TIME TO ROCK OUT!

October 30, 2006 1:09 PM

I'm having a party on Nov 11th to celebrate the release of Guitar Hero 2 and to rock out to new songs with my friends. I was thinking it might be cool to hang up some fake flyers for my in-game band (Della Rhesus Monkey) around my place for flavor. I have no idea how to go about it, though. I have access to Photoshop, but have very little skill in it. How best to capture that "crappy local band flyer" feeling? Any other suggestions on how to add some nice flavor to the party? (I already have a wig and leather wristbands.)
posted by emptybowl to Grab Bag (14 answers total)

Put away your keyboard and mouse, my friend. Crappy local band posters require the ancient and venerated art of collage. Grab a sheet of white paper, a glue stick, scissors, and a stack of newspapers/magazines. Cut and paste. Illustrate if you have any drawing talent. Go down to Kinkos and use the oldest black and white copier they have.
posted by muddgirl at 1:20 PM on October 30, 2006

Response by poster: Hmm...good point. I don't even know if I have any magazines around to cut up. I'll have to check....
posted by emptybowl at 1:41 PM on October 30, 2006

muddgirl is right. High contrast, splotchy photocopying. I would do the copying on various neon paper colors, and post them in square groups of four around the rooms. As if they were bills posted on the side of a building. More the better. Cake them on.

Colored lightbulbs are available in supermarkets and hardware stores.

Snifters of M&Ms separated by color? (a la Wayne's World)
posted by cowbellemoo at 1:44 PM on October 30, 2006

I agree with above - make black-and-white copies of a collaged-together poster. Don't be afraid to use a marker to write in the details and/or the band's name. Use AstroBright paper for the copies.
posted by Sprout the Vulgarian at 1:50 PM on October 30, 2006

Holy crap. I live in a sea of these at the local college radio station. Everyone is right. Photocopy it. Then photocopy that photocopy. Keep going until it looks suitably crappy.
posted by phrontist at 1:53 PM on October 30, 2006

i agree with everyone above. nothing says local band flyer like bad photocopies, preferably of some quirky magazine ad that is 50+ years old. for lettering i recommended the stickers you can find at most hardware stores.

the slightly classier local band flyer would of course be hand silk-screened. you should be able to pick up everything you need in order screen print them yourself for not much more than $30 bucks.
posted by phil at 1:55 PM on October 30, 2006

Not knowing what your doing sounds like an excellent start. If you want some inspiration, check gigposters.com, though those tend to be pretty impressive flyers. Reapporiation of corporate logos, cut & paste manipulations of religious and political figures, and random inside jokes are always good candidates for band flyers.

Flavor? How about setting the whole thing up in a garage, or a basement. Spilling PBR about. Throw about a wide variety of busted guitar cables, dead 9v batteries, guitar picks, and a collection of guitar magazines (bonus points if they have any articles about sweep picking).
posted by alikins at 1:56 PM on October 30, 2006

Play Guitar Hero 1 as your opening act.
posted by look busy at 2:11 PM on October 30, 2006

Play with the contrast settings on the photocopier. Possibly dirty the plate before copying.
posted by oxford blue at 2:34 PM on October 30, 2006

Fake vomit, cheap beer, how about a fog machine - oh, and someone better be wearing a scarf for the Poison song that's on there! Rock on!
posted by philad at 2:36 PM on October 30, 2006

Oops - not Poison - meant Warrant or Aerosmith - your pick!
posted by philad at 2:40 PM on October 30, 2006

Response by poster: Well, the party is already in my basement, so got that covered. I don't think my girlfriend would like me spreading PBR all over the carpet, though. Maybe I could just have some on hand. I also thought about having some mirrors of powdered sugar laying around.
posted by emptybowl at 3:06 PM on October 30, 2006

For best effect, go to a 24 hour Kinko's after 2am. Preferably with some PBR already in your system.

Then cut and paste and glue and xerox away!
posted by spinifex23 at 3:59 PM on October 30, 2006

For some pre-/post-game ambience, track down the real versions of the songs used in the first Guitar Hero. Then, you can play a game called "Who can resist air-playing along?"
posted by sarahsynonymous at 6:57 AM on October 31, 2006