Ahoy,
mateys! I always appreciate putting a face
with a name, so maybe you'll enjoy doing the same.
I'm Chef Mayhem, the creator of TellNoTales.com (and
our sister site, DoomBuggies.com).
I'm the Art Director for a group of publications in
the Silicon Valley, and I received my degree in design
from San José State University after narrowly avoiding
a degree in music. I've worked professionally in various
art departments for over 20 years.
I also often work as a freelance
designer, focusing on web sites and logo/identity
packages. Some of my past graphic design clients include
Apple Computers, Inc., Intel Corporation, and Billy
Graham Ministries... but enough with the resumé.
Sound and Fury
I'm also a musician, and I've been
in a rock band, recorded under a Grammy-nominated
producer, and produced numerous professional Haunted
House soundtracks (including one
released to commercial radio by Radio Disney).
I regularly do volunteer work for my church as a pianist.
Additionally, I currently perform in a band that plays
exclusively in prison to share a little positive and
optimistic spiritual energy with men in a dreary and
often bleak place. I've found volunteer work to be
the most rewarding outlet for my artistic ventures.
Creative renewal
I live in the Silicon Valley, and try
to get down to Disneyland at least three times a year
for creative renewal. I'm sure many of you can relate.
Just being surrounded with the product of so much
collective imagination is like finding an oasis in
the desert of mediocrity that is called pop culture.
I simply find that in terms of my artistic nature,
Disneyland is a refreshing place to be.
I served as a member of the 2003 Disneyland
Creative Advisory Council. During this time, our small
group gathered regularly at the Team Disney Anaheim
offices to meet with the resort's management to discuss
the public's experience with the park, and to review
various marketing projects, and new or proposed merchandise.
In 2005, I was included in Daily
Variety's special issue dedicated to Disneyland's
50th Anniversary. I was asked for my opinion of the
nature of Disney fandom based on my experience as
webmaster of TellNoTales and DoomBuggies. "There
is something amazing about being able to revisit an
immersive experience that has remained, essentially,
unchanged, while everything else in life evolves and
moves on," I said to Variety. "It's
the closest thing to time travel that there is."
Disneyland roots
I've always adored Disneyland, ever
since the days when I'd run around the park in the
mid '70s with my sister and my friends Robbin and
Christine - the days when parents could let their
eight- and ten-year old kids run loose in a theme
park all day, and feel safe about it. I've also always
loved spook houses, Halloween masks, pirate treasure,
skeletons, and all sorts of creepy stuff - I was tracing
pictures of skulls and fossils from my parents' Time
Life nature books at the age of four, if my mom's
stories are true.
I think that's enough rambling on. Now
you know me a little bit, and that's what I intended.
Go on and get back to the good stuff. Comments or
questions? Drop me a line
and let me know what you think of the place.
—The Chef