promo

elders sky burial ep cover scan, originally uploaded by dirtpath.

my friend eric redpath is a super talented artist and all round cool person.

he does his amazing graphic design in his house, using the most archaic methods (cut and paste!), and for no money or recognition at all. he has produced a whole series of hand-silkscreened posters for music shows, which he actually posts on the walls around town. he does this because he cares about the scene and just wants to. it's amazing. it's people like him that keep underground stuff alive in towns like davis which sometimes seem intent on stamping this stuff out.

Check out Eric's posters. He actually cuts his own stamps for fonts out of rubber. All 26 letters. By hand. Woah.

You can get to his pictures by clicking on the poster he made for his band Elders, above. Do it! Yeah!

I was waiting for Michelle to blog about the tattoo I gave her for her birthday, and now she has! I was actually thinking about it WHILE I tattooed her! Like, "Eeek! I'm going to be on Livejournal...I wonder if I'll go over well?! Hahahahahahaha

Michelle's livejournal

Away from the world

IMG_0875.JPG, originally uploaded by jordan_mitchell.

TIme collapses and folds in on itself. Voices fade, and lines of conversation become twisted and blurred. Soon my mind splits in half, and I am half on automatic pilot, conversing with the client...laughing and telling jokes, and half supporting the most powerful concentration I have ever experienced. I feel like I have been training all my life for this.

Recalling how I would stand for hours in front of marble statues in Rome (um, and all over the world), the musuem and crowds of people swirling around me fading out as I propped my journal between my stomach and my left hand and drew with my right. A musuem guard had been watching me for hours and ambushed me when I was leaving so I could draw a portrait of him that he could frame for his wife. He asked me to sign it, very seriously.

Also recalling how I would concentrate so hard and use such a tiny brush that my nose would almost touch the painting. Being that I often painted on the floor, I would sometimes end up (very flexibly) with my nose near my ankle. I would come to, and realize that the sun had dropped down and I was painting in half-light, my stomach growling from not eating for 6 hours. I would consume raw slices of bread or jellybeans or an apple, hurriedly while standing at the kitchen counter. I'd go back to my room, turn on the light, and get back to work.

Sunset Stone

sunset stone, originally uploaded by kai smart.

Stuck in the dry lands longing for the mist-salt-ocean air of the towns I have lived in before. I visited Santa Cruz, and got gulping lungfulls of seafog to tide me over.

I get asked all the time if I have tattooed myself****. I have not (yet). I am afraid that my concentration on dealing with the pain (yes, I am pretty tattooed, but the pain still does not feel GOOD. I am not one of those people.) will make it harder to concentrate on the art. And of course I would want to do a good job! I think if I did tattoo myself I would tattoo my thigh, mainly for the easy access (I don't want to have to go into a contortion and THEN try to execute my masterpiece) but also for another reason: I am not going to tattoo every part of my body.

I know it seems like most tattoo artists go for that, and indeed it is tempting because I have the freedom to do that if I wanted to, but I am still FIRST AN ARTIST, and I think about the picture (my body) as a whole, not just as a meaningless background for art. Not to diss anyone who does go for the whole body, either peice by peice or as a full suit. That's fine for them, and to each their own- but I really like being naked when I'm naked (I say this phrase quite a lot) and this is why all my tattoos are visible when I am dressed. This is why I started getting tattooed on my neck (!) and forearms (!) FIRST (much to the chagrin of my parents). I value nudity. Eventually I will have some tattoos that will be under clothes most of the time, but certain things I want to keep bare, like my lower legs.
I also value the way my tattoos look upon me as others see me everday. I want them to be a part of how I am expressing myself to the outside world. They are an homage to the art and the people that I love. With every tattoo I have gotten I feel like I look MORE like myself.

I also look very "sweet"* so my tattoos add to my love of contradiction. They get people to examine their own perceptions of what a heavily tattooed person would look like, act like, etc. It's been my experience that I am NOT what is expected. I like the contrast of my tattoos with my dresses and maryjane shoes and flowers in my hair. It keeps me honest. It's a kind of rebellion, but one that is very sincerely thought-out, and not in malice at all.

MUSIC!!!!!!!!!

Oh my God I can't stop listening to the new Andrew Bird. (But I must! I have limited myself to twice a week, so I don't stop hearing it.) It's orchestral and chiming and clattering and melodic. It builds, then releases. He is apparently a one-man band. He has a lovely voice and his album design is also pretty kickass. Do you like The Arcade Fire and John Vanderslice? Do you like lyrics about ancient sea slugs and Waves of Dark Matter? Then go buy Armchair Apokrypha. I obviously can't use enough exclaimation points to be able to communicate this.

I really like the new Feist. I just wish she was ugly**. hehe.
It's not fair that she lives in Paris and has a bone-structure like that and vocal chords that can do THAT and is a great songwriter to boot. The album is called The Reminder, and my surly indie-record-store clerk of a brother is uttering a sincerely-dissapointed and "over it" sigh right now, somewhere on the other side of town.

This might also be really uncool, but The Cold War Kids are GREAT. Their album kicks ass and the singer has an almost over-the-top desperate note in his voice, that may almost be gay (and therefore GREAT!), but then he sings a song that sounds like an old black spiritual, and it totally works for that too. Woah. I like the lyrics and they rock out quite fabulously. I don't even know what they or their album (Robbers and Thieves) looks like. Maybe I shouldn't look. I was sort of bummed when Silversun Pickups released an album poster with their faces on it. I was content imagining them as a teenage family band of blond incestuous opiated mid-90's basement punks. Who live entirely on sunshine and cigarettes. By the way, go buy "Carnavas" (awesome cover art on that one, and the font is rad too!) or "Pikul". YOU WILL NOT BE DISSAPOINTED!!

###I gave in and looked up The Cold War Kids. They are younger than I expected, and now I believe that they actually were born during the Cold War and it is not just a cute band name. I am also very much more in love with them than before, mainly because of the well-written and funny tour diary and their uncomfortable photograph faces (and funny hats).

An excerpt from the tour diary:

6-26
What do you know about Glastonbury? That it was began by druids on a
farm spanning 10 miles? That 160 thousand people are there camping in
mud that creeps halfway up your shins? We knew none of this. It goes
without saying that people here are crazy. It’s mob mentality. People
can’t really enjoy this. It’s a tradition thing. They know that they are
supposed to enjoy it, so they follow suit. There was one guy that was walking
by us wearing a shark fin on his back doing a genuine breaststroke and
the look in his black and sunken eyes convinced me that he had been out
to sea in his mind too long. We tried to get away from the mud and get
some sleep in a little tent on top of wooden picnic benches. But we found
no solace. And no Winehouse, either.
But we did discover Seasick Steve. He was playing before us at the Q
party. Seasick Steve is a tough looking man (eagle and sailboat
forearm tattoos, big ole white beard) from the U.S. South, aged about
55. He plays guitars with an average of 3 strings and his songs are
pretty terrific stories.
On his day off in South London, Maust become quite the gin snob
after his super elite and private tour of the Beefeater distillery In case
you want to walk by, it’s the Vauxhall tube station.

And now my next act will be....SLEEPING!!!






* and I am....;)

** I take it back, Feist is Canadian, and therefore awesome and deserving of beauty;)

****A man who is unafraid of tattooing himself is David Allen. He has a blog I have been following for a while, about being an apprentice, and with his passion for the craft and attention for detail, he is already becoming an AMAZING tattoo artist. He's very inspired by Classical artwork too, and you should doubly check it out if you like that.

Slim Cessna's Auto Club at 12 Galaxies

It's four in the morning,
the begining of July,
I'm writing you now because I just had my ass kicked by Slim Cessna's Auto Club,
Davis is fucking hot,
but I like where I'm living,
there's music in the city (and it's about an hour away)....

No really, My face turned bright red and I was covered in sweat. Jesse and Jordan and I drove down, and man, did those boys look sharp! Jesse wore a vest and a cowboy hat and Jordan tucked his sparkly Western shirt in! They said that it was "a life changing experience". What a great musical show.

Michelle and O met us there and danced/went in the pit (Orion!!). A huge man fell on me and I ended up with my forehead smashed on the stage. I will have bruises. I may drive to Santa Cruz to see them tomorrow too......

I'm deaf though, so that may prove hard.

Medina Noir

Medina Noir, originally uploaded by kai smart.

Why don't I live in San Francisco????

Temperatures are supposed to get into the triple digits soon. I am afraid. Today was bad enough, though I made the best of it with Sparklehorse and Silversun Pickups and mending clothes and taking naps. Thanks Orion for calling, and Rosey as well.
I feel part of the world, even when in my own intricate art-bubble. I do love it there.

I tattooed Yesterday and will again Thursday. Tomorrow I will NOT be giving out American Flag tattoos, so don't ask! ahahahahahahhaaaaaa!!!

Bob's Cherry Tree

Bob's Cherry Tree, originally uploaded by kai smart.

My tattoo of this morning. I did the whole thing in four hours, it was REALLY fun, and I am happy with it. He is too. I apologize for the blood visible in this fine photograph. I will take a picture once it has healed too.

Bob is sort of our shop mascot guy, he works two businesses over and spends his breaks with us. He's a black guy with light green eyes. I told him that he has to be our T-Shirt model when we get Primary Concepts shwag.
Haha. You have to take advantage of your good-looking friends.

Soon I get to tattoo Michelle Medina and Tex. Peacocks and Jellyfish! I hope I can do them justice.

The Three are home, albeit briefly. They play High Sierra Music Fest this weekend, and then go on ANOTHER tour and then to Vermont! I am the solo master of a huge house and a bat-shit-crazy feline while they are gone. Woo hoo.