aliens

Vegas in Space

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Friendlies, come along on a weird trip to a planet without men!

If you know me at all, you know that I have a special place in my heart for Phillip R. Ford's epic drag queen space adventure Vegas in Space starring the ever-glamourous Doris Fish. You can imagine my thrill when I was asked by Peaches Christ herself to create a commemorative poster to celebrate the 25th anniversary of this sparkly gem of a movie. Nat Swope from Bloom Press and I decided that neon colors were a must (see below for the final print).

San Francisco is the city where New Wave will never die. Generations of inspired weirdoes flock here to hot glue things to other things at 3 am. If you listen close (even now) you can hear the neon ghosts on Market Street singing. Vegas in Space is truly a magical gem of a film, a sparkling time machine, an anarchic mishmash of glitter, glamour, and girlinium. Thanks to Peaches Christ for bringing it back to to the big screen, and for asking me to participate.

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For the film’s 25th anniversary, Frameline, in association with Peaches Christ Productions and Troma Entertainment, is proud to present a fully fledged celebration of the movie that took us to the stars. Featuring an accompanying pre-show with Vegas in Space cast and crew in person, including director Phillip R. Ford, Miss X, Ramona Fischer, Lori Naslund, Timmy Spence, Kate Guthorn, Silvana Nova, and Connie Champagne! Get your tickets here.

This movie took nine years to complete. Phil Ford documented the entire production here.

I have a weird history with this film: in 2007, artist Jim Winters and myself made a set of prints of the legendary Doris Fish. The wood-frame screens (there were several!) were found in a box on the streets of San Francisco. I believe that Doris herself made the screens, and they found their way into Jim’s hands. With Philip Ford’s blessing, Jim and I created a set of prints using the screens and some spraypaint and donated a set of the prints and the screens to the GLBT Historical Society in San Francisco.

Here they are:

Glamour first, Glamour last, Glamour always,

xm

An Interview with Doc & the Mojave Phonebooth

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Friendlies, the Mojave Phonebooth was a working telephone in the middle of the Mojave Desert in the middle of nowhere, and our pal Doc was its champion. I came across mentions of the booth in the late 90's ; this little booth attracted travellers (and callers) from all over the world. Doc is putting a book together about the entire experience called Adventures with the Mojave Phonebooth. NPR interviewed Doc about the booth, and that's a good listen. I also asked him a few questions about the Booth, and Doc kindly took the time to reply. Read on, after the photo.

Q: I know the booth itself is long-gone, but I heard you can still call the phone number? (psst: 760-733-9969)

A: After the NPS destroyed the Mojave Phone Booth, I tried to obtain its number but (probably under pressure from the NPS) Pacific Bell told me it was permanently "retired." I tried again, with the same result, when ownership passed from Pac Bell to SBC and again it passed from SBC to AT&T. Last year, though, someone screwed up and noted phreak Lucky225 acquired it. Right now it's a conference line but Lucky is amenable to using it for other purposes to be revealed in due course.

Q: Besides phone booths, what's the other most peculiar thing you've found in the desert?

A: Given what becoming known did to the poor Booth, maybe I should skip this question? (But maybe the Door in the Floor!) (I can say no more.)

Q: What was the best thing left at the booth by visitors?

A: What springs to mind is something left after the Booth was destroyed: someone made a colorful, tiled, full-size headstone for the Booth. (It was confiscated, almost certainly by the NPS, who also came out to break up and cart away even the concrete pad on which the Booth had stood, in an effort to discourage people who were coming out to visit it. You know what they say about tax dollars.)

Q: Can you tell us a little about the Mojave Phone Book?

A: Indeed, sir (and thank you!)--although it seems almost impossible at the moment, my book Adventures with the Mojave Phone Booth is scheduled to be available this May.

Q: Is there a corollary weirdo community happening somewhere that you know of?

A: With the exception of maybe Burning Man (or the Internet at large), I might be tempted to say Slab City.

Doc, thanks for your time. I can't wait to read the book.

xm

An Interview with Mrs. Vera

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Inspiration Korner: vera

I was lucky enough to catch a word with Mrs. Vera (David Faulk), who is an amazing San Francisco artist and personality. David and Michael Johnstone (who created the photos above) are the fearless leaders of the Verasphere (pictured below). Here's the Verasphere traipsing down the runway for a show at the DeYoung museum. Each year for Pride, they splash San Francisco with enough color to make a rainbow blush. Read the full interview with Mrs. Vera after the photo.

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All photos: Michael Johnstone

Dear Mrs. Vera, I hear you're a fan of the comics. Can you give me a few of your favorites?

It's been a long time since I read EVERYTHING...the completist/collector(former) in me misses that era of possible comprehensiveness, a ship that has long since sailed. I always was drawn to writers who could build long story lines and develop sub plots, and growing up for me that was Steve Englehart, who could really hit the head on stories that were pure fantasy but socially relevant and just soapy enough that they seemed ABOUT to become adult (gosh JUST LIKE ME!). At 13 that was Avengers, Dr. Strange, he took a whack at most of Marvel's and a bunch of DC's titles. I could not get enough, for years, but now relentless continuity just exhausts me, and I can't afford it anyway. But I still love the mythic qualities of superheroes and power struggles. Mrs. Vera is all about the fighting of crime and the leaping over of tall things, mostly grass, but still...

There are SO MANY great books out today, I'm astounded, having waded through decades of material half-heartedly in search of something to get excited by. I think the medium, it's writers in particular, have really come into unassailable artistic legitimacy, elevating the field higher than I'd imagined possible, and the art has evolved so much since my early days. It is all so much more sophisticated. I'm very writer-driven at this point still. I think Jonathan Hickman does amazing, and varied work really utilizing the medium. East of West, Manhattan Projects. His Fantastic Four was delightful, and his Avengers work is fascinatingly worked-out and intricate. Saga is amazing, and funny as hell. I like to use humor in my work, and I like it in the work of others as well. I thought Young Avengers was a hoot, and The Wicked and Divine is especially fun, because I'm a million years old now and the dialog is so, well, satisfyingly hip and young and clever. Joss Whedon's writing for same reason. Velvet and Lazarus and Hawkeye are like perfect screenplays. I've loved everything the Luna Brothers have done (Alex and Ada, Girls(so messed up!), The Sword. The list is HUGE, it's a renaissance really. Morning Glories, Silver Surfer (Michael Allred is such a stylish blend of down-to-earth and out-of-this-world), She hulk is a hoot, Rachel Rising a disturbing hoot. Grant Morrison always delivers. Darwyn Cooke too. Astro City. I like sprawling but contained universes. I could go on and on, so instead I'll mention two things I used to love, but found I eventually couldn't look at one more panel of! I LIVED for Cerebus, for years, but came to hate the book for reasons I still can't formulate to my satisfaction. It was like a descent into poor mental health that I just stood by and watched (yikes!). I also cannot read another X-men story. PLEASE don't ask me too. It's like watching ghosts playing tiddly-winks for ghost grapes. I'd buy THAT, of course. Zot was a masterpiece too. Wuv me some Wuvable Oaf. Oh lordy, the beat goes on....bottom line, comics have never been smarter.

What's your new studio like, and what can you do there that you couldn't do before?

San Francisco, I still love it and feel REALLY lucky to be here, but it's been rough making it work the past few years. I lost my Studio space- full of paintings- and had to move ALL of my Mrs. Vera kibble and kaboodle out of my apartment, and then lost my apartment. Visual Aid closed, the closest thing I'll probably ever get to gallery-esque representation, a huge loss to myself, and more importantly, the city. Anyway, It's all in a shipping container one can drive right up to now, but it has been three years of down-down-down-down-down-down-sizing and, well, depressing unproductivity. But I found a great place, and my apartment shares a wall with my partner-in-crime Michael's flat, in an amazing building in Hayes Valley. It's like a very poorly written sit com, and I have a feeling our dogs will get a spin-off series if anyone happened to tune in. Michael and I have been together 22 years, collaborating on the photos and costume shenanigans, but never actually lived in the same building until now. It's all TOO perfect, and I'm happier than I've been in years. I hasten to point out that this is NOT the San Francisco 2013-2015 Real Estate experience of ANYONE else I know, and I have a positive dread of being some poster child rainbow story of the moment because of my uncommon good fortune. At the moment I need to archive, I need to paint again, Mrs. Vera needs new outfits, I need to get GOING again. All of which can be achieved in my new space!

I think of Mrs. Vera as a summertime creature. What is wintertime like for Mrs. Vera?

I came to THIS planet to escape the summer of my home planet, which is 80,000 years long, but it looks like your beautiful Ice Age is Kaput. I only look like a 'Summer' because of the horrible accident I had as a child in the spray-tan factory, and also maybe because I lack the ability to sweat, and bees love me, and one of my feet is shaped just like a cinderblock-sized Ice Cream Sandwich. Go ahead, try and guess which foot! I'll never tell, a Lady needs her secrets after all.The best thing about winter, since you ask, is that you can make jello molds outdoors without running up your electric bill, and you can also pretend it's going to rain, probably, and people around here don't look at you as if your crazy. Okay, now I'm just projecting. Most people avoid making any kind of eye contact with me at all, during the winter, but that's just because they are jealous of my AMAZING silver diaper! Want me to make you one for the Pride Parade this year?

And Thanks, ever so much, for noticing I'm alive! It confirms my Doctor's theory that I am, so that's ONE less thing for me to worry about. I'm crossing it OFF the list!

**

Thank you thank you thank you for a lively lovely interview Mrs. Vera!

xm

Chris Rathman's Bead-A-Mation for La Costa Perdida

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Wow. I'm stunned. Chris Rathman has taken the cover art I created for Camper Van Beethoven's La Costa Perdida and has done stop-motion animation with plastic beads to create this super-groovy video. There's lots of great CVB in-jokes that whiz by. You'll have to see for yourself. Behold:

Peaches In The Summertime - Camper Van Beethoven (Full Bead-A-Mation) from Chris Rathman on Vimeo.

Apparently, this took Chris six months to complete. Stunning.

By the way, have you checked out the artwork I did for the new record? Here's a taste.

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xm

Campout 9 Poster Design

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Hello Friendlies, Campout 9 is upon us. Here's the poster I just finished. Stay tuned for the printed version. This was a meditation on an upcoming birthday, on the death of the glaciers, on the old traditions and religions. Remember when rock and roll used to be dangerous? Apparently a 9 enneagram is "the peacemaker". That sounds good to me.

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xxm

La Costa Perdida

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Friendlies, the new Camper Van Beethoven record is out today, and it is, indeed, a goody goody. The package design and illustrations were done by yours truly. You can stream the whole thing here, and you can buy yourself a copy here. I recommend getting a "hard copy" of the CD, since that will give you the full sensory experience of owning the record (as opposed to having these little pop gems lost in the "shuffle" of your playlists).

Go ahead, treat yourself. Buy the CD from your local music purveyor, wait for it to arrive, pour yourself a frosty beverage, put the CD on, find a comfortable place to sit and listen, and relax. Listen to each track carefully, noting your physical reaction to each song. You might get distracted. That's ok. Sit back down, and listen to the next track. And so on. See? Feels good, right?

Do you know Camper's older musics? You might start with Popular Songs of Great Enduring Strength and Beauty. This is a good collection. If you like that one, you're ready for Cigarettes and Carrot Juice, a box set of their early records. Key Lime Pie is another favorite. Listen, it's all great. Trust me.

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You'll find me at The Rickshaw Stop on February 16.

xm

september 2012

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Friendlies: so much is going on. So. Much. Is. Going. On.

First, there's this: Mac @ ARCH Art Supplies asked me to design a poster for Papergirl SF, a "a community art project that distributes submitted art pieces by bicycle, freely and at random, to people in the streets of San Francisco, American paperboy style".

Here's a lovely little video of the poster getting printed. These posters will be distributed free this Friday night at the DeYoung Museum.

Making of the Michael Wertz Papergirl SF Poster from Papergirl SF on Vimeo.

I'm working on the new Camper Van Beethoven album packaging right now. The record is called La Costa Perdida. Have I heard the record? Yes, and it's their best record since Key Lime Pie. I can't wait for you guys to hear it. In the meantime, here's "Camper Van Beethoven" and "La Costa Perdida" in Hebrew:

כמפר ון בטהובן camper van beethoven

לה כוסתה פרדיטה la costa perdida

Here's this year's Campout poster. It'll be available on my site after the Campout.

camput_2012
camput_2012

This summer I worked with my friends Babs & Steve at Hard Boiled Industries to make an e-Book version of Dog Dreams. Get it on iTunes! You can have me read the book to you and say the word "hurtling" 100 times in a row. Fun! The post below (the video of me at the SFCB being goofy-looking) is included as part of the e-Book, so you can watch me pretend to make prints on the Vandercook again and again!

What else. Oh, it was a lovely, lovely summer. Spent the 4th of July weekend with our good friends Earl & Samuel in Port Costa. Stayed at this beautiful old hotel : these spots (without strip malls) are hard to come by in the Bay Area. Did the yearly family trip to Tahoe (this was our 24th year ; we've somehow managed not to kill one another), and prepared for my teaching gig at CCA. I'm teaching Digital Tools to 20 students in the Illustration department. There's only been one class thus far, but so far, so good.

OH MAN. Also! In the "Cool Stuff I get in the Mail" department: Chris Rathman sent me a Plastic Bead version of the Space Bear from this year's Campout Poster! Behold!

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space_BEAR

Thank you so much Chris!

xm

The Peculiar Scholarship of Doctor Bedcannon

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE SAN FRANCISCO'S SUBTERRANEAN STAMP SOCIETY MATERIALIZES AT SFMOMA!

The Elsewhere Philatelic Society is proud to announce the unveiling of “The Peculiar Scholarship of Dr. Bedcannon”, #7 in the Psychedelic Philatelic Adventure Series (collect them all!). In conjunction with the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Koret Visitor Education Center, the EPS cordially invites you to experience the galleries of SFMOMA as Dr. Bedcannon INTENDED THEM TO BE EXPERIENCED. Have you ever wanted to question an institution's extant reality? Dr. Ytterbium G. Bedcannon has! You'll follow in his footsteps as he recontextualizes every object within the museum to match his whimsical and questionable views.

Bedcannon's walkabout can be enjoyed Thursday through Tuesday, in the Koret Visitor Education Center (2nd floor), from January 15, 2012, until such time as the SFMOMA grows weary of its urban whimsy (likely a day in August).

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The Elsewhere Philatelic Society (est. 1895) is an interactive fiction project set in various locations throughout San Francisco and the East Bay, and is inspired by the Games of Nonchalance project.  It endeavors to engage players in an on-going adventure storyline, to encourage them to observe and produce street art, and to explore urban areas in new and unusual ways.