The Kirby Krackle machine is already in crazy high gear for 2013. First, our Calgary Expo gig opening for "Weird" Al Yankovic is already a go. Grab tickets here. This gig kind of warps my brain a bit, because long before "White And Nerdy" vaulted him back into the public consciousness in the mid-00s, I was rocking out to "Weird" Al's Michael Jackson and Madonna spoofs back in the mid-80s.
God, if I only had a time machine...
[INT: a kid's bedroom in West Virginia, 1985]
Teen Me: Omigod! Who are you?!
Future Me: I'm you! From the future! I'm here to tell you that in the future all your rock star dreams come true!
Teen Me: Really?!
Future Me: Yes! You play bass in a fantastic rock band! You tour the country! You have thousands of fans!
Teen Me: \m/ YES \m/
Future Me: And your first stadium show...
Teen Me: [Excited] Yeah?
Future Me: ...will be a great opening slot...
Teen Me: YEAH?
Future Me: ...in Canada!
Teen Me: OMG ARE WE OPENING FOR RUSH THAT'S AWESOME OMG OMG
Future Me: Ye -- what? Oh. No, not Rush. "Weird" Al Yankovic!
Teen Me: [blank stare.]
Future Me: I know, right?
Teen Me: Wha...that "Like A Surgeon" guy?
Future Me: [nods gleefully.]
Teen Me: He's still going?
Future Me: And you're 43 years old!
Teen Me: [visibly pales]
Future Me: Look what else we have in the FUTURE!
[ snaps photo of confused teenage self with iPhone and uploads it to Instagram.]
Okay, wow. Anyway, second: tix are now on sale for the third KRACKLEFEST, our annual nerd concert that coincides with Emerald City Comic-Con. This year's lineup includes Paul and Storm, The Doubleclicks and Nerds With Guitars. We're headlining, and if we pull off even a third of the stage antics that Kyle wants to do this year, it'll still be the can't-believe-you-missed-it, turn-in-your-nerd-badge, burn-your-character-sheet event of March 2013. Go get tickets here.
Long story short: over the holiday break I got to help a fellow Metafilter member record a song, written with his new ukelele, about another Metafilter member who made the ukelele for him, Secret Santa, er, Quonsar style. Does that make sense? If not, longer story here. In the meantime, enjoy the brief and clever grandiosity of rouftop's (a.k.a. Mike from Ballard) ode to cigar box mini-guitars:
My wife told me I should draw more often and some friends asked if I'll ever do more Lunchtime Portal Comix, so here's a thing that I did over the holiday break. How great was my holiday break? I had to stop doodling occasionally to eat ham and play Borderlands 2 at my wife's request. So: off the chain, as the kiddies say. Happy new year!
"Already Christmas" is an ode to the ones who remind us that the consumption-oriented winter holidays approacheth, even as we dust off our plastic skeletons and fake styrofoam grave markers. And it's based on a true story: I used to work at a JC Penney in Mayfield Heights, Ohio, dressing mannequins and putting up seasonal decorations, and one day I got an earful from an exasperated shopper who apparently couldn't accept that wreaths should start going up in October.
See? Be careful what you say and do -- you just might wind up in someone's novelty song twelve years later. And yeah, I DID use the Jingle-Matic on this recording. Anyway, it's a free download, so grab it from Bandcamp here.
This Friday, Jerin and I will be performing a holiday show we're calling the Kin to Stars' Ugly Sweater Holiday Adventure, and while ugly holiday sweaters are not required, your presence may be, if you live nearby. We've been working on the set since late September, drawing from the GLEE and indie rock songbooks instead of the standard fare of hymns and carols. I just may dress like an elf. And we'll be unveiling an instrument we're calling, for lack of a more absurd name, the Xmas-O-Matic 3000. You'll -- you'll just have to wait and and see.
Public Facebook event is here, and reservations are encouraged! Our last few shows at this venue have sold out. Here's the poster we whipped up (not exactly sure what's happening with my legs there, or if it's even a physical possibility that someone could stand on a ladder in that condition):
Table Titans. Super-excited for this one! Scott Kurtz of PvP and The Trenches teams up with Wizards of the Coast to produce an official long-form D&D comic. Subscribed to this SO HARD.
Unfortunately, our business is utterly focused on strategies to get music in front of people in their teens and 20s. Other than pushing what worked on younger people, and complaining that those avenues are ineffective with those same fans as adults, the bulk of our business isn’t TRYING to reach older listeners.
In my view, labels and artists alike simply suck at reaching anyone. Crappy, crippled tools, poor execution, a preoccupation with their own navels, and an unwillingness to stick it out for the long haul. It goes way beyond making people comfy at shows.
It may help, the next time you hear that voice in your head that says you have nothing original to say, to remember that that voice is not coming from the part of your self that you write from, or paint from, or shoot film from. That voice is coming from the shallow end of the pool. Stay in the deep end.
Studio Neat — It Will Be Exhilarating. From the guys who made the Glif, a great little book about jump-starting a business, with tips on manufacturing, prototyping, etc.
Nnewts by Doug TenNapel. Newish adventure web comic from the creator of Earthworm Jim. Lush colors and awesome art. I've been reading since the start and am totally hooked.
