Sunday, January 31, 2010

The Scariest Band In The World




















Poster for the one and only Winnipeg show by Californy creepsters Deadbolt, way back in 2000 AD. Also on the bill were Winnipeg's rockabilly weirdos The Fever Breaks with their Buddy Holly on LSD style of rockin'. It was a fun evening out. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Psychobilly Freakout




















Here be my poster for the first ever Winnipeg appearance by the Reverend Horton Heat, way back in 1999. Also on the bill were the hip Link Wray meets Ramones instrumental stylings of Calgary's Huevos Rancheros and a horribly inappropriate rap-metal band. Fun times. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Friday, January 29, 2010

Wild Weekend




















Here's the poster for the Transistor 66 Rock'n'Roll Weekender, which kicks off one week from today. This will be the grand debut of The Angry Dragons great 7" which I was blastin' an advance copy of all day yesterday, plus one man rockabilly combo Bloodshot Bill will be launchin' his brand new CD at the Saturday show. Throw in local rockin' legends The Farrell Bros and the sweet (mostly-) instro sounds of The Lonely Vulcans plus a batch of hip new up-and-comers and you have a weekend to remember (or dismember if you consider the location of the festivities). I spent some time yesterday signing and numbering 50 sharp lookin' silkscreen prints of this poster which you will be able to buy at the show or via the Transistor 66 website if you are so inclined. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Horror Of Rackula


















Just finished this cover art for the debut CD by Rackula, an all-grrl punk rock combo from Hamilton, Ontario. The CD should be out in February sometime. See below for an extra drawing I made which will appear (in part) on the label of the CD itself. More new stuff tomorrow. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!


Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Into The Forbidden Dimension







































Forbidden Dimension are a brilliant horror rock band outta Calgary, which is without a doubt Canada's most sinister city. They differ from most other horror bands in that they are as much influenced by Link Wray, Kiss and The Damned as they are by The Misfits. They played in Winnipeg several times back in the '90s and I got the call to do the poster for one such show at the Pyramid Cabaret in 1997. As the FD have the amazing TOMB as their in-house artist I knew that I had to deliver my best work on this one and I have always been pretty proud of the way it turned out. The FD guys liked it too and at the show they did me the honor of adapting the words of their song Dial M For Monster into Dial M For Merinuk... a pretty proud moment for me. This was also the show where Personality Crisis singer Mitch Funk joined FD onstage for their cover of PC classick Vampire's Dream which was another amazing thing to see. Anyhow, fast forward to 2004 when I got a rush request for a couple of posters from my pals The Independents. I decided to give the FD poster a new lease on life and recycled it into the poster for the South Carolina show headlined by '77 punk legends The Vibrators. I made the color separations for a silkscreen version of this but unfortunately that never made it to print. To top this epic saga off, here's the FD art again, bootlegged on a poster for a Hellacopters show that my eagle-eyed buddy Lee found somewhere on the net awhile back. I think this show was in Spain somewhere. Thanks, Leroy! Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Hot Rods To Hell







































Here are the other 2 hot roddin' T-shirt designs mentioned in yesterday's post. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Monday, January 25, 2010

I'm A Bongo-Beatin' Beatnik




















Here's a cover I did for local alt music mag Stylus some years back. This was one of 3 Roth-style hot rod weirdo drawings that I did for the 2001 CKUW radio fundraiser. All 3 were used on T-shirts which were given to people who coughed up the bucks to keep the station on the air and there was also a poster version with all 3 CarToon cretins burning up the Highway To Hell. The Beatnik seemed to be the popular favorite of the 3 so it was chosen to appear on the accompanying Stylus cover. I'll post the other 2 at a later date. Stay tuned for MORE LIKE, ACTION!

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Journey To The Center Of The Mind




















The idea of this one was to start a drawing and then work on adding bits and pieces to it over a period of years. I started it in 1993 with the bridge and figure in the foreground, then added the mouth and stairs and proceeded to fill it out from there. Final touches were put on in 2007 so this one was 14 years in the making! It's unpublished. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Pussy Galore Part 2




















Here's my most recent Nashville Pussy poster from 2003. This show was sponsored by Soul Survivors tattoo studio, who I also worked with on my recent Misfits project which I should finally be able to post here in about a month or so. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Friday, January 22, 2010

Pussy Galore Part 1




















Rawk powerhouse combo Nashville Pussy used to play here once or twice a year. Over the years they have probably played in Winnipeg at least a dozen times. Three of these visits were accompanied by King Merinuk poster art and this is the first one from way back in 1998. Stay tuned for MORE OF THAT NASHVILLE PUSSY ACTION!

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Maneaters On Motorbikes



































Here are a couple of different sleeve designs I made for the Angry Dragons debut CD on Transistor 66 Records. The top one is an alternate design that will replace the original when the CD goes into a second pressing (if all goes according to plan). Right now you can get it as the cover for the cassette (!) release of the songs that are on the CD. The pink and black original design has been used on various Dragons merch and is the cover of the CD that you can buy right now from good old Transistor 66. We're counting down right now to the big release party for the Dragons 7" EP on February 5. I'll put up the poster for that show in the next day or two. Stay tuned for MORE ANTAGONIZIN' ACTION!

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

I Wanna Be A Real Kid!




















It was a major thrill for me to get to do the cover art for this tribute CD to the amazin' Real Kids way back in 1996. Comin' outta the early Boston new wave scene, the Kids combined high energy Stonesy rock with the best in pop hooks to make some of the flat out greatest rock'n'roll ever. The CD features 18 garage and powerpop combos from around the world paying well-deserved homage to the recorded works of The Real Kids, including the mighty Basement Brats, The Psychotic Youth and Aussie R&B coolsters The Breadmakers. Antipodean powerpop label Spinning Top Records put this thing together (see "Do The Pop" post below for more on them). I was pleasantly surprised to see this cover art show up onscreen in the 2003 Real Kids documentary film, All Kindsa Girls. Fresh thrills are coming soon to this Rubber Room so... Stay tuned for MORE NO PLACE FAST ACTION!

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Kiss Like A Nun
















I designed this logo a couple of years back for Mary and Jeremy, the rockin' fiends who have been putting on a series of garage and psychobilly concerts over in Paris under the Deadly Sin moniker. See "Teenage Cavemen" post down below there somewhere for more info on their action scene. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Monday, January 18, 2010

Walkin' The Dog




















I drew this one a couple years back for The Independents website. Another take on the werewolf theme, this is probably my best work on that subject so far. I'm going to top it someday, though. Stay tuned for MORE EVEN A MAN WHO'S PURE IN HEART AND SAYS HIS PRAYERS BY NIGHT, MAY BECOME A WOLF WHEN THE WOLFBANE BLOOMS AND THE MOON IS FULL AND BRIGHT ACTION!

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Gettin' Plenty Lovin'




















Probably the wildest obscure '50s rocker of 'em all, piano poundin' loony Esquerita is the guy who taught Little Richard how to get the savage sound outta those 88 keys. Somehow or other this outta space maniac got signed to Capitol Records and unleashed a monster LP and a batch of 45s in the late '50s, a crash course in the kinda incomprehensible mad ravin' that embodies the true spirit of rock'n'roll at its wildest. Lots of his wild sides are available on Norton Records who have been keepin' the flame burning for this guy since the '80s, and you can look around on the net for the story of his personal life which is even more way out there than the musical offerings he left behind on his rocket ride outta this world. I made this drawing for Roctober #19, part of the "Rock'n'Roll AIDS Quilt" cover feature in that issue. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Punk Rock Slugfest




















Amp Records put out this split CD back in 2000. The Manges from Italy blast off with a batch of heavily Ramonicized pop punkers and Canada's own McRackins follow through with their chicken-or-the-egg brand of powerpop. I was a big fan of The Manges at the time and was happy to work with 'em again after having done the cover for their debut CD a couple years earlier. Both bands are still goin' strong even unto this very day. I once gave a copy of this to my (then-) friend Vom and he immediately proceeded to break it and throw the pieces at me! Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Friday, January 15, 2010

Head Games




















Another homage to Mr. Johnny Craig, this time inspired by the series of shocking, graphically violent covers he created back in the early '50s for Vault Of Horror and Crime Suspenstories. It's wild to imagine that kinda stuff showing up in the suburban supermarkets and drug stores of Eisenhower's America. Truly subversive stuff. This was one of a batch of samples I put together for a project that never came to fruition. It's unpublished. Stay tuned for MORE DECAPITATIN' ACTION!

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Beat On The Brats




















Blastin' outta frozen Norway in the mid-'90s, The Basement Brats were a bunch of fired up troublemakin' teens mixin' up a big action-packed mess of blazin' punk and powerpop. I loved their catchy high energy tunes and teenage punk rock attitude. This here poster for a German tour is one of several things I was privileged to draw for 'em over the years. The other stuff will show up here in due course. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Do The Pop




















As a longtime fan of the label I was thrilled to get to work with legendary Bomp! Records honcho Greg Shaw on a couple of CD covers for his much esteemed recording imprint. This was during the late '90s powerpop revival and I made the cover art for a kool compilation of the best Bomp! material in that genre and also this design for a survey of the then-current Australian pop scene. This was compiled by the owner of Spinning Top Records, a label devoted to Antipodean powerpop which I had previously done a bit of sleeve design work for. As I mentioned before when blabbing about this powerpop thing, I often reference '60s pop art imagery when working in the genre and this one has an Andy Warhol concept to it. Anyhow, here's a salute to Greg Shaw, an all around ravin' rock'n'roll fan and a nice guy to boot. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Twin Devils




















Evil evil evil evil. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Monday, January 11, 2010

Code Of The Freaks







































Another Mack attack (see Kill! Kill! Kill! sleeve art way down below for more on this Texas rockabilly maniac) courtesy of French hepcat label Hog Maw Records. This 7"er came out in between Mack's first Hog Maw LP White Trash Requiem and the Kill! Kill! Kill! album and is kind of a teaser for the full-on snuff mania of the latter record. The parable of sideshow vengeance on the A-side offered me a chance to delve into some intriguing areas of carny grotesquery, and on the flip is a charming portrayal of that noted bucolic eccentric of the 1950's, Mr. Edward Gein, engaged in the pursuit of one of his many funny little hobbies. I just heard that recording sessions for a new Mack Stevens LP on Hog Maw are commencing soon, so more wild rockin' madness will be unleashed upon us all in the hopefully not-too-distant future. More info on that when I find out more about it. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Zombie Altercation




















This is a drawing of my friend Lindsay battling some zombies. This actually happened, but I guess I can't talk about it until after the statute of limitations runs out. Check this space sometime in 2057. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Savage Sounds From Hell!







































Big Bobby And The Nightcaps from down Virginny way played a mighty hep mix of garage, R'n'B and punk rock. They had a bunch of 7"ers and at least one LP out around this time. If I am remembering rightly Screamin' Apple chief Ritchie had the idea to feature clean cut croonin' on the front of this sleeve and unhinged monster mayhem on the back. Anyhow I have always been pretty happy with the way this one turned out. Maybe you will like it too. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Friday, January 8, 2010

Somewhere Outside




















These B-Sides (not to be confused with various other bands using the same moniker) are from Greece and play a moody kinda '60s garage rock that reminded me a bit of the great Shutdown 66 compilation. I tried to reflect their mood of cryptic introspection in this drawing, which is the cover of their debut LP. This fine vinyl-only release came out last year on Fuzz Overdose Records. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Rockin' In The Graveyard




















Although in those early days Roctober magazine was not yet the mighty institution it has since become, I was still pretty thrilled when ace editor Jake Austen asked me to do the cover for the 14th issue. The issue was a tribute to Jake's cool comic strip character Punk'n'Head (a sort of Archie Andrews of the all-ages scene), so I extrapolated from pumpkins to a Halloween graveyard scenario and in keeping with Roctober's motto of "Comics and Music" I decided to throw in a tribute to some of the pioneering greats of horror rock as a background bonus for attentive perusers. In retrospect I am struck by the fact that I neglected to include the great Roky Erickson in my pantheon of rocking horror. What the hell was I thinking? Anyhow Roctober has since gone on to legendary status in zinedom and I am inordinately proud of my ongoing association with this fine publication. More stuff coming soon. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Hey, Is Dee Dee Home?




















Here's the cover art for the Dee Dee Ramone tribute CD that came out on Amp Records after Dee Dee died. Winnipeg's mighty Squareheads have a cool track on this thing. Stay tuned for MORE SECOND VERSE, SAME AS THE FIRST ACTION!

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Bellrays 2




















Here's my second poster for a Bellrays show. With their late-'60s high energy sound and co-headliner Nebula's psych guitar style I thought it appropriate to try a takeoff on the Fillmore school of rock poster art for this one. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Monday, January 4, 2010

Megalithic Monstrosity




















Here's another arcane attempt at illuminating some of Lovecraft's ideas and imagery. This one is previously unpublished. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Glad To See You Go




















This one was a T-shirt design for Ottawa garage coolsters The Glads. This is the original version of the art; the band found the gun-at-head idea too creepy and I had to take that part out of the final version. Luckily nothing is too dark for us here in the Rubber Room, so dig this jive like it should be dug and... Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Saturday, January 2, 2010

I Love Loosely




















If you don't understand what this one is all about, ask your mommy to explain it to you. Thanx all-ways to Iggy and his pre-senility Stooges. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Friday, January 1, 2010

Worms




















Let's start the year off right with this wormy punk shocker. I drew this for fun way back when and it was eventually printed in an issue of Winnipeg's hip alt comix anthology Sunburn. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!