April 1st, 2011

In My Ears

by Jerry Scott & Jim Borgman

I’m just finishing three days of intense drawing during which I did four Sunday strips and a week of dailies. If I’m brainstorming for ideas or writing I need either quiet or the white noise of background conversation in a coffeeshop. But when I’m penciling or inking Zits it helps to have some music or podcasts as company.

Lately I’ve been listening to a bunch of stuff my brother Tom recommended. Tom’s about the coolest guy I know and, unlike me, whose musical tastes calcified in the sixties and seventies, he’s continued to roam over the vast landscape of music. He’s got me listening to the Old 97’s, Robert Earl Keen, Steve Earle and Leftover Salmon. I’m also listening to a lot of Chris Smither and am on a Janis Joplin jag. My son gave me a Black Keys CD for Christmas which has worked its way into my head. And my daughter is a huge Stuff You Should Know podcast fan, as I now am.

The coolest guy I never met is Bill Keaggy. Bill is a collector of cool stuff, kind of a hip hoarder. He just posted about what he listens to when he’s in his designing zone.

What do you listen to when you’re in your zone?