The Playlist: Janine Vangool of UPPERCASE

Janine Vangool publishes, edits, and designs UPPERCASE, a quarterly magazine “for the creative and curious,” from her studio in Calgary. Learn how music—and William Shatner—played a part in inspiring her career in this week’s Playlist.

What do you listen to while you work? I don’t often listen to music while working since I have so many diverse tasks to accomplish that require concentration, such as writing, emailing, sorting magazine content, and subscription management. However, if I have the luxury of a few hours to just design the magazine, then I will listen to music.

How do you listen? I have some simple desktop speakers and a small selection of music on my Mac Pro and iPhone.

Do you have any favorite music websites/providers? Just iTunes, like everyone else.

Who influences your musical taste? My husband, Glen Dresser, listens to more music than I do. He’s a writer finishing up his second novel and he has playlists to suit the themes and moods of his book. I’m most influenced by his tastes. I also might see a band that I like on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” or listen to the recommendations on Black Eiffel blog.

How has music influenced your work? When UPPERCASE was just starting out, an entire book was inspired by music. Glen and I were driving across Canada and listened to Ben Folds and William Shatner’s collaborative album “Has Been.” It must have gotten into my subconscious because we decided it would be fun to do a gallery show about William Shatner. At the time, he was going to be turning 76, so we invited 76 illustrators to interpret Shatner’s life and career—from Captain Kirk to T.J. Hooker and more.

“The Shatner Show” was published it as a hardcover book; it was UPPERCASE’s first publication, and though the subject matter was unique and not typical of what I do now, it led to me turning my attention full-time to publishing the magazine and other books. The summer that “The Shatner Show” was on display, I listened to “Has Been” more times than I ever care to remember!

JANINE’S PLAYLIST

1. Oh No, Andrew Bird
2. Gogol, Gonzales
3. Everything Is Moving So Fast, Great Lake Swimmers
4. Empty, Ray LaMontagne
5. Ammends, Viggo Mortensen
6. If You Would Come Back Home, William Fitzsimmons
7. It Hasn’t Happened Yet, William Shatner
8. The Vampire, Bob Lanois
9. Last Flowers, Radiohead
10. Messiah Ward, Nick Cave
11. Let Me Tell You About My Boat, Mark Mothersbaugh

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Photos: Janine Vangool

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