A long time ago I put out a call for album art for the new record and got a lot of great submissions in the forum thread. A few complications arose that I hadn’t realized — mainly that for printing I need a super high-res version. Plus a cover isn’t enough for a CD, you also need the back, the inside and the disc face, etc, etc. I’d love to put the submitted covers in a gallery so people can use them as the cover art if they want.

Here are some of my favorites:

(credits: Douchegordijn, Ash, Forsten, onemorechris — thanks to everyone who submitted!)

I also had a difficult time deciding what really fit with the album. I take that kind of stuff maybe too seriously and felt lost. When I was whining about my lack of direction a friend reminded me that the best way to find a focus is to go personal, find something meaningful to me. Without an anchor in reality I just float around.

ANSI art was a big part of my life during my isolated nerdy teenage years. That time was largely defined by dropping out of high school, hanging out on BBS’s, having no friends, playing video games, rarely going outside and antidepressants. The songs on Out of It are all about those sorts of feelings, so I felt a strong connection. I’m not sure it’s one many people will pick up on at first glance, but it’s important to me that it’s there.

And now I’m gonna go play some video games. Life is so different now!