to an arts school, so I could take art classes there. I just really like doing it. A lot of it sucks and I cheat a lot. A lot goes into it. I trace everything that goes onto the pedals. It’s like a tattoo. I guess it’s not cheating, but it’s not like eyeballing the whole thing or painting the shit out of some guys face. Sometimes I trace lines on the computer. A lot of the times its like “Can I have a picture of my dog?” I can’t draw your dog looking exactly like your dog! But I can trace it. Plus it’s on this weird metal box with holes on it. It’s crazy. It smudges so easily. So I mean yeah, I’m going to trace the photo. You also did a recent Eskimeaux shirt design. What other designs have you done for bands? I’ve been doing t-shirt designs for a while. I don’t know how to use the computer — well I know how to use the computer — I just don’t know how to use photoshop. So I always draw something and then scan it. I did that crying t-shirt a long time ago. People have asked me to do album art stuff. I did the LVL UP stuff. The other day Joe (Galarraga) asked me to draw him and iguana wearing glasses. So I was like “Yeah totally. Can I borrow your car this weekend?” And he was like “Yes!” so I drew an iguana wearing glasses and I borrowed his car. I like trading. That’s so funny! It seems like theres a big spirit of “I want this and you want that. Let’s figure out how to help each other out.” with bands and venues here. Do you think that thats something that is specific to your friends, or is that unique to the music scene here as well? There is a lot of that! It’s a big part or my friends, I think. I mean if somebody asks me for help to do something skill based then I’ll be like “Absolutely, I’ll totally help you!” I mean, I want something back, but I don’t want it to be money. I want it to be like “Lets make dinner tonight.” I’m recording Mike’s record with him, and he’s going to help me make this table into a better table. I love that one! That’s a really good trade. I do want to get payed when I play music. By all means, pay me please. But with that kind of stuff I want to have this web of “I’m going to this thing for you. I’m going to do this thing for you. I’m going to do this thing for this guy.” How do you feel economics and having an outside job play into the DIY scene? More than I think people admit. There’s a weird stigma about money, that I try to loosen up on. There’s also a weird stigma about “being an artist” and being embarrassed by that. Mostly from older people. All of the older people in my life are very supportive and I love them. But some older people are like “When are you going to get a real job!?!” which I know is like a trope but it hurts your feeling a lot. I just got to the point now where I don’t have to work at a stupid bar. I had a good time working at a
stupid bar, but it wasn’t what I wanted to do and it took up a lot of time and it made me tired and sad. Now I just barely got to the point where I don’t have to do that, and it’s really nice. I feel really good and I have a lot of time to do absolutely nothing — which is really scary — but I have a lot of time to do the things I love to do. It’s affected my mind space, so it’s definitely affected what I make art about. It’s affected my mood and personality and the things that I think about. You have to make a complete lifestyle change though. You have to be really frugal. I don’t spend money on stuff, cause I can’t. Which is fine, I like it. It’s like a freelance-y thing and a lot of us do it here (David Blaine’s The Steakhouse). Adam (Kolodny) does it better than I do. Adam is a freelance filmmaker. Being surrounded by people who do it and make it work and are good at it is so inspiring. Even people who aren’t musicians, people who freelance in general. When I moved here I met people who were getting paid to do what they actually want. I was like “It’s possible! Go for it. You can do it!” But you’ve got to be ready to see $4 when you go on your chase app, you know. How did David Blaine’s The Steakhouse start? That is not a question for me. That is so not a question for me! I’m trying to think of how I want to approach this… I’m just a stray that they let in. (Nick invites Dave Medina and Adam Kolodny to come over and answer the question) DM: David Blaine’s The Steakhouse started when me, Greg Rutkin, Adam… Who else? AK: Cameron Wisch, Brian Bishop, Sergio Tchaikovsky, and Jake Benhabib. DM: Yeah. We were looking for an apartment, and Adam’s brother Rob lives next door, so he hooked us up with this place. Very affordable. We all like putting shows together, so we just sort of started doing that. The name David Blaine’s The Steakhouse… Should I say it? AK: Well it was thrust upon us. We had our first show here which was Frankie Cosmos and Porches and Krill. Somebody else? I don’t know if there were more. Anyways, Frankie has this song where she mentions David Blaine called On The Lips. DM: Greg was working at a steakhouse called Morton’s The Steakhouse. AK: It kind of all just got slammed together. There was some kind of joking conversation about it. DM: Then someone posted a video on vimeo and it was titled… AK: Frankie Cosmos Live At David Blaine’s The Steakhouse. DM: Yeah! Then after that it was too late and we had to keep it. We had no choice in the matter at all. NC: Wait, you guys are saying you didn’t even name it? AK: We didn’t name it, no. There was this brief period of
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