Taking On New York Page 16
A sudden plot twist! What will Plan 9 do? Will they cave in and play some disco songs, or will they stand their ground as rockers, even if they get fired… again! Tune in to the next exciting page to find out!
Now, I’ve always hated teasers like that which I wrote above as we all know if they get fired, the story is essentially over, and we’re nowhere near the end of this story. But, I do like a bit of drama, so I’ll stick with the teaser lines anyway.
The recording engineer and the producer I want to always show them in deep shadows or nearly silhouetted to represent the “shadowy” side of the music business that threatens and hassles the members of Plan 9. I have not worked out the exact technique yet, but I can see it in my head. We’ll see how that goes.
**EDIT: This final version is my first attempt at showing the producer and backgrounds in a shadowy state. Not sure it’s exactly what I was going for, but I’m getting close. I have also moved the updates to once every two weeks for the time being as I learn the updated software and work on my style for 2023. I have a lot interruptions, as most people do these days, and I’m struggling to do a page a week. As I improve, the updates will be more frequent.
Getting the hang of my new drawing process and the updated software. I have spent a lot of time experimenting with the new features in Clip Studio Paint version 2 which recently came out, so the pages are taking me a lot longer than normal to finish. I’m not the fastest artist to begin with and add in a ton of experimentation and it really drags out. The two things I’m experimenting the most in Clip Studio are using the 3D poses and figures as references for my characters, and the Shading Assist feature.
The hardest part about the 3D figures is getting the body shapes to match my style of drawing. It is also forcing me to study the anatomy of different poses as well. The Shading Assist is basically a great way to judge how the lighting of your scene will fall on your characters. You could use it in a pinch for a final drawing, but it is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, nor do I think Clip Studio designed it as a replacement for an artist’s shading. It’s as its name suggests, it assists you.
Hopefully as I get a handle on these new features and get the pages done in a timely manner.
Also, this is the first time, in my opinion, that you really get a sense of the height differences in each character. The 3D reference models I am using allow you to put in overall height of the character. For those who like this kind of trivia, Bud is 6′ foot, Jeff is 5′ foot 10″ inches, Robyn is 5′ foot 9″ inches, and Lorraine is 5′ foot 8″ inches. The first frame looks about right, but the bottom frame has Lorraine way too short. I’m still learning all of this new stuff.
Part of the inspiration for a having the disco band be a German band is from the 1975 disco hit “Fly, Robin, Fly” by the Silver Connection. The story goes that the ladies could not speak English so they were taught the words for the song which supposedly is the reason for so few words. Not a fan of the song at all. And it’s 5 minutes long with a remix version that’s over 7 minutes with the only lyrics being “Fly, Robin, Fly. Up, up to the sky!” Those poor ladies had to dance for the entire song and sing for like 40 seconds!
But to retaliate against having a disco song on a rock ‘n’ roll comic website, here’s ESPN’s 10 minute story on the “Disco Demolition” event of July 12th, 1979. The event was sponsored by Chicago radio station WLUP-FM with their shock-jock Steve Dahl leading the chaos that eventually caused the White Sox to forfeit the second game! Trivia for you: At the 6 minute 36 second point in the video, you will see a shot of the broadcast booth with Harry Caray trying to encourage fans to settle down so they can play the next game. Standing next to Harry in the black shirt if my pal Mitch Michaels, WLUP’s program director at the time. I’ve known Mitch a long, long time and having him be a part of this historical event is pretty cool.
Make sure to bill him for your time.
As a self-employed person since 1986, I bill every hour I can, and then some. 😉
One doesn’t ‘play’ disco, one inflicts it.
There is, of course, but one exception to this…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynWhozyOoZQ
I know it’s making fun of disco, but I cannot stand that song. It was fun the first time I heard it, after that, I grew to hate it more and more. Don’t take any offense, that’s just me.
Actually, the only two disco songs I can tolerate are “Get Down Tonight” by KC, and “Born To Be Alive” by Patrick Hernadez. My brain seems to accept those songs for whatever reason.
Very early disco was ok, but by the time I heard it in the Midwest it was a sad parody of itself. Nile Rogers is still a great talent.
As time has passed here in the past week, I must have been in a rather foul mood when I wrote the post above as I came down rather hard on disco. For the most part, I’m not a fan, but I should not pan it as hard as I have.
THIS was good Disco. CHIC – Le Freak https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXgSHL7efKg
You can’t use the words ‘good’ and ‘disco’ in the same sentence 😉
Saying all disco is the same is like saying all rock is the same.
Very true. I am not a fan of country/western music, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. I am quite sarcastic sometimes and my true hatred of disco comes from the last bar band I played in having a bunch of gigs cancelled due to bars switching over to DJs and playing dance music. Can’t blame them, as that’s what the audience wanted, but it still stung to see all of those gigs go away. Just as well, the band wasn’t going anywhere, so I’m really not out anything except a couple hundred bucks back in 1979 which I would have blown on beer anyway. 🙂
Believe me, if you went back to 1980, and told me that in 40 years I’d be defending disco, ANY disco, I’d have laughed my ass off.
Then again I’ve done a lot of things that 1980 me would spontaneously combust to hear about. Heh.
It is time to get to the disco groove.
You know, there are some disco tunes I can handle. I’m just overly dramatic and have come down rather hard on disco. A good example is I cannot stand cherries. The site of them can almost make me barf. But, that doesn’t mean they aren’t good, they’re just not good for me. The same with disco, it’s not my cup of tea, but I shouldn’t come down so hard on it. I do, though, give a lot of crap to bands like the Rolling Stones and a few others who had no business doing disco songs. I know groups want to branch out, but they should know their limits.
Hey I like disco ah the hedonism even have a list 1, Rubber band man, the spinners (they had a disco the movie stripes and they played it.) 2, Hot stuff, Donna Summer. 3 Boogie Woogie dancing shoes Claudia Barry. 4, In the Navy, The Village people )seen them with Bob Hope aboard the helicopter carrier USS Iwo Jima.) 5, Get down tonight, KC and the sunshine band. 6, Born to be alive, Patrick Hernadez (Italian pop singer Sabrina sings it 10 years ago in Toulon France.) 7, Boys boys, Sabrina. 8, Nena 99 Luftballoons (Germans force Homer in the Simpsons to sing it.) 9, Cobra Starship, hot mess (cause sometimes I’m a hot mess.) 10, Kraftwerk, Autobonn (started silver convention fly robin fly.) Honorable mentions bad touch the blood hound gang cute monkey suits caging mines gotta love it. Uniting nations you and me love the sexy office workers too bad I can’t seem to find employment that encourage staff to wear mini skirts love them on top of the pops. Cabin crew star to fall, silver convention love halter top dresses. Eiffel 65 blue da ba dee, Cascada evacuate the dance floor, Chris Sheppard Broken bones remember it was on City Tv much music electric circus. The wild card Daft punk, Get Lucky. Incidentally I watched electric circus from across the street when I visited Toronto in 1999 it was even hosted by Canada’s wonderland theme park. City TV had fashion TV with Jeanne Beker she had My obsession by animotion another honorable mention as her theme song. Of course I saw Deney Terrio and solid gold they were on TV before hockey night in Canada. Buddet (kiss the mystic frog), Lorraine and Robyn should wear halter top dresses and go silver convention Robyn is the perfect name for fly robin fly but that leave Jeff out unless he wants to manage them. Speaking of which David Hasseloft he was so hot could have them in Spring break 1983 (the alligator ate the pants) or Baywatch. Maybe they could even to Europop or Richard Wagner flight of the Valkyries or rock and roll Gotterdammerung. Buddet, Lorraine and Robyn as naked Valkyries or Rhine maidens wearing only stehlhelm magic meat helmets armed with spears. While David and Jeff wear there pickelhaube meat helmet and pink week old leaderhosen. I saw disco as an escape into a hedonistic non too judgmental fantasy land to go when reality was too hard to deal with. I’m sure with stagflation, white flight, oil recessions, losing the Vietnam war and pollution I was in good company.
“In The Navy” was a fun song, and a few others songs you mentioned are good songs, so I should not have come down so hard on disco. I’m old and cranky. 😉
First, Robyn and Lorraine as naked Valkyries is going in my to-do notes. That’s a great idea!
Second, the ’70s had their ups and downs. The gas shortages was a hot mess. All that Nixon Watergate stuff was ridiculous to watch, and depressing. (It’s happening all over again with the former president facing some charges today)
I think most people associate disco with Studio 54 in New York (no, the gang will NOT go there… they wouldn’t get in anyway). The sheer hedonism, as you mentioned, I think really turned disco into a excuse to get freaky/kinky in public. Hey, to each their own, but the stories out of Studio 54 make my toes curl. BTW… Studio 54 opened in April of 1977. Great year!
It would be cool if they went to Studio 54 but as made it clear they’d never get in. I’ve been to kink parties wearing body suits, corsets, thong panties, heels or boots while watching grinder girls wearing metal over corsets and making sparks to goldfrapp oh la la another honorable mention. Bet they had grinder girls in Studio 54 they had them on David Letterman. You normally see this on sin cities TV show they travel the world to discos, nude beaches, sex shows, porn conventions and other places of hedonism. Better yet wild on with Brook Burke they travel the to see orange fights in Italy and tomato fights in Spain. They showed foam parties, Venice costume balls, playing chess with people size pieces, glass workers creating works using nude models. Cindy Margollas show it was a racy American bandstand with webikini models. Some times one longs for a time when world travel was easier and seemed safer. But was still expensive as now and I doubt if they let stewardesses dress like do in cabin crews stars to fall video. Hope that DJ fast food isn’t being tortured by Vladimir Putin or worst sold out to him like too many Russian pop singers. I like Moscow doesn’t sleep love the maid outfit with be she and a car wash woman dancing together in a Moscow disco. But Vladimir Putin is a killer party pooper so I fear for DJ fast food.
You know, when a radio station changes format these days, the tradition in the industry of late is to play, over and over, the Village People singing “YMCA.” The theory is that it drives the old listeners away and gets everything ready for the new listeners.
Homeboy thought he was getting ABBA or something?
There are good workarounds for disco, especially the more obscure tunes. Thank you, DJ Cummerbund:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbWug0sFAJQ
In the 70s and 80s I had a kind of conflicted relationship with disco music. I did like ABBA, for instance, Patti Labelle, and a few others, but then disco was the super commercial and therefore evil side. Little did I know how commercial other, even alternative kinds of music were and always have been.
Nowadays I see that disco was/is a style and trend in music like any other — there is good in it, in particular where its connections to soul and funk show, and bad. Fly, Robin Fly was certainly among the more banal and boring kind. But the cheesiness as such is not necessary a bad thing, it can be fun! ABBA certainly is cheesy as hell, but their music wasn’t bad, and certainly fun. (Still, the first piece of theirs I heard is still the best — Waterloo.)
Today I can enjoy (some of) disco music without a guilty conscience. Village People! Donna Summer! Gloria Gaynor! Barry White! Michael Jackson! The Hustle! Flashdance!
But then it is only a small part of the spectrum of popular music I like from ABBA to ZZ Top, let alone jazz, classical music, and (some) avantgarde — and in more recent times even bluegrass and country. (I draw the line, though, at the German Schlager (including German Volkstümliche Musik). It is an abomination.)