Recollection - Drawings of Memorable Records

A collection of drawings at Tender Brown

Hey there,

This past week my show opened at Tender Brown. Tender Brown is a record bar/cafe located in Miyazaki, Japan. You can enjoy delicious sweets, great coffee and even better cocktails. The owners of the shop, Iku Chan & Rintaro San are really wonderful people, and I set out to make something special and unique for them. Which brings me to….

“Recollection - Drawings of Memorable Records”

I asked friends and family (who I associate with having a strong connection to music) what record(s) spark a memory or experience (good or bad)? From their answers, 29 drawings were created for this event. Here are a few of my favorites.

Story of an LSD trip while listening to Cream’s “Tales of Brave Ulysses.”

The first time hearing my favorite record.

A neighbor convinced there are satanic messages in Silverchair’s “Frogstomp?!” Count me in!

A purchase of Tool’s “Aenima” gone wrong.

In order to keep the flow of the space comfy and unobtrusive for the patrons there simply to have a coffee, the stories are housed on my website. QR codes are placed throughout space, and when scanned, it brings you to the site. Which you can view HERE.

Here’s an example from the site.

Example of the QR code.

Now dear reader, I know it’s a hard ask to drop everything and travel across the world to see the show. So here’s a brief walk through of the space for you :)

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Merchandise

I love making merch! We made posters and t-shirts for the event. We might have some shirts left, but there are plenty of posters still available. Let me know if you are interested.

To entice you into spending your hard earned money, here’s some behind the scenes of the merch making….

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Posters

23 posters were made for the event. Printed on the fanciest, glossiest paper. Sized 31.5 x 45.5 CM. Signed & numbered.

My reference for the poster drawing.

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T-Shirts

We made 21, hand cut, hand pulled, 4 colored shirts. It was a ton of work, but a lot of fun. I’ve been making hand cut stencil shirts since I was 16 and can’t get enough.

All in all, it took around 7 - 8 hours to cut the stencils out. After that, each stencil can only be used in a single sitting. It’s unfortunate, but that makes each shirt unique.

Here are the 4 different layers for the colors.

Stencil for the black ink. I watched The Wedding Singer, Point Break and Shawshank Redemption while cutting this out.

Shirts waiting to dry.

Better than a chicken, bacon, ranch

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The Recollection - Soundtrack

On top of the stories, I asked the participants to include their favorite song from the record. Popped em all (the ones that were available on Spotify that is) onto a playlist and you can enjoy it on Spotify.

Made a cassette to promote the soundtrack. Nothing happens when you play the tape, but it looks cool!

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Even More Behind the Scenes!

Getting everything framed and ready for shipping to Miyazaki.

You, yourself make the best hand model.

Some early sketches for the bigger drawings.

Setting up the space.

Rintaro San makes the best cocktails. My favorite is the “Jack Rose.”

Random gyoza pic for you. They aren’t served at Tender Brown, but you can get them at my favorite spot just down the street.

Big time ARIGATO to my amazing wife for all her patience and support through the whole “Recollection” experience :)

Some of the drawings and goods may still be available. Feel free to reach out if you have any interest :)

Thanks for reading this deep dive on my process. Making and sharing these long winded posts is the whole reason I joined Substack. Hope you enjoy em and more soon.

- Herm