After nearly two weeks straight of eighteen hour days, I have finally finished a project. I sent the files to the client at 4 AM this morning, and almost collapsed at my desk from relief. It is not that I didn’t like the client or the project; it is just that my body hasn’t been pushed like that in a long time. I have a permanent crick in my neck, and my fingers are terribly raw. This weekend is long overdue.
My good friend Brantley offered me some recording time this weekend. And while talking to him he sent me some tracks we had recorded last September. It is amazing how different my music is these days compared to then.
Rattlin' Bones
Butcher's Boy
I don’t really know what happened with my music, but everything is so much softer and calmer now. I stopped being so angry, and just got sadder…and I guess in the end, learned to actually sing. Now this by no way means that I have had time to write any new music, I have basically been just redoing older stuff. All of this coupled with the return of my musical soul mate Handsome Jon Colon, and the classically trained Sarah Anderson finally learning to let go of herself…I am really looking forward to recording this weekend. I will be sure to post tracks as soon as I can get my hands on them.
If you are interested in hearing horrible home recordings, me clumsily playing a banjo the wrong way, and the collapse of my vocal chords; feel free to check out my Facebook music page.
February 3, 2010
Coincidentally enough after working until almost five in the morning, I was woken up at 8.30 AM by someone knocking on my door. But my paranoia was quickly quelled when I realized that it was only the friendly Fed Ex man delivering me a package. And coincidentally enough, the package revealed itself to be my comped copies of The Age of Innocence.
I had initially been really worried that these would look a little off. For some reason I had convinced myself that my pieces had been over saturated in postproduction before it went to print (you’d be surprised by how often clients do this, after hiring me for how “moody” my palette is). But much to my surprise, these look absolutely fantastic and I couldn’t really be happier with them. This book as well as a handful of the full 12” packaging I did for Type Records are some of the things I am most proud to have worked on. And having them be tangible objects just sweetens the deal.
February 2, 2010
I keep waking up in the morning to what I think is someone knocking on my door. I have yet to figure out if this is actually happening, or if I am still asleep. And for some reason this scares the hell out of me every time. My paranoia is unfounded…chances are it is just one of my friends that lives in my building. But every time it happens, it sets my day off at a crooked start and I am jumpy for the rest of the day. First being afraid of unrecognized phone numbers, then having all of my mail returned to sender because of a new found anxiety to check my mail box, and now being afraid of someone knocking on my door? I am starting to grow too accustomed to solitude.
On a whim of self-deprecation and morbid nostalgia last night, I attempted to find my father’s obituary on the Internet. There is something truly stomach churning about the fact that every website I found wanted me to pay them for me to see my own father’s obituary.
This is the first time in a long time that my ever mounting work load, and quickly looming deadlines has not sent me into a hysterical stress frenzy. And to be honest with you, I am not sure if it is a good thing or a bad thing. Or hey, maybe it’s just because LOST starts tonight.
I was reminded this morning by my agent of a job I had finished last summer. It was illustrating a republished Edith Wharton’s “The Age of Innocence” through the absolutely amazing Folio Society. The project was unfortunately fraught with complications; multiple art directors, extended deadlines on my side, me changing agencies in the middle of the project, post production edits, and most unfortunately a rather rushed job in the end due to me spending a rather devastating week back home last June. And while some of the work makes me cringe to look at, there are a handful of shining moments.
For those of you who may be interested in purchasing this book, you can find it through The Folio Society’s website. The always amazing Sam Weber also illustrated “Lord of the Flies” for them, which not surprisingly blows mine out of the water.
February 1, 2010
I have been "maintaining" this blog in some form or another for almost eight years at this point.It has been many things; an art blog, a drawing tutorial, a blog of general complaint, the anatomy of a failing relationship, a music review blog, a maleware distributor, an alligator snapping turtle care sheet, a general Harry Potter fan site, and basically everything in between and beyond. But in the end it has always been a journal, more for myself than for any sort of audience. Very little of what I have ever done with my website or this blog has ever been for an audience, hence among many things the long long stretches of neglect. And unfortunately this neglect has lead to my site and blog slowly self-destructing. There comes a time when we all need a fresh start.
Today is the anniversary of my father’s death nine years ago. I am over worked, and under slept. My hands are torn apart from playing too much music, and covered with ink due to a weekend of drawing men in running shorts. I have been slowly covering my scars with tattoos mapping out a past half remembered, and there is a lot of open skin left to fill. I am attempting to remember why I loved drawing in the first place. I have very little too look forward to, but am excited by what may come next. I am nearly out of cigarettes, and my cupboards are bare.
For those interested, there has been a rather flattering facebook fan page created for me and my work. Part of me hates that it exists, and the other half is enamored with the love that complete strangers can possess.
So while I say that very little of what I do is done with any interest in an audience, your love and support is what has driven me on all these years.
