Wait a second... people are interested in what I do??
I shot the photo that graces the cover of the stranger this week!!!
Totally crazy weirdness. There are now 89,000 (no I am not exaggerating) copies of a newspaper with a photo I shot all blown up and on the cover. I still can't really believe that it exists even though I have a few copies sitting right next to me. I've been getting all sorts of publicity lately: band stuff, cassette tape label stuff, now photography. Maybe this is the foot in the door I've been looking for all this time? Oh, how much I would love to quit my stupid 9-5 and take pictures all the time. They're paying me for the photo, but I'm still not sure how many doll hairs. While I was at the Stranger's office they had me sign a W-9 form haha, and the art director told me to stay in touch about more photo stuff in the future. AHHHHH!
Funny part is, if I do get paid for this, I'm going to use the money to fix my camera. This photo is from October of last year, shot in my living room no less, and I broke the flash connector on my camera soon after. Whoops.
See it on the Stranger's website:
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/CoverArt?oid=526410
Also, the show I played at Chop Suey was mentioned in both the Stranger and the Seattle Weekly. Seattle Weekly even had me in their spotlights section for the week, mentioned my tape label, and Matthew Czerwinski!
Here's what they said:
SEATTLE WEEKLY:
Blanket Truth
Monday, February 25
By SARA BRICKNER
February 20, 2008
Still own a cassette player that you actually use? Then Blanket Truth is the band for you, because front man Jon Manning is a devotee of the medium. He prefers to distribute his music on cassette instead of CD, and whether he's playing the ukulele, keyboard, or a toy instrument, the omniscient tape fuzz quietly exerts its influence. In "Lo-Fi Fight Samba," he explains his love for the medium: "CDs and MP3s are great/But they'll never compare to records and tapes/I like the buzz/I like the tone/I like the crack/I like the hiss." True to form, Manning's cassette label, "Lost Sound Tapes," peddles tapes almost exclusively. For your continued listening enjoyment, Blanket Truth recently released a split cassette (it also comes in CD-R form, if you prefer) with Matthew Czerwinski of A Drum and an Open Window. With Yes, Oh Yes and the Pica Beats. SARA BRICKNER
http://www.seattleweekly.com/2008-02-20/calendar/blanket-truth.php
THE STRANGER:
MONDAY 2/25
Yes, Oh Yes; Blanket Truth; the Pica Beats
(Chop Suey) Like Don't Stop Believin' labelmates the Pharmacy, Bellingham's Yes, Oh Yes are a band who dress up spare pop punk and ragged ballads with lo-fi synths and classic psych pop touches. But Yes, Oh Yes trade that band's out-of-control house-party ruckus for softer, subtler songwriting. Jordan Morris's vocals are perfectly strained and hoarse-part Oberst, part Strummer-and his songs are touching and catchy. Blanket Truth combine ukulele, Omnichord, occasional beatboxing (courtesy of Eli Dam, little bro of Akimbo drummer Nat), and Jon Manning's falsetto vocals to achieve something like the Unicorns' demented bedroom pop. The Pica Beats accent their sweet, twee songs with prerecorded percussion and live sitar; they're looking for a permanent horn section. ERIC GRANDY
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=514961
Sup, life?