A cowboy’s boot full of schnapps
wouldn’t have been enough to make me believe that I will ever print a poster for the Kid Rockrowdy. But punctually for his resurrection as a now matured folk-rocker, a request of an old good friend landed on my drawing table.
The only promo-show in Germany for his new album „Born Free“ took place in Cologne where he presented his latest notes and words which were compacted on a disc. It was organised – and this is not new – by an American Schnapps brand and Warner Europe. The poster is limited to 100 exemplars and shouldn’t be easy to get on the free market – except for, of course, a few artist proofs here in the shop. I put a lot of effort in the drawing of the poster and printed it with 6 different screens on an extremely thick cardboard carton with glazing or top-dressing colours and gold. Mr Rock liked his juvenile image on the poster so much that he spontaneously held it into the camera for the press photo. Seven differences can be found….
When I lately undertook a small promotion tour for Saxon screen printing gig-posters through London’s record shops and similar rock shops and galleries, I only looked at sceptic faces after having told my story of concert posters which are elaborately designed, printed by hand-craft and limited in number. (Now, I’m thinking that it was perhaps due to my creative vocabulary that they didn’t know?) In any case, not a single retailer was able to imagine that there exists a market for such a kind of art, and I thus I dismissed the idea of London as a further poster hot spot. That was 6 years ago.
In the meantime, my Anglo-Saxon colleagues have moved on a lot and gig-posters are no longer unknown on the island neither, even the contrary: English bands have a great interest in the colourful and imaginative announcements of concerts which don’t disappear in the nowhere after the gig, but get exclusive permanent places in clubs or living rooms of fans and collectors. The Coral made a tour through Europe during the last weeks and especially for the final concert in London’s Royal Albert Hall, a screen printing was crafted in the Douze Studio. Four glazing tones of blue describe a naive underwater world and a glaring red sets some emphasises and the inscription “The Coral”. And as the band is at home near Liverpool, there is also a small colourless submarine which passes…
In the weeks until the turn of the year, further exciting posters are going to be designed and printed. In the shop, the 3 for 2 offer, enjoying great popularity, continues. All purchase orders which are made until the 22nd of December at 6 o’clock pm, will be posted at the same day and should thus still arrive on time, before the public holidays (that is of course only possible within Germany).
