In 2023 I reconnected with Tony Victor (Tony Beram) an old high school friend that became one of the earliest punk show promoters in Phoenix. I helped him promote his first major event in 1982, and it was my very first newspaper ad. Created with a thrift store typewriter, press type and a hand-drawn image.
After he got his own venue I made most of the early flyers. Crude ballpoint pen drawings with felt tip/press type lettering, loosely based on Raymond Pettibon’s work.
Nearly two decades later he was promoting shows again, and he invited me to design the posters. He was catering to the very same crowd, celebrating prominent Phoenix bands from the 80s. These performances are usually acoustic, with original band members and guest musicians, and there are panel discussions. An interesting format for his older audience.
Tony is an avid concert poster collector, and we were both interested in creating posters that had that old boxing poster look and feel. Posters that could have been silk-screened. It’s always fun to create these textures, primitive typography, screened images, and printing mishaps. (Almost everything I create is digital, but I spend a lot of time to make everything look organic) I use authentic color combinations and typefaces. This is an on-going project.
