The Black Axe Blog

Oakland Bus Fight YouTube and Crispy Tee

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 17:07 -0500

Every once in a while there's a video that comes along that captures the worlds attention and imagination. This week, that video HAS to be the infamous Oakland Bus Fight Video. If you havent checked it out yet, please do, it will be necessary for you to know it inside and out as not to embarrass yourself inside of various social circles in the coming weeks. It does contain a bit of violence for you squeemish types.

Ok now that you've taken all that in, behold the glory of our brand new Crispy Tee. That's right, now you too can sport the shirt of your favorite bus vigilante, Tom Slick. We guarantee that this design packs so much punch, you're gonna need to call an "amberlance"

Fanny Pack not included

I Am Serious, and Don't Call Me "Shirley"

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 02:15 -0500

My good friends at Dead, Serious! over in waffle land, better known as Belgium, are releasing a brand new batch of quality tees. I had the privilege once again to contribute to their ever growing brand.

Im really happy with this piece because this time around I got to revisit one of my favorite creatures on the planet, piranhas! Why are they so rad? Well, take away the fact that they are a flesh eating fish...just look at those faces! They are cute, ugly, AND lethal all at the same time! They are way fun to draw too and even more fun to color.

Check out all the new DS! releases at http://deadseriousclothing.bigcartel.com

AHHHHHHH so awesome!

BANDJOB.COM IS GO!

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 10:51 -0500

The middle of last week we quietly launched the newest special project of The Black Axe called BandJob! Its an online community and showcase for works generated specifically for the music industry. The content ranges from tee shirts to album covers to tour backdrops to websites to anything else you can think of thats related to bands. We hope it ends up becoming a great resource for artists that work in the genre as well as a fun place for people to come hang and check out some of the best artwork in the biz.

Since we've launched we've already had some pretty heavy hitters come by and show off some of their amazing work and are only anticipating the numbers of incredible participating artists to grow.

Anyway, enough hype, go check it out for yourselves at http://www.bandjob.com and introduce yourselves in the forum.

HORSEBITES has a new store!

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 12:09 -0500

I've teamed up with Merchline to grab the balls by the bull, or is it the horns of the bear shitting in the woods? Anyways, I have new items up in the store and now the gears will be running smoother and faster than ever. Gimmie some grease.

I'm especially happy about the new products. I've been waiting to release the "City Beautiful" Print for a while now and my "Eye Blossoms" shirt turned out way better than I could of ever imagined. It's printed on American Apparel Coffee colored Tri Blend, in other words it's soft as Teddy Ruxbins underside (not where the batteries go in).

CLICK HERE! to visit the store

Submit & Remix

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 14:22 -0500

Submit & Remix has finally launched! Created by the brilliant Dan Mumford and co. Here is how it works. "The way it works is we ask each of our two designers each series to create an image based around a theme, we then take those two designs and ask the artists to remix each others designs in their own style, giving us 4 unique designs."

I'm so excited that I was asked to participate for the launch of this new project, especially to be teamed up with Keaton Henson. Check out our shirts and pick some up HERE!

SUBMIT & REMIX

It's official, I'm moving to Japan...

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 10:17 -0500

…because they are the nicest people ever!

I recently did a shirt design for Astoria without ever realizing how amazing these people are. I posted another blog a little while ago of the pics they sent me wearing the shirts I did for them and for other bands too.

Well I just got a thank you package from them and was blown away!

First off they sent me the shirt which is such a nice thing to do (clients take note). Second they sent me extra goodies. All they would of had to do is send me a burrito and my life would of been complete.

Check out what was in the package (excuse the poor quality of the pics):

The shirt

Then I opened a red envelope that was so neatly folded and had a “Tenugui” which is a traditional towel in Japan. This is getting hung up on my wall.

The rest of the package was insane!! Their latest CD “The Cries of a Canary” which the art was done by the mighty Mitch O’Connell. Great choice of artist to use for an album cover. Amazing colors.

They also sent stickers, photos of themselves wearing my designs from other bands as well as the one I did for them. The kicker was the thank you card. I mean come on, how sweet is that?!?

Check them out at http://www.myspace.com/astoriaiagainsti Such amazing new friends!

2 NEW AXE Posters

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 12:30 -0500

We’ve got 2 new posters all up in the store. Both 18x24 and Both screen-printed.

The first is entitled, “Skull with Whispers”. Its a 4 color print on Black heavy stock paper, and is an edition of 50.

The second is a 5 color print, made especially for The Fest 8 in Gainesville. This was also an edition of 50 but there’s ONLY 7 LEFT! YIKES!

They are both pretty limited, so act quick fools!

CLICK HERE TO GET IN ON THIS POSTER AXE-SHUN

In These Hard Times

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 13:39 -0500

..bands still pay us to design their merch! I recently did an Anti-Flag admat for their upcoming appropriately titled tour “The Economy Sucks, Let’s Party”. Check it out.

I actually love it when bands ask me to make a shirt design with the same aesthetics as the admat. It makes the visual impact of the tour more cohesive for the audience.

Paramore - Brick By Boring Brick

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:00 -0500

I just recently had the opportunity to do a design for the pop phenomenon known as Paramore. I was particularly inspired by this one because the brief was very involved and specific but still left a lot of opportunities for me to play around a bit and to inject my own style. The directive was for the shirt to fall in line with the release of Paramore’s new single, Brick By Boring Brick. The song is basically a coming of age story about a young girl’s fantasy world crumbling as she realizes the harshness of the real world. The band had a very elaborate concept for the video which i was able to see the treatment for, so i was able to resource the building blocks of that vision and create my own interpretation for the tee.

Im really excited about how connected the two different pieces ended up being without actually seeing the video ahead of time. It was also fun to use a larger palette this go around. Im usually limited to a handful of colors which is a situation I actually thrive in, but this piece pulled me out of my comfort zone a little bit and pushed me in a different direction, which rules. I was starting to get a little complacent with my work. So thanks Paramore and FBR for the recharge. The shirt will be available soon in Hot Topic stores everywhere. Here’s some stills from the video.

You can check out the whole video for Brick By Boring Brick HERE

New Axe Product: THE BLACK AXE WALLET!

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:00 -0500

Lately, We’ve been hard at work on bringing new and exciting products to our official Axe Store. Now we’re happy to be able to show you our first in hopefully a long list of products that fit that criteria. Ladies and Gentlemen…The Black Axe wallet!!!

These slim 2 pocket wallets feature an embossed Black Axe logo on the front, embossed crocodile texture on the reverse, and purple contrast stitching. These are handmade in the USA and will last you a lifetime. Did I mention they smell like rich people?

Crank up your axxitude and snag one of these today before they are gooooooooooooone!

http://theblackaxe.bigcartel.com

The Black Dahlia Axe Murder caps by New Era

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 17:48 -0500

A couple months ago we were approached by The Black Dahlia Murder to design a fitted cap for them to be produced by New Era. Of course we were into it and the final result is a sophisticated yet gangster little jam. Mega-oversized chunky embroidered front logo, freaky robe freak rear embroidery, and Dahlia blossom print under the brim.

These are selling like crazy so if you want to grab one do it fast. The Black Dahlia Murder: Store

Paint The Stars Fall/Winter Line

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:36 -0500

Our friends across the pond over at Paint The Stars just launched their fall/winter line. We did quite a few designs for the release and are pumped on how everything came out. PTS have been loyal clients of ours even before The Axe so we wish them the best of luck. In fact we may or may not be working on their next line now shhhhhhhhh! Peep what we contributed below and check the entire range at http://www.paintthestars.co.uk

Do You Feel Lucky?

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:23 -0500

Pyknic clothing just launched their fall line which includes a piece i did inspired by a Chinese lucky cat. It comes on red and yellow. The yellow ones come with a custom printed chinese food box, but you have to act fast because they’re limited edition. Check it and the rest of the line out at http://www.pyknicwear.com

New Axe Project: GROSS OUT!

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:19 -0500

Yesterday we launched our new side project appropriately titled Gross Out! We’ve been working on it for the last few weeks and have been pulling out all the stops to have it ready by Halloween. I cant believe we actually made it! Here’s a description of the application from the site…

Gross Out is the ultimate tool in barf enducing photo enhancement. We’ve all drawn a mustache or an eyepatch on a photo before for a giggle. Well, Gross Out takes that concept, multiplies it times INFINITY, and covers it in eyeballs, zits, slime and tons other gross crap that we’ve compiled for your amusement. Upload a photo to see what we mean…

That’s the basic idea. It’s generally all about taking photos of yourself, your friends, family, and family pets and making them look ridiculous with our stockade of gross and hilarious illustrations. Here’s a shot of the UI and some examples of what people are doing…

Evidence that Gross Out is fun for the whole family. Its almost christmas card season you guys!

Ive never been so repulsed and turned on at the same time

This is the ultimate party gross out! I want to hang out with that bottle of jack so bad, i bet he whistles when he talks

I always had the feeling Bob Ross was a giant perv. Im glad he’s not around anymore to feel the backlash on this one.

You get idea, and those are just the tip of the iceberg. Some of the ones people have been doing are absolutely blowing my mind and making me wet my pants simultaneously. We’re thrilled that people are having so much fun with it already. Mike from Always Thinking, a UK based art and culture blog, had this to say about it…

Once in a while there is a new thing that comes along and changes how we use the internet. A new web app that completely pisses over everything else, and laughs in the face of others that stand against it. Today we have found such genius with GROSS OUT.

Wow! Thanks Mike! That reminds us to add a ‘piss stream’ illustration to site, amongst some other gnarly objects that we are already brainstorming on. We hope this is just the beginning of what we can do with Gross Out!

Make sure you enter our ongoing contest when you visit the site. We’re going to be giving away FREE Crispy Tees and Axe gear a lot this first week and consistently as time goes on for the most original, creative, and just plain funny concoctions using the Gross Out application. So head over there now and GetGrossedOut.com !

Trash Talk Thursday

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 23:51 -0500

Fresh out of The Axe Oven™ comes Trash Talk Thursday! Now you have an excuse to tell your friends that they smell or that maybe they could chew their food a little bit more slowly. Tag your trash talking tweets with #trashtalkthursday and then check out the site to see what everyone else has to say. THURSDAY WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN.

Make sure you check it out at http://www.trashtalkthursday.com

Masking and Transparency in Illustrator

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 09:16 -0500

I came up with this tutorial as i was doing some reworks on merch for The Flatliners. I needed to quickly crop a portion of the text I was changing on the fly so i ended up using a transparency mask instead of pathfinder tools. It saved me a lot of time and it also reminded me of how big of a revelation it was when i learned how to use them a while back. I had always assumed that alpha channels were a luxury of working in raster editing software only. Turns out i was wrong. There are absolutely in Illustrator too and can be an invaluable tool.

This is just a brief overview of how they work, hopefully it makes sense. If you want to see more about this possibly doing some other effects or just need some clarification, hit me up in the comments. Sorry in advance for the shaky cursor and stuttering too, i think i had two huge cups of coffee at the time of filming.

PlayList:
Dillinger Four - A PYRE LAID FOR IMAGE AND FRAME
Mariachi El Bronx - Slave Labor
The Flatliners - July! August! Reno!

Monthly Review: July

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 00:00 -0500

Ok ok, this is way late, like almost ridiculously so, but that’s only because we’ve been working at full capacity trying to churn out the absolute best work we can. Thanks for checking back and bugging us to keep posting these reviews. It shows us you really give a crap! So enough of the excuses, here’s The Black Axe July 09 review!

Boys Like Girls - Merch
We cranked a ton of merch for these “love drunk” pop pushers. You can snag some of these designs straight off the band on their tour with Cobra Starship or from their Go Merch store here!
Sir Mix A Lot - Baby Got Back
We love big butts and we can not lie. Mix’s people got in touch with us about doing a cartoony big butts design as a hot topic exclusive, and we couldnt be more stoked to oblige. You can pick it up on the HT web store.
Robert Volkerts Photography - Merch
I bet you didnt know zombies were notorious shutter bugs. Well its true, and we’ve illustrated that fact in typical tee shirt fashion. You can check out Robert’s work on his website, appropriately nameswww.RobertVolkerts.com.
Eratose Apparel - Merch
Just because we wield a mighty axe doesnt mean we are incapable of exploring our sensitive sides. Eratose felt the love with this fun romantic dinosaur piece. You can check out the rest of the line on their myspace.
The Swellers - Merch
After just signing to Fueled By Ramen, The Swellers were on the hunt for some merch for their new online store. Short story, shorter, we made some! FBR is revamping their store, but check back in September, here.
Black Anvil - Merch
This thrash-tastic piece was designed for NYC black metal act, Black Anvil. I heard Richard actually held a seance around a pentagram made of nachos to get into the right mindset. Check the band on their myspace.
Viace Fashion - Merch
This month the dudes from Viace Fashion came back for more, this time they wanted some zombie bowl-o-rama. If you can’t find the fun in this then “you’re out of your element, Donny”. Coming soon.
The Appreciation Post - Merch
Boston power-pop band, The Appreciation Post, wanted to pay homage to their hometown with a gnarly lobster busting out of a trap. They may be the cockroaches of the sea, but that didnt keep me from getting super hungry doing the research for this beast. mmmmmmm. Check the band out on their myspace
Shook Ones - Merch
“We don’t need no stinking badgers !!” Well, Seattle punkers, Shook Ones, begged to differ, so a badger they got! Check out their latest album, The Unquotable A.M.H, from Paper + Plastick now! Seriously, it rules!
No Friends - LP and Merch
DC hardcore worshipers and revivalists, No Friends, just finished their debut on No Idea Records and of course we did the artwork. No Friends is 3 parts ex New Mexican Disaster Squad and 1 part Tony Foresta of Municipal Waste. You can preorder their slaying LP with a shirt and slipmat now at No Idea Records. DO IT!
The Fest 8 - Website, Myspace, Banners
It’s that time of year again for everyone’s favorite party weekend. Of course I’m talking about the annual Fest held in Gainesville, Fl. We did the website once again, along with the myspace, web banners, logo, print ads, and basically any other promotional stuff for the show. You start checking out all the bands now and planning your trip to Fest 8 at the site, www.TheFestfl.com
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Website
Sometimes when we have to explain to people what it is that we actually do, we’re often met with blank stares. Let’s face it, most people have never heard of any of the bands we’ve worked for. It doesnt get much bigger than southern rockers, Lynard Skynard though. So thanks for the opportunity guys, you’ve made our mothers proud. See it live, here

Of course, as always, there’s a ton of things already out there or in the works that we cant show just yet. I think we’re officially 6 months old as a company now and we’re all stoked to be doing as well as we are. The future looks bright! Thanks again everyone for reading this and your support.

CrispyTees.com Is Here!

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 08:27 -0500

Oh wow, so stoked to actually show you guys this and get to talk about it finally. This has been in the works for a couple months, but we didn’t want to say anything until we got everything done right.

Crispy Tees is humor tee brand that is the brainchild of the 5 dudes that make up The Black Axe. I know what you’re thinking “oh god not another one”, but we really feel these shirts are great. We spend a lot of our time talking shit and coming up with stupid ideas, but we have never had an outlet for this stuff. So we decided to make a brand out of it.

Our goal was to make shirts we would actually wear and i think we accomplished that. We have a ton of other ideas on deck and we will be coming out with new stuff all the time so if you’re into these keep checking it out.

If any of you guys have free time and want to help us get the word out tell a friend, twitter this junk, blog about it, or just tell us what you think, that would be radical.

wow.

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 21:28 -0500

every once in a while a video will come along that changes your whole perspective on shit. just happened.

SUPPORT GIGPOSTERS.COM!

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 08:07 -0500

Here at The Axe, there’s one thing besides the burrito that we share an undying respect and love for, and that is the gigposter. So when I heard that Gigposters.com was rallying support to pay for their servers, i started typing this blog immediately. The first gigposter I ever remember seeing was a Kozik, Pennywise poster that my friend Margaret had framed over her parent’s pool table. It in all seriousness changed my life. I recall being mesmerized by the colors and boldness of the imagery. Of course it said Pennywise on it too, so I immediately thought it ruled. I had always really appreciated album artwork, but i was used to getting it in a 5” x 5” square and any flyers i ever saw were photocopied a thousand times and rained on, stapled to a telephone poll. This was different. It was big and loud and had type all over it and it was basically grabbing you by the face and saying “look, fucker!”. I loved that. And it had a band who i loved plastered across the top, which in my opinion was the best thing ever.

Later on, trying to research more about this subversive art form is when I stumbled onto Gigposters.com, and ive been hooked ever since. The Kozik print cracked the door, but GP kicked it wide open. Its the most comprehensive archive of the rock poster art you’ll ever find. I’m talking thousands of works from underground artists that will melt your face clean off. I started collecting and covering my walls immediately with some of my favorite artists and bands. Eventually the inspiration that i got from GP and the whole poster scene as a whole that got me into making work for bands myself. I started with flyers for my own and friend’s bands and then that became tee shirts and albums and blah blah blah, you get the idea. Its a similiar story that a lot artists in this field can tell you about how they got their start.

Im digressing like a mo fo though, the whole point of this was to rally support for Gigposters.com. Clay needs help paying for the servers and there’s a few different ways to do that….

There’s a ton of great GP merch available on the site including artist series playing cards, a coloring book, the GP calendar, tee shirts and more. Then of course there’s the Gigposters Book which is 208 pages of the best posters you’ve ever seen, 101 of which are perforated and ready to hang.

Lastly, If you havent already, id strongly suggest going premium over there too. You’ll get access to some great tutorials and exclusive offers to Premium members by some of the best artists in the business.

CLICK HERE FOR THE GP MERCH STORE