A Bit Of Vinyl Art History

I just hung the 3 doubles today. I've posted about all of them before. We saw The Verve in London and Las Vegas. We saw Oasis here in Phoenix with Kasabian. We saw the Kings Of Leon in New Orleans and here in Tempe. All AWESOME concerts.

The other piece, in the upper right, is Lou Reed inspired by the "Transformer" cover photo by Mick Rock on a promotional copy of the "Disco Mystic" single. I love Lou Reed, wish I could've seen him live in his heyday, and loved him in Wim Wenders' "Faraway, So Close!". His distinctive voice, style, life, and persona make him integral to modern music history.

This piece is special to the history of my Vinyl Art as well. Before painting this one, I had mixed grey to paint the portraits. The photo of Lou Reed was so bright, though, I just used straight white. After painting it, my wife suggested I paint all of them with white. So that's how I started painting them the way I do now.

The other thing about this piece is that because the label is a white promotional label, I used black to paint the eye that's on top of the label. I've done that a few times since, on the Sid Vicious and Biggie pieces to name a couple.

I really enjoy painting this image of Lou Reed, and I've got a copy of "Transformer" to use, so let me know if you're interested in a commission!

Also, we just did our taxes over the weekend and discovered that I more than doubled my sales year over year and made a profit! How cool. Thank you so much to those of you who've supported my work by giving it as a gift or buying it for yourself.

Peace.

Space And Time

Beautiful song from an amazing band. The Verve have joined with a bunch of other largely British bands to fight for more equitable contracts with record companies. The middlemen are becoming commoditized, yet still vital.

I began to think of how amazing it is that I can reach so many so fast with my art all seemingly on my own. In this amazing world at this amazing time, individuals can make a difference much more massively and more quickly than ever before. Distribution of content has definitely changed. It's shifted from tell me to show me.

But it's not true that it's all on my own. I've hired a webhost to store and distribute my website. Yes, this blog is free through Google, but I have to pay my cable company for Internet access to publish it.

They aren't book publishers and libraries, but they are distributors and infrastructure. Without them, this modern world just might disappear.

Peace.

SOLD - The Verve 02/05/09

Words Are Trouble, But Where Would We Be?

The Verve have become one of the biggest influences on my musical taste, especially since we saw them in London shortly before the release of this, their most recent album. Before my dad introduced me to music with The Beatles "Revolver" and his other albums, reading was the main form of human communication of which I availed myself. I have previously listed certain things pertinent to who I am as an artist and person. Here, then, are some of the more important influences on my literary and linguistic taste:

"Bloom County"
Edgar Allan Poe
Ray Bradbury
"Calvin & Hobbes"
"The Phantom Tollbooth"
"Peanuts"
Dr. Seuss
"Over Sea, Under Stone"
Mark Twain
Jim Kjelgaard
Robert Heinlein
"Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy"
Bill Cosby
"The Gnu And The Guru Go Behind The Beyond"

I've tried to keep this list restricted to those authors and works I discovered independently of school. For while "the classics" have their place, it's more of an academic one. These had lasting impact on my use of the English language, frought with peril as it is, for better or worse. Blame them for my ramblings. Blame my parents and childhood friends indirectly for providing me with such radical literature. I happen to thank them for it.

Peace.

SOLD - Richard Ashcroft 01/12/09

Come Together (Yes, Think Beatles Too)

Listening to The Verve on my wife's iPod while painting Jared Followill of KOL this morning, I remembered seeing the London reunion show of Ashcroft and Co. We stood in front of bassist Simon Jones at that concert, front row. So awesome. Both Si and Jared are amazing, driving their bands' music, I think. KOL's recent release "Only By The Night" really shows Jared's talent.

But they're part of a band, a team. Each foursome combines their talents to create their magic. Richard Ashcroft wasn't as transcendent as a solo artist. Good, but not magic. There's something about McCabe's ethereal guitar layered on top of Si's bass, next to Richard's voice, punctuated by Salisbury's drums. Gives me chills. I know, it's long, but stick it out.

And don't get me started on KOL. Holy shit, they're amazing. Just watch the whole song.

My wife, my in-laws, and I made a very special Christmas gift for Jason's girls. We worked really well as a team. Each of us did our part: dad on construction, mom on sewing, my wife on design, me on artistic execution. It was so much more satisfying to have our energy focussed together. It makes one feel more human to work with many. I suppose that's what it's all about.

Especially this time of year.

Peace. And Merry Christmas.

Go Forth

I'm more than a bit envious of people who got to see Jimi perform live. I'm sitting here listening to The Verve's "Forth" that came out yesterday marvelling at the studio production. This is the first time I've gotten to hear new songs from an epic band live before they were released on a studio album. My wife and I got lucky enough to see them in London and Vegas. They played the first song on the album, "Sit and Wonder", at both shows and the second song in Vegas. There are differences, refinements, on the album, but I feel most privileged to have witnessed firsthand the evolution of great music.

I think that's the deal with stories. That's why legally you need 1st person accounts to consider an event fact. A human can only convey their interpretation of an experience in their life, pieces thereof really. To put stock in a story degraded by the filtering through a second human, forget about it.

So, "you had to be there" isn't poppycock. Being front row in London to see a band you thought was broken up for good is ineffable. The emotional connection I somehow feel to The Verve now is non-transferable. My spine tingles and tears obscure my sight listening to "Love Is Noise".

Yes that happens with other music, of course, but hearing this album makes me feel something all-encompassing. All senses have memories of this. You can recount in detail events of your life, but it is nigh impossible to cause another to feel what you felt.

That's why I tear up when narrator Emma Thompson says Will Ferrell "lived his life" in "Stranger Than Fiction".

I hope you live yours.

Peace.

Wish List

Keith Moon is another one for the "dead rocker" show at Primitive Kool late in September. He indirectly inspired this list I recently posted. I kinda like lists. They give a cursory picture of taste and background. Early on in this blog I posted more lists because they came to mind then. I wasn't doing the lists, as most do, to start discussions about what should(n't) be on them, but more to let readers know who I am.

Since Jason died, though, I've been kind of a mess. I feel so lucky to have my art to create and my blog to write. Both have been very helpful in keeping my scatteredness in check. I'm so overwhelmed at the continued response I get from my work. And now visitors are getting excited enough to even subscribe to my ramblings. Who I am is becoming refocussed in this universe without my brother-in-law.

With that focus, I pay tribute to my friend Michael who loved making top 10 type lists, and present my list of music I currently want. Pretty straightforward. I haven't had a lot of extra moola to grow my music collection, but bands keep putting it out. Tomorrow comes The Verve's new release. We WILL be buying that. But here're some I know I'd like to own:

Beck's "Modern Guilt"
Wolfmother's self-titled debut
Amy Winehouse's "Frank"
Korn's untitled album
Norah Jones' "Not Too Late"
Springsteen's "The Rising"
Oasis' "Dig Out Your Soul" (coming in October; we'll probably save for it)
Kasabian's new one (when it comes out)

Also, I used to wile away the hours in used records stores listening to CDs and records that simply looked cool or different or that someone had suggested. I know my new friends Barbara and Jeff would have some great ones for me to check out.

So how 'bout it? What would you list as the 5 albums that you've recently discovered (old or new) that you think I oughta give a listen?

Peace.

Keith Moon 08/25/08

The Pearl And The Mirage

Ah, Vegas. I wasn't sure we'd be up to going so I didn't post about our weekend plans until now. We drove up Saturday to see The Verve play at The Pearl at The Palms and drove back Sunday. We made it, though there were several moments we seriously thought about turning around. The sensory bombardment of Sin City probably was a bit much, but the gig was awesome!

Our time on the Strip started out terribly. We checked in to The Mirage to find it lives up to its name. From far away it looks beautiful, but that fades quickly. My wife stepped into the bathroom in her socks to find the shiny marble floor soaked with water from a leaky toilet. Two hours later we ended up in an older room with an $8 pair of socks comped by the hotel. What a runaround, so badly handled. Don't stay there. I have never been one to complain privately, let alone publicly, so this is serious. Don't stay there.

Then we drove to The Palms off the strip. It's the hotel with the Playboy fantasy tower attached where Paris parties. From an excellent parking spot we walked right to the Pearl, which is just off the casino. It also lives up to its name, a jewel of a venue. We had assigned seats, unlike in London, so we didn't stress about waiting in the line to rush down to the floor. That gave us a chance to check out the concession stand. In London, it had closed by the time we got to it, so we didn't get to even look at the shirts and such. At The Pearl, though, we had plenty of time, no line, and I was able to get one of the $10 keychains. I needed a new keychain to replace the mini Sharpie that Marc Ford previously of The Black Crowes had used to sign a ticket stub, which I had lost at the Phoenix airport a couple months ago. This was perfect. The show was perfect. Great seats at the back of the front section so we could stand or sit and not worry about people behind us. We could relax which was nice because we've been so exhausted lately. The acoustics are incredible too. It was such a treat to see Nick do his dance on the guitar pedals. We could hear him so clearly this time; his sound level had been low in London. Someone apparently shouted out up front that he was the "Picasso of guitar". Pretty appropriate.

I've been distracted by a Windows Vista glitch on our HP laptop the past week as well, so art doings have been sidelined, but I figured it out this morning thankfully. So I can get back to business. I've got a commission of Melanie to do, the Florida Music Festival coming up, and I'm in contact with another artist from San Francisco whose daughter is doing an art project partially inspired by my work. She might put me in contact with some places to sell my work in SF as well as some musicians who might want paintings of themselves!

I'll get back to work and soon I'll let you in on a cool promotional idea I have brewing.

Peace.

Beats Me What To Call This Post

I hope I did it justice, this painting of Thunders and Johansen on an album the guy sent me from Canada. It was the one he played into the ground, so I'm sure it means a lot. It was pretty dang difficult to find a picture good enough to use of both band members from the right time period, blasted punks, ;)

I still feel so scattered, unable to focus on things which require any. Let's see... I got the truck emissions checked, mowed the backyard, weeded, did dishes and laundry... I need to send money so our oldest dog stays legal... oh yeah, that was what I wanted to talk about: we're going to Vegas! We're supposed to do things that would usually make us happy, and, oh boy, The Verve are playing The Pearl at The Palms! They're only playing a few gigs in the U.S. and it looks like this is the smallest venue at 2500. This time we bought tickets with assigned seats, looks like pretty good ones, so we won't be as close as in London but we'll be more comfortable. The acoustics are supposed to be excellent, so it should be a great show. Hopefully they'll play some more new songs from their upcoming album.

Sorry these posts are rambling, my mind isn't working right... but, um, right, the new photo setup. I just got this Tabletop Photo Studio through SkyMall. I'm hoping it'll eliminate the spotlight glare streaking across the records. I'll take a shot of what I'm using now, as well as taking shots of a piece in both setups. I figured it was worth a try. I might even be able to take pictures of them framed too!

Another new toy I got from SkyMall is the iRecord magic white box. So far I've updated the firmware and downloaded the settings program. I was surprised I was able to follow the instructions for the firmware given my current mental state, but I did it without messing it up completely. Next I've got to check the internal settings, and then figure out how to hook it up to record my vinyl. Hope it works. The company supposedly provides good customer support, so they could help me tweak it if there're any hitches. We'll see.

Last thing is the show in Canada had over 100 pieces! It's so cool that people are finding a creative use for records. I hope mine stand out because I paint the recording artist on their own album, but I love seeing the compositions of other artists. I wonder if mine sold?

Gotta go do something... it'll come to me.

SOLD - New York Dolls 03/28/08

The Verve - Blackpool - 6 Nov 2007

I'm sitting here looking out of my Phoenix window at a day that belongs in London.

I'm listening to a very good taping of the show 3 days before the show we saw in London.

I'm feeling very overwhelmed, overflowing with emotion, Life's an Ocean. Intense gratitude for life. Their music definitely is directly connected to what's real. Space and Time. I'm aware of how big little moments can be. Even though I've only got a handful of subscribers yet, and most people who've found my website are looking for vinyl art toys, I'm extremely thankful and want to shake the hands of everyone whose given me moments of their energy, their life. I know it can go unnoticed, unappreciated. I know.

But then you can connect, communicate with Life. Everything happens for a reason, a reason one might not know at the time, but a reason. To be open to that is a trick. Computers crash, garage door openers hesitate, websites show up unexpectedly. I get to paint portraits of musicians I and others love. Then I get to share them. Cool. I really do crave feedback. Not to validate my existence, just to know if I've impacted others' existence. I keep creating profiles at every social networking site I find to do just that, give others a chance to find me, to see what I do, maybe to share me with other others.

I know I'm rambling a bit, repeating myself from earlier today. But I just want to emphasize this content's connection to Life, to what's real. Human contact. Community. And with that, appreciation of individuality and uniqueness. Who are you? Tell, show the world. Open up. I'll listen, and respond.

SO, that's that. Gotta box up Willie! See him in my post from a coupla days ago, or:

CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE AT: WWW.VINYLART.INFO

and thanks for listen, no I mean, reading.

For The Love Of...

I was listening to The Verve's live recording of "Gravity Grave" on "No Come Down" while I was painting this Willie Nelson and something clicked inside reminding me of why I'm doing this artwork. The passion that true music-lovers share for the music that means so much is powerful; a raw emotional bond that you can see in someone when they "get it". Getting moved to tears by music is a gift for which I'll always be thankful.

So it made me all enthusiastic-like, which was good timing because Herbertos on Flickr found me and let me know about his Free Art Seattle Exhibition. Pretty cool idea, to have art up for a month in a cafe and then give the art away. The deadline is Jan. 5, so I'll probably do a couple for it, most likely with the clear coat and no frame like I did for Vinyl Killers 5.

I may also have gotten my first call from a visitor to the R.A.R.E. show earlier this year! I didn't expect anybody to contact me from there because most of the "Really Avid Record Enthusiasts" consider vinyl sacred, and even repurposing unplayable discs for art made them shudder. A few, though, had thought what I was doing was cool, certainly different than anything they'd seen at a vinyl collectors' show. We'll see if a commission comes out of it!

If you haven't seen the other commissions I've done, you can take a look at several if you:

CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE AT: http://www.vinlart.info/

and go to the online gallery. Plenty of time for holiday gift commissions!

SOLD - Willie Nelson 11/28/07

The Verve - Front Row In London!

Friday 9 November 2007 at The Roundhouse in London

Best concert we've been to by far! Guitarist Nick McCabe just said, too, that it is officially his favorite gig of all time. The trip was completely worth it for this show. Richard Ashcroft is incredible to watch sing and play acoustic. We were front row for the whole show! I'd never done that before. I boxed out my wife so she wouldn't get smashed against the rail. I got jostled a bit but not too badly. We were right in front of bassist Simon Jones who drives their music and he was extremely fun to watch. I feel silly trying to describe in words how good is was so here's what they played:

New Decade

This Is Music

Gravity Grave

Weeping Willow

Life's An Ocean

Sonnet

Sit & Wonder

A Man Called Sun

Already There

Stormy Clouds / Reprise

Let The Damage Begin

On Your Own

Rolling People

Drugs Don't Work

Bitter Sweet Symphony

Encores:

A Northern Soul

History

Lucky Man

Come On

I'll let that suffice. Fans'll know.

London was wonderful, cold and gloomy, but wonderful. We got to see many of the sights, including Abbey Road Studios and the famous crosswalk. So cool. The wall in front of the functioning studio is painted white and covered with scribes from people who've travelled to see it. The employee who nicely told us there were no public tours said that they have to repaint it weekly because of how many people sign it. Somebody who lives nearby could take pictures of the wall before they cover it each time and do a sweet video of it. There was a great stencil painting combining the iconic Che Guevara face with Lennon's, so basically Lennon wearing the revolutionary hat. Well done.

Nothin' new on it since last week, but if you haven't:

CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE AT: WWW.VINYLART.INFO

Maybe a Verve piece'll show up!

Papa's Got A Reused Recycled Bag

I hadn't thought of this before, but you could call my work "recycled art". I am repurposing beat-up LPs, saving them from the landfill. I like it. Jennifer Chait of http://hippiesounds.com/ thought of it.

We get to see the Arctic Monkeys tonight! It'll be awhile before our next concert I think. We're going to see The Verve in London in November.

Meanwhile, I'm getting ready for my first group show! Primitive Kool is including me in their October exhibit/beach party. I get to do some 20 pieces! James Brown and Ella Fitzgerald were first, with Marvin Gaye next. Who do you think I should do? I've got a good list together but I'd love suggestions. If you need to see others I've done:

CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE AT: http://www.vinylart.info/

and please feel free to call me. That's why I put my phone number up.

James Brown 09/21/07