The Art and Design of Parquet Courts

This article originally appeared on Noisey Australia.

Andrew Savage studied painting at the University of North Texas. It was where he first met philosophy major Austin Brown, with whom he would become bandmates seven years later when the pair started Parquet Courts in New York City.

Since then, the sardonic Brooklyn outfit have reached a Late Show appearance level of success but maintained a strong design aesthetic steeped in the DIY punk tradition, thanks to Savage’s poster and album art.

Influenced by the legendary Black Flag illustrator Raymond Pettibon as well as handbills and flyers from his hometown punk scene of Denton, much of Savage’s design takes on a humorous sketchbook feel. The band’s 2011 debut, American Specialties, is in the style of an ubiquitous Chinese restaurant menu, both in design and font, while a poster for their upcoming Australian tour has the band billed as Parquet Bloody Courts.

Ahead of the tour we spoke with Savage to learn more about his art and influence.

Noisey: It’s good to see that you’ve used the word ‘bloody’ for the Aussie tour poster.
Andrew Savage: Yeah, you guys and the British use that word tons. Americans don’t use it but I wanted to speak in your vernacular so you guys would understand me.

I also like the inclusion of photos of your bandmates.
Yeah, I don’t know the circumstances of Sean and the grapes. I think I just happened upon that photo. The one of Austin is of him lying in Joshua Tree National Park, that’s why he’s surrounded by all those cacti.

When people think of punk design, Pettibon and Pushead are often refererenced, but there’s also some good recent stuff such as Alexander Heir.
Andrew: I’m looking at Alex’s book right now actually. He did a poster for us once when we played with the Men. I’m not sure if it’s in the book, I actually haven’t tried to look for it but I’m a fan of his art.

Poster design by Alexander Heir

Was there anyone who stood out when you were growing up?
Pettibon was huge for me. His influence is still apparent in a lot of my work. The graphic element of punk was one of the most appealing things of it because it looked cooler than a lot of the other graphics that I was seeing for other types of music. But it seemed pretty inviting and a portal to a world that I wanted to be a part of. It was around the same time that I first started playing guitar when I got into drawing posters and flyers for bands that hadn’t even played shows yet.

Were you cutting and pasting or drawing?
Both. I started out just drawing and then began cutting and pasting and sourcing images. The first seven-inch I was on was for a hardcore band. We got an image from a National Geographic. It was a guy from Iran hitting himself in the head with a sword and bleeding everywhere. We just put the band name over it and it was good enough. But these days—all modesty aside—I think I've got some good skills as a graphic designer, and so I want to roll with that. I see a lot of punk bands kind of flirting with the capital D of the design world, Total Control being an example of that, they tend to get some pretty interesting designers to work with them. You see that more and more punk bands moving away from the traditional cut and paste look.

Would you have enough material now to publish your own book of art?
I’m not sure. When I was younger, I took every flyer I saw and put it in a notebook that I still have in the basement of my building, though I haven’t seen it in a few years. But it’s got a bunch of flyers I drew and shows I played and just ones that I liked a lot. It would be like a walk through memory line from 2003 to 2009.

Are you getting requests from other bands to do their design?
My friend Jack from the band Ultimate Paintings asked me to do his album art and I was struggling with how not to make it look like a Parquet Courts album. He ended up going with my other friend who did an amazing job. Maybe it’s for the best; I need to dedicate my attention to my own band’s aesthetic.

Do you recommend any current designers?
People should definitely check out that Alex Heir book Death Is Not The End. Also Sam from Crazy Spirit has some amazing posters. He did the poster for New York’s Alright festival last year. I have it framed at my house. He has a shop in Brooklyn where he sells art and prints. He’s got a very good hand. He is very recognizable and has some cool symbolism and reoccurring motifs that pop up.

Score a limited edition A3 color copy of Savage’s Parquet Courts Australian tour poster with any purchase of a ticket to their upcoming Sydney, Brisbane or Melbourne shows. While stocks last.

Feb 27 – Perth at the Perth Festival
Mar 4 – Sydney at Manning Bar with Straight Arrows + Destiny 3000. Tickets here.
Mar 5 – Brisbane at the Zoo with Blank Realm + Kitchen’s Floor. Tickets here.
Mar 6 – Melbourne at the Hi Fi with The UV Race + The Stevens. Tickets here.
Mar 8– Golden Plains Number Nine