ZAPPA IN SKIVVIES

Frank Zappa would have turned 80 last month. Instead, Atropos got in an early snip.

I designed this poster once. Then I got something poster folks always want but rarely get…time and a little budget. While waiting for the print queue, I worked with Sara Deck to get it closer to perfect. The memory of Zappa demands nothing less.

Double sided on some beautifully dark Neenah Epic Black Eggshell hundo pound paper printed by DL. Shipping at the end of January when Mondo and myself get our copies. If you bought yours from Mondo, I’m signing those too. First person to get a signature on theirs from Sara gets a piece of art from me. Probably something obvious for “The Yellow Shark”.

KING OF CARTOONS IS NOT TAKING YOUR SHIT

 I saw the Dirtbombs put on a fucking show at Emo’s. My phantasmagoric flickers of recall involve a lot of Ko Melina tornado-ing the shit out of the stage.  I tend to watch the bass player the most at shows which makes my employ by the Stripes more ironic.  Bassists are either an Entwistle steady vision or a Burton blister of energy.  Ko somehow seemed like both. Blackwell threw drums from both kits towards a corner at the end. They stacked so perfectly, it felt like watching the tape in reverse but live, if that makes sense. He kept the audience tense for a jenga that never seemed to come.  My primary memory though is Mick Collins standing like a tower of cool in front of the low rumble of their Bauhaus dipped cover of “Kung Fu”. 

 Not long after, I attended a poster show in OKC and witnessed an unbelievable display of printing wizardry from Andy Diesel.  He printed white ink on black paper so opaque that you couldn’t tell it was white ink.  I realize that might read weird to the uninitiated. You have to be familiar with how disappointing 1 or 2 hits of white ink tends to look landing on dark paper.  It often greys it out a touch. How many hits did Andy take to get that opaque coverage? One. The secret was throwing in an ungodly brick of GID powder. It imbued a truly mesmerizing glow once you hit the lights.

I asked for the same fire on my upcoming Dirtbombs poster for a Berlin gig. I wanted my poster to share the same incandescence I presumed would come off that stage after Mick and Co. nuked it.

CHECK OUT THAT OLD 90’S THEREMIN DOCUMENTARY

Made for sale at shows that didn’t have individual posters from the Stripes grand 2004 tour of the European continent.

The siblings White offered a mini-theremin at shows during this tour. I’m sure I had Beach Boys on the brain from that fact. It is the city of Detroit vibrating.

Will rap about Vault 46 stuff later, otherwise, I got my copy in and it looks rad.  TMR folks are kicking up a goddamn racket.