Projekts crew member Ben Rowles features in these off cuts from Phil Harvey’s ‘Keep Keen’ video that will be released soon. Enjoy this footage filmed in Manchester, Sheffield, London and Nottingham and look out for the film that has parts from John Bell, Lewis Threadgold, Chris Barrett, Ben Grove and Mitch Faber filmed in the US, Australia, Sheffield and Manchester. Scroll down for the trailer.
Keep Keen: Ben Rowles Offcutt Edit from PhilH on Vimeo.
KEEP KEEN teaser from PhilH on Vimeo.
Garrett Hill is welcomed to the Fallen Footwear team this week following his exit from Osiris. The Zero rider who dropped a decent section for the Strangeworld video is currently filming a part of a new DVD made by Aleks Lewandowski called ‘Feel Free‘ due for release soon featuring Mark Gutterman, Nate Broussard, Gantry Hill and Mike Barker. Watch the trailer below.
Jamie Thomas captures everything about why skateboarding is so much fun in this Insight Clothing edit.
Lizard King seems to be getting more coverage than most right now, especially as his shoe on Supra launched with a party last week. Watch him Checking In at Strangenotes here.
New York ska veterans The Slackers are set to return with a new album on Epitaph this coming April.
The record, entitled The Great Rocksteady Swindle, will be released on April 19th and will be the band’s 12th studio album. The band’s first single, Anastasia, can be downloaded for free now from Hell Cat.
The band will be returning to the UK in May as part of a full European tour, stopping at the following cities;
May
7th – Bristol – Metropolis
8th – London – islington academy
9th – Brighton – Engine Room
10th – Newcastle – Trillians
11th – Manchester – Moho Live
12th – Nottingham – Maza
Hole have announced details of a brief UK tour in May, following their sold out show at Shepherd’s Bush Empire last month.
The band, whose only original member is Courtney Love, will return to the UK for the following dates;
May
3rd – Glasgow O2 Academy
5th – London Brixton O2 Academy
9th – Birmingham O2 Academy
Velvet Underground co-founder John Cale has ruled out the possibility of any Velvet Underground reunion shows in the near future.
Speaking with the BBC, Cale admitted, “”It’s not something that I can see happening on the basis of the past.” Before adding, “anyone who wants to reform The Velvet Underground for a series of concerts, to make some money, I understand that, but you can’t do that.”
When questioned on his relationship with Lou Reed, Cale revealed, “I haven’t spoken to Lou in a long time, but we’re in touch because of business,” he explained. “There’s no communal effort to enjoy each other’s company any more.
Reformed pop-punk outfit The Get Up Kids will release their first new material for six years, as they release a new EP this April.
The four track record, entitled Simple Science, will be available digitally as well as limited release CD/LP. An exact release date is expected to be announced soon.
Dez Skinn
(Ilex)
Right, let’s get this out of the way before we go on: I’m a comic book geek. Yep, the type that bag and board every comic they buy so you don’t get creases and tears on the book. The type that doesn’t let anyone go near them, let alone read them. But there are reasons for this nerdy love of comics and Comic Art Now is a perfect showcase of those reasons.
In his foreward, writer Mark Millar (creator of Kick-Ass, Wanted and the soon to be released Nemesis) states that it is the art that is paramount above the stories, saying:
‘A bad artist can slit the throat of even the sturdiest story, but a great artist can resuscitate a corpse’
High praise indeed for a writer, rather than an artist. But within a couple of pages, with the splash of Ron Garney‘s Amazing Spider-Man: The War At Home with its vibrant depictions of Spidey, Iron Man, Sue Storm, Captain America and more, it’s obvious why Millar holds art in such high esteem.
What comes across so well in this book is not simply the brilliant reproductions of the art, with 3/4 page and full pages dedicated to the characters, but the variety within the covers. From the superheroes previously mentioned to the 50s styled Lass Vegas by James Hodgkins and manga influenced Maxwell Cockswagger by Ben Ang, art is seen in a league of its own, rather than the cheap pulpy image it once had.
Standout pieces include the image of X-Men villain Magneto by John Watson, explaining that looking out at the reader from under angry eyebrows and the slight sneer on his mouth are the subtle ways of portraying a bad guy. Such small but thoroughly well thought out details give a lot more dimension to the work.
One of my favourite artists, Ben Templesmith is also featured. Having seen his exquisite work on Steve Niles’ 30 Days of Night turned into a succesful film, his style continues to stand out amongst his peers. Focussing on slight glimpses of light on otherwise black backgrounds, he achieves the perfect balance between atmosphere and dynamism as shown in a page from his brilliant Woormwood: Gentleman Corpse.
Finally the chapter on Noir comics go to show that work on a page is just as effective as creating suspense and moods as shots on film. Sean Phillips‘ black and white Lawless and Cliff Richards‘ Echoes of Dawn are perfect examples of this.
So there you have it. Comic book art is not to be laughed at and should, in fact, be revered and enjoyed. If you aren’t sure, check this book out, it’s a perfect entry into the styles to be found out there.
Abjekt.