Draplindustries Gazette #5
January/February, 1999
Dear All who embrace the technology:
Happy Groundhog’s Day, among other rodent festivities. <<<
The last Gazette to hit the global market was sent out a couple days after Thanksgiving, years ago in 1998. So to all the suckers who actually read this, let me bring you up to speed.
As December began the MCAD semester neared an end. You could feel the energy around the school…all those suffering art students shifting into high gears and barely scrapin’ up enough energy to create those final grade-getting projects. Comments like “Omigod, I don’t know if I can take another all-nighter.” and “I can’t wait for this to be over…yeeesh.” were often overheard, in between panting sighs, solemn excerpts of the human’s will to survive in the most dire situations. Omigod, college life….and art school at that! Suffering art students? I think not.
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All of here at Draplindustries would just like to take a second and express our deep appreciation of the facts stating:
- I get to be in art school.
- I have to worry about design homework.
Thank you to the powers that be for all of this. I have so much to be appreciative for in this new academic endeavor.
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The semester ended with a bang, the last week a collective stream of consciousness consisting of trips to the hardware store, long nights in front of the monitor and final critiques.
Oh, I finished the metal portfolio presentation case and surprised myself, it actually turned out pretty kickass.
Friday the 18th was my last critique, upon finishing I shot downtown and celebrated that night with my friends Son Volt at First Avenue. The Volt were in town for their annual holiday shows. Farrar never cracked a smile or said a word beyond “thanks” and the clincher “thanks alot”, but nevertheless I was sold on his greatness. He has a certain honesty to him, an integrity in those songs. No samples or electric drumbeats doin’ the math…just him and his guitar. And I guess that’s why they top my list…real citizens playing real music.
God Bless America.
Now turn those clocks a couple months back from this point and I found myself online chatting with a gal named Jess down in Atlanta. What started with a simple chatroom conversation quickly proliferated into phone calls and letters and more phone calls. After long days in the trenches at school I’d come home to touch base with this pleasant Jess-voice. And before I knew it I found myself diggin’ this girl down south. We exchanged photos and shoe sizes and she got the guff up to invite me down there for a little vacation.
I had a winter “vacation” from Dec.19th- Jan.16th of from school…almost a month to recuperate from the near-death experiences of class. I accepted her offer and got myself a ticket headin’ south. One second we’re online chatting about if I should go for it and the next second I’m ordering a ticket…ahhh, wonders of this information age action.
I flew down on the 19th and walked off that plane a little on the nervous side. This was the stuff of internet legend…some chump meets a gal online, he gets to diggin’ her, flies off to meet her and he’s greeted by a group of14 year old boys, laughing at him. Oh well, what did I have to lose, besides my life at the hands of an axe-murderer?
Jess greeted me and instantly I found myself comfortable with her. I spent a month down there with her with one goal: Relaxing the bones after the treacherous semester. And I think I accomplished that. We cruised the city and watched videos and got bites to eat and went sightseeing and more or less just hung out, digging bein’ around each other for the month. Atlanta was rad. I was goin’ down there lookin’ for the “dirty south” complete with gnarly truckstops and chitlins. I found just the opposite…high society museums, skyscrapers and shopping malls. Atlanta is pretty cosmopolitan.
I missed hookin’ up with my high school pal Travis White by a hair. Oh, I could waste him anytime, anyday.
The whole “month off from class” thing got old. I mean, did we need a whole month off? I’d would have rather we took a week off and got back to the grind in order to get done earlier in May or April or whatever it is. But then again, it was a rigorous 15 weeks…and those sensitive students needed time to heal the wounds. Whatever.
It was sad saying bye to Jess…walking away at the airport tallying up the 1600 miles between the girl and myself. I flew back up to the great north on the 14th into the arms of my apartment-mates Bart and Faith. Thanks again to them for rides to and fro, and for taking good care of my rig while I was gone.
Upon getting back to Minneapolis I got my registration all squared up and obtained my report card. Five classes, five 4.00’s. Yee-haw. Y’know…I gotta have something good to send back to those parents of mine. I made the big Dean’s list. Yay. The grades don’t really blow my skirt up, it’s whether or not I actually learned anything. It’s one thing to get a grade to pass the class, it’s another to really absorb and progress. And I’m glad to say it was a positive transaction. Lots of rough edges fine tuned.
This semester I have Graphic Design II, Typography II, Design Theory, Black and White Photo and The Graphic Novel. Five more classes to step up to the plate with. I guess I have 2 years to go from right now…4 semesters.
Which translates into a ton of gazettes for you suckers to throw away.
Other people we’d like to chastise:
Please let it be known Eric Campbell of downtown Laingsburg, Michigan got himself selected for some big Young Art Director’s Club of America trip to New York City. I don’t know how he swindled them into letting him go, but if the rumors are true, only five kids were picked out of the nation…the nation! He submitted his design and advertising ideas and a brief promo of himself and aspirations to get the golden ticket. Our dirty hats go off to Eric, a true survivor. We are very proud of him here on the factory floor. Oh, he’s getting hitched in August, with seats going for 500 bucks a pop!
I’m declaring February National “Don’t-give-a-damn-about-Jason-Floyd-Month.” Yes, Floyd is stirring things up in Portland at PSU and is constantly clogging up our email with his latest designs. Once again, we find ourselves very teary eyed at the accomplishments this poor sap has made these last couple months. Leaps and bounds in this design stuff! Strong designs with good typography and compatible color choices. He’ll blow it, you watch.
Hometown Traverse City hero Kenny Oleson is downtown tonight opening up for Monster Magnet. He’s playing guitar for that chump Kidrock or whatever’s he’s called. Kenny’s the only thing that Kidrock has going for him. Kidrock, just another example in the great lineup of musical talents coming out of Detroit…right up there with the Insane Clown Posse and Sponge. I wish Kenny the best and I hope Kidrock wakes up. Yo, G? Here’s to hip hop white G’s in the house.
Rod Snell is enjoying his new job as Rodeo Clown in Fort Collins. During the day he travels for a lumber conglomerate figurin’ out big job-site estimates. We wish him the best of luck.
The last we heard, Travis Yamada was quitting snowboarding and moving to the Midwest…Indiana or something.
Brian Johnsen, Intellectual and Felon, undisputed pride of Gary, Indiana, got back from Thailand and other travels unscathed. The last we heard he was arrested for smuggling firecrackers across the Michigan border. We hope the judge is hard on him.
That’s all for now. Please wake up and delete this garbage from yer hard drive.
Aaron James Draplin, Draplindustries Novelty Co
pee-ess: Get the new “Built To Spill” on the 2nd! The new Idaho is dreamy too.
