Blog #2

My name is Justin Floyd and the following events took place at the Meltdown Music Festival in Kennewick WA. Our band Plants Eat People were asked to play a two day long music festival, promoting original local music in the area. The festival took place in the parking lot of Kimo's bar and grill and it was 'HOT'. It was the middle of July, and none of us were enthused on the fact that the promoters requested all acts be present by noon on the day of performance. This meant showing up five hours early, setting our gear outside in one hundred degree weather, and initiating a "Meltdown". I couldn't help but think of the luxuries Cover bands were enjoying at this time during the summer, having not been invited to such a honorable, independent, and yet torturous event. Perhaps they were enjoying time on the river, partaking in water sports. What I would give for a passenger seat in a rustic 1988 Honda, with windows down at a cool 45 mph. On the other hand, the beer was free, which in turn, contributes to this embarrassing story I think.

Pessimism, sweat glands, and heat stroke aside, this was a good opportunity because the festival was well advertised and heavily sponsored. The organizers were going to release a live meltdown compilation CD with one song from each act. The song of choice was picked by the band, and would be recorded and mastered, free of cost. This idea already had all of us a little on edge, wanting to do our best, making no major mistakes. We came upon an agreement on which song we would use, and we were to play it third in our set. This would allow the sound engineer to dial in our sound appropriately to ensure the best recording possible. While wanting to support our fellow performers, the heat was just to unbearable. We retired inside for food and cold drink.

When it came time for us to sound check, things became slightly complicated. To allow for quick transitions between bands, all acts were to share a ‘communal’ drum kit which would remain onstage. Our drummer did not like this. He threw a bit of a hissy fit. This brought us out of our comfort zone, therefore we continued to drink beer and smoke cigarettes onstage, while our drummer, continued to pout and wrench around his newly introduced apparatus. Not so recently, Washington state passed a law that banned smoking inside all public establishments. So being able to wield our habitual tobacco wands in an avenue of drink and entertainment, was a bit of an adolescent thrill. On the recording that resulted you can actually here our singer say that she “ashed in her water” and our rhythm guitarist retort “ that’s ok, I almost set the stage on fire “. The latter which surely would have been more embarrassing.

So after climbing through some other technical difficulties, and finishing our set, it was dusk and we were done. Although as much fluid as I consumed to supplement the sweat that poured off me, I still took several trips to the bathroom. Upon completion of our set, I realized my last trip I had failed to fully consolidate my wardrobe, as my zipper flared open staring at the audience. Had my fly been open the whole time. Yes, why yes it had. Did anybody notice? Bright daylight, five feet high, making loud noises onstage…why…I’m sure someone had.

Check out the song here:
http://www.tri-cityevents.com/meltdown/

I believe a 'simplified' understanding of amplification through simplification is that: an idea or icon is subjective and carries a narative. Scott Mccloud states that his cartoon is ultimately the reader carrying his or her own narrative, and the simplified entity of the cartoon allows an easier accessibility. He says "By stripping down an image to its essential 'meaning', an artist can amplify that meaning in a way that realistic art can't".(201?) Ultimately by stripping an image of its fine detail and identity, you allow for less or perhaps more biased, realistic influence for the readers interperatation. I believe this could be dangerous if used in any form of propaganda, as it has. The following cartoon appeals to entertained sensibilities. While appealing to our symbolic and iconic nature, it allows the cartoon as a venue, to downplay the severity of actual events.



works cited
McCloud, Scott. "The Vocabulary of Comics. " Visual Rhetoric in a Digital World.
Ed. Carolyn Handa. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's 2004. 195-208.