There are few, if any, musicians out there as creative, versatile, and visionary as
Sal Baglio. Back in the '80's, Sal fronted Boston rockers
The Stompers, singing, playing blazing guitar, and writing most of the bands many hits. I met Sal later, some 20+ years ago, when he was performing in an acoustic duo with ace singer/songwriter
Allen Estes at an amazing little restaurant and pub that seemed to be a magnet for some of the best musicians in the area. Recently, Sal approached me with the idea to use one of my illustrations to promote the release of his new single
"Space Cadette." The piece that caught Sal's eye was an illustration I did for the Washington Post a couple of decades back, a
"retro-comic book" image which I had
available for licensing as stock art. I was delighted, to say the least. Sal is not only a world-class guitarist, but also one of the most innovative songwriters in the business. He is currently recording with a select group of musicians under the name
"The Amplifier Heads." There are a number of albums and singles available, some as CDs, others for download at
theamplifierheads.bandcamp.com. "Space Cadette" has just become available. You can find it, along with my humble art piece, here:
rumbarrecords.bandcamp.com/album/space-cadette. And while you're at the
Amp-Heads Bandcamp page, check out all the other music available there. Sal's songs are original, high-concept, deep and eclectic. They often summon details of the past, filling in the gaps with memories we didn't know we had. And his concept albums cry out to be enjoyed in one sitting, as they wend across a wondrous audio decoupage of myriad sounds and themes. The diverse guitar work, lyrics, and vocal harmonies may evoke sounds of the Beatles, the Kinks, or even Tom Waits, but the music is always original and in Sal's own distinct voice. Just when you think you know where a melody line is going, Sal takes you somewhere new, surfing on the crest of his sometimes hard-rockin', sometimes wistful arrangements. Sal and I share an appreciation for retro science fiction.
Space Cadette will take you on a rockin' flying saucer ride to the edge of space and back. And for two bucks, it's a heck of a lot cheaper than
SpaceX!To get back to the art for a minute, Sal chose the above image and asked me to add the band name and title which I did. Not being able to leave well enough alone, and having done that piece when I barely knew how to use Photoshop, I did a number of variants, adding highlights and gradients to some of the art, in one piece little moons and planets to the bow-tie, and some comic book halftone texture and color to the background in the last one seen below. Sal also had two ideas for the word balloon text.
"Klaatu" won the day. As always, click on the images to see the larger versions.
Sal, you might already know this:
you rock!!
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