Interview with THUNDERwhip Design Collective
It’s pretty common when running Earz Mag for me to fire off an e-mail deep into the cyber-aether of space and time. Musicians, bloggers, artists- they all get it- a message asking if kindly they’d like to check out my website, or how would you feel about discussing your work for feature on my zine. The answers usually vary from a complete dinghy to a simple “no thank you”. But once in a while when the universe is at one, the stars align and the recipient writes back with the desire to make sh*t happen, and that my friends is when a good interview comes to fruition.
And so I only had to smile knowingly when I got one such reply from US-based design collective THUNDERwhip- a trio of creative geniuses who direct music videos, design websites, illustrate anything & everything, and generally run things like they were la cosa nostra of the art world. At the moment THUNDERwhip consists of the stupidly-fresh illustator, artist and “stuff maker” Emily Glaubinger; artist, designer, and ArtClash co-founder Nick Lally; and blossoming film and video-maker Ted Passon. Between them and their co-conspirators they’ve been responsible for such creative delicacies as the Boingboing hoodie by GAMA-GO, some of the coolest cassette tape packaging ever known, and the new music video for Kimya Dawson.
EARZ: So how did the THUNDERwhip collective get together?
Ted: That’s all Nick and Emily. They’re the real team. I’m the new kid on the block. They were already working together and then one day Nick called me and said “Hey do you wanna make a ton of money?” I was like, “Cool dude let’s bro-down.” And he was all “Sweet!”
Nick: I had been working with Emily on a website for a music festival for over a year before I met her in real life. We worked together really well and her illustrations are amazing (duh!), so I pitched the idea of starting a design collective together and collaborating on more projects. She was all about it, so we spent several months planning our attack. We launched the thing a week ago and the response has been amazing.
I have so many talented friends that struggle to make it as artists. THUNDERwhip is a way to pool our talents and offer high quality design services, while each of us remains independent and in control of our own work. We hope that working collectively can allow us to compete with bigger design firms without selling our souls to the man.
EARZ: Your work range is pretty expansive… illustration, web design, music videos, building booths… who decides what’s gonna happen next?
T: We all just kinda get work on our own and incorporate each other as needed. If I’m doing a job where they need web programming or any kind of design I try to hook-up Nick and Emily and if they do something that needs video they call me.
N: Yeah, we have pretty eclectic skills and experiences. We all come from DIY backgrounds, so if we don’t know how to do something we’ll figure it out. Challenging projects that require me to learn new skills and problem solve are some of my faves.
Emily: The whole process is pretty organic. The three of us are very laid back. When we get an inquiry, since our skills are so diverse, its relatively obvious who the project is intended for (hopefully it requires all of us!), so ill call up nick and be like “yo, nicky - didja see that email? they are asking me to make a drawing, right? and nick we be all “duh, emily - go for it!” and thats that.
EARZ: The short film “Space 1026″ is really good… how did you end of documenting that art community for so long? Did they manage to pay the rent?
T: I’ve been hanging out at Space 1026 since like 2000. I only started really filming there about three or four years ago but about a year into it I found out that some other folks had been filming for unfinished documentary projects years ago and they were nice enough to let me use their footage, and all the rest is just me filming all the time. I became an official member two years ago so I work there now and am there all the time.
What we have on the site is just an excerpt of the rough short version I have finished. I hope to make a full-length documentary out of it sometime soon.
The rent debt is still mostly with us. If anyone wants to help alleviate that they can check out our new store.
E: Jus wanna say I heart that documentary.
EARZ: What role does each person within the Thunderwhip collective? Do all three of you collaborate on the one project?
T: I think Nick and Emily’s work goes more hand-in-hand than mine, but again I’m the new guy so maybe we’ll start collaborating together. So far I just do my own work although Nick and I have collaborated on some web projects in the past and will be collaborating on a web-based video archive system project.
If we were hired to do a package that involved all of us I’m sure there would be a stronger collaboration.
N: We all have unique, non-competing skills (Ted: video, Emily: illustration, me: coding/programming/design) so it’s pretty clear who does what. I’m looking forward to getting collaborative projects that require all of our skills.
E: I think a collaboration between the three of us would be MAGICAL. A sensory explosion!
EARZ: Can you tell me a bit about the Kimya Dawson video you shot (see above)…she is pretty massive right now thanks to the Juno film…
T: I did a short film in 2003 called “Robot Boy” and had met Kimya and Adam Green at some Moldy Peaches shows the year before. I wrote to them and asked to use some of their solo stuff for the film. They agreed and after I finished it and sent it to them and Kimya asked me to make her a music video. Her schedule was so nuts that we had to do it during the down time on one of her Midwest tours. So in between shows we would stop in some town and shoot some stuff. We had eight days to conceive the concept, make the props, and shoot it. We filmed the last shot in the car on the way to the airport. It was nuts but fun.
I’m really happy for the exposure that Kimya’s music is getting these days and for all the new people who get to hear it. I think she’s so amazing and everyone should hear her music. Also seeing how she’s handling herself with such dignity and class throughout all this hype is really inspiring. One small example is that the folks at Warner Brothers wanted her to do a promotional tour for the Juno soundtrack and wanted her to play Virgin Megastores. She agreed to the tour only on the condition that she would only play in independent stores and at each show she makes it a point to tell the crowd how important it is to keep these stores in business. She’s also staying on K-Records despite many offers from the majors.
(P.S. you can buy the DVD along with the film “Robot Boy” and the music video for Kimya from K-Records here.)
N: Ted’s going to blow up in the next couple years. Just watch.
EARZ: The “Finger Bangin’” video for the band Sweetheart is insane… who came up with the whole school-class idea?!
T: That was my idea… When I first said it I thought it was a funny idea but wasn’t sure we should do it but my friend Thom Lessner from Sweatheart loved it and so that was the concept. I got into it pretty fast and it was really fun to make. Andrew Jeffrey Wright turned out to be a really good actor. We actually shot in one of my old classrooms at Temple University. No one ever taught me how to finger bang in class though. I had to learn that on the streets.
E: Again, such a talent!
EARZ: How did you hook up with GAMA GO… do you create the artwork for their clothing, it is all rather amazing.
N: Emily’s going to blow up too. Or maybe she is blowing up as we speak. I mean, look at her stuff!
E: I don’t wanna blow up, Nicky! That sounds painful! I knew I wanted to move to San Francisco so I started looking for jobs on craigslist. When I saw that GAMA-GO was hiring, I was super stoked. I have been a fan of Tim Biskup for a while now, and the thought of working with him made me explode at the seams. I wrote to them saying I would just cry if they didn’t give me a chance. They emailed me back saying they did not want to see me cry, so they would just have to let me work there. I created a ton of the artwork for their lines, did product design and pretty much anything else they asked me to do, like take out the trash, it’s a rather small company. Thanks for the kind words, dood.
EARZ: So…what are you guys working on right now?
T: I’ve got some new music videos coming up. I’ll be doing another video for Plastic Little, one for Tender Forever (on K-Records), and another video for Kimya Dawson. I’m also just about to complete a music video for Clare Rojas’ music project “Peggy Honeywell” which Andrew Jeffrey Wright directed and I produced and edited. I’m also still plugging away on the Space 1026 documentary and another documentary involving the movement to free Mumia Abu-Jamal.
Nick and I will also hopefully be building this web-based digital video archive management system for the Greater Philadelphia Department of Tourism.
I’ll also be in a group photo show that opens on April 4th in Philadelphia and April 5th in Los Angeles and Seoul Korea. Here’s the info on that.
N: I’m working on a bunch of web design/coding/programming projects including a site for a neighborhood activist group in Colorado, the aforementioned video archive site, a new and improved Indymedia site, and a couple artists’ websites. I’m also teaching myself the programming language Processing and making art with it.
E: Let’s see. I’m making some rock band t-shirts, some bike race t-shirts, some other drawings for some other things and working on ideas for a 3 person show with my super talented pals Liz Wing and Damian Weinkrantz. Sadly, times are tough and GAMA-GO had to let me go, so I’m in need of a ton more work if anyone needs any drawings or even if you want me to clean your house!
EARZ: What advice would you give to someone looking to jump-start their own career in the creative world?
T: Do what you love to do on the scale that you can afford to do it and don’t look back. It will be real hard financially for a while but eventually you get known as the person who does what you do and people will come knocking. If you can get to the point where you’re breaking even you’re doing amazing! The love and freedom comes first and the money comes later (I’m guessing).
N: It’ll be really hard at first, but keep with it. Work on the kind of projects that you’d like to get paid for someday. Always keep learning. Ask a lot of questions. Be confident in your abilities and talk yourself up to potential clients. The work will come, you’ll make mistakes and learn from then and eventually everything will get easier and you’ll be doing what you love to do.
E: Its always a learning process. If you have a passion and a drive and most importantly a willingness to sacrifice luxury for integrity, then pursuing your own career in the arts is for you! I’m still learning everyday how to adjust and get out there. It’s a different world when you have to think about the business side of things, and coming from a DIY background, I was not prepared for that. Research, ask questions and hire an accountant! Who wants to give me some advice?
EARZ: Is there anything else you’d like to add…
E: Thanks so much for the opportunity to answer your questions! It was a real treat.
Links to THUNDERwhip sites & friends!:
Emily Glaubinger’s stuff:
Drawing is Awesome blog
Fabric Horse
The Team Colours Collective
Nick Lally’s stuff:
Ted Passon’s stuff:
Posted in Art
Tags: Graphic Art, illustration, Interviews, THUNDERwhip
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I havent had the pleasure of meeting Nick yet, but Emily and Ted are two of my favorite people. They are amazing and everyone should be proud to work with them!
I’ll second that- the guys were super-nice to interview!