Don't Call Me Scarface!

The latest installment of OtherWisz posterdom is for the upcoming Punky Reggae Party 2 at the Mohawk Place. This event features some great local punk bands (Wolf Tickets, Chosen Ones, Rockas) with a ska/reggae bent all wrapped up with WBNY's DJ Universal.

This poster is probably one of the more colorful pieces I have created in a while drawing on the red, green and gold of traditional reggae graphics. The client wanted something including, and I quote, "punk rockers, dreads, and speakers speakers speakers!!!"... so did I listen to the client..? Not exactly. Instead I used Don Letts! I figured since Don was using one of my posters in his movie, I would put Don on one of my posters (read post below). Seemed fair enough.

The Formula- how it was made....
I "found" a cool photo of Don and blew him out, bit-mapped him and started to build up around the event title. I have no idea why I am so drawn to this western-circus font, the Rosewood Standard, or why it even works here, but for some reason it does. I think because the font has that old-timey poster feel to it, juggle the individual letterforms around and it lends itself well to a party atmosphere. The rest of the text was set in one of my favorite chunky rock font, Poplar Standard Black. I don't know, maybe I need to start using some different typefaces..? You tell me.

I was dying to use the 2-Tone guy and by balancing him with the Circle Jerks dude-- we had both the "punky" and the "reggae." I then added the ska checker board at the top and bottom to frame it. But I wasn't ready to call it day and something felt like it was missing.... I wanted to get some of the aggression and violence that the rastas, punks and ska dude rallied against when the Punky Reggae movement was born in 70's London. So a spray-painted, bloody splat seemed to work just right. By layering it behind and on top of the corner pieces of art, I got some messy depth.

Some fine tuning at this point included pulling an ornament from the typeface and offseting it on top of the jumbled characters. I took the same ornament and placed it over our main man's glasses to add to his 'death stare' with an implied set of daggers. I gave him a golden yellow halo, and we we were just about finished. As per usual, with any OtherWisz rock poster, I had to add a few stars. I started to "over-star it," and the client asked me to pull back a bit on the stars... I think it was a good piece of advice.

BONUS BEATS- the above snapshot was snatched from a photo taken at the Mohawk Place last week and it shows my poster hanging in it's natural environment. Rock on!

Clash City Rockers

The Magnificent Seven! 7th Annual Tribute to Joe Strummer and The Clash! Friday, December 26th!

Ring! ring! its 7:00 a.m.!
Move yself to go again
Cold water in the face
Brings you back to this awful place.
-- The Clash

Come on out the day after Christmas for some post holiday cheer and rock!

This friday I will be DJ'ing before, between and after rock band sets during the 7th annual Clash tribute night at the Mohawk place. Join us as we pay tribute to the late, great Joe Strummer.

I love this gig because I get to play really loud punk rock, reggae and dub music... just like Joe would have liked! This is always one of my favorite gigs, especially for the fact that I LOVE spinning discs at the Mohawk Place. For you name droppers, I will be playing tunes by the likes of: The Selector, X-Ray Specs, Special AKA. Stiff Little Finger, Stooges, Mickey Dread, Desmond Dekker, the Exploited, Sex Pistols, Bad Manners, the Damned and more! I better start sifting through the CD collection and get prepared, sort of...

The bands (Rebel Waltz & more) consists of various Buffalo musical greats doing sets of Clash sounds which are usually great! Lotsa fun! Hope to see you there. Drink a Pabst! Musicians include John Lombardo, Chris Malachowski and Jimy Chambers to name a few. 

>> The proceeds benefit STRUMMERVILLE- The Joe Strummer Foundation For New Music

>> This is my 7th poster in a row for this event, click here to see them all.

What do we have for entertainment?
Cops kickin' gypsies on the pavement!
-- The Clash

Bankrobber

Action-packed weekend-- no time for reading. Though I did read an Elmore Leonard (detective writer, Get Shorty, etc.) western story last night from a volume of short stories. It was pretty good, but it was only one story from a book of like 40-50 stories... I am not sure if this could be a new direction in reading (western fiction) for me or not. We'll see.

Anyway, there is a rock show Friday night,at Mohawk Place that I did the poster for affectionately titled "Punk Rock Reggae Clash!" featuring Chosen Ones, Neville Francis & the Riddim Posse and Wolf Tickets, host by Uni aka DJ Universal. I am not sure how the punk rock is going to come into it, but Chris Malichowski's band Wolf Tickets has a strong Clash bent to it. Should be a good gig, though I am not DJing and I really like DJing at The 'Hawk, especially punk rock music!! ...

See the poster art below featuring an oldie, but a goodie P22 font- click for larger view. Above is a version of the flyer on one the band's MySpace page... "You know you've made it when....."

Saturday, my friend and client Joe Gambacorta is going to be displaying some of his memorabilia from the Buffalo Hockey Experience + Museum at the Convention Center for the Farewell, Old Friend Memorial Aud Live Aid event. Should be a good time, the French Connection will be there and Dr. Joe has the most amazing collection of Sabres and Aud stuff. We did the logo, website, blog and swag for the BHEM. The event includes the limited Aud Edition of the BHEM hats that New Era donated (+ OW designed) for the upcoming Museum. Very cool. See hat on post below.

So may be I'll see some of you kids this weekend. I know a lot of people read this and think I never leave the house... but I do, in fact, I was at The Place twice yesterday.

Train Kept a Rollin'

Even a year ago, there were more places to play...
the South Loft.. The Icon was still open.
That sucked- The Icon closing sucked.
Justin Chapman, guitarist and vocalist for milf
who never predicted his bands name would become a pornographic phenomenon 15 year later

The best thing about reading the Slash book was it got me listening to some old Aerosmith and I have been thoroughly enjoying Rocks and Get Your Wings which I duped off scratchy vinyl. Those Boston boys were good back in the heyday of substance abuse and 1973! Hootchy Koo! Last Child, man what a song... and Lord of The Thighs, Women of the World, Train Kept a Rollin'..... man, oh man, it just keep going. I have to keep getting up to turn the music louder and then turn it down a few minutes later 'cause it is too loud.

Oh that rock and roll sure is a tortuous mistress.

Speaking of rock music... here's one for ya:
Slack issue #15- The Local Music Issue Jan. 1995
(published 01.12.95)

This issue of Slack, is by far, my favorite with the perspective of time. Published in Jan 1995, the Slack Local Music issue features details on over 75 Buffalo bands and is labeled a "Collector's Edition." That was a good prediction, I was right! The Slack team gathered info on bands by leaving piles of questionnaire postcards around town, record stores, bars, music venues, etc. and did a lot of research. Over the next few months the postcards started to roll in and I personally interviewed a few dozen bands as did our writers. I think it was (and is) a really good snapshot of the music scene in Buffalo circa January 1995. And the Dan (Young Jeezy) Cappellazzo cover shot of the Steam Donkeys in front of the Mohawk place is priceless! Great cover.

Highlights (too many to mention) include:

• 1994's Slacker of the Year- Buffalo News music writer Tony Violanti by Tony Billoni
  
• Being in a Buffalo Band by Steam Donkey Charlie Quill
• Great Records Form Local Music History by Elmer Ploetz which includes: Headhunters "1st Things 1st", Splat Cats "5 Big Ones," and Goo Goo Dolls "Jed"... oh the Goo old days....
• Strick's Advice on Audio Purchases From a Guy From The Inside

Of all the bands profiled, I think I counted 8 still in service? I may be wrong and I am sure someone else will review this and correct me. Kevin?

• Fibs
• Goo Goo Dolls
• Ani SunnyD Franco
• Lance Diamond (the Energizer Bunny of Buffalo)
• Steam Donkeys
• Wolf Tickets
• Glenn Colton

Man, what ever happened to Economy Sexless Torso, Maunder Butterfly, The Razzels, Spawn, Splaterpunkx and Snufflufugus? Other cool band asides include "Several Seconds With Spawn" where they members act confused when asked about Eddie Vedder, a few questions with Justin Chapman of milf and Mark Norris on Girlpope and locally owned (and new at the time) P22 Records.

Another interesting note is the inclusion of Big Happy Family who didn't have a record listed yet. That soon to be CD by BHF was recorded in the barn that I sit in as I type this post. Our design studio (252 Lex) used to be the band practice/recording studio of Bob James and BHF was his band. Time zones are a colliding as I write this.

Print this out for yourself and read it thoroughly. Sit back, crack a Blue and throw in that old cassette by Dick's Hatband or Crawlspace or even Kama Sutra (I am just name dropping now).

Download PDF here:
Slack Magazine n. 15, the Local Music Issue (4.8 mg)

Don't forget these issues already up (5 more to go)!:
Slack Magazine n. 18, The Two-Year Anniversary! issue
Slack Magazine n. 14, The Cartoon 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

BONUS BEATS- Big hair Guns n' Roses- Welcome to the Jungle early MTV video, weird. Why such a big hat? Why such big hair?

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!

Pretty Hate Machine

Typecon Day 1

I met this great artist from Colorado who presented at the Pecha Kucha. His name is Rick Griffith and he is a professor and owner of a really cool design shop. His presentation was a real hoot and I am glad to have made his acquaintance.

I saw him today and he handed me this envelope which contained this awesome letterpress note, click on the graphic to read it larger.

... & he has seen my work....

Sand and Vasaline

Typecon Day 1

TONIGHT! SOLD OUT!
An Evening with Stefan Sagmeister
Wednesday, July 16
Doors open at 8:00 PM
Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum

I hope you got your tiks for a rare evening with one of our greatest contemporary designers, Stefan Sagmeister. He will be speaking on his cool new book "Twenty Things I Have Learned in My Life So Far." Controversial, enlightening, entertaining - should be a BLAST!

There will be a reception, book signing, La Nova wings, and local brew courtesy of Flying Bison Brewing Company. Mmmmmmm...

View his hypnotic website here (click me)

HERO's poster for the event (no, click me...)

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!

Down With OPP

I spend the evening in Orchard Park Town Court last night to pay a fine for getting caught speeding on the 219 a few months back. Three hours later I received a slap on the wrist, a warning and a 150 dollar fine. Hey, sure beats points on my licenses and a day in driving school.

All and all it was a long time sitting around and talking to my long lost contractor (who I haven't seen in 3 years or so), so it wasn't all bad. But I notice some interesting things while in OP....

Top 10 Things I Observed in OP Town Court:

1. Guy wearing a "Keep Kids Off Drugs- Amherst Police" tee- was he ironic or just kissing up?
2. No air conditioning. That goodness it wasn't August!
   
3. Only caucasians appear to live in OP (or only the white people speed in their cars and get caught- all the other races must be smarter...?).
4. A lot of people speed on the 219. Maybe it's because the speed limit changes from 65 to 55 right in the middle without any warning (Hey, I didn't see the sign.... but it really is a mute point, since I was going 80 in a 55!).
5. Late night hockey (triple overtime) leaves a town clerk sleepy.
6. Speeding in OP makes a lot of money for the town.
7. The average parking ticket in OP is going to net you a fine of ninety-freakin-dollars! My advice is to not park illegally in OP.
8. Stalking is popular in OP.
9. Dressing appropriately for court apparently means wearing shorts and t-shirts. I was over dressed in a suit (maybe that's why my fine was the max!)
   
10. All the 16-year old criminals (non-traffic violations: drugs, stalking, stupidity, etc.) are slouchy and wear black-- all of them. You know they say that the bad guys always wear black.

Two other highlights I'd like to add:

> When I got the $150 parking ticket (everyone else was getting $90 tiks) I swore I heard a gasp in the crowd- or maybe that was just me gasping!

>The 16 year old goth kid that protested when the judge rescheduled him for a Thursday in August. He was upset he would miss Thursday in the Square. Wha?

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

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).

Free Shirt (er..bird)!!

Congratulations!! We have our weiner.

DJ Nate Pharaoh entered and got a good dozen or so correct. Though he should automatically be disqualified for attributing Billy Idol to a PUBLIC ENEMY song!! My word!

Nate got all the funk ones, soul songs and a couple reggae ones. His missed all The Smiths (a band he dislikes) and the Clash songs, which there was a lot of.

Nate come by and pick up your prize: a Where To Roam shirt.

Heer is the list of correct answers: click here.

Cast No Shadow

Drought index is high. Chili pepper index is low. Nine Inch Nails- David Bowie pairing is questionable. Welcome to another edition of the global-cyber view to your future. (Horrorscope intro p. 16)

Slack magazine no. 18 - the Two-Year Anniversary! issue
October 1995 (published 10.1.95)

Casting the seed of doubt as the Rangers win one, that's what the guy said. As Slack magazine matured it got slicker. It lost a lot of it's cut and paste aesthetic as I created my own magazine layout vocabulary built on years of reading rock mags, Playboys, art books, comic books, Entertainment Weekly, vintage Life mags and street newspapers. The Slack existed at this time among a great group of mid-nineties street zines including Snot, Sacred Cow, Avenue Player, and a young Artvoice. It was a heady time for all. Selling ads and drinking beer!

This time I choose to jump ahead to a really good issue of Slack. Eighteen issues in 2 years, and I think this particular one really shows Slack mania in full form. The cover is great and the layout within has reached a tight, pleasing balance. With a Halloween and Fall-filled issue (2 football stories by our illustrious staff writers: Bitter Boy and Strick), Slack no. 18 was subtitled "Buffalo's Best Reading Material" (says so right on the cover!). Included are ads by some of Buffalo's top movers in 1995 including: Concrete, Atomic, CowPok, New World Record (see cool ad below), Das Boot! and a couple ICONcerts. Looks like Cowpok will be the last man standing as NWR plans to shut its doors in less that 3 weeks from today!

Flashback: There is a concert ad that features "Just Announced: Green Day on Nov 8th" and I remember this show as the last free show I went to that was put on by ICONcerts . It was at the Niagara Falls Convention Center -- before it became the Casino-- and I was there. I was watching 13 year olds standing on their chairs, as their parents sat next to them quietly, chanting 'f--- you' with lead singer Billie Joe. Bizzare to say the least.

Anyway back to this Slack 2-yr Anniversary issue, highlights include:

Cheers: Many great record reviews with Scotty's Oasis music section cover story.
Jeers: My praise for (as time has told us) a weak Urge Overkill record, sorry kids.

Cheers: Dre's After Dark with a window into the club scene in Bflo -95, name-checking other cool zines at the time: Snot and Sacred Cow
Jeers: Seeing the Buffalo Nickel Lounge ad and remembering we never got paid for it!

Cheers: Bitter Boy bagging on "Couch Spuds and Their Football Passions"

"Grab your Zubazz & remotes and warm up your thumbs..."

Jeers: Too short Horrorscopes. These were comedy gold, I tell ya!

Lance Posner where are you?

Download it here: Slack no. 18, the Two-Year Anniversary Issue (3.4 Mg)

Don't forget these issues already up:
Slack Magazine n. 9, The Dead Rock Stars Issue
Slack Magazine n. 8, The Beer Issue
Slack Magazine n. 6, The Buffalo Issue

Just a Little More, Baby

Get your responses in for our name the blog post titles/song titles!
Deadline is today (Thursday, May 1),
and I will be announcing the winner tonight!!

I will also post the complete list of answers as well- so look for it.

Hurry, hurry, hurry!!!

Contest details >> here.

Electric Relaxation

Slack magazine Goes Online- sort of...

Well I threatened, and it finally happened: I create a PDF of issue number 9 of Slack magazine to introduce the world to one of Buffalo's greatest Zines! Hopefully in the next many months, I will try and get all 20 issues up!

Slack magazine ran from July 1993 to the March 1996. It totaled 20 issues, each with a theme. The original Slack was dreamed up by my then-substance-influenced roommate (Duds!) at the time and myself. Teaming with beats-influenced DJ Andre (Megadose!!), the plan was to create a truly alternative publication that catered to like minded individuals with a sarcastic sense of humor that skewered all that was around us. "All The News That's Fit To Be Tied," the Slack claimed to be the "greatest alternative publication to unearth from the streets of Buffalo" and included original comix by Mack, Hump and Don Keller's serial Slacker in Space, record reviews (Cool Like Dat) , DJ lists, the original Horrorscope by Brad M., band interviews (808 State, My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult, Lance Diamond), and boatloads of snarky sarcasm! Themed issues included: Sex in the '90s, TV, Buffalo (with Jimmy Griffin on the cover), Dead Rock Stars, Cartoons, Radio, Sci-Fi and two hugely successful Beer issues.

Birth, School, Work, Death:
My man, Andre took care of the ads and was the music editor, I did all the editor work: assigning stories, bugging the writers at deadline, picking up the floppy disks (no email really as of yet) and sometimes typesetting the stories (Mr. Jeff Strickland!). I would spend hours mapping out the content and ads, cramming it all into the pages set up in Pagemaker. And I wrote stories and music reviews!

Hobo Humpin' Slobo Babe:
The Slack aesthetics was cut and paste, yet the 'zine was created using my Mac Se30. So it was early computer graphics, scans from vintage, rock and skateboard magazines (again, no real internet or Google Images yet, kids), semi-grunge design, a multitude of typefaces and lots of content packed tightly within 16-20 pages. I used to print out the page spreads on Stat Paper after-hours at my pre-press job, and get the 500-800 issues printed at Kinkos, all on my newly minted Kinko's Credit Card (boy, that was a mistake). They would take a few days to print and I would pick up the stacks of legal pages, go back to the North Buffalo, Woodward Street apartment and have a beer drinking/ folding and stapling party. Then Andre and I would spend a few days driving around the city dropping off stacks of Slack at shops, restaurants and bars.

Renegade Soundwave:
Instead of starting at issue 1, I thought I would jump right into the meat of it with issue number 9, the Dead Rock Stars issue which featured: recently suicided Kurt as "slacker of the month", the Slack Complete Listing of Dead Rock Stars, Rock Gods Who Should be Dead, a list of all the drugs in Elvis's medicine chest, Dre's After Dark club column, a Bitter Boy (was not me, honest...) pen about bad driving habits and, of course, the legendary (and often copied) Horrorscope. From May 1994 the issue is soaked in mid '90s rock with many references to Cobain, ads for the Grand Opening of The Atomic on Chippewa and the rock club ICON (75¢ Rolling Rocks), and notes about then-prez Clinton, the death of Dick Nixon and Bosnia.

Enjoy- click here to download PDF (3.1 Mb) of Slack #9- print it out and read it, do not read it on the computer (this is a print publication)! Let 'em R.I.P.

Raisin Blowme where are you?

Sing a Simple Song- The RoamBuffalo 1/1 Anniversary

The contest: you could be a winner, Mr. DJ know-it-all.

Well there ain't nothing like playoff hockey. Though everytime I leave the room some team scores 2-3 goals in a matter of minutes. There are a lot of teams I don't like, so I just root for the team playing against them. Boo Ottawa!

Hockey in spring has reminded me that it was last year at this time that this RoamBuffalo blog was borne. So on April 17th, we are going celebrate our:
>> 1 Year, 1 Month Anniversary!!

As I write this, there have been 121 posts- not bad. This also means there have been 121 songs referenced as the titles for these post- each post title has been a song title-- or a very clever play on a song title.

So for our 1/1 Anniversary Contest, the 1st person to identify the artists for all these song titles/blog posts will be a winner! Oh yeah! The first person to identity all 121 artist matched with song title by the 21st of this month will win a Where to Roam Tee (your pick). If nobody gets them all, the person who gets the most right (by the 21st) will win. Good luck to you all.

There has been a lot said in these electronic pages about design, art, graphics, fonts, the b-lo, the weather, artists, and, of course, music. Without the music, none of this may have happened. Music and me go way back.

Here is a freebie: Inspiration Information is by Shuggie Otis
Song on YouTube (no video, just CD cover): Shuggie!- click here.

Twice Inna Lifetime

A Card Carrying Member... the history of my business cards.

I found my first business card the other day. I had designed it when I went into the freelance graphic arts business. So this all started as Wizard Graphics way back in 1987. Since I have a copy of all my biz cards, I thought I would review them...

My 1st Biz card: Nobody beats the Wiz!
The name Wizard Graphics seems really dumb 20 years later. I was not a Dungeons & Dragons dude and I never particularly like medieval stuff. A lot of people in high school called me 'wiz' as a nickname, though I am almost convinced it had nothing to do with Michael Jackson or Diane Ross. Sporting the tag-line "designs that work magic" and an illustration of a mean looking wizard.... I was ready to take on the world. This card was produced by hand kids, using a typewriter, press type (rub on lettering) and hand-drawn art. The outline border was line/rule tape applied by hand and a ruler... really, nice corners, eh?

My 2nd Biz card: Purple Rain...
My second card dropped the wizard character, but kept the non de plume. This card was done in the early '90s as I was working in the pre-press business. It was a step up design-wise and featured a 2 color design on good, paper company paper with a smooth-ass gradient-- which I had paid to get made by a printer.... no, I didn't just fade from one color to another in Illustrator, this custom screen was made using film. The cards cost me a lot and features bad kerning, which for the life of me, I can't figure out why.

My 3rd Biz card: Smooth Gradient Operator...
My third card was produced all digital and I matched up my own screen gradients in Freehand. It carries my early love of purple from the last card but has a format changed to a risky new layout- vertical! Again including some bizarre kerning decisions, this card was glossy. Ick, there was a time when glossy equaled 'spend some money on these babies!'

My 4th Biz card: Minimalism for You and Me...
The fourth card was for the official start-up business with the name change to OtherWisz. A play off my last name, Wisz, the card was run for free with a batch of something like 8-9 other cards, mostly photographers I had convinced to all get new cards at the same time! This card was apparently when I finally learned to kern type. The OW card had a simple design and matched a website with the same layout having a thin purple line running across the page. This card circa. 1990 signaled a new era in Wisz-fueled design.

Our 5th Biz card: We have a Winner....
Now, with the fifth card, we really were on to something. J. had officially joined the team and we worked hard to build the OtherWisz brand, which consisted of the new logo (our cattle brand) embossed on some great yellow card stock. The card came in a sweet package including (printed for the 1st time of this story) letterhead and matching envelopes! You know we were now official and the collateral won an Addy that year. Flip the card and J. is on the deboss side, well she is 'de boss' ya know.... ha!

Our 6th Biz card: Leaving an Impression!
Which brings us to our 6th and current card. The fancy new OtherWisz card carries the same logo die on extra heavier, really white paper showing the beauty of the logo as it was meant to be: no color -on- no color. The subtle emboss didn't come out in these scans very well, but if you send me your address, I will mail you a card.

This card was also close enough to our last card that we could use the letterhead left over from the first run. The flip side is extra fancy with J. sporting the knockout from a bright yellow full bleed. This card highlights a new tagline "little firm, big solutions" and gets a lot of "ooohhs, embossed" from people... what will be next?

You can click on the cards for larger views >>

Video Bonus: Mike Jackson and Diane Ross in the movie,
The Wiz, singing Ease on Down the road. Classic- click here.

Heavy Metal Drummer

VALUE 10 COMICS

A live Wilco webcast, as I write this (Wednesday, Feb 20 11:12PM), has kept me in the office later that I wanted to be here tonight. They are playing the Riviera Theatre in their hometown Chicago, Illinois. After playing a bunch of cool rock songs like "Heavy Metal Drummer" and J.'s favorite song from the new LP- they are playing music, by what I can only guess, is from outerspace with violins over spooky sounds, audience cheers and a light static crackle. It has left me a little hypnotized after too much typing at the monitor....

As I was spacing myself out here, this bazooka joe comic caught my eye. It is bazooka joe and Picasso hanging out. Since I have had this little comic laying around for many, many years, is kinda worn away. Picasso is saying to bazooka joe, "I paint and paint and yet my works seems to get worse." Well.... I won't ruin the joke for ya.

I have this comic under my work desk blotter which is covered in all sorts of stuff, a collage of the brain, including:

• comics
• photos
• cards
• ads
• magazine clippings
• ticket stubs (a UB Springfest stub for $10 featuring Moxy Fruvus, Black Sheep and the Tragically Hip. Yes, this was the infamous sneaker to Gord's head show...plus a Lalapalooza no. 1 stub from the CFNY/Molson CNE, I think it was, only $33.05).
• flyers
• invites (Check Your Head Artfest party 1992)
• postcards (including the black panther party, the Slack magazine summer watermelon girl cover photo, a mermaid avenue 2 promo card, etc.)
• a Buckminster Fuller stamp
• a 2$ bill
• a stat of the Sign of The Times masthead
• stickers (aleady stuck)
• a vintage Crystal Beach ad
• a poloroid on my friend Chris with a painted-on goatee
• phone numbers
• assorted pictures of sid, hunter, elvis, hmmmmmm, I just realized they are all dead...
• hockey cards
  

... and the list goes on, but the webcast is over and this is getting a little a-retentive.....


>> click on comic for larger view, eh?