{"id":3216,"date":"2019-03-13T19:06:37","date_gmt":"2019-03-13T23:06:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nickzaino.com\/departmentoftangents\/?p=3216"},"modified":"2019-03-13T19:06:37","modified_gmt":"2019-03-13T23:06:37","slug":"dot-ep81-comics-artist-and-musician-guy-gilchrist-with-new-music-from-ted-drozdowski","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nickzaino.com\/departmentoftangents\/2019\/03\/13\/dot-ep81-comics-artist-and-musician-guy-gilchrist-with-new-music-from-ted-drozdowski\/","title":{"rendered":"DoT EP81: Comics Artist and Musician Guy Gilchrist with New Music from Ted Drozdowski"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is an inadvertently Nashville-themed edition, as featured interview subject, comics artist\/creator and musician Guy Gilchrist, and the musician behind this week’s featured track, Ted Drozdowski, ply their trades in Music City. And for the second week in a row, the featured guest has a Jim Henson connection. A bit from his bio \u2013 Gilchrist created the Muppets comic strip and worked on Fraggle Rock<\/em> and The Muppet Babies<\/em>. But he also took over the comic strip Nancy<\/em> for a number of years and worked on cartoons from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles<\/em> to The Pink Panther<\/em>. And if that weren\u2019t enough, he\u2019s also an accomplished singer\/songwriter. Which is why I brought my guitar, in case I could convince him to play a tune or two. Which he does just before the conversation begins, and then later, in separate segment, at his booth at the NorthEast Comic Con and Collectibles Extravaganza<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I was fortunate to sit down with Guy in front of a live audience at the Con, and Gilchrist was also one of the first people I met there. We talked at his booth where he was doing custom drawings for fans. He looked down at my laminate and said, \u201cYou\u2019re underdressed.\u201d I handed him the laminate, and he drew Kermit in a Red Sox cap. The Sox are his favorite team, and since they had just won the World Series, Gilchrist was in a great mood. It makes sense he would appreciate such a pastoral game. It became clear to me as we spoke how much he treasures gentleness and how much he sincerely wants to help make the world a more loving place. Just don\u2019t mention zombies to him. You can hear for yourself why. He is passionate and irrepressible. I directed this interview the way a bumper directs a pinball. \u201cThat\u2019s why they have a panel with just me,\u201d he says at one point. \u201cEverybody gets pissed off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Later on in the Con, I went back to Guy\u2019s table to try to get him to sing one of his own songs. I didn\u2019t get that, but I did get him singing \u201cPoor Jenny,\u201d originated by the Everly Brothers, which you’ll hear in the short second segment. You can find out more about him at www.aguygilchristproduction.com<\/a>, or search for him on Facebook<\/a> and Twitter<\/a>. And you can visit Guy at the NorthEast Comic Con<\/a> this weekend, March 15-17, in Boxboro, Massachusetts. And thanks as well to Gary Sohmers for allowing me to tape my first live episodes at the Con. I\u2019ve got one more, with artist and animator Philo Barnhart, coming up in the next few weeks.<\/p>\n

This week\u2019s featured track is “Still Among the Living,\u201d from Ted Drozdowski<\/a>\u2019s new album, Coyote Motel<\/em>. It\u2019s an evolutionary step forward from what Drozdowski has been doing with his band, Scissormen. It\u2019s more psychedelic, more textured, and at times, more emotional. I don\u2019t want to say too much about this, because Ted is the guest on next week\u2019s episode and you\u2019ll get to hear the story behind this track directly from him. I will say the reasons I chose this track, which opens the album, are that I love the main lyrical conceit, \u201cI\u2019m here, so you\u2019re still among the living,\u201d he sings, and because it features Ted\u2019s epic guitar playing. It\u2019s out It\u2019s out now, and you can find it on CDBaby<\/a>, so pick it up!<\/p>\n

You can listen to and download the podcast from the player below, or subscribe\/review on iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play. Enjoy!<\/p>\n