CLOUDS art cont/ISIS tour etc

greetings from austria. currently on another european jaunt with isis and all is well. we started the tour in moscow, which for us was an absolute highlight, but everything that's followed subsequently has also be quite enjoyable. fellow tour mates kill the thrill, jakob, and the austerity program have all performed splendidly and have been great traveling companions, so thanks to them for making our experience more complete. i've been taking quite a few photos along the way, so i hope i'll find the time to post some of those before tours end. in addition, justin from the austerity program has been writing a tour diary which will eventually be published in decible magazine, and later on the austerity program website. justin is a very capable and humorous writer, so you can expect a lot of scathing comments hurled at isis, and possibly some of our deeper eccentricities revealed.

above are some finished pieces from the clouds "we are above you" album layout - i was able to complete most of this before departing, but required aid from couple of hydra helpers in order to get it into production on time. the watercolored backgrounds and all the lettering was hand drawn/painted by myself and faith coloccia, so thanks to her and james o'mara for their invaluable assistance. i'm not sure when this record is actually due for release, but i would suggest checking the hydra head website for further info/updates. i listened to the album more than a dozen times during the creation of the artwork and i must say it currently stands as one of my favorites of the year, hydra head or otherwise. thanks clouds.

now that that's out of the way i've started work on some drawings for the upcoming MGR vs Destructo Swarmbots album (featuring isis guitarist extraordinaire mike gallagher). i believe the artwork will also feature photos by mike gallagher topped off by a layout courtesy of hydra head's james o'mara. the album will be released on neurot, and again i have no idea when the official release date is or if one exists at this point. shortly after completion of these MGR drawings i'll be onto the artwork for the upcoming heatseeker debut, a new band consisting of aaron harris (isis) and caleb scofield (zozobra, cave in, old man gloom). there are a bunch of upcoming musical endeavors as well, but i'll save those for another post.

fuel for the road: alice sebold "the almost moon", darwyn cooke "batman ego, and other tales", elysian blaze, clouds, "allan moore and kevin o'neil "the league of extraordinary gentlemen: black dossier", mamiffer, funeral mist, sonic youth, helms alee, justin foley, der blutharsch, dälek, etc....

CLOUDS art pt 1 AND thanks AND no thanks

hello again,

above is a preliminary drawing for the forthcoming clouds album "we are above you". this drawing had yet to be approved for use by the band and therefor may be scrapped, but hopefully this will not turn out to be the case. this drawing is intended for the cover of the album and will be colored and situated in some sort environment before it's complete, but this is a beginning at the very least, presuming the band approves. i'll continue to post bits and pieces of this layout as it comes together as it's my priority project at the moment.

and:

the "decimal" album by ringfinger is out now, available digitally, as well as on vinyl from magic bullet records. the band is the brain child of a long time friend and champion of music by the name of tracy wilson. i contributed vocals and guitar noises to one track on the album, which also features contributions from members of engine down, dälek, steve brodsky, and a slew of others. i recommend, and not based on the fact that i was a contributor, but because it's a sincere and well executed piece of work.


in the off hours: leviathan "conspiracy against all life", clouds "we are above you", helms alee "night terrors", caleb carr "the alienist", "no country for old men", "twin peaks" DVD box set, il cappricio pizza, pilot hi-tec-c pens, ellis and nord "ultimate human", guilty simpson "ode to the ghetto", etc.

thank you and goodnight.

AT

negative approach

found a couple amusing/irritating comments people had posted in response to a couple of recent posts on this blog. somehow felt compelled to respond....

here's the first comment in reference to the sxsw poster:

"As an artworks its nice, but as a poster its horrible. Text is hard to read hence the poster does not serve its purpose to inform about the event. Nicely chosen typography would do better in this case."

well, the poster isn't really intended to "inform" folks about the show - these posters are made to commemorate the event and will be made available the day of the show with that intent in mind. on a broader scale, i also generally reject the idea that posters and album sleeves and t shirts have to be marketing tools with overly obvious type/graphics, as opposed to more artistically oriented pieces that invoke the true spirit of the music they are intended to represent. if the bands being represented aren't writing 3 minute pop songs with inane choruses that beat the listener into submission, why should the representative graphics serve that purpose? i like to think the audience that follows these bands isn't the type of audience that requirers overly simplified/commercial imagery and type in order to draw their attention to the "product". it is precisely the type of corporate design mentality as exemplified by the statement above that i have striven to avoid with what i do in the realm of music related graphics. we're not trying to sell our music to wal-mart shoppers, so if you expect our graphic personality to fall in line with what you were taught in design school about corporate branding and "truly effective" type and illustration techniques you shall be continually disappointed. clean type has its time and place, but this poster which is meant to showcase the personality of our label and by extension the show itself isn't it. music related design can be art simply beyond the idea of selling something.... so, as far as this poster being "horrible", you are certainly entitled to your option, but please understand that it was my intent that the text be personable and artistically rendered, rather than a typeface created by someone else which has little or nothing to do with the music to which the poster is connected - but thanks for the advice.


...and that brings me to the next one - "anonymous" posted this in response to my brief explanation about the cancellation of the old man gloom tour (see last post if you are interested in the comment i made that prompted this response):

"Sounds so typical and moralistic - sorry."

listen, i wasn't trying to promote a family values agenda with my explanation, or come off as some moralistic enforcer. my explanation was vague because i was respecting the privacy of the member of OMG to which this situation pertains. if i felt i could explain the specifics and the gravity of the situation which caused us to cancel the tour i would have, but i thought what i wrote should've been sufficient for anyone with half a heart and/or loved ones of their own, family or otherwise. perhaps "anonymous" hasn't experienced anything sufficiently traumatic with someone dear to them in order to enable them empathize with the situation, and if that's the case they should consider themselves lucky. in the face of the threat that faced one of our members, the tour seemed vastly unimportant. if "anonymous" can't wrap their head around that, and instead feels the need to spout off rather than offer up some sort supportive comment they need to find some some fucking empathy in themselves, if not for humanity at the very least for those that matter most to them...

i don't generally feel the need to respond to negative feedback, but i just couldn't let these 2 go - guess i'm feeling sort of petty at the moment though i'm not sure what to attribute that to....

AT - 03/10/08

HYDRA HEAD SXSW poster

above: poster for the imminently approaching hydra head showcase show, at this year's south by southwest "festival". the poster is a collaborative effort between tom neely and myself, tom having done the central figure/tree, and i the lettering and colors.
apologies to tom for ruining his spacious drawing with my clutter.

...and, to answer a question raised in the last post:

-the guitar pictured in the last post was made for me by the electrical guitar company: click here

good stuff from the last week: deadwood season 2, "the sea" by john banville, cavity "laid insignificant", mamiffer "hirror ennifer", the ultimates vol. 1 and 2, shining "through years of oppression", cat power "moon pix", new comics from this week and last - daredevil, captain america, and the programme....

sounds all around

(in the studio with mamiffer/photo: kelly akashi)



it's been a while since i've made an mention of musical activities, and there has been an excess of that lately, so here are some updates:

ISIS - we have been steadily whacking away at songs for the next album. in october of last year we started toying with a few bits and pieces we had lying around, and continued to do so through parts of november and december. however, the floodgates seemed unwilling to truly open until we reconvened in january after our holiday excursions/adventures. since then we've managed to complete the skeletons of 4 songs, and it seems things are finally starting to take shape. i'm not sure how to assess our work so far, but things are certainly moving at the moment. we're going to keep our heads down for the time being and keep chiseling away til we feel we've accumulated a satisfactory amount of material before we even consider going into the studio. in the meantime we're working on correcting the recently recalled "holy tears" single as well as the companion single for "not in rivers, but in drops", amongst other things....

GREY MACHINE - not sure where justin and co are at with this, but i've nearly completed my tracking for this project - hopefully they're not just waiting on me! i have no idea what'll happen to it all once i pass it back to JKB for the mixing process, but i feel fairly certain the results will be monstrous. there is no definitive plan for this project as of yet (at least to my knowledge), but i suspect that it will see the light of day late this year or early next. there maybe further updates in the near future: avalanche inc

MAMIFFER - new band centering around the efforts of faith coloccia, otherwise known as 1/2 of the core of everlovely lightningheart. i recently contributed some guitar work and a lot of noise to 2 tracks on a forthcoming mamiffer album, which also featured contributions from chris common, ryan frederikson, and brian cook (aka 3/4ths of these arms are snakes), as well as annie and ben from helms alee (another new band, with forthcoming 7" and album on hydra head). there may have been some other folks involved as well, but i'm not entirely certain. in any event for those of you that are familiar with the work of everlovely, that might be a good place to start as far as what this band actually sounds like, but that is certainly not the totality of its personality....

PLOTKIN/TURNER/WYSKIDA: this still unnamed project is nearing completion. tracking is done and the pieces are now in the very adept hands of james plotkin for the mixing process. the sound of this project will likely take lot of people by surprise, which in my estimation is a very good thing. i won't give away too much, but there may already be some clips on james' site: plotkinworks if there isn't there should be soon. no fixed info on release date or label as of this precise moment.

PUSCIFER - also known as the solo project from maynard keenan (yes, the tool guy). i have been drafted as a remixer for an upcoming EP from puscifer, tackling the track "trekka", originally produced by mr. lustmord. i completed my track two days ago (i actually made it one day before the given deadline, sort of unbelievable), and sent it off to the puscifer camp. again, i have no idea when this thing will see the light of day, but i imagine there will be further info here: puscifer website

..and there's actually more, but i'll leave it at that for now since this has already become way longer than intended.....
oh, and for those of you that didn't catch it: OLD MAN GLOOM tour has been cancelled due to a family related matter concerning one of our members, that greatly surpassed the importance of doing a tour....

ART IN LOS ANGELES - attendance encouraged

from the keyboard of tom neely:

This Saturday night (Feb 23rd) is the opening reception for The Igloo Tornado at Black Maria Gallery.

The Igloo Tornado is an Art Fraternity that includes Scot Nobles, Levon Jihanian, Gin Stevens and Me.

I have 15 new pieces in the show. My new work is a series of Comic Strip Poems.
I've been running them as a weekly comic strip on my blog every Wednesday.

Igloo Tornado http://www.iglootornado.com/
Saturday, February 23rd
Opening Reception 7-10:30 pm
Black Maria Gallery
3137 Glendale Blvd (in Atwater Village)
Los Angeles, CA 90039
323-660-9393
http://blackmariagallery.com/

Show runs through March 22nd.

Aaron Turner (of ISIS) will be DJing the party.

Links:

Igloo Tornado http://www.iglootornado.com/
Scot Nobles: http://www.losergoes1st.com/
Levon Jihanian: http://www.levonjihanian.com/
Tom Neely: http://www.iwilldestroyyou.com/
Aaron Turner: http://aaronbturner.blogspot.com/

Check my blog and the Igloo Tornado Blog all week for updates and preview photos.
http://iglootornado.blogspot.com/

For images from my first 6 comic strip poems go to my blog: http://www.iwilldestroyyounews.blogspot.com/

Press release for the show: http://blackmariagallery.com/exhibitions/igloo_tornado_2008/press_release

PYRAMIDS logo etc

just too many things to do these days, thus the long silence. trying to catch up on and complete a number of projects at the moment and then i'll get back to posting a little more regularly. quickly, i wanted to tell those of you that missed out on the ISIS box set through the conspiracy website that robotic empire will be posting their copies for sale in the next 2 weeks or so. in addition ISIS will be selling some of our copies on the road and through our own webstore, so you still have a chance to get one.

above is a new logo/emblem i designed for the newly-signed-to-hydra-head-band pyramids. i think their debut is going to throw listeners for a loop once it is unleashed - i suggest checking out their myspace page in the mean time. certainly opened my ears in a major way, thus the decision to work with them...

more soon. in the mean time try: the new black mountain album, "the sea" by john banville, the new omega man comic book series, and especially "don't go where i can't follow" by anders nilsen - a truly humble and magnificent piece of work - i believe it may be out of print now but it's worth the effort of tracking down. oh yeah, and the recently reissued 2xCD of the first 2 kraftwerk albums....

a