Kevin and DTE crew members got the trailer unloaded first thing.

Shortly after a (wonderfully) catered breakfast, Kid Rock’s tour manager, Shakes, pulled up in this wilder-than-wild Pontiac Bonneville. I snapped a photo of Brit standing next to this crazy thing.

The car, built for Hank Jr.’s 15th birthday, was crafted by renowned tailor-to-the-stars Nudie Cohn. Can you imagine a 15-year old cruising the strip in this thing?!

The dash, steering wheel, door panels, and child seat were adorned with dollar-coins. The saddle in the center-seat position was a child seat. This car was made pre-seatbelt/child-safety laws for sure.

Guns are all over this car. The door-handles, latch for the glovebox, trunk, hood, rear quarter panels, shifter, horn button… all laced with pistols.

The backstage passes were hysterical. KENNY. POWERS.

Charlie enjoying a smoke while talking to Kevin.

Guitars perched for action.

The band hit the stage for sound-check.

Sound master, Billy Kirk, surveying the acoustics.

After sound-check, Charlie and Brit had an interview with WYCD.

Shortly thereafter, it was showtime. Big Daddy Kev hyped the crown and brought them onstage.

The fellas played a great set.

More on the way from Detroit! Don’t wander too far…

Paul was having fun.

Even more fun once we left, hahaha.

It was back to the bus and back on the road until we arrived at the Machine Shop in Flint, Michigan.

Since we had time to kill, we went across the street to check out a consignment store, and stumbled upon this crazy mall that had it’s hallways adorned with an insane amount of wild stuff. Stuff like this old robot that once answered questions about Ford Motor Cars and a suit from Red Planet.

This chiseled-looking bicyclist sculpture, and a life-sized C3P0. There were also a life-sized Storm Trooper, Darth Vader, and R2D2. I could probably fill an entire post with the plethora of wild stuff there.

My favorite was a life-sized likeness of E.T… just hanging out at the mall. Probably looking for Reese’s Pieces.

After our stint in the crazy mall, we grabbed a bite and headed back to the bus where Charlie was messing around on the guitar.

The band pretty much had the night off, and only came through Flint to see their friend, Randy Houser. That didn’t stop Charlie from getting on stage for a song with Whitey Morgan!

Stay tuned for more as we make our way to Detroit!

This is the tour bus the band calls home. This was my first time on a bus like this, which was pretty awesome! It was tough to get used to sleeping when the bus was in motion, but it was super-comfortable.

The driver, Rusty, was a cool guy that took great pride in what he did. He was always washing, shining, and polishing the bus when we were stopped.

First stop was Indianapolis, for a gig at a HUGE week-long fair. First thing I saw when I looked out of the bus was this equally enormous sculptured likeness of Grant Wood’s American Gothic.

I wandered around the fair until they were slated to be on-stage. I went for a tractor-ride around the fairgrounds that took about 45 minutes to get me back where I started.

There was a huge lot of vintage tractors. The fair had a whole commerce section of the fair revolved around farming and agriculture.

Old versus new. There was also an area of the fair specializing in the sale of windmills.

After a brief sound-check, the band had a radio interview on-site with WFMS. My lens was way to long to shoot in the mobile-station, so I shot from outside where you could still hear the broadcast. Richard told me I was number one. He was right! The great thing about shooting this band, is that I’ve known some of the band members for 9 years… so everyone was themselves. No awkward vibes having some random dude wielding a camera in their faces.

They hit the stage and played a great set, despite the scorching heat. I got a ton of great footage from the show.

A mother and son soaking in the music. I always enjoy the family vibe at fairs like this.

You can see it all around you… young and old.

After the show, they had a police escort to sign autographs for the fans.

Afterward, we wandered around the fairgrounds in search of deep fried bacon… and we found it. The lady was kind enough to let us have it for free. She insisted we try it with gravy, but we were all kinda like… enough is enough. Regardless… Kev was pretty excited!

I ate enough to say that I’ve tried it (read: one bite). Once our indigestion settled a bit, it was off to Flint, Michigan for a Machine Shop visit to see the band’s friend Randy Houser… then onto Detroit.

More to come, so stay tuned!

TELEPHONEME | MK12 from MK12 on Vimeo.

To me, Telephoneme has a similar feel to 4D Softcore Sweater Porn… but with a matured, precise execution that only comes with years of experience. Telephoneme clearly exercises new techniques developed since ’01, and illustrates a strong mastery to the medium – both sonically and visually. If you are interested in more detail behind Telephoneme’s concept, check out official website and download the EPK.

MK12 // 4D Softcore Sweater Porn from MK12 on Vimeo.

I never seem to tire of watching this bit. It seems almost timeless in it’s execution. Nearly 10 years later, and it still retains it’s magic, keeping me wondering how some of it was accomplished. Classic. Be sure to check out MK12.com for more of their work. You won’t be wasting your time… and I’m sure you will recognize a lot of what they have done.

In addition to giving the panda some new life, I decided to do the same to the type. I will love Helvetica ’til the day I die… but I opted for the slightly more mature look of another personal favorite of mine: ITC Avant Garde. I modified the W and the R by hand, and love how the two letters interact with each other. For the non-text logo, I added some gradation to the logotype as if the panda were casting a shadow on the letters. A few subtle nuances tied the Gs together quite nice for the text version, which we opted out on the gradation for.

This was a fun logo to work on, and I am really pleased with how it turned out! I am working on some other projects with Will… so stay tuned!

Every song on this record is amazing, and it has been playing on loop since I snagged the MP3 pre-release of the album on July 10th. My favorite track is probably “Nine Riders”, but in all seriousness – every track is stellar. This drop was definitely worth the wait.

GO BUY IT NOW (or here on iTunes) and support these guys. NOW.

This is a roster representing some of the better logos I have designed over the years. Logo design was one of the main reasons I got into advertising/graphic design in the first place. I love the idea of a single graphic element capable of encompassing so much meaning, and leading the charge in overall representation to the public.

In a world saturated with advertising and marketing, a logo can make or break you. My job is to make sure the latter never stands a chance.

I rolled up my sleeves and got to designing some new decks that are up in the Slide Style™ Deck Store… some of which I am really proud of.

Don’t forget about the BIG F’N SALE going on until the end of the week! Prices have never been so low, so get it before it is GONE.

HONDA NSX (EXTENDED VERSION) BY FORMAT67.NET from FORMAT67.NET on Vimeo.

I love everything about this breathtaking edit from Format67… the concept; the cinematography; the grading; the sound design… EVERYTHING. The superb attention to detail reveals a master craftsman at work. This video breaks the barrier between it’s creator and the viewer in an attempt to capture the soul of the automobile; the soul of racing; and the soul of the enthusiast; to which I think Daniel Michaelis and his crew accomplish a stunning victory.