Bike Parking

Bike Parking
Originally uploaded by That Car

It's like a cloud, like Heaven!

The D'Ukes of Margarita

My buddy Steve and I have been playing ukulele for a couple of years now. We have similar tastes in music and ukulele songs. We both trade off singing parts, laugh and and TRY to be consistent. We are The D'Ukes of Margarita. We do traditional, western and contemporary covers. DON'T take us seriously, because we certainly do not take ourselves that way. We are entertaining, engaging interactive and will put the crowd at ease and maybe have an old fashioned campfire sing-along. Get ready for our YouTube premiere coming soon! 

As you might remember my earlier post about my concept sketch more or less a gesture, a hint of an idea. It is so important to grab those thoughts on paper. A quick sketch will always come in handy. From that came a name provided by Tim Blair. Thank you!

Flag of Nunavut/Olympic logo

NPR has a good article on the origins of the 2010 Olympics. The symbol borrowed heavily from the rock stacks called an inukshuk. They were apparently used to mark a good spot for hunting or fishing. In my experience with rock stacking, they have always meant as a marker or call it ancient tagging. Sort of like saying: "I was here" or "this is the trail" or "cool spot".

Concept Sketch Just for Fun...

I have been pretending to be a musician for over three years. My good friend and I practice and play sporadically at back yard parties, one beer hall and art openings. We now have over 20 songs in our repertoire (though some we play better than others). Our music pulls from Punk, Johnny Cash, Tinpan Alley, Hawaiian and some contemporary medleys and we seem to actually entertain others! We love to pass out shakers and I play solo Kazoo on a few. Our songs include sing-alongs, and our interaction with the crowd is very lively to say the least.

What I'm trying to get at is Entertainment comes from many dynamics and not necessarily have to do with talent. People naturally like to laugh and have fun. What we lack talent-wise, we make up for in entertainment.

Above is a rough sketch for our act. It sort of says what we are about visually, but we need a name. Please help us and think of a name to hang on this logo. Be creative and entertaining. I can't wait to read your replies.

Here's how my head works:

1. Facebook friend posts you tube videos of Led Zepplin
2. Rockin' out, I notice Jimmy Pages' cool rocker Wizard outfit
3. Google Jimmy Page Costume brings me to a blog all about Rocker fashion, wow!
4. Then finally to a book called The Look Adventures in Rock & Pop Fashion

I get sucked into checking this rocker fashion blog for a good hour. It's quite a history that I knew existed, yet never seen chronicled until now. It is part of the brand for sure. It is stage, it is bigger than life, it is showmanship, rocking that bling and something flashy and colorful a fan can see from the top row of a sold out stadium.

Give Elvis The Brand a listen - and remember to wear your rockin’ shoes!

Stationery Case Study

En Plein Air Palettes @ Ancient Peaks

The palette units worked great. I was pleased as punch for hanging over a dozen paintings without hammering a bunch of nails. The solution was to pre-mount all the little plein aires onto a palette-like frame. The show was hung using 2 pre-existing nails and adding one of my own. There was no way the owners would have let me put the show up otherwise.

With this tight acrylic-on-masonite-on-palette unit, I can fit it into virtually any coffeeshop, tasting room or reception area; basically anywhere people can take a gander. Who wants it next?