After we had set the stage with our first show it was soon time to turn up the
volume and rock the house some more. We returned with Röckaholics II on October 2, 2010.
Once again we managed to assemble a line-up of rock art's finest and once more Villa
Rosenmatt in Wädenswil/Zurich was to be the beautiful setting for a night to remember. The show poster for this event was created by the one and only Guy Burwell. Here you will find pictures showing and explaining the process of its creation. For Röckaholics II Albert cranked out some more of his wickedly beautiful and strictly limited aluminum prints of images by some of the coolest and most talented artists of our time and we have worked on some more goodies to make this as unique and special as everybody could rightfully expect. One of them was the screening of Merle Becker's award-winning documentary 'American Artifact: The Rise of American Rock Poster Art'. |
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In addition to bringing to our guests a wealth of true gems from the treasure chest of the rock poster world we also allowed them to take a first peek into another art form which is just as close to our hearts and perfectly in sync with the Röckaholics platform: Rock Photo Art. With Fabian von Unwerth we introduced an artist who is just as fresh and take-no-prisoners-cool as Slash's opening-riff to Paradise City was when it first aired back in 1987. We could not think of a better act to get everybody into the groove for Röckaholics II and we knew that he would have everybody coming back for more ... and right we were and oh there will be ... So... Röckaholics II , the fastest getaway car to a place where rock 'n' roll dreams come true - featured: | |
Guy Burwell | BlackYard | Ron Donovan | Michael Hacker | Chris Hopewell/Jacknife Posters Lindsey Kuhn | Malleus Rock Art Lab | Chuck Sperry |
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![]() © Fabian von Unwerth Over the years Guy Burwell has created posters for bands and artists like Andrew Bird, Bad Religion, The Cure, Dandy Warhols, Dave Matthews Band, The Decemberists, Faith No More, Fantomas, Fight of the Conchords, Jackie Marshall, Kings of Leon, The Melvines, moe., Mudhoney, My Morning Jacket, The Notwist, Pearl Jam, Phish, Queens of the Stone Age, The Raveonettes, Sonic Youth, Vampire Weekend, Widespread Panic, The White Stripes and Umphrey's McGee. In addition Guy has created album cover illustrations and design, painting, clothing graphics and magazine work to his portfolio. He also designed conceptual material for video games and animated projects for Nickelodeon and snowboards for K2 as well as contributed to Guitar Hero III. (GDS, May 2010) "With the interest in and market for what the poster artists around the world are trying to create, it is always great that small pockets of interest are starting to make themselves known around the globe, especially in new cities and towns where the awareness of this global form of art are less known. Röckaholics in Zurich is a shining example of how our work can be brought to a greater market, a wider interest and to new groups of viewers who will always see something with each viewing. It's great to get new, sophisticated viewers. Guenther is doing a great job of bringing our work to Zurich, Switzerland, and beyond. We had a great show, and though, as with any new venue, new market, we didn't sell a lot of our work, it is a fabulous introduction of the art to new fans, and a great introduction of the artists, myself included, to new cities, new culture, and to new experiences that will shape what we bring to the world in future shows. Excellent fans, Guenther and the Mantels, and Röckhalics, are making great efforts, driven by pure enthusiasm for the medium, to bring these shows to reality, and we really appreciate the efforts, the great venue and the crazy awesome experience of visiting Zurich to bring our work to a wider audience." (Guy Burwell, November 12, 2010) TOP |
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![]() ![]() © Fabian von Unwerth BlackYard typically work on projects jointly, putting them together in a most organic fashion with each member bringing his respective talent to the table and adding or dismissing elements on equal terms but might on occasion just as well work on jobs individually thus making it impossible to predict what will come next, keeping their growing fanbase on the tip of their toes. Part of BlackYard's distinctive style is owed to the fact that they sketch, draw and ink by hand and only utilize machines to merge all textures and layers when preparing the artwork for printing. Having almost instantly become a fixture of the national scene BlackYard have just as swiftly won the hearts of the poster collecting community and we cannot wait to watch the fire their torch will set to the shallow paperwork of uninspired merchants and which will hopefully be a guiding light for many aspiring young artists and help to firmly put Switzerland on the map of the rock poster world. (GDS, May 2010) TOP |
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![]() ![]() © Fabian von Unwerth For the uninitiated, Ron Donovan deals in a superlatively potent and intoxicating mix of metallic inks, revisited psychedelic imagery and purest rock 'n' roll. My first encounter with Ron Donovan's art was one of the posters he and Chuck were commissioned to do by Virgin to promote the release of certain records. To be precise it was the one he did for Madonna's 2000 'Music' album. Now, as rock with a capital R is what fills my cup anything that features Madonna usually would not end up in my collection and yet it has. This is because of the unlikely shotgun marriage between pop iconography and amazing colour combination Ron has managed in this one. It is exactly this, the welding of intelligently rearticulated iconic images with handmade design and unique colours which has become Ron's trademark. Other examples of this from my collection would be Ron's 2009 posters for The Cult, for Van Morrison or for Eric Clapton. Then again Ron refuses to be pigeonholed and is determined to keep pushing the stylistic envelope. Metal? Why yes. Country? Yes indeed. Punk? How did you guess? Yes again! As a result of this you will find amongst my collection pieces like his 2007 Rancid poster which bristles with punk energy, the individually hand finished 2007 and 2010 posters for the Crossroads Guitar Festival which evoke no less than the spirit of a Bruce Springsteen or Neil Young, or his posters for Heaven and Hell (2009) and Turbonegro (2004) which flirt with the insignia of metal. I do not know many artists that could capture so many different vibes and still be relevant. Ron Donovan has so far created posters for artists such as Erykah Badu, Beck, Black Crows, Moonalice, Eric Clapton & Jeff Beck, Chris Cornell, The Cult, Eagles of Death Metal, Gwar, Heaven & Hell, Jane's Addiction, Madonna, moe., Monster Magnet, Patti Smith, Puddle of Mudd, Queens Of The Stone Age, Rage Against The Machine, Rancid, Sisters Of Mercy, Spin Doctors, Tool, Turbonegro, Umphrey's McGee and Van Morrison. (GDS, July 2010) TOP |
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![]() © Fabian von Unwerth Michael Hacker, part of the Vienna-based artist collective 'Atzgerei', a creator of comics and of illustrations for magazines, has in the short time that has passed since the Atzgerei print-shop has opened its doors and given the limited opportunities available in Austria put out a respectable number of gig posters. He has truly made the most of these by using them as vehicles to display the range of his talent which covers almost the entire known spectrum. So his posters include comic-type ones which are usually executed with a lot of humour and sometimes with a certain tendency towards mild gore that would do a Misfits or Green Jellÿ album justice. At other times Michael's posters are reduced and condensed with a strong emphasis on balanced style and heightened aesthetic like the one he did for the Eagles of Death Metal. Michael and the Atzgerei collective have so far created posters for bands as diverse as Deichkind, Devil Driver, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Dinosaur Jr., Eagles of Death Metal, Fu Manchu, Isis, Mastodon, Melt-Banana, The Melvins, Prong, The Scarabeusdream, Sonic Youth, Unsane, as well as for a number of festivals. (GDS, June 2010) TOP |
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![]() ![]() © Fabian von Unwerth Chris Hopewell, an award-winning music video director who has previously worked with bands such as Radiohead, Franz Ferdinand, The Killers and The Offspring formed Jacknife in 2006 after having visited Flatstock at the SXSW festival in Austin, TX, where he was inspired by Chuck Sperry and Ron Donovan of legendary, San Francisco-based Firehouse Kustom Rock Art Co. Hopewell's posters typically come in one of two distinctive styles - either as art nouveau designs or reminiscent of 1960s exploitation films with exaggerated scantily-clad women, vintage cars, guns, and dramatic type selections. If you asked me to describe the feel of particularly the latter I would probably say that they - at least form me - have the power to conjure up images from the street-smart and witty lyrics poetry of a Bon Scott circa of AC/DC's 'Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap' or 'Powerage'-era or ones linked to the aesthetic of a hard rockin' Rose Tattoo or maybe even of early Stoner Rock such as Kyuss. Either way, they are honest and real as Chris Hopewell's art is at all times original and kind of an ideal blend of vintage and modern, informed by punk and typically combined with a subtle display of this famed British stiff upper lip attitude. Although Jacknife have only rather recently joined the ranks of rock art's major league they have already produced an impressive wealth of first-rate gig posters for such well known bands as for example Ash, Baroness, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Eagles of Death Metal, Gallows, Queens of the Stone Age, Sick of it All and Supersuckers. (GDS, May 2010) TOP |
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![]() ![]() © Fabian von Unwerth Over the course of more than two decades Lindsey has earned as much street cred as a skater as he has as a poster artist and he has managed to merge both these worlds which he inhabits with equal passion into one rough and authentic lifestyle. It is this unique convergence which resonates from his art and which in particular radiates from this very poster. As the founder of Conspiracy Skateboards he knew to pick a credible picture which would speak to the fan base of this all American skater punk rock band. As the weathered screen printer who has repeatedly been called upon to print for other legends such as Frank Kozik who had helped to define the style of that very genre he knew exactly which color to use and how to finish it all off in that unpolished style which marks the feel of that sub-culture. Voilà there you have it: the most perfect skater punk rock poster ever created. But don't let yourself be fooled and try to squeeze Lindsey into that particular box. If you are prepared to take a ride his art will take you on a journey filled with images from the bayous of the Mississippi river regions, the Unites States' recent political history and revisited American pop art alike. Lindsey has created rock posters for hundreds of bands like AC/DC, Aerosmith, Bad Religion, Bauhaus, Beck, Björk, Black Crows, The Butthole Surfers, Clutch, Cypress Hill, Danzig, Eagles of death Metal, Fishbone, The Flaming Lips, The Hellacoptas, Hank III, Helmet, High On Fire, The Hives, Iggy & the Stooges, Judas Priest, Korn, Marilyn Manson, MC5, The Melvins, Metallica, The Misfits, Monster Magnet, Motörhead, Mudhoney, My Bloody Valentine, Nashville Pussy, No Doubt, NOFX, Neko Case, Nine Inch Nails, Pantera, Pearl Jam, Pennywise, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Public Enemy, Queens of the Stone Age, Rancid, The Reverend Horton Heat, Rob Zombie, Rollins Band, Slayer, The Smashing Pumpkins, Social Distortion, Sonic Youth, Supersuckers, Tool, White Zombie, The White Stripes, ZZ Top and more. (GDS, August 2010) TOP |
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![]() © Fabian von Unwerth Trying to distil Malleus' complex style into a few catch-all descriptions must lead to a sentence overwrought with alliterations of termini technici. My stab at this would be: blackened art nouveau mixed with elements of surrealism and quotes from the school of expressionism glowing in its amber, resulting in an almost psychedelically overwhelming experience of visual magik. At the centre of Malleus' art we often find beautiful, yet mysterious women, celebrating the primordial goddess. Usually this is accentuated by occult symbolism worked into arcane textures. All of the power trio's works are based on masterful hand-drawings and reflect the artists' deep understanding and love for music. I was recently asked to name my five most favourite Malleus pieces. This has proven almost impossible to do as I was basically required to shoot a moving target, but at least the list I have come up with to some degree reflects the diversity of the collective's opus and might serve as a point of entry for those ready to enter this world. I first fell in love with 'American Hi-Fi', one of their first pieces which is iconic in its simplicity and wonderfully reminiscent of advertisements for 1940s American motorcycles. The second time I fell in love with Malleus was when I saw the posters they did for Fantômas in 2006 and 2009 in Klimt-like splendour. This love grew further when I lay my eyes on their 2009 poster for Sleep which was carried out in the same impressionist fashion. To round things off I would like to mention their 2005 Acid Mothers Temple poster which is a perfect example of a poster perfectly mirroring the style of a band - in this case psychedelic to the bone. Malleus' extensive catalogue of posters created to date includes works for acts such as: Amanda Palmer, Auf der Maur, Baroness, Beck, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Blues Explosion, Brant Bjork, Johnny Cash, The Chemical Brothers, The Cure, Deftones, Dinosaur Jr., The Donnas, Dresden Dolls, Eagles of Death Metal, Fantômas, Fishbone, Flaming Lips, Helmet, Iggy Pop & The Stooges, Incubus, Isis, Jovanotti, Kings of Leon, Korn, Linkin Park, Mars Volta, Melvins, Mogwai, Motorpsycho, Monster Magnet, Mark Lanegan, Mudhoney, Muse, The Prodigy, Robert Plant, Queen of the Stone age, Sonic Youth, Tool, Turbonegro, Ufomammut and many more... (GDS, June 2010) TOP |
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![]() © Fabian von Unwerth One half of this powerhouse is Chuck Sperry. Chuck first made a name for himself as an editor and hot-button cartoonist in the political 'zine and post-Zap Comix tradition before joining the 'Psych Sparkplug Printing Collective' in San Francisco and finally setting up shop together with his equally gifted partner Ron Donovan. When it comes to Chuck simply all superlatives apply although I am sure that modest as he is he would merely laugh at such a pretentious claim. The first thing that stands out from Chuck's brilliant artwork is his use of audacious metallic inks and positively incredible colour combinations. Honestly, this must be seen firsthand to be believed as no photo could ever do this cornucopia of awesomeness justice. I had myself for months admired images of the poster he had done for 'American Artifact' in 2009, but when he finally gave me the original he had reserved for me this summer its almost blinding intensity simply blasted apart everything I had up to that point believed to know and expected of screen printed colours. And trust me, that takes a lot of dynamite. Equally I was completely blown away when I received his 2010 Umphrey's McGee poster. Its composition and use of materials was already astounding at a first glance but it was only when I put on those 3D glasses Chuck had sent ahead of the tube that it revealed its true colours and I could literally see that frog come alive. Amazing. Other elements that typically characterize Chuck's work are his expert use of unique fonts and his ability to capture an entire era, movement or school without copying but rather reinventing it. A good example of this is his 2009 'Reel Big Fish/The English Beat' poster which definitely is one of the best takes on Klimt I can think of. It certainly is the sexiest and non-kitsch one I have seen in ages and trust me, being Austrian I have seen a couple... Similarly the wonderful set of matching 'Widespread Panic' posters he did in 2009 and 2010 is a perfect encapsulation of the quintessence of both 60s psychedelia and 70s blaxsploitation movies but executed without having got to rely on even the slightest hint of pathos or attitude. Chuck Sperry has, through the years, created posters for the biggest names in music. Amongst them: A.C. Newman, Aerosmith, Amanda Palmer, Audioslave, Bad Religion,Clutch, Big Business, Black Crowes, Brian Selzer Orchestra, Clutch, Cranberries, Eric Clapton, Cypess Hill, Danzig, Dinosaur Jr., The Donnas, Fantômas, Gregg Allman, Gov't Mule, High On Fire, Jane's Addiction, Jesus Lizard, Killers, Joe Strummer, Limp Bizkit, Marilyn Manson, Massive Attack, Melvins, Moby, Mogwai, Moonalice, Motörhead, Mudhoney, My Morning Jacket, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Pennywise, Snoop Dogg, Paul Weller, Queens Of The Stone Age, Rancid, The Rolling Stones, Sisters of Mercy, Umphrey's McGee and Widespread Panic. (GDS, June 2010) "Guenther Dobrauz-Saldapenna, organized and curated Röchaholics II, a great gathering of some of the world´s best Rock Poster artists and photographers. Guenther also introduced me to Heinrich Mantel AG, producer of the finest anodized aluminum editions in Europe today. Guy Burwell, Lindsey Kuhn, Ron Donovan, Malleus, Chris Hopewell, BlackYard, Michael Hacker, Fabian von Unwerth and I took residence at the Rosenmatt Villa to throw down some rock visuals and have a great opening. I was met at the Zurich train station by Lindsey and Guenther who took me directly to meet the other artists; we were shown around the premises of Heinrich Mantel AG, maker of the finest anodized aluminum in Europe, and large format, highest quality, silkscreen printer. It was explained how our editions of anodized aluminum would be digitally printed ink would be layered over and over in a very time-consuming process where the image is scribed 7 times over and over to drive the image deeply into the carefully prepared aluminum substrate. In exact, precise alignment each print in the edition is entirely scribed over and over to add richness and detail. Then the aluminum, with the image deeply imbedded into it, is heated in a finely controlled process to bond it into the metal and seal it over with an anodized layer of bonded oxygen molecules." (Chuck Sperry, November 13, 2010) TOP ![]() |
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