cover lyric:
“down there” by bronze radio return
The Rock Boat 12 is a short editorial book I created just for fun following a music festival (on a boat) I went on. I did this as a way to organize some key memories in something more tangible.
While I didn’t sell it, I kept the book focused on the music rather than making it too personal in an effort to make it timeless. If this book happens to live longer than me, I only hope people see discover some of the artists in it.
Photography and content is my own. Lyrics throughout were creatively selected and are all from bands on the boat or cover songs performed by bands on the boat that year.
skills highlighted:
content organization and planning, creative/art direction, editorial design, editorial typography, visual storytelling
rock boat alum know the real joy when the sail away show begins and the boat starts to move.
“sail away”
sister hazel
those first few hours with a tidy state room are nice but fleeting. we just have better things to do than unpack our suitcase, organize our closet, and won’t hesitate to leave the room with wet hair because there’s a show starting.
“my favourite place”
stephen kellogg and the sixers
“walking shoes”
red wanting blue
“up on cripple creek”
the band, covered by stephen kellogg and the sixers (and friends)
“you belong here”
stephen kellogg and the sixers
days in port are the days where we could ensure maybe a bit of relaxation because we knew we wouldn’t miss a bunch of shows if we accidentally took a nap.
“vienna”
billy joel, covered by tony lucca
“thirteen”
stephen kellogg and the sixers
—
as part of their live show, when they played this song, one band member would strip down and dance on stage in his underpants with the rest of the band and crowd singing the line above.
“finger in the air”
red wanting blue
not a lyric—just a collective agreement that sometimes you end up at a show late at night where multiple bands played together and you actually have no idea who you saw play or what songs were played—but you just know it was great and you can’t wait to do it again.
gentle reminder:
do the things you like to do when you can do them, always take photos or videos along the way (for yourself), and always support your favourite musicians by buying their records and going to their shows.