MILWAUKEE FAN-BELT ARTICLE • SUMMER 2007

I recently stumbled upon my old photobucket account and found a treasure of old photos that I nearly forgot about. In keeping up with my own personal archive series, I've decided to create a blog entry concerning the article that my good friend Brian wrote about my art show some years back. He used to write for a plethora of publications and media outlets. This particular one was for Fan-Belt MIlwaukee. Enjoy!… or don't. …or whatever.

The Future is Here, And It's Ugh.

(Or, Why You Should Care About Adam Weird As Much As He Cares About You.)
Words by Brian Whitney
 

Why? Because he's the type of person who can self-apply the surname "Weird" and have a band that consists of himself and two mannequins whom he insists on personifying, yet isn't above drinking from a communal Steel Reserve silo at two in the morning while some drunk guy sticks a mini tape recorder in his face and asks him a bunch of stock questions.

Adam's band goes by the name The Mechanics of Romance, and it features him on guitar and vocals, Stacy Strange ..boards and bass and Debbie Steady on drums. No, neither Stacy nor Debbie are living people, but that doesn't keep them from being a more lively rhythm section than most current Milwaukee bands. Though to be fair, pretty much anyone would be energized by Adam's efforts. He's the only person I know willing to set up a full band's worth of equipment by himself for the sole purpose of maintaining the Mechanics' visual aesthetic. Anybody willing to do that much work and make it look easy gets my vote.



Adam and the Mechanics (living or not, I consider them a three person band) demonstrate an attitude that doesn't usually lead to widespread success but does lead to respect from others in the artistic community. They make the type of music that you'll have a strong opinion about pretty much immediately, and both the musical and visual ideas that the Mechanics present will either be loved or hated with little room in between, which is the way Adam likes it. Personally, I can't understand how anyone who's witnessed one of their frenetically energetic live shows wouldn't enjoy themselves. With the right crowd at the right venue, a Mechanics show can be a life affirming experience.



Much like his approach to music, Adam's approach to the staid, traditional art gallery show is equally impressive and refreshing. Instead of a snooty wine-and-hoeurs-d'oeuvres filled affair where the goal is to sell art at jaw dropping prices, Adam is bringing his pieces (and a keg) to the Borg Ward this Friday, May 23rd. While his goal isn't to sell but rather exhibit his work, pieces will be for sale and at prices that Adam promises to be affordable for anyone.



 
There are many admirable qualities about Adam that others in the artistic community could take note of. He's not above making bold statements (such as his declaration that Milwaukee's music scene is better than that of Chicago) and backs up his opinions by enthusiastically putting in the effort. Both his music and art share similar influences (Weird cites both Devo and the Fluxus movement as inspiration) that were interested in doing something different that could be enjoyed by anyone. I see no reason why anyone wouldn't enjoy what Adam does on some level, but embraced or not, Adam's going to keep working and the present and future of Milwaukee art and art in general depend on people like him.

FUZZNUTT FANZINE • PUBLISHED IN THE PAST

One of the earliest pieces of design that I can remember getting involved with was the Fuzznutt Fanzine. There may have been a few posters or flyers sprinkled in before then, but this by far one of the most involved projects that my 16 year old hands got a hold of. My teenage years were spent playing in a variety of garage and punk bands so there were plenty of opportunities to design and craft print collateral pieces. Building out and xeroxing flyers were one the facets of playing in bands that I always liked the best.

So in the Spring of 1998, my friend Marc and I got together and started up a two piece rock n' roll noise machine called Fuzznutt. It was kind of garage-y sounding because at the time I was really getting into bands like Flat Duo Jets and Bantam Rooster. We drew a lot of elements from that style but threw in our own brand of immature teenage humor. The only shows we played were in garages after school for our friends. Most of the time we'd play our respective guitar and drum instruments, but sometimes we'd karaoke the whole thing in front of a boom box hooked up to a PA system. There were some really silly retarded moments. But hey, we didn't know any better. Besides, it kept us on the streets and out of regulated school activities. 

 Often times, our practices would dissolve into a cut and paste session where we'd create our own newsletter-type zine. It was primarily used as a tool to amuse our friends. The Fuzznutt Fanzine debuted at the Illinois Valley Central High School in the Fall of '98 and lasted well into the following spring semester. Below is the master layout for issue number two. As you can clearly see, there isn't a speck of intelligence that went into this. Anything that had any rational mechanism for thought was way too much for our feeble minds to grasp. This, I felt, was the definition of what it means to come of age in late 90's middle America while our futures were shrouded in uncertainty. Our haunting grounds were deserted parking lots and basements.

I look back at this and try to make sense of how I got from there to here. First off, art and design was never in the cards as a career option. Growing up in a highly industrialized area, one usually succumbs to working the assembly lines instead of pursuing anything artistic or creative. I spent quite a few years after high school on these lines. It really wasn't until I moved up north did I find that these opportunities were made more readily available. My parents were never really the kind of people that pushed me into one direction or the other either. It was like, "Whatever you decide to do is cool with us. Just don't wind up dead or in jail." I guess in that regard, I fulfilled my end of the bargain. High school wasn't that much help either. And honestly, even if they did try to shed some light onto me, I probably would've just thrown it back in their face. I was a pretty obnoxious little brat. 

 
But I can definitely see the seeds being planted. Especially in this zine. Even though I never really saw art and design as a facet of contemporary culture, I was always getting involved with it in one way or another. And I like idea of creating for the sake of creating and not really making any sense or having a concrete goal. Just blindly exploring it's inner workings and discovering something magical. I still sort of hold these truths near and dear. Sometimes, the greatest answers are stumbled upon rather than sought after.