System of a Lego by We Suck Productions is pretty funny.  This guy Jake makes stop animation videos of System of a Down songs using Lego characters.

A few years ago, I purchased a piece by Joe Vaux called Egg Layer, and it's really become one of my prized possessions.  As the economy implodes, and my collection dwindles down to the bare necessities, Egg Layer survives each sell-off.  I have a five year old son who is an artist, and is really inquisitive and loves staring at the piece.  Niki usually closes the door to my office so he doesn't happen upon it.  Or if she does find him staring at it, she diverts his attention elsewhere.  And yet, if I'm lucky I'll never have to sell it.

Glubdub:
I love Egglayer, it's somewhat terrifying and playful at the same time.  What brings that interesting combination of feelings out in your work?

Joe Vaux:
I forgot you bought Egglayer, I love that one.  Hearing about your son makes me laugh.  I have a 4 year old guy, and I usually show him my finished work to get his approval.  My wife usually rolls her eyes. Luckily he doesn't dwell on the work too long and just gives me a quick "good".  I would say that the comment I get the most about my work once a viewer meets me is: "This painting is so dark and strange, and you seem so upbeat and happy.  What's going on inside?"  Well the answer is: a lot of inner turmoil.  Fear of failure, depression about the world, rebellion against my youth mixed with a deep love for my inner child.  Then add a pinch Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Sleeping Beauty, Looney Toons and Flash Gordon. You take all this and mix until a Joe Vaux appears.  My personnal demons are exercised within my paintings. Exercised until they have sweet abs. 

GD:
What is it about your youth that you're rebelling against, and in what specific ways does that come across in your work?  Are there characters that you paint that represent family, friends and strangers from when you were a kid?

JV:
I have always been stubborn and strong willed.  As a kid there were two things that really ate away at me.  Things that were not optional parts of my life.  They were playing the violin and going to church.  Neither seems too awful and they really weren't.  I just never had a choice in the matter, that was the most frustrating thing.  In the 3rd grade I had to choose an instrument to play at school and from the limited options I chose Violin.  From that point on it became important for my college resume that I stick with my practicing. We're talking music summer camps, private lessons, practicing everyday, competions.  Hell, it all sucked except for some of the friends I made. 

When I got to college I dumped the violin never to pick it up again.  This saddens me a bit since I really love music and wish I played guitar or keyboards.  The time and energy to learn something new will have to wait for retirement.  Going to church was a whole other beast.  My mother is Russian Orthodox and the church is a very important part of her life.  We went to a beautiful little church in Long Island every Sunday.  I learned at an early age that only extreme illness would keep us home.  I would be pulled away from sleepovers before any friends would wake, miss animated shows that I loved like Thundar the Barbarian and Macross, and basically miss all of Sunday morning. 

I found about the Lanes while living in Point Pleasant Beach, after moving from Asbury when Happy was born.  Point Pleasant Beach is exactly how it sounds.  It’s a beach town that gives off that southern Cal feel in the summertime.  We’re 7 small shore towns away from Asbury, and the Tri City News filters just south enough for me to get my hands and eyes on.  The Tri City has covered a lot of what’s cool between Red Bank, Long Branch and Asbury Park.  Towns that were once dead, and that were brought back to life but a thriving arts community. A lot of artists, musicians, filmmakers and writers traveled far and wide, to make this small part of the world home.  The Tri City News has covered most of it, and Jason Thomson has been the driving force in making sure the underground culture scene doesn’t slip between the cracks without anyone noticing.  Jason, is a web designer by trade, and was working for a plumbing supply company, when he scored the Tri City News gig.  Since that time, Jason has logged a ton of hours detailing an arts scene that rivals any other.



GlubDub:
How has the Asbury Arts Scene changed since you started covering it?

Jason Thomson:
I would say the arts scene in Asbury is always changing for better and for
worse. I think more and more creative minded people are moving into the city
and that will continue to fuel the arts scene. The only thing that concerns
me is that rents are still too high which prevents a lot of smaller creative
businesses, especially businesses that complement the arts, from opening.
Hopefully with the real estate market being where it's at, landlords will be
forced to lower their rents. And as is usually the case with any city
undergoing a major redevelopment, you always run the risk of destroying the
character of a place which was the reason artists and the like were
attracted to come here in the first place. I see more and more buildings
getting torn down or polished up. And a lot of the venues for gorilla
artists are gone or pretty close to being gone. But overall Asbury has the
best music and arts scene on the local level and hopefully that will
continue.



GD:
How much of that do you think is because of your pieces in the TCN?

JT:
We've been the biggest promoter of Asbury since day one when no one was
here. I think the triCityNews has done its part to attract liked minded
creative types to the city and to highlight a lot of these people through
our editorial. I know I was turned onto Asbury when I first picked up the
paper back in '99. I started coming here regularly and really fell in love
with Asbury. And I've heard that same story from a lot of people over the
years. In terms of the local media, I think we are the most unique and we
give the biggest voice for the local art scene not just in Asbury but
throughout the area. What most people don't realize is how hard it is to put
out a 50 to 60 page paper every single week. Coming up with creative content
can be a drain. Especially over a nine year period. But getting back to your
question, I like to think the paper is always playing a vital role in
supporting the local art scene and helping to grow it. Personally, I would
love to see the paper be more arts focused but in order to be sustainable
and financially viable we need to appeal to a wide audience in order to
survive. And I think we do a good job of giving the readers a little
something for everyone.

GD:
Can you tell me some of the bigger events you've covered and maybe some of the more memorable ones?

JT:
The Warped Tour,Skate & Surf Fest, The Great Bamboozle (all now gone from Asbury), TheSchool of Rock fest and the Wave Gathering both last year are probably the biggest events I've covered. In terms of the most memorable? That’s a tough one. I'm not really sure about that. But I can tell you the most memorable story I ever did, in fact it was the first one I ever did back in January, 2003. I wrote about this artist from Brooklyn, Matt Vescovo. He has a style he calls Instructoart which is really hilarious. Just to give you an example, one of his pieces is called Black & Curly and it gives step by step instructions on how to wash pubes off your soap. Check it out at www.instructoart.com . But ever since that story ran this guy's art has been on magazine covers, in art books and on TV commercials. For me it was cool to be the first person to give Matt press and to see him take off from there (not because of me I gotta admit). I'll never forget one day I was at the bookstore and I picked up a copy of an art magazine I read called Res, and there was Instructoart on the cover. That was pretty amazing for me.

GD:
What’s your background in the Arts world (art, music, film, words)?

JT:
I pretty much listen to everything when it comes to music. I'm inspired by everything from jazz, rock, reggae (not the cheesy kind), garage, some old school country, traditional Indian. I like all kinds of stuff, really.

On the film side, any kind of foreign or independent films and documentaries, I'm in to. Some more memorable films I’ve seen recently: Nicotina which is like a Mexican Pulp Fiction, The Science of Sleep, Turtles can Fly is a great movie about Iraqi orphans before the war started, Water, 2 Days in Paris with Adam Goldberg is one of the best movies I’ve seen lately. Life Stinks, a Mel Brooks film, is another movie I absolutely love.
 
Art wise, I love graffiti, any kind of street art, lowbrow, etc. Really I just like whatever grabs my attention which probably sounds a little stupid, but it’s true. One artist I've been into lately is Gajin Fujita out of LA. I just really dig how he combines his paintings of traditional japanese art with graffiti.

For more information about Jason Thomson visit him at www.jasonthomson.com

To learn more about The Tri City News check out their website www.trinews.com