This month's rockstar font is by the Chankstore's Staff Rockstar Scott "Woodrow" Macdonald, drummer for the Minneapolis punkfreedomrock outfit Arcwelder. This alphabet was drawn by Woodrow, was made into a font, and is hereby introduced by his girlfriend, Rhen DeLaTruckstop...

I have a drawing table and stand with all sorts of art supplies in my apartment. One day Woodrow and I were talking about paintings and art and our various ideas. He said, "I want to do a series of paintings of irons." (His fascination with irons stems from his love/hate sort of passion for ironing work clothes for his day job.) I said, "That's great, here's some board and a pencil, have at it." He didn't get very far with the painting, but I was persistent. I gave him a little sketchbook and some pencils and crayons for Christmas, and said, "Use this to draw your irons." Well, eventually he came to me with the sketchbook full of little scribblings of iron-shaped letters. I was very proud of Woodrow.

Arcwelder, where do I start about Arcwelder? You must realize that whatever I write about them is horribly skewed by the fact that I absolutely love Arcwelder, and they can do no wrong. With that in mind, I'll give you the standard history. Scott's drumming started out at an early age and was supported, surprisingly, relatively well by his parents. He had been noodling about in synth bands, cover bands, and art rock bands for a number of years when his friend Rob brought Rob's brother Bill to see one of Scott's bands playing in the basement of some house in St. Paul. It was Bill's first punk rock experience, and it must have stuck. Soon after, the three of them got together and started writing songs. Scott was really the only accomplished musician of the group, but the other two caught on using odd guitar tunings and practicing the moves of their favorite musicians. Man, could they rock. It didn't take long for them to put out their first single, and 9 years and 5 full albums later, they're still using funny tunings, and they still rock. They're currently writing songs for the next record in between getting married, having kids, and having shows called off because of bomb threats. I have heard these songs. I love these songs. Have I mentioned that I really love Arcwelder?

It's a spiritual thing, it's a vocal thing, it's a lyrical thing, it's a musical thing. Something that reaches down into your soul and pulls at you from all different directions. It's a rhythm and a scream. It's fierce and alive. It's a soundtrack to your life and emotions. It's things that you are afraid of, things that make you feel. It's a catch, a hook, something that pulls you in, rips you up, and spits you out feeling better than you ever had before. Going to one of their shows, listening to them in the car, belting out words that anyone could cling to in their own way... It's about life, about their lives, and it's amazing how it can all fit so well into yours. Few bands do this to me, and even fewer do it with such humility and sincerity.

Enjoy this font and use it often...