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Message from crewkoos Feel free to suggest any artist you would like to be interviewed on the blog.
Crewkoos Rock Poster Artists Interviews - Brad Albright (US)
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First of all, a very Happy New Year to all of you dear readers. As you may have noticed, it's been a while since the last interview, but we will try, this year, to update the blog on more regular basis. If you have any artist in mind, silkscreening gigposters and who never have been interviewed here, please feel free to conatct me, I will be more than glad to discover new talents, as this guy we will talk with today: Please welcome, as our first guest for 2018, the very talented Brad Albright !!
Hello, of course as every Crewk interview,
first question: what are we listening to when we come to visit you?
Great first
question! Something heavy, definitely! Lately I've been rocking instrumental
stuff like Animals As Leaders, Modern Day Babylon, Pomegranate Tiger... Djenty
stuff with a lot of driving rhythm and syncopation gets my head nodding and my
drawing arm moving. Other favorites are Nine Inch Nails, Intronaut, Meshuggah,
stuff along those lines.
Can you tell us more about yourself, who are
you, where are you from, what do you do?
I'm a
freelance illustrator, gallery artist, and pop-culture product designer based
in Dallas, TX.
When did you start drawing?
I've been
drawing since I was little, but really caught my stride in graduate school for
illustration. That's when my line-art style really solidified and I started
experimenting with old-school 3D for red/blue glasses.
Did you follow any course or did you improve by
drawing in the margins of your schoolbooks?
A little
bit of both, really, but graduate school for illustration was where it all
started to come together... how to merge the personal passion with a professional
approach. And practice practice practice.
Today are you living from your art, or do you
do something else for a living ?
I do work
full-time as a product designer and occasional illustrator in my day job. But I
also work constantly in nights and weekends pursuing my own work, gallery
shows, and freelance illustration projects. All of it blends nicely together
where it feels interconnected to support and inspire me to keep growing.
Are you collaborating with magazines/fanzines,
regularly?
My clients
are more often bands and apparel retailers, art collectors and fans. Not often
publications, though I'd love to do it more.
Where does your influence come from? Is there
any artists/graphists you particularly like, what are your influences?
The heavy music
drives me more than anything... almost like synesthesia. But I'm also inspired
by movies, comics, books, and other artists. Swiss scratchboard cartoonist
Thomas Ott and underground comics master R. Crumb are my biggest artist
influences, if I had to pick.
What are the principal steps in your work ?
These days
I work almost entirely digital, start very loose with an almost blurry brush to
explore compositions and concepts. Then I rework, refine, turn it upside down,
and just sculpt at it until things start to feel right. Then I can enjoy
locking down the shapes and going to town on shading and line work.
Do you do everything by hand or on computer?
Primarily
computer these days, though I do love a good ballpoint pen on some cardstock.
How long does it take you to do a poster?
Anywhere
from 10 to 30 hours, typically. It just depends how complex an image I'm
building and if I'm struggling with anything along the way.
You have a very distinctive style, are you
doing only what you feel like or if tomorrow somebody asks you an oil painting
with horses running out of water with a sunset backdrop, is it a problem or are
you up for it ?
For the
most part I'm working on self-directed projects where the final product is what
feels right to me. Thankfully I've been lucky to work with some really great
bands who give me total freedom, and the outcome feels true to myself as well
as the band and their music. While I COULD do an oil painting with horses
running out of water with a sunset backdrop, it's not really what I'm best at
and don't generally have to deviate from my own processes. I'm very lucky to
have a recognizable style without really trying for it, and thankfully that's
what clients are looking for when they ask to hire me.
For which band have you already worked for?
Some of my
favorite gigs have been He Is Legend, Comedian Marc Maron, Intronaut, Guided By
Voices, These Old Men They Play Records, Daylight Industries, Sealion, and The
Black Moriah.
For which band would you love to work?
Way too
many to list! But just off the top of my head... Primus, Queens of the Stone
Age, Periphery, Animals as Leaders, Meshuggah, and The Sea in the Sky.
Do you choose the artists yourself?
Occasionally
I'll reach out to bands directly if I really believe in their work and feel
like it's a good fit. Other times it's a surprise or a happy accident that we
get connected.
What is the most difficult part in designing a
poster ?
The
designing is the fun part, through and through! Especially when they give a lot
of freedom to take their sound and translate it into visuals that make sense to
me. The most difficult part is almost always the business end... pricing,
tracking down payment, following up. All the administrative stuff.
Do you think you are part of a "Graphic
Scene", if so who else ?
I consider
myself a part of the Dallas scene, for sure. I have a lot of close friends and
colleagues here and enjoy the scene in the Deep Ellum neighborhood. I'm
supported by Kettle Art Gallery and they continue to be a really important
outlet for me and the community.
A bit of self-promotion, take advantage of it,
it's free, where can we see your work , on the web or in real life?
The best praise you received lately?
A customer
reviewed a recent 3D poster saying "I think this is the best art print I
own, so cool and so creative!!" That was very sweet and encouraging!
What can we wish you for the future?
I'm expanding
into dimensional wall sculptures as well using lasers and wood... very excited
to be making actual 3D art that is tactile and organic while still being
designed digitally. It's an interested blend of disciplines that I'll be
sharing in my etsy shop, in gallery shows, and soon in art festivals at my own
tent.
Thanks for answering my questions and see you
soon on the website !!
- Stoner Jo (Jo Riou) FR
 Stoner Jo (Jo Riou) FR
Once again, there's a kind of french touch flavour today and the site, but be sure this is not the only reason why Jo is here for us. Definitly not, his perfect music taste, his love for beer aare certainly what made me wonder to have him onboard, together, maybe ( ;) ) with his huge talent and the pleasure it has been to do this interview !
Hello,
Hello and thanks for this interview
Of course as every Crewk interview, first question:
what are we listening to when we come to visit you?
Music is my dope so it's very rare if you listen nothing at my home... In this
case i'm probably dead. I listening all kind of music but probably 80% of my
sound is Stoner/psyche rock!
Can you tell us more about yourself, who are you,
where are you from, what do you do?
I'm French, 31 years old, living near from Paris. I'm an
independant graphic designer since almost 2 years, and I make especialy posters
for the Stoner scene in France, and when I could around the globe. Before that
I was webdesigner in a shitty start-up during 5 years.
When did you start drawing?
As far I can remember, I begin very young. As a lot of people. Around 8/10
years I began to create my own stuffs and make some copies of Japan anime or
French/Belgian comics. It's only around 12/14 I'd discovered American comics
and began to take some Art courses at college.
Did you follow any course or did you improve by
drawing in the margins of your schoolbooks?
The both ! I take a specialised cursus in High School to learn « Arts
Plastiques », and generally all the margins of my schoolbooks get a messy
graphic aspect also sometimes that gone outside of the margins, a lot of tables
had suffering because of me. After that I was make 3 years in specialization
from Visual Communication / Multimedia création, and go to work as a
Webdesigner.
Today are you living from your art, or do you do
something else for a living ?
That's the plan. But it's not so easy. Currently this is only a few months that
my activity becomes really consistent and allows me to consider the best for
the future. Outside the posters I realized some album artworks, I have a lot of
demands for various merchandising, and I have a lot of concert organizations
projects, tour bands and exhibitions for occupy my time and try to make little
money. Actually it's common for me to do odd jobs to complete my bills at the
ends of month.
Are you collaborating with magazines/fanzines,
regularly?
My collaborations stop at the music scene. I am part of an association:
"ARE YOU STONED INC", with whom we set up gigs in South-east of
France, Thing I also do independently to help bands from my buddies or just by
passion. For graphic stuffs I'm setting up an exhibition called « Stoned
Eyes for Rock Ears » around graphics and Stoner Rock which I will invite
many of my comrades!
Where does your influence come from? Is there any artists/graphists you
particularly like, what are your influences?
Mainly my influences come from american comic books, Art Nouveau, Russian
propaganda posters, old inked engravings and of course all the psychedelic
posters arts of the East Coast of the United States during the 70's and also
all the artists from the Golden Age of Heavy Metal (the magazine). But anything
can be inspirational, a photo, a book, some street-art, an idea, a dream, the
music, an item... No bundaries to the imagination, it's very important to not be
boring for a creative activity like ours.
But it's clear i've got a big list of inspirational artists very various but I
can quote : Mucha, Moebius, Shepard Pharey, Hayao Miyasaki, Mike Mignola, Jack
Kirby, Hokusai, Gustave Doré... And many of the actual graphic posters
designer, but I could continue this list for days and days... So next question.
Do you do everything by hand or on computer?
Actually the both. All the basics of my drawings are done by
hand. First I realize several sketches, I chose one, I work the positioning of
my various elements. Generally this phase there is either very detailed or it's
just me who knows what it is. Then I ink in accordance with pens or chinese
ink. And any final dispositions and colors are made by computer, using Photoshop
and Illustrator. But for me it's impossible to do something without the
handmade phases even the photomontages I realize throught by the sketch part!
How long does it take you to do a poster?
It depends on the level of details I put into a creation. But that does not
exceed 15H generally spread over 2 days.
You have a very distinctive style, are you doing only
what you feel like or if tomorrow somebody asks you an oil painting with horses
running out of water with a sunset backdrop, is it a problem or are you up for
it ?
I
think I politely explain to the person who made me this request he didn't see
my work for asked me such a request. I don't think I've a defined style but I
love variety in my references and in my work, but that kind of request it's not
for me. My rule is that : if you ask someone to do
something for you, you need to know the style and the work of the person, it's
like a tattoo. You're not going to ask someone specializes in black and white
portraits for you to make an abstract colored one ...
Ahah
For which band have you already worked for?
I am
fortunate to be in Europe or stoner scene is in full development like in
France, Spain, Greece and Italy and where many bands and projects are taking
place. So that's the biggest part of my job. So I have the chance to
work with talented and various bands like PLANET OF ZEUS, DOMADORA, 1000MODS,
DOT LEGACY, LIBIDO FUZZ, MOTHER SLOTH, the music label THE SMOKING GOAT,
WOODWALL, and many others with whom it's a pleasure to work.
For bigger bands I have the other chance to participate in full of festivals and gigs,
thanks to Are You Stoned Inc. that its own festival BLIZZARD'S MOUNTAIN FEST
and JENS HEIDE and FREAK VALLEY FESTIVAL, and Obviously the STONED GATHERINGS
gigs in Paris where I began 2 years ago. Thanks to all of them, who opened me a
lot of doors and full of possibilities. With them and thanks to them I could
work for : KADAVAR, RADIO MOSCOW, SAMSARA BLUES EXPERIMENT, MONKEY 3, THE
FLYING EYES, NAAM, ENOS, MIDNIGHT GHOST TRAIN, NIGHTSTALKERS, ALUNAH, VIDUNDER
and much more...
For which band would you love to work?
I dream to work for band like Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Pink
Floyd, The Who, Ten Years After, Deep Purple, The Animals... and so many
others, but it seems it's too late... No seriously it's not possible to make an
exhaustive list, they're too many...
Do you choose the artists yourself?
Yeah I just realize I've got this chance too ! By thinking even the posters for
venues or festivals I have the choice of the bands I could do! The rest of time
it's me who contact the bands with whom I want to work. Or bands contact me and
I chose if Yes or Not i want to do their projects.
What is the most difficult part in designing a poster ?
Clearly find the idea who correspond to what expect the
band, or their universe and something you can create... When this is ok, no
problem at all... If not I don't do this Job haha !
Do you think you are part of a "Graphic
Scene", if so who else ?
From the start I think the fact to making rock posters place you in a type of
« scene ». Maybe the proof I do part of something like that is your
interview today Ahahah! But it's not an official stuff for me. I'm very close
of my friend Antoine from Headbang Design with whom I share lot of friendship
and projects. I get along with other artists also working on the same music
scene than me in France like Arrache toi un Oeil, Will Argunas, Alexis Dr Big
Al, Seb Bismuth... And that's cool. Maybe the exhibition project I've got will
be the occasion to officialised something about that, we'll see !
A bit of self-promotion, take advantage of it, it's
free, where can we see your work , on the web or in real life?
You can follow regulary my work and stuffs on my facebook
page : https://www.facebook.com/Jo.Riou.Graphics
and to see only my works without all the crap of facebook hive got my page here
: http://jonathan-riou.tumblr.com/
. I should
soon put in place a more comprehensive site where people can buy my posters,
but also T-shirts, patches and I hope many other things.
2015 will be a big year for me and you could met me in a lot of places : April
at the DESERTFEST BERLIN, I hope in May at my Exhibition in south of Paris,
June at Siegen for the FREAK VALLEY FESTIVAL, in July at « Le petit VAR
WEST Festival », August in Greece at the « FUZZTASTIC PLANET
FESTIVAL » and I hope so many other places !!!
The best praise you received lately?
Recently My Sleeping Karma that asks me to take a poster I made for them and
turn it into a T-shirt because their fans and them like it too much ! Also the
leader of Monkey 3 who wrote me to say he really loved my poster I made for
them to the Freak Valley Festival. And again thanks to The Freak Valley who
give me the possibility to make a poster for a 1969 band's and legend of
Krautrock in Germany aka BRÖSELMASCHINE and discovering a lot of people asked
me to print the poster right now because they love it hahaha... If it could be
like this every day Ahah!!!
What can we wish you for the future?
You could wish me 1) all my projects succeed 2) I get really
live with my work 3) And it happens to me full of good things again! Anyway this is what
I wish to you haha!
Thanks for answering my questions and see you soon on the
website !!
Thanks and may the force be with you !
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After a long break, it's time for me to introduce new artists on the site and, because I am the one and only to decide who may or not appear here, I am pleased to welcome Antoine from Headbang Design to open this new season. With clients such as Pentagram, Sasquatch, The Sword, Lonely Kamel, Blues Pills or Truckfighters, this frenchy proves art has no boundaries...
Hello, of course as every Crewk interview,
first question: what are we listening to when we come to visit you?
I?m listening to something like 7 to 9
hours of music each working day, so I?m always in search of something new.
I have a deezer account with hundreds of
favorite artists, and my office is overloaded with CDs and LPs?
The core is stoner and doom music ? any
cool band I can find, from Kyuss to Electric Wizard, Om, Clutch
and every other classic in these styles,
to really underrated gems that no one knows. I?m also listening a bit of
classical music, pop artist such as
Alt-J or even Phil Collins, all rock/blues legends
(Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Clapton, Bb.
King?) there?s only too much to name, but if you come to visit me, chances
are
You will hear a lot of guitar and drums,
often stoner and doom music.
Can you tell us more about yourself,
who are you, where are you from, what do you do?
I?m a freelance illustrator from France.
I?m freelancer since I started working six years ago. I?m also
a Photoshop teacher and writer for
magazines (photography, graphic design).
Headbang Design, my ?music illustration
studio? is only a small part of my working activities.
When did you start drawing?
During childhood as most illustrators. I
started watercolor a 8 and my first ?good? oil painting has been made a 12.
Did you follow any course or did you
improve by drawing in the margins of your schoolbooks?
I?ve been trained a bit in ?courses?
from 9 to 12 years old, there was a kind man showing us
how to improve our paintings? Then I
studied graphic design for 3 years after high school,
just before moving to freelance. Then I
became a drawing and Photoshop teacher in a French school, and I have
to admit that I learned a lot while
trying to teach what I already knew! Some embarrassing questions or
suggestions
from students helped me to move on and
work harder on my drawings.
Today are you living from your art, or
do you do something else for a living ?
I?m living from my array of graphic
skills. That?s to say I?m not living 100% from drawings commissioned by
musical
clients, but I also write articles for
magazines, about drawing, Photoshop and graphic design, and I also work on
graphic designs for various clients ?
not only on drawings, but also logo, website, I also keep creating tutorials
for a DVD editor called Elephorm? So I?m
living from my skills, call it ?art? if you want.
Are you collaborating with
magazines/fanzines, regularly?
I wrote more than 120 articles for
graphic design magazines such as Advanced Creation, Photoshop Mag, 3D mag?
But I don?t work much with musical
fanzines.
Where does your influence come from?
Is there any artists/graphists you particularly like, what are your
influences?
What are the principal steps in your
work ?
The only true direct influence that I
have is Alphonse Mucha ? I regularly get inspiration
and visual gimmicks from is work. I also
look a lot to other illustrators? work, but I never try to do the same thing.
I just try and get the mood and look I?m
after, I can get some tricks from other illustrators, but in the end I only
stick to
fundamentals ? composition, colors, and
maybe perspective if there?s any. The main steps are researching
(ideas and images for inspiration and/or
drawing reference), sketching, final drawing and/or inking, then coloring.
Do you do everything by hand or on
computer?
I mostly do everything on computer, with
a Cintiq tablet ? wich is a big 24?? screen I?m directly drawing onto.
It feels really similar as a drawing
table, but I use Photoshop instead of pen and paper.
It?s really close to traditional
drawing, but with the additional magic of Photoshop. I love it.
How long does it take you to do a
poster?
I?d love to say that I work 60 hours on
a poster, but the fact is that it?s not the best job to get a good revenue,
so I try not to spend more than 10 hours
on a poster. Most of the time the poster is done in something
between 5 to 7 hours. I know how to
manage my time, so it all depends on budget.
You have a very distinctive style, are
you doing only what you feel like or if tomorrow somebody asks you an oil
painting with horses running out of water with a sunset backdrop, is it a
problem or are you up for it ?
No problem at all. I have a distinctive
style for Headbang Design, and another style for my other commissions.
In fact I consider I have no style at
all. The only thing I couldn?t create is a photo-real illustration, because
I?m not
as good as I?d like to be.
For which band have you already worked
for?
I work a lot for festivals and
promoters, so I don?t have so many direct contacts with bands. I had the
chance to chat
and get cool e-mail from bands such as
Blues Pills, Sasquatch, Freedom Hawk, Mothership,
House Harkonnen, Wo Fat?
But not that much ? I only started Headbang
Design one year ago. The fact is that cool promoters and festivals
gave me the opportunity to create
posters for many bands ? Pentagram, The Sword, Orange Goblin, Karma to Burn,
Valley of the sun, Truckfighters, Kamchatka,
Gas Giant, Lonely Kamel, Glowsun?mostly stoner bands, as it?s really my
passion.
The sad thing is that I don?t have much
contacts with these bands, even if some are really kind and let me know
they loved the artwork ? but most just
don?t care about the posters ah ah.
For which band would you love to work?
I?d love to have some direct contact
with The Sword, it?s a band that I love since many years.
I?d love to create anything for Clutch,
Electric Wizard, Sleep. But I also love to create cool stuff for
bands I only discovered, small bands,
unnoticed bands?it?s also a great pleasure.
Do you choose the artists yourself?
Absolutely. I contact a lot of bands
that I love to get commissions from them. But some bands also contact me
directly,
generally smaller bands just after I
created something for a huge band. After I created the Pentagram poster
for one of their show in Dallas, TX, I
had a lot of new clients from Texas who contacted me ? remember
I?m living in Tours, a 160,000 people
city in the center of France, so it?s unusual.
What is the most difficult part in
designing a poster ?
I don?t think there?s any hard part. For
me poster creation is a refuge, like holidays, a great breath of fresh air
between two boring commissions for
?regular clients?. The hardest thing over the years will be to have new
ideas,
to try and avoid repetition, but at the
moment this issue doesn?t exist.
Do you think you are part of a
"Graphic Scene", if so who else ?
No, I don?t think so. The only artist I
feel close to is Jo Riou, a friend of mine who?s working with me
on Freak Valley and DesertFest festivals.
We appreciate each other?s work, we hang out sometimes,
we share our booth to sell posters. We
both are ?stoner illustrators?, and there are others but
we don?t know them in person.
A bit of self-promotion, take
advantage of it, it's free, where can we see your work , on the web or in
real life?
I also have a website for Headbang
Design, but it?s just too boring to update, so I gave up trying for the
moment.
If you want a chance to get signed
posters, have a beer and chat with me, you need to come to
Freak Valley (Netphen Germany) in June,
or DesertFest Berlin in April.
The best praise you received lately?
Kamchatka?s singer told me my work
inspired him to create more music, or something like that.
I love his work and his band, so it?s
been a real honor. Lonely Kamel asked me to create the cover art for Shit
City,
unfortunately I never did so, because of
impossible deadlines, and they commissioned it to Vance Kelly,
a great illustrator. It?s one of my
worst deceptions to date with Headbang design,
but I?m also proud to know they like my
work, and I was proud to get the album title before my friends ah ah. Too
bad.
What can we wish you for the future?
Keep on living from my passions, keep on
going to cools shows to sell my posters.
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Thanks for answering my questions and
see you soon on the website !!
Merci!
- Perixx PERITAB-302
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Perixx PERITAB-302
After the short time required to master the pen and configure shortcuts (for more flexibility and significant time savings), this tablet has everything more expensive ones have but for a much lower price.
Aesthetically very successful, the Perixx PERITAB-302 is extremely thin, ranking easily in a drawer for example, and its graphic area (A4 format) is ideal for any designer or fussy for photo editing. Depending on the software used, the level of pressure on the pen automatically generates black levels more or less supported, or some degrees of inclination of the line.
After many hours of practice, I did not find any obvious defect,. Accurate, complete, ligth and easy to use, here is the alternative awaited by all those who are not ready to spend a fortune on these products. From beginners to experienced artists, the Perixx PERITAB-302 will satisfy the most demanding.
- Plastic Flame Press (US)
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Plastic Flame Press (US)
With bands such as Calexico or Toro y Moi on his 42 pages gigposters.com account, you'll guess that Christopher, the guy behind Plastic Flame press, is a talented and pretty buzy guy. This, already, should be enough to be welcomed on the site, but, thanx to his answers, he helped me discovering many other poster artists I never heard about since now. This is another reason why I really thank him for the time he took answering my questions !
Hello, of course as every Crewk interview, first question:
what are we listening to when we come to visit you?
It depends, but it is most likely a podcast. Either: WTF,
Tell 'Em Steve Dave, Smodcast, WDW Today or the WDW Radio Show. While printing
I usually don't end up listening to music because I start paying way too much
attention to it, rather than what I'm working on. If I'm drawing, I'll usually
shuffle through stuff in iTunes until something feels right, but I'll hit my
mix of Calexico and Pernice Brothers more often than not.
Can you tell us
more about yourself, who are you, where are you from, what do you do?
I'm a 32, almost 33, year old artist, musician, father of
one (Seamus Grant). I'm originally from Fort Lauderdale,
Florida, but grew up mostly in North Carolina. In
addition to gigposters and such, I work as a graphic designer for a weekly
paper. and play in a few bands, Maple Stave, Natural Gallerie and Heather Loves
Silkworm!.
When did you start
drawing?
Way, way back. The
first thing I can remember drawing was a Transformer. I was sitting at my
little table in our house in Florida
and wanted one of my parents to get me a Transformer from my room. Rather than
just get up and do it, or just describe it, I decided to draw it. Given where
this was, I was around 4 or 5. I still have the drawing in a box, and it looks
better than the Transformers I occasionally try to draw now. When I decided not
to major in Art in college I ended up not really drawing anything, or doing
much/any art for a few years. I came back to it my senior year thanks to a
friend's senior level class I had stretched my final year to take; it was about
graphic novels. Had I not taken that class I could have graduated early, and I
probably wouldn't have spent the following decade working on art.
Did you follow any
course or did you improve by drawing in the margins of your schoolbooks?
I did the standard art classes in grade school, and was
taking two at a time my senior year. I started out in art when I went to
college, but a combination of things (immaturity, being told that wanting to make 'gigposters'
meant that I was 'undecided', etc.) meant that I dropped Art, and got a degree
in English. I always wanted to believe I didn't need the fundamentals (I can't
count how many times I drew a grayscale between middle school and college), but
the fundamentals did help in some ways, for sure. Drawing in notebooks on my
own definitely helped me practice, helped me explore creatively more, but the
art classes helped me understand how to give things mass and perspective,
things I'd have probably not learned if left to my own devices.
Today are you
living from your art, or do you do something else for a living ?
I do pretty OK off
art, but I work my graphic design job to make ends meet. Not ideal, but it
keeps me focused.
Are you
collaborating with magazines/fanzines, regularly?
I've done a decent
amount of work for publications. Over the last seven years I've contributed a
lot to Indy Week, the paper I now work for. I love doing gigposters, but it's
fun to step out of that and do something more planned and intricate, and it
also gives me more time to learning how to do digital work, something I
completely ignored during my school years.
Where does your
influence come from? Is there any artists/graphists you particularly like, what
are your influences?
For a long time, I kept my influences very narrow, but now I
look all over and try to absorb things (putting a clear hint in my work from
time to time if the influence, I feel, is really obvious). My son's picture
books have helped, as have some of my old comic books I've started revisiting
now that my son is eager to learn how to read. The poster stuff, I owe a lot to
Ron Liberti and Casey Burns for helping me get started. From there, it's the
Jay Ryans, Dan Grzecas, Little Friends, Mile 44s, the good, supportive people,
that encourage people to make more art, rather than seeing it as a competition.
Around here, in the last couple years, the poster thing has been growing, which
has been great. Every couple months, some of us end up together, 'you did this?
I wish I had done that, how'd you do this?' It's nice to have people at arms'
length you can talk shop with. Skillet Gilmore, JT Lucchesi, Dantanamo, Brian
Reed, I'm leaving people out, I realize, and I apologize. Outside of
gigposters, for art, I cannot get enough Kirby and Darwyn Cooke, and the
original camp of Disney Imagineers.
What are the
principal steps in your work ?
The steps, to me, from the outside, are pretty boring. After
getting an assignment,I just sort of stumble into an idea. Depending on the
time of day, I might sketch it in marker on the bathroom mirror. From there I
start drawing it out, full size, usually discard that and start over from
scratch. Other than that, it's pretty run of the mill. Separations, burning
screens, etc., the boring stuff to make the thing happen.
Do you do
everything by hand or on computer?
For the posters and printwork, I do almost everything by
hand. Occasionally, I'll use the computer for separations or a standard font,
but probably 98% of my work has been by hand.
How long does it
take you to do a poster?
It depends, most of the time it will take a couple days to
come up with something and print it, but, under the gun, I've made a print
(conception, to finished run) in about half a day. Other times I've taken weeks
to flesh something out. Usually, as the deadline looms closer, the ideas come
quicker. This is probably why I don't do more art prints; no deadline.
You have a very
distinctive style, are you doing only what you feel like or if tomorrow
somebody asks you an oil painting with horses running out of water with a
sunset backdrop, is it a problem or are you up for it ?
I'd be up for it, but considering how bad I am with a)
paint, and b) drawing horses, they might have a problem.
For which band
have you already worked for?
I've done several things for friends' band over the last
couple years, bands/people that I've met through a forum online, done a couple
posters for the BBQs we end up having, that's probably been some of the most
fun.
For which band
would you love to work?
It might be a cop out, but I'm down for just about anyone.
There are bands that I used to wish to make posters for, but that's a lot of
pressure, and, because of who I am, I'll never be happy with the end result. I
did posters for Tortoise and Slint shows several years back, was thrilled to do
them, and I can sit down and point out a dozen things I'm still not happy with
or that I did entirely wrong.
Do you choose the
artists yourself?
With the venue I do the most work for, Cat's Cradle, I'll
sometimes put my name in the hat for certain shows, but it's ultimately up to
them. As for other work, 9 times out of 10 I'll make something work out,
schedule-wise, regardless of the band.
What is the most
difficult part in designing a poster ?
Making something that the band will be happy with. It
certainly doesn't always happen, but it's my main concern; something that is
eye-catching, that the band will really like.
Do you think you
are part of a "Graphic Scene", if so who else ?
I'd say yes, nationally, internationally, there are people
doing the same thing I'm doing, and it's clear that it's a 'thing.' Like I said
before, on the local level there is a community of artists. More people: George
Hage, Posterhound Family, Kitchen Island, all these people, and that's just
within driving distance. Then you take that to Flatstock, you've got 50
artists, then to Renegade and you've a couple more. Gigposters.com isn't just a
ragtag group of art misfits, it's evidence of this poster thing being a big
deal, or a scene, or whatnot.
A bit of
self-promotion, take advantage of it, it's free, where can we see your work ,
on the web or in real life?
Online, through my site, you can see all the stuff, though
it is in a storefront thing: plasticflame.com. In person, I've got a lot of
stuff at a gallery here in Raleigh, Amplified Art ( amplifiedartgallery.com).
They've got a pretty extensive collection of gigposters from all over.
The best praise
you received lately?
For the most part, I distance myself from any sort of
praise, even in person. I'd rather have someone talk about the show, rather
than the poster, because odds are I'll just tell them the poster isn't all that
good. Is this healthy behavior, probably not, but it's how I get by.
What can we wish
you for the future?
I'd like to continue making posters. It's the goal I set for
myself when I was a kid, seeing old Kozik and Chantry stuff in zines, and it's
pretty cool that I grew up to do it. Eventually I know I'll stop for one reason
or another, but I'd like to think I have a good number of years left before I'm
used up. - Phil Cushway - Art of the Dead (2012)
-
Phil Cushway - Art of the Dead (2012)
In the world of books dedicated to rock poster art, few of them are completly dedicated to a single band art, most of the time, they deal with an artist and his art. This is truely surprising when you think that those posters are made, firstly, in order to promote a band show. Art of the Dead is an exception. Who else than the Dead can boast about being here from such a long time, who else carried hopes of the youth with so much passion ? Who else produced such powerful shows all along the decades ? Major figure of the US underground scene, they are the soul and inspiration, as this book testify.
The author worked with legends: Griffin, Moscoso, Wilson, Mouse and Kelley, but also with 90s icons: Kozik, Arminski, Forbes or Coop,this shows how serious the guy is. When, in the forewords, he says that the book is, before all, an hommage to the artists and their arts, it is a way to say that the Dead is just an excuse to make this book. A good way to highlight, share and help to make the artists better known with around 140 posters selected. I would also like to highlight the wonderful printing work done on this book, not only by the size of the reproductions but also their quality that allows to see every detail and styles clearly.
Stating that "Griffins, Mouse and Moscoso are not only offsprings of Toulouse Lautrec, Mucha and Chéret, but equally their peers", here is a wonderful book, commented by Greil Marcus, Steven Heller or Mickey Hart, that deinitly demonstrate this statement.
For fans of the Dead, of rock, of posters and, overall art fans !!!
- Didier Maiffredy - Rock Poster Art : Sérigraphies de concert (2012)
Didier Maiffredy - Rock Poster Art : Sérigraphies de concert (2012)
Books related to Rock Posters Art are really rare in France (as this art is pretty confidential here), but worldwide you can find many books dealing with this subject. Most of the time, they are focusing on a single artist like Brian Ewing, Emek or, let's say R. Black. Very few books cover the whole scene, with the exception of the awesome Art Of Modern Rock: The Poster Explosion, not that easy to carry everywhere with you!
This is the reason why I am so happy to introduce you today to this great french book, hoping that, one day, a courageous american translator will work on it. Didier Maiffredy knows what he is speaking about: collector, art lover, art lecturer, funding president of Les Arts du Rock, you can say he is a keen amateur. Once you will know that Frank Kozik wrote the forewords (both in french and english), you will agree this is a serious work we have here !
More than a collection of reproductions, this book is a true dive into this universe: history (from psychedelism to punk till the contemporary explosion), description of the "scene", the american one of course, but also many other countries, influences and referencies (pop art, art nouveau, recoveries, etc...), presenting many technical aspects (how to silkscreen, economic models, etc...), and true history of art/rock lessons, all of that, of course, filled with numerous posters reproductions (around 150 artists showed here) and, for some of them, the original art they are inspired by.
As cool to look at as well as to read (oh yes there is text here, not only pictures), this is probably one of the most complete book on the subject and, let's face it, it is the work of a frenchy, so, as we say here in France... Cocorico !!!
)
- Robin Gnista (Sweden)
Robin Gnista (Sweden)
2013 is no more than 1 month old, and I can already tell you I have a very serious contestant for 2013 artist discovery award ! If you are in a hurry or do not have lot of time to loose by now, please, follow this advice, do not click on this link: www. robingnista.com, keep it for later or, if you are like me, you will spend hours and hours browsing through the pages. "Hey! I am Robin Gnista. Outta Stockholm, Sweden, I make posters and artwork for bands, clubs or anyone in need of good art. My art is hand drawn, made to very reasonable prices. I mostly do custom orders, so do ask! ". Talent, humility and huge potential, this is all what it is about here !!! Welcome on the blog Robin, and be sure I'll keep an eye(ball) on you ...
1 Hello, of course as every Crewk interview, first question:
what are
we listening to when we come to visit you?
Union Carbide Productions, Badfinger, Captain Beefheart,
Stooges,
Beatles, etc. Audiobooks are also great when working.
2 Can you tell us more about yourself, who are you, where
are you
from, what do you do?
I'm an artist from Stockholm, Sweden. I make old fashioned
rock and
roll artwork for bands and clubs.
3 When did you start drawing?
In childhood.
4 Did you follow any course or did you improve by drawing in
the
margins of your schoolbooks?
5 - Today are you living from your art, or do you do
something else
for a living?
Art is my living, takes up most of my time.
6 - Are you collaborating with magazines/fanzines,
regularly?
Not regularly, but it happens.
7 - Where does your influence come from? Is there any
artists/graphists you particularly like, what are your
influences?
The chain of 1890s art nouveau; 1960's art
nouveau-influenced posters;
and art influenced by these two movements. In general,
history, art
and literature that predates 1900 is a great inspiration to
me, as
well as 60's psychedelia.
8 - What are the principal steps in your work?
Working with ideas and sketching, making the original piece,
scanning
it into a computer where I add color.
9 - Do you do everything by hand or on computer?
Everything by hand except for the colors, which are
digitally added.
10 - How long does it take you to do a poster?
No simple answer to that. I've had deadlines of everything
between
three days and three months. But the work includes coming up
with
ideas that works in several required aspects, making
sketches, making
the original art, changing your mind, making mistakes such
as spilling
coffee or sneezing at a crucial moment, redoing stuff,
communication
with the customer, it all depends so much.
11 - You have a very distinctive style, are you doing only
what you
feel like or if tomorrow somebody asks you an oil painting
with horses
running out of water with a sunset backdrop, is it a problem
or are
you up for it?
Thanks! Well, generally I'm asked to do what I do best, with
a lot of
artistic freedom, which I appreciate a lot. I accept unusual
requests
in case I see potential of a good result in them.
12 - For which band have you already worked for?
Lots. I'm happy to have worked with Horisont, on their
Second Assault
LP cover. Another band is Dean Allen Foyd, with whom I have
a ongoing
cooperation. I consider them the best psychedelic band of
today. For
two years or more, I've been working with the rock club
Püssy A Go Go
in Stockholm, I've done nearly all their artwork, which has
resulted
in probably 60 posters, logos etc.
13 - For which band would you love to work?
Roky Erickson.
14 - Do you choose the artists yourself?
The bands and clubs contact me.
15 - What is the most difficult part in designing a poster?
Working by hand in a tight timeframe, you have to get it
right
directly - so if you make a mistake or a section of tour
dates are
changed, you're in trouble.
16 - Do you think you are part of a "Graphic
Scene", if so who else?
No, most design guys around here have a modernistic approach
to art,
which I don't.
17 - A bit of self-promotion, take advantage of it, it's
free, where
can we see your work, on the web or in real life?
Some of my works are to be seen as wallpaintings at the rock
club
Püssy A Go Go in Stockholm.
18 - The best praise you received lately?
Unknowing of who I was, two guys standing next to me at a
record store
started talking about this "awesome poster artist Robin
Gnista".
Praise is a weird thing to handle, but if you hear it like
that, it
feels like a true compliment.
19 - What can we wish you for the future?
Health and more international jobs, and I'll be fine.
20 - Thanks for answering my questions and see you soon on
the website !!
It's really beautiful seeing you support poster art with
your blog, thank you!
- Jeff LaChance (US)
-
Jeff LaChance (US)
The good thing with Jeff LaChance is that, when you try to learn more about him by, let's say, looking at his FB profile, you discover that he is "extremely shallow, uninteresting and short sighted". This said, you still can have a look at his work, far from being uninteresting ;), and even, take time to read the interview. Believe me, a guy who worked for AC/DC, Motley Crue and many other great names (incl. the Melvins) can't be totally short sighed :D Many thanx Jeff for your answers and your time !
Hello, of course as every Crewk interview, first question:
what are we listening to when we come to visit you?
Over the past couple of days I've been all over the place.
I've been listening to Foxy Shazam, Rush, Tester (local rock / metal band)
Currently playing is "Life, Sex and Death - The Silent Majority"
Can you tell us more about yourself, who are you, where are
you from, what do you do?
My name is Jeff LaChance, from Boston, Massachusetts
and I'm a freelance illustrator / designer.
When did you start drawing?
I've been drawing, doodling since my memory came online
sometime in the early 70's.
Did you follow any course or did you improve by drawing in
the margins of your schoolbooks?
I did take "graphic communications" in high school
but found it mundane...crumbling up a piece of paper and then drawing it bored
me to tears. Being a fan of Ed "Big Daddy" Roth and Jim Phillips, I
wanted to draw monsters, ghouls, and creeps. Looking back now of course, I
certainly wished I'd taken the time and opportunity to learn things back then.
I probably would've saved myself a lot of time and headaches "learning on
the job".
Today are you living from your art, or do you do something
else for a living ?
I do make my living doing art, and my main focus is
illustration and tee shirt design.
Are you collaborating with magazines/fanzines, regularly?
I'm not working on a continuing basis with any one magazine,
but I have done work for Revovler Magazine as well as Royal Flush Magazine.
I've been published in several "rock art" books as well. Such as
" The Art of Modern Rock", Pandameat - a Frank Kozik project, AC?DC:
High Voltage Rock 'n' Roll: The Ultimate Illustrated History and
"Gigposters - Volume One".
Where does your influence come from? Is there any
artists/graphists you particularly like, what are your influences?
Ed "Big Daddy" Roth and the 80's skateboard art of
Jim Phillips had a HUGE influence on me as a kid...always had a fascination
with the monsters and creeps that were so prevalent in their work. I love TONS
of artists...people like Frank Kozik and Jermaine Rogers' whose work in the
90's was very important to me, not in a style sense, but certainly in an
influential sense...the catalyst to get me interested in doing gig posters.
What are the principal steps in your work ?
Concept is easily the most difficult step for me. If
possible, visually, I look for something that suits the bands music or
"vibe"...sometimes more successfully than others. I try not to use
the opportunity just as a vehicle for "my work", in other words, I
don't just slap some illustration I've done on a poster, add text and send it
off. I try and put some thought into it...for each band. I consider it a
privledge to be asked to do a poster...and I want to take that opportunity
seriously.
Do you do everything by hand or on computer?
I use both. I usually do the illustration by hand, and use
the computer for color and type. Although, I have done type by hand and I have
done illustration digitally. Is that confusing enough?
I'm gonna go with my first answer. I use both.
How long does it take you to do a poster?
Usually a couple days...sometimes longer. Depending on how
much detail I go into on the illustration. That is always the most time
consuming part of any of my posters.
You have a very distinctive style, are you doing only what
you feel like or if tomorrow somebody asks you an oil painting with horses
running out of water with a sunset backdrop, is it a problem or are you up for
it?
Hahaha, if someone asks me for an oil painting of a horse,
they haven't seen my work. Although I experiment with different mediums in my
free time, I stick to what I know best and the skill I've spent the most time
honing, which is pen and ink. I'm always working to improve my art and my
skills...and once I get to oil painting horses, I will add that to my list of
services.
For which band have you already worked for?
Too many to list, but a few of the more popular bands I've
done work for include Faith No More, Peeping Tom, KISS, Motley Crue, AC/DC,
Fishbone, The Darkness, Melvins, Primus, Big Business, High on Fire,
Buckethead, Queens of the Stone Age and The Sword.
For which band would you love to work?
Foo Fighters, Foo Fighters, Foo Fighters, Foo
Fighters,...being a drummer as well as a working artist, I am an unapologetic
uber fan of anything Dave Grohl.
also Cheap Trick, Foxy Shazam, Rush...I'm sure there are
many more...but those are off the top of my head.
Do you choose the artists yourself?
I am usually contacted by the venue or promoter, things have
changed a great deal from when I began doing gig posters. Things are far more
structured now, with alot of bands going through promoters or sticking with
designers or design houses that have done work for them in the past.
What is the most difficult part in designing a poster ?
Concept, concept concept.
.....usually.
Do you think you are part of a "Graphic Scene", if
so who else ?
I don't think I'm part of the "current" graphic
scene at all...and that's not necessarily a "bad thing". I think
there are trappings with being associated with a scene or a movement.
Restrictions or expectations, real or imagined...by others or yourself. Almost
similar to when a musician is successful with a certain sound or song...the
record company or fan base expect the same thing because THAT is what made them
popular....
So I'm OK with just doing what I want...and letting other
people figure out what scene I belong to or what category I belong in.
A bit of self-promotion, take advantage of it, it's free,
where can we see your work , on the web or in real life?
The best praise you received lately?
Any time someone buys a poster, or an art print or inquires
about having me do work for them, I consider that "praise"...to have
people interested in what I draw was always a dream for me when I was
young...so it's kind of cool.
What can we wish you for the future?
I'm a bit simplistic in my expectations and goals. As long
as I can eek out a living doing what I love, I'll be happy. So you can wish for
me to continue to find work and people interested in me doing work for them. If
I were to get lofty with my goals, I'd love to get into toy design, as well as
have my artwork appear on more magazines, skateboards and snowboards.
- Chris Hitchman (UK)
Chris Hitchman (UK)
I discovered Chris' work thanx to Monster Magnet. His stunning poster for the Spine of God tour was just so perfect I couldn't afford not to have him on the blog. So welcome Mr Hitchman and, of course, a very happy new year !!!
Hello, of course as every Crewk
interview, first question: what are we listening to when we come to visit you?
Right now silence, but usually my music taste
is all over the place and changes constantly, depending on mood and what I'm
working on. Melvins, Múm, Brian Jonestown, Dead Meadow, Tom Waits, 13th Floor
Elevators, Blonde Redhead, Mazzy Star, Swans, Comets on Fire, Black
Angels... to name a few on the playlist recently, along with some weird
noise rock and a load of obscure garage bands.
Can you tell us more about
yourself, who are you, where are you from, what do you do?
My name is Chris
Hitchman. I'm from South Wales. Aged 27. I like
art and music and attempting to combine the two. I wish I had more posters to
show, I'm actually working on three right now so I'll keep you updated!
When did you start drawing?
As soon as I could hold something to draw
with. I think most kids draw and create in their own way, I was just slightly
more obsessive about it.
Did you follow any course or
did you improve by drawing in the margins of your school books?
Art was my favourite subject in school and
I'd quite often get told off for drawing in the backs of my books in other
classes. I studied A level art but I didn't really have any direction after
that, started a few courses, decided they weren't for me. Worked a few jobs,
hated them. It wasn't until a few years later that I decided that this was what
I really wanted to do and it's mostly been self-taught, do it yourself, find
out what you can ever since there. I think only now, many years later am I
finally starting to find a style that I'm comfortable and happy with.
Today are you living from your
art, or do you do something else for a living?
Not sure if I'm making a living but getting
by, although some awesome projects have just started coming my way so I'm
hoping this year will be a good one!
Are you collaborating with magazines/fanzines, regularly?
No. But I'd like to.
Where does your influence come from? Is there any artists/graphists you
particularly like, what are your influences?
Life, and pretty much everything around me
really. I feel like I follow so many artists, painters, illustrators and poster
designers and keep finding new ones each day that If I mentioned just a few I'd
feel rude for missing out others!
What are the principal steps in
your work?
Think about it for way too long. Then panic
that I have no time left. Think again. Sketch ideas. Rip them up and move them
around on a lightbox until I'm happy with the placement. Same process with the
fonts. My sketches are usually super rough and messy so I'll re trace the whole
thing so it's clean and tidy, and then on to the inking. Finally scan it in and
add colour if needed.
Do you do everything by hand or
on computer?
Mostly by hand with a few exceptions.
How long does it take you to do
a poster?
Anything from a day to a week.
You have a very distinctive
style, are you doing only what you feel like or if tomorrow somebody asks you
an oil painting with horses running out of water with a sunset backdrop, is it
a problem or are you up for it?
I'd like to think if a band came to me they'd
have a vague idea of what they were going to expect from me. I wouldn't be
comfortable accepting a job in oils as I don't think I'd be doing my best work
and that wouldn't be fair, but I'm always up for getting creative and
experimenting with different ideas and concepts. I've had some pretty weird
ones already so definitely not a problem.
For which band have you already
worked for?
Mostly local bands so far. I've been lucky to
live in an area with a pretty awesome music scene that I enjoy and that has
definitely helped me to get inspired, create album art, tees and posters. My
first big job was creating a poster for Monster Magnets 20th anniversary tour
of their Spine Of God album and I've recently been asked to design a poster for
Mudhoney which I'm way too excited about!
For which band would you love
to work?
Melvins!! Seriously though, any band that I
enjoy listening to, whether I've heard of you before or not. I think the list
would be endless! I think Tom Waits would be a fun challenge, not quite sure
he'd dig my stuff though!
Do you choose the artists
yourself?
I'm just starting out so I've mostly
contacted bands I feel my style may suit, although others have started coming
to me recently which is definitely exciting!
What is the most difficult part
in designing a poster?
The initial concept and anything that
involves using a computer.
Do you think you are part of a
"Graphic Scene", if so who else?
I'm not too sure how to answer this one.
There are other artists that I talk to, who inspire me and are helpful and supportive
to each other, but I don't think I belong to a 'scene'. I do what I enjoy and
think doing your own thing as an artist is the most important. Saying that
though, there's a few artists from South Wales I admire, maybe that's my scene,
artist such as Jimbob Issac, Oram, Godmachine and some awesome new talent from
artists such as Gareth John Day at the Hand of Doom and Sarah Esprit.
A bit of self-promotion, take
advantage of it, it's free, where can we see your work , on the web or in real
life?
You can find my posters and other artwork at
my blog, shop or facebook.
http://chrishitchmanart.blogspot.co.uk/
http://chrishitchmanart.bigcartel.com/
The best praise you received
lately?
Most recently 'I like your style', because to
me finding your own style is the hardest part. I'm sure I'm still not there yet
but that means a lot to me.
What can we wish you for the
future?
To get my art out there... More posters. More
album covers. More awesome music!
Thanks for answering my
questions and see you soon on the website!!
Thank you for finding me!- Brookesia Studio (SP)
 Brookesia Studio (SP)
First thing first, a very happy new year to you all dear readers. I have been quite busy but here we go again for a new year of interviews, beautiful prints and many surprises to come soon !! So, in order to begin the year with a little bit of sun, please welcome Brookesia Studio on the blog and Feliz ano nuevo to them ! :)
What are we
listening to when we come to visit you?
At the
moment we are listening to the new Hellshock 12? - Shadows of the afterworld
Can you
tell us more about yourself, who are you, where are you from, what do you do?
Brookesia
studio are us ? Mariñe and Rubén, two lovers of music, graphic design and
art in general. We come together
beginning 2012 in Bilbao to create this project for on the one hand graphic
design of posters, album covers, flyers, etc.
and on the other hand in order to make as much as possible projects in
screen printing, which is our other big love. Let it be posters, covers,
shirts, whatever...
When did
you start drawing?
From
childhood on we started painting the walls of our parents homes... and until
today we did not stop to create...
Did you
follow any course or did you improve by drawing in the margins of your
schoolbooks?
Me, Mariñe,
got licensed in Arts, but somehow both are autodidacts in some way, we were
developping our own resources with influences of other artists from near as
well as from artists of the other side of the world. Above all, we never
stopped and are constituting step by step our own style, but in arts we think
you never stop learning, experience and discover yourself.
Today are
you living from your art, or do you do something else for a living ?
Actually,
we are starting and have more depth than benefits.... but we are conscious
about starts in the world of arts are generally quite hard... but we are up to
fight and give everything to be able to live from what we like to do most.
Are you
collaborating with magazines/fanzines, regularly?
In our short career we have ocasionally participated in some fanzine,
magazins... sporadically.
Where does
your influence come from?
Is there
any artists/graphists you particularly like, what are your influences?
Ugh, we could not say precisely one... we love arts in general, and
always have been infuenced by different artists, painters, illustrators,
sculptors... from whatever epoch.... just to mention some: classic victorian
age, engraving, movements of the beginning and middle of the century (futurism,
dadaism, surrealism), steampunk and above all modern illustration, all these
tendencies have left their marks.
What are
the principal steps in your work ?
Eg, when we have an assignment, we join and bring together all our ideas
and having in mind different points of view we decide... However, we think it
very important that our works is getting along with the style of the band.
Therefore, the first thing is to know the essence and esthetics of each band,
afterwards we start working on each design and printing.
Do you do
everything by hand or on computer?
For us,
both tools are equally necessary.
How long
does it take you to do a poster?
Well, it
depends on many things, the complexity of the design and of our state of mind, hahaha
You have a
very distinctive style, are you doing only what you feel like or if tomorrow
somebody asks you an oil painting with horses running out of water with a
sunset backdrop, is it a problem or are you up for it ?
To be true it is always better and more satisfying to create how it
comes from you inside and to hold on to your style and esthetics you like and
which are motivating you... but we are open-minded to whatever people might ask
for, but obviously within our ethics.
For which
band have you already worked for?
We have
worked for many bands which came touring here from Europe
and other parts of the world. Eg. Baroness, Neila,
Destierro, Antisect, Poisson Idea, Future Ruins, etc...
For which
band would you love to work?
Hhmm, many
bands, especially wolves in the throne rooms, amebix, neurosis....
Do you
choose the artists yourself?
No, or
sometimes yes, depends on the circumstancies, normally we work on orders.
What is the
most difficult part in designing a poster ?
To have a
clear idea and to realize it, say to picture what you have in mind in a piece
of paper, as well as developping the structure and composition of the design
once you got that, everything goes on...
Do you
think you are part of a "Graphic Scene", if so who else ?
A bit of
self-promotion, take advantage of it, it's free, where can we see your work ,
on the web or in real life?
We have a Brookesia Studio facebook account and a webpage is under
construction.
The best
praise you received lately?
The best compensation is that people value and appreciate your work.
What can we wish you for the future?
Go on with
Brookesia Studio and continue learning.
- Dumbgun (Derek Landers) (US)
Dumbgun (Derek Landers) (US)
Absolutly no valid reason why it took me close to one month to have this online, so, all my apologizes to Derek for the delay, this must, by no mean,be interpreted as a judgement on his work! All the contrary indeed, I really love his posters and want to take this opportunity to thanx him for having answered our questions !
Hello, of course as every Crewk interview, first question: what are we listening to when we come to visit you?
A.
The Camaros, Absolute Monarchs, My Morning Jacket, Mayer Hawthorne,
Fiona Apple, Wilco, My Goodness, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Tool, Avett
Brothers, Norah Jones.
Can you tell us more about yourself, who are you, where are you from, what do you do?
A.
We're both from Spokane, WA and met in college while both pursuing a
Graphic Design degree. We're still working in the field of design and
also doing a little filmmaking from time to time.
When did you start drawing?
A. We both were into art as kids and kept it going long enough to join forces in college.
Did you follow any course or did you improve by drawing in the margins of your schoolbooks?
A.
Even before college we were interested in art and just doing things the
way we thought it looked best. Derek spent a lot of time as a kid
drawing Star Wars space battles and KISS concerts. Trevor spent even
more time drawing plus also making 8mm movies.
Today are you living from your art, or do you do something else for a living ?
A. We're living for our poster art, but not from it. We both have full-time design jobs (and then some) to help pay the bills.
Are you collaborating with magazines/fanzines, regularly?
A.
Artwork for book covers is something we'd like to explore and also
editorial illustrations. We've done regular work creating posters for a
local landmark movie theatre.
Where does your influence come from? Is there any artists/graphists you particularly like, what are your influences?
A.
It's hard to determine exactly where the influences come from as
they've been occurring all of our lives. There are the obvious ones like
Saul Bass or Ralph McQuarrie, but then there is such a massive amount
of great design in our world today that it's almost impossible to
identify.
What are the principal steps in your work?
A.
We have tons of notes and sketches littering our desks (and our brains)
and we start there. Then we start to brainstorm at least 3 solid ideas
and then we divide them and go work them up. Once we have something
we're ready to show the band we'll critique the ideas.
Do you do everything by hand or on computer?
A.
We do both. We like to use a lot of tools just to keep things
interesting. Some of the art is the actual sketch with little
modification and other times the sketches serve as a guide for the work
done on the computer. Lately we've been doing more sketching on the iPad
and we're able to work on it just about anywhere.
How long does it take you to do a poster?
A.
The fastest we've turned one was about 4 hours (from approved concept
to finish) and the longest was at least a few solid weeks from concept
to final art with a whole lot of tweaking (and stress) in between.
You
have a very distinctive style, are you doing only what you feel like or
if tomorrow somebody asks you an oil painting with horses running out
of water with a sunset backdrop, is it a problem or are you up for it ?
A.
We'd like to think that people are coming to us because of our style
which is driven by our concepts. Oil painting is not a medium we're
comfortable with and we'd probably have to pass on something like that
simply because it wouldn't be our best work and that's not fair to us or
the client. However, if they were willing to let us tackle the idea in
our own way we're always up for a challenge.
For which band have you already worked for?
A. My Morning Jacket, Wilco, Pearl Jam, and Mike McCready.
For which band would you love to work?
A. Ted Leo, Jack White, Norah Jones, My Goodness, Avett Brothers, Louis CK, Radiohead, and many more.
Do you choose the artists yourself?
A.
Yes. We typically only work on art for bands that we like and we'll
approach them about doing some work. We've made some great relationships
that should keep us doing artwork with our favorites.
What is the most difficult part in designing a poster ?
A. Being satisfied that it's done and it not only meets your expectations but also the clients.
Do you think you are part of a ?Graphic Scene?, if so who else ?
A.
The ?Gig Poster? scene is so diverse and there's something out there to
appeal to every taste. There are plenty of artists that we admire
(Spike Press, The Heads of State, Olly Moss, Ames Bros, Brad Klausen, to
name a few) and are honored to be working for some of the same bands as
they are, but it's amazing to stop and think about how many other
artists are out there that we haven't heard of?yet.
A bit of self-promotion, take advantage of it, it's free, where can we see your work , on the web or in real life?
A. You can see our posters and some other art at www.dumbgun.com
The best praise you received lately?
A. Being asked by My Morning Jacket to design artwork for their ?Spontaneous Curation Series? tour.
What can we wish you for the future?
A.
More gig work, and some opportunities to do book covers, editorial
illustrations, and even get back to designing and printing t-shirts
which is how we got started.
- Dilek Baykara - St Vitus - 9-25-12 New York
Dilek Baykara - St Vitus - 9-25-12 New York
The "single poster interview" seems to be more and more popular, so be sure I am at the moment working hard to have many others online soon, but not that soon indeed, as I really want you guys to take your time to discover Dilek's art. I was really happy to have her on the blog in the beginning of this year as I thought her work was not properly represented on the web, and, once again, it is a pleasure to welcome her on the blog today to speak about her latest St Vitus poster. Enjoy !!
Hi ! Last time we spoke together you told me you would like to
do something for a band outside of the metal genre, is this dream came true ?
Not yet, but I am focusing on personal work right now and taking
on different subject matter. We?ll see where this year takes me. I still hope
it happens.
Well, we are not actually outside the metal world with this St
Vitus poster we are here to talk about today, first of all some
"technical" points :) How many prints have you made? Can we expect
different variants?
I printed 100, it was incredibly difficult since I have never
undertaken such a task for myself. I had a friend of mine who is an excellent
printer (Alejandro Chen Li) assist me in racking and helping me correct any
mistakes along the way, since its nearly impossible for me to pull a highly
detailed image onto a 22?x 30? sheet of paper by myself. I remember after the
entire experience that my hands were sore and my wrist was aching for the next
day. I?m not complaining, because it reinforced the fact that it was rewarding
in a sense since I knew I pushed myself even harder than before. I might print
a different variant in the future depending on time constraints and whatnot.
Did you have guidelines for this one or were you entirely free ?
Where does this horses idea came from ?
I didn?t have any guidelines, but I decided to try doing a 3
color print since I?m beginning to venture into using color in my work, and
decided to ease into using blends more.
As with my other posters I decided to base this off of a song. ?White
Stallions? was a song that really appealed to me visually right off the bat, so
I ran with it.
Seems like they are in danger with those fireballs falling from
the sky and all the blood under their legs, does this refer to a specific
lyrics by St Vitus ?
The song ?White Stallions? is a fast song, especially for a band
like St. Vitus. I basically wanted to capture that hectic chaos that is
happening within the song itself. So I based the concept off of the obvious, by
drawing White Stallions. Since the song deals with drug abuse (heroin)
lyrically, I decided to have them run through a lake of blood. As for the
fireballs, I wanted to simulate some effect of the sky falling upon the horses.
Since they are trapped in a never ending cycle of abuse. A lot of thought went
into figuring out what to put together visually, but when I read the lyrics and
heard the song it really came together in my mind. So yes, I?d say they are in
danger, I wanted to capture the energy of the song and the drug itself as
(Scott Reagers) explains it in the song.
I really like the lettering on this one, was it created
specially for this poster ?
I always try and make all of the lettering work with the font of
the headlining band. It was really frustrating, but I managed to make it work
somehow by taking the original font that I used as reference and made it looser
like the St Vitus logo itself.
Did you receive feedback from the band ?
Dave and Henry told me they really liked it, which was more than
enough for me to hear to feel great about what I did.
From their fans ?
I sold a good amount of posters that night and the 30 posters I
gave to St Vitus to sell on the rest of their tour didn?t last long from what I
heard from their tour merchandiser, Kim.
From your fans ?
I got really positive feedback from my friends, though I can?t
consider them fans since they know me already.
Was it the first time you were working with Saint Vitus ?
Yes it was, and I hope it won?t be the last.
Well, thanks a lot for your time and answers, and I hope to
welcome you again on the blog soon
Thank you for the interview!
- Leviathan (SP)
Leviathan (SP)
It's been a while since we last received someone from Spain on the blog, and this is unfair as the spanish poster scene (carteles de rock) should really deserve a close look. When you will know that Leviathan work has been showed in ?Art of Modern Rock ? The poster explosion? (Paul Grushkin y Dennis King) or ?Kustom Graphics II: Hot Rods, Burlesque and Rock ?n? Roll? (2010), among man y others, you will probably realize why I am today so proud to welcome him on the blog ! Multissimas gracias a Leviathan, un artisto de puta madre !!! (hope my spanish is still more or less OK ;)
Hello, of course as
every Crewk interview, first question: what are we listening to when we come to
visit you?
Singles of Fox and The
Law, Jake Starr and the Delicious Fullness, The Paybacks from Detroit and the soundtrack of ?Legend of
1900? by Ennio Morricone.
Can you tell us more
about yourself, who are you, where are you from, what do you do?
I?m known as Manel
Leviathan, I live near Valencia
in a small village by the Mediterranean Sea. I
have an atelier and studio place where I do drawing and design, some
advertisement work and silkscreen for my clothing brand Leviathan©. I have been
around 18 years working and especially on the Rock scene for different
festivals and bands.
When did you start
drawing?
I think I had always
drawn since I remember? I grown up in a family related to arts and creativity.
My parents are painters; pencils and brushes stud at the same table where we
eat. I was surrounded by this ambience so it was significant. When I was a kid
I learnt from everything I saw at home, I read comics like Creepy, Cimoc,
Vibora, Torpedo, Tales from the Cript? and I stole Star and Playboy from my
dad. I draw everything that I found and I really liked it.
One day was crucial
when I saw Elvis for the very first time on tv. I asked If we have records at
home and I started to listening lot of music that I found that is sounded like
Rock n';Roll: Creedence, Hendrix, Beatles, Stones, Jerry Lee? Also I toke my
dad?s guitar dancing around the house and I made myself a hairstyle copying Eddie
Cochran, hahaha, very funny, it was such a discovery! So as a kid I started
making versions and covers for different records, something cracked on my head
and I am still like that.
Did you follow any
course or did you improve by drawing in the margins of your schoolbooks?
I think it was crucial
starting to work at my dad?s design studio when I was young. We did lots of
lettering and sign writing. At that time the work was done old school way all
by hand. That?s how I learned drawing. Some time after computers appeared and
started using vectors. After six years I gained my own clients so I established
myself as a freelance designer (no one can stand working with his dad for so
long). It was hard being on my own by I
pursuit my goal: working on the music and Rock&Roll scene, making posters,
record covers, t-shirts, band logos?
Today are you living
from your art, or do you do something else for a living ?
I?m so lucky because I
can live exclusively from my art.
Are you collaborating
with magazines/fanzines, regularly?
Yes, I'm working with
Ruta 66, Rolling Stone and other book editors.
Where does your
influence come from? Is there any artists/graphists you particularly like,
what are your
influences?
I like C. Burns, F.Kozik, J. Hewlett, J. Alderete, Guido, F. Frazzetta, Crepax, Coop? but there
are many others and of course I?m also interested in lots of classic painters!
What are the principal
steps in your work ?
I try to set up a
maximum time to finish a work where I don?t stay too long drawing, avoiding
over elaborating the design, so the result is still fresh and not too ornate.
To find that balance is difficult for me.
Besides, some works
came so fast and clear to my head that I just have to translate it to my hand.
Sometimes instead I have to think many days until I get some idea that I like.
Do you do everything
by hand or on computer?
I do both. I draw
rough drafts on paper, then I use the scanner and bring it to my computer to
finish it or I do directly computer work to vectorize?
How long does it take
you to do a poster?
I could take one day
or few weeks? it depends on many things. Usually I finish faster if I have
total freedom on the work.
You have a very
distinctive style, are you doing only what you feel like or if tomorrow somebody
asks you an oil painting with horses running out of water with a sunset
backdrop, is it a problem or are you up for it ?
Horses could be
bleeding with skulls and thunders? Hahahaha. No, seriously, I design many
things that are not exactly on my taste and I don?t think it should be a
problem. It is true that mostly people demand my art because they like a
concrete style but I also adapt it depending on the work.
Which band have you
already worked for?
Whoa, there are about
two hundred! Some of them are: Little Richard, Stray Cats, Misfits, The Sonics,
Reverend Horton Heat, Zen Guerrilla, Willy DeVille, Buddy Guy, Andre Williams,
Dickey Betts, The Lords of the New
Church, The Dictators,
The Fuzztones, Iggy and the Stooges, Royal Crown Revue, Electric Frankenstein,
Dick Dale, Héroes del Silencio, Raimundo Amador...
Which band would you
love to work for?
Danzig, Black Sabbath,
Queens of the Stone Age, The Cult, Led
Zeppelin, The Smiths, Rob Zombie, Metallica, Rolling Stones...
Do you choose the
artists yourself?
No, usually the band
or the managers choose me.
What is the most
difficult part in designing a poster?
The creative part is
definitively the most difficult. To choose an idea to be successful.
Do you think you are
part of a "Graphic Scene", if so who else ?
I don?t know. I just
do my work that I like.
A bit of
self-promotion, take advantage of it, it's free, where can we see your work, on
the web or in real life?
The best praise you
received lately?
Gerry Roslie from The
Sonics came to me personally to congratulate me for the tour poster design.
What can we wish you
for the future?
Thanks for answering
my questions and see you soon on the website !!
- ** Contest : Win an original Bubble Process' Edward Sharpe Poster **
- ** Contest : Win an original Bubble Process' Edward Sharpe Poster **
To celebrate 2 years of passion shared, here is the second contest ever on the blog !!! Spread the word !!!!
How to participate :
1. Be sure to like our fanpage on facebook :
2. Answer those 3 simple questions : :
What were we Rez and Sean listening to, last time we visited their Studio ?
Name 3 bands they worked for
How many good answers will we receive ?
3. Send your answers to the email adress at the top right of the blog with subject : Bubble Contest
This is done, we will let you know shortly if you are a lucky winner !
- ??????? ?????? (Dimitry Krasov) (RU)
??????? ?????? (Dimitry Krasov) (RU)
Following Vladimir Snegotskiy and ????? ????? (Denis Rekun), here is a new discovery from Russia. Russian poster work is, to my opinion, always really graphic and full of a kind of desperate poetry, this might be because of this famous russian soul :) In this case, Dimitry is, with no doubt at all, completly filled with this soul and this is the reason why I am really glad to welcome him here !
Hello, of course as every Crewk interview, first question:
what are we listening to when we come to visit you?
I
like listen to the various sort of music. It?s a rock mostly (Tool,
Porcupine Tree, Oceansize, Amplifier, Anathema, Diversion Voice, Nine
Inch Nails, Radiohead, Death, Massive Attack, Depeche Mode, Faith No
More, The Gathering, Cynic, Deftones, Meshuggah...)
Can you tell us more about yourself, who are you, where are
you from, what do you do?
My
name is Dmitry Krasov. I?m from Russia, Moscow. I have a wife and a
son. I play in a music band. I go in for graphic design. And I lead a
project of stencil art www.traforo.ru Within the framework of the project I organize exhibitions, contests and festivals.
When did you start drawing?
I
have been drawing from my childhood. My parents were artists. After
finishing the school I went to the art school of miniature painting.
After finishing the art school I didn?t paint anything for some time.
Then I interested in a computer design.
Did you follow any course or did you improve by drawing in
the margins of your schoolbooks?
I began studying computer design and I got involved in computer programs.
Today are you living from your art, or do you do something
else for a living ?
Principal place of my work is an interior design. But now orders for graphic design began to come. It is my pleasure.
Are you collaborating with magazines/fanzines, regularly?
I do not cooperate with magazines. I publish a pdf magazine ?CUTOUT? about stencil art http://www.traforo.ru/cutout.htm where I work as an editor and a designer
Where does your influence come from? Is there any
artists/graphists you particularly like, what are your influences?
I?m inspired by music, my family, friends and travels. Of the artists I like street artists. There are Banksy www.banksy.co.uk and Blu www.blublu.org.
What are the principal steps in your work ?
First
is an idea. The second is the sketch. The third is the process of
creation. Sometimes my creation cluttered with unnecessary details, so
the fourth is removing all unnecessary details from my artwork. Then I
do a pre-print, which identifies errors that cannot be seen on the
monitor.
Do you do everything by hand or on computer?
I do most of the work by a hand, then I scan it and complete on a computer.
How long does it take you to do a poster?
I create a poster from a day to a week.
You have a very distinctive style, are you doing only what
you feel like or if tomorrow somebody asks you an oil painting with horses
running out of water with a sunset backdrop, is it a problem or are you up for
it ?
I
can cancel the order which I don?t like because graphic design is not
my main income. But it doesn?t mean that I get pleasure from all the
artworks I do. I want to forget about some of them.
For which band have you already worked for?
I did posters for the different bands and also for the music festivals too.
For which band would you love to work?
Most of all I like to make posters for the band Diversion Voice http://www.diversionvoice.com/ Because I play there, and I feel the music inside. I am interested to combine audio and visual images.
Do you choose the artists yourself?
I don?t choose bands to work with. I was asked to do a poster for my friends, who are musicians to or any acquaintance organizers of festivals.
What is the most difficult part in designing a poster ?
The
most difficult part in creation of a poster is to convince a customer
not to interfere in the process of creation and trust me everything as a
performer. And also to express my idea in minimal graphic way.
Do you think you are part of a "Graphic Scene", if
so who else ?
Honestly I don?t think I?m the part of a ?Graphic Scene? and I don?t watch for someone.
A bit of self-promotion, take advantage of it, it's free,
where can we see your work , on the web or in real life?
My graphic artworks you can see on my personal web site www.minidea.ru
The best praise you received lately?
The customer looked at the first sketch, and said that it suits all in one of my last orders.
What can we wish you for the future?
I hope that the customer would trust completely to the designer.
Thanks for answering my questions and see you soon on the
website !!
- Reuben Rude (US)
Reuben Rude (US)
I think I already told you how much I was admiring the work they're doing at IPRA, I, once again, have to thanks them for making me discover the work of Reuben Rude! Few artists can pay tribute to Rick Griffins with the same respect and talent Reuben showed with his Carlton Melton poster. The only advice I can give you is to keep an eye on this guy, sooner or later you will not regret it !
Hello, of course as every Crewk interview, first question:
what are we listening to when we come to visit you?
Carlton
Melton or Dinosaur Jr.
Can you tell us more about yourself, who are you, where are
you from, what do you do?
My name is Reuben Rude. I am from San Francisco. I get up in the morning, get
my kids off to school, drink about 5 cups of coffee and jump on my drawing
board or computer. I pound away at
various art projects, both commercial and personal, for somewhere between 8 and
16 hours, get my kids in bed and hit the sack...next day, same thing.
When did you start drawing?
I started drawing earlier than I can remember; both my parents
were artists, and drawing was encouraged in the home.
Did you follow any course or did you improve by drawing in
the margins of your schoolbooks?
I went to art school at The Academy of Art University in San
Francisco...but I have been known to doodle in schoolbooks, and not just in the
margins.
Today are you living from your art, or do you do something
else for a living ?
I barely eke out a living as an artist.
Are you collaborating with magazines/fanzines, regularly?
Not much.
Where does your influence come from? Is there any
artists/graphists you particularly like, what are your
influences?
There are way too many to name, but my last couple of
posters were heavily influenced by Rick Griffin...my influences change all the
time. I also want to state here that
Robert Crumb is a straight up fucking genius.
What are the principal steps in your work ?
2. Make it.
3. Sell it
4. Repeat
Do you do everything by hand or on computer?
I use both traditional and digital methods.
How long does it take you to do a poster?
Somewhere between a
couple of days and a week.
You have a very distinctive style, are you doing only what
you feel like or if tomorrow somebody asks you an oil painting with horses
running out of water with a sunset backdrop, is it a problem or are you up for
it ?
I make my living as a commercial artist, so if you've got
the money, I'll paint those horses...I'll add a viking and some crystal
dolphins if you want.
For which band have you already worked for?
Carlton Melton, The Avengers, Primus, Jonathan Richman, and
a few more.
For which band would you love to work?
Dinosaur Jr....you reading this, Mr. Mascis?
Do you choose the artists yourself?
They choose me, if I'm lucky.
What is the most difficult part in designing a poster ?
Making sure that is is ready to print technically...the
colors are right, the separations are properly trapped..there's a lot of
details that need to be taken care of and it can be a bit nerve wracking,
especially if you're super tired at the end of making a poster.
Do you think you are part of a "Graphic Scene", if
so who else ?
I am not part of a scene.
A bit of self-promotion, take advantage of it, it's free,
where can we see your work , on the web or in real life?
I sell paintings paintings at Fabric8 in San Francisco.
The best praise you received lately?
Zoltron loves me.
What can we wish you for the future?
Just want to stay above ground for as long as I can.
Thanks for answering my questions and see you soon on the
website !!
- Les Presses Ambulatoires (FR)
Les Presses Ambulatoires (FR)
First time I saw art by les presses ambulatoires, was when I discovered the Tightrope / The Boring poster you can see on the left. For some reason, this poster made a great impression on me. I tried to find out who was the guy behind it, but, you know how it works, someone give you a name, then another one, then you send a mail, then nobody answers, then you receive a mail from a guy you never contacted and who tells you he is not the guy behind the poster, etc.... Finally you forget about...till the day you post an interview of San Miguel on facebook and someone comments : "
Hello, of course as
every Crewk interview, first question: what are we listening to when we come to
visit you?
Hello there. I'm a huge fan
of music, I grew up with tons of good bands, in every genre. So, nowadays, in
my small workshop, you can find a lot of cd scattered all around, with bands
like Deftones, Pantera, Crowbar, Blink 182, Dälek, Neurosis, Isis, Eminem, Body
Count, Converge, Green Day, Faith No More, Lemuria, Fall of Efrafa ? and some
local bands or bands friend of mine, like Farewell, the Boring, Child Meadow,
Oak, Sofy Major ? and lots of movie soundtracks.
Can you tell us more about yourself, who are
you, where are you from, what do you do?
My name is Ianik,
I'm 33, I'm living in a small village about 80km from Strasbourg, in the East
of France, lost at the foot of our mountains. First of all, I'm not very good
with English, so please forgive me for all the mistake in my answers. Actually
I'm unemployed, so, I spent time wandering around my house with my dogs, I try
to raise my daughter (but that's easy, it's a baby) and of course, I try to
print some stuff in my workshop.
When did you start drawing? Did you follow any
course or did you improve by drawing in the margins of your schoolbooks?
I think I started
drawing when I got bored in class. Yep, lots of pages in my schoolbooks are now
full of sketches, but, truly, those sketches are simply ?bad? ? all my drawings
are bad I think ? I have to spend a long time facing blank pages to get
something in the end that satisfies me !!
Today are you living from your art, or do you do something else for a living ?
I'm not living from screen-printing. I try to sell my posters when I go to
shows, or when I play in a show with my band. But I have some cool orders
sometimes, so, it helps a lot to fill my empty fridge. But my girlfriend's got
a good job, she likes it, she's the one who tries to pay the house's bills :0)
Are you collaborating with magazines/fanzines,
regularly?
Not at all.
Where does your influence comes from? Is there
any artists/graphists you particularly like, what are your influences?
I'm not a designer
or an artist. I just try to express myself with the little things I know,
things I can manage. I think when I start working on any ideas I get, first of
all, I need music, lots of music, and coffee ? Then, my way of process is gonna
start. Sometimes, I'm just wandering on gigposters.com to see some random
posters, and then, an idea begins to grow in my mind ? Sometimes, I have a
precise idea and I try to put it on paper. No particular influences, I make it
like I feel it. And I try to make a sort of ?Tribute Poster? (like the
Converge's ?You Fail Me? poster and the ?Baton Rouge & Alligator's? poster,
with the ?500 days of summer? tribute drawing).
What are the principal steps in your work ? Do you do everything by hand or on
computer?
Once I have my idea and project clear in my head, I'm looking for any
components I need to have a final result who can satisfy me. It can be personal
photos, old drawings I have in my portfolio, sketches, or photos found on
Internet. Then, if I have enough time and enough strength, I try to draw
everything, then scan the sketches, try to vector everything, and put all my
future layers together with photoshop. Sometimes, it's only hand drawing, but
in the end, I need a computer for my work, like when I work on colors and this
kind of stuff ...
How long does it take you to do a poster?
I really don't
know. Sometimes, if I'm only working with my computer, it can be quick.
Sometimes, it takes a very looooooong time.
You have a very
distinctive style, are you doing only what you feel like or if tomorrow
somebody asks you an oil painting with horses running out of water with a
sunset backdrop, is it a problem or are you up for it ?
I don't think I have a personal style. I love drawing or working on pictures
with my computer, playing with shapes and halftones for example. But a lot of
people are doing this, and certainly better than me !! I'm a small newbie, even
if I print since 7 years now, I don't have enough time to spend in my workshop.
I have to practice more, and I have to improve some technical stuff in my
workshop, I'm such a lazy guy. I build my workshop with old materials, but it's
ok for me, and I can print all the orders people asked me. So, it sounds good
enough at this time.
For which band have you already worked for?
Not a lot of bands, cause in my small area, there isn't a lot of gig places,
and even if there are some cool spots and people who organize shows, audience
are not really into gig-posters and rock arts ? It's more for a specific kind
of people I think, and it makes me feel sad, cause that's what I try to change
with my prints, and with the small impact I can have when I'm in a show with my
portfolio. I think rock posters have to be included in big venues as in small
diy shows. It's an essential component of the show !! I want people to have a
new look on this ?art?, and if I can contribute to this, I would be very happy.
For which band would you love to work?
Honestly, I dream
to work for the lots of bands I love, that's a fact. But it won't happen, they
won't call me tomorrow hahaha. So, I try to make design for them when they're
on tour in the biggest town next to my village (for example, Caspian, in a few
days !!)
But on the other hand, something that really matters to me, is to work with all
the friends I have in our local diy punk scene. We have some great local bands
here, and I really dream of seeing them asking for more screen-printed stuff,
like tour posters or posters / inserts for Lp, Cd, Demo Cdr etc etc ? I know
sometimes it's a question of money, cause a lot of things are now very
expensive in music (including screen-printing) and then, you don't have enough
money to put in ?goodies? such as screen-printed posters. But I think it's
something important, close to the punk culture, to have such a thing with your
Lp or on your merch table. There are so many ways to print, cut and fold cool
things ... Finding a patch, a poster or a screen-printed insert in my brand new
vinyl I just bought is just something I really love. I HATE BANDS WHO DON'T PUT
AN INSERT WITH THEIR LP (PRINTED OR NOT, I DON'T CARE, EVEN A SIMPLE PAGE WITH
NOTES AND LYRICS IS OK !)
Do you choose the artists yourself?
Yep, when I can, I
do it !! The Abraham's poster, or the Caspian's poster are the perfect
examples.
What is the most difficult part in designing a poster ?
It's finding ?THE?
idea ? and then, trying your best to be the closest you can with the final
result.
Do you think you are part of a "Graphic Scene", if so who else ?
Definitely NOT :0)
A bit of self-promotion, take advantage of it,
it's free, where can we see your work , on the web or in real life?
The best praise you received lately?
Lots of people liked a lot my Abraham's gig poster. I'm proud of this one.
Simple and clear, kind of minimalism artwork (a forest and an owl) ? Just
enough, and I think it fits to the bands (the other band on the poster is mine
btw)
What can we wish you for the future?
Working harder and
harder to do better prints ? and don't quit this amazing adventure made of
passion and ink !
Thanks for answering my questions and see you soon on the website !!
Thank you, you're doing an amazing job by running your blog, lots of cool
artists. I discovered a lot of great stuff here !! You're the one !!
- SAN MIGUEL (Atelier Clandestin) (FR)
SAN MIGUEL (Atelier Clandestin) (FR)
I cannot remember when I contacted San Miguel for the first time, but most probably when I was still doing my interviews in french (Tanxxx, Rica...), his name was given on regular basis, but the guy is pretty busy, so you can imagine how surprised and happy I was when I finally receive his answers. San Miguel can be seen as a legend in the french rock poster scene, and, funnly enough, he is the first one to provide me with an animated .gif for the interview. Many reasons to give him a warm "walcome aboard !!!"
Hello, of course as every Crewk interview, first question:
what are we listening to when we come to visit you?
If you come today you'll sure ear music from the posters I'm
working on, also lots of very different things, from no wave and post punk to
obscure british pop bands, internationnal «folk» music, krautrock, labels like
5rc, Sublime Frequencies, the amazing work to promote music by people like John
Peel, Peter Doolan, crate diggers and many others. Some early records, dangdut,
bollywood beats, tahitian folk, Khmer rock and a huge amount of luk thung and
molam...
Can you tell us more about yourself, who are you, where are
you from, what do you do?
We'll right now I'm living in Lille
(north of France)
and i'm soon on my 10th year of making silkscreen concert posters. I'm a music
addict who grew up in a little local radio, surrounded by sound and spicy
smells...
When did you start drawing?
As a kid as everybody else I guess ;op
Did you follow any course or did you improve by drawing in
the margins of your schoolbooks?
My work is not really about drawing (even if it includes
it). It's more about sound printing and silkscreen technics. About how to use
the medium in various way to create. I took some of silkscreen courses with a
very good technician and with a master in art edition, it helped a lot.
Today are you living from your art, or do you do something
else for a living ?
It's my full time "job"but it's more like a way of
life and I don't call it «art» at all.
Are you collaborating with magazines/fanzines, regularly?
no
Where does your influence come from? Is there any
artists/graphists you particularly like, what are your influences?
This year is special as it's soon the 10th years I create
posters (and also the 15thanniversary of Le Grand Mix), you'll easilly find
some influences from my older work in some of my recent and upcoming posters.
Most of my influences comes from music I try to get into the
atmosphere and to "convert sound into image". That's why all my
posters are all very different. Also, I like to collect art (especially
original printed editions) so work by Hans Bellmer, Jacques Villeglé, Toulouse
Lautrec, Utamaro and others have or will influence some posters in a way or
another.
What are the principal steps in your work ?
It always start by putting on some music and then I start
sketches. Then it depends on the technics I choose to use (it changes all the
time: drawing, collage, photo, typography...). Then printing.
Do you do everything by hand or on computer?
It's always different, I think only the result count. I sure
prefer to work by hand but computers are usefull for color seps and printing
registration.
How long does it take you to do a poster?
Around 1 week, it can be faster but it can take more time
too.
You have a very distinctive style, are you doing only what
you feel like or if tomorrow somebody asks you an oil painting with horses
running out of water with a sunset backdrop, is it a problem or are you up for
it ?
Ha ha ha, I really don't think I have a distinctive style
and lots of people ask me about "how many different people create those
posters?". About the horse it's exactly what I'm doing right now, I jut
finished the printing!
For which band have you already worked for?
I work quite a lot for Le Grand Mix, a venue in north of France, I like
the way they work, and the music choices they make. It includes bands like:
Shannon Wright, Mulatu Astatke, Chokebore, Black Heart Procession, James Chance
&the Contortions, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Blonde Redhead, Ulan Bator, Coco Rosie
and many others.
For which band would you love to work?
I'd love to do a poster for Hongthong Dao Udon, it would
mean she's out of jail and also back on stage witch would both be very good
news!
Do you choose the artists yourself?
It depends but it's not very important for me, I like to do
posters for bands I don't really know yet or for some I like a lot.
What is the most difficult part in designing a poster ?
When I know the band very well it can get very hard, I got
too many ideas or no ideas at all for quite a while, it get me back to some of
their records I haven't listen in a while so it's not so bad.
Do you think you are part of a "Graphic Scene", if
so who else ?
I don't think so and I don't know much about contemporary
"Graphic Scene"
A bit of self-promotion, take advantage of it, it's free,
where can we see your work , on the web or in real life?
Online, you can find me at:
The best praise you received lately?
It was very nice when James Chance came to greet after the
show, the poster made him very happy and it was so right on about his music
(and even more but i'm not going to explain about it...). Sure the best praise
was a collective "WOW!"by some young kids I met recently.
What can we wish you for the future?
"happy birthday"sounds fine
Thanks for answering my questions and see you soon on the
website !!
- Neal Williams (EpicProblems) : Dinosaur Jr
-
Neal Williams (EpicProblems) : Dinosaur Jr
Well when I thought about launching this new set of interviews focused on a single poster, I did not expect such an enthousiasm from the artists I have contacted. And I was far from imagining how involved in this project some of them will be. Neal Williams, from EpicProblems, is the perfect example for that ! Just take a look at the whole documentation he sent me for the making of his Dinosaur Jr poster !!! He was not at all obliged to be so generous, especially as I mixed his answers (to the previous interview) with another guy ones (see first question of this one and...first answer ;) ).
A really really great thanx to him for all the time he took collecting documentation, explaining the process in full details and answering the questions ! (Hope this is not too difficult to read, I really wanted to online the whole process pictures, let me know if it comes out clearly)
Hi ! Last time we "met" for the blog, you told me
you would like to do something for Cibo Matto, is still this a dream ?
I think you may have dreamt that this was my dream. (indeed)
Well, for the
moment, we are here to talk about your Dinosaur Jr poster, first of all some
"technical" points :) Where and when did this show took place ?
This show was on October 2, 2012 at the Variety Playhouse in
Atlanta, GA.
1.Posters usually begin with an initial concept thumbnail. I only made about 3 thumbnails for this poster and ultimately went with this weird elephant-snout-like creature busting out of a dilapidated old barn.
<- 2. I then make a more detailed sketch and then ink over that on a light table using technical pens and occasionally brushes.
3. These are all the hand-drawn elements of the poster laid out and ready to smash together in photoshop. Actually inks from a previous poster snuck in that pic as well, disregard that...
Did the band
contacted you directly or was it a promoter or anyone else ?
I was contacted by Dinosaur Jr.'s manager about a month
before the show took place.
<- 4. After doing some color mock-ups in photoshop, I print out some films through an epson printer and burn them onto a screen using 2 500-watt halogen work lights. It's not the ideal situation but it's cheap and it works. The screens have been coated with emulsion and allowed to dry before this.
5. After exposing, any dark area on the film washes out, allowing ink to pass through when I print the posters.
6. After washout, the sun helps harden the emulsion and dry the screen.
Did you have
guidelines for this one or were you entirely free ?
Entirely free.
7. Then it's time to pick and mix colors. When I'm lucky I'll find a color from a previous project that works perfectly. That's pretty rare.
8. Going for a brownish-orange for the first color.
Where does this
hurricane like idea come from ?
I was looking at
pictures of elephants, so I based the creature on an elephant snout.
9. Pulling the squeegee across the screen to print the first color.
10. First color racked in my diy rack.
11. Shot of first color.
Is it related to
some specific Dinosaur Jr song or lyrics ?
No, but this thing is breaking out of the barn like a J.
Mascis guitar solo. I wanted the poster to be kind of loud and in yo face.
Seriously, Dinosaur Jr shows are fairly loud. Once I saw J. Mascis and the Fog
when Mike Watt was playing bass and that was the loudest show I've seen in my
life. You could hardly differentiate the songs it was so loud.
12.Touching up the second screen. I had a few tiny problem areas so I'm filling them back in with emulsion.
13. Registering the second color, making sure it lines up perfectly with the first.
14. Second color down, in near-perfect registration.
How many prints of
it did you make (or made make) ?
It's an edition of 65.
15. This is my makeshift counter-balance. Basically it means I no longer have to prop the screen up with my head when changing paper.
16.Pulling the third color which is transparent and makes the color of the barn as well as shadows on the creature.
17. Detail shot of third color. ->
Did you receive
feedback from the band ?
No, but the people running the merch booth liked it. I don't
really go out of my way to meet bands or musicians I work for. I tend to remain
as "behind the scenes" as possible.
18. Taping off the fourth color. Lots of packing tape goes down on the screen to make sure ink isn't coming through in places I don't want it, especially the edges.
19. Detail of fourth screen.
20. Fourth color down.
21. Detail of fourth color.
From their fans ?
Dug it.
From your fans ?
Into it.
Have you worked
again with Dinosaur Jr since this one ?
Not yet.
22. Greyhounds checking up on my progress. They're happy to see I'm finished and can now take them out to pee.
23. All the posters finished in the rack.
24. Time to clean ink off the screen.
25. Ink goes back in the tub. I try to do this in the messiest way I can.
26.The ink gets washed off and then the emulsion gets washed out with the help of a chemical so the screen can be used again. This is called reclaiming.
27. Then the screens are left out to dry and my dogs get some much-needed attention.
 |
| 30. The Poster !!!! |
- AJ Masthay (US)
AJ Masthay (US)
« I will not be very original in this introduction, but, well, let's face it, once again I truly wonder why AJ's name does not appear more often in the top gigposters artists. Definitly a mystery... Just take a look at those lights and colors and you will surely understand what I mean. I hope this interview will help highlighting his job !
Hello, of course as every Crewk interview, first question: what are we listening to when
we come to visit you?
Talking Heads - More Songs About Buildings and Food, been motivating me in the
studio since my days at art school.
Can you tell us more about yourself, who are you, where are you from, what do you do?
When did you start drawing?
I?m AJ, born and raised in Connecticut, USA. I?ve been drawing my whole life, funny my
parents still have my old Spiderman drawings from show & tell in kindergarden, their
prized possessions...
Up until about 5 months ago I was juggling both my poster art along with a day job at a
local university doing web and graphic design. Due to a lack of hours in the day I felt it
necessary to take the plunge and ditch the day job in order to focus solely on my
artwork and building Masthay Studios. Since then I?ve been keeping busy with
commissioned work for bands and various gallery shows.
Did you follow any course or did you improve by drawing in the margins of your
schoolbooks?
Ive been studying art for as long as I can remember, eventually receiving a BFA from
the Hartford Art School with a major in printmaking. I?ve had the pleasure of studying
with some true masters in the world of lithography and block printing hence my
preference for the medium of linoleum block printing.
Today are you living from your art, or do you do something else for a living ?
I currently live solely off my artwork and consider myself incredibly lucky to be doing so.
It?s taken over a decade of producing work to build the studio to this point but it?s truly a
labor of love. It?s extremely humbling to have such a devoted fanbase.
Are you collaborating with magazines/fanzines, regularly?
Not currently but hope to in the future
Where does your influence come from? Is there any artists/graphists you particularly
like, what are your influences?
Influences can come from anywhere at anytime. I carry a sketchbook with me to jot
down ideas and concepts on the fly. There are so many artists both contemporary and
historic that I love and directly influence my work. It may not be completely obvious from
my work, but Im a huge Italian Renaissance buff and have studied the old masters
extensively.
What are the principal steps in your work ?
All of my editions begin with a charcoal/pastel sketch. This chalk sketch is then run
through the press transferring (and reversing) the image onto the initial linoleum block.
This provides the image or map for me to carve by. The rest of my process isnt all that
different from silkscreening except instead of burning screens, Im carving plates.
There?s a full description of my printmaking process, including photos, on my website at
www.masthaystudios.com/the-process.
Do you do everything by hand or on computer?
Everything I do is by hand. From the
initial sketches through the carving and printing, all old school.
How long does it take you to do a poster?
Tough question as every print is different. I
find that fleshing out the initial concept is the most time consuming. I tend to go through
at least 3-5 different concepts before landing on something I feel is worth pursuing.
Once the concept and initial sketch are solidified the process moves along fairly quickly.
I figure at least a couple hours to carve each plate and a couple to print each color.
Since I use only oil based inks I have quite a bit of down time between colors in order to
allow everything to properly dry. Sometimes I really envy the silkscreeners who can run
an entire edition in one day, but I love the look, feel and smell of the oils.
You have a very distinctive style, are you doing only what you feel like or if tomorrow
somebody asks you an oil painting with horses running out of water with a sunset
backdrop, is it a problem or are you up for it ?
Im always up for client input on a theme
or direction for the art, although I do think they always turn out better if you give an artist
a wide berth in using their own creative input. The reality is though, money talks and we
all have bills to pay. If a concept is too far outside of my comfort zone and they wont bite
on my suggestions, I?ll certainly pass. As Ive said to many clients, it?s my signature that?s
going on the artwork, if I cant be proud of the product I?d rather not be associated with it.
For which band have you already worked for?
Some of the more notable bands Ive
worked with include Furthur, Widespead Panic and Umprhey?s McGee. I?ve done work
for numerous other small bands along with some festivals throughout the United States.
For which band would you love to work?
I guess for me Phish is the 600 pound gorilla in
the room as I got my foot in the gig poster door doing unofficial work around their tours.
Other bands on my wish list would include Moe, Yonder Mountain and the Black Keys.
Do you choose the artists yourself?
Yes and no, I mean Im pretty well known in the jam
band scene so I tend to focus my work on those artists, but choosing them, not really.
What is the most difficult part in designing a poster ?
I find the initial theme or concept to
be the most difficult part. Ill usually go through sketching at least 3-5 concepts before
something sticks.
Do you think you are part of a "Graphic Scene", if so who else ?
Not so sure about a
graphic scene, but I am certainly feel I am part of a close knit group of artists based
around the jam band scene.
A bit of self-promotion, take advantage of it, it's free, where can we see your work , on
the web or in real life?
The majority of my available works can be seen (and purchased)
through my website MasthayStudios.com including all of my recent works for Furthurs
fall tour. Im currently part of a group show entitled Can't Beat Em, Join Em: The Zombie
Show at BottleNeck Gallery in Brooklyn, NY. Ill also be involved with a Judd Apatow
tribute show at Gallery1988 in Melrose later this year.
The best praise you received lately?
I love getting emails or meeting fans at shows. The
simple fact that people appreciate and find joy in my work is more praise than I could
even want, its a very humbling experience for me.
What can we wish you for the future?
That the press keeps running and the ink keeps
flying! As long as Im in the studio and producing work Im a happy camper, lol.
Thanks for answering my questions and see you soon on the website !!
- Home Team Graphics (US)
-
Home Team Graphics (US)
J.T. Lucchesi is Home Team Graphics, and, as it happens sometimes, I cannot figure out how, such a talented artist who is around for such a long time does not have much more visibility in the (not that) small rock poster world. As always, I just made a selection of posters but you should definitly go and visit JT's site as every poster always looks even better than the previous one. A warm welcome to the "Team" ;)
Hello,
...and hello to you.
Of course as every Crewk interview, first question: what are we listening to when we come to visit you?
I have been excited about
and thoroughly enjoying the Frank Zappa 2012 remasters that have been
released. Laid Back Radio from Belgium is always streaming in the office
and car
as well.
Can you tell us more about yourself, who are you?
First and foremost I am a
family man, I live for my Wife and Son. Aside from that I am a music
loving, pork smoking, screen printing, kinda' guy who is just trying to
make it through life
smiling more than frowning. I'm a halfbreed Southern American who shares
blood with the Italians. If you picture a Jersey Shore character with
the accent of Jeff Foxworthy, you'd be
wrong. I listen more than I talk and I sit more than I walk. Non
political. Non religious. I sit in the middle and keep my head low more
times than not but I am always looking out for the
instances in life that are odd, out of place or out of the ordinary
(examples of instances of odd, out of place and ordinary differ from
person to person, i'll leave it to up to your
imagination). I like reading up on opposing physics theories about the
meaning of everything and pretend it makes sense to me. I once flipped a
coin on whether I was going to be a
chef and keep Art as a hobby or be an Artist and keep cooking as a
hobby. I enjoy long walks on the beach, chess by fireside and nude hang
gliding (ok, that last one is a lie). I drag
recording gear to concerts with the other knuckleheads in Team Dirty
South Tapers for the purpose of archiving our musical memories. And
honestly, sometimes when i'm alone, I
dance to a funky disco Latin beat only I can hear.
Where are you from?
Born in a building which
is now a School Of Math And Science in Durham but was raised in Chapel
Hill, NC. Lived there until 1990 when my family moved to Atlanta. I
stayed in
Atlanta until 2006 when my Wife and I decided to raise our Son in North
Carolina since our roots are from here.
What do you do?
Arts and Graphics Whore
for Home Team Graphics. Not a cheap streetwalker but not a high end
Vegas wallet drainer. I'm the kind'a whore that you build a relationship
with, you keep
coming back because I'm in it for the Art not your budget.
When did you start drawing?
As far back as I can
remember. I'd say Ms. Hoppers class in 1st grade is when I fell in love
with Art. She was a great lady with 3 fingers that made Art seem magical
in a slightly
dramatic Mother Goose kinda' way. As corny as that sounds, I was in 1st
grade and she had me hooked.
Did you follow any course or did you improve by drawing in the margins of your schoolbooks?
Art class was always my
favorite in any school year and yes, most of the notes I took in the
other subjects were covered in scribbles, sketches, etc. The ratio of
drawings to notes
changed more as I grew older especially when going from public school to
The Carolina Friends School. I would not have had the freedom to
express myself and grow into who I
wanted to be in any other school at that time. It was around my freshman
year in High School when I knew that I wanted to be either surrounded
in Art and/or Music and that there
was nothing else I wanted to do or could even imagine myself doing.
Today are you living from your art, or do you do something else for a living?
I am and have been
totally on my own since 2006. For 17 years I worked for a printshop
called Ultra Graphics, which sadly does not exist anymore. That place
taught me a lot, not
just about the complete ins and outs of screen printing but about
myself. Work ethic, relationships with clients be-it close friendships
to chaotic situations, how to run a business, etc.
Leaving that place was hard because I put alot of myself into it I but
needed to leave Georgia to better my family's prospects. My Wife is also
an Artist but she is more in the realm of
fine Arts. She hates computers and works with her hands the most. The
move from Atlanta was big because we were both gambling on freelance as
sole income in a state that is
already saturated with Artists. Its a double edge sword when the people
around you that inspire you to do more can be looked at as competition.
If I were a businessman this would
concern me but I am not and it did not. My flaw so far is that, like a
lot of Artists, I do not sell myself well, my methods to get myself "out
there" are archaic and am still disorganized
but I am learning...I stopped collecting past due invoices with a
baseball bat so I guess that can be looked at as progress. Every year
gets better. Since I am a Whore, I tend to go
where I am needed. I can be working on stuff to be printed on garments
one week, designing websites the next, logo work, small simple
illustrations for science text books...doesn't
matter, don't care, i'll do it. If I can't, fuck it, i'll fake it the
best I can. As long as i'm in the field somewhere, i'm happy but my
all-time true love is gig posters.
Are you collaborating with magazines/fanzines, regularly?
The only time I have ever
done mag work was the odd ad or two for a band's tour in 'Relix' or
'Hittin' The Note' though I almost took an Art Director job for an adult
skin mag out of
Florida. The wife shut that down without blinking and I do not blame
her.
Where does your influence come from?
Music more that anything.
Music has influenced my Art more than other Artists have. Even outside
the Art world, music influences my life as a whole. I grew up in a house
that always
had some form of music playing. My Mother and Father instilled the
appreciation of music in me without forcing it on me. I was not made to
play an instrument, even though my
Father plays guitar and my Mother sings and plays piano, but if there
was a song playing with a certain riff or set of lyrics that moved
anyone, we would stop silent to enjoy what that
person liked about it. Thats how deep it was and still is with me, the
love of the right set of notes played together that sounds good in my
ear hole.
Is there any artists/graphists you particularly like...
Ranging over the years
from Lucas Samaras, Dali, HR Giger, Winston Smith, Bob Ross, Rick
Griffin, Stanley Mouse to Aaron Horkey, Chris Wood, Chuck Sperry, a few
of the Mondo
Artists, James Flames, Jermaine Rogers, EMEK, Todd Slater, Gregg Gordon,
Marq Spusta, Print Mafia(...makes me feel funny in my pants. Love'm!),
Methane Studios and lots
more. I am leaving a lot out as I tend to recognize the Art more than
the Artist. I never made good grades in any Art History class I took.
There is also a world of Art I have seen and
loved by way of random street Art, Graffiti, guerrilla installations,
etc but never known the creators. Most all modern comic book artists as
well, some of the covers produced in the last
5 years have been flooring me. As far as animation, the new Black
Dynamite has the goods. Really, there is too much to mention if I think
about it all.
What are your influences?
Aside from music and my
family, my influences were always the friends I had around me that
were/are Artists as well. More than the Artists mentioned before, it was
and always will
be the people I know personally who are around me. Over time it was
Dylan Stanfield, Bill Guy, Alex Verhoeven, Brad Jenkins, Seth Towe, Evil
Roomates Jason & John, Jason
Clements, my Wife Megan. Recently it is Chris Williams from Plastic
Flame, Ryan Miller from Amplified Art, Tim Lee, Dan Halen from
Dantanamo, Jer Warren and a few other locals
who keep me on my toes and inspire me. One person before and above all
has always held a place in my heart as my true original master guru and
he is Slayton Alvin Evans III. The
best Artist you have never heard of. He holds more talent and patience
in an atom on his pinky than I will ever have in my existence on this
planet. I am his biggest fan and whether
he knows it or not, I owe it to him in a lot of ways.
Home Team is a "way of life" that I follow that has been a major influence in my life but that is a story for another day.
What are the principal steps in your work?
Get client and produce
design and deliver product and make client happy and get paid. It
depends on the job, depends on the client, depends on the direction if
any. Sometimes I have ideas
bursting the second I hear the details other times its like pulling
teeth and I get it going after a few hours of staring at a blank piece
of paper or banging my head on the computer
monitor. As far as a set ritual or common steps that i take, there is
none. There is with repeat clients because you can usually feel them out
after a job or two but from client to client it
varies.
Do you do everything by hand or on computer?
Both. Once again it
depends on the piece and/or client I am working on or with. I look at
the computer as a tool like I do the pencil, the pen, brush, etc. Its a
tool you are either
comfortable using or not. I
tend to use it for fonts more than I should as I tend to suck at hand
drawn type, hence it has become a crutch but as far as producing film
separations, i'd
never go back to stat cameras and rubylift. I always like to draw by
hand but I am the first to admit I am messy as hell and the computer
helps to clean me up a bit. Outside of posters
and such, when your client is paying you by the hour, I go computer as I
am also slow by hand. One day I will get one of them fancy tablets with
a monitor on them because I have
tried the standard art tablets and I can't make it happen. I have to be
looking at the area my hand is residing in and not up at a screen.
How long does it take you to do a poster?
Longer than most these
days. My wife and I survived a massive car wreck almost 2 years ago and
we were beat to hell and back. Along with other injuries we sustained,
my right
hand had various fractures and my left hand wanted to exit the car
through the windshield leaving some much needed tendons behind. I went
almost a year before drawing half
decent again and over a year till I was pulling ink without major pain.
Printing became therapy in building strength back in my hands.
You
have a very distinctive style, are you doing only what you feel like or
if tomorrow somebody asks you an oil painting with horses running out of
water with a sunset backdrop, is it
a problem or are you up for it?
To answer this I will
defer you to my Art Whore statement. Personally I like it when there are
no guidelines and I know the client is up for anything, that is when
I'm happiest but I will
strive to satisfy anyone who come to me for my services to help them
with anything even if I can do it or not. I have produced designs for
the likes of Delta Airlines and major sports
teams all the way to Mother's Day shirts being sold in strip clubs and
colors for the ATL Crips and Bloods. Art for music is where all the love
is though. Its my Alpha, its my Omega.
For which bands have you already worked for?
The bulk of my poster
work has been with Widespread Panic, Ween, Outformation, Lefty Williams
Band, Wayside Riders, Bloodkin, Leftover Salmon and a bunch of others
along with
lots of one-offs. For a while, years ago, I produced digital prints for
promotion for Jomo Entertainment out of the old Georgia Theatre in
Athens, GA. Josh Moore who ran it, opened
the door to me to help promote a lot of the shows for that venue like
the Meters, David Byrne, Bruce Hornsby and lots more big and small.
Widespread Panic was the first band I
made a concert poster design for (1998). My buddy Greg Hewlett
(CheezeFrog), who now owns StopGo Printing out of Chattanooga, and I
printed and sold "lot shirts" to help fund
our ticket, blank tapes and touring fees in the early 90's. We would
stay under the radar by giving the band's crew a dozen or so before tour
(pre-Home Team era). I think it was the
fact that the band was not big enough to be able to fully police the
lots for bootleg merch that they hired us to print some merch legit for
them. Working with WSP was my beginning in
gig posters and I will always be grateful for the opportunity to work
with them and to the fans that paid good money for prints so I could
afford to stand next to them at the shows.
Being a fan of the bands you do work for is the cherry on top.
For which band would you love to work?
Ween! I wish they would
get back together for the fact that they are open to any crazy design
you can think of and for the reason that they just flat out rock. I love
me some Ween
night or day. Widespread Panic is always a favorite but I seem to have
forgotten the recipe for the designs they like. I would have loved to
produce a print for Frank Zappa but alas I
was born too late but I made a digital print for promotion for Project
Object and Ike Willis liked it so much he hugged me. To be hugged by Joe
from Joe's Garage was and will always
be a monumental moment in my life. But as fas as a band I have never
worked for, it would be Andrew And The Disapyramids or DEVO.
Do you choose the artists yourself?
I am the only Artist at
Home Team Graphics but have worked with Jason Clements and Brad Jenkins
on a few posters. My Wife is asked for her 2 cents from time to time so I
will
include her as well. Lately I would love to do a colab or two with Chris
Williams/Plastic Flame, Jeff Wood/Drowning Creek or Jermaine Rogers for
example but Chris churns out prints
like a belt-fed machine gun and I do not know Mr. Rogers personally and
am probably too small of a fish for his or Jeff's pond. I am open to
print for or with any Artist though.
What is the most difficult part in designing a poster?
Feeling out the client
can be sometimes. Some clients you can score home runs with everytime
and some you have to redo, redo, redo and pull the damn ideas out of
their skulls that
they can't seem to convey to you verbally. Its not that its difficult as
I have gotten used to it over the years. The "client" can be a funny
little animal sometimes, its just a matter of
cracking their code to get the look they are after. This is why I like
it when they are open to anything.
Do you think you are part of a "Graphic Scene", if so who else?
No as I tend to be a
hermit these days I do not, even though I do have much respect for all
the local ink slingers. I don't believe in scenes as much as I do
communities and even then
it is so open its more like a world than a community. Sure, the print
community differs from the graffiti culture which differs from the ascii
art scene which differs from the
photographers, sculptors and the mountain crafters, etc but collectively
we are all doing the same thing with the same goal: to produce Art in
some form or another for self satisfaction
or for the pleasure of others.
A bit of self-promotion, take advantage of it, it's free, where can we see your work , on the web or in real life?
All my work can be found at http://the-home-team.org and for anyone interested in what Home Team is can go to http://hometeamnet.org
In person, you can find some of my prints at Amplified Art Gallery in Raleigh, NC.http://www.amplifiedgallery.com
The best praise you received lately?
My Son said I was the coolest. Best praise ever!
What can we wish you for the future?
Hopefully more and more
prints since I have ink for blood. I'd also like to dabble in music
based sculpture and design a skateboard or two but we will see.
Thanks for answering my questions and see you soon on the website !!
You_are_welcome_!
- David Welker: Bob Dylan Sept 4th Capitol Theatre Port Chester New York
-
David Welker: Bob Dylan Sept 4th Capitol Theatre Port Chester New York
To celebrate our first contest ever (now closed) on the blog, here is, for the first time, ladies and gentlemen, the first ever "poster interview" entirely focused on a single print. David Welker has been nice enough to open fire for us with his wonderful Bob Dylan poster printed by Ray McDermott in Boulder Colorado. Many thanks to him !
I haven't had a chance to contact them yet
and I'm not sure if my agency has either. It's been such a busy year.
We are lucky just to keep up with the current workload.
I have a short list of bands and artists
that I'd love to work with in the coming year and Dr. Dog is still one
of the ones at the top. I love their attitude and sense of humor.
Well, for the moment, we are here to talk about your Bob Dylan
poster, first of all some "technical" points :) Where and when did this
show take place ?
The show was
the grand reopening of the historic Capitol Theatre in Port Chester New
York on September 4th. Pete Shapiro is the new owner of the theatre and
he's become a huge force in the music industry. Some people liken him to
a sort Bill Graham for our times. He wanted to start things off in a
big way so he asked Dylan to play the inaugural performance.
Are you, yourself, fan of Bob Dylan ?
I've listened to him in many of his
incarnations since my childhood growing up in the late 60's and early
70's. I was always fascinated with his epic, narrative songs like
"Simple Twist of Fate", "Tom Thumb's Blues", "Hurricane", "Black Diamond
Bay", "Joey" ect.
The storytelling pieces interested me more
than his overtly political stuff even though there were always deep
sociopolitical metaphors happening in almost everything he did.
I dont think there is another songwriter who is able to lead the listener down a long narrative path in such a poetic way.
Did he contacted you directly or was it a promoter or anyone else ?
The
poster was commissioned by Pete Shapiro and the Capitols Theatre's
media team. Apparently they spent a couple months negotiating with
Dylan's team over the concept of a theatre produced, grand opening,
limited edition poster. Dylan is not known for his poster art despite
the success of the 2010 posters from Chuck Sperry and Ken Taylor.
Did you have guidelines for this one or were you entirely free ?
I
told everyone from the beginning that I didn't want to do another Dylan
portrait poster. I submitted a pencil sketch with some hand drawn
typography and this giant bird crashing into the ocean and the media
team told me to run with it. It was approved and rejected about ten
times over the course of a months time until we finally got the green
light to start printing a week before the show.
Where did this idea of the "oceanic scene" come from ? Does this have any relationship with a Dylan song ?
The
bird crashing into the sea is a multiple metaphor for human folly. The
bird seen as a dove is a symbol of peace and grace and he and the shark
have been ensnared with the ties of a civilization itself in peril. I
feel like Dylan has been painting these types of poetic archetypes for
decades. I was listening to "Jokerman" during the entire sketching and
inking process. That song is a masterpiece of encoded allegory and
metaphor. It seems to automatically evoke subconscious iconography.
The song is so visceral that it plays out like symbols visually leaping out from the music.
The seeing eye at the top of the piece
represents Dylan's ability to see beyond the false facades of humanity
and the lighthouse is a direct reference to "All Along The Watchtower".
I added the word "Positively" on a flowing
scroll in the upper right of the sky as a trigger or conceptual escape
from the turmoil of the imagery. It's also a reference to "Positively"
4th Street".
The new album "Tempest" also has another
epic number about the Titanic. Knowing this during the process I felt
the imagery might have additional relevance to his current work.
Is there any XIXth century illustration style inspiration in this poster ?
I've
always looked to Nineteenth Century art as a source of inspiration, but
I honestly don't have a specific reference for this illustration.
How many prints did you make ?
The main edition is 150 with 30 Artists Proofs.
Did you receive feedback from Dylan ?
When
musicians graduate to becoming rock stars they almost always delegate
art direction to one or more managerial entities. In Dylan's case he
moved from musician to rock star to superstar to living legend decades
ago, so I never expected direct feedback from him.
From his fans ?
I received a lot of nice emails from Dylan fan's inquiring about the poster.
From your fans ?
The response was really nice.
Have you already worked with Dylan before this one ?
This is my first poster for Dylan.
- TROG (Australia)
TROG (Australia)
Well, when, roaming around FB you discover an artists whom work make you think about a mix of Griffins/Jim Phillips and other gods like those ones, you, at least myself, have to take contact immediatly. But, to tell you the truth, those sick drawings, full of eyeballs and other marijuana leaves made me wonder what kind of psychoguy will answer my mail :) I must say Trevor have been really nice along the whole process interview, and this is why I take this opportunity, here, to tell him how sorry I am for the delay it took to have this interview online !
Hello, of course as every Crewk interview, first question:
what are we listening to when we come to visit you?
Nofx / Johnny Cash / Hedpe
Can you tell us more about yourself, who are you, where are
you from, what do you do?
im TROG -
underground comix artist from Australia who should probably be based in
LA or San Francisco - when someone goes
i seen this sick artwork and it had bongs n weed n pills n lines in it they
were probably talking about my work as "im that guy!!!"
When did you start drawing?
i can't remember i kinda always
clicked with drawing it was like the one thing in my life that just comes
naturally to me and connects with me- i
think i was put here to draw
Did you follow any course or did you improve by drawing in
the margins of your schoolbooks?
i did
study graphic designyears ago - i finished that in like 1998 but i was kinda stoned for most of my classes
- surfing / skating and smoking - just sittin in class trying to copy Rick
Griffins work...
Today are you living from your art, or do you do something
else for a living ?
i actually work full time as a brand manager for SRH
clothing and just do selective work,
personal canvas works, art exhibitions plus lately i've also been doing
some killer stuff for cannabis expos (which suits me - like really fuckn suits
me)
Are you collaborating with magazines/fanzines, regularly?
i've actually never done any of those-
Where does your influence come from? Is there any
artists/graphists you particularly like, what are your influences?
my
artistic influence comes from the greatest artist to have ever walked
this earth- Rick Griffin, plus
Williams, Roth, Moscoso, Wilson, Crumb, Brown.... as far as my influence i generally like to
sketch concepts and comix and then when im wasted i can take one of those
concepts and get it looking how i imagine it should look as a full canvas.
What are the principal steps in your work ?
start at one
corner of a page and sit there till im at the other corner - i may stop and smoke during this however i
generally already have a concept in my head and just flow- i find the less i
actually think about it the better result i get and i like it when i look at
something and can't remember doing it and be like - hey thats sick as fuck- how
the fuck did i get it to there and then follow the layers n go like hey- my wife spins out at stuff i draw- she will
stand there and be like how the fuck do you do that..
Do you do everything by hand or on computer?
i do pretty much do all my stuff by hand- i
have "LETS DRAW" tattooed across my fingures with eyeball men holding
pencils on the tops of my hands, so i kinda need to keep drawing by hand or
else it will shit me - i think handwork is where its at and even colouring by
hand you can get a result you can't get on computer- its a more personalized
piece of art- i do some stuff on
computer if i need to however i would already have drawn it all by hand then scan
it in
How long does it take you to do a poster? that totally depends on the poster- what kind
of state im in personally- where my heads at - how many layers are
involved- i mean i could do one in a day
- or it could take me a week
You have a very distinctive style, are you doing only what
you feel like or if tomorrow somebody asks you an oil painting with horses
running out of water with a sunset backdrop, is it a problem or are you up for
it ?
if someone asked me to do a picture of horses running with a sun set- they
would get like a wack cartoon version with horses running with cone pieces
sticking out of them with an acid induced sunset n wierd shit going on - if
they ask me to do it then they want my style.... if they don't want my style- don't ask me-
its that simple
For which band have you already worked for?
kottonmouth
kings / hedpe / slightly stoopid / kyuss
lives / mickey avalon
For which band would you love to work?
pearl jam / Green
Day/ offspring / nofx
Do you choose the artists yourself?
all the bands i've done
stuff for i have been asked to submit to them
Career Highlight?
i
had my own signature "TROG" bong made
What is the most difficult part in designing a poster ?
doing the poster is the easy part -
getting it approved by the band and the management and getting paid is
the difficult part- this is the part that sucks
Do you think you are part of a "Graphic Scene", if
so who else ?
im not in any scene - im
so underground people don't even know who i am "YET"
A bit of self-promotion, take advantage of it, it's free,
where can we see your work , on the web or in real life?
The best praise you received lately?
the best praise i get
is when a kid messages my page and figures out that im the artist who done some
piece of art that he liked and didn't figure out it was me till now- when that happens thats cool... like your that guy - and im like fuck yer kid im that guy.....sick
- much appreciated...
What can we wish you for the future?
that 'im remembered for
creating some of the most unique cartoon drug influenced work of this time
period..
Thanks for answering my questions and see you soon on the
website !!
- ** Contest : Win an original David Welker's Dylan Poster **
- ** Contest : Win an original David Welker's Dylan Poster **
To celebrate 2 years of passion shared, here is the first contest ever on the blog !!! Spread the word !!!!
How to participate :
1. Be sure to like our fanpage on facebook :
2. Answer those 3 simple questions : :
What were we listening to, last time we visited David Studio ?
Name 3 bands David worked for
How many good answers will we receive ?
3. Send your answers to the email adress at the top right of the blog with subject : Welker Contest
This is done, we will let you know shortly if you are a lucky winner !
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