Johnny K. on the Radio...and Other Updates

Howdy friends.

So, without putting too fine a point on things, the world is absolutely f*cking nuts, right now. I'm sure I need not remind you. You see and read about it minute by minute, right? Of course, you do. But, that's not what I'm here to talk about. No sir. In fact, just the opposite.

If you've been following along the last few years, you know I host a weekly online radio show, called "Record Ranger Radio", every Tuesday night at 7pm ET/4pm PT on ElectroMagnetic Radio - em-radio.com. It's the most fun I have (usually) all week, as I play two hours of whatever the hell I want. Most weeks I feature seldom-heard country and blues music, but once a month I feature a segment called "Johnny K.'s Rock n' Roll Radio Cantina", where I play songs from the other side of the record collection. Most of it is more modern rock, blues, jazz, reggae, etc. If anything, I do the radio show for my own enjoyment, but I know there is a handful of people out there who tune in regularly. If you are one of those people, thank you from the bottom of my heart. In all honestly, I do a piss poor job at promoting the show, as I tend to spend less and less time/energy promoting things on social media, or being on social media, for that fact. Mostly, I'm on Instagram these days, but even that has become a drag. So, maybe some folks will see this news update and make note of the show on their calendars. I should probably dedicate a separate web page to the show here, just in case. The show is just what you need as a respite from the batshit crazy things going on right now. True story!

In other news, I've been enjoying messing with Polaroid film and photography again. The Polaroid film and cameras are a little different than I remember, so it's taking some time to get acquainted with the new stuff. Newbies tend to burn through a lot of film packs learning the ins and outs, and I'm no different. It's helping me embrace my camera phone a bit more, too, and playing with some of the different black and white features the built-in apps have. Some of the photos will eventually find their way into a zine or two in the near future, so that I'll have an excuse to actually print the photos vs. having them live on a phone for eternity. In fact, I should probably go through some of the early iPhone photos I took (from 10+ years ago) to see if there is anything worthwhile to print. There might be a picture or two.

And speaking of zines...I have several in the works, currently. One, called "Always Crashing in the Same Car", is named after the David Bowie song of the same name. It is a collection of found vintage photos of wrecked and demolished VW Beetles. The idea is based on the idea of the loss of freedoms directly tied to automobiles in American culture. More and more people are opting for driverless cars these days. What becomes of our sense of self, the open road, and the freedom it brings when drivers are no longer engaged behind the wheel? (That description is probably putting it a little too easy, but that is the general idea.) I almost went to press a few weeks ago, but was having trouble uploading my files. After figuring out what the problem was, I decided the artwork and layout wasn't good enough, so I went back to the drawing board. Instead of the zine being comic book size, I opted for a larger, tabloid newspaper size. However, that is requiring me to redo all of the artwork. Needles to say, this zine will be delayed some, probably until later this year.

This summer will (probably, more than likely) see the release of "Cobra: Issue 2", the fantastic follow-up to last summer's all-hand silk screed issue 1. Issue 2 will also be entirely silk screened, but I've also thought about doing a Risograph-printed edition to make it a little more affordable and extend the print run to, say 50-100 copies. But, we'll see. Perhaps issue 1 and 2 get collected into a future single Riso edition? There are also a few one-shot zines in the works, which I hope to get assembled and released this year, like a collected edition of some of my collage work since 2018. That might be a great tabloid-sized edition, as well. With all of the collage-making I've been doing these last few years, it's been nice to shift some focus and creative energies to zine making. Self publishing is such a thrill when you get to hold the final printed copy in your hands! Physical copies make it feel real.

Lastly, I'm starting to feel free from this shitty burnout I've been experiencing the last few years, one of the worst bouts I've ever had. I'm thinking of starting up some painting again and seeing where that goes. I don't think I'll ever be interested in going the art gallery route again, unless it's my own gallery, but only time will tell. Gotta do some baby steps, first. I'm still nowhere near ready to tackle custom commissions. I need to continue working for myself for awhile to build up that excitement again. It'll also be great to start from scratch and build up the back catalog of work. I only have one piece of my art from the 'olden days' in my possession, one I still like but have nowhere to hang it. Once I'm ready to share, you'll see it here first.

No matter how crazy shit is right now, I hope you all are, at least, finding some little thing(s) that brings you joy, wether it be making art, playing music, reading a book, or spending time with friends. It is easier to tune out the bullshit than you might think. Just find that thing that makes you feel elated and stick with it. This storm will pass.

-J

Ps...Have you been reading any good books lately?