Gig posters from the past few months. I don’t usually do many because I have a habit of cutting, chopping, drawing and splashing for so long that the band are soundchecking before I actually complete the poster.
Each poster is put together ‘traditionally’ except for some small text details.
Featuring Roses Kings Castles, Anto Dust and Lucky Clover.
Adam Ficek’s second album ‘Suburban Timebombs’ was released last week. More than a year has passed since Adam first contacted me about doing the artwork. Many miles of rainforests later, we have covers, sleeves and enough unused scraps to set the world on fire.
I was never sure of the final cover that Adam decided on until I saw it in print with the rest of the album sleeve. One of Adam’s ideas was to do away with working on the white background that featured on the first record and singles, so I dutifully took out my teabags and began staining paper.
The ‘splashes’ which feature on the cover are down to Adam’s wish that I play Jackson Pollock for a day, though unlike Pollock and his spontaneous splashes, the controlling side of my nature had me creating pages of splashes, chopping them up and sticking my favourites together. I do realise I am ridiculous, please keep it a secret.
It has been quite a journey, I won’t deny Adam did have to make a few frantic phone calls and push me to ‘hurry’ but I promise I never turned off my phone on purpose.
You can purchase Suburban Timebombs here: http://www.adamficek.com/shop.php
Also featured above are unused ideas for the record cover and the artwork for Subtleties of Love, the second single, which is available as a free download.
I’ve made some tour posters in keeping with the artwork for the forthcoming album from RKC. The UK tour will be with a full band, the European tour is solo and included on the poster are various DJ sets.
http://www.adamficek.com/ and http://www.ficekforever.net.tc/ for full venue/ticket information and any updates or changes.
If anyone is making posters for specific dates/venues please contact me for the RKC logos and artwork and I will be happy to supply them.
I have finally had a chance to start screen printing t shirts again, I have a 2009 diary full of design ideas that I have been itching to work with for a long time. I do need to restock my t shirt supply though, and buy some more screens so to fund that I have relaunched some older designs, available from today in my shop: http://thesecondmagpie.bigcartel.com/
The Roses Kings Cassettes design is one I printed which Adam gave away with copies of his Apples & Engines record, if I remember correctly. There were only 10 printed at the time and Adam has agreed to let me print up another lot as I have had quite a lot of messages about them.
The other t shirts come from collages and prints I have been working with over the last while, ‘I shagged my way to the cover of NME’ was a hit in their office so I decided to reprint that one with larger font, apparently it’s something to be proud of. And while Drew has been off with The Bronx and Adam has been digging gardens, I sat down to make the much requested Team Ficek McConnell shirt, for everyone who asked.
I am always happy to take commissions and am also open to printing onto other fabric or t shirts if you should like to send them to me. If you have any enquiries about this idea please email me at acupunkturedesign@googlemail.com or write to me on twitter or facebook.
This is the cover, front and back, of Adam Ficek, Roses Kings Castles next single. One Born Every Minute is the first single taken from the new album Suburban Time Bombs and is released in May. You can pre-order the single here: http://roseskingscastles.360degreemusic.com/shop/category-contents/Compact-Discs.htm?catID=47
The cover is a collage of everything I keep, parts of screen prints and clock hands. Who knows what I used them for in the first place. Originally I had been playing around with the idea of a maze for the Suburban Time Bombs cover and this evolved, so we decided on it for the single cover.
You can hunt Adam down on these sites:
“Little Episodes is an organisation started by professional writers, editors, artists, musicians and actors aiming to use the arts as a platform to raise awareness for people who suffer from depression, addiction or mental illness.”
http://www.littleepisodes.org/
http://www.littleepisodes.org/profile/TheSecondMagpie
You can visit and join Little Episodes at the above link and if it takes your fancy add me to your list of acquaintances there.
Cut Along the Dotted Lines (the collage above), features in the first publication by Little Episodes. It is a collection of artwork, poetry and much more. Also included is work from Sadie Frost and Clint Catalyst and it can be purchased here: http://www.littleepisodes.org/page/3897964:Page:8145
A poster from Kristian Marr’s February ‘tour’ of Paris: http://www.myspace.com/kristianmarr
A recent illustration for The 405, and interview with promoter God Don’t Like It. http://thefourohfive.com/articles/2523
And of course you can now pre-order Adam Ficek’s (Roses, Kings, Castles) latest single from his website and view my ‘collaged parts of screen prints’ which ended up as the artwork.
http://roseskingscastles.360degreemusic.com/shop/category-contents/Compact-Discs.htm?catID=47
So you see, sometimes I get things done, in between my suffering with fevers, some of which have been unidentified or so I’m told. During the course of these I discovered I could move light with my eyes, unfortunately I seem to have now lost this new and much loved talent and have had to return to my paints and papers.
I wonder if my traipsing round gigs has resulted in my confinement with the flu for the past week. We had much fun, it was just like the good old, bad old days, when we were young and innocent and had half a wit between us. Adam’s RKC sets sounded fantastic, I haven’t too many photos of his antics because I had to rush in from slave-driving on his behalf every night. I really enjoyed Alan Wass, thanks to Loz who I’m sure ‘made it happen’ with magic.
I have no idea what sort of a reception the dancers get; do people love or hate that idea? The light and movement fascinated me and you shall surely see some prints along these lines soon. Peter was wonderful actually; Hooligans on E and Love Reign O’er Me had me grinning like the Cheshire Cat. I had so much fun I declined a lift with ‘Adam Fitch’ back to Dublin on the last night for his DJ set and subsequently missed getting back to Dublin on time for it at all. Poor Adam Fitch.
As some people may know, I have been working on the artwork for Adam’s next single/album. Above I’ve posted the piece that’s going inside the album cover, I do believe. I’m going to print up some sort of backdrop for Adam too, I had this idea while we were watching Peter’s set in Dublin and it took quite a bit of shouting ‘backdrop’ over the sounds of Arcady into his ear, deafness in old age eh? I feel some RKCassettes shirts in black coming on, if Adam agrees, and many other things when I manage to undo these puppet strings.
I’m currently working on some pieces for group exhibitions, illustration work and personal commissions. At times I feel like I’m expected to be a constant and bottomless pit of creativity, if I ‘burn out’ by the age of 30 I blame everyone mentioned in this blog.
Much Love xo
If I haven’t taken too much time from the world of RKC, here is the print Ficek will have on t shirts for the November tour avec Peter Doherty, check out Adam’s sites for more and come and say hello if you see me in any of these destinations….
www.myspace.com/roseskingscastles
22 Nov 2009 20:00 Utrecht – Tivoli Utrecht
23 Nov 2009 20:00 Rotterdam, Watt Rotterdam
24 Nov 2009 20:00 Einghoven, Effenaar Einghoven
25 Nov 2009 20:00 Cafe Central Brussels
26 Nov 2009 20:00 Antwerp – Trix Hall Antwerp
27 Nov 2009 20:00 Cafe Kairo Bern
29 Nov 2009 20:00 Munich, Backstage Werk Munich
30 Nov 2009 20:00 Cologne – Essigfabrik Cologne
1 Dec 2009 20:00 Hamburg – Uebel and Gefaehrlich Hamburg
2 Dec 2009 20:00 Berlin – Kesselhaus Berlin
4 Dec 2009 20:00 Stockholm – Debaser Medis Stockholm
5 Dec 2009 20:00 Malmo – KB Malmo
6 Dec 2009 20:00 Oslo, Rockefeller Oslo
