really cool artist. youtube has a few different videos on him. you can check out more of this work at www.nopattern.com. his work is very colorful yet urban. You can check out, and/or buy his book at http://www.npandco.com/npbook.html. I’m thinking of doing that too…

Just got it from a friend of mine and it’s pretty good. It has a post punk and dark wave sound too it. it’s really good. They sound kinda like UltraVox a bit. Especially their HaHaHa!! CD, so thats probally why I like it so much.

In other news, I went to the BEA this year through my work (Book Expo America) and it was pretty cool. I got to meet Stan Lee and get his autograph as well as the creator of Hellboy Mike Mignola, Bob Wanye, and Brad Meltzer. All of them where awesome! Plus, i got tons of free books and graphic novels. I got two versions of The Watchmen, The Jokers Last Laugh, The Alcoholic which is aweosme. If your feeling down then this book will help you reasses things… haha. and tons of other books too. Mostly all hardcovers too, and not the galley versions. a few paperbacks as well. ohh and I also got another awesome graphic novel i’m reading now as well, Star Dust by Neil Gaiman. Its a beatuiful looking book too. much better than the movie… havent stopped reading it since i got it. really good.

So far my recommendations: Stardust, The Alcoholic, and Watchmen, oh and music wise, Modern English.

okay, so I’m a fan of ministry already, but i finally got ahold of a very special CD titled With Sympathy by Ministry. This is way different from every album they’ve done. This is the only CD that doesn’t have anindustrial sound, but more of am early gothic/new wave-ish sound. very poppy. very danceable. the Cd is great actually, and I think that maybe they were on too something with this sound, but they went into a different sound, which is still great and probally suited the band much more.  i’m going to really look into the band a lot more and see if there is any more music with this tone available, but considering the difficulty in getting this one, I could use the help…

heres what someone on amazon said about this album:  (Ken Garrett) I had a buddy who met Alan Jorgensen on the first Revolting Cocks tour, and here is the story he was told. The With Sympathy album was made solely to get Ministry a record deal. The band was already doing the up and coming Chicago industrial sound way back in, what was it 82 or 83 when this album first came out. Alan said that he was forced to do new wave for the first album or no deal. Al also was rumored to break copies of With Sympathy if he ever saw one in someone’s record collection. My buddy had heard this and hid his copy when Alan was at his house. My friend said that Alan did look through his records while he was there but since With Sympathy was hidden there was no record breaking episode.

sounds pretty interesting and somwhat believable!

I would reccommend this album to other goth/new wave/dark wave lovers of the 80’s, but for industrial music fans unless your open to something much more poppy and reflective of the early 1980’s sound then you might not like it very much.

 I just finished reading it about a week ago and I have to say that I thought it was great! First of all, I am a fan of Alex Ross’s work. I was pleased to find that all the artwork was done by his hand. Many times I’ve come across comic’s that use his work for just the covers.

The graphic novel started out a little slow, but still kept it interesting.  I was able to see a totally different side of our JLA. One that’s not been shown. It really showed the struggle for balancing their human/nonhuman emotions. I thought it was pretty deep the way the characters were portrayed by Mark Waid.  It was a great surprise to see the fight between Shazam and Supes’. The two biggest powerhouses going at it! It was awesome! I don’t want to give too much away…

If you have a comic for me to read that you think is just awesome, please let me know. As of now, I’ve read Identity Crisis, Infinate Crsis2, Annihilation Books1-3, and bits of Watchmen and Planet Hulk.

Marlena Shaw – California Soul… heard on the GAP commercial about 2 weeks ago. I decided to look up some information on the singer. good stuff, california soul is probably the best song I’d heard yet from Marlena Shaw. Other very noteable tunes from the “woman of the ghetto” are: Blue’s Ain’t Nothing, Call it a Stormy Monday, Go Away Little Boy, Mercy Mercy Mercy, Where Can I Go, You Been Away Too Long, and of course Woman of the Ghetto.

From Last.fm: Vocalist Marlena Shaw is a true original with a sound that is soulful, swinging and versatile. Whether she’s delivering a down-home blues or a passionate ballad that’s smooth as silk, Shaw’s voice translates each song into a very personal statement.

Born in Valhalla, NY, Shaw’s first musical influences were her uncle and grandmother, who loved to sing and play gospel music on the family’s “hi-fi” record player. As a girl, Marlena was also involved with numerous gospel singing groups. Her first experience singing before a large audience was with her uncle, who played trumpet and exposed her to the music of jazz greats like Dizzy Gillespie. At only 10 years old, Shaw performed with her uncle at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, and they were asked to return for the next week’s show. As Shaw recalls, her uncle got booked elsewhere on the same night, and young Marlena had to take the stage solo at the Apollo for the second show.

Shaw’s professional aspirations were rejuvenated after she was married and living on an Air Force base near Springfield, MA. Encouraged by friends, she auditioned and got some gigs near the base, then made a demo tape in the garage of Charlie Parent, a local drummer. The tape eventually landed her a regular gig at the Concord, a resort hotel in the Catskill Mountains in upstate New York.

Shaw’s big break was an invitation to sing with the Count Basie Orchestra. Basie’s accountant heard her at the New York Playboy club. Basie was sent a copy of one of her records, while Marlena met with Basie alumnus and trumpeter Frank Foster to arrange charts of some of her numbers. The next thing she knew, she was flown out to meet the whole band at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas.

Marlena wasn’t sure she had the gig yet. She thought her first rehearsal was an audition, and grew anxious when Basie walked off the bandstand after she started singing. But he came right back with a two little glasses of wine, welcomed her to the group and said, “Save your voice, sugar, you’re going to need it for tonight.” Shaw fondly recalls Basie’s words of wisdom, such as his advice about setting the tempo for a number, “Well, Darlin’, now just remember: don’t put it above a heartbeat.”

Link to Music on playlist.com

Concrete Blonde is an alternative rock band dating from the early 1980s to the early 1990s (and re-formed again in the 2000s). They are best known for the poignant songwriting and vocals of Johnette Napolitano.

Singer / songwriter / bassist Napolitano formed the band Dream 6 with guitarist James Mankey in Los Angeles in 1982, releasing an eponymous EP in France on the Happy Hermit label in 1983. When they signed with I.R.S. Records in 1986, labelmate Michael Stipe suggested the name Concrete Blonde, describing the contrast between their hard rock music and introspective lyrics. They were joined by drummer Harry Rushakoff on their eponymous debut album. Roxy Music drummer Paul Thompson replaced Rushakoff on and several tracks on Mexican Moon, while Rushakoff was in treatment for drug addiction. Rushakoff was kicked out of the band in 2002 for failing to show up for several rehearsals and shows. He was replaced by Gabriel Ramirez. ( info from last.fm)

Link to Music (Concrete Blonde): http://www.last.fm/music/Concrete+Blonde

Link to Music (Dream 6): http://cdbaby.com/cd/dream6

ENJOY!

Okay, so I’m finally starting to get into the whole blogging thing. I figured I’d keep with more or less all about art, design, and music since those are the things that matter to me.  hopefully you guys will find my blogs interesting. comment as much as you like. the more the merrier.

I just put up the banner now. I custom made it with images I found online and kinda did my own thing. the theme is sort of dark and artsy. let me know what you think about it.

I will try and update a few times a week. Thanks.