Brad Dwyer

A lot of the time, I open Record Heat with some flimsy parallel between the world of comics and music -- worlds that have been well connected forever, from Crumb's brilliantly scuzzy album covers to Adrian Tomine's classic Weezer poster to Jim Mahfood's hip-hop-inspired creations.

Today, I don't have to struggle to come up with much. The connection is quite literal as Phoenix Comicon comes to the Valley this weekend. Underground comic artists Brad Dwyer, Jeff Owens (see his collaboration with Dwyer), and Dave Dell'oso will be at table #337 this weekend, as Phoenix embraces its nerdiest impulses.

In other words, see you guys there.

Brad Dwyer

In an election year, it's normal for the national conversation to get heated. "War on Women," "War on Marriage," "War on Healthcare" -- you get the idea.

Last week, Tom Gabel of Against Me! announced plans to begin living as a woman. Fans dug into his lyrics looking for clues, and comment sections on sites like Punknews.org became a fevered ground for back-and-forth dialogue, with some decrying his decision and even more vocalizing their support.

The move -- coupled with President Obama's historic and controversial endorsement of gay marriage -- sparked a whole bunch of conversations.

Brad Dwyer

If you've ever purchased a vinyl record in Arizona, you've got at least one sob story about leaving a record in your car and having the brutal, unrelenting sun turning the thing into black vinyl bowl.

The thing is, Arizona is tough for any physical medium to last very long in a car. I've left CDs on the seat and come back to my car to find a warped, wavy case and a misshaped disc. It's been awhile since I've traveled with cassettes, but those things are beyond sensitive.

So what am I getting at? It's hot, and it's only getting hotter.

Brad Dwyer

There's not room for the kind of exposition or development found in full-size comics or graphic novels. It's direct and to the point, a quick shot at a joke or a feeling. Like Mark Sandman's rickety two-string bass, the first Ramones LP, or Hasil Adkins' hastily cobbled-together rockabilly, its limitations are its strength. You don't get a second take with a comic strip. You don't get more than a few frames to create your characters, make someone notice, and tell your story.

Sorry for getting lost up my own ass. I've been reading selected poems by Kerouac (one of the American poets who reshaped the traditional haiku in his own jazzbo image) and traipsing around old Route 66. I'm back in the concrete box now -- and with another installment of Brad Dwyer's Record Heat posted to the blog, I'm finally ready to start the week for real.

Enjoy.

Brad Dwyer

I look forward to adding my little commentary to Brad Dwyer's strip each week.

It gives me a chance to stretch out, touch on strange topics, or share some goofy insight I think I have about something. Not saying it always works, but I really hope it does.

But this week, I've got nothing to add. Not because I don't have a fondness for "meta-comedy." I love it, but this one is just so perfectly "Dwyer." It's every thing I love about his Epic Tales of the Mundane series, and it's everything I love about Record Heat.

Enjoy.

Brad Dwyer

Collecting comics is a lot like collecting records, only they are a little less strenuous to move (just a little).

They take up a lot of space, a lot of folks wonder what the hell you're doing with them, and they inspire intense, all-encompassing nerd talk. Debating early Stax and Motown is like Marvel vs DC, saying you only read autobiographical indie "comix" is like saying you're only into crust punk 7" records, and worshiping at the altar of Grant Morrison is kinda like picking up everything Kurt Ballou produces.

See you at the Avengers premiere. I'll be the dude in the Hold Steady shirt.

Brad Dwyer

Last night's episode was probably the closest the show has come to acting like a horror flick, with all the blurry, murderous details, and the blood splattered headlines (of course there was that moment with the John Deere tractor in season 3).

What does this have to do with Brad Dwyer's excellent strip this week? Well, nothing. But it's a good show, and the one-two punch of Eastbound and Down and Mad Men makes for one of the most satisfying nights on the tube (giving NBC's Thursday night a run for its money).

Watched Game of Thrones for the first time, too -- but I didn't get it. Is it like Lord of the Rings with boobs? The Sopranos with dragons?

Anyway -- on to Brad's strip. Ignore my rambling.

Brad Dwyer

The outdoor stage, which hosted touring acts like the aforementioned bands and The Growlers and The Goat, was a party, but the bands that performed inside, Avon Ladies and Earthmen and Strangers in particular, were deafeningly loud and as exciting as anything happening in the parking lot.

This week our intrepid cartoonist Brad Dwyer looks back on Saturday night.

Brad Dwyer

I was out of town, but I'm willing to bet that Fox Vag Fest III, the three-day, two-venue dominating festival of female-fronted punk, rock, and indie acts was pretty crazy.

In his feature about the festival, Serene Dominic jokingly compared and contrasted it to the Lilith Fair, but sets by bands like "The Lunadicks" would have had Sarah McLachlan running away (presumably to make you feel guilty for not adopting more dogs from the Humane Society).

Brad Dwyer, our roving cartoonist corespondent, wasn't too worried about the scene being mellow when he headed out to the Yucca Tap Room this weekend, but he was worried that he might be in for something weird...

Brad Dwyer

We've had some pretty deplorable stuff in our Clubhouse comments -- stuff that makes you sort of shake your head and wonder if all that crap people say about Arizona being a racist wastehole is true. But luckily, the discussion isn't always so damning.

A couple weeks ago our own Lenni Rosenblum wrote a little op-ed about how she didn't "get" Radiohead, and then she reviewed their sold-out show. The resulting comments have been some of my favorite here at UOTS -- sure, some where simply "Yur dumb LOL," but plenty were honest, thought-provoking statements that I think contributed to the discussion about why you "have" to like any band or musician, the nature of "sacred cow" bands, and why Radiohead rules (or doesn't).

That said, Brad Dwyer wants in on the action -- so he's gonna trash talk your favorite band in this week's Record Heat.