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Show "1 Trrr, 14 wpW!'1. 11 tr " ? i i isteM Rockin in a free world INTERVIEW BY 1AMIE WWITIELD Pushing the limits of the picture book market, Graeme Bases new book The Worst Band in the Universe uses brilliantly colorful illustrations and whimsical, witty verse to introduce Sproc, a teenager living in a universe that frowns on musical innovation. the gosxl illustraiKins. most of the jokes Widely quote. as saying the hook came were in that. For two years I struggled to falling into the bedsheets." Base adds It fell purely as a title. Now what preceded w me the story w nh this as a central part. I that was the desire to marry my two interfinally realized I was completely going up the wrong path." ests. my two passions: art and music." What made him change his mind? something he had nX been able to do pro"Well. I was kxking at it more analyticalfessionally since the publication of his ly. When 1 brought my story to Earth, I alphabet book Ammalia. "I was playing in a band, the band felt was actually shattering my own allegory. It all fell apart. I brought die fantasy to the apart at the same time as Ammalia look real world. It off. so I just seel of went down the mevd the whole book illustration thing up. So. in and wnting path, fact, it was only when I cut out the but I always wanted to get back to entire Earth SH of the book that I musk, and The realized a was an Worst Band in the I'niverse just hit excursxxi which me as a period title went whnyi swl I Graeme then hack onto the to carry that 1 story. In fact, you through." title could slice it off a Having and die story fall into the worked Niter does not without rt." Slice necessarily mean, usiexx. " he did. however, the Nxk was easy to write. While I'm writing, its "The original test he Worst Band ran all to do w ith the visualv I try and conto the length of a short novel rather than a struct a story w hah enables me to go to picture Nvk. It was enormously difficult these places in my head. I came unstuck to condense the idea down to something with dial in The Worst Band in the approac hing a picture book text. Just to reduce d dcwn was painful, h took me Cnivene because in my mind I had these two years. Then I had to get away from it aliens coming to Earth. I thought most of best-sellin- g BaseJ m: bed-shee- ts nviiniii They say that necessity is die mother of inventHin. and four years ago. author Fine Prtmaveta was in need of a Christmas btxk fix a very young friend. I wanted something that dealt w ith the Santa ClausNorth Pole aspect that makes the actual theme of the holiday more real. A kit of Christmas books almost try not to be temNv. temblv , Chnstmasy." Primavera is a huge fan of the holiday and decided, after her fruitless search, may be six should write a Chnsjmas lakes die magical. fun aspect of die holiday and presents it in a way that's not cliche. Something dial you could sit down with a child a couple of weeks before Christmas and the story gets them really excited about the holiday. Something that elaborates on Santa Claus, the eh- es, the North Pole, and what goes on up ihcre. I went lx xix and decided I would try to do this." The result is Auntie Claus (Hareourt Brace, S 6, 0 520 9tNX ), a hook that - 1 c 1 1 Claus-theme- d live-acti- pre-tturr- e. Primavera notes that later dud same tlc.it book.'-onxibin- reveals seme of the my sterxs behind the daily operations of Santas shop. By answering some of those quest kxis, how ever. a central theme emerges; it is far better to give than receive. This Chnstrrwts. Saks will feature Auntie windows; next Christmas, a film adaptation starring Rosie OTVxuxlJ will day. she hxk a shower. Im ma kkklmg. I get great ideas in the shower, and 1 was thinking aNxit what makes a really gtxxl Chnstnus NxA. A k of it is fixmd in the title. A play on wtxdx, a play on a song, or an expression, so I started Exiling around w ith titles and words and I'm taking a shower, nght? Then I thought about Santa Claus. And I played w ith words that rhymed. Aunta Chius, Saury Claus, Auntie Claus. And as soon as I said it. the whole character came to mind: an eccentric woman who keeps her Christmas lights on all year kxtg.' That's when I did the final text for The Diucnery if Diatoms book. I had dene the artwork; it had been published in calendar form scene years ago. but I still hadn't clicked on how to do the final hoik. I realized I had gotten to a stage in Word Band where I just needed a circuit breaker. So I left it alone and I went hack to the gorical. With music as the metaphor, its focused straight away on freedom of expression. W'e must maintain that right. I think an important corollary to that statement is that innovation in isolation is a headless monster. Il will in the end but if this generation is alkiwed to express itself and then build on the past you've Dnifims project I did the dragon hook, had a ke of fun. and then I came back to Worst Band and said, all right I'm me going to wnie a m prose. I'm going to go back, to what I've done in the past verse. Verse is a farrtastk way of telling the story. The original setup he the book was taking two or three pages minimum, but I wrote it in the first stanza, just four lines, which set up the entire hack story. It's very economical. I wnting in verse Ex that reason. And kxkmg hick on it how dbv ious that w as. Thiv w a Nxk which is totally Exmdcd in music, and yet I wasn't wnting it m verse, which is a musical form. I must have had rvxks m my head. So when I came back to the project. I got the text down very quickly. I spent die next two years doing the artwork; then put the music on at the end." Inhke other projects. Base has a definite message in The Worst Band in the I niverse. .Wore than ever before, it is about something. As I say, it's very alle ke got great synergy for those innovative ideas, and that w ill take its further. Thai's what's going on behind the story" Fans accustomed to searching for hidden objects in Base's anwxxk w ill not be disappointed. Nil m adJition to the morphing alien m each illustration of The Worst Band in the I'niverse. Base has included something new a CD of music which causes Base some concern. T foci nervous ahxit the music. It's like I'm newly published all over again. I'm son of hopmg, actually, that people ill like it. but sort of aware that everyone's musical tastes are so polanzedL All of a sudden Ive g'one all nmouv" Nervous is the Lot thing he should fceL His newest addition entertains and enlightens all ages. As Base says, "Who's to say how old kids are? There should be a 4tVy ear okl kxts' sectaxi: Kids' Bcxks -- fie Adults.' ' $13.95, BS10939S83. illustrations in charcoal and quickly She says that at this pint, she jumped bkxks in her shapes w uh gouache. oid of the shower to write all her ideas down so that she didn't forget any of d. Pastels are light, sxi it's hard to get The whole idea wav Is she real or is she dark, rich colors." Sometimes, Prtrruvera gexs back and not real? And that's all I had at that pint. Then I and tlxn layers with chalk and pastclv thought, maybe she's the force behind Chnstmas, Auntx Claus contains the helper or the masterseveral odd elements mind. From there 1 built diamond keys, canine buton that and canx to lers. bratty children, an overbearing elf. Are these Sophx and the rest of the family. That came a kd setting the stage Ex future skiwer, but the initial, Knngle family adventures? immediate thunderbolt "There's going to be a was definitely the characsequel, which I'm wxximg ter Auntx Clauv" on now. t think what's As demonstrated in her Oisa Prwwera interesting is that you have this family who. even shipping and showering though they're ml living in the Ncxth cxp.nencev Pnmaseras wnting process is not necessanly deliberate. Semcnces Pole with Santa Clauv all have Chnstmas-relaieconx to nx. And never when I want them johv" Well, are there to. Fix example. I'll get the idea and keep any other famous relatives hi the Knngle it in my head Ex a while, and sometimes family ? You'll have to wait and sec. when I'm trying to go to sleep, a paraThat's Ex nx to know and you to find out," she smiles. graph will come to me and I will write it down. Clearly. Auntx Claus and Pnnuvera are ' Pnrravera also illustrated Auntie keeping a few secrets to themselves Claus. 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