Make the Load Lighter: Indie Rock for Haiti

My band cuppa joe was fortunate enough to have been asked to contribute a song to the Dromedary Records compilation "Make the Load Lighter: Indie Rock For Haiti". The digital-only release was put together in a startlingly fast two week period, and features contributions from fantastic bands all over the world.


Taniqua, the song we contributed, was recorded in 1995 and was never widely available - so all the better to have it included on this special project. We were proud to be included - especially considering that all proceeds are going directly to the volunteer organization The Voice of Haiti to benefit earthquake victims.

Here's the full track listing:
1. Footstone: “For the Boss”
2. Boss Jim Gettys: “With a Smile”
3. Cuppa Joe: “Taniqua”
4. Moviola: “Calling on the Line”
5. Three Blind Wolves: “Sex is for Losers”
6. Paula Carino: “The Great Depression”
7. Wallendas: “Adrianne”
8. The Neutron Drivers: “All Around the Sun”
9. The Dark Brothers: “Knee Deep in Sin”
10. There Will Be Fireworks: “Foreign Thoughts”
11. Gena Rowlands Band: “F*ckups of the World Unite”
12. The Mommyheads: “Spiders”
13. Farewell Singapore: “Blue”
14. Jenifer Convertible: “St. Pete”
15. lions.chase.tigers: “To Their Blood”
16. Stuyvesant: “Salieri”

"Make rhe Load Lighter: Indie Rock For Haiti" is available for $9.99 from iTunes, Amazon and directly from the Dromedary Records website. You can preview the full album on Dromedary's website, and individual songs are available for $.99. Check it out.

One More Quarter

I've been repurposing a lot of of my old band art - album covers, CD covers, images from flyers, t-shirts, even unused images - I'm pulling out all the stops. Most of this stuff was rarely seen when it came out, and much of it is out of production, so I'm happy to keep it alive via my various Print On-Demand stores.

This piece, which I now call One More Quarter, was originally done in 1995 for my band cuppa joe's 7" vinyl single Archipellago/Love Peace Anarchy Infinity (those were the song titles), released on Drive-In Records. I designed it to fit in the square format, alongside some handwritten text. The image was printed in one color (purple) on textured peach recycled paper. I liked the way it came out - the final product had a nice handmade look to it.


Archipellago/Love Peace Anarchy Infinity 7" vinyl single
cover- still for sale ten years after its release.

As far as the concept, it was a typical "romantic intentions gone wrong" image. Both songs on the single were about romances that didn't quite work out (what else is new, as far as song subjects?) so I took my cue from there.

The illustration was done with my trusty brush-tip markers, which was then photocopied, and then Zip-A-Tone was added for tone. If you're not familiar with that product, it was popular in the 70's and 80's, though scanning and digital production pretty much killed it. You bought it in sheets that were tacky on one side, and you'd lay it down on top of your finished image, then you'd cut it to the areas you wanted to fill and pressed it into place. Using it made me feel like a pro.


Detail of the illustration. Check out that crazy Zip-A-Tone!

Zip-A-Tone came in different variety, based on the percent of tone and also the screening size (how close the center of the dots were to each other). It was an efficient way to lay down tone, allowing the art to be shot as line art, and not grayscale - so the final printed piece was always totally crisp. It was a bit of a pain to use, but I do miss it - I admired a lot of cool Zip-A-Tone-based art when I was younger, especially in the many black and white horror and science magazines that I hoarded.

Would you like to hear one of the songs, Archipellago? Here it is:



I played drums AND tambourine on that one - but not at the same time. That's what they call "the magic of multi-track recording". We even called in a small string section for maximum bittersweet sound quality.

Recently, I started applying the image to shirts and other products, and I worked well. I was initially worried that the dot pattern wouldn't reproduce well, especially on clothing, but I ordered a sample shirt and it turned out just fine... even if it does make me look a little lovelorn. I can take it.


One More Quarter on Skreened

Hatch

Click for biggerness.

Another weird one. I was reading a lot of Moebius at the time I did this - sometime around 1993 or 1994. The influence is clear - I never really worked in this crosshatching style before or since. I usually avoid adding any kind of linear tone to my illustrations these days, though I did flirt with a horizontal messy line crosshatching style around this same time.

This piece was different, tough - I think I created it as a possible piece of art for my band cuppa joe - I can't remember if this was supposed to be a CD cover, a 7" vinyl single cover of something else. Regardless, I got a bit spacey (obviously), which was not too appropriate for our homegrown musical stylings, and the illustration never saw the light of day... initially.


Closeup of the illustration. Look at all the pretty, intersecting lines.

A quick aside about Moebius: In the early 90's, I was very much into him - as I still am, but I'd just discovered him then. And as he lived in France, I didn't expect I'd be seeing him anytime soon. However, at the end of my senior year of college, I decided to get my long hair cut off, so I went to a salon in a mall in central New Jersey (don't laugh) and asked them to give me what would be my "college graduation cut" - the shortest, most militaristic hair style of my life. It was also the longest haircut of my life, given by a guy who, ironically, had even longer hair than me.

Here's the kicker: while he was in the middle of my lengthy hair cut, my stylist and I were talking about art. This guy mentioned he was into comic books and asked me if I liked Moebius. I said yes (of course) and he looked at my curious and said, "Then man, I'm surprised you're not across the street seeing him! I'd be there if I wasn't working." Turns out Moebius - from frickin' France! - was making an appearance at the comic book store across the highway. I couldn't escape, though - I was mid-cut - and by the time I was finished and rushed to the store (five minutes away!), Jean "Moebius" Giraud was gone. I hate that story - I could have picked any other day to get my hair cut! Why then?!

So anyway... the reason I think this image was an alternate concept for my band's CD cover is the concept. The CD was eventually called Nurture - this was the actual cover I designed:


Actual Nurture CD cover. No crosshatching here.

You can see that either image works for the concept of "nurture", but in pretty different ways. And I was definitely locked into the same color scheme. I think the idea of such a sci-fi image just didn't work for our music - especially an image containing some nudity, allthough mild nudity (I was reading lots of Heavy Metal at the time - this is pretty tame by comparison). The other possibility, though, is that I did the alien-egg-hatching image after the CD came out, just riffing on the concept of nurture. Who knows? I can't remember. I also did a similar black and white image of a human woman breastfeeding an alien. I guess I was into aliens and motherhood back then.

For years the Hatch piece sat in my portfolio (a physical portfolio, pre-internet), most likely offending sensitive female art directors everywhere. Once I stopped using a physical portfolio, the piece pretty much disappeared. And then when I opened my online Print On-Demand stores, I decided it might appeal to some of the more spacey folks out there. I've sold a few mousepads and a couple t-shirts - here's one of them.

Check out the full Hatch product line on CaféPress

Science Geek

Science Geek was a zine my friend Doug and I put out in the 90's. Doug and I were also both in the band cuppa joe during this time, but I guess we didn't feel like we spent enough time together so we joined on this project, too.

If you're not familiar with zines, here's the skinny: as you may have guessed, the word "zine" comes from "magazine", and that's what they often are: stripped-down, self-published magazines. The 90's were probably the golden era of zines - desktop publishing software and the widespread availability of copy shops like Kinko's really kicked zine publication into high gear, though by the end of the decade the Internet had diminished zine activity significantly. Why spend all that time and money printing these things, not to mention stocking inventory, shipping costs, promotion, and all the other hassles a physical object entails? Still, zines have their charms and they're still being produced - there's a certain satisfaction to holding something in your hand that was created with such care and craft.

Zines cover all kinds of subjects, though most are personal in nature. Doug started Science Geek while he was just beginning to work as a teacher, and used it as a forum for his writings on teaching, as well as a means to interview bands, review music and other zines as well (a common practice). For the first couple issues, Doug wrote his pieces, printed them out and cut-and-pasted the layout. He asked me to do a few illustrations and comics , which were reduced on a photocopier and worked in. Primitive times, kids.

Those issues were printed on 20 lb. copy paper, black and white only, and were stapled on the side. They didn't look super pretty, but what they lacked in polish they made up for (we hoped) in warmth and readability. Those early issues generated a lot of nice feedback. We had a post office in Trenton (the same post office involved in the 2001 Anthrax attacks, unfortunately) and fielded orders (usually with $3, postpaid, in cash) from there. We also sold issues at cuppa joe shows, and even at other bands' shows. We had no shame.



Then in 1995, Doug joined the Peace Corps and went off to Kenya. He asked me to handle Science Geek duties in the states while he was away, and I agreed. He wound up writing out the third issue on an old typewriter in his hut in Africa, mailing me the pages, which my mother or I would transcribe (we also recorded an album in this lo-fi manner!). I'd then do the illustrations and lay out the issue. It was a wild way to work, and certainly not the most efficient, but it was satisfying to see the printed issue and know what went into it. Doug's adventures in the Peace Corps, and just being in Africa, gave him a unique perspective as a teacher and writer, and we started to see some positive reviews at this point. We also managed to obtain international distribution through Tower Records and a number of other distributors by the time the third issue was available, which was both awesome and nightmarish as anyone who's dealt with distribution of any kind can attest.

That third issue had, for the first time, a color cover. By the fourth, we were using 11x17" paper and saddle stitching (stapling in the middle) so the zine looked and felt more like a "real "magazine. The fifth issue (cover shown above) was the best quality we'd produced, being laid out in (whoo-hoo!) PageMaker - and it was the last. All good things, you know. It was a satisfying thing to put together, but it was a ton of work each time - it took almost a full year to put out each issue, not to mention promoting the publication, working with advertisers (we sold ads to record labels, bands, and other zines) and mailing out issues. I think we just needed a break. I miss it, though - but I have enough copies of all five issues in my closet to keep Science Geek from feeling too far away.

Here are a few sample images from Science Geek - band illustrations, comics, spot illustrations, and them some reviews and a sample story that Doug wrote when he was in Kenya. Enjoy. I'm sorry you can't hold them in your hands, like the real zine. Maybe print them out and fold the paper, to simulate their original format.


A couple illustrations of bands we interviewed - this one
is Small Factory...

...and here we have The Wedding Present in a more conceptual style.


A short comic about my mall bathroom experiences.


This is the kind of illustration we used to fill in
the empty space that often wound up in the backs
of each issue.

Illustration from an article about being the new guy
in the workplace.

Spot illustration from an article about an African witch doctor. Yes,
they are real.

Just another little spot illustration.


Click for larger image. This was Doug's prediction about
how he'd feel after returning from Kenya after two years.


Portrait of Doug as the uncoordinated American.


Click for larger image to learn some horrible things
about my childhood.


These were all real t-shirts Doug saw while in Africa. So now you
know where your cool, kitchy clothing goes after you donate it.

A few decade-old reviews...

“[Doug Larkin’s] writing is plainspokenly evocative, examining human behavior (much of it his own) with both a scientist’s reason and less objective qualities like insight and affection. If you’ve ever been on the fence about the value of zines, try Science Geek; fun and sweetly poignant, it’s enough to knock you on the right side.”
CMJ Monthly

“...totally great...Doug’s reviews and writing are without pretension and his enthusiasm for science is invigorating.”
Wind-Up Toy

“...what makes this zine so charming is Doug’s ability to make such a dreaded subject like science fun and interesting."
Carbon 14

“It’s a damn good thing that there’s a zine like Science Geek...huge and funny and even educational...the hands-down coolest thing since computational biology.”
Permission

“What a fantastic zine...sometimes you find a zine and it seems like the publisher created it just for you.”
Factsheet Five

Photo Wall
from Science Geek Issue 4
© 1999 Doug Larkin

The wall above my desk is covered with photos. About half of them are from home and the rest are pictures that have been taken here. Every time someone comes into my house, they are immediately drawn to them. In a way, it's really good because it always starts an interesting cultural exchange about family and friends. The two biggest draws are the family portrait and the picture of my family's snow-covered house. I always think that the Kenyans would be more surprised by the snow but instead they always make a remark about the size of the house. It's just a middle-class suburban home, but here they have nothing like it.

One day Miss Simiyu and Joanne the lab assistant stopped by and were looking at the pictures. Joanne paused in front of the family portrait and had me identify each family member. After I did, she kept staring.

Finally, she disengaged herself. "Ah," she said, "all you wazungu look alike".

Miss Simiyu tapped her playfully. "Shut up." she said, "They probably say the same thing about us!"

Another time Mr. Makokha was over looking at the wall. I had also hung up a card from my friend Diz on the far end. On the front of the card was a picture of Chewbacca, taken from a scene in the beginning of The Empire Strikes Back. Mr. Makokha came to the card and asked, "What is this animal here?"

"It's called a 'Wookie'. You don't have them here?"

"No, I've never seen them in Africa. Do you find them in your place?"

"They're not here? They must just be indigenous to America then."

"It looks like a mammal. Some sort of primate perhaps..."

"Yes, I think so." By the time he left, I'm pretty sure he knew I was joking.

For continuity's sake, when I got the Captain Kirk postcard from the classic Star Trek episode I hung it up underneath Chewie. My friend Joseph from the village fell prey to that one.

After he asked me all about Wookies, he pointed to the picture beneath. "What are those things called?" he asked.

"Those," I said shamefully, "are called 'Tribbles'."

Following Lights Into the Forest

Click for larger image - you'll be able to actually read the text.

This was a weird project. My band cuppa joe wasn't very active in 1998. We formed at college in 1991, and put out some self-released cassettes, singles and then full-length CD on Dromedary Records until 1995 - that's when Doug, our singer/guitarist/songwriter, joined the Peace Corps and went off to Kenya for a couple years. He returned in 1997, got married to another Peace Corps Volunteer, and then re-upped with his new wife and set of to Papua, New Guinea in 1998 for more fun.

In that little year or so span, we got a new bass player (our third), played some shows and recorded a few new songs. This was around the time when it was becoming more common to be able to burn your own CDs, so we decided to put together our new songs, some old unreleased tracks, demos, and a few live tunes into our own self-released "best of" collection. The CD, which wound up being packed with 24 tracks, was to be named "Following Lights Into the Forest" - a title Doug came up with, I believe, while in Africa.

The title seemed to suggest to me an old English fantasy/magic story, so I came up with a concept where the five words of the title would be "pulled" from the text of a bigger story. I laid out the title on the lower left of the CD booklet, balanced it with our logo in the upper right, and then proceeded to fill in all the surrounding text - all in Courier, for an old-style printed look.

I didn't plan this out very much - I had the vague idea of a story about a group of young travelers on a quest for a magical object. In the chunk of the story depicted on the cover, they encounter an apparition while passing through a clearing. I knew the text was going to bleed off the left and right edges, so I didn't feel the need to fully compose it beforehand - I just wrote out individual sentences, making sure the words in the title fit into the sequence. It was fun.

The varied color of the text was created by placing a photo of a lush forest scene in the background of the cover, then revealing it (at a much-reduced percentage) through the text. The swatch underlying the white-lettered title is also a chunk of the same photo - this time, at 100% opacity. I liked the effect - I don't know if a single person ever bothered to try to read more than a few words, but the fact that it was there gave the cover concept and album's theme some added depth.


The CD's tray card interior, for under-CD printing.

The final CD contained very similar imagery - the same typeface, colors, and another chunk of the forest image. The inside of the tray card - the part that goes under the CD (if you choose to use a clear tray, as we did) was a collage of band photos over the years - each picture of me with 1,000 times more hair than I currently have, though usually in a much dorkier style.

We printed covers, tray cards and CD labels, put the whole thing together ourselves and sent or hand-delivered copies to 100 or so friends and family. We even got some play - eight years later - from Jon Solomon's awesome Local Support podcast. Here's the song he chose to include: P.D.A., from Following Lights into the Forest: