An artwork and package design I created for an San Francisco-based band, “Sister Moses”.
At present I’m hard at work being art director for an upcoming album, which will be featured here on completion.
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Production Notes on “Sister Moses Debut Album”:
While I was living in San Francisco, some coworkers/friends asked me if I’d be interested in being the art director for their debut cd. They’d been playing together for about 10 years in a band called “Sister Moses”, and had finally scraped up enough money to invest in putting together a high-quality, great-sounding set of tracks. They’d also hired a painter and a photographer for album art, but were having trouble coming up with a package design that would be something that they all liked. I showed them my portfolio, as it was at the time. As I showed the very last piece of my work, they got very excited and said “That’s IT! That’s the cover!”
It was actually an image I’d done the night before, as preparation for showing them my art. In fact, I’d done the image with the express intention of having it be the cover for their album- A hand, holding a flame, no text. Very striking, memorable, and simple.
I put together the rest with the group allowing me a great deal of creative freedom. Partly because I told them I’d handle the entire project for free. The back cover was an old bike I’d wrapped in Christmas lights and shot with a video camera, capturing stills from the footage into my computer. The bird wing and poem on the right side of the outer trifold was given to me by the group’s singer, with instructions that those elements had to be included. With that in mind, the trifold was meant to go from sky blue to cloud grey when opened up. The remaining photos were all supplied by the photographer credited on the inside b&w side of the trifold.
The only real concern I still have with it is the pixilated look of the work. It was in vogue then, but as a style it really hasn’t worn well.
The release party was actually held at my house/basement/back lawn in San Franciso- the band played until about 2 am, and there was lots of tasty award-winning homebrewed beer, too. Everyone should host at least one album release party (if only we all had the chance) especially in San Francisco. I still consider myself extremely lucky to have been a part of this.
Recently, I ran into the owner of a local recording studio in SF, Hyde Street Studios, where Sister Moses recorded. It’s a venerable part of the local music scene, the bass-player in Sister Moses is now the General Manager there. Unfortunately, the building Hyde Street Studios is in was recently bought by a developer, who appears to be determined to turn it all into condos. Knowing this, I offered my services, again for free, to whatever album project is coming next out of Hyde Street, and as far as I know will be contributing to that project.
