The Lytics Tour Send-off Poster

This turned out better than I thought it would. Maybe I say that too much, but it's true!
At the last minute, I decided not to draw a bird wearing a fitted at the bottom of the poster (I've been thinking about how dope 123Klan's work is, and that would've been too much of a nod to them for my taste).
I think I made the right decision. Click the poster for the link to its Flickr page, which has info on the performers.

Wynrush, soso, and Bowen Poster

I'm really happy with how this turned out. My new neighbourhood provided the necessary inspiration.

The Nestor Wynrush Ensemble poster

August 6th, y'all! Should be a fun night.
Poster design and photo by lil' ol' me. I'll get to posting the original photo on Flickr someday soon.

Cuckoo Bananas!

From my Flickr photostream:

An April 1st shindig featuring DJs Pump and Hedspin of  The Eh! Team DJs, and my homie DJ Co-op.
Caricature is not my strong point, but it all seemed to work out. Inspiration? Chiquita, of course! When Tim (Co-op) told me the name of the occasion, I was immediately reminded of a blog post about Chiquita's brand refresh, and suggested using their color scheme.
Great way to start off a long weekend, in my opinion.

Also, any of y'all that are attending SXSW this year should be on the lookout for Co-op, and my homies Birdapres and Grand Analog at the OH CANADA party (here's the Facebook event page). Should be a blast, naturally.

GARBAGE (can)!

If you're in town, you really shouldn't miss this. The almighty Pip Skid + a live band = one for the ages.

This poster was done rather quickly, as the promotional ball for the show (and the Skid Row album) had to get rolling, pronto-like. Yeah, there are things I'd change, but whatarey'gonnado? There's grit in excess on this, and I blame my Art Chantry influence. I've been a fan of his work since the mid-'90s, and as a result, his use of photocopied elements – and the resulting "fuzz" – has crept into my work. That toner grit is like distortion or feedback in a song, which is often icing on the cake for me.

This weekend, I'll be cobbling together the design for Skid Row – put out by the good folks at Foultone Records – which will be graced by the raw illustrations of Eddie Ayoub. You've seen his work on Pip's digital releases: The Pip Donahue Show and I Can't Be Stopped. I hope to due justice to his dopeness. Wish me luck!

Haiti Earthquake Fundraiser Poster

If you're like me, you've been feeling rather helpless due to news about the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti. That's why I was stoked when my man Cass of Mass Appeal (cumbersome Facebook link here) asked me to donate my services to make a poster for a fund-raiser at the Lo. It's gonna be an amazing night of rappin', and all of the cash goes to Oxfam Canada.

I didn't notice it until I got home, but man...I totally had a Saul Bass thing going with this. No, I'm definitely not tooting my own horn or comparing myself to the legend; I couldn't help but notice some similarities in what I came up with. As I mentioned on the Flickr page for the poster, it was totally subconscious. Right off the top of my head, I kinda see Bass' posters for Anatomy of a Murder, Exodus, In Harm's Way, and The Man with the Golden Arm in this – all of which you can see here. I figure it's natural that I'd be influenced, as Bass has long been one of my faves.

Don't mind me. I just wanted to put everything on the table, because the last thing I'd ever want to be accused of, is biting. Okay, there are a number of other things that I'd hate to be accused of, but I digress. To paraphrase a fellow gigposters.com member: with the internet, never has it been so easy to rip off artwork, and to get caught doing so. Personally, I'd be mortified to be the subject of a thread like this, or this, or part of a witch hunt at You Thought We Wouldn't Notice.*

But enough about me, this is about Haiti! Simple n' plain, this is a chance to do your part, and have a damn good time in the process. I mean, look at that line-up! That's some of Winnipeg's rap elite, Holmes. Act like you know, and hit The Lo on this Monday (and every Monday, for that matter. Mass Appeal is spot!)

*I don't want it to sound like I'm hating on those folks, as they exist to expose the wack, and I support that. With that said, sometimes they get it wrong, but as far as I know, they're quick to apologize when that's the case.

December 28th at the Lo!

Go to this poster's flickr page to see it a little bit bigger.

This will be one for the ages, people. Fifteen years of P & C goodness. Be there!

I needed this bit of awesomeness in my life.

View this joint a lil' larger by going here and click "all sizes".

This beauty that I picked up from Harajuku resides between my computer and drawing desks. I hope it serves to inspire me for years to come. By the way, if you haven't read the translated Rockin' Jelly Bean interview on Juxtapoz, you should.

Give Gigposters.com Your Money!

A book you need in your home as soon as possible.

Sometime back in 2001, I was visiting the Tijuana Bibles site (sadly, the band and the site are no longer around. Their MySpace page, inexplicably, survives) and found a link to this lil' ol' site from Calgary called gigposters.com. Back then, it looked something like this. I became transfixed by the amazing work and the lively conversation, so I became a member a few days after 9/11 and never really looked back.

Gigposters.com (and its helpful denizens) reinforced and augmented my college booklearnin', and it also helped me suss out my life mission and motto: I just want to make cool shit. For all of that, I am eternally grateful to the site, and the man behind it, Clay Hayes. Now, the site and the man could use a little help from you and me (don't front...you fucking love posters).

So yeah, go buy some merch, which will not only help the site, but it'll also enrich your flaccid life. What, you think I'm joking? Dig this...you live in a cold climate, right? You need a knitted cap (or "toque" as us Canucks say)! And if you don't live where it gets "nipple-y", I guess you'll just have to settle with looking bad-ass in one. Don't need a cap? GP's got three different decks of playing cards for your gamblin' ass. These are easily the sexiest cards since the ones you stole from your dad, and these ones you can actually play with in mixed company, you pervert. Need proof? Here's a big ass picture of the deck I'm involved with.

All kidding aside, this site is dope, and it's a great resource for postermakerlovers both young and old. Do my man a solid and pick something up, or drop a lil' loot into the bucket via the "Donate" button at the homepage if this site has brought you any measure of joy over the years.

A-ight? Good.

Well, look at that!

A whole month without blog posts! And...no Japan pictures posted! Wow. WTF, I know.
I guess I didn't have anything to say. And my dwindling hard drive space provided a mental block once it came to editing the over 2000 photos I took on my vacation/honeymoon/trip of a lifetime.
I still haven't resolved that memory issue.
At any rate, I'll do my best to keep y'all better informed, that is if you find my tawdry lil' life interesting.
Hey...here's something I did last month:

Please, come to the show. It'll be fun.

Alan Hynes' Mudhoney poster...

...is just brilliant. I can't say that enough.
Gaze upon the awesomeness.
This is post #667. A slight notch above evil.

Graphic Favours For Friends

In retrospect, that title sounds weird. Anyway...

...a for sale poster for my man Steve St. Louis:

Large!

...and a hastily put together Stylus ad for Pip Skid:

Large!

American Flamewhip poster changes

Check it out:
http://flickr.com/photos/elnegro/555583209/
Had to do justice to J-Rod.

The Best Rap Show The Albert Has Ever Seen...

...and I did the poster.

Photos coming eventually.
See the large version here.

Athavale Poster: April 12th show

I really liked doing this. I had the work of Jen Wang on my mind while making it.