Lewd Albino

2013
7"X4"
ink on paper

My First Tattoo

Well, not on myself (I swear it's not me, despite the similar body type and apparel), but the first tattoo of my art on someone else's hide.

Tebbles emailed me out of the blue with only the words "Keep up the good work sir!" and these two photos:

He is sporting permanent ink of a modified version of my design for the limited Hydra Head poster (see previous post). This is still blowing my mind a bit.

In other news, I am 75 pages deep into writing a post-apocalyptic ghost movie. Influences include Cormac McCarthy's The Road, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Pink Floyd's The Wall, Stanley Kubrick, Red Dawn, Beasts of the Southern Wild, and probably a lot of other things floating around in my mind.

Hydra Head Records poster

I designed this poster for Hydra Head Records.

Limited edition
18"x24" 
hand screen printed on a matte offset background 
100# white paper 
Signed and numbered 

Pre-Order here

It's being sold as part of the larger Hydra Head Rehabilitation Project HYDRA HEALTH

I've been working at Hydra Head for over 5 years now. I started as an intern (technically Isis' intern, but I quickly rolled over to HH duties). There has never been a time when I didn't believe in the projects we were involved in, or the way we have approached them. We probably could have pressed fewer quantities of certain CDs, but we also could not have predicted such a precipitous drop in CD sales. This endeavor was never about making money, though. If it was, there would have been a lot more corporate sponsorship and licenses, shittier touring bands, and pandering advertisements. Everyone who does and has worked here has foregone any delusions of luxury (or even healthcare). I don't remember anyone besides Aaron having a car made within the last 10 years. 

People occasionally complain that our records are expensive, but if you are going to make a physical artifact of the music, you should make it well. Heavy vinyl, sturdy jacket, and quality printing. We have compromised very little on that. Maybe we should have made flimsier LPs and required our bands to tour relentlessly. Maybe we could have been rich. Except that it hasn't just been our choices that have led to our current financial peril. We only control our ship, not the entire sea.

The music industry has changed drastically over the past decade, and especially over the past few years. For better or worse, the internet has destroyed the old model of music distribution. Once it's released, artists and labels don't really have control over the dissemination of their own content. The new streaming services pay pennies, and even through proper channels, music is used as content to drive services and advertisements that benefit those providers vastly more than the artists themselves. Even if a band is the type to tour, gas has gotten expensive. I don't have any scientific data to back it up, but it feels like there are less touring bands coming through than there used to be. I think because the overhead of being on the road has become prohibitive for acts that don't have a large following.

Maybe Hydra Head is dying. I still don't believe it. Maybe it will be saved by the generosity of those that appreciate earnest, challenging music and aesthetics. Maybe the whole world really is ending and the rumble of the earth falling will match the rumble of the records we have released.

I am humbled and honored to have been directly involved with a lot of groundbreaking records, and a few masterpieces. I am grateful for all of the friends I have met, to know that there are other people that care about things like I do. I am proud to be part of this family.

Cut one head off...

OLD MAN GLOOM - 9/3/2012 poster

I designed a poster for OLD MAN GLOOM's upcoming show at the Echo. It will be available as an 18"x24" signed and numbered screen print at the show. I will probably have a few available online.

If you haven't given OLD MAN GLOOM's new album NO a listen, you should. It will put hair on your chest. And your face. And your arms, legs, back, and everywhere.

pencils

inked

color mock-up

Torche - "Kicking" music video

I directed a new music video for my pals Torche. The song is "Kicking," from their new album Harmonicraft. It premiered today on Stereogum. Here's a quote:

"Director Andrew James Cox manages to hit all the inspirational sports-movie beats while making fun of them at the same time, and that hallucination sequence is a thing to behold." - Stereogum


Torche - "Kicking" (Stereogum Premiere) from stereogum on Vimeo.


Thanks to everyone who helped out, and to Volcom for making it happen.


Also, congratulations to my best friend Jesse Rueter (that's him adjusting his hat in the preview image above) and Caroline Chen on their wedding on Sunday. This has been the best week of my life. I'm working on making it the best year.

MINI COMIC CON

After you drop by your local comic shop for Free Comic Book Day (this Saturday), come on over to Eagle Rock:

Saturday, May 5th 2012 11:00am-6:00pm
FREE ADMISSION


Gallery Exhibition: May 5 - June 7, 2012

Center for the Arts Eagle Rock
2225 Colorado Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90041

Mini Comic-Con narrows the focus of the monolithic pop-culture event of Comic Con to its humble origins: the overshadowed vanguard of small press and independent comics. The exhibition highlights work that experiments with visual storytelling, both in content and form. Through selective appropriation of narrative devices and the invention of new ones, creators explore new ways to craft stories.

Mini Comic-Con exhibits recent work by emerging and established independent comic artists, a diverse group that is connected by shared influences: traditional comics, literature, film, experimental visual disciplines, DIY and small press culture, and a desire to project a singular voice. These works do more than tell a story with pictures; they blur high art, fantasy, and mundane experience to create something else entirely. Sometimes funny, sometimes fearlessly earnest, the artists use accessible yet refined drawing techniques to simultaneously connect with the viewer and generate a narrative structure that draws us further into their created worlds.

Curated by Andrew Cox and Laura Marchetti

Participating Artists:
Chuck BB
Akina Cox
Andrew James Cox
Marcos De La Siref
Shannon Freshwater
Andy Gohlich
Rebecca Inducil
Keenan Keller
Matt Macfarland
Laura Marchetti
John Martin
Jed McGowan
Kwanchai Moriya
Tom Neely
Never Press
Impossible Moon
Winona Regan
Anthony Rodriquez
Yumi Sakugawa
Britt Sanders
Sar Shahar

Adrian Tenney

Jesse Tise
Mark Todd
Dave Van Patten
Esther Pearl Watson
Megan Whitmarsh
Adriana Yugovich

New Song: AXED CROWN - Cloudbreak