Nowhere Band News

Rebecca and I discuss this in great detail, and you’ll have to go over there to get the answer.

Everyone has something to hide. Everybody.

For what it’s worth, this one went through a small last-minute script change; Josh’s secret was originally supposed to involve a tiny bit of insecurity about the band’s future, until a conversation on the drive home from a camping trip hammered home just how shameful it is to like “Uncle Albert.” So now Josh shares my shame.

Hoping to get back to more or less regular updates now, but I notice that the 4th of July holiday looms. We’ll see how this shakes out.

Come on along one and all, for a little guided tour of your favorite slightly warped hunk of fretted maple!

By way of liner notes, this one’s pretty self-explanatory.  Bands like the Awesome Boys (and pretty much every band I’ve ever been, although less and less so with Derailleur) always have instruments with tons of asterisks attached– stay away from here because it frets out, don’t play up the neck because it sounds weird, and so on. And even if you’ve got a perfect guitar, odds are your own stylistic foibles will keep you away from certain spots on the neck– I still view the entire B string with distrust.

So, I said 29 would be late and it wasn’t. Whoops. Some side projects came together more quickly than I expected. 30 will be late for sure, though, since I’ve got a camping trip planned for next weekend and precious little cartooning gets done on camping trips (or immediately afterwards, when you’re dealing with the Wall of Exhaustion).

Nowhere 28’s up, with Josh looking to use some connections to further his musical ambitions.

When I wrote this one, the thing on my mind was that every music writer on every level goes through this… people you know, from close friends to distant acquaintances, are always asking you to, y’know, give ‘em a hand.  And I was feeling kind of condemn-y about that, but the truth is that I’m just as bad with trying to push this comic.  I guess that’s the game.

Note that Mimi’s extremely awesome wall art is taken from J. Ralston’s The Hole in the Wall, on view at Top Shelf. 

Time to the next one’s a little indeterminate, but it’ll be up by 6/19 at the latest. Hopefully sooner, it depends on another (kind of exciting, but secret at the moment) project.

So, I’m back, and work on Nowhere #28 is proceeding pretty well; it’s about half pencilled, although the half that remains is the tough half.  Oh, well.  Things are looking good for it to be up by Monday, June 9.  6/9, dude!

In the meantime, while you’re waiting, here’s an oldie-but-goodie for you: my comic about a guy who sets out to shoot Fleetwood Mac in the head. There are some things I’d do differently if I was making that one now, but I still like ‘er a lot…

We’re about to leave for vacation, but we still found time to talk about Dead Poets Society; my side of the conversation somehow managed to include Led Zeppelin and Wolverine.

So, Dan’s a pretty good drummer, but he’s got other skills. He just sets them aside out of concern for the happiness of his friends.  What a guy!

This one isn’t ripped straight from real life like the whole Great Big Schmooze deal was, but there’s sort of a historical precedent.  Back in my first band, Red Hay, our drummer was a sextuple- or septuple musical threat who pretty much limited himself to drums.  I doubt that he ever had any conversations where he flat-out said he was holding back to spare our feelings (although he’s a hell of a nice guy, so I wouldn’t put it past him), but I was still always conscious that he could probably step forward and go all Gary Louris on us at any moment if he got the itch.

So, then, it’s Hiatus Time.  I’m off to California for a week, with production starting back up when I get back.  That puts the next strip up at, what, some time in June?  Let’s say June 9th as a probably-hard deadline.  Although you never know, it might be worth watching this space to see if things run more quickly for some reason.

Once again, an illustration for a blog post of Rebecca’s; this is an awesome, awesome (or creepy, creepy, depending on your POV) at Mancini’s in St. Paul.

While I’m here, I might as well mention that Nowhere  27 (featuring Dan, who’s been absent for a while) is in the Photoshop stage now, and could be up tomorrow if things break right. Otherwise, Friday for sure.

Friend of Nowhere Band John Ralston has part one of his series The Hole in the Wall up at the Top Shelf Comix site, and it is highly recommended. It’s a surreal story about a couple of cats who go exploring, gorgeously drawn in a style that reminds me a lot of 1930s newspaper strips. John’s a hell of an artist and a great guy, and he could use your clicks!