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I read Keef's stuff for free..How does he make any money?"

K Chronicle.com Blog

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

*IT"S BEEN ONE OF THOSE DAYS...
Man..I was so out of it, today. I stood in line at the post office for damn near thirty minutes..AND I LEFT MY PACKAGES AT HOME!!

I need a vacation...

*SO, I HOPE TO SEE EVERYONE UP AT THE EMERALD CITY CON IN SEATTLE THIS WEEKEND..
It's my first convention up there, so come on out!! I'll be hooking up with webmaster Robby Gee and his lovely wife Laura. I also hope to catch up with my good ol' college pal Amanda and her brood, including world famous K Chronicle triplets Dirt, Soil and Hummus!!

*I'LL ALSO BE DOING MY SLIDESHOW PRESENTATION AT EVERGREEN COLLEGE IN OLYMPIA..
Co-sponsored by my favorite pac-nw newspaper, the Sitting Duck!!

Check out the calendar page for details on location and times...

I'll be blogging during the trip, so stay tuned...

*Yawn*..Too tired to blog...
posted by keith at 12:44 AM

Monday, March 20, 2006

*EMAIL O' THE WEEK..

Dear Keith,
I've been meaning to write you for years to say how much I enjoy your strip. Once I saw the one on my favorite performer, Thomas Dolby, I knew I had to give you some praise! How cool that you like him and were there! I'm surprised I didn't see you - had I known, I would have bugged you for an autograph. Anyway, I'm very pleased that you're also a fan and was impressed that you like Scritti Politti and They Might Be Giants too. If you're looking for any Dolby rarities, I can definitely hook you up!

Your admirer in Santa Rosa,
M.

*ANARCHIST BOOKFAIR WRAP-UP
Jolly good time had at the Anarchist Bookfair in Golden Gate Park this past saturday. Thanks to everyone who managed to find me behind the pink curtain. Although I hear they have an anarchists soccer game during the fair!! I wanna play!!

*I AM THE NEW NARRATOR ON KQED-TV'S SPARK!!
For those of you in the Bay Area, my PBS television debut as narrator of the artist documentary show Spark! is this Weds. at 8pm. Watch and hear my Boston accent shine through when I attempt to say "original"!!

Next show stop: Seattle, WA April 1st and 2nd at the Emerald City Con!!
posted by keith at 10:37 AM

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

*HEY!! I DID THE POSTER FOR THIS YEAR'S APE CONVENTION!!
Post this link in yer browser and you can see it: http://www.comic-con.org/ape/
Bring yer poster by my table for me to sign!!

*THE ANARCHIST BOOKFAIR IS THIS SATURDAY..
not Friday..It sez friday on the calendar page..
posted by keith at 12:59 AM

Monday, March 13, 2006

*HE BLINDED ME WITH...
..a cheap-ass admission charge!! I had the pleasure of checking out olde school music/tech geek Thomas Dolby for only $12 at one of San Francisco's coolest clubs, the Mighty, last thursday.

He said he had some friend's visiting from Milan (Dolby lives in Half Moon Bay), so he decided to put together an intimate show for them. He only played about six or seven songs, but I'll tell you this: I'd rather pay $12 for six or seven o' the hits than pay $20-$25 for the extra padding that goes along with the hits. Short and sweet...That's the way I like it!!

Another neat thing about it was when he came out for the encore. It seemed like he wasn't quite expecting it..and he had to build the next coupla songs sorta from scratch. It was neat to see him build my favorite song of his, "Hyperactive", beat by beat, riff by riff..It kicked ass.

When is Scritti Politti gonna tour again?

*CARTOON ART MUSEUM CLASS WRAP-UP..
A great session was had at my "Cartooning is Serious Business" class this past Saturday at San Francisco's Cartoon Art Museum. There were 19(!) people there, including one dude WHO FLEW IN FROM BOSTON just for the class!! Are you kiddin' me? There was also a dude who just moved here from Australia and a guy from my hometown of Malden, Massachusetts!! Woo-hoo!! A lot of talented folk...

*THIS WEEKEND: ANARCHIST'S BOOKFAIR!!
it's happening from 10am-6pm this Sat. in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park at the County Fair Building. It's FREE to get in, so come on by..'kay?

*HELP!! I NEED AN ACCOUNTANT!!
If you know any accountants in the Bay Area who enjoy working with artists and/or musicians, hit me up at keef@kchronicles.com.

Cheers!!
posted by keith at 11:29 PM

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

*EMAILS OF THE WEEK..

Keith,

Holy carp man. I've been traveling for the past couple of months, selling the trash that no one needs but that keeps me from getting a real job. I get home the other night from Vegas, sit down to catch up on your work and get floored by what I read.

The strips about Kerstins' scare and your combined dealings with it are powerful stuff. I found myself sitting here franticly looking for the next in the series to see what the hell was happening. I've never been through anything like what you described and pray I never will. I was so relieved to see that everything worked out. Nice to see that the "good guys" still win sometimes.

Then there was the reader response. What an awesome community of readers you've got. Thanks for sharing all the letters.

Best to the both or you,

M.
Tumwater WA

Keith,

I live in West Marin and used to be excited when the Pacific Sun came
out each week because I would get another dose of your sanity. What
happened? Did you stop publishing in the Pacific Sun or did they drop
you in some kind of cowardly censorship scam. Perhaps your ratings
"plateaued"? Now that Kathryn LeMieux has stopped publishing in the
Point Reyes Light, there is suddenly not too much to read out here. I
guess I'll just have to write my own comics, Thank God for Jon Stewart
and the Daily Show!!

I wish you the best in whatever you are up to these days. By the way,
what papers are still publishing your outstanding work?

Sincerely yours,

R.D.
Inverness Park
California

*(If anyone wants to know where my strips run, check "the K Chronicles" and "(th)ink" pages of the website..-K)
posted by keith at 11:51 PM

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

*BACK FROM AUSTIN!! THE STAPLE 2006 WRAP-UP!!
Well..I gotta hand it to the folks who put on Staple (Gary Bartos and Chris Nicholas), they put on one helluva good little show...

I was a bit worried, cuz it was in the back of a strip mall, but folks came out!! There were a lot of great creators that I knew (Global Hobo, Jim Mahfood, Paige Braddock) and other great creators that I was meeting for the first time (Tony Millionaire, Michael La Riccia). There were a lot mre, but I'm spacing on names.

I did one of my world'famous slideshows and it slayed! A really nice crowd o' folks. Good questions. Lots o' laffs.

My selling spot was located next to Tony Millionaire. It was a pleasure meeting him. He does the strip "Maakies" and his drawing style is an homage to old, old school stuff like George Herriman. Plus, he grew up in Boston, so he's got that attitude.

Anyhoo..Tony had no books for sale, just some original art and a brief little clip previewing the "Maakies" animated cartoon show he's pitching to Cartoon Network. It was computer animated, but it brilliantly retains his line style. It looked great!! AND it was hilarious!! It's gonna be big.

Of course, I had to purchase some original art (It was an investment :). I bought a "Maakies", but he had these pages from a Batman comic he did for the Bizarro anthology. It was amazing. This is the most fanboyish I've ever been about an artist. http://www.maakies.com

My favorite book that I walked away with was "Black Mane" by Michael LaRiccia. This Xeric grant winning book is about his experiences of racism and sexism whilst working at a t-shirt cart in Boston. He really managed to capture the attitude of the proper oily Bo-Hunk Bostonian. And the drawings are HILARIOUS!! http://www.michaellariccia.com

I also met this one dude named Don Tate. He's a children's book illustrator who was interested in getting into doing comics. He showed me his stuff and it was amazing!! I told him not to quit his day job. http://www.dontate.com
Anyway..he bought some books with a $50 bill, and I tried to short change him, but he caught me :) ...You can check out his blog about the show at:
http://devast.blogspot.com/

After the show, I hung out with Fredo of Global Hobo. We were at the Mahfood after-party and then hit the streets of Austin. It's freakin' crazy out there. Buttloads of drunk-ass college students and southerners who guzzle beers like nobody else. I was impressed and frightened at the same time.

As far as returning next year, I may come back if I have a new book. But Staple needs to go to two days for me to make it worth it. This probably won't happen for a few years, because Gary and Chris want to grow the event slowly ( and that is a smart thing).

Shout outs to Leo at Anti-Gravity, Keisha, Meghann, Ismael, and everyone came by!!

*ARE YOU COMING TO MY "CARTOONING IS SERIOUS BUSINESS CLASS" THIS SATURDAY?!!

Saturday, March 11, 2006
1:00-3:30pm

655 Mission St. San Francisco Ca.

Cost per individual class: �$50; $40 for CAM members

On Saturday, March 11, 2006, the Cartoon Art Museum is offering another installment in its ongoing series of �workshops for aspiring comic artists, writers and fans of all ages. �Each class is taught by a professional cartoonist focusing on an area of his or her expertise, ranging from character creation and story development to writing and drawing comic books and strips.

Keith Knight, creator of the syndicated comics the 'K' Chronicles and (th)ink, will be teaching the next workshop, Cartoons Are Serious Business.

Mr. Knight will be drawing upon his 12 years as a self-syndicated cartoonist for this intensive workshop, which is an advanced class for people looking to make cartooning a viable money-making career. �This workshop will focus on the business side of comics, from marketing and promotions to dealing with syndicates and negotiating publishing contracts. �In the past decade, Knight's work has appeared in self-published 'zines, major newspapers, alternative newsweeklies, professional comic anthologies and major nationally-distributed publications including ESPN: �The Magazine and Mad, he has promoted his work at more than 100 comic conventions and trade shows, and he has delivered lectures on cartooning at colleges and universities throughout the United States.

*SPECIAL NOTE: Those students who attended Keith's December 3, 2005 workshop may attend this class FREE OF CHARGE. �Please contact the Cartoon Art Museum for details.
posted by keith at 2:10 PM

Thursday, March 02, 2006

*YEEHAW!! I'M OFF TO AUSTIN, TEXAS!!

HERE'S THE LATEST K CHRONICLES/(TH)INK NEWSLETTER:

IN THIS ISSUE:
*KEEF COMING TO AUSTIN,
SEATTLE & OLYMPIA WA.
*HARVEY AWARDS
*KEEF TO TEACH SECOND CARTOONING CLASS AT C.A.M.
*2006 ANARCHIST'S BOOKFAIR
*KEEF: THE NEW VOICE OF SPARK!!

Dearest K Chronicles/(th)ink readers..

Again, let me say thanks to everyone that wrote in concerning the K Chronicles/"C-Word" strips. Kerstin is doing fine.

Hope yer staying warm and dry this winter season...Squeeze yer loved ones...

Lots of stuff to get to...

*STAPLE: AUSTIN INDIE COMICS FESTIVAL This SAT. March 4, 10am-6pm @ The Red Oak Ballroom in Northcross Center, 2525 West Anderson Lane.
An event to promote independent creative media: comics, mini-comics, zines, art, and self-published literature. This'll be my first time there, so come on through and bring some damned BBQ!!
Oh..I'll also be doing my world-famous slideshow at 2:30pm. Here's the description of it from their website:

2:30-3:30: Keith Knight: The "Other" Black Cartoonist
Award-winning San Francisco cartoonist and rapper Keith Knight (the K Chronicles, (th)ink) brings the slideshow that wowed them in San Diego to Staple! 2006. Hear the Mad Magazine contributor spin humorous tales of censorship, hate mail, the trials and tribulations of self-syndication and being mistaken for "Boondocks" creator Aaron McGruder.

*HARVEY AWARDS NOMINATION
Anybody working in the comics industry? Then nominate "The Passion of the Keef" (Manic D Press), "Beginner's Guide to Community Based Arts" (New Village Press), "the K Chronicles" and "(th)ink" for a Harvey Award!! Completed ballots should be emailed or otherwise delivered no later than March 3rd, 2006, (YIKES!) to the HARVEY AWARDS Administrator at the following address:

Paul McSpadden
605 West Arapaho Road
Richardson TX 75080

Completed ballots may be e-mailed to him at pjcjmc2@comcast.net

to get a ballot:
http://www.harveyawards.org/downloads.html

*"CARTOONING IS SERIOUS BUSINESS" CLASS AT THE CARTOON ART MUSEUM Saturday, March 11, 2006 1:00-3:30pm 655 Mission St. San Francisco

(from the C.A.M. website:)
Mr. Knight will be drawing upon his 12 years as a self-syndicated cartoonist for this intensive workshop, which is an advanced class for people looking to make cartooning a viable money-making career. This workshop will focus on the business side of comics, from marketing and promotions to dealing with syndicates and negotiating publishing contracts.

Cost per individual class: $50; $40 for CAM members Call (415)CAR-TOON for more info.

*2006 ANARCHIST BOOKFAIR, S.F. County Fair Building, Golden Gate Park San Francisco Sat. March 18th, 10am-6pm FREE!!
I love this event. Mebbe cuz I'm the only cartoonist there. Or mebbe it's seeing a bunch of anarchists counting stacks and stacks o' cash... Or mebbe it's the huge bunch of vendors who set up outside on the ground in front of the building.. Or mebbe it's the great food cooked up by Arizmendi Bakery..Whatever it is..This event is great..and it's FREE!!!

*KEEF: THE NEW VOICE OF KQED'S SPARK!!
"Spark"is this really cool documentary show about Bay Area artists that airs on the local PBS affiliate, KQED (channel 9), here in the Bay Area. They're the show that did the doc on me that you can watch on the links page at http://www.kchronicles.com. Anyhoo..they were looking for a new narrator for the show. I auditioned, AND I GOT IT!! They said I got it cuz I sounded the least professional :) .
So tune in to the new shows starting March 22nd, and you'll hear the smooooth crooning of yours truly...

*KEEF IN SEATTLE AND OLYMPIA!!
I'll be tabling with the wifey and the evil twin sis at the EMERALD CITY CON, Fri & Sat., April 1st and 2nd (10am-6pm) at the Qwest Field Event Center, 1000 Occidental Avenue South, in Seattle.

And I'll be doing my world famous slideshow on the night of Wed. April 5th at Evergreen College in Olympia, WA. More details to come!!

MORE TO COME FOR APRIL:
*"Beginner's Guide to Community-Based Arts event with Mat Schwarzman and Rhodessa Jones. Thursday, April 6th in San Francisco.
*The Alternative Press Expo (I'm a special guest!!) in San Francisco on Sat. and Sun April 8th and 9th.

*Just added papers in Alaska, various parts o' Florida, Charlottesville, Virginia, and Muskegon, Michigan..

* HELP!! I NEED AN AGENT!!

IN MY MIX:
*Killer Clowns from Outer Space
*Taylor Hicks
*Tom Beland's Latest issue of "True Story; Swear to God"

*HEY..I FORGET TO MENTION "CRASH"..
..in my top movies of 2005. But I think "Brokeback.." is gonna win best pic. Good luck to both.
posted by keith at 11:33 PM

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