  Art Schmuck, Quality Since 1973 |
"HE WANTED TO WATCH TIME FLY."
Greetings again with an incredibly tardy update. Lots of stuff going on, but I can't talk about 75% of it yet.
A VIOLENT PROFESSIONAL: THE FILMS OF LUCIANO ROSSI
Who's Luciano Rossi? A question a child might ask, but not a childish question. For the answer, pre-order the new book I worked on from Fab Press. Snoop around Mr. Fenton's store while you're there as he as many great books for sale, including a great detailed account on the production of "Haxan".
My buddy, Kier-la Janisse of Cinemuerte fame, wrote a book about the
films of Rossi and asked me to lay it out. I went from giving a shit
about the guy at the outset to almost becoming as fanatical as she is.
I'm even making one of the posters I acquired for the book the
centerpiece of my living room, a giant 2 sheet depicting Rossi getting
mauled by a house cat.
If you like crazy Italian films (gialli, westerns, poliziotteschi,
etc.) pick up the book as Kier-la is pretty accurate in her reviews
and may lead you to some cool films you haven't seen. If you actually
know who Luciano Rossi is, then definitely pick it up as it's the most
info you will ever likely find on the man. Kier-la included a small
bio culled from interviews with people who knew him including his
favorite nephew who took care of Rossi in his declining years. The
nephew even provided never before published photos of Rossi, one of
which is the wallpaper on Kier-la's computer now. Hell, there's even a
forward written by Rico Boido himself.
It was a major pain in the ass trying to track down images of Rossi and I'd like to give public thanks to some people who helped.
1. Ally Lamaj: the Muhammad Ali of Italian genre film ephemera collectors, he also runs a great DVD company, Wild East Productions. Please visit Ally's site and check out the great DVD's he offers of spaghetti westerns and now italian crime films with his release of The Violent Professionals, the movie which inspired the title of Kier-la's book. His edition of Day of Anger is a special favorite of mine (sold out, suckas).
2. Alessandro Mario Toscano: Mario is an artist from Italy who helped me a lot communicating with merchants as well as getting photos of Rossi's grave at Prima Porta. He also has a great site, www.3minutes.it, where you can find out more about him. He sells great shirts of his own designs made entirely in Italy worn by both myself and my wife, so do me a favor and support my paisano and the arts at the same time.
3. Blake from Cinema Strikes Back: Blake tracked down some great images as well as offering up items from his personal collection for scanning by me. If you like film, check out the efforts of the whole Cinema Strikes Back team.
SCHOOLEY DID IT AGAIN
No, not another citation for loitering. John Schooley and His One Man Band recorded another fan-fucking-tastic long play album available soon on both vinyl and compact disc formats from Voodoo Rythm. More news on this when it's available for preorder. I designed the album art under the guidance of Schooley himself, so when I post the image . . . blame him. Again, if you don't have his debut record, get it as it's hotter than the devil's balls in a jar of cologne.
"SOON . . . REALLY"
Well, color that an understatement. I promise Euro sets of WS posters will be offered to NA set holders, and Raconteurs sets will be offered soon. Please enter your email address into the box to the right to be notified when this seventh seal is broken.
"That Wasn't Rice..."
Buon giorno, mon amis to an update that's better described as quarter-assed than half-assed. Just a few items to relate.
Final Raconteurs Posters for the 2006 Tour
I finally finished the posters for the Raconteurs Dec 30 and 31 shows in Chicago. I put a lot of thought into them, and I hope it shows if you manage to see one in person. Heartfelt thanks to Steve and his crew at D&L for screenprinting these and all the rest of the posters this year. He is a consummate professional as demonstrated by the quality of his work. Thanks also to Amber, Tiffany, and Peter in the Raconteurs camp for all that they've done in putting up with me. It's been a wild busy year, and I'm ever thankful for the fine opportunity the Raconteurs granted me in making this poster series and handling all the other art related projects they've allowed me to do. I only hope I get to do more for them in the future as I can't forsesee them musically producing less than gold. The next disc indeed will be an aural aureus.
Anyways, I have a couple of things to wrap up and then I will be offering sets for sale on my site. First up will be the White Stripes Euro set which will be offered first to those who bought the North American set. If any of those fine people decline, then their sets will be offered for sale at a predetermined time.
Aluminium is coming to London
Well if the ballet wasn't enough, there is more Aluminium to see and hear at the Fopp store on Tottenham Court Road. Not sure how long it will be there for, but the fine folks at the Goodall Gallery have sent the display prints to Fopp as part of a traveling exhibition. Visit the Fopp site for more details.
I got my copies of the CD and LP in the mail and I have to take my hat and remaining hair off to XL. Whoever handles the printing in England does a bang up job. The Raconteurs bootlegs were also fantastic in terms of print quality.
"But the Dishes . . . They're Piling Up."
Greetings, and welcome to another half assed update. I apologize for the lack of novelty lately, but there has been a lot going on. I've let news items pile up since the Aluminium show, so I'm just going to spill them all over here. If you hate reading a lot at once, then just read half now, then come back next week and read the other half and you can pretend it's all new.
New Raconteurs Posters
First there's more Raconteurs posters to look at (including the Cleveland and Seattle ones which I forgot to put up here during the last update). In a first for Animal Rummy you can actually see one before the show with the addition of the Nashville poster for their upcoming hometown show. There won't be many there, so if you are going to the gig, pick it up early. If you're worried about damage, you can be a geek like me and bring a tube.
Second, it looks like I probably won't be offering Raconteurs sets until after the tour is over, so for now that is the official definition of "soon, really". I will offer them as two sets. The first set will be all the UK posters and the Euro Tour poster (6 posters in all). The second set will be all the US posters done from now until the end of the tour (so at least 17 posters. Possibly more if I get images approved for the New Year's shows). I will alert everyone through this site and the email list a week before they go on sale.
Random Raconteurs Stuff
If you are not yet aware, then let me make you cognizant of some neat-o news. I was asked to design covers for all 9 of the recent live bootlegs made for the Raconteurs shows in the U.K. By live bootlegs I mean that you could go to the show, hear the show, and then afterwards go to a booth on-site and purchase a live CD recording of the show you just heard for your future hearing pleasure. These were made available through XL and Concert Live, and each double CD set featured a unique cover made special for that night by my busy hands. Big thanks to XL for believing I could pull it off by the deadline originally set for just 1 cover, and bigger thanks to the Raconteurs for allowing me to do it.
You can check out the covers over at xlrecordings.com. They have a link to the Concert Live site where you can still purchase them through the post if you wish.
I was also asked to create covers for the new Raconteurs single, Broken Boy Soldier. I thought they were nifty. Big thanks again to the Raconteurs for approving my trash. You can buy all three formats at the xlrecordings.com store for a measly six quid.
Finally, if you haven't beheld the Raconteurs webstore yet, please do so by visiting the official site. They offer two shirts I designed exclusive to the webstore. I also created a new one for the road featuring a pretty unicorn available at the recent U.K. shows. I've been told it will also be available at the upcoming US shows, so save your pennies as it won't be available anywhere else. Whether the hat girl shirt I did for the earlier US dates will still be available at these performances, I do not know.
"Look at me, Ma!"
What posters do poster artists buy? Well, I can't speak for my compatriots, but as for myself I buy a shitload from The Little Friends of Printmaking. I've bought so much crap, that I've earned the grand honor of being depicted on a recent art print of theirs entitled "Whassup Jammers". I am cast in the role of drug dealer in the house in the background. It's a pricey print, but if you want quality art of quality people by quality artists it takes some green. Get one from them now before it's in the MOMA and Steve Martin buys up all the remaining copies.
Denial Twist Wins an Award
Hey, remember those Denial Twist sleeves I designed last year? Well the project as a whole won a Best Artist Promotion award at the 2006 BT Digital Music Awards. Fancy that. Nice to be on a winning team unlike every soccer team I was on as a child.
Aluminium Coming out Soon!
The Aluminium album will be available for order from it's official website on Monday, November 6th.
Belated thanks to everyone who came out to see the art show at the Goodall Gallery and extra thanks if you bought some doo-dads. It was nice putting faces to some names that have bought stuff from me in the past and meeting a multitude of new faces whose names I forgot because I'm terrible with names. Big thanks to the entire Goodall family who were gracious hosts and made me feel extremely welcome. Richard Goodall is the fastest walking motherfucker I have ever tried to match strides with. I am told that the whole show will be traveling soon through FOPP record stores, so if you missed your chance to see it in Manchester, it might be coming to a store near you.
MORE RACONTEURS IMAGES ADDED
Kind of a half-ass update, I know, but it's non-stop honey-making time here in the hive. If you want to know when Raconteurs posters are going up for sale, please sign up for the email list, and when the eye of the tornado passes over Auntie Em's house, I will send out info for a set sale. To sign up for the list, all you need to do is enter in your email address in the white box to the right and click "submit".
I will add some more news later this week including a long overdue report on my trip to the UK and bombastic gratitude towards the unparalleled hospitality and kindness shown to me by the Goodall family.
Cheers, RJ
Alumiiinium Show Approaching
Greetings all. The Alumiiinium show at the Goodall Gallery is at the end of next week on the 29th. Again, I will be there from 12 to 5 PM.
I've received plenty of emails from people asking if I will sign posters they bought at concerts (posters sold at the Stripes and Raconteurs shows in the UK were shipped numbered but not signed). I will be happy and bewildered to sign anything you bring me including posters done by other artists (except Slater posters until he recognizes the brilliance of Porky's).
I've also been asked how much prints will be at the show. The Goodall's have determined the prices and have an Alumiiinium Gallery on their site.
Again these prints are very limited so act as you see fit.
More importantly, XL has an Alumiiinium MySpace Page where you can listen to some of the tracks beforehand including a remix by Four Tet. Check out the rather nifty publicity photo the crew at XL made as the wallpaper. Truly, it's the stuff of feline pajamas.
Can't wait to return to England. When I fly into London, I'm going straight to the Pizzaland I used to work at and see if the crappy chalk drawing I did is still there. Then it's off to Trafalgar Square to get drunk on Diamond White and accost people passing by. Ahh . . . the good old days.
Dispatch from the Den of Perpetual Shadow
Lotsa news amid a whirlwind of activity here at the depths of Animal Rummy.
First off, the "sign up" rectangle thing for my email newsletter is back up (Grigg's buddy figured out the bugs). I had Grant send off a letter today to test it. So if you DIDN'T receive an email from me today, and you want to get news about when posters (like Raconteurs sets) are going up for sale, please sign up. Some data from the old list was lost in the last couple of crashes on the old server, so if you've signed up in the past and didn't receive an email from me, I apologize for the foul up. I'm not much on computing box business, unfortunately.
To sign up, just enter in your email address in the white box to the right of this message under the poster images.
ALUMINIUM GALLERY SHOW IN MANCHESTER
If you live in Europe (or more conveniently around Manchester) and you've always wanted to flick cigarette butts in my face, now is your chance. I will be at the Richard Goodall Gallery on July 29 from 12-5 PM showing new prints based on the artwork made for and inspired by Aluminium.
What is Aluminium?
Officially it is a 10 track collection of "avant-garde recordings of the music of Jack White." The idea was the brainchild of Richard Russell over at XL, the White Stripes' label in Europe. He worked with Joby Talbot to produce one of the more enjoyable orchestral albums I've heard since "Neil's Diamonds". His master stroke, I think, is in song choice. This will make sense when the track list is revealed (let's just say it isn't at all the songs you'd expect on an album like this). You can hear the title track minus the extra British "i" on the official site here. It sorta reminds me of Bernard Herman score, which is good.
The cool thing is that unlike other WS related albums of this sort, this one has the apparently enthused approval of Meg and Jack. For the complete story on their first listen of the initial tracks check out excerpts from Richard's journal over at the XL site here.
Anyways, Richard contacted me to come up with artwork and various other things for the album, which I have been doing off and on as the situation demanded for the past six months.
I will be showing over 30 new silkscreened prints (36 to be exact) of varying sizes. Three of them will be the largest posters I have ever had printed (approx 33X43). 30 of them will be a collection of 10 triptychs. All of them will be available for sale exclusively through the Richard Goodall Gallery.
They will either go fast or sit around forever, I have no idea how people will respond. So if you think you may want one or all of them, it's probably safer to act fast as each print is editioned at 33 or lower. Richard Goodall Gallery will be handling all the sales and shipping from the UK, so it will go out to the post quick upon purchase. RGG will also have a limited number of the Jamungo "Aluminium" Bud vinyl figures for sale. This will be your first chance to purchase these before XL offers them from their site.
If you're in the area on the 29th, please stop by and say hello. I will be the bummy looking guy smoking outside the gallery.
Big thanks to Richard, Phil, and all the folks at XL for asking Jack if he thought I would be suited for this project, and big thanks to Jack for agreeing that I would. Was I? Well, you'll have to be the judge when the album comes out, but hopefully you'll be too busy listening to it to bother with the images inside.
PINK SWORDS HAVE COME AND GONE
One of my favorite bands in world, the incalculably sleazy Pink Swords, have broken up. This just short of a second planned tour of Europe. Really sucks as I'm sure they had another 3 great drunken albums in them before they inevitably perished in a fiery crash of that shitty van of theirs.
Also sucks as I had a lot of neat-o ideas left for tour posters. My big dream was to fool Jeff Gaither into a collaboration where I'd draw Jackie O and he'd draw a JFK zombie in a loving embrace. Anyways, if you haven't bought either of their CDs, scuttle around the web and get them now before they are gone and not likely reprinted barring one of them making the news as a serial killer. I recommend "One Night High" as your first purchase. I put it up there in my top ten records (probably number 8, right below Misfits: Walk Among Us and above Supertramp: Indelibly Stamped).
I will miss the terror.
RACONTEURS POSTERS
I am submitting designs for several shows on the upcoming tour. If they get approved by the band, then look for them at the merch stall at the concerts. If they don't get approved, then look for me crying in my milk.
Remember, your best and cheapest bet to pick these posters up is at the shows. When I have time to catch my breath, I will offer the Raconteurs posters I have as sets. One set of the 4 UK posters, and one set of whatever I've done and get to do from the Iriving Plaza poster onward (so if they hate everything I submit from here on out, the second set will have at least 3 posters for New York, Hollywood, and Euro Tour).
Big thanks to all the Raconteurs for all the work they have let me do so far. Hopefully the best is yet to come.
ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE
I recently organized another series of posters for the upcoming Rolling Roadshow tour for the Alamo Drafthouse. If you are not familiar with this event, please check out pics and descriptions from last years roadshow. They basically pack up an incredible mobile projection unit (trust me the screen is beautiful and huge) and show classic movies in their original filming locations. Check the Roadshow Schedule to see if it's coming to a joint near you.
To promote the event, I was asked to round up some fools to make posters for each screening. Nobody dropped out like last time, so I didn't have to make any last minute posters myself. Big thanks to all the artists who participated including (in reverse alphabetical order) Stainboy, Tyler Stout, Todd Slater, Jay Ryan, Jermaine Rogers, Print Mafia, Little Friends of Printmaking, Bobby Dixon, Decoder Ring Design Concern, Burlesque of North America, and those lovable ruffians at Aesthetic Apparatus.
I was also asked to come up with a poster to promote the original downtown Alamo Drafthouse Theatre. I had a decent idea, but I didn't have the time or skill to realize it. In walked Tyler Stout who proceeded to produce one of the most stupendous if not stupendous-est poster ever. Check it out and buy a copy of the Alamo Drafthouse Poster from Mondo Tees. It's for a good cause and you'll be the envy of your movie geek friends.
Big thanks to Tim and Tim at Alamo for this unique opportunity for the gigposter community. A special electronic round of applause for all that Mr. League does for film lovers here in Austin.
2nd HALF OF WHITE STRIPES NA POSTERS SHIPPED
One of the reasons its been so long since my last post here is I didn't want to post again until these were finally packed and shipped. My friend Boner and my wife aided me in a marathon packing session that lasted from around 6AM to 12 PM. Their help made this go a lot faster than if I had done it by myself.
I apologize again to everyone for this inexcusable wait, but I really had no time to pack amidst the projects I've been committed to for the past six months. Some I haven't revealed yet (like that project I haven't revealed yet), some will never get seen (like Raconteurs robot designs), and some thankfully will get seen (like the Raconteurs shirt I designed or the tour poster for The Twilight Singers that I will post shortly). With the way I pack, and with the amount of cats I have in my house, I have to do it in one shot and can't really do a little at a time. I just haven't had the time to do it. In order to pack and send them now I had to cancel one of the projects for the Aluminium show.
All I can say is that it won't happen again. From here on out, poster sets like the White Stripes NA one will be packed in advance of sale so they can go out the door immediately.
So's yeah. That's it. WS NA set holders will get an email in a month or so about Euro sets. If any of them still want them at this point, then I'm happy. If they don't, then I will offer those unsold sets on my website at a pre-announced time.
Stay well.
Cheers,
RJ
Bulletin from the Cave of Tears
WHUZZA?
Got a snap from Jamungo co-founder Ferg of the figure prototypes for the upcoming Aluminium album. Click on the image to see it dream size. If you wish to know more, or might want to purchase one upon release, please visit www.alumiiinium.com and sign up.
BEST OF QT FEST
I gots lucky again and was able to organize a small series for the recent installment of the Quentin Tarantino Film Festival. This one was a "Best of" version where Quentin brought back popular films from QT1-QT6. It was without a doubt the most memorable one of these I have attended if only for the opportunity to watch The Dion Brothers (aka Gravy Train) on the big screen (hell, you're lucky if you can watch it on the small screen). Stacy Keach is a bean shoveling chunk of badasss. If somebody is ever screening a print of it within 300 miles of you, make the fucking trip.
Anyways, I did a poster and conned Stainboy and Tyler Stout to outshine me. D&L did a fine job getting mine and Tyler's done in a rush pinch, and thanks to Diesel for making a similar snap deadline with Stainboy's. Snatch theirs up before they are gone at mondotees.com or buy them directly from Stain and Stout themselves at their sites. Mine is sold out now from Mondotees (the official of sorts Original Alamo Drafthouse store), but I'm offering 15 copies here on my site from my personal numbered edition. Eat it up and ask for seconds.
Thanks to Tim at Alamo for hooking me up with the gig, AFS for being themselves, Doyle for schilling them at the festival, and Tarantino for sharing his celluloid manna.
OTHER NEWS
I could have sworn I put these items up here, but I guess I didn't (maybe they got lost in the last server crash). Anyways, I recently did a poster for the new independent film The Cassidy Kids which comes straight from the brains behind the festival favorite Dear Pillow. If it's showing at a festival near you, check it out as they pulled off a miracle in finding good kid actors (and good adult actors too for their grown-up counterparts).
Also, if you've recently watched Hostel in the theatre or on DVD, check out the Sneepur Patrol shirt I mostly designed that the loudmouthed Icelander wears in the film. You can buy one over at www.mondotees.com. If you still haven't seen Mr. Roth's first film, Cabin Fever, then get yer ass to Best Buy and pick up a copy. When you see what happens to the girl's legs when she tries to shave in the bathtub, keep in mind that really happened to the director except it was his face.
SHIPPING
Working on various submissions this week, so I hope to spend next week finally catching up on shipping for everything. I appreciate your patience and apologize for the delay. Hopefully when everything I've been working on comes out, the delay will be more understandable and palatable. As soon as the last half of the WS/NA sets have gone out, I will check with set holders to see if they want to purchase Euro sets. If any do not, then I will put their copies up for sale on the website. Also, the Doug Stanhope poster is now available for purchase.
Cheers
RJ
White Stripes 2005 North American Tour Poster Set
Wow, that was fairly fast. I have a few people paying by check, so as of now the 50 sets are gone. Thank you very much for the response. Check back in a few weeks when the European posters go on sale. If you bought a North American set today, then I will email you to see if you want one so you don't have to go through today's anxiety again.
Cheers
RJ
White Stripes 2005 Poster Sets on Sale Tuesday
Salutations,The White Stripes 11 poster North American 2005 Tour Sets will go on sale here on Jan 3 at 8:00 AM Central Time.
I am making 50 sets available. These will either go really quick or really slow. I've recieved, without hyperbole, a trillion emails inquiring about when they were going to be made available, so I'm leaning towards "go really quick." However I realize there is a difference between asking about a thing and buying a thing, so they might stick around here for a while. I'm excited to see either way.
Cheers
RJ
DENIAL TWIST LIVE COVERS UP
Well, this is certainly late in coming, especially if you subscribe to The White Stripes newsletter. I was asked to participate in a pretty cool show of fan appreciation from The White Stripes involving CDR give-aways at the recent UK shows. After each show, exiting concert attendees were given a special CDR with artwork on the disc and sleeve unique to that night. Each sleeve had a removable sticker on the back explaining how to download that night's performance of "The Denial Twist" to burn to the CDR. I designed all 10 of the covers, back covers, and discs. I will try to get photos of them up here soon, but until then you can check out the Denial Twist covers here.Big thanks to Jack and Meg for thinking of me for this project, and to XL recordings for making it happen.
WALKING WITH A GHOST
Soon after I completed the work for "The Denial Twist" live covers, I was asked to do a cover for The White Stripes' rendition of Tegan & Sara's Walking with a Ghost. This will be available as a special Holiday maxi-single that includes 4 previously unreleased live tracks.
Again big thanks to Jack and Meg for yet another fun project, and to V2 for their patience in what was probably the tightest deadline I've experienced thus far in my "career".
WHEN? WHEN? WHEN?
I've received a mountain of emails asking when I will make The White Stripes US Tour Set available for purchase. I will do my best to make this happen after Thanksgiving. Please don't purchase these as a Christmas gift as packing all the sets will take some doing and they may not get mailed out to meet the X-mas deadline.
PINK SWORDS IN YOUR FACE
Gearhead Records has released the new Pink Swords record, "Shut Up and Take It", which features my trash on the front, back, and middle bits. It is available on CD, but if you buy the vinyl version you get an attractive bonus track so I'd advise dusting off the turntable. They are touring more and more out of Texas, so when they come to your town pay the fucking cover and prepare to get bloody.
If your crappy record shop doesn't carry it for some goddamn reason, then scuttle over to gearheadrecords.com and buy it from them at a great price. Pick up some Riverboat Gamblers while you're there.
QUENTIN TARANTINO FILM FESTIVAL
Cripes, this is long overdue. If you don't know, I organized a rather spiffy series of posters for QT6 for The Alamo Drafthouse. Alamo's stock of mine sold out at the show, but you can buy one from me if you wish.
They are over in the Silkscreens section for sale. Big thanks from me to Tim at the Alamo for making it possible, Austin Film Society for throwing the damn thing, and especially Mr. Tarantino for all that he does in putting on a great showcase of movies. Of all the shit shown at the festival, my favorite was by far "Silent Night, Deadly Night".
Thanks to the other artists who answered the call: Todd Slater, Guy Burwell, Tyler Stout, & Aesthetic Apparatus. Please visit the artist's websites to see their posters and purchase them (except Slater whose Amish beliefs prevent him from having a web site). The biggest thanks of all goes to Steve Horvath at D&L Printing who managed to print my poster and Tyler's poster while preparing for a much deserved vacation.
Steve is a fucking stand-up guy.
THE WHITE STRIPES IMAGES COMING
Sorry I haven't posted Stripes images yet, but I've been really swamped with work. They are coming, so please be patient and they will be up and available. Cool stuff coming up on the Stripes front, but I can't talk about it now.
White Stripes Images Coming Soon
Please come back soon when I upload images for new posters including those for The White Stripes shows in Pomona, Berkeley, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, & Chicago. The posters in the works for the Detroit shows will really be something special (over 50 hours of work) so if you are attending those shows be sure to pick one up.
I have received many emails requesting single posters from shows that have already occurred from this current tour. I haven't decided how to release my copies, but chances are they will only be available as a set. I may release single copies later, but I will have to wait and see how the sets go first. For now, if you wish to get a poster by itself from a show you attend, I advise visiting the merch booth early.
I will hopefully be able to post pictures soon of The White Stripes 45 box I designed that is available at the merch booth during the current North American tour. Again, in response to many emails, I do not have any of these for sale and they are only available at present at the shows.
More information on everything soon.
Lots of stuff in the pipeline.
Cheers
RJ
WHERE ARE MY POSTERS
Shipping has been delayed for the past month due to too many things happening at once.
I've been busy night and day preparing submissions for White Stripes posters, finishing artwork for the new Pink Swords album, designing a new poster for this years Cinemuerte film festival, designing a t-shirt for Alamo's Rolling Roadshow Tour, and a few other jobs that must remain secret for now. I apologize for the delay in shipping, but hopefully you will understand why I'm behind when I update the site next with new stuff.
I will send posters out this week weather permitting.
Again, my heartfelt apologies.
Cheers,
RJ
Why Rob Jones Still Hasn't Visited the Barber
Whirlwind couple of months. I was a four leaf clover stuffed rabbit's foot and got asked to create a backdrop for The White Stripes' South American Tour. The main backdrop runs 40 feet across and 26 feet high. There are also 4 unique "legs", essentially long thin mini backdrops, that accompany it on either side in pairs. Hopefully you will see it in your town soon, if your town is in South America.
I was also asked to design the visual elements for the new website over at www.whitestripes.com I got paired up with a brilliant programmer and flash animator named Michael Grigg over at royalmagnet.com. He became a cyber Prometheus to all the pretty pictures I chopped up as well as coming up with some awesome visual ideas himself (like the monkey angel). We both put in a lot of sleepless nights, and hopefully it shows. Grigg celebrated the launch this past Thursday with more work on the site. I celebrated with a bath.
I want to thank Meg and Jack and Jack and Meg for the incredible opportunity and for trusting us with such a big project. I also want to thank Ben Blackwell for his help and ideas as well (chirp, chirp), as well as the infinite patience and kindness of Tiffany over at Monotone.
As you can guess, I didn't have many hours of free time (if I did, I spent it nursing kittens I found in my garage), so shipping has suffered. All posters orders will be filled this week. I apologize for the delay.
Australia and New Zealand, Prepare for Bewilderment
I ship a lot of tubes down under, so I assume somebody there clicks on here occasionally. John Schooley and His One Man Band will be storming your shores in May and June. Schooley had to pawn his remaining tooth to get down there and meet the demand, so check out his tour schedule here and become a patron to his musicianship. You will not be disappointed, and I'll stake my remaining teeth on it.
Pink Swords Embroiled in Fisticuffs
If you haven't heard, then you suck. Pink Swords have signed on to Gearhead records and plan to release their second record soon. I've listened to a rough of 6 of the tracks about a 100 times now and it brings me smiles . . . yellowed nicotine stained smiles. Again, if you like abusive sweaty punk and laugh during Texas Chainsaw Massacre, then you should hunt up their first release and save your pennies for the second.
Here's an article about a fairly recent engagement in Las Vegas where they taught a heckler some manners. A word of caution, continually yanking on a mic cord is akin to pulling on the tiger's tail, so don't do it unless you enjoy the feel of teeth.
The Dirtbombs: Apparently They Like My Trash
The Dirtbombs used my Berlin poster design on shirts for their recent
tour (and maybe their current tour, I don't know). Ben said they would
try to use glow ink for it. When they send me mine, I will see if they
did by smoking in the dark.
FLATSTOCK OVER
Flatstock 6 has come and gone and I've gone back to busy blitz replacing headaches with anxiety. Check the Silkscreen section for a picture of my Flatstock Poster collaboration with Pedini, Slater, & Dixon. If you want a copy, please email for availability and prices as they sold pretty well at the show. Check back here soon for my upcoming posters for The Killers and Nine Inch Nails.John Schooley : Likable Vagabond
Check the racks and pick up John Schooley and His One Man Band's self-titled debut available on CD and LP. Schooley plays guitar, harmonica, kick, snare, cymbals, washboard, shakers, tambourine, and screams his fool head off live and at the same time. I did all the art & layout throughout the package and booklet (with major assistance from Schooley's brain). Next to the the Blackpool Lights UK version, this is the proudest I've been of a package's outcome.If you can't find it at you're local record shop, visit www.johnschooley.com or www.voodoorhythm.com for details. It's shit hot.
FLATSTOCK 6: Austin, TX March 18-19
I will have a shoddy booth at the upcoming Flatstock 6 during SXSW. If
you are in the area, please come by and say hello. I might have
ashtrays for sale, or I might not. I will definitely, however, have a
new Flatstock poster for sale featuring a collaboration with 3 of my
favorite poster artists; Mark Pedini, Bobby Dixon, and Todd Slater. If
you are not familiar with their work, you should head on over to
gigposters.com and gaze at their efforts.
Light From the East : New Documentary Premiering at SXSW
I just did the poster for the upcoming documentary, Light From the
East. It will be premiering as an Official Selection at the SXSW film
festival. It's captures an American theater troupe in 1991 Ukraine
during the fall of Communism. The image on the poster is inspired by
an actual defacing that occurs in the film after the Central Committee
announced it's attempted coup. Oh, and one of the guys from Luna is in
it. For more details check out www.lightfromtheeast.com
Butt-Numb-A-Thon 6...
Is over. For a review of the films shown, check out Aintitcoolnews.com. Here are the designs for the glow in the dark t-shirt I designed that was given to the attendees. First the front
and the back
Thanks again to Harry and Tim. Looks like it was a fun fucking line-up.
Pink Swords News
The band largely responsible for my present fledgling career has been tearing out teeth across the nation and in Europe recently. Pink Swords' debut album, One Night High, has recently been pressed as a split 12" with Mexican Blackbirds by the label Rockin' Bones. The vinyl is half pink and half black with cover art by Brendan Boucher, so get that shit into your collection and wear that pink out (then play the record).
You can also check out the December issue of LOWCUT and read an
interview with the Swords where I get a brief mention about the cover
design I did for One Night High (Still one of my favorite records. If
you like the Dwarves, then go buy it now).
White Stripes
I was a lucky duck and got to do the artwork for the upcoming White Stripes DVD "Under Blackpool Lights"
Region 2 folks already have their copies, but America and Canadians have to twiddle thumbs until Dec. 7th. There are some major packaging differences between the regions which will unfold after the 7th. If you want everything art-wise, you may want to get a Region 2 copy as well. As for the film itself, it looks good and sounds great. If you have a chance to see it in a theatre, take it. Otherwise you can purchase the DVD from Jack & Meg themselves over at the White Stripes store and get a nifty T-shirt to boot that features elements from my booklet design.
I also got to do the cover art for the White Stripes "Jolene" single which is already out in stores. What's really weird is when I told my mom about doing the cover she said, "Wow, Jolene was playing on the radio when your father drove me to the hospital to have you." "Really?!" I asked, to which she responded, "No, I was fucking with you" and then she hung up.
The elegant winged creature illustrations on the bottom right corner were done by Todd Slater who is better at Adobe Illustrator than I am (which isn't much of a feat). If you haven't seen his scribbles over at GigPosTers.com, you should really quit reading this and check that crap out.
I also got to design 3 unique posters for the cinematic release of the film. They are huge at 30" X 40" and look great next to each other on the wall or wrapped around a large present under the Christmas tree (be sure to use white ribbon). Click the image below to see a larger version, but for now you gotta go to ebay if you want to get your mitts, your greasy greasy mitts, on one.
While I'm indebted to the polite patience of the folks at XL & V2, I'm irrevocably indebted to Meg and Jack for trusting me with such a huge project. Thanks also to Tiffany and Dan for their assistance and kindness as well. It was an insanely intense collaborative effort, and I couldn't be happier with the results.
Lots of new news and old news.
I had the freakish opportunity to do some posters for a couple of other movies as well. The first poster is "Dear Pillow" which seems to be winning awards from every festival it rears it's sexually awkward head. The only way I can describe it is that I had the same feelings after viewing that I have after a good Cronenberg film. I'm not saying it's full of weird talking assholes or anything, but l found myself thinking about the characters and what they were going through for a week afterwards (much like I did after watching Videodrome or Crash).
The second poster is for a documentary about legendary Texas singer/songwriter Townes Van Zandt entitled "Be Here to Love Me". There is a lot of interest brewing around this flick. Even if you don't know who the hell Townes is, I promise you'll find the film fascinating and intriguing enough to pick up some of his music if it doesn't already reside in your collection.
I also did a poster and t-shirt design for this year's Cinemuerte Film Festival in Vancouver. They friggin showed a hybrid "Frankenstein: The True Story" which incorporated all the footage from both the television and British cinema versions. Get yer ass to Vancouver next year to attend instead of going to that sad-ass Halloween party where nobody is going to recognize your costume.
If anybody has seen my shoddy vinyl collection, then you know it's 75% full of comedy records. I finally got a chance to not only do a poster for a comedian but for my fucking favorite working comic, Doug Stanhope. You can buy a poster from me, but I'd rather you buy one of his CDs over at Stand Up Records as it will provide you with more enjoyment. Get one of his DVDs too if you like the smell of urine on your couch cushions.
If you're a fan of the original Alamo Drafthouse here in Austin, then you have no doubt heard of Harry Knowles' ass-trauma inducing film festival, Butt-Numb-athon. As luck and locality would have it, I was asked to design this year's shirt for Butt-Numb-athon 6. Thanks to Harry & Tim for approving my crap, and especially to the krylon soaked brain of Mig Kokinda who let me swipe the idea for it from a statue in his hallway. If you haven't seen any of Mig's stencil work by the way, again quit reading this and check that shit out. He's one of the few people I know that I'd actually call an artist. More on the shirt after the festival.
Finally, I have some work in the recently released Art of Modern Rock. It makes a great gift for illiterates as it's full of colorful artwork from my poster producing brethren. Thanks to Paul and Dennis for not keeping me out in the cold.
More news soon. You've really been too kind to read this far down.
Been Busy
Thanks for visiting Animal Rummy. Check out my new Electric Six poster. More to come soon.
Cheers,
RJ
New Posters Added
After some technical difficulties Animal Rummy is back online with new posters — a series of posters for the defunct Cinemania event and a glow-in-the dark poster for MC5. Check them out.Cheers,
RJ
Having problems with my email
My email has been down in the last couple days. If you've tried to send me something and its bounced back, please send it again.Cheers, RJ
Check back soon for my latest poster.
Flatstock 4
Flatstock 4 is long over. I will ship outstanding orders this week.Check out this local article about me and fellow poster artist Jared Connor.
Check back soon for my new Darkness poster.
Cheers,
RJ
FlatStock 4
I apologize to those who have recently ordered but shipments may be a little slow.I'm busy preparing for Flatstock 4. If you're in Austin, TX this week stop by and say hello. Most of my work will be available for sale and I'll have new promotional items as well.
Cheers, Rob
November sets are for sale! UK Tour and Paris Posters are for sale!
I want to deeply thank The White Stripes, as well as their loverly merch manager and stylishly dangerous tour manager for this incredible opportunity. I also got to design some shirts ( a squirrel one and a tricycle one), badges, and balloons for the tour which was also a lot of fun.
Complete sets of the November White Stripes Posters are now available. Each set is pulled from the original editions, and each poster in the set will have the same number (i.e. 36/150, 36/220, 36/333).
I am getting ready for Flatstock 4 here in Austin during the SXSW festival, so if you're in town, please stop by my booth and get a sticker.
I'll have more for sale soon so please check back often for updates.
Please be sure to address all inquiries/compliments/death threats to the email address provided on this site. I've been having trouble checking my other accounts lately, so if you haven't received a response from another address, I promise I love you but just haven't received it.
Cheers,
RJ
ATTENTION
Current orders may be delayed a few days. Rob's MAC crashed and the hard drive is screwed. His computer is currently being repaired, and hopefully some data will be saved from the old disk.
Much of Rob's recent work wasn't backed up. D'oh.
Regards,
Grant
Animal Rummy Web Guy
Greetings and salutations
The holidays were a frenzy of work and delays. All orders made after Dec. 15th will ship out Wednesday. I ran out of tubes and expect to get more in Tuesday. I apologize for the delay, but I can't find a store that has any in stock. For those who have ordered from me in the past, you know I prefer 4" diameter double-walled telescopic spiral-wrapped cardboard tubes. These are rather large tubes, you could use them to hold umbrellas afterwards. They are also very strong and great for storage if, like me, you have too many posters and not enough walls. So, please have patience and expect U.S. orders to arrive by Friday or Saturday.
Also, I will post details about the package deal for all the November White Stripes posters shortly. Only 10 of these packages are available.
The New Year's Eve posters are now for sale. I have two versions of it for sale, Red & Black and Pink & Blue. Both are pretty, but the Pink & Blue one I can only offer in limited quantities on the site, 5 in all. So if you want both of these, order fast before they are gone.
I appreciate your patience and everyone who has written such nice emails I extend a special thanks to you.
Cheers,
RJ