Voodoo Catbox - Susan Tedeschi
Voodoo Catbox - Los Lobos #7
Gary Houston from Voodoo Catbox recently released a couploe of prints for the taking.
The first one is for Susan Tedeschi and Ted Hunter’s show in Portland. This is printed on 8.75 x 22.5 paper, 110 in edition, and it’ll set you back a measly $25.
Next we have the Los Lobos #7 print, 17″ x 26″ paper, and out of an edition of 225. This one will cost you $35, but again it is worth every penny.
Mile 44 - Split Lip
For the 3rd installment of my Artist Q&A series I present to you Dave and Stacy from Mile 44. These two guys put out some seriously sweet shit so make sure you show them some love and pick up a few of their prints.
How long have you guys been printing posters and about how many do you put out per year?
Dave: We started printing posters in January of 2004. We began with linoleum blocks because it’s what I knew how to cut and print. I’d done silkscreening in high school, but not since. I figured lino blocks would work just fine – until I split my hand open while cutting block. Then, the mastermind behind Screwball Press, Steve Walters, contacted us about taking his screenprinting class. We figured there would be less injuries involved, so we jumped on board and have been silkscreening since.
We put out, on average, 20 or so posters a year. Seeing as this is a hobby for both of us, it’s a good amount to balance full-time jobs, family and printing. Last year we were really busy and put out 27. It all depends on how many requests come through, or how many art prints Stacy feels like creating. We work as a duo more so than two single artists. Stacy is an illustrator by profession, so 99 percent of the prints are his illustrations. He’s not very fond of printing, and I love the process, so the majority of our work, I’ve printed. We share ideas and sketches and tweak each other’s ideas until Stacy finalizes the illustration. I’ll then cut the rubylith and go from there to make the printed piece.
Mile 44 - Melvins
What poster are most proud of and what was the inspiration behind the piece?
STACY: I really like our “Split Lip Rayfield” poster. Before I draw or help come up with the concept for a band poster, I’m listening to the band’s music on my bike ride, while I walk or work in my studio, over and over for inspiration. I like to get a feel for the band’s work. I’ll catch lyrics here and there and an idea will jump out at me. The band’s music inspires the images in my mind.
DAVE: I have to say our Smoking Popes from June 2008. One of my favorite bands, my favorite venue, a great illustration from Stacy, and I must admit, I pulled out a spot on printing job. I don’t remember what really sparked the idea, but I was putting dishes away and listening to “Destination Failure’ when the image of a sad pirate kid popped into my head. I stopped doing dishes and went to my sketch pad and knocked out a thumbail right away. I sent it to Stacy, he loved the idea and turned around a final illustration. I was printing it two days later. Sometimes it’s the immediacy of the piece that makes it just that much better.
If you had to pick just one artist, who inspired you the most to get into the concert poster business?
Mile 44 - Calexico
STACY: Actually, Dave talked me into doing gigposters. Until he mentioned them to me, I wasn’t that interested in doing this. I was aware of gigposters, but they were the farthest thing from my mind as something I’d care to get into.
DAVE: I started collecting with a Derek Hess Pink Floyd piece I bought at Von’s Records – my college record shop, so I guess that’s where it started. But, my most inspirational artist would have to focus back to Steve Walters at Screwball Press. Steve tought us everything we know about printing and how to design for the silkscreen medium. Not only just Steve, but showing up to print in the Screwball basement and seeing work by other greats – Keith Herzik, Dan Grezca, Kathleen Judge, Billy and Jason of Delicious. It was a great environment to work in because you’d see so much fantastic work being produced there. We printed out of Screwball until May 2007 when I moved to Indianapolis. My dad helped me set up a print shop in an old single stall horse barn my grandmother owned. It’s great for me, but sometimes I miss the Screwball shop.
What can we look forward to seeing from you guys in 2009?
Mile 44 - X
DAVE: 2009? Hmm .. hopefully a ton of gigs coming in. We’d like to take on as many new opportunities as possible. We’ve got a couple of galleries that are considering us for joint/group shows too. I hope to get us a little more involved with the scene of sorts in Indianapolis. We’ll be doing more movie posters with the movie theater we are involved with. That’s a lot of fun. We’ll definitely be attending Flatstock in Chicago during the Pitchfork Music Festival. A Renegade Craft Fair or two. We’re hoping to do more artprints as well. Stacy has an infinite book full of illustrations and ideas he wants to get printed, but time constraints and family commitments hold us back sometimes.
What music do you currently have in your playlist and who are your all time favorite recording artists?
STACY: My playlist is loaded with all kinds of stuff… The Gourds, Split Lip Rayfield, Bad Livers, The Corn Sisters, some Danny Elfman, Hayseed Dixie, Jewel, Johnny Cash, Rachel Ries, She & Him, Smoking Popes, The Handsome Family, Guns N’ Roses, Run DMC, The Wailin’ Jennys and The Wayfaring Strangers. My all-time favorite recording artists are Guns N’ Roses and The Handsome Family. I have been a GNR fan from Day One, for some reason, I identify with their work. And The Handsome Family has the best lyrics of any band ever. Rennie Sparks is a helluva writer. The best!
Mile 44 - Smoking Popes
DAVE: Holy cow, looking in my iTunes, there’s Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Art Blakey, Bad Religion, Band of Horses, Bob Dylan, Drive-By Truckers, Hank III, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Iron and Wine, The Hold Steady, My Morning Jacket, Smoking Popes, Arcade Fire, Ramones, The Sword, The Pogues, Ween … I could go on and on and on. I am looking forward to the Mountain Goats tour this spring, and hoping The National come through Indy at some point. I’m dying for the day Pavement agrees to take stage again. My all-time favorites? Jeesh … I dont’ wanna take the easy road and say the Beatles here, but we did name our son Jude. I’ll say other top faves: Neil Young, Pavement, Tom Waits, and Ween.
Finally, do you guys offer an annual subscription service and what is the easiest way to find out when you release a new print?
DAVE: We started setting aside the first few numbers of each run last year, then offered up subscriptions. If someone wanted one, we had one available. We actually have a full set remaining, and we’ll probably offer the subs again later this year. In 2008, we waited until we thought we’d have enough prints to justify the subscription offer from a purchaser’s point of view, I think it worked well.
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Now that we all know a little bit more about these guys you should mosey on over to their site to see what kind of prints the put out. Here are some links for you to chew on:
For our second Artist Q&A I bring you Summer Makovkin of Maiden Hand. I ran across her work on Gigposters a while ago and have been a fan of her stuff since. I’m sure you’ll dig her work, too. In addition to gig posters, Summer puts out some cool cards and other illustrated items on her Etsy shop… check it. Finally, thanks for giving your fans a little insight into your work
Where are you from, how long have you been printing posters, and about how many prints do you put out per year?
Summer Makovkin - Noise Pop
I grew up on the rugged ocean cliffs of Mendocino, California, which is about 3 hours north of San Francisco. I now live in San Francisco and I have been designing and silkscreening posters since 2005. The amount of posters that I do per year varies. When I first started I was hungry for experience and I averaged about one poster a month. This last year I think I only made 2 posters, but I also participated in 3 art shows including my first solo exhibit.
What poster are most proud of and what was the inspiration behind the piece?
I am most proud of the Midlake poster that I did for the 2007 Noise Pop festival here in SF. I put a lot of work into this poster, and so far it has been the most difficult one that I’ve printed or designed. The inspiration for the imagery was taken directly from Midlake’s album The Trials Of Van Occupanther. It is an amalgamation of imagery from the lyrics of a few different songs. The result is a rabbit and an Ox, the book Leviathan, the countryside, and a sort of modern antiquity all wrapped into one. Many lessons were learned during the process of creating this poster, and at one point it literally had me on my knees crying. But, great things happen when one pushes on. I came out the other side with my favorite poster in one hand and some wisdom in the other. What could be better?
Summer Makovkin - M3
Did you have a mentor who helped get you involved in this work and if so tell me a little bit about that situation.
I didn’t really have a mentor until I’d been printing for a couple of years. When I started, I was just looking for a way to add color to my illustrations without getting involved in painting or water color. There was a silkscreening class available in the community education program at the San Francisco Art Institute, so I signed up to see what I could learn. From there I put together a simple studio in my home and began forging ahead on my own. I didn’t have an exposure unit, so I would take my screens to the SF Mission Cultural Center where Juan
Summer Makovkin - Ex Boyfriends
Fuentes, who ran the printing department, would help me out by cleaning and coating and exposing my screens. I got to know Juan over the next couple of years and he showed me a few tricks of the trade. Out of gratitude, I would give him a poster from each run of posters that I printed. He ended up including these posters in the archives at the San Francisco Mission Cultural Center.
What can we look forward to seeing from you in 2009?
Well, I’d like to focus more on my roots: illustration. And, I’d like to create art prints – not limited to the poster genre. I recently learned coptic book binding, and I’d like to bring that to the table. So, I think, in my future, I see a limited edition hand-screened, hand-bound book of some sort. I want to continue designing and printing posters, but I’d like to be more selective about the bands. Posters are very labor intensive and don’t pay well, so I want it to remain a labor of love. Essentially, I’ll just keep doing what I’ve been doing, following the urge to create, chasing the next vision, moving forward, and pouring my heart out through my hand. One of these days I hope I can forget about the day job and just be an artist.
What music do you currently have in your playlist and who are your all time favorite recording artists?
Summer Makovkin - Red Thread
My husband and I both actively seek out new music, but neither of us could claim an “all time favorite” – though, Radiohead would be right up there in the top 5 for sure. Our broad love for music is reflected in our collection of CDs and records that span from 16th century music to present day indie rock. My husband is in a band The Love X Nowhere and he often spends time at home writing new music. I recently came home with Andrew Bird’s newest album, Noble Beast, which has proved to be my current favorite. I actually listen to a lot of classical music. I am learning to play the cello, and I listen to a lot of Rostropovich recordings. Also, Ralph Vaughan Williams. I love the romantic symphonies with rich string sections. I also love the soundtrack to Amelie. Cornelius is genius. John Vanderslice is nice. Fleet Foxes, Broken Social Scene, and Wilco: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Heavy funk rarities from the late sixties. Heavyweight Afrobeat Highlife and Afro-funk. The Helio Sequence, and Sigur Ros. Nina Simone, and Millie Jackson. And the list goes on, and on……
Finally, do you offer an annual subscription service and what is the easiest way to find out when you release a new print.
Checking my website is the best way to see new work. Perhaps a subscription service will be available in the future. I am working on updating my website, and should have it finished the next few months. Gig Posters is always the best place to catch new posters. I also have an Etsy site that I update from time to time.
www.maidenhand.com/
http://www.gigposters.com/designer/71647_Summer_Makovkin.html
www.smakovkin.etsy.com
Print Mafia - AC-DC
This is a pretty rad print from The Print Mafia. From AC-DC’s Black Ice Tour 2009 stop in Nashville you can get this signed & numbered screen print for $30. I don’t know how big the run was or what size it is, but I do know you can pick it up here. Enjoy.
Amebix
Amebix gig poster from their 01/23/09 show at The Cobalt in Los Angeles. Here are the digs: art and design by David D’Andrea (illustration) and Dino Somesse (lettering and border), the print is 24″ x 36″, 3 color – red, black, and metallic silver, and is an edition of 200 copies numbere.You can pick this up from Tankcrimes.com for $25 (make sure you read their post before ordering).
Umphrey's Mcgee - Colorado 2009
Robert Marx from marxmarx.com recently posted up his latest print for Umphrey’s Mcgee string of CO shows. This ins’t for sale yet, but his site says it will be there soon. You might also want to check (not now, it isn’t here yet either) Umphrey’s Mcgee’s merch site because a lot of their unsold posters wind up there. This poster is also being used to raise money for A Conscious Alliance so your cash will be helping out a good cause, too!
In a blog posting from their website, the guys at Visual Technicians state that a new Beastie Boys print is dropping soon. They suggest, and so do I, that you sign up for their mailing list in order to be the first to know when the poster is actually for sale. Send them an email here requesting to be put on their list and you’ll be good to go. I’m a big fan of the Beatie Boys and this print looks pretty hot. The only details I have so far is that this will be a run of 44. Their last BBoys print was a run of 33 (interesting… not really.)
Visual Technicians - Beastie Boys
I love the colors on this 4 color screen print that Kevin just released on his site. The poster is from the January 24, 2009 Moving Units & The Glass House’s show in Pomona, CA. Here are the digs: 13.5 X 21.75 INCHES, $20 USD + S&H, and it is Signed and Numbered out of an edition of 18… This won’t last long at all.
Kevin Tong - Moving Units
I know these are all older prints but still… How do you like this find… not that this isn’t pretty obvious, but if you go to the Queens Of The Stone Age mech site you can pick up a slew of “Sold Out” Justin Hampton concert prints. They are cheap, too. Let me give you a few examples of the goodness that is Rekords Rekords Superstore:
First we have a print from their Milan date in 2007. It’s a two color screenprint on 100 lb gun metal parchment paper. The print measures 18-5/8″ x 28″ in a limited edition of only 250 copies. It’s S&N by Justin and will run you $40… What?
Next up is from their May 11th, 2008 show in Ottowa. A collaboration with ‘Malleus‘ brings forth a four color screen print on 100 lb stock measuring 24″ x 27.75″ and is a signed and numbered (I think but) edition of only 150 copies. This one will only set you back $25.
If you are a fan of QOTSA you should check out this page because they have about 40 prints available for sale. Enjoy.
Malleus - Mogwai
Malleus really puts out some great posters. Here is a relatively new one that I wouldn’t hesitate to buy… It’s from Mogwai’s Singapore show this past January and we are talking about a 50cm. x 70cm., 5 color gem of a poster for a total of 47 Euros which translates into $62.34 US Dollars (That is the total with S&H). I added the print to my cart and went to the paypal checkout page which automatically converted the currency for me so don’t be scared off by the whole Euros thing.