Saturday, December 24, 2011

Merry Christmas from illustrationISM

Merry Christmas from illustrationISM,
and have a 'STRONG' New Year!
The illustrator of this digi-card begs most respectfully to present
to you the compliments of the season, and hopes that the important
duties which have devolved upon him have been so discharged
as to be favorably remembered by you at this joyous and festive holiday. (whew)



Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Howard Steel

Mikaela @ 6 years old!

In honor of Mikaela's (and ours) great week-end,
(her WILLAMETTE HIGH SCHOOL Christmas Concert,
the CANADIAN TENORS concert at the
PLUS great friends, thick Xmas shopping traffic...)
I thought i'd dig up an old sketch of her!



ember heads


no, i'm not going crazy, but i drew these face 'like' heads that i saw in our blazing fire-place!
(maybe it's because Mik, Dan & i saw
movies lately!)

















(5 DAYS 'TIL GRAND-PARENTS CHRISTMAS!)

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Top Ten Albums of 2011

Here are my

TOP TEN ALBUMS

for 2011:


1) - The Waterboys - An Appointment With Mr. Yeats.

Why? It's such a layered, traversed album that goes

through the phrases/phases of W.B. Yeats;

with the background rock symphony of

Mike Scott and The Waterboys.

"The hammering angst dancing with the mist of soul." (my line!)


2) - Spiderman - Turn Off The Dark.

Through all the chaos in NYC getting the musical started,

this album was a great outcrop of Bono, Edge and all the people

that got beaten up for it, singing 'RISE ABOVE'!

PLUS + It's a great road-trip cd on a great rental car stereo!


3) - Bruce Cockburn - Small Source of Comfort.

If 'HE' makes an album within any year, you

have to listen, hear, gestate and love it.


4) - Proto Kaw - Forth.

After all that Kerry Livgren went through,

he can still make a pristine, sharp, anthemic product.


5) - Ben Harper - White Lies For Dark Times.


6) - U2 - Achtung Baby Super Deluxe package;

(especially the 'Kindergarten demos' and the

FROM THE SKY DOWN video);

PLUS + Q Magazine's 'Ahk-toong-Bay-bi' Covered CD.

7) - Sam Phillips - Solid State.


8) - Brad Mehldau - Live in Marciac.

(2-CD & DVD gig!); A REALLY nice set!

The best head-phones in the dark album.

9) - The Jelly Jam - Shall We Descend?!


10) - (yes...another) The Waterboys - In A Special Place;

Mike Scott (playing great on the) Piano

Demos for This Is The Sea; i would also love

to see his 'black book' with all his thots, lyrics and notes,

during this phase!


(did you see last years list?)

THANX, for many of these, to
SKIP'S RECORD & CD WORLD, here in Eugene!

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Borrah Minevitch and his Harmonica Rascals

THIS IS FUN TO WATCH!

X-D Take the time 2C it! X-D

Spike Jones wasn't the only purveyor of crazy novelty music in the first half of the 20th century.

Russian-born Borrah Minevitch led a zany combo that were very popular from the late 1920s to Minevitchs' untimely death in the '50s.

Space Age Pop sez, "the novelty of a whole harmonica band, using the full range from huge bass to tiny alto harmonica, made a terrific impression. Within a year, Minevitch and his Harmonica Rascals were one of the hottest acts on the vaudeville circuit."

They even featured a midget, Johnny Puleo, who was featured prominently in their on-stage shenanigans, as videos of the group on YouTube attest.


THANX from: http://musicformaniacs.blogspot.com/2011/06/borrah-minevitch-his-harmonica-rascals.html


an illustration from the past...

'POWER VACS & HANGERS'

"The 'two sides' always clashing and spatting @
each other for dominance of
the souls and lives of "women/children/embryos & viable tissue".
[ it's ironic & puzzling why it's called the 'LOVEJOY' Surgicenter?! ]

"Prayer is Oxygen..."

a sketch of Daniel Sketching

a sketch of Daniel Jaquette sketching at Melissa Thieme's Piano room.