W I D E   A W A K E

LESS THAN HEROES: PR AND OTHER DIVERSIONS

May 11, 2004

LESS THAN HEROES, Volume 1 goes on sale in about a month. Life is rather hectic now as I'm working on several story proposals for other companies. Meanwhile, if you haven't already preordered LTH through your local comics shop, be sure to check it out. You may still preorder directly from TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS. Brett, Chris, and I would be very pleased if you'd give it a try.

SAN DIEGO COMIC CON 2004

I'll be hanging at the TOP SHELF booth at this year's SAN DIEGO COMIC CON INTERNATIONAL(July 21-25). This will be my second year at SDCC, and my first year behind a table. Look for me there--I'll be the one with a confused, deer-in-the-headlights look on his face.

IT'S ABOUT THE MUSIC, MAN...

One of the little known gems in the music industry was a band known as HUFFAMOOSE. You probably never heard of them because they never quite reached the mainstream, though if you followed alternative radio then perhaps you're familar with this band. Huffamoose's music is difficult to categorize. Part rock, part jazz, part none-of-the-above, songwriters Kevin Hanson and Craig Elkins (during their tenure with Huffamoose and in their current post-Huffamooose projects) were and are innovative craftsmen whose music does not quite mesh with commercial radio (probably why I enjoy it). Arguably, however, Huffamoose produced any number of songs that, had they been given the proper exposure, might very well have found their way into the American Top 40 and eventually been recorded as muzak playing in elevators at major shopping malls and McDonalds restaurant chains. So perhaps it's for the best that the band disbanded, though I kind of have my doubts. A documentary film (HERE COMES HUFFAMOOSE) was produced not long ago that chronicled Huffamoose's life on the road while they were promoting a new record on the Interscope label. The movie depicts the band's eventual breakup. I would recommed it to anyone interested in the real-life story of a band that simply was too good to last. HERE COMES HUFFAMOOSE received rave reviews at the 2003 Silverlake Film Festival and was lauded by filmmaker and former Rolling Stone journalist Cameron Crowe as being among the "greatest rock movies ever." I agree. For more information CLICK HERE

If you're interested in hearing the music of Huffamoose (and damn it, you should be), visit the Huffamoose page of IT'S ABOUT MUSIC. There you can sample over 60 tracks from their varous studio releases as well as exclusive tracks and view an extensive trailer of the HERE COMES HUFFAMOOSE documentary. The sample tracks are high-quality--each track is an amazing 2:00 minutes in length. The quality is far superior to anything you'll hear on Amazon.com or similiar sites. In addition to Huffamoose, there are plenty of other alternative artists in need of support at the site. Try a few, won't you?

SEXAMBULANCE

No, it's not the name of a porno. Well, maybe it is, but in this column I'm referring to another alternative band. SEXAMBULANCE is the phoenix that has risen from the ashes of Huffamoose. The band is fronted by Kevin Hanson with musicians Erik Johnson and Jim Stager completing the trio. The Sexambulance web site features two audio tracks for your enjoyment as well as a short animated video for Have Drink Will Travel which must be seen to be appreciated. If you live in the Philly area, you're probably already supporting this group. If not, ya ought to. The debut CD is scheduled for June 2004.

Next: Next???