Scattering Seeds on the Pomegranate Tour

The Mythic Bookmarks

Picture of Judi Miller as Galatea, Brooke Abbey as Peppermint Lady, and vixy Dockrey as Idunn

Amy McNally as ‘Hel is other people on stage.’

In January of 2014 Amy McNally invited me up on stage to perform with her and her bandmates at her Conflikt Guest of Honor concert. (Because Amy is awesome!) She wanted to help me debut my new song, “Scattering Seeds on the Pomegranate Tour” about a mythological Girl Band traveling the mythical realms far from their hometowns. I made sure there was a nice long wordless bridge in the middle, so Amy and Betsy Tinney could play a luscious yummy instrumental. And they did. Torrey Stenmark, a fantastic costumer heard the song and got an idea.

Torrey’s description in live journal:

I did a thing, inspired by quadrivium‘s song “Scattering Seeds on the Pomegranate Tour” also known as “Peppermint Ladies”. If you haven’t heard this one live, fix that the next time she’s in concert. It features a number of Greek and Norse goddesses on tour as a band and support staff. Being the costumer I am, I was immediately inspired to design outfits for all of the ladies and cast an entire stage-full.

• Persephone: the esteemed Dr. Mary Crowell. Something slinky in dark red or burgundy, in a silk satin. I’m picturing fruit embroidery around the hem and garnet jewelry like pomegranate seeds, possibly adding stones to the embroidery. The dress would be bias-cut so it flows smoothly.
• Galatea: Judi Miller of the flashing hands. A classical Grecian gown of vertical pleats, tied at the shoulders and belted at the waist. Those marble statues were brilliantly painted, so the dress is vibrant orange linen.
• Idunn: calling in vixy Dockrey for this one. Something like Frigga and Jane’s costumes from the recent Thor movie, with a draped cowl neck. The dress is golden for the apples.
• Ariadne: Sunnie Larsen starts the string section. Something with an eighteenth century flavor, with a wide neckline and three-quarter sleeves, both with fabric ruffles. The green brocade has a labyrinth or Greek key motif.
• Hel: Amy McNally hides half her face with her hair. There’s a classic Norse style of a dress with an (often striped) full rectangular apron. Here it’ll be done in many shades of blue linen and cotton.
• Arachne: since the costumer is in the song, Torrey Stenmark. The superhero Spider-Woman has a web/wing that extends from the sides and the sleeves of her costume. I’m copying that in indigo and using asymmetric hems and lettuce ruffles.
• Echo: Betsy Tinney doesn’t run sound but she does play against her own music with a looper. Her outfit is many different mix and match pieces (skirts, blouses, jackets, belts, etc), each in a different shade of purple, mostly made of light knits.

I loved Torrey’s costuming ideas so much I decided I wanted to see them as paper dolls or bookmarks. So as we drew closer to Kickstarting the album, Scattering Seeds on the Pomegranate Tour, I commissioned Starr Weems (cover artist for Acolytes of the Machine & Other Gaming Stories) to make these bookmarks. These are poured watercolors, one of her favorite mediums. She has been sending pictures to me for the last several weeks as she completes them. They are so lovely, and it is really cool to see them as they progress from sketches, to first pour, to second pour.

Mythic Bookmarks First Pour

Hel (Amy McNally), Echo (Betsy Tinney), Arachne (Torrey Stenmark), and Ariadne (Sunnie Larsen) get their second pour.

We actually had to create a wiki so we could post reference pictures of all the musician and support staff models, photos of costumes, suggestions for costumes, and sample bits of the works in progress (although, those are usually just texted to me.)

And we’ve added to our superb pantheon band. Brooke was first to join, and Torrey included a write up for her as well.

Brooke Abbey as a Peppermint Lady: I’m thinking a big floofy white dress with bright green diagonal stripes/swirls all around the skirt, such that a top-down view of the dress would look like a peppermint candy. But in the brilliant green of the plant, not red like the candies. I’d pick up that red color in accent trims on the bodice. Silhouette-wise, I’m thinking something like Princess Vanellope from Wreck-it Ralph.

Once the album was definitely happening, additional Peppermint Ladies and one Gentlemen joined the pantheon. And it is quite possible there may be more. These next few are some costuming suggestions I have made.

• Iris the Messenger: Starr Weems Maybe Starr wears a rainbow cape, and brandishes colored gel markers like a fan or possibly throws them ninja style in a fan-shaped pattern. I’m still working out the rest of the costuming though. (I’ll ask Torrey.)
• Kalliope: Maya Bohnhoff Calliope in my campaign world of Muse is also the muse of steampunk technology and kicking a**. (I mention her by name along with the other eight muses in “Courting My Muse.”) Of all the pictures I have put here as reference, the Musica ex Machina is my favorite. It’s just seriously cool, and how I picture a Muse of both technology and music looking. And since Calliope is represented by scrolls, sheet music scrolls work well too.
• Shoggoth: Seanan McGuire in a spectacular orange tentacular dress and tentacle accessories with a watermark fade of the elder god in the background.
• Jeff Vader, god of Mixing: Jeff Bohnhoff What I have in mind is for Jeff to have a mixing board behind him or he could be seated and turned like in the top picture. We need a red light saber near by. Not sure how to work that in and possibly a mostly hidden Darth Vader coffee cup. Because I’m going for the double Eddie Izzard reference for Jeff Vader god of Mixing, let’s have a box of biscuit mix on the mixing desk somewhere. And somehow, somewhere, there has to be a guitar. Maybe Jedi robes?