VOL2 MAKING STUFF INSTEAD OF BREAKING STUFF
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vol 2 MAKING STUFF INSTEAD OF BREAKING STUFF IS A MONTHLY ZINE DEDICATED TO ART AS AN OUTLET. Thanks to everyone who submitted work. I was blown away by the response of our first issue and the number of submissions we received for our second. I’m continuously surprised by the amazing things you people are doing. -Mica
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CREDITS COVER
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PHOTOGRAPH BY LEA ZAGLIN Leazaglin.com
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ILLUSTRATIONS BY SAM GRIM Samantha.Grim@arts.cornish.edu Instagram: Sammgrim
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MUSIC AND ART BY TOTAL TRASH Totaltrash.bandcamp.com
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MUSIC BY GRENDELS CLAW Grendelsclaw.bandcamp.com
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MUSIC BY CHARLIES TAXIDERMY Etsy.com/shop/FatherRobRecords
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ILLUSTRATION BY DUSTIN MCCHESNEY Dustinmcchesney.tumblr.com
ART BY ANNA MCKAY Annacmckay.wix.com/annamckay www.facebook.com/annamckayart
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ART BY KLINT FLENTGE Flentge.tumblr.com/art
PHOTOGRAPH BY HALEY HILLS Haleyhillsphotography.com
COMIC BY MICA GAXIOLA-FLYNN Mica.illustraiton@gmail.com
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COLORING BOOK (TOP) BY KARLA CORNELIO (BOTTOM) BY MICA GAXIOLA-FLYNN Karlacornelio8@gmail.com Mica.illustraition@gmail.com
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COMIC BY ETHAN MOROSOFF Smaawgart.deviantart.com
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BACK COVER
PHOTOGRAPH BY LEA ZAGLIN Leazaglin.com
PHOTOGRAPH BY LEA ZAGLIN Websites
VOL 2
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COMIC BY LITTLE NORTH STAR Littlenorthstar.com
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SAM GRIM
Bold and simplistic illustration based out of Seattle WA.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR WORK? I would describe my work as having bold and heavy line work mixed with softer colour usage. I really love portraiture and am always trying to push pieces by including surreal aspects. I also use a lot of symbolism and icons in my work, which I think contributes to the feeling of being bold and simplistic in its linework.
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HOW HAS YOUR STYLE DEVELOPED? Before starting as a designer I was mostly a painter, and I think that learning about design has really helped me push concepts in my work. It also helped develop my style into multimedia so that I feel comfortable on the computer as well as with traditional media. I developed a love of typography recently which has resulted in a lot of inclusion of hand typography pieces into my work as well, which I really enjoy!
ILLUSTRATION ANALOGUE OR DIGITAL? I will have to go with Analogue! However, I would love to get better in the digital realm of illustration.
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WHAT DO YOU DRAW INSPIRATION FROM? I think one of my biggest inspirations is tattoo art and culture. It’s incredibly diverse, and I feel like my lifework is a direct reflection of my interest in tattoos. I really admire illustrators who include a lot of portraiture as well, and am trying to improve on that in my work. Finally I love the outdoors and I think a lot of natural elements sneak into my work because of that influence. HAS THERE BEEN A TIME SHIT SUCKED AND MAKING STUFF HELPED? Of course! Art has always been my outlet, and it’s something that I genuinely enjoy doing. When I was younger and in high school I was really angry at everything, and I think that developing my art and deciding to pursue it as a career really set me on a path that I am happy with. Being an artist has also led me to meet some really awesome people and I think that really contributes to feeling satisfied with what I do everyday! WHAT IS YOUR DREAM PROJECT? I really would love to create a poster series, or really any sort of series. The project would be illustration heavy for me, and I love the idea of creating more than one piece that fall into the same universe or are related. I have always had the dream of learning how to tattoo, so if that opportunity presented itself that would probably be a dream project!
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MUSIC/ART
4 PIECE “MAYBE GRUNGE” BAND FROM MINNEAPOLIS HTTP://TOTALTRASH.BANDCAMP.COM
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE TOTAL TRASHS SOUND?
JESSICA: I would say all of our albums (the three) sound very different from each other. The first album sounds like extremely fast “pogo punk”, but there is also a really sludgy song so maybe not.
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I think some people have said we are “maybe grunge”. We’ve definitely gotten more melodic as time has gone on, but I think that’s just come with playing with each other. We also added Hannah on backing vocals / bass on the last album so that definitely changed the sound a lot. So yeah, I would say we are definitely “maybe grunge”. YOUR BAND NAME IS INSPIRED BY A SONIC YOUTH SONG, WHAT OTHER BANDS INSPIRED YOUR SOUND? DUSTIN: One of the first records that I bought was Nation of Ulysses’ “the embassy tapes”. It’s a real lo-fi record of demos. The feedback and desperate angst on that record is to me, the
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epitome of what punk should sound like. Also Nirvana is still cool ya? JESSICA: We use to play a Minor Threat cover and a Germs cover. I would say those bands inspired our sound, as well as Sonic Youth, Crass, etc. I want to say HOLE just because that is my favorite band, but I don’t know if it really comes across that much in our actual music. WHICH IS BETTER: STAGE SHOWS OR HOUSE SHOWS, AND WHY? DUSTIN: We played a gymnasium in Chicago for CLITfest, that was cool. It really depends on the audience though. Usually at a house show,
people are more comfortable, so houses are where I would rather play for the most part.
THE ART FOR TOTAL TRASH LOOKS EXACTLY HOW THE BAND SOUNDS, HOW DO THEY INFLUENCE EACH OTHER?
JESSICA: We’ve also played at a bike shop, record store, bowling alley, and an art gallery, but yeah, I’m into house shows. I think it’s a more “intimate” atmosphere. Plus, you don’t have to deal with dick head sound people or drink tickets or other “institutional” bullshit. I like the idea of people doing things for themselves (Ian MacKaye style) instead of following the rules of venues owned by assholes who are just trying to sell drinks. I’m not against playing at those types of place, it’s just sometimes more fun if you’re not. People seem to care more, usually.
DUSTIN: Hah, I’m glad you think so. A lot of the art that I make, including my music, stems from an anger of this cultural expectation of what it means to be a man, or macho. A lot of punk bands seem like the same dumb people I got into art to get away from. So I use pastel colors and violent images to show where we stand. Of course we are effeminate, of course we are harsh too, I try to lay it all out there. JESSICA: Dustin and I talked about it a lot and we decided very early on that our artistic vision of the
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band had to be completely cohesive. I think the pastels and stuff came from me fucking around with his art on the computer and we realized how contrasting it was and it just seemed unique and interesting. Also, a lot of punks don’t really use color at all in their artwork and it makes things somewhat homogeneous / boring IMO. There’s not really a reason not to. Like Dustin was saying there is unfortunately a lot of “macho-ness” associated with punk. It really turns me off. I think it’s exclusionary and I really hate it. A lot of people in the punk community also seem like they are not open to new ideas. It’s almost regressive in a way. They confine themselves to this specific way of thinking, dressing, making art, etc, so much that it becomes just as confining as the “ mainstream society” they were trying to get away from in the first place. It’s like, if you go to a show and people think that if you don’t dress or look like them, or your music sounds different then you’re not in the same mindset as what they think is “punk”. I might be really idealistic but I think the “punkest” thing you can do is to be yourself and do things for yourself. It has nothing to do with the way your music sounds. I think Beat Happening is basically the punkest band to ever exist because they didn’t give a
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shit if other people thought they sucked at making music. They weren’t afraid to do what they wanted to and that to me is the most inspiring thing in the world. Dress the way you want, make the art/music you want without worrying about if that image is “traditionally” punk. My favorite artists / musicians are my favorite because they challenged / challenge ideas about what it meant / means to be a woman / musician / punk / person, etc, and their art / music was original, not because they tried to be a apart of some specific sub-culture. The same thing goes for people in my life that I enjoy and I surround myself with. HAS THERE BEEN A TIME IN YOUR LIFE THAT SHIT HAS SUCKED AND MAKING STUFF HAS HELPED? DUSTIN: YESS!! It feels good to be able to focus all of your attention on a task, and to let that take over, to let your emotions and energy flow through and out of you into whatever it is, it could be cooking or biking or playing music. Things can be truly limitless, and music makes that the most obvious to me. It reminds me when I am low, how high I can get. JESSICA: I think being productive in general has always made me feel good. Being in a band, putting out records, going on tour, etc.
has been possibly the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Being able to focus on something meaningful and put all my energy into it makes me feel like shit sucks a whole lot less. ANY BANDS OR ARTISTS YOU WOULD SUGGEST TO OTHERS TO CHECK OUT? DUSTIN: BrainTumors Nervosas Slint Unwound Varix JESSICA: ^All of the above. Ummm my favorite bands are Hole, Babes in Toyland, Unwoundddd, Descendents, I really like anything Ian Mackaye was in except Fugazi. Newish bands on the DIY circuit that people should check out if they have not are Potty Mouth, Young Trynas, Slut River, Priests, Hausu, Milk Music I READ ONLINE THAT YOUR FIRST BASSIST WAS KICKED OUT BECAUSE HE ADMITTED TO LIKING U2, WHAT ARE YOUR OTHER ‘DEAL BREAKER’ BANDS? DUSTIN: That bassist also owned a John Popper solo CD, so I guess thats another deal breaker. Since then though, I’ve heard that Johnny Ramone died listening to a U2 song, so whatever. JESSICA: I don’t know who John Popper is. He sounds really lame though. I thought it was our old drummer that has a U2 CD? Dealbreakers
are COLDPLAY and OASIS. Maybe not, it depends on the person. Actually Jared maybe likes Coldplay and Oasis. I don’t really care too much. WHATS IN THE FUTURE FOR TOTAL TRASH IN TERMS OF TOURS AND RELEASES? DUSTIN: Me and our drummer Jared have been recording our other band MYOTIS right now, and Jessica has been playing with her new band CORN, so I guess Total Trash has taken a backseat for now :(:(( JESSICA: Yes we are focusing on other projects right now. I guess technically on hiatus? Maybe we will tour the South or the West Coast at some point in the future?? I also would love love love to go to Europe. I plan imaginary tours all the time ***for fun***. Planning is my shit. Total trash is Dustin (Guitar) Hannah (Bass) Jared (Drums) & Jessica (Vox) from Minneapolis.
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ANNA MCKAY
These are pieces I did when I was getting a lot of rejection for my digital designs. I decided to try some pen drawings for a change, to get back the organic, hand drawn elements that didn’t exist in my digital designs, as well as hoping for some success! (yet to be realized). I messed up the final image by adding too much detail (and with pen you can’t erase). So I found some cheap paint and scribble-painted over it. I didn’t scrunch it up and throw it in the bin (as I often do) and when I looked at it with fresh eyes decided I actually liked the end result. So in that particular case I guess I made something while I was trying to break something. My website: http://annacmckay.wix.com/ annamckay
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Facebook Art Page: https://www.facebook.com/ annamckayart
ART
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ART
KLINT FLENTGE “Art has an ever-changing face and I accept all that might present themselves to me. Nature is a major influence on my process and I create many contextual sketches deep in the wilderness. The content of my work has been said to carry an organic, untold narrative; there is a common underlining feel to my work that is described as “mysterious”. I see people wanting a definite explanation as to what they may be looking at, however I don’t plan on giving that answer anytime soon.”
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COMICS
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ING R O L CO
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AGE P K BOO
COMICS
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LITTLE NORTH STAR Use your imagination and create the story as your heart dictates. It’s up to you to decide what happens in the space between the music & comic.
Listen to Liar by Whelp here as you read: whelpband.bandcamp. com/album/little-north-star
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE LITTLE NORTH STAR PROJECT? REED: Little North Star is essentially a fairy tale, following the adventures of a
little boy searching for his destiny while lost in a land of snow and magic. We’re attempting to tell the story through a combination of music and illustration, but ultimately the medium requires the audience to actively participate in creating the story the way they imagine it. We are only giving an outline, and we hope people will be able to take away something from it that is unique and meaningful to them personally.
WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO MASH UP MUSIC AND COMICS? NATHAN: After we finished our 2011 album, Mutton Buster, (made under
our old name, Master Mahan), I was so stoked on music I immediately wanted to write another album, unfortunately, I had already written about everything significant in my life and hadn’t lived much since, so I thought it might be nice to try writing straight up fiction. I wanted to write songs that would tell a story, but at the same time, I didn’t want to write songs that suck. I felt that in order to effectively communicate the narrative, it would be necessary to include illustrations. I didn’t originally intend to create a full blown comic book, but it evolved into one partially out of necessity to the story, and partially because it’s sweet.
REED: Another major source of inspiration for this project is the music and
art of Jeffery Lewis. His “low-budget music videos” are what originally showed us that you could successfully combine comics and music without the process of animation. Nate and I both really enjoy reading and drawing cartoons, so creating this project was an opportunity for us to create our own nobudget cartoon, but in the process it has evolved into a very different kind of experience than we had initially intended.
WHAT IS YOUR PROCESS? NATHAN: There’s a real give and take between story and music, which would be hard to describe. But, once those things are pretty well developed, Reed and I sit down together, and try to outline the comic. Reed does the page planning and pencil work, and I ink and color.
REED: Nathan really deserves most of the credit here. While the story was
something of a joint effort, he wrote nearly all of the music and drew the first
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three chapters while I was in Japan this summer. But I do feel like the final product is the result of a very collaborative process between everybody in the band.
WHO IS INVOLVED? NATHAN: Our band, Whelp is made up of Garrett Triplett (drums), Zack
Gilkison(guitar), Daniel Byington (guitar, bass), Reed Ingalls (wind instruments, mustard seeds, pencils, story), and Nathan Jones(guitar, singing, some pencils, story, ink, color). We certainly couldn’t pull it off without our supporter/web designer Mishaal, and the good folks at Frank’s House.
REED: We’re also really grateful to everyone that has been following our progress as
we update the project online and giving us feedback on our efforts. I’m really glad that we can make our audience a part of the process as it grows and changes.
HAS THERE EVER BEEN A TIME WHEN SHIT SUCKED AND MAKING STUFF HELPED? NATHAN: Yes. For me personally, songwriting has always been a way to say things I
don’t feel comfortable talking about. Even with this project that I originally intended to be a work of fiction, my own personal trials seeped in and I think that making this has helped me deal with them. Alternatively, this project has itself been a trial at times.
REED: I think that for most people, myself included, shit is always tough to deal with,
but by doing what you love and working towards something that’s important we can all make it suck a little bit less for everyone. I just don’t feel like myself if I’m not involved in creating or doing something, so being involved in challenging projects like this with good friends always makes shit suck a great deal less.
WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO TAKE LITTLE NORTH STAR IN THE FUTURE? NATHAN: To some degree, if not a very large degree, this project for me, has been
about not trying to predict the future, but moving towards it anyways. I don’t have any idea what we’re gonna do with this project once its complete, but I would like to get it printed, and if there are people out there who might enjoy it, I hope they get the opportunity.
REED: Honestly I just hope that we’re able to complete the whole project to our
satisfaction. It’s an incredible amount of work, so I’m trying not to worry about what we’ll do until the time comes. Hopefully we’ll be able to print the comic and music with the help of some sort of crowdfunding effort like kickstarter, and then go about playing shows and sharing our art. We are also open to suggestions if someone out there has a better idea. If we were good at planning ahead we probably wouldn’t have started this project in the first place!
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Liar LITTLE NORTH STAR COMICS
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Continue reading ‘Liar’ and the other 4 Little North Star Comics at http://littlenorthstar.com
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THX 4 READING
YOU SHOULD MAKE SOME STUFF TOO. Submit work to MAKEDONTBREAK@GMAIL.COM We are looking for: Comics Illustrations Poems Tutorials Rants Lyrics Photography Short Stories Paintings & Beyond To get issues sent to you Email Makedontbreak@gmail.com MORE ISSUES TO COME
E MATERIAL ON TO REPRODUC TIST. PERMISSI CONTACT AR N, CH IO EA AT TO RM © FO IN ALL CONTENTS ST. FOR MORE TI AR E TH BY ED GMAIL.COM MUST BE OBTAIN MAKEDONTBREAK@
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