Abel Braves Fire To Make It Right

After several shakeups since their debut album Lesser Men in 2010, Poughkeepsie, New York-based alternative rock band Abel is releasing a heavier, darker and more pragmatic sophomore album. The 10-track indie album Make It Right is right on target, a superbly crafted collection of songs that deliver amazingly authentic vocals and wildly addictive music.

"I think we've always wanted to do something a little grittier and bluesier, but music has a natural progression," says front man Kevin Kneifel. "We weren't ready to make that leap on Lesser Men."

Make It Right is an album of life lessons.

As Kneifel calls it, Make It Right is not as complex as Lesser Men. What it delivers instead is an impassioned execution that only comes with surviving adversity. And while Kneifel is reluctant to speak on behalf of the band, he is unafraid to share what was on his mind during the dark period that led up to it.

"Abel did a lot of touring in 2010 and that was definitely a really stressful time in my life," says Kneifel. "I was really struggling to figure out what I wanted to do with myself and where I thought music and touring fit and in my life in general. To top it off, tensions were really high between Alex [David] and myself on tour that year, and we even spent some time not talking to each other."

Like many singer/songwriters and musicians, Kneifel found himself at a crossroads — feeling like he had to commit to the band or the four-year relationship with his girlfriend. The choice wasn't so easy to make because he doubted his ability to do either. It didn't help watching several outside relationships he admired break down and fall apart. The ones who suffered the most, he said, were the children.

"These were the things that were on my mind at the time," he said. "So these were the stories I brought into writing the lyrics for Make It Right."

It can immediately be heard on the first track released by Abel in advance of the album. Fire Walk With Me is a soaring rocker, opening with a smoldering chorus that blisters against self-doubt and self-righteous hypocrisy.



"It's also about running away from your problems," says Kneifel. "It's easier than owning up to the things you've done and the promises you've made."

Several songs on Make It Right carry a similar theme, which is where Make It Right has the most bite. I'll Be Waiting is about the relationship he considered the model of a stable, loving marriage before the cracks began to surface and the couple split apart. Even so, Kneifel maintains some semblance of hope in the song. He says sometimes people need space from each other to work out personal issues. It would be nice to know that they have someone to come home to.

Fine Lines also hits close to home, with Kneifel writing about his long-time friendship with Alex David (bass). During the 2010 tour when tensions peaked, insincere apologies were bantered about just to keep things moving forward. They didn't recognize it until they got back, but pride and putting success before friendship almost caused a near irreparable rift.

They had been there before. These were the same pressures felt when Kneifel and David had played in another band together. They were all suffering from tour burnout when their bass player quit The Comeback Tour. While the shakeup helped them discover Dan Bishop, who later joined Abel, the momentum had collapsed.

When they did reunite, David had picked up bass and Kneifel invited John Rell III to play drums. It clicked well enough for Dreamt Music to produce their debut EP and Come&Live to back their Kickstarter-funded debut album. This time around, Come&Live is supporting the album, but Make It Right was funded exclusively by Abel fans through Kickstarter.

Along with their savings, the band retreated to the Catskill Mountains and then went on to record with producer Matt Malpass (Manchester Orchestra) in Atlanta. Come Home, which is a standout ballad, was one of four songs they finished writing there. It's a nice change of pace in that it was written for Kneifel's girlfriend for their wedding day. The direct contrast to the ballad, An Ultimatum, is based on her telling him to man up or leave.

Make It Right By Abel Hits 6.6 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale. 

This is the kind of album that can propel a band forward. There is a synergy in the collaborative writing process along with influences from Malpass throughout. More than that, it's a landmark album for the band and, in particular, Kneifel. He never had to choose his wife or the band. He only needed faith.

Make It Right is available on iTunes. You can also find Make It Right on Amazon or visit Bandcamp, where you can also listen to Daughter. The band has a heavy set of shows planned at the end of September in support of the album, kicking off in Danbury, Connecticut.

The Sensu Brush: A Stroke Of Genius

Many iPad and iPhone stylus designers try to inspire. And most of them come up short. The Cregle iPen comes to mind. The iPen is one step above junk. The low-tech Targus Stylus beats it.

So it only stands to reason that when someone came up with an idea even more ambitious — to create a better paint brush that works with the iPad — we set our expectations appropriately low. It turns out that we never needed to settle. The Sensu Brush will change the way you think about art apps.

The Sensu Brush as a well-designed stylus.

The Sensu Brush is a stylus is housed in a chrome-plated container reminiscent of the Fisher Space Pen bullet as conceived by the late Paul C. Fisher. The housing has several practical benefits: it protects the brush, makes the stylus smaller for portability, and extends the length of the brush for balance.

Closed, it can be employed as a traditional malleable rubber-tipped stylus, similar to the Targus and other stylus designs. While the Targus tip has more density, creating more intuitive, resistent, and precise lines, the Sensu tip comes very close to perfect.

Once you have a feel for how much pressure to apply, it works as well as any of the better stylus designs on the market. So, other than density, the quality is nearly identical. It won't tear, rip, or become deformed like many cheap models are known to do. And overall, the Sensu Brush feels right with a little more weight and the cool, graceful curve of an elongated chrome bullet.

The magic begins when you use it as a brush.  

With three easy steps, the stylus transforms into the best paint brush on the market. Open the bullet, flip the brush, and reattach to the base. The balance and overall feeling of the brush is perfect, a testament to the experience that Artist Hardware has in designing and inventing traditional art supplies.

The soft, fine bristles of the Sensu Brush look indistinguishable to a fine arts paint brush with a tapered, sightly rounded end. This also creates a little more precision than the Nomad Brush design did last year, evolving the concept of a digital brush to the next generation. The silicone grip is a nice touch too.

The brush glides effortlessly over the iPad screen, without any concern for pressure. And while it cannot duplicate the feel of a brush (e.g., the weight of paint or coarse resistance of some canvas), the Sensu Brush is about as close at it gets to a traditional fine arts feel in the digital age.



When used in conjunction with art applications ranging from our favorites like ArtRage or SketchBook Pro, the experience is as close as you can get to the real thing. In addition to the video put out by artist Matt Lynaugh and Artist Hardware (above) using ArtRage, I was also struck by one of the first illustrations shared by artist Raul Allen (below).

Allen is a fine artist living in Spain who does illustration work for a number of select book publishers and magazines, including Rolling Stone. He initially did a series of quick portrait sketches as soon as his Sensu Brush arrived and tweeted them. His favorite, Vanessa Grimes, was shared on this blog.

Like more artists and illustrators, Allen doesn't expect that his digital illustrations will replace fine arts in entirety. But he admits not having to clean up after painting a portrait is definite benefit. His work speaks for itself, including those subtle lines that look even more like a brush.

The story of the Sensu Brush was not without suspense.

Many developers, especially those that launch on Kickstarter, create striking prototypes that need adjustments during manufacturing. And the story of the Sensu Brush, like many of them, was not perfect. It took six months to modify the prototype during production, much longer than anyone wanted.

In this case, however, backers didn't mind so much because Artist Hardware kept everyone up to date. The first issue was the quality of the conductive brush hair. The second issue was the silicone grip. And the third issue, which was heartbreak on Valentine's Day, caused the company to reject the first 3,200 brushes.

While the brushes themselves had worked, some came loose at the junction of the silicone handle and cuff. Artist Hardware did feel some pressure to deliver, but everyone agrees the wait was worth it. I mention some of the setbacks because it demonstrates Artist Hardware's commitment to quality.

Many developers simply pass along products that are less than perfect with a shrug. Artist Hardware wasn't willing to pass along less than perfect and we're grateful. This is a fine artist instrument that happens to be made for the iPad and other touchscreen tablets. Amazing.

The Sensu Brush By Artist Hardware Paints 9.8 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale. 

The Sensu Brush is expected to make its general public debut in May. It was developed by Artist Hardware, which is a design consultancy that creates consumer products for artists. It takes great care in the products it delivers, and the Sensu Brush is one of the first it owns for itself.

As part of the initial launch, the Sensu Brush will be sold exclusively on the consultancy's Sensu website. It will retail for about $40. As more retail outlets are added, we'll update the page. Do take care putting the brush back in its housing. The last thing you will want to do is bend the bristles.

I received one of the early Sensu Brushes as a Kickstater backer. My only regret is that I didn't order more than one. The Sensu Brush is an exceptional example of inventiveness and innovation.

Inspired Designs: The Upper East Side

New York City has always been shrouded in an aura of romance and mystery. And everywhere you look, from Times Square to Central Park, Manhattan best punctuates the point. So do the landmarks and cultural institutions that make up the Upper East Side.

It was only a matter of time before an artist would stroll the streets and pick out architectural ornaments found on lesser-known buildings tucked just out of sight behind the better known chic boutique scene on Madison Avenue. That artist, a jewelry designer who graduated from the Cooper Union School of Art, is Rebecca Schiffman.

If the name sounds familiar, you may have heard it before. She created a wildly inventive line of fashionable chain mail cuffs, bracelets, and dress grids a few years ago. That concept was clever enough, but it's her newest inspiration that is catching attention. All of her new work is inspired by the more timeless architecture that surrounds her. 

The Upper East Side Collection by Rebecca Schiffman. 

The Upper East Side (UES) Collection is a work of beauty, with each piece having a story. For example, the sterling silver geometric flower pendant isn't just imagined. It comes with a story, inspired by the geometric flowers that adorn the building at 19 East 88th Street (William M. Dowling, 1936).

The Art Deco design decorates the facade, lobby, and each individual apartment. The building wouldn't even exist, if not for the fearlessness of Nathaniel Wallenstein. He was one of the few people willing to build in the middle of the Great Depression. The other building is nearby, at 411 West End Avenue.

Schiffman has two treatments for the pendant. The much more striking one is set with a 2mm diamond. She also uses the flower again as cufflinks, with solid curved bar pyramid backs. It's not improbable that a couple might consider a matching set.

Another dazzling design, one of her earliest, is the sterling silver flower shield, crafted as a pendant or earrings. Like the geometric Art Deco flowers, the building at 1021 Park Avenue also has a story. It was designed by Rosario Candela, an Italian-American architect who defined the city's characteristic setbacks and signature penthouses.

The building was one of his last to be completed during the boom. In addition to being an architect, Candela was also cryptologist. He even broke a historic military code that had long been considered unbreakable.

Schiffman has plenty more designs, including a cuff bracelet inspired by a planter outside 11 East 88 Street, a racing hare that decorates the third floor of 1040 Park Avenue, and tulip earrings that borrow their inspiration from a fleur-de-lis facade at 5 East 92nd Street. The emerging collection's creativity carries old world architecture into the modern world.

A Bit More About Jewelry Designer Rebecca Schiffman. 

The work she is putting into her new collection carries an authentic fascination with the Upper East Side. While some might rightly argue that the West Side has more architecture to tap, Schiffman is a lifelong resident of the area.

After graduating from art school, she has gone on to study ancient jewelry techniques at Jewelry Arts Institute as well as casting and model making at Studio Jewelers, LTD. She currently studies under Feed de Vos in New York. His own studies are influenced by schools in Holland and Canada.

Schiffman is working to launch her collection using Kickstarter. She has raised about half of her funding goal to date. There seems to be little doubt that she will meet her goal, but be aware that not all orders will be complete by December.

The UES Collection By Rebecca Schiffman Sparks 7.2 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale. 

While we usually avoid showcasing work that is still in development, Schiffman's work is stunning with its back story and simplicity. Somehow she has managed to capture the smallest details in the romance and mystery that surrounds the city. Most people walk by, day after day, and never even notice. Schiffman takes one small detail out of the ordinary and makes it extraordinary.

While you won't find her newest collection at any boutique today, you can support the UES Collection on Kickstarter and become one of the first to own a piece, set, or larger part of the collection. In the interim, you can also visit her studio portfolio for updates.

If you are looking for something sooner, such as December, you can always consider some of the vintage (unusually rare) or one-of-a-kind pieces at Charm & Chain. Some pieces are so unique (one of a kind), they are near impossible to review.

Kickstarter Is A Good Will Pick

There is barely a week that goes by when someone around here doesn't peruse the ideas and innovations on Kickstarter. And every week on Kickstater, we're not alone. Tens of thousands of people make pledges to fund music, film, art, technology, design, food, and publishing projects.

For the artists, musicians, and creative talents found there, it's a dream come true. They receive enough funding to get their projects off the ground. And for the people who help fund them, anything and everything is possible — from film credits and limited edition prints to prototypes and finished products.

It's the creatives' way of saying thank you, and you help make it happen. 

It doesn't happen every time, mind you. According to Kickstarter, a little less than half (44 percent) of the participants meet their funding goals. And for those who don't, no money ever changes hands — freeing up any pledges for some other idea, album, or DYI project.

This all-or-nothing funding model might sound harsh on the front end. But it's an incredibly bright idea. The growing Kickstarter team of 28 in New York City wants to make sure any project will be completed. And since Perry Chen, Yancey Strickler, and Charles Adler founded Kickstarter, they've done an amazing job doing exactly that. More than 10,000 projects have gotten off the ground.

It also helps artists reign in what they really need. After all, it's easier to fund smaller requests, even if some receive two or three or four times the initial ask. Anything is possible before the pledge deadline lapses — including a bridge between the artists and patrons, stronger than anything we've seen.

Three brilliantly creative projects being made possible at Kickstarter. 

Of course, the best way to appreciate Kickstarter isn't always to talk about the platform, but rather the people and their projects on it. It's their work that fuels interest and inspiration. Here are three.

Makeshift Magazine. While most people think that print is dying or dead, it didn't stop Steve Daniels from listing his idea for a quarterly magazine and multimedia website about creativity in unlikely places.

What's especially unique about the magazine is its emphasis on environments where resources are scarce and creativity is born from necessity. The first issue focuses on recycled art and adaptive reuse all over the world. Makeshift not only reached its funding goal; it doubled its initial ask.

Sensu Brush. Although the concept seemed to be a bit more of a risk, given our experiences with other iPad styluses, sometimes you have to take a chance. The Sensu Brush is an authentic brush for use with  drawing and painting apps on the iPhone or iPad. If it works, you'll likely see it make a return visit.


The innovative concept brings the tech tool that much closer to a true tactical experience for the iPad. What helped win me over was some of the other (non-tech) products made by Art Hardware. As a design consultancy, it will be interesting to see how Sensu Brush stacks up. The Sensu Brush has since doubled its initial ask.

Creatures — The Card Game. Brand new with 38 days to go, the creative card game challenges people to match up the front, middle, and back of some 28 animals tucked inside the 84-card deck. Even more interesting, you don't have to match up the animal exactly. You can make up your own.

Once you make up a new and zany animal, you pit it against your opponents. May the best animal win. Clever? Creatures - The Card Game is the creation of Tyler and Angie Panian of Long Beach, California. Tyler came up with the idea and Angie has lent some striking minimalist artwork for the animals. As of yesterday, the project had pledges accounting for 12 percent of its goal. Maybe you can help fund Creatures too.

Kickstarter Is A Good Will Pick By Liquid Hip. 

At least once a month, Liquid [Hip] highlights good will efforts undertaken by courageous people with big hearts. We don't score them. That belongs to you. 

These three picks on Kickstarter haven't been the only projects we've backed since the beginning of the year. We've also backed a comic by Jeff McComsey and an album by Mary Lou Lord, among others. But that's the best part of Kickstarter. You can find and fund whatever projects you like. 

While Kickstarter does retain a percent of any project's funding (about 5 percent), it's relatively modest considering all the good they've done. Even better, artists and innovators who aren't funded are never charged for trying. And that means more to us than anything. In fact, if we did score it, Kickstarter would easily hit a perfect 10.