From The Desk Of Kelly Hogan: Bill Hicks

Neko Case has called her pal Kelly Hogan “the Zelig of rock ‘n’ roll.” Her name appears in the credits for albums by Mavis Staples, the Mekons, Will Oldham, Matt Pond PA, Amy Ray, Giant Sand, Archer Prewitt, Alejandro Escovedo, Drive-By Truckers, Jakob Dylan, Tortoise and many others, Case included. Hogan’s fourth album has been a long time coming, in part because she’s been busy as a crucial part of Case’s band (anyone who’s seen Case live has witnessed Hogan’s amusing banter), in part because of the nature of the project. For I Like To Keep Myself In Pain (Anti-), Hogan sent letters to her songwriter friends, many of whom she’d sung with, asking them if they would send her a song, either one written specifically for her or one that “you think I could do right by,” as she said. That process started several years ago, and results yielded songs from a veritable who’s who: Vic Chesnutt, Stephin Merritt, Andrew Bird, Jon Langford, Janet Bean, M. Ward and others. Hogan will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our recent feature on her.

Hogan: I’m gonna talk about someone whose art has meant so very much to me in the past 15 years.

One afternoon during a heatwave at SXSW in 1998, my pal Ted and I retreated into the cool dark of his apartment, with his pet snake and some cold beers. The curtains were closed, and a mattress was on the floor. Ted said, “I’m gonna show you someone you’re gonna like.” And he put on a video of Bill Hicks.

I jumped up off the bed and yelled, “That’s him! That’s him! It’s finally him! That’s the guy whose show I saw right after my friend Allen died!”

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BIll Hicks Comic Book Biography

Some interesting news recently came from a recent article on Bleeding Cool regarding some controversy and a split between Bluewater Productions, a comic book company that has made a name for itself publishing comic book biographies of famous people, including President Obama; and the creator of a recently announced line of biographies dedicated to famous comedians.

Bleeding Cool interviewed the creator of this series Jaymes Reed who has split with Bluewater and will now publish through a "print on demand" basis. In the interview Jaymes casually announced an "authorized" comic book biography of Bill Hicks in the works!

"We’re even doing a Bill Hicks book that will be authorized by Bill’s estate. I’m working closely on it with Steve Hicks, Bill’s brother."

While there has been no official announcement made yet. And I have heard nothing from official channels, I did a little digging and was able to uncover the above cover art designed for the comic! 

When we have more news and a release date I will be sure to post it here!

SOURCE

UPDATE

Jaymes Reed has sent me the official cover art (which is subject to change). They are aiming for a November release for the Bill Hicks issue.

Let's honor Bill Hicks

Houston's late comedian-philosopher deserves to be memorialized with a statue.

Copyright 2013: Houston Chronicle | January 25, 2013 | Updated: January 26, 2013 12:44pm

One of the downsides to living in a city built on oil and gas is that we have few celebrities. A local economy lacking in media companies, amid a landscape that can be underwhelming, doesn't attract all that many famous people. So when a local talent does hit it big, Houston usually exhibits a sense of civic pride beyond what you might see in other big cities.

On the other hand, our preoccupation with business also makes it easy to forget our once-hometown celebrities when they become famous. So when a figure remains on our minds long after he's gone, you have to admit that Houston had someone special.

Someone like the late comedian Bill Hicks.

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It's Just a Ride Comic

Check out this awesome comic by Gavin Aung Than of zenpencils.com

Continued at zenpencils.com

Bill Hicks and George Carlin get a musical tribute

(CBS News) We'll be posting up the always-amazing Friday music round-up in just a bit, but before we do I want to kick off the music a little early today in the form a tribute to two legendary comedians: Bill Hicks and George Carlin. You really need to check this one out.


The touching musical remix of two comedians who have personally inspired me a great deal over the years is entitled "Bill Hicks + George Carlin: The Big Electron" and was created by one of our favorite media-made-into-music artists, John D. Boswell (aka melodysheep), who has been featured here on The Feed numerous times in the past, and who writes about his latest:

Two legendary comedians offer their perspectives on life, through song.

Another masterful piece of work by Boswell that has earned him a big triple-rainbow salute of awe from us here at The Feed! If you'd like to check out more by John D. Boswell (aka melodysheep) you can click here to see our past posts of him or click here to go to his YouTube page.

SOURCE

Comedy gold: Bill Hicks's Relentless (The Guardian)

Leo Benedictus
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 25 October 2012 12.49 EDT

Early death does wonders for an artist's reputation, it is true, but Hicks was a major talent – raw, angry, sincere, unhappy, weeping and yelling at a complacent world


Exceptionally sincere ... Bill Hicks. Photograph: Everett Collection/Rex Features

The setup: While he was alive, nobody, I suspect, had a higher opinion of Bill Hicks than he did. And certainly no other comedian inspires the same devotion among his fans that he still does today. (People actually sit down and transcribe his shows.)

One thing needs knocking on the head immediately. Early death does wonders for an artist's reputation, it is true, but Hicks was a major talent, and the world would still be saying so if the cancer hadn't got him in 1994, when he was just 32. Like the music scene that overlapped his short career, Hicks delivered a kind of grunge comedy: raw, angry, talented, sincere, unhappy, a weeping yell into the face of a complacent world. Nowhere in the recorded shows is he what you could call likable, but neither does he cease to mesmerise.

It's tough to choose one show to recommend, because there's barely a flaw in any of them. Relentless gets the nod for revealing a little more of his personal experience, and a little less of the great preacher-man. Although, that said, One Night Stand and Revelations share much of the same material. "I don't fit in anywhere, that's my problem," Hicks says in this show. "I'm the little dark poet, that's who I am."

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Bill Hicks: Dark Poet (Gonzo Express Article)

“I left in love, in laughter, and in truth and wherever truth, love and laughter abide, I am there in spirit.”

Everything is bigger in Texas. Bill Hicks knew this. He started doing stand-up comedy at the tender age of 15, and of all places, it was Sunday School. Johnny Carson inspired Bill, revealing to him that you CAN make a living making people laugh. And laugh they did.

“Good evening, my name is Bill Hicks. I’ve been on the road now doing comedy 12 years, so, uh, bear with me while I plaster on a fake smile and plow through this shit one more time. … I’m kinda tired of traveling, kinda tired of doing comedy, kinda tired of staring out at your blank faces looking back at me, wanting me to fill your empty lives with humor you couldn’t possibly think of yourselves.”

Bill always let his audience know what exactly was on his mind. He hated the rampant commercialism that was beginning to flourish all around him, especially in advertising and marketing. When fellow comedian Jay Leno starred in a Doritos commercial in the late 80′s, Bill took it personally, naming The Tonight Show a “cultural train wreck”.

“Do a commercial, you’re off the artistic roll call, every word you say is suspect, you’re a corporate whore and eh, end of story.”

But Bill wasn’t always just a satirist. He put forth his opinions on anything from marijuana decriminalization to world hunger. His views on religion, society, consumerism and politics were often controversial among the mainstream media, but he didn’t care. Bill cared about the Truth, and only spoke the Truth. His profound antics became popular in the after hour comical realm, and still live on today...

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