Other Voices

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.