Saucers Over Winnipeg

Thanks to my friend Andy O. Horrible I fluked my way into a semi-regular gig doing advertising art for the local branch of CD Plus, a nationwide Canadian CD and video retail chain. I did a series of print ads for them and all the graphics for their national managers convention back in 2004. This was the cover of the program booklet for said conference, depicting some CD/UFOs buzzing the Manitoba Legislative building. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Brat Beater

Here's a poster I made for Norway's mighty Basement Brats back in 1997. If my befrazzled brain is feedin' me the correct info (quite a dubious proposition nowadaze), this was done for a tour around the time their Bratbeat album was released on Screaming Apple Records. Strangely enough at this moment I am working on art for not one but two current bands featuring ex-Brats members. More on that soon. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

A Rock'N'Roll Nightmare On Albert Street

From way back in 2002, here's the first of the three posters I did for shows by the mighty Rock Warrior, Thor! Kicking off the evening's festivities were hard rockin' local faves The Squareheads with their original lineup featuring drummer Brian, now a rock superstar in the Demon's Claws and Primitive Hands. Squareheads singer Anthony came up with the general idea for this poster and wrote the dialogue balloons. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Crash The Party

Made this art back in 2005 for a cat named Hannu who runs Woimasointu Records over in Finland. The CD is a compilation of Finnish punk combos, mostly rockin' in a melodic Ramones-influenced style. Fun stuff. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Monster Mania

Here's a moldie oldie from way back in 1994. Misty Lane is an Italian zine covering original '60s garage and modern combos rockin' in the same kinda style. Editor Massimo always throws in a bit of coverage of trashy old B-grade monster movies in each issue and I decided to base my cover illustration on that aspect of the mag, paying tribute to a bunch of classic '50s creature features in a style influenced by all those crazy mad monster party drawings that Jack Davis and John Severin did back in the mid-'60s. This was used as the cover for the lucky 13th issue of Misty Lane. The mag and its sister record label are still goin' strong; in fact I am working on a new record sleeve design for Massimo right now. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Beer Babes From Beyond

Just scanned and cleaned up this 1995 effort at the behest of a guy in France who wants to be gettin' it tattooed onto his corpus delecti, so I thought I'd make it today's Rubber Room post as well. This 'un was a promo drawing for a rock'n'roll bar in Spain and if I am rememberin' rightly the gig came my way courtesy of Jorge from Dr. Explosion. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Antipodean Screams

Here's the art I made back in 2006 for the cover of Antipodean Screams Vol. 2, a cool 2-CD comp of wild garage and trash combos from Australia and New Zealand. Too many bands on this thing for me to talk about 'em all but I gotta mention that I was extra stoked to have done a sleeve for an album featuring my '80s faves the Hoodoo Gurus (appearing under their garage rock nom de plume The Persian Rugs). Swank Aussie label Off The Hip Records is responsible for unleashing this madness on an unsuspecting world and you can probably still order a copy if you check in with them. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Mind Rotting

This was originally sketched out as a potential logo for a record company. When that didn't pan out I added the lettering and inked it for my own amusement. It's unpublished. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Redacted

Sorry kids, all info on this one has been redacted by the Grand Inquisitor of the Bavarian Illuminati. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Lunachicks

This was the poster for the third Lunachicks show in Winnipeg. Their first and best show here was opening for the mighty Dictators a couple of years earlier. This show was fun although Guzzard (whoever they are) never showed up. The Lunachicks later used my logo from this poster on a T-shirt. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Cave Ravin'

This was the cover for Lost In Tyme #2, featuring yet more garage rockin' cave teens. I can't seem to get away from that subject. Stay tuned for MORE ANTEDILUVIAN ACTION!

Killer Klown

Made this poster a few years back for Florida-based pop punkers Flat Stanley. It was used to promote tours in Europe and the USA. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Sound And Fury

Here's the poster for another punked out show featuring '80s HC legends Youth Brigade. It was a lotta fun. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Psychomania

Drew this cover last year for the demo CD by local combo Blazing Saddles. Started up by ex-Hestons guitarist Paul, these guys went for a sound influenced by heavier garage combos like The Nomads with some stoner rock influence mixed in. They were basically a studio project and never played out anywhere. I hadn't used this drybrush/chiaroscuro technique in awhile and was happy to see that I still had the chops to pull it off. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Revved Up Teenage Head

I made this poster a couple of years back for the last ever Winnipeg show by legendary Canadian rockers Teenage Head. The show itself was kind of a debacle with the band members a bit too drunk and not sounding very well rehearsed at all. A couple of months after this tour singer Frankie Venom died of throat cancer which cast an even more gruesome pall over the evening's events. On the plus side local powerpoppers The Sweet Nothings and pub rock revivalists The Wind-Ups both delivered great sets and it was fun to see all the local punk old timers whooping it up and downing many beers. We printed up a small run of screenprinted posters for this show and there are still a few available if anyone is interested in owning one. Click on "View My Complete Profile" at right to get my contact info. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Motorcycho Maniac

This 'un is part of the Sick Sick Sickles series and was also the cover of Motorcycho #22. I'm tryin' to find some time to get a new Sickles piece finished but unfortunately didn't get it done in time for issue #24 which I think is just hitting the street now. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Lunatics Are Raving

From all the way back in 2002, here's the artwork for One Starry Night at the Shop, a live LP by Barbara Manning and the Go-Luckys. My pal Willem from Swamp Room Records sent me a CDR of the album and asked if I would design a sleeve for it. The music was quiet, introspective and vaguely psychedelic indie/folk rock, light years away from the sort of trashy, overamplified nonsense that is my stock in trade and somehow I couldn't see how anything I could draw would be suitable for that sort of album. I like to try to stretch my boundaries and try new things but in this case I did something that I have almost never done in my art career: I wrote back to Willem and told him that I didn't think I could handle the job. He sent me a very earnest message asking me to reconsider so I took another listen to the album. Suddenly ideas started to fly and I began making sketches. It turned out to be one of my favorite pieces of all time and I received a nice email from one of the band members letting me know that they liked it too. Swamp Room did a great job printing the glossy, high quality sleeves and inside the same art was printed sans text on a very cool looking 12" picture disc. I have always been really glad that I decided to go ahead with this project. Thanks, Willem. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Monster A-Go-Go

Here be the long awaited cover art for High Voltage Rock'N'Roll, the forthcoming Best Of Electric Frankenstein compilation on Zodiac Killer Records. This project took a few strange twists along the old lost highway but I finally handed in the artwork yesterday and finished discs should be out pretty soon. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Slip Of The Tongue

Drew this one back in 2003 for Ramonified Norwegian rockers Los Aarones. Amp Records put out the CD. I always thought this drawing would make a cool T-shirt but haven't gotten around to makin' any yet. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Garage Daze

This was the poster for the 3 day Garage Days fest held way back in 2002 at the always grimy Royal Albert, home of general filth. Unfortunately I was outta town when this all took place so I can't give you any info on how it all went down. I don't think I've blabbed about The Hestons, one of my fave Winnipeg combos back in those days and the only local band who were really going for the full-on Estrus/Rip Off Records '90s garage sound. Another great local band who never had an official release, the only Hestons recordings I know of were made very late in their career and feature a more mature, serious sound as opposed to the high octane teenage trash they were known for in their heyday. There's a CDR out and about with those recordings on it and one track from the sessions turned up on the Winnipeg Riot! comp. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Exotic Erotic Reverb

Stayin' south of the border for today's post, here's the cover for Exotic Erotic Reverb Volume 2, a cool compilation of surf, garage and rockabilly combos just out on Esquilo Records outta sunny Mexico. I did this art back in 2007 and it has taken a couple of years for the CD to hit the streets but it was worth the wait. Winnipeg's own surf rockin' Rockdoras are representing Canada on this album alongside lotsa wild and weird groups from Mexico, South America, Spain and wherever else rock'n'roll is still alive on this increasingly square planet. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

South American Teenage Garage Punk

This was the cover art for Volume 2 of the South American Teenage Garage Punk series of 7" compilations featuring new surf and garage combos from that part of the world. Spanish hipster label Butterfly Records put out these slabs of hot wax back in the early part of this century and they were compiled by my pal Pirulo of Rastrillo Records fame. I did the cover art for Volume 1 as well so look for that one to show up here eventually. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Feel Lucky, Punks?

Hot off ye olde greasy griddle, here's my poster art for next month's Transistor 66 Calgary Rock'N'Roll Weekender! The last time I did a poster for a Calgary r'n'r bash I got paid with all the free beer I could drink... This time I took the money and ran. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Royal Albert Chainsaw Massacre

Here's a poster I did for a punked out show at our venerable skid row rock dive the Royal Albert way back in 1999. The Lower East Side Stitches never showed up and I didn't care for headliners Bunchofuckingoofs so instead let's talk about Winnipeg's mighty street punk heroes The Mohosimrots. These guys got going in August of '97 and were one of the first of a wave of great rock'n'roll bands that came outta Winnipeg around the turn of the century. They played straight ahead super catchy '77-ish street rock with a strong British vibe. Sadly they only lasted a couple of years and never did any studio recording but I am told that there are good quality live tapes and video (including a vid of the infamous tomato smashing set that got them banned for life from local hippie venue the West End Cultural Centre) which will hopefully see the light of day at some point. There's a low-fi rehearsal tape circulating among fans and right now that is the only way to hear classic tunes like Now You're Gonna Listen, Left Handed Gun and Beer Here. The Mohosimrots called it quits not long after this show. Guitarist Mike went on to the Martian Graverobbers and Zombie Assault!! while bassist Jan switched over to six string and played in the Squareheads and Nervous Lugers among others. You can hear their great song Manipogo on the Winnipeg Riot! comp CD (an excerpt from the rehearsal tape mentioned above). Sadly plans for a Manipogo 7" with Merinuk sleeve art never came to pass, but I guess that's rock'n'roll. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Wailin'

Here's a first for you Rubber Room readin' reprobates out there, our phone lines are now open and we are taking your requests. A cat named Ryan took the time to write and axe me to post up my caricature of Northwest rock'n'roll monsters The Wailers which was printed in issue 5 of the ultra-suave Cryptic Tymes fanzine way back in the good old days, so here 'tis for your dumbfounded delectation. I guess you all prob'ly know the Wailers epic tale which ranges from the late '50s heyday of rumblin' instrumental action all the way through to the garage/psych haze of thee late '60s with many a hip pit stop to guzzle a tall cool one or ten along the way. The whole frazzled tale was spun out in the career spanning articool that my late buddy Alan and his wife Lisa inscribed unto those hallowed pages of the last ever issue of Cryptic Tymes back in the mid-'90s. If any of you kids out there have a fave piece of Merinuk art that hasn't yet graced this blog, feel free to drop me a line and I'll do my best to get it up here for ya or know the reason why. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Frantic City

Made this logo last year for the cool French garage/punk label Frantic City Records. It's sort of a sequel to an earlier logo I did for them which I shall post at a later date. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Motörmouth

This one was a proposed idea for a Motörhead show poster that never got used. I liked it enough to take the time to make a finished version but it has never been published anywhere. Stay tuned for MORE ACE OF SPADES ACTION!

Santa Claws

Here's the first of 2 sleeves I did for New Joisey girl garagesters Sit N'Spin back in the '90s. These gals had a fun, simple rock'n'roll sound that was pretty charming. They had several 7"ers on various labels and an LP on Planet Pimp Records back around this time. This here 45 came out on the hip Worrybird label way down South in Atlanta, Ga. The front cover drawing is based on a childhood photo of my sister and I sittin' on Santa's lap, needless to say somewhat altered for proper sinister effect. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

A World Without Porn

This li'l quickie gag is part of my Grumpy Old Men series. I sent it to Roctober but they never used it so it is unpublished. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Bride Of the Gorilla

Here's another wacky Lonely Vulcans poster, this one inspired by all those oddball gorilla-obsessed DC comic book covers from the '60s. Stay tuned for MORE ANTHROPOID ACTION!