Vinnie Fiorello is the definition of a “multi-tasker.” Between being an ex-owner of Fueled by Ramen, owner and operator of Paper + Plastick, member of internationally successful ska-punk legends Less Than Jake, and a toy maker with his Wunderland War toy imprint it’s hard to believe he has time on his plate for anything else. However, he is always expanding his horizons with new and exciting creative ventures. Recently Vinnie decided to eschew shaving and start writing. “Sometimes Robots Like Being Robots” is his first foray into the world of publishing outside of penning lyrics for Less Than Jake. It is a children’s book functioning as an open letter to his first love, robots. Fascinated by the mechanical characters from an early age, a collection of them sit atop a tall shelf in his office, looming over him as he toils and schemes his next creative venture. As he has gotten older, the idea of robots has become a little deeper to him than the buzzes and beeps that originally caught his attention. The stories slid around in his head and out of his hands as he traveled from coast to coast. He quickly jotted them down on napkins and in notebooks. These stories are international, written in airplanes and scripted in bumpy taxis across the world. “Sometimes Robots Like Being Robots” was illustrated by Eric Davison (responsible for Less Than Jake’s “Anthem” cover as well as a good deal of their touring merchandise). To celebrate the release, Vinnie’s friends in This is my Suitcase took one of the 13 stories encapsulated in the book and put it to music. Presale for the book begins May 29th with a June 12th release date. The first 100 come with a limited hand numbered, hand signed, 8 x 8 print on archival watercolor paper available at paperandplastick.com

posted by v.

After a very long trip around the world, I am finally back home in
Gainesville,Florida. From Union Lane in Melbourne, to the back alleys
of Tokyo, to literally everywhere in Sao Paulo, Brazil I took loads of
quality pictures of art on the walls. The world is filled with talented
artists but you already knew that right?
I’ve taken the precise walks on ledges, down tunnels, up to roofs to
get a close up of some of the work going up in cities everywhere, its
equal parts awe inspiring and art inspiring to me, seeing pieces 8
stories high and so detailed just makes me want to do more in what I do
in my creative life. I’m lucky enough to travel around playing music,
from dive bars in the middle of a south american jungle to massive
festivals in Europe, I get a taste of what’s happening time and time
again in most corners of the world. It truly makes me want to move
forward every idea I have, no matter how half baked.

I’ve been spending a lot of my days working with my vinyl record
company PAPER AND PLASTICK, combining collectible pieces with local to
international bands, and modern artist printing massive prints on high
quality papers. I have a few releases coming out that are not only
visually stunning but musically moving, if you haven’t stopped by, you
really should.

Paperandplastick.com

While I was gone I dropped the FIRE AND ICE OCTOPUS set via my
WUNDERLAND WAR site. I am super proud of my series 3, and in retrospect
of the last variations out in the world, I loved every piece in the
series. The EIGHT HANDS FOR BAD HABITS OCTOPUS though - I have the most
love for, just a massive chunk of vinyl that celebrates my bad habits,
I mean admitting your vices is the first step to losing them. Right?
You can take a look a series 3 and pick up some new toys or fill in the
gaps of your collections.

Wunderlandwar.com

On the subject of WUNDERLAND WAR, I have been brewing a series 4 for
awhile now, been trying to conceptualize blending my favorite
characters with new looks and feels, now that I am back in the lab I am
going to fill the walls with ideas and stare at them and file the
choices down abit, I still want to do series 2 of the SYMPTOMS as well
but I’ve toyed with different (much bigger) sizes and I think I will be
atleast reprising the SYMPTOMS in the future, I love the idea still and
the characters.

The childrens book I wrote SOMETIMES ROBOTS LIKE BEING ROBOTS, got the
illustration treatment from my great friend Erik and is officially
done, I will be launching a presale soon with a limited hand numbered
print and signed by yours truly. Good friends THIS IS MY SUITCASE even
took one of the 13 stories in the book and put music to it, and it just
rounds off the feeling of accomplishment from doing this book.

I was never a fan of myspace, I don’t have a facebook but I really am
enjoying twitter, it provides the brief information that my busy
schedule can digest. If you are already a believer follow me.

Twitter.com/pickyourpoisons

posted by v.

He said “take your motherfucking hands out of your pockets and give me all your money” I laughed out loud. Leisurely at first then nervously after he motioned to the gun barrel peeking out of his track jacket. My would be thief was on a 10 speed bicycle that was equal parts peeling paint and piece of shit. The combination of polyester shorts and matching track jacket made that zipping noise when he peddled up to me at first, it made me flash back to grade school where I wore a brand new pair of corduroy pants and made that embarrassingly loud zipping sound all day long, consciencely trying not to walk down silent hallways or during a pop quiz so not to paint a target on me for hurled insults and group joke grenades. When I snapped back to the reality of the situation on the abandoned Mesa, Arizona street there was loud yelp ” turn your pockets inside out, let me see whatcha got..”

Sweat beading on my upper lip, poker face long gone, now replaced by a wash-ey pale complexion, and shakey fingers that dipped quickly into my pocket to pull all the money I had out. Mind you the exact total for all the money i had was - One dollar and eighty cents. Enough for the two tacos that I was en route to getting, handing over the money in scattered change: pennies, nickles, dimes and a few quarters. Another yelp “..You’ve got to be fucking kidding me, where’s your wallet? ”

I offer up my excuse but glassed over eyes now mixed with a grimace across his face that melted from cheek to cheek “..I should shoot your ass right now for wasting my time..”, as he spins the gears on the ten speed almost sounding like slot machine, three crackheads wild and I’ll get shot in the face for wanting half ass fast food tacos.

Mind you all I could smell the restaurant the whole time. Food was cooking, the billowing grease smoke pouring out into the dry air. my stomach was in a knot but all I could think of was the food that i was being robbed of. Neon welcome signs just out of reach, the rush of cars driving by a block over, the sound of my change clinking as the thief was riding off, the spin of the gears of the bike just like a slot machine.

posted by v.

In a moment,I decided to leave, quietly slipping from hospital to house to car to airport to airplane. Strange situations and even stranger connections dot my life so much that you could easily make a connect the dots picture out of them. Each numbered in order making one large picture of that same dumb face I always make no matter what kind of occasion it is. Happy, sad, excited, surprised it is always that same face. So in the wake of my grandfathers death I left the side of his hospital bed and disappeared. Speaking briefly to my mother, motioning to my brother, engulfed in bright lights, hearing calls and beeps and nurses and condolences I was in a tidal wave. Being swept from sea to bottom, the pulse of the hospital racing, filling me to the point of overload, I needed to swim to safety to go up for air. Where are you captain when I need you? Sailors always knew that the captain was going down with the ship and that they’d have to go the seas alone and survive. Mother nature pushing them out of the nest to see if they could fly or fall.
When I walked in to the hospital room it was dimmed, hurried and rasped breathing fought to stay a beat off from the machine helping him breath, there were faces of family but I focused on his breathing. Out of rhythm and shallow, it made me wild listening to the soundtrack of a man being kept alive by a machine. I talked out loud, even though he was unresponsive I knew he knew I was there, he could hear me. We had that connection one that transcended simple bloodline and DNA code. Something like a connection of old souls I think.
A Long beep - two short beeps, the crack and pop of lungs filling up, hushed prayers, the squeak of shoes on the floor, all the sounds of a family tree falling down.

posted by v.

There’s a point sometimes in the middle of what would be an otherwise normal day when i wonder where things are headed, not in the pointless questions in life kind of way as in ” ..what kind of Mexican food do I want and should I get garlic since I have a meeting later” but more like “How fuck did I end up here and where in the hell am I going..”
Occasionally I sit around and ask myself the heavier questions in my life, mind you this kind of behavior happens even though I’m not blowing smoke rings after two bong loads of Gainesville’s finest and the questions happen without any help from mr jim beam and his friends. I ask myself the tough questions like “…maybe I should never have sold the label..” or “…. maybe I should travel and take pictures of third world countries and let this brain tumor shrink instead of pushing myself harder each year..” It’s cathartic to ask the hard questions, it forces you to snap out of the sleep walk, forces you to think it through.

“hello? Is there anybody in there?..”

I like sharpening the edge of the sword, I like loading the gun, I like using the megaphone to wake and shake the insides of me.

Every mistake I’ve made I think through after the fact, to see how I made that mistake. You live and you learn right?
Maybe so or maybe we are doomed to live in the circle, the one that keeps the cycle going like a tire rolling down a 80 year long hill. My father was haunted by his past, his mistakes, his cycle. He let it get the best of him, he never learned but he always questioned, I question but I take my internal answers and listen to them. I guess that is the biggest issue that divides us. Everyone asks the questions but only some of us listen to the answers.

Here’s the run down of my world :

- i released 3 new vinyl figures with WUNDERLAND WAR and there will be another 2 octopus variations coming soon. After that i’ll be doing a 36 inch and 24 inch extremely limited figures. check wunderlandwar.com

- Paper and Plastick has been busy: New records from THE FOUNDATION and FAREWELL CONTINENTAL are right around the corner. Buddy LESSTHANJAKE’s side project COFFEE PROJECT just had the 10 inch and digital tracks come out too. go take a listen and also download the free sampler there too.
paperandplastick.com

- my children’s book “sometimes robots like being robots” will begin a pre-order soon with limited hand numbered print to go along with it.

- I am updating twitter.com/pickyourpoisons alot when i’m out and about. come join in the ramble

- i am doing a tour journal for the next 6 months over at absolute punk go take a look. here-
http://www.absolutepunk.net/journal.php?do=showjournal&j=16322

- i’m going to be doing a scavenger hunt while out on tour in the US, dropping packages off of limited prints, usb’s filled with music, and vinyl records. more specifics coming soon on this.

posted by v.

I’ve tried to hold back the dark but it’s the black that takes my arms, slowly squeeze, faintly breath. Shh.
Hand to god this is going to hurt alot but the best things always do.

posted by v.

So officially my sleep schedule is all over the place, some days sleeping by 11 pm some days sleeping by 6 am. Welcome to the double edged sword of sleep is overated and sleep is my best friend.
I’ve been laughing these days because my political friends in political bands are stumped at what to write about now that Bush is gone, I love how they leave an escape route for themselves going from Obama cheerleader to Obama skeptic just in case the whole thing goes pear shaped in a year, cheer up guys, I say, there’s wars all over the world and injustice in every corner your music career still has things to talk about. I mean even Bruce Springsteen had “pink Cadillac” when the economy was good.

posted by v.

We are all trashcans, loaded with all the discarded bits of emotions, jettisoned ideas, fragmented comments said underbreath, crossed wires, and misunderstood signals. we fill it up ourselves at times with old memories, chips on our shoulders, weight that we dump into ourselves. We are trashcans filled.
I’m sitting in bed right now, tired, but more getting over sickness then actually tired, my mind races, my chest tightens, tight breath meets a white knuckle revival. Words and music float in and out of me, sounds dull my attention span, it prevents me from obsessing over any one thing. Words and music, words and music. I mentally run down the following days check list between hearing about C.I.A. Covert weapons and hearing myself talk.
I take out my pen and put the tip to a half filled notebook, I scribble down a rhyme its may or may not ever go beyond that.
I fill up the trashcan, then empy it onto pages, I wonder if I help fill or empty other trashcans.
I remember thursday is trash day and I need to bring the can to the street.

posted by v.

I’ve been waiting for one thing to be done, so 10 more things can be done. Ever get that feeling that you’re waiting on that one thing? I’ve also been loving the fact l’ve been finding some new music lately in the midst of all this waiting, music that is just as eclectic as what’s in my head and I love that.

I am looking for someone that is quick but professional to make banner advertisements and edit photos, This would be directly working with me on Paper and Plastick, any takers out there? Email me: paperandplastick@gmail.com

posted by v.

Going through my mail a few people have asked what plans I have for 2009, and I find myself baffled to really explain what my plans really are, you know my dad used to have this trick on how to make a salt shaker balance on its side while counter balancing a fork suspended by a tooth pick and in true dad fashion never really explained how to do it, mind you years later I get the principles on how and why it works but when I was young it was fascinating. Back to 2009, sometimes I want to dangle just what I have up my sleeve without really having to explain anything about it. Does the internet need another hype man? I hate the feeling of being sold something from the trunk of a car - “Psst I have this great deal for you, come check it out..” And I don’t want to be the one that is selling snake oil - ” step right up, step right up..” Everyone has a clothing company, everyone is trying to be an actor, everyone is airing dirty laundry out there while making sure people take pictures of there brand new sneaker collection.
I want 2009 to be “the year of thanks for stopping by”, you know thanks for taking a read, looking at the pictures, listening to me ramble on, seeing what i’m up to, and saying hi. Its 2009, thanks for stopping by.

posted by v.