It's difficult not to be hyper-sensitive about the art since it involves a band we're all so passionate about and see the poster artwork as a crucial element to the band's identity. For years people complained for 10C to open the floodgates to new poster artists, and I'm not going to debate that either way, but what I do want to say is that I don't think Ames had an issue with new artists coming onto the PJ scene. Ames worked hard and created a successful advertising brand, clothing brand, and design brand. What I suspect happened, in hindsight, is that Ames never counted on Brad Klausen bringing about change. Brad was brought on board to focus on the PJ brand and nothing else, which Ames couldn't/wouldn't do. Brad's talents afforded him the opportunity to create gig posters, which elevated his status exponentially and completely changed the poster game in the PJ world.
I can't imagine what it's like to create art, least of which because I can't create art. I do think if I'm Ames and it's 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and global internet use and interconnectivity is growing by leaps and bounds and eBay and Expresso Beans have quantified and qualified just how special the '96s and '98s created by Ames are...well, that's a tremendous amount of pressure on one's shoulders. How does one hold on to that myth? How does one recreate it? How does one stay ahead? I think as artists Ames wanted to distance themselves from the dated artwork it was suddenly famous for, which it had tremendous help creating , and Coby and Barry went about growing the brand and delving into new opportunities. The band was always going to be there, they would always tour, and the posters were in demand, but it wasn't the priority.
Brad was the new guy, he was the in-house guy, Brad worked his ass off and created and bedazzled and blew our collective minds with his posters. We all loved it, and Ames took notice. Suddenly this 10C guy was getting all the love and attention. The tension and competition is natural and healthy, but how do you separate the monopoly Ames had on PJ poster art from the monopoly Brad had on PJ imagery. Ames is Barry and Colby but Ames is Jeff, it's family. Brad is 10C and Brad is loyal and gifted and talented and only doing what he was hired to do. You can't pit one against the other. Other factors played into it as well, I suspect, but eventually Brad is best playing the game on his individual terms.
So Brad takes a step back and other artists are invited to step up to the plate. We discover Munk One and Mark5 and just about everyone else from A to Z and it seems like a generation shift has occurred. This "old fan" turned 36 on Friday but I swear I can barely keep up with the fandom. I love the band, I love the shows, I love the community, but I feel like I'm somehow taking up someone else's spot. It's as though everyone else is passionate about the art and statistics and analyzing and studying setlists and tours and shows to a degree unrecognizable to me. I mention this because I want to bring it back specifically to the art. So much of the new art on the band's posters looks foreign to me, likely because I have Ames & Klausen goggles on. It's as if I feel threatened the new imagery will displace the old as the benchmark. I feel Ames was able to handle a single fellow artist, but compared against an entire shift of the market/culture they're hard-pressed to still generate real impact. Yes, a Donkey Kong or Transformers speaks to a great many of us but it does so because of nostalgia. I've never been an Emek fan but I can still appreciate the hours of thought that one invests while examining his work. I'm partial to Brad, always have been always will be, and I believe it's because of the "warmth" in his art. I can't really explain it, but no matter the imagery I feel positive energy that I take away from his art. Given my bias, it's hard for me to open myself up the new kids on the block.
To make an extremely long point short: it all started with Brad. The currents will shift...yada yada yada. We all wanted new, we got new, then new was old again, then it got weird and different but always still somehow good, sometimes great. Yet I suspect if Brad hadn't pushed things forward we wouldn't be where we are today. Ames will always be Ames but they're not the Ames I'm nostalgic about. I'm glad Brad is still doing his thing. I love Mark5 kicking ass when he does. I think I'm still too dumb to wrap my head around Emek.
To quote the 10C from Newsletter #8: "Please understand we have a lot of members and it is very hard to please everybody. If you are one of those unhappy people...please call 1-900-IDN-TCAR."
"Me knowing the truth, I can not concur."
1996: Toronto - 1998: Chicago, Montreal, Barrie - 2000: Montreal, Toronto - 2002: Seattle X2 (Key Arena) - 2003: Cleveland, Buffalo, Toronto, Montreal, Seattle (Benaroya Hall) - 2004: Reading, Toledo, Grand Rapids - 2005: Kitchener, London, Hamilton, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Quebec City - 2006: Toronto X2, Albany, Hartford, Grand Rapids, Cleveland - 2007: Chicago (Vic Theatre) - 2008: NYC X2, Hartford, Mansfield X2 - 2009: Toronto, Chicago X2, Seattle X2, Philadelphia X4 - 2010: Columbus, Noblesville, Cleveland, Buffalo, Hartford - 2011: Montreal, Toronto X2, Ottawa, Hamilton - 2012: Missoula - 2013: London, Chicago, Buffalo, Hartford - 2014: Detroit, Moline - 2015: NYC (Global Citizen Festival) - 2016: Greenville, Toronto X2, Chicago 1 - 2017: Brooklyn (RRHOF Induction) - 2018: Chicago 1, Boston 1 - 2022: Fresno, Ottawa, Hamilton, Toronto, NYC, Camden - 2023: St. Paul X2, Austin X2 - 2024: Vancouver X2, Portland, Sacramento, Noblesville, Philadelphia X2, Baltimore
Don't know who called for the change to put Ft Lauderdale on the first shows poster. I thought I remember Brad saying he based the print off the show being in Sunrise, FL., which is where the arena is located, and it says Sunrise on the tickets. Love the poster, but that would have made it better, IMO.
I love everything pearl jam has done with gig posters over the years... from keeping it in-house with Ames back in the day... to expanding the roster with BK at the exact right time in 2004... Now using all kinds of artists... the mashup series of 2012... the imagery/explanations now printed on the back...
I'm convinced that without PJ leading the charge since 1996 gig posters would still be a lost art... Now every band seems like they are selling gig posters
Yup..... A lot of bands sell autographed posters too, marked up significantly more than the unsigned prints. Primus, Tool, Tomahawk, Faith No More - they've all had signed posters at the last few gigs I've been to...... I don't recall this happening before 8 or 10 years ago.
100% agree with the notion PJ helped push this trend.
My poster collection isn't complaining, but my wife sure as hell is.
My poster collection isn't complaining, but my wife sure as hell is.
That's why I switched to collecting PJ guitar picks...they are easier to hide from the Mrs LOL and don't shout "LOOK!! ANOTHER POSTER ARRIVED!!" when the mail comes
Yup..... A lot of bands sell autographed posters too, marked up significantly more than the unsigned prints. Primus, Tool, Tomahawk, Faith No More - they've all had signed posters at the last few gigs I've been to...... I don't recall this happening before 8 or 10 years ago.
100% agree with the notion PJ helped push this trend.
My poster collection isn't complaining, but my wife sure as hell is.
At the Ben Harper show in Toronto this year they were selling his sighed prints for 35 if I remember correctly.
My poster collection isn't complaining, but my wife sure as hell is.
That's why I switched to collecting PJ guitar picks...they are easier to hide from the Mrs LOL and don't shout "LOOK!! ANOTHER POSTER ARRIVED!!" when the mail comes
Haha, luckily, I get home before the mrs. 98% of the time, so it's pretty easy for me to sneak it into my stash. Then months down the road when she sees it I'm all "I didn't tell you about this?"
She's pretty cool about my PJ posters and she lets me hang the ones she doesn't hate, but she was less than thrilled when I came home with a Puscifer poster...... Never mind the signed Faith no More poster I dropped $75.00 on (surprisingly, when I said, "But hun, it's Faith No More!" it had little impact on her initial reaction. Go figure)
EDIT: one of my favorite posters was from Tomahawk in Boston back in June of '13. $25 for a poster, $50 for one signed by the whole band; considering who's in that group, that was a steal for me. I got a signed print, had it framed & hung in the living room for a while, but the wife insisted I swap it out w/ PJ's Hartford '10 poster, which is a nice spoof of a Norman Rockwell classic - I'm not complaining mind you, I'm lucky I get away with what I do, my wife's awesome!)
My poster collection isn't complaining, but my wife sure as hell is.
That's why I switched to collecting PJ guitar picks...they are easier to hide from the Mrs LOL and don't shout "LOOK!! ANOTHER POSTER ARRIVED!!" when the mail comes
Yeah, the wife's eyes would roll every time a tube showed up at the door.
This weekend we rock Portland
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F Me In The Brain
this knows everybody from other commets Posts: 30,651
My poster collection isn't complaining, but my wife sure as hell is.
That's why I switched to collecting PJ guitar picks...they are easier to hide from the Mrs LOL and don't shout "LOOK!! ANOTHER POSTER ARRIVED!!" when the mail comes
I'm in for it soon as poster tubes will show up 1 by 1....think I will be at 9 this tour. Mrs FMe is going to be Mrs KickMe.
My poster collection isn't complaining, but my wife sure as hell is.
That's why I switched to collecting PJ guitar picks...they are easier to hide from the Mrs LOL and don't shout "LOOK!! ANOTHER POSTER ARRIVED!!" when the mail comes
I'm in for it soon as poster tubes will show up 1 by 1....think I will be at 9 this tour. Mrs FMe is going to be Mrs KickMe.
Just remember "honey, i swear, I had no idea. they are gifts from friends and the 10c!"
My poster collection isn't complaining, but my wife sure as hell is.
That's why I switched to collecting PJ guitar picks...they are easier to hide from the Mrs LOL and don't shout "LOOK!! ANOTHER POSTER ARRIVED!!" when the mail comes
yeah I'm officially done with framing out and collecting posters and i've switched to adding to my bootleg collection. To me I've got a pretty good collections of shows I attended. Hanging in my basement along side my hundreds of bootlegs are: Randall's Island 96 (show #1 for me) NJ/MSG 98 (killer three days of concerts plus awesome poster) 2000 to early 08 were the dark years (dated/married to my ex) so no posters from then. Ed ved batmobile poster (first time seeing ed solo, row four newark) '10 Hartford (first show being set free lol. killer poster) '11 Toronto 1 (first show with my current wife)
06 honululu u2/pearl jam (wasn't there but the combination is my wife's favorite band and mine plus it's a killer poster) other things framed in my basement: ticket stub from first show monkey wrench radio and no code 8x10 black and white press release set list from brooklyn 2, pj show #50
My poster collection isn't complaining, but my wife sure as hell is.
That's why I switched to collecting PJ guitar picks...they are easier to hide from the Mrs LOL and don't shout "LOOK!! ANOTHER POSTER ARRIVED!!" when the mail comes
yeah I'm officially done with framing out and collecting posters and i've switched to adding to my bootleg collection. To me I've got a pretty good collections of shows I attended. Hanging in my basement along side my hundreds of bootlegs are: Randall's Island 96 (show #1 for me) NJ/MSG 98 (killer three days of concerts plus awesome poster) 2000 to early 08 were the dark years (dated/married to my ex) so no posters from then. Ed ved batmobile poster (first time seeing ed solo, row four newark) '10 Hartford (first show being set free lol. killer poster) '11 Toronto 1 (first show with my current wife)
06 honululu u2/pearl jam (wasn't there but the combination is my wife's favorite band and mine plus it's a killer poster) other things framed in my basement: ticket stub from first show monkey wrench radio and no code 8x10 black and white press release set list from brooklyn 2, pj show #50
nice collection brother... glad you moved out of the dark years and back into the light!!!
I feel the same way about the Lexington Poster. I don't get the draw. It's so similar to 2000 Texas poster.
I agree, to me the Lex poster looks like lazy ripoff art. I dig the Philly 2 poster because I was there and for the art. I like the colours, which like many a poster get lost in translation between in person and in a pic and the message is a good one. I'm also a sucker for pretty much anything with elephants, add my favorite band to it and a show I was at and it's a done deal.
Can't really be a ripoff because Ames did both...
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F Me In The Brain
this knows everybody from other commets Posts: 30,651
My poster collection isn't complaining, but my wife sure as hell is.
That's why I switched to collecting PJ guitar picks...they are easier to hide from the Mrs LOL and don't shout "LOOK!! ANOTHER POSTER ARRIVED!!" when the mail comes
I'm in for it soon as poster tubes will show up 1 by 1....think I will be at 9 this tour. Mrs FMe is going to be Mrs KickMe.
Just remember "honey, i swear, I had no idea. they are gifts from friends and the 10c!"
LOL. Yeah, I never was good at lying. Will take my lumps.
My poster collection isn't complaining, but my wife sure as hell is.
That's why I switched to collecting PJ guitar picks...they are easier to hide from the Mrs LOL and don't shout "LOOK!! ANOTHER POSTER ARRIVED!!" when the mail comes
I'm in for it soon as poster tubes will show up 1 by 1....think I will be at 9 this tour. Mrs FMe is going to be Mrs KickMe.
Just remember "honey, i swear, I had no idea. they are gifts from friends and the 10c!"
I'm glad I'm not the only one. Poster addicts anonymous is in session. I save all my tubes in case I sell a poster or a buddy needs a tube or my kids want to make a craft with a sturdy tube, so I've got about 100 poster tubes next to my work table in the basement. This has recently become a sore spot between me and wifey. No way am I throwing them out, you never know when you'll need a good poster tube. Wife wants me to "pare" down not my poster collection, but my poster tube collection....hehehe.
Comments
*cough* Fenway *cough*
I can't imagine what it's like to create art, least of which because I can't create art. I do think if I'm Ames and it's 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and global internet use and interconnectivity is growing by leaps and bounds and eBay and Expresso Beans have quantified and qualified just how special the '96s and '98s created by Ames are...well, that's a tremendous amount of pressure on one's shoulders. How does one hold on to that myth? How does one recreate it? How does one stay ahead? I think as artists Ames wanted to distance themselves from the dated artwork it was suddenly famous for, which it had tremendous help creating , and Coby and Barry went about growing the brand and delving into new opportunities. The band was always going to be there, they would always tour, and the posters were in demand, but it wasn't the priority.
Brad was the new guy, he was the in-house guy, Brad worked his ass off and created and bedazzled and blew our collective minds with his posters. We all loved it, and Ames took notice. Suddenly this 10C guy was getting all the love and attention. The tension and competition is natural and healthy, but how do you separate the monopoly Ames had on PJ poster art from the monopoly Brad had on PJ imagery. Ames is Barry and Colby but Ames is Jeff, it's family. Brad is 10C and Brad is loyal and gifted and talented and only doing what he was hired to do. You can't pit one against the other. Other factors played into it as well, I suspect, but eventually Brad is best playing the game on his individual terms.
So Brad takes a step back and other artists are invited to step up to the plate. We discover Munk One and Mark5 and just about everyone else from A to Z and it seems like a generation shift has occurred. This "old fan" turned 36 on Friday but I swear I can barely keep up with the fandom. I love the band, I love the shows, I love the community, but I feel like I'm somehow taking up someone else's spot. It's as though everyone else is passionate about the art and statistics and analyzing and studying setlists and tours and shows to a degree unrecognizable to me. I mention this because I want to bring it back specifically to the art. So much of the new art on the band's posters looks foreign to me, likely because I have Ames & Klausen goggles on. It's as if I feel threatened the new imagery will displace the old as the benchmark. I feel Ames was able to handle a single fellow artist, but compared against an entire shift of the market/culture they're hard-pressed to still generate real impact. Yes, a Donkey Kong or Transformers speaks to a great many of us but it does so because of nostalgia. I've never been an Emek fan but I can still appreciate the hours of thought that one invests while examining his work. I'm partial to Brad, always have been always will be, and I believe it's because of the "warmth" in his art. I can't really explain it, but no matter the imagery I feel positive energy that I take away from his art. Given my bias, it's hard for me to open myself up the new kids on the block.
To make an extremely long point short: it all started with Brad. The currents will shift...yada yada yada. We all wanted new, we got new, then new was old again, then it got weird and different but always still somehow good, sometimes great. Yet I suspect if Brad hadn't pushed things forward we wouldn't be where we are today. Ames will always be Ames but they're not the Ames I'm nostalgic about. I'm glad Brad is still doing his thing. I love Mark5 kicking ass when he does. I think I'm still too dumb to wrap my head around Emek.
"Me knowing the truth, I can not concur."
1996: Toronto - 1998: Chicago, Montreal, Barrie - 2000: Montreal, Toronto - 2002: Seattle X2 (Key Arena) - 2003: Cleveland, Buffalo, Toronto, Montreal, Seattle (Benaroya Hall) - 2004: Reading, Toledo, Grand Rapids - 2005: Kitchener, London, Hamilton, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Quebec City - 2006: Toronto X2, Albany, Hartford, Grand Rapids, Cleveland - 2007: Chicago (Vic Theatre) - 2008: NYC X2, Hartford, Mansfield X2 - 2009: Toronto, Chicago X2, Seattle X2, Philadelphia X4 - 2010: Columbus, Noblesville, Cleveland, Buffalo, Hartford - 2011: Montreal, Toronto X2, Ottawa, Hamilton - 2012: Missoula - 2013: London, Chicago, Buffalo, Hartford - 2014: Detroit, Moline - 2015: NYC (Global Citizen Festival) - 2016: Greenville, Toronto X2, Chicago 1 - 2017: Brooklyn (RRHOF Induction) - 2018: Chicago 1, Boston 1 - 2022: Fresno, Ottawa, Hamilton, Toronto, NYC, Camden - 2023: St. Paul X2, Austin X2 - 2024: Vancouver X2, Portland, Sacramento, Noblesville, Philadelphia X2, Baltimore
Don't know who called for the change to put Ft Lauderdale on the first shows poster. I thought I remember Brad saying he based the print off the show being in Sunrise, FL., which is where the arena is located, and it says Sunrise on the tickets. Love the poster, but that would have made it better, IMO.
I'm convinced that without PJ leading the charge since 1996 gig posters would still be a lost art... Now every band seems like they are selling gig posters
100% agree with the notion PJ helped push this trend.
My poster collection isn't complaining, but my wife sure as hell is.
The show was definitely the cake.
I'd give it a 10!
What You Giving
I suggest you step out on your Porch.
Run away my son. See it all. Oh, See the World!
100% agree with the notion PJ helped push this trend.
My poster collection isn't complaining, but my wife sure as hell is.
At the Ben Harper show in Toronto this year they were selling his sighed prints for 35 if I remember correctly.
She's pretty cool about my PJ posters and she lets me hang the ones she doesn't hate, but she was less than thrilled when I came home with a Puscifer poster...... Never mind the signed Faith no More poster I dropped $75.00 on (surprisingly, when I said, "But hun, it's Faith No More!" it had little impact on her initial reaction. Go figure)
EDIT: one of my favorite posters was from Tomahawk in Boston back in June of '13. $25 for a poster, $50 for one signed by the whole band; considering who's in that group, that was a steal for me. I got a signed print, had it framed & hung in the living room for a while, but the wife insisted I swap it out w/ PJ's Hartford '10 poster, which is a nice spoof of a Norman Rockwell classic - I'm not complaining mind you, I'm lucky I get away with what I do, my wife's awesome!)
Randall's Island 96 (show #1 for me)
NJ/MSG 98 (killer three days of concerts plus awesome poster)
2000 to early 08 were the dark years (dated/married to my ex) so no posters from then.
Ed ved batmobile poster (first time seeing ed solo, row four newark)
'10 Hartford (first show being set free lol. killer poster)
'11 Toronto 1 (first show with my current wife)
06 honululu u2/pearl jam (wasn't there but the combination is my wife's favorite band and mine plus it's a killer poster)
other things framed in my basement: ticket stub from first show
monkey wrench radio and no code 8x10 black and white press release
set list from brooklyn 2, pj show #50
Even my consearge in my building asks me what all these tubes are. Lol
2008: Camden 2, Hartford
2010: Hartford
2013: Wrigley, Worcester x2, Hartford
2015: NYC
2016: Philly 2, MSG x2, Boston 2, (TOTD Philly 2, MSG)
2018: Prague, Krakow, Berlin, Boston x2
2022: San Diego, Sacramento, Las Vegas
I save all my tubes in case I sell a poster or a buddy needs a tube or my kids want to make a craft with a sturdy tube, so I've got about 100 poster tubes next to my work table in the basement. This has recently become a sore spot between me and wifey. No way am I throwing them out, you never know when you'll need a good poster tube. Wife wants me to "pare" down not my poster collection, but my poster tube collection....hehehe.
It's the Summer of Keith!!!!
Columbus-2003
Cincinnati-2006
Columbus-2010
Wrigley-2013
Cincinnati-2014
Lexington-2016
Wrigley 1 & 2-2018