Zik Puppy

I apologize for the quality of the next reproduction, it’s not great. I had to use a scan from a label printed on the textured paper we used for the labels. As with others shown here I either no longer have the elements to re-construct, the computer used, the program. That’s how come it doesn’t look as good as it could.

Most of this stuff is done by assembly, using different sources, different computer programs, often one program just to do one thing. One of the things I’m peeved about is that I no longer have a copy of Microsoft Publisher (I still have the files on the computer) and bloody Microsoft Word, the program I’m using to lay out this whole thing, doesn’t allow that type of file format to be loaded.

What would it take to have a little reverse engineering happening within the same company?

Bloody great.

And a thing I call predatory software, not proprietal. Software manufacturers don’t like their stuff to be used by other programs so they make their own extensions for file names that can’t be ported across. The wine label program won’t let Adobe load any of the images produced there. Unless I’m careful how I save Adobe images, Microsoft Word won’t read them, and so on, and so on. You end up coming up with tricks to try to get the computer to produce results you want.

Anyway, now that I’ve done my little rant I will say that Zik Puppy is one of the most infamous of our labels. I can remember sitting in my cab in Peterborough at the Civic Arena, scribbling out variations on fake German words and trying to string these sounds into a coherent whole.

The inspiration? A number of years previously I had been working at an audio-visual house in Toronto and over the E6 processor there was a yellow sign with the legend something like:

Achtung.
Das machinen ich nich fer gefinger poken.
Das sightseeing rubbernecken touristen keepen der kottenpicken handsoffen.
Zo relaxen und watchen das blinkenlight.

Our story reads:

Achtung
Inden opinionen der volks icht der gewurst vine inden veld unt icht nicht vergud drinkenen eben fer masochisten.
Aldo gettengoodenbonben icht machen der headenachen badenpounden unt nezessitaten vomiten der gutzout zo icht recommenden ver externall uzege.
Beteroven strippen der paint, usen uncloggendrain, eben dissolvenrust.
Volks mit anykindenzence avoidenlikenplague.
Der Kamphbel brodder isn zik puppies das ver sur.


It’s simple, stylish and stupid. What more could you ask?