Adobe Illustrator.
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I don't know how many times Gwar have come to Columbus since their inception, though I do know I will be at every show, faithfully producing for them posters as long as I'm a) with PromoWest Productions and b) possessed of operational hands and fingers.

Having seen them live twice already, I can attest to the band's onstage insanity. If you've been to a show, you already know. For those of you who don't, here's a quick rundown: Gwar are a band who play in character as a race of demi-god-like aliens who have been flung to earth by God, who was pissed off at Oderus (pictured) and company for being too awesome for his Holiness to handle. The band were revived from a crash-induced stasis after being tossed to the Antarctic by an evil mastermind who promptly addicted them to crack, while teaching them how to play musical instruments and desecrate celebrities and public figures that are known to suck. They are known to disembowel babies, rape politicians (literally) and behead the effigies of people like Barack Obama, Hilary Clinton, Paris Hilton, Osama Bin Laden and, in the past, Michael Jackson. As they visit cities while on tour, laying absurd amounts of awesome in their wake, they enjoy playing loud, raucous, abrasive speedy punk-influenced heavy metal while battling giant robot Nixons, other aliens and spraying audiences in gallons of blood.

This is a band to see.

Now, I've been trying to take on more jobs that facilitate my love for the music, imagery or atmosphere the bands espouse. I had already done a previous Gwar poster in a very clean, heavily satirical vein, taking direct cues from Shepard Fairey and the band's tour title at the time (the Electile Dysfunction Tour). Having no such name or political template upon which to base my outlandish imagery, I this time chose to appeal to the side of Gwar I felt I missed during that first poster; namely the gore.

Gwar loves gore.
Therefore, I set about creating a messy, fragmented composition unlike any previous poster. Having taken a recent interest in art history and the lunatic fringe of Dada, I took a slightly more spontaneous style. Inspiration was drawn from Jackson Pollock and worked with a limited color palette, emphasizing messiness, while retaining a focus on strong line work. The poster is still heavily illustrative, but contrasts nicely when put beside my previous efforts.

I like the result.
It burns.

Can you tell I'm a fan of Jacob Bannon?

See it on milestsang(dot)com with an alternate description and extra inspiratory imagery.
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Listening To: Gwar: Sick Of You.
.milestsang(dot)com.
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