IN DESCENDING ORDER:

1) The Sun

2) The Sidewalk

3) The Kimballs Show at Otto's Shrunken Head. This was the first time I had seen the Kimballs play live and while I knew they could lay down the cool tracks, I never knew they could heat things up the way they did Sunday evening. With the AC blasting and the drinks flowing, it was clear that someone at Otto's had anticipated the likelihood that Tom's scorching licks, combined with Mike's sizzling sticks and Allen's burning bass lines would set the house on fire. Add to the mix the steamy vocals of guest vocalist Tracy Eisenberg of the Possessions and you've definitely got a building code violation on your hands. Luckily they stopped just in time although in truth I wouldn't have minded dying in a fiery blaze of rock & roll right then and there.

4) Tracy's apartment.

Tags: otto's shrunken head, the kimballs, the possessions
Current Location: Union Square
Current Mood: calm
Current Music: The Kimballs (duh)

on a Friday night.  Not to complain, but I've been in this chair so long that I can't remember a time when I wasn't.  I faintly recall a childhood spent in suburban New Jersey but all sensory data would suggest that I was born and raised right here in this busted, no longer state of the art, Aeron chair.  It would have been a claustrophobic upbringing which would explain a lot as far as my shrink bills go.     

Now that I'm back in the cyber-saddle I've decided to make an effort to read the blogs of others as well as write in my own.  Carrie Jones seems to have a lot to say about the world around here.  I wish I had a more extroverted approach to writing.  I suppose I could try harder.  

Well, this has been sort of a wash.

Tags: aggravation, work
Current Location: Union Square, my chair
Current Mood: aggravated
Current Music: Neil Young

The title of this posting just sort of crept out of my head without my even stopping to ponder why. The truth is, however, it's an appropriate title for several reasons. The biggest reason is that I just finished a stint at my childhood home in South Orange, dog-sitting for my parents while they were away for two weeks. While I love our dog, cabin fever set in about a week and a half ago and now I'm in something of a "daze", trying to reacclimate to life in my apartment, with my roommate and our cat. Coming home last night to discover that our air-conditioner is busted probably also accounts for a good deal of the daze. Finally, the server here at my office is currently down, leaving me to loaf around the web half dazed with nothing really to do.

However, what readership I have (hey Micol) might recall that my last posting was titled Decade of Dave (Teaser Trailer), and so for the sake of my fans I really ought to explain what that's all about. But there are more important matters at hand so, suffice it to say the upcoming posting entitled The Decade of Dave will have a good deal to do with the fact that I will be turning 30 in less than half a year.

MORE IMPORTANT MATTERS AT HAND:

-Spotted among the jam packed crowd at the Possessions show at Pete's Candy Store a few weeks back was Kimballs frontman and Kingpin of the New Jersey indie pop scene, Tom Burns. Tom was so taken with the Possessions that he invited Tracy to sing with him at a few upcoming Kimballs gigs. The first of these will take place on Sunday the 20th of July at 6:45 at Otto's Shrunken Head in the East Village. Let's put it this way: If you weren't at Woodstock, if you didn't make it to that Phish show where they played the entire White Album because you already had tickets to see Bob Weir and Rat Dog the same night, if you missed that Arcade Fire show where Bowie came out, YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS THIS SHOW. Rarely do two such distinct and yet complimentary talents come together and -- believe me -- if you are not there you most certainly be cursing yourself ten years down the line when both the Possessions and the Kimballs are going platinum for not going to see this show for next to nothing back in the day.

That was some terrible syntax, but onward . . .

-We finally have a tentative title for the book formerly referred to as Tribe. I won't spoil it (especially since it's not definite yet), but Micol, Andrew and I are all quite happy with it.

-Now that I'm back in Hoboken I will be putting the final touches on Tribe art. By October, all the pieces should be in place.

-Micol and I have started talking about a new project. I won't spoil the theme and subject of the book but let's just say that, to date, our research has consisted of sitting around, watching old horror movies while drinking wine and ingesting any prescription-strength pain killers that fall in our path. A few more of these "brainstorming" sessions and we should be ready to put together a proposal. Or at least to do more research.

Anyhow, it is the middle of the workday and even though the server is down I should try to look like I am busy doing something architectural.

Goodbye for now!

d

Tags: daze, disconnected servers, dogs, the kimballs, the possessions
Current Location: Union Square
Current Mood: content
Current Music: Harold's playing something on his computer but I don't know what it is.

Hi Everyone,

I'm at work right now. I was waiting for some drawings to come down the pipeline and I thought what better way to kill some time than to post an entry in my much neglected blog? But just as I started to write those drawings arrived at my end of the pipeline.

What is "The Decade of Dave"? I guess you'll have to wait for my next posting to find out. Right now duty calls.

Tags: trailers, work
Current Location: work
Current Mood: awake
Current Music: fans whirring

As I believe I mentioned in my last posting, I've resolved to blog more frequently lately. And I've never had so much to blog about. Pandemonium at work, books being published (well, A book), new musical discoveries, late nights out, you name it.

But all that will have to wait. As I write this it is just after 3 AM in the morning and I'm waiting for drawings to come out of the printer . . . a lot of drawings. The life of an architect. I haven't had a day off since the weekend before Memorial Day, with one exception, and that was to see a friend get married.

This is not in the way of complaining. Sure, these hours can suck but you gotta do what you gotta do to make a life for yourself. No job worth doing is without its extremely sucky aspects. The important thing is to like the people your job puts you in contact with, to feel like you're using the parts of your brain you like to and, well, when the s**t hits the fan to just treat it like an adventure.

I'm reading this back and it's sounding preachy and nerdy and not at all interesting. The truth is, I just had to kill some time while my prints were coming out.

Sorry, d

With Tribe becoming by the day more and more of a reality I thought it might be time to start posting again, this time on a (hopefully) regular basis. Much has happened since I last wrote (though I'm still nursing a glass of Yellow Tail [3 weeks uncorked: you gotta let it breathe]).

There have been highlights and low lights.

Highlights:

Over the winter I had the pleasure of becoming reacquainted with an old colleague of mine. Tracy Eisenberg is a talented choreographer and the lead singer of one of Brooklyn's most unique rock and roll experiments, the Possessions. Their sound bears little resemblance to most of the music coming out of New York these days. And by "these days" I mean the last time I stopped to pay good attention to what the music scene was - I'm thinking of bands like Interpol and the like, though I'm probably dating myself in using them as an example. The Possessions are have sturdy roots in the country, soul and classic pop music that comprises the better part of Tracy's -- as well as regular band member and primary song writer Frank Schiazza's record collections. They've only just started playing live but their energy is incredible and I'd encourage you to find them on MySpace and keep track of when they're playing. Currently I think they have something lined up for Pete's Candy Store in June.

As I mentioned above, Tribe is really coming along. Slowly but surely (but slowly) I'm working on some tweaks to the drawings that resulted from a call a month or so back with Micol and our editor Andrew Karre. Andrew is incredibly supportive and patient which has been great for a first time illustrator such as myself. So now I'm under the gun to produce produce produce.

More recent highlights include some fairly consistently good weather, a new cd featuring a live cover of The Only Ones' Another Girl / Another Planet done by none other than The Replacements. As the musically inclined among you surely know the Replacements have been defunct for quite some time but I am only just discovering the joys of their music. I've been listening to a lot of old stuff lately which is partly Tracy's influence partly my need to search a little deeper than I have over the past couple of years. After myriad times listening to Yo La Tengo's Ira Kaplan do what Pete Townshend used to do with a guitar, it's refreshing to finally go back to the Who and hear Pete himself do it. Not to knock Ira. I love YLT.

Low Lights:

I guess not so much falls into this category but it may be simply because I'm in a decent mood today. For the most part I've really been enjoying work although I'm currently being haunted by a deadline that seems less and less realistic every day. It makes it hard to find the time to work on Tribe as when I get home all I want to do is finish a crossword and maybe read a bit. I try to work on the book in the morning before work but lately I've started a drawing of the view out my window which has me mesmerized under spring conditions and it's hard not to want to start the day working on that. But - if Andrew is reading - Tribe will be done and in plenty of time for the galleys to go out.

Well, spilling wine all over the keyboard of your computer is typically a good sign it's time to pack it in.

So until next time (if my computer still works)

d

that I have risen. That is, I've resumed posting. If I've learned anything from starting this blog it's that blogging does not come naturally to me. My favorite band the Wrens put it best on their website with their cyber-era restatement of the famous Andy Warhol quote: "In the future, everyone will be famous for fifteen people." For me, fifteen would be a boon. It's enough comfort, I suppose, to know that Micol will read this and, if I'm lucky, post a funny comment in response.

New media still seems a bit impermanent to me. As a student of architecture, my favorite buildings have always been the ones that look like they've been around forever and will be around forever. Also I love books. Nevermind the contents, or whether I understand half of what I'm reading, the process of turning the pages, of checking my progress now and again by comparing the thickness of the pages I've read to those I have yet to read, the battle scars and creases that amass as I carry my book to and fro, the coffee stain on page 81 that bleeds all the way through to 87 are all thrilling things. And putting the book back on the shelf after I'm done - the sort of trophy aspect of that - I'm sure there are a lot of people who can relate to that.

But what I'm writing now, what happens to it when I shut off the computer? It just disappears into the ether? Does it have a shelf life? I'm still having trouble coming to grips with what exactly the internet is - just weightless streams of information floating invisibly through the air? I mean, WTF?

Ok, so, that's the three glasses of Yellow Tail talking.

As for me, all I really have to say is that I submitted my first batch of Tribe drawings to Flux this morning and it feels great and kind of terrifying at the same time. One thing's for certain: Any doubt I've ever had that this book would become reality is fading fast. Dialogue between Andrew, Micol and myself is more frequent lately and we are starting to address things in more detail.

More on that front later. Oh, and if you're reading this please remind me - I still have to do the piece about female bassists. There's a lot to be said about that.

Thanks for reading, d

Tags: blogging, cyber-culture, tribe, yellow tail
Current Location: Hoboken
Current Mood: content but maybe up too late
Current Music: That freaking Imogen Heap song they used on S&L is on constant loop in my head

Maybe not so much where as what: LAZY. . . and tired (trying to hold down the day job and pump out drawings for Tribe simultaneously.)

I started working on an entry dealing with the phenomenon of female bassists and what that whole thing's about. But it's actually something I've given a lot of thought to and I'd rather not just splat out some cybergunk but instead give the subject its due.

Tomorrow is Micol's and Noah's Halloween Party. I should get to sleep now so I can have my wits about me for the festivities. You see, I was raised on the belief that Halloween is the most important day of the year (followed closely by Yom Kippur with Election Day limping in at a distant 3rd.)

Anyhow, give some thought to female bassists. You and I, we'll revisit that subject later.

Happy Painting and God Bless . . .

Tags: female bassists, halloween, prolonged absences
Current Location: Hoboken
Current Mood: good
Current Music: Pixies Trompe Le Monde

So we are back from the Shore and in typical dko-all talk-no action fashion I didn't do nearly as much drawing as I had hoped. What can I say, it was hot. Took a lot of pictures. I'll post them soon. I can't post the fancy artsy montage family photo I took one night at dinner because apparently I caught Micol from the wrong angle or something.

In better news, I sat down last night at 8:00 PM to draw and didn't stop until 1:30 AM. I think I found an art style that is working for Tribe. I will post some samples sooner or later but I've decided for now not to use my current scanner

a) because it makes the line work look like caca and
b) because the scanning bed is only 8 1/2'x 11". So I'll have to shell out for a high quality scanner or I'll just have to bring my drawings somewhere where they can scan for me.

Things currently of note:

a) the new Tegan and Sara album kind of isn't that good.
b) Ghostland Observatory is playing FREE in williamsburg tonight!!!
c) my neighborhood smells like greasy breakfast right now

Oh and for all your Maine-ites (is that just Carrie) I'm gonna be at a wedding in Waldoboro Maine in September. Anything you can tell me about the area?

All for now, dko

Tags: crappy scanners, drawing, ghostland observatory, illustration, jersey shore, tegan and sara
Current Location: Hoboken
Current Mood: accomplished
Current Music: Dream Syndicate (kept me going all night last night-recommended work soundtrack)

Here we are. While once upon a time I was excited about the decay I heard about in Asbury Park my feelings have really changed since getting here. Maybe urban decay is sort of like drug use. From a distance it can look romantic but once you experience it up close it's pretty miserable.

Or maybe it's just that Asbury Park is stuck somewhere between a functioning town and a complete ruin. Were it a thriving beautiful place I might enjoy it. Were it a complete ruin I might find it more fascinating.

When James Bradley founded this town he collected what was basically junk - old , busted ship parts, beaten up row boats and the like - and strew them over the beach, creating a landscape of nautical-themed nostalgic follies. In a way the town itself -- the boarded up downtown buildings, the burned out shell of the casino on the boardwalk, the half-finished construction sites -- has taken on the qualities of this ruined nostalgic landscape: a collection of follies culled from the vaults of better days. Really, I think the city could sell itself in this way. But instead, what you find when you come near any one of these relics is a little architect's rendering of what said relic will look like when the renovation is complete. And I wonder: Would people still visit Pompei if it was decided that they would rebuild it from the ground up?

Obviously it's naive to say that Asbury Park's best shot is to let its infrastructure go completely to pot and turn itself into a sort of museum. But this town has a hard time reconciling its present with its past and so it's unclear what the future holds. Big ugly highrise condominiums, completely out of scale with the earlier surrounding buildings are going up everywhere. Promotional posters and pamphlets abound, promising renewal through these sorts of projects. I couldn't think of a better way to eclipse the sense of history one feels while walking down Asbury's boardwalk. And yet this is a community that
claims to value its past. And I'm sure they do. But what a way to safeguard it . . .

Maybe it's clear by now that I have no idea what I'm talking about. The music is too loud in this cafe. I can barely manage a steady stream of conscience.

Also, I've been here two days and have only drawn two pictures, both of which could have been done by a 5 year old.

Tags: asbury park, ruins, urban renewal
Current Location: The Twisted Tree Cafe, Cookman Street, Asbury Park
Current Mood: cynical