Going Up

Clink, Clink. So begins today’s epidode of “A Day in the Musical Life of T. Scot Halpin.” This is a very, very early recording of “Carlyn Lindsey & Snake Doctor” at the Encore Café. In today’s track, Carlyn starts talkin’ ‘bout that sweet, boogie—woogie. Elevator Boogie Blues was written by Arnie Street, and was a favorite of both mine and Scot’s. As we’ve heard from some recent tracks, toward the end of his life, Scot really enjoyed the kind of music where people sing along when they feel like it, or shout something in from time to time. It makes it kind of like church, or the pub.

Today’s artwork takes off from the magic elevator at Willie Wonka’s chocolate factory. This is a piece with many incarnations behind it. It started out as a dry-point engraving. The major elements of the piece were hand colored with transparent acrylic washes, including a little airbrush work on the world. The background is a slightly cheesy, but very dramatic digital filter Scot was amazed by; much in the same way Vermier might have been with the pinhole camera. “Humm…I can use this.”