The last week has been an interesting one. Since putting up the Giant Robot Needs You video and site describing our situation and asking for help, we've received all sorts of responses. Friends, people I haven't talked to in a while, and even my mom have asked me if we're going to be okay. What I usually say is that we are in a tough situation--or else we wouldn't have put out the awkward and humbling message. However, it is good that we are taking care of things proactively with a long-term perspective rather than after it's too late, and we have a lot more going for us than many troubled businesses. Namely, in 15+ years we have built a large following of people who value and respect what we do, and want to help us lay a foundation for the next 15 years.
Some of the most amazing gestures have come from readers and followers that I've never even met, including these four:
* Scott Green from Ain't It Cool News has posted a nice essay about us, urging the site's huge number of followers to consider our situation.
* Los Angeles Times blogger (and ex-zine maker!) Carolyn Kellogg wrote up our call for assistance, too.
* Polaroid photographer and blogger Hi Hi Caro put up for auction a very nice piece by artist Junko Mizuno (above) from her personal collection up for auction, and is donating a percentage to GR.
* The band Lizards From Afar has even offered a totally ripping original song as a show of support. ("Go Giant Robot, go!")
Yes, we still have a long way to go, but the ongoing support makes me feel hopeful and very fortunate to have been part of GR since the beginning. It also keeps me focused on the current deadline. In the midst of righting our ship, every issue still has to come out better than ever...
Last night I went to see Thelonious Monster at The Echo. The band is probably too old but not quite old enough for a lot of you to know, but I saw them often in the mid '80s and early '90s. They played with L.A. bands like fIREHOSE, Fishbone, X, and the Chili Peppers, yet sounded nothing like any of them. Way more rock-flavored with amazingly observant, personal, and often painful vocals by singer Bob Forrest who played with pretty much anyone who could handle his on-and-off problems with substance abuse. Or at least that was the image I got, which was reinforced by sloppy yet brilliant live shows--perhaps lending the name to one of their albums, Beautiful Mess.
Last night's band lineup was a classic one with Dix Denny on one of the many axes. Forrest introduced him as one of the 100 people that shaped today's popular culture--folks in a Hollywood basement (The Masque?) and London that affected the way everyone in last night's audience listens to music, dresses, and even thinks. Dix was in The Weirdos, a true original, first-generation punk band.
Also in the lineup was Zander Schloss. The Weirdos and Circle Jerks bassist also plays the key role of Kevin opposite Emilio Estevez in one my all-time favorite movies, Repo-Man, and became a fixture in Alex Cox and Joe Strummer projects after that. What a Renaissance man.
There's also Mike Martt from the influential cowpunk group Tex & The Horseheads and Dallas Don from the early OCHC band Plain Wrap, but of course the focus is on Bob. His between-song talking is often as good as the songs (which are great), and last night was no exception. From the starting point of pulling the mic stand so high he could lean on it and look up while singing and saying, "That's the way I like it baby, I don't want to go to heaven" and drummer Pete Weiss starting Motorhead's "Ace of Spades" before the band dug into the Stones' "Start Me Up." Two songs later, Zander got the band playing "Shattered," forcing Bob to reveal that the band's single practice session for the show was mostly squandered on Stones and Beatles covers...
A couple more quick details before I get back to work. After playing "Jeffrey Lee" (Pierce, of course) Bob started talking about what a fan he was of The Gun Club, and how X's Los Angeles and The Gun Club's Fire of Love are the only two albums you need to hear to understand everything there is to know about L.A. Then, when he sang "Looking to the West," he altered the "listening to KISS and Led Zeppelin playing rock and roll" by name-checking those bands. And then during "Lena Horne Still Sings Stormy Weather," the part about "They say Jesse Jackson will never be president and yet he's still the man I'll vote for" was made past tense with Barack Obama's name. Excellent, all the way to the encores of "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" and "Sammy Hagar Weekend."
Not far from where the 5 and 605 freeways intersect, there is a storage facility with Giant Robot stuff in one of the units. As for what's behind the other doors, who knows?
There was a contract that listed all the contraband that wasn't allowed, but absolutely anything could in there... It's not like the owners check them.
Hong Kong singer and guitar player Ryan Hui is playing a Chinese New Year gig with his dad at the MGM Grand in Vegas for Chinese New Year, and he and his wife Candace landed at LAX yesterday. Before driving to San Diego (where they went to college, have a ton of family and friends, and will spend the week), they made their usual stops at the GR shops, Guitar Center, and Amoeba. My type of people.
Despite having mutual friends, this was the first time I was able meet them on Sawtelle and then Wendy and I had them over for dinner. I think it's interesting that as his dad Sam Hui brought Cantonese lyrics to the music scene in Hong Kong in the late '60s, Ryan is pushing punk and indie rock styles. Cool, right? He could easily take the easy route by playing mega-popular karaoke music, but chooses to play what he likes. His wife has a really interesting story, as well, and we're hoping she'll give Eloise ballet lessons one day, but that's another story.
Too bad we're booked and can't make a road trip to see Ryan on the big stage, but here's a video (with annotations)...
An award-winning indie comics artist once actually told me with pleasure that he loves our magazine and always reads it at a certain newsstand in Berkeley and then puts it back, as if it were a badge of honor. At the time, I laughed.
Perhaps our growth from a hand-distributed, stapled-and-folded zine to a glossy publication with a few retail shops of the same name has given the wrong idea--that Giant Robot magazine is a big-time operation and will be around forever. We're not: The magazine has had the same editorial staff (Eric and me) since issue 1 and part-time production team (Wendy and Pryor) since issue 18. Everything else is provided by friends and volunteers. And we won't: Shifts in distribution and media are all working against us. In fact, issue 64 is running late right now--not due to lack of incredible content but ever-increasing costs in shipping and the always-shrinking middle class of advertisers.
Of course, that's not all that has changed in the 15 years since our first issue hit the stands; there's also more immediate access to stuff from around the world than ever before. Most of it is still crap, and not only do we provide our readers with the cream of it, but we also pave the way for new, hybrid, and underdog culture as well. There's a reason why GR has lasted so long, inspired so many other magazines with overlapping subject matter, and outlasted an army of Asian American, new art and design, and popular culture publications. Maybe that's why you read our magazine and have read this far into this post...
If Giant Robot magazine has ever turned you on to an artist, filmmaker, band, book, food, or spot; if it's ever provided inspiration, affected your aesthetics, or just made you think; if you believe Asian, Asian American, or popular culture at large benefits from what we do; or even if you or your endeavors have benefited from being featured in the pages of the magazine, I urge you to check out the Giant Robot Needs You link and pass its message along to like-minded friends.
As Eric and I say in the video, we're not looking for a free ride. Other changes are in the works to get help, evolve GR, and secure its place. We have support of our printer, large advertisers, and other plans that are kicking in. But this is something to provide stability while they take effect. It's not easy to ask for assistance--and we're not saying that we expect it or necessarily deserve it--but if you can offer help, we can use it.
Finally, don't be that guy who reads the mag and puts it right back on the stands. Next time, it may not be there.
Last night, I helped out at GR's last-minute, advance screening of The Shinjuku Incident in Santa Monica. We covered a lot of Hong Kong cinema when GR started, so it was cool that we could help spread the word about this film--possibly Jackie Chan's best since Police Story 3) and also the first exposure to the work of my longtime friend/GR contributor Daniel Wu for a lot of Americans.
I wound up tending a clipboard next to Cate (above) and got to say hi to a lot of friends, including director Reggie Hudlin (in the first picture) and artist Edwin Ushiro (below). Kung Fu Records/Vandals crew/friends of GR Joe and Sandra Escalante were there, too, but I didn't have my camera ready. Thomas Nakanishi. So many others among the 150-200 that showed up...
If you haven't seen the movie yet, you need to. In the face of Pan Asian epics and CG-heavy martial arts movies, "regular" Hong Kong movies don't get much play in the U.S. these days, and this one has top-shelf production value, a solid script, and an impressive cast (not just my friends). Here's a rare chance to see a seriously good movie that deserves support.
Somehow, a reporter from Channel 18 interviewed me for a clip that's supposed to air later this week. Following up on something I said (don't remember exactly how I got there), she asked me why I think director Derek Yee always beats up Daniel Wu in his movies. My response was that he's too good looking and needs to be brought down now and then. Watch the movie and you'll see.
GR64 is finally in full crunch-time mode... Today, first-time volunteer Stephanie came in all the way from Long Beach to help out by proofreading and retrieving images. In return, she got coffee, cookies, and our gratitude--not to mention some back issues. If this sounds like a good way to spend an afternoon, send me an email at martin[at]giantrobot[dot]com. If you're sharp and not sketchy, we could use your help!
My friend and GR58 cover artist Stella Lai is currently in Honolulu working on a mural. It's for a club on Hotel Street in Chinatown... Last night, she sent me pictures of the work in progress. Amazing, right? Yes, it's incomplete, but these pics give you get the sense of the scale, themes, and craftsmanship. You'll have to see Stella's work close up to really appreciate the detail she puts into her work, though. The opening is on Friday night.
If you see Stella paddling and about to drop in on a wave, don't cut her off. She's cool. And if you spot her at Waiola, Leonard's, or Liliha, hook the lady up!
The shed got a little bit cleaner tonight when I passed along some unused gear to Zac from L.A.'s champions of psychedelic Cambodian rock, Dengue Fever. Over dinner, he mentioned that he recently acquired a record player but didn't have an amp or speakers to go with it. Right place, right time. I had some laying around in need of a new owner.
His band happens to be playing some interesting shows in the next few weeks, including a Haiti relief gig with Hepcat on Saturday, February 6, and then a matinee for kids at the Echo on Valentine's Day. And don't miss the group's amazing new compilation, Electric Cambodia, which has been in high rotation in the GR garage.
It really could have been... I haven't even seen the James Cameron movie, but I would have if the soundtrack was by TRANS-AM. Holy crap! Can you imagine hearing the post prog band in Dolby Surround, etc.? Here's a juicy tidbit from digital propaganda regarding the band's newest release on Thrill Jockey, Thing:
Going into this project, how did you feel?
TA: Trans Am felt very positive at first. When we started, we thought we were making a very lucrative soundtrack. Then that fell apart and we started hearing a lot of negativity. Lots of people were coming up to Trans Am, saying, “Trans Am can’t finish this album – you’re all washed up.”
So it’s been a long journey, but we’ve got a veteran mentality. We’ve been through all this before and we kept our head. Now, here we are!
What happened to the soundtrack?
TA: Well, we were supposed to get some serious cash to record a soundtrack for a Hollywood sci-fi film. We never found out for sure what the project was, but Trans Am has a feeling it was the soundtrack to Avatar. Then Jim Cameron got cold feet and had James Horner come in to do his soaring orchestral bullshit. We’re not going to lie to you, that hurt. But Jim’s got a job to do and we understand it’s business, not personal.
