Utica has played a pivotal role in my efforts to re-start a career in 2012 and another great lead came out of the Utica Music & Arts Fest connections I'd made in September at first the Radisson Hotel show and then the Live Murals event on Varrick St. One of them was an acquaintanceship struck up with Utica based musician Michael Frantz Ilio, who had impressed me to no end by sporting a tattoo of the Schizoid Man face from "In The Court of the Crimson King" at the Radisson event. Things like that get my attention and after friending up on Flakebook Michael had become an advocate of my efforts at painting.
Especially the zombies & cosmonauts, which strike a chord with every morbid art punk pretty much fed up with the state of things regardless of what media they use. As it was Illio had just formed a new band -- The Upstate Outlaws -- and they were invited to play at a benefit concert for Hurricane Sandy relief in late October. Utica actually has a pretty active arts collecting scene and knowing this Mike invited me to do any number of small paintings of the band in zombie style to bring and put up for raffle along with their own visual creations. Here's what resulted including a series of the event itself, which raised over $5,000 for Sandy relief.
The promotional poster for the show, on my wall of event flyers out in the studio garage.
Group portrait of the original 8 Upstate Outlaws paintings the night before the concert. And as it turned out the band themselves ended up winning the whole lot. They have my OK to use them as they can to promote the group for a plug on the back cover & a phone call next time another opportunity like this comes up.
Upstate Outlaws: Christmas Rock Band Zombies
Upstate Outlaws: Smoke Break
Upstate Outlaws: Plutonium K Space Modulator Diode
Upstate Outlaws: Psychedelic Zombies
Upstate Outlaws: Title Forgotten
Upstate Outlaws: Feline Tendencies
Upstate Outlaws: Savior Machines
Upstate Outlaws: Zombie Monks
This painting was *too* good. I'd arbitrarily promised to deliver eight to be raffled at $5 each and decided at about four in the morning the night before the event that I had to keep Zombie Monks. Made coffee and squeezed out one in about four hours which turned out just as good if not better.
Upstate Outlaws: Zombie Smackdown
Off to Utica for the event on the standard three hours of pre-show sleep: Setup was scheduled for 2pm, I arrived at about 3:30.
Utica/Hamilton scene DJ & artist Marc Tucci was in attendance, always a good sign.
Sonny Boyee
Syracuse based artist Steve Nyland with his paintings of The Upstate Outlaws on the raffle table at Pier's & Blake for the SuperStorm Sandy Benefit Concert in Utica, December 8 2012.
Upstate Outlaws musicians Andrew Styles and Chris Dunn going over their setlist with event organizer Joe Sweet at the Superstorm Sandy Benefit Concert, Pier's & Blake in Utica NY, December 8 2012.
The Upstate Outlaws
The Upstate Outlaws
The Upstate Outlaws
The Upstate Outlaws
The Upstate Outlaws
Some video of the set closer ... The boys are dadaists, don't say I didn't warn you.
Artist Steve Nyland and Upstate Outlaws' musician Michael Frantz Ilio at the Superstorm Sandy Benefit Concert, Pier's & Blake in Utica NY on December 8, 2012.
Artist Steve Nyland and Utica Music & Arts Festival organizer Joe Sweet at the Superstorm Sandy Benefit Concert, Pier's & Blake in Utica NY, December 8 2012.
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