The Grand Masters of Glam meet the New Youngbloods!

Every now and again a project comes down the line that overwhelms you with joy and excitement at the opportunity of working on something that is both near and dear to your heart. Music has always been one of the things that Iron Bulb is passionate about, whether it’s an already established act or an up-and-coming band that’s ready to cause a stir in the musical melting pot. This past year, the team at Iron Bulb had the opportunity to work on two fantastic projects: one for seminal glam rockers The New York Dolls, and the other for San Diego-based dance-punk band The Old In Out.

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When the NY Dolls project began, the team at Iron Bulb was challenged on two fronts. They needed to honor the band’s 40-year history, but also give them a raw emotion that would be relevant in today’s marketplace.

Although the Dancing Backward in High Heels album was recorded in England, the Iron Bulb team wanted to give the package a NYC-circa-1970’s feel. “Raw,” ”urban,” and ”pop” were some of the terms associated with that overall look.  The interior design was put together from photos taken in the studio during the recording of the album and treated like an Andy Warhol-esque cut-and-paste-photo-collage, which harkened back to the old punk DIY artwork of the 70’s and early 80’s. The interior design worked well as a contrast to the urban-brick-wall-flyer look of the front cover.

And with this, another successful challenge was well met by the team at Iron Bulb, giving a great-sounding record a design that both honored the legacy of The New York Dolls’ past and brought them into the present day with a modern, fresh feel.

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San Diego-based band The Old In Out has been ripping up the local scene over the past few years, kicking out jams that give you a guitar “punch in the gut,” backed by driving beats that you can’t help but dance to. When the band presented their Dance Loud album to the Iron Bulb design team, they asked for a look and feel that evoked a 60’s mod/R&B esthetic, but mixed with something that you would find in a 70’s garage punk record bin selection. A photo of lead singer Mike Turi’s dancing feet was presented for the cover, and the IB team went to work mixing all those references into one great album design.

Taking a cue from the old Reed Miles/Blue Note Record Label cover designs of the 60’s and merging them with a 70’s MC5/Stooges feel made for a great pairing on the cover design.  The Iron Bulb team was so excited by the project that they went above and beyond, designing a whole slew of covers for the band to choose from. After making the final choice for the cover, the band and IB were so impressed with Turi’s artistic abilities and illustration background that they encouraged him to add something else to the album. He went on to create a character illustration of a bank robber that eventually went on the vinyl label. This character was created in accordance with the band’s concept of a 1950’s Chicago bank robbery that played into much of the albums lyrical content.

In the end, the final design evoked the rip-roaring, dancehall esthetic that the band carries into its live performances, thus making another successful assignment for the team at Iron Bulb.