NINE YEARS LATER: New intro: In spring summer 2023, I am trying to use posters to market my concert series. For example, I have an 8.5 x 11 color Xerox by Robert Syrett for my Sonny Smith aka Sonny and the Rhinestone Sunsets event Friday at The Mitch. And I have an 11 x 17 poster designed by Copy Factory on El Camino that features photos of six upcoming performers: Sonny Smith, Lydia Lunch, Freddy Jones Band — though no one in the photo is actually a “Fred” or a “jones”; Will Bernard et al; Chuck Prophet et al. Chuck appears tomorrow to interview Lucinda Williams about her new memoir, at a theatre on Hayes 275 Hayes maybe, for City Lights, excuse the digression. I am drawing a blank — 11 x 17, white on white — what the sixth one is. I noted there were 17 white people in the photos and only two women. Anyhow, because I hate social media I am hoping to make up for it by increasing my use of posters, handbills, flyers and broadsides. 

Here are a few more posters and ephemera from the Earthwise Productions vaults. I say “sweded in” in reference to the movie “Be Kind Rewind”. I have a few more to add to this gallery if I can figure out why my Canon A590 doesn’t like the batteries I fed it. See also “Earthwise Gallery” proper (shot by Terry in her studio, with me as p.a.) This is also a sort of checklist of posters and flyers that are not pictured yet. I also have a bag of 10,000 ticket stubs, of varying designs. I can — assuming the Canon comes back on board or is replaced properly — have a gallery of the various stub designs, like pot shards of Arizona unearthed by Nampeyo. I have also slipped in a few ringers just to be Nashian.

Cub bear gold bug

1. Situation Fall “00 Oops we did it again: Danilo Perez Motherland Project, Kitty Margolis; Beth Custer’s Dona Luz 30 Besos, Austin Willacy, Rachel Z; The 650 Series (has its own logo), The KGB, Big City Rock, Eleventeen; Box Set Duo, Richard Shindell, Jerry Hannan; Taylor Eigsti Trio, Special Guests (was Joe Lake and Gunn All-stars, although I regrettably held them to 25 minutes, on pressure from the otherwise always delightful Nancy Eigsti), Mermen, Special Guests; Stanley Jordan (has his own poster) — the poster used borrowed image of Don Adams and Barbara Feldman from “Get Smart”. It also features the Cubby the Cub bear logo, which I borrowed from a 1910 Gold Border baseball card (which was Mordecai Three Finger Brown, of the Cubs, although it may have never been an actual MLB logo, just something some art director at the tobacco company or the print shop threw together — a dingbat bear, that reminds me of Poe’s Gold Bug — and the card itself was later pilfered, like out of a Poe detective story, as was my grandfather’s World War I medal presented by Rochester Veterans Foreign War).

Steve Cohen at a private function in Los Angeles, June, 2014, or 19 years past opening for Billy Nayer at the Cub

2. Free Monday Night Live music at Coho Stanford Coffee House at Tresidder Union: Freedy Johnston; Matt Nathanson, Sparkler; the girl and i; Stefanie Gleit; Nick Thompson; the Birdwatchers (co-produced by SCON). Freedy’s fans enjoyed seeing a full set as he was on break from al long tour with Shawn Colvin in which he was limited to a short set; Rob Lederer and Steve Yerkey did short opening sets on that.

designed by Sally Lieber I think, maybe Michele Nelson

3. Earth Day Rock N Bike: Stone Fox, Lyme, Groovie Ghoulies; blink-182, soda, 98 Mute; the poster was designed by my neighbor growing up Bruce B.C. Meyers. Kathy Moffeit Holland Maynard working at Softride arranged for us to give away a bicycle, which was won by friends of the Palo Alto band, Guttersluts. It was blink 182’s first NorCal tour, maybe their first show, a Sunday late afternoon early evening, they set up on the floor of the formerly high school cafeteria not on the stage, for about 100 paid. A guy named Murphy I think in San Jose made a bootleg poster, with robots, screen printed and gave me one copy. Not a part of Earthwise Galley but in our archives nonetheless.

design by Bruce Meyers

4. The Billy Nayer Show, Pamela Martin, Flying Cohen Brothers – a flyer

my bad

5. Earthwise @ Art 21 Papa Mali (Jerry Garcia Tribute); Claire Daly, Alexis Harte, Ethan Iverson 6. April March May 20, 1999 at CoHo designed by Megadeth Meredith the former Mammonth intern who later worked for Bay Guardian 7. Olivia Tremor Control, The Music Tapes — I art directed this with Jon Hess doing the design — the size is such that it could be either a small poster or a large postcard, the largest size U.S. Mail would send for a postcard stamp. I recall hand-delivering a copy to Olivias agents, Bob Lawton and Jim Romeo of Twin Towers Touring, which was of course in Manhattan and quite near but I don’t recall actually in the famous and doomed office complex. The image was from a New York Times article on speech pathology. 8. Jello Biafra postcard/poster using an inverted got milk ad, featuring Rebecca Stamos in a bikini. Biafra bikini jello –you do the math. Jello himself — Eric Boucher — said it was a classic mis-hit and took a stack home with him. The show itself was notable for a ticketing snafu in which we accidentally miscounted the advance sales and found we had oversold the house by 75 people and the Cubberley tech let us put 75 folding chairs in the round on the Cubberley Theatre rather than turning people away or refunding their money. Jello was just one guy and a microphone talking for three hours non-stop — an obvious influence on Plastic Alto — so it was no serious fire marshal problem — orchestras could fit on the giant stage.

would make a nice placemat

9. A Great Laugh featuring Victor Krummenacher of Camper Van Beethoven, 22 Brides, Number Nine, Alison Faith Levy — $5 show or you could buy a $7 two-day pass and see Broun Fellinis as well on 11/11. (No one actually did that, except myself and loyal staff)

untorn black lab stub

10. Tin Hat Trio insect animation soundtrack Museum of American Heritage Friday May 18, 2001 this was offset printed by Stevens Printing (Mary Ellen and Bob Nickola) although it looks like it was done at Kinkos: big black block, with cut out type and splash of green sort of illuminating some figure which was not Starewicz but something I pilfered from Pixar or somewhere, Antz maybe (which would be PDI, where my high school classmate Jennifer Yu once gave me the two-dollar tour; the building was on Park, and now houses not Danger but Groupon 11. Kristin Hersh, April 16, 1998. Donna Sharee and I designed this. It features a fake Japanese ink drawing shaped like a “strange angel”. I had tried to commission teenager artist Drue Kataoka of Menlo Park, who had just been featured in the Palo Alto Weekly but her agent, the manager of University Art at 261 Hamilton and I could not come to terms. Just yesterday, and excuse the digression, I ran into Maya Ford the bassist of The Donnas (and Electrocutes and Ragady Anne) who has been writing rap lyrics and I suggested she should also write a memoir. I said “Kristin Hersh” has a memoir but she said she didn’t know who that was. It is called Rat Girl or something or has a rat on the cover, I saw it at the Mountain View used book store, when Steve and Eric Cohen of the Flying Cohen Brothers were last fall helping their mother clear out their historic San Juan Hill house and left three car loads of books there to be priced. I mean to purchase Hersh book to gift to Ford. I corresponded with Hersh via her manager Billy O’Connell about doing a show in Palo Alto in honor of the late Victor Chesnutt, who was almost booked into Johnson Park here. http://www.amazon.com/Rat-Girl-Memoir-Kristin-Hersh/dp/0143117394 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62CZL9Rhz8Y I bought these two photos in frames from Mirvat Robinson our neighbor holding a yard sale (that almost turned into a joint declaration of candidacy — which reminds that I almost mentioned above that apropos of 261 Hamilton there is a Palo Alto City Council meeting tonight at 7 that you might find me at in that people are quite upset that developer Roxy Rapp kicked out his tenant of 40 years, University Art and wants to expand the building, allegedly by bending the rules of zoning and codes. The photos remind me of Vivian Mayer in that we don’t know who shot these photos; I think Mirvat said she bought them from another neighbor. The only connection is that I had promised Mirvat or at least her husband that I would return and gift them a MIRV poster.

new photo

Which reminds me I am still processing my experience, Terry and I actually, as guests using the term loosely of John Vanderslice at Palantir private function the other night. I quite like this photo, for it’s three or so levels or planes: the poster, deeper in the room, the reflection of the street behind me. Like the Walker Evans photo I saw, The Big House, lent by the Fishers at Cantor in 2012, and I also found something by a U.S. Navy vet named Richard Sargent I think, a calendar of torn billboards. This is my pilfered Evans, the neg is in New York at the Met:

walker evans photo was at cantor lent by fisher family, not the ones who own the serra

Earth Day Mini Pow Wow (1993) by Jeannell Steiner Tarnation, Virginia Dare, The Buckets; Stone Fox Spit Muffins, Slip (uses a Steve Ringman photo from Day On The Green 1981, adobe’d by Tina Dussault 1995) Mudwimin, Acoustic Paradise, Fat Chance Belly Dance, flyer — by MBW, cut and pasted at Kinkos from Pink Section listings, but has a gratuitous 1990 European Club soccer reference, Stanislav Cherchesov of S.N.G. sticker with the little rabbit icon — to my Black Bear Cub Gold Bug – Panini stickers — I have a whole binder of them plus a few loose bits. I mention this because I am watching the 70th minute of a scoreless draw between Ned and Chi — It is 10:29 on Monday June 23, 2014 and I’ve set in front of the telly for nearly two hours blogging and World Cup watching. I’ve probably watched bits and pieces of 20 matches in about 10 different locales, mostly by myself and strangers, as Gertrude Stein would say. There’s also a Chinese boob enhancer found art on this red flyer. (the show itself had a nice invite by Donna Sharee and was a benefit for Bay Area Action) Warm Weather Series: The Toasters, Spring Heeled Jack, Monkey; MU330, Janitors Against Apartheid, Slapstick (Dill Records Showcase); Lookout Records Showcase: The Queers, The Hi-Fives, The Mr. T Experience speaking of copyright issues; The Groovie Ghoulies likewise; Rock Love Magazine Anniversary Party Lisa Vian and Scott Hunter magazine, who later had a boutique here on Bryant Street now not high tech invasion of the $6 per sq ft nerds but close enough more nails and waxing, Zen Cowboys, Susan James Band, Sunshine Club, David Elias w/ Roger Powell; The Palo Palooza: The Clarke Nova (who never showed or were somehow unconfirmed according to Kat Sirdowski manager or spouse of the lead singer although I better get that straight or she is likely to sue me), Marginal Prophets (featuring cartoonist Keith Knight, who did a poster for a second show and Jeff Kramer, a food blogger and union stage hand who mc’d some shows here and was stage crew and security many shows here), Groovie Ghoulies; Martin Sexton, Stephanie Mechura, Rebecca Riots; Idiot Flesh, Oxbow, Indestructible Beat of Palo Alto (I guess that is also a Ginsberg Kerouac reference, with Jamie Stewart later of Xiu Xiu fame or notoriety); Medeski Martin & Wood; August 10, 1996 The Basics (also has its own poster): the show never happened because of a black out effecting four Western states although oddly we didn’t lose power so I didn’t know the size of it until load-in. We debated soldiering off with an all acoustic show. Poster by Michele Nelson, who grew up on La Para in Barron Park and was in Santa Cruz during that period. I met I think from Lisa Marie Nielsen who freelanced for Mammoth. I may be confusing some works by Nielsen and Nelson, Michele did much more for me. Pele Juju, Pamela Martin Band, Rilke String Quartet by Lane Wurster features a photo of a paper sculpture of a 12-armed Eastern yogi or someone largely uncredited for his role in our continued harmony, nearly 19 years later Rainforest Awareness Project (Kevin Russell and Andrea Caruso or at least that’s what they told me their names were), 1993 Bay Area Tour, the very first Earthwise Production, a follow up from 1993 spring Bay Area Action where I, thanks to Cindy Russell, who noticed me toting Jerry Mander “In The Absence of the Sacred” — I should paste that in here — and had me book native groups’ perspectives on the environment and she not me called the space Earthwise Traditions, but then Cathy White Eagle (she said) of Eagle Vision Education Network of Sacramento sent me her press kit addressed for whatever reason to Mark Weiss Earthwise Traditions and that is how the name chose me — for the Mini Pow Wow, at Addison School – art by Jeannell — April 23, 1993. The RAP tour went to Mills, San Jose State, City College of SF, Peninsula Peace and Justice, Rainforest Action Network, SEAC conference at USF, San Francisco State, College of San Mateo, Bay Area Action of Palo Alto (Emerson at University, then managed by Jim Baer, I believe, he deserves credit), Monterey Institute of International Studies (where I met Juan L. Sanchez, who played my first concert event per se, at The Edge, around January, 1994), Resource Center for Non-Vionlence Santa Cruz, The Bolinas Gallery — 12 gigs at least according to the poster, probably turned out closer to 9 or 10, plus we crashed a Bill Gates lecture at Commonwealth Club, and I got Bill to pose for me, or at least not have my camera impounded, as I mentioned above in a letter to John Vanderslice. Event called: “Out of the Shadows of Borneo: No Man is an Island” Bimbetta, at The Cub, by Tina Dussault with a pixelated Mona Lisa rip Archers of Loaf, Frightwig (the show not the poster also featured Plexi): by Lane Wurster; there are actually two versions of this, the real one and a reprint I made and handed out six months or a year later when AOL played the Edge. The less rare version says: Tasty Loafabilia courtesy Earthwise Productions and The Palo Alto Soundcheck TM Palo Alto, Calif. 94306 It features a pulp sci fi cover with octopuses attacking space ships and The Starmen The Dutch beat the Chileans 2-0 for anyone who is somehow reading this in real time and using it as your primary source of World Cup 2014 Brazil. By reading or writing this you or I also missed in real time a nice back-heel goal by David Villa at 36′ versus Australia. Have you heard about, if you excuse the digression, a nice little app called World Cup Buzz, The App, which allows you to post your comments to fellow Applied? I can see the bottom of this bucket with just a few more posters to post, although I really should try to take a break, get some air or sun or Vit D, or stretch my Lumbar, or hydrate or finish a half-eaten banana in the kitchen or warm then swallow my coffee before setting in at 12:30 in 90 minutes to seriously watch the inspiring Mexican Reds featuring the fabulous Memo in goal, Ochoa number 13, but soldiering on, 2,451 words in: Earthwise Productions at Cubberley Twin Harmonic Pop Shows: Engine 88, Spoon, Van Gogh’s Daughter, I.B.O.P.A. (same band as above, Beat reference); Van Gogh’s Daughter — it was a type of residency for them, although the whole thing, naturally, was about trying to accommodate Spoon, who were in for the Noise Pop–, The Keeners (from Los Altos, Ken Gould), Peel (from Stanford, Corky Gainsford), The Baby Sitters Club (from Paly High: Rachel Metz, Matt Sussman, Jessi god I cannot believe I am spacing her name — Rob Syrett just showed me her wedding pictures, at the Baltimore outsider art museum, went to Oberlin, also played in Pussy Mansion Oppenheimer — Mazel to her and her’s– actually I was sent word via Robert that Matt wants me to send him a dub of  what they sent me as a demo – -they had recorded live — very Swede style – of their rehearsal, in Matt’s parents garage, on Parkinson near the library, I think, I dropped him off there once — and don’t actually have a document themselves of their illustrious salad days as young bohemians and world beaters and serf in’ sperm. The poster by Michele and I but continuing the Wurster technique features baseball icon — he is used in MLB logo, this very photo– Harmon Killebrew of THC. I just gifted one of these to a hip City of Palo Alto employee named Josh. (although maybe they are not supposed to receive gifts in which case I will bill him $10 cash so as not to end up in a grand jury report). Josh Wallace. Or maybe it is on loan and he can give it back if and when he leaves our employ. Or maybe it can be accepted into the City of Palo Alto flat art collection, managed by Elise DeMarzo a former Commissioner. I should probably forward this to Josh with a little note asking him should we leave a paper trail, and I want to feel him out about the corruption scandal, how deep does he think the rot is? And here I am outing him as a potential on the down low operative or source. Transparency heading towards self-spying. Stanley Jordan, artwork by Adrienne Drayton, who worked at Cubberley as a janitor. Moxy Fruvous, Cindy Bullens at Stanford Coffee House, uses photo in flyer, by MBW, of Commedian Harmonists. One of the Fruvous has gone on to great fame as a radio air talent in Toronto, I think. The Basics, Squeeze the Dog, has a venus with wings thing going on. We have The Basics here as BasiCs which may or may not be a reference to Bay Area Singers or Singers in Christ. Which reminds me there is also, to be documented here, and potentially Sweded, a 7-inch record co-produced by Earthwise and Wade and Kelly Baynham, of a Christmas carol and an original, with great Earth-themed art by the band. I think KSZU has this in their library, as does Earthwise itself.

Wow. It says here that a KZSU dj named Mayjahn Shlepping Cobalt actually spun “Go With Me To The Water” by The Basics, produced by Earthwise Productions label, 1996, in February, 2014, according to Zookeeper. Who knew? Besides the Omni-knowing, and the niternet.