Every once and awhile (thankfully it seems with greater frequency) you run across an eclectic book that appeals to all sorts of tastes and backgrounds. Such is the case with Joel Orff’s Strum and Drang: Great Moments in Rock 'n' Roll (All Ages, 72 pages, $6.95; ISBN: 1-891867-27-X; Diamond Code: STAR 18518 May 2003). This assortment of strips, published by Alternative Comics and drawn by Orff, who (according to copy provided by Alternative) “has been collecting people's stories, illustrating them, and posting them on his web site. Though several of these comics feature well-known musicians, they aren't necessarily about music. They may be life-defining experiences, or they may be small and sublime occurrences that the narrator has never forgotten, or moments that they would have liked to have forgotten, but couldn't, because they made too good of a story.”
SBC recently gained access to a copy of this new collection, and was able to briefly discuss the work with Orff.
Tim O’Shea: Who is Maaac and how did he inspire the whole thing? Secondly, how did this book come together?
Joel Orff: Maaac (that's how we pronounce his nick-name when we see him) is an old friend of mine. There are several stories about him in the book. He's an amazing guy, one of those people who come along and change your life. He was the leader of my first band, Angry Lunch, which was actually kind of a non-band. We never played the same song twice, and there wasn't a set line-up of players, just whoever showed up that day. Mac kind of brought everyone up to his level, energywise, and he validated this love I already had for a spontaneous, half-finished kind of feel in art. Years later, when I started reading about bands in zines, and hearing stories about people creating their own lo-fi original music, I'd be thinking, "That's exactly what Mac and I were trying to do!" So, he's been a continuing inspiration.
The book came about in part because of another friend of mine, Tony Beyer. A few years ago he came up with the idea of starting a web site for my comics, and put in hours of work creating this very detailed site. Jeff Mason of Alternative Comics was familiar with my comics, and when he came across the web site he contacted me about publishing a book. Great Moments in Rock 'n' Roll had been appearing weekly at the site, and I decided to have my first book be a collection of those comics. Tony's wife Andrea did the proofreading of the comics for me. It was a real team effort!
TO: How did you go about selecting which stories to run in the book?
JO: I looked at it kind of like making a mix tape or sequencing an album. I made copies of all of the comics on the web site and taped them up to the walls of my apartment; then I'd move them around so that I could see which stories seemed to fit together. In the end I selected the stories that reflected my own point of view, basically...stories that tried to capture something about why people make music, what they enjoy about it, how it's a part of everyone's life. I wanted a loose, positive mood to the book, so that dictated my choices as well.
TO: Over the course of the strip's history, how many stories were told to you by others versus how many were your own experience?
JO: In the beginning most of the comics were about my own experiences; stories that I'd collected over the years as I'd played in various bands. The strip was first published in a free newspaper in Minneapolis, and that's where I started asking people to send in their own stories. A majority of the stories are written by me, even if they're not about me. I'm usually recalling things that have happened to my friends, or stories they've told me.
TO: Who's the most "popular/successful" (a subjective choice of words, I know) musician/group to appear in your strip?
JO: It is kind of subjective. The band with the highest profile in the book would probably be U2, but the Metallica comic gets far and away the most hits on the web site.
TO: Do you still know the woman on page 27 (a strip that describes a chance meeting of two strangers)? Who is she?
JO: That's Linda. She's a successful musician living in New York City now, and I haven't seen her in years. I hear that every guy she meets still falls in love with her, and I'm not surprised. She's a fantastic person.
TO: Who is Delaine Derry Green (page 66)?
JO: Delaine is a wonderful cartoonist who does a zine called My Small Diary and edits an anthology of small press cartoonists called Not My Small Diary. (Check out her web site) She drew this rock 'n' roll comic for another zine called White Buffalo Gazette and dedicated it to me. That really picked me up on a rough day when I saw it. I wanted it in the book because it was great, and because it fit in with the idea of a collection of shared stories.
TO: What are your current favorite musicians?
JO: I listen to everything. One of my favorite new discoveries is a band called The Kingsbury Manx. I saw The Silos live for the first time recently, and I enjoyed them a lot. There are so many great ones. I love The Shaggs, Low, Jimi Hendrix, Guided by Voices, Joni Mitchell and any band featuring Keith Patterson.
TO: I have two questions about the following blurb in praise of the collection: “‘Like Lynda Barry with Ernie Pook's Comeek, Joel Orff's Great Moments in Rock 'n' Roll strike at the heart of some deep emotional truths about adolescent longing and the power of dreams in Nowheresville, U.S.A. Orff understands that rock (like cartooning?) is no mere "hobby", but a way of life. And like an unforgettable melancholy pop tune or a timeless, enervating rocker--think Brian Wilson's God Only Knows; think Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit--he taps into a soulfulness that is all too rare today in any medium.’ —Jim DeRogatis, pop music critic, —Chicago Sun-Times, and author of Let It Blurt: The Life and Times of Lester Bangs, America's Greatest Rock Critic Do you appreciate the comparison to Barry?
JO: Oh yes, I appreciate the whole thing! Jim said some very nice things there, it's amazing. I love Lynda Barry's comics, and she's had a big influence on so many people that are working today. One of the things that our comics have in common is our interest in people's attempts at defining themselves and finding their place in the world. We both focus on these little moments that pass by and seem to be ignored by most people, but can actually have big impacts on their lives. Also, like her, a lot of my stories are about young people at turning points in their life. A friend of mine told me after reading the book that I could have titled it: 'growing up with rock 'n' roll', since there are so many stories about kids experiencing things for the first time.
TO: Given that DeRogatis describes rock as "no mere ‘hobby’, but a way of life", I was wondering how you would describe the rock and roll way of life?
JO: For the purposes of my book, the term 'rock 'n' roll' has become very broad. It could mean anyone who lives somewhat spontaneously, who is still open to new things, and experimenting. This could mean experimentation through music or art, or through anything that's important to you, like trying new kinds of food or traveling. Looking for these intensely real, breakthrough moments. The best rock 'n' roll to me has always been the kind without a lot of extras, just a pure simple sound that can't be faked. You have to feel it to make it. Very few musicians make a living through music, they do it because they love it.
I tried to explain it in this little introduction I came up with for a documentary about my first band: "For every band that makes it on the charts there are thousands more that never get beyond the grind of playing in small clubs and bars....and for every band that never gets beyond the grind of playing in small clubs and bars there are thousands more who will only play for the occasional party or wedding...and for every band that only plays for the occasional party or wedding there are hundreds more who will never go beyond practicing in the garage...and for every band that never goes beyond practicing in the garage, there are a handful who lack the discipline to even get that far...(such a band was Angry Lunch)". The point is that all of these people are enjoying themselves on a similar level, no matter how far they get. I think that's kind of a definition of the rock 'n' roll way of life.
