I've Been Doing This 3 Years?

This Zappa is one I'm going to send to Vinyl Killers this year. It'll be my 3rd year participating in the show. It feels like so long ago that I started marketing and selling my Vinyl Art. It's gone by so fast.

It's interesting to look back at something you've done for quite awhile, day in, day out, and see how things have changed, progressed. When I started out, I had vague goals, vague ideas of what I wanted to happen. Beginning with the end in mind, as Covey says, but broadly. My main goal was exposure. And it's happening! Kinda cool.

Sure, day to day sometimes it seems like nothing is happening in a broader scale. But looking at a chart of RSS subscribers that looks like the best stock chart ever is encouraging. My goal is for that to continue, for more people to hook into my blog and hopefully read a good number of posts. I know there're a lot. I'll be highlighting my favorites.

Let me know which you've dug!

Peace.

Voices You Love Or Hate

I am extremely picky about voice. Back as a teen, the singer was always a deal breaker for me. That's why I listened more to groups that harmonized, like CSNY or The Beatles or Jefferson Airplane. There were those like Peter Gabriel or Midnight Oil or The The who were decidedly unique that I loved. Then there were those that I hated. I never could get into Rush simply because of Geddy's voice.

So here are a few that I've found people either go crazy over or can't stand, starting with Beck. For me, it works. His voice compliments his musical style, lo fi. His voice is lo fi. I love it as an additional instrument in his wacky arsenal.

Next is Thom Yorke of Radiohead. I've never been a huge fan. And, yes, you could say I hate his voice. Sorry. I've grown to respect it, and the band's music is innovative and intellectually intriguing, but I usually pass on listening.

Dave Mustaine of Megadeth has a far more captivating voice than Hetfield from Metallica, I think. When he gets all weird and metallic sounding, I love it. It works so well with their music. Kind of like Axl when Guns 'n' Roses first hit it big.

Jonathan Davis of Korn. God awful, to be honest. His voice works because their music is god awful. But it works. So again, I hate his voice but do respect it.

Iggy Pop has one of those weird voices, like Lou Reed. Just weird. I love Reed's because his music is so powerful, raw. Iggy's I frankly have never gotten into, and as of now at least, I have to say I can't stand his voice.

I am extremely grateful to Gilmour and Gabriel for both supporting Kate Bush early on. I love their voices for sure, though you can be luke-warm about them. With Bush, you can't. Again it's how it works into her music that makes me love her voice, soft and grating at the same moment somehow.

These are just a few. Ones I've done paintings of I love. My paintings can be like voices, some I either love or never want to see again, but some are just so-so.

What singers would you add to my short list and do you love them or hate them?

Peace.

Record Store Day - Your Contribution

I bring up The Beatles' "Revolver" a lot. It's really important to me largely because it started me out on my journey into music and vinyl. So it was vital to leading me to do what I do today.

All the records in my collection that I bought after my dad introduced me to "Revolver" came from used record stores. I would still, today, rather wait until I find the record I want at a local independent used music store then to point and click on eBay for albums I want to add to my collection. I talked earlier this week about how much those stores in West L.A. meant to me.

Tomorrow is the second annual celebration of Record Store Day. Last year I posted this about it. I'm so glad that it's grown in strength and reach along with the dramatic increase in vinyl reissues. Those reissues are mostly stocked in those independent record stores.

So I need your support of RSD09 because I need those out-of-print hard-to-find albums to be reissued, so I can paint more pieces, connecting more people like you to your music, your culture. Basically, buying music at your local shop directly and indirectly makes the world better. You get the music you love and humanity gets the creativity it loves.

Go to the organizer's site if you don't know a local store, and tomorrow go buy your favorite album on vinyl or even buy that CD you just found out about. Feel good! You know you will.

Me, I'm buying Gomez's new album, along with maybe Tricky's "Knowle West Boy" and Gnarls Barkley's "The Odd Couple". At least.

Peace.

Don't Compromise Yourself [EC]

You're all you've got. Janis said so.

It all depends on one's authentic intent. If I were setting out to sell my work so that it could be used and reproduced in other contexts, then great. I've got nothing against doing art for graphic design. It's just that that isn't why I'm creating Vinyl Art.

Vinyl Art pieces are original portraits of musicians and entertainers handpainted with acrylic on vinyl recordings of the subject. Their purpose is to celebrate our shared love of music. Each one is a unique expression, a piece of me, that hopefully will connect people with the music and culture they love.

To that end, I've also on several occasions tied my art to charity, including this piece. It is painted on an album given to me in trade. For the albums I received in that trade, I've decided to give $100 of the $175 for a framed piece to a charity of the buyer's choice. I love this idea, getting to give to charity and linking my art with that act of humanity.

See, that's my ultimate goal: uplifting humanity, making the world a better place. This art is my contribution, my way that I best know to be creative, productive. I won't compromise my art or myself.

Peace.

THIS Is My Music, My Culture!

Now, THAT is a record store! I just wished I'd known about it earlier! The ex-manager of one of another local small chain of used music stores who had displayed my art over a year ago had left to open his own store, Revolver Records. I didn't know about it until last month and finally went a couple days ago. Man! I felt like I was back in West L.A. at Record Rover. And to be named after my favorite album of all time!

Stacks of boxes of records, tightly packed bins of new and used vinyl in all possible genres, all crammed into an old house in downtown Phoenix's arts district. I'm glad it's a bit of a drive because I'd be there WAY too much if it weren't. Hopefully though, as they are in the arts district, they'll be able to devote some wall space to my art. TJ wants to if they can.

They have listening stations for both vinyl and the small selection of CDs. Rare and cool looking albums adorn the walls along with framed band t-shirts. I tell you, I felt at home. The prices were so reasonable too! Beatles and the rare Hendrix album with the original cover with all the nudes, all less than $50! Most records were around $10.

So I found the above Arctic Monkeys, a Led Zeppelin III (for a buck!), Nick Drake's "Bryter Layter", a Gil Scott-Heron album, "The Eminem Show", and "Born Again" by B.I.G. There were tons more, including several that I'd've loved to buy for my listening collection, but I didn't want to go TOO crazy.

I already have "Favourite Worst Nightmare" on CD and love it, love it, love it. The Arctic Monkeys are sweet, and put on a great live show. Alex's energy is awesome. This record was in excellent shape even though it'd been opened, so I recorded it with my iRecord. I do think that these new albums being pressed on vinyl that have been digitally recorded or mixed or mastered at some point don't sound "better" on vinyl. How could they, if the recording isn't analog to start with? So I'm not overly conflicted about using them for my art.

In fact, I'm starting to paint more pieces of those musicians I, myself, truly love. I want to build a collection of paintings that really fit my tagline "this is my music, my culture". The Hendrix and Lennon last week started this off. Hopefully I'll eventually get them hung in our dining room to show you how cool these look on the wall. I'll post pics then. Now to decide whether to actually paint on a Nick Drake album.

Peace.

SOLD - Alex Turner 10/16/08

The Long And The Short Of It

Handpainted. Yep, white acrylic basically dabbed on a record. With a brush. In my hand.

It takes effort. Effort and energy focussed by skill and practice, motivated by passion.

Effort means a long-term commitment. The Chili Peppers have travelled a long road, with pain and anguish along the way. From very rocky beginnings on this, their first album, through a very rocky middle with tortuous drug problems, to a still rocky present saved perhaps by family responsibilities, Kiedis has actively grown as a singer throughout.

Sustained effort. Driving passion, in it for the long haul.

Peace.

Red Hot Chili Peppers 10/08/08

Keyword Conundrum

When people go into Wild About Music and see this painting of Page and Plant, they're already in the frame of mind to see music-related merch and art. When visitors land on my site and particularly my blog, I suspect they aren't as prepared for what they see.

Keywords are causing this to happen. For example, when E! reruns its 101 top moments of Saturday Night Live, my 2 posts about it get a bunch of hits from people looking for information about the show, not my list of favorite comedians or review of Knocked Up. I don't know if this is a problem to be resolved or just a normal occurence for blogs, but I'm always trying to fine tune my keywords.

How did you find me?

Now that you've found me, what words would you think to use to find me intentionally through a search?

Though artwork on record albums is becoming a bit more popular, I don't think most people would even think of the concept when looking for a gift for a music-lover or for cool unique things to add to their own collection of music-related stuff. I get a lot of people searching for "vinyl art", when they're really looking for vinyl art toys or vinyl window stickers, so I also get a lot of people not even remotely looking for what I do.

So can you help the right people find me?

Peace.

SOLD - Page and Plant 08/22/08