Hello from Montreal!

Oy vey, so much to update! We had four straight days of shows and running around trying to get things done and TCB so this is the first day off we’ve had thus far where we actually don’t have to do… anything! MK got insanely sick while we were in Boston and had to go home, which was a major bummer but we are plowing on, as we must. I am extremely thankful that Sally is on this tour with us, otherwise we would have been screwed in a major way. She has really been helping out with a lot of stuff, even before MK fell ill, and now she’s helping to pick up the slack even moreso, which is great and amazing seeing as she’s technically not being paid (she doesn’t have to pay for gas though, which is pretty much like being paid).

Yesterday was the longest drive yet I think. We had to haul ass from Boston to Montreal to get to the show at 7:30 and even hauling as much ass as we could we still just barely got to the store on time for the show. Everything generally went extremely well, no major problems, except I suddenly and without warning forgot ALL the words to “A Little Respect,” which is the only song I sing by myself. The thing is, sometimes when I get nervous, my brain acts like a wild animal who is being threatened and just shits all over the place. My brain empties itself out completely, and that’s what happened. I was really, really embarrassed but I think I was the only one who really noticed or cared. We sang “Best Ever Death Metal Band” instead, which we hadn’t done in a long time but amazingly we both remembered all the words and chords to somehow. And yet I get stumped on “A Little Respect,” which I had not only been listening to and practicing for about a month, but I had specifically promised someone I’d play in Montreal. And failed. I still feel really bad about it, but to put that in context I still feel guilty about things I said and did years ago. I still feel guilty about things I did when I was five! That doesn’t make ME feel any better though…

After the show, we hauled our stuff back to Gabby’s friend Erica’s house and then headed out for some drinking and dancing fun, which I think all of us agreed was sorely needed after four straight days of running around to shows, me trying to wrangle the delivery of the Freewheel book back home while traveling (a whole story unto itself… all you need to know is it placed an extremely heavy load of stress on my head, and in the words of our Northampton hosts Shannon and Jim, it was “a fucking goat circus.”), and figuring out how to deal with MK’s swiftly worsening illness while simultaneously trying to avoid getting sick ourselves without being jerks to her (which… might have been impossible. Another thing I feel really bad about. Sorry MK…)

The thing about Montreal which is extremely rad is that no one appears to give a shit about anything you do. We smelled pot smoke at least 3 times while walking to the bar and Erica’s boyfriend (Matt I think?) tipped us off on “transit beers,” which we drank while walking from bar to bar. When we went into the first bar, he hid the remaining beers in an alley and they were… still there when we got out! Drinking beers in public without fear of police intervention is something I have never in my life experienced, and it was fucking magical. Unfortunately it was also deathly cold so it was a little difficult to hold on to an ice cold beer but we managed.

Sally decided to go back to the house after the first bar and re-joined us later when we arrived at a more hopping location, after she had tried and failed to get on the Metro. I’m kind of glad she didn’t catch the train because it was way more fun having her there. They were playing so much good music in the second bar and I knew she would want to dance, so I was psyched to have her show up and then we all danced the night away till the bar closed. It was awesome and, like I said, sorely needed. I’m hoping we get to go dancing again tonight because it was SO MUCH FUN!

Also, Canadian beer is great! We keep drinking it, and it’s fucking delightful. I think today we are going to eat poutine, which I am assured can be made in such a way that I can eat it. Apparently there is some place that has 24 varieties, at least one of which is vegan so I’m hoping I can eat that one without getting sick.

I love hearing people speak French. I took French for five years in junior high and high school but my understanding of it is severely limited to reading and maybe speaking a little, but I can’t understand other people when they speak French to me, so I haven’t tried to use it yet. Though actually I kind of hope I get to. I was tempted to when we were getting tickets for the Metro last night, but I was too terrified that the guy at the counter would ask me a followup question so I didn’t do it.

Anyway, my only point is that hearing other people speak French around me is wonderful, even if I can’t understand it.

We have the entire day today to do whatever we want, but it’s really cold and I think we are all exhausted so everyone’s still asleep right now. I’ll probably go back to bed myself after I finish writing this. I figured I would take this rare opportunity to update everyone on the tour, since right now it’s totally quiet and peaceful and no one’s talking to me.

Our last date is coming up on Monday in Rochester but it’s at a school and I’m pretty sure only for students (it’s a presentation in an actual comics class) but maybe if you’re in the area you can sneak in!

spread the word about the Punchbuggy Tour!

Here is our official tour poster for this second leg of the Punchbuggy Tour. Once again, drawn by Gabby. Note the blank space for filling-in of whatever info you care to add if you are promoting for a particular area.

Get a high-res version for print here.

More photos from White River Junction, VT!

MK just posted more photos from our stop at the Center for Cartoon Studies on her Flickr page.

Robyn got us a bag of hippie potions for our oft-abused immune systems! I mentioned during my part of our visiting artist lecture that when you are on tour you have to be super careful to not get sick and you should take zinc, vitamin C, or whatever else floats your boat. Robyn showed up to our reading the next day with this great bag of potions including a tin of stress-relief pastilles, which spawned our new favorite phrase, “stress pastilles.” Seriously, say it out loud a few times. It’s fun to say!

Some graffiti outside of Shyrl’s, our favorite breakfast spot across the river in New Hampshire.

A note left by housekeeping on MK’s bed. It reads “Couldn’t make this bed due to bag being on it. Not allowed to take them off. -HK”

Photos from the White River Junction, VT event!

Our hero Robyn Chapman has posted multiple photos from our reading/musical performance at the Center for Cartoon Studies on their Flickr account. Check it out here!

Gabby and I performing a song. Note his homemade PVC kazoo and holder. You can see my kazoo taped to my ukulele.

MK and I signing books and drinking cider. This was just before Mr. Wingnut arrived on the scene.

See the rest of the photos here.

Punchbuggy Vermont: a rip-roaring success!

So today we had our penultimate performance/reading thing at the Center for Cartoon Studies up here in gorgeous, scenic White River Junction, VT and it went great! We’ve been trying some new stuff with the music, and decided today we’d try playing a song at the beginning and end of the show, plus a song in between each of our readings. It went really well and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves!

We got a lot of compliments on the way we organized the show, with the songs going throughout the performance instead of tacked on at the beginning or end like we used to do it. People also seemed to get a kick out of trying to decipher what the songs we were playing were, like the tension before we’d play a song, and the laughter and release you’d feel once everyone realized we were playing “Boys Don’t Cry” or “Girl U Want” on ukuleles with kazoo. I was surprised to find a lot of people weren’t familiar with “A Little Respect,” which is my favorite Erasure song that I grew up listening to on the radio.

After the performance, MK and I decided to sit over by our books in case someone decided to buy something, and as I was signing a book to my apparent new interest-doppelganger Betsey (we share several common and unusual interests, namely hapkido, which you never hear anybody talk about) a guy came up and asked me if I was “supposed to be famous or something.” I kind of brushed it off (that’s a little obnoxious don’t you think?) by answering his question with a question, “I don’t know, am I?” and we all kind of turned it into some kind of existentialist joke as Betsey explained that I had written/drawn the books, so I was signing them, if that’s what he meant by that question.

Then he asked me if my comics were like “that lesbian hot head militant comic” to which I laughed and said “uh… no, not at all” going on to explain that My Brain Hurts is more of a teen drama with characters who happen to be gay but it’s more about the drama than the gayness. This is when things got weird, he said… and I quote…

“Did you know the whole gay thing is a commie plot to undermine and corrupt our youth, right?” and before I could laugh in his face (I seriously thought he was kidding because… who SAYS that?) the superhero of comics, Robyn Chapman, swooped in and asked him politely to leave because he was being inappropriate. Thank goodness for her, because it would’ve taken me ten to fifteen more minutes to realize the guy was serious. As soon as he continued talking to her, it became abundantly clear that he was just some drunk wingnut off the street who wandered in, and after a few tense minutes, Robyn and Betsey both got the guy out of the building, him yammering on about his “right to free speech” the whole time and how “as a gay man” he was offended by being asked to leave. Or something.

I doubt this guy was actually gay in any way, shape or form, but rather that he was saying that the way people say “but I have a black friend” to justify racism. He was just a drunk wingnut. I felt bad for Robyn, as she was visibly shaken dealing with this guy, but she did the right thing and once I realized he was legit crazy, I was very thankful she picked up on his craziness immediately and got him out before anything else happened.

Which brings me back to the last few days we’ve spent here in Vermont. Robyn really helped us out a lot to organize all these events and hook us up with hotel rooms and took us out to dinner and really just made our time here great. So we thank you, Robyn, again for all your hard work and dedication. We had an amazing time!

On our last night here in Vermont, after the reading was over and everyone left and our stuff was dropped off at the hotel, the three of us (me, MK and Gabby) hoofed it on down to the riverbank with a bottle of whiskey to join a group of people already down there, and though I was skeptical about this plan, it turned out to be super great! It was so dark you could see all the stars in the sky, and I was quite content just sitting there looking out over the river and the sky listening to everyone chatting pleasantly and drinking. It was really the perfect end to a perfect couple of days. I never have a bad time in White River!

Hopefully we’ll be able to start putting up photos soon. When I have some to show you, they’ll be up here! Till then, see you in Amherst this coming Tuesday!

Punchbuggy Vermont! CCS this Friday!

Hey all! So the most recent version of the Punchbuggy Tour is going great so far! We got into White River Junction, VT on Wednesday night, where I realized I had idiotically forgotten ALL MY BOOKS. Obviously I need these so my wonderful husband Zane is overnighting them here, so I can have them just in time for our reading/performance at the Center for Cartoon Studies today (Friday) at 7pm! If you are in the area you should come check it out! We’re going to be reading from our comics, and also playing a couple of songs on our ukuleles, kazoos and glockenspiel. It will be a rad fun time to be sure!

This morning, MK and I went to breakfast at a place called Shyrl’s Diner, which was recommended to us by Alec Longstreth and Jon Chad (both also very excellent cartoonists). It did not disappoint! The food was delicious, cheap, and plentiful, which are my three favorite things for food to be. I got french toast and I am proud to say so far on this tour I have eaten french toast in two different states (one at a Cracker Barrel in Connecticut, and again at Shyrl’s in New Hampshire – just across the bridge from where we are in WRJ). If I can manage to eat french toast in WRJ I’ll have eaten it in three states on the first stop alone!

After breakfast, MK and I sat in on Alec’s and Steve Bisette’s comics class at CCS and it was all about how to write a longer (like 16 page) story. It was not news to either of us, but it was very entertaining and informative to hear how each of them had approached specific stories they had done in the past. It was also great to see Steve’s original artwork, which was just breathtakingly beautiful and fascinating to see, since it was from a pre-Photoshop time and everything had been painstakingly placed in the original art itself. Amazing.

In the afternoon, the three of us took turns giving lectures and showing slideshows about ourselves and our work for the weekly CCS Visiting Artist Seminar. I talked a bit about tips on crowdfunding and how to book a tour. Hopefully it was somewhat informative, or at least entertaining! A great time was had by all!

So yeah, if you’re in the neighborhood, swing by CCS tonight at 7pm to see us actually reading from the work we were talking about earlier today! And also, watch us perform songs like Girl U Want and Erasure’s “A Little Respect” on our ukuleles, kazoos and glockenspiel! Even if we suck at least it’ll be entertaining!

Punchbuggy Two is coming soon!

Starting March 17th, we’ll be on the road again for Punchbuggy Two (Gabby insists that I not follow this with “Electric Bugaloo” but I feel compelled to at least acknowledge it)! This go-round we’re hitting New England, upstate New York and a touch of Canada!

Dig these fancy stops! Hit up one of our dates if you’re in the neighborhood! We’ll be reading from our comics and performing a song or two on our many quaint acoustic instruments, as well as providing a live acoustic soundtrack to some of the readings! FUN!

PUNCHBUGGY TWO

Friday March 19 @ 7pm – White River Junction, VT @ the Center for Cartoon Studies

Tuesday, March 23 @7pm – Amherst, MA @ Hampshire College (West Lecture Hall)

Wednesday, March 24 @ 7pm – Providence, RI @ Ada Books

Thursday, March 25 @ 7pm – Somerville, MA @ Hub Comics

Friday, March 26 @ 7:30pm – Montreal, Quebec @ the Drawn & Quarterly Store

Monday, March 29 - Rochester, NY @ Monroe Community College (classroom presentation, students only)

We are still trying to put together the third and final EPIC section of the Punchbuggy Tour coming up in May, so check out this page to see the dates and places we’re trying to book, and let us know if you can help us find a place to read (or at least, hook us up with a place to stay)!

New date added at Ada Books in Providence, RI!

Man oh man I really did not believe we would ever find a place for a reading in Providence! When it was originally just me (Liz) doing the booking, I had a hell of a time finding anyone who lived or went to school there, or anyone who knew anyone, or anyone who knew anyone who knew anyone who… you get the picture.

Anyway, thanks to the intrepid efforts of our awesome intern Sally, we now have a date in Providence, RI at 7pm on Wednesday, March 24th at Ada Books (717 Westminster Street)!

I’ve never been to Providence or even Rhode Island so I’m stoked to see what they will have in store for us!

Even more exciting – the second leg of the Punchbuggy Tour (the New England/Canada/upstate NY section) is COMPLETELY BOOKED!! This is so exciting! Now, on to the third and final EPIC month-long crazytour!

New date just added at Hampshire College!

Thanks to the intrepid emailing of our fabulous intern Sally, we now have a date booked at Hampshire College in Amherst, MA on Tuesday, March 23rd in their West Lecture Hall! Considering everything I know about Amherst I learned from Running With Scissors (the book AND the movie!), I am excited to see how the actual town compares to the memoirs of Augusten Burroughs. Hopefully in visiting Amherst I won’t somehow get adopted by a crazy psychiatrist who will trick me into attempting suicide in order to get out of school (um.. spoiler alert?). Anyway, if you have never read the book or seen the movie you should go and do that because they’re both great.

Anyway, if you are in the Western Massachusetts neighborhood on Tuesday, March 23rd you should come see us perform our comics slideshow/music thing at Hampshire!

meet our new intern, Sally Bloodbath!

As I (Liz) have been struggling to finish the 4th and 5th Chapters of Freewheel before the end of February so I can have the book out to print in March so I can get them back by April and have them on the tour in May (phew!), I’ve been having some trouble keeping up with booking the remainder of the tour (being some of Leg Two and almost all of Leg Three). Since time is of the essence when booking a tour, I enlisted the help of our new intern, Sally Bloodbath!

Sally had already agreed to come on most of Leg Two and all of Leg Three (including our just-announced OFFICIAL last stop EVER at Heroes Con!) to help us keep organized, do some grunt work, and do a bunch of driving in exchange for the promise of adventure and the lure of being paid in not paying for gas. When I started freaking out last week about not being able to keep up with all the tour emails (and all the people who hadn’t been replying to them), I suggested she take over booking duties and she willingly complied. What a great intern!

Sally comes to us with several years of experience editing the celebrated comics anthology, Always Comics, with her co-editor Erin Griffin. She’s also been on the minicomics scene for a few years (which is how I met her), putting out such hilarious autobiographical tomes as Girls Don’t Make Passes at Boys With Moustaches (how could you resist that title?). She hails from Philly but currently resides in the Big Crapple, where MK and I both live and Gabby is soon to live. She is also a very snappy dresser and even if you don’t like to wear dresses she will wear them so well in front of you that it will make you think about it for half a second.

So, if you got an email from her about the Punchbuggy Tour, fear not! She is not a serial killer (yet), she is our first and most beloved intern. Let us give thanks unto her.