Brandon Rike

Dem Boogas

Sun, 05 Aug 2007 15:54:16 -0700

One of the greatest lines I have ever heard. From the movie http://www.thenannydiariesmovie.com/" target="_blank">The Nanny Diaries.

Nooma 009 - Bullhorn

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 18:27:31 -0700

Rob Bell, pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids, has put together small teachings in video format. Each DVD touches on a particular idea that relates to the Christian faith.

My brother bought me a ton of these DVDs for my wedding last year. All of the videos (17 and counting) are layed out and spoken so eloquently, that the message comes across, and hits hard, all in a 12 minute period. The video, entitled Bullhorn, was one of my favorites. It's nice to know that some of the frustrations I've ranted on for years are shared by someone else.

Check out Nooma." target="_blank">http://www.nooma.com">Nooma.

BR-ICON

Wed, 22 Aug 2007 16:23:22 -0700

The end of an era. The spike is gone.

Do Work.

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 11:17:33 -0800

I've posted some selected work I've done over the past few years. Check out Dark Collar. Full on, all-encompassing blog/portfolio site is still in the works. This will suffice until I get my act together.

Design Vomit

Fri, 17 Aug 2007 23:31:25 -0700

I use VIRBº to network with other designers out there. So, in that spirit, I figured I would post a design-oriented blog entry. As many of you may know, I make a ton of band shirts. Band shirts make up about 85% of the projects that come out of Dark Collar (My design thingy). I've been designing band shirts since 1999, when my band, as well as loads of other local bands, started printing up merchandise to sell at shows. Since then it's grown from that into a super-busy, full-time, home operation. With that said, I have been here to watch plenty of design trends come and go. I remember back in 2000, when I saw a print on the SIDE of a shirt, and thought it was so rad. My buddies, Beloved (RIP), and I came up with a few side prints for their merch - back when we had seen no-one do it before. I've seen printers who were completely unprepared for this new trend, and simply could not keep up. Thier screens were too small, and they lost business for while, until they conformed to the new standard. That was cool - side prints are pretty cool - I was okay with that trend. Then came completely destroying designs to make them look legitametely old. The problem with this is that these old, vintage, designs got printed on squeaky-clean, heavy, new Fruit Of The Loom shirts. The design would not be cohesive with the material. What bands can pay $9-$15 for a shirt anyway? But, alot of bands and merch companies are now going the extra mile to get good shirts to take "band merchandise" to a whole new level. Some of these shirts actually look like they were printed in 1972. Bravo. But now, I'm seeing alot of, what I call, "Design Vomit". A designer buddy of mine once told me, a few years ago, "You can't do band shirts forever, one day your stuff won't be hot anymore." At the time I thought, "What do you mean, I'll keep up with the trends and keep my stuff cutting edge." Well, I may be getting to the point where I'm getting out of touch with "what's hot", or I'm just trying to maintain a high standard for my work. The problem is that I think alot of the stuff I see on band shirts is completely horrible -- and is a complete disgrace to the design craft altogether. Am I the only one with this perplexed look of disgust on their face when they see some of this crap? Its like these kids get photoshop, and some clip art books, scan ANYTHING they want, and then throw it all together - much like VOMIT. No rhyme or reason, just a big clump of crap, with a few paint splatters here and there. They color some stuff Magenta, Electric Blue, Lime Green - and then submit it to the band. The worst thing is that the band freaking approves it! Meanwhile, my nostaligic, tasteful, cohesive, well-thought-out pieces fall to the wayside. Am I bitter? No, not at all. I just think I decided today that I will not even attempt this stuff anymore. I've wasted one too many hours trying to make "bad" pieces. It's my little way of protesting the filth thats polluting merch tables and webstores. I think I'll stick to my clients that welcome tasteful, edgy ideas. The commonality between what 14 year old girls like, and what I consider good design, is practically non-existent. So please, to the other designers out there. Keep a high-standard for your work. Bands (may) make good music, but they are not art directors. Just because they want nonsense on their shirts doesn't mean you can't find a tasteful compromise. Stick to your guns - do good stuff. Stop vomiting all over t-shirts.

Good Tunes Is Good Tunes.

Tue, 10 Jul 2007 18:47:05 -0700

I've been wanting to do this for a long time. There are several albums that when I hear them, I realize how many memories and influences are tied to each one. My Favorite Albums of All Time (In no particular order) These are the albums that I consider great. Untouchable, and perfect in every way. o Led Zeppelin - IV o Third Eye Blind - Third Eye Blind o Counting Crows - August And Everything After o Fiona Apple - When The Pawn... o Weezer - Blue Album o The Beatles - Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band o Rage Against The Machine - Evil Empire o Radiohead - The Bends o Deftones - Around The Fur o Silverchair - Diorama o Pearl Jam - Ten o Green Day - Dookie o The Fugees - The Score o Guns N Roses - Appetite For Destruction o Jeff Buckley - Grace o Jellyfish - Spilt Milk o Nickel Creek - Nickel Creek o Oasis - (What's The Story) Morning Glory? o Ours - Distorted Lullibies o A Perfect Circle - Mer de Noms o Skid Row - Skid Row o Snapcase - End Transmission o Handsome - Handsome Albums That Shaped My Childhood (In no particular order) If you would have looked through my CD case when I was fifteen - you would have found... o Weezer - Blue Album o Green Day - Dookie o Beck - Odelay o Rage Against The Machine - Evil Empire o 311 - Blue Album o Sugar Ray - Floored o Korn - Follow The Leader o Pearl Jam - Ten o Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie... o Incubus - Make Yourself o Limp Bizkit - Three Dollar Bill o Sublime - Sublime o Beastie Boys - Hello Nasty o Filter - Short Bus o NIrvana - Nevermind o Blink 182 - Dude Ranch o Deftones - Adrenaline o Stone Temple Pilots - Core o Bush - Sixteen Stone o Everclear - Sparkle And Fade o Romeo + Juliet - Soundtrack o No Doubt - Tragic Kingdom o Fugees - The Score o Eve 6 - Eve 6 Albums That Freaking Rock (In no particular order) If you're in a rock band, and don't know these records - Either go get them, or stop being in a rock band. o Killing Joke - Killing Joke o Handsome - Handsome o Barkmarket - El Ron o Helmet - Meantime o Failure - Fantastic Planet o Glassjaw - Worship and Tribute o Quicksand - Slip o Rage Against The Machine - Evil Empire o Stone Temple Pilots - Core o Faith No More - Album Of The Year o Filter - Short Bus o Snapcase - End Transmission Okay. There you go. I've got loads more lists in my head. So I'm sure I'll be back with more.

Powerwashing

Tue, 19 Jun 2007 11:35:59 -0700

Everyday, I'm finding new joys of being a homeowner. Yesterday was the day I discovered Powerwashing. I've done it before, but it takes on an entirely new meaning when your doing it for yourself, and working towards some end result. For those that don't know, Powerwashing is basically having your own spray gun, like the kinds at a self-serve car wash. Except when you have one of your own, you can experiment with all of the things you can clean. My wife and I are painting the house this week, so to prep, the house must get a good powerwashing. I started on the half brick facade on the front, then moved to the concrete. Holy crap. This bad boy brings your concrete about 5 shades lighter. It cleaned our garage door, which now looks brand new. I cleaned off some nasty looking mossy stuff growing on a spot of the roof. I then preceded to clean the entire driveway. God bless this holy machine.

Dude called me a name.

Sun, 17 Jun 2007 04:24:43 -0700

So my wife and I were driving through town the other night. We live in Westerville, Ohio - a suburb of Columbus. Her an I are from a couple of rural, hick towns near Dayton, OH - so living in upper-middle class Westerville is a little bit different, in that there are alot more rich, punk kids, and less trashy, humble ones. Anyway, we are driving up State St - the main drag in town, at about 11:00 at night. The speed limit is 25-30. I'm cruising at a cool 34-36mph. Life is good, I'm feeling good, we're listening to Ryan Adams -- all is well. Oh, wait, dude's riding my butt. Now, the angry me, who is not present at the time, would get instantly enraged and brake check my man. Instead, I'm just chillin, but a tad annoyed, or amused at the impatient driver behind me. I realize I'm probably not going fast enough for him -- but again, I'm chillin, I don't care. I look in my rear view to see dude veering to the right to pass me via a turn lane before an intersection. What an idiot. While he gets even with me, I lay on my horn. I look straight at him in my best "Are you effing serious" face. Turns out he's a teenage kid -- with a nice car -- flipping me the bird. The bird. So, he backs off from attempting the pass. He then follows me. I love it. He turns on his brights on. I guess that would be the car equivalent to shaking a fist at someone. Too bad angry Brandon isn't here. All that's here is chilled out "Ryan Adams - Into The Ocean" Brandon. I put my hand out the window and do a "C'Mon" motion with my hand, kinda like a WWF wrestler. His next car signal is flashing the brights in conjunction with his right turn-signal. I'm assuming this means "Pull over so we can fight!" Ah, what the heck, I'll pull over - this'll be funny. My only wish was the angry Brandon was here to annihilate this guy. But, no, chilled out Brandon keeps on laughing. I turn right (as requested) at the next road. I pull over and stop my car to wait for him. My wife's freaking out. I stick me head out the window to look back and wait on him. I'll probably say, "You got a problem buddy!?!" or something like that. He pulls up, slightly behind me, so I can't make direct eye contact, and says.... Wait for it.... "Faggot-Ass Bitch!!!" Then peels out and speeds on down the road. Wow. Faggot-Ass Bitch. That's what he had for me. Isn't it Punk-Ass Bitch? When I was in high-school, it was Punk-Ass Bitch. I'm not up on High School Rich Kid lingo, I suppose. But Faggot-Ass Bitch was what he called me. I was dumbfounded. The whole ordeal was so anti-climactic, and I honestly thought he had a little something more for me. But no, just an odd curse. Then we continued on to the grocery store, listening to Ryan Adams. Chillin. One Faggot-Ass Bitch and his lady.

The Pursuit

Wed, 13 Jun 2007 02:12:46 -0700

It seems like everyday, I am constantly striving for something. Working towards... something. Trying to become... something. I've been quite blessed to be able to be a full time designer, to work from home, and be happy with what I do. I am happy with what I do, but I never completely, entirely, impress myself - at least the way that I had envisioned. Not to say that I am not happy with the projects that come out of Dark Collar, but that I never quite reach the end result that I had initially began brainstorming toward. I'm beginning to realize that this lack of satisfaction is the reason I will continue designing and creating for the rest of my life. I will never reach this perfection that I hope for with every project, thus hoping to get it next time around. I see plenty of bad design out there. Maybe not bad, but horribly...uninspired. With new projects popping up, short deadlines, and excessive workflow, it's easy to settle with "good enough" or "I don't like it, but they'll love it." When the deadline is an hour away, you put something together and get it out -- maybe never taking the time to critique your own work IS the reason one feels less than ecstatic with their own work. I find myself rarely saying No to a project. I take on anything. Thus, giving myself way more work than I can handle - or even think about. Yesterday, I found myself writing a quick list of the clients to do work for, and forgetting most of them. Now, if I cannot remember all of the work I have to do, how can I come up with any ideas for the projects in question? If I say no to a loyal client, will they come back to me? No wonder I can't achieve the end result I'm hoping for. But these are just diversions from the point I'm trying to make. I pursue perfection. I do not pursue 'pretty good' or 'good enough' or 'alright' - I pursue a culmination of every great designer's work that I have ever seen, and expect to be that. I pursue the inhuman cleanliness and flawlessness that I see when I gawk at these top-notch projects. The dissatisfaction with my own work is killing me - But, it's also forcing me to pursue greatness. So much so, that I will not stop in my quest. Or else, I will be one of those that settle for "good enough."

This God of ours.

Sat, 09 Jun 2007 03:34:33 -0700

Like a good friend that you lose touch with, so is this higher-power we call God. While you may not call or speak as much as you used to - they are still out there, existing. I forget, sometimes, to remember this omnipresent existence that never seems to forget about me. Why is it that with age comes cynicism, and later comes indifference? You protest for a bit, and then give up on changing the world and get back to existing. I'm somewhere between all of that these days. This God of ours has immersed me with his many blessings, but I have no interest in talking about it with "his people." Maybe I'm learning not to limit God, and to not be surprised by his blessings. Or maybe the truth is that I'm a jaded cynic. Unfortunately, I can only feel that the latter is true. Either that, or I refuse to converse with anyone about it, because I know I tend to disagree with most people's point of view -- especially on spiritual matters. I'm annoyed that I took the time to capitalize the G in God so far in this post. I'm annoyed that I've used words like "blessings" and whatnot. I'm annoyed by what we Americans called Christianity. I just want God. (Now, I feel better about the capital G.) The God that IS everything we call existence. Not the God that we see running the show, but the God that IS our world. I despise the American Church, I despise doctrinal differences, I despise everything that has diverted our attention away from understanding what God really is. He is THIS. Once we can realize that we are encompassed with this God, the sooner we can start getting in line with the natural good that's rooted inside of us. It's not rocket science - it's simply LOVE. Now, most pastors and theologists would like to refute the "love" statement; saying that we cannot rely on emotions to lead our lives, that we have to be firm in the word of God and base our beliefs on it. True, but I feel like that easily lets us miss the point. I don't want to feel like I'm distant from God if I can't tell you everything about Peter's life. I just want God. All the other stuff is details that deter me from embracing the belief that there is indeed something else. That we aren't alone in our joy, in our sadness, in our anger, in our grief - that there is more. But I think American Christianity is only allowing us to see a portion of what God is. God is everything, and everywhere. I feel like American Christianity is keeping tight security on who can get in the circle. Like a kid going to a new school and can never quite fit in. He has the same interests as this clique, but wears different clothes. Or, she's a great cheerleader, but doesn't have anything else in common with the other cheerleaders. I feel like the American Church is quick to find faults in people, before accepting them in. I was in a band for a long time, one that had ties to the Christian market. I always found it funny that parents would let their kids come to our band's shows, and buy our band's CDs, but not this "secular" band. (Secular is a word us Christians use as "worldly" or "bad") The funny thing was that most of the "secular" bands I knew were great, loving people. I, on the other hand, may have been a total dick. I certainly met plenty of people in the Christian market that were. But, Christians want to draw those lines for what is good and acceptable, and bad and intolerable. I find American Christianity is very much about division, as apposed to acceptance. The God I know is an accepting one. Notice I continue to use the word "American Christianity" as opposed to "Christianity" or "God." If there's one thing I want non-christians to know, is that they cannot judge who God is based on the current state of the American Church. Many Christians live a horribly sheltered and scared life. Most of their hearts are in the right place, but have a hard time putting themselves in a non-christians shoes. Now, I wish you could tell who God is by looking at us, but most of us are horribly off-track. Understand that there is a God, but it is imperfect humans that are running the Church here on Earth - so you'll tend to get a few weirdos every now and then. I watch televangelists and cringe. I want to do something to stop them. I wonder why they are so freaking weird. I wonder what this odd smiley persona is, and why they think its effective. Alot of Pastors get real used to speaking to Christians. They get so comfortable in speaking to their congregations that they forget that there may be people that "church" is completely foreign to. Thus, this oddly speaking person running the show just appears as a complete weirdo to the outsiders. As hard as I try, and no matter how many churches I go, I cannot shake the weirdos. Why are so many Christians weirdos? I don't think I have any answers. Nor am I happy with the fact that I cannot find a Church to call home. I know I won't agree with everyone, but I just want someone to make me feel like they understand even the slightest bit of how I feel, and how I view God. But I know, that until I find a place, God is still here, everywhere - and whether I find a place to go on Sundays, it has nothing to do with my belief that God is here. I guess I just need the comfort of a few more cynics, some as cynical as me.

They got me.

Wed, 23 May 2007 01:39:48 -0700

So my buddy Josh Horton (aka Memphis, aka Future Josh, aka J Killa, aka Only An Amatuer) sent me an invite to VIRBº while it was in it's beta stages. I fearfully accepted. While the rest of the world has already set up a MySpace, Facebook, or Friendster page -- I have sat back, extremely uninterested. Then along came VIRBº. Somehow - those Unborn Media/Neubix/PureVolume/BigNoob cats (Ryan Sims, Brad Smith) have once again used their flawless sense of design and function to appeal to me, enough for me to give in and set up a page. Bravo. What's not to like about VIRBº? ( By the way option + 0 = º ) Want a cool looking, free blog? Want a reason to start or revive your flickr account? Want to start uploading your own videos? Basically, there's something about the way VIRBº is set up that draws some of us creative types in, and makes us feel like we're networking with others who share common interests. My band, however, did have a MySpace page, and I was constantly frustrated how horribly unstable and non-user-friendly the interface was. MySpace stank, VIRBº smells like a Yankee Candle. I doubt I'll keep up with my page, but I will try to make the effort. Either way - VIRBº is pretty dag-on cool. -B