:NOTE: I wrote this Saturday night but passed out or got distracted by something shiny and neglected to post it.

Happy Saturday Night internet! This is the State of the Jon Smith Address. Why? Because I wanted a term that sounds dumber than “updatery”.

I got out of the house tonight! Went to a show, it’s been a month at least since I’ve enjoyed live music. Ran into some folks I hadn’t talked to in a while, I would have liked to stick around and enjoy myself like the lord intended but I have designering to do. It’s 12:30 and I’m back home slaving over a hot laptop.

A quick anecdote before I get into the usual updatery since it’s top of mind. I was waiting to cross Market St. in Ballard to get to my car tonight, when these two girls approached me:

“Excuse me, are you 21?”

“I’m 27. What’s up?” I already had a laugh in my voice because I knew exactly where this was going.

“We’re 18, do you think it would be possible for you to buy us some Alcohol?” She said casually, as if she were peddling Girl Scout Cookies.

I smirked, collected my thoughts. “I’m going to be honest. If you were two eighteen year old dudes, I’d think about it but there’s no way I’m buying Alcohol for two eighteen year old girls.”

:NOTE: I have never purchased alcohol for minors. But I’m just saying it’s not a total impossibility that I would help out some pathetic dudes in a Superbad type of situation.

“Oh, well I’m not a lightweight. I’ve drank a lot before…” said the girl who was doing the talking, who couldn’t have been more than 105 lbs.

I laughed at the situation, she started on some drinking story that I’m sure would have illustrated what a heavyweight drinker she is. These girls were tiny by the way, really not sure they were 18. The girl speaking for the group had braces with the jaw connecting rubber bands going on, kind of a laughable yet scary scene right? I cut the girl off, explained I understand their situation but there’s no way I’m helping them out on this, mentioned I have two younger sisters etc.

So at this point, the conversation needs to end. Because if I stood there any longer I was just going to start lecturing them and give them every big brother piece of dimestore logic I should have imparted to my little sisters over the years.

So my parting statement was thus, “…Good luck, and BE CAREFUL….I’m serious.” That’s about all you can do right? Of course I’ve been over analyzing what I said and what I could or should have said or done but this whole interaction lasted all of 25 seconds as we crossed the street. I mean it would have been a little much to call them a cab or demand to talk to their parents right?

It reminded me of when Rocky tries to talk some sense into Little Marie.

In related news, I have used the phrase “the kids these days” in conversation quite a bit lately, I’m getting old. I was born with an old soul, the brain is catching up.

OKay moving right along to designy news: I will be loud and proud displaying and selling hand crafted, screen printed goodness at afforable prices in Austin, Texas this May. It will be my maiden voyage on the good ship Renegade Craft Fair, it will be their first time in Austin….we will be gentle and tender with one another, because the first time should be a precious moment.

Right now I’m wrapping up an album design, my piece for the 1988 Greatest Moments in Sports History poster show and a poster for The Cave Singers and The Dutchess and the Duke at The Showbox in March. Nate Duval and I are trying in our herky jerky manner to get some new 1982 stuff together but as always it depends on both of our schedules lining up.

New Interviews on this blog are long overdue, I’m very close to finishing up an informative back and forth with Micah Smith and a couple more interviews are on deck I’ve just been overloaded with work lately(things are picking up at the shop).

What else? I’m watching a lot of Starsky and Hutch on Hulu, it’s a great show! And I’m serious, not in an ironic way it’s a legitimately great show. Magnum P.I. as well, there’s only one season on Hulu though. Watching Magnum is a blast back to my earliest fuzzy childhood TV viewing memories and of course a mental adventure vacation to Hawai’i. Barney Miller has been in the mix too but it’s kind of disappointing. It’s mind boggling while watching to realize that Abe Vigoda is still alive considering he was already a million years old when Barney Miller had it’s run in the 70′s. Since we’re on the topic; I don’t care if it sounds square but a band calling itself Abe Vigoda is in poor taste in my opinion. Lazy to say the least.

I will be updating the store this week. The Dark Side of the Rainbow posters will be for sale very soon and while I’m on the topic of poster sales if you are waiting to hear back from me on anything shipping related I will be in touch within the next 24 hours.

I think that’s it, of course there’s probably something more interesting or exciting that I’m forgetting…I’m really stoked about Austin in May! This summer is going to be awesome, you heard it here first.

BTW I was right about The Saints, we’ll see if my Jeff Bridges prophecy holds up at the Academy Awards.

It’s been a few years since there’s a been a Super Bowl that everyone can get behind. Given the history of the Saints franchise and the obvious struggles New Orleans has been through and how tear jerkingly special the bond between the fans and the team is, I’d say it’s right up there if not more profound than the miracle Patriots first Super Bowl run with Tom (Who is this kid?)Brady knocking off the juggernaut Rams of Kurt Warner and Marshall Faulk.

Although a team called “The Patriots” in the Super Bowl following 9/11 stands on it’s own, my point is that’s the last time I really cared about a team that wasn’t my own and felt it was a bona-fide national phenomena that went beyond normal regional sports rooting interests. The Saints are a national feel good story, if you can’t get behind Who Dat Nation you have no soul.

And aside from all that it’s the first time since 1993 that the #1 seeds from the NFC and AFC made it to the Super Bowl. Should be a great game…..but The Saints have Jeff Bridges level momentum right now, they’re gonna smash fools at the Soup Bo just like Crazy Heart gon’ snatch dem Oscaz!

I just watched the final episode of The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien and in keeping with Coco’s request, I will not delve into cynicism in this post. Conan in his closing statement as it were, spoke directly to the audience and urged us(the young ones in particular) not to be cynical and thanked NBC for his time on The Tonight Show and employing him for 20 years from his time as a writer on SNL to now. His message was that if you work hard and you’re kind, amazing things will happen to you. I cried a little…and also before that when Neil Young played “Long May You Run”, one of my favorite songs ever a and perfect song for the moment.

That is why I love Conan O’Brien. Plenty of the jokes and bits on his show over the years were plenty snarky and poked fun at plenty of folks but I would say for every barb he threw at a Paris Hilton for example, he made himself the butt of the joke on twice as many occasions and it was always done under the umbrella of lighthearted fun. Conan is not a mean or bitter guy, most great comedians have well documented demons that make them who they are but Conan is a rare exception, in the vein of a Jerry Seinfeld I suppose…I can’t think of a better or closer example off the top of my head. Jay Leno is certainly not a happy person, David Letterman is a guy I’d like to have a beer with but that dude has mountains of issues. Conan took the high road on his way out because he is a well adjusted, smart and grateful human being.

I have been a Conan fan since I was about 12 or 13, staying up wicked late whenever possible to catch Conan, Andy, Max, Joel, Abe Vigoda,  La Bamba and Robert Smigel get crazy with the cheeze whiz. When the day finally came and Conan took his seat on The Tonight Show it was unbelievable, finally someone with a connection to my generation who won’t just give the audience what they expect at the premiere slot in late night. I considered it as important to the comedy world as Barack Obama’s election was in American politics and race relations….I was a little excited.

Because I feel so strongly about Conan as a fan of his and the late night genre in general(I’ve seen every episode of The Larry Sanders Show multiple times) I constructed an editorial Illustration to encapsulate what has happened here with Conan and NBC. The sun will rise on a glorious new day for my Coney Island baby,  he’ll be back and most likely better than ever in just a few months but I could not let this time pass without making light of this most heinous blunder NBC has perpetrated here. While also paying homage to Conan’s enduring spirit, soldiering on with perfect hair and plastic smile. Not letting the man get him down but not letting it go unnoted the great injustices that have occurred.

The fine folks at Nakatomi have brought this Illustration to life. Enjoy:

And in other news, I will be back to blogging this week. Working on multiple interviews and new prints, see you back here soon!

I needed something on in the background while working over the weekend, I found WKRP on Hulu and had a weekend long viewing mitzvah. I watched every episode available, all 22 episodes of the first season.

This show was a very hazy memory growing up, it was one of the first shows I remember watching re-runs of as a kid. Night Court and Cheers would follow and I would eventually grow to understand what I was watching but WKRP was so early on that I only remember Loni Anderson’s big Aqua Net hair and big tits and maybe Johnny Fever’s mustache and bug eyes.

After viewing, I can recommend  WKRP in Cincinnati for the following reasons:

It’s a great time capsule for the style, music and general attitude of the late 70′s and early 80′s. The clothing and hair are worth watching for sure.

Unintentional comedy: The character of Andy(Gary Sandy), the station manager is the precursor to Matthew McConaughey. Watch ANY episode, they are the same person…minus the bongo’s. Makes sense I guess, WKRP probably would have been right in McConaughey’s wheelhouse growing up.

Insert Mooseknuckle joke here _________.

The fake music is great too. In the show they’ll be on the air and say “Alright! Here’s Heart of Glass by Blondie..” and then play a song that is definitely not Blondie, just some generic guitar riff that gets faded down pronto. Also at the end of each episode during the credits they play this loud rockin’ fake song that’s somewhere between an up tempo Elton John song and a piano driven Lynyrd Skynyrd tune with completely unintelligible lyrics, why not just have fake lyrics? The lyrics sound like mid-90′s Adam Sandler gibberish.

If you’re interested in the radio industry at all(or what radio stations where like back when radio was a profitable enterprise) WKRP is an interesting watch in that regard. The main Jock, Johnny Thunder was fired from his previous job in Los Angeles for uttering a word far too hot for broadcast, the word? the guess it, “Booger”.

There is a Ginger vs. Mary Anne thing with Loni Anderson(Jennifer) and Jan Smithers(Bailey) where Loni Anderson’s character (like Ginger on Gilligans Island) was the obvious sex object of the show but in hindsight it’s pretty obvious that the real winner is Jan Smithers(just as time proved Mary Ann the obvious choice over Ginger). I mean Loni’s got a better body(debatable) but she has the face of an ewok and that hair is retarded.

Winner winner, chicken dinner.

And as far as the characters and the performances I would put it on par with M*A*S*H. They do go for a little bit of a Hawkeye and Trapper John thing with Johnny Fever and Venus Flytrap. If you’re a pop culture junkie like myself and or appreciate classic television, WKRP is a must.

I’m just waiting for Hulu to update to the second season…

]]> http://smithbellcraft.com/2010/01/06/wkrp-in-cincinnati/feed/ 2 jonjonsmith wkrp gary-sandy-then jan http://smithbellcraft.com/2009/11/23/m-wardbudweiser-commercial-11-22-09/ http://smithbellcraft.com/2009/11/23/m-wardbudweiser-commercial-11-22-09/#comments Mon, 23 Nov 2009 05:42:01 +0000 jonjonsmith http://smithbellcraft.com/?p=392 ]]> I noticed this one watching football this weekend, new Budweiser commercial with an M. Ward track. Maybe you expect me to complain about M dog selling out or something but that would be the opposite of my reaction, I’m excited in a funny way. The guy is awesome, the more his tunes can get out into the greater public consciousness the better(beats hearing another JET song for the billionth time) plus I would assume he’s getting some sweet compensation from Anheuser-Busch.

A lot of people trip over this kind of stuff, all I know is if any beer company came to me and said “hey we like your song, can we give you a truckload of cash to use it in a commercial?” I can’t imagine saying no. It’s free money and odds are you’ve imbibed this product on numerous occasion. As long as you’re not changing your lyrics to suit the product it’s cool ;)