Music Advice, Interesting People, Father's Day Printables & More

Jun 05, 2022

June 5, 2022

In This Issue:

From My Sketchbook
Some Advice About Music
Interesting People to Follow
Father's Day Stuff

From My Sketchbook

When I first started this newsletter, I had a section called “From My Sketchbook.” Then one month I forgot to do it, then four years passed and suddenly this week I was like, “Wait, what happened to that section!?”

So here we go – a page from an old sketchbook. And my thoughts/comments about it.

A lot of my sketchbook pages are like this – a weird mash-up of doodles that probably made sense at the time (I hope) but have lost all context over the years.

Anyway, let me know if you want this clown image in the form of a giant poster to put over your bed. I can make that happen.

Some Advice About Music

The way I see it, bringing more music into your life is a good thing. If you agree, here are some things that have worked for me.

Bandsintown

If you like live musical performances, Bandsintown is a really helpful website and app. As one reviewer put it: "It provides an insanely convenient way to find both smaller local shows and big-name acts coming to your area." You sign up, tell it what you like, and get notified when concerts are coming your way.

Live-Streaming Shows

A lot of artists do live-stream shows now, so you can watch them perform online. Think about an artist or band you like and then check to see if they have any live-streams coming up. The performances are usually recorded and then you get a link, so you can watch later if that’s more convenient.

All Songs Considered Podcast

This show by National Public Radio will introduce you to a wide range of music. I listen to the podcast, but you can also visit the website for more listening options. If I happen to not like a song they’re playing, I just skip ahead to the next song. Overall, this show is a good way to discover new music.

Spotify Playlists

If you use Spotify, maybe you’ve done this: Search the name of an artist you like, then look at the results and see if Spotify offers a "Radio" for that artist. (Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't.) If it DOES, select that option. Spotify will play songs from the artist you like, and also rotate in other music from the same genre. It’s a great way to expose yourself to new music you’ll love.

Trevor Hall

My current music recommendation: I’m really enjoying Trevor Hall. He's an American singer-songwriter/guitarist and his music is a combination of folk, rock, and reggae. I especially like the songs “Moon/Sun” and “Put Down What You Are Carrying.”

Interesting People to Follow

Ryan Hudson creates a cartoon called “Channelate,” and I recently discovered that he is self-producing an animated pilot. He started a YouTube channel to document the journey.

He’s funny, and speaks openly about wrestling with the creative process. He also explains step-by-step how he comes up with ideas, then tries to improve them.

In the last video he admitted that he’d hit a roadblock – and now he hasn’t posted for a month. So we’ll see what happens. But if you like watching the creative process you can check out his YouTube channel here.

Click on the “videos” tab and you’ll see 11 videos so far. (Be aware that there is cursing and content that would be inappropriate for young kids.)

Another account I’ve been enjoying is called “Poosac” by Kim Smith. She makes little handcrafted dolls and gifts.

Her Instagram page is a delight.

I just love the little characters she creates, and the miniature scale of many of them.

She also sells items on Etsy.

Father's Day Stuff

I have some printable items for you! My thought is that you can download whichever ones you like, then either print it yourself or get it printed through an online service like Shutterfly or a local office-supply store (they often provide printing services).

You could give these as a framed gift, or use them to make a Father's Day card. Whatever you want to do! (That middle one about home repair actually IS a greeting card that's out on shelves in the U.S. and Canada, so you might see it in stores.)

You could also just save one of these images to your device, then email or text it to someone as a fun message. (Except that last one, since you need to add your own message to it.)

Click on the image to download the file.

I also took the "Dad Early" cartoon I did a while back and turned it into some products on my store! So if you know a Dad who would like one of these items, order ASAP. In my experience it takes a while to receive items from Threadless (the site that manages my store).

Threadless ships to many countries. A list will appear when you check out and put in your address.

Here's the original Dad Early cartoon, in case you missed it:

Cartoons

And now, let's take a look at the most popular cartoons since the last newsletter.

This one (from the archives) resonated with a lot of people. Why must printers be so difficult?!

Every printer I've had has been temperamental. Our current printer is quite dramatic, always yelling at us that it's LOW ON INK. But it has been saying that for like half a year.