bye bye 2010

It seems like doing an end of the year wrap up is the thing to do, so hey why not. This will most likely be mega rantish. Tons of things happened this year. 2 really successful lines were put out by Electric Zombie. The Fall line was probably my biggest and best accomplishment to date. So much work went into it. It was seriously my biggest accomplishment this year. I presented a major market tour. Bought a house. Not a bad 2010. Sure there were some bad things that happened. Like every other year. I think on top of some of the biggest and best goals achieved, lots of mishaps smacked me in the face as well. Having thousands of dollars stolen from me, product stolen from me, ideas stolen and sold from me, friends back stab me, someone I looked up to shutting me out for putting family first for one of the first times in my life, just to name a few. In the end, those “mishaps” will only fuel the 2011 fire. In my eyes, I am looking to make 2011 my year. Sure people say that every single year, but the difference is, I actually keep my word. Every year I progress in some form, with EZ, with growing up, and with my artwork. Last year I had 87 different clients, 367 approvals, just with t-shirts alone. This year I had 113 different clients, and 339 approvals. Sure the approvals are down, but given the time and circumstances of moving, prepping both summer and fall lines, traveling, buying a house, it’s still pretty impressive. EZ wasn’t nearly as big in 2009 as it is now. Last year I kept saying, Electric Zombie is a hobby I take seriously. Now it’s more of a dream and imagination coming to life.

I also think that the music industry / scene in general is to blame. Here’s where the mega rant comes into play. When I first got into this, career I guess. It started much like EZ, a hobby. Doing show posters for a local venue, then heartcore, etc etc. I never imagined this being my job. I honestly still don’t know what I’ll end up retiring from when I’m an old man. My career is the only instance in my life that I don’t over think and worry and get all anal (mmmmm) about. It was something I did for fun for extra money, I loved doing it. At the time, I was partying, and going to shows all the time, and making a bunch of money, for t-shirt designs. I was working with bands I was watching and loving, it was a massive surreal thing. When you’re young and really passionate about something, you will and would do anything just to get a taste. I had all these ideas, I had the drive, i just needed the ball or the keys to be put in my hands. When I first started, bands gave me that ball and I ran with it. Now don’t get me wrong, I still have ideas for bands, but only the bands that care about their music, or get excited to have me work on something, or a band that I still enjoy or really get into. When I was younger, and starting out, I just wanted to do it all. You’re in a band that’s some what relevant? I’ll do it. Sure I have ideas. This was also during the myspace era. The era that has fallen drastically since 2009, if not sooner. Going to shows, messaging bands via myspace. Easy, I hustled. Now it’s all labels and merch companies, or managers that designers talk to. You can always tell my best work, and my proudest work, seems to always come from bands that I actually converse with, or befriended. Before bands would give me feedback, we love this we hate this, call or email me. Now the heavy arsenal of bands I started with being personal with professionally, can now be counted on my 2 hands. I don’t know if it’s they’re progressing, which to me is no excuse, because my favorite clients and bands, are some of the biggest in my opinion in the “scene” and they answer emails and phone calls, better than these hot for the moment guys. These bands start out caring what their image looks like, then when they get where they want, or at the pace that they know that they could potentially get somewhere and just shut down and just wave the image out the window, it’s about keeping your rank and topping the other guy. Or they hire people based on what “so and so’s merch looks like”. To only get yelled at in the future, because those bands end up touring together. Maybe you shouldn’t have asked me to do merch like “so and so”. Or maybe you should send me an idea. I can’t tell you how many emails I’ve got that just have, “yo, we need merch, asap, ideas? no, do your thing, I know you’ll kill it” only to get a “not feeling it” response later. That’s even if I get a response after weeks and weeks of being a babysitter. How can you not have any ideas?! You write music for fucks sake. What inspired you to write that song, what’s the song about? That’s an idea for a shirt. What do you fight for, write for, why do you do what you do? It makes zero sense. Maybe it’s just been because for years, guys like me who started getting into this were thinking for these bands, we had the ideas, because we were dying to do a shirt for “so and so” and you got comfortable with it. Not actually having to worry about how you market your band via t-shirt. It drives me bonkers trying to figure out bands. Or maybe because were finally exiting that stage where guys like Matt Gondek and Ben Lande and whom ever else just draw whatever, and cash their check. Or maybe it’s bright and bubbily or just a mess of too much fucking detail that will never actually make it onto a shirt, or be seen from far away, THEN IT MUST BE A GOLD MINE! type of situations. I have no idea. But when I have as many clients as I do, which I stated above, are just approvals, I’ve probably had 25% more bands ask me for stuff to get it rejected, via NOT FEELING IT PURPOSES. Or if you’re a band recording, about to go on tour while the record is being finished or going to be released while you’re on said tour, and all I have to go by is old shit, that probably won’t be relevant to what you’re currently doing. On top of coming to me a week maybe 2 weeks, before said tour starts, when you have known about this tour for at least 3 months, waiting until the last minute. YOU HAVE TO GIVE ME SOMETHING to work with. How do you act like you don’t know about a tour? or not know how you want to represent your band? how you want your fans to walk around and wear a billboard that says, this is this band, this band is **insert band image of how your band should be represented**. I mean if a big ass dinosaur with blue blood shitting green diarrhea and battling a pizza in a ufo with your logo slapped on with 4 or 5 outlines in different colors is your thing, then by all means, keep doing what you do, I’m glad that when you think of your band and what it represents and the music it puts out, that that creppy ass retard dinosaur is basically your mascot for the tour, and then the next tour it will just be an evil ice cream cone demon getting stabbed by a mutant unicorn, but hey, at least the logo won’t be any different.

I’m really hoping that this sort of thing comes to a slow steady stop next year. I don’t think I’m asking for much. Your band has to…
- Know what your songs are about
- Know what they like, what they don’t like, (they being your fans)I mean you dress yourself right? What are YOU wearing?
- Know when you’re going on tour, I mean come on, most tours are made months in advance, when it’s confirmed, maybe you should start thinking about merch.
- Know what your feeling, “Not feeling it” is not criticism.
Help me, Help you. The reality is, what I make, is how both of us make money. Stop trying to read kids minds by giving them what you think they want. Show some integrity and tell them what they want. With Electric Zombie, I make what I want, and people buy it. If I did what “sells” all my shit would look the same all the time. It’s boring. Maybe an idea you have, that you love a kid will be into it, because you’re into it, and then you start a new trend, instead of just blending in with the rest of your bands and road friends. I’m a designer, not a marketing team, or a mind reader. This isn’t just with shirts either, it’s EVERYTHING, album art, logos, you name it. I’m just a dude who loves making shirts, and when you have no input and I’m dealing with a robot. I start looking at it as a job, and hating what I do. If you don’t give a shit, then why should I?

I really hope that it changes. I love what I do, it’s a great feeling to wake up and sit in front of a a machine that makes my ideas come to life, to see them come off a press daily, and sit on shelves and walk down the street, on a kid, in a store.

Because of this, in 2011. I am looking to set new rules and standards for myself, or resolutions if you will…

- Charge more
- List of questions to be answered before I confirm your job
- No direction, No art, that simple. If you can’t give me a lyric, an example of what you like, or what sold well for you in the past, then no thanks.

I think my freelance will work a lot better, and my head won’t explode in frustration. Although I do work better when I’m mad, ha!

I achieved another goal this year…last year it was more cd artwork, this year was movie posters. I met with a movie studio this year and I also got to work on 3 movie posters. Granted I was paid to just do concept art on 2 of them, it was still a really great honor. I have way more respect for that job and that industry. You can see one of them on my portfolio.

Speaking of which, I updated my portfolio a few nights ago, you can scope that out here www.kyleisez.com

Here are my top 10 pieces of 2010 (in no order)












here are my top 10 EZ products of 2010 (in no order)












all and all with a few mishaps it’s been an awesome year. I am looking forward to 2011. Looking forward to going to Royal Rumble, Wrestlemania, Bamboozle, Future EZ lines and seeing Adam and Raul for the shoots, moving into and getting the house how I want it, and trying to improve as an artist and try and break the client / approval record from this year. There’s probably so many more goals to state, but won’t know until the thought pops into my head.
I wouldn’t have been able to accomplish all my goals this year if it weren’t for all my cyber designer pals, everyone at merch now (curt, ian, pullers, printers, everyone), and equal vision (love my job, seriously, no sarcasm) and everyone who believed in ez. All my band pals and clients and anyone who listened to to me flip the fuck out over “retard emails/people” and anyone who contributed to the hate machine, for “being kyle crawford” good or bad, this year wouldn’t have been as rewarding as it was. Hopefully next year will be just the same, except with less not feeling its and people stealing from me. YAY!