Every Saturday, we’ll be posting a new illustration by David Lester. The Mecca Normal guitarist is visually documenting people, places and events from his band’s 31-year run, with text by vocalist Jean Smith.
I recently photographed the 21 pages of Hot Pink — the history of a situation (chapbook, fiction, Smarten UP!, 1987) and posted them on the Smarten UP & Get To The Point Editions Facebook page. It’s legible on my monitor if I crank it up to 250 or 300 percent.
Hot Pink was an extension of song lyrics I wrote for the Mecca Normal album Calico Kills The Cat (K, 1989). The story is (in part) about Joelle, whose boyfriend is around two corners watching TV while Joelle is in the kitchen washing dishes. The frying pan comes out of the water and hits the wall with all the energy and the history of the situation.
Nearly 30 years later, I’m still writing fiction that finds its way into and out of Mecca Normal songs.
“Engine Rain” from Dovetail (K, 1992) (download):
https://magnetmagazine.com/audio/ EngineRain.mp3
