TRAGEDY

So in case you haven't heard there is an All Metal Tribute to the BeeGees out there and they are called TRAGEDY!  The band is pretty rad, and by the time you leave one of their shows you are entirely covered in glitter and stage sweat...and maybe some semen, not kidding, shit gets real weird in the awesomest way.

So, when the band announced that they were breaking up, again...it was a sad sad day...so I am sure you can understand my excitement when they decided to reunite and put together a Reunion/Last Show Ever tour this fall/winter. 

Luckily, one of the Brothers Gibb digs my art work so I contacted him about making a poster for the tour...long story short, the poster ended up being a stage back drop and the project that I intended to only be 11"x17" became 8'x9'...here's how that happened.

After throwing around some ideas about how the tour poster would look, i mentioned that...ya know...i could make a stage back drop, and luckily for me, Tragedy left their last one in London and were in need of something new...

So i requested their hi rez images and got to work.

First, I created a file on my computer, took the color out of the photo, placed the logo and printed it out on satin paper to create a mock up which was requested by the band, this was the first time any work would be created for Tragedy that wasn't their vision or idea....which is a pretty big deal and an insane compliment, i think....

So, I futzed around with some ideas while listening to the band's album We Rock Sweet Balls and Can Do No Wrong and researching photos and interpreted everything into something that i felt would represent the Brothers Gibb into a visual art piece.

Naturally, as a metal band, the drop needed to be glam and sparkle as much as possible, and HAD to have diamonds and glitter...so i started there...and cut up my entire Phish Collection and bought a bedazzler.

And started gluing and painting and building a 36 inch mock...

And sent it off...and was told to go for it...so i enlarged the image and printed it onto canvas on the highest quality the ion offers...it took 6 hours to print....and rolled that shit out on the floor of my studyo! its 8 feet wide by 9 feet long far too wide for my easel...

First, I painted in the TRAGEDY with RED, because red rules...and painted the rocks and skulls with some dayglo paints...and placed the skulls i found when i was out shopping for leather pants one day...

Then I began on the cds...and started gluing them down piece by piece...

...and made glasses...

next, i got to bedazzling...which ended up being me placing and hammering in each rhinestone by hand...like 1100 times...because, if you didn't realize this...bedazzlers aren't large enough for massive projects...just saying, in case...you ever give it a whirl, save yourself the time.

...and chopped all of the skulls in half, so they would lay flat and literally almost cut off my ring finger on my left hand, seriously it is still majorly fucked up.

I then sealed the entire drop with spray glitter, sewed it up the middle, turned it over and hammered the back side to reinstate the rhinestones.

...this is the finished product, minus a few rhinestones...

then i packed it up and delivered it to one of the the greatest bands in the Tri-State Area...

Feel free to view this video and enjoy yourself some TRAGEDY: You Should be Dancing!  and hopefully at the bigger venues you will see the backdrop...US and UK tour information can be found here!

Love, Jess!