Artist: John Hinckley
Label: Rad Girlfriend Records
Year: 2023

Yes, that John Hinckley. I will admit that there was a buzz of novelty when I got asked to work on this but his past is not the focus here, nor should it be. As the label states, “[we] recognized the sincerity of his art, offering him a platform to share his voice with the world.” At the end of the day it’s just a man and his guitar, isn’t it?

7-inch record available on random mystery as well as classic black colored vinyl.

Band: Coronary
Label: Rad Girlfriend Records
Year: 2023

I played the drums on this record and did all the art/design. Years in the making. I have a lot to say about this but I’ll say it later, for now check out these wild photos of the package. Huge thanks to Josh at Rad Girlfriend for helping us make this a reality.

Available on purple splatter (pictured), random mystery, and black colored vinyl. Photos of the package by Clayton Hauck.

Band: Diesel Boy
Label: SBÄM
Year: 2023

Diesel Boy got old and then they got me to do the album art for their comeback record. I created a little cut-and-paste still-life to make sure their mortality was on full display.

Photos to come!

Available in 5 different varieties of colored vinyl and on CD.

Band: Brutal Youth
Label: Stomp Records
Year: 2023

This record's about cycles of ruination and redemption, so it makes sense that the band asked for a reimagining/reinterpretation of the art I did back in 2015 for the reissue of their debut LP Spill Your Guts. Sometimes it can be hard to escape yourself, especially when your barf is a snake that tries to eat your head, but it's always worth trying.

Art and design included the full LP package plus a couple T-shirts and a massive stage banner.

Available on “powder blue” (pictured) or “red wine” colored vinyl. Photos of the package by Clayton Hauck.

Band: Triple Fast Action
Label: Forge Again Records
Year: 2023

This is a 3xLP collection of rare and unreleased early TFA material, featuring art/design work by me (with assists from everyone who designed these old flyers back in the 90s).

The process of putting this album artwork together was sorta insane. The idea was to simulate an old wall of posters that had been stapled and pasted over, ripped down and pasted over again, etc. First I tried to compile it all in Photoshop but it looked fake and shitty (because it was fake and shitty). I rarely feel as disheartened as I did when I began to realize I had proposed a concept that I couldn't actually execute. Then Brian from TFA suggested I just actually make copies of some original flyers, then actually put them on a wall, and then simply take a damn picture of them. And it worked!

So the result is a triple gatefold package that's a 1:1 scale reproduction of the "wall" I created, photographed for print by the mighty Clayton Hauck.

Photos to come!

Triple gatefold, triple LP available on green or random colored vinyl as well as 2xCD.

Band: Ninilchik
Label: Plastic Airlines Records
Year: 2023

PA015 is the untitled debut by Ninilchik, featuring three mysterious droning ambient harsh noise compositions. Cold and monolithic was the approach here. Music for the worst winter days.

Available on cassette in a limited edition of 50.

Band: XSubjugationX
Label: Plastic Airlines Records
Year: 2023

XSubjugationX plays primitive-ass lo-fi power violence that's all about how screwed up everything is. Take a listen and get mad. I did the art for the cassette and digital release. Here’s some of it.

Available on cassette in a limited edition of 50.

Band: Sludgeworth
Label: Red Scare Industries
Year: 2022

Just gonna steal this info from the Red Scare blurb cuz they say it better than I could:

Sludgeworth are Chicago punk pioneers from the 80’s that released a posthumous collection/discography album on Lookout Records back in the day—and it sold tens of thousands of copies, which was impressive for a defunct band. With members of Screeching Weasel, they had obvious leanings towards melodic punk, but they also had a quintessential Midwest sound mixed in with some post-punk. Think Naked Raygun and Fugazi. And now, for the first time ever, Red Scare brings you “Losers of the Year” on vinyl. Their first and only LP!

And my role here was one of more restoration and mimicry — more design-focused — than the creation of any original art: everything I did was an attempt to preserve the original spirit of the Lookout! CD, and in fact much of my work was based on scans of an original copy. Pretty fun.

Photos to come!

Available on vinyl and CD.

Band: The Raging Nathans
Label: Rad Girlfriend / Brassneck Records
Year: 2022

This band doesn’t ever stop making records so this record collects a bunch of those records and puts em on one record so you don’t have to track down all those other records.

Given the title of the album, I did a lot of thinking about failure and art and my relationship to those things when working on this. That’s why I ended up “sampling” a bunch of Neoclassical art for the cover, including the foreground moment which is taken from the painting in which Socrates chooses to drink poison and die to prove a point. I also wanted to include a little reference to Sordid Youth Volume 1, the first installment of these Raging Nathans singles collections, so that’s what the skull jacuzzi is all about.

Available on black, yellow, and random mixed color vinyl and includes a 2-sided 11”x17” poster insert. Photos of the package by Clayton Hauck.

Band: Hewhocorrupts
Label: Forge Again Records
Year: 2022

The legendary ‘hardcorporate’ band has hit the eject button and are cashing in on their legacy with this epic discography collection, the sequel to their Discographer LP from 2004. And I designed the package. More images to come, this thing is nuts.

Available on “Golden Parachute” and “Toner Spill” colored vinyl PLUS super-limited versions that include ACTUAL CASH embedded in the record. There are also two versions of the CD, one featuring a digipak printed on classy silver foil board.

Band: Debt Neglector
Label: Smartpunk Records / SBÄM
Year: 2021

Art and design for the second LP by these Floridians. I started working on this during the early days of pandemic life and I'm grateful to have had something like this to throw myself into through those tumultuous yet monotonous times. Plus I've been a fan of Alex's bands (New Mexican Disaster Squad, No Friends, Gatorface, etc.) for like 15 years so this is really prettttty cool.

This is up there as one of the coolest total packages I’ve ever put together. Thanks to the dudes in DN and at Smartpunk for going along with my sorta weird idea to have a 3-foot fold-out gator inflatable as the insert, and to have a hole cut out of the back of the LP jacket. Also shown here: glow-in-the-dark water bottle, “Grim Ski-per” T-shirt, dad hat, and three digital singles.

Available on “Swamp Life,” “Dirty Split,” “Eco Mix,” and white vinyl. Clayton Hauck took all of these photos.

Band: NAMBA69
Label: Pop Speed Records
Year: 2021

Wall of Youth lands in Japan via this collaboration with the shredders in NAMBA69. Maniac IV (the EP) contains “Maniac IV” (the song) which is the fourth episode of their series of songs about crazy love.

Available on “Coke Bottle Clear” colored vinyl.

Band: Boys Night Out
Label: Forge Again Records
Year: 2021

A collection of old recordings by this Canadian band, re-mastered and re-packaged for today’s youth. Art and layout by me, featuring hand-written lyrics by the lead singer and photos from their first show ever!

Available on “Blood & Water,” “Taillights,” and “Lake Ontario” colored vinyl.

Band: Skate Video
”Label”: Skate Video Tapes
Year: 2018-2023

Kid music for old people. I play drums, write most of the words, and do all the art and layout. Jack does everything else, including recording and mixing. Punk is fun. We put out about 2 songs a year. Have a listen over at Bandcamp.

Tapes #1 & #2 are available on cassette. Buy yours at the Wall of Youth Record Shop. Tapes #3 and 4 are digital-only for the moment. Also, for some reason, we are on a Turkish label.

Band: Mini Meltdowns
Label: Good Land Records
Year: 2019

Art and layout for this punchy 7-inch of poppy punk. When Jonny came to me for this project, he listed off a bunch of stuff that he liked: “skulls, demonic bats, mushroom clouds.” And here at WOY HQ, the customer is always right. T-shirt design and remix cover art too!

“Clear with blood splatter” vinyl pictured, black vinyl and CD also available. These photos were shot by Clayton Hauck.

Band: The Eradicator
Labels: Programme / Stonewalled / Underground Communiqué
Year: 2018

Here we have The Eradicator, the world’s foremost hardcore/pop-punk band based on a Kids in the Hall sketch, covering a bunch of songs but making them all about the sport of squash. Understand? It’s a one-sided 12-inch record, which is fun. Since it’s a covers record we decided to make the cover a cover of sorts as well.

Green vinyl and red vinyl variants pictured; also available on black vinyl, CD, and cassette. There are also 30 test presses that were sold at the Fest 17 in Gainesville, FL with alternate screen-printed covers. Photos by Brian Santostefano.

Band: Direct Hit
Label: Fat Wreck Chords
Year: 2018

Another year, another batch of songs from Direct Hit about how there is no god. But also how there is a god, and it’s drugs. Or something like that. The band really stretched themselves on this album while somehow also sticking to their time-tested pop punk approach, and the result is a great record. I am quite happy with my involvement in the art/layout/packaging of it all, even down to the matte paper stock we used on everything.

Widely available on black vinyl and CD (not pictured). The deluxe edition (pictured) looks the same from the outside but includes a transparent red/green split colored vinyl record and a custom-printed slipmat for your turntable. When you put that record on the slipmat, the colors of the vinyl interact with the colors of the printed felt to reveal Heaven- or Hell-themed imagery, depending on how you’ve placed it. There was also a double-deluxe edition that included 4 comic books by illustrator Walker DuBois.

Photos of the package by Brian Santostefano.

Band: The Lawrence Arms
Label: Fat Wreck Chords
Year: 2018

Stupid as it may be, one key factor in my decision to move to Chicago in 2009 was this band’s songs and the pictures of the city they painted in my head. It’s still kind of unreal to me, then, that I ended up having a hand in this, their career-spanning “retrospectus” double LP. I did all the artwork and illustrations while collaborating with longtime TLA designer David Holtz on layout and creative direction. This rules. FUN FACT: While working on this together David and I found out we lived less than a block away from each other.

Gold vinyl pictured; there are a few other exciting color combos floating around as well. All 2xLPs come in a gatefold jacket with a fold-out insert. CDs come in a digipak with a 20-page booklet. All versions are printed in two colors, black and metallic gold (for that extra fancy touch). Photos by Clayton Hauck.

Band: Coronary
Label: Self-released
Year: 2018

When my old band Brain Vacation called it quits we played our final show with a band called Coronary. They ruled. We also had pizza, which also ruled. And my drumming that night must have ruled as well because not long after that, they asked me to join their band. I did, and then we had the sound guy at Liar's Club record our first show together. Then my buddy Jack (also from Brain Vacation, Slaughter Rule, and Skate Video) helped me edit some of the tracks into this here rippin’ demo tape. And then, believe it or not, we asked Jack to join Coronary as a second guitarist.

Available on white cassette with two-panel fold out. Listen on Bandcamp and buy yours right here at the Wall of Youth Record Shop!

Band: Slaughter Rule
Label: Self-released
Year: 2018

I’m the singer and the drummer on this 4-song tape, but I’m not a singing drummer. We’ll have a separate drummer when you see us live in your local basement, coming soon. Every song is pretty much about how something is shitty. The last song, “Kill Him,” is specifically about how one dude in particular is shitty. Featuring 3/4 members of the final Brain Vacation lineup. Go have a good head-bang on Bandcamp.

Available on metallic silver cassette with 4-panel fold-out insert. Get yours right here at the Wall of Youth Record Shop!

Bands: Direct Hit & Pears
Label: Fat Wreck Chords
Year: 2017

Two bands pushing each other to the outer limits of stupidity on this split LP. (Actually the whole thing kicks ass and I feel like both bands really brought the goods on this one.) The cover collage was made with a bunch of old medical photography. Plus some diapers and pictures from the NASA archives. FUN FACT: The original title for this was Journey Into Diaperspace, so I guess maybe they found themselves at that limit of stupid I was talking about and then came back a few steps.

“Blood & Bone,” “Hyperspace,” and “X-Ray” vinyl variants pictured; also available on black vinyl and on CD. Photos by Brian Santostefano.

Band: Direct Hit
Label: Fat Wreck Chords
Year: 2017 [reissue]

For this re-release of their debut LP, Direct Hit wanted me to hold on to some of the elements that made up the original cover art — an exploding head, ground meat, and TV static. That was plenty for me to work with.

Limited green vinyl pictured; standard black vinyl and CD also available. Photos by Clayton Hauck (gross stuff) and Brian Santostefano (clean stuff).

Band: The Eradicator
Label: Stonewalled
Year: 2017

Let the carnage begin! Or, I suppose, continue, as this is the second release (first full-length) from The Eradicator. If you aren’t familiar with the concept, maybe watch this Kids in the Hall clip and then just buy the record and go with it. It’s squash-focused hardcore pop-punk at its finest. Art and layout by me, inner sleeve photos by a bunch of people.

Pictured here on “Squash Salad” colored vinyl; also available on white and black vinyl, CD, and cassette.

Band: Brain Vacation
Label: Wall of Youth Records
Year: 2016

The third Brain Vacation 12” and the one where we finally got it right. Also the third release on Wall of Youth Records, AKA the third time I put my logo on my band’s thing. Everything clicked on this record: the best songs, the best recording, and the best art we’d ever assembled. Entirely recorded and produced by the band, with only the final spit-shine coming from hardcore hero Will Killingsworth who mastered it for us. I love how this album spans the entire ridiculous history of Brain Vacation — reaching from the hardcore punk band we ended up as all the way back to its beginnings as my Terminator-obsessed solo art/noise project — in under 20 minutes.

Released exclusively on “Blood Red” colored vinyl and available right here in the Wall of Youth Record Shop.

Band: Direct Hit
Label: Fat Wreck Chords
Year: 2016

It’s pretty cool when you get an email telling you that the album you're doing art for is gonna be released by the record label that shaped your young adulthood. That's what happened here. FUN FACT: I took the arms and torso for the central figure at this hopped-up “last supper” from the Platoon movie poster.

Widely available on black vinyl (and CD, not pictured). Limited “Piss” and “Wormhole” colored vinyl pictured here as well as the deluxe edition which is pressed on “Brain Soup” colored vinyl and includes alternate artwork, a pack of incense, rolling papers, and a wooden base that serves as a record display stand AND incense holder. The base includes a strip of LED blacklights that activate the fluorescent inks on the screen-printed sleeve. Dude. Photos by Brian Santostefano.

Band: Brutal Youth
Label: Say-10 Records
Year: 2015 [reissue]

This was fun to work on because it has all the best stuff: skulls, puke, and bright colors. This band is intense live and were also incredibly nice to me and my band when we “toured” to Toronto to open for them. Canadians are the best.

“Sunbarf” vinyl pictured; also available on green vinyl. Photos by David Jacobson.

Band: Direct Hit
Label: Red Scare Industries
Year: 2015

More punk slime from the [direct] hit factory! This is a re-recorded collection of singles and rarities from these grade-A Milwaukee boys. I had already done the art for a bunch of those 7-inches so it was fun to run those songs through the ol’ meat grinder once again.

Available on black vinyl (and CD, not pictured). Photos by David Jacobson.

Band: Direct Hit
Label: Red Scare Industries / Good Land Records
Year: 2013

This was a huge, fun project that included record artwork and design, video direction and editing, comic book writing and illustration, package design, and more. Across these numerous forms, Brainless God tells the story of humanity’s last day as nuclear obliteration approaches. FUN FACT: The explosive orange background on the cover and back cover was made by photographing my TV during the apocalypse scene in Terminator 2 (the greatest movie of all time).

Widely available on black vinyl (and CD, not pictured). The limited edition was produced in an edition of 300 and includes the album on red vinyl, a 48-page comic book, and a DVD of music videos for each song, all housed in a hand-numbered, screen-printed clamshell box. Photos by David Jacobson.