RockScratch

WORK EXPLANATION: "No Hiding Jack"

I haven't posted anything on here for a while because I've been busy as hell lately.  So I decided just to pick a scratchboard work of mine and talk about it for a minute.

The scratch I'm going with is "No Hiding Jack."  It is an illustration I did a couple years ago just to explain (or illustrate!) how I was feeling about one of my favorite contemporary musicians.  Jack White of the White Stripes, Raconteurs, Dead Weather, and several other projects is by far one of the most intriguing figures in rock today.  Although no single term can fully describe White's musical genius, versatile and "balls out" are the two aptest I can think of.

This illustration is meant as a statement of what White does to each project he touches.  Any band he joins/starts, any project he produces becomes a "Jack White" work; whether he wants it to or not.  In several articles I read when the Raconteurs were first formed, White tried to hide behind the band and state that it wasn't "Jack White and the Raconteurs" but rather "The Raconteurs." 

He didn't get his wish as with everything that he does.  It is always "Jack White's other band (this)" or "Jack White's new band (that)."  White is too talented and too much of a superstar to simply blend in with whatever group of talents he joins forces with.  As I tried to illustrate, his colors (red, black, and white) always find a way of shining through whatever front he puts on.

I do not think he intentionally upstages his band mates, but he does.  The audience pays more attention to him than to anyone on stage...except for maybe Dead Weather, because Alison Mosshart is so freaking SEXY! 

With whatever project John Gillis (White's birth name) chooses next, he cannot hide...it will forever be referred to as "Jack White's (yadda yadda yadda)..."

 

Robby's Say: TOP 11 EARTH SHATTERING JAMS

1	Get Album on iTunes Get Album on Amazon	The Who: Live At Leeds: Final 3/4's of  "My Generation" .PERIOD!
2	Get Album on iTunes Get Album on Amazon	Hendrix: Electric Ladyland: "Voodoo Chile" with Winwood & Jack Cassidy.
3	Get Album on iTunes Get Album on Amazon	Rolling Stones: Sticky Fingers: Jam out of  "Can't You Hear Me Knocking" The other Mick's finest contribution during his relatively brief tenure.
4	Get Album on iTunes Get Album on Amazon	Funkadelic: Maggot Brain: "Maggot Brain" George told Eddie to play like his mother had just died. Strong, powerful, gut-wrenching.
5	Album Not on iTunes Get Album on Amazon	Frank Zappa: Shut Up & Play Yer Guitar:  "Ship Ahoy" Take your pick from this mesmerizing 3-disc set. This foot-pedal powered excursion is my personal fave. Phish borrows ideas from this guy on a nightly basis.
6	Get Box Set on iTunes Get Album on Amazon	Grateful Dead: So Many Roads (boxset): Soundcheck Jam @ Watkins Glen  Racetrack on 7/27/73 The definition of what Latvala termed "Primal Dead". An otherwise spacey band when stretching it out this far, here, sounding balls-out, and firing on all cylinders.
7	Get Album on iTunes Get Album on Amazon	Allman Brothers: Eat A Peach:  "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" Narrowly edges Fillmore's "Mountain Jam" based on its intense focus & freight train pace.
8	Get Album on iTunes Get Album on Amazon	Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon:  "Any Colour You Like" Often overshadowed by the rest of the album. Three-and-a-half minutes of pure bliss.
9	Album Not on iTunes Get Album on Amazon	Phish: LivePhishVol.11, 11/17/97 Denver, CO:  "You Enjoy Myself" Here's some white man's funk for you! When the Phish began using digital loops, synths, and the "wet" bass (you know it when you hear it), they became an elite professional entity. They are now, arguably, the most versatile band in the world, with the ability to completely change their sound on a dime.
10	Album Not on iTunes Get Album on Amazon	Talking Heads: Speaking In Toungues:  "Girlfriend Is Better" People think you're f*$&ing insane when you are seen (caught) dancing to this. Why? It feels so good! Hint: it's because you're doing what they're too scared to do.
11	Get Album on iTunes Get Album on Amazon	Traffic: Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys:  "Light Up or Leave Me Alone" When the bottom drops out half-way into this one, forget it! Gotta believe there's miles of tape somewhere in a vault just begging to be found.

Fascinated With Phasinated.com (I know...pretty corny headline)

I was ust was turned onto this site by a friend.  Thought I'd try to get it out there even more!

www.Phasinated.com

CHECK IT OUT!

Kings of Leon PIGEONGATE Tees!

Just finished printing these Pigeon Gate t-shirts for the return of the Kings of Leon to the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in St. Louis, MO on September 25th.

The shirts have been added to my store and I AM  NOW ACCEPTING ORDERS!

I printed less than 50 of these things and they will go very fast...order now and you will be one of the first to sport it!

ENTER COUPON CODE: "pigeonpoop" AT CHECKOUT TO GET 25% OFF!

Keeping my Eye on Ringside...

A great new band called Ringside just popped up on my Pandora "Spoon Station".  Keeping a close eye on these guys...they're definitely going somewhere!

Struggle

Ringside | MySpace Music Videos

The Real Reason the Kings of Leon Walked off Stage in St. Louis

Last night was only my second Kings of Leon concert.  And, much like the first, the Followills threw a tantrum fit for a fussy pop star rather than acting like the southern rockers that they pretend to be. 

My first KOL concert, at Bonnaroo 2007, Caleb threw a fit because he sang an entire song with his mic turned off.  Big deal...laugh about it, apologize to the crowd, and then play the rest of the show.  Instead the diva threw his hands on his hips and gave his stage hands the "stink eye" for ten minutes in silence.  Once the problem was fixed they went on with the show...round of applause Followill.  You did the right thing.  Not in the classiest of manners...but the show did continue.

Now last night was absolutely abhorrent...

Black Keys Show - St. Louis, MO 2010

Last night's Black Keys show was the 3rd or 4th time I had seen them live...but probably the most intriguing.  It was a different experience than the previous shows due partially to the addition of a bass and keyboard player.

The show started fairly normal...just Dan & Pat doin' some stuff from Thickfreakness, some stuff from Rubber Factory, etc.  Then they brought out the bass and keyboard for their new stuff...and things got heavy!  The additions really did a lot for the sound.  It was completely full.  One thing that I really love about two-man bands is the fact that they have to create fullness by doing things a bit different.  There is that simplicity that makes two-man bands sound amazing.  And the Black Keys will always sound the best when it is just Dan and Pat.  BUT, the four piece band really rocked my socks off. 

The highlight of the show for me was the encore of "Everlasting Light."  When I heard this song on the album, I wasn't too impressed.  I liked it okay...but I thought it was nothing special.  When I heard it live last night, my perception of the song was completely flipped.  "Everlasting Light" is probably my favorite song on Brothers now.  

What truly struck me was how reminiscent it was of Link Wray's "Rumble."  Not in that they sound anything alike...because they in fact sound very dissimilar.  What I mean is that much in the vein of "Rumble," "Everlasting Light" builds off a simple repetition which starts relatively innocent and amps into something that gives you goose bumps.  The album version does this, if you listen to it right...LOUD!  But the way they perform the song live is an entirely different experience.

What a great song...what a great show...and what a great band.

The Black Keys - Too Afraid To Love You (Live in Studio)

Sorry for all the Black Keys lately...but I just saw this vid and it gave me a whole
new appreciation for this song.  I wasn't too keen on it when I first listened to the
album, and I skipped over it on my follow-up listens....but now I dig!

MORE Black Keys talk comin'...concert tomorrow at the Pageant.

NEW Rock & Roll Illustration Series!

When it comes to the music I love (rock & roll) I have always been intrigued by the heart of the band...which, for some reason, many times turns out to be two key figures.  It just seems that as you look through the history of rock that the great bands seem to have these power duos...Lennon & McCartney, Plant & Page, or even Will.I.Am & Fergie (that is simply an example of a modern pop music group and I am in NO WAY putting them on the same level as the Beatles or Zeppelin).  So in a study of these power duos of the past & present, I am starting a new series of RockScratch illustrations called the "Rock Duos Collection".

The first two installments of this series are Jack & Meg White of the White Stripes and Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones.  Future additions will include duos from bands previously mentioned (except for the Black Eyed Peas...which I will not be illustrating) as well as the Black Keys, Kings of Leon, Black Crowes, The Band, and many many more.

Each work will be scratched on 5"x7" inked clayboard.  I feel that keeping them small makes them more intimate as well as more likely to be something you would want to hang on your wall.  Each will also be framed with a unique "roughed up" frame.  Prints of this collection will also be available.

Check back soon for more!

Check out the ROCKSCRATCH STORE NOW!

First Batch of Screen Printed Posters...

I just finished with my first screen printing run...and for a first attempt, I think they turned out alright.  An experienced screen printer will see the obvious mistakes that I made, but the posters will look okay to an average viewer.

For my first run, I chose to do posters for the Black Keys concert I'll be going to on June 10th at the St. Louis Pageant.  The printed posters are seen at left...I did 15 black and 5 blue (and I completely botched 10 others).  I wanted to do something with a lot of detail and a couple different colors just so I could see how well it came out.

Rather than laying out instructions on the screen printing process (which you can find like I did by Googling "how to screen print") I'd like to offer some general ideas that I worked through.