Interview by Rachel Gottesman
Hey Andrew aka Gimetzco! Who's Jim Metz and what does his company do? Or is he just your alter-ego?
He's fake.Totally all fake and made up! the origin of the name GIMETZCO comes from some old high school cassette recording that I made with my best friend. We'd make these fake commercials. Really lame stuff. But the company that made all of those products was Gimetzco.
So if I wanted to purchase your services, I'd just call Vandelay Industries.... I mean Gimetzco.
Do your recorded pieces include music? Are you both an artist and a musician?
I do the art thing yes, and I make terrible music. But the terrible music is also
fun terrible music.
What kind of music is your "terrible" music?
It's Blip-hop mostly...I do the sequencing on my fancy schmancy pc and add guitars and vocals in cakewalk (Protools for 'tards).
I've been called nerdcore before for this song I did called R.o.b.o.t. Some is a little punky... like Brit punk. Think of Blur's "We've Got a File on You" that's how the punky stuff is, kinda. But with worse mixing.
Blip-hop? I didn't know that was a genre.
I MADE IT UP!
You're more into art though.
Yeah most of my creative energy goes into drawin' funny pictures.
Like Mr. Yeticorn. Tell us all about that.
It was Autumn 2k6, and Petra Haden of THAT DOG and The Rentals was about to embark on a solo tour in support of her new record. She sent out an email for designers who would be up to the task to design a poster for the tour.
I did just that. It was a Yeticorn, but he was brown. Then I doodled about a month later and another one happened from out of my pencil... But this time I colored him blue and I rolled with it. Eventually a character was coddled out of these doodles...
More characters followed (during the KIOS loves Threadless comp): The Cryptid Crew! (made up of Gillman, and Pongo a Go Go and the newest adition, Chuppa!).
And of course there's Uncle Corny too... The Mentor/nemesis of Yeti-C (the main Yeticorn) and the crew.
So Yeticorn isn't a character, he's a species. One that only speaks in "gronks" like Chewie.
Only speaks in "gronks" when he's frustrated... I think he'd probable sound a little like Fred from Scooby Doo, but he'd say "dang yo!" and "word" a lot.
You've developed this pretty far. Any plans to make it into a cartoon or something?
Just "something"... And I don't know what yet.
Well, so far that "something" includes wallets and shirts. He's popular on Threadless, already in two prints.
However, before the two prints, he was a lamented eyesore to a few vocal voters but since then, I've had at least one vocal naysayer,retract his words and pretty much apologize. I appreciated that very much.
He won everyone over!
Got any great upcoming surprises from Jim Metz Co. and the Yeticorn in the future?
Well, yeah, some limited (very limited edition) shirt prints (that shouldn't at all interfere with the giant that is Threadless)
Note: Damn straight! and screen printed posters and I think even a pillow in the shape of a squat little Yeticorn... But I REALLY WANNA MAKE A SET OF VINYL TOYS! (Dunno if it'll happen though).
Rad! Thanks for chatting. I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for that pillow.
Me too!
Interview by Rachel Gottesman
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