Since last weeks storm of newsprint and PVA glue, things have come along. My front room has been momentarily freed from chaos. Two and half days – solid sticking down of the weeks headlines yet I’m none the wiser about what’s actually going on in the world. Rather than get caught up in the worry, I turned to red acyrlic and black spray paint, which has replaced any anxiety in my mind with a fine layer of fumes. However, having perhaps learnt a lesson from ‘The Lost Belongings’ limited editions, this time I took to spray painting with a make shift mask. Don’t think these old man lungs can handle another thick and sticky gloss coating, and for sure a lack of vocals with which to call out and complain with made this particular man a true psychotic misery. On this occasion, history doesn’t have to repeat itself.

Anyway, plan to today is to record a set of new songs so’s those murderous little fuckers have something to get their teeth into. After that, the next stage in my wonky plan will be to fill these little chests with crooked treasures, so keep in touch, and be sure, I’ll let you know how it’s all going down. xxx CroOK.

Beautiful Daze marked the end of The Crooked Family’s Festival Season 2010. Other news, completed album and artwork, as I speak, is now on route to the manufacturer – no thanks to the fucking French who were too pussy to print the artwork due to ‘blah blah blah’ content – what a load of bollocks, but we’ve dealt with that anyway, for after a moment of profound panic someone over this way, with a pair of balls big enough, agreed to take the job on, so all is well in hell and right on target for the 4th October release. Anyhow, my attention has now turned to making a limited amount of special edition boxsets . . . phase one: the material blag.

Wednesday morning Matilda and I fleeced Mornington Cresent station of its last remaining copies of The Metro newspaper. By 9am we were lurking around the recycling bins just outside Sainsbury and managed to pick off a few old dears, relieving them of their soon-to-be-dispensed-with outdated daily rags. Next mission was striking a deal with a ‘not to be named’ takeaway place up Camden High Street. Once done, we dragged our hoard back home, stuck on some Johnny Cash, and made a start on prepping the materials.  Come yesterday morning and the real work began. As you can see from these happy snaps taken only moments ago, everything we plundered is being put to good use, though admittedly it looks like a bloody mess at this particular moment. Hopefully, with a bit of luck and hard graft, my front room turned art factory will slowly begin to make more sense. I’ll keep you updated as I go . . .

However, this means that the Market Stall is not gonna be appearing in Camden today. Sorry for anyone who was planning a trip, but I’ll be getting it together for next Friday, I promise – just that I really need to make a aggressive start on these broken arts before their darkened crafts have their wicked way with my daft sod brain.

xxx

Yours SINcerely

CroOK

At the last couple of gigs a few of you have been asking about jewellary. Each time I scratched around, failing to respond with any level of promise. However, I was paying attention! Today I took myself back up to Lucy Langridge’s workshop where we got melting and making, finalising Master Copies of both the Missing Piece puzzle charm and the Curious Kitten Design. We will be getting these cast over the next few weeks so keep your eye on the Shop because these, and some other bits and pieces will be made available shortly. Here’s the best of a bad bunch of photos that we took during their conception.

Me and Matilda have been on art attack missions this week. Old newspapers, PVA glue, puzzle pieces and loads of poster paint has been the order of each day. We’ve made a start on some masks, made a huge puzzle piece flower, and I’ve mocked up a rough / potential limited edition album box set. Loose idea for this is, we sell the new album plus some other crooked goodies in a 10 inch box set, like the one shown below. All just ideas, all experiments, all subject to massive change, but whatever, this has been the perfect way to waste away the last of these mad March days . . .

If you’ve got it then I’ve got and so has she. No morals here. No sense either. We trade a strange form of favour in Medway. We place blame where it most easily falls. That’s just the way; friends that know that others don’t, because some lovers will whereas others won’t.  And so the Medway Sex Trade Demo(n)graphic is now in session . . .

Word,
I’ve been working on a few alternative EP cover designs for the free download – Great Fears and Curious Predictions.   I annoyed myself by not getting the time to finish off an idea by the release date, so Mr Crook took the reigns and made the design you see today.  We have decided to keep back my first design and explore this idea further for the album.  Above is a drawing I started as a tattoo design, but as always the ship tends to steer itself back to port Murderbird. I think it makes a nice cover to accompany the songs.   I will post other alternatives soon.
I hope you like.
Tom
x

This painting hangs in Poco Loco, a Medway Tapas Bar / Venue that, in the past, we’ve used to host our nights of Non League Extreme. Using all I had to hand, it depicts a view of Chathams Old Road, from a first story window I have grown used to gazing out of. You can see The Gun Shop. and to the right hand side there is Pulse, better known as The Folio Club, which was one of Medways most infamous underground clubs in its day. Before its closure, it was owned by those people who now run Poco Loco, the place that this painting now calls home. The circle is complete.

Mixed Media on Canvas.

My two fingers are raised to codex and all their mystery, so I have decided to experiment with stop motion.

Here is a still from the work in progress, I will post the results soon.

Tom x X x