Editorial Note: Oof. It’s weird putting myself into a frame of mind to talk about October, because… Well… November has started off rough… But damn the torpedoes, here we go!
Nix Comics Stuff: The pre-sales of Nix Comics TPBs slowed down in October as the big fans have bought what they want and the rest of my social media following snoozes me for another 30 days. (Fear not, snoozers, the last day of the Pre-Order sale will be November 15 and then my feed will go back to clumsy photos of my sketchbook art and my dog, Lucy)
I’m not sure how I feel about the “run my own damn Kickstarter” technique here. It was definitely less stressful. I feel less icky and corporate. On the other hand, I probably sold less than I would have if I had used an existing crowdfunding platform. I’m not in it for the money, though I’m in a space where Nix Comics has to support itself. At the very least. I’m going to have to weigh that trade off after I’ve shipped off all of my obligations in December. FWIW: I'm around $600 from breaking even.
I Think I’mma Gonna Do It! I don’t want to jinx myself, but I don’t believe that, despite flipping between websites, I think I’ll hit my personal goal of doing updates for each of the 12 months of 2024. I’m not sure how many people are appreciative of my monthly meanderings (I never am sure about being appreciated, cuz… nerd… ) but it’s an objective and I’m proud of myself for hitting it. I’m going to review it all and start thinking about next year’s approach.
Personal stuff:
I’ve already written about my trip to Portland earlier this month here. It was actually only the first time I traveled in October. The second was a day-job trip to Washington DC to present the Grants Report Writing Primer and Best Practices Guide I developed at work at the National Science Foundation’s Advanced Technology Education Principal Investigator’s conference. (NSF ATE PI for those of you who prefer short and inscrutable-thanks-two-multiple-abbreviations event names.) I’m really lucky to have a job and bosses that build me up to do such things! The presentation was really well received.
My day job stuff is probably boring to you. Did I have time to buy any records or comics in DC? Well, yeah! I spent about a day hobbling through the nation’s capital to catch up with old comics ‘n records cronies andI even made new cronies.The conference ended on Friday at noon, so after a lunch and debrief with co-workers, I made tracks from the hotel to my air BNB. The former was a little fancy for me, the latter was in a great building with a view of a cool park. It would have been a cool apartment except it was so spartanly furnished that it had a disturbing “liminal space” vibe.
Along the walk to the apartment-that-lay-between dimensions I noticed a spot called The Tiny Vinyl Shop in the Adams Morgan neighborhood and popped in. It was indeed very tiny, sharing a small building with (I think) a bike repair shop. The owner’s name was Ty and his staffer named Delia (sp?) had recently just moved to DC from Columbus and apparently worked at Magnolia Thuderpussy for a while. Small world! They were both fun to talk to. I bought a single and passed on a Mod Fun EP, thinking I would save my money for Smash Records, which I headed over to later that night. Maybe even stick to a “one record per shop” rule or something crazy like that..
Smash Records is a cool shop. A punk rock Mecca as it were.If my idea was to walk out with just one record, I should have steered away from the discount 7”s bin, where I quickly pulled a small stack of 45s that included 60s notably loud garage rock band Gonn, modern garage revivalists the Ar-Kaics, and Jane Wiedlin’s solo effort “Rush Hour.” I also picked up the self titled Plasticland LP, adding to my “found in Knights of Fuzz” collection.
My plan for Saturday was to start out the day by lounging around my airBNB with some coffee and pastries until it was time to go meet up with Evan Keeling (Another great comics-n-music guy!) and check out his exhibit at the Lost Origins Gallery. Unfortunately, between the apartment of the damned vibe of the airBNB and Evan’s family obligations, I needed to kill some time. I was ambling down the street trying to decide what to do and heard someone shout “Hey Ohio!” It was Ty from the Tiny Vinyl Shop, who doubtlessly recognized me by the roller bag that I had been dragging behind me for a day and a half at that point. (And well, I was wearing the same clothes because I packed poorly.) He was on his way to open up shop. I was happy to chat again real quick and told him that I’d be back to the shop before I left. I may have mentioned the Mod Fun EP, but was quietly determined to not succumb to record-splurge temptation.
I decided to check out a place called Miss Pixie’s which looked like a cool vintage furniture store. I figured there would be no temptation to buy any records there. It was an antique store, tight? Even if they had any Miss Pixie had any wax, it would be overpriced antique store records. (Bert Kaempfert… SALUTE!) The best laid plans and all that: They had two crates of good LPs for $10 a pop. I walked out with an awesome double LP comp of unreleased Joe Tex songs on Charly Records and a John Otway album. The seal broken, I went and bought Mod Fun’s “90 Waldour Street" from Ty on my way back towards Lost Origins.
It was really good catching up with Evan. His Dischord Records inspired comics were some of the first other-than-me rock comics I saw in the modern indie comics scene. (At SPACE! currently excepting exhibitors for 2025.)The exhibit was very cool. It featured, among other things, paintings based on his comic art/pages. We had a good catch up lunch and shared the secrets of continuing on in the indie comics scene. Secrets so secret I can’t share them, but here’s a hint at the scope of our conversation: The number of implementable ideas we discussed was less than 1.
My (almost) final stop was to visit Jared Smith of Big Planet Comics. It was cool to see the new bigger store in DC. I picked up a copy of the reissue of "Stephen King's Creepshow graphic" novel with the Jack Kamen cover and Bernie Wrightson interiors. Yowza! This movie was a big influence on me, obviously. I kind of wonder looking at it now who did the adaptation from script to comic script? Wrightson on his own? Stephen King himself? The comic was originally released in the 80s when no focus was put on such things, but that info would've been a nice addition to the reprint. Limited on time, Jared and I went looking for donuts, the only proper sustenance for air travel. Sadly, we were thwarted at every attempt with multiple donut spots being closed. We ended up at a Starbucks to trade our latest comics industry tales. Jared was great. Starbucks was serviceable.
I thought I was done record shopping, but Jared pointed out Joint Custody just adjacent to Big Planet as I was packing up for my uber to the airport. Like a moth to a flame I walked in hoping to not spend any more money and walked out with a New Bomb Turks single and a Mummies single.
Records Listened To in October 2024
You’d think with all the new discs I bought on trips this month, there’d be a longer list of records listened to in October. It’s the other way! Thanks largely to all the traveling, this the lowest monthly total-records-listened-to in 2024.
That said, travel is not the only reason for the low total. I have a personal rule where I only count a record as a listen once per time I pull it off the shelf. So sometimes when you see a low total for a day, it's because I’m playing the same record multiple times before putting it back on the shelf. This is the long way of me trying to tell you how much I love the new Amy Rigby record “Hang In there With Me.” I had a copy waiting for me when I got back from DC, thanks to my marvelous missus, Kate. Kate got to see Amy live at Natalie’s here in Columbus while I was away. I wish I coulda! Anyways, it’s been on and off my turntable for the past two weeks, yet to be shelved and “negatively impacting” my listening totals in a thoroughly positive way.
Date | Artist | Title | Format | Size |
1-Oct | Alice Cooper | Elected | Single | 7" |
1-Oct | Blasters | Goodbye Baby So Long | Single | 7" |
1-Oct | Chuck Berry | Too Much Monkey Business | Single | 7" |
1-Oct | Clash | Tommy Gun | Single | 7" |
1-Oct | Clash | Clash City Rockers | Single | 7" |
1-Oct | Clash | Gates of the West | Single | 7" |
2-Oct | Alice Cooper | Killer | LP | 12" |
2-Oct | Alice Cooper | Billion Dollar Baby | LP | 12" |
2-Oct | Dave Edmunds | I hear You Knocking | Single | 7" |
2-Oct | Decals | You (That's All We Ever Talk About) | Single | 7" |
2-Oct | Devo | New Traditionalists | LP | 12" |
2-Oct | Devo | Something for Everyone | LP | 12" |
2-Oct | Dickies | Killer Klowns From Outer Space | EP | 12" |
2-Oct | Earthquake | A Tall Order For a Short Guy | Single | 7" |
2-Oct | Gories | I Know You Fine, But How You Doin' | LP | 12" |
2-Oct | Jackie & the Cedrics | Scalping Party | EP | 7" |
2-Oct | Lazy Cowgirls | Ragged Soul | LP | 12" |
2-Oct | Manual Scan | All Night Stand | EP | 7" |
2-Oct | Ray Davies | Quiet Life | Single | 7" |
3-Oct | Friggs | Juiced Up | Single | 7" |
3-Oct | Friggs | Shake! | Single | 7" |
3-Oct | Friggs | A Bad Word For A Good Thing | Single | 7" |
3-Oct | Howlin' Wolf | Moanin' and Howlin' | LP | 12"x2 |
3-Oct | Little Richard | Here's Little Richard | LP | 12" |
3-Oct | Makers | Music to Suffer By | EP | 7" |
3-Oct | Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper | Root Hog or Die | LP | 12" |
3-Oct | Split: Prisoners/Milkshakes | Last Night At The Mic | LP | 12" |
3-Oct | Terry Gibson | Tell Tale Heart | Single | 7" |
4-Oct | Downliners Sect | Brite Lites Big City | EP | 7" |
4-Oct | Lazy Cowgirls | Frustration, Tragedy, and Lies | EP | 7" |
4-Oct | Split: Bo Diddley/Dave "Baby" Cortez | You Can't Judge a Book By it's Cover/Rinky Dink | Single | 7" |
4-Oct | Various Artists | Train To Disaster | LP | 12" |
4-Oct | Various Artists | Battle of the Garages Vol. 2 | LP | 12" |
10-Oct | Beat Happening | Dreamy | LP | 12" |
10-Oct | Fleshtones | It's Getting Late (and Other Songs About Werewolves) | LP | 12" |
10-Oct | Various Artists | Beehive Basement: The Girl Group Underground | LP | 12"x2 |
10-Oct | Various Artists | Imperial Rockabillies | LP | 12" |
11-Oct | 68 Comeback | Peepin' & Hidin' | Single | 7" |
11-Oct | Blue Angel | Self-Titled | LP | 12" |
11-Oct | Coolies | Doug | LP | 12" |
11-Oct | Fleshtones with Mary Huff | Smile | Single | 7" |
11-Oct | Link Wray | Link Sings Elvis | EP | 10" |
11-Oct | Pogues | Hell's Ditch | LP | 12" |
11-Oct | Pretenders | Extended Play | EP | 12" |
11-Oct | Remains | Diddy Wah Diddy | LP | 12" |
11-Oct | Split: Michael Hurley/Range Rats | Dead Moon Night | Single | 7" |
11-Oct | Sylvain Sylvain | Self-Titled | LP | 12" |
11-Oct | Sylvain Sylvain | Syl & the Teardrops | LP | 12" |
12-Oct | Brenda Lee | Dum Dum | Single | 7" |
12-Oct | Champs | More Tequila | Single | 7" |
12-Oct | Crystals | He's A Rebel | Single | 7" |
12-Oct | Seculars | Social Skills | EP | 7" |
12-Oct | Shadowy Men on A Shadowy Planet | Music for Pets | EP | 7" |
15-Oct | Blondie | One Way or Another | Single | 7" |
15-Oct | Them Wranch | Beware Them Wranch | Single | 7" |
15-Oct | Tommy James & the Shondells | Hanky Panky | Single | 7" |
15-Oct | Who | I Can See For Miles | Single | 7" |
16-Oct | ? and the Mysterians | Sally Go Round The Roses | Single | 7" |
16-Oct | Hentchmen | Self-Titled | EP | 7" |
16-Oct | Jon & the Nightriders | Recorded Live at Hollywood's Famous Whisky A Go Go | LP | 12" |
16-Oct | Mick Collins & Danny Kroha | Winter Blues and Greens | EP | 7"x2 |
16-Oct | Miracle Workers | Overdose | LP | 12" |
16-Oct | Mono Men | Bent Pages | LP | 12" |
16-Oct | Sons of Hercules | Get Lost | LP | 12" |
17-Oct | Fleshtones | It's Getting Late (and Other Songs About Werewolves) | LP | 12" |
17-Oct | Kinks | Are The Village Green Preservation Society | LP | 12" |
17-Oct | Milkshakes | Talkin' 'Bout Milkshakes | LP | 12" |
17-Oct | Ramones | Too Tough To Die | LP | 12" |
18-Oct | Amy Rigby | Diary of a Mod Housewife | LP | 12" |
18-Oct | Brood | Vendetta | LP | 12" |
18-Oct | Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs | Main Attraction | LP | 12" |
18-Oct | Hysteric Narcotics | Batteries Not Included | LP | 12" |
18-Oct | Miracle Workers | Inside Out | LP | 12" |
18-Oct | New Bomb Turks | The Night Before The Day the earth Stood Still | LP | 12" |
19-Oct | Bob & Earl | Puppet On A string | Single | 7" |
19-Oct | Bugs Bower | Sissy | Single | 7" |
19-Oct | Chantays | Pipeline | Single | 7" |
19-Oct | Joe Tex | Don't Give Up | Single | 7" |
19-Oct | Willie Nelson | Mr. Record Man | Single | 7" |
20-Oct | Kasenetz Katz | Kasenetz Katz Singing Orchestra | LP | 12" |
21-Oct | Kasenetz Katz | Kasenetz Katz Super Circus: Quick Joey Small | LP | 12" |
21-Oct | Mugwumps | Bald Headed Woman | Single | 7" |
21-Oct | Robbie Fulks & Linda Gail Lewis | Wild! Wild! Wild! | LP | 12' |
21-Oct | Solomon Burke | I can't stop | Single | 7" |
22-Oct | Blondie | Parallel Lines | LP | 12" |
22-Oct | Doctor Explosion | The Subnormal Revolution | LP | 12" |
22-Oct | Johnny Burnette Trio | Listen to Johnny Burnette | LP | 12" |
22-Oct | Roy Head | My Babe | Single | 7" |
27-Oct | Amy Rigby | Hang In There With me | LP | 12" |
27-Oct | Jane Wiedlin | Rush Hour | Single | 7" |
27-Oct | Larry Winther & His Mummies | Larry Winther & his Mummies | EP | 7" |
27-Oct | Zack Static Sect | 1-2-3-4 Rock n Roll Records | Single | 7" |
28-Oct | Ar-Kaics | Make It Mine | Single | 7" |
28-Oct | Ar-Kaics | Why Should I | Single | 7" |
28-Oct | Gonn | Blackout of Gretely | Single | 7" |
28-Oct | Joe Tex | Different Strokes | LP | 12"x2 |
28-Oct | Lou Reed | Take A Walk On The Wild Side | Single | 7" |
28-Oct | New Bomb Turks | I Wanna Sleep | EP | 7" |
28-Oct | Plasticland | Self-Titled | LP | 12" |
29-Oct | John Otway | Deep Thought | LP | 12" |
29-Oct | Lime Spiders | The Cave Comes Alive | LP | 12" |
29-Oct | Mod Fun | 90 Waldour Street | EP | 12" |
30-Oct | Green Hornets | Get The Buzz | LP | 12" |
30-Oct | Various Artists | Basement Beehive: the Girl Group Underground | LP | 12"x2 |
30-Oct | Dion | Brand New Morning | Single | 7" |
30-Oct | Wayne Cochran | If I Were A Carpenter | Single | 7" |
31-Oct | Miracle Workers | Self-Titled | EP | 7" |
31-Oct | Nick Lowe | My Heart Hurts | EP | 7"x2 |
31-Oct | Al Perry | Little Bird | Single | 7" |
31-Oct | Al Perry | Old What's Her Name | EP | 7" |
31-Oct | Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers | Change of Heart | Single | 7" |
31-Oct | Holly Golightly | Listen | Single | 7" |
31-Oct | Gene Vincent | I'm Back and I'm Proud | LP | 12" |
31-Oct | Rolling Stones | Out of Our Heads | LP | 12" |
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