one month later . . . more ROCKIN' automotive-themed concert posters and an invite to the May 17th Marin-Sonoma Concours

(above) Jackie Greene, poster by Randy Tuten

(above) poster by Daymon Greulich

(above) poster by Tobias Geye

(above) poster by Scrojo

(above) poster by SteWo (Germany)

(above) poster by Jason McElweenie

(above) poster by Chris Hopewell /Jacknife Studios (England)

(above) poster by Art Chantry

(above) poster by Billy Perkins

(above) poster by Hugh D'Andrade

(above) poster by Victor Marco (Bordeaux, France)

(above) poster by Print Mafia

(above) poster by Craig Horky

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In the midst of all my 24/7 prep for the MARIN ROCKS exhibition, opening in the Fall in downtown San Rafael, I confess to have neglected my blog responsibilities . . . until I found a few spare moments to once again reflect on the abundance of talent contemporary artists bring to the automotive-themed concert-poster arena.

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First up is a masterpiece by Randy Tuten, for a Jackie Greene show at the Catalyst in Santa Cruz. No one does concert poster lettering better than Tuten, in my opinion. And that's Tuten's own shoebox Ford! Now run, go check out www.rtuten.com.

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I post the Black Keys piece in honor of my new book-production editor-partner, Jason Eisinger. Jason and I are doing collaborative editing on Blair Jackson's new book, THE OFFICIAL BOOK OF THE FILLMORES--about the original San Francisco Fillmore, the Fillmore West, the Fillmore East, the new/old SF Fillmore brought back to life after the '89 earthquake, and all the Live Nation Fillmores (Detroit, Denver, Miami, NYC). The book will be published this Fall by Signatures Network (a div. of Live Nation) in partnership with IDW Publishing.

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FYI, the Black Keys used to rehearse in Jason's basement when he lived in Ohio.

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I don't know much about Tobias Geye, but he sure nailed the Hootenanny '02 poster shown here. Wonderful rhythm and what a lineup!!!

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The Scrojo piece is unusual for him . . . he doesn't traffic in automotive-themes usually. But this one should come with its own pair of 3-D glasses. You'll remember Scrojo did the front and back devil-girl / angel-girl cover illustrations for Dennis King's and my ART OF MODERN ROCK. Scrojo is probably the most prolific rock concert poster artist on the planet.

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Jason McElweenie recently appeared for the first time at www.gigposters.com. The conception for the old timey wagon-based illo is really right on for Old Crow, in my opinion.

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There is nobody rockin' the UK quite like Chris Hopewell and his Jacknife Studio. This is one of three pieces advertising the Eagles of Death Metal. You should check 'em out--powerful and seductive artworks all. Remember the series for Queens of the Stone Age which I showed you here several months ago? Yummy.

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Art Chantry is a most distinguished art director, postermaker, poster historian, and gadfly. We met during the production of my ART OF ROCK, back in the mid-1980s. Art suffers no fools, as I learned only too well. This piece is typical of his sense of humor, which often involves turning classic American advertising art on its head.

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Some artists need no introduction. Several of Billy Perkins' pieces appeared in ART OF MODERN ROCK and then in ROCKIN' DOWN THE HIGHWAY. Ol' Perkins continues to be the soul of Austin, TX.

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I'ved admired many a Hugh D'Andrade piece done for the SF Fillmore under the art direction of Arlene Owseichik. This one, for Calexico, is emblematic of his style--colorful and spooky in all the right ways.

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Who is Victor Marco? What is he doing hot-rodding in Bordeaux, France?

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I've shown you many, many Print Mafia posters over the years. Sometimes they hit you over the head with a lead pipe, sometimes they speak with rueful amusement. I liked their entire series for Lucinda Williams, an iconoclastic musician if there ever was one.

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Finally, there's Craig Horky, associated with the print/design studio of Burlesque of North America, which is one of modern rock's cutting-edge shops. He's another whose body of work merits a good long look at www.gigposters.com.

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HERE'S AN EVENT YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS: the May 17th Marin-Sonoma Concours D'Elegance, to be held at the Marin Civic Center in San Rafael (for which Frank Lloyd Wright designed the buildings). Charlie Goodman is heading up the event--his collection is known all over the world. And among the exhibitors, Sammy Hagar and James Hetfield (Metallica), who are passionate car guys. Charlie and I are working on getting Neil Young's Linc-Volt to the show, along with the '57 Cadillac Biarritz that was the inspiration for Darell Mayabb's cover-art illo for ROCKIN'.

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The Concours is the first major car show in Marin in perhaps 25 years. I'll be there autographing copies of ROCKIN' at a special booth, so do stop by and say hello.

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Keep rockin' in the free world y'all.

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