Full Of Fancy - Wedding Gift EP...

my good friends Brian and Amanda recently got married, and everyone who attended their wedding received a free copy of a very limited edition Full of Fancy EP on Art Of The Underground Records as a wedding gift! Brian plays guitar in Full Of Fancy and was able to coordinate with the label to have the records out right before their wedding. the copies given out at the wedding came with a special sleeve featuring illustrations by Marissa Paternoster instead of the standard Art of the Underground sleeve... these are photocopies on a "fancy" paper stock.

half panel back cover with all the necessary info. the dust sleeve was also labeled with a "Amanda + Brian" stamp.

congrats to Brian and Amanda!

Six More Reasons To Hate... The Ladies

here is the newest from The Ladies, perfectly titled "Six More Reasons To Hate...". this is offset printed on a matte paper, folded not glued. the whole record is set to a big-dot halftone theme of some crazy bondage pics with a light pink color overlay. pretty fucked up, i guess... i like it! i actually really like the typography mash up on the front cover.

front cover theme carries over to the back panel. the song titles could have used a little extra love, they are kinda just plopped on there....

the cover unfolds to a full bleed flyer collage with another pink lady bondage image....

classic lock up on the A and B labels, looks sharp! do i need to point out how amazing The Ladies logo is?

...this is out on Grave Mistake NOW, go get one! and be sure to check out the rest of the store, they always have the best of what's around.

Dead Ghosts Ep...

came across this Dead Ghosts Ep recently, really diggin the punk photocopy / trippy psychedelic aesthetic. this art comes from the young and very talented C.M. Ruiz...

simple 2 color layout where it could have just as easily been a black and white design, but the carefully restrained use of that yellow second color really knocks this sucker out of the park.

continued ideas onto the back cover.... i like the way the type was handeled.

no insert... the A and B labels could have used some love.....

this was released on Boom Chick, don't know if it's still available...

Gestapo Khazi / Tijuana Panthers Split Ep...

this one is a home-town special for me... two great bands from the LA beach city of Long Beach! Stunned Mullet Records put out this Gestapo Khazi / Tijuana Panthers split ep, both bands are excellent, but lets talk art shall we....

the cover is a full color cut and glued jacket on what feels like a 80lb uncoated cover stock. on one side, you have this awesome and very hand made feeling art for Gestapo Khazi.... the band name looks to have been drawn in india ink and then cut and pasted over a bitmap photo with some color blocking behind it. this is classic hands-on, DIY punk record art at its' finest. look at that little black triangle siting in the top left corner and how it really grounds the whole design. pretty fucking great....

flip the record over, and here is the Tijuana Panthers cover. i don't know if this was designed by the same person that did the Gestapo Khazi cover (actually, there is no art credit whatsoever in this record, a little help?), but i would say it's pretty likely. the 2 images have a strong cohesion to one another that is not usually seen on split recordings. another great cut and paste creation, this one comes across much more as a true collage than the flipside, most likely because of the harsh shadow line created from the images different surface layers. really liking all those subtle stripes running thru the design....

2 sided insert is photocopied onto a nicer paper stock, Gestapo Khazi side has hand written lyrics...

flip it over and Tijuana Panthers phoned it in, no lyrics here....

A and B labels are nothing too fabulous, but here is a pic anyway....

When I Die Bury Me In The Clothes Of My Youth

sorry for the lag in posts lately, between traveling back east and hosting events at my art show this past month it's been pretty hard to make time for updating this blog. the good news is that I'M BACK now, and i have a bunch of posts that i'm excited to add, so keep checking back!

i recently picked up this rad little book of photographic works Mark McCoy & Cali Thornhill-deWitt from the Youth Attack web store titled "When I Die Bury Me In The Clothes Of My Youth". it's a perfect bound and glued 5"x7" book where every page has been printed black, and the photographs are presented on every other page. i have to say, the black pages really do add to the visual heaviness of the stark black and white images. while many of the images might read as photo journalism in content, the dark and abstract settings mixed with the nature of their camera work bring the viewer closer to a place of voyeurism.... check out the photos and grab one if you still can!