Doot Doot Garden Blog » Menomena

crossover event of the summer

craig — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 01:35:07 +0000

“BLOG WAR” might not be the best title. More like a “blog crossover”. Brazilian cartoonist Fábio Moon is visiting Portland, and we’ll try to
document some of our activities in a back-and-forth dialog between the two blogs — blending our sketches, inking each others’ drawings, etc.
Yesterday, after consuming much coffee, we attended the in-store album debut for Menomena MINES. Our evening continues at Fábio’s blog… HERE.

mines

craig — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 00:11:47 +0000

My buddies in MENOMENA are releasing a new album in about a month. With their last album, FRIEND&FOE, I contributed album art, and
joined them for part of their European tour (and the Grammy’s). This time around, their MINES album cover made an appearance in a
HABIBI panel — a studio full of idols being smashed to smithereens. It’s an amazing new album, by the way. Support them and preorder at Barsuk.

escargot

craig — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 21:52:48 +0000

Home from the tour! Here’s a quiet domestic scene from Lyon — Alanis, Laëtitia, Koupaïa, Samuel, Frédéric …

… and here’s one last rocknroll image — the song “twenty cell revolt” performed in Barcelona. (stolen from “elchicodelaleche” ~ lots more on FLICKR)

Big thanks to my dear Menomena buddies Danny, Brent, and Justin ~ and to Sascha and Severin for managing this adventure.
Also thanks to Jared, Teak, Danni, Benoît & Valéry, Frédéric & Laëtitia, Anne-Julia & Walter, Samuel/Koupaia/Alanis/Solveig/Anton, Mylène,
Kathleen, Dupuy & Berberian / Anne & Niki, Jeffrey/Jack/Helen/David, Uncle Hansje & Mara, Alessandro and his parents, the Disney crew,
Miriam, Marta, Carlos, Lisa, Thais, and all the kind folks we met.
Thanks to all of you who made it to the shows, and thanks to all the venues that hosted and cleaned up our messes.
Heck… here’s one last photo. (Gracias, Álvaro) The sweatiest shot of Danny I could find, and the completed wall at Barcelona seconds before
I ripped it to shreds. (whoah ~ my shadow is well-hung.)

Check out Danny’s satisfyingly detailed tour log at LOCALCUT. Now back to serious work. Cousin Brianna, please e-mail!

give it to us

craig — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 21:55:06 +0000

My first chance to update while on the road — my apologies to all neglected emails!
Thank yous to all who made it to the Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam shows. The drawing
seemed best-received in Paris, though it was inspiring to hang out with Jeffrey Lewis and the Jitters
in Amsterdam. Presently resting at the home of Frédéric and Laëtitia in Lyon while the Menomena
boys play Germany and Switzerland. The below photos were taken by Frédéric, except for the
final by my Portland friends Geneva and Jeff who happened to be in Paris. In two days, I leave
for Milan and will be editing HABIBI on the train. More photos at PITCHFORK and the
Pete Townsend finale at YOUTUBE.

(Danny on drums, Brent on keyboards/guitar, Justin on bass/sax,
Jared the soundguy, Sascha the tour manager, and me doodling.)

menomenandme

craig — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 15:46:10 +0000

Portlanders, I’ll be missing the Stumptown Comics Fest event, because I’m joining my
Menomena buddies on tour in Europe. If you live in Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Milan,
or Barcelona — there’s a chance we can meet.

29 September ~ Paris, Nouveau Casino
02 October ~ Brussels, Botanique
03 October ~ Amsterdam, Paradiso (also with Jeffrey Lewis!)
09 October ~ Milan, Casa 139
11 October ~ Barcelona, Apollo

If everything goes according to plan, I’ll be scrawling huge drawings on stage while Menomena rocks.
This happened once before with Tracker and the Blankets soundtrack and it seemed to work,
but I’ve no photos to prove this event exists. (Andy Wong, do you?)
Here’s the promotional poster however.

We’re not promoting myself on the upcoming Menomena bills, because I’ve no clue of the layout
of these Euro clubs. If the space suits it, you’ll find me drawing on stage ~ otherwise I’ll be
dancing along in the audience and signing posters at the merch table.

Here’s world-renown illustrator Carson Ellis and Danny from Menomena backstage at
the recent Decemberists/Menomena show at the Portland Edgefield.

C U n the E U

friend and foe

craig — Sat, 05 May 2007 18:10:41 +0000

My biggest “NEWS” is the release of MENOMENA’s “friend and foe” album.
You can listen to it here: http://barsukmusic.blaireau.net/menomena but I must endorse seeking out a tangible copy of the disc.
1) It’s a profound, rocking, apocalyptic celebration.
2) The band are all dear buddies of mine. Please, support the musicians.
3) The album drawings/design are by me — hyper-detailed and perforated with lots of diecuts and interactivity and decoder-ring surprises.
Here’s PITCHFORK’s description:
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/40411-friend-and-foe