Invisible - Cortney Armitage Photo Session

To capture each months emotion visually over the next 18 months, I've partnered with an amazingly talented photographer - Cortney Armitage. Every month, we will be collaborating on images for both the single artwork and monthly emotion artwork. Here are some outtakes from our Times Square shoot. We wanted to try a double exposure, layered look, where I appeared to be invisible. We chose Times Square for our location because it's easy to feel invisible in the busiest and most crowded place in NYC. You become one with the crowd, blending in instead of sticking out. 

Kurt Cobain T-Shirt Artwork

Here is the original Kurt Cobain T-Shirt artwork that was released before I decided to scrap the idea completely and go with strictly photo based song covers with no text. It just didn't feel emotional, evocative or even artful. There is something in this simplicity that I do still love, but it wasn't right for Raw Emotions. Raw Emotions needs to feel like it's taking a snapshot into real life.

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Here's the final artwork we went with for Kurt Cobain T-Shirt. I actually took this photo myself of my good friend (and fellow artist), Naomi, on one of my LA writing trips.

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Raw Emotions demo

This is honestly where Raw Emotions began, but I had no idea at the time. This song was completely inspired. I think we finished this demo within a few hours of being in the studio. It would take 18 months to realize this title was the core of the next major creative phase of my life. I made this with my friend, writer/producer Daple.

Raw Emotions - cover artwork options

Before the release of the project there we a host of different covers that we explored for Raw Emotions. I honestly still love so many of these, they just weren't right for the song. They felt more like artistic collaborations. These were all created by the BADASS designer Mihailo.

I took some of the designs above and combined them into this sketch. To the right is the digital mock-up of my concept. 

This is the final design we chose for Raw Emotions project. I wanted something that couldn't be defined by an emotion, a person or even a genre of music. Raw Emotions is about embracing ALL of the emotions, ALL of the sounds, ALL of the people and saying "I don't give a fuck, I am who I am."

Tom Petty

When Tom Petty died, I was really shocked. You know the icons who made the music that shaped you are getting older, but this was different, it felt like it came out of no where. The world losing Tom coupled the pain of the tragedy in Vegas was overwhelming. I still can't believe it's real. I wrote this song that week. 

In america it seems it’s a shit show everyday

It’s harder to justify my words

Oh my little problems buried in my little mind

Trying to find meaning in my life

 

 

Natural disasters are coming even faster than we thought we would ever see

But you and your guitar

Made america feel small in a way we haven’t felt since ‘70

 

Oh my

What will we be without your song

Alright

Runnin’ down a dream out in the sun

What will we be without your song

What will we be without your song

 

February shakes, 2008

Watching the super bowl down south

A boy of 5 years looks up at his father

daddy who is that man

He said son you listen close

He writes american songs

The kind that you wanna take back home

He put him on his lap

Singing “I won’t back down”

Drinking memories through his eyes

 

Oh my

What will we be without your song

Alright

Singing “refugee” out in the sun

What will we be without your song

What will we be without your song

 

2017

Memories and dreams

Got things that I don’t need but can’t admit

Worrying about my songs

My body and my wallet

I feel like a selfish piece of shit

 

 

And now Tom Petty died

And too many mother closed the eyes of sons they sent off to watch a concert

I say what kind of america is this

still I think of women and success

Is that human or just the way it is?

 

Oh my

What will I be without your song

Alright

Runnin’ down a dream out in the sun

Oh my

What will I be without your song

Alright

Singing “refugee” out in the sun

What will I be without your song

What will I be without your song