Articles In Two Magazines This Month

Go-Kustom Films and my various film projects were featured in big articles in two different magazines this month - Rat Rod Magazine and Northwest Alternative. When it rains it pours :)

A Little Snow

Had a little snow on the Leap Year Day. Didn't stick around long, but we did had some big fluffy flakes for several hours straight. 

Poster Display Rack Base

Added some Fix-It-All to the base pipes of the PVC poster display poster rack I made a few days ago. This will help the rack keep from blowing over in the wind. I use Fix-It-All extensively in this way to make sculpture bases for some of my art work. Fix-It-All dries quickly, is heavy but not as much as concrete and has less tendency to chip and crack like regular concrete. When I used to do wall repair back in the day- I practically used this stuff by the case! I will paint the Fix-It-All areas grey and then have the pipes possibly painted rust and coming up out, like exposed wall artwork. 

Canon HF G10 Just Arrived

So the Canon HF G10 I ordered a few days ago, just came in via UPS. Looks sturdy, well made. Not too sure about everything being done from the touch screen, but I think I am going to get great results from this video camera. 

New Sounds For Reason 6

Got a bucket load of new sounds for Reason 6 the last few days- including some extremely convincing Hammond B3 combinator patches and Kong vintage drum machine patches. I have been using Propellerhead's Reason since 2001 (over a decade now!) and really dig the new features and effects in Reason 6. I am using this program almost exclusively to record my new album Burnt Orange. I want the new album to have a vintage surf, post-punk and twang kind of vibe. Vintage drum machine loops with big strange drums and percussion on top, twangy Hellcat VI over post-punk string washes and quirky organ tones. I was doing some self analysis last night and after listening to a few of my fave tracks by The Reds (Big Boy), Jonathan Richman (Roadrunner), Elvis Costello (Pump It Up) and The Lyres (Don't Give It Up Now), I realized how vital rock organ is to these bands (and the sound I am currently looking or). Strange how it can take serious insight to bring out the obvious. New D.A. Sebastian & he Inner Demons, Drums, Organ/Keys and Hellcat VI? maybe an Upright Bass too?

Poster Display Rack Part 2

So I painted the poster display rack I am building in a flat white for now. Also adjusted the sides and glues the top and bottom into single pieces. This will make a nice addition to our vendor displays at the car shows when it's finished.  I still need to laminate and grommet the posters and do some kind of base weight to keep the PVC from wobbling to much in the wind. I also did reorder of some of our more popular posters like the Go-Kustom TV Archives Poster and the Rat Rod Rockers! Poster. In theses pics I taped the posters into the frame half assed....that's not how they will sit in the display when it is done.

Poster Display Rack

Made a poster display rack out of PVC pipe this afternoon. Cost around $35 for the pipe and fittings. We are gearing up for the spring and summer car show season and wanted a good way to show off the new posters for the new films. The whole thing comes apart and actually seems fairly sturdy. Will post more pics with posters on it when I get the display posters laminated and grommeted. 

Canon HF G10

So I had enough credit on my Dell account to finally get a new video camera- a Canon HF G10.  Price was $1,340 plus tax, but only cost me $87 out of pocket with $30 a month payments. It is limited on mic input, but performance wise this camera's quality is virtually the same as the professional Canon XA10 (at $500 more). Stunning image quality and 24p mode! It is a really small camera too, which will be welcomed after toting around the middle weight Panasonic AG- DVX100 for the last few years. I will be using this camera for our updated Go-Kustom TV Show, as a first and second camera on the Rats & Gassers Documentary and the new Burnt Orange music vdeos I will be producing later this year.
The specs on this bad boy are impressive (see below).

• 1920 x 1080 HD Recording
• 32GB Internal Flash Drive
• 2 x SD/SDHC/SDXC Memory Card Slots
• Canon HD CMOS Pro Image Sensor
• 3.5" Touch Panel LCD
• Color Viewfinder
• Genuine Canon 10x HD Video Lens
• Dynamic SuperRange Optical Stabilization
• Customization Cinema-Look Filters
• Professional Shooting Assist Functions
• 24P mode

Northwest Alternative Magazine Cover Mention

Got a cover mention on the upcoming Northwest Alternative Magazine. Did a quick internet interview about Rats & Gassers and the photo shoot I did with Tina Tang for the film. I will post more when it comes out...

Go-Kustom in Rat Rod Magazine Issue #11

Go-Kustom Films has a nice two page spread in Issue #11 of Rat Rod Magazine. They did a concise overview of what we have released on DVD so far and what we have in the works. Just got the issue at the PO Box today- made my afternoon!

D.A. Sebasstian & The Inner Demons - Burnt Orange

Did a rough of my new album cover art entitled Burnt Orange. Wanted something simplistic that didn't give any real preconceived notion as to what the music will sound like beforehand. 

Rats & Gassers Fundraiser

So, with a little push yesterday morning, we crossed the $1,000 mark with the Rats & Gasser: Kustom Kulture Takes A Ride Campaign on Kickstarter.com. Less than a month to go to get the full $5,000 (or we get nothing).

Got The Square

Just got sqaureup.com's Square Card Reader for my cell phone. Sent to you free when you sign up. The thing plugs into your iPhone or android mobile device and enables you to process credit cards in the field. This is great for vendors or bands at shows to sell their merch. Unfortunately my current phone is not compatible, so I will give a review after I get a new phone. 

GPX 19 Inch HDTV/Monitor

Picked up a flat screen HD Monitor/TV for video editing and our car show vendor booths. GPX is a lo-fi brand, so I am not expecting it to last forever. Just a few hard workin' years. Got it on credit so no harm no foul. Looks pretty decent and has a built in DVD player to boot. With our portable generator we should be set for this summers car show season. 

New Little Power Generator Just Broke

The new little generator I got just broke! Less than 2 hours of test running time too! The pull handle assembly wound back on itself as I was trying to start it and jammed solid. A piece of plastic shot out when it jammed. I took the pull starter cover off an saw that a ring that attaches to the spring return had cracked a broken. I called the 800 service number in the shipping box and they said they would send over a brand new assembly. Still this is a pain for a brand new item. 

Rats & Gassers Kickstarter Fund Raiser Update

Woke up this morning to see that we just crossed the $850 line with our Rats & Gassers Fundraiser! Only $4,150 to go!