Soundgarden (week 10)

Soundgarden (week 10), originally uploaded by bMethe.

Soundgarden is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by lead singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto. Matt Cameron became the band's permanent drummer in 1986 while bassist Ben Shepherd became a permanent replacement for Yamamoto in 1990.

Soundgarden was one of the seminal bands in the creation of grunge, a style of alternative rock that developed in Seattle, and was one of a number of grunge bands signed to the record label Sub Pop. Soundgarden was the first grunge band to sign to a major label (A&M Records, in 1988), though the band did not achieve commercial success until Seattle contemporaries Nirvana and Pearl Jam popularized "grunge" in the early 1990s.

I started this portrait when I heard the band was reuniting at the beginning of the year. One of my favorite bands of my youth. I can't wait to see them live again.

Jermaine Rogers (week 9)

Jermaine Rogers (week 9), originally uploaded by bMethe.

Gigposter and fine artist Jermaine Rogers. I have always been a big fan of Jermaine's work and have many of his posters in my collection. His work has been a big influence on me over the years. Thanks, Jermaine.

Hunter S. Thompson (week 8)

Hunter Stockton Thompson (July 18, 1937 – February 20, 2005) was an American journalist and author, most famous for his roman à clef Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. He is credited as the creator of Gonzo journalism, a style of reporting where reporters involve themselves in the action to such a degree that they become central figures of their stories. He is also known for his use of psychedelics, alcohol, firearms, and his iconoclastic contempt for authoritarianism.

Hunter was suggested by a friend on Facebook.  The antlers are odd I admit, but they are there for a reason.

Jack White (week 7)

Jack White (born John Anthony Gillis; July 9, 1975), often credited as Jack White III, is an American musician, record producer, and occasional actor, best known as the guitarist, pianist, and lead vocalist for The White Stripes.

During the 1990s, White was a part-time musician in various underground bands in Detroit, while working by day as an upholsterer. White formed The White Stripes in 1997 with Meg White, who would later become his wife and whose name he would take. The band went on to have a string of critically acclaimed albums, with their third, White Blood Cells, catapulting them to international stardom. He was ranked #17 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time". White's popular and critical success with The White Stripes enabled him to collaborate as a solo artist with other renowned musicians, such as Beck, The Rolling Stones, Jeff Beck, Alicia Keys, Bob Dylan and Loretta Lynn, whose 2004 album Van Lear Rose he produced and performed on. In 2005, White became a founding member of the rock band The Raconteurs. In 2009, he became a founding member of his third group, The Dead Weather.

I am a big fan of Jack White and pretty much everything he does.  Each project is all quality music.  I would love to do a poster for one of his bands, but that is pretty difficult.  This is the next best thing.

Howard Zinn (week 6)

Howard Zinn (August 24, 1922 – January 27, 2010) was an American historian, author, activist, playwright, intellectual and Professor of Political Science at Boston University from 1964 to 1988. He wrote more than 20 books, which included his best-selling and influential A People's History of the United States. Zinn also wrote extensively about the civil rights, civil liberties and anti-war movements. His memoir, "You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train," became the title of a 2004 documentary about Zinn's life and work.

I became aware of Howard Zinn through Pearl Jam and was sad to hear about his passing.

J.D. Salinger (week 5)

Jerome David Salinger January 1, 1919 – January 27, 2010) was an American author, best known for his 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye, as well as his reclusive nature. His last original published work was in 1965; he gave his last interview in 1980. Raised in Manhattan, Salinger began writing short stories while in secondary school, and published several stories in the early 1940s before serving in World War II. In 1948 he published the critically acclaimed story "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" in The New Yorker magazine, which became home to much of his subsequent work. In 1951 Salinger released his novel The Catcher in the Rye, an immediate popular success. His depiction of adolescent alienation and loss of innocence in the protagonist Holden Caulfield was influential, especially among adolescent readers. The novel remains widely read and controversial, selling around 250,000 copies a year.

The success of The Catcher in the Rye led to public attention and scrutiny: Salinger became reclusive, publishing new work less frequently. He followed Catcher with a short story collection, Nine Stories (1953), a collection of a novella and a short story, Franny and Zooey (1961), and a collection of two novellas, Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction (1963). His last published work, a novella entitled "Hapworth 16, 1924", appeared in The New Yorker on June 19, 1965.

Salinger died of natural causes on January 27, 2010, at his home in Cornish, New Hampshire.

I have always been a big fan of Salinger and respected his desire to stay out of the public eye.

Che O'Brien (week 4)

Portrait in honor of the end of Conan O'Brien's run on The Tonight Show done in the style of the classic image of Che Guevara.  I thought Conan really got the shaft from NBC and thought this defiant looking face was very uncharacteristic for Conan and it reminded me of the Che portrait.  Also, the pompador mimics Che's hat quite well.