Posts
A benefit concert for the Forrester Family will take place on January 3 at the Carter Family Fold. Click here for details. As you may have seen in the previous post, the Forresters lost everything in a tragic house fire almost two weeks ago.
Last February, Rita was interviewed for an oral history project by Southern Foodways. To learn more about the Carter Family's love of music (and good cooking), watch a video of the interview here. Look to the sidebar for related interviews on food and music.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Heart-breaking news of tragic fire at Carter family member's home
Our hearts go out to Rita Forrester, who lost her home and her husband Bob in a tragic home fire that struck on December 7th.
Rita has been a kind and generous voice of help and information as David and I have worked on Don't Forget This Song. We have recently been working with her on corrections to our manuscript.
She has offered many helpful insights and corrections to some long-standing misinformation about the Carter Family's story. We're thankful for the gift of her insight and knowledge. Our book would, literally, not be the same without her kind-spirited input.
For news of the fire, read THIS ARTICLE.
A relief fund has been set up for Mrs. Forrester and her family. Details about that can be found HERE.
An updated version of the news story, with a video, can be found HERE.
It is heartening to see all the people who have offered help for the Forrester family in these dark hours.
If you can help Rita and her family with a donation, there is information on where you can contribute.
We wish Rita all the love and support in the world during this tragic time.
Rita has been a kind and generous voice of help and information as David and I have worked on Don't Forget This Song. We have recently been working with her on corrections to our manuscript.
She has offered many helpful insights and corrections to some long-standing misinformation about the Carter Family's story. We're thankful for the gift of her insight and knowledge. Our book would, literally, not be the same without her kind-spirited input.
For news of the fire, read THIS ARTICLE.
A relief fund has been set up for Mrs. Forrester and her family. Details about that can be found HERE.
An updated version of the news story, with a video, can be found HERE.
It is heartening to see all the people who have offered help for the Forrester family in these dark hours.
If you can help Rita and her family with a donation, there is information on where you can contribute.
We wish Rita all the love and support in the world during this tragic time.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
our opening page in color
Hi folks...
Long time, no post. We're working away on our book. We got our deadline extended. This graphic novel is requiring a lot of time and energy! We want it to be as good as possible. We hope it will prove worth the wait.
Here is a colored (but dialogue-less) version of the opening page of the book. (We're awaiting the arrival of a custom-made computer font based on David's lettering style. Once we get that, and have it installed, we can begin to type in the final dialogue.)
I hope the lack of dialogue isn't disconcerting. We tried to suggest some of the coloring techniques of the very early newspaper comics. It appears to us that they were colored using water color washes, which were interpreted by the engravers for the four-color printing process.
Comics were printed in flat colors from the start--especially in small-town newspapers, whose engravers could not equal the masterful work of those in the employ of the Chicago Tribune or the New York World or Herald-Tribune.
We have tried to evoke this delicate yet complex early color process here. Our goal is not to imitate the old ways--just to suggest them, and to incorporate aspects of them into our 21st-century efforts.
We hope you enjoy this sneak preview. We're going to do our best to post here at least once a week from now on with more preview pages, art samples, photos, etc. We hope to see you here again very soon!
Click on the thumbnail to enlarge it...
Long time, no post. We're working away on our book. We got our deadline extended. This graphic novel is requiring a lot of time and energy! We want it to be as good as possible. We hope it will prove worth the wait.
Here is a colored (but dialogue-less) version of the opening page of the book. (We're awaiting the arrival of a custom-made computer font based on David's lettering style. Once we get that, and have it installed, we can begin to type in the final dialogue.)
I hope the lack of dialogue isn't disconcerting. We tried to suggest some of the coloring techniques of the very early newspaper comics. It appears to us that they were colored using water color washes, which were interpreted by the engravers for the four-color printing process.
Comics were printed in flat colors from the start--especially in small-town newspapers, whose engravers could not equal the masterful work of those in the employ of the Chicago Tribune or the New York World or Herald-Tribune.
We have tried to evoke this delicate yet complex early color process here. Our goal is not to imitate the old ways--just to suggest them, and to incorporate aspects of them into our 21st-century efforts.
We hope you enjoy this sneak preview. We're going to do our best to post here at least once a week from now on with more preview pages, art samples, photos, etc. We hope to see you here again very soon!
Click on the thumbnail to enlarge it...
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Art in Progress
Here is the first panel of the chapter wherein AP Carter meets Sara Dougherty for the first time.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Mike Seeger: 1933-2009
It is with great sadness that we note the passing of musician and folklorist Mike Seeger. Seeger died at his home in Virginia on Friday, August 7th.
Without Mike Seeger's love of old-time music, and his great efforts to chronicle its songs and musicians, a book project such as ours might not even exist.
We had the great honor of speaking with Seeger twice in conjunction with Don't Forget This Song. It was a genuine pleasure to speak with him about the Carter Family and their musical importance.
Seeger (he insisted that I call him Mike) spoke eloquently and emotionally about the musical contributions of Sara, Maybelle and A.P. in our interviews. His comments helped David and I both to better understand the innovations the Carters brought to the country music songform.
70-plus years later, it's easy to take their music for granted--it feels as though the haunting sounds they made have always existed. But recorded country music before the arrival of the Carters was a much different entity.
Just as A.P. Carter helped define the forms of the country song, with his skillful editing of older folk and parlor songs, and his arrangements of longer ballad pieces to fit the 3.5 minute playing time of a 78 RPM recording, Sara and Maybelle brought constant musical innovations in the way they played their instruments.
Maybelle, in particular, continued to expand the possibilities of the humble guitar as an expressive, vital musical instrument as she performed on the 300+ recordings made by the original Carter Family.
From her very basic backings on the six 1927 Bristol recordings to her development of "the Carter scratch," the introduction of influences from blues, Hawaiian, Hispanic and other diverse musics, and her continual growth as a performer, Maybelle was country music's original envelope-pusher.
Talking with Mike helped bring this aspect of the Carter Family front and center. It was a great gift to have these long conversations with him.
Via his group, the New Lost City Ramblers, and via his tireless exploration of traditional music and its performers, Seeger renewed interest in old-time music, while keeping it alive and well to a modern audience.
He kept these passions alive well into the 21st century. His 2007 CD, Early Southern Guitar Sounds, is a remarkable collection of traditional tunes, played on 25 different vintage stringed instruments. If you aren't familiar with Seeger's music, this CD might prove a good starting point.
If you'd like to learn more about Mike Seeger's life and his accomplishments as a musician and folklorist, Wikipedia has a brief but solid entry on him here. Several obituaries are linked within the Wikipedia piece.
Thank you, Mike, for taking the time to speak with us about the Carter Family. You will be missed by many.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
A Quartet of Full-Color Teasers!
David and I are working hard on the considerable task of creating the finished color artwork for DON'T FORGET THIS SONG.
We did some selected tiers at the request of the folks at Abrams. They'll be featured in an upcoming color catalog.
We'd like to share these pieces with you now...
This first one is from the second chapter of the book. You can compare this colored, inked version with the earlier pencilled "take" of this tier of two panels...
Next is a scene from the third chapter, right after A.P. has met the love of his life, Sara Dougherty, for the first time...
Now, from chapter eight, a teen-aged Maybelle wows 'em with her guitar heroics...
And, for our final sample today, an emotional moment from Chapter 14, in which all the Carters gather to see and hear their very first record release, "The Wandering Boy" c/w "The Poor Orphan Child." Shellac-ophiles will notice that we used an accurate 1927 Victor Records stock sleeve for the Carters' copy of this important record.
We'll post more sequences from the book in days to come. We hope you've enjoyed these sneak previews.
We did some selected tiers at the request of the folks at Abrams. They'll be featured in an upcoming color catalog.
We'd like to share these pieces with you now...
This first one is from the second chapter of the book. You can compare this colored, inked version with the earlier pencilled "take" of this tier of two panels...
Next is a scene from the third chapter, right after A.P. has met the love of his life, Sara Dougherty, for the first time...
Now, from chapter eight, a teen-aged Maybelle wows 'em with her guitar heroics...
And, for our final sample today, an emotional moment from Chapter 14, in which all the Carters gather to see and hear their very first record release, "The Wandering Boy" c/w "The Poor Orphan Child." Shellac-ophiles will notice that we used an accurate 1927 Victor Records stock sleeve for the Carters' copy of this important record.
We'll post more sequences from the book in days to come. We hope you've enjoyed these sneak previews.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
The Cover Story, pt. 2
Here's Part 2 of the DON'T FORGET THIS SONG cover story...
Neil Egan, our super art director on DFTS, liked some aspects of the "tall, skinny picture" design I'd cobbled together.
After a productive conference call with David and I, Neil sent us a quick sketch of his idea. In the image below, you see six stages of a promising new cover direction:
1) his original quick-sketch
2) a subsequent sketch, after a subsequent conversation, in which he suggested a larger, broader image, with decorative icons and a border-frame, a la Depression-era sheet music
3) another sketch by Neil Egan, as a refinement of the ideas in sketch 2
4) partly by David, partly by me, this was our response to Neil's ideas... we repurposed the Carters-On-The-Car image, as some folks had expressed a liking for this drawing
5) David's refinement of our collaborative effort
6) Neil's visual notes, following yet another phone chat, over David's refined sketch
Neil and Charlie encouraged us to try new directions, while we nursed this promising design through various changes.
Here are two wild-card designs I put together. First is a design inspired by some of Frank King's elegant GASOLINE ALLEY storybooks from the late 1920s.
This got a good initial reaction, but was set on the sidelines because it looked too modern-day.
Around this time, I had a long phone conversation with Art Spiegelman. He had seen DFTS on Charlie's desk at Abrams' New York City offices, and seen some of the discussions on the cover design.
Art generously spent two hours talking about covers and cover design with me. I wish I'd recorded that conversation for future reference!
The gist of Spiegelman's comments and insights was that the cover has to really sell the heart and soul of the book. He expressed the importance of making an emotional connection to the potential reader/buyer. The main image on the cover might best convey the promise of drama, and of something compelling.
He suggested that we take the most dramatic moment in the book and portray it on the cover. Alas, the Carters' story has a lot of intense emotional drama, but none of it is of the screaming match/thrown crockery/drunken spree variety that some later country music biographies might contain.
He also challenged us to get asymmetrical with our design. Our previous designs had tended to center everything. He suggested that an offbeat, asymmetrical design might further leap off the shelves and connect with the reader.
Spiegelman's conversation left me in a new frame of mind about our cover approach. I conveyed the essence of the talk to David, as best I could...
Then, after another study of old sheet music, and with the intent to commit asymmetry, I pieced this "what the?" cover concept together.
This design reflects another item from my chat with Art... that we might consider another title. We toyed with DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH for a couple of weeks. This would still make a good alternate title.
After a discussion with our agent, Bob Mecoy, who helped us choose DON'T FORGET THIS SONG, David and I decided that we liked that title the best. While the song it references isn't one of the Carter Family's "greatest hits," it conveys the essence of A.P. Carter's goals as a musician and song-preserver.
This cover approach proved too much off the beaten path for Charlie or Neil. Just in case it interests anyone, "THE CARTER FAMILY" banner was pieced together from hand lettering on a 1931 song-sheet for the pop hit I'M SORRY I LOST YOU. I had to invent missing letters from the ones in the song's title.
Finally, David did it. He collated good ideas from many of our designs, gave them a fresh angle, and created this impressive sketch.
David and I had a conversation on how to depict the Carters on the cover. There had to be a way to convey the drama of their story, without depicting one specific scene.
We wanted to suggest the discord in A.P. and Sara's marriage, despite their love for each other, and their connection as musicians. We also wanted to depict Maybelle as the "rock of Gibraltar" of the Carters. By living a more stable and calm life, and giving her all to her pivotal role as the Carters' lead guitarist, Maybelle was a patient, tolerant foundation for the group.
David nailed it. Charlie and Neil agreed.
We discussed the cover again with Neil, and made some refinements to this solid design scheme.
David rendered the cover portrait in ink and wash, and the other cover elements in pen and ink.
We had our cover!
We hope you've enjoyed this survey of our many cover design attempts. Sometimes it seemed like we'd never get a for-real cover design. It was worth all the trial and error. We couldn't have done it without the feedback and insight of all the folks we've mentioned in these posts. Our sincere thanks to each and every person who helped us get on the right path!
Neil Egan, our super art director on DFTS, liked some aspects of the "tall, skinny picture" design I'd cobbled together.
After a productive conference call with David and I, Neil sent us a quick sketch of his idea. In the image below, you see six stages of a promising new cover direction:
1) his original quick-sketch
2) a subsequent sketch, after a subsequent conversation, in which he suggested a larger, broader image, with decorative icons and a border-frame, a la Depression-era sheet music
3) another sketch by Neil Egan, as a refinement of the ideas in sketch 2
4) partly by David, partly by me, this was our response to Neil's ideas... we repurposed the Carters-On-The-Car image, as some folks had expressed a liking for this drawing
5) David's refinement of our collaborative effort
6) Neil's visual notes, following yet another phone chat, over David's refined sketch
Neil and Charlie encouraged us to try new directions, while we nursed this promising design through various changes.
Here are two wild-card designs I put together. First is a design inspired by some of Frank King's elegant GASOLINE ALLEY storybooks from the late 1920s.
This got a good initial reaction, but was set on the sidelines because it looked too modern-day.
Around this time, I had a long phone conversation with Art Spiegelman. He had seen DFTS on Charlie's desk at Abrams' New York City offices, and seen some of the discussions on the cover design.
Art generously spent two hours talking about covers and cover design with me. I wish I'd recorded that conversation for future reference!
The gist of Spiegelman's comments and insights was that the cover has to really sell the heart and soul of the book. He expressed the importance of making an emotional connection to the potential reader/buyer. The main image on the cover might best convey the promise of drama, and of something compelling.
He suggested that we take the most dramatic moment in the book and portray it on the cover. Alas, the Carters' story has a lot of intense emotional drama, but none of it is of the screaming match/thrown crockery/drunken spree variety that some later country music biographies might contain.
He also challenged us to get asymmetrical with our design. Our previous designs had tended to center everything. He suggested that an offbeat, asymmetrical design might further leap off the shelves and connect with the reader.
Spiegelman's conversation left me in a new frame of mind about our cover approach. I conveyed the essence of the talk to David, as best I could...
Then, after another study of old sheet music, and with the intent to commit asymmetry, I pieced this "what the?" cover concept together.
This design reflects another item from my chat with Art... that we might consider another title. We toyed with DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH for a couple of weeks. This would still make a good alternate title.
After a discussion with our agent, Bob Mecoy, who helped us choose DON'T FORGET THIS SONG, David and I decided that we liked that title the best. While the song it references isn't one of the Carter Family's "greatest hits," it conveys the essence of A.P. Carter's goals as a musician and song-preserver.
This cover approach proved too much off the beaten path for Charlie or Neil. Just in case it interests anyone, "THE CARTER FAMILY" banner was pieced together from hand lettering on a 1931 song-sheet for the pop hit I'M SORRY I LOST YOU. I had to invent missing letters from the ones in the song's title.
Finally, David did it. He collated good ideas from many of our designs, gave them a fresh angle, and created this impressive sketch.
David and I had a conversation on how to depict the Carters on the cover. There had to be a way to convey the drama of their story, without depicting one specific scene.
We wanted to suggest the discord in A.P. and Sara's marriage, despite their love for each other, and their connection as musicians. We also wanted to depict Maybelle as the "rock of Gibraltar" of the Carters. By living a more stable and calm life, and giving her all to her pivotal role as the Carters' lead guitarist, Maybelle was a patient, tolerant foundation for the group.
David nailed it. Charlie and Neil agreed.
We discussed the cover again with Neil, and made some refinements to this solid design scheme.
David rendered the cover portrait in ink and wash, and the other cover elements in pen and ink.
We had our cover!
We hope you've enjoyed this survey of our many cover design attempts. Sometimes it seemed like we'd never get a for-real cover design. It was worth all the trial and error. We couldn't have done it without the feedback and insight of all the folks we've mentioned in these posts. Our sincere thanks to each and every person who helped us get on the right path!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)