Skeptism?

Sketchbook oddity circa 2005.

Shoes

Ink on paper. Date unknown.

Give The Drummer Some

Signed some ThreadBanger posters during a recent fun visit to Next New Networks. More preliminary skecthes and info behind the making of the poster here.

Rock Star 69 Sketches

I am posting this work by special request from my old friend Fred Seibert. I hesitate to post too much old work, but a request from Fred is almost impossible for me to deny. These sketches were made in June 1969 for a series of sculptures/constructions of rock musicians. They were done on unlined, 3-hole punched notebook paper. Represented are Eric Clapton, Jack Casady, Janis Joplin, Jeff Beck, Pete Townshend, Pig Pen and Taj Mahal. None of these remaining sketches ever became sculptures. Musicians who made it into the 3rd dimension were: John and Yoko, Jim Morrison, Frank Zappa and Jimi Hendrix. I recall Jimi's hat was made from an upside down plastic cottage cheese container with a cardboard brim. His hair was made from steel wool spray painted matte black. Unfortunately these sculptures and their preliminary sketches got lost somewhere in time and space.

Zaz Turned Blue

Recently stumbled across these front and back comps done for a single by the band WAS (Not Was). I created them in 1983. The Bart Simpson-like punk silhouette head popped out here four years before The Simpsons shorts first appeared on The Tracy Ullman Show. The Simpsons got their own show several years after that. "Zaz Turned Blue," with vocals by Mel Torme (The Velvet Fog), was not released as a single, but did appear on the album Born To Laugh at Tornados.

Drive

While we're back visiting the '80s, here is the final cover for The Cars Greatest Hits and two of my preliminary sketches. I found some really cool metal toy cars made in India. Lots of airbrushing was involved. This was before Photoshop.

Heroes

I still can’t believe I actually worked with David Bowie, Brian Eno and Philip Glass together on one project. The package design for Philip’s Heroes Symphony, based on the music from the Bowie and Eno album Heroes, began as rough sketches on a napkin. (Yes, it is true that some really good ideas begin as rough sketches on napkins.) Philip and I were friends and had worked together previously on other projects so I was comfortable with him. I didn’t sleep much the night before the photo session with David Bowie. I also was pretty anxious the afternoon I met Brian Eno at his session. (Yes, I asked both of them for their autographs, and got them).

Instant Karma!

Xerox box schematic and CD label comp for the Ultimate Lennon Box (1989). I was hired to design the box set, and Matt Mahurin to illustrate scenes from John's life. A dream project that unfortuanately for all involved just didn't work out.

The Aeroplane Flies High

". . . turns, left, looks right."
Some preliminary sketches and snapshots of the Smashing Pumpkins boxed set (1996). The concept (Billy Corgan's idea) was based on the boxes teenagers used to keep their 45 RPM singles in back in the 50s and 60s. The box set included 5 CDs and 44 page book.