2010: Wait, Where Are You Going? Stick Around...

Tonight is the last Thursday of the year 2010. It's also the night we usually record our podcast. Frankly, I don't see that happening. If you've noticed, it's been harder and harder for Nora and I to record a show. Plus the holidays have only compounded that feeling of shirking our normal duties. So with that, I feel it would be easier just to write an end of year blog post. It will be much more succinct than me recording a show and I can do it in roughly the same time.

I'm nothing if not efficient.

I feel this year,more than any other year in recent memory, deserves a proper blog post only because 2010 has been more unexpected and amazing for me and my family than I had ever anticipated it being. So much so, that this may be the first time I can remember that I kind of want the remnants of the old year to hang around long enough to permeate into the new year. For the first time, I'm not anxious to rush the old out so quickly. I know this sounds so strange, especially given the fact that there are lots of people I know who want to see this past year taken out back, beaten and burned alive. This year has been full of hardships for many of my friends and family. And we've struggled with some really, really scary moments this past year. But overall, I'm genuinely happy with the past year, with all it's complexities, fear and uncertainty. And I hope that more of the good is to come in 2011.

First off, if you have been following me on Twitter or been watching my extracurricular outside of Jawbone, you would know that my Geek A Week project has been an incredible success, moreso than I ever imagined it being. This may be the first time in my creative life that I feel something I have started has turned into precisely what I wanted it to be. Even with all the unexpected success of my other projects like Monster By Mail and Flipface, Geek A Week seemed to be the culmination of years of work and days and days of artistry, persistence and creativity.

Geek A Week still has another two months left on it, and I don't want to write everything about it right now. I want to save that up for the end of the project. But suffice to say, I couldn't imagine a more wonderful and fulfilling project to work on that Geek A Week. I look forward to seeing what it has to bring in 2011.

Of course, I can't let a year end blog post go by without mentioning the incredible support of the fans of my work who have helped motivate me and fill my inbox with such wonderfully kind words. Certainly, all the support of Trace Beaulieu's book "Silly Rhymes For Belligerent Children" has been overwhelming and tremendous. Trace and I are so profoundly proud of that piece of work. I am honored to have been given the chance to work on something like that. It's the kind of project I dreamed of working on growing up, It's as if all my years of goofing off and cartooning has finally paid off. It was an honor to have my heroes from MST3K read portions of the book at DragonCon in Atlanta, and it was so edifying to see all the positive response to something that Trace and I not only worked so hard on, but also had so much fun creating together.

For all those people who came out to the three w00tstocks I was so lucky to be a part of, saw me create and work and were introduced to my artwork, thank you so much. w00tstock was a such an incredible experience, and as I was working on them, I tried to savor as much as it as I could. I know opportunities like that don't come around that often, especially for a relatively unknown cartoonist like myself. I'm so proud to have been able to participate in them, I'm glad to meet all these new fans and I'm so happy so many people liked my stuff enough to purchase a poster or two from me.

I have met so many wonderful people this past year, made so many new and amazing friendships in 2010, done things I never thought I'd be able to do like have a live concert in my house, attend Comic Con and meet and talk to so many of my personal heroes, it's easy to understand why I'm a little reluctant to let it leave. If you've been listening to the interviews I've been doing for Geek A Week, you'll know that one of the questions I've been asking the people I've been interviewing is "If you could have two superpowers, what would those be and why?" I've never formally answered my own question, but here at the tail end of the year, if I am asking myself that question my answer would be something like this:

"My superpowers would be to stretch time. Not in the literal sense where I am stretching it to give me more time to do the things I want, but a physical sense. I want to be able to pull the momentum of the wonderful experiences from this past year and finger paint them into the new year. I want to apply some of that magic and happiness and brilliance to the new year and watch it continue. I can only imagine what could become of that...

And for my second superpower, I'd like to teleport. Not only because it would be cool, but then I could avoid TSA screeners..."

Happy New Year everyone. Thanks for helping make 2010 one of the best years of my life. For reals.

Jawbone #283: Merry Christmas 2010

Christmas 2010 with our family. Enjoy!

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What Am I Worth? A Rant By Len Peralta

I wasn't going to let this bother me, but it does and I feel I need to address it. I was going to write a silly diatribe on Twitter about what happened to me this morning, but I felt this needed a bit more weight. A proper blog post is in order.

This morning, I rolled out of bed, checked my Twitter mentions and I get a tweet that says this:

@jawboneradio I understand that art is expensive, but do you have to charge a jobless HS student upwards of $115 an hour for monster art?

First off, by this person's own admission, they are jobless. So I wouldn't put monster art on such a high priority. But whatever, to each his own. Secondly, I don't charge anything near $115 an hour. If I did, I could probably take some time off for once in my life. I'm hoping to charge that, one day, and I can assure you, it's not going to be without a greater or equal amount of sweat equity to get to that point.

But even if I did charge $115.hr, what the hell does it matter? I looked at my roster of commissions over the past few weeks and as far as I can remember, I didn't "charge" this person anything per hour. I only charge people who commission me to do my work. And if you're going to query me for what it would cost to do a piece or artwork or several pieces of artwork, I will tell you. If you think I charge too much, then you are free to look elsewhere. If you really want my art, then maybe we could work something out. Trade or barter for services has been an acceptable form of payment on occassion. But I hardly think it's fair for this person to say I have some nerve to charge "upwards of $115/hr for monster art."

Like any artist or musician, I spent a lot of time crafting my style, my workflow, my art. I feel I've done a lot of work to come up with a price that is not only fair to me, but to my family as well. I am the primary breadwinner in a family of eight. Now, I don't expect a jobless High School student to appreciate this fact, but I'm working my ass off to provide for them. I have a mortgage and bills like everyone else. I've spent a great deal of time over the past five years establishing my reputation as an artist. And I'm extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to be able to find people who not only appreciate the work I do and like it, but are willing to pay me cash dollars for it.

I give a lot of content away for free. All of Geek A Week has been free for you to enjoy (or not enjoy) and I'm not charging you a red cent for any of it. Just last night, I posted an image of Quorra from TRON all because I wanted to share my art with you. FREE OF CHARGE. I have been doing Live drawing events on the net and you can watch me draw for free. There is an entire YouTube Channel devoted to just me drawing art. You can order a FlipFace from me for as low as $10. If you want to commission me for an ORIGINAL PIECE OF ART - NOT A DIGITAL FILE, prices start at $35. If you want something more complicated, then I'll have to judge how long it will take me, what is involved in creating the art and I can quote you a custom price. If you want to hire me for a week to create pieces of art for you, my cost is $1200/day*. Certainly there is some price point in there that you can fall into.

The end is this: If you like what I do and you want to have a piece of it for you own, then I'd be happy to talk to you. There are lots of ways to enjoy my art and if you save up, you can afford a piece of your own. Just don't get on Twitter and complain how "expensive" I am when you have no idea how much time and effort goes into what I do. I think I speak for all artists when I say valuing oneself and your services is one of the toughest things for an artist to perfect. Don't make it harder but de-valuing the art.

And yes, I know I should take it easy because, after all, this person is just in High School and perhaps doesn't know any better. But these people grow up and become the de-valuers of the future. You gotta nip it in the bud sometime.

Cheers.

*Not really. But I thought I would throw that out there anyway.

Three Years Of Monsters, Aliens and Geeks

Three Years of Monsters, Aliens and Geeks from Len Peralta on Vimeo.

Can you find yourself in my life over the past three years?

Jawbone #282: Dating Ourselves

On tonight's show, Nora and I get topical. Banking. Again. TSA. Lebron. Arsenic. And much more. Check it out!

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Jawbone #281: Huge Guy Part 2

We're back with a new show! Nora's second encounter with yet another huge guy. Weird Halloween candy. The winner of our huge guy contest. You're eating his face!

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Jawbone #280: Huge Guy Reminisces

CNN fallout. Sunny D and Rum. My new wife's name. Huge Guy. Enjoy the show!

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION PORTION:
(record this scene called "Huge Guy Reminisces" by either calling the GeekLine at 216.236.GEEK or recording it and sending it jawboneradio AT gmail dot com. The best reading done without laughing will get a prize pack featuring a pack of Geek A Week cards and a collection of books including a copy of "Silly Rhymes For Belligerent Children". This is what the huge guy actually said to Nora:)

"My breakup came out of left field. I went home because I live with my girlfriend. I took a shower. She took a shower. We made love. Which was awesome. Powerful. She even told me it was the most passionate lovemaking we've ever done. And now - it's all over."


Good luck!

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Hi, Remember Us?

Things have been really busy here at the Nobby Annex and it's been pretty tough to record a new show over the past few weeks. We are going to attempt to record a new show tonight, but in the meantime here are some places where you can hear (at the very least) my voice.

I've been doing a lot of press interviews for Trace Beaulieu and my new book "Silly Rhymes For Beligerent Children" (which is available now , BTW). You can hear Trace and I yammer on a radio show called "Spare The Rock, Spoil The Child" .

Trace are I are on a podcast called "Comics Are Go!" recorded right here in Cleveland. My part is being broken into two parts. So you can hear part one if you go to the link on iTunes.

And a nice little feather in my cap is that my Geek A Week project was just covered by CNN.com. I'm pretty humbled by the article and it's pretty amazing to have some of my geek heroes and heroines saying complimentary things about my art. Check that out here.

Like I said, with any luck, a new Jawbone tonight. Thanks for sticking with us!

So Friday, There Was This House Concert...

This story starts back in San Diego during Comic-Con and w00tstock.

One of the drawbacks of being Len Peralta and performing at a w00tstock event is that you fail to hang out with all the cool people backstage because you are onstage for 80% of the night working. This was especially true when I drew in San Diego. I missed the banter between Rifftrax and Grant Imahara and Aaron Douglas and Phil Plait. Yes, it was a huge sacrifice but someone had to draw the poster.

Anyway, while I'm drawing, coloring and making pretty pictures, I get to listen to the performances. This is tough when there are slides to look at, but in the case of singer/songwriter Marian Call, it was perfect. The music was soothing. Her voice was angelic and as I was sitting there drawing, I was consciously making a mental note that I needed to become more acquainted with her music. Not only that, but I needed to download everything she has ever recorded as soon as I possibly could.

Fast forward to Atlanta and DragonCon. Marian and I were able to see each other again in the hotel bar. I asked Marian how her 50 state tour was going and when and if she was going to play in Cleveland. She told me that she hadn't booked a show yet, which shocked me. She also suggested that maybe I could host a house party to bring her to town.

I was a bit cautious about doing something like that. Bringing complete strangers into my house to host a concert? Isn't that a huge risk? I did some research and even though Marian's own website says that everyone goes through the exact same feelings of discomfort to euphoria after the concert was over, I still didn't believe her and thought it would still be a huge risk.



At some point after I got back, I decided to host it - on one condition: It had to be totally anonymous for me as a host and that I had to have control over who was coming to my house. Marian said this was par for the course, but I wanted to be really safe about this and even though my celebrity (if you can call it that) is definitely spelled with a small "c", I didn't want this to become a Jawbone Radio party. Hence the reason the Cleveland show was not as heavily publicized as her other shows.

I decided if I was going to do this, that I was going to go all out - with an opening act and everything. So I called my good friend Mike Lombardo and asked if he would be willing to open up for Marian. I knew that they were trying to connect and play out with one another and I thought this was a perfect opportunity. Mike met my request with a heathy "HELL YEAH!" and the concert planning was underway.



Mike opened up the show on Friday with a quick, fun and quirky 30 minute set. I was able to videotape the whole thing, but because I am an idiot and I failed to figure out how to operate my video camera (coupled with the fact that I told Mike not to bring any lights) the video looks like it was shot by a blind person with enormous cataracts. The good news is that you don't need eyes to hear the wonderful music.



Marian took the "stage" a few minutes after Mike and she totally rocked it out. One of the issues I was having when I was inviting people I knew was that they had never heard Marian or Mike's music, plus people couldn't wrap their head around the fact that we were having a live concert in our home. So I was met with a lot of lukewarm reception and hemming and hawing. The good news is that the people who did decide to make it were completely blown away. And a survey of the people I talked to was completely positive. Thank you to all who came. You all understand what I've been trying to communicate about Marian and Mike's music for the past month or so.



Another cool thing about hosting the show was that my kids were able to play a few songs of their own and also backup Marian on a few songs. Now, before you start thinking that this was just a case of an over zealous dad trying to shoehorn his kids awkwardly into a situation, my kids do an awesome job playing out. I know I'm not being a dad loving everything his kids do, either. I've been posting some vids of my kids playing in the basement and they are no slouches. Check em out for yourself. They call themselves Lumpia, BTW, which is the name of a Fliipino eggroll in case you were wondering. (plus someone started a Facebook fan page for them.)

Here are my kids playing Marian's "punk" song called "We're Out For Blood". As far as I know, this is the only live punk band recording of this tune. The other versions of this song are either the slowed down Kumbayah version and the hard rocking version of this song which was recorded for Whole Wheat Radio featuring a mandolin and acoustic guitar accompaniment. The fact that the only live punk band version of the song is with my kids makes it even that more awesome. They played another song with Marian, but since that song is currently unreleased, I have to sit on it for a while. But trust me, it will be well worth the wait. Another reason why the live event was the place to be.



At some point during the night, I think it might have been during Marian's song "Got To Fly" (which is below) the night become something else for me entirely. I couldn't believe that I had actually pulled it off. I told Marian in an e-mail after the night was over that this was how I saw it:

A few years ago, a few of my close relatives rented out several houses at Virginia Beach and took a real Brady Bunch sort of vacation. It was huge. 4 or 5 families plus some friends sharing houses and a private beach and simply enjoying the time we had. During that vacation, I was sitting in the courtyard of one of the houses watching my children and their cousins and friends running around with sparklers, underneath the trees and against the yellow orange backdrop of the slowly setting sun. There was something very important about that time in the courtyard. I was witnessing a real, honest and cherished memory being created. A transcendent something that my whole family could look back on and remember for the rest of their lives.

This night was one of those nights.

I am so glad that I decided to take the risk and host the concert. It was one of the most amazing nights I've ever been involved in and what my family and friends were able to experience far outweighed the risk that Nora and I took.



I don't regret hosting this at all. In fact, I hope I get the chance to do it again. I'm humbled that I was able to share in some of the awesome that is being created by these wonderful performers. Part of me selfishly hopes I can stave off the inevitable rising stars of Mike and Marian and expect to, at some point, replicate the night. Impossible, sure. But I am glad to take with me the memories I have.

Thank you Marian and Mike for one unforgettable night.

Jawbone #279:At What Point Do You Start Letting Your Dog Poop In Your Board Games?

New Show. New Fall Season. Walking Dead. Three Stooges. Laurel and Hardy. Enjoy!

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Jawbone #278:DrumNumNum

We're back after our longest hiatus ever. Brought back from the depths with a brand new show featuring fascinating talk about Spider Solitaire and self-important talk of meeting celebs in Atlanta. Enjoy and if you like the show, please subscribe!

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My DragonCon Schedule

For those of you interested in seeing me at DragonCon in Atlanta, here's a quick rundown of where I will be. I hope to meet some/all of you!

Friday, September 4
1:00 PM
Podcasting Track Kick Off
Join us as we kick off our fifth year as a part of Dragon*Con
I'm on this panel with Tom Merritt, Bobby Blackwolf, Veronica Belmont, Brian Ibbott and P.G. Holyfield
Hilton 204

2:30 PM
Silly Rhymes For Belligerent Children
This is the one you don't want to miss. Trace Beaulieu and I will be talking about our new book, plus I'll be making some major announcements regarding Geek A Week. Be there!
Marriott A-601-602

5:30 PM
Tech News Today
I will be guest hosting on TWiTs Tech News Today with Tom Merritt and others. I'll also be manning the TWiT table at various times during the weekend. Be sure you're following me on Twitter for updates. See the link to the right.

Saturday, September 5
1:00 PM
Podcasts and Marketing to the Masses
The trailblazers of podcast marketing discuss what has worked, what hasn’t, and what’s next.
I'm on this panel with Scott Sigler, Brian Brushwood, Veronica Belmont, Brian Ibbott, Michael A. Stackpole and Grant Baciocco
Hilton 204

I think that's it! I'll be around various places signing books and such. You never know where I'll be! Looking forward to meeting you all in Atlanta.

Updates

So, we took the month of August off. Hopefully no one missed us too badly. We'll be back in September with some new shows.

In the meantime, here are a couple of updates:

I'll be at DragonCon this weekend promoting my new book with MST3K and Cinematic Titanic's Trace Beaulieu entitled "Silly Rhymes for Belligerent Children". The panel for the book will be Friday afternoon at 2:30. If you're attending the con, I'll see you there!

I'll also be making some pretty cool/big announcements regarding my other project Geek A Week. So if you're a fan, be sure to be watching for those.

TOTALLY UNBELIEVABLE!I have two books coming out this week! The second book is entitled "WANTED UNDEAD OR ALIVE" by Jonathan Maberry and it hit store shelves tomorrow.

Lots going on. Really busy. Gotta run! See you in September!

Jawbone #277: Stabbed In The Eye

Our wrapup of Comic Con and w00tstock. Thanks for listening!

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Jawbone #276: I Love You Cleveland

Regionalism. Harvey, LeBron and Steinbrenner. Blinko's. Waking up in Sushitown. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe!

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Jawbone #275: A Brick Of Gross

Man loses arm. Nora and I are different. Melt Grilled Cheeses. Man Vs. Food. Extremely Large Beagle. Enjoy the show!

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Jawbone #274: All w00ted Out

On this show, it's all about the w00tstock wrap-up. I chat about the aftermath of my experience in Chicago and Minneapolis and what it was like drawing in front of 600 and 700 person crowds. Also, Nora chats about a mimicking neighbor.

Photo of me by rianpie

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W00tstock Wrap-Up

I'll have a proper wrap-up via podcast later today, but I wanted to share a taste of the awesome experience I had at w00tstock Chicago and Minneapolis. Cue awesome video below.

Jawbone #273: Antici-PATION

Solocast with W00tStock anticipation chat.

MUSIC:
Mike Phirman | The Very Last Songs I Will Ever Record (Volume 1)

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Jawbone #272: Happy Birthday Pancake!

Tonight, we welcome our son Patrick as he celebrates his 15th birthday. He regales us with tales of what makes him embarrassed and also plays some Coulton and "Bleatles" on his guitar for us.


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Jawbone #271: The Windows To The Soul

Tonight's show, we discuss my upcoming appearance at W00tstock Chicago and Minneapolis, my experience with drawing people, and the next fashion trend.

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So, There's This Thing Called W00tStock...

At the risk of sounding like that British guy from those infomercials, I am bursting with excitement to share this big news with you. I will a special guest at W00tstock Chicago and Minneapolis on June 6 and 7th.

What will I be doing there? Good question. I will be drawing, live in front of the audience, the official poster for W00tStock Chicago and W00tstock Minneapolis. Then after the show, you'll be able to order the poster that you watched me draw live. Not only that, but for a few extra bucks, you'll be able to have yourself drawn into the poster. And I'm not saying this will be a big group shot. I mean, you will be drawn into the poster, essentially personalizing the poster for yourself. Imagine, your own personlized W00tstock poster. These will be only available for order ON THE NIGHT OF THE SHOW. These will not be available to buy after the show is done. So save your pennies for the event because I don't think anyone else has done anything like this before. It will be a lot of fun and certainly a challenge. But I think I'm up for it. I've been doing drawing calisthenics for the past six months and I think I'm going to be ready to go by June.

I am totally jazzed to be sharing the stage with the likes of Adam Savage, Wil Wheaton, Trace Beaulieu, Kevin Murphy, Bill Corbett, John Scalzi, Peter Sagal and of course, my good friends, Paul and Storm, without whom this would not even be happening.

Wish me luck! And I hope to see you in Chicago and Minneapolis!

Jawbone #270:Nein Nunb Is My Co-Pilot

On tonight's show, we talk about ugly folk, freaks, Tod Browning and my night at Dr. Sketchy drawing hot models. Thanks for listening and if you like the show, please subscribe!

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"Come Together" By My Kids - The House Band

My Kids Playing "Come Together" from Len Peralta on Vimeo.

Jawbone #269: You Say Penalta. I Say Pedolta.

On this episode of Jawbone (first new one in two weeks!) we chat about a weird story from my travels, a beard of ants, Crystal Bowersox and more. Thanks for listening!

Music: MC Frontalot | Zero Day
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OUR NEW PODCAST: Geek A Week!

So sickness has overtaken the household, so unfortunately, we don't have a new show for you this week. (Plus, we're off next week for the holiday.) Luckily for you though, you still have something to listen to! For the first time in five years, I have started a new podcast. The show is called Geek A Week and it's the podcast component of my new art project of the same name, I'm making public my phone interviews with the different influential geeks I'm talking with. I thought it would appropriate to give you a chance to listen to it, and if you dig it, go ahead and subscribe!

The first episode of Geek A Week features the geeky lady we all know and love, Veronica Belmont.

Enjoy! And we'll see you with a new Jawbone in a few weeks.

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Jawbone #268: Welcome Back, 70's! (REPOST)

On this episode, Nora and I talk about such diverse topics as powdered milk, problems with cable TV and our quest to interview Ke$ha. Thanks for listening!

Music: MC Frontalot | Charity Case
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Paul's 40th Birthday Video

A little late to the party here, (literally). Fans of Paul and Storm have probably seen this already, but I was fortunate to be asked to be in Paul's 40th birthday greeting video. You'll see me, along with some much more notable geeks in the video. And don't forget to stick around for the Kevin Murphy portion at the very end. (NSFW because of language, just letting you know). Enjoy!

Paul's 40th Birthday Video from Paul and Storm on Vimeo.

Jawbone #267: I Am Len Pain

On tonight's show, we record the show twice, something we haven't done in quite a while. But I think the show came out better the second time anyway. Thanks to all those in the chatroom who actually got two shows for the price of one. Tonight we talk about auto-tuning, geeks, and much, much more. If you like the show, subscribe!

Music:
Auto Tune The News | Turtles

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