CLOSE UP: Nick D'Amico

Nick D'Amico, 2011. By Travis Simpkins

Quiet Desperation- NERO

For more info, visit: http://quietd.com/

Facebook Timeline: An Unlikely, But Great Showcase for Art

     Unlike some (who complain about it regularly), I really like the new Facebook "Timeline" format. It seems more linear, streamlined and thought out. The major feature, as it turns out, is the ability to feature a really large photo at the top of the page. While perusing the site, I noticed some of the people I did portraits for have decided to place my art in this big picture window, and it looks cool. It's a great place to showcase the art, and I'm honored that they saw fit to do so...

The Inebriations' Music page on Facebook (I did the bottle logo)

     It's great to see the art featured on a more temporary basis as well...

CLOSE UP: Sophia Cacciola

Sophia Cacciola, 2011. By Travis Simpkins

DNFMOMD- Episode One- Arrival

For more info, visit: http://donotforsake.com/

CLOSE UP: John McCauley (Deer Tick)

John McCauley, 2010. By Travis Simpkins

Deer Tick- "Baltimore Blues No. 1" on David Letterman

For more info, visit: http://deertickmusic.com/

Katie Melua: Profiles from the Illustrations

Katie Melua, 2012. By Travis Simpkins

     It doesn't seem like 10 years have passed since Katie Meua's young, angelic voice was first recorded. She is still fresh, ever-evolving in style and development, and beautiful as ever. Keep it up, Katie!

     Her website nicely states, "When Georgian-born Katie Melua signed with Mike Batt's Dramatico Records in September 2002, no-one could have imagined that by the release of her third album, Pictures, she would be the biggest-selling UK-based, female artist in the world that year. Her first two albums, 'Call Off The Search' and 'Piece By Piece' both became international number ones, and the story was to continue, after an exciting, record-breaking rollercoaster ride involving several massive world tours and many special moments - like Katie playing on stage for Nelson Mandela with her idols, Queen, or dining at Buckingham Palace with the real Queen and the American Ambassador."

     For a more detailed bio, read further here.

Katie Melua- "Nine Million Bicycles"

Katie Melua, 2012. By Travis Simpkins

Katie Melua- "If You Were a Sailboat"

Katie Melua, 2012. By Travis Simpkins

Katie Melua- "Blowin' in the Wind" (Bob Dylan cover)

Katie Melua, 2012. By Travis Simpkins

For more info, visit: http://katiemelua.com/

CLOSE UP: Ron Hansen

Ron Hansen, 2012. By Travis Simpkins

Ron talking about his novel, A Wild Surge of Guilty Passion

Purchase the Novel here on amazon.com

Stephin Merritt: Profiles from the Illustrations

Stephin Merritt, 2012. By Travis Simpkins

     Stephin Merritt is a sarcastic riddle, impossible to fully describe. His website states, "Bubblegum purist Stephin Merritt has released seven albums by his band The Magnetic Fields, and two albums from The 6ths, all of them featuring extremely catchy songs. Besides the Magnetic Fields and The 6ths, Stephin also creates music under the names Future Bible Heroes and The Gothic Archies. Merritt's five former Magnetic Fields albums --Distant Plastic Trees, The Wayward Bus, Holiday, and The Charm of the Highway Strip and Get Lost have placed him deep within the heart of the underground music community for nearly a decade. Now, with domestic sales of his latest album "69 Love Songs" reaching over 150,000, Merritt's work has brought him away from his former rarified status as "indie rock hero", and garnered him mainstream success. Spin and Rolling Stone magazine, along with dozens of major national magazines and newspapers, have hailed "69 Love Songs" as one of the best albums of 1999. Merritt has gained official recognition as one of the country's best recent songwriters; the "Cole Porter of his generation". Merritt credits much of his singular compositional ability to his early grounding in classic Top 40 pop, notably the shimmering structural perfection of ABBA (which he cites as his favorite band). Merritt's lovely melodies are complemented by lyrics ripe with melancholy personal insights and bittersweet imagery. As the Village Voice pointed out, "These songs and their characters can get no closer to satisfaction than the margin, a memory or a daydream. Merritt sings obsessively about travel- alone in his living room sad shimmering music box melodies, he imagines a 'free love zone' somewhere far away. " Self- producing and arranging his songs, Merritt conjures meticulously crafted soundscapes using a variety of acoustic, electronic and improvised instruments. "Recording oneself allows the freedom to develop a production style other than the usual one," Merritt states. "As a producer, I'm not looking for a "realistic" effect. I like Phil Spector and ABBA records because they aren't striving for realism. I can't hear individual instruments, just the notes.""
...but that barely scratches the surface. Perhaps, more than any other source, true glimpses of who Stephin is can be best gleaned from listening to his beautiful songs.

Strange Powers- Stephin Merritt and The Magnetic Fields- movie trailer

The Magnetic Fields- "Papa Was a Rodeo" 

The Magnetic Fields- "I Think I Need a New Heart" 

The Magnetic Fields

For more info, visit: http://www.houseoftomorrow.com/

Brad Roberts (Crash Test Dummies): Art and Music (Songs that Inspired the Illustrations)

Brad Roberts, 2012. By Travis Simpkins

Crash Test Dummies- Superman's Song

Swimming in Your Ocean

Brad Roberts, 2012. By Travis Simpkins

Mmm, Mmm, Mmm, Mmm

God Shuffled His Feet

Brad Roberts, 2012. By Travis Simpkins

The Ghosts That Haunt Me

I Think I'll Disappear Now

For more info, visit: http://www.crashtestdummies.com/#/home

Rennie Sparks (The Handsome Family): Profiles from the Illustrations

Rennie Sparks, 2012. By Travis Simpkins

     Rennie Sparks formed the band, The Handsome Family with her husband Brett in 1993. Brett writes the music to go along with the haunting lyrics written by Rennie. Her writing is somewhat in the tradition of folk storytelling. Some of the songs are Gothic, others are ballads, and others still focus on historical characters (Nikola Tesla, Amelia Earhart, Robert Wadlow...).  Her enchanting words and beautiful voice paired with her husband's musical gifts create an unforgettable, unique sound. Rennie also writes fiction and paints, an all around great artist. Her short stories are brilliant and her paintings are unique and surreal.

The Handsome Family- "So Much Wine"

The Handsome Family- "Giant of Illinois"

The Handsome Family- "Tesla's Hotel Room"

The Handsome Family- "Flapping Your Broken Wings"

The Handsome Family- "Fallen Peaches"

The Handsome Family, 2012. By Travis Simpkins

For more info, visit: http://www.handsomefamily.com/

CLOSE UP: Tony Norris

Tony Norris, 2012. By Travis Simpkins

Tony Norris- Taste a Little of the Summer

For more info, visit: http://tonynorris.com/

The Guthrie Family Portraits: Three Generations (Woody, Arlo and Sarah Lee)

     I was going through some old files and found this illustration of Woody Guthrie I did about 10 years ago. I've done portraits of 3 generations of the Guthrie Family over the years. They are really kind people (Woody died long before I was born, but I've met all the subsequent generations).

Woody Guthrie, 2002. By Travis Simpkins

Woody Guthrie- "This Land is Your Land"

Arlo Guthrie, 2011. By Travis Simpkins

Arlo Guthrie- "Alice's Restaurant"

Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion, 2011. By Travis Simpkins

Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion- "Target On Your Heart"

CLOSE UP: Justin Townes Earle

Justin Townes Earle, 2011. By Travis Simpkins

Justin Townes Earle- Mama's Eyes

For more info, visit: http://www.justintownesearle.com/

CLOSE UP: Jennifer Coolidge

Jennifer Coolidge, 2012. By Travis Simpkins

Jennifer Coolidge in American Pie (1999)

Jennifer Coolidge in American Reunion (American Pie)

For more info, visit: http://www.imdb.com/JenniferCoolidge

Joan Baez: Profiles from the Illustrations

Joan Baez, 2012. By Travis Simpkins

     So much has been written about Joan Baez it would be redundant to repeat it all here. For a nice, different take on her early days, however, read David Hajdu's book, Positively Fourth Street: The Life and Times of Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Mimi Baez-Farina and Richard Farina. It's worth it.

     Joan's website sums up: "She remains a musical force of nature whose influence is incalculable - marching on the front line of the civil rights movement with Martin Luther King Jr., inspiring Vaclav Havel in his fight for a Czech Republic, singing on the first Amnesty International tour and just this year, standing alongside Nelson Mandela when the world celebrated his 90th birthday in London's Hyde Park. She brought the Free Speech Movement into the spotlight, took to the fields with Cesar Chavez, organized resistance to the war in Southeast Asia, then forty years later saluted the Dixie Chicks for their courage to protest war. Her earliest recordings fed a host of traditional ballads into the rock vernacular, before she unselfconsciously introduced Bob Dylan to the world in 1963 and focused awareness on songwriters ranging from Woody Guthrie, Dylan, Phil Ochs, Richard Farina, and Tim Hardin, to Kris Kristofferson and Mickey Newbury, to Dar Williams, Richard Shindell, Steve Earle and many more."

Joan Baez- "Farewell Angelina" 1966 (written by Bob Dylan)

Joan Baez- LIFE Magazine- 1962

Joan Baez- "Sweet Sir Galahad"

Joan Baez- "Diamonds and Rust" 1975

Joan Baez- "Love is Just a Four Letter Word" (written by Bob Dylan)

Bob Dylan and Joan Baez- 1965

For more info, visit: http://www.joanbaez.com/

CLOSE UP: Elizabeth Ziman (Elizabeth & the Catapult)

Elizabeth Ziman, 2012. By Travis Simpkins

Elizabeth and the Catapult- "Mama's Boy"

For more info, visit: http://www.elizabethandthecatapult.com/

CLOSE UP: Myq Kaplan

Myq Kaplan, 2012. By Travis Simpkins

Myq Kaplan and Conan O'Brien

For more info, visit: http://myqkaplan.com/


Myq Kaplan on Late Night with Conan O'Brien

"So Glad I Made It": The Saga of Roger Salloom. America's Best Unknown Songwriter (2004): Documentary

     The elusiveness of success and the questions of "why?" and "why not?" run throughout Chris Sautter's documentary, So Glad I Made It: The Saga of Roger Salloom, America's Best Unknown Songwriter (2004). It is a beautiful look at Roger Salloom, an immensely talented songwriter and musician that has come so close to making it big a few times in his career, but things, for one reason or another, just didn't work out.

     The focus of the film, the glue that holds it tight, is the recent footage of Roger as he tries so hard to restart his music career after 20 years away from it... 

TV news trailer

     It traces his beginnings in Worcester, MA, then covers his musical evolution as he formed Salloom, Sinclair and the Mother Bear, got signed to a label in 1968, and shared billing with many greats of the era (Van Morrison, The Band, Santana, B.B. King)... 

Salloom, Sinclair & the Mother Bear

     The focus shifts to Nashville, where Roger moved after the band dissolved and he continued to pursue songwriting career alongside greats like Guy Clark... 

Roger Salloom circa 1975

     Then, full circle, we find Roger again in the present. Still searching, still creating, still hopeful...

Roger Salloom- "In the Snow"

Roger Salloom, 2012. By Travis Simpkins

So Glad I Made It... - studio trailer

Richie Havens: Art and Music (Songs that Inspired the Illustrations)

Richie Havens, 2012. By Travis Simpkins

High Flying Bird

Just Like a Woman (Bob Dylan cover)

The Key

Richie Havens, 2012. By Travis Simpkins

Here Comes the Sun (Beatles cover)

Follow

Richie Havens, 2012. By Travis Simpkins

Josh Gondelman: Profiles from the Illustrations

Josh Gondelman, 2012. By Travis Simpkins

     In addition to being one of the friendliest guys you'll ever meet, Josh Gondelman is also a very talented writer and performer. His website elaborates, "Josh Gondelman is a writer and comedian who incubated in Boston before moving to New York City. With years of experience as a preschool teacher and a pretty good guy, Josh charms audiences using his good-natured storytelling and cracks them up with his sharp, pointy wit. Josh’s comedy touches on topics from rainbows to gangsta rap and makes them all equally hilarious thanks to his terrific writing and performing. 

In 2010 Josh traveled to Atlanta for the inaugural Laughing Skull Comedy Festival, where he turned heads and captured first prize! Since then he has become an in-demand performer on a national scale. He has performed at the Rooftop Comedy Festival in Aspen, CO, and headlined at the Laugh Your Asheville Off Festival in Asheville, NC. More recently he has appeared in the Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival and SF Sketchfest. Josh’s grandmother was especially thrilled to see him on television on G4?s “Attack of the Show” and MavTV’s “Rooftop on the Road.” His first CD, “Everything’s The Best” was released in November of 2011 by Rooftop Comedy Productions."

Josh Gondelman- Stand-up Comedy

Josh Gondelman

Josh Gondelman at The Comedy Studio

For more info, visit: http://www.joshgondelman.com/

CLOSE UP: Roger Salloom

Roger Salloom, 2012. By Travis Simpkins

Roger Salloom- "O'Nello"

Documentary about Roger Salloom

For more info, visit: http://www.rogersalloom.com/

New Movie Blog... and How I Came To Study Film History

     I have started a new Blog, dedicated solely to Film:

http://cinematicthoughts.blogspot.com/

 Updates and features regarding my Art and Illustration work will continue here, as always.


How I Came To Study Film and It's History

     If I was to say that I've always been into films, that wouldn't be entirely true. I don't recall going to the movies very often as a kid, and what I did see was mostly for entertainment value.
     That all began to change in the late 1990's. Immersed in my studies of  Art, Culture and History, my visual frame of reference was limited by available documentation and my imagination. I began to look at old films in a new context... in relation to historical figures and their time. Two scenarios piqued my interest at first:
      1) Prior to fleeing to South America, Outlaws Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid stopped off in New York City. While there, the two very likely caught a showing of The Great Train Robbery (1903), an early silent film featuring exaggerated aspects of their own exploits.

and

      2) Adolph Hitler certainly had  Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator (1940) screened for him upon it's release.
     It was just cool to think of and visualize the reactions of those Historical figures to those films.

     So, I started watching more and more old films.

     Further development happened several years after that, around 2006 or so. At that time, my friend and fellow artist Andy Fish was teaching a series of Film courses (Horror Films, Hitchcock, Film Noir...). I took every one and, through Andy's enthusiasm for Film (and his encyclopedic knowledge of the subject), I learned more about the artistic aspects of filmmaking and gained a deeper appreciation for the process and development of a given film concept. Those courses changed the way I viewed Films and allowed Cinema to have a greater influence on my Art. I owe a lot to Andy for that. In the six years since then, I have logged many hundreds of hours in front of a flickering screen, read countless books, spent a lot of time on film sets (both Hollywood and Indie Films) and have met a lot of interesting people in the business. My studies and passion for the subject continue to grow, and I generally just have a good time with it.

   Back to the blog.
   With Cinematic Thoughts, I'll add a new film post every day. The films chosen are either artistically, culturally or historically significant... or are at least ones that I find interesting or simply entertaining in some way. There will be a balanced juxtaposition between old and new films. In tribute to Andy Fish, I have tried to structure each new post much in the same manner he did his classes:

1) Brief Introduction and background

2) The Film

3) Discussion (via the comments section)

     So, please check out the blog here: http://cinematicthoughts.blogspot.com/ , and follow along (on blogger or by submitting your email) as new entries are added each day. I invite and welcome you to share your thoughts on each featured film as well.

CLOSE UP: Shelton Hank Williams III (Hank 3)

Shelton Hank Williams III, 2012. By Travis Simpkins

Hank 3: "D. Ray White"

For more info, visit: http://www.hank3.com/