Tour Diary: Day 4 Tour Posters/Tom Petty/The 48 Hour Rule

The forty-eight hour rule is set to expire by noon on both the Surfside 7 and Crescent Moon Coffee... in addition I haven't really heard anything from our man in Denver... which ultimately is not much of a problem... but still something that sits a bit uncomfortable.    But, you should bear in mind that peoples' lives are complicated and the laws of instant gratification should not necessarily apply... sure it'd be easier, but Petty said it best with "I won't back down..."  or one of those songs...

In the meantime... let's talk about poster art... there's a great documentary called Just Like Being There which investigates the subculture of poster art... fascinating... inspiring, although my reach exceeds my grasp on the visual art front... when I started playing out... I made some posters... in fact... the first show I ever played... in high school... I made a poster... here it is: 

$2.00 Shows since 1989!

You can probably see my personality in this artifact... I was obsessed with Lou Reed... the clown came from an old issue of Crazy.  Regardless... I was seventeen and I was really excited about playing and being... wait for it... included in the event.  I played bass... although this picture was not from the Teen Center...

Lewis and the Vampire Bitches(last time I wore shorts on stage)

So as the years have gone on, I have created horrifying posters... lacking symmetry... cohesive color schemes... any type of cool reference to anything... so I hooked up with Adam Miller... whose band is the Racket...  So, I started calling him and telling him my ideas about posters... and my very favorite one was the June Star 15th Anniversary Show:

 I love this poster... it's pretty hysterical!

So, why talk about posters... and touring... well... here's the thing:  As you book shows and you put forty hours into booking the shows, then there's an expectation that you will send posters which becomes another deal with money and resources... and timing!  Timing! 

But, let's touch on that slippery slope of poster art and paying for it... most graphic design friends I have, have always been gracious with their time and their art and I truly feel a sense of guilt that I've exploited that relationship.  Some folks would tell you that you should be downright Machiavellian in your maneuvers with the business part of being a musician... use this person... burn this person... steal that microphone cable... and so on.   After awhile though... it can weigh on you... so for that, "Graphic designers, I'm sorry." 

The Oatmeal

But part of the problem remains with money... it's expensive, and deservedly so--you get what you pay for.  To make things a bit more complicated is the fact that you have struggling, financially crippled artist types trying to pay other struggling, financially crippled artist types.  It's kind of comical... like Jon Nolan's lyric "robbing ringo to pay paul." 

However, to reduce costs I have worked on my poster making skills... cause... I kind of have to... I like the posters I'm putting together these days... finding Public Domain images and changing them to fit my purposes... here are some more:

Watch out Adam... I've got your number... I'm kidding... sort of... Pay your graphic design people what they are worth!  Also... check out Katie Feild... she has done a bunch of June Star art over the years!

Timeline wise, I'll get poster art together for the tour after it's all booked!  This time though... I think I'll do one tour poster rather than individual ones... but that's a way off and "waiting is the hardest part."

Grimm