COMM//ART: Michael J Salter

Free Moral Agents Tour Poster

Michael J is everywhere!  Currently, he’s playing in 3 bands, writing his own music, designing artwork for his own projects as well as for several other music acts, and designing freelance professionally.  His schedule has him either constantly out in public or constantly at his desk — depending on what’s on his plate.  One thing’s for sure though: he’s one of the biggest contributors to the music community in Long Beach.  Chances are you’ve seen his work somewhere around town, whether it be musical or visual.

AT: Tell me a little bit about your music background, how you got into design, and how the two worlds merged.

Michael J: I started playing guitar when I was 15 years old.  I took lessons for about six months and then just learned how to play songs in my bedroom after that. Music was always a visceral thing for me, so I wasn’t so concerned with really great playing or technical ability, but more with the artistic side of music; what it was saying or expressing.  I listened to Sonic Youth and Nirvana early on along with Zeppelin and the Beatles, so the quality of that music and those recordings has always stuck with me.  I didn’t get into graphic design until much later when I transferred to a University.  The only things I knew were that I was totally intrigued by using digital technology to make art, and incorporating the use of typography seemed really exciting.  But, I honestly had no idea what I was getting myself into and I sort of accidentally fell in love with it.  Before I declared graphic design as my fine art concentration, I would have laughed at the idea that I could ever do anything in the visual arts.  But because I always felt music to be the most primal and real form of art making, the transition to visual art was natural, in a way.

Deep Sea Diver *New Caves* EP Album Artwork

Throughout my schooling, I would always pick the subject of music to work with when I could — anything from writing essays on art history to photography projects to my design studio classes. But after graduating, I took a job that didn’t have much to do with music save for a few rare projects.  It wasn’t until I moved to Long Beach that I started working  directly with musicians and bands, and that only came from playing in the scene out here and having my friends discover I could do visuals too.

Now I play with several bands and sort of unofficially assume the role of art director for each band. My longest-running projects have been playing bass in Tiger Tank Euphoria and guitar in Eugene & The 1914, both of which I design for, including anything from branding to show promotion to album artwork to web design.  I’ve also joined up with Bethpage Black in the last six months, a band that started by recording an EP before ever playing together.  When the release happened I did all of the visuals for that as well.

Eugene & The 1914 *Troubles* Album Artwork

My professional life is actually split between two jobs; I work for a clothing company in downtown L.A. called GRN Apple Tree where I design and produce their t-shirt line, and I also work for my own clients in most any media related to graphic design.  I like to have one foot in the world of design and one foot in the world of music, and these venues definitely keep me in that position.

AT: What’s it like to be an artist — both in design and music — in Long Beach?  What’s the community like?

MJ: Long Beach is very close and connected — it’s difficult to walk down my street without seeing someone I know.  The same goes for the music scene here: everyone knows what everyone else is up to, and there’s a really great sense of community and support.  It also dispels the rock star myth, because everyone’s friends regardless of how much success people have (and there are some wonderfully successful artists here).  A lot of musicians mix with each other, so it’s not uncommon for people to be in several bands at once with totally different sounds.  My connections with other artists in Long Beach come about the same way as making so many musical connections — just from being involved in the scene and out in the clubs playing all the time.

Sometimes at shows people will ask us ‘who did the artwork?’ regarding a poster or a CD, or a lot of times, my bandmates will tell their friends I do visuals too and the connection takes off from there.  But it’s not restricted to only musicians or bands.  For instance, I worked on all the graphics and site design for the 2009 SoundWalk, which was great, because it’s about as much of an example of bridging the gap between visual art and music as anything else. But that organization knew of me because I’ve been working on both creative aspects of the bands I play with, the music and artwork.

SoundWalk Event Poster

AT: What is Unmarked Vehicle?  What else are you getting yourself into design/music wise this year?

MJ: Unmarked Vehicle is my creative space, my studio, my portfolio of work — it’s the umbrella under which I create art, music, graphic design and any number of other projects.  In its current state and up to this point, it has primarily served as my graphic design portfolio.  When I conceived the idea, I liked that the name was something literal, but its meaning wasn’t going to have anything to do with its purpose.  That way I could inject meaning into it and it would be more personal which is one aspect of art I really respond to.  It keeps it open to interpretation much like a band name.  It’s whatever you make it.

This year I plan to expand the idea of Unmarked Vehicle into several branches. I can’t go into the details yet but things are in the works and looking good. 2010 will be a busy year for me and I’m really excited by that!

Tiger Tank Euphoria is working in the studio on recording an album, which should be out later this year.  Eugene & The 1914 will officially be releasing a full length record in March, and we’ll be playing up and down the west coast.  Bethpage Black will play some live shows in support of our first EP, which dropped in December.  And amidst all of that, I have a rather large pile of songs and musical ideas of my own that I plan to record in my home studio and release on my own this year under the name Shooting Down Pilots, which is something I’ve been thinking about for a while now.

In terms of design, I’ll continue to work with GRN Apple Tree on their 2010 collection.  I’ll be working more with Free Moral Agents who have some exciting things lined up.  I’ll continue to work with several other design studios in Los Angeles and Long Beach for clients large and small.  I have opened my studio up to working with individuals, small businesses or large corporate clients just about anywhere in the world.

Check out Michael J’s Unmarked Vehicle website and blog…
Unmarked Vehicle
Unmarked Vehicle Blog

Michael J plays in…
Eugene & The 1914
Tiger Tank Euphoria
Bethpage Black

Free Moral Agents Show Poster

Free Moral Agents Tour Poster

Deep Sea Diver EP Release Show Poster

Deep Sea Diver Buttons

Deep Sea Diver *New Caves* Candles

Deep Sea Diver T-Shirt

Eugene & The 1914 *Troubles* Poster

Bethpage Black EP Release Show Poster

Come•Unity Show Poster

Come•Unity Show Poster (Alternative)

Tiger Tank Euphoria Logo