Category: Uncategorized

Phish Studio Era Compilations

I recently provided some art for a Phish compilation created by Reddit user RiverportGin. It coincided with my ongoing project of creating song illustrations for Phish’s discography.  Gin approached me about doing the album art at the perfect time and me being  fan of Phan compilations, was happy to help out. This allowed me to draw the songs that Phish rarely plays live, and made me revisit their studio albums, which I haven’t heard in years.  According to RiverportGin, “The idea is to capture what was happening live at the time leading up to and immediately following each of the Phish studio albums. The start date for each compilation corresponds to when Phish
started studio work for the album and ends just before work on the next album
begins.”

I was asked to include the songs found on each album, although they aren’t all in the compilations.  RiverportGin came up with the titles based off lyrics, which I then illustrated.

pad4brm

Sound of the Storm- Farmhouse Era (11/99 – 2/00)

  1. Farmhouse
  2. Twist
  3. Bug
  4. Back on the Train
  5. Heavy Things
  6. Gotta Jibboo
  7. Dirt
  8. Piper
  9. Sleep
  10. The Inlaw Josie Wales
  11. Sand
  12. First Tube
  13. Driver
  14. Mountains in the Mist

 

dqbs1pv

Flocking Outside- Story of The Ghost Era (4/97 – 10/99)

  1. Ghost
  2. Birds of a Feather
  3. Meat
  4. Guyute
  5. Fikus
  6. Shafty
  7. Limb By Limb
  8. Frankie Says
  9. Brian and Robert
  10. Water in the Sky
  11. Roggae
  12. Wading in the Velvet Sea
  13. The Moma Dance
  14. End of Session

 

29kloy8

This Has All Been Wonderful- Hoist Era (10/93 – 1/96)

  1. Julius
  2. Down with Disease
  3. If I Could
  4. Riker’s Mailbox
  5. Axilla (Part II)
  6. Lifeboy
  7. Sample in a Jar
  8. Wolfman’s Brother
  9. Scent of a Mule
  10. Dog Faced Boy
  11. Demand

 

yv5qstw

The Overhead View- Rift Era ( 9/92 – 9/93)

  1. Rift
  2. Fast Enough for You
  3. Lengthwise
  4. Maze
  5. Sparkle
  6. Horn
  7. The Wedge
  8. My Friend, My Friend
  9. Weigh
  10. All Things Reconsidered
  11. Mound
  12. It’s Ice
  13. Lengthwise
  14. The Horse
  15. Silent in the Morning

There should be 2 more compilations (Billy Breathes and Picture of Nectar Eras) but I plan to complete all the albums in the coming months.

Track listings and song histories courtesy of Phish.net

© 1990-2016 The Mockingbird Foundation, Inc.

Phish Riviera Maya 1/15-1/17 2016

Phish recently played their first ever shows in Mexico, on the beaches of Barcelo Maya Resort.  I wasn’t able to make it, but at least was able to watch it live via stream.  These show setlists are available for purchase as a 3 print set of the entire run.

nbrapdu

Link Friday, 01/15/2016
Barceló Maya Beach, Riviera Maya, Quintana Roo, Mexico

Set 1: A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing > My Soul, Martian Monster > Ya Mar, Halley’s Comet > Fuego > The Wedge, Theme From the Bottom > Free > David Bowie

Set 2: Drowned -> What’s the Use? > Sand -> Ghost -> Also Sprach Zarathustra >Wolfman’s Brother > Possum, Shine a Light

Encore: Rock and Roll

Teases:
· Sneakin’ Sally through the Alley tease in Possum
· Theme from Gilligan’s Island tease in David Bowie

Notes: This show was webcast via Live Phish. David Bowie contained a Theme fromGilligan’s Island tease from Mike. Trey teased Sneakin’ Sally in Possum. Jefferson Waful assisted Chris Kuroda on lights for the first time and would do so for the rest of the weekend’s shows.

7hcmxey

Link Saturday, 01/16/2016
Barceló Maya Beach, Riviera Maya, Quintana Roo, Mexico

Set 1: Camel Walk, 555 > Rift, Cities -> Light > Simple -> Timber (Jerry) > Wading in the Velvet Sea, Reba[1], Chalk Dust Torture

Set 2: Golden Age -> Prince Caspian > Halfway to the Moon, Joy, 46 Days ->Twenty Years Later > Julius, Harry Hood

Encore: Character Zero

[1] No whistling.

Teases:
· Magilla tease in Simple
· Reba quote in Chalk Dust Torture

Notes: This show was webcast via Live Phish. Page teased Magilla during Simple. Reba did not contain the whistling ending, but Trey briefly quoted Reba’s whistling coda in Chalk Dust.

svt4m1k

Link Sunday, 01/17/2016
Barceló Maya Beach, Riviera Maya, Quintana Roo, Mexico

Set 1: Mexican Cousin, The Curtain With, Sample in a Jar, Yarmouth Road, The Landlady, Army of One, Kill Devil Falls > Bathtub Gin, Funky Bitch > The Moma Dance[1] > Saw It Again

Set 2: Down with Disease[1] > Roggae > Crosseyed and Painless > Farmhouse >Mike’s Song > Bug > Weekapaug Groove, Slave to the Traffic Light

Encore: The Ocean[2]

[1] Unfinished.
[2] Phish debut.

Teases:
· Shipwreck and The Rover quotes in Down with Disease
· Shipwreck and I Don’t Live Today quotes in Crosseyed and Painless
· Shipwreck quote in Weekapaug Groove

Notes: This show was webcast via Live Phish and featured the Phish debut of The Ocean. Moma Dance and DWD were unfinished. Trey teased The Rover at the start of DWD. DWD, Crosseyed, and Weekapaug contained Shipwreck quotes. Crosseyed also contained an I Don’t Live Today quote from Fish. Trey teased Your Pet Cat in Weekapaug.

Setlist/notes © 1990-2016 The Mockingbird Foundation, Inc.

 

Phish Mexico

I recently finished up a linocut poster for the Phish Riviera Maya shows in Mexico coming up this weekend.  I had been on the fence whether or not I wanted to do something for this show, since I normally just do illustrated setlists for the shows.  But the idea came organically, and with a 2 week Christmas break, I really had no reason not to.  I have done lucha libre inspired artwork in the past, and wanted to avoid the Mayan/Aztec based theme, so this seemed very fitting.

bb1fkxh

Inspired by vintage lucha libre screenprinted posters, I  knew this was be challenge to accomplish.  My “studio” consists of whatever space I have in my apartment, which doesn’t allow enough space for screenprinting. The next logical option would be to recreate a poster via block print (linocut). Although I’m familiar with linocuts, I’ve never done one this size, which usually work best when using a press.  Although they were hand pulled, I actually used a baren, which helped create a more consistent black.

20160110_140653

My first couple pulls were actually 2 color blends, which was utilized by many lucha libre posters, but I wasn’t overall impressed with it.  I made a small edition of these, and may play around with it more in the future.

20151230_110309

I finally decided on a tri color background, which I saw on a few lucha posters, but are mainly with old concert posters.  Without the ability to screenprint, I had to find a way to mimic that look.  I did a few with a watercolor background, but it was a bit to light for me. acrylic took a lot of time, and gouache seemed like a likely winner, but then I remembered I have a ton of cans of spraypaint, and was able to get the color blending I wanted.

20160110_121127
watercolor, spray paint, gouache, acrylic variations

My “studio”

Printing table with homemade registration (computer table)
Spray room (spare bathroom
Drying area 1 (bedroom)
Drying area 2 (kitchen table)

 

The linocuts are available in my shop right now, limited to an edition of 30. I have quite a few variations available, and will make them for sale shortly.

The Variations

Although I haven’t posted them for sale, they are all available, so you can contact me via social media (twitter, instagram, facebook)

 

 

The Phish Skull Studies

20151211_153617

A shower thought (and drawing lots of Dead art) led me to doing some skull studies recently.  My original thought was some kind of Mike Gordon Steal Your Face/F ck Your Face mashup, and led to this series of Skulls inspired by the members of the band.  I started these over Thanksgiving weekend (Trey was drawn while waiting for Thanksgiving dinner to be ready) and got a positive response online.  I had originally done these to as practice drawing skulls/ using crosshatching techniques, but upon the insistence of the interwebs, finished up the set and made prints for sale.

Prints are for sale in my shop, and I have them available in several sizes.  I have prints of all four images in 11×17 and 8.5×11 sizes, as well individual prints of Cactus, Big Red, Henrietta, and the Chairman of the Boards, or a suite of all four prints.

New art added to my shop!

I just added over 30 new prints and original watercolors to my shop this weekend!  I found a bunch of prints that were made originally the the Phanart Show that took place at World Live Cafe during the Phish run at the Mann Center.  I forgot about them until recently when I found a portfolio with the unsold prints. The prints were made from the original watercolors I used for the song illustrations I use in my setlists.

Capture2

I have some of the original watercolors from which the prints were made from.  These are ink and watercolor on 6×8 140lb cold press paper.

Capture3

I also have some of the original watercolor paintings that I used for some of the show headers.  While I generally do a mixture of tradition and digital for my headers, these are done traditionally (ink and waterolor) on 8.5×11 paper.

Capture4

They are all reasonably priced ($25 and under) and be sure to follow me on twitter, and instagram for special sales and whatnot!

 

A Celebration of Life

josean's avatarJosean Rivera

I was recently asked to create a poster for a benefit event in honor of Chris “Buzz” Deardorff, a great friend and musician who recently passed away.  He leaves behind a wife and daughter, for whom the event will benefit.

buzzposter copyNow available for sale

I am also selling a signed a numbered edition of the poster, from which all the proceeds will benefit the Deardorff family.  I’ll have about 25 on hand at the show, and the remaining 25 will be available online for those that may not be able to make the event, but would like to help out Jess and Josey. Posters are 11×17 on cardstock, and they are available here directly via my site and will be mailed out after the event on 11/28.

View original post

Jazz is Phish- Brooklyn Bowl 12/19/15

josean's avatarJosean Rivera

The folks I did the Without a Net poster for really liked it, and gave me the opportunity to do another poster for an upcoming show at the Brooklyn Bowl in NYC!  This is an all star line up playing the music of Phish, jazz style!  It features members of DMB, Snarky Puppy, Sun Ra, Strange Design, and more.  Find more info via the Facebook Event page

View original post

Dead and Company : 11/5/15 Philadelphia, Pa

I made these posters for the the Dead & Co. show at the Wells Fargo Center in Philly.  I live about a mile or so from the venue, so it seemed logical to make something for this event (and maybe score a ticket below face). Although I didn’t get a ticket, I was able to stream the show, and promptly headed back afterwards.  I still have some remaining prints, and have them available in my  shop.

The Phish 2015 Headers: An Explanation

I recently got a message from somebody stating ” I love the setlists, but the header makes no sense!”  They were upset that I drew mountain for the Kansas City show, everyone knowing that Kansas has no mountains.  I was kind of excited, because this was the first time I’d received a comment regarding my headers.  I’d consider these my favorite part of creating my illustrated setlists, since each one is different, and carries a significance about the show.  When I started doing the setlists in 2014, most were an illustration based on the venue itself.  They were inked drawings that were colored digitally, and I was never a fan of them (I’ve had no formal Photoshop training, so it’s been a learning process).  When I was sketching out ideas for this year’s setlists, one of my main goals was to avoid digital as much as possible. My second concern was what the theme would be.  I didn’t want to do the same thing as last year, since I figured they would play venues they’d played in 2014.  Right before summer tour started, I had done a commissioned piece that consisted of illustrations of the whole Gamehendge saga, including all the other songs that have been confirmed to be related to TMWSIY, or took place in Gamehendge (at least according to the internet).  Having sketched (and drawn)  all these songs, it seemed fitting to use this as the basis of 2015’s summer tour.  I used all the songs from TMWSIY, as well as a couple songs that are Gamehendge related.  The last couple shows are based on songs played at the shows.

The Headers:

7-21 Bend I

The Man Who Stepped into Yesterday:  Col. Forbin steps through the door into Gamehendge

7-22 Bend II

The Lizards : “We can swim it if we tried”

7-24 Shoreline

Tela

7-25 Forum

Wilson

7-28 Austin

AC/DC Bag

7-29 Grand Prairie

Fly Famous Mockingbird

7-31 ATL I

Col. Forbin’s Ascent

8-1 ATL II

The Sloth

8-2 Tuscaloosa

Punch You in the Eye.

8-4 Nashville

Possum

8-5 KC

Divided Sky.  Probably would’ve been better without mountains, based on the location.

8-7 Blossom

Llama

8-8 Alpine I

Kung

8-9 Alpine II

Esther

8-11 Mann

Scent of a Mule (Played at the show)

8-12 Mann II

Slave to the Traffic Light.  It seemed fitting, seeing how close the Philadelphia Zoo is to the Mann Center.  I actually made a poster based off this song  for the Mann 2014 shows.

8-14 Walnut Creek

Reba.  My favorite header.

8-15 MPP I

Run Like an Antelope (played at the show)

8-16 MPP II

Wingsuit. I prefer a literal interpretation of this rather than the convention definition of the word

8-21 Magna I

An interpretation of the camping based on photos of Magnaball since I couldn’t make it 😦

8-22 Magna II

Inspired by the “Poster is Dead – Poster’s so Dead” plane flyby.

8-23 Magna III

Inspired by the Drive-In set the night before.  Marquee includes a mashup of songs played that night.

9-14 Dicks I

Bike. Played at 2.42% of live shows

9-5 Dicks II

Sleeping Monkey. Leo’s choice.

9-6 Dicks III

The “Thank You” encore called for a minimal header in order to fit in my setlist.

These headers were quite a blast (and a challenge) to draw.  I do have some original ink and watercolors of some of the headers available (email me or contact via ig, twitter, fb for availability), and can make some custom posters using the headers based on shows attended.

Without A Net: A Sonic Exploration of the Music of the Grateful Dead

WithoutANet poster

I recently had the opportunity to design the poster for an upcoming show at the Ardmore Music Hall.   The illustration is ink and watercolor, with hand drawn lettering inspired by the iconic fonts associated with the Grateful Dead.

The show features Reed Mathis (Billy & the Kids), Todd Stoops (RAQ), Marcus Rezak (Stratosphere Allstars), Scotty Zwang (Dopapod), Hayley Jane, and Special Guests TBA.

More info can be found via the facebook event page , and tickets are available here: http://bit.ly/WithoutANetAMH