Space Cowboy: Design Behind the Music
Shedding light on the artwork behind "Space Cowboy".
One of the live show posters designed to coincide with the September 27 release of the new single “Space Cowboy“.
There’s a disconnect. Online, I hear musicians lament over the rigors of endless content creation, as if it has nothing to do with the music they make. Content and creative collateral should never be reduced to an afterthought. When it’s time to make liner notes, album covers, concert posters, or music videos, there is an opportunity to breathe new life in and around the music being showcased. Design has always walked hand in hand with music. No doubt, creating visuals is a tremendous amount of work, but I love this part of the process.
The brand of an artist should never be an afterthought.
It may have something to do with my art school background, but the biggest factor may be my age. I was raised in a different era of music. I lived through the era of the album, the record store, the stadium concert. When I first fell in love with a band, I dove right in and got my hands on everything. All of the music, back catalog, art, literature, interviews, concert poster art, concert merch was part of the band.
I’ll never forget seeing the billboard from The Song Remains the same at the boardwalk theater in Ocean City, NJ the year it came out. Seeing the Rolling Stones teeshirt from their 80s Tattoo You tour which came through Philly. Same goes with the first time I saw the Grateful Dead Movie, Stop Making Sense, or Woodstock in the theaters. They were an event, a huge party, people would be in the aisles dancing. Some of the arthouse theaters would do showings and they ended up being huge parties akin to the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
This is a great film on the golden age of the album
It’s a great movie. The coolest part of that film is when thy talk about shooting the Zeppelin album “Houses of the Holy“, among other things. Besides being a critical part of rolling joints, double albums were the gold standard of band schwagg. They contained lyrics, liner notes and all the information necessary to understand the people involved with the music. My favorite double albums of that era were both by the Doors, “Morrison Hotel” and a bootleg we owned called “Weird Scenes Inside the Goldmine”.
And then there’s Blue Note album covers. The photography, colored filters, and font use on those albums, across all artists at the time, conveyed a super human coolness. It’s high art, and it’s American music at its best. American Classical music. The two that exemplify this look most to me is John Coletrane’s “Blue Train” and Joe Henderson’s “Mode For Joe”. Those albums still give me goosebumps when I look at them, listening is a godsend. The entirety of the Blue Note catalog is a huge source of inspiration. This brings me back to the art behind the latest release.
Every year, when I release music, each release represents a specific snapshot in time of my work, and my life. The music should reflect our shows, our crowd, and the current songs being mixed and mastered for future release. To get a better idea of how these things looked, we started video taping (ha video taping), and tracking our live performances. Taking a look at this footage was a treasure trove of content, but it’s also a ton of stuff to sift through. I do my best to keep up to date, but it’s a full time gig. Even the best get behind on their work.
The art is a direct result of the music video efforts. Every single release graphic in 2024, started as a high res screen grab from a film project. I would start with an idea, complete the idea, then do revisions until I was satisfied with the results.
Here is the first version of the rock poster:
Version one of the Space Cowboy release art.
I knew that I wanted to make a nod to classic psychedelic rock posters, so I looked at some exhibition pamphlets from Bauhaus art shows and saw some cool works with a similar waves I ended up superimposing over the space man. I knew immediately I had it and the visuals would work.
OK that’s cool, but what the hell does this have to do with the music?
Often times, the finished music and lyrics I end up releasing bare little resemblance to the original audio/video sketch I made when writing the song. I work until I know, without any reservations, that it’s finished. It’s the same exact measure in music as it is in design. I simple know that I done, and it’s time to put the pencil down. This not only comes with years of experience, it also is part of understanding that to overwork something, it to ruin it.
The single release art of the “Space Cowboy“ release.
In art there are things we call “pleasant mistakes” that happen with a brushstroke, or a color that was used. These mistakes are magic, when you find them, you keep them close. Making art and music rarely has anything to do with perfection, as mentioned above, it’s to faithfully provide a snapshot of the specific people, time, and place. It’s about staying true to the musicians in the band, and those I record with in the studio.
The “Freaky Friday“ concert poster I created for fun.
Here, I can step back and apply this type of work ethic to any project I’ve ever completed in my life. There is a big difference between starting a project and finishing a project. Anyone can start something. The last 10 meters of a marathon is often the most critical part of the entire race. It’s also the part where most people give up. A friend defined being “professional” as having the ability to finish a project, within a reasonable timeframe, within the budget you set for the project. We do our best, when things go wrong (they always do), we fix whatever problems arise. “That’s how we conduct good business”, he said.
If I look at all of the collateral that has been created for this release, and follow the work trail back to the other two singles from the summer of 2024, “Warmth of the Fire“ and “Everything” it represents months an months of work. Fishing the official video for “Everything“ was brutal. I still think I could’ve done better. and that I had a better cut early on. Another part of being a professional is trusting yourself, and living with what you’ve made, so that you can move on and make something new.
You’d think burnout is inevitable, but you’d be wrong. That’s simply what it takes to finish certian projects. With each project, it becomes easier. As an independent artist, you just don't ever stop. That’s part of the job description.
I hope everything involved in this release gives you ideas, and inspires you to make new music. Even writing this article, is tied to the release efforts.
About the Ram
Mark "The Ram" O'Donnell is an independent American composer, producer, filmmaker, multi-instrumental performer, designer, and visual artist based out of Carlsbad, California. He performs original, surf-inspired rock-and-roll music on the West Coast.
For more information about the Ram and his music, go to www.TheRamMusic.com
Song Metadata
Space Cowboy
The Ram
UPC: 198890939767
IRSC: QZTBB2417267
Release date: September 27, 2024
ASCAP Work ID: 926718443
ASCAP Singer Songwriter IPI Number: 375350750
ASCAP Publisher IPI Number: 375351159
Related stories tied to the September 27, “Space Cowboy” release:
Live Performance of the Song (First Time We Played It Live)
Making the Space Cowboy Music Video
More Information
I currently use DistroKid to get everything out to the streaming platforms, Disco for all sync requests, Bands In Town to list live shows, and Substack for just about everything else.
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