Neko Case is looking for a designer to create a new tour poster for some upcoming shows. Before you draw any comparisons to musicians looking for free help, rest assured, she's not looking to exploit enthusiastic fans for free design work, but instead offering a $1000 cash and a prize pack to the winning designer. There are some standard protocol requirements you can read about on the contest page, and a few simple requests: no Neko Case likenesses are allowed, the design should be "delicate yet powerful," and it doesn't hurt to incorporate the track list from her new album The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You. As a final stipulation, Case might even give you some input on the design.
Interested designers have until August 19 to submit work.
Graphic designer Zaven Najjar is a massive hip hop fan. On his Tumblr, Rap Posters, Najjar isolates single lines from new and old rap songs, and illustrates the lyrics in a bold graphic poster using a single image and a consistent typeface. He posts a new one every day, working in equal parts with silly lines from tracks like Lil Wayne's "Lollipop", more ominous verses from Mobb Deep, and French language rap verses from the Malian rapper Oxmo Puccino.
The Ramones' long-term art director and lighting designer, Arturo Vega has died at the age of 65. Vega, who attended an impressive 2,263 Ramones performances, designed their patriotic crest logo after a visit to Washington, D.C. He replaced the arrows in the original Presidential seal with a more punk-friendly baseball bat, and added an apple tree branch in the eagles' left claw "since the Ramones were American as apple pie."
Rock historian Legs McNeil posted the following message on his Facebook:
"RIP: ARTURO VEGA: 1948-2013 Sleep gently my dear friend, you were the must optimistic, jubilant and fun pal anyone could wish for. I don’t know what the world will be like without, nor do I want to even imagine it… But I know you will find eternal happiness wherever you end up….I love you Arturo."