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Rock 'n' roll tales shared in comics collection
BY JIM MARTYKA
Special to the Pioneer Press
Joel Orff has experienced quite a few rock 'n' roll "moments" in his life. Some of the best were when he and fellow budding musicians would play a game called "30 Tunes in 30 Minutes." Everybody would gather around with instruments and just jam. They'd make up songs on the spot and record everything. Most of it was nonsense, but there were always a couple of minutes of something beautiful.
The point was that a group of friends were there, doing what they loved, living for the rock 'n' roll moment.
That spirit is what Orff, a local writer, playwright and artist, has captured in his first book, "Strum and Drang: Great Moments in Rock 'N' Roll." The recent release is a collection of original comics that Orff, 40, has drawn over the past few years.
"Everybody has personal stories that define the rock 'n' roll spirit, and they don't always involve music," Orff said. "The idea is all about living spontaneously, living for the moment, taking chances and finding something meaningful in our experiences. Also, it's about enjoying the experience as much as possible."
In "Strum and Drang," Orff pulls out some of the best stories he's heard or experienced and turns them into comics that are touching, uplifting, embarrassing or just plain hysterical.
There is the story of the teenage girls so excited to see their first Duran Duran concert that when the lights went up, they instantly started crying and screaming. A couple of minutes later, they realized it was just the opening band. There is the story of the pregnant acoustic rocker singing songs to her unborn baby. There is the story of the guy in Vegas who walked out into an empty street only to find himself in the middle of a U2 video.
Orff's book has captured the attention of critics. Jim DeRogatis, renowned pop music writer for the Chicago Sun-Times, said the book strikes "at the heart of some deep emotional truths about adolescent longing and the power of dreams in Nowheresville, U.S.A."
A Minnesota native, Orff's musical influences included his father's barbershop quartet. The Beatles, Velvet Underground and a number of other bands also framed his love for music.
He has been lucky to find himself in the right places to get rock 'n' roll stories, including the Minneapolis College of Art & Design and a number of odd jobs ? delivering pizza, working at Kinko's and a golf course and driving a cab. And of course, he played in a band... sort of.
"I was in a band called Angry Lunch and I played drums because nobody else wanted to," Orff said. "We never really got very far. In fact, we never really got anywhere because we didn't rehearse. That's a moment right there."
Orff did go on to play in Twin Cities bands like The Tremblers and The Thirsty Devils. He also started writing and drawing cartoons, a hobby since childhood.
"It was my way of trying to make sense of things," Orff said. "Comics are basically doodling with a story."
While working his many jobs, Orff kept hearing stories and noticed they had a common theme, a spirituality to them. He decided to make comics out of some for Toast, a former local alternative publication. Eventually, his comics went online. (They're still on his personal Web site, www.jorff.com.)
Once online, Orff gained a cult following of people who submitted ideas. He also caught the eye of some publishers, including Jeff Mason of Alternative Comics in Gainesville, Fla.
"I saw his stuff years ago and loved it so much I knew that I had to publish his book," Mason said. "I've been in the business for 10 years and he is the first person I've hunted down. His comics completely move me and they move anybody with a heart who reads it."
Alternative Comics did an initial run of 3,000 copies priced at about $7 a copy. The book can be found at most major local bookstores.
Orff is thrilled that anybody's interested. He plans to keep writing new comics, along with a number of other creative ventures. An aspiring playwright and screenwriter, Orff had his first play produced in last year's Fringe Festival and recently was a McKnight grant finalist for an original screenplay. He is working on other screenplay ideas, as well as a novel. But he also still has dreams for his comic work.
"I would love for this to get a huge following across the country," he said. "Then I could travel around collecting stories and putting them in books. How rock and roll is that?"
Rock 'n' roll tales shared in comics collection
BY JIM MARTYKA
Special to the Pioneer Press
Joel Orff has experienced quite a few rock 'n' roll "moments" in his life. Some of the best were when he and fellow budding musicians would play a game called "30 Tunes in 30 Minutes." Everybody would gather around with instruments and just jam. They'd make up songs on the spot and record everything. Most of it was nonsense, but there were always a couple of minutes of something beautiful.
The point was that a group of friends were there, doing what they loved, living for the rock 'n' roll moment.
That spirit is what Orff, a local writer, playwright and artist, has captured in his first book, "Strum and Drang: Great Moments in Rock 'N' Roll." The recent release is a collection of original comics that Orff, 40, has drawn over the past few years.
"Everybody has personal stories that define the rock 'n' roll spirit, and they don't always involve music," Orff said. "The idea is all about living spontaneously, living for the moment, taking chances and finding something meaningful in our experiences. Also, it's about enjoying the experience as much as possible."
In "Strum and Drang," Orff pulls out some of the best stories he's heard or experienced and turns them into comics that are touching, uplifting, embarrassing or just plain hysterical.
There is the story of the teenage girls so excited to see their first Duran Duran concert that when the lights went up, they instantly started crying and screaming. A couple of minutes later, they realized it was just the opening band. There is the story of the pregnant acoustic rocker singing songs to her unborn baby. There is the story of the guy in Vegas who walked out into an empty street only to find himself in the middle of a U2 video.
Orff's book has captured the attention of critics. Jim DeRogatis, renowned pop music writer for the Chicago Sun-Times, said the book strikes "at the heart of some deep emotional truths about adolescent longing and the power of dreams in Nowheresville, U.S.A."
A Minnesota native, Orff's musical influences included his father's barbershop quartet. The Beatles, Velvet Underground and a number of other bands also framed his love for music.
He has been lucky to find himself in the right places to get rock 'n' roll stories, including the Minneapolis College of Art & Design and a number of odd jobs ? delivering pizza, working at Kinko's and a golf course and driving a cab. And of course, he played in a band... sort of.
"I was in a band called Angry Lunch and I played drums because nobody else wanted to," Orff said. "We never really got very far. In fact, we never really got anywhere because we didn't rehearse. That's a moment right there."
Orff did go on to play in Twin Cities bands like The Tremblers and The Thirsty Devils. He also started writing and drawing cartoons, a hobby since childhood.
"It was my way of trying to make sense of things," Orff said. "Comics are basically doodling with a story."
While working his many jobs, Orff kept hearing stories and noticed they had a common theme, a spirituality to them. He decided to make comics out of some for Toast, a former local alternative publication. Eventually, his comics went online. (They're still on his personal Web site, www.jorff.com.)
Once online, Orff gained a cult following of people who submitted ideas. He also caught the eye of some publishers, including Jeff Mason of Alternative Comics in Gainesville, Fla.
"I saw his stuff years ago and loved it so much I knew that I had to publish his book," Mason said. "I've been in the business for 10 years and he is the first person I've hunted down. His comics completely move me and they move anybody with a heart who reads it."
Alternative Comics did an initial run of 3,000 copies priced at about $7 a copy. The book can be found at most major local bookstores.
Orff is thrilled that anybody's interested. He plans to keep writing new comics, along with a number of other creative ventures. An aspiring playwright and screenwriter, Orff had his first play produced in last year's Fringe Festival and recently was a McKnight grant finalist for an original screenplay. He is working on other screenplay ideas, as well as a novel. But he also still has dreams for his comic work.
"I would love for this to get a huge following across the country," he said. "Then I could travel around collecting stories and putting them in books. How rock and roll is that?"
