New Painting

Here’s a painting I recently finished. It was kind of an exercise in simplicity for me. My mind always has so much going on that my painting can get…mmm…complicated. Prints of my new pieces will be available on my website in a few weeks.

Happy Halloween

Suspended Animation

O.k., why not. I’m doing another Mike Patton project blog post for my Halloween week. This time it’s Fantomas off the album Suspended Animation. This is also one of my favorite albums. When I play it for people, I’m always surprised when they like it. Usually the albums I like that are on the unconventional side, I can’t get people to listen to. The way they blend cartoon sound-bytes together with their music is amazing. If you know the album, you will be amazed with this performance, because it is really close to the studio version.

I thought it would be good to post something from Trevor Dunn’s website in the Q and A section regarding Fantomas:

YOUR QUESTION:
Name: jake 
Comments: trevor, your work with mr.bungle is kickass and that first album has some of my all time favorite bass lines but what the @#$% is up with fantomas’ first album? i trusted you and mike patton and dave lombardo (of whom i am a huge fan) but i bought that album and felt genuine rage towards you, i still idolize every note you play but come on man that is just so stupid i cant take it, its #*%^$& noise man, and i never use that term to describe music

MY ANSWER:
Believe it or not, every single note on that Fantomas album, and in fact, all Fantomas albums is pre-determined and rehearsed. The wood-shedding for that first one was some of the most rigorous and intense rehearsing I have ever gone through in my life. I’m glad that you felt rage because that a good feeling to have. But I think you should have more of an open mind towards music and, to be honest, towards noise which is a beautiful thing in and of itself. I can understand that you don’t get it, or that it’s out of your scope of normal or comprehensible, but you should watch your mouth when you call something stupid when it actually took a lot of blood, sweat and tears to produce. You’re entitled to your opinion and I don’t expect you to like everything that I do but that record is no less important or artistic than anything else I have ever done.

Air Conditioned Nightmare

Anyone that knows me well, knows I’m a big Mike Patton fan. As my second Halloween post, one of his projects seemed appropriate. I was going to post Pink Cigarette by Mr. Bungle, because I love that song. But the video is just too creepy. I couldn’t do it. So instead, I’m posting a live performance of Air Conditioned Nightmare from the album California. This album is one of my all-time favorites. It captures the sunny-fresh California dream, that can have a sinister/ugly core. The way they blend happy Beach Boys sorts of moments with chaos and despair is amazing. I’m not sure if I like that because I’m bipolar or something, sheesh, I probably better get some help on that.

Travis Louie

In celebration of Halloween, this week I thought it would be fun to post blog entries in the spirit of the holiday. Travis Louie’s art captures this for me. His site is certainly worth checking out if you find this illustration amusing. Most of the characters have some sort of short description of them, and a lot of the descriptions are pretty mundane. Which has the effect of making it feel as if they could have existed. It’s great stuff.

Tom part 4

Tom part 3

Tom part 2

Tom Wegener

I really admire Tom Wegener for thinking outside of the box. The surfing community, in my mind has been stuck in a rut for a long time. If you weren’t a shortboarder, you were heckled, ridiculed, or whatever. Not everybody did this, but it was always there. This coming from a community that has veneer of being cutting edge and experimental, but really is very conservative. This has always bugged me. I have always loved to hop on any board I could get my hands on and give it a try. I surf for fun and not for ego, and therefore have had freedom to experiment. I spent most of my early years on bodyboards, skimboards, and longboards. It was great because I was always surfing waves that most people didn’t want, and have had a blast. Now I have thrown shortboarding into the repertoire as well and love it. I still return to the others on a regular basis. I sponged last night and had so much fun. The bottom line for me is that surfing is fun, good exercise, spiritually uplifting, and a place to meet other people. I am posting all four parts of Tom Wegener speaking at Patagonia in Cardiff, because I really enjoy his impact on surfing. So I hope you do to.

New Piece

Here’s a new piece I recently finished for an upcoming show on Kauai in November. More to come on that, stay tuned.