Congratulations!

Congratulations to Monika and the girls! Last week Monika received her first check from cdbaby.com for the album her and the rest of the Merrye Madrygal Mavyns put together last year.

The great thing about the check is not the amount of money on it but what it represents. These weren't sales to friends or family of a CD put together in our living room. No, these were sales of CDs and digital downloads to people who've never heard of the group. People from as far as Japan and Australia were buying the songs!

So, I was amazed and proud of her.

She can now say, even though she isn't making a living from it, that she is a professionally paid musician.

And that's never a bad thing.

Congratulations, Monika!

From The Vault - Keith Howard Tests 1995

Before I started the EXIT 6 books I would put Keith Howard into all sorts of illustrations. Sometimes they'd work out and sometimes they wouldn't.

When I'd find myself with a penciled piece that wasn't quite working out or not looking exactly like I wanted it to look I'd stop drawing it.

But then I'd do something weird.

I wouldn't just abandon the piece. I'd play with it some more, knowing it would never see the light of day and that if I screwed it up anymore it really wouldn't matter. So I'd pull out the black ink, the water colors, the acrylic paints, and the white out, and I'd play with painting a little bit.

Here are two experiments I found under the bed in Maine. Half done, never used for anything, but, I'm sure at the time, fun to play with.

That's what art is all about. Playing around, experimenting, and testing the waters until you can figure out what works for you and what looks good. Just keep working and having fun.

Having fun...that's what it's all about.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I woke up this morning with thoughts of Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons in my head. And when I thought about what kind of art or photo I could feature today, the biggest of the floating giant balloon holidays, I thought of this old, short, OilCan Drive story I did years ago.

How do you get stuck in a parade wearing pink bunny ears on your head?

Well, you don't pay your parking tickets, get your vehicle towed, and break into the impound lot to try and liberate it of course.

Not a bad way to spend Thanksgiving.

I hope you all have a great day, eat lots of turkey, watch some Denver Broncos football and even if you're alone on this holiday, enjoy yourself. At least it's a day off from work.

Football!

With Thanksgiving right around the corner I thought it was time to turn my attention back to the art board and show you what I've been working on.

Thanksgiving is all about family, friends, food, and, of course, football!

So here is a quick glimpse of what I've been working on the last few weeks. It's a new line of football stories for Stone Arch Books. I am right in the middle of the second book's interiors as well as doing the covers for all of the books. That just means that, even thought it's a holiday week, it's a busy week for me that will find me working right through the holidays so I can get this leg of the project done by Monday.

You gotta love being freelance. It's one of those things that makes you a little sad when your art director says, "I hope you had a great weekend..."

Umm, I was working the whole weekend to get your project done.

But, you know what? I wouldn't have it any other way. I love doing this kind of stuff so much that even when I am done with client work I turn around and do my own stuff.

Now I just need to find a way to get back to doing my own stuff. Maybe next week. Or, umm, maybe the next week after that.

Before the end of the year, I swear...

Is the Song Still Going On?

If your day ever needed "more cowbell" then you've come to the right place!



When Green Day played Saturday Night Live a few months ago there was apparently a song or two that NBC decided not to air. This version of "East Jesus Nowhere" features the "more cowbell" man himself, Will Ferrel.

My favorite part is around the 3:30 mark of the video when the song goes into the breakdown.

I think most of my days can relate to Will Ferrel's preformance with the band. You start out strong, confident, keeping up with the band the best you can. Then the day throws you a curve ball, you have no idea what's going on, but you muddle your way through it anyway.

And finally, you're just left with a look on your face that says, "what is happening?"

Have a great day!

Let the Bidding Begin!

So, I finally pulled the trigger, put the dream to the test, and bid on the Mark Hoppus recording/producing session.

I knew I had a set amount in my head and, if it was meant to be, I'd win the session for that much. So, Sunday morning I put my bid in and waited to see what happened.

The bidding had been stuck at about $1000 all week so my first bid was $2000. I hoped I would put some of the kids out there without that much money way behind me. By the time I got back from lunch the bidding was already up to $2250. So, I went to $2500. Within half an hour the person who originally outbid my two grand bid again. This time they upped it to $2750. I countered with $3000, the top bid in my head, and crossed my fingers.

Before I went to bed last night they had outbid me again at $3250. And there's still two weeks left in the auction.

Looking into it a bit it looks like the band that outbid me, Forget the Pacific, is a seventeen and nineteen year old from North Dakota. Must be nice to have Dad's credit card at hand (I swear I'm not bitter...well, not too much.) Ah well, like I said, if it was meant to be it was meant to be. But this time, I guess not.

It was fun to run the dreams for my head a bit, though.

So, what now you ask? Is it on to Plan B, C, or D?

Nope. What's funny in all these little dreams that tear me off the path I am following is that, usually, they are a distraction. So, for me, it's back to Plan A, the plan I've been following all along.

Stick to the path, my son, stick to the path.

I think I'll be OK.

Brother, Can You Spare a Grand...

...or maybe even two?

I found out this week that, through a charity auction, Mark Hoppus, of Blink 182 fame, is donating his services and eight hours of time at his studio to produce a band's music track.

As the description reads: "Here is your chance to have Blink 182's Mark Hoppus and Chris Holmes produce a track for your band, in the CA-based studio, Opera Music, that Mark owns with Blink 182 drummer, Travis Barker. This will include 8 hours of studio time."

You can check out the actual auction post HERE.

While I have to admit that I feel kind of odd about benefiting from someone else's tragedy, the idea of going to Los Angeles and recording in a real studio with Mark Hoppus would be a once-in-a-lifetime, dream come true kind of thing.

And the best part about finding out about this opportunity was the way it made the wheels in my brain spin and spin. I thought about the adventure of traveling to LA, either on a plane or in a rented car. The fun it would be to see the studio and not to only meet, but to actually work with Mark on an OilCan Drive song that I wrote. I thought of how the day in the studio might be spent, tracking guitars and bass and drums. I thought about how it would be cool to release an OilCan Drive single that was actually produced by Mark Hoppus, how it would sound, how the packaging on the CD single might look. I thought about how it would be a great way to kick off the whole OilCan Drive project and a great marketing tool to make people notice it.

But, then there's always that nagging negative voice. The one that says you're not a real band. You're too old to do a rock and roll song like this. You're not good enough to go into a studio and play the song you wrote yourself. It's too far to travel. It's too much money to spend.

Most times that voice comes from somewhere in the back of your head. Before those voices in my brain even had a chance to rear their ugly heads (or voices) it came from Monika the moment I told her about the auction. Who needs negative voice in the back of your head squashing your dreams when she lives in the same house and sleeps in the same bed next to you?

Maybe she was just having an off day.

So, what say you, dear blog readers? Opportunity of a lifetime or a stupid pipe dream? Right now I am on the fence but trying to keep the dream positive and the hopes alive. Because if you can't even run a dream like this through your head and have fun with it, then what's the point of trying anything?

And, for your viewing pleasure, here is an old clip from 2003 of Mark debuting some songs from his new album to a bunch of school kids. Enjoy!

From the Vault - Keith Howard 1995

I'm only guessing I did this piece in 1995. I figure if I had done it in 1996 it would be here, with me in Colorado, instead of under a bed on Peaks Island, Maine. Remember that whole post I had about signing and dating my work? Yeah, that might have helped me out right about know.

Stupid past Sean.

Anyway, not only don't I know the exact date I did this piece, I actually have no idea what it's even for. I'm guessing I was somewhere in the middle of doing the first EXIT 6 book (Keith being a major player in the story) at the time (or seriously getting ready to do it) and I just wanted to do one nice finished piece amongst all the multi-paneled story pages I was doing.

One thing that does pop out at me is the way I did the mountains in the background. The way I rendered those must have meant I was on a Berni Wrightson kick at the time. Either in the middle of his Frankenstein work or in the midst of the Wrightson tome, "A Look Back." I look at those mountains and it's me totally trying to rip off a Wrightson technique.

And, one thing I do remember about this piece is that it had WAY too many stars on it and it felt very distracting. So, I went back over all the stars with black. It was then I discovered that the Dr. Martin's white out I used on my paintings was a pain in the ass to cover back up with black ink on a basic black and white piece.

It's amazing how the little things come back to you, even when you have no idea when or why you even did a piece in the first place.

Techland!

Techland is Time Magazine's newest website that deals with all things pop culture. From video games, to comic books, to the newest movies, Time is covering it all.

I was contacted by the art director of the website to generate some illustrations for the main contributors to the site. After a few false starts to get down the right style he was looking for, things started to roll along smoothly.


Lev Grossman is a senior writer at TIME. He is Time's book critic and its lead technology writer, and he founded the blog Nerd World. Before he came to Time Grossman earned degrees in literature from Harvard and Yale. His most recent novel, The Magicians, published in August 2009, was a New York Times bestseller. He is chaotic good.






Peter Ha is the technology editor for TIME. A native of Oregon, Peter can be found at the local comic book shop on Wednesdays, playing unreleased video games on any given day, or tinkering with the latest gadget at any given hour. When he isn’t doing that you can find him surfing in the frigid waters surrounding NYC or getting tattooed in Portland.






It started with Kubrick’s “2001” when I was 12 – those apes, that monolith, made me want to write about art. After getting my act together at Columbia University’s journalism school I moved on to USA Today, Newsday, the New York Sun and TIME.com. For Techland I’m obsessed with all moving images: 35mm, IMAX, DVD, Blu-Ray, broadcast, cable, VOD, web.






Tracey John is a writer and journalist based in Brooklyn, New York. She has written feature articles about video games, technology and toys for MTV News, Wired.com, The New York Post, ToyFare, Wizard and many others. When she's not writing about video games and other geeky stuff, you will often find her gunning down virtual zombies or LFG somewhere in Azeroth.


The biggest challenge I had in doing these pieces was to please everyone. First and foremost I wanted to make the authors happy with each of their pieces and I wanted to keep within the guidelines my art director had set out for me. It made for a few changes here and there but I hope everyone is happy with the way their pieces turned out.

I have one of these illustrations left that I am still working on. A few changes need to be made on a few spots to make the author happy. I'm doing my best so I hope it all works out.

And, if not, I may never work in this town again...

Omaha Inked!

I finally got a chance to ink up the "Omaha, the Cat Dancer" commission piece I did for Mark. Even as we speak the original is making its way to Australia. I also sold Mark an original piece from EXIT 6. How cool is that? That EXIT 6, while it didn't make a huge impact, at least found it's way all around the world and to Australia. That thought just amazes me.

I went back and forth whether or not I should post a sexy naked pin-up piece of a cat lady on the blog. I do a lot of childrens books and, who knows, maybe someday some kid might Google my name, find my blog, click on it, and be horrified to see a naked cat lady.

But, I track my site and see who comes here. There are only a handful of you so I hope none of you are offended by a few inked lines on paper. Mentoring a kid for as long as I did I realized there are far worse things to see on the web and, talking to him, he had seen things that I couldn't even imagine seeing when I was his age. But, if you are offended, I apologize...just make sure you don't click on the image to make it any bigger. I'd hate to feel I was the cause of you gouging your eyes out.

As for the rest of you, I hope you enjoy the art. It's certainly not everyday that I have a request to do such a piece so it was a nice change of pace from drawing kid's playing sports all day.

So, thank you Mark. I hope you and Australia enjoy the piece! I had a great time doing it!

Henry

Last but not least in our look at each member of the band OilCan Drive is Henry, the greatest bass playing ape that ever lived!

Of course, he's the only bass playing ape that's ever lived but, you know, you take your kudos where you can get them.

Henry was raised by Nicole, who took him from a top secret military testing facility that was genetically creating a creature they called "War Apes." After the Carbon War ended and the project was shut down the whole line was scrapped and marked for immediate disposal. Luckily for Henry, Nicole was taking a tour of the labs with her father just before that happened. The ten year old Nicole took the baby Henry home, hiding him for years from her father, and the two grew up together.

Nicole shared her love of all things music with the young ape and the two spent many a night beating on drums and thumping on the bass. Nicole's father still wonders how one little girl, alone in her room, could make so much noise.

Henry is the Cowardly Lion of the group. Big and tough, he is still as apt to be scared by a little mouse than take on a whole gang of military soldiers. But, when the going gets tough, you can always count on Henry to be by your side.

Henry is tough, loyal, lovable, and working on being as brave as he can be for Nicole and the rest of the group.

He is Henry. He is OilCan Drive.

Nicole Baylor

Thanks to all who took the time to check and see if the music player was working. It's sounds like, across the board, that it's working just fine. So, I think Wimpy is the winner and the application I'll be using to feature some of the music on the OilCan Drive site I am developing.

Thank you all again.

And speaking of OilCan Drive...

Nicole Baylor is the time keeper and beater of drums that keeps the rhythm alive for OilCan Drive. She is the heart and soul of the band and the one who usually keeps the boys from killing each other. More than once she's kept the band from breaking up and going their separate ways.

Nicole is the daughter of military commander General Randolph Baylor. She's a girl on the lam, a runaway from home, and will do anything to keep her freedom and her band alive.

She is Nicole Baylor. She is OilCan Drive.

Vincent Spicer

This is another piece of art I plan to use somewhere in the newest OilCan Drive book. Right now, it's slated as accompanying the OCD logo on the title page. Of course, things could change from now until then so we'll have to see where it ends up in the finished product.

Vincent Spicer is the lead guitarist behind OilCan Drive. He taught Ryan every chord he knows. While Ryan is content to bash away on his beat up old Fender Stratocaster with simple power chords Vincent prefers to lay back and let his Custom Gibsom ES-333 guitar do his talking for him. He's the man who plays the lead notes and all those pretty little melodies you all seem to enjoy so much.

Vincent is ex-military, wounded in battle, and used the guitar to complete his rehab. Strict and gruff on the exterior, adherent to order, and tough as nails, Vince will still give his left arm to help out a friend.

He is Vincent Spicer. He is OilCan Drive.

Music Test Number Two!

OK, since my first attempt to do a cross platform music player failed spectacularly I am trying it again. This time I am using a Flash based player called "Wimpy." It's a demo version that should work for two weeks before I need to buy the activation code. So, here's hoping.

The good thing is that if this player does work I can customize its appearance and make my own "skin" for it. I'd love the chance to make my very own OilCan Drive jukebox. For now I'm using the basic look of the player. I want to wait and see if this does work before I start wasting time with the graphics.

So, let me know if you can see and hear a player right below this text. If all goes well (and my fingers are crossed) all of you should be able to enjoy the music of OilCan Drive.

Hope hope hope...

From the Vault - EXIT 6 Storyboards 1990

Building off of the character sheet that I featured last week, one of the following assignments was to use that character in a storyboarded movie trailer. Click on the image to take a closer look at each panel and read some of the oh so witty dialogue that I dreamed up as a teenager.

My guess is that it had to be sixteen panels long. I can't imagine at this time, with the workload of school assignments I had, that I was going above and beyond what the assignment called for.

The whole assignment looks to have been done with markers and maybe a touch of colored pencil.

Working on as many advertising storyboards as I have in the last few years I can pretty much tell you that what I was doing in 1990 as a school assignment is pretty much the same as I was doing for paying gigs at ad agencies. And that was working as fast as I could to meet the deadlines. The agencies don't want pieces of art they can frame on the wall and admire. No, they just want something in hand when they walk into a meeting with a client so they can better explain their vision for the next ad campaign.

But this was a fun one. A trailer for an EXIT 6 movie. I can only dream that such a thing would ever actually happen. The closest I came was about ten years ago when I received a fax from 20th Century Fox going over, point by point, why they had decided not to pick up EXIT 6 as a possible movie option.

But, it was still cool to have a fax letting me know that some big movie studio even knew I existed.

And, as for this assignment? Well, as you can see, here is the grade I got on it.

Ryan Burke

So it looks like, even with the one comment from Rob, that the embedded player idea I had in the last blog didn't work out quite right. Oh well, that's why I like having a blog. Better to find out what works and doesn't here and now then after designing a full website. Thanks, Robbo. Now I'll have to start searching around for a flash based player I can use.

I found a few images that I meant to post months ago on a flash drive I used today. For the OilCan Drive project I did an illustration of each member of the band to use on various pages in the book like the title page, contact information page, and the copyright page. How the actual design of the book will look and where they will all show up is still up in the air but it's nice to have the art done and ready to go.

First up is the front man and lead singer of OilCan Drive, Ryan Burke. He's the one who usually gets the band into trouble and sometimes, if he falls ass backwards into it, he might be the one who gets them out. He's a former hockey player who finds his way into the wastelands of The Zone after dodging the mandatory military draft. On the run and with some new allies in tow, he becomes the lead singer of the underground band, OilCan Drive.

He likes adventure, groupies, and, for some reason, likes to bend his guitar picks like a hockey stick blade.

He is Ryan Burke. He is OilCan Drive.

This is a Test...this is only a Test...

"When one of us stops playing, we all stop playing...because that means the song is over." - My Name is Earl

I've been reading a book lately called "The Indie Band Survival Guide." It's, as you've guessed it, a guide to help the independent musician. And since, barring some miracle, that is what the cartoon band OilCan Drive is, it's been a really good read.

I'm about a quarter of the way through the book and, so far, it has me thinking alot about the design of the OilCan Drive website. Right now, that site is just a place holder with a few links and promises of things to come. But, the ideas are starting to form of what I want to build into that page and how I want it to look. While doing all of the freelance work I have on my plate right now all I can do with the OilCan Drive project is think about stuff.

One of the things I've been working on is how to embed music onto the page without simply having links to various MP3s. I know I've embedded music before on this blog and for some of you it's worked and for some of you it hasn't. So, I've found a new code that will allow me to stream a bunch of MP3s in one player. Please let me know if this player works on your computer. It works fine on mine but, with the world wide web, it's hard to say that which works on mine will work on yours.

My only gripe with this player is their is no track list from song to song. You don't know if you're on song three or sixteen. I think I need to dig a little deeper and see if I can find a flash driven player that works well. If anyone can point me in the right direction I'd much appreciate it.

But, for now, let's see if this works.

Oh, and if anyone knows a way to kill the space between the text here and the player below, please let me know. I have no idea how to get it move up further.

Update: OK, so this player didn't work quite as well as I hoped it would. Two of the three people who reported in couldn't get it to work. So, it's back to the drawing board. Go check out my second try.

Track 1 - OilCan Drive - It Ain't Me, Babe
Track 2 - OilCan Drive - When I Paint My Masterpiece
Track 3 - OilCan Drive - Wastelands (Instrumental)

Omaha

Amidst the kid's books, freelance work, and OilCan Drive, I've also been doing a commission for Mark in Australia.

It seems Mark has been a fan of my old comic book, EXIT 6, for a few years now and he contacted me a while ago to not only buy some of the original EXIT 6 art but also commission me to do a piece of Omaha, the Cat Dancer.

I've known of the Omaha books for years now but have never actually sat down and read them. However, doing a sexy nude cat lady never seems like a bad idea so doing the initial penciling was a blast.

Now, if I can only find the time to ink the piece while finishing up all this other work. Thanks for being so patient, Mark, and I hope you like the results so far.

Spirit Of Independence

I've always been a fan of independent media. Whether it was the independent comic movement I got caught up in during the 90's, the feeling of an independent movie scene with guys like Tarantino and Rodriguez breaking out with their own voice, or the independent music scene I am currently fascinated with, I've always been a fan.

Something about normal people being able to make a go of it against the massive corporations and still carving out a niche for themselves is very heroic and inspiring to me. The idea of one person being able to make it without asking some unseen or unknown "boss" permission to do what you want to do is liberating.

So, I've always been a fan of the comics, the movies, and the music independent people can make.

But I never thought about an independent soda pop market.



I found this video yesterday through a post on Seth Godin's blog. Seth says it much better than I can about how great this guy is. He's the epitome of an independent movement. The fact that he can do his own thing, help out similar sized businesses as himself, and even have the courage to tell Pepsi to go take a hike is inspiring.

And tell me, after watching this video, that you don't want to go visit this guy's store and see what he has to offer. I guarantee you'd go into this place and walk out with a purchase under your arm.

From the Vault - Keith Howard Character Sheet 1990

Another piece from the Vault involving characters from Exit 6. Like I said before, a LOT of the assignments I did during art school featured these characters. I loved them, they were mine, and it was only a matter of time before I put them in a full comic book and released them out into the world.

But, back in 1990 I was still working on the ideas.

I believe this piece was done the first week of my second year of art school for a Business of Art class. The idea was that we would create a character, do a model sheet of him or her, and, over the next few months, do various projects that centered around that character. One week might be a product, the next a storyboard for a commercial, and the next a pitch for a movie.

But it all started with a character sheet featuring various "turns" of the character and a little description. So, if you ever read EXIT 6 and wondered how strong Keith is, well, now you know.

This piece was inked with done and brush and probably colored with Dr. Martin's Dyes. Oh, and the lettering was done by Thom Zahler. I hated hand lettering and Thom was good enough at it that he would always help me out. I still hate hand lettering and thank God everyday that the computer makes it easier for a guy like me to letter a comic book.

And check out those fingers. Back then even Keith Howard only sported four of them!

The Ink Will Be Flying!

I've been inking like a fiend over the pile of work I penciled last week and the next few days don't show any signs of slowing down.

So, if you see a guy out on the streets, maybe at a sandwich place, getting some dinner tonight, his eyes bleary, his head sagging, and his left hand caked in dried ink, you'll know it's me.

If you like me, you'll buy me a cookie :)

Have a great day.

The Cartoonist

As I blogged before, I'm a huge fan of the Jeff Smith "The Cartoonist" DVD.

If you haven't seen it yet, and shame on you if you haven't, PBS is now giving you the chance to see it for free.

"On November 8 and 9, a new documentary, "The Cartoonist: Jeff Smith, BONE and the Changing Face of Comics" will be fed via satellite to public television stations around the country as a special for the November/December pledge drive period."

But, they might need your help to make sure your local PBS station actually airs it. More can be read on the official press release HERE.

Of the many DVDs I put on the TV on any given day for inspiration, The Cartoonist is one of the few I have that really makes me want to do comic books. I have tons of stuff on music, musicians, and concerts but very few great DVDs that focuses so well on a comic book artist. It's great for kids, adults, and anyone who ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes of making a successful, do-it-yourself comic book.

If you can't tell yet, I HIGHLY recommend it! So, check out the press release and see if it's on your local PBS station this weekend. I promise you that you won't be disappointed.

Projects, Hockey Games, and Wars

I woke up this morning from a series of interesting dreams that had the same theme in common.

When starting a large project you're always in a different mindset than when you're in the middle of it. You conceive the project and it's almost like a dream. The world is at your fingertips. Everyone will love what you do and the process will be easy. You haven't started working on it yet so nothing can go wrong.

Then, you start the project and it's actually a lot more work than you bargained for and at times very overwhelming. You (or at least I) always seem to find more than a few instances during a large project that you want to chuck it all away and quit. It's just too hard. Too much work. And, who cares anyway?

So, how do you change your mindset from what you first felt when you started the project to how you feel when you're actually in the middle of it and find it's a lot of work? And, what will get you to the end of that project?

Whether it was working on a project that involved a comic book and music album, playing a game of hockey, or fighting a war for the sake of humanity, these two phrases ran through my head all night long:

Start a project with enthusiasm, energy, and arrogance.

End a project with dedication, stubbornness, and the desire to present a job well done.

I think my subconscious might be on to something here...

I Got You, My Girl!

Halloween here in Boulder went off without a hitch. No fires or riots or naked pumpkin runners tore the town down. I awoke Sunday morning to a bright, shiny day and none of the bad things the newspaper said were supposed to happen happened.

So, all is well.

Between the death of John and the early winter snow storms last week I pretty much bunkered down and worked a lot. I've found, in the face of things I don't know how to handle, that I just work. So, last week, I worked myself into exhaustion. Then I was exhausted. Then I worked myself into exhaustion again. I got a full children's book about a football team penciled, penciled all the interior character solo pieces as well as the team's group shot, inked more of OilCan Drive, and sketched out plans for a private commission.

Unfortunately, I can't show most of the work I did last week here on the blog yet.

But, I thought you'd all get a kick out of this.

One of the demo songs I did for the OilCan Drive album was intended to be an instrumental number for the opening track. I didn't exactly know what I wanted to do so I just hit the click track and played a few arpeggio chords with the intention of filling a minute or two of space. It's decent, simple, and fills the space. But, it didn't seem quite right. It seemed a bit long and repetitive.

It needed something.

So, after listening to a few tracks of Gigi Edgley's debut album I decided to swipe what she did and add some phone messages to the opening track. Well, actually only one phone message. But, what a phone message it was!

I have been saving this phone message for YEARS! Originally every time my message service would try to delete it I would save it. And, later, when I changed my phone over to Vonage, I actually recorded the message and saved it to my computer. It was just that good.

The only thing I can think about this phone message is that it was a call center solicitation. When he heard the answering machine he basically gave up and hung up on the call. Or, so he thought. What we are left with is this guy, still on the line, talking to his co-workers and just praying for the end of the work week.

So, I took this message, cut it up, put some music over it and voila! Instant classic!

It's a good start and a good idea but I've recently been rethinking this first track and am rewriting the music so it flows more evenly into the first actual song on the album. But, that just means I get to share this demo track with you. I hope you enjoy it and love the phone message as much as I do. I've saved it long enough that it was about time I used it for something constructive!

If you can't hear the track with the embedded music player you can check out the original file HERE.

Enjoy!