Life
It’s been just over a week since I’ve arrived in Australia! I’ve done more in the past 7 days than I could have imagined…Blog updates from here haven’t really been priority but I’ll have plenty to share when I return home!
Fast Eddie & The Gang got back together for Halloween! Hope your tricks were neat & your treats were sweet!
My desk has been covered with miniDV tapes as of late…I’m just finishing up final touches to the edit of the Jetty Skateboard Tour footage. Later this week I’ll be jumping into editing footage from the Second Annual Jetty Clam Jam, which was held this past weekend in epic conditions! After that I’ll be tackling the long overdue footage from a music video shoot I did with You Can Be A Wesley this past Summer! As you can imagine there is a considerable amount of dust gathering on all of these un-edited tapes! Look forward to plenty of video action as I blow off the dust and get these edits finished in the next week or two!
I had a dream last night that I was sitting by the window of my apartment, clutching a giant sea-fishing rod. I was trying to reel in a monster fish from the sea, which was located just outside the opposite window of my apartment (which doesn’t exist). It was quite a battle. After struggling I finally muscled this giant catch into the window. It flew across the room. I grabbed the fishing line and held up the fish; Grabbed a knife and stabbed into it. I thought this giant fish was a monster. I leaned out the window I was sitting by, holding the fish far away from my face. From inside the fish dropped the skeleton of a lobster (keep in mind lobsters don’t really have skeletons but rather exoskeletons). Still thinking this fish was a monster, I asked Justin (who was standing by my side) what to do with the fish! He said calmly, “Just leave it outside the window on the ledge, we’ll cook it tomorrow. And don’t knock off the lobster skeleton!”. Just then realized I was just holding a giant fish. It posed no threat to my being. Immediately after I heard machine gun noises from the alley just below the window. I was startled and yelled! I leaned out the window and looked down. There sat a picnic table, not a soul in sight. Atop the table, a bunch of fireworks sat, triggering themselves. It was quite the show!
And all of a sudden it was 12:15pm. I was seconds from crawling out of bed at 10:00am. I’m kind of glad I went for the ride this time!
My first attempt at a Lobster Skeleton and some other doodles from today!
Like most designers/artists, I’m a big fan of Apple. Big Surprise. Recently though, I’ve had about a bajillion problems with my fancy iPhone. I’ve updated software, this & that, blah, blah, and it’s still buggin’ out! Well, the problems still continue, and I can’t seem to find enough time to make another trip to the Apple store to get it fixed. (Don’t ask about my first trip, and don’t ask me why there isn’t an Apple store in Philadelphia?!) All that aside, today was the first time I’ve checked out the Genius addition to iTunes and HOT DAMN it’s pretty cool! If you’ve got 17,000+ songs all begging for a listen Genius does a fantastic job of picking out some gems and making quite a nice little playlist out of them. It doesn’t make up for all my iPhone trouble but it sure does ease tension between me & my favorite corporate monster.
Whoa! As always the Summer days have passed by in Flash Boom KapOW Fashion…To those of you who have been checking in I apologize for the lack of updates. I’ve been caught in the whirlwind of 90+ degree days, late nights, and loooong weekends. Trips to Tennessee, NYC, Boston, Baltimore, a Skateboard Tour, and a few beach days remixed with Batman, Freelance Work, more Skateboarding, and lots of Music just about sums up my summer! Plenty to look forward to in the upcoming weeks/months so get excited! I’m jumping back on this internet horse and will be chiming in with plenty of fun. Oh yeah, how epic are those original Batman costumes?
PS. The new Matt & Kim track is available via RCRDLBL.com. Have a listen. It’s fun!
Recently I’ve been really excited about reggae from the late 60s & 70s. I’ve been searching for old low-fi reggae to fill my summer days and came across the Analog Africa myspace, which I believe is a German DJ, playing some amazing African music. Here is a track to enjoy!
Le Super Borgou de Parakou - Congolaise Benin Ye
And oh yes…dig up some old Burning Spear and get irie!
Once in a while it’s great fun to just buy an album without knowing anything or very little about the artist. I can remember being in Paris a couple years ago, walking into a record store, and purchasing two discs on a whim. I couldn’t read the track titles or understand the names of the albums but it was a bit of a rush. I didn’t know what I had gotten into, but I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a CD player to see what there was to discover. Those two discs were just satisfactory, and I couldn’t understand the lyrics, but it didn’t stop me from continuing to take chances on music. Just over a year ago I heard the name Kashmere Stage Band, and read a small article mentioning a re-issue of this high school stage band’s music, which had been all but lost for years, existing only on a hand full of rare records. This was one shot in the dark that paid off BIG TIME! Kashmere Stage Band does not disappoint with their James Brown-esque funk anthems and high-energy sound. Dig it!
While in Tennessee last weekend I took another very successful shot in the dark when I picked up a rare compilation of the Memphis Jug Band with beautiful recordings from 1927-1932. Touching on a bit of jazz, blues, & folk the Memphis Jug Band is perfect for an early morning cup of coffee. So take a short in the dark! And if you dare please share!
Kashmere Stage Band - Take FiveKashmere Stage Band - Take Five
The other day a friend sent me a .PDF of The Artist Survival Guide. He said something like, “check this out, you may need it.” It just so happens he had stopped by earlier that day, probably took note of my messy studio area & my off-the-wall mind, and thought…”Damn, Nick is a trainwreck! I better send him some sleeping pills or something. Oh wait, look! It’s an artist survival guide. Perfect!” But in all honesty, this thing is pretty fun so check it out! I feel like I’ve seen something like this before, but I can’t remember where. Thanks Chris!
Download Artists Survival Guide (3 megs)
There isn’t much to say that hasn’t been said when it comes to the Beautiful Losers exhibitions and the artists involved. This inspiring group of DIY (do-it-yourself) artists have broken down doors to expose a culture so rich in creativity it makes you want to ______! I look forward to checking out the film!
A few years ago I stumbled upon HillmanCurtis and their beautiful collection of films. I was particularly interested in their Artist Series films. The Artist Series features some of my favorite artists, such as Mark Romanek, Stefan Sagmeister, & Milton Glaser. I always go back to a couple of these films every few months or so and am just as inspired by them as I was the first time I saw them. This Milton Glaser piece is my favorite and I can only hope he is as RAD in real life as he is in this video. I almost cry watching this! INSANE!
“My belief is that if you like Mozart and I like Mozart we already have something in common, so the likelyhood of our killing each other has been diminished” - Milton Glaser
