In Front of the Music: the cover story
Brian Clarke is a brilliant painter with a twisted sense of humor in Oakland, California.
He also draws rather unique cartoons under the alias of "Les Toil". I met Brian through
the folks at Barley Music, where the initial tracks were recorded.
I explained the idea of the album to Brian and gave him a preliminary cd to listen to.
He came back with several sketches of ideas for the cover that he made while listening to it.
The "umbrella under the waterfall" sketch caught my eye immediately.
"What's this one?" I asked.
"I got that idea from a Bugs Bunny cartoon."
"I love it!"
"The main theme is: what is he waiting for?"
Brian took a few photos to work from, retired to his studio, and commenced painting for several
weeks. The results became the cover for Passive-Aggressive. I still have the original painting
hanging in my studio.