We were lucky to catch up with Jeffrey Everet recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jeffrey , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you take vacations? Why or why not?

Do people answer this one often? Last one on the list so why not try? When starting out working with a few larger bands doing their posters and merch I would get called to do quick posters. Since I take my job seriously, regardless of time, I want to do a good job and give the band, and more importantly, their fans, something amazing.

Every year I would take time week off and go to the beach with the family. Typically I would get everything in place with clients so I could disconnect for that time – family fun, reading pulp novels, etc…. But sure enough, I would get that call from a client or company asking for a rush job. Here are two examples of doing projects while at the beach. So yes, I take vacations and also pack all my design equipments – laptop, Wacom tablet, portable drive, headphones.

Brian Fallon and The Bouncing Souls for RedBull Music
While with the family by the ocean, I’ve been inspired going to souvenir shops on the boardwalk and seeing all the model ships in a bottle. They remind me of the model ships my father used to make with intricate knots and rigging and all the small details. He had a large vintage model whaling ship. I always wondered about the cannons and whether they worked and what would happen if the captain just wanted out… because that’s what a punk rock boat
captain would do. I think this took about six trips to Ruth’s Sea Shell City, and I’m still proud I didn’t purchase 13 hermit crabs.

Against Me! for RedBull Music
I was on vacation by the ocean, again, when Red Bull Music and Asbury Park legend Andy Diamond reached out to request a poster for Against Me! at The Stone Pony. I’d been a longtime fan of Laura Jane Grace and her band, which now had members of Rocket from the Crypt and The (International) Noise Conspiracy; both bands are included in my “best ever” list. I had a family wanting to gallivant in the salt and swell of the ocean. I also had a week to do a poster. I was inspired by Laura’s gender transition and her bravery personally, professionally, and musically.

I wanted to remember the times when we needed to burn our whole worlds down, in this case our worlds being suburban homes. Even though I didn’t feature Laura’s face, the request was to show all four band members, which required an additional forty hours of work. Well worth it, but I missed the time away from the family.

I ended up doing a full poster with all the band members and a set of fliers featuring the individuals. I added a background pattern that reflected what instrument they played—six-string guitar, round snare, and four-string bass.

Jeffrey , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Jeffrey Everett is a successful designer, illustrator, and author working outside of Washington, DC working under the moniker Rockets are Red for the last twenty years. He has created award-winning designs for bands such as Wilco, Social Distortion, Foo Fighters, The Decemberists, Flight of the Conchords, The Gaslight Anthem, Lou Reed, Alanis Morissette, Rancid, Metric, The Bouncing Souls, and many, many more.

He is the recipient of awards from The Art Directors Club, the AdClub, the AIGA, Print, & GDUSA. He has been featured in a variety of publications such as Rolling Stone, Kerrang!, NY Times, Washington Post, and Alternative Press. His work has been stapled on walls of acclaimed rock clubs, inked into brave people’s skin, and framed in high-end galleries around the world. You can see his work at rockets-are-red.com

His new book, Let It Bleed, was fully funded on Kickstarter in under 2 hours and earned 500% of the goal. It was picked up as a Project to Watch. The book collects 20 years of concert poster design including 350+ posters, sketches, and stories along with tales from musicians he has worked with. The book will release in the fall. For more info check out let-it-bleed.com

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

In a profession like design where ninety-nine percent of what’s produced is thrown away, the desire is to create a work of art that has lasting power, something that can be hung on the wall for a lifetime. Or, as happened at several shows, the poster is rolled into a tight paper sword and used in duels in the crowd or held in fists pumping to the booming bass, then later unrolled to remind yourself of a life well lived, one with many stories to share.

I had a job in a high-stress firm where we were working insane hours with a boss who would scream and shame on a whim. I started to have panic-attacks before going in. The boss told me I was the worst designer she ever met and I should think of another career. She told me never to have children because I could barely take care of myself. I was fired the day before my wedding.

A few months later I was at an award show and earned special recognition for my concert poster work. There were a LOT of people there and I gave a rambling thank you and spoke about my last boss’s remarks and being fired. Sure enough, she was in the audience and gave herself away by walking out.

The main take away is people will not always appreciate what you do. Find your crew, find your audience, keep plugging away and your work will provide given time. With that, you only have time – do you want to work your life away making something that gets thrown away or do you want to make work that will live on?

How’d you think through whether to sell directly on your own site or through a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc.

I have my own shop at rocketsarered.bigcartel.com – you should go check it out! I have art prints from gallery shows and posters from bands I worked with. Each poster is hand signed and hand packed with love. You are directly supporting a small artist when you order from me.

I used to work with Etsy and a few others. What was once a start up to help indie artists is now a cesspool of fake corporations and foreign companies masquerading as handmade crafts. When you can see the same picture of a ring from fifteen “small artisan shops” you know it is all a ruse.

I stopped using Etsy when I was told I would not appear in searches unless I offered free shipping. Free shipping would mean I had to tack on $15 to each poster price or lower my prices to a degree that it was no longer feasible. Amazon, Etsy, etc… it is all a race to the bottom for cheap products for cheap prices. There is no love or support for the indie artists regardless of what they say; you are just another line in an endless search result. Redbubble and the like actively support bootlegging of crappy products and steal from creators. Those huge bands are not putting up official product – you are getting a reprint of a jpg.

Contact Info:

• Website: rockets-are-red.com
• Instagram: rocketsarered
• Facebook: rocketsarered
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffrey-everett-3953023a/
• Other: rocketsarered.bigcartel.com (shop) let-it-bleed.com (book)

Image Credits
Images by Carlos Gonzalez-Fernandez (Eyelum)