{"id":3913,"date":"2018-04-03T17:53:59","date_gmt":"2018-04-03T21:53:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bandsiusetalike.com\/biul\/?p=3913"},"modified":"2018-04-27T10:20:24","modified_gmt":"2018-04-27T14:20:24","slug":"head-shots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bandsiusetalike.com\/biul\/head-shots\/","title":{"rendered":"Head Shots"},"content":{"rendered":"

When you’re polishing the brass railings of the\u00a0HMS Titanic,\u00a0<\/em>it’s important to remember one thing; do it with\u00a0style.\u00a0<\/em>Otherwise, why bother? The more you polish, the better you get. So what if the ship hits the iceberg and sinks?<\/p>\n

Since 1998, largely to keep myself out of a rut, I’ve changed the heading of the\u00a0Bands I Useta Like<\/em> strip every few years. In the very beginning (when it was self-published), it looked like this:<\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n

The title is an antique typeface that I photocopied out of a book, cut, and pasted. (I didn’t have a computer<\/a> until 1999.) In late 2002, when I got the gig at\u00a0Stomp & Stammer,\u00a0<\/em>I re-did the layout of the strips I’d already drawn, so they’d fit properly on the printed page. I was an insane obsessive with fonts; I downloaded any TrueTypes that I could for free. Soon I had so many that my computer would lock up while accessing them. I was Little Lord\u00a0Font-<\/em>leroy. It was pathetic, but useful. I\u00a0still\u00a0<\/em>have most of the damn things on my current rig; something like 700.<\/p>\n

2003- “THE DYMO”<\/strong><\/p>\n

For the first five years of the strip, I used a font for the heading that simulated those old “Dymo” label-makers that go clickety-click. I meant it to look like a DIY all-ages punk show flier. In the style of my previous rag\u00a0The Last Laugh<\/em>, I doodled a simplified tableau to go behind the words. I know this is boring. Who gives a shit.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

From an old desktop wallpaper I produced, so you can see the doodled people and objects clearly.<\/p><\/div>\n

I think you can still buy Dymo label-makers at the stationery store. Wait- the stationery stores are all gone? Where do you buy resume paper and scratch-and-sniff stickers, then? Oh; at Target? Carry on, ruiner.<\/p>\n

This is what a Dymo label-maker looked like. They were awesome, even if the labels curled up and popped off the cassette case spine to which you carefully affixed them. The tape came in red, black, and green.<\/p>\n

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CLICK-CLICK tic-tic-tic-tic\u00a0<\/em>CLICK-CLICK tic-tic-tic-tic-tic\u00a0<\/em>CLICK-CLICK<\/p><\/div>\n

In a few years I got pretty tired of looking at it. I had no earthly idea the strip would live past the initial handful. The time had come to pretty up the joint.<\/p>\n

2008- “THE TATTOO”<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, this is intended to look like a tattoo. Originally, I planned to Photoshop it onto a picture of skin, to make it look real. Instead it just looked like shit, so I inverted it to make it consistent with the previous “Dymo” heading. Note the oh-so-clever “Born 1998” inscription on the tombstone. Since some of you were also born in that year, I have to point out that I wasn’t. I am over twice as old as you.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The syringe, razor blade, trash can and cassette are all repeated motifs. I studied real tattoos to get the lettering and the border details right. This might be my favorite. I dunno. I know I like it better than the next one.<\/p>\n

2013- “GRAFFITI”<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u00a0love\u00a0<\/em>graffiti. Atlanta is\u00a0teeming<\/em> with it. It’s often the only art any of us get to see on a daily basis. Before you get your dander up, let’s be sure you understand\u00a0the rule.<\/em><\/p>\n

Gang markings spray-painted on public spaces are not graffiti. They are BLIGHT, which is VANDALISM. Graffiti is ART. Not vandalism.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

A simple test: if it’s beautiful to look at and impresses you, it’s GRAFFITI. Real graffiti taggers are conscientious about where and when they tag. They don’t just mark up the sides of buildings and bridges with shitty squiggles. Creating blight will get you brutally beaten by graffiti taggers. If you stain a beautiful piece with blight, and a graff crew catches you doing it, you will be lucky to escape with your life. Ignorance of this rule will not help you.<\/p>\n