MAMIFFER SHOW TONIGHT

mamiffer show tonight in seattle - location: the josephine, (608 nw 65th st n, ballard) - with: barn owl and tecumseh. show time: 9:00 pm. mamiffer line up for this evening's performance: faith coloccia, travis rommereim, aaron turner. come see music...

*photo by Krzysztof Zatycki from Mamiffer show in Wroclaw, PL - 04/29/09

new drawings: boris/torche split

above: 3 illustrations for the forthcoming boris/torche split ep. the split is to be released in the US on cd/10" vinyl via hydra head records, and on cd in japan by daymare records (with alternate artwork by fangsanalsatan)....

nutritive: aura noir " black thrash attack", extended bed rest, mz.412 "burning the temple of god", tim hecker "an imaginary country", rätto ja lehtisalo "pari lepakkoa transylvaniassa", daughters - new album (holy shit!), local's spicy fries, shane mehling's reviews for decibel, wold "imperator", kreng "l'autopsie phenomenale de dieu", backyard lawn therapy....

poster by neely, caretaker, GM cassette, notes from the end of the road

above:

1. poster by tom neely for the final show of the isis 2009 US summer tour. tom is a good man and a good artist. this poster was a great way to end the tour poster series and simultaneously announce our (subjectively) triumphant homecoming. tom is also responsible for the "treehead" t-shirt/sweatshirt design we were selling on the above mentioned tour as well as the european tour that preceded it. for more info on tom please check out his blog in the above right links section >

2. cover for a greymachine "vultures descend" cassette single to be given away with copies of the forthcoming greymachine album via orders placed through the hydra head webstore. the audio is the same as the material featured on the limited 12" of the same name. design by james o'mara. CD version of the album (+ cassette) available for preorder soon.

3. james o'mara + orange + robot. james works for hydra head. he is also a great man. robot and orange live in my house and are looked after by james when i am on tour. for this service (and a great many others), i am eternal indebted to james. thanks jimmy.


currently in helsinki on the eve of the final isis show in our summer european tour. we've played a handful of festivals (furia, roskilde, dour, etc), and a small number of club dates with our friend and fellow noisemaker destructo swarmbots in tow. thanks to DS, our road crew, and all those who willingly (or not so willingly), came to listen to our music. we enjoyed ourselves for the most part as hopefully the audiences did too, saw some other great bands/artists perform, and had some amusing/exciting adventures with swimming, soccer, and italian border guards. a well deserved break for isis will follow this tour, though a good many things will surely be accomplished by the various members in the interim between this tour and the next which will follow in the late fall....

while on the road the following have been enjoyed/absorbed: destructo swarmbots - live and in the van, oakenthrone vol 6 - magazine + CD compilation, phonophoni "oak or rock", "valis" by philip k. dick, "the filth" by grant morrison, "hellblazer: rake at the gates of hell" by garth ennis and steve dillon, new material by torche and xasthur and boris, arvo pärt "triodion", circle "prospect", etc...

MORE JODIS ART

above: various stages of the jodis "secret house" album art... i worked on the drawings and layouts, faith coloccia provided photos.

this one went through a number of versions, so i thought i'd share a few steps along the way. the final versions are now solidified for the CD and LP forthcoming on hydra head, and each differ slightly from each other. there may be a third version as well if the album is released in japan or any other territories outside the US. next up on my to do list are drawings for the US version of the forthcoming boris/torche split CD/10" - a collaborative release between daymare records japan and hydra head records in the us. more on that as info becomes available.

on tour again with isis - this time in europe. one show done, 11 more to go. so far so good.

last but not least, thanks to all the people that posted/emailed their congratulations about the recent engagement between faith coloccia and i. we are both very grateful for your kind words and generous spirits - thank you all!

sustenance on the road: philip k. dick "valis", M.D.G/E, alan moore "league of extraordinary gentlemen: 1910", "mome" vol 11, etc....

ENGAGED!

as of 6/26/09 i became engaged to a wonderful woman named faith coloccia. i feel extremely grateful for having been fortunate enough to cross paths with faith, and even more so for having gotten to know, spend time, and collaborate with her. the life we have shared together thus far has been a truly transformative and illuminating experience which has meant more to me than i could ever hope to express with in the confines of this forum or indeed any other. i hope that our journey together is just beginning....













ABT
6/29/09

Jodis Text Development

above: various stages of the handwritten text for the jodis album.

now that there's been a small break between isis tours i've been able to finish up all the pieces for the new version of the jodis album layout. wanted to get it all done sooner, but being on the road isn't always conducive to productivity. the rest of the layout pieces have been done for some time now, this was the last element to complete and obviously an important one.

isis US tour complete. the last string of shows on the west coast was a tremendous way to cap off the trip. thanks to helms alee as well as the other people in mamiffer with whom i was lucky enough to play on the 6 shows heading southwards down the coast. thanks to all the supportive folks who came out to listen to all the bands perform and the ever gracious staff of the great american music hall in SF - always a true pleasure to play there...

new drawing & the road goes on

above: map drawing and details from map drawing. may/june 2009.

isis still on the road. currently in the van hurdling across the state of iowa. rolling hills, setting sun, actually somewhat pleasant considering we've been in the van all day traveling between minneapolis, mn and our next stop denver, co. pelican and tombs have left the tour. keelhaul now in tow. all good traveling companions/road warriors. helms alee and mamiffer joining up in a few days. thanks to all who have accompanied us along the way as well as those that have come to witness. greymachine "vultures descend" 12" out now and copies brought along for the tour. greymachine "disconnected" cd hopefully available during the last week of this tour, or beginning of upcoming european tour. jodis album art still underway, initial versions scrapped, new version imminent. remaining art prints from 2008 "catalyst" available for sale soon (see aug 22, 2008 post for more info/image).

enjoyed/enjoying/benefitting from: big brain comics and hard times restaurant in minneapolis, mn - aosoth s/t - doom "born like this" - "blankets" by craig thompson - "spent" by joe matt - special pictures - keelhaul live performances - "lawless" by ed brubaker and sean phillips - pyramids with nadja collaborative album - oxbow "songs for the french" - xasthur "all reflections drained" - "batman and robin" by grant morrison and frank quietly - "under saturn's shadow" by james hollis