Neil and the Pile

He's our buddy!

yo dawg come out to see ya boy!
hand photo-shopped collage
p.s. this aint da real flier. do you think i should still post this up around town? or would it be confusing to have two different fliers for the same show?

So I'm trying to work on the packaging for the Talking Tiger Mountain album, and I was trying to get a few people to help me out with drawings and such for album inserts. Basically, it would just be a simple drawing (b&w preferably) illustrating some different themes the album presents.

The album deals with a lot of different forms of imagery and extended metaphors and all that bullshit. Some of the few illustrations that I would like to be thought about:

• "The Light" - this deals with forms of inspiration, warmth, comfort, truth and knowledge. Images I kind of have in mind are like lanterns, campfire, and stuff like that. But also more abstract images like a ball of light being held in hands. Most notably the songs "Shepherd's Light" and "It's Still Light" deal with these images.
  
• "The Rivers" - the flow of love and human companionship. In the "Tigers & Mountains" song, there is a lyric about a river of angels approaching. Mostly dealing with women as divine love and inspiration.
  
• "The Children" - obvious reference to innocence, optimism, and hope. Sarah Paige is me telling my future grandkids about how much they should enjoy their times and play outside and make friends and all that good stuff as much as they can before the unavoidable happens. Images such as wedding dresses and gardens.
  
• "The Wind" - the coldness that sometimes awakens you. It can sometime awaken you so much that you become detached from everything else and fall into a depression hole. It's mostly a white wind that I imagine. The song "How High" expresses this. It might later be titled White Wind.
• "Tigers/ Mountains" the first song we recorded, "Tigers & Mountains," stems from the Brian Eno album Taking Tiger Mountain (by Strategy) obviously. But as I developed lyrics and meaning behind the songs, I came up with a semi-inspirational story about a Tiger who tries to climb a mountain but fails. Then the mountain speaks to him one night and tells him in order to climb he has to first bring the mountain songs in tribute and dedication. So, the tiger eventually finds them and blah blah.
  

Anyway, if anyone is interested, I would greatly appreciate it. I guess I'll post a link to the album even though it's unfinished. But just to get an idea of what it sounds like and to listen to while drawing or whatever. Talk to me or comment or whatever.


blahahhhhblaahh yeahyea okakkk


<3333<33<33333

an intro to collaborating: probably a very conceited post

Something I've always prided myself with is my strange ability to convince people to do things for me even when they know it will probably take way more time then they're willing to put into it. For example getting both Zach's to work with me in making that video last year. Also the video with Margot, Becca, Rachel, and Carey. Theres no way my videos would have turned out half as good if it hadn't been for the help of those people, and for some reason they believed it was a good idea to help me out.

There's a time and place for art, music, film, etc. to be made individually, however I think that when people with strong attributes and specialties work together by adding their different (and sometimes polar opposite) artistic ideas, something new and unexpected can come out of it. Fuck, even if nothing happens with the collaboration, at least you'll have the experience of it.

I have been talking to this musician named Abacus for around two or three weeks now, and everything we have shared has given me a new perspective on random collaborations. Basically, when I came back to Baltimore from Texas with an almost complete album I was incredible excited to have actually accomplished something this summer. My friends and bandmates at home kinda just stopped working on it even after I begged them to finish it, so it seemed right to get an outside source to help us out.

I am going to post the emails we've sent back and forth talking about collaborating. The point of all this? I guess to just show how even if two people are into each others art, there is usually a good chance to make something great.

So read it if you want. Theres a lot of nothing you might have to fish through, but I think it's a good example of open, random, and kinda strange collaboration with someone I've never met, but have full faith in.

Love,
NEIL

(p.s. wanna get together sometime?)