Introduction




“It’s not about the story, it’s how you paint the picture.”

I was fascinated by the way she pulled the round brush through her long brown hair. Her head tilted back and to the right, mouth slightly open, looking down her nose into the mirror. The slight pulls and tugs. The long strokes. I watched as she alternated between light mists and quick bursts of hair spray.
“Why are you watching me?”
“I don’t know.”
Truth was, I didn’t. I was 14 and everything she did captivated me. She was so interesting down to her everyday mundane movements. I would watch as she pulled her hair back and looped a rubber band 2, 3, 4 times around a pony tail. Why 4? Why not 5 or 6?
As a teenager with an uncanny curiosity for the lives of others, I wanted nothing more than to burrow into her head and understand why she chewed peach flavored gum when it wasn’t even her favorite flavor, and why she got so excited to make me French fries in that old fry-daddy cooker on the counter.
As the years progressed I found myself exclusively reading biographies, watching documentaries and spending the last of my Euros watching people have sex behind glass in the red light district of Amsterdam. But it went far beyond the act of voyeurism; I began interviewing bands as an excuse to ask questions I had from years of obsession, none of which I ever had any intention to publish, nor did I.
I took notes on cocktail napkins in Vegas strip clubs while performing impromptu interviews with escorts. I asked CEOs of corporations what motivated them to get out of bed and watched silently as heroin addicts pushed the cooked up liquid into their veins.
Everyone is a resource, you can gain insight from every person you meet. While true, it was more of my excuse to satisfy my teenage compulsion to understand why people moved, thought, reacted and motivated them in this world.
The following stories are an extension of that voyeuristic obsession. It was my opportunity to ask some of the most interesting characters I knew to give me a peek into their lives. The only guideline given was that their story had to be true. An experiment in giving people from different countries, generations and lifestyles brushes and colors to see what art they create.
These are my friends, my colleagues, my mentors and my inspiration.
I hope this collection will motivate, provoke and entertain you in the ways they have inspired me.



— Christopher Gutierrez. June, 2009.

REMNANTS - DXS006

united states $15.00 canada/mexico $20.00 world $22.00

ships: august 1st, 2009.