Destroy All Astromen

This was drawn back in 1997 and was meant to be the cover for an Aussie zine called Resistant Harmony. The cover was supposed to illustrate an Australian tour diary written by extraterrestrial surf weirdos Man or Astroman? and the issue was also gonna feature an interview with yours truly. Unfortunately the zine never came out (or if it did nobody ever told me about it). Maybe it will surface someday but in the meantime and in between time here's the previously unpublished cover art for you to check out. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Bikini Beach

Here's the front art for the Bikini Men picture disc LP that came out back in 2005. This was the third and to date last pic disc design I've done, and it was released on Bikini Beach Records, a spinoff from well known French rock'n'roll label Banana Juice. Scroll down a bit to see my other artwork for the Bikini Men and you can read a bit more about this fine French surfin' combo in that post as well. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Knightmares

The Royal Knightmares were a moody surf instro combo from Rome, Italy. A spinoff from cryptic garage rockers The Others, they took the "Knightmares" part of their name from a story in my Rockin' Bones comic. This art was used as the front cover for a 5-song 7" EP that was issued by hip Brooklyn-based label Solamente Records back in 1996. The original art for this is long gone and since the sleeve of the record is crudely printed in the Rip Off Records tradition (I think they may have actually reproduced it from a photocopy I sent them), I scanned the image for you today from a decent quality photocopy of the original drawing that I found in my files. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Wild Bikini

I made this poster art back in 2002 for French surf instro maniacs The Bikini Men. Back in the '90s I had done an LP sleeve for their guitar player's previous garage rockin' combo The Sidewalk Stroll. I dunno if they ever actually printed copies of this in its intended poster form but part of it was used as the cover art for their first CD, issued on Banana Juice Records in 2003. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

This Is A Riot!

Here's the cover art for the cool Winnipeg Riot! compilation CD, released on Dionysus Records back in 2006. Documenting the Winnipeg rock'n'roll scene from approximately 1997-2004, the CD compiles a whole mess of wild garage, punk, rockabilly and surf combos, all wailin' heedlessly away in a city chock fulla squares. Top local combos The Farrell Bros, The Horribles, Hot Live Guys, Squareheads, American Flamewhip, The Hestons, The Insaniacs and The Mohosimrots are all represented on here (all of 'em have been blabbed about in previous entries on this blog) along with some equally fine but lesser known bands. You can (and should) still order this CD direct from the Dionysus Records website. My cover art was meant to illustrate the degree of indifference these combos faced playing in a city that has pretty much abandoned its rock'n'roll heritage. It is also part of my ongoing series of Grumpy Old Men drawings. For a bonus, here's the poster I put together for the Winnipeg Riot! CD release party at the Royal Albert. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Terror Twins

Here are a couple of things I just put together for Tempo and the Terror Twins, a 4-piece Link Wray inspired instrumental combo outta Norway featuring ex-Basement Brats action hero Nils Tempo on rock'n'roll guitar. The color piece is a first for me; it's the "sleeve" for a download-only 3 song EP that will be available at Amazon and other legal music download sites. Another backward step into the future for your old pal King Merinuk. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Exotic Erotic Reverb

Stayin' south of the border for today's post, here's the cover for Exotic Erotic Reverb Volume 2, a cool compilation of surf, garage and rockabilly combos just out on Esquilo Records outta sunny Mexico. I did this art back in 2007 and it has taken a couple of years for the CD to hit the streets but it was worth the wait. Winnipeg's own surf rockin' Rockdoras are representing Canada on this album alongside lotsa wild and weird groups from Mexico, South America, Spain and wherever else rock'n'roll is still alive on this increasingly square planet. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

South American Teenage Garage Punk

This was the cover art for Volume 2 of the South American Teenage Garage Punk series of 7" compilations featuring new surf and garage combos from that part of the world. Spanish hipster label Butterfly Records put out these slabs of hot wax back in the early part of this century and they were compiled by my pal Pirulo of Rastrillo Records fame. I did the cover art for Volume 1 as well so look for that one to show up here eventually. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

The Uninvited

I made this sleeve for trashy Italian surf/garagesters The Uninvited back around 1996 or so. The 7" came out on the always suave Misty Lane label. Update Bonus: Just scanned the poster version below for Muleskinner zine outta Holland so I thought I'd throw it in here as well. Greg from The Fiends put this together back in the late '90s for a wicked show that also featured the mighty psycho rockin' Deadcats! Wish I coulda been there! Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Teen Scene

I drew the cover for this 4 song compilation 7"er featuring surf and garage combos from Ontario back in 1996. Released on hip Italian label Misty Lane Records, this is another of my old school hand separated color jobs. The tombstones feature tributes to a few great Ontario garage combos from the '60s (plus one from the '80s). Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Rock'N'Roll Nightmare

From back in 2005, here's the second of three posters I did for Winnipeg gigs by the legendary Rock Warrior of the 1980s, the incredible Thor. You can't beat this guy for amazing, over-the-top hard rock tunes and the best live show ever featuring a zillion costume changes and carny-style feats of strength, all spotlighting Thor's larger than life warrior rock-god persona. This poster was inspired by a scene from Thor's cinematic classic Rock'N'Roll Nightmare wherein our hero fearlessly engages in hand-to-hand combat with the evil forces of Hell itself! Also on the bill for this show were always hard rockin' local heroes The Squareheads and Winnipeg's best ever surf/Link Wray-inspired instro combo The Rockdoras. What a night. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Riot On The Dragstrip!

Here's my cover for issue #4 of cool Edmonton garage zine Dragstrip Riot! from back in 1996. The '90s surf revival was picking up speed at the time so I thought I would offer a depiction of Canadian surfin' culture for this cover. Editors Allan and Jeff asked me to contribute a comic strip to future issues of the mag so I conceptualized a serialized epic about the adventures of Tot McFarlane, the spoiled rotten ultra-rich preteen tyrant of the comic book and collectible toy industry, but sadly issue 4 was the finalé for DR and I never actually got a chance to draw any of the strips. Oh well. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Boss Instrumentals

Drew the sleeve for this 7" comp of obscuro '60s instrumental action way back in 1994 for the alien archivists of Earthling (un)popular culture over at Romulan Records. Dunno if they all came that way but all the copies I have seen are on nice sea-foam green wax. Tasty little record. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

Satan's Pilgrims

Here's an unpublished drawing that was intended to promote the release of the Soul Pilgrim LP by noted '90s surf revival combo Satan's Pilgrims. The original plan was for this to be printed as a die cut standup for display on record store counters. I'm not clear on what went wrong but that didn't happen and plan B, which was to use this as a T-shirt design, also went awry somewhere along the line. So this thing is making its grand debut right here and now, a mere 15 years out of time. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

The Surf Creature

Made this one way back in 1994 for those reverb-happy extraterrestrials over at Romulan Records. I really dig these trashy comps of obscure old 45s and was stoked to get to do this sleeve for an LP crammed full of great early '60s surfin' instrumentals. Drawing a Horror Of Party Beach inspired surf monster was a natural here but due to mental impairment caused by many childhood hours of teevee rerun ogling in the early '70s I decided to throw in a Gilligan's Island tribute as well. I wish I had done a better job on some of the caricatures (particularly that of the great Jim Backus, whom I regard as one of the greatest geniuses ever to walk among us mere and most meager mortals) but overall I think this one holds up okay. More weird stuff comin' soon. Stay tuned for MORE SURFIN' SWINGIN' AND SURFIN' ACTION!

I'm Bugged At My Old Man

Another computer cut'n'paste quickie, this strip was inspired by reading Steven Gaines' Heroes & Villains, The True Story Of The Beach Boys. I guess you'd have to know a bit about the Wilson brothers and their lovable dad to really get the joke. Anyway this one was published in Roctober #44. Stay tuned for MORE ACTION!

The Boss Martians

This Boss Martians 7" sleeve was done for Pure Vinyl Records outta Austria way back in 2001. It's one of the first drawings where I played around with computer graphic effects like the blurring on the Martian eyeball/heads. Actually this thing is kind of a weird mix of early '60s retro graphics and high-tech modern computer technology. The Boss Martians were just starting to move from their original early '60s surf/frat/drag style to their current '70s powerpop sound at this time so maybe it all ties together in some arcane way. Anyway, I believe 500 copies of this were pressed up, most or all of 'em on marbled blue vinyl. Dig around in your local wax mausoleum for 'em and... Stay tuned for MORE INTERPLANETARY ACTION!