I don’t remember the first time I met Jim Drain. It was probably in the video game cave at Fort Thunder. There were some marathon sessions in that amazing den of TVs (some broken, some working), video game consoles (new and old), and piles of pillows on big, comfy, discarded sofas. I would come (with games) and play, see what was happening in the screen printing area, and if I was lucky, go home with a print. Back then, he did a series of comic zines, and his band Forcefield was just emerging. Things were more simple before Fort Thunder, home and studio to many, was demolished in the name of progress.
That was over ten years ago now. Members of Fort Thunder have gone on to so many great things, and Jim Drain is no different. What I love most about Jim (aside from his mellow voice, good nature, and willingness to make fun of me) is his lack of boundaries. Jim’s work takes whatever form it needs to take––collage, zines, sweaters, comics, sculpture, fashion, installation, product, video, music, etc. Instead of a rambling, boring interview with the same pointless arty questions, I asked Jim to treat the following pages like a zine. As usual with Jim Drain, we got something unexpected and amazing.
Intro by John Freeborn
