Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Monday, January 14, 2008
TORCHE drawings pt. 2
hello all,
i haven't been posting regularly for obvious reasons. first and foremost i'd like to say thanks to all the folks that left comments about my grandmother and her passing. such kindness from strangers is truly unexpected and appreciated. so, thanks again... the last thing i'd like to say on the subject is that though i grieve for anne, and have every day since her death, i've also been trying to look at her death as right of passage and a reason to celebrate the person that she was. i feel there is too much emphasis placed on the sadness/finality of death in our culture, and not enough placed on the importance of death as an inherently necessary and beautifully mysterious part of being alive. by saying this i don't mean to belittle the pain most of us have felt as the result of the death of a loved one, or discount the needless deaths of thousands in the war torn zones around the world, i only wish to impart that death is not always the horrid beast that we seem to regard it as. hardly revelatory statements i know, but i felt i had to put it down - for myself as much as for anybody else.
anyway, below are 3 drawings of my own, as well as a collage of all the characters drawn by juan montoya, all of which will be used in the layout for the new TORCHE album "Meanderthal". these drawings really won't give you any indication of what the final package will look like, but are presented here as raw stand alone images for your viewing displeasure. juan's drawings have inspired me greatly, and i only hope i can do them justice by creating the proper landscapes for these creatures to inhabit. i'll post some more images from this project as they become finalized.
in the meantime here are some of the aural, visual, and literary companions that have kept me distracted, inspired, and informed as of late: dave eggers "what is the what", eugene robinson "fight", clouds "we are above you", "arkham asylum" grant morrison and dave mckean, xasthur "a gate through bloodstained mirrors", death "sound of perseverance", profundi "the omega rising", phonophani "oak or rock", "bioshock" for xbox 360.....
more soon.
ABT
i haven't been posting regularly for obvious reasons. first and foremost i'd like to say thanks to all the folks that left comments about my grandmother and her passing. such kindness from strangers is truly unexpected and appreciated. so, thanks again... the last thing i'd like to say on the subject is that though i grieve for anne, and have every day since her death, i've also been trying to look at her death as right of passage and a reason to celebrate the person that she was. i feel there is too much emphasis placed on the sadness/finality of death in our culture, and not enough placed on the importance of death as an inherently necessary and beautifully mysterious part of being alive. by saying this i don't mean to belittle the pain most of us have felt as the result of the death of a loved one, or discount the needless deaths of thousands in the war torn zones around the world, i only wish to impart that death is not always the horrid beast that we seem to regard it as. hardly revelatory statements i know, but i felt i had to put it down - for myself as much as for anybody else.
anyway, below are 3 drawings of my own, as well as a collage of all the characters drawn by juan montoya, all of which will be used in the layout for the new TORCHE album "Meanderthal". these drawings really won't give you any indication of what the final package will look like, but are presented here as raw stand alone images for your viewing displeasure. juan's drawings have inspired me greatly, and i only hope i can do them justice by creating the proper landscapes for these creatures to inhabit. i'll post some more images from this project as they become finalized.
in the meantime here are some of the aural, visual, and literary companions that have kept me distracted, inspired, and informed as of late: dave eggers "what is the what", eugene robinson "fight", clouds "we are above you", "arkham asylum" grant morrison and dave mckean, xasthur "a gate through bloodstained mirrors", death "sound of perseverance", profundi "the omega rising", phonophani "oak or rock", "bioshock" for xbox 360.....
more soon.
ABT
Thursday, January 3, 2008
ANNE CAUDLE RYMER 1920-2007
on december 30, 2007 my grandmother, anne caudle rymer passed away.
she was an incredible woman, generous to the utmost, most importantly in regards to her time, love and efforts with her family - both immediate and extended. she died in the company of my mother, uncle, aunt, myself, as well as her long time nurse and companion. she lived a long, fruitful, and mostly healthy life, and all that knew her considered ourselves lucky.
her memorial service is being held on jan. 4th in cleveland, TN where she will be buried next to her husband s.b. "skeet" rymer.
i could not imagine having had a better woman as my grandmother and i have created this post as a tribute to her love and her memory. she was a deeply religious woman whose faith gave her comfort and peace in her final hours - something which gave even an agnostic such as myself peace of mind in her final hours. she approached her death with bravery and dignity, much as she did everything else she did in her life. though this post does little in the way of truly honoring her in the way she deserved, i felt it was a necessary gesture, if only for myself....
i will miss you anne and i feel grateful for having known you and having been in your presence at the end.
abt / jan 3. 2008
Thursday, December 13, 2007
CAVITY laid insignificant final pt 2.
so, i've finally wrapped up this dang cavity layout, with band approval and everything.
for something so seemingly simple it took a lot of doing, but that usually seems to be the case... the fewer elements you choose to use, the more crucial choices about their placement and treatment become. i've posted only parts of the complete layout below as i didn't want to give the whole thing away just yet. the release date is in march, don't know the specific day, but i'm guessing in the middle of the month. excited this is finally going to see the light of day after literally years in the planning stage.
next up will be the layout for the forthcoming torche album. it will be a collaborative effort between torche guitarist juan montoya and myself. juan has done a series of 32 character drawings, for which i will create a landscape for and populate with their beings. going to be a ball buster, but should lead to an exciting end result. we shall see - just sent preliminary sketches off to the band today - hopefully they'll like the idea or i'm back at zero.
Q+A time: someone asked about training ones voice to do the type of growling/screaming that i do in isis. i have no practical advice for this.... i just started screaming one day and that's what came out. i've found that regular practice and some sort of cardiovascular exercise will help stamina and consistent performance, but beyond that there's no secret i've discovered to making your scream sound a certain way - either you like your natural sound and you develop it or you give it up - no other way to go as far as i know. i do know there are vocal coaches these days that specialize in training "screamers" but i have no idea how valid this area of instruction/expertise actually is.
someone else asked if the burial that is doing an ISIS remix on the "not in rivers..." single is the same burial that just released an album called "untrue". yes, it is indeed the same burial. now, if he'd only deliver that damn thing!
in the last couple days i have enjoyed the following: san-sui sushi restaurant, los angeles / 25 degrees hamburger restaurant, los angeles / deadwood season 1 DVDs (hooked on this shit at the moment) / radiohead "in rainbows" / birchville cat motel "astro catastrophes" 3xCDr / high on fire "death is this communion" / alcest "souvenirs d'un autre monde" / burial "untrue" / danial higgs "metempsychotic melodies" / pet genius "elvis unreleased" / etc....
for something so seemingly simple it took a lot of doing, but that usually seems to be the case... the fewer elements you choose to use, the more crucial choices about their placement and treatment become. i've posted only parts of the complete layout below as i didn't want to give the whole thing away just yet. the release date is in march, don't know the specific day, but i'm guessing in the middle of the month. excited this is finally going to see the light of day after literally years in the planning stage.
next up will be the layout for the forthcoming torche album. it will be a collaborative effort between torche guitarist juan montoya and myself. juan has done a series of 32 character drawings, for which i will create a landscape for and populate with their beings. going to be a ball buster, but should lead to an exciting end result. we shall see - just sent preliminary sketches off to the band today - hopefully they'll like the idea or i'm back at zero.
Q+A time: someone asked about training ones voice to do the type of growling/screaming that i do in isis. i have no practical advice for this.... i just started screaming one day and that's what came out. i've found that regular practice and some sort of cardiovascular exercise will help stamina and consistent performance, but beyond that there's no secret i've discovered to making your scream sound a certain way - either you like your natural sound and you develop it or you give it up - no other way to go as far as i know. i do know there are vocal coaches these days that specialize in training "screamers" but i have no idea how valid this area of instruction/expertise actually is.
someone else asked if the burial that is doing an ISIS remix on the "not in rivers..." single is the same burial that just released an album called "untrue". yes, it is indeed the same burial. now, if he'd only deliver that damn thing!
in the last couple days i have enjoyed the following: san-sui sushi restaurant, los angeles / 25 degrees hamburger restaurant, los angeles / deadwood season 1 DVDs (hooked on this shit at the moment) / radiohead "in rainbows" / birchville cat motel "astro catastrophes" 3xCDr / high on fire "death is this communion" / alcest "souvenirs d'un autre monde" / burial "untrue" / danial higgs "metempsychotic melodies" / pet genius "elvis unreleased" / etc....
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