The Martian Graverobbers

Back once more to the Red Planet, but this time it's red with BLOOD! The Martian Graverobbers started out in 1999 playing a rough-edged brand of horror punk mixed with a taste of psychobilly. Over the course of a few years they changed a couple of members and evolved into a straightforward, fairly brutal horror metal sound. The first CD Die Today... Rise Tomorrow captures them about halfway into their metal transmogrification. Classic hits like Hacked Up For Barbecue, Fight The Evil Dead and Highway Of Violence are heavier than I remember them being played live and feature hoarse metal-style vocals. Unfortunately I don't believe they ever recorded their great homage to Abel Salazar's cinematic classic, The Brainiac. The second CD Kings Of Horror was 100% metal, a style I don't usually care much for, but the solid, catchy songwriting on this album managed to win me over. They called it quits somewhere around 2005, unfortunately without completing their magnum opus, an album length musical adaptation of Frankenstein replete with anatomically detailed surgical descriptions researched in medical texts. I did 3 drawings for them over the years. The one at the top of this post was used on T-shirts in their early days. The cover of their first CD actually came to me in a dream, wherein I encountered a bunch of local punk rockers having a party in the foyer of my sister's apartment building. One of them showed me a Martian Graverobbers CD (which did not exist in real life at the time) and later back in the real world I convinced the band to let me recreate that dreamworld album cover for use on their first release. The Chainsaw Martian was used on the tray card of the Die Today... CD. I've recently been in touch with Graverobbers guitarist Murderhouse and will hopefully be doing some work for his new band Zombie Assault!! pretty soon. More on that in the near future. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Smash Up Derby

I was stoked to get to do a sleeve design for Primitive Records, a way cool label that has been putting out swell garage and punk vinyl since the late '80s (mostly focusing on their always hoppin' local scene out there in Montreal), but this project had some kinda curse on it. Though I sent the original art to the band, for some reason the sleeve was printed from a 72 dpi scan and naturally came out looking like unmitigated crap. The original art has disappeared somewhere along the line and as the printed version is useless I have had to attempt to reconstruct it from a dodgy photocopy. Anyhow, herewith this artwork is presented to the public for the first time looking (more or less) as I originally intended it to. This one goes out to all the shut-ins out there. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Demolition

French Canadian wild men Demolition graced the Royal Albert stage a couple of times way back in 1999. They played high energy MC5-ish r'n'r with a crazed Iggy-inspired singer fronting the action. At the second show he was drenched in sweat, writhing shirtlessly on the floor and ending up totally covered in filthy black Royal Albert slime like some kind of rock'n'roll coal miner. That second show especially was a true wild outburst of rock'n'roll in it's pure form, the kinda thing you hope to see at every show and almost never do. Demolition didn't last very long but they did manage to put out a CD and a 7" EP that I know of. Local openers on this night were avant-rockabilly weirdos The Fever Breaks, amazing '77-ish street punkers The Mohosimrots and The Breath Grenades. To make a perfect evening just that little bit better the show took place on a Thursday, the Albert's legendary cheap draft night. More foamy golden memories coming soon. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

I Want My Baby Back

Because the hardest part of love is letting go. This was used in the packaging of The Independents' Full Moon Arise CD back in 2003. I'll be digging up more decaying matter for you soon so... Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Granny Groper

The Granny Groper was a wigged-out Native American kid who, during a months-long spree back in 2002, terrorized a number of little old ladies here in Winnipeg by suddenly rushing up to grab a quick feel of their geriatric naughty bits. The cartoonish sobriquet (pinned on him by the local news media) along with the combination of hilarity and disturbing grotesquery inherent in his little hobby seemed to indicate that he should have a place somewhere in my wacky cartoon wonderland. He was still on the loose when I penciled this out (based on the official police sketch and description) in 2002 but if I remember rightly they had apprehended him long before I finally got around to finishing it in 2005. Published in Roctober #42. Ya gotta wonder what would happen to a mixed-up kid like this. Perhaps he is a regular reader of this very blog. If so I suggest that he, like all of you... Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

The Freeze

Poster for an NYC hardcore slamorama featuring '80s legends The Freeze and Nihilistics plus Electric Frankenstein spinoff combo The Kung Fu Killers and (in the grand tradition of HC shows) many more. I was really into this stuff in my late teens and early 20s and it's still a kick to work on something like this once in a while even though I am mostly listening to other kinds of music nowadays. I do still like The Freeze a lot. Any combo that can write songs as great as I Hate Tourists and Idiots At Happy Hour is always gonna be A-OK with me, buddy. More soon so... Stay tuned for MORE UNSAFE AT ANY SPEED ACTION!

Psychosis Of The Liver

These three are part of an ongoing project in which I am attempting to chronicle the lifestyle of the American Drunkard in his natural habitat. They were originally published in Winnipeg's Abnormal Behavior zine. Stay drunk until next time. Stay tuned for MORE ALCOHOL-FUELED ACTION!

Turbo Charged Death Machine

This was drawn back in 2005 for the band Grayline, an aggressive-yet-still-melodic punk combo from London, Ontario. They asked me to draw an evil, souped up monster car so I tried to take the idea as far as I could, way past Road Warrior country into some kinda post-Lucio Fulci zombie apocalypse nightmare world. This was supposed to come out on Amp Records but the label went on hiatus a couple of years ago and as far as I know the CD has never hit the streets. Maybe by the time it finally comes out scenes like those depicted on the cover will be so commonplace that this will be considered an example of documentary realism. We can only hope. More weird art coming soon to help us through the grim days that lie ahead. Stay tuned for MORE APOCALYPTIC ACTION!

Mind Disaster

Way back at the very dawn of human civilization (or "1995" as we referred to it at the time), I received a phone call from a crazed Englishman who was living in France and putting out wild '60s-style garage and psychedelic records on a label called Weed Records. He had a lot of big plans and wanted me to design a bunch of record sleeves for his forthcoming onslaught of vinyl. The first (and last) thing I worked on for him was this poster for a two day festival featuring the cream of France's up'n'coming mid-'90s garage/psych crop. Not long after I sent him the artwork he disappeared owing gobs of cash to pretty much everybody in the garage scene (including yours truly) and as far as I know, no one has heard from him since. I was curious for years about whether the show had actually taken place so I was glad to recently learn from Lio of The Beach Bitches that not only did it happen but that everyone had a really great time. I wish I could have made it at least to the second night of this as I designed record sleeves for 3 of the 4 bands that played that night, which presumably means that someone would have bought me a free beer or two. Anyhow, more new old stuff coming soon to stick to the roof of your mind. Remember to Duck and Cover. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

The Sick Ones

Artwork for an international psychobilly compilation CD that came out on Flying Saucer Records in 2007. Mostly newer bands on this one but it also features a few longtime psycho scene stalwarts like The Phantom Rockers, Asmodeus and Banane Metalik. Also some cool Canadian combos like The Gutter Demons, Alley Dukes and Deadcats on board. Should still be available from the label if you wanna add it to your hi-fi stash. More stuff soon. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Evil Eye

Batwinged eyeball monster. Screaming severed head. You be the judge, but I'm the jury. This one's unpublished. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Electric Frankenstein

There's a long but not very interesting story behind this one. Back in 2004 Sal from Electric Frankenstein asked me to design a sleeve for the EF side of a split 7" that a small European label was gonna release. At the time the song on the EF side was planned to be Infected. I came up with the original version of this design and about a year and a half went by while we waited for the record to come out. Sometime in 2006 Sal made arrangements with Canadian hardcore rawkers Maximum RNR for an EF/MRNR split 7" featuring the EF track Life In Rewind. Since there was no sign of the Infected 7" happening, we reclaimed the art intended for that release and I revised it for the new project. This version of the art was printed in the 2008 EF calendar. Not long after I sent them the revised art MRNR signed a big new record deal and had to put all their time and money into recording a new album, so once again the split 7" project languished like a platter of moldy old spaghetti until late in 2008 when 500 green wax copies finally hit the street on MRNR's own label. I revised the art yet again for the actual release and that's the definitive version you see here. As I write this I'm working on a big new EF record sleeve. More info on that when the time is right. Meanwhile... Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Something On My Mind

I first read the work of H.P. Lovecraft in my mid-teens, and the otherworldly influence of his amazing weird fiction has stayed with me ever since. This piece is not based directly on any of Lovecraft's work, but deals with the frequent Lovecraft theme of being invaded from outside. I first read most of Lovecraft's stories in the Ballantine paperback editions which were around in the late '70s, all of which featured cover art by a guy named John Holmes (no, not the one you're thinking of). All the covers in the series featured bizarre full face portraits of mutated Lovecraftian man/monsters, with a heavy aftertaste of serious LSD usage thrown in for added flavor. I guess in a way this is my tribute to those covers and the strange psychological aftereffect they had on me. I've never really had an outlet for straightforward horror art like this, so like most of my work in this vein, this piece is unpublished. So from my nethermost, shadow-plagued tomb-dwelling I beseech you to... Stay tuned for MORE ELDRITCH ACTION!

Bellrays

This was the poster for the Bellrays' first Winnipeg show. Tried to capture the rabble-rousing feel of their MC5 + Soul Diva rawk in this image. I always kinda liked this one because it's such a change from my usual style. This was also the debut show for Winnipeg's own Vagiants who went on to blast forth an impressive barrage of hi-octane rawk over the course of something like 4 full length releases and a ton of crazy touring. Vagiants singer J-Rod is now fronting the boss Angry Dragons whom you can read about elsewhere on this here very blog. More to come as fate's mystery continues to unravel so... Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Booze Is The Only Answer

This gag seemed to lend itself to a minimalistic approach so it was all cut and pasted together in Photoshop using 4 simple drawings plus computer fonts for the lettering. Seems like a great way to free up more time for drinkin'. Thanks to Woody Woodbury for inspiration. Published in Roctober #39. More stuff coming as soon as I can get this bottle to come loose from my lips. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Zombie Brains

Poster for a 2000 AD gig at renowned local punk hole The Royal Albert. Featured Winnipeg combos were The Breath Grenades (venerable avant-primitive synth/space rawkers), The Insaniacs (Decline Of Western Civilization-style smashed bottle and fistfight punkers who ruled the local scene for the better part of the decade) and rock'n'roll animals The Squareheads. Clean cut emo/indie outta towners Plasticine were terrorized by the crazed, violent antics of the local bands and their fans. It was a pretty funny evening. More stuff tomorrow, so... Stay tuned for MORE SOLID GOLD EASY ACTION!

Psychobilly Fiesta Over Hamburg

Here's a poster design I did for my old friend Jochen of Fiesta Germany fanzine fame. Shortly before drawing this I had spent a couple of days revisiting the Evil Dead trilogy on DVD and that influence seems to have invaded this one in much the same way that ancient Sumerian demons might invade your best friend while you are on a weekend camping trip at an isolated cabin far off in the dark, dark woods. The lineup of the festival has changed a bit since I finished the poster so there are some alternate versions of this around, but this original version is the best quality one I have on hand so that's what you get. I'm heading out to hear some rock'n'roll on a Friday night but rest assured more of this kind of junk will be coming your way real soon. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

(Teenage) Marsmen

One last sojourn to the Red Planet before returning to Earthly affairs. This one was made back in 1996 for an unruly mob of Ramones-infected troublemakers from Norway originally known as The Teenage Marsmen. At the time I was obsessing over Wally Wood's EC work and '50s Juvenile Delinquent paperbacks (as careful perusal of this humble effort will no doubt make most abundantly clear). By the time I finished the art the band had trimmed their moniker down to just The Marsmen, and they also requested that I remove the band members names from the jackets of the extraterrestrial JDs. This I did although it pained me, for the thought of juvenile delinquents from the Scandinavian part of Mars was pretty dear to my heart. I hand cut the color separations and sent them along with the revised art to Norway, where the 7" was dutifully released on Sneakers Records in 1997. Outside of a handful of photocopies sent to friends at the time this is the worldwide debut of this art in its original form, freshly scanned and cleaned up for you this very day. More weird wonderment is on it's way so keep them peepers peeled and... Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

A Fistful Of Rock'N'Roll

I was real happy to get an invite to be part of the Fistful Of R'N'R compilation series. Sal Canzonieri from Electric Frankenstein put together this sprawling series documenting the worldwide high-energy punk/rawk scene as it existed around the dawn of the 21st century, each volume decorated with eyeball-assaulting artwork from an international assortment of low-to-nobrow artistés. Due to various inane complications I had to draw and color this and my poster contribution to the first EF art book over the space of a single weekend, and considering how quickly I bashed this one out I think it turned out pretty swell. Aside from any other considerations, I was mighty pleased to have provided sleeve art for a comp featuring a track by the mighty Antiseen. This makes two Mad Martian Monsterpieces in a row here in the Rubber Room. Will I go for the trifecta? Tune in tomorrow and... Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

The Boss Martians

This Boss Martians 7" sleeve was done for Pure Vinyl Records outta Austria way back in 2001. It's one of the first drawings where I played around with computer graphic effects like the blurring on the Martian eyeball/heads. Actually this thing is kind of a weird mix of early '60s retro graphics and high-tech modern computer technology. The Boss Martians were just starting to move from their original early '60s surf/frat/drag style to their current '70s powerpop sound at this time so maybe it all ties together in some arcane way. Anyway, I believe 500 copies of this were pressed up, most or all of 'em on marbled blue vinyl. Dig around in your local wax mausoleum for 'em and... Stay tuned for MORE INTERPLANETARY ACTION!