TOKYO art zine...

i recently completed a new zine based on the artwork i made while traveling through Japan this past summer.  these are staple bound full color digital xerox books with hand written white ink on black paper for a cover. made in an edition of 50 and up for sale now in my store...

to see more of my personal art, click here.

Los Crudos / Infest Posters...

my band Suspect was asked to play these 2 Los Crudos / Infest reunion shows here in the southern california area, so i designed and screen printed some posters for them....  these are 3 color screen printed 24" x 18" posters on 100 lb cover stock....

i have a few of these left over from the show, click here to purchase one!  to see more of my screen printed poster work, click here.

Modern Life Is War Screen Prints....

i was asked to design and screen print some show posters for Modern Life Is War back in December for 3 shows they were playing in California.  i decided to make the three prints a three-panel triptych... each poster is a 3 color screen print on 18" x 24" 100lb cover stock paper, and the three images combine to make one single image...

these were sold at the shows and are all sold out now.  to see more of my screen printed poster work, click here.

Modern Life Is War Screen Printed Posters...

i was asked to design and screen print a few posters for Modern Life Is War recently.... this first one was for a show in their Iowa hometown,  it's a 4 color 18" x 24" screen print on 120lb charcoal linen paper...

the next three were for back to back shows on the east coast.  instead of making a single tour poster with the three dates listed, we decided to go with a triptych series and created individual screen print for each show.  all three posters are 3 color screen prints on 18" x 24" 100lb white cover stock....

to see more of my gig poster art, click here .

X-Discos - Xecuted Ep

here is another really great record i brought back with me from japan, the X-Discos "Xecuted" ep on Episode Sound Records.  it doesn't get much more authentically punk than this, look at this cover art!  the X-Discos logo looks very similar to that of the Slash Records one from the late 70's, and the overall design of this image kinda feels like a lost Dangerhouse release.  i really like the fact that no black ink was used on the cover too, just two spot colors...

i'm pretty sure these covers were offset printed with 5 spot ink colors instead of using the more traditional 4 color process, and the covers are cut and glued on a fine uncoated paper.  the result is a record sleeve that looks and feels like an authentic 70's release.  aesthetically, the back panel evokes the the same Dangerhouse Records vibe as the front cover.  i really like the sparse use of color and all the hand written typography they used. unfortunately, there is a lot of digital anti-alias fuzz in the image, which really dates it as a modern release....

the A and B labels were kept very minimal, using a light amount of blue ink on white labels.  everything here is very clean and orderly, it's a tight layout for sure....

Black And White - We Like Noise 7"

here are shots of the 2nd ep that Tokyo's Black And White released, this time on the Hardcore Survives record label.  they got a little campy with the collage art on this one, spelling out "Black And White" with found images and objects.  some letters are more successful than others as far as their actual representation of the character goes, but regardless, it's makes for an interesting take on cover art.  i do really like that the song titles were left as a simple hand written font at the bottom of the composition, and the black bar they are sitting in helps ground the otherwise white-heavy art.  also, that "I'm a Mess" red stamp in the center of the cover is actually stamped on by the band as their way of signifying that this record was bought from them at a show...

just like on their 1st ep, these covers are offset printed on a delicate newsprint grade paper and then folded and glued with the cover tabs on the outside of the back panel.  i have to say i love how textural it is as an object when you are holding it in your hands.  really wish there was a way to achieve this effect in the states....

on the back panel, the artwork centers around a double-exposed (or, i guess triple exposed) image of their singer doing his thing at a live show and the simple statement "thanks to no one" above it.  this is pretty much the level of style and attitude i wish every punk record could achieve.  it's bold, graphic, interesting, and most importantly simplex as far as content.  i fucking love it....

the A and B labels are identical except for the song title information so i only posted the A side.  kind of reminds me of a Factory Records layout, in that it is very simply organized in a way that radiates beauty.  the drastic changes in typeface and sizing make for a dynamic composition.  well done sir....

Black And White - Mortal Sin Ep

i'm back from japan!  tour was awesome, thank you to everyone who came out in support of my band Rough Kids.  i'm going to try my best to get back to posting here once a week, so keep your eyes peeled cause i have tons of radness from japan as well as a hefty pile of submissions from before i left....

first up, the very impressive first 7" ep from my favorite band we played with on tour, Tokyo's Black And White.  this band is really great both live and recorded, so seek this out if the snotty brittish sounds of the the first wave of UK punk is your thing.  as far as the art is concerned, this may be my favorite cover art for the year!  really great classic cut and paste punk collage on the front cover with very sharp handwritten "Black And White" type knocking out the image to the white paper.  i absolutely love that they used a small "times new roman" style font to sit above the art and gesture back to the fact that many of these images within the collage were clipped from a newspaper.  it's politically charged, but in a vague "image only" sort of way, not really out to make a statement either way.  to add the "70's punk single" vibe of this record, these sleeves were offset printed on what feels like newsprint grade paper.  it literally looks and feels like you are holding a 30+ year old record in your hands....

on the back panel of these covers, there are 4 images of the band members displayed as a grid with the Episode Sounds record label logo above them.  not only do i love that these covers were folded and glued with the folded tabs on the outside of the back panel, but i love how it looks as though the covers were assembled before they were printed.  again, as far as creating an authentic 70's punk aesthetic to go along with your sound, these guys knocked it out of the park!  this thing screams KBD to me...

this A side label is perfectly dialed as well.  blank ink on an off-white paper stock with a spot neon pink ink used to pop that Episode logo that is behind all the info.  everything from the choice of type to the layout and design is spot on....

the B side label is a bit off the grid as far as the rest of the layout, but i guess the completely random quality of it isn't too uncharacteristic for this style either...

Big Eyes - Almost Famous Lp

Grave Mistake Records put together a very respectable record for Big Eyes' second Lp.  i love all these staged photographs that make up the majority of this layout!  my favorite image is definitely the cover image, which was beautifully composed and printed in full color with lots of warm tones.  there is great sense of balance and symmetry in this image, you can tell that the photographer took a lot of care in setting up this scene for the shoot.  really glad that they chose to brand the poly record bags with a sticker instead of trying to force the typography into the shot somehow....

these jackets were professionally full-color offset printed and glued.  on the back cover they chose to use a different shot from the same Seattle Union Train Station location as the cover image, this time in black and white with the contrast blown out.  as much as i would have personally liked to have seen this shot in color as well, i suppose this style of photography lends itself better with having to work with typography in a composition...

inside, you will find printed dust sleeves with your vinyl.  on the main image side, there is another black and white image from the same shoot which is very high contrast but not quite as blown out as the back panel.  this is a bit of a pet peeve for me... pick a style and stick with it!

on the backside of the printed dust sleeve is a nice and clean dust sleeve.  the half tone logo on the diagonal was a nice touch, something about this feels very legit 80's record layout to me, and that's always a good thing...

really nice job on the A and B label art as well!  the A side has an interesting pattern along the right side of the label and the information running down the left side.  it creates a subtle tie-back to the front cover shot and the mosaic train station tiles.  the only thing that would have made it even better would would be if they used warmer tones like the front color image instead of blue on silver....

on the B side there is another image from the photo shoot...

there is also a HUGE poster insert included in this package as well!  black and white band shot printed on the one side, great use of type on the guitar cases.  that "BIG" type reminds me of the Big Boys logo, which is most likely a happy accident...

on the back side, a full color and super abstract band shot, which reminds me of something that Tenement would have done in one of their layouts.  i love how shadowed all of their features are by all the tiny lights that are within the frame...

Neighborhood Brats - No Sun No Tan Lp

here is the second of the 2 new records i designed for LA punks Neighborhood Brats.  this is a LP collection of all their previous singles re-recorded with the addition of two new tracks and artwork by yours truly.  these are full color offset printed and glued pocket sleeves, no insert per the bands request.  the idea behind these releases was to keep them aesthetically aligned with each other. i designed the "no sun no tan" artwork first and let that title set the tone for both releases....

A side label holds all the tracking info, B side label is bit more wild...

the band also gave me a copy of the test press, so i drew some A and B label art on my copy....

pick this up from Deranged!  to see more of my artwork for bands, click here...

Neighborhood Brats - Birth Right Ep

i was recently asked by the band Neighborhood Brats to design an all-new aesthetic for them now that they relocated from the bay area to LA.  they had 2 records that were just recorded and in need of some art, so that was the first order of business.  the first one that was released was the "Birth Right" Ep for Deranged Records... full color offset printed and glued pocket sleeve, no insert per the bands request...

i kept the A and B labels classy and "classic 45" looking...

the band also gave me a test press of this release, so i drew up some quick lettering on my A and B labels...

to see more of my art that i have done for other bands, click here...

Barge - No Gain ep

the new BARGE ep that came out on Vinyl Conflict is a total ripper, and the layout does a good job of matching the intensity of the music.  when i think about what a "hardcore punk" record should look like, my mental picture comes pretty close to this ep cover. this record looks like it could have been released on Partners In Crime 10 years ago with the blown out photocopy aesthetic being pushed to the limit.  really nice mash-up imagery going on in this photo collage, and i love the tall and bold type they chose for their name.  the "no gain" title kept small in the corner helps draw your eye into the composition to really absorb the detail...

the back panel is a bit more conventional than the front cover, but still a great looking design.  a blown out live shot is always a good method of matching intensity visually.  the type at the bottom could have used a little more care...

these are black and white professionally offset printed covers that are folded, not glued.  the inside 2 panels unfold to be a lyric sheet and band photo.  the lyrics are clear and easy to read and the band photo is definitely an interesting image...

silver and black A and B labels are a nice touch to this package as they bring a little more interest into the package.  i would love this A label so much if that semi-diagonal line where the black and silver meet was straight and not wavy....

nice little piece of art on the B side, that thing is rad....

please support the hardworking DIY community and pick up a copy of this record, you will not be sorry.  don't think Vinyl Conflict has a webstore but i know Grave Mistake has them in stock....