above and below: artist: Ken Taylor (Melbourne, Australia)
(below) artist: 8Ball (Austin, TX)
(below) artist Crosshair aka Dan MacAdam
(below) artist Jay Ryan - The Bird Machine Studio (Chicago, IL)
(below) artist Lindsey Kuhn (SWAMP, Denver, CO)
(below) artist Willem Koolvoort for Club Vera (the Netherlands)
(below) artist Mike Martin, Enginehouse13 Studio (Columbus, OH)
(below) artist Jeremy Wilson (Canada)
(below) artist Jim Phillips (Santa Cruz, CA)
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Yes, I've been away for several months, taking a brief break from the ROCKIN' blog while other projects matured. And hats off to President Obama. It's all about hope, change, and commitment to making a difference in peoples' lives. U rock, B. My son Jordan (a freshman at Georgetown) was in front of the White House on election night.
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I've just completed my sixth book, ART OF CLASSIC ROCK, about the Rob Roth collection of rock music promo posters focusing on the Rolling Stones, Elton John, The Who, David Bowie, Alice Cooper, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and Queen. The publisher is Carlton Books, based in the U.K., and it should be out in time for Xmas '09.
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I've also been researching and writing the exhibition MARIN ROCKS for the Marin History Museum. This will open in September, 2009 in downtown San Rafael, CA. It's the first-ever exhibition focusing on the history of rock thru the Marin County lens. Because of Marin's proximity to San Francisco (just across the Golden Gate Bridge), many extraordinary musicians have made Marin their home for decades (or were visitors of note, or recorded major albums there). That would include the Otis Redding ("Dock of the Bay"), Grateful Dead, Carlos Santana, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Steve Miller, members of the Jefferson Airplane, Big Brother and the Holding Co. with Janis Joplin, Bonnie Raitt, Narada Michael Walden, Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield from Metallica, Dan Hicks, Huey Lewis and the News, the Sons of Champlin . . . the list goes on. More on MARIN ROCKS shortly.
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So I thought to reopen the blog by showcasing some of the car-themed rock posters which were produced in the last several months. These ain't all; many more to share with you in the next blogs.
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Atop, the work of Ken Taylor from Melbourne, Australia, widely considered rock's top illustrator now. The first poster is of course of Neil Young's Linc-Volt, about which many of you have read stories in your local newspapers. You can see more of Ken's work at http://www.gigposters.com/ and also make purchases from the linked Beyond the Pale, his poster-publishing company. I gather Neil himself was very pleased.
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Next, one of my personal heroes, 8Ball from Austin, TX. A true punk, a real renegade.
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Dan MacAdam (Crosshair Studios) did the Conor Oberst poster. You should check out all of Crosshair's work at http://www.gigposters.com/, as Dan does spectacular work involving re-purposed decaying uban architecture. This was his first use of a vehicle, and when I bought my copy I could hardly believe his attention to detail. Simply outstanding! One of my top 10 of the past five years.
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Jay Ryan, head of The Bird Machine Studio in Chicago, did the latest in his Flatstock series, this time using a classic racer. Flatstock is "Woodstock for postermakers," and happens twice each year, first at SXSW in Austin, TX (later this month - the 20th such show), and later in the year at Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle.
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I met artist Lindsey Kuhn, who runs SWAMP in Denver, while authoring ART OF MODERN ROCK (Chronicle Books, 2004). Lindsey is an accomplished skateboarder and printer. Nothing is too wild for Lindsey to tackle.
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Willem Koolvoort's poster for the Dirtbombs at Club Vera in the Netherlands once again emphasizes that automotive-themed rock poster art is not at all confined to the U.S. Club Vera, as a youth organization, dates back well over a hundred years, and for the past fifty years has been one of the Netherland's premiere clubs.
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I don't know anyone more hard-core-rock than Mike Martin (with the possible exception of our buddy, rock poster artist Stainboy Greg Reinel from Orlando), and everytime I visit Mike's home in Columbus, OH I remember why I got started in this car-rock thang. Because . . . it rolls.
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Canada's young Jeremy Wilson is one to watch. Just sayin'.
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Finally, Jim Phillips may be known to many of you because he's synonomous with the skateboarding industry. He drew the famous screaming hand logo. Jim's been a close friend ever since the days of ART OF ROCK, and it's always a pleasure to acknowledge his work. This particular piece, for Zero, at the famous Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco, is quite exemplary of his automotive style.
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Lots to update you about in the weeks ahead. As Neil tells us, keep on rockin' in the free world.
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