Category Archives: PLAY

beastmix02


BM01 was super well received by friends – (that or everyone was just being nice).

Regardless – it was crazy fun to make… so… I made another.

This set was put together largely in November.

track list:

01: introduction
02: all apologies (reboot)
03: sweet disposition
04: until it talks
05: rock n roll train
06: the fear
07: sound of san francisco
08: california dreaming
09: that’s not my name
10: jetstream
11: word up this way

 

download the file

CREDITS:
dedication: Chris “Thunder Gnome” Schiessl
series inspiration: Ken “Beast” Colina
the hard stuff: MixMeister  v. 7.0.9

maskqueeraid


This weekend is HiBearnation (think big circuit party / convention for hairy homos) – part of the weekend is “FurBall” on Sunday. This year’s theme is “Masquerade”.

So – Early Monday Morning I got a wild hair to do my own mask rather than try to find and buy one.

What would follow would be a 48-hour exercise in hyper-fous-gitter-gone.

Early rough prototype fashioned out of paper.

 

Then I realized I really don’t know what the hell I’m doing – so called my friend John who’s a theatrical costume maker along with his partner Lou.

After fumbling trying to explain what I was doing and get advice he finally said “Oh good lord, just come to the shop and let’s figure it out.”

… so we did…. well.. more like they did… I kinda just sat around and played useless art director.

Finally got something that seemed to work.

That evening I took the craft paper template John and Lou was able to create from my crappy mock-up and example pics and scanned it into the computer and created an illustrator file.

Cleaned up the edges and addressed some technicals like straps, fastening points, etc.

**insert STRANGE field trip to downtown leather warehouse in scary part of city, entirely maned by old Vientmanese ladies who didnt’ speak a lot of English…**

Tuesday night then headed to my other friend Randy’s basement leather workshop.

 

finished mask

voila… homemade leather wolf masquerade mask:

finished mask profile

It’s definitely a solid prototype – but I’d want to tweak the template more before attempting another. Suppose I could team up with John and Randy and sell these on Esty … but we all have day-jobs….

Maybe December’s personal project will be to refine the design and make a few more and give to friends.
I’m digging making small runs of things for friends …. in this age of “FaceBook friend” thumb-ups, pokes and other detached bullshit – there’s something nice about personal, exclusive, hand-craft goodies to tell someone “hey… I like you and I’m happy you’re my (real) friend.”

not everything needs to be turned for buck.

 

beastmix01


So my friend Amy called me from one of her long weekly work-roadtrips crying that she was going to go bonkers if she had to listen to the Tom-Tom Club CD that’s been in her car stereo so long it had become “part” of the car.

What would have a 10 minute iTunes playlist assembly and clicking “burn” turned into a weekend-long obsessive project.

I’d downloaded some mixing software for Chad a couple of years ago but never really messed with it.

I used to enjoy mixing my obscure import vinyl remix collection into mix-tapes for friends back in the pre-digital-era… The practice is how I got started in graphic design – In those days using a Tandy computer, a dot-matrix printer, highlighters, xacto knives, stacks of Interview Magazines and a glue stick to make these belabored, love-soaked  j-card inserts.

So for shits and giggles and a way to fill the solitary hours of the evening, I blew the dust off the DJ software and took it for a spin… wow… it’s crazy easy fun now.  ESPECIALLY considering that the software cost a fraction of just ONE of the Technics 1200 direct-drive turntables I used to lust after.packaging pic

cd envelop

No more are the days of getting 30 minutes into a mix, screwing up, … doing what apparently is some sort of signature angry leprechaun dance I do when I’m really pissed (dunno – ask Elise) … and starting all over again.

So it was the perfect self-distraction storm… Nostalgic playlist… I’m turning 40 later this month… Plus there’s this big musclebear fella I chat with a lot who just had a birthday and wanted to send him something hand-crafted…. so the whole thing turned into a “project”.

This is PRECISELY the kinda crap my coach told me is the lifeline for creative dorks.. “PLAY”… i.e. “do what you *do* for fun for a change… not just for work.”

Best…. Therapy….. yet.

I created a short-run of these and distributed them to my closest friends…

Just like the old days….. Except:

The computer did all the hard stuff…
My age since the last one has increased by a factor of X2…

… and there was  no lepracauhn dancing…

 

download the file

 

DUE CREDIT:
inception / catalyst : Amy Gill
series inspiration: Ken “Beast” Colina
the hard stuff: MixMeister
non-linear mixing tutorial: Dustin Lee (DJcubster)
illustration: Schreddedwolf

 

knight at the improv

The simplest stuff will tickle the shit out of me.

Dear Kalzabar knows it’s not the big spooky sword we found in dad’s basement that could send me to the hospital… it’s the pulled groin muscle from giggling so hard from his improvised helmet.

… … . . . you win this round KZ.

*presses red button on watch, summons helicopter with ladder, jumps on, leaves*