ANDRE AND STEPH

our good friends aj and stephanie have decided to request a license from a state sponsored stranger that will enter them into a legal contract allowing him to take ownership of her. we couldn't be happier for them so when they asked me to design and print their wedding invitations i had to say yes. never taken on a project like this before and i'm very excited to be a part of it. although i guess the "voice" isn't that far off from anything i've ever designed in the past. 5 color metallic screen print outer, 1 color metallic screen print inside. hand pulled. arranged by hand from all original photos, color separated on the light box, no photoshop or other computer assistance. click images to enlarge for detail.

BLACK VICE 12"

recently finished the art and layout for the upcoming 'rituals of the anti-cosmic docrtine' lp from BLACK VICE. scheduled to be the first vinyl release from black metal label RED RIVER FAMILY. designed to come housed in screen printed sleeves. as i understand it, covers are already back from the printer. lp up now for pre-order in the RED RIVER FAMILY STORE. click images to enlarge for detail.

PHYTOSOPHIE and THE INVISIBLE MAN at CIVIC TV

designed and printed these posters for dan workman's experimental music project PHYTOSOPHIE and THE INVISIBLE MAN a couple of weeks ago. for their upcoming show at CIVIC TV COLLECTIVE in houston. the performance isn't until november, but i'm pretty proud of these, and happy to have been included in the project, so i'm posting now. four color screen print, 36" x 24" on plain paper. plus band only edition of only 6 with a hand painted background on chip board. click images to enlarge.

caught in the game

coach springer and i have been talking shit back and forth for a little while about starting a metal (etc.) zine. just got back from new york where we had a few sit downs, and it looks like things might actually be moving forward. more info shortly. for now, here's one for coach.

cascio

been a while since posting last. lacking more on time than content. trying to get back into the swing. had the opportuniy to do a quick studio visit with chris cascio recently and got a sneak peek of a new painting in progress.

FAR OUT cassette (SS011)

sisster ssound recordings #11

FAR OUT two-song cassette single. featuring tracks from their upcoming full length lp "UNIVERSE" (scheduled for release spring 2015 on honeygold records).

blending elements of power pop, rock, and punk, the houston based 3 piece defies easy categorization. but whatever you want to call it, they're doing it right. with straight forward, upbeat instrumentation masking the often dark honesty of their lyrical content.

recorded at sugar hill studios and produced by studio monster dan workman. released here in a cassette edition of only 75. with full color jcards and hand stamped shells. includes digital download. available now in the sisster STORE.

cigar box attempt one

inspired by VVLAD and others that are building their own instruments (as well as those that are generating sound via non traditional means of instrumentation) i decided to try my hand at building a cigar box guitar a few months ago. i wish i would have seen that science and mechanics article from a few posts back before starting. i didn't have any plans and kind of made it up as i went, working on assumption. the action ended up much higher than anticipated, with no real means of adjustment outside of building a new bridge. but still plays well enough with a slide. i'd initially planned on making it 2 strings and had already cut the wood for the neck by the time i decided to go 3. making the headstock a little short with relation to the spacing between the tuning peg for the bottom string and the nut. the body is 1/8" birch and doesn't resonate much for size and stiffness to generate much volume. but i mounted a contact mic inside the body under the bridge to act as a pickup. so it can be plugged into an amp and resonates surprisingly well from there. definitely not my greatest achievement, but i'm pretty happy with the outcome and learned a lot for a first attempt.

bogus rendition

just got a copy of the new BOGUS RENDITION zine in the mail. massively thick and loaded personal stories, anecdotes, and interviews about riding freights, travel, touring with watain, etc. contact for ordering through the bogus rendition blog.

vvx

two man norwegian cbgbm feat. vvlad from the sisster ssound split cassette release with horders.

MOUTHEATER 'PASSING KEY' 12"

got the opportunity toward the end of last year to do some more design work for VA's MOUTHEATER. this time for their "passing key" LP through ANTHEMS OF THE UNDESIRABLE records. the front and back cover photos as well as the heart shaped box insert photo were arranged and shot by DAVOOD SALEK. the insert artwork, lettering, vinyl labels, and all layout were then handled by yours truly. really glad i got to work on this one. great label, great guys, and amazing band. definitely one of the best albums of 2014.

BLACK COFFEE 7"s

i did the art and layout for both of these BLACK COFFEE 7"s within the past couple years, it just took me until recently to get my hands on physical copies of either.

first up is the self titled ep from 2012 via DEATH EXCLAMATIONS RECORDS. this recording was also available on cassette with a live bonus track through SISSTER SSOUND.

the second 7", 'birth death birth', was released on vinyl by TREATY OAK COLLECTIVE in 2013. this one was also available on cassette, this time in the UK through CULT CULTURE. got copies of those some while back and i'm fairly certain photos have already been posted here. back cover photo courtesy of denniz trauma.

this last one has nothing to do with GIVE UP art or SISSTER SSOUND. but ryan shipped it along with the others and it's pretty cool. also has possibly my two favorite BLACK COFFEE songs so far. square lathe cut 5" from IMBALANCE ARTS.

HOLY MONEY/KILN HOUSE/HORDERS

well shit. i was sure i'd posted this here. with the current (necessary?) volume of using media socially it's hard to keep track. this was last weekend now. late pass, but i made the flier so i suppose posting it is still relevant. huge thanks to everyone that came out and to vinal edge and trailer space for hosting.

cbg, 1948

found this in my grandfather's garage in the february/march 1948 issue of science and mechanics magazine. two page how-to tutorial on building 'cigar box violin'.