Virgil and Bill
Backstory:
If you lived in Southeast Kansas (or the 4-state viewing area) and you are over 30 years old, you no doubt remember Melody Matinee. It was a music program on the local Pittsburg TV station that ran from 11:30-noon and featured 2 guys named Virgil (guitar) and Bill (Ukelele) and a lady named Connie (organ) playing old folk songs. Melody Matinee was all the rage to our grandparents and the bane of television for their grandchildren.
Back in 1981, a buddy of mine and I were in Mr. Wilkerson's Jr. High science class and we kicked around the thought about what if they were a punk rock power trio? We came up the basic look and created mock LP album covers. (Yeah, that statement there dates me). Connie was a leather-clad biker chick in sunglasses who played a drum set that would make Neil Peart envious. Bill wore a loin cloth, K.I.S.S.-inspired platform shoes and played a Flying-V bass. Virgil had a reverse-mohawk and wore a striped shirt, polka-dotted necktie, tic-tac toe high-water pants and giant polka-dotted shoes and played a diamond-shaped lead guitar that fired bullets. (Don't ask me why Virgil wore that attire. We were 7th graders!)
In 1981-82, I created numerous mock LP covers and collected them in notebooks along with various cartoons, pictures, and other ramblings for a 7th grade English class (our teacher inspired creativity in many forms - which made the class fun and it exercised the creative juices!). Those notebooks are long-gone. In 1984, when I started high school, I used to doodle a few Virgil and Bill covers when I was bored. I found that notebook and they are posted here.
In the late 90s, I attended a required weekly staff meeting at work that was incredibly boring and worthless. To pass time, I would lean back and act like I was taking notes, when instead, I was doodling new record covers. I hadn't made one in over 10 years, but I was so bored, I was desperate to do anything. A buddy of mine in Virginia, who grew up in my hometown, got a kick out of them, and asked me to fax them, so I made weekly covers. I haven't made any of these since the late 90s, and only recently stumbled on them and got a good chuckle out of it.
Along with the handful of drawings I made in 1984, the entire collection of late-90s work is here, as well. As you will see, for the most part, I was heavily influenced by movies and news of the day. To view the records, click the link at the bottom of each page to proceed: