Strawberryluna

New poster released: The Detroit Cobras!

Don’t mess with these badass ladies. Just, effin’ don’t.

2-color, hand screenprinted poster for The Detroit Cobras.

2-color, hand screenprinted poster for The Detroit Cobras.

Yeah! Kitty kitty. This is my all hand screenprinted poster for the awesome, kickass band The Detroit Cobras‘ show with Dex Romweber Duo on Tuesday, June 16, 2009 at Mr. Small’s Theatre, Pittsburgh, PA. I got to catch the show last night and they were fantastic! Even with singer Rachel Nagy admitting to feeling under the weather, the band was hot and ON. We loved it. Thank you Detroit Cobras! They are still on tour, so do catch a set if they are in your town.

So excited to once again do a poster for some of the most kickass ladies of ROCK, the awesome Detroit Cobras. This feline of a poster is a 2-color, multi-layered print with blood red and midnight black inks. The black is slightly transparent, allowing repetition of awesomeness to show through. See it? Yeah, that’s right pal. Edition of just 80. Size: 16w x 22h inches. Paper: acid-free & archival Cougar 100 lb White, cover weight.

Here are a few process photos of this poster as I printed, with more over on my Flickr page too.

1st color, red, flooded and ready to go.

1st color, red, flooded and ready to go.

First color red, bloody red, flooded in the screen and ready to print (pull). “Flooding” is a lighter pressure pass of ink with a squeegee across the stencil and is the way to get enough ink across the screen to fill the stencil and allow for one perfect print pull with the squeegee.

1st color, red red red, printed, down and done.

1st color, red red red, printed, down and done.

Below is a close up of a freshly printed Detroit Cobras poster showing the red underprinting a slightly transparent black, allowing the red to show through.

Close up and angular to show underprinting.

Close up and angular to show underprinting.

This limited edition Detroit Cobras poster is trimmed, editioned, signed and ready to go. Look for these (and many other awesome posters for the band) on the rest of their tour this summer, and also at my website here.

Venus Magazine interview; Spotlight on women in rock posters

Miss Amy Jo

Miss Amy Jo's take on poster art & artists. (Click for a larer view.)

So, wow. When the extremely rad, Chicago-based Venus Magazine contacted me at the end of the winter about doing a feature on women in the rock poster scene, I was floored. But, also, in true strawberryluna fashion, pretty sure that not a whole lot would come of it. I mean, come on, Venus is a great magazine dedicated to women, art, music, culture and the places where they collide. It seemed too cool to be true.

Well, I was wrong. Happily. After talking on the phone with Christine Bejasa for about 45 minutes one very grey, dreary and cold Pittsburgh afternoon, I was pretty excited. And now, I can share my stokage.

Some things that I said about posters...

Some things that I said about posters...(Click for a larer view.)

Profiling Miss Amy Jo of Minneapolis, Judge from Chicago, and myself, strawberryluna, straight outta Pittsburgh, the article was a fun read and definitely sheds some light on not only what’s it’s like being a working rock poster artist, but in being part of a larger world of printmakers, illustrators and designers making a go of this weird life. For larger and easier to read images head over to my Flickr site here!

Th art & words of poster artist, Judge.

Th art & words of poster artist, Judge. (Click for a larer view.)

The article is on news stands now, in the summer 2009 issue of Venus Magazine. If you like it, and dig the issue, consider a subscription. I promise, this magazine never fails to be rad.

Thank you Venus Magazine! Keep rockin’ the awesome!

Gig Posters Volume 1: Rock Show Art of the 21st Century, new book!

It has finally arrived!

Gig Posters Vol. I book, chock full of 101 poster artists

Gig Posters Vol. I book, chock full of 101 poster artists

Freshly published and totally incredible. I’m so proud to be a part of this rad book, as is taken from the imaginations of, and containing the work and words of 101 working, contemporary and kickass rock poster artists from around the globe. All compiled into a nifty book format. Just for you! Each poster artist talks about their work, influences and process as well as providing a full page format, perforated page tear-out poster. It’s a lot of awesome, and not just because I’m in it. In fact, I would venture to say despite the fact that I’m in this book.

Published just this May, you can now find this fantastic book at booksellers everywhere. Or, you can order a copy from the following websites:

Directly from me, at my website here, NOTE: personalized and autographed by me, just for you, with a bonus set of stickers, over 15 designs in all.

Directly from the author at Gigposters.com here. NOTE: BONUS ART PRINTS (While Supplies Last!!):
Order now from GigPosters.com and receive an exclusive limited edition screenprinted art print by Jay Ryan! Jay has created 3 different 10″x13″ art prints for the book release. The first 900 orders get free art prints! (300 of each) *Order the 3-pack to assure you get one of each art print!*

Directly from the publisher, at Quirk Books here.

Directly from the publisher, at Chronicle Books here.

Publisher’s description: 11×14 inches, paperback, 208 pages.

Since 2001 Gigposters.com has been the Internet’s first and best resource for rock-show poster art; their massive online database showcases more than 90 000 posters from 7 000 different designers including all of today’s top poster studios. Gig Posters Volume I highlights the 700+ best examples in their collection including 101 perforated and ready-to-hang posters for bands such as Radiohead Wilco the Decemberists the Shins Arcade Fire Sleater-Kinney and TONS more. Packaged in an oversized 11-by-14-inch paperback, Gig Posters Volume I is a spectacular compilation of rock show art (and one hell of a cheap way to decorate a dorm room or apartment). Author Clay Hayes is the founder and proprietor of Gigposters.com. He lives in Alberta, Canada.

Designers included in Volume I:

3d Glasses, Adam Turman, Aesthetic Apparatus, Alan Forbes, Allen Jaeger, Amy Jo, Andrio Abero, Andy Vastagh, Beyond The Pale, Billy Perkins, Bobby Dixon, Bongout, Brad Klausen, Brian Ewing, Budai, Burlesque of North America, Casey Burns, Cricket Press, Crosshair, Dale Flattum, Dan Grzeca, Dan McCarthy, Dan Stiles, Daniel Danger, Delicious, Denny Schmickle, Diana Sudyka, Dirk Fowler, Drew Millward, Drowning Creek Studio, DWITT, Eleanor Grosch, Emek, Engine House 13, FarmBarn Art Co., Firehouse, Furturtle Printworks, Gary Houston, Gregg Gordon, Guy Burwell, Hero Design Studio, Invisible Creature, Ironforgepress, James Rheem Davis, Jamie Ward, Jared Connor, Jason Goad, Jay Ryan, Jay Vollmar, Jeph, Jermaine Rogers, Joanna Wecht, Johnny Crap, Jon Smith, Josh Rickun, Judge, Justin Hampton, Justin Kamerer, Largemammal Print, Leia Bell, Lil Tuffy, Little Jacket, Lonny Hurley, Lonny Unitus, Luke Drozd, Lure Design, Malleus, Mark Pedini, Mat Daly, Methane Studios, Micah Smith, Michael Michael Motorcycle, Mig Kokinda, Mike King, Nate Duval, Patent Pending, Powerhouse Factories, Powerslide Design Co., Print Mafia, Rob Jones, Ron Liberti, Ryan Nole, Sasha Barr, Scrojo, Seripop, Squad 19, Stainboy, Steve Walters, strawberryluna, Tanxxx, Tara McPherson, The Decoder Ring Design Concern, The Heads Of State, The Little Friends Of Printmaking, The Small Stakes, Thomas Scott, Tim Gough, Todd Slater, Vahalla Studios, Zach Hobbs, Zeloot

Thoughful oversized, yet lap-fitting dimensions of the new Gig Posters Vol. I book.

Thoughful oversized, yet conveniently lap-fitting dimensions of the new Gig Posters Vol. I book by Clay Hayes.

New poster released: Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin! (yay!)

Hand screenprinted poster for the neato Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin

Hand screenprinted spring tour poster for the neato Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin

Good grief, we loved Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin‘s music before they ever played Pittsburgh. And now, we like ’em even more. Smart sweethearts, every one of ’em. They might be the best band that not enough people have heard. For realsies, so go listen. Don’t fret, they will be out on tour again soon.

This hand screenprinted and emotional poster is my 2-color fella with sad blue and black inks. Edition of 150, with 100 copies going to the band. Size: 16w x 22h inches. Paper: acid-free & archival Cougar 100 lb White, cover weight. Available at my website here, and soon, at the SSLYBY’s Super Store, once they’re home from tour and it’s back up & running. And, as per my usual dweebyness, here are some process photos I took while printing their poster at AIR here for you on my Flickr page.

And here’s a photo of 2 SSLYBYs and 2 Drew Danburrys in the King’s Monroeville parking lot on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

Horsing around.

Horsing around.

New poster released: The Fillmore presents Brett Dennen w/ Angus & Julia Stone!

And it’s my first Fillmore poster!

Poster for Brett Dennens 2 shows in San Franciscos legendary Fillmore Theater.

Poster for Brett Dennen's 2 shows in San Francisco's legendary Fillmore Auditorium.

Yes! THAT Fillmore. Indeed. And Mr. Brett Dennen and the siblings Angus & Julia Stone played there for a very special 2-night, back to back engagement on Friday & Saturday, March 20 & 21, 2009 at The Fillmore, San Francisco, CA

Happy happy little fellow freed himself from the bonds that held him.

The Fillmore is where it all started for rock poster art. Since 1966, Bill Graham and The Fillmore have been commissioning posters from artists all over the world to hand out at shows as a thank you for fans. Within that tradition grew the seeds of the modern rock poster movement. As you can imagine then, I’m so excited and honored to be working with the legendary Fillmore in San Francisco, and this was a fun poster to work on as my inauguration into that incredibly rich history of rock posters.

Being that this is a tradition Fillmore poster, it is an offset print, NOT screenprinted, and printed by The Fillmore for this show. It’s a 4-color, desgin with an edition of 1,000. Of that 1,000 given to the fans at the show and to the bands’ members, I have just 50 posters. Size: 13w x 19h inches. Paper: thick and heavy white stock.

For more infomation or to purchase a poster, please visit my website here.

Thank you Austin Texas!

Man, whew! I’m beyond tired. We had such a great time at this year’s SXSW Music Festival and Flatstock Poster Convention in good ol’ Austin, Texas.

Lots and lots to tell, but overall the show was really successful. I feel like we all got to talk to a lot of new folks, see some happily familiar faces and once again get people jazzed about posters and music and the art in between them. Such a great feeling. Especially since the Flatstock show was 4 days long this year, up from the former 3-day event.

Dan, from Crosshair Press, photo by Mary Sledd

Dan, cool cat from Crosshair, photo by Mary Sledd

The Austin Chronicle’s Audra Schroeder wrote up a very nice piece about Flatstock and it’s tradition with SXSW here with some super photographs accompanying the article by Mary Sledd, above and below.

Me, strawberryluna, doin my thing. Photo by Mary Sledd.

Me, strawberryluna, doin' my thing. Photo by Mary Sledd.

Dave Witt, being awesome. Photo by Mary Sledd.

Dave Witt, being awesome. Photo by Mary Sledd.

Flatstock is a really crazy mix of super hard work and high-energy talking, particularly the SXSW version and then…so much fun. We bunked up with our best pals from Hero Design Studio, as per usual, and the laughs seriously never stop. Just when you think it’s bedtime and you can’t take any more? BOOM. The North American Free Trade Agreement becomes the funniest thing to happen all week.

Studios we adored hanging out with afterhours and that you should check out: Mike Budai, Delicious Design League, Design Medicine, Doublenaut, DWITT, Hero Design Studio, Largemammal, Brian MercerMiss Amy Jo, Popfuel, and good ol’ Dan Stiles,

Places we ate, and so should you when in the Austin area: Juan in A Million, The Salt Lick, Rudy’s BBQ, Mama Fu’s (they delivered to us in the Convention Center, thank you forever!)

We loved Austin so much that we made a very special stop at Cavender’s Boot City in Austin (with the world’s loudest women’s rest room EVER) on the way to taking our good friends, the Doublenauts to the airport on our last full day in town. Check out the boots that I could not pass up.

Takin a little bit of Texas home with me.

Takin' a little bit of Texas home with me.

Hope to see you all next year!

Flatstock, Part 1 The What Whats.

Part of my booth at Flatstock, SXSW in Austin, TX 2008

Part of my booth at Flatstock, SXSW in Austin, TX 2008, photo courtesy of Hero Design Studio

Sooooo, if you are a keen reader of this blog, you’ll notice that it’s been a few days since I’ve written a new post. Apologies about that. It’s not for lack of work or a spate of boredom though, trust me. This time of year, usually starting in mid-February right after the winter lulls, is what I like to call the “Pre-Flatstock Craze”. Just as new work starts rolling in as bands begin tour season, I’m starting to get ready for SXSW Flatstock by printing tons of new work, pulling, packing (safely! fingers crossed. yipe.) and shipping years worth of work down to Austin ahead of me. What is Flatstock you ask? Ahh yes. Let’s talk about that shall we?

Flatstock is an ongoing series of poster shows and events that happen at different music festivals throughout the year, starting with SXSW in Austin, TX In March, then during the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago, Il in July, followed by Seattle, WA over Labor Day weekend during Bumbershoot, and then in September in Hamburg, Germany. Flatstock is part convention, part exhibition, part show, and a lot of tell where the top currently working poster artists from all over the world converge to show and talk about their work. All of the poster artists and studios involved in a Flatstock show are members of the the American Poster Institute (API), which helps produce Flatstocks, but is also a guild of sorts for the gigposter art industry.

Look for more Flatstock info coming over the next month. If you are in Austin or heading down to SXSW, come by Flatstock and say hello to your favorite poster artists! We don’t bite, unless you have a tasty breakfast burrito, that is.

Flatstock Schedule:

  • Thursday March 19 from 11:00 am – 6:00 pm.
  • Friday March 20 from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm.
  • Saturday March 21 from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm.
  • Sunday March 22 from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm.

Here is a list of exhibitors who will be selling their posters, prints, and talking with folks like you!

And here is a floorplan layout to help you find your must-see studios.

Flatstock in Austin, TX
Rows of rock’n’Roll goodness at Flatstock in Austin, TX

Gig Posters Volume I, big ol’ awesome BOOK!

Gig Posters Volume I

Gig Posters Volume I: Rock Show Art of the 20th Century

ShaaahhDoink! Gig Posters Volume I: Rock Show Art of the 21st Century is a new book chock full of hot rock postery goodness from current, working poster artists all over the world. And cripes! They let me in too. In the words of Omar: “Indeed.”

Available for pre-order now, published through the super Chronicle Books and Quirk Books. And, just an FYI? If you pre-order through the Gigposters.com website you will receive a bitchin’ extra freebie: an exclusive screenprinted poster from the indomitable Jay Ryan. No foolin’!

Official Description of the book, project and limited edition freebie prints below:

Gigposters.com showcases gig posters, handbills and flyers from around the world. Great for artists, musicians, bands, designers, venues and music collectors. A collection of rock posters and music posters.

Ships April 2009
11 x 14 inches
208 pages
Paperback

Includes 101 perforated and ready-to-hang posters along with hundreds of other poster images and designer biographies. Packaged in an oversized 11-by-14-inch paperback, Gig Posters Volume I is a spectacular compilation of rock show art (and a great way to decorate a dorm room or apartment). 

Designers: 
3d Glasses, Adam Turman, Aesthetic Apparatus, Alan Forbes, Allen Jaeger, Amy Jo, Andrio Abero, Andy Vastagh, Beyond The Pale, Billy Perkins, Bobby Dixon, Bongout, Brad Klausen, Brian Ewing, Budai, Burlesque of North America, Casey Burns, Cricket Press, Crosshair, Dale Flattum, Dan Grzeca, Dan McCarthy, Dan Stiles, Daniel Danger, Delicious, Denny Schmickle, Diana Sudyka, Dirk Fowler, Drew Millward, Drowning Creek Studio, DWITT, Eleanor Grosch, Emek, Engine House 13, FarmBarn Art Co., Firehouse, Furturtle Printworks, Gary Houston, Gregg Gordon, Guy Burwell, Hero Design Studio, Invisible Creature, Ironforgepress, James Rheem Davis, Jamie Ward, Jared Connor, Jason Goad, Jay Ryan, Jay Vollmar, Jeph, Jermaine Rogers, Joanna Wecht, Johnny Crap, Jon Smith, Josh Rickun, Judge, Justin Hampton, Justin Kamerer, Largemammal Print, Leia Bell, Lil Tuffy, Little Jacket, Lonny Hurley, Lonny Unitus, Luke Drozd, Lure Design, Malleus, Mark Pedini, Mat Daly, Methane Studios, Micah Smith, Michael Michael Motorcycle, Mig Kokinda, Mike King, Nate Duval, Patent Pending, Powerhouse Factories, Powerslide Design Co., Print Mafia, Rob Jones, Ron Liberti, Ryan Nole, Sasha Barr, Scrojo, Seripop, Squad 19, Stainboy, Steve Walters, strawberryluna, Tanxxx, Tara McPherson, The Decoder Ring Design Concern, The Heads Of State, The Little Friends Of Printmaking, The Small Stakes, Thomas Scott, Tim Gough, Todd Slater, Vahalla Studios, Zach Hobbs, Zeloot 

BONUS ART PRINTS: 
Pre-order now from Gigposters.com and receive an exclusive limited edition screenprinted art print by Jay Ryan! Jay will be creating 3 different 10″x13″ art prints for the book release. The first 1200 pre-orders get free art prints! (400 of each) *Order the 3-pack to assure you get one of each art print!* (Jay Ryan subscribers will automatically receive copies of the art prints in their subscriptions)

The Gig Is Up!

np-gp-article-blog-top

Indeed. Very cool article in the National Post out of Toronto, ON in Canada on the world of gigposters, both actual and the website dedicated to them. It’s a great piece on Clay Hayes, who started the website www.gigposters.com without realizing that he in fact, was starting a revolution. 

To read the article in full, on the off chance that you don’t have super awesome magnifying specs, I’ve posted the article on my Flickr account. MUCH easier to read. Thanks Canada! You are always lovely.

np-gp-article-blog-bottom2

The Dandy Warhols, new poster released!

Yeah, what is UP!

I just released a new poster for a great new band called The Dandy Warhols, perhaps you’ve heard of them? Just kiddin’, goofus. They’ve been around the block and back, consistently putting out good solid psych-pop, which I love. I’m pleased as piked punch to have done a poster for The Dandys Bournemouth UK show with the lovely  Fabienne Delsol  through the Richard Goodall Gallery as a part of their European tour series.

2-color hand screenprinted poster for The Dandy Warhols in Bournemouth UK

2-color hand screenprinted poster for The Dandy Warhols in Bournemouth UK

This poster is all hand screenprinted by me, 2-colors on acid-free & archival Cougar White, 100lb heavy cover stock. Available now at my website, or my Etsy store. 

Also, I HIGHLY recommend  Ondi Timoner’s rock-documentary DiG! if you’ve never seen it, heard of it, or have seen it half a dozen times (like me) or more. Super intense and amazingly entertaining and Sundance Grand Jury Prize award winning  look at not just two bands’ symbiotic  and tumultuous relationships’ to each other, but the touring and creative life in general. Hilarious, freaky & groovy, sex, drugs, death threats and fashion – basically everything you want rock music to be. Check it!

Dirty Dozen Interview on Poster Rocket. ZOOOOOOM!

 

Six in one...

Six in one...

Shazam! I done got interviewed Ma!

The poster art and design blog Poster Rocket just published a Dirty Dozen interview with me, and it’s sure to answer all of your burning questions about strawberryluna. Well, maybe not all of them. But some of the biggies are covered, most definitely. Secrets about my early formative years as a writer, how I never planned on being a printmaker and poster designer, and what deceased musicians would best love to do a poster for, in an alternate universe are all revealed.

The Dirty Dozen is Poster Rocket’s choice of 12 posters from a single artist or studio coupled with an interview. It’s a good time and be sure to check out the Poster Rocket site for past installments as well as the bevy of rock poster hotness featured every day. Or, be brave and submit your own (legit!) posters for review.

Half dozen in the other.

Half dozen in the other.