Pekar. I was actually a bit nervous about it, but he turned out to be a relatively friendly guy.

I then circled around to pick up some comics and chat with the many awesome cartoonists in the show...

Allan Norico and Alisa Harris.

Rachel Friere and Anthony Stock.

Hwan Cho, Robin Ha, and Becky Cloonan.

Nathan Schreiber and Rami Efal.

More photos from the show here.

Other weekend stuff...

I also attended the First Saturdays show at the Brooklyn Museum. Got to see some incredible original photos at the "Who Shot Rock & Roll" exhibit and enjoyed yet another screening of "Purple Rain" (I apparently can't get enough of this movie).

Had a blast at the weekly comedy show at Union Hall, which featured Michael Showalter, Eugene Mirman, and Jerry Minor (whose "auto-tune parody" & "Al Green doing Radiohead's 'Creep'" bits had me crying tears of joy).

Also spent this afternoon hanging out at PS1...

We wanted to climb this thing at the entrance.

Walked all over 2822 Records. Word.

And now it's time for sleep...

november mix

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:53:24 GMT

1. The Builders and the Butchers: The World is a Top
2. Pierre Henry: Psyché Rock
3. Of Montreal: Gronlandic Edit
4. Marnie Stern: Roads? Where We're Going We Don't Need Roads.
5. Electric Six: Graphic Designer
6. Aereogramme: Wood
7. Idlewild: Little Discourage
8. The Kelley Deal 6000: Dammit
9. Jeff Alexander: Come Wander With Me
10. Beach House: D.A.R.L.I.N.G
11. Grizzly Bear: Two Weeks

Complete zip file (11 mp3s, 52 MB) can be downloaded here. Songs up til' the 30th. Enjoy!

Halloweenerama

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 04:32:05 GMT

Had a blast last night in Williamsburg, hanging with friends and ogling some amazing and hilarious Halloween costumes. People really go all out for this holiday!

In contrast, and in keeping with my recent tradition of lazy-ass costumes, I threw on a mask and dressed up as this character from a Suehiro Maruo drawing...

I actually have NO idea who the character is, but I love his design.

And now that Halloween is over, the stores have officially skipped right over to Christmas. Saw this at Pathmark today and laughed at the description: "WITH HAT AND PATHETIC TREE!"

ALSO: I took a couple of months off the Kaiju comic to work on a semi-secret 26-page project, which I just finished yesterday. Here's a couple of random panels from it...

More on this project when (or if) it develops...

Electric Six @ Southpaw

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 05:03:48 GMT

Had a rawkin' blast seeing them for the first time in years, despite the stiff Sunday night Brooklyn crowd.

And here's some footage I shot of them performing their infamous Gay Bar @ Maxwell's back in 2004:

Big Apple Comic Con

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 23:00:16 GMT

I journeyed down to yet another con yesterday to witness the shock and awe.

"Back To The Future's" Delorean; The 60's Batmobile.

Batgirl & Nightwing; Julie Newmar's autograph (she thought I looked "spiffy", ha!).

Nichelle Nichols.

X-Men! I'm not sure what Luke Cage is doing there. I like how the Rocketeer is creepin' by in the background.

Picked a couple of new comics from the mighty Jacob Chabot. He kindly sketched in my copy of "Mod Dog".

That chalk artist I see at every con; Ken Wong signing his amazing "Pandora's Box" comic.

Ernie Hudson (I don't think that mullet-headed guy was too pleased with my photo-taking).

While I was gawking at The Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff started chatting with me. We somehow started talking about eating balut in the Philippines. It was a (surreal) childhood dream come true.

Before leaving, I decided to hang out at the Costume Contest...

The impressive Zombie Hulk & Zombie She-Hulk won Best In Show.

AND THEN ICEMAN AND DEATHSTROKE BUST OUT A FREESTYLE

d'aaaaawwwwwwww

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 01:28:12 GMT

I have met my new best friend in Lowell MA, and her name is "Kitty":

DAMN I AM TURNING INTO A SOFTIE

October mix

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:21:58 GMT

1. Wildbirds & Peacedrums: Today/Tomorrow
2. Maserati: Monoliths
3. Say Hi: Super
4. My Bloody Valentine: Only Shallow
5. Magnetic Fields: Come Back From San Francisco
6. Lavender Diamond: Purple Rain
7. The Ventures: He Never Came Back
8. Numbers: We Like Having These Things
9. Lightning Bolt: Colossus
10. On The Might Of Princes: For Meg

Complete zip file (10 mp3s, 59 MB) can be downloaded here. Songs up until Halloween. Enjoy!

Maserati & Mono

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 23:26:15 GMT

Photos/video from last night's show @ Bell House:

Both these bands have great recordings, but REALLY need to be experienced live... Especially Mono's ridiculously bombastic crescendos. My eardrums are still recovering!

New York Anime Festival

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 22:46:08 GMT

Thanks to a friend, I was able to snag a professional pass and waltzed into my first-ever Anime convention. It was fun and dizzying.

I'm not sure I understand the connection between anime and maid outfits. The girls were singing an anime theme song in Japanese while the maids danced in unison.

And I think this was some sort of cosplay dating game...?

Gundam sacrificing Pikachu; Creeeeepy-ass Robin figure.

AND COSPLAAYYYY...

I think this is the unfortunately-designed Mr. Popo character from Dragonball.

Gurren Lagann peeps.

Pokemon, Spider-Men, Chicken. WHAT

Naruto and the Katamari Prince. I wanted the Prince to roll Naruto's ass up.

Inu-Yasha; Old Snake from Metal Gear Solid 4.

Dr. McNinja! + Cool, slightly dejected-looking, paper armor guy.

Although I really enjoyed the whole crazy spectacle, I was hoping there'd be more books and anime production cels to browse through. Probably better for me since I'm pretty much broke. After all this convention action, I feel like I've witnessed Halloween about 3 times this year!

Complete photo set can be seen here.

Polvo @ Bell House

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 05:32:41 GMT

After catching their set at last year's All Tomorrow Parties festival, I was really excited to see them in Brooklyn. Their new stuff sounded great and their old stuff sounded as fresh as ever. I don't think any other band bend their notes as brutally as Polvo does. To quote my friend: "They don't just play their guitars, they MOLEST them."

Flushing Meadow Park

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 02:39:31 GMT

Visited my favorite park for the first time in ages. I was psyched to hang out at the awesome Unisphere again.

But I was not so psyched to see this little bit of information at the Queens Museum's New York panorama:

Lookit all those fluorescent triangles...

Tragic.

Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 07:09:02 GMT

A few photos from tonight's show at The Bell House:

And a clip of The Posies' Jon Auer performing Big Star's "Thirteen":

Deerhoof / AX gekiga

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 05:48:43 GMT

Saw Deerhoof rock Le Poisson Rouge last night. It was my first time at the pretentiously-named venue and I am not a fan. Not built for comfortable rock show-viewing. I wouldn't recommend attending unless you REALLY need to see the band playing there. On the upside, Deerhoof put on an incredible show as usual and their openers, Wildbirds & Peacedrums, riveted me with their minimalist percussive soul singing. We also got a nice surprise when The Flaming Lips' drummer, Kliph, showed up to play drums on "Milking"!

I was skimming through a copy of the crazy gekiga anthology, Ax, at a friend's place. I really dug this artwork but don't know who did it. If you know, please holler back!

The Sleeping @ Broadway Bar

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 04:39:54 GMT

Performing the 1st of 4 consecutive shows in Amityville.

D&Q 20th Anniversary Party

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 03:55:26 GMT

I ventured down to Rocketship tonight to attend this gathering of cool cartoonists. It was also a nice way to overcome bad memories of my bike being stolen during my last visit there.

My main reason for attending was to meet one of my favorite artist/musicians, Ron Regé Jr. His comics & music have a dream-like, sometimes idealistic, quality that reinforces my faith in humanity at the worst of times. I had a blast chatting w/ him about his recent comics, Lavender Diamond, and Prince (they recently contributed an amazing cover of "Purple Rain" to Spin magazine's Purplish Rain covers album).

I was also happy to bump into the amazingly-talented Cliff Chiang. After one-too-many free drinks, I blathered on about "Shortcomings" to Adrian Tomine. He was a good sport and responded politely to my rambling idiocy.

Nausicaä by Moebius / LittleBigPlanet

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 02:32:10 GMT

I spent the day in Flushing with the family for Labor Day BBQ. After stuffing my face, I dug through a box of my old comics and rediscovered this amazing fold-out poster art in "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind" # 1. It was paired with a funny dialogue between Moebius and Miyazaki, who were/are mutual admirers of each other's work.

I picked up LittleBigPlanet the other day (after trading in my old PS2 and other games) and I'm officially obsessed with it. Picked up the Team Ico costume pack and wasted a couple hours playing Ico-inspired fan-made levels. Aaargh!!

good good good day

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 06:07:02 GMT

After a sweet Cyclone-riding afternoon at Coney Island, we were lucky enough to score $20 front row tickets to tonight's performance of Avenue Q! It was my first time seeing the play (and probably last, since it's closing on the 13th)... I loved it! I knew almost nothing about Avenue Q and wasn't prepared for the hilarity, amazing puppetry, and surprisingly enjoyable songs (I'm usually not a fan of musicals). We were fortunate enough to practically be ON the stage, my face was about a foot away from it. I don't think I've ever been so emotionally invested in puppets before! Sad to see it leave Broadway, but super-grateful to see one the final shows up close and personal.

And here's a Cookie Monster guy that I ogled before the show, to get me in the mood...

I finally saw the guy who's been drawing all those funny little heads at Union Square. How long will he keep doing this?

Also received my bad-ass Chrono sketch from Zack today (Thanks, Zack!); Picked up Amulet Book 2 at Midtown Comics. Excited!

So, despite being almost broke, bike-less, and facing a frighteningly uncertain future ahead of me, some awesomeness can shine down on a day like today. Thanks, Randomly-Awesome Day.

fillerrr

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 23:08:32 GMT

As I continue working on some semi-secret stuff, here are some random photos/images from the last couple of weeks...

A funky-ass bass drum @ the DUMBO rehearsal space; A message etched into the bar that almost made me spit out my beer upon discovery:

These guys are placed near my drawing table because they bring me much joy.

And finally, a scan of the film strip which was included in my pre-order DVD of "I Am So Proud Of You". Go Wild Man, GO!!