A Little Wiser

I want to look this good in 40 yrs! What a good lookin man! A short well groomed silver beard is gonna be SO good!

Sabbath

Last Sabbath Vanja & I went on a walk thru Discovery Park. Paul & Carol joined us :D Paul took some snaps that made Vanja & I look SUPER GOOD ;D HA!

Sabbath is back and I have had a much easier time shutting my mind of things of design than I did last week. I'm learning so much being this busy. Thanks for everyone's patience and encouragement. I love you my friends!

When it comes to Sabbath Vanja is an excellent influence on me. At the start she likes to distinguish it by either a prayer, a song, a reading of the Psalm, something to signify the entrance of rest. She likes to have her house in order before the sun sets & to have groceries taken care of for Sabbath's meals. She is always more gracious than I, and if people come over and want to pick up something from the store she deters them insisting there will be enough. She keeps me accountable on having my thoughts and attentions on things of Heaven and at the end of Sabbath we'll have a prayer after we talk about what's on our hearts. She than says this short Croatian blessing for the rest of the week and IN Croatian. I'm still having a hard time trying to pronounce the words and how long have I known her? wild! None of these are religious rhetoric, just careful & thoughtful attention to how beautiful the short time we have to rest and do it in the presence of the Creator who knows our needs of Him and wants to take the time to fulfill them. I really appreciate all the above about Vanja.

NO THEFT X GV

SNEEK A PEEK!

I be hittin the printers up tomorrow, 1st the Ltd. screen print poster, 2nd Ltd. GV shirt! SNAP CRACKLE THAT POP! Snow flakes to drops to capture Freeze & Thaw, MC ESCHER up in this piece!

IN MY HOUSE OF THE FUTURE

I love to cook, I love having friends over, and I love anything wood grain. Tanx Hudson furniture for your added adjectives to my dreams!

KOC

I can't stop listening to their record! It's my go to early morn/late eve record. GET IT.

KINGS OF CONVENIENCE

Kenny Burrell

In the past 2 days I've been craving jazz guitar. Yesterday I remembered a song that I had shazammed and it happened to be Kenny Burrell's Midnight Blue. Right before Christmas I wrote this jazz guitar piece i'm calling "milky way" and showed it to the boys who instantly as ALWAYS tore it apart with their contributions. It's still being written and I really enjoy its direction. I feel more tactfully intune with jazz than i ever have before, that's not saying i've achieved something great, jus saying i'm on the way to playing and implementing more jazz. My fascination with jazz will always be growing, I find it to be one of the most honest music forms.

Kenny does Miles' "all blues" piece as a 3 piece here, theres 3 brief drum solos, 1 great bass solo, and Kenny doing what Kenny does. I don't think its his best work by any means, but the song and the feel with the drums/bass made me think a lot of tric, bruce, and I.

ALSO if anyone comes across a vinyl version of "midnight blue" i'm on the hunt, I couldn't even find it at bebop records?! Thats just stupid.

Thank You BBC

JK

Last minute show at the Q! I told myself no more than an hour on this as it came up in the middle of other design obligations. I found this new font on Font Squirrel called Quicksand that I'm enjoying and trying it out on some projects. When I finished this poster it felt like I had crawled out of my skin, this poster was me to a T! The negative space, composition, simple image. It was weird seeing such a clear rep of my work. Kinda cool but maybe a little bit of a pigeon hole? I dunno.

Get to know Justin Klump

It Aint Me Babe

WOW, this is excellent work. YUM!

GV & ADAM PASION

CHOP SUEY

Noah G has 2 great shows coming up in Seatown that are legit, and both headlining! First the Croc then Chop Suey. I enjoy type & simplicity a lot as seen in much of my work. I stacked the letters to mimic Japanese signature stamps on paintings, made the 'O' into an completed Enso of sorts, and provided a lot of negative space that I see in a lot of Japanese wood block prints.

I'm very grateful to Noah for these opportunities as it kinda kick started this growing snowball effect of work & creativity into motion. My next goal is to get poster of the week in the Stranger! I dunno how that works, but that would be pretty sweet! I'll have to just design posters for anything and flood telephone poles with em, volunteers? anyone? ;D

Proud of you Noah!

Andrew Belle & Allen Stone

This is my first poster requested by the Q cafe. Bethany has been making remarkable developments at the Q at putting it on the map. I've bugged her a couple times about doing some posters for shows to contribute in my way. She took me up on it this past week! Pretty sweet. I had to include their tour picture in the poster which took me ages to think of a decent way of doing it, but I love having barriers, it allows me to shape up something more. Apparently this Andrew kid has had his songs on numerous tv shows (the real world, 90210, kardashians, ghost whisperer) so you may have heard his tunes if you dig any of those shows....

Here's a start to many more! I'm getting to be apart of the Q :D NICE

PS

Pete Stewart is having his solo release soon and asked me last week if I would come up with something for it. Pete is all pro, all killa, all good. Working with him in the studio was priceless and he has an incredible reputation in the music industry. I'm really honored that he asked me to design a poster for this incredible occasion. He will be joined by my brother/pal TK as well. It's gonna be a swell show! I won't be able to make it due to GV touring :( boo hoo

Design wise I wanted it to be really clean. I asked Pete if he had any ideas he wanted me to work with and he told me 'jus something rootsy and its gonna be all acoustic'. There's some Small Stakes influence in this in the minimalistic nature of this. ALSO I've been wanting to do something with wood grain (my fav texture pattern ever) for awhile and as soon as I thought of that I saw this poster in my head.

GV COMET

Garage Voice is playing the Comet for the first time. It's a bit of a dive but is a Capital Hill springboard into the other venues on the hill. I think we are aiming at playing new material at this show, songs we're working on for the next record. It's nice playing rock n roll and doing that with people who do it well. Take Pablo Trucker for example, great guys, really mature music and it growls when needs to. I'd like to play more shows with that kind of surrounding. I think this Comet show will be one of those :D

Design wise I wanted to combine the structure & font of DECO and mash it up with the currents of screen printing. Its rare for me to use such a dark background for a poster, so I'm especially stoked about this one, it forced me to work more within boundaries which in hand made me see the future steps around the design.

I'm working on getting NOTHEFT online, stay posted!

NOAH G & THE C

Noah is headlining a show at the Croc! It's a great rock venue of Seatown. I've seen Ambulance Ltd and Sondre Lerche there and now my boy Noah is gonna take its stage. Really really cool. I spent 6hrs on this, the most time I've spent on a poster actually. I tapped into my roots of Deco & Bauhaus and asked myself "what colors would Ben Blood use?" VOILA.

(click to see bigger)

These past 2 nights I've got to see my boy TK do back to back sets, first night solo and tonight with full band. Both sets equally excellent in their own right, see TK while its relatively cheap to see him!

I'm overwhelmed. I did something very foolish minutes ago, I looked at a bill. This quickly ushered in all worries of not having a job, how am I going to make rent, when will my investments payoff. I want to be able to buy something when I need it. I also want to be able to buy what I want when I want it. I want to be responsible to my financial obligations. I want to do what you want me to do and still LIVE. Open a door, I'm exhausted. Have mercy on me.

PUMA

Letterheads

I DO

"I have called you friends"

"Friendship is rare on earth. It means identity in thought and heart and spirit. The whole discipline of life is to enable us to enter into this closest relationship with Jesus Christ............When once we get intimate with Jesus we are never lonely, we never need sympathy, we can pour out all the time without being pathetic. The saint who is intimate with Jesus will never leave impressions of himself, but only the impression that Jesus is having unhindered way, because the last abyss of his nature has been satisfied by Jesus. The only impression left by such a life is that of the strong calm sanity that our Lord gives to those who are intimate with Him."

Oswald Chambers


It is upon my heart that this year be that of discipline. Not having my mood, needs, wants be swayed by passing winds. I want to think more of myself as a vessel than ever before. This is not out of a vein attempt of perfecting myself, I know that when my heart is in tune that everything that comes in my life will be met with trusting in Jesus. Discipline to me is the opening of my eyes to the beauty of the fruits of the Spirit. My strongest desire when I feel in tune or distant from Jesus is to have the 'last abyss' of my nature satisfied by Jesus. Its kinda funny how that is. Thank you Jesus!

December 29

This year is my golden birthday,
I'm planning on being out of the country for that.

12 Albums & Songs of my '09

Choosing 12 albums is a tedious and laborious task, but I like singling out personal joys, it's like "get to know me more". In choosing a record I think of fluidity, variety of flavor, production, and I tend to favor records that are more organic and have interesting instrumental textures. Hanging around Tric, Bruce, Casey, & Ben has developed my ear more towards tonal purities and has added another edge to my snob ear. I could write some essays on some of these records, so I'll try to keep it short!

12 Albums:

Adam Pasion : O Hear the Rattling / Adam's music has incredible depth, scriptural strength, and great thought out music. It has old timey foundations with great passionate delivery in aggressive/passive moments. I would say at the core he's the most similar to what I write. God Bless Him

Cat Stevens : Teaser and the Firecat / Yasi put this on early last year and I was hooked, signature voice, breaks rules in his arrangements, keeps hooks on top of some complicated musical directions. Old school and innovative. YUM

Cave Singers : Invitation Songs / These boys have brought back simplicity and it works very well. Cool melodies over basic instruments, and they are making the classical guitar cool in the indie world which I'm a HUGE fan of. I really enjoy their chemistry, 3 piece is gold!

Dave Brubeck : Jazz Impressions of Japan / Who can touch Dave besides the Duke & Gershwin? NO ONE, the brother was prolific in his releases, he's taken every surrounding and translated it into incredible music. I listen to this record and think of Japan everytime, from busy streets to cherry blossoms budding, the record should be Japans national anthem. ALWAYS an inspiration.

Duffy : Rockferry / Sister has so much soul and it isn't manufactured. She has survived aweful family history and poor relationships and has come out understanding her own value. She's spot on with her voice, she knows what it can do with incredible confidence. Staxx should be proud, oh and she did syrup & honey in one take, eat your heart out.

Horse Feathers : House With No Home / This whole record sounds the same, BUT thats what I like about it. It's great for background or just listening. Great textures and most likely every NW stereo type of the folk/indie scene you can think of.

Neil Young : Harvest / I like this record because it took a village of his pals to make it. His musical character blended so well with the voices he partnered up with. What I love about the amazing old school flavor is its honesty. Yowzah. Always a go to record.

Pearl Jam : Backspacer / This is 50% nostalgic and 50% of really diggin the record. It's very short, re-playable, and energetic. I love aggression and the nakedness of some of the songs. Its gutsy, visceral, & vulnerable. I'm really enjoying this record and maybe because I don't know how much more Vedder's vocals will be able to do. Rock on boys.

Phoenix : Wolfgang Amadeus / There's pretty much nothing organic about this record, but its pure pop goodness and they're French! It's nothing too pretty, musically mind blowing, but I can go to this record all the time and always have fun enjoying it. It's a relief to my critical mindset.

Raconteurs : Consolers of the Lonely / 3 words : Jack Effing White.

Thrice : Beggars / I like this record because it combines their past 3 releases into one record and has the lyrical content to match. I have enormous respect for their craft, terrific tones, & thought. I listen to the record and KNOW that incredible time was put into making it this solid. I can't stop listening to it.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs : It's Blitz / Everything you like about the song MAPs was turned into an entire record. BAM! The production is crisp like none other. Nuff said.

Runner Ups:

Heartland : An Appalachian Anthology
Dungen : 4
The Middle East : Self Titled
Steven Delopoulos : As if Love was a Sword
Dawes : North Hills


12 Songs:

Adam Pasion : Run By Faith / Incredibly encouraging and uplifting with compassion and rock n' roll. WOW.

Cory Chisel : Born Again / Sick organ hook, love his morning voice vox, and the Raconteurs are on it. High five gospel music!

Dawes : When My Time Comes / When they sing this its almost mournful, excellent. I overplay it and always love hearing it again.

Duffy : Syrup & Honey / Soul voice with tremolo on guitar paired up has to be one of my favorite things ever. If I could do a duet with anyone, my first choice would be Duffy, followed by Gemma Hayes. Her plea in this song is strong and vulnerable, just amazing.

Julian Casablancas : Glass / It's anthemic and hits all the right musical spots for me. Julian is a mastermind and sometimes too over the top for me, but I need that to push my own borders. His music is coming from overcoming personal demons, he's taken charge of his life and wants to bear great fruit. SO much respect.

The Middle East : Blood / This song wraps up what I like about Fleet Foxes, Sufjan, & Kings of Convenience and mashes up into one song. D'lish.

Pearl Jam : Just Breathe / Exposed innards with string parts to pull them out, I relate.

Tony Kevin : You'll Notice It / This demo always moves me, I always want to sing with it. I never want the song to end.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs : Hysteric / The soundtrack song to things coming together in a relationship and realizing how much apart of you the other is, Karen O's gentle singing voice on it swoons me over too.

Kings of Leon : King of the Rodeo / Good old southern rock n' roll, Simple, gritty, hook. I want my head to be next to their amp. I want to be in a small space while they're playing this song. One of the highest most played songs in my itunes.

Dead Weather : Treat Me Like Your Mother / Dark rock with hip hop flares with room to breathe before you get back into its aggression. Jack is NASTY.

Elton John : Love Song / When EJ says 'Do you know what I mean' I get it. Apart from drama that can crowd a growing relationship, its core must be love, if it's not, reconsider the weight of partnering with someone. This song says be honest, understand the aweful weight of loving someone and don't take it lightly. 3 voices and a picking guitar, its sheds off the overbearing melodic emotional tug of manufactured pop. Its like when Thom & Greenwood showed the hip hop rat pack what street cred was really like at the Grammy's. I said it ,what?

Runners Up

Cold War Kids : Dreams Old Men Dream
The Cave Singers : Dancing on Our Graves
Dead Weather : Treat Me Like Your Mother
Thrice : Come All You Weary
Jakob Dylan : I Told You I Couldn't Stop
Steven Delopoulos : Do What You're Gonna Do

Here's to another year of great music to come. I think I'm going to be more careful about what I listen to. I don't want to just listen to music if its on/available. I want my time with listening to be more purposeful than what I sometimes let it be. If I'm being more passive about listening, I might as well be reading something, doing something. I want more productivity, I owe that to my Father and the great cloud of witnesses.

I want to thank TK, Paper Astronomer, Ben Blood, GV, The Denouement, Adam Pasion, Silver & Gold for an incredible year, you've been an incredible inspiration and a joy all around, I love you all deeply and I look forward to more, always MORE.

I wanted to do a blog on music of '09, not necessarily albums that came out in said year, but music that had meaning in my 27th yr of living. I also wanted to choose 12 songs out of the year as well, but I just couldn't dwindle down my 27 song list. I will try to do both and share very soon.

Come January

My first project of the year!
LLB