Listen: Zach Appio, telling stories with Odd Concept Media

Zach Appio

Zach Appio

 

 

Zach Appio is a storyteller. When he and his brother, Frank, were both seniors at RPI five years ago, they produced a prize-winning psychological thriller, “The Baby Monitor.” Now, Zach has found new ways to tell stories — through comics and music. From his fertile imagination — he taps ideas into his computer and jots on notebooks around his home, even next to his bed — have sprung three comics. “Just T & Cakes” — watch out for verbal and visual puns in Appio’s work — tells the story of a neat sloth named T — he wears a bowtie — and a messy goat named Cakes in a same-sex but different-species marriage. Their love shines bright as they take on life in a big human city. “Tish & Squish” is the tale of two look-alike cats that, as in Mark Twain’s “The Prince and the Pauper,” trade places. Finally, “The Home” is a spooky story of kids in a 1970s orphanage who are given stuffed animals that come to life. The teddy bear, Chunks — Appio sewed patches on a bear himself — is a symbol for Appio’s company, Odd Concept Media. In the same way children invent lives for a favorite toy animal, Appio has invented lives for his characters. Appio has also produced an album — think Jabberwocky, all nonsense syllables, with hip-hop and rap music — that he composed himself from his Altamont bedroom: Zac Roc — Irritable Vowels. Hear his music and his ideas in this week's podcast.

More Guilderland News

  • A majority of the 43 operators, laborers, and mechanics in the potential bargaining unit have signed cards choosing the Civil Service Employees Association as their bargaining representative, according to the union. 

  • The spending plan comes right up against the state-set levy limit but does not pierce it. This means a simple majority vote can pass the budget. While spending is up 1.88 percent from last year, the tax levy is up 2.3 percent.

  • “Let’s clarify what this is and what this isn’t," Chief Executive Officer Donald Csaposs said, opening a conversation on the topic during the IDA’s March meeting. “We’re not here to pass any policy revisions ... We’re here to have a very preliminary discussion of what workforce housing in Guilderland might look like as it relates to the provision of financial assistance by the IDA.”

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