Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Rock of Ages

The 30th issue of Wax Poetics is on newsstands now, featuring cover stories on Bad Brains and Elvis, and features on Sixto Rodriguez, Bo Diddley, Jimmy McGriff, Ike Turner, Dave Bartholomew, The Rascals, Babe Ruth, and many more. I think I mentioned previously that I really wanted to print on foil paper—so the rock issue would be metallic—but the cost was too outlandish. We did it at V magazine with issue 37 (Mary J. Blige on a gold cover, photographed by Mario Testino) but Fendi picked up the tab. When you print on metallic paper, you have to first print a white layer, and then each subsequent layer has to air dry—it can't go under a heater. Depending on the paper, you also have to spot-varnish the uncoated inside covers so the ads will print glossy. The whole process is fairly complex and we couldn't swing it this time out. Still, a very cool issue, and editorially an interesting juxtaposition of Bad Brains and Elvis on the front and back covers.

One of my goals in re-designing the magazine was to change the display type with each issue, possibly picking up type from record covers that figured prominently in the issue. This time, though, art director Josh Dunn did a 3-D metal chunk treatment to Lubalin Graph, so we stuck with that for the second issue in a row.

More info at waxpoetics.com, and check the digital music site as well, where you can download playlists from each issue and tons of other good stuff.

No comments: