La Costa Perdida

Friendlies,

the new Camper Van Beethoven record is out today, and it is, indeed, a goody goody. The package design and illustrations were done by yours truly. You can stream the whole thing here, and you can buy yourself a copy here. I recommend getting a “hard copy” of the CD, since that will give you the full sensory experience of owning the record (as opposed to having these little pop gems lost in the “shuffle” of your playlists).

Go ahead, treat yourself. Buy the CD from your local music purveyor, wait for it to arrive, pour yourself a frosty beverage, put the CD on, find a comfortable place to sit and listen, and relax. Listen to each track carefully, noting your physical reaction to each song. You might get distracted. That’s ok. Sit back down, and listen to the next track. And so on. See? Feels good, right?

Do you know Camper’s older musics? You might start with Popular Songs of Great Enduring Strength and Beauty. This is a good collection. If you like that one, you’re ready for Cigarettes and Carrot Juice, a box set of their early records. Key Lime Pie is another favorite. Listen, it’s all great. Trust me.

You’ll find me at The Rickshaw Stop on February 16.

xm

Hear’s Hiss Pop!

Good morning friendlies,

Sara Thacher asked me to contribute graphics to a game (Sara calls it a “playful narrative experience”) for The Exploratorium called Hiss Pop. You’ll be able to play this game (and experience a bit of authentic San Francisco musical culture, including custom-crafted 45rpm records) if you make the scene at The Exploratorium’s After Dark event on March 1. Don’t be square, be there!

Here’s a preview of the imagery. We referenced groovy LP graphics for these, and put our own spin on it.

Turn off the glowing box, jump on the train, and getcherself some cool, dads. The Exploratorium is where. It’s. At.

xm

p.s. Remember these?

more organ madness : wonder woman

Friends,

we’ve been obsessed by organ music over at the Wertzateria. The last episode of our radio show Argyll Adventure Tree was dedicated to organ music (almost completely).

Today I received this little gem from Michael over at the Verasphere: it’s an organ version of the Wonder Woman theme from a fine fellow named Geoff Love. Enjoy.

By the way, Inky Oxnard’s Holiday Frenzy is happening this Saturday and, as like the childrens like to say, it’s gonna be off the chain. I know there’s a lot going on in December (can’t we just do Halloween again?) but this event is going to be particularly fine. See you there!

xm

poster design – monks of doom

Phew! Just finished this, and I’m pretty happy with it. Restricting myself to pretty much one color (black) for the drawing was fun. The final will be available in the shop after the show. It’ll be a nice big poster – 18 x 24 inches, 3 colors. Critters! Geetars! Geetars with roots! Do you know Monks of Doom? Hmmm?

xm

‘Singing’ for Cats this Sunday!

Friends to the Four-Pawed:

Andy and I are doing another ‘Singing’ for A Curious Collection of Cats (a children’s book lovingly illustrated by yours truly) this Sunday at Clayton Books in Clayton, California. If you are in the East Bay, come on out and getcher book signed and see Andy & I act like goofballs! Here’s a little bit from the book launch party:

What: Ukeleles and Kitties and Drawings
Where: Clayton Books, Clayton California
When: 3 pm. Right after naptime.

See you then? xm

What’s up, my delicious friendlies?

Hello peps –

Back from a week in Santa Cruz for a silkscreen intensive. The teach, Jane Gregorius was amazing. I learned so much from her and was thrilled to be in class every day. Thanks to the kindness and hospitality of my friend Janet Fine, I had a nice place to stay. Met some cool new folks, and got to know better some old acquaintances (Hello Janice!).

In other artists news: got a cool package in the mail from my buddy S. Britt, including his oh-so-groovy coloring book Coloring Can Be Funny. Get one for the twisted 8-year old in your life! Also got a cool patch from Andy Arkley of the Bran Flakes (as well as his new CD, Twizzle). Oh, yeah, and Carolee sent me a nice letter and a postcard and some really great stickers. A letter! It had writing and thoughts and stuff! I love the mail. I love mail art even more. Thanks guys!

Just finished a few color sketches for the DSC (in conjunction with Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science). Feast your peeps on my favorite one “Colors in Nature”. Camouflage and blending colors: what use are these in the jungle?

xm

p.s. I’m going to rest my toes in the sand for a little bit. See you soon.

Just Another Music Tuesday

Hi friendlies:

Music fills the room at the Wertzateria for about 12 or 13 hours a day. It’s our constant companion. I geek out about music the way some people geek out about sports – or movies. I dream about doing posters for my favorite bands, and sometimes my dreams come true (stay tuned for a Campout 2009 poster design!). I am constantly searching the intertubes for interesting music to play on my radio show, The Argyll Adventure Tree. Some music (and noise related sites and images, many thanks to Phil Benson) for your eyes and ears:

On July 2, William Orbit played a live set on KCRW (featuring Laurie Mayer from Torch Song)!

Our friends in Voice Farm have a new website. I love these guys.

There’s a nifty documentary about Brian Eno (whose Oblique Strategies I use all the time when I’m doing a creative project) streaming right here.

A lovely sad song: “Another Day” by Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush. I know the cover by This Mortal Coil, but I’d never heard the original.

A contemplative moment: through our friend Antony we were turned on to the music of William Basinski (in fact, Andy did a bunch of work on William’s site). Quiet, loopy, weird, and entrancing.

You might enjoy the Nigeria 70 Box Set. Funky and so, so great.

Here’s a few records I worked on: Popular Songs of Great Enduring Strength and Beauty by Camper Van Beethoven and Honey by Jonathan Segel. Go on, drop a dime on these fine folks.

Enjoy.

x,m

big city orchestra poster up in the shop!

hello friendlies,

there’s a new poster for sale in the wertzateria shop – our big city orchestra poster commemorating their thirty years of noisiness is for sale here in the shop. all proceeds from the sale of this poster will go to buying me candy. lots of candy. big city orchestra is the brain child of a mysterious figure named odd McUb and his trusty sidekick ninah puchkina. look for a live show stateside in december. they will be playing lots of dates in europe in september 2009. Their website should have information on those happenings.

8″ x 17″ tall. two colors on yellow paper. cheap and yummy.

xm