Learning to Swim in Fire

That show on the 7th is gonna be great! I caught Filmstrip at The Matinee a couple weeks ago, I was really into 'em.

Call me when you start a Justice League.

The blizzards have really really been fucking up my world all week.

This Lottery League event is gonna be great. You should go.

This kid Andy has started a blog/project thing called Year of The Beard. No shaving for a year!

Winter Beard

MARCH 2009: FLYER MONTH

Dear Friends:

MARCH. FLYER MONTH.

My plan is to do a flyer/poster for something every night in March of 2009. Every night, all month. 31 flyers in a row.

The project is going to have a very loose narrative that pulls them all together. I'd like that narrative to at least partially be driven by the events. So, I'm not just making drawings that I can throw any old band names on. It'll be one big cohesive thing, with each part standing on it's own.

I'm also interested in doing some for events other than music performance events (ie: rock shows) as part of this. So if anyone knows anyone that might want to have posters made for anything, let me know. In fact, please feel free to forward this info to anybody who might want to be involved.

I'll work out the printing for all the posters and flyers, but I'd like to get paid something for the majority of them. I plan to publish a book of the collection after it's finished.

You can either email me at jgritty@gmail.com ...

Ball-Handling

Yukon from Baltimore, Maryland. Really tempted to scrap this idea and go for some WIRE connection, but I've been planning this ball handling jam for a while. This dude is a real guy. I'm not gonna post details about him or whatever because I'd rather not have him know about my work, but... there ya go. Ball. Handling.

Dysart

Drew this for my dude, killer comics scribe Josh Dysart.

Andy Mech

Big Congrats go out to Andy MacDonald for his Marvel Comics debut as the artist for Punisher War Journal #26:



He did not draw this cover, but his name is ON it. It's a really good issue though. Matt Fraction, y'all. Great colors by our pal Nick Filardi, too.

Here's a piece. Andy drew it. I colored it:

Posters Process Pages

Here's some procress stuff I forgot to post before, here.

I knew I was doing the quadriptic, and that I wanted to feature the Skullface Family. So I got to sketchin'.



As you can see there was originally going to be some tentacle action. Opted out of that for whatever reason.



Lady Skullface has killer boots.



He's a fish, in a bowl. With a body.



I decided to draw the background as one big giant piece so it would be consistent. This drawing is like, 7.5" x 22" or some shit.



Then I drew all the characters separate. The text is all separate too, but I forgot to make a jpg of that.

Booya:

Skullface Unit Live

My dudes and I played a show at Pat's in The Flats on December 20th in 2008. the inimitable Lou Muenz took video, here's the whole set:

Crust Almighty

Dude plays bass in DMC is my old long-time amigo Mikey. We were once young and filthy, rode bicycles, hunting the ruins for big game. Once. We used to fight each other. We're not young anymore. At least, I'm not. I ain't fighting anybody.




This is one of the pieces I just sorta laid down the loosest possible groundwork before throwing down with the inks. I liked the way this gasmask guy looked.



Posters can't rock on gas masks alone, so I decided to put the blue lady bird in the BG. Gave her some swords. Why not?



Here's the inks. I dunno how long I spent on this piece, but I had fun drawing it. The text I made by printing it out, shrinking it down and blowing it up on my copier to get it crusty as hell, then taking the part with the band names and moving it on the glass as the copier's light bulb thing moved under that. It gives it that deformed blur look. Then I copied it again and took that, cleaned it up with a pen and white out, and scanned that.

I forgot to put it on the poster, it wasn't in the text that Mikey sent me to put on the poster, but... I think this show is a CD release party for DMC.

The Music Underground

This is from the awesomely talented
Laura Webb:

Hey All!

Over the past year, I have been traveling to DIY (do-it-yourself) /non-profit music venues across the United States documenting the spaces and events within.

I am excited to announce that this January, a selection of this work will be on display at Bela Dubby, 13321 Madison Ave, Lakewood 44111.

The opening reception will be this Friday, January 9th, 2009 from 6-9 pm with an acoustic performance by The Ghostwrite. Please stop by if you are able!! (and bring your art loving friends, the reception is open to the public.)

Hope to see you there!

Laura

www.laurawebbphotography.com/music
www.myspace.com/beladubby
www.myspace.com/theghostwrite

The Music Underground is a photo documentary of non-profit, DIY music spaces, the people and community that call these places home, and the actual structures themselves. I believe these spaces play a key role in expression, alternative thinking and the birth of new ideas. Their existence is fleeting. The life span of each venue is directly affected by each cooperative’s ability to dedicate the time, money and energy necessary to keep them open.

My passion for music brought me in contact with these venues and gathering spaces at a young age. Within their store fronts, art galleries, basements and living rooms, expression is undefined by societal norms and remains untainted by consumerist ideals.
My images document these spaces and the intimate moments shared by the audience and performers.
There is life and beauty here. Freedom of expression. Gathering and sharing. Open minds. New thinking.

If you are anywhere near Cleveland, make an effort to get your ass there. After the opening is a wicked noise show with rad dudes.

Scarcity

These holidays have been beating my ass. As a result, I've totally slept on some work that I really wish I had just busted out weeks ago. Here's one of the projects:



Scarcity of Tanks is playing some West Coast shows, there's actually six of 'em, but the details of the other two were dicey, so I went with a Quadriptic.

Here's some close ups:









Here's the info on all the Southern California Scarcity gigs:

SCARCITY OF TANKS (Chris Grier, Ulrich Krieger, Raul Morales, John Petkovic, Steve Touchton, Weasel Walter, Matthew Wascovich, Tom Watson, Mike Watt) head to Southern California for gigs. They will have their new LP with them if interested.

11 JANUARY 2009 - Los Angeles, CA at The Smell - NO HATE SEEKERS (Chris Grier / Ulrich Krieger / Raul Morales / Steve Touchton / Matthew Wascovich / Tom Watson) with Hawnay Troof, All Leather, David Scott Stone

13 JANUARY 2009 - Los Angeles, CA at The Mountain - SCARCITY OF TANKS (Chris Grier / Raul Morales / Matthew Wascovich / Tom Watson) with Bobb Bruno

14 JANUARY 2009 - Fullerton, CA at House Show at Fullas - SCARCITY OF TANKS (Chris Grier / Raul Morales / Matthew Wascovich) with TBA.

15 JANUARY 2009 - San Pedro, CA at Harold's Place - SCARCITY OF TANKS (Chris Grier / John Petkovic / Weasel Walter / Matthew Wascovich / Mike Watt) with Jack Brewer Reunion Band, The Leeches

16 JANUARY 2009 - Los Angeles, CA at The Smell - SCARCITY OF TANKS (Chris Grier / Ulrich Krieger / John Petkovic / Weasel Walter / Matthew Wascovich / Mike Watt) with Chuck Dukowski Sextet, Jack Brewer Reunion Band, Autogolpe

17 JANUARY 2009 - Long Beach, CA at Di Piazza's - SCARCITY OF TANKS (Jack Brewer / John Petkovic / Steve Touchton / Weasel Walter / Matthew Wascovich / Mike Watt) with Four Level Interchange, Rockland, Playground

More info: http://scarcityoftanks.blogspot.com/