Ah, The Muse....

or: How Music ALSO And Almost MORE deeply Influences My Work Than Mild & Legal Intoxicants

The second, in a long line of Bacchanalian Introspects

I am autistic. (for those who know me: big shocker, I know.) My place on the spectrum is somewhere between watery and robot. I don't make sense to most people, but that's ok. Audio stimulation (both negative and positive) is the strongest stimuli in a body and mind whose senses are always keyed up to 11, as a baseline. Music is....I don't know how to properly articulate how music effects my mind, but here's an attempt: A great number of the names of my designs and the color schemes are based on songs or lyrics. The work....the amount of physical effort that I put into something can even be affected by the music playing. As i type this, X is taking a picture of me typing in my little area of solitude while listening to Madonna's "Crazy For You". That song makes reminds me of Casandra. Next track: "I Wanna Rock" by Twisted Sister. This should get fun. The music moves me. It moves my soul, and my hands, and my heart and my eyes to, for lack of a better term (and all apologies), make pretty shit. Fade to:

"The Grand Illusion" by Styx. I suppose now is a good time to profess my lack of research into other designs. I'm just doing me and my thing, Which translates to "us and our thing" since this is a family business, but I'm writing this. Fade to: Jimi Hendrix "Axis: Bold As Love" I have dedicated quite a bit to this song. A shirt design, several lines from product descriptions, my thoughts on color, and that voice....oh, the voice of Jimi Hendrix....can words suffice? Oh, hey....it's my puppies' birthday. Happy birthday, Wanda & Pete.

Here's me, typing this blog. Hello.

The right tool for the right job.

Sometimes, the work requires industrial focus. Step 1, Step 2, Step 3. A clear path with repetitive motions. Rammstein, NIN, Manson, etc. are amazing for this. Sometimes, the smooth sounds of the 70's are necessary. Badfinger and Seals & Croft were playing prominently when I made the Coffee Stain motif. Even the dogs have their preferences: Pete and Wanda both like Sublime. Al (the pitbull) rolls around on the floor with a big old grin on his face when Skynyrd is playing. All the pets (especially Baker, the ginger old fart cat) have a thing for The Doobie Brothers. When I am making something retro, but specific to a time-period, I will listen to music from that era/genre. That last sentence pretty much sums up the entire blog, but I will keep rambling because I can...my forum and all. And here, as I am finishing this page, "Closer To The Heart" by Rush starts. Yeah. That.

In Summation:

"Music is your special friend...." -Jim Morrison

"Voices of the dead nurturing my pain...." -Otep Shamaya

I have no shame admitting that I am heavily influenced by popular music from before now. There are few genres I avoid, due to the feelings evoked, but of all my addictions, auditory stimulation is the strongest. It drives my labor and it drives my creativity. It drives my very soul. I have no ability, admittedly, to produce music, but I love what others have accomplished in the field. With the utmost love and absolute best wishes, 'Squito Valdez