When I went to work for Blue Raven Entertainment in Mountainside NJ, this was the first logo I did for them and I just love the way this one came out. Nice and simple and bold. Big shout out to Sean Gilday for suggesting the colors (The man just loves Purple and Fluorescent Green!), Rachel Hill and Jay Januzzi for a little inspiration and great input on this. In the music industry, sometimes Genre Bands get a bad wrap, I don’t know why exactly, but I love them! The 70’s Rock & Roll Roadshow are super talented group and put on a great show, so I was delighted with not only the way it turned out but that they loved it as much as I did.
This is one of the hardest logos I’ve ever had to produce, because when your asked to knock-off an album cover the likes of Neil Young’s classic “Harvest”, which had such an impact on me during my youth, it’s pretty intimidating. I really wanted this to come out perfect, and I can honestly say I think it’s the closest I could get. I had to hand draw all the fonts because with all the flourishes and the way the Lettering is arched, there was just no way I could use a font and play around with it without taking forever to get what I want, so I just sketched the whole thing out, as you can see by the rough I posted.
So Led Zeppelin is my all-time number one favorite Band, and when Kashmir asked me to re-design their logo from the current one I was totally psyched. I must have painted the old grey wizard on top of Misty Mountain at least 5 or 6 times on friends denim jackets when I was a teenager, so this was just a no-brainer for me. Sean of Blue Raven Entertainment in Mountainside NJ suggested the putting the grey wizard in the middle, and at first I was a little hesitant because I thought it would be too detailed, but I think it looks great, and anyone that knows Led Zeppelin would be able to spot that silhouette from a distance so I went for it. I drew a bunch of other sketch’s I liked almost as much, but ultimately the guys over at Kashmir decided on this one. Definitely one of my favorites and really proud of this one. Thanks for the opportunity to be a part of the continuing Led Zeppelin tradition guys!
I had some fun with this one. Cannon Ong, or, the “Chinese Bookie, is an an odds maker, sports show personality and Hot Dog Vendor that makes book and gives his predictions for the Nobody Cares Sports Network. When Danny Chanod, host of NCSS and his Agent Fred “Freddy” Mangin of Mangin Media asked me to come up with some character art to start rebranding the show, I had to chuckle when they told me the name of the personality, because I’ve been overseas to mainland China and if there’s one thing the Chinese love to do is GAMBLE. Wherever I went during my stay in Shenzen, I’d always see groups of men, young and old alike, playing cards and rolling dice on the street! Plus the bookie is hysterical. Head on over to Nobody Cares Sports Network and give him a listen, and you’ll get the inside track on some local sports!
Harry Poulos who owns and operates Whatatee Inc. down in South Hackensack, NJ. is a great guy, so when he called me to help his son Jeff Poulos out with a logo for Jeff’s new business venture as a Career Coach, I didn’t even have to think twice about it because Harry’s all aces. Turns out his Son’s just as nice a guy with the same head for business. Designing a logo for him was easy because Jeff seemed to have a pretty good idea of what he was looking for. After showing him a page of sketched thumbnails, Jeff settled down on the “Puzzle” concept, and I came up with 4 or 5 different logo concepts. Ultimately Jeff thought the graphic of a puzzle piece fitting into a circle with the three other pieces already joined would best express the journey from recruit to hired employee, and I thought so too. Looking forward to his success as a career coach and counselor!
Cool poster for the concert that never was. When Covid hit in mid-march of 2020, that pretty much just ended it for the music industry and it’s been that way since. It’s a shame, because Blue Raven Entertainment, who I was working for at the time, pitched in and scheduled some great Tribute acts to perform at the Nelson Ledges Quarry Park Annual Classic Fest. The Lake is inside a giant abandoned slate quarry out in Ohio, and we helped book some of our best Tributes including Into the Floyd, The Petty Breakers, and Kashmir. Nelson Ledges Management commissioned me to design this poster and were pretty free with what I could come up with, so a Loch Ness type Dragon seemed appropriate, and I’m pretty proud of the way this turned out.
Hosted by Dan Chanod, with personalities like “The Commander” Patty Chanod, “Chinese Bookie” Cannon Ong, “Famous” Amos Wilson, “The Captain” Mike DeConzo, Fantasy Sports Insider Ricky Martinez and UFC specialist Ivon Dominguez, Nobody Cares Sports Network, is THE grass roots team covering your local sports in the New York Metropolitan area. My Cousin Danny Chanod and his agent, Fred Mangin of Mangin Media asked me to come up with a cool logo in an effort to start branding their shows in an organized coordinated way that their fans would understand. We kicked it off by throwing a pair of old school headphones around 70’s style lettering ala Wide World of Sports featuring your host Dan McKay and Nintendo Gameboy lettering. We topped it off with Classic New York Mets and Nets coloring, and Voila!
Do you like James Taylor? That’s a dumb question because who doesn’t like James Taylor? Well my friend Sam Hyman is the Singer, songwriter and Guitarist for The JT Express (Formerly known as Sweet Baby James) which is one of the best, if not THE BEST James Taylor tributes in the entire Country. I was honored to have him ask me to create a new logo for his band, and he was really pleased with the result. Nothing like an old steam engine to chug into town and lay down some sweet JT lines!
Sam is a Director and Adjunct Professor at the Music Department of Gannon University, but he’s also written and co-written popular songs like “Fly” (performed by the likes of the Fugees and Dante) as well as many commercial Jingles. I’m truly excited for Sam’s continuing musical Journey with his latest musical endeavour, and was thrilled to help him create this new logo. Best of luck Sam!
My Cousin Danny Chanod down in Staten Island (Who’s a great guy and an all around phenomenal comedic personality) referred me to one of his best friends Matt Wiznewski to design a logo for a Food Truck business he’s looking to start. I actually knew Matt from a previous project we we’re working on together called “Off The Books”, but that’s definitely a story for another day. To say that he’s a “card” would be putting it mildly. The man jokes around CONSTANTLY, so his idea for a business and logo concept didn’t surprise me in the least. The focus will be on comfort food with a twist, like bacon and egg’s on a knish, and a bunch of other crazy concoctions he described to me during our briefing. I have to smile, because not only is the name hysterical, but the whole idea is just so crazy that I honestly think it’s got a chance to work. Anything’s possible with a little hard work and determination. I’m imagining a vinyl wrapped Black truck with strong pops of red black and white to compliment the logo I designed for him. I think it’ll stick-out like a sore thumb parked down at South Beach near the athletic fields on a Sunday afternoon. Best of luck with finding a truck, acquiring the proper permits and licenses, and making a name for “Fat Guy Little Apron” Matt. I hope you like the logo! I think it’s one of the funniest I’ve ever done TBH.
I was asked by my good friend Sallie Xiradis of Xiradis Design to re-create a Hoplite Shield tattoo design one of her kids had gotten into a logo. I was honored, grateful and happy to assist her. Sallie (Eggleston) Xiradis is a friend of the Family through her employment with my Father, Joe Rodriguez’s, Graphic Design Studio CRAIG ADAMS ASSOCIATES. Craig Adams flourished throughout the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s handing a wide assortment of Design Projects with Clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies, to the Apollo Theatre, to Idaho Potato and much, much more. Good times, good times. More on that as this blog expands. I am truly fortunate and blessed to have such a wonderful person as a friend and Graphic Design colleague whom I can always rely on for advice and a sympathetic ear. “We all need somebody to lean on” right?
Fred Mangin over at Mangin Media asked me to create this cool ass Flaming Taino Skull for one of his clients. He wasn’t sure what they were going to use it for exactly, but that’s ok, because I was more than happy to handle a project that was a little “off the beaten path” so to speak. I’ve gotten some unusual requests before, but to be honest I’ve never been asked to recreate Taino Folk art, so it was an interesting commission. I approached the job with my usual aplomb and determination to make both Fred and his client happy, and if you ask me, I think it was a great success! His customer loved it, and Fred told me they’re most likely going to be using it for some T-shirt Designs, patches and stickers. I think it’s for a Motorcycle club actually. I don’t know. Sometimes it’s better to ask less questions and get it done (along with a lot of other projects I’m handling at the same time!) than it is to get mired down by getting TOO MUCH information. Sometimes you just have to let the artist do “his thing”, and everybody will be happy. After all, that’s what I’m here for, to provide the creative inspiration others may not be able to express. That’s just my Job and I’m happy to do it. Thanks Fred!
Sometimes a project can take a while to come to a conclusion, but as the saying goes, “good things come to those who wait”. When Marisa Miro, Head Chef and Proprietor of Bone Appetit Dog Bakery down in Virginia Beach asked me to show her some rough sketch’s of a logo she had in mind back in October of 2020, it was until January of 2021 that I was able to sketch out the logo. I had suffered an extremely painful pinched nerve and muscle spasms right after accepting the project, and it prevented me from being able to even sketch out the concept. But all’s well that end’s well, because I think the result was a cute logo which included cartoons of her four dogs incorporated into it, as well as one of herself. She was doggone happy with the end result, and well, that’s all that matters to me. I’m looking forward to working with Marisa to further develop her marketing strategy to show dog owners across the world what tasty, healthy treats she can whip up for them! Best of Luck Marisa!
When Dan Chanod, Host of Nobody Cares Sports Show Came to me with a request to come up with a Cartoon Logo for the Commodore’s Corner, I laughed because I’ve know Patty Chanod since 1986 when I was introduced to the family. Patty’s a larger than life personality and an integral part of the Staten Island bayside community of Stapleton. What better than to portray him in his Trademark Captains cap skimming the whitecaps along the Verrazzano Narrows.
Ozzy Mancinelli of The Pettybreakers wanted to come up with a new logo for their revamped stage act, and also to commemorate signing onto Blue Raven Entertainment’s roster as one of the Country’s BEST Tom Petty Tributes. I wanted to push the limits on this logo, and maybe come up with something a little bit different, but we ultimately settled on something that I would consider a pretty traditional representation of the Tom Petty “Brand”. That being said, I was super happy with the way this logo turned out, as I think it reflects the band perfectly. If your into Tom Petty as much as I am, go check these guys out if they’re playing in your area. They’re amazing. AXS-TV titled them “The worlds greatest tribute to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers”!
Famous Amos Wilson (AKA Eli) from Allen Texas is an NBA insider who was a small forward that played for Lamar University. He is currently a host on Nobody Cares Sports Show with a weekly Facebook broadcast. I had some fun with this one, as Eli has a lot of character and I wanted to try and give it an 80’s vibe with the layout and design elements, just to add a little bit of a retro feel. Danny Chanod and Fred Mangin of Mangin Media seemed to like it so I think it was a success! I love doing sports characters, so if anyone out there needs some cool Sports Characters done, hit me up at adam@rockyscartoonshop.com
When Rick Murphy of Hollywood Nights signed onto Blue Raven Entertainment for Representation and Booking, first thing he wanted to do was design a new logo along the lines of the Classic. Sean GIlday and I immediately agreed a chromed out logo was in order, along the lines of the original Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band’s. A tall order but one that I was eager to tackle as part of my duties as Art Director for Blue Raven Entertainment. We went through a round of sketches and eventually settled on something akin to a “57 Chevy” chromed nameplate with a desert horizon reflected in the lettering. He was as thrilled with the logo update as much as we were. Rick and his band are a hard charging, blue collar “Travelin’ Man” type of crew, which I really respect. It’s all for the love of Music and that’s why Rick’s the genuine article. Keep Kickin’ *ss my man
I was so happy to help out Rick Murphy of Hollywood Nights out with a custom poster of his Band. He wanted all 15 members of the band and crew portrayed in caricature so he could give it to them as a Christmas Present. I knew the project was going to take on monumental proportions, but I loved the challenge of having to portray all the band and support crew (Which travel around in a customized Bus which Rick personally out-fitted for their long Road Trips). Rick had the Giclee Print professionally framed up and presented to each member. I thought it was a nice touch by a Band Leader that truly understands the importance of a cohesive unit that plays like a well-oiled machine on stage. Not an easy task when your traveling from gig to gig across the greater Northeast and Midwest. This was a welcome challenge! Thanks Rick!
When I first Came onto Blue Raven Entertainment as their Creative Director/Art Director, Sean wanted to change the BRE Logo so it was a little slicker and corporate. I was psyched because not only did I welcome the challenge to synthesize my ideas into as few, recognizable lines as possible, but to also infuse it with a cool, edgy “Classic Rock” vibe, as the bulk of the BRE bands in their stable are Classic Rock Tributes. We went through a couple of rounds of sketch’s, and we finally settled on a finished sketch I had done depicting a front view silhouette of a Raven in flight. The trick was making something simple and bold enough that could be easily recognized from a distance, but that was also easy to print small, say on a business card, or easily viewed on a mobile device. Sean Gilday and Rachel Hill were very happy with the outcome, and we completely rebranded the whole business’s ID package the new logo. I’m very proud of it, and was able to help my friend Sean of over 25 Years rebrand a growing and successful business in preparation of bigger things to come.c