Big sap.

Uh oh, Alex is getting all sentimental about everything again.

FR IE ND S!




Material possessions!


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The Duchess & The Duke - She's the Duchess, He's the Duke

Download: Mediafire
Tags: indie, folk pop, acoustic

This is the first album of the folky Rolling Stonesy duo, The Duchess & The Duke. I hosted their second album a couple years ago and I don't know why because I've always liked this one so much more.
I listened to this a few summers ago when I was getting to know the lazier side of my hometown. It works just as well, if not better for springtime. It's a really cute, fairly short album that's great for feeling antsy on a nice day or thinking about someone who isn't around or when a friend is cutting your hair outside.

Water at yr knees.

I was hoping I could squeeze in one more post before March but ah, well. Look what I did yesterday!

Sketching at the New York Public Library. Admittedly, it was my first time there (horrible New Yorker). Holy God, that place is so extravagantly beautiful. That gold cherub-encrusted cloud triptych on the ceiling of the Reading Room? Jeez.

That's it for now!

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Selections from the Diner House Family Bands

Download: Bandcamp
Tags: acoustic, lo-fi, punx, folk, indie, buncha stuff

Look! My band is on a comp! It's a collection of songs from the various musical projects by the members of Diner House. There's a lot of diversity on the album but there are some similar approaches in aesthetics and production that indicate that all these people live together. And y'know, that's pretty cool.
I feel a lot of warmth when I listen through the whole thing because even though I don't live there, I've spent enough nights on their couch to feel like I kinda do.

Beet Summer.

So this blurry summer of poor time management and ice cream binging has come to a close. Whether or not my time was utilized properly is arguable, but these past couple of months should be valued just as much as any other period of our lives, right?

I saw what I believed to be a rough-legged hawk while biking on Assateague Island in Maryland. Here are a few of the watercolors I made in its honor.

Though, I was mostly working on commission-type things this summer, I found the time to do a good amount of collaborating with new and old friends. It's really comforting to have a means of making visual art more of a social experience seeing as it's often associated with introversion and solitude. The more people I worked with, the more I learned how influenced I am by the contributions of whoever I'm working with. Our images would weave together with the varied fluidity of a spoken conversation. Here's a couple I have on hand.

A delirious effort between Shari Ross with a big fat marker and myself with the leftover tomato-beet juice from dinner.

Busy drawings made during busy conversation with Alex Krales.

Conceived during Hurricane Irene.

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Abandon Ship! - Abandon Ship!

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?zq3bihsybaeynz5
Tags: folk punk

So the recordings aren't the greatest and there isn't even cover art, but I listened to this album a bunch this summer. I'd recommend it to anyone who digs the whole jug-punk type scene going on around the West Coast. I feel pretty comfortable saying that this is some (charmingly) sloppy medium between Blackbird Raum and Mallory. Listen to it while you can still wear shorts and ride your bike!

All green and hazy.

Oh, hello. Long time no see. Sorry I've let the place get a little dusty. It's been quite a struggle trying to find a balance between staying on top of the commissions I've got on my plate and indulging in the seductive swells of summer. With that said, my time on the computer has been minimal. But there's benefits to be found in that, right?

Anywho, here's a few favorites from the sketchbook over the past handful of weeks. I'll hopefully be back with something a bit more substantial.

One of a few little paintings I did during a particularly delirious all-nighter during finals week.

Bein' a mopey little illustrator.

A big celebrity.

An embellished European Rhinoceros Beetle.

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Why Are We Building Such a Big Ship? - No Blood No Blooms

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?ouoo50q5gv8du9p
Tags: punk brass, gospel, new orleans jazz

So here's something I've been blasting lately. A much more polished, nicely produced release in comparison to their self-titled. Gritty punk vocals exchanged for pretty and engaging instrumentation. Was it favorable? You be the judge!

"What's the point if there is no point?"

The current art piece featured in Madison Square Park is real cool. It's this giant, elongated stark white head that's probably about three or four stories tall. It has such a weird, ominous presence and it really makes you stop and question if it's actually existing in the space that it's standing in. If you find yourself at the bottom of Midtown, go check it out! It's way neat.

Inspired by a shelf of knickknacks in a friend's house.

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What We Need to Hear on the Subway

There really isn’t much point in

overthinking how you feel about something

because at the end of the day,

the thoughts that made the most sense to you

were probably the first ones you had.

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The Slick Skillet Serenaders - My Four Reasons

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?xctbdd0g3788nll
Website: http://www.reverbnation.com/theslickskilletserenaders
Tags: ragtime, blues, jazz

If you're into the Inkwell Rhythm Makers, Sour Mash Hug Bang, Crow Quill Nite Owls or any of the other really cool ragtime revival bands the Northwest keeps churning out, this is for you.

Speaking of the Crow Quill Nite Owls, who can hook me up? Anybody?

Here's to Kerouac.

A washed out doodle of my Equinox.

I'm learning a lot about the beauty of ambiguity when it comes to storytelling. I very often find myself feeling very envious after reading/hearing a brief excerpt of a period in someone else's life that they feel is worth telling. I think to myself, "Damn, that sure must have been something". And maybe I'm feeling so enthralled in their life story because they're leaving so many loose ends to be tied and gaps to be filled. It's really up to my imagination to determine how moving and tear-jerkingly grand the parts that they didn't touch upon were.

So maybe when you're feeling doubtful of whether or not the things you've seen and heard are worth retelling, you can just remember that it's really not up to you to find beauty in them. But you can craft what you're saying to let the viewer find their voice in your own words.

Or something along those lines...

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Noel(le) Longhaul - This Is My Name Now

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?uzc6r5nsu3badtr
Tags: folk, singer-songwriter, ambient

An example of what I believe to be gorgeous storytelling. Noel's become an acquaintance of mine who always excites me when they update me on the various things they've been working on. They used to be in Mallory back when they were still together, so that may peak some of y'all's interest.

Sketchbook menagerie

Ink-soaked thread pressings

Charcoal & watercolor

Ink-soaked thread pressings & pen

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How to Write a Song

Occasionally,
I’ll look in the mirror and
wonder how I would look in that red shirt.
So I take off what I was
already wearing,
put on that red shirt,
stand in front of the mirror
and find out what I look like
when I wear that red shirt.

But other times
I just take all my clothes off
and stand in front of the mirror
completely naked
and say to myself
Hey,
that’s what I look like.

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Dandelion Junk Queens - No Amps No Masters

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?862pj3t5jlcc8i8
Tags: punk, junk, folk, jug

"Dandelion Junk Queens is not a Jug Band, nor are we pirates, nor Gypsies/Roma. Dandelion Junk Queens is a Junk Band."

I know I'm a little behind with this one, but I just got my hands on No Amps No Masters this winter and I figure there may be some fans out there who may still be looking for it. So here's Dandelion Junk Queens' latest album (And last too, I think. Sad!)

This release ensures that gang vocals, animosity towards adults and hilarious percussion remain a constant in this band's discography.

Cultures? Children? Waves?

Listen up!

Ego in pencil.

Concept doodle for a story I'm workin' on.


Lots of stuff is going on. Spikedriver Arts Collective is going to host galleries in Biddeford, ME and Somerville, MA some time in the Spring, so there'll be neat things of all shapes and sizes there.
There's other stuff going on, but none of it will get done now because I just discovered that there's three seasons of Courage the Cowardly Dog hosted on Cartoon Network's website.

"See you next week! Stay angry!"

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Tik Tok - Lo-Tek Rides Again

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?2vlljypfym1zu2i
Tags: ragtime, klezmer, jazz

"Neo-Futurist Ragtime and Toyota Klezmer played by human beings working for robots."

Saw 'em play at the Jalopy Theater in Red Hook, Brooklyn. God damn, these guys sure do get into it. If you're ever presented the opportunity to catch a live set from Tik Tok, don't pass it up!

"To you guys toasting to me!"

Well, I'm back from tour and after being in a bunch of inspiring places, meeting all kinds of incredible people, feeling all sorts of heavy feelings and besting an intense array of snow storms, I can certainly say it was a good, significant experience.
Now I have a weekend before school and I have to try my best to lessen this winter madness before I hit my tidal wave of assignments. With that said, here's some stuff!

Winter Parrots
Done with ink & watercolor around the Boston area

Done with ink! I had a crazy idea that I should draw people as I see them as opposed to what they look like to the world. Everyone can agree on how reality appears. Why should I recreate it?

An acrylic painting that filled in as an affordable Christmas gift.

More stuff soon!

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Esquivel! - Actual

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?hgbgwqe77e4mvgi
Tags: lounge, easy listening, space-age pop

This is great music for working like mad on a project in a basement.
(I'd encourage you to listen to this on nice speakers or headphones. Something to take advantage of the experimental stereophonic goodness!)

"Esquivel is dead. But that's okay because he's the king of space-age pop and all kings need to die." - Mike Ditrio

Beans taste fine.

"To his horror, when Dendall woke up, he was in pieces."

Here's a hasty scan of the first page I illustrated for Dendall's Story, a children's story by Amelia Horner about a boy whose body parts abandon him because he doesn't eat properly. So Dendall (just a head) goes on a journey to learn about the wonders of eating well.
I have a lot more pages to finish and I need to edit all of them, but yeah, here's another thing I'm working on. Fun!

I'm waist deep in final projects right now, so I don't really have much time for anything. But after the next week or so, I should have all sorts of neat things to show. Hang tight!

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Shel Silverstein - Inside Folk Songs

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?c12bpc18sdsvbs0
Tags: folk, blues, poetry

Welcome to the soundtrack of my last month. This album is required for every young, embittered New Yorker that likes to think they don't blend into the crowd of ironic mustaches and plaid on the L train.

(Not to alienate everyone else, though! Uncle Shelby makes sounds everyone can enjoy!)

World in a moment.

Sorry for the abundance of inactivity. My camera got a little busted and the things I've been working on lately wouldn't be very well accommodated by a scanner. I'll get more new things up soon!

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Matador - The Taking

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?fgp6joz4f3aimre
Tags: acoustic, punk, indie-folk

Imagine if Jeff Mangum went to college in Santa Cruz. Or at least, that's what I get from it.

Paths to Abstraction

While in Sydney, I went to an awesome exhibit at the Art Gallery of New South Wales that chronicled the history and development of abstraction in Modern art around the turn of the 20th century. It put me on a kick of distorted doodles for a week or so. Here's a few.

Gah, I kind of liberally use the phrase" swamped" when it comes to the amount of work I'm doing, but this time, I mean it! I'm working on a children's book, doing a bunch for school, hunting down art modeling jobs and collaborating/organizing in an inspiring art collective. It's all so time-consuming but invigorating! I think a lot of cool work will come from it, so maybe I'll have some things to put up here. I can't feed off of my summer sketchbook forever, afterall.

Oh, and Wood Spider's booking their winter tour too. Who knows cool spaces above Massachussetts in New England?!

---------------------------------

Hail Seizures - For the Ruin

Download: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=GK0C385F
Tags: folk punk, punk

Uploaded per request. New Hail Seizures! Be excited!

Excerpts of summer.

Some potted plants in the studio of Rumple Farm in Petaluma, CA.

A morning watercolor in East LA.

Birthed on a plane over the mighty Pacific.

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Pale Robin - Birth Rights Versus

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?226rqm62i212eco
Tags: anarcho-folk, acoustic punk

A new project featuring Mars and CPN of Blackbird Raum fame. Give it a listen.

Back on Greed Island.

That's right. I've returned from Down Under and my body's all kinds of messed up from all of the irregular sleep, reckless indulgences and extensive, unnatural travel I've put it through. But now I'm solidifying my status as "god damned hipster" by moving into Bushwick and I feel compelled to dust off the ol' blog from a summer of neglect.

I've got lots of stuff to put up! But scanning at FIT is far more of a hassle then it should be, so here's a taste of things to come...

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Coaltown Noir - Ash & Oil

Download: http://www.archive.org/details/CoaltownNoir-AshAndOilEp
Tags: folk, early jazz, punk, blues

Wood Spider met some fine, fine people in Coaltown Noir and may be working with them in the near future. They're passionate enough about their music to give it out for free, so the least you can do is download and enjoy it!

Bide.

The Lovers

Bide may have been a terrible move in Pokemon, but it's a good thing to do while I finish up my work.
More on its way.

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Mallory - Strange Homes

Download - http://malloryband.org/mallory_strange_homes.zip
Last.fm tags - folk, folk punk, punk

Oh, man. Oh, man. New album.
That there's a direct download link from the band's website. The first comment on their Last.fm page is "folk punk at its lyrical finest". I feel like there's not much more I can contribute to that description.
(Their first album is on their website, too.)

Also Mallory is comprised of wonderfully nice people. And nice people make good music. That's the rule, right?