Finally Checking It Out – Firestorm #1 by Gerry Conway & Pat Broderick

Posted on October 8, 2013 by Brian John Mitchell

firestorm_1So as a kid I essentially never read DC comics.  I think I got an issue of The Flash, an issue of Crisis on Infinite Earths, & a couple issues of Who’s Who.  I’m not sure exactly why I thought DC sucked, maybe because of how goody goody things were on the Super Friends cartoon.  At any rate, I thought Marvel was cool & edgy, but DC was for babies.  There was one book that I thought had a cool look that I wanted to check out & never did & that was Firestorm.  I was talking to Jason Young about it & he said it was kinda cool & he mailed me the first issue.
Firestorm is a weird character.  First off his powers aren’t fire based as I’d expected, they’re more imagination based (like Green Lantern or Shade) & he’s “The Nuclear Man” because he’s the fusion of two dudes into one dude – one’s a scientist/professor type & the other is a high school jock – which opens up s lot of possibilities for the non-superhero bits of the book.  So while this character seems to have a lot of interesting potential to be like Shade, but at least this issue doesn’t work for me.  It doesn’t stand alone at all & is to be continued, which I guess is how comics work, but I just don’t even care to find out how the plotline ends.  & it’s my understanding that this series is the best with the character so far, but I have a hope someone else will one day take this character on & do something awesome.

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Nostalgia Equals Distortion – The Uncanny X-Men #183

Posted on October 4, 2013 by Brian John Mitchell
The Uncanny X-Men #183

The Uncanny X-Men #183

So I bought this comic off the rack of a newsstand as a kid.  It was one of the first issues of X-Men I ever bought.  To be honest, my only memory of it is what you see on the cover, Colossus fighting The Juggernaut.  This comic has made the rounds a bit as a bizarre issue of the X-Men & after hanging out with Jason Young (Veggie Dog Saturn) & talking about it a bit, he gave it to me.

I can’t imagine reading this in grade school.  The book is about Colossus breaking up with Kitty Pride (added creepy factor – Colossus is in his twenties & Kitty Pride is 14).  The break up scene lasts half the issue & is all about unrequited love & I can’t imagine anyone reading a superhero comic not being mad at the lack of action.  Then Wolverine & Nightcrawler take Colossus to a bar so Wolverine can make him feel like shit & slap him around a little for breaking Kitty Pride’s heart.  But it ends up The Juggernaut happens to be drinking in the same bar & he & Colossus get in a fight & wreck the place while Wolverine & Nightcrawler watch feeling there’s some kind of karmic justice.  It is a weird book, because it is so counter to what you’d expect from a mainstream comic of the era.  Though based on the few comics I’ve re-read from that era lately, romance seems to prevalent, so maybe the only weird part is the bar fight.

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Las Vegas, Touring, QRD, Dreams

Posted on October 3, 2013 by Brian John Mitchell

All the little free newspapers for prostitutes creep me out (especially the ones that specialize in women age 40-60+ because I can’t pretend those are young girls making poor choices that will straighten up later).  It’s just not me thing at all.  But this morning I found a church with a daily 8am service that I went to & it made me feel a little better about life in general.  The sermon was about restructuring your prayer life.  Which is something I need to do.

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I had a good/bad day with getting some label work done today.  I got some digital booklets made for a couple releases, but I also noticed I took off all the press releases I had on my machine so I’m going to have to redesign those to get that part of the work done.

I did manage to proofread the interviews currently in for the next QRD.  I’m uncertain if I’m going to try to get a couple more done or if I should just go with what I’ve got as an issue.  I might just leave it open until some of the new Silber releases are ready to go.

Being on tour is weird because I always think, “I’ll be able to get a ton of work done in the down time!”  But the truth is the downtime is super stressed out waiting for things to happen.  Touring for a working class professional musician is more about missing meals, having digestion problems from not eating right, missing sleeping periods because of long drives, looking for a place to do laundry (or for me today, washing some clothes in the sink), entertaining Gclub slot the host of the show (who’s supposed to be entertaining you, WTF?), & dealing with other people’s personalities.  So I’m not really getting as much work done as I’ve wanted to at all.  Not as much reading done either.  But we’ll see what happens the next few days.  If I can get myself disciplined enough to make some more positivity around myself.  Focus on the fact that I’m getting to spend time with people I like & getting to see the country & getting to high five some friends I rarely see.

Last Night’s Dream:
I left my car parked at the lot on a lake where my family used to go camping when I was a kid & my dad is driving me to pick it up.  He takes off after I get out of his car & I realize I took my car key off my keychain before I left for my trip.  I’m stranded, but it all seems normal & okay.

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Touring, Pictures, Dreams

Posted on September 30, 2013 by Brian John Mitchell

Not a lot to say.  It’s been a long time since I’ve been on more than a two week tour & the adjustment to it is harder than I remembered.  Those of you who know me know that over the past few years I’ve gotten more & more agoraphobic & life on the road is totally out of my comfort zone these days, which is part of why I really wanted to do it; because I know stagnancy is revolting & I was in a stagnant place.  But it is kind of stressful to play the character that I have to when I’m on tour instead of just being the sad sack I naturally am.

We did get to stop by Robert E Howard’s house & have been listening to some of his audio books.

Another thing worth mentioning is that in New Orleans I met a dude who makes comics smaller than mine & sells them in vending machines.

Working on the new issue of QRD from the road & the compilation for the guitarist interviews ebook.  Running behind on trying to make the press releases for the stuff I wanted to be out by now.  Not too much luck getting comic book work done, but I have gotten some photography things done (for some reason you need to click on the image to get it to animate).

Corpus Christi

Corpus Christi

Corpus Christi Statues

Corpus Christi Statues

Giant eye in Dallas (what's this about?)

Giant eye in Dallas (what’s this about?)

Weird lattice thing near Kennedy assassination site in Dallas.

Weird lattice thing near Kennedy assassination site in Dallas.

Last Night’s Dream:
I’m on stage after a show getting my equipment put up for loading out.  The promoter comes up to me & says I need to fill out a bunch of tax paperwork to get paid & he understands if I’d rather not fill it out & just not get paid.  What the fuck?  Is this the new scam to screw over bands?

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One Response to Touring, Pictures, Dreams

  1. GoddakkAttack says:
    September 30, 2013 at 2:39 pm

    certain venues in boston do this (except the part about giving you the option of not being paid). but you def. have to fill out tax forms before you play. The shite part of this is that if you booked the entire night as promoter you get taxed on the total despite the fact you paid out all the money to the bands.

Music, Candy, Stories, & Dreams

Posted on September 25, 2013 by Brian John Mitchell

So the recordings with PD Wilder went okay.  I think we did six or seven pieces & the first couple were uneven & the last one I wrote a pop song that PD will add parts too later, but it went pretty well for what I think might be the first time we were actually working on music together.  There was a piece that ended up pretty interesting where both of us were playing just one chord the whole time with the rhythm & strength of the strumming creating the variation.  Who knows what will happen to the recordings, but it was fun.

I did some work for QRD for the candy reviews editing the videos & typing in the reviews.  I’m going to be getting the new issue together fairly soon hopefully.

So I did type up the short story in my notebook.  It’s inspired by the Hefner song “Hymn for the Postal Service”.  It’s kinda crazy to me that I’m at a point where I feel like 200 words is a long story.

Passport
She mailed me her passport.  No note or explanation, just the passport.  I don’t know what it’s supposed to mean.  If she’s never coming back or if she wants me to personally come & get her & bring her back home.  I’m not sure which would be easier to deal with.  I love her, but I know she’ll destroy me if I let her in my life again.  Not maliciously or intentionally, just by her nature.  A beautiful, strong, passionate woman; but, no matter how much I give her, it’ll never quite be all that she needs.  I wish I could really help her, really save her; but I’m more of a wounded animal than a knight in shining armor.  Without her I feel useless, like a lump of clay without a potter.  I’m too stupid & too weak to make a decision.  I just throw the passport away.  If there’s a choice & a future to be made with us, she’ll need to make it on her own.

Recent Dreams:
Tom Hanks is trying to salvage a relationship with Sigourney Weaver who has converted an ambulance into a mobile animal hospital.  He comes into the ambulance during a surgery & says, “I know you can’t just ignore me & throw me away underneath God in this ambulance in front of this little girl & her dog.”  She says, “Just shut up & hand me the forceps.”

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One Response to Music, Candy, Stories, & Dreams

  1. Peter says:
    September 25, 2013 at 4:00 pm

    What a story! When you patronize a good Mexican restaurant you really go all in. 20% tip is customary, don’t feel obligated to start a new life with the waitress.

Woah, a lot of work going on….

Posted on September 24, 2013 by Brian John Mitchell

So it’s been a pretty productive morning here in Austin, Texas.

I got the digital versions of the new comics done & emailed out to the digital subscribers & made a promo page for them that I sent out to comic reviewers.

I sent out emails to guitarists about doing a compilation to go with the ebook collecting the QRD guitarist interviews & there’s already over 20 people saying they’re planning to contribute.

I convinced Patricia Russo to let me do an ebook collecting some of her short stories.  It’ll be a few months before that comes to fruition.  But I’m looking forward to it.

I’m going to be doing some recording with PD Wilder (Hotel Hotel) this afternoon, so it should be a good day all day.

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4 Responses to Woah, a lot of work going on….

  1. Peter says:
    September 24, 2013 at 2:07 pm

    You could eat some really Mexican food down there sir.

  2. hi brian says:
    September 24, 2013 at 2:32 pm

    is Russo the one that wrote the story about the aliens yanking dudes wang off?

  3. Peter says:
    September 24, 2013 at 4:38 pm

    I meant real Mexican food, not really Mexican food.

On the Road

Posted on September 23, 2013 by Brian John Mitchell

So a lot has happened since the last blog.  I got most of the stuff mailed out for the comics Kickstarter.  Still working on getting the digital versions of the comics done for the subscribers & to send out as promos.  I’m on the road with The Independents (currently in Texas), so my ability to work on things using a computer is slowed down.  I did write a short story & a couple entries for Nostalgia Equals Distortion & Finally Checking It Out that I need to type up & did a little work for some press releases.  Took some photos for making some of those animated gifs I’ve been doing.  I’m hoping to get the time to do all that in the next day or two, but we’ll see how things go.

Recent Dreams:
I’m at the gates of heaven on trial.  One by one, all of my friends & loved ones keep going on the stand testifying that I am a liar & a thief & a generally bad person.  The truth hurts & there’s no defense for the things they are saying.

I’m on tour with The Independents & when we wake up one morning there’s been a flash flood & the van & trailer are floating away in the distance.  Will turns to me & says, “Please tell me you didn’t put the heads on the floor of the trailer.”

My parents call me because I’d left town with the dishwasher running & had accidentally used a Tide-to-Go packet instead of a Cascade one & when they got home the kitchen was flooded with bubbles.

I’m DJ-ing for a college radio station remotely from a live event in a coffee shop with two teenage girls who are my cousin’s kids (though I’ve never met either of them before).  I only have a CD discman for playing music, so I have to stop between each song & talk on air while switching discs & cueing up the next song.  I’m told I need to move some equipment around to make room for people to sit down in the coffee shop & there’s five minutes of dead air because of it.  I can’t wait for my set to end.  One of my cousin’s kid’s set is next & is supposed to be about the influence of “I Wanna Be Your Dog” & I’m curious what her song picks & stories will be.

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Ten or so days….

Posted on September 9, 2013 by Brian John Mitchell

So I hope you all are doing well.  I’m hitting my, “Holy cow have I got a lot to do & a little time to do it in” spot in life right now.  In about a week I go out of town with The Independents for six weeks.  In two days my comic Kickstarter ends (please check out the stretch goals & post about it if you can, if I make it to 200 backers, everyone gets a 30 digital issues subscription) which means making a lot of mini-comics.  I’m supposed to have a recording session this week for the new Unspeakable Forces.   I’ve got a Remora show on Friday.  Getting in some interviews for QRD.   I’ve got a bunch of stuff to prep for Silber releases (mainly re-issues).  I just got in orders for 300 buttons.  I think that’s all that’s going on, but I can’t be certain, below is related news.

So I guess the big news is I hung out with Low most of the weekend & did a recording session with Alan.  It will probably be a few months before anything with that comes to a point where I have time to work on it.

In other name dropping news, Darin DePaolo of Unspeakable Forces spent the weekend hanging out with Dave Mustaine.  So we’ll definitely have some stuff to talk about during the recording sessions.

Some of you may remember that I recorded an album for Philip Polk Palmer last September.  It will be coming out on Silber in the not too distant future.  We’ll also be making a couple videos for it.

My Kickstarter got some more press, this time from Comic Related.  Chuck Moore at CR is one of the four people that are the reason I continue to make comics (the other three are Dave Sim, Jason Young, & Melissa Spence Gardner) & without his interest & support, I’m not sure where I’d be.

So far the next QRD is set to include Jamie Barnes, Jason Young, Mike VanPortfleet, Ben Vendetta, & candy reviews (featuring video footage!).  If I can get questions done, there will be other folks too.  I’ll probably end up putting that issue out while I’m on the road given everything else happening this week.  In related news, on the road I also plan to be working on the ebook series & soliciting interviews for the upcoming touring musician & drummer interview series for QRD.  Going to be no dead time for me on the road.

Those curious what will be up for the Silber music coming up hopefully by the end of the year… Re-issues from If Thousands, Electric Bird Noise, & Rllrbll.  5 in 5 EPs from Carl Kruger, Yellow6, & Sarah June.  New music from Philip Polk Palmer, Rllrbll, If Thousands, From Oceans to Autumn, Space Sweeper (Brian McKenzie of Electric Bird Noise, Brian John Mitchell of Remora, Ted Johnson of Tesla Recoils), & Unspeakable Forces.  From the vault recording collections from The Undermasks & Remora.

Over the weekend I wrote a comic for an anthology Joe Badon is putting together (he has an unrelated Kickstarter here about his own artbook).  It’s pretty exciting to be asked to participate in something with a lot of people you admire rather than submitting to something like that & never hearing back about it.

Just so this post is a little less boring.  Here’s an OvO video.

Last Night’s Dream:
Traffic has gotten so bad in town that a friend of mine has started running a taxi service via hot air balloon.  When I’m riding in it a wind kicks up blowing hard enough that the whole balloon goes sideways & starts to deflate.  My friend’s trying to regain control as we plummet, but there’s really no hope.  Just before we smash into the ground, the balloon gets caught in some powerlines & so we survive & get out as the balloon catches fire.

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3 Responses to Ten or so days….

  1. Lullabier says:
    September 9, 2013 at 2:49 pm

    So…there will be a sequel to “Solo guitar”?

  2. Joe Badon says:
    September 11, 2013 at 9:45 am

    Thanks for the shout out ye brethren :)

Suborrhea, Remora, Interview, Comics

Posted on September 6, 2013 by Brian John Mitchell

So I got another flattering rejection letter for Suborrhea saying the editor dug it, but it wasn’t what they were looking for & that I should definitely self-publish it.  So… yeah… maybe in a few weeks I’ll decide to go for that.  My plan is to get it all set up first & in the end run a Kickstarter to see if there is any real interest & if not go for the print-on-demand route & just say I tried.

Did a minor re-tweak on the Remora pedal board to fit the Ditto pedal in.  Pretty happy with the rig at the moment which is awesome.  It doesn’t really sound like a shoegaze rig at all anymore (maybe it never did?) & it’s breathing a little life back into old songs & bringing in some new ones.  I may or may not have a few recording sessions over the next week, we’ll see what happens..

I got an interview up about my mini-comics over on The Outhouse.  I kinda wish I’d had the time to have my Kickstarter campaign be a week longer since the press is starting to come in at the end of things, but that’s how it goes some times.  I don’t think I’ll make it to my personal goal of 200 people contributing, but you never know.

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Jamie Barnes, Comics, Remora, Dreams

Posted on September 3, 2013 by Brian John Mitchell

Jamie & Kelsey Barnes started a blog about music & stuff.

My Kickstarter got press twice this weekend! Here’s me talking about mini-comics on Bleeding Cool (if you didn’t know, I’m in love with Golden Age Comics). & an interview with me on my mini-comics & Kickstarter in general on DJ Grandpa’s Podcast (I’m at 15:40 in – Newsflash! My comics aren’t for kids!)

I’ve spent a lot of time working on my experimental photo comic.  Still unsure if it’s going to be a success or failure in the end.  A few hours to go on making it happen & then maybe I’ll know.

Saturday morning I spent a couple hours making this song & video.  I’ve certainly spent some hours worse.

Last Night’s Dreams:
I’m driving in rural Kentucky on the way from Louisville to Nashville.  I drive through a town called Margenhill where the big attraction is a church & museum that have been carved out of a mountain.  It towers ten stories over the town.  Inside of it the interior walls & furniture are cut out of the same stone that’s been polished to look like marble.  I wonder how many years & workmen it took to build this place.

I’m at a bar on tour & there’s a beer on tap called Brothqueen.  I ask the bartender, “What’s Brothqueen about?” & she says, “It’s a beer.”  Some bartenders are such fucking assholes.

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2 Responses to Jamie Barnes, Comics, Remora, Dreams

  1. Nick says:
    September 3, 2013 at 1:12 pm

    but what happened to Jamie Barnes’ Facebook profile? Some weeks ago it just disappeared…