In 1988 I created an illustration of the vocalist of Norwalk band, Walk Proud, for the cover art of their debut New Age Records release, “Be Yourself.” A credit on the back cover of the 7″ states “Cover Art: Anji,” though I didn’t create the cover artwork, per se. Chris Cole drew the logo and I have no idea who did the transfer letters of the title or the overall layout. My pen and ink illustration was used on the original cover art for the first pressing on black vinyl.
Front and Back Cover of Walk Proud ‘Be Yourself’ on New Age Records
Interestingly, the cover art was initially composed of just my drawing of Lalo (in a smaller size) and Chris’ graffiti style logo (in a larger size) placed in a stacked formation. I found an entry on Discogs with a photo of this original design layout. In a 2018 interview with No Echo Mike Hartsfield of New Age Records said:
During the discovery phase of compiling the upcoming Positive Influence anthology, I cam across a drawing I did for Against the Wall back in 1988. This thin marker sketch with a bit of stippling and a bit of cross hatching is very indicative of my style at that period. The simple black and white designs xeroxed well thus were perfect to use for zines and flyers. This is the same drawing style I used for the New Age Records logo graphic. If memory serves, this drawing was done as a potential cover for the first Against the Wall single that was going to be released by New Age, the label of Against the Wall member, Mike Hartsfield. The ‘Identify Me‘ single ended up being released by Nemesis Records in 1989 with a completely different cover.
Tickled that @youngbloodrecords wanted to collab with me for their vintage hardcore found art t-shirt collection! This is one of several pen and ink drawings I made to headline the Scene News section of Positive Influence zine. This particular doodle appeared on the inside cover of issue no 4 and the original piece of art reads, “Scene News For Feb.”
A 1988 illustration by Anji Bee for New Age Records is making a comeback! This pen and ink drawing of a straight edge guy jumping while pumping his fist was used in the early days of this So Cal hardcore punk label. Nearly 3 decades later, the label is dropping tees, hats, and buttons with this iconic drawing that in all honesty, was drawn to look like Anji’s Positive Influence zine partner, Buster Cates. Buy the Unity T-shirt for $18 from newagerecords.net
New Age Records red or gray “Unity” t-shirt with front, back and sleeve print featuring classic artwork from 1988.
