Hey, Got Any Ice?

We left Terry, Merilyn, and Conner's parents in Peoria and headed to Auburn, Illinois near the Michigan border. We wanted to hit up the Auburn-Duesenberg-Cord Museum the next morning, so we pulled off onto a cute little neighborhood side street to camp for the night. We were playing cards and drinking bloody marys that evening when we heard a bunch of people our age having a camp fire in the yard of the house we were parked outside of. It took us forever to work up the courage to "go make friends". We planned a ruse to gain access to their fenced-in back yard; taking our cups and some bloody marys, we asked for ice, saying we were parked by the road and were traveling around the country. The girl who answered the door looked at us funny, went and got some ice for us. She handed the small bag to us while closing the door and said, "Well, there you go. Have a good night." Our grand plan of making friends on the road was completely foiled. And on top of that, later we heard them all saying, "What kind of people camp in a neighborhood for the night? That's so weird..." Needless to say, Auburn, Illinois is not on the top of our list for Friendliest Towns In America.

It's Friday

It's Friday and everyone at the Bayfield, Colorado fire department, where I am the receptionist for the summer, is gone; it's just me and the IT guy. Having done everything I can to keep myself occupied up until a couple hours ago, I've begun going through some more of the photos from our road trip. If you don't keep up with these things then they just become overwhelming. I've gone through all the photos I took when we went to the Auburn-Deusenberg-Cord Museum and the Ford Museum. Oh my goodness, and I've just merely scratched the surface.

Peoria, Illinois

After our stay visit to Chicago/Crete, and our counting rabbits adventure in Chillicothe, we meandered down to Peoria, Illinois to rendezvous with Conner's parents and their friends, Terry & Merilyn. This was back in September-ish. Now Terry & Merilyn are the kind of couple that I strive to be when I'm in my 60's. They travel, they have a lovely house with lovely friends coming over for dinner, and they laugh a lot. Super cool people.They were telling us that back in the mafia heyday, Peoria was where the mobsters would go to dodge the police for a bit; and also where Frank Lloyd Wright spent some time.

In The Car

Back in September 2010, Conner and I drove through Illinois on our way to Peoria. It was corn fields the whole way, nothing but flat corn fields. I made Conner stop and take some photos...these are the fruits of our labor.

Butterflies

Driving across Illinois~September 2010

Classical Beatles

Oh dear. These two teenagers playing a classical version of the Beatles "Let It Be" are too hip for words. They're in that awkward point before they go through growth spurts and hair but you can tell they are going to be super cool as they hit they're 20's. They both even have that skinny hipster look about them already...next up, the hipster haircut. This kinda made my day.

15-year-old Michael Province on violin and 16-year-old Nathan Chan on cello

Our Favorite Posters from the Indie Rock Poster Book

I adore visualized music. Knowing that some people don't like watching music videos because it disrupts their internal visual of the very same song, makes no difference to me. I love it all. In fact, I have on more than one occasion decided that I liked a song based solely on the video...and now that I'm thinking about that I will post my top 10 music videos soon. Anyhow, not that this has anything to do with music videos, it has to do with independent music posters. I read this article by Laura Medina on Paste Magazine.com and wanted to repost for you guys here.

~~~~~
“I see where the inspiration came from,” someone might say squinting at a smudge of brown paint on a canvas in a brightly-lit gallery. But it’s often difficult to see where an artist is coming from when the only explanation is a neatly printed card with a singular word or phrase accompanied by a high-price tag.

If you’re looking for a different type of sensory experience, settle in with the Indie Rock Poster Book featuring posters from some of the most badass illustrators in the industry. What makes this book so unique is that the artists’ handpicked the songs they illustrated, allowing the viewers to see the rationales behind their illustrations and work processes.

Here are six of our favorite posters from the book along with the songs that inspired them.

1. Julia Rothman
TV On the Radio – “Dancing Choose”

The dizzying maze of objects and shapes in Julia Rothman’s interpretation of TV on the Radio’s “Dancing Choose” closely mimics the tone and pace of the song. The tree is so packed with objects it feels as though it will topple at any time. Similarly, any song where the singer spits out words like “Weimaraner” in close-knit lines of lyrics feels as though it will crash down at any moment. The song itself is chaotic yet so upbeat that there is an overwhelming desire to pluck the shoes out of the giant tree in the illustration and get to dancing.

2. Gemma Correll
The Dears – “Lost in the Plot”

There’s a girl and a cat. They’re alone in the middle of the ocean. At first glance, the illustration is whimsical and almost evokes a chuckle. It could be the intense determination in the eyes of the girl or the fact that she’s holding a flaming torch of skulls, but the chuckle is quickly disguised into a cough. The “edge of panic” that Correll illustrates in this poster is closely tied to the escalating intensity of The Dear’s “Lost in the Plot.” “Leave me in the middle of the ocean/ I can walk the rest of the way/ and I promise not to cry anymore.”

3. Chris Gray
“Lykke Li – “Tonight”

The geometric symmetry of this poster is visually stunning, but the only description that Chris Gray wrote for his interpretation of Lykke Li’s “Tonight” is a mysterious sentence, “The space between the tick and the tock.” After the cloud of confusion clears, and the music and sentence are viewed as a whole the connection is blatant. The opening piano chords mimic the chimes of a grandfather clock while the rest of the song sounds like the inner workings. The mechanical rhythm of the song and geometric shapes drive the metaphor of the clock leaving a feeling of desperation and longing “don’t you let me go let me go tonight.”

4. Will Bryant
Beach House – “Take Care”

If Beach House’s “Take Care of You” is a reminder of being lost in a daydream, then Will Bryant’s illustration is a drug-induced trance. The dreamy colors and hypnotizing rhythmic swirls and shapes are described perfectly by the words “hazy nostalgia” drawn in the center of the poster. “The vibe of a track always has more impact on me than the lyrics,” Bryant says.

5. Yehteh
Wolf Parade – “Dear Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts”

“I spotted this guy—a guy who seemed dispirited—as if he’d given up.” At first it’s difficult to see this dispirited guy that illustrator Yehteh uses for inspiration. The lyrics of Wolf Parade’s “Dear Sons and Daughters of Ghosts” initially feel more like a powerful anthem. “I got a hand, so I got a fist so I got a plan.” But as the song goes on, it takes more of a desperate tone. As if he’s trying to convince people of a new plan—tricking them into thinking rust is gold. He’s “given up, kneeling on the ground, looking at the reflection of his failures,” Yehteh says.

6. Ben Chlapek
Elliott Smith – “King’s Crossing” *

Ben Chlapek’s illustration and explanation of the connection between his poster and Elliott Smith’s “King’s Crossing” are equally brilliant. “This is because winter is a time for listening to songs that remove you from cold walks through gray streets—songs that have so much visual imagery that you don’t have time to think about freezing, although “King’s Crossing” still makes me think about freezing,” he says.

It’s the darkest song from Elliott’s last full-length release, From a Basement on the Hill, and it addresses the ever-present demons he fought throughout his life. This struggle is portrayed in my poster illustration in the way everything is climbing the hill toward the house, relentlessly trying to consume him. I wanted it to seem like he finally found a way to get away from it all, but when he broke free, something went awry.”

Well said, sir.

To see more of the posters and to purchase the Indie Rock Poster Book, visit yellowbirdproject.com. Not only will you feel great about having the coolest posters on your block, you’ll feel even better about giving your money to a great cause. The people at Yellow Bird Project “seek out only the coolest of cool artists, collaborate with them to design awesomely awesome tee-shirts [and poster books], and give all the prettiest of pretty profits to charities of the artists’ choice.”

The project raises money by the “barter and trade” of their tee-shirts and books, but they no longer accept goats as a form of currency as “money proved to be an easier currency to store.”

Film Research

Lately Conner and I have been watching--or rather, intensely studying--a few particular documentaries. We have a couple ideas of how we want our documentary to look and feel when it's done and all of our inspiration seems to be coming out of the 50's and 60's...conundrum: how to make a modern music documentary look vintage but all the while maintaining it's contemporary flair.

These are films we've been pouring over...

F For Fake. Directed by Orson Wells, 1974. A documentary-essay on art and authenticity that has very little semblance of linear narrative however, stick with this one and it'll be rewarding. Beautifully shot and edited...like a moving painting.

American Look. Produced by Chevrolet, 1958. Short film highlighting all the timeless designs created in the 50's...and then some promotional automobile footage thrown in at the end by Chevrolet. via Mid Century Modernist

And of course, one of my all-time favorites, Jazz On A Summer's Day. Directed by Aram Avakian and Bert Stern, 1959. The intro is gorgeous. They spend a good amount of time filming the visitors and people just hanging out before they get down to the performers. I think that splitting the focus of the film between the two subjects was brilliant; it completely sets the tone in which you watch Antia O'Day (giving a superb rendition of Sweet Georgia Brown), Chuck Berry, and Thelonious Monk play later on...relaxed, mint julep in hand, just ready to kick back and watch some amazing jazz.

It's Not Me, It's You: Breaking Up With Your Favorite Band~NPR

I thought this was a great list and I had to repost it from All Songs Considered...

On this week's All Songs Considered, we head to Splitsville with a look at some of the bands we've broken up with or grown apart from over the years, along with some of the artists we'll stand by no matter what.
While going through my music library to prepare for the show, I found that a lot of my relationships with bands are more complicated than a simple breakup or reconciliation. So I came up with a short list of sub-categories. Take a look and tell us your own picks for each one:
 
1. Band You Really Thought You Had Something With — They Said They'd Call But You Never Heard From Them Again
This is a relationship that never quite gets off the ground. It's over before it's begun. For me, this is Neutral Milk Hotel or My Bloody Valentine. They put out an amazing record, you get excited about the great life you're going to have together, but then you never hear from them again. What happened? Was it something I said?

2. Your Best Friend's Girlfriend Or Boyfriend You Secretly Want To Hook Up With
I see all my friends with My Morning Jacket, and I think, "I so want to hook up with My Morning Jacket!" They make loving My Morning Jacket look so awesome. Then we finally get together and it's a total disappointment. Basically, it's bands you want to love because everyone else you respect loves them, but it's never what you thought it'd be.
3. The Rebound: Bands You Start To Date After Everyone Else Is Through With Them
When early Weezer fans broke up with the band (around the time Make Believe came out, or possibly sooner), you know there was a whole new group of fans that discovered them for the first time. Early Radiohead fans broke up with the band when OK Computer or Kid A came out, but that's when I started to love them.

4. Band You Broke Up With, Then Got Back Together
I broke up with R.E.M. about 10 years ago when the band released Reveal. I never thought we'd get back together. But then R.E.M. released this year's Collapse Into Now and I found myself falling back in love. I broke up with Bright Eyes for a few years, but then the band returned this year with one of the most amazing albums I've ever heard (The People's Key), and I was head-over-heels in love again.

5. Band That Broke Up With You
This is a band that says it's done with you before you're ready to end it. I really thought The White Stripes and I would spend the rest of our lives together. Then, a couple of months ago, the band told me it was ready to move on. I'm still heartbroken over the breakup.

The original post.

Greil Marcus at The Pinhook-Durham, NC

We're heading down to Durham tonight to our favorite downtown dive bar in order to see rock critic god, Greil Marcus, speak. He'll be at The Pinhook and I love that he's taking time to appear in a venue that's a little more accessible than up on one of Duke University's untouchable podiums. Mr. Marcus has written countless articles and books on American culture and is thus, one of my favorite icons.

I can't wait!

Yann Tiersen on Valentine's Day

Tonight we're heading to the best local music venue Cat's Cradle so musician Yann Tiersen can serenade us into a lovey-dovey stupor. I adore the French film Amelie and wouldn't you know that this fine garçon composed the soundtrack. I can't wait! I'll post photos later.

Oh how I do love Valentine's Day...

Steampunk NC

Has anyone ever heard of the term "Steampunk" before? Because I haven't, and certainly not before coming to NC.
According to Wikipedia, Steampunk is a branch of science fiction that centers around steam-powered Victorian England and where technological innovation as the Victorians would have envisioned is at it's core. We're talking alternative universes where machine and man were both decked out in 18th English garb and could time travel or venture to the center of the earth, a la Jules Verne. I think "imaginary flying machines, goggles, and corsets" sums it up just fine.

Steampunk Gallery:
City Of Lost Children kick-ass French film
The Clockwork Cabaret weekly podcast

The Affinity Bridge novel

Counting Rabbits

After Crete we had a couple more days to kill before rendezvousing in Peoria, IL with Conner's folks.  It had been more than a week since either of us had had a proper shower and we were in dire need of a campsite.  For the most part, we manage to keep relatively clean by sponge bathing in coffee shop restrooms; washing face and hair in the sink, washrag swabbing our armpits, daily teeth brushing.  But there is only so much one can do without a proper shower.  We stopped at the Chillicothe Recreational Area (pronounced Chili-cathy) for $25 a night.  $25!  Doesn't that seem high to anyone else?  We can't afford to stay at campgrounds very often, but when we do this seems to be the going rate for a spot of dirt upon which to rest one's head for the night.

I can't remember the ground manager's name but he and his wife were awesome.  Classic car buffs themselves, they came to share a couple beers with us and talk cars.  Then another long-term resident who reminded me of Flanders from The Simpsons, came to chat as well and lent us his go-cart for the night.  Every Saturday at the campground, a group of 4 go-cart owners go on a "Rabbit Counting Mission" right around dusk.  We were rounded up, Bloody Mary mix in hand, and were recruited to join in the rabbit counting.  The premise is pretty simple: guess how many rabbits you'll spot along the ride and whoever gets closest wins.  No prize, just gloating rights for that week.  The men drove, the women spotted, beer koosies at the ready, and country music blaring.  And it was a blast; bouncing around the uneven trails, taking a break to watch the train rush by, and spotting-get this-absolutely no rabbits.  The Chillicothe campground was great.  Hands down, great people.  Stop by if you're ever in the area.

Art installation from Cracking Art Group

Being Drunk Under The Table In Crete, IL

I do apologize for jumping back and forth between reporting on where we've been and where we are now.  I'm sure it's terribly confusing and I need to catch up stat.  Going back in time once again...

After we had stayed with Mary and Pat for a couple nights, we decided it was time to get out of their hair.  We had spent a great deal of time outside their house as to not be a total nuisance; by going to Chicago or down to one of the few local bars in Crete, IL.  As a result of our bar hopping we ended up befriending the bartender Paul at Chucks' Place and his buddy, the Other Paul, the buttercream icing maestro.  If we all couldn't be found at Chuck's then we were right across the street at Jason's Pub...or more like Jason's parking lot.  Conner and I camped out in the bar parking lot for a couple nights, then over to the public library parking lot, and then back to Jason's for one more night before we mosied on. 

I'm always surprised when we go into a small town and there are young people, or moreover, attractive young people.  I always assume they would have all run to the big city the first chance they got.  But in Crete this wasn't the case.  We met a lot of great folks here and I'd go back to visit in a heartbeat.  Although I must confess that Crete kids can drink Conner and I under the table every single time.  Coming from Austin, I drink more than average.  But Crete, man, they sure can put it away.

We even got to check out the weekly car cruise; every Monday night from 5 to 7.  If you have a semi-old car, then bring it along, sign it up and receive a free pizza buffet for the whole family at Aurelio's.  They had some purdy cool cars.

This is Gupie, it's the cutest car ever and one day I would like to make it mine.  It has an impromptu convertible top so that Conner's head can stick out when he rides with me since Gupie's so small and Conner's so tall.

Causing A Ruckus

Last night the doorbell rang around 8pm, as we were all unwinding from the hectic birthday party for Dad's youngest son.  The mass of 8 year old boys had worn us all out with the shear amount of energy they all had.  Conner answered the door as I jumped in the shower.  When I came out of the house, my hair all wet and clutching my PJ's, I saw a bunch of police cars and Conner in the middle.  Not a sight one wants to see outside of their house at night.

Apparently one of the neighbors had complained about our trailer parked by the curb.  One cop came to check it out and had no clue what to do.  So he called a second cop.  Who had no idea what to do.  So they called another...until 4 police cars were out front.  And each one was either on their laptops searching for city ordinances prohibiting our trailer from staying right where it was, or one the phone with a superior trying to figure out the same thing.  And they came up with nothing.  They said to not worry about it for the time being. 

My step-mother Anita, was all upset and has decided that we're going to have a "Griswald Christmas" at the trailer; fully decked out with twinkle lights, fake snow, tinsel, an inflatable Grinch, and a small Christmas tree on top.  Tackiness is to rule this holiday season.