I Spy...

Care to play? Lets see what you can find! Leave your discoveries in the comment section.

"No Mistakes"

Random Doodle, Notebook Sketch -- Illustration Fall 2009 / Color Spring 2010

FOR THOSE INTERESTED: This was originally a one-color, black pen ink doodle that graced the back of my MSU Fall 2009 notebook. I decided to scan it into my computer and see what I could do with it. Instead of sticking to a color scheme, I decided to do the opposite; add as much color as possible without regard to palettes and/or traditional color rules. In the end, I pretty much got the look I was going for. 

When I was a youngin', my Grandpa, Papa Paul, would tell me of his glory days; the days where he would work in NYC with a bevy of artists and creative people. His favorite of all, however, was the renowned Peter max. Papa Paul would tell me stories of hangin' in Max's studio and the immense amount of creativity that would come to him. He told me about a huge, revolving pen-holder that literally held THOUSANDS of pens in every color and every shade. When Max (and Papa Paul, depending on the accuracy of my 'Pas story) would work, they held no boundaries -- simply put, illustrate anything and add as much color as your heart desired. In a way, this is how I tackled this project... no holds barred and as much color as I could fit. It's Peter Max for the punker.

If you have never seen Max's work before, I suggest you check it out. It is just the type of cheery art that will complement the cheery weather we're having today.

-RB

My Aim Is True -- Graphic Odds and Ends

These pieces are some of my favorites from the fledgling days of my band, My Aim Is True.

You're Just Catching Up (Free EP)

DOWNLOAD IT HERE FOR FREE

BITE THE BULLET MAIT DESIGN

UNPRESSED, 2008

MY AIM IS TRUE 2008 LOGO

MAIT DAILY MOCK-NEWSPAPER

CREATED AS NEWS RELASE FOR TEMPORARY MYSPACE SHUTDOWN

That's all for now, folks.

-RB

Scary, Scary Media?

As of late, many of my MSU assignments have had me, in one way or another, open communications with various media outlets. While it is sometimes frightening (because hey, let’s face it: a bad conversation can get you blacklisted from an organization), I’ve pretty much come to the realization that with adequate preparation and a friendly attitude, communicating/working with the media isn’t really that scary at all.

However, I’d have to say the scariest part of working with the media has to be opening the lines of communication… aka, the first e-mail, phone call, etc. Really, the “fear” comes from the unknown; we don’t know who to expect, what kind of personality the voice on the other line holds, or exactly what these people want to hear. So yeah, while that can be quite scary and all, its definitely important to recognize the purpose of the call in the first place: to successfully “sell” whatever it is you have in an effective, efficient and concise manner.

Basically, what I’m trying to say is that, regardless of our irrelevant fears, life is going to force us to become effective communicators. Most of our futures will rely on similar types of skills. So while working with the media isn’t as easy as brushing your teeth, it shouldn’t be as scary as those “I’m naked and talking to a room full of people” dreams…

…or whatever.

-RB

Le Sang Song - S/T (2010) || Album Review

Le Sang Song -- Le Sang Song (2010)

"Cause livin' on the edge can tend to make you lean"

MARCH 3, 2010 

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Le Sang Song. Yeah, that's the name of this band... and there's not much more to know. After looking at his 'space, this was all the information I could gather: from Seattle, has lots of sunglasses and he's wrote a few songs. He doesn't have a show booked nor does he make any other "obvious" information available.


After some digging, I found that Le Sang Song is the one-man solo project of Craig Chambers. Chambers plays minimalistic, french-pop influenced folk rock. Whatever you may be thinking to this point, know this: Le Sang Song is completely endearing and surprising as well. On this album, Chambers attempts to do two things: create unadulterated, raw, classic folk rock and dabble within the realms of french psych-pop without officially changing his name to Serge. 


Songs like Death vs. The Rich, War and The One create a certain authentic folk feel and atmosphere. The raw, natural reverbs and mixture of acoustic and fuzz guitars create a wall of sound that is almost reminiscent of Paint It Black era 'Stones. This isn't to say Le Sang Song sounds like The Rolling Stones (See: 40 seconds in to War); more along the lines of, Chambers created a lo-fi, folky solo act and is unafraid to flaunt his roots while doing some experimenting of his own. 

Additionally, songs like Hot Reggae, Ring Ring, and even No Love are more along the lines of minimalistic (not in quality, in progression), are examples of the type of "pop" songs Chambers could produce (I say "pop" because I don't really mean Pop -- this ain't Justin Bieber). Catchy, dark and light alike, and enjoyably challenging. Ring Ring definitely has a very french pop feel, at about :50 seconds into the song, it almost sounds as if hes singing in french, along the lines of Mr. Gainsbourg himself.


After analyzing what I thought was Le Sang Songs main motive -- creating two genre-fied types of songs (knowingly or unknowingly) -- I then realized that this album is actually a pretty cohesive work and it should be viewed as a whole. Sure, the sounds definitely jump around, changing moods at the end of a track, but the ethic and feel of the album runs rampant throughout. The change of style only enhances Chambers ability to create differing, creative and unique songs.

I love this album. I really hope this guy decides to continue Le Sang Song and/or play a show (preferably, in the Tri-State area... though, that may be pushing it).


Links:
http://www.myspace.com/lesangsong
http://www.last.fm/music/Le+Sang+Song
http://www.seattleweekly.com/2010-01-13/calendar/le-sang-song/
http://music.is-amazing.com/2010/01/13/le-sang-song


-RB

Why So Serious?

About two years too late... but I figured I might as well post this for fellow Bat-fans.

Heath Ledger "Joker" Sketch (2008)

Design By Rob Baranoff

Feel Free

To contact me if you need any design work (print, illustration, etc.):
rbaranoff@gmail.com

Rippin' off Costello. Story of my life!

The Cake That Ate The Baker

I made this in 2009 and it was intended to be a shirt design. Never went into production, but I figured I'd let it see the light of day here.

The Cake That Ate The Baker (2009)

Design by Rob Baranoff