We are having postcards made that have a condensed version of the liner notes as well as the announcement and location of the download site. We plan on giving these out at shows and using these cards as a promotional tool. The art work for the postcard, download screen, and upcoming CD and vinyl packaging is all based off of this piece below.
The cross eyes painting was done by our friend Mike Egan. I found out about him through Myspace and was completely blown away by his work. I asked him to please be apart of this and he provided stellar images four our project. I cant say enough about his no bull shit approach and the timely manner that he provided these images.
When we were in England this year, John and I went into the London National Gallery. They had an entire wing of altar pieces. I barely remember any of the specifics of this stuff from my time in art history classes at the University of Alabama. John however, majored in art history and has been the chair of the art history department at Antioch College in Ohio for a few years now. That’s right; he does not work a bar or wait tables in a restaurant as he bides his time waiting for his big “break” as a career musician.
This is one example of the altar pieces that we saw that day. This one was painted by Duccio in the 1300s.
These altar pieces were painted on panels by an artist and then a craftsman that was commissioned by the church would provide the frame work to contain the panels. The framework usually gold leafed, served as a key part of the presentation of these altar pieces. These panels were left in churches above or near the altars to serve as inspiration or encouragement for prayer.
When Mike Egan and I talked about this art work, I asked him to provide the letters below. The original plan was to drop these letters on top of the head painting, but when the panel arrived, I felt like it was a work of art almost as much as the “cross eyes” painting. Both panels are painted on what appears to be quarter inch luan plywood and are covered in shellac.
I started toying around with the idea of how to prepare a place for the layout artist to place the text. That’s when I had the idea to prepare a framework that could hold both panels and present them as a pair that belonged together. The altar pieces we saw that day in London made me think it might be nice to present these panels in similar diptych fashion. In addition to that there is a song on “lost and found” called altar blues.
I did all of this without clearing any of it with Mike Egan. I hope he doesn’t feel like I have done his art an injustice. Most folks realize soon after they get involved with the Dexateens on a project that the project usually tends to change shape and morph as time goes on. This is a good thing. This is a bad thing. But that is the way we do whatever it is we do.
The cross section with the folding rule was designed as a place to drop the track listing and the player credits. The exterior wooden bands were put in place for the letters of the band name and the album title.
The folding ruler is made by Stanley and has been a main stay in most carpenters’ tool belts for a long time. It is excellent for getting accurate inside measurements as opposed to using a tape measure. The guitar strap was something that I remember seeing on the rare occasion that my dad would get his guitar out of the case as a child.
The background behind the cross is made out of strips of heart pine. Below is a photo of a legendary snake handling minister. Notice the paneling behind him on the walls.
A few years ago, I read a book called “Salvation on Sand Mountian”. Many of the photos in this book had the front paneling of this church in the background and for some reason the angled tongue and groove paneling stuck with me. It seemed appropriate for this project although rattlers and rednecks did not.
Please go and download our new record. It is free. It will not be free forever. It is very different for us.
Here is where you can dowload it.
new south, new values
skybucket.com/media/dexateens
