Thursday, March 19, 2009
And More Inks
A page in the works from the new book. Learned a lot from the last project, and decided to keep everything pretty clear, and not go to crazy with any cross-hatching or embellishing. From here, these will be scanned in, and spruced up a bit in PS and letter bubbles added in Illustrator.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
Thursday, March 5, 2009
The Ransom Note
With all of the economic talk happening, and the financial system suposedley spinning out of control, it's been tough to get a real grasp on things. What Alex Bloomberg and Adam Davidson have been doing with This American Life has really helped put it into focus.
Since the main issue here is asset deflation tied in closely to the housing bubble, we have all of these banks that are watching themselves become insolvent (unable to actually pay all of their depositers back)."The Ransom Note" which was sent from one Deutsche Bank executive to another, pretty much tells it like it is. Read for your self:
"One main stumbling block to the purchasing of troubled assets has been pricing, specifically how does the government price a diverse set of assets in a way that does not put the taxpayer on the hook.
"Ultimately, the taxpayer will pay one way or another, either through greatly diminished job prospects and/or significantly higher taxes down the line to pay for the massive debt issuance required to fund current and prospective fiscal spending initiatives."
Take from that what you will, but it doesn't spell out a grand picture for us. I don't think he's wrong in a way. You could fire all of those bankers tomorrow with no back pay, and this gigantic bill would still have to be paid....
Since the main issue here is asset deflation tied in closely to the housing bubble, we have all of these banks that are watching themselves become insolvent (unable to actually pay all of their depositers back)."The Ransom Note" which was sent from one Deutsche Bank executive to another, pretty much tells it like it is. Read for your self:
"One main stumbling block to the purchasing of troubled assets has been pricing, specifically how does the government price a diverse set of assets in a way that does not put the taxpayer on the hook.
"Ultimately, the taxpayer will pay one way or another, either through greatly diminished job prospects and/or significantly higher taxes down the line to pay for the massive debt issuance required to fund current and prospective fiscal spending initiatives."
Take from that what you will, but it doesn't spell out a grand picture for us. I don't think he's wrong in a way. You could fire all of those bankers tomorrow with no back pay, and this gigantic bill would still have to be paid....
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
The Donut Man Speaks!
The man I speak of is Jim Locke, official roadie of seminal LA Punk legends The Dickies. When guitarist Stan Lee suggested that a character from the 'Donut Man' video be modeled after their dear friend Jim, I had never met the man personally. He did recently get in touch with me and answered a few questions I had:
How did you become acquainted with the band:
I first met Stan about 12 years ago when I was visiting L.A. from Ohio. My brother lived next door to a place where Stan occasionally hung out and I'd go in there to get a cup of coffee. We were just shooting the breeze when I asked him what he did. When he told me I just said I'd never heard of the Dickies but since I played guitar, too, I said "let's jam." Well, that didn't work so we went to the driving range and hit some golf balls. That worked.
After a move to Los Angeles. I called up Stan when I got to town and we met for coffee, had a few laughs, and started hanging around in the same crowd. Since I had a truck and lots of time he asked if I could take the equipment to a gig. Holy Shit! I had no idea they were that good! The Dickies are the tightest, funniest, calmest, and very much revered punk band going.
Any memorable moments on the road?
Oh there are a ton of stories, legends, and moments. It was my pleasure to go out on the road with the Dickies on a couple of trips. I went with them on their first ever visit to Japan, coast-to-coast opening for Offspring, from one end of California to the other and then some. One of the trips was a regional stint on the Warped Tour and the bands included the Donnas (before they went national), NoFX, and headliners Green Day. That's a pretty cool tour to be around and there are very few egos, just a bunch of hard-working guys making music. In fact, the production office gives everyone meal tickets for the common cafeteria tent. The first time we went in there I was impressed and amazed at the respect the Green Day guys gave Stan and Leonard! (Please forgive me for no stories of wild parties or orgies but they strictly adhere to a 9pm curfew when they don't play.)
Do you still run into Stan or Leonard, if so, how?
Leonard and I talk on the phone about once every six months and threaten to get together, but Stan and I still hang out every couple of weeks or so. Usually, there's food involved.
One more thing, James: I'm happy to report Stan has moved out of the garage!
How did you become acquainted with the band:
I first met Stan about 12 years ago when I was visiting L.A. from Ohio. My brother lived next door to a place where Stan occasionally hung out and I'd go in there to get a cup of coffee. We were just shooting the breeze when I asked him what he did. When he told me I just said I'd never heard of the Dickies but since I played guitar, too, I said "let's jam." Well, that didn't work so we went to the driving range and hit some golf balls. That worked.
After a move to Los Angeles. I called up Stan when I got to town and we met for coffee, had a few laughs, and started hanging around in the same crowd. Since I had a truck and lots of time he asked if I could take the equipment to a gig. Holy Shit! I had no idea they were that good! The Dickies are the tightest, funniest, calmest, and very much revered punk band going.
Any memorable moments on the road?
Oh there are a ton of stories, legends, and moments. It was my pleasure to go out on the road with the Dickies on a couple of trips. I went with them on their first ever visit to Japan, coast-to-coast opening for Offspring, from one end of California to the other and then some. One of the trips was a regional stint on the Warped Tour and the bands included the Donnas (before they went national), NoFX, and headliners Green Day. That's a pretty cool tour to be around and there are very few egos, just a bunch of hard-working guys making music. In fact, the production office gives everyone meal tickets for the common cafeteria tent. The first time we went in there I was impressed and amazed at the respect the Green Day guys gave Stan and Leonard! (Please forgive me for no stories of wild parties or orgies but they strictly adhere to a 9pm curfew when they don't play.)
Do you still run into Stan or Leonard, if so, how?
Leonard and I talk on the phone about once every six months and threaten to get together, but Stan and I still hang out every couple of weeks or so. Usually, there's food involved.
One more thing, James: I'm happy to report Stan has moved out of the garage!
Monday, March 2, 2009
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