Tis the season...

Halloween is here! I am also here...and there...and everywhere! "Here" means I have original art hanging in the "Of Switzerland County" gallery in Vevay IN now through November. They also carry a selection of my Matted & Splatted™ prints. The gallery will be hosting a reception at which we will be present on Nov. 3rd. If you've never been to Vevay you really must do so. We spent a few hours there after hanging the art and I think it has become my favorite little town.

"There" means Seattle WA. I'll be a guest at ZomBcon this weekend. Guests include Chuck Palahniuk, Max Brooks, Malcolm McDowell, Jeffrey Reddick, Ben Templesmith, George Romero and Bruce Campbell among a slew of others! 


"Everywhere" means National Geographic's The Truth Behind Zombies Saturday at 10pm. The producers asked for some of my art to be used in the program so they may have used all, some or none of my stuff. It will be like playing Where's Waldo...only with zombies!

Vevay, IN

Halloween music...week 4

Last week! Halloween is almost upon us. For the final installment I thought I would showcase some bands that I have some connection which whether they are friends or clients or what ever.

Goblin Queen Impaler
Listened to these guys back in the day and recently had the honor of having them as booth neighbors at a local show. I believe their music is better than ever. www.myspace.com/impalerhorrorrock


Soul Seller First Jason
Ari Lehman is pretty awesome. High energy on and off stage. We do several shows a year with him and he never fails to entertain. He is also working on Abyss Walker inspired music so keep your eyes peeled for that! www.firstjason.com for more info.


Sick Things Alice Cooper
I did t-shirt designs for both the US and UK chapters of Alice's unofficial fan clubs, both called Sickthings.


What's the Count Jack? Eerie Von
Chatted with Eerie online numerous occasions and just waiting for the opportunity to meet him in person. The guy is also a great artist. Stop by www.eerievon.com to see for yourself.


Changed Switchblade Syndicate
Some great friends of ours. I did the cover art for their debut CD. I only wish there was a better quality video of them but stop by www.switchbladesyndicate.com for samples of their music.


Devilution The Reanimated
I've met some of these cats a few times. Check the out if you get the opportunity.


Sex Drugs & Formaldehyde Pagan Holiday 1313
Lastly but definitely not leastly, great band who musically is equal parts 80s metal, punk and Italian horror! And any band with a song called Dead White & Blue is pretty fuckin' cool in my book! www.myspace.com/paganholiday1313

Halloween music...week 3

Undertaker Batlord


Creature with the Atom Brain Roky Erickson


Entrance of the Devil Zior


Munster's Theme Surfin' Lungs


Black Ju Ju Lydia Lunch


Hot Rod to Hell Elvis Hitler


I Believe in Halloween The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black

Day trip!!

On Saturday we'll be heading out to Vevay IN to set up for a gallery showing. I'm gonna be the featured artist in the "Of Switzerland County" Stores for November...and the showing just happens to overlap with Halloween! How's that for coincidence! I'll have a ton of original art on display as well as Matted & Splatted™ prints available for purchase. You can go here for more info! Unfortunately we won't be there for the opening this time but we will be making plans for a show there in 2011! The reason we can't make the opening is because we'll be knockin' 'em undead at...

ZomBcon!! 

You know. The con out in Seattle that is featuring Chuck Palahniuk, Max Brooks, Malcolm McDowell, Jeffrey Reddick, Ben Templesmith and a couple up and comers named George Romero and Bruce Campbell! 


I'll have more to say about that later but until then I will leave you with this:

...and this: Some of my art should be featured in a National Geographic documentary called The Truth Behind Zombies. It's scheduled to air Oct. 30th at 10 pm est. They asked for a bunch of images but I don't know what made the cut so it will be a surprise for all of us I guess!

Halloween music...week 2

Short 'n sweet.

Bloody Hammer Roky Erickson


Little Demon Screamin' Jay Hawkins


Riboflavin 45 Grave


This House is Haunted Alice Cooper


Nightmare/Dreamtime Motorhead


Bad Moon Rising 16 Horsepower


Teenage Werewolf The Cramps

Halloween music...week 1

Here some songs for Halloween or Amateur Night as I like to call it! Making a Halloween playlist can be pretty easy. Misfits, Rob Zombie, Alice Cooper etc. But I'm not gonna take the safe 'n easy route. I'm gonna turn lay some shit on you that will either leave you wanting more more or turnin' yer Fruit o' the looms into a fudge factory! Muahahahaha!

Jack the Ripper Screamin' Lord Sutch
I've never heard Alice Cooper refer to this underrated performer as an influence but the seeds are here...especially for the mid-70s Alice


Night of the Vampire Entombed
Great cover of a Roky Erickson classic


I Walked With A Zombie Roky Erickson
If you ain't familiar with Roky's work please check him out...because he's just passin' through our reality...


Murderdolls She was a Teenage Zombie
B horror movies, eyeliner, perfect mixture of punk and 80s metal & they like to say fuck...Perfect!


Bela Lugosi's Dead Bauhaus
The perfect goth band


Monster's Holiday Buck Owens
One of the first records I ever owned.


Nosferatu Blue Oyster Cult
Tryin' to decide which BOC song to add is a bitch!


Next week I'll have seven more!

Please don't touch

Song evolution installment! The classic Please Don't Touch originally recorded in 1959. Never heard it you say? You were missin' out but I have remedied that. You're welcome.

Versions to check out: Johnny Kidd & The Pirates, Girlhead, The Downing Street Years & Hastyfishbone

Johnny Kidd & the Pirates


Girlhead (Motorhead & Girlschool)


Stray Cats


Uberwensch


Throwrag


Kidd Kane & the Pirates


The Downing Street Years


Tom White & His Friends


The Meteors


Las Furias


Rachel Stamp


The Housewreckers


Hastyfishbone(?)

Darkwoods Con 1.5

Darkwoods Con 1.5
Lebanon KY
This friggin' weekend!

Survivor's Rupert, The Honky Tonk Man, Tiffany Shepis, Daniel Emery Taylor, Sam Flegal, World of Strange, Ari Lehman, Al Snow and on and on and on!

This is gonna be one helluva weekend!

Walkin' the Dog

I'm gonna try to chronicle the evolution of some of my favorite songs for better or for worse. For some reason I have always been a sucker for a cover song and have tried to collect them as much as possible. Thanks to the internet that is so much easier now! I'm gonna try to keep these in chronological order but that can be difficult. I'm also staying away from most concert recordings because 90% of them suck! The only time I'll break this rule is if the quality is exceptional or the content is rare and/or unusual. And if you have any that I missed send 'em along!

I also recommend looking into some of these more obscure musicians. There's some great music out there just waiting to be rediscovered. I would link to the bands listed but I'm kinda lazy and why should I anyway? I gave you the band and the song. Do some work for yourself for once! I ain't gonna hand you everything on a blood splattered platter , y'know!

Startin' off with the classic Walkin' the Dog written by Rufus Thomas and released in 1963. I find it rather odd that after almost 40 years of being re-interpreted by mostly white singers the song has evolved into a more bluesy composition than the original.

My recommended versions:
The original by Rufus Thomas of course, The Sonics because it just rocks your f*ckin' face off, The Everly Brothers because it was more hip and garage sounding than what I expected, Aerosmith because early Aerosmith = good Aerosmith, The Roosters because those Japanese guys know how to do it, Green Day just so you can hear what they could have sounded like, Joe Deninzon because electric fiddles are awesome, Dizzy Cats to see how the Russians do it and Sweet Jam because...well...just because ;-)

Rufus Thomas


Jackie Shane


Rolling Stones


Georgie Fame & the Blue Flames


PJ Proby


Johnny Rivers


The Dennisons


The Sonics


The Everly Brothers


Davy Graham


Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels


Stevie Ray Vaughan


Randy California & Spirit


The Jam


Roger Daltrey


Aerosmith


The Roosters


Ratt (this EP was my first exposure to the song)


Steve Marriott & the DTs


Chris Wilson


Green Day


Dumpy's Rusty Nuts


Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius


Aerosmith Unplugged


Jörgen Falk and Inge Josephson


Hans Theesink


The Dizzy Cats


Sweet Jam


And if you think this is a lot just wait'll I get to Louie Louie!

Zombie Portraits!!!

Hey gang! We'll be in Newport at Art on the Levee, which is ironically (?) located at Newport on the Levee, tonight and tomorrow night. We are celebrating the Twisted & Talented Halloween Art Exhibit. That ain't the big news. The big news is that I'll be doing zombie caricatures while you wait, shop or drink! you'll get stuff like:

or

or

Stop by after 6 to get your zombie on!!

Also in other news: The Cincinnati Comics Expo was friggin' fabulous! It was a great turn out and thankfully they are doing another next year. 

 We were actually having a better time than we look like we are

Arthur who?

We just got back from Chicago. This time we had time to do some touristy shit...and we have the photos to prove it!

 Indiana Dunes

 I got to pull the finger of a dude named Octave

 Sears Tower...103 stories up!

They call me Sunshine...

Zombies are comin!! re-revisited

Several months ago, shortly after the earthquake in Haiti, I posted a blog that in part gave Haiti credit for the zombie phenomenon and in part made light of conspiracy theorists. You can read it here. A few folks took me to task for it telling me it was too soon to be getting a jolly at the expense of anothers pain and suffering. So in my defense I clarified my intentions here. I made a short list spelling out who I was making fun of in my original post. 


Please make note of entry #7 where I take a poke at authors and screenwriters. I ask "How long before zombie themed screenplays and stories start showing up using the quake as a backdrop if not a cause for the apocalypse? 6 months? A year?" Well ladies and gents we have our answer! 8 months.


In Las Vegas the Rainbow Company Youth Theatre is putting on a play called "The Zombies Walk Among Us". www.mynews3.com says "Written and directed by Brian Kral, the play is set in post-earthquake Haiti. The daughter of an aid worker dreams she has seen her sister walking with the zombies, and sets out on a mysterious adventure to discover the truth about the vodoun culture and zombification." The website uses what looks like an actual earthquake photo as a promo. 


So for the record, if you want to exploit, fictionalize, monetize or make fun at the expense of the suffering of another 8 months is the appropriate amount of time to wait. 


Honestly I don't care what others think and I see nothing wrong with the play. I just wanted to point out that I was pretty accurate in my prediction. If the play is holding auditions now it has probably been in the writing stages for a couple months which puts it firmly in the 6 month period. I'm like a Nostradamus or some shit. Tell your friends...

It ain't always about me...

Cincinnati Comic Book Expo, Cintas Center, Cincinnati OH, Sept 18! Be there!

OK, I got that outta the way I can get to the point which is this: I've noticed that my blog posts have become about where I was last weekend, who I hung out with, where I'm going next weekend and who I'll hang out with. That's all well and good but it leaves my blog lacking any substance or personality. That's about to change! Time permitting I'm going to be sharing some stuff that I find interesting. Stuff like music, art and so on.

Jack Kirby's birthday was on Aug. 28th and to commemorate this I thought I'd share this interview. Keep in mind that this interview took place at about the time the whole Marvel fiasco was coming to a legal ending so the wounds are still pretty fresh for Kirby. The interviewers did a good job of skirting the subject but the animosity is pretty evident in some of Jack's responses to caller's questions.

Note- When I'm asked why I chose a career in art my reply is a very honest "Because that was the only thing I was good at". My wife always rolls her eyes at this, telling me it minimizes what I do and why. In the interview Jack is asked the same question. His answer? "It was what I was good at"!

Chicago, St Louie, I been a lotta places, man!

I've been meaning to get this blog out for a while but have either been too busy or under the weather so here goes:

First of all I want to plug our next show which is the Cincinnati Comic Expo Sept. 18 at the Cintas Center. There will be folks like Josh Medors, David Michael Beck, Mark Kidwell, Mike Maydak, Jeff Preston, Tony Moore and legends like Allen Bellman, Murphy Anderson, Russ Heath and Craig Boldman. And if you don't recognize these names you owe it to yourself to go to the bio page and see exactly how much today's comics industry actually owes to these guys.

A few weeks back we headed up to Chicago for Wizard World's Comic Con. We met a lot of great folks and they really kept me busy! The first commission was from a group of guys that stopped by, one of which was holding a copy of a well known comic book. When I asked if he had the cover artist sign the book he kinda rolled his eyes and showed me the sketch and signature he had paid for. The following ad came from that interaction:

Here's how I feel about the situation: If a fan, or anyone for that matter, is going to pay you for a sketch you should at least give them something that resembles your style. Now if this had been a freebie? I still think one should do more but hey, you get what you pay for, right? But this guy was willing to shell out some bucks and this is what he got. And what are you gonna do, ask the artist to give you your money back for a crappy half-assed sketch? It kinda burns my ass to see someone treat their fans like that.Now that I got that off my chest...

Below are some of the sketches I did while I was there:

One of the more unusual requests, a book full of Strawberry Shortcake getting what she's got coming to her...my method of demise? Being eaten by zombies of course!

Cap was a favorite...this one turned out looking a lot like Tar Man!

Batman!

Zombie Catwoman and her camera shy owner!

Re-sketch of my classic Born To Lose pic

The Force is strong...just not very fresh!

Another Cap!

Oh, and then there were these guys! They didn't buy anything though.

And these last two are collages of sketches I did during some down time.

Zombie JLA...I discovered that a zombie Superman image just doesn't have the impact if you don't show at least his chest too.

And one more Cap for the road!

Lots of people we knew there like Chris Kuchta, Menton J. Matthews III, Mike Maydak, Marc Ballard, Nigel Sade, Mark Kidwell, RD Hall, Mike Holman, Morgan Mead, and...and...crap! I know there were more but I just can't remember. Unfortunately there wasn't much time to hang out but it was a great time...except that the hotel was out of Fat Tire...bastards!

The next weekend we headed to St. Louis for a mini vacation. Visited City Museum and the Arch. Stopped for a bite to eat on a great little street before we left and had this little incident:

Heather shoots a great photo of the street we were on, carriages and everything! Except that just a few short moments later I hear someone call my name...

The carriage driver just happened to be our old friend Alicia!

Heather's Big Brown Beaver...I never get tired of saying that!

Finally! A Fat Tire!

Ruby's first encounter with a horse.

If you've made it this far I shall give you your reward. I hereby present to you...

Justin ZOMBIEber

You're welcome...