She Bangs The Drum

Top Reasons You Should Buy The CD Box Set The Brit Box

I have had the pleasure of listening to the 78 tracks in this The Brit Box over the past few days. I have listened to them in my kitchen, in the office, in my car, on my Iprobe as I have waited for the school bus and taken nightly walks up Elmwood Ave (got to keep that heart a beatin') and it is very good for you all so you should buy it. Go ahead.

• Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space (Spiritulized)-- I don't know much about Mr. Jason Pierce, but I like what I've heard so far. Give me more! Space!
  
  
• Wide Open Space (Mansun)-- another good space song.... More space!!
  
  
• Sleep Well Tonight (Gene)-- This was a CMJ sampler song when it came out and it's a great mix of Smiths meet Queen.
  
  
• Both 'Alrights'- (Supergrass & Cast)- 2 songs, same name, 2 great pop songs. Alrightee, then.
  
  
• Lucky Man (Verve)-- classic.
  
  
• Pearl (Chapterhouse)- rich, droney rock.
  
  
• Duel (Swervedriver), Grey Cell Green (Ned's Atomic Dustbin), April Skies (JAMC)-- rockin' again!!
  
  
• Primitive Painters (Felt)- I never heard this before, a Creation label band.
  
  
• Only Shallow (My Bloody Valentine)-- this could be my new favorite band, for real!
  Probably one of the best tracks on thebox set.
  
  
• I Want To Hold You (Catherine Wheel)- - I did a poster for these guys when they played at someplace in Buffalo back in the '90s, like the Scrapyard (I think).
  
  
• Metal Mickey (Suede) !!!
  
  
• Brimful of Asha (Cornership)- everybody needs a bosom for a pillow....
  
  
• The extensive liner notes and photos, a nice page layout and flashing lights built into the box graphics.
  
  
• 78 total songs.
  
  
• And the #1 reason.... The Madchester set: She Bangs The Drum (Stone Roses) - The Only One I Know (Charlatans UK) - Step On (Happy Mondays) - Loaded (Primal Scream) - This is How It Feels (Inspiral Carpets)- all in a row... nuff said.
  

Moon Boots

This is a song about the innocent that died at the hands of a desperate man.
All Day Long- New Order

So I rediscovered the joy of the mix tape (though it is really a CD burned on my Sony CD burner).

I love to pull a bunch of records off the shelf and put them together in a haphazard mish mash- which hopefully sounds good in the end. I have been trying to stick to records only- for now- and I have come up with 2 pretty good ones. After I am done, I try not to judge the mix too much, after all, it is a live to burn mix with hiccups and all. And some of the records are scratched and some skip and, since my turntables are old, sometimes the pitch veers wildly out of control (Oscillate Wildly, as us Smiths fans might say...).

Then when it is all done and I start to make copies for my friends (For Promotional Use Only), I always make a really cool, graphic designed cover. That is a lot of fun, I try to make them amusing or visually stimulating, run them off on the laser printer, cut them, insert them and BAM! you have the new mix tape-- on CD.

The first one was a FUNK one that had some Rick James, James Brown and Sharon Jones on it (man, I luv her), The second, from the other night, was an eighties NEW WAVE and, what at the time was called, ALTERNATIVE MUSIC. This has some great Style Council, Smiths, Orange Juice, Alphaville and more. I don't care if you like all the tunes (j. sort of gave me a look when I told her 'Rio" by Duran (2x) was on it), there is something for everyone on it- I like it myself.

BONUS BEATS- Sabres home opener tonight! Hockey is back! Rivet is the captain! Goals will be scored!!

Flying High in The Brooklyn Sky

I work in the electronics department of a fine local department store. My days are filled with "May I help you sir?" and the ever-popular "Thank you and have a nice day." I love my job. The hours fit my rock-n-roll lifestyle, the money is decent and I can share my vast knowledge of music with the general public, whether they deserve it or not.
excerpt from "MUZAK: Delightful Sounds or a New Voice of a Generation?" Strick's Corner

Slack issue #14- The Cartoon Issue" Dec. 1994
(published 11.23.94)

Today I'm standing on my corner listening to the Mission of Burma instrumental track "All World Cowboy Romance." It's a warm Fall day, the leaves are turning colors, the sun is shining and the breeze is light. I have on my I-probe music player and I am waiting for my daughter's bus. The drums rush over and under like water and I can really concentrate on the ebbs and flow of the the song since I am just standing there... Man, it doesn't get any better that this for a Wednesday afternoon. How often do you just get to stand there? The bus can be a little late and I won't mind today.

When the bus arrives and the kids get home the 1st thing they want to do is watch TV.... man, did I watch a lot of TV when I was a kid....

Slack numero 14, the issue devoted to comics and cartoons is a sensational mag with a crappy cover. Though one of the bullet points on the cover promotes:

• Typos (sorry...)

That text right over the Duck Dogers cover photo is painfully wrong. Though maybe I did that on purpose-- bad design for good reasons was creeping into my mind at the time. The thing is, the rest of the issues has some great, tight layout and the 'cartoons' theme was much appreciated by the staff. Articles include Cartoon Characters Posing As Real People (Michael Jackson, Ollie North, Rush Limbaugh, the Royal Family and Jesse Helms- hello, again 1994), Raisin Blowme's Welcome To My My Cartoon Life, Homer Simpson, My Hero by Dave Koch and this list of Cartoon and Comics Top Slackers:

• Bugs Bunny
• Road Runner
• Fred Flinstone and Barney Rubble
• George Jetson
• Pink Panther
• Snoopy
• Dagwood
• Beetle Baily
• Shaggy
• Jughead
• Daffy Duck
• Zonker
• Andy Capp
• Calvin (of "& Hobbs")
• Wimpy
• Ren and Stimpy
• Beavis and Butthead
• Homer J. Simpson

True slackers, all of them... it makes you start to realize all the Warner Brothers stars were some serious slackers! Some advertisements of note in this issues #14 include ads for Yeast West Bakery, a coming soon Concrete Cafe (it opened in Dec. 94), and the only Slack ad I have ever censored: the Das Boot condom man ad. I covered the lube tip of condom man's condom head and Bob at Das Boot was mad at me. Andre and I discussed it ... and well, we were all worried that it would get us in some sort of trouble or the scant few other advertisers wouldn't like it.. or the shops and bars would pull them from the shleves (and from the top of cigarette machines)... Oh, I don't know!?!?! What the hell? it all seems so stupid now, but this act enabled Das Boot to run that OJ ad without us even saying 'boo' later on down the road....

Download PDF here:
Slack Magazine n. 14, the Cartoon Issue (6.2 mg)

Don't forget these issues already up (6 more to go)!:
Slack Magazine n. 18, The Two-Year Anniversary! issue
Slack Magazine n. 13, The Food & Beverage Issue
Slack Magazine n. 12, The One-Year Anniversary Issue
Slack Magazine n. 11, The True Crime Issue
Slack Magazine n. 10, Summer Fun Issue
Slack Magazine n. 9, The Dead Rock Stars Issue
Slack Magazine n. 8, The Beer Issue
Slack Magazine n. 7, Slack Goes to The Movies Issue
Slack Magazine n. 6, The Buffalo Issue
Slack Magazine n.5, The Slack TV Issue
Slack Magazine n. 4, SEX in the '90s Issue
Slack Magazine n. 3, The Politico Issue
Slack Magazine n. 2, The Travel Issue
Slack Magazine n. 1, The Debut Issue

Check Your Head

hang 'em if you got 'em!

In an effort to tidy up the stacks and piles of graphic melee in my office, I decided to throw a few posters up over my desk area. Off the pile, on the wall... spruce up my corner a bit.

So first I put up some of the Strummerville posters... well, then I had to make sure they were all up there. Then I had an Americanarama poster, the horizontal flag one, so I put that up. Well then, I thought, maybe the rest of the Americanarama posters had to go up as well-- except the 1st one, not so hot... and I never really cared too much for the last one, the brown horizontal one with the Wright Brothers Kitty Hawk Flight on it. It was some Wilbur and Orville anniversary year, don't ask me.... toss in a few Deja Blu posters and we got something here.

They look better on the wall than in the pile.

Overall poster thoughts....

• Vertical posters are better that horizontal posters
• Lots of red, red rocks better than green (hey, they are rock posters)
• Lots of stars (hey, I said they were rock posters!), more stars ! ! !
  
• Even 72 dpi photos pilfered off the web work sometimes- a little distortion, some photoshop filters, make 'em bitmap and BAM! you got your self a poster graphic.
• James Brown is still dead
• Makin' rock posters is one of my favorite things to do... it's never paid really well, but it's fun!

BONUS BEATS- Good Lookin' Out Weekend event 4 ya-- My buddy Edreys brings The Art of Hip Hop 3 Friday at the AKAG! Gotta see ya there! Break dancing, beat mixing, hip hoppin' and all that good stuff- click here for more!

BONUS BEATS (part two)- Edreys video clip old skool style

Hole in The Bucket

When Buffalo's Ani Difranco sings "I'm gonna take the money I made and go away" (playing the part of the escaping stripper) on "Letter to a John," I feel sad. I'm gonna miss her and I feel as I'm to blame for her sadness. But when she returns as the ghost lover from my past asking if I'd meet her for coffee (on "The Diner"); I don't return her phone call and I don't meet her out. I am ashamed.
-- review of Ani Difranco's Out of Range CD

Slack issue #13- The Food & Beverage Issue*
Oct. 1994 (published 10.11.94)
* Not to be confused with the beer issue

I just burned my new vinyl copy of 100 Days 100 Nights by Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings to CD and it made me remember why I like music so much. To drop the needle on the fresh vinyl- it just sinks in and warms the room. The soulful sounds of Sharon Jones and her great band should really be heard on a record. They make music not meant for the digital age, but alas, here we are, eh?

I thought I best get back into this massive unearthing of the past and try and finish getting the rest of the Slacks up before the year's out. Not that I don't have enough other things to do. There is something therapeutic to look back on 1994 for some reason.

The Slack had surpassed a surprising full year at this point with 12 issues, could we really be on to something, we thought?... Tight graphics, Photoshop trickery on the cover and some text in french-- this issue has it all, baby! The F&B issue has a lot of great pieces including Eric Morse's The Slack Cookbook Recipes which include:

• Minimal-Muss Spaghetti
• Macaroni and Cheese
• Tuna Salad
• Grilled Cheese and Stuff
• Skillet Lasagna
• layered Taco Dip (advanced slackers only)

There is some good record reviews (note my pen on Out of Range, which I still think is the best Sunny D franco LP, evah), a great Bitter Boy ("Well Mr. and Mrs. Demographic- Thanks a lot! Your taste sucks!!"), Strick's theory about "altered consciousness," and an article on why author Toni Billoni wants to live at Tops. Editor's Note: I bet he's a Wegman's convert these days. Anne Rice as Slacker of The Month- you can't lose.

Ah, good old 1994 when Liz Phair, Hey Seus and The Mary Chain and Dino Jr. taught us all a little bit about slack. As DJ Scotty says in his review of Bakesale by Sebadoh: No happy or depressing idealism here, just the truth.

Download PDF here: Slack Magazine n. 13, the Food & Beverage Issue (3.9 mg)

Don't forget these issues already up (7 more to go)!:
Slack Magazine n. 18, The Two-Year Anniversary! issue
Slack no. 12, The One-Year Anniversary Issue
Slack Magazine n. 11, The True Crime Issue
Slack Magazine n. 10, Summer Fun Issue
Slack Magazine n. 9, The Dead Rock Stars Issue
Slack Magazine n. 8, The Beer Issue
Slack Magazine n. 7, Slack Goes to The Movies Issue
Slack Magazine n. 6, The Buffalo Issue
Slack Magazine n.5, The Slack TV Issue
Slack Magazine n. 4, SEX in the '90s Issue
Slack Magazine n. 3, The Politico Issue
Slack Magazine n. 2, The Travel Issue
Slack Magazine n. 1, The Debut Issue

BONUS BEATS: Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings "100 Days, 100 Night" Video - click me!

Tukka Roots Riddim

He likes to sleep for hundreds of years, eats junk food (buildings, other monsters, etc.) and he is usually minding his own business 'til humans piss him off....
GODZILLA: KING OF THE SLACKERS

Slack issue #7- SLACK Goes to the Movies Issue
March 1994 (published 02.28.94)

We got caught in the rain during the free Bidwell concert tonight, but it didn't matter, it was hot as hell today. The rain didn't cool anything down, it is still extra steamy on a Tuesday night... it would be the perfect night to sit in an air-conditioned movie house. But I cannot, I am in the office listening to my CDs purchased at the Central Library for only one dollar each and working. For the score keepers- they are Underworld's Pearl Girl single CD (w/ bonus trax), Primal Scream's Kowalski single CD (w/ bonus trax), Smith and Mighty's Bass is Material and Cowboys to Girls- The Hits of The Intruders (Philly R & B).

I give you issue number 7, the Slack Goes To The Movies Issue, which is not a superb issue by any means. I know I have been behind in my Slack postings (sorry it's been a month, people), but it's Summer for cripes sake.

This issue is significant in that it contains the very 1st Bitter Boy article. Following an angry letter in issue number 6 from BB, he said he could write and he did! I received a floppy disk in the mail for the next 13 issues and he didn't miss a single deadline. Ranting about his observations of the world and his bad attitude in regards to these things, I followed the the next articles by BB with a disclaimer that the opinions expressed "were entirely his own and not of he editors of Slack." Now a lot of scandalous, malicious and down right nasty- not to mention copyright infringing-- things have been written in the 20 issues of Slack but no-one deserved a disclaimer like Bitter Boy.

Highlights & Lowlights of Slack 7:

HIGH: a praising letter from James Gillian, Creative Director at Paragon (in fact I think he still is there). He had Dre and I appear on an episode of Off Beat Cinema following this issue, which was fun.

LOW: really bad printing with a few pages having no black, washed in grays. I remember being mad about how crappy the cover looked.

HIGH: Dre interview Rochester techno artist Mark Gage about his Vapour Space. He was touring with Aphex Twin, Moby and Orbital.

LOW: Page 2. I scanned actual popcorn for the background and it makes the text hard to read... but I did scan actual popcorn on the flatbed scanner, which is cool in itself.

HIGH: Godzilla: King of the Slackers.

LOW: Laid by James was on my DJ list and a CD review. I remember how I learned to loath the title track when I DJ'ed at the Concrete and used to lie to girls who requested it, telling them I didn't have it or I accidentally left it at home (remember those days, Doug)....

Download PDF here: Slack Magazine n. 7, Slack Goes to The Movies Issue (4.7 mg)

Don't forget these issues already up:
Slack Magazine n. 18, The Two-Year Anniversary! issue
Slack Magazine n. 11, The True Crime Issue
Slack Magazine n. 9, The Dead Rock Stars Issue
Slack Magazine n. 8, The Beer Issue
Slack Magazine n. 6, The Buffalo Issue
Slack Magazine n.5, The Slack TV Issue
Slack Magazine n. 4, SEX in the '90s Issue
Slack Magazine n. 3, The Politico Issue
Slack Magazine n. 2, The Travel Issue
Slack Magazine n. 1, The Debut Issue

BONUS BEATS: a collection of Godzilla sound effects and roars online >>Listen now!

The Otherside of Daybreak

Highway to the Sun aka
Lessons Learned From Rocky 1-3

As the fam' and I prepare to hit the road for a weekend in our state's capitol, I had to repack the CD sleeve for the road. It has been raining everyday since last Sunday, and after playing ambassador to the Queen City all last week, it will be good to get the F out of dodge for a few days.

For anyone that is interested, and I know someone out there in internet land is, these are the CDs I just packed into the sleeve for the car ride.... a little sumptin' for everyone!

• Queen Greatest Hits - the kid's favorite. 'Need Someone to Love', we'll probably hear this 20 times or so...
• The Replacements Tim - coolest CD in the bunch
  
• Julian Cope - Peggy Suicide and Better To Light a Candle Than To Curse The Darkness- a double shot of weirdness for j.
• Yer Favorites - double CD of T Hip classics, essential road music
• Yankee Hotel Foxtrot - Wilco
• Scotty's Town Ballroom Sessions - a great mix he made to commemorate opening at the TB for Sharon Jones & Dap Kings a few years back.
  
• Scion CD Sampler c. 16 mixed by DJ Cutler - local boy mixes good
• Sugar Minott- 20 Greatest Super Hits - sun-splash reggae for a sunny ride! Thanks Stricker!
  
• Ani D - Out of Range
• The Headhunters- First Things First- Terry's band, my out-of-town friend Mike made me think of this one last night.
• Blue Sky Blue - Wilco
• Bash & Pop - Friday Night is Killing Me
• Beth Orton - The Other Side of Daybreak- really good
• Bebel Gilberto
• a Brad Mix: Pumpkin Flavors by DJ Brant, aka 'sounds good 10/16/07'
• Daft Punk - Discovery
• M.I.A.- Kala
• Lenny Kravitz - Love Revolution- this CD smokes
• Room on Fire - Strokes
• Arcade Fire - Funeral
• Global a Go-Go - Joe Strummer and Mescaleros
• Roland Kirk - Domino masters edition
• Sharpshooters - Twice As Nice
• GURU - Jazzmatazz
• Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before...
• The Cure - Kiss Me (3x)
• Kind of Soul - various artists, 70s funk mix on a French label
• Purple Rain - some guy in the eighties....
  

Disco Inferno

Shut Up and Eat Your Helvetica!

Typecon Day 3-5-- Wrap Up!

The OW team had a whirlwind Typecon experience. There has not been a lot of time to post but I am trying to catch up.

Following the Sagmeister talk with the weird story about the Manatee, we moved up to UB Thursday night to see a presentation from Dutch design team NLXL. They mixed some examples of their work with things that inspired them. Following the presentation they played some techno and dance MP3s and NLXL's Oscar mixed some video clips. Pretty cool.

After a full day of presentations highlighted by Doyald Young discussing his book Dangerous Curves and Dard Hunter III discussing the family legacy, the evening at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery starred Erik Spiekermann. Eric, who earlier in the day had patted me on the chest as he flipped my name tag around for me, was funny, foul and took quite a few swipes at Helvetica's bastard child, Arial! Very entertaining. The late night Friday night moved to the 'Hawk with some punk rock DJed by Mixwell Einstein and myself, Odiorne (they rocked Morning Star) and a weird band from Toronto, the Serrifics. Big Black, Primal Scream, Iggy-- we had it all for the people.

Saturday featured another full day of speakers starting with Ken Barber from the famous House Industries and old timer Mike Parker who remarked that he "has probably forgotten more about Times Roman that most people in the room know..." I am not so sure about that, there were some serious type-geeks in the audience. J. and I took some new friends to a great lunch at Betty's and then more speakers. There was alos a great type-themed poster show put together by You Work For Them (see some poster photos on Julian Montague's blog).

Saturday night was the grand ball where I basically DJ'ed cool wedding music. Now I never play songs I don't like, but I play all the alt. 80s' songs and 70's funk, disco songs I had. I had a little fun playing some Underworld, Chemical Brothers, and Daft Punk, but I expected more from a crowd of creatives. I had a whole bin full of house, groove and really great music I never touched. Kinda of disappointing.

All in all, the Typecon was a bit too much type, even for me. Because of the event I met a lot of great new friends and met a lot of cool people. But 7 days of type-themed events have burned me out. I haven't gone this long without a good night sleep in quite a while. And while I was at the Allen Street Hardware at 3:15 AM, I know I had had enough.

j. and spend Sunday wrapping things up, picking up the DJ gear and leftover W2R apparel from the Hyatt and sneaking out to see the new Batman movie (and it is really good!). I got a lot of stickers and buttons, a cool shirt screened from my new buddy from Colorado and some inspiration to be more creative in general, but I am typed-out for a while.

Having this international conference in town was super. I did hear some German designers complaining about the desolate downtown, but a lot of other out-of-town folks enjoyed our architecture, our food, the hospitality of the warm buffalonians, great music and nightlife and lot of type-geek camaraderie. Next year, Typecon will be in Atlanta- ho hum.

Sexy MF

Yo, what's up? Here you have SLACK issue #4 and it is so over filled with copy that it'll take U the whole month 2 read it! - from start of the Editor's Desktop

Slack issue #4- SEX in the '90s Issue
November 1993 (published 11.10.93)

Often when my neighbor Nate comes over and we hang out in the OW lounge, we get stuck on a Prince thing. We will go back and forth playing Prince LPs, 45s and CDs for an hour or more. It may not be for everyone, but if you like funky grooves- the P-man has a lot of good songs.... I mean a lot of really good songs. Sure, there are a few stinkers-- the Dolphin Song (and I am gonna stop there). But pound for pound, the good P songs are a-good and a-plenty.

Well this Slack issue came out following the release of the 3-CD Prince collection The Hits/B-sides. So this means, these 3 CDs were all I listened to while I designed this issue (I have 2 Prince songs in my DJ list). For a lot of people, songs remind them of special and memorable moments. Well, a lot of the Prince B-sides remind me of designing this particular issue of Slack. Wierd, huh?... especially She's Always in My Hair and 17 Days.

Slack Magazine, Issue no. 4 is really so full of text that most of the typefaces are pretty small and some articles are extremely ledded- gettin' the Led out! The Special Feature by Brad as Dear Mr. Heartthrob is set in Optima, so dense, it looks like a set of squares on the page. Man, oh man. The mag is 16 pages, could never afford to add 4 more to 20, so I just crammed it all in-- great writing, as many ads as possible, small graphics-- and I filled a lot of the leftover fractions-of-a-column-inch with in-house ads for SLACK advertising and the phone number.

This is the 1993 Sex Issue and the article on Digi-Porn has definitions to help you out including 'modem: a device that hooks a computer up to a phone line' and 'America-On-Line: a popular above ground bulletin board information service' what tha?! Highlights include a drunken rebound story, a voyeurism tip guide, a sex in pop music piece ridiculing Buff News' Tony Violanti's review of a Toronto Madonna concert (1993), and well, the Prince CD review is a little sexy too.

This was a very popular issue with the now deceased, Anna Nicole in her glory days on the cover. She was a 1993 sex symbol for sure, especially with the little tattoo on left breast of a small SLACK logo and a little heart. Sweet. 10 DJ lists, an Andre Bad Brains interview, a bizarre Strick jury duty/Jim Morrison tale- what more could you ask for. Delirious.

Download it here: Slack Magazine n. 4, SEX in the '90s Issue (3.7 mg)

Don't forget these issues already up:
Slack Magazine n. 18, The Two-Year Anniversary! issue
Slack Magazine n. 11, The True Crime Issue
Slack Magazine n. 9, The Dead Rock Stars Issue
Slack Magazine n. 8, The Beer Issue
Slack Magazine n. 6, The Buffalo Issue
Slack Magazine n. 3, The Politico Issue
Slack Magazine n. 2, The Travel Issue
Slack Magazine n. 1, The Debut Issue

Atmosphere

I like almost all types of music. As a DJ, the eclectic mix of different things has always appealed to me. That is why, when I first started playing music in bars & clubs back in the late '80s- early 90s, I loved being able to play a mix of rock, alternative, hip hop, funk and soul. The 3rd Room, the Concrete and the Old Pink were places you could play that sort of variety and get away with it.

When Scott and I started deja blu, over 10 years ago, we played a groovy mix of what was then called electronica- which was basically all music that was electronic based, and was later further classified into, nu-jazz, neo-soul, alternative hip-hop, space age bachelor pad music, smooth groove and more.... Besides the deja blu era, I have never tried to play only one type of music at a time. Ask anyone who has been to a party here, or hung out in the OtherWisz lounge while I spin tunes- I like to play it all and mix it up good, really good.

The opening spot DJ last night at the Pearl Street (during Sunset Sundays)  played a whole set of songs that were very similar. It was good, very precise technically, but it was really a bit boring. It all fit into a housey-techno vein- which is always better in small doses. I think more DJs playing different types of music would work better... I'll check it out again and we'll see. There are different DJs every Sunday.

My recent online CD purchase sums up my musical taste pretty good.
I just bought (and they came today):

• Doors- 1st LP re-mastered
• Cure- Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me
• Best of Joy Division

Noting like a bunch of new (old) music to give the day a fresh outlook. All three CDs have a similar quality to them, they are all a bit on the mysterious and dark side, now that I look at the 3 together. Mope rock rules!

Aquaboogie

A Review of the HOW Design Conference in Boston

Ever wonder what is like to attend a big design conference out-of-town? Well my friend Nate attended the HOW Design Conference May 18-21, in Boston a few weeks back and has 'detail blogged' about it. He gives us a play-by-play diary of what he saw, what he did and how HOW changed his life!

I have a few under my belt starting with the an Adobe Conference in Toronto back in the late 80s, various Paper Shows and J. and I were at the Toronto Typecon several years back (which was coolio). Reading Nate's tale is really getting me stoked for Typecon in Buffalo next month, where we get to play the host-city-- showing out-of-towners a real good time.

Read about Nate's trip to Boston and the the HOW Conference- click here.

Little Red Corvette

Today as I reach another age milestone, I am thinking about the past more than usual. I am always musing about days gone by, especially apparent with the Slack magazines I have been resurrecting as of late. But on my B-day, a little more than usual.....

This day, my birthday, May 28th was always was a signal that Summer was fast approaching. After the Memorial Day festivities have past and the promise of June was right around the corner, all I could think of when I was a kid was Summer! All I did all summer in 1973, when I was 8, was camp and swim (the year of the accompanying photo).

Top Things I Am Going To Do On My B-day Today:

1. Work- well, it's not glamorous, but it's true. I can't get out of that, I do own my own company...
2. Wear my new B-day shoes (wearing 'em now!)
3. Drink a beer (maybe 2 or more...).
4. Eat some Bocce's pizza.
5. Get a lot of kisses from my girls.
6. Read email-wishes from some friends.
7. Talk to my Mom & Dad on the phone- they always calls.
8. Listen to music (everyday- it's my lifeblood- keeps me going).
   
9. Bask in the glory-- read my name on other blogs/websites (see Typecon Events page, DJs deja blu at the saturday Night Gala)
10. See my friend Edreys rap live at Allen Hall tonight!
11. Watch Playoff Hockey at Casa- maybe Sid the Kid will score a goal tonight? eh?

Happy birthday to me!

Serve The Servants

We have reached the end of an era as we bid adios to hizzoner
Slack no. 3, The Politico Issue
ROCKtober, 1993 (published 10-11-93)

When I awoke on a chilly Memorial Day Monday I went downstairs to make some coffee and read today's delivered holiday issue of my local paper. I was surprised to see the front page obit for hizzoner, James D. Griffin. Buffalo mayor for 4 terms, Jimmy had a reputation that grew (for bad and worse) as his years in office went on and on and on... He will always be remembered for tearing down Billy Lawless's dancing neon penis sculpture that was aside to the Thruway-- every tom, richard and harry (and their wives and mothers) could see it on their commute into the city. He threatened reporters and actual punched a few, and he gave Buffalo one of it's most famous quotes about staying in and getting a sixpack during the big blizzard of '77.

Well as my tribute to a Buffalo political legend-- I give you Slack no. 3, The Politico issue. The issue hit the streets as Jimmy was finally leaving Buff's top spot in 1993 and features some nice close range reports on Jimmy's history in office. There is some riotous journalistic screed about politics nationally in 1993 & 1st Prez Bushie by Horrorscope writer Brad M as well.

The poltics end there.... The rest of the issue is full of musical features including ,nirvana, nirvana, nirvana (the kids were crazy for that band, ya know...) Strick's Top 13 "Never Listened" To Albums (a record by Strange Advance is to remain sealed until his death which at that time it should be 'played in accordance with his will.'), a whopping 10 DJ lists, an 808 State interview by Andre and a Bitter Boy piece bemoaning 1993 rock as "inexperienced fluff."

Looking back at issue number 3 I was happy to see:

• a more polished layout
• better quality photosand scans
• Horrorscope's 'official outlaw of the month'. Capricorn was Stinky Al D'Amato.
• an actual photo shot for Slack by a photog for the cover (which was cool)
• eight paid ads (one for The Jumpers Reunion Show and one which I scanned plastic wrap for the background)

Looking back at issue number 3 I was sorry to see:

• Optima
• an Urge Overkill song in my DJ list (what was I thinking with this band again!)
• begging for subscriptions in the editorial
• that's about it...

Download it here: Slack n. 3, The Politico Issue (4 Mg)

Don't forget these issues already up:
Slack Magazine n. 18, The Two-Year Anniversary! issue
Slack Magazine n. 11, The True Crime Issue
Slack Magazine n. 9, The Dead Rock Stars Issue
Slack Magazine n. 8, The Beer Issue
Slack Magazine n. 6, The Buffalo Issue
Slack Magazine n. 1, The Debut Issue

We'll Make Great Pets

Reared on Television, Slackers are Defining a Generation in the '90s
Slack no. 1, The Debut Issue
no month, 1993 (published 7-27-93)

"The Son of SOTT" was the subhead from the cover of every issue of Slack magazine-- this was a reference to the Sign O' The Time, Slack's predecessor from 1990. Oh yeah, the birth of the 'slacker,' as us kids were labeled, Generation X... ah good, old July 1993. Paul Westerberg's 1st solo record just came out! What a heady time fueled by rock and roll, grungy shenanigans, only 2 bars on Chippewa you dared set foot in (3rd Room and Atomic), Bass Ale and Phototshop filters.

This first issue took months, maybe even a year to actually come out. Much hype proceeded it's street debut at coffee shops, bars, nightclubs, record stores, college campus's, restaurants, and shops up and down Elmwood Ave. It was started-- as it says in the editorial-- 'because I found myself with a lot of time on my hands and a lot of powerful computer equipment beneath my fingertips..." I had a job at The Retouchables, a pre-press outfit by the airport, and I had access to some good macs, scanners, and an imagesetter.

The 1st Slack was lightweight, with only 12 pages and included poorly reproduced dark-ass graphics- I remember being so disappointed with the reproductions after meticulously scanning images, cutting, pasting, clicking and dragging this baby together. It has only 4 stories (counting the editorial), 4 paid ads and 8 DJ lists. Hey, it was a start. I was a little gun-shy after the Sign 'O The Times came crashing down after only 6 issues. But this still felt pretty good to get this thing patched together-- visiting DJs and hanging around as they wrote down their list for the month, scanning the hand-drawn comics by JH Mack Nair, and folding and stapling the some 500 or so issues that were delivered during an afternoon and a night of drinking and delivering around Buffalo.

Slack magazine was the beginning of a three year journey of writing, editing, curating (writers stories, DJ lists, hand-made ads, and ad payments). This was my first publication which turned out to be a success judged by it's fans, current collectors, and writers that went on to become writers- who knew?

The cover promised:

• Social Commentary
• Outdoor Adventure
• The return of ROCK
• DJ Lists
• Comics
• Comedy
• Grammatical Errors
• Horroscope Returns!

Other Notes on Slack no. 1:

The comic artists in Slack:
JH Mack Nair was a leftover from the SOTT era. Jim's comics only appeared in the first two issues of Slack before he literally disappeared and was replaced by Hump and the Slacker in Space serial written and drawn by Don Keller. Jim's Captain Barfly bears a slight resemblance to the artist himself as well as a certain Replacements lead singer...

The bravado in my editorial is pretty funny to read these days. Man, I was so full of piss and vinegar- we thought we had the greatest thing going with Slack! And for a time, we did....

"Read on and enjoy, you slackers. And if you own a business in Buffalo, please buy an ad space in what will be the greatest alternative publication to unearth from the streets of Buffalo. The tradition is once again 'in yo face' and 'in yo mind.' Wake up Slackers, this magazine is for you."

The Horroscope (another SOTT carry over) continued a tradition of having a special feature every month along with really crazy ass horoscopes, ramblings, magic and predictions.... a spellcheck nightmare!

This issue includes an Official Sure Sign of Summer for each Horrorscope:

Birthday: Outdoor cuisine that is charred beyond recognition.
Aries: Driving and driving and driving. Are we there yet?
Taurus: Drinking because it is sooooooo hot out there.
Gemini: People who let their pets drive.
Cancer: People who insist on wearing the wrong clothes.
Leo: The high concentration of mass commercialism and a faulty attitude toward the safety of the peoples (huh?).
Virgo: Men wearing tights in the park and trying to recall their Shakespearian lines.
Libra: The eternal blinker on the expressway of life.
Scorpio: A romantic stroll with Tom Arnold. Yikes!
Sagittarius: The beach, the waves, the sunburn...
Capricorn: Lots and lots of Perry's ice cream with all manners of sprinkles and toppings on it.
Aquarius: Barbecue, backyards, beers, beaches.
Pieces: A sort attention span.

Download it here: Slack n. 1, The Debut Issue (3.1 Mg)

Don't forget these issues already up:
Slack Magazine n. 18, The Two-Year Anniversary! issue
Slack Magazine n. 11, The True Crime Issue
Slack Magazine n. 9, The Dead Rock Stars Issue
Slack Magazine n. 8, The Beer Issue
Slack Magazine n. 6, The Buffalo Issue

If I Only Had a Brain

The Media vs. the Juice
Slack no. 11, The True Crime Issue
July-August 1994 (published 7-14-94)
The Phat Summer Reader

The blood dripped from where the knife sliced in and pooled around the edges of the wood. Earlier the rain came so I had to abandon my grill plans (you know us charcoal guys, we need that 20 minutes to get it going at least, maybe a half hour). I was stuck broiling and I couldn't seem to get this piece of meat cooked.

I was thinking of OJ, who was a star player in the issue of Slack I just scanned last night, the True Crime issue. Issue no. 11 went to print in the middle of July 1994 and it was two weeks prior that the Juice went on his slow Bronco run. I remember the night vividly as confusion filled the Third Room on Chippewa as all action was suspended. The crowd stared at the slow moving chase on the bar TV. This city, the world was mesmerized. I was DJing that Friday night, but had to wait until OJ surrendered several hours later. Weird and surreal, to say the least.

The trial was still far off and everyone was talking about OJ around here a lot. Buffalo played a big part in OJ's life and I remembered seeing him at Mulligan's on Hertel Avenue in the '80s one night latched onto 2 blond women- I always thought one of them could have been the late Nicole Brown Simpson, before she became late. Time has not been kind to OJ as we have seen the media splash his name in front of us anytime anything happened involving the Juice-- and things happened often including violent outbursts involving golf clubs and memorabilia stick-ups and what not.

The Slack True Crime issue features some great text about Buffalo in 1994 including several OJ pieces, Slack writer Gary Marzloff's story about spending a night in the holding center, a list of the best crime movies, and a detailed timeline titled The History of Sensational Crime- us Slackers were awesome researchers (and without using that Goolge or Wikipedia you kids like to click on)! This issue includes some great local music stuff including: a set of musings about Buffalonian's lack of dancing ability in Dre's After Dark column, an interview with Moe (a young then 3 year old band) talking about gigs at the Essex Street Pub! and some local record reviews including the Steam Donkey's Cosmic Americana and Them Jazzbeard's Highballs, Lowbrows and Presbyterians CD. Great!

Notes on Slack number eleven:

> It's highlighted on the cover "More words per square inch than any issue of Slack so far!" and there is some really small 7 or 8 point type in this issue... I expected people to read this?

> Hollywood's Best True Crime Portrayals list includes the movie Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band.

> Some great old Buffalo ads including Das Boot, The Remix Shop and The Otherside- which was DJ Scotty's radio program he did on WJJL AM 1440 on Saturday evenings. This was when I first met Mr. Scott who went on to become the other half of deja blu (10 years strong! Peace!).

> A Pisces Horroscope that concludes:

" Mr. Big wants to see you in his office right away. Stop coloring outside of the lines. A positive approach leaves you dawdling. You feel expressive. Avoid all summer blockbusters. They will cause neuralgia. You should enjoy the weather and get in touch with friends. Tempers flare and so do nostrils. Your are sleepy. You can relate. You feel love. You peel potatoes. You reach new heights. You are alive. That is all."

Download it here: Slack n. 11, The True Crime Issue (3.5 Mg)

Don't forget these issues already up:
Slack magazine n. 18, The Two-Year Anniversary! issue
Slack Magazine n. 9, The Dead Rock Stars Issue
Slack Magazine n. 8, The Beer Issue
Slack Magazine n. 6, The Buffalo Issue

Sweet and Dandy

Next Thursday May 15th Reggae Dance Party at the Mohawk!
A unusual musical happening in a most unusual place....

Jason and Scott and I are going to jump back in time to the days when DJ Scotty hosted reggae parties on the patio of Osaka entitled 'Bass Culture - Scotty with KO, Bridgit & friends. ' I was one of the friends once.

Ah, the sound of summer goes indoors to the dark rock clubness of the 'Hawk! We are hoping to give it that reggae dance club/juke joint vibe where DJs played records for the people all night long! Cold beer will be a available for adults as well as actual musicians to perform (it says Special Musical Guest on the flyer I made)...

My good man Mixwell Einstein joins Scotty and I for the first time together in the booth since maybe his appearances as a guest during the '03-'04 Every-Other-Saturday Night OTW gigs? Fact check, please..?

Our deja blu posse will be sharing the decks at the rock club with WBNY's DJ Universal-- who has a good sense of history and the music. There is a special guest: DJ Super (and rock guy commercial real estate guy) Chris who's b-day we will be celebrating. " And if you heard we were celebrating, it was a world wide lie!" Sorry, it's another PE sample again.

Should be a blast, check out Uni's MySpace groove online or listen to him this Sunday night (May 11, 2008) at 6-9 PM on 91.3 wbny for a warm up!

And if you look in the photos section of the deja blu website, there are some vintage Bass Culture snapshots from the opening of Osaka's Patio July 26, 2002. See the photo of a short-haired Mixwell mixin' da roots (to my right).

Reggae Dance Party- Thursday May 15th- 7 o'clock PM.
Mohawk Place - 47 East Mohawk Place - Buffalo, New York
www.dejablu.com/posse

Hope to see ya there!

My Little Underground

Typecon coming to Buffalo this July!
Type Geeks of the World Unite!

Last night I attended the second local planning/info meeting for punkt: Typecon 2008 that is being help in Buffalo on July 15-20th. The meeting was at the magnificent Karpeles Manuscript Library in Allentown and it was infectious. The level of energy among the SOTA folks involved with this event is wonderful.

The meeting:
The couple dozen folks in attendance seemed dulled by the echoes of the Karlpeles church hall (I thought I should have genuflected upon entering) and a few questions couldn't even be heard (Good luck to the AV person the night Sagmeister is speaking!). But upon adjourning to the front room everyone had a chance to speak to either Tammy (SOTA), Brian (from TO and a SOTA board member), Jim from Typeco (who has been to EVERY Typecon!) and Rich and Carima from local foundry P22- they are the local Typecon liasons. Well worth attending...

The event:
This 5 day event is bringing some the major rock and roll stars of graphic design and typography to Buffalo from all over the world and should be a smashing success. Currently they are looking to build the volunteer staff to help with the nuts and bolts of running the event. Anyone who volunteers gets free admission to that days events. For example, you might work in the morning volunteering and spend the afternoon able to go to workshops or to see a speaker.

Many of the events will also be free to the general public including the amazing Stefan Sagmeister at Karpeles and the one-of-akind Erik Spiekermann an the Albright Knox (do not miss this design fans). Other highlights will include Dutch design wonderkinds NLXL at UB, various type gallery events and shows, workshops with the likes of Matthew Carter, Akira Kobayashi, Jakob Trollback, Rich from P22 and one of my favorites, House Industries. Your favorite DJs to the stars, deja blu will also be groovin' at the Gala Party at the Hyatt on Saturday (19th). Come see if Erik Spiekermann will dance to Kraftwerk, eh? Or is that too cliche for a German designer?

Why you:
This a must for all graphic artists and lovers of the 'sport of design'. RoamBuffalo will be in full attendance and reporting along the way, so stay tuned! I am telling you, you are going to want to be there, really.

If you are interested in volunteering, contact Tammy at SOTA- here.
Info on the event will be posted here (TYPECON site).