I've had several musical projects lately- from post-apocalyptic music video to a "how-to-make-a-dulcimer" feature for Woodcraft mag that I can't wait to share in coming weeks. 

Two of these projects are completely un-related but both involve my buddy Jake- who is both bassist of indie alt-rock band Me Like Bees AND has the solo rap artist moniker of "J-Thrill."

Jake releases his next full length album project in exactly two weeks- September 1st- so you should definitely check him out and head over to the 'VS' site to find out more about the new record.

The coolest part of this for me is that I got to shoot an album cover this time, something I haven't gotten to do in quite awhile. 

For the cover of the record, we put the call out for a tatted up stunt double, preferably identical to Jake in every way, except "grungier". 

We didn't really have a lot of luck with that [sarcasm? what are you talking about?] so we opted for photoshop and Jake played both roles. 

Normal "real-life" Jakes was pretty easy. 

alter-ego Jake took a bit more acting. I got to direct him to bring out his inner mainstream rapper (something he most definitely is NOT in true life) and we took a slew of photos to capture the right stance. 

The final result:

the rest of the shoot was basic portraits. 

I like ending things on a goofy note. Took a "different direction" with editing techniques...

Hope you enjoyed the post. Til next time...



-Mark