Drawings from the Chicago Zine Fest 2015

Hello, again! Early last month Lemon o Books attended the annual meeting of the Midwest chapter of the International Tree Killers Union. Just kidding! It was the sixth annual Chicago Zine Fest, but the event was held in a beautiful, old union hall this year.

I've been lucky enough to have exhibited at this fabulous event every year, and I love the experience. You can read a comprehensive write-up of Saturday's exhibition from Broken Pencil Magazine at this link (featuring my smirking face). Thanks to all the organizers, exhibitors and attendees who make the Chicago Zine Fest possible.

Here's some fantastic drawings that some kind folks created for The Famous Hairdos of Popular Music project:


This handsome gentleman is wearing a regal cape reminiscent of Madonna's hair. The drawing was done by the incredible Trevor Grabill of Flat Mountain Press. A gentle piece of advice: Give Trevor all your money, cover your walls with his prints and fill your bookshelves with his zines.


This is Madonna's childhood cat who is rarely credited for inspiring the Material Girl's earliest popular hairdo. Drawing by Rebecca Dols.




Two sad men kindly drawn by a visitor to the fest. 💔
❤


And finally, here's a drawing by Liz Mason of Caboose zine and Quimby's Bookstore who has been telling me for years that she doesn't draw. This lovely rendition of Glenn Danzig suggests otherwise! Heartfelt thanks go out to Liz and all the other drawers for these wonderful post cards. You all truly make The Famous Hairdos of Popular Music possible.

Anyone interested in acquiring Lemon o Books' sundry paper souvenirs can see our catalog here and read ordering instructions here. Have a wonderful summer, Internet!

Drawings From The Chicago Zine Fest, 2014

I journeyed on Saturday from Milwaukee to Chicago to represent Lemon o Books and The Famous Hairdos of Popular Music at the 5th annual Chicago Zine Fest. I've attended this amazing event each year, and as always my deepest thanks go out to the organizers, attendees and exhibitors for making this day one of the highlights of my calendar.

Thanks also to the kind folks who submitted drawings to the Famous Hairdos of Popular Music project, which is closing in on its own anniversary- six years, hundreds of drawings, and eight books. I hope you enjoy these portraits as much as I do! Let's keep doing this.

Drawings from The Chicago Zine Fest, 2013

Saturday March 9 was the fourth annual Chicago Zine Fest . I've attended each year, making the trek from Milwaukee to the Windy City, selling Lemon o Books' projects and soliciting drawings for The Famous Hairdos of Popular Music. The festival grows bigger and more popular each year, but the organizers put on a more organized, inclusive, and welcoming show each time. Thanks to them, to all the zine fest attendees, and thanks as always to all the drawers who donate their talents to this project.

Here are some wonderful hairdo drawings. Enjoy!

Drawings from The Chicago Zine Fest

"Milwaukee is to Chicago as the Moon is to the Earth-- nearby, lifeless, and ultimately inhospitable." Steven Blush, American Hardcore: A Tribal History

Above: Returning from The Chicago Zine Fest by train.

This weekend I traveled from Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Chicago, Illinois to debut a new zine and CD inspired by the moon at the third annual Chicago Zine Fest. As in the last two years, it was a blast, a welcoming, well-organized, inclusive festival, but I'm glad to be home. Thanks as always to the organizers, attendees, and my fellow exhibitors. Thanks to the staff at Quimby's Bookstore in Wicker Park, and big thanks to Jeff Prokash and his roommates for the couch to crash on and some much needed post-festival unwind time.

Below are some of the great drawings I collected for the Famous Hairdos of Popular Music project on Saturday. Heartfelt thanks go out to the drawers who make this project real. When I started The Famous Hairdos of Popular Music four years ago, I dreamed that I would get submissions as great as these, but I am continually thankful that my dream has come true. Finally, to Ron, I decided your drawing was a little too saucy for this website, but thank you nonetheless. Without further ado, the drawings:



The artist who created the above portrait said, on handing me the completed drawing, "Happy Danzig." When I said thank you, I should have added, "And Happy Danzig to you, too." I apologize for my rudeness.







Until next time, thanks for looking.

Upcoming Events: Chicago Zine Fest 2012 and Moon Ragas in NYC

Above: Fine dining, outside our hotel room, Chicago Zine Fest 2011

Except for the fantastic drawings received in the mail last month, it probably seems like a quiet start to 2012 here at The Famous Hairdos of Popular Music/Lemon o Books. However, a lot of work and planning have been going on behind the scenes.

First off, in a little less than a month Lemon o Books will be in Chicago for the third annual Chicago Zine Fest on March 10th. I've tabled at this event the last two years, and despite the bitter weather that a Midwestern March all but promises, it has always been a blast. The Chicago Zine Fest is housed in a beautiful space at Columbia College, and last year it took two floors to accommodate all of the talented exhibitors. It always draws a large, diverse crowd, and the organizers seem to pull off a better show every year. I'm definitely jazzed to make the trip again.

Here's the full schedule of events for the weekend:

Friday March 9, 2012:
1 - 3pm Gender, Race & Sexuality, a Discussion with Women in Self-Publishing at Columbia College
6 - 9pm Zine Readings at 826CHI
9:30pm - 12am Zine Olympics at Quimby's Bookstore

Saturday March 10:
11am - 6pm Zine Exhibition at Columbia College

Our Moon and "Moon Ragas"


Above: A stack of tape loops
(Tape loops and photo by Adam Krause)

In other news, the follow-up to Actual Bird Song is quickly taking form, and much like its predecessor, that form will be book and CD shaped. Where Actual Bird Song was a quasi-field guide and audio companion inspired by birds and notable for its lack of both fields and guidance, this next project takes its inspiration from the moon, Earth's satellite and cosmic dance partner. It will be called Our Moon and should be finsished just in time for the aforementioned Chicago Zine Fest. If everything goes to plan in the next month, Our Moon will be just as beautiful, weird and scientifically useless as Actual Bird Song was last fall.

Actual Bird Song began as a collaboration between myself (in charge of book-making) and Neil Gravander (aka Lucky Bone, sound-making). The project soon expanded when Neil invited fellow Milwaukee sound-maker Slow Owls to create his own avian-inspired audio.

In a similar way, this new project began as a collaboration between myself (once again handling the visual half of the audio-visual equation) and writer, musician, carpenter Adam Krause but expanded when he invited sound artist Ken Montgomery to contribute to the audio portion of the project.

This weekend, the collaboration gets even more collaborative when Adam travels to New York City to play a show at The Stone (Avenue C and 2nd street) with Montgomery. The event will be recorded and the results should find their way into the final version of Our Moon. If you're in New York on February 19th, consider attending this event.

Meanwhile, I'll be here in Milwaukee putting the finishing touches on the booklet for Our Moon. I'll post all the details right here as soon as the project is ready to share with the world. Thanks for looking and reading. Here's to an active and exciting spring!

Happy New Year

Above: 2011, the year in haircuts

I started 2012 the way I ended 2011-- with a whopping cold. So here, almost seven days and one bottle of Multi-symptom Cold and Flu Nighttime Relief Liquid into the new year, is a belated wish for a happy new year for you and yours from Lemon o Books and The Famous Hairdos of Popular Music.

Before talking about what 2012 has in store around these parts, let's take a quick look back at last year. It was a good one. The Chicago Zine Fest, the Madison Zine Fest, and, just last month, the stellar Milwaukee Zine Fest were great experiences. Taking myself, my projects and books out of the house and into the world is always a surprising, heartening, and illuminating endeavor.

And the books made in 2011 stand out for me as the best I've made so far. Last winter, The Famous Hairdos of Popular Music Volume Six cataloged drawings made by dozens of individuals (out of the total hundreds of drawings received so far) who contributed their work to The Famous Hairdos of Popular Music project. I am forever grateful to everyone who has made this silly idea of mine into a real and growing thing, and I hope it continues. While the drawers are the soul of this project, I think this book has my best design and craft yet for this series.



This fall saw the release of Actual Bird Song, the first non-hairdo project from Lemon o Books. This project was a collaboration between myself and two Milwaukee musicians, Lucky Bone and Slow Owls, who each contributed a track to a CD packaged inside a short booklet.



Now, with the highlights of 2011 lovingly packed away like so many Christmas lights, let's talk about some of my most anticipated projects of 2012. I'm still so excited by Actual Bird Song that my next project will continue in a similar vein. Two musicians are already on board to create sounds for a compact disc while I'm working on an accompanying book. I'm going to keep my lips sealed about the subject matter and the collaborators until things really start to take shape, but I guarantee that no one will be as disappointed as me if this project isn't just as good as last year's foray into audio-visual collaboration.

Also, the long-rumored seventh volume of The Famous Hairdos of Popular Music will become a real thing that you can hold in your hands. This will definitely happen before the project turns four years old in July.

Thanks for reading, everybody. Here's to another great year!

Drawings From The Chicago Zine Fest, Part Four

Here are the last three drawings from the Chicago Zine Fest, and they're good ones. Thanks again, everyone. Check them out as well as the preceding posts to scope just a sample of the great outpouring of creativity that was gathered in Chicago this weekend.

Drawings From The Chicago Zine Fest, Part Three

Here is a third batch of drawings from Chicago, and I'm still not quite done scanning all of them yet. Thanks to all the drawers, The Famous Hairdos of Popular Music project is still going strong. The more people who contribute drawings, the better this gets. Thanks, everyone.

Drawings From The Chicago Zine Fest, Part Two

Here are more great drawings from Chicago, and there's still more to come! Thanks for drawing, everyone.