This is my ode to Lux Interior (1946-2009), lead singer for The Cramps. I have enjoyed listening to The Cramps ever since I heard their version of "Green Door" back in high school on Akron's WAPS. While listening to their song, "Mad Daddy" the other day the lyric, "Six foot three with my feet on the floor, Hey, baby, whatcha waitin' for!?" I realized he must be referring to himself! I verified it by reading the back cover of "The Cramps: A Short History of Rock 'n' Roll Psychosis" on Amazon, which said he was 6'4".
May Lux's wife and lead guitarist, Poison Ivy Rorschach, continue to find happiness after 37 years of marriage. It is absolutely amazing that this couple met with a shared vision of music and performed together night in and night out for over 3o years, giving the audience 200% every time they did. I had the opportunity to see them in concert at St. Andrew's Hall for their Flamejob tour, and it was a blast! If everyone could put as much passion and love into what they do as they did, the world would be a better place. Rock on.
About the art:
I went through several sketches of Lux in various poses trying to capture his energy and stage presence after watching several videos on YouTube. I thought I would ink a few, compile them in Photoshop and be done with it, but then I sketched her face and mass of curls. How could I leave out Poison Ivy? The Cramps would not exist if either either was missing. On stage she hardly moves while he is everywhere, limbs flailing, torso twisting, writhing and sweating in pure animal frenzy.
I doodled another few thumbnails trying to figure out a composition. Then I looked at a sketch where I had him bent into a "S" shape and then at the band name; BAM! The final was drawn and inked on Strathmore 100lb Bristol vellum using a #3 Nylon brush. The coloring was done in Photoshop using gradients in dissolve mode.
No comments:
Post a Comment