News
Limited Edition Poster Commemorates Clapton Summer Tour
3 Jun 08
To commemorate the 2008 Eric Clapton Summer Tour, a limited edition series of 1000 posters has been created by Firehouse Kustom Rockart Company. Currently, the only place these posters can be purchased is the merchandising stands at all Eric Clapton summer tour stops.
Created by artists Chuck Sperry and Ron Donovan of Firehouse Kustom Rockart Company, the poster includes elements of two of Eric Clapton’s guitars, "Blackie", his famous Fender Stratocaster and his Gibson ES-335, purchased by Eric in 1964. The design is a fusion of cubist and outsider art sensibilities; each poster was produced using traditional hand printed silk screen techniques. The work of Firehouse Kustom Rockart is easily recognizable by their unique style of color theory, characterized by the use of metallics over striking colors.
The 1000 posters in the edition are numbered and signed by the artists. The poster also compliments the Tour Programme, which includes a detailed history of many guitars used by Eric Clapton 1963 to present, with previously unpublished photos. Other items available at all 2008 tour stops include a retro "Layla" T-shirt – with Derek & The Dominos 1970 Tour Dates, t-shirts featuring Eric’s guitars "Blackie" and "Brownie", a coffee mug, a commemorative guitar pick collection, a key chain, cap and more. Following the conclusion of a tour, remaining merchandise usually becomes available from Eric Clapton’s Official eBay Store as well as the online store within his official website, ericclapton.com.
Previously, Firehouse Kustom Rockart has created several limited edition posters for Eric Clapton:
– Madison Square Garden Concerts 2006
– 2007 Australian Tour
– 2007 U.S. Tour
– Second Crossroads Guitar Festival 2007
The 2007 U.S. Tour poster featured a 1940 Ford from Eric Clapton’s hot rod collection and previously used on the album cover of "One More Car, One More Rider". The poster created to commemorate the Second Crossroads Guitar Festival on 28 July 2007 is dominated by a resonator guitar while train tracks lead back to a sunrise, a symbol of hope. The names of all twenty-two performers are also incorporated into the design.
Occasionally, the commemorative posters from the 2007 U.S. Tour and the Crossroads Guitar Festival do become available from Eric Clapton’s Official eBay Store. All proceeds from the store benefit Crossroads Antigua, a centre for the treatment of alcohol and drug addicitions which was founded by Eric Clapton.
About the artists:
Firehouse Kustom Rockart Co. has created posters for Queens of the Stone Age, Madness, Jane’s Addiction, Supersuckers, Garbage, Bad Religion, Johnny Cash, John Lee Hooker, Lee Perry, Cheap Trick and a much sought after series of posters for Virgin Megastore (including Pearl Jam, Fleetwood Mac, Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Smashing Pumpkins, Beastie Boys, U2, Madonna, Limp Bizkit, Hole and Ricky Martin). Although the artists of the Firehouse, Chuck Sperry and Ron Donovan, have worked with numerous major rock bands, they have maintained their street credibility by furnishing posters for such events as Incredibly Strange Wrestling, which mixes punk bands and Mexican wrestlers. Ron and Chuck’s works are easily recognizable by their unique style of color theory, characterized by the use of metallics over striking colors. They have created a body of work that is an eye-popping collection of the rock and roll posters and ephemera. Their rock poster art can also be seen in a beautifully illustrated 96 page book published by Last Gasp of San Francisco – "Eyesore: Recent Litter From The Firehouse Kustom Rockart Company." The artists were also included in Dennis King and Paul Grushkin in their book, The Art of Modern Rock.
Related Links:
Eric Clapton Official eBay Store – all proceeds benefit Crossroads Centre Antigua