Maggots
Continued from Page 1, Friday Edition
passed out buttons and stickers and
cards to everybody — to the band and
sound men. When she (Joan) went to
London and went to see another group,
the other group cancelled and the Stray
Cats were to play. The fellow saw it (the
button) and said: 'I have one just like it.
Are you from Portland , Oregon?' And
she said: 'I remember you.' He said:
'Well, how would you like to get
backstage and meet the Stray Cats and
Dave Edmunds?' She said: 'Sure.' She
went and got her passport autographed
by the Stray Cats. That stuff really
makes it fun."
The Art Maggots' primary work is in
Xerox art. "It started off that way,"
Chud says. Xerox art is a new, popular
and potentially dangerous art form.
While the quality is good, it's the
equality of Xerox art that makes it so
dangerous.
"In the beginning it was a way of hav
ing your art work mass-produced
cheaply, instead of printing," Chud
says, "having it Xeroxed, making it an
art form."
"It makes the artist less dependent
on a gallery format or a job as a com
mercial artist, so you can still be an ar
tist and still touch people," Haddock
says. "We didn't start out doing flyers
for bands," he says, tilting a beer bottle
to his mouth.
"We just started out putting up
posters anonymously," Chud adds,
shaking a cigarette from a pack.
They have that street-smart look, and
that's not so odd. The art of the Art
Maggots is the art of street. They have a
Be wary! Art Maggots abound, lurking
in the doorways and stairwells of
Eugene.
knack for caricature of Eugene street
characters, real or mythic, like Kid
Spam. They are themselves of and
about the street.
There has been a good deal of anti
Art Maggot sentiment, especially during
the Spam era. The Art Maggots don't
spray-paint walls, although they usually
get blamed.
"You know those murals that got
defaced?" Haddock asks, referring to
the dinosaur mural on Lincoln Street on
which someone had spray-painted:
"When you going to finish this
beautiful mural?." "The lady that did
that one still to this day doesn't speak
to us because she thinks we did it."
"That was during the Spam era,"
Chud says. During the Spam era, when
stencils of Kid Spam and Spamesque
sayings appeared on walls around
town, a local television station hounded
the reculsive Art Maggots to grant them
an interview. When the TV folks finally
caught up with the Art Maggots and
asked: "Hey, what about all this Spam
on the walls," an Art Maggot named
Briz replied it "was better than writing
'Fuck You' on the wall."
"We had nothing to do with it,"
Chud says. "We do have a main
character called Kid Spam that Louis
Samora (founding Art Maggot and
member of The Rats and The Jackets)
developed. He's on quite a few things."
"Kid Spam's time has come," so
meone says.
Not only has Kid Spam arrived, so
have the Art Maggots. Their distinctive
art work, that is reminiscent of early R.
Their artwork, once limited to local
telephone poles, is becoming interna
tionally notorious — bad world wide.
Crumb, R. Cobb and (a favorite of
Chud's) Mad Magazine's Mort Drucker
can be seen on concert posters like
ones for D.O.A. and The Animals.
"Business has picked up as far as
people calling us and wanting to pay u<
for posters. It's been a nice surprise,"
Haddock says.
"We have some new accounts, like
the Hult Center," Chud says. "We've
done everything from local bands on
the-street, to The Tubes."
Doing concert posters hasn't been
easy for the Art Maggots. If it's not the
promoter saying they have to put this,
this and this into a poster, it's the
police harassing the people who put up
the posters.
"Art Maggots often put things in their
posters that aren't meant to be seen,"
he adds, pulling out the poster for The
Tubes concert and pointing to the KZEL
radio logo in the top left corner. "We
purposely made it 'Oregon's Pest Rock'
instead of Oregon's Best Rock'," Chud
says.
There's a commercial side to the Art
Maggots that was exposed when they
had Studio X. They did commercial
graphics arts for advertising and had
quite a number of accounts. None of
the Art Maggots are opposed to work
ing on the commercial side, in fact
quite a few hold jobs in graphic arts
studios.
"I could do it," Haddock says, when
asked if he could work on an ad for
Schmuck's Tires.
"It's a good name," Bruno says.
"They're going to have to expect it to
Founding Maggots Billy Haddock and
Mick Chudy don't participate but feel a
kinship toward graffiti-sprayed walls.
be an Art Maggot ad," Haddock adds.
"I don't think Eugene is a big enough
town," he adds. "It's like having a band
in Eugene and expecting to make a
whole lot of money — you're not going
to. I don't think you can make a living
as a graphic artist in this town unless
you're doing menus for Denny's or
something."
The Art Maggots' commercial enter
prises have been varied, from an album
cover for The Sneakers, to Art Maggot
calendars and T-shirts.
"We put out quite a few shirts,"
Chud says, showing their latest, a black
T-shirt with beautifully appointed Art
Maggot character and a Milkmen logo.
"One of our T-shirts made it to the
back of an album, Sado-Nation, I
think."
Chud is quick to respond when asked
how they would handle material
rewards.
"We refuse to be rich or live in fear,"
he vows.
The future for the Art Maggots is fill
ed with fleshy promise. Most of the Art
Maggots are deeply involved with mail
art. Mail art is a nationwide, even
worldwide exchange of art between
other artists. Haddock, who's had a
minor run-in with postal authorities
(something about obscenity) over mail
art, sees mail art as the most proletarian
of art forms.
The Art Maggots are everywhere. In
every sizeable crowd in Eugene (and
beyond) there are one or two Art Mag
gots scuttling about — just when you
thought it safe for Warhol and
Lichenstein.
No one would believe that they hatch
their creative larvae in the bosom of
Eugene suburbia.
nzza and a good seat
Once upon a time, at a univer
sity far,far away, students were
forced to trek for miles to enjoy
a good sit-down pizza in a plea
sant atmosphere.
Sure, there were other cam
pus watering holes, but none
within easy walking distance
served Italian food.
Then, to the chagrin of some
and the delight of others, a cer
tain dark and clamorous tavern
headed for that happy hour in
the sky. Lo and behold, from the
ashes of Duffy's, Guido's was
born. And to the delight of
many, Guido's serves Italian
m—rv " ■ i l l ) i ..
food.
Not that it's Italian food to die
for. But it is Italian food.
And to be fair, their pizza
ranks right up there with other
area favorites. It's a balanced
combination of mozzarella
cheese an mild, homemade
sauce atop a crisp yet doughy
crust. The pizza combinations
are up to you. The selection of
toppings may not be the biggest
in the world, but Guido's is
generous with what they have.
You won't be left wanting more
pepperoni.
Continued on Page SB
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it
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