Maine | Wool Wood & Whiskey

02-16-12

HOMEWORK

Recent reading list at WW&W HQ.

01-31-12

LIKE A PARTY ON THE BEACH, ON THE ICE

On the holiest of days in Maine.

Waiting for flags to arch toward the January sky.

Look at the bait fish to your left and right: One of them will not make it to tonight.

Grib and grin, minus the grin.

More than a few views in these parts.

Yep.

01-26-12

WHOLE EARTH CATALOG @ THE ICA AT MAINE COLLEGE OF ART

Daniel Fuller, director of the Institute for Contemporary Art at MECA has done the city of Portland, Maine a great service. Knowing our heady, heady roots and general earthiness, he saw fit to bring the Whole Earth Catalog compiled by MoMA here to the Northlands.

Don’t take it from me, take it from MoMA:

In 1968, Stewart Brand founded the Whole Earth Catalog. Brand’s goals were to make a variety of tools accessible to newly dispersed counterculture communities, back-to-the-land households, and innovators in the fields of technology, design, and architecture, and to create a community meeting-place in print. The catalog quickly developed into a wide-ranging reference for new living spaces, sustainable design, and experimental media and community practices. After only a few years of publication it exploded in popularity, becoming a formidable cultural phenomenon.

This is a guaranteed ear-steamer and it opens TONIGHT! Appropriately, a concurrent show by Maine-born and bred Michael Smith-Bell — of Upside Down Fireplace fame — is in the gallery this evening as well. GET THERE.

01-18-12

WOOT WOOD!

WW&W in-house wood consultant and Olde Man Style Master Peter Jackson Hussey of Structure Build and Design featured on WoodDesign.com. Says Peter:

“Within the process, the smell of cedar when cut, the smooth feel of walnut sanded to a fine finish, and the contrast and beauty of the grain as it absorbs oil are all observed and earnest experiences I have along the way.”

Check out his work if you haven’t, and grab me a 12 pack of Full Sail Sessions at the Blanchard’s in JP while you’re at it. Oregon beer in the Northeast, finally.

01-11-12

IN THE WERKS

Screen grab // Bob // Pre-New Year // Post Xmas

01-10-12

SNOWBOOTS AND SKATEBOARDS

New Yankee ingenuity at its best, in Portland, Maine via Jay Brown.

01-06-12

OLDE MAN STYLE, NO. 20

Damn, LL.

11-16-11

SERIOUSLY, SATURDAY!

Take my word for it, this Saturday night you’re going to want to be at Space Gallery in Portland, Maine. Somehow, whether by luck, fortune or otherwise, three amazing musical amalgamations will be in the same place at the same time (again, MAINE!).

Whatever your interest in this blog, these bands relate. Whether you enjoy good music, surfing, psychedelia, or dudes with huge beards, this is an evening for you.

Local bro, baker and farmers market cash taker Ark Uru, aka Shon Mahoney kicks things off. Find this guy not smiling, I dare you — plus, he also plays in Big Blood and is one of the best visual artists in town.

It might be something like this, but maybe not — you’ll see.

Next up, my personal band ax to grind: Small Sur. These boys have been making the long drive up from Baltimore with some frequency lately, which all music aside, is deserving of some support and adulation. On top of that, they’re pretty much a guaranteed hit; anywhere, any time. If the past 10 years of overt irony in music has started to get you down, Small Sur’s pitched authenticity is just the thing to buoy your faith in songwriting. Songs about the sea, surfing and the unending search for simplicity that is modern life — enough said.

Try not to like that — really. Artwork by Kyle Field (see below).

Finally, in a rare appearance here in the northeast, Kyle Field, aka Little Wings headlines the night. This is one of those deals where, if you know who Kyle is, you’ll be there. If you don’t, that’s cool — you just might want to check this out.

That’s Leslie Feist with Kyle playing his song “Look at What the Light Did Now.” He’s just one of those musicians (and incredible visual artists) whose influence is subtle, but far-reaching. He and his rotating-cast-of-characters/band Little Wings probably appear in the “Thanks” section of more of your favorite bands’ liner notes than you would believe. He’s still a very bearded, very cruisey dude, living and surfing (a lot) out in San Francisco, but believe me, you’ll want to be a part of this experience.

Come get crazy, then party at our place. Or maybe we’ll see you at the beach.

10-31-11

CLEAN

Every time I surf close to home I’m thankful for the taste of the sea here. I’ve lived and surfed in some pretty pristine and pretty polluted places, and I can say confidently that clean water tastes better. As surfers, we’re the first indicators of what’s happening out there in the briny deep. Here in a place like Maine, we’re also part of a coastal continuum that includes fishing communities, kelp farmers and oyster farmers. The health of the ocean is our health, and our livelihood, so take it seriously. It doesn’t take much for an innocent mouthful to go from “nice ‘n’ salty” to “low tide at the mud flats.”