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kyle crawford
June 13, 2008 |
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Name: Kyle Crawford What would be your tools of the trade? Nothing special, I wish I had the skill to use a wacom, instead I have to save up for one of those fancy $2,500 ones. I'm one of those people that has to see what they're drawing. I just use the pen and paper, photoshop and thats about it. Oh, and a huge extensive library of horror memorabilia... Did you go to an art school? No type of schooling. I've always had a joy for drawing and doodling. Everyone said I was really good at lettering. But I gave up drawing when I realized that others were way way way better than I was. My family just got a computer when I was a junior in high school and back then I used to backyard wrestle (yes I like wrestling) so I used to make graphics and stuff for our website that no one went to. Thats initially how I got into design. My Dad just called me a loser and never helped with anything and my mom, to whom I never speak to, just said "Join the Military, they pay for your school". Pretty Sweet Huh? I've always wanted to know if you paint or anything like that. Any other mediums you work in? I wish I could paint, pastel etc etc... I really cant. I used to draw a lot. Heres a few sketches from my old sketch book I found. When I first started drawing I wanted to be a comic book artist, but I was never any good at action shots, just straight forward stuff. Another dream shattered. If you had to hold up one piece of art you have done that would represent what your about, what would it be? |
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I know you do everything design wise. If you weren't allowed to do shirts anymore what area would you move your focus towards? Ultimately if I could do anything, I would want to do movie posters and DVD packaging... The thing about doing shirts is I can incorporate my love for movies into my love for music. But if someone were to offer me a job designing for a production company for movie related items, I'd give up band merch in a heart beat Figure we have to toss a horror question in here... if you could take different elements from different horror chacters to create a "superhorror" what would you take from all the different people... and what would you name him/her/it? Freddy's Glove and Humor, Jason's Mask and chain around his neck from part 6, The piercings of Julie from return of the living dead part 3, The Hook hand of Candyman with all the bees swarming around it. (thats right weapon hands)Actually it would be pretty sweet if it had freddy's souls in his chest and the mouths opened up and Candyman's bees flew out of it. Oh! and, he would also have to have torn werewolf clothes, the dancing moves of trickster in Brain Scan, and Tarintino's dick from Grind House... I'd probably call him swashbuckler.... Pulling from godmachines interview, if I hooked it up with $200, what would you buy? Probably go pre-order the new ghostbusters game for PS3, buy a sweet bag of muddy bears (If you don't know what that is, holy crap you're missing out) Some Horror Toys I haven't bought yet and maybe a new pair of slip ons. |
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Everytime I chat with you you're always working, which makes me feel better cause I work non stop too. But do you ever break? What do you do while your in "off mode"? This is my day to day. Wake up at 7, eat breakfast, check my emails, myspace and emptees, see if any new music leaked so I can update my ipod before i leave. Go to work, come home, make dinner and work some more until about 11-12. Some nights I watch TV. Im a sucker for A shot at Love, The Hills, the stupid MTV crap. I watch Wrestling every monday, but half of the time I'm usually drawing while watching it. Saturdays are the only days I actually don't work. I usually go spend my money which makes me feel better about working so damn much. I take that day to go explore, cuz I'm still new to the area. One week I'll go to NYC, the next Boston. Sundays I go to the Grocery store if I need to and do laundry. Then I work all day. Theres never really an off mode for me, even if I'm not actually working, I'm typing in notes on my black berry for shirt ideas, EZ Ideas, or I'm calling Ray to talk about more ideas. It's just a constant machine. I feel like guilty if I'm not working all the time, I figure if I don't work today, then theres more work tomorrow. That's pretty much the way I like it, I'd probably get depressed if there was ever an "OFF MODE" You are a shirt machine, how do you constantly crank out tee designs? Honestly, I have no idea how I do it, some bands it just pops into my head and I can crank out a design. Usually in a 24 hour period, I bust out 3-5 designs. When I worked for warner bros, I would do 3 designs a day and then 2 more when I was done with them for freelance. Sometimes I fall onto my safety net and just do what I know will be good enough to get by, I know thats pretty weak and that sucks. But I'm sure everyone at some point does it. I listen to the band's record the whole time I'm designing. A lot of people just slam shit around because they really have no clue, No offense to all the other dudes out there, But I actually give a shit. I do some of the time just make whatever, but my best designs incorporate what the bands message is, what they're singing about. I do a buttload of research and sometimes I just have a tight enough relationship with bands that I just know what they want and think. It's just weird I don't know how I do it, and I feel very lucky to have 2 years worth of ideas and Haven't gone into a creative meltdown |
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Rockett Clothing, enough said. Lets hear the story... I have been prying at you for too long about this, time to spill it. Theres always the 2 sides to the story type of deal. I respect the hell out of those guys and I owe everything to them. They helped me grow as a designer and got me into the whole band merch scene. I love what the company WAS doing and WAS about. I would have to say the whole down fall of the relationship would have to be taking it from a business relationship to a friendship. I let a lot of things go and slide because we were friends, It just got to a point where I was too busy with work and going through a shitty relationship that I would just always blow up on them and blow the problems between us way more worse because i was already fuming about other things. I was a bit immature about it as well. I felt like they treated me like the red headed step child at times. Colin (the worksteady) was the big cheese he was there from the start, so rightfully so he got the attention. There was a time when he and I were both in town for the rockett store opening and it was all about him, even though It was me there helping get things ready, folding shirts, organizing shirts and just trying to be part of the team, he was out doing whatever, which is fine, but i felt like that was just another example my hard work went unnoticed. I just felt like I wasn't really part of the Rockett Family. I'm a sensitive dude who cares about what others think of me, I'm always worrying about doing the right thing and making the right impression with those that really matter. It took over a year to convinced them to do a strictly monster based line. Originally it was going to be limited to 100, but then when they announced it on myspace, people freaked and they made a ton off of it, which is fine by me, I just felt like it was like a gust of wind that went by them kind of "Glad I thought of it" Another things that always caused conflict was other designers, mainly colin. I guess I really have an inner hatred for that guy. To me, Rockett was something special, I felt like Rockett should get "Rockett" designs. I would have bands ask me for "Rockett" type designs and I just wouldn't do it. Why would a kid pay for a $30 shirt that they saw said band wear, when they have a shirt from that band with teh same type of design for $15? It just didn't make sense to me. Colin on the other hand would basically do the same shit over and over. (see examples)It really bothered me and it annoyed the hell out of Rockett that I would bitch about it so much
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I guess the big falling out happened when They got ripped a few times by other companies and I'd go to message boards and myspace and post a little less professional responses and feelings to about the rip offs. But hey they were MY designs they were ripping off. That happened a couple times and really got underneath their skin, rightful so, but I felt like I had a right as well What led for me to walk away from the company was when I designed a metal line I gave them an amazing deal on 10 shirts for 1,000. I thought they would pay me faster if it was a smaller amount. at the time really needed the money and was excited they were coming to me for yet another theme based line that I was supposed to be doing. from them changing their minds, backing out on designs, which hey is fine by me now because I ended up selling them for a lot more than them. But it went back to the initial, rockett should bethe only ones with rockett type designs. It took them 9 months to pay me 1,000. Which led me to freak out on them countless times, when they would get on me about catalogs, posters, we need this we need that, you sai dyou were gonna do this and that, I freaked out a lot, which again was immature on my part, but when money and integrity comes into play thats when all that shit goes out the window. I watched for months them get new designs for sock monkee and horse bites, which I met and chatted frequently due to emptees. I would ask them "Oh sweet you're working for rockett now?" "Did they pay you right away or are you still waiting?" After their response I was like fuck this, this is retarded, they've owed me money for forever, theyre pulling this shit. I had conversations about them spending money on this and that, vacations, supposedly moving to hawaii. I had had it. I called them out and I just got a reply of "Stay out of my business" Thats when I decided I was going to do my own line. I love the guys to death and I've done some stupid shit like causing them to have to pull a design off their site which cost them money, and I in turned fixed and did free designs to make it up to them" It just wasn't working out, and with the product they have no, it's pretty obvious... |
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One thing I am always amazed with is how you seem to know every band out there. How did all of that come about. I have no idea, I guess its just years and years of networking, sometimes bands find me. It was really weird to get a random phone call from Chad from New Found Glory, asking me to do their staging package, I had never talked to him before someone gave someone one number who he called to get mine, It was super weird. James From Reggie called to talk about his album art too. I honestly couldn't pin point anything. I just introduce myself at shows if I havent met them and usually shoot the shit for a while and then we continue to do so over the internet and random phone calls. I really wish I had an answer, man now you have me wondering! |
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Given the amount of time the average tee takes, do you feel that our current profession pays designers what they're worth? - Ray Frenden. It all depends, all the ray frendens and the munk ones of the world deserve the top dollar price. The way I look at it is, Your doing a cool as job. Sometimes I get top dollar for a project, sometimes I don't. Granted I have standards. I feel like work is work, sometimes it takes me 4 hours or 12 to get something done. I know a lot of kids out there get their egos flaring when they arent getting 200-500 for something that probably took no thought and or time on their part. Lets say you do 2 designs in a day and you get 300-500 bucks, are you honestly going to make that at any other job or profession for someone with no education? I highly doubt it. But at the same time, these bands make a shit load of money off of your design, thousands upon thousands. From on the road, to hot topics, so online stores, these bands are banking. But then they can't pay you in a timely fashion. It's a huge win-lose situation. For where I'm at and what I'm doing Im pleased with the money I get. Some designers have ego and some people feel like they deserve more. Theres all kinds of people out there, theres the designer who wants to make a name, the designer who wants the money, and theres some who want it all and thats when they get the ego. It's really up to the designer, are you getting ripped off? I know I'm satisfied, its really just a matter of opinion what trends in t-shirt design are you tired of/are there particular things you're tired of clients requesting? - Seibei I'm honestly tired of the drawn thing. Literally everyones doing it. Pyknic, Rockett, just to name a few, I don't find anything cool about a shirt that has a colored in coloring book on my chest. I want something to blow my mind, something that I wish I had a shirt of. Its really annoying that just because you think you can draw youre all of a sudden a graphic designer. It really pisses me off that I've defined myself to a certain way and style and then someone ( I wanna know who was the first) decided, "you know what I want, I want to wear a shirt that has finger paints and scribbles" or "You know what would be awesome, a cartoon animal BLAM, **insert random band name here** It has nothing to do with their music. I'm a believer your merch and what you put out should go with the music. Not even just music, just shirts in general. Let me just say that I enjoy works of ray frenden and derek deal, Horse bites, Laurie SHITLEAF, Sock monkee, and The Rush but I'm tired of the kids trying to be like them. Theres one thing to make the customer happy, but I feel a lot of designers out there are trying to jump on a band wagon thats going to eventually come to a screeching hault I don't care about making friends or enemies, so i'll go out there and name names, whatever, glamour kills. How many shirts are they going to make with arial? how many shirts are they going to print with a retarded ass sayings? The words "DANCE, PARTY, POP, 80'S" give me a break. "BANGIN' DUDEs IN MY GLAMOUR KILLS" "JERKIN' OFF TO A POP SONG AND BUSTIN' ON MY GLAMOUR KILLS SHIRT" They have some cool stuff, but It's like "Oh did you see that awesome glamour kills shirt?" , "which one?" "The one says dancing on it!" "which one" "The Pink one" "....which one?" Let me just say I respect what you're doing, but it doesn't mean I have to like it What are your influences? How do you think they have affected your work and life? - mitchbones My big influence are obviously horror movies. My childhood played a big part. My dad is a big inspiration, not as a person but the things he exposed me to. Having me watch teen wolf, robocop and the nightmare on elm street movies (we even lived on elm street) when I was 2-4 year old, thats some creepy shit, but I wasnt bothered. From watching wrestling with him and watching silly movies or the awesome toys he used to bring me home from work. Memories and the past is really where its at. Nothing like blood and guts to get you motivated and your creative juices flowing What is more important to you, the subject of your work, or the way it is executed? - Tendor Branson Thats a pretty tough question, I would have to say execution, the process and that way you do things, its all a learning process. I've done a buttload of zombie shirts, but you have to try and mix it up, it's important to keep your style and theme and what you love and try and find cool new ways to do it. |
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Any closing words for anyone, since were already in the longest interview ever? I know people think I'm some hard ass, in a way I want people to succeed. I may take the harsh way and rip you a new butthole when I give you my two cents, even if you dont ask for it. In my own way I just want to help everyone out, as well as myself. I hate a lot of designers out there, not in general just their work, I see everyone as someone who might potentially take my job. Especially some punk kid who thinks they know photoshop and slaps something around and bitches that it didnt get approved I'm just a normal dude who takes his job way too seriously, I love it and I defend it, this is my life. I am very grateful for everything I've done and accomplished and I get excited every time i see a kid wearing my shirt or it being bought at shows. Or when a band calls me just to talk about what they want me to work on. I just can't believe this is my life. The fact that I was watching these bands, driving to their music to designing their merch and having conversations and a relationship completely blows my mind. Everything is so surreal. I hope that I can keep this going, cuz the feeling is amazing |
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Thanks to kyle for taking the time out of his busy ass schedule to do this interview with me. I'm sure that answers a few questions for everyone about what makes Electric Zombie. And if you made it all the way to the end, congrats... I think it was a good read. - thomas |