Grey Haas

New Blog

2010-05-18T17:49:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone. My blog has a new home on Tumblr. Follow me!

2010

2010-01-06T15:48:00.000-08:00

New year, new blog and site design. Happy 2010!

Christmas 2009 Mix

2009-12-21T08:57:00.000-08:00

I updated my Christmas mix from 2 years ago by taking most of the overly silly songs off and trying to make it a solid mix. I didn't think I'd have time to do artwork but I squeezed it in.

Download it here!

Pop Psych Pot Luck

2009-12-06T17:46:00.001-08:00

I just finished this flier for Neil. Come to this next Sunday!

The Modern Life

2009-11-08T17:47:00.001-08:00

I started a new project. You can read about it in the "About" section on the page. Click the logo.

Vintage Finds

2009-11-02T14:36:00.001-08:00

More recent vintage thrift store finds:

Vintage globe, 1940s I think.

Paint by Number

Globe Posters

2009-10-04T16:56:00.000-07:00

Today, Claire and I went to the Fells Point Festival. Globe Posters had a booth where they were selling reproductions of their old posters for only $10! I bought these two, which are HUGE:

Updates

2009-09-23T22:00:00.000-07:00

I've updated the Ovis Paper section of my website and added two new projects, Kraft Magazine and Gig Art Book, all with cool flip book feature from issuu.com Check it out!

All Done!

2009-09-17T15:16:00.000-07:00

The vinyl CDs arrived in the mail today meaning my Halloween CDs are ready to go! Just let me know if you want a copy.

TRACKLIST:

01. Official Warning - Bloodfeast (1963)
02. The Spook - The Tomko's (1963)
03. El Monsturo - Los Shains (1965)
04. The Headless Horseman - Kay Starr (1949)
05. Surfin' Dock Side - The Deadly Ones (1964)
06. Nosferatu - The Coral (2003)
07. Watusi Zombie - Jan Davis (1962?)
08. Radio Spot - Monsters Crash The Pajama Party (1965)
09. Sleepy Hollow - The Last Word (1966)
10. High Wall - The Wailers (1959)
11. Dementia 13 - The Gruesomes (1986)
12. Stalkin' - Duane Eddy (1958)
13. Thunder Cloud - Al Casey (1963)
14. Radio Spot - I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957)
15. The Salem Witch Trial - Kiriae Crucible (1968)
16. One Pine Box - The Royal Flairs (1966)
17. The Devil Dance - The Devils (196?)
18. Strollin' After Dark - The Shades (1959)
19. The Skeleton in the Closet - Louis Armstrong (1924)
20. Night of the Bomboras - The Bomboras (1998)
21. Surfin' Dead - The Cramps (1983)
22. Zoologico Negro - Orquesta Aragon (196?)
23. Undertaker's Theme - Dr. T and the Undertakers (1966?)
24. The Monster - Evans Carroll (195?)
25. Haunted House of Rock '95 - Satan's Pilgrims (1995)

Halloween is Almost Here!

2009-09-11T10:30:00.000-07:00

Halloween is my favorite time of the year. In 2003 I started compiling mix CDs of spooky, usually corny Halloween music. I really love collecting this music and continued to make mixes for the next three years. After that, I started to run out of songs. Now after three years of digging and searching I have enough songs for another mix, and it's definitely a good one! Last night I finished the front cover, printed on kraft paper.

Edit: I finished the back cover today:

Let me know if you want a copy!

Buy Me These:

2009-09-07T21:28:00.000-07:00

If you happen to have a spare $700 lying around, I would like these things:

Both from Flight Jacket.

Milwaukee Painting

2009-08-27T13:22:00.000-07:00

My grandpa did this painting in 1973. I always loved it. It was hanging in my great grandma's house forever. She just moved so I asked if I could have it. Just arrived in the mail today.

New Website

2009-07-20T17:42:00.001-07:00

My old website was too hard to maintain and update so I decided to let someone else worry about figuring all that out for me and built my new site with indexhibit. Check it out!

Buy My Work!

2009-07-10T14:16:00.001-07:00

My recent prints are now for sale on my Etsy! Go check it out!

Yearbook Screen Print

2009-07-09T19:08:00.000-07:00

I finished this screen print in my class today, an homage to the middle school yearbook:

Wisconsin Print

2009-07-08T13:43:00.000-07:00

Newest screen print: 1 color. 15"x19" Edition of 28. 14 on blue paper, 14 on green paper. Now available to buy on my Etsy!

Screenprinting

2009-07-04T11:32:00.000-07:00

Right now I am in MICAs summer screenprinting class. I really am liking it and have done 2 prints so far:

"Stocton Islander"

4 colors. 14" x 17" Edition of 10. There is a gloss varnish over the black which did not photograph well.

"Witco Ducks"

5 colors. 6.5" x 27.5" Edition of 9.

More to come...

Lately

2009-05-23T08:16:00.000-07:00

Haven't updated in a while because I've been busy...

Graduating:

Moving:

Biking:

Oh and taking photos on my new laptop I guess. This summer will rule.

School's Out Forever!

2009-05-10T13:09:00.000-07:00

Well. That's it. College is done. I'm taking screenprinting this summer and am pretty excited for that. My senior show is going up this week and will be done by the weekend. The opening is Sunday afternoon. I'll have all my screenprinted posters on display that I've been working on. Here's the last design I did. The actual posters look a little different but are pretty close.

Bob Log III

2009-04-22T15:24:00.000-07:00

Latest in my concert poster series. Bob Log III is an awesome one man country blues punk band. He always wears a motorcycle helmet with the shield down that has a telephone attached to the front to amplify his voice. He plays guitar with his hands and drums with his feet! If you're in Baltimore on May 19 I highly recommend checking this guy out...I'll be there!

Karlheinz Weinberger

2009-04-19T12:04:00.000-07:00

I stumbled across this book in the library the other day of Swiss photographer Karlheinz Weinberger. He documented the "young rebel" scene there in the 1950s and 60s as Swiss kids were adopting the American rock n roll look and lifestyle.

The book is so cool so I went on eBay to try and score a copy but there were about five copies ranging from around $800-$1,000. Hopefully some day...

Jim Flora

2009-04-15T09:24:00.000-07:00

Today I checked out a Jim Flora book from the library. I feel like he is kind of overlooked by a lot of people today. Maybe I'm wrong. I hope so because his illustrations are so unique groundbreaking.

He did a lot of jazz album covers and other promo materials for record companies and illustrated childrens books in the 1940s and 50s, pioneering this style of illustration. I really want to buy some books on him because I could look at these things all day.

More here and here.

Tool Packaging

2009-04-14T13:39:00.000-07:00

Latest package for my Packaging Design class. The assignment was to package a power tool. I chose a Black & Decker pivot driver. The battery charger slips into the front of the package when it's opened.

Least Wanted

2009-04-07T20:50:00.000-07:00

I pulled out my copy of Least Wanted again tonight. For those who don't know, it's a book of mugshots spanning from the 1800s through the 1970s. However, instead of celebrity or gangster mugshots, it focus' on everyday people which makes it so much more interesting. It is a really cool glimpse into the times the photos were taken. The photos somehow transcend from, as the book puts it, having a utilitarian function to being pieces of art. The book is also beautifully designed.

The guy that put it together and collects the mugshots also has a flickr that a lot of them are on:

Kills Poster

2009-04-06T12:23:00.000-07:00

Poster for the Kills/Horrors show at the 9:30 Club in DC. The poster can be hung either way, demonstrating the dual nature of the band.

King Khan and the Shrines Poster

2009-04-01T13:56:00.001-07:00

I just finished designing this poster for the upcoming show at the 9:30 Club in DC. Some minor color adjustments may happen. It will soon be screen printed.

GD Apocalypse

2009-03-30T23:29:00.001-07:00

I drew this last night as a logo for the MICA graphic design senior show. It won't be used but I still like it.

Just for Fun

2009-03-30T22:59:00.000-07:00

Recently digitized doodle from my sketchbook. I thought about using it for my website but it was a little too over the top.

Website Pt. 2

2009-03-22T16:06:00.000-07:00

It's up. www.greyhaas.com

Website

2009-03-16T00:10:00.000-07:00

After pages and pages of options, layouts and frustration, I finally got to a design I like for my portfolio website. Soon to be GreyHaas.com Let the coding begin...

The Remains

2009-03-15T15:57:00.000-07:00

I recently got my new Sundazed 2-LP reissue of the first Remains album in mono. I had pretty high expectations because Sundazed usually puts out pretty high quality stuff but when I got it I was blown away. It is so much nicer than I ever expected. The whole thing is printed on really nice matte paper, and is very nicely designed. The back is a plain black and white photo of the band with hardly any type and the inner gatefold is also designed really well with a bunch of photos I've never seen before.

As for the music, I was equally suprised. Before this all I had was the old "Barry & The Remains" CD which had all these songs, but in a different order and were the stereo versions. Hearing the songs in the original order was nice. It really plays as a pretty solid album. The mono versions sound so much better than all the other versions I've heard, probably because the band was directly envolved with the mix. And it has an instrumental track recorded in '66 that has never been released anywhere before! This is well worth the $25 you'll pay for it.

60s Lettering Rules

2009-03-09T20:13:00.000-07:00

I stumbled across this on Flickr. It's from an old record player. I wish I owned more things like this. I love the lettering style and the colors/materials. The color schemes they used in early 60s appliances, radios, and other electronics were so cool.

UPDATE: a few weeks ago at Village Thrift they had a mint condition blender from the 60s in this awesome puke green color. I didn't buy it and I really regret it. That's all.

Wine Carrier

2009-03-03T12:25:00.000-08:00

This is the first project for my package design class. We had to create a carrying case for 4 bottles of wine using only corrugated cardboard. We also had to brand the wine and create the labels. The most satisfying part is that it actually works...4 full bottles of wine is pretty heavy!

Soul Mix

2009-02-25T23:45:00.000-08:00

I've been compiling this mix since summer and I think it's finally done. Just finished up the artwork today and I'm pretty pleased. Maybe I'll go all out and design a label for the CD. (click picture for better detail)

Love it

2009-02-22T22:03:00.001-08:00

Box Of Random Crap

2009-02-13T17:11:00.000-08:00

This was the final project for my DIY class. We had to make a cigar box and could basically fill it with anything we wanted and package it. I asked myself what do I keep in cigar sized boxes? Basically a bunch of random crap that I don't know why I'm saving. Take the hard work out of collecting pointless objects and just buy this.

DEVO promotes Laserdiscs!

2009-02-13T12:23:00.000-08:00

I've been watching a bunch of DEVO videos on youtube lately and this is the best one I've come across yet:

Also got to love Ray Charles promoting video equipment...?

Uhm...yes.

2009-02-09T09:44:00.001-08:00

25 Albums That Inspired Me

2009-01-20T20:46:00.000-08:00

This is a quick list I came up with of 25 albums that really have inspired me or changed the way I look at music over the years. It's not any kind of end all be all top 25 list for me, just off the top of my head. Here it is, just chronologically by time period.

1. Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie - Bird & Diz

From 1951, this is the album that really got me into jazz. Be-Bop at its best. Still looking for an original copy on vinyl. Be-Bop jazz has always been my favorite and this one just takes the cake.

2. Gene Vincent & The Blue Caps - The Screaming End (Best Of)

When I was first getting into rockabilly this was my favorite. The guitar playing on these early recordings is just phenomenal. Race With The Devil blew my mind back then and still does. Gene Vincent was just so cool. His voice, attitude, and image must have been completely wild at the time.

3. Link Wray - Rumble (Best Of)

It really dosn't get much cooler than Link Wray. One of the most underrated/overlooked guitar players of all time. He popularized (some claim he invented?) playing entire songs using only power chords and was one of the first guitarists to intentionally distort his guitar and give it a fuzz effect by puncturing holes in his amp speakers. His instrumentals are very primitive, but also so wild for when they came out. His first single, Rumble, was banned when it was released in 1958 due to its connotations to gang violence. Pretty cool for just an instrumental.

4. Nuggets (Box Set)

This one really inspired me. 4 discs of mid 60s garage punk and psychedelic rock. Not many of the bands here were big hits. A lot were just one hit wonders. What I found so cool about this stuff is the genres of punk and psychedelic can be traced back to this music. Neither of those genre's were what we think they are today. These groups were wild for their time. The 1950s started rockabilly and rock & roll, but in the mid 60s is when it really started to progress. The invention of new equipment like fuzz, the wah-wah pedal (though not much if any of that on here), phasing and other studio techniques were all new to the ears of, well, everyone. That combined with the popularization of drugs led to many creative new discoveries and experimenting with music. This box set led me to purchase full albums of maybe half of the artists on it. Instead of listing all those albums, I'm just including them all in this box set...except:

5. The Sonics - !!!Here Are The Sonics!!!

This album really changed my life. Listen to most popular music coming out in early 1965 and then listen to this bad boy (The Witch, the hardest song on the album, came out as a single in '64!) In 1965 it must have sounded like your speakers were about to explode when this came on. I might argue that Punk rock can all be traced back to this album. It was as wild as it got considering the time period.

6. The Velvet Underground & Nico

Honestly, it took me a while to come around on this one. Once I really listened to it though I realized how cool it was. Songs about meeting your drug dealer, heroin, and bondage weren't exactly typical in 1967, nor were the droning psychedelic viola sounds in Venus in Furs or the noice chaos of European Son. The Velvet Underground were street punk anti-hippies. They wrote songs about what affected them and didn't care if people didn't like/get it.

7. The Beatles, Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band

My first introduction to psychedelic rock. I didn't really get exactly why it was so cool or groundbreaking when I first started listening to it in middle school, but who cares. I don't really know what to say about it. It's obviously just great. No one had put out an album like this at the time. Rock and roll was never the same after it.

8. The Grateful Dead

First things first. Fuck deadheads and the dumb dancing bear and skull logos. I don't know how that all came about, but this album was before all that. The band denies that this is an accurate representation of what they sounded like at the time, but I beg to differ after hearing bootlegs from this time period. The sound of the band hadn't developed into what people associate with the Grateful Dead, but I prefer this early sound. It draws from country, jug bands, blues, and improvositional jazz. The organ driving psychedelic garage rock wouldn't sound at all out of place on the Nuggets box set. Also some great guitar work, especially on Viola Lee Blues.

9. Blue Cheer - Vincebus Eruptum

No one knows or can agree upon where heavy metal as a genre began, but this is probably a good guess. Favorites of the Hells Angels, these guys were pretty damn heavy for 1968. Start to finish this album never lets up and basically kicks your ass the entire time. The first time I listened to it on vinyl it gave me a headache. I love the end of this album too. Some of the heaviest, loudest noise just coming to a screeching halt.

10. Iggy & The Stooges - Raw Power

Like Vincebus Eruptum, this album just never lets up. One of the hardest most solid rock & roll albums ever. I first got it on the remastered CD and recently got the original mix on vinyl. The remastered CD is definitely more powerful. Every song just sounds so violent like a good rock & roll album should. Awesome guitar playing, songwriting, and overall attitude.

11. Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run

I got into this album a few years ago now. I always grew up with this cornball image of Springsteen with his Born In The USA phase. When I heard this album that all changed. I could never write music or lyrics as complicated or poetic as him. This album, along with his first two, are just great. I hear a lot of Van Morrison in the music. The lyrics paint such vivid pictures of late teenage American lifestyle. If you think Springsteen is just cheesy, get this album. If you already have it, get the 30th Anniversary Box Set that comes with DVDs of a documentary and a complete live concert from '75.

12. Television - Marquee Moon

Wow. This album is just great. Every song. Some of the best guitar playing ever on this album. It really opened up my eyes to a whole new style of playing. The CD has great bonus tracks like the single Little Johnny Jewel. Along with the guitar playing, the lyrics are great too. Tom Verlaine's voice is so unique. This album still sounds fresh today.

13. Ramones

This album was really influential on my guitar playing. It's so effective being so simple and short. This is what punk is all about. It's just good rock & roll. There are none of the punk clichés that came after this album because it set all the standards.

14. The Clash (UK Version)

This might be the most important album to me ever. This is the one thatreally got me into punk. Musically and lyrically I thought it was perfect. It's angry, fast, intelligent, and draws from all of thier influences so well. The Clash really had everything figured out - the look, sound, attitude. This was one of the first legit records I bought as a kid. I found the original UK issue, complete with the original British price sticker on it, used for $20. That was a lot for me to spent on a record when I was in 8th grade, but it was totally worth it.

15. Suicide

This is one of those albums that still sounds fresh today. It's just so weird. Just two guys playing simple electronic punk music. The beats come from a cheesy early drum machine, the organ/synth parts are violent (Ghost Rider, Rocket USA) or draw upon 60s pop (Cheree, Johnny) and the vocals are threatening and sparse, monotonally sung while Alan Vega would taunt the audience at shows, swinging around a chain at them.

16. Elvis Costello - This Years Model

My dad got me into Elvis Costello pretty early, in 7th or 8th grade. This Year's Model was always my favorite, but now I might like My Aim Is True a little more. I always loved the sound of This Year's Model though. It must have sounded so fresh when it came out. All the songs are super catchy and the lyrics are so clever.

17. The Clash - London Calling

I could never decide which Clash album I liked better, this or the first one. I guess I like them both the same. I love how different every song on this album sounds. You can really hear all their influences melding together, from rockabilly, to reggae, and rock & roll. I love the attitude of the band towards this album. People criticized them for not being "punk" anymore but they just laughed them off saying that punk is really just being able to do whatever you want, not just a specific style of music. Every song on this album is just perfect.

18. The Cramps - Songs The Lord Taught Us

It took me a while to get into the Cramps. Once I had already been listening to rockabilly and garage rock for a while a got what they were doing. The fuzz guitar and reverb drenched guitars sound so cool together. Most of The Cramps songs were ripped off from obscure 50s and 60s songs but who cares. They gave them such a new life, adding their horror movie imagery, hiccupy, echod vocals and primitive drum beats.

19. The Mummies - Never Been Caught

This album was pretty important to me too. This really kick started my interest in garage rock. I first heard the mummies on a jukebox at a movie theater in Milwaukee that I used to go to all the time that only played old movies from the 30s - 60s. I tracked down this album and loved it. The Mummies didn't give a fuck. They didn't care if their instruments weren't in tune, if someone played wrong notes, or that it sounds like their album was recorded on a cassette player in their bathroom. They didn't release anything on CD (until about 10 years later) only vinyl. They ripped through garage rock standards and their own material faster and more agressive than onyone before them, or possibly since.

20. Man or Astroman? - Destroy All Astromen!

After seeing Los Straitjackets early in high school, I started listening to surf music. Man or Astroman? was definitely my favorite surf band. They took 60s surf and kicked it in the ass. They upped the tempos, and updated the surf drum beat. Pretty musch every surf song has the same drum beat, but MoAM? added a more punk beat to the already chaotic intricate surf rock. Each song has samples from cheesy 50s and 60s B-movies that add to the space age sound of the album.

21. White Stripes - Elephant

Although I had known about and liked the White Stripes before this album, and now think that some of their other albums are better, Elephant is what really got me into them. It got me into the blues. I loved the variety of songs on it too. I loved the re-working of Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground and the lyrics of The Hardest Button to Button. I pretty much learned to play guitar along to this album so it's got to be on here.

22. The Coral

In the summer of 2002 I picked up a free promo DVD at a local record store. On it were videos for The Raveonettes, Porch Ghouls, Mooney Suzuki, The Coral and more. That's where I first heard all of those bands that I came to love. I still listen to this album pretty often and never get sick of it. I love the sound of it. It sounds so modern yet has 60s psychedelic, garage, folk and sea-shanty vibes. I haven't heard too many albums that combine their influences while maintaining to sound fresh so well. The lyrics are great and there's excellent playing on everyone in the band's parts too.

23. The Raveonettes - Whip It On EP

OK so the Jesus and Mary Chain may have done the sound first, but, honestly, I think the Raveonettes did it better...or at least more exciting. I love how short this release is. It comes on, does it's job and it's over. The lyrics are great, beat-inspired tales of running from the cops, lying girls, and being on death row. It really spoke to who I was and what I was interested in at the time (not necesarrily all the subject matters but the writing, aesthetic and musical styles). I got to see them live before they were anybody and they were so nice too. They were so psyched that me and my friend Scott were such big fans that they gave us free official t-shirts, hung out with us for 2 hours before the show and signed our home-made shirts. What a great night.

24. The Kills - No Wow

Again, I don't necessarily think this is their best album, but this (along with the Black Rooster EP) is what got me into them. I loved how minimal the music was and the dynamic they have when performing. I was already into Suicide and i thought this had a similar feel.

25. Death From Above 1979 - You're a Woman, I'm a Machine

My friends Matt and Khoa were going to see these guys at the first Intonation festival so they gave me the CD before they went. What's not to love here? Fast, dirty rock n roll played by just two dudes with no guitars? Sign me up. I spent hours playing bass along to this album. Really inspired the sound for my last band.

MICA Can Suck Sometimes

2009-01-20T20:29:00.001-08:00

I've been trying to add a literature class forever now and I can't get into one...I need this shit to graduate! Why won't anyone sympathize with me?

Telecaster Project

2009-01-13T09:57:00.000-08:00

So I've started working on my Telecaster. Or, Andrew has. I got a Bigsby for Christmas which he attached and I'm digging.

I also got this brown tooled leather pickguard which hasn't arrived yet.

(early) Bruce Springsteen Rules.

2009-01-12T18:34:00.000-08:00

Why?

Exhibit A)

"Thundercrack" live 1973

Exhibit B)

The Milwaukee Bomb Scare Show

This show is great. Apparently my dad wanted to go to this show as a kid and my grandparents wouldn't let him. Turns out 45 minutes into the set someone phoned in a bomb scare to the theater. Everyone had to evacuate and was told to come back at midnight. Bruce and the band spent the 2 hours between shows in their hotel bar and came back pretty "loose." The band went on to play an amazingly energetic set. The bootleg is only the songs performed after the bomb scare, but is soundboard quality. CHECK IT OUT!

Setlist:

Disc 1: (51:32)

01. Little Queenie (8:44)
02. The E Street Shuffle (24:07)
03. It's Hard To Be A Saint In The City (6:08)
04. Sha La La (3:04)
05. Jungleland (9:25)

Disc 2: (51:33)

01. Kitty's Back (18:37)
02. Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) (13:23)
03. Detroit Medley (5:10)
04. 4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) (7:15)
05. Quarter To Three (7:05)

I Love Village Thrift

2009-01-09T14:19:00.000-08:00

I picked up these fine items at the Village today:

and this which someone is selling on eBay right now for $100 so I think I'm going to sell it:

New Records

2009-01-08T20:57:00.000-08:00

So I got my new records from Sundazed today. I'm pretty excited about them. 2lp mono verison of the first Remains lp is on the way. When I was home I also picked up Television Marquee Moon, The Jam In The City, and an original The Who Sings My Generation.

Be In My Band project

2009-01-04T20:22:00.000-08:00

So this was my final for my Web Design class (click picture):

New Blog

2009-01-04T20:01:00.000-08:00

OK so I made a new blog. This is for pretty much whatever - art, music, culture, whatever.