Premier Guitar Magazine - Covers

Although I've designed/art directed 100+ magazine covers for Premier Guitar, these are a few that hold a special place in my heart.

"Willie Nelson." <i>Premier Guitar</i>, Jul. 2020.

"Willie Nelson." Premier Guitar, Jul. 2020.

Photo by Pamela Springsteen.

"Pedal Land." Premier Guitar, Oct. 2022.

Illustration by Ian Mackay.

"Tosin Abasi." <i>Premier Guitar</i>, May 2022.

"Tosin Abasi." Premier Guitar, May 2022.

Photo by Jonathan Weiner.

"Carlos Santana." <i>Premier Guitar</i>, Feb. 2022.

"Carlos Santana." Premier Guitar, Feb. 2022.

Photo by Maryanne Bilham.

"The Spoils of NAMM." <i>Premier Guitar</i>, Apr. 2020.

"The Spoils of NAMM." Premier Guitar, Apr. 2020.

"Jeff Beck." Premier Guitar, Mar. 2023.

Photo by Ken Settle.

"Wasteland." <i>Premier Guitar</i>, Oct. 2021

"Wasteland." Premier Guitar, Oct. 2021

Illustration by John F. Malta.

"Pedal Vanitas." <i>Premier Guitar</i>, Oct. 2017.

"Pedal Vanitas." Premier Guitar, Oct. 2017.

Photo by McClanahan Studio.

"Yola." <i>Premier Guitar</i>, June 2022.

"Yola." Premier Guitar, June 2022.

Photo by Joseph Ross Smith.

"How to Prepare Your Tracks for a Mix Engineer." <i>Premier Guitar</i>, Sept. 2021.

"How to Prepare Your Tracks for a Mix Engineer." Premier Guitar, Sept. 2021.

"The Smashing Pumpkins." <i>Premier Guitar</i>, Jan. 2021.

"The Smashing Pumpkins." Premier Guitar, Jan. 2021.

Photo by John Isberg and Jacob Boll.

"The Soundmaker." <i>Premier Guitar</i>, Oct. 2020.

"The Soundmaker." Premier Guitar, Oct. 2020.

Illustration by Toma Vagner

"Gear of the Year 2021." <i>Premier Guitar</i>, Dec. 2021.

"Gear of the Year 2021." Premier Guitar, Dec. 2021.

"No-Brainer Mods." <i>Premier Guitar</i>, May 2021.

"No-Brainer Mods." Premier Guitar, May 2021.

"Old Amp Rescue." <i>Premier Guitar</i>, Aug. 2020.

"Old Amp Rescue." Premier Guitar, Aug. 2020.

Photo courtesy of Bernunzio Uptown Music / Bernunzio.com

"J. Mascis." <i>Premier Guitar</i>, Nov. 2021.

"J. Mascis." Premier Guitar, Nov. 2021.

Photo by Cara Totman Photography.

"The Temple of Stomp." <i>Premier Guitar</i>, Oct. 2019.

"The Temple of Stomp." Premier Guitar, Oct. 2019.

Illustration by Max Prentis.

Premier Guitar Magazine - Features

Here are a few of my favorite feature layouts for Premier Guitar. If you'd like, clicking the article title below the image will take you to the full feature (when available) in the digital magazine.

Robyn Hitchcock

Written by Jack Silverman. Photo by Laura E. Partain. "Hitchcock's Manifesto." Premier Guitar, June 2017, 81.

Yola

Written by Freddy Villano. Photo by Joseph Ross Smith. “Shred Sister Shred.” Premier Guitar, June 2022, 40-41.

Lemon Twigs

Written by David Von Bader. Photo by Autmn de Wilde. "Hey Bro—That's My Guitar!" Premier Guitar, Apr. 2017, 94–95.

Madison Cunningham

Written by David Von Bader. Photo by Claire Marie Vogel. “The Multitudes of Madison Cunningham.” Premier Guitar, February 2023, 50-51.

Roger Clark Miller

Written by Bill Murphy. Photo by Jesse Kreizer. “Roger Clark Miller: ‘My Idea of Surrealism Was Taking Acid’.” Premier Guitar, February 2023, 68-69.

Dan Auerbach

Written by Ted Drozdowski. Photo by Joshua Black Wilkins. “Dan Auerbach Summons the Ghosts of Mississippi Blues.” Premier Guitar, July 2021. 48.

The Art of Vanity

Photo by McClanahan Studio. “The Art of Vanity.” Premier Guitar, Oct. 2017, 131-132.

Ty Segall

Written by Brian Fox. Photo by Denée Petracek. "Manipulation Man." Premier Guitar, Oct. 2014, 83.

Larry Schemel

Written by Tzvi Gluckin. Photo by David Fearn. “The Twisted Life of Larry Schemel.” Premier Guitar, Jan. 2021, 62-63

The Stomper's Sojourn

“The Stomper’s Sojourn.” Premier Guitar, Oct. 2020, 83.

Black Midi

Written by Tzvi Gluckin. Illustration by Anthrax Studio. “Black Midi’s Radical Relativity.” Premier Guitar, Aug. 2017, 46-47.

George Porter Jr.

Written by Joe Charupakorn. Photo by Michael Weintrob / Instrumenthead.com. “Top Dog of New Orleans Funk Bass.” Premier Guitar, Oct. 2021, 32-33.

Laptop Live.

Written by Michael Ross. Photo by soukizy.com. “Should You Add a Laptop to Your Live Rig!?” Premier Guitar, June 2022, 32-39.

Hermanos Gutiérrez

Written by Nick Millevoi. Photo by Larry Niehues. “It Came From the Desert.” Premier Guitar, February 2023, 46-47.

Julian Lage

Written by Kate Koenig. Photo by Alysse Gafkjen. “What Are You Transmitting?” Premier Guitar, June 2021. 34-35.

Joshua Crumbly

Written by Freddy Villano. Photo by Giraffe Studios. “Exploring Bass to the Infinite.” Premier Guitar, Apr. 2022, 50-51

Kikagaku Moyo

Written by Tzvi Gluckin. Photo by Jamie Wdziekonski. “Kikagaku Moyo’s Freakout Finale.” Premier Guitar, March 2023, 60-61.

Nita Strauss

Written by Paul Kobylensky. Photo by Ana Massard. “Nita Strauss Conquers the World.” Premier Guitar, January 2023, 36-37.

The Subversive Guitarist Book

The Subversive Guitarist. Written by Joe Gore. Mar. 2022.

Digital Holiday Gift Guide

Wrapping paper from Target? Check. Holiday lights? Check. Co-worker's guitar? Check. From start to finish, I made this happen in an afternoon, and I was pretty proud. Victory candy cane and hot chocolate for me? Check. Little resources and no time? No problem.

Ho Ho Ho

"Holiday Gift Guide 2016." Premier Guitar, Dec. 2016.

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The Simpsons - John Achenbach

For the October 2014 issue we commissioned an illustration from John Achenbach, an amazingly talented storyboard artist on The Simpsons and an avid Premier Guitar reader. Inspired by Homer Simpson rolling in junk food, I conceptualized him instead on a pile of pedals and the rest is history. Mmm...pedals...

"Homer." <i>Premier Guitar</i>, Oct. 2014.

"Homer." Premier Guitar, Oct. 2014.

Interior Spread

"Stomp Delirium!" Premier Guitar, Oct. 2014, 130-131.

McBess

Illustrator for Stonedeaf Effects, musician, artist, and entreprenuer, there isn't much that French-born McBess can't do. For Premier Guitar's 2016 October issue, I was dreaming up a psychedelic Where's Waldo meets Roger Rabbit's Toon Town when I came across the work of McBess. We approached him with the my vision and his signature style didn't disappoint. It's detailed and wacky and one of my all-time favorite pieces.

Oct. 2016 - Premier Guitar

Illustration by McBess.

Interior Feature

Illustration by McBess. "Playtime in Pedal Land." Premier Guitar, Oct. 2016, 145.

Wong Notes Podcast

Wong Notes Podcast. Hosted by Cory Wong. Seasons 1-5.

Chasing Frets Podcast

Chasing Frets Podcast. Hosted by Jason Shadrick and Andy Ellis.

Runnin’ With The Dweezil Podcast

Runnin’ With the Dweezil Podcast. Hosted by Dweezil Zappa.

Stompboxtober Logo

Premier Guitar’s annual October pedal giveaway campaign.

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Connecting/communities of Northeast Iowa

Connected/communities of Northeast Iowa is a photo journalism book showcasing the talents of local high school students as well as their teachers and professional photographer mentors. Made possible through a McElroy grant, participating students from six school districts spent two days in the field documenting their communities and several weeks finalizing their work for submission.

Pollock Farms Logo

Logo for Pollock Farms. Jun. 2022.

The Other Side of the Island Album

The Other Side of the Island. The Bamboozlers. 2018. Album packaging.

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Wedding Invitation

This two-color, one-sided wedding invitation has two folds and a perforation for an RSVP card. Budget friendly and versatile, I developed this template for my own wedding and have been using it on commissions since.

Roma Sculptural Book

An oldie but a goodie, I crafted my little red journal back in 2007 while attending Iowa State University's Rome Program. The materials were hand-selected from a local paperie and sculpted into a textural art piece. Within the book, pages alternate between transcriptions of familial letters and my own account of day to day living in Rome.