Stranger Things Exploded

2017_strangerThings3_Netflix_220817it doesn’t always happen, but some folks sense the apprehensive excitement of watching paint dry when an artist says “wanna see how i made this?” i guess it depends on the art. there’s a podcast called song exploder that lets people behind the curtain to hear about the creation of certain songs. recently i listened to kyle dixon & michael stein reveal some things about the stranger things theme song. here is an excerpt. the whole show is about 12 minutes.

The Backwards Light

OFFandONwhen something that’s supposed to be off, is actually on, i can’t help but wonder about reality itself. friday i bought some LED lights for beep goes the weasel. i have a gig coming up in a few weeks, and i thought that lights could guide participants so they know which fruits to play. i connected everything to a breadboard to test one LED light, resistor, and push button switch. the light was supposed to go on when the button was pushed in, but it went off instead. i’ve forgotten how fickle the reality of electronics can be.

Three Is A Magic Number

3suitedup it’s THREE more saturdays until motel mancini plays at homer’s coffeehouse! even though the last 7 seconds felt like two months, i’m still wondering “where did the time go?” activate launch sequencer! ready ignition! tell my mother that i have clean underwear! and the countdown continues…

Were You Born In A Barn?

barn jumpersto be fair, the question that accompanied this pic on facebook was “have you ever played in a barn?” it just looked so incredibly nostalgic, i had to repost it.

Practice Practice Practice

Folksmenchris, clay, and i practiced our motel mancini songs monday night. we took our time & made the usual detours, and talked about stuff that was going on. it went alright for the first hour, but then the day caught up with us. i got a sharp pain in one of my knuckles. it was then i noticed the other guys were wincing from their own pops and cracks. when clay said “are we done yet?” chris said “we can be.” and we were.

Old Friends & New Friends

bfastclubfriday night jenny & i walked to salon kitch for third fridays in old overland park. we got to hang out w/kitch and featured artist brew lamb aka spaceship zulu. it was kind of bittersweet because the salon will be closing in a couple of months. kitch and penny are moving & we will miss them. they have become like family to us. over the years they’ve introduced us to fellow artist friends like brew & polly. last winter brew, penny, polly, and i went to a meeting for artists who were applying for local grants. there were 30 other people there, but i felt like we were our own little outsider gang.

Holy Archie Andrews Batman!

Archie-Meets-Batman-66-Francesco-Francavillathe fictitious worlds of archie andrews and bruce wayne are going to collide this summer! according to the retroist archie meets batman ’66 is a joint project between Archie Comics and DC coming to a comic book stand near you this july! as the title suggests, archie will team up with the adam west version of batman, so hopefully we’ll see “OOF!” and “KA-POW!” when fights break out.

Countdown To Motel Mancini

buzzholy cow, it’s just a few more saturdays until motel mancini plays at homer’s! the countdown started in april & and now we’re just 4 weeks away! all that’s left is a few more numbers before master control gives us the “all clear!” this is NOT a test of the emergency broadcast system!

Bill Murray Was The Human Torch

Bill-Murray-Human-Torchlook! up in the sky! it’s a bird! it’s a plane! wait a minute… that’s not superman. before saturday night live, bill murray was a superhero on the fantastic four radio show. the series only lasted a few episodes, but you can hear them all on archive.org. here’s a clip from 1975 when bill murray was introduced to radio listeners as johnny storm aka the human torch.

Tomato Red Time Machine Van

tomatoredvantuesday i saw a van across the street from homer’s that gave me flashbacks. it looked just like the one i drove in the late 1980′s. back then i delivered donuts before the sun came up. chris mull would join me when he couldn’t sleep. we would ride around industrial parks from 5 – 8 in the morning eating donuts, drinking coffee, and rocking out to the classic rock hits of 101.1 FM. flash forward to the present: it’s 30 years later & now i work on mondays making coffee before sunrise with chloé… chris’ daughter.