Pyragraph

Modernize Your Sound & Mindset with Music Producer Nick Phelps

Nick Phelps Image courtesy of Nick Phelps Nick Phelps is a music producer living in Seattle. During the pandemic, he focused on bringing his skills online to create a course called Make That Sh!t Modern. He teaches contemporary methods and sounds that will help people get their music synced in TV, film, commercials or video games. He brings powerful guests from the music industry to talk to the…

The New York Minute: Phoebe Mogharei on Freelance Writing Gigs

Phoebe Mogharei in front of a Manhattan mural. Photo credit: Eva Avenue In our first installment of The New York Minute, we explore the uncertainty of juggling freelance work due to the commonalities of late pay and ebb and flow of assignments, leading the writer to take on as much work as possible to ensure there is always a job. Writer Phoebe Mogharei began her New York journey in 2013 as an…

Heading Southwestness: A chat with indie publisher/editor Samantha Anne Carrillo.

Cute AF Southwestness Holiday Bingo card designed by Samantha Anne Carillo for social media hijinks. Samantha Anne Carrillo already had a couple decades’ worth of editorial and publishing experience under her belt when in 2019 she started Southwestness, an online magazine focusing on “art, cannabis, compassion, culture, nature, resilience, style and wellness here in the high desert.” I’ve known…

Signs of the Times

Photo by Peri Pakroo.

When I check my mail these days, I always have at least one postcard from a local politician. When I turn on the television, I see campaign commercials. And when I drive around town, I see lots and lots of political signs.

Political campaign signs are nothing new. Here in America it’s been going on for 200 years, all the way back to John Quincy Adams, who encouraged his…

Clown Fish of the Lit Ecosystem

Lee Francis (L) with Jaclyn Roessel in front of Red Planet Books & Comics. Photo courtesy of Red Planet Books & Comics.

Dr. Lee Francis IV is the “Indiginerd” mastermind behind Indigenous Comic Con (aka IndigiPop X) and Red Planet Books & Comics, an innovative storefront and online shop in Albuquerque, NM, dedicated exclusively to Native and Indigenous works. And those are just two of the hats he…

YOU and 69 million of your closest friends are the only ones who can save democracy. Photo: Public domain. Detail of poster by G.R. Macauley. Courtesy of The Library Company of Philadelphia.

Good morning! It’s 2020! What fresh new hell has today brought?That’s about as close as I’ve come to a personal motto this year. Whether it’s yet further evidence that the lives of Black women are so devalued…

Knowing the World Through Art: Inspired by Iranian Illustrators

Reza Dalvand illustration from Ace by Payam Ebrahimi.

When reaching the end of my college career, I began to find the courage to share my artwork. I did this by joining markets, putting on my first solo show at El Chante: Casa de Cultura, and through social media. With small steps forward, heart on my shoulder, and learning from mistakes, I received an unrestricted artist grant from Kindle…

Javier Romero Intends to Give a Damn

Strange Magic’s Javier Romero. Photo courtesy of Javier Romero.

These days it’s close to impossible to read, watch, listen to or otherwise experience things without consciously or unconsciously analyzing the content of those things based on whether those things were created pre- or post-pandemic, and adjusting your perception and understanding to absorb what you’re consuming with the relevant…

THE CANCELED SHOWS 5: Jalessa Blackshear, Fast Heart Mart, La Leif, Jack Evan Johnson, I Know Billy



This newest July 2020 edition of The Canceled Shows includes my talking head + some great homespun tunes from St. Pete, Nashville, London, San Diego, Albuquerque, Portland. Band and guest links below:

Jalessa Blackshear: soundcloud.com/jalessa-blackshear

Fast Heart Mart: fastheartmart.com/home

La Leif: francineperry.com

Jack Evan Johnson: jackevanjohnson.com/tunes

I Know Billy, zinester…

Reflecting Me: Movement for Mercy and Where Change Begins

Movement for Mercy Project, Keshet Dance & Center for the Arts. Photo credit: Pat Berrett.

Jaden Faulk is a senior at Highland High School, Centro Sávila Youth Leadership Council (YLC) member, a Keshet Arts and Justice Network Youth Leader and recent participant in the 2020 City of Albuquerque Mayor’s Creative Youth Corps.

For as long as I can remember, the arts have been a very prominent part…

Call for Submissions: New Mexico Artists on Freedom and Justice

Pyragraph’s Supercharge Your Vote campaign seeks to engage and encourage artists and creatives to get registered and vote in the 2020 Presidential election. The campaign also promotes participation in other civic engagement activities such as the 2020 Census. As part of this campaign we have published a Voter Guide, a Supercharge Your Vote infographic, a Supercharge Your Vote videoand other…

A Hearty Welcome to Lisa Barrow

I have exciting news, and sharing it is overdue, but things have been so crazy over the last few months that I just couldn’t figure out the right time. So please forgive me for taking until now to announce that in May 2020 I hired Lisa Barrowas Editor, and I could not be more stoked to have her as my very first employee! As you may know, I am picky AF when it comes to content and communications.…

Photo by Fibonacci Blue (CC BY 2.0).

I once made a comment on social media about my conflict with February consistently being my busiest month of the year. I had two consecutive years where I played 20+ college shows in one month (maybe about five or so the rest of the year). Those two years left an imprint on me, an unsettled feeling that has never left. “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you, Joy.…

Join Us to Supercharge Your Vote: A Livestream Event!

Are you registered to vote? Have you requested your absentee ballot so you can vote by mail? How about that census? We’ve been living through such extreme weirdness that these otherwise easy civic activities can somehow fall between the cracks — so we’re hosting this virtual event to help get you supercharged!

Watch LIVE and join the chat at youtube.com/pyragraphtv.

This livestream, co-hosted by…

Five Fantastic Songs With No Lyrics

Who needs words? NOT BILLY. Photo by Billy McCall.

We all love it when our favorite song comes on the radio. Music can affect our mood in ways that no other art can, and part of that response is often the impulse to sing along. Singing the words to our favorite song is a way to interact with the art we love, a way to feel like we are part of it. Sometimes the feeling we get from singing are…

Welcome to another edition of Coffee + Creatives Opportunities! Coffee + Creatives is a meetup group based in Downtown Albuquerque. We have an active Facebook Group page where we share all kinds of opportunities and resources. Here are some recent highlights posted by members and organizers, but please do join us on the Facebook group for more.

Both national and New Mexico-centric opportunities…

Livestream Fundraiser Featuring The Ordinary Things



ABQ band The Ordinary Things livestreamed a show featuring its album “Stories” in its entirety, and hopes to raise funds for the Navajo and Hopi Families COVID Relief Fund. If you enjoy their music please consider donating here:

  Or go to this link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/NHFC19Relief

You can find The Ordinary Things on Bandcamp.