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Dan Seagrave

14/03/05 || Lord K Philipson

So, we have managed to get hold of legendary artist Dan Seagrave for a chat. It took quite some time to get the replies and we sure hoped for some more in-depth answers, but at least the questions are awesome. And no, we have no picture of Dan himself so we decided to put a pic of one of his most acclaimed covers thruout the years with the interview. I did these bunch of questions together with fellow staffer Chazz:

Global Domination: Naturally we need to get this out of the way first. We all know you are a legend in the scene thanx to all yer fantastic artwork for a gazillion bands… That leads us to the first and most important question; What’s yer favourite NHL team and who’s the best hockey player in the whole damn world?

Dan Seagrave: I am not up on all that stuff, I’m a Brit you see. Whilst I am also a Canadian resident, hockey never really became part of my life as it might if you grow up with it.

Now that we have covered the most crucial stuff we are going to shoot you some quickies to warm you up. Of all the covers you have made so far, which one is closest to yer heart? And while we are at it, would you care to mention yer worst published work, in yer own opinion that is. We could name some really crappy stuff, but how fun would that be?

There is not one I feel close to, as such. I was a teenager when I started doing album art, so you can imagine that I was not at an advanced skill level then, so I can forgive myself for any poor early work.

When one hears the name Dan Seagrave, a few album covers spring to mind instantly… Looking at the classic cover of Morbid Angel’s “Altars of Madness” really makes us wonder… What the hell inspired you to make such a simple, yet magnificent piece? Were you put in a certain direction by the band at the time or did you just let shit flow and what came out just came out?

It was just something I was doing for fun. The label and vocalist saw the piece in progress, and it was finished with the knowledge that it would become an album cover. I had no idea of the actual sound of Morbid Angel at that time, but I do remember going to a gig in northern Wales that year and seeing someone with a leather jacket, and they’d painted the cover on it. That was a great feeling that someone had reproduced the work, and strange at the same time.

How did you get started doing all the album covers? Which was the first one you did, and how were you approached to do it? We think we have read somewhere that the first work you did was something for Lawnmover Deth, is that correct or are we fucked up as always?

Thats right – I knew them from my home town, ‘Ravenshead, near Nottingham’. They mentioned they’d got a record deal, and I asked if they had a cover, which they had, but I told them I was going to do one anyway, which took a few weeks, and they ended up using it – an unlikely start which led to more work over the course of time.

Would you mind designing a tattoo for me (I would be The Lord )? I like demons and everything evil, you know. I have a feeling you could probably swing something together along those lines in a second. For the record, I can’t pay you jack shit, but I’ll gladly send a photo of the finished work.

Tattoos aren’t really my bag. I did try doing one, but I found the process to be not really enjoyable. Thanks for the offer though…

You have been painting for quite some years now. What’s yer age? To us it seems like you have been painting every damn death metal cover since the early 40’s or something. Our guess is that yer something around the golden 50’s.

I’m 34. 1970 to some is old, to others is seen as the gleaming beacon of one in their prime. I’m probably younger than all of you put together.

Would you even be so open as to comment on yer marital status? We are not gay, we are just curious. Actually, we are gay too when we think about it.

I’m not married, and generaly single – which is such a waste.

Comparing the work you have made recently to the ones made in the early 90’s or so, it seems like yer technique is a tad different. Looking at Dismember’s “Like an Ever Flowing Stream” and comparing it to, eg. Morbid Angel’s “Gateways to Annihilation”, one can see that the later work is a bit more… hmm… blurry, if you get the point. It looks like there’s not as much time put into the newer stuff (when it comes to details and the overall impression) as was done back in the golden days of death metal. Are we totally wrong about this? If so, you can tell us to go fuck ourselves. When you are done with that you can feel free to basically voice yer opinion on this matter.

Well, you mention the “golden days”, so we are talking about another point in time. All I can say is if you look at my website and go around the various partitions created there, you’ll see that the album art is in one section, and my other art projects are split up, and it’s simply to acknowledge that there are different things going on. It’s not all about work I did years ago; I feel that there are, in a way, many things I need to change and evolve in my art, that I have not tapped the potential yet by any means, and I am ambitious to do other things and get involved in different art projects, be it in film or whatever – so any changes in technique are a good thing, an advancement of sorts. I like to paint, so I will continue to explore that for now, but I don’t want to paint the way I did 10 years ago.

*In a review that we did, we said the following about Suffocation’s “Souls to Deny” cover:
“The cover really shows the lack of imagination by Dan Seagrave nowadays, as it’s a poor version of Morbid Angel’s ‘Gateways to Annihilation’”.

We then got a reply from you saying:

“Hi, I saw your review of the suffocation album, and I just wanted to point out that regarding my artwork, if you take the time to look at my other art you may get the impression it is not all like the Morbid Angel cover. When a band has a very specific idea of what goes into an image, i.e a gate with creatures on it with a castle in the background, then is it down to my lack of imagination to present such an image? Cheers – Dan”.

We thought that was incedibly cool to get an opinion from the artist himself. When you think about it, were we way off with that comment? We still stand by it, you know. What made you take the time to make yer voice heard about this? And what made you decide on taking us up on an excellent interview? It’s not like you need the exposure since you are already a legend, you know. You can tell us to go fuck ourselves again, if you haven’t already.

I just thought your comment of the term “lack of imagination” was incorrect, for example: I can come up with a number of ideas given a title for a book or whatever, but if you are asked to do something a certain way, and have very specific subject matter and colour scheme, then it only comes down to composition as the idea is already in place, and so trying to find interesting shapes in a design to drop those ideas into becomes the priority. If you don’t like the way it was painted however, well, then that’s a different story. I don’t mind the cover, I like it for what it is. It is quite theatrical, it’s an illustration, and that’s the way I view it.

How long does it take to do one of these album covers? And from where do you draw your inspiration? Is it possible just to sit down and fucken paint something with a clear mind, or do you usually have an idea? How much of the work you do usually ends up in the garbage bin? From now on, can you send us some scrapped paintings for us to throw darts at?

1-3 weeks. Inspiration depends again on the concept; if there is an idea and they want 10 specific things to be represented in an illustration, then it comes down to building composition and shapes to drop those preordained ideas into. If the client has just a title and a vauge idea, then I can get more imaginative. I don’t have too many scrapped paintings, though more recently I have been abandoning work if I don’t like the way it’s going, and those will be destroyed. But if I do have any art I’d like darts to be thrown at, you’ll be first on my list to contact. Actually, doing a series of paintings based on dart boards isn’t a bad idea, I think there’s a show in there somewhere.

Are there any covers you weren’t happy with that still ended up as a cover? Do you remember any covers that were difficult to do with insane deadlines or anything like that?

Yeah there have been a few I wasn’t happy with, but no one really cares about some bad painting I did – least of all me. Deadlines… it depends on if you have enough time to do the job the way it needs to be done – that is important to pay attention to.

Yer surname is Seagrave. Is that a fucken real name? That’s like the ultimate surname for a death metal cover artist. Speaking about graves, have you ever enjoyed the 3 first albums by Sweden’s Grave? Those albums are legendary, you know, even if they didn’t have any Seagrave covers.

It is a real name, but because it contains the word “grave” it may seem made up for the purposes of the death metal scene. But I have still not changed my name to suit other things that I’ve been associated with, so what more proof could you need?

When you do an album cover print, what happens to the original piece? Please tell us you have a wall of the original artwork to a ton of classic albums you have done, somewhere that you can use them to impress metal chicks. Fuck knows we would be impressed, and we are almost like chicks.

They are still in my possesion of course, but they are on no wall. In fact, I don’t have any of my own art hanging up – I find it distracting for generating new ideas or inspiration. But I will, as you mention, be doing some limited edition prints from my website so other folks can indeed put the art on their walls. You may purchase one and throw darts at it if you like.

Are you able to make a living doing your art? I know a lot of labels, especially for metal bands, don’t have much to work with as far as budgets go. Actually they do, they are just fucken cheap cunts. What is your going rate for an original piece of art suitable for an album cover?

I’ve been very lucky and branched out into other rewarding artistic areas over the years. With band art, I have encountered a few problems where I should have made money from royalties on T-shirts and other merchandised products. Earache Records blatantly ripped me off with illegal products for the Morbid Angel “Gateways..” album. They actually licensed to other companies without my agreement. I got a lawyer involved, but realised it would not be worthwile doing anything from a financial perspective – to me that’s just petty and deceitful, not to mention disrespectful. I prefer not to say what I charge, as it varies on many levels, and because of those additional fees where alternative products are concerned.

What do you think of some of the other artists that have done album cover art (H.R.Giger, Vincent Locke and Niklas Sundin come to mind), anyone else out there impress you with their covers? On that note, what is your personal favorite album cover? Fuck it, how about your 3 all time faves?

I am impressed by what Giger has achieved. His work has a broad following and it’s engaging, though I wouldn’t say he was an inspiration to me. I just did a show at New York’s Fuse gallery, which opened in 2002(?) with a Giger show. They also have some of his original works on display there in their bar. The other artists I don’t really know too well to effectivly comment, but I’ll have a look. What I like to do is go to the museums and art shows wherever I am. I saw a Delempica collection last year, the first time in the UK and that’s a great thing to do, because you’re looking at a body of an artist’s work that has never been together before in one room. Some of those paintings are in private collections, like Jack Nicholson’s, so unless you get invited round for tea at Jack’s house you don’t ever get to see those works, and the same goes for all of these retrospective art shows. I’m interested in most art; new contemporary work, everything. It’s good to be challenged like that. I do find myself saying, I need to move on in what I’m doing all the time, but I think that is the key to keep moving forward. I like to keep it as broad as possible.

One of our resident Entombed nerds wanted me to ask this question. Among other classics, you did the cover to Entombed’s “Left Hand Path”. On the tombstone to the left there is some writing “Rest in Festering Slime” and then something about “The Souls of a Thousand Generations”. What is all that about? Do you remember what the inspiration was for that cover, and is there any “hidden meaning” on that particular cover?

I did it when I was 19, I think. I guess I just did the obvious and interpreted the album title with a painting of “a left hand path”. The tombstone, that was just for a laugh, but I didn’t realise how serious the band was at that point, so I suppose I was having a joke unintentionally at their expense.

You used to do a ton of album covers in the early to mid-90s. Why aren’t you still doing as many as you did back then? Did you get tired of it, or are labels more apt to go with a cheaper cover done on the computer? Do you do stuff with a computer nowadays? Art-wise that is. Or is it all paint and canvas? Were you ever into any other mediums?

Around 1994 there was an upcoming cheaper option to do photoshop covers everyone was doing. I went to the States and Toronto to do other art. I got into mural design, and just experimenting with other ideas. To me the DM era is like the punk movement. It had it’s time, yet punk is still around, and so is death metal. I just followed my own path, I was never tied to the music biz; it came and went, and I wasn’t hung up on it. I suppose I also had enough of the same kind of requests. I was also looking to work with other artists and have a less insular life.

Of course we need to ask what the best pay for a cover (not the original canvas) was. And please don’t lie to us. I noticed you participate in a number of shows and galleries from time to time. What’s the most you have ever received for an original painting? What did you do with the money? (the correct answer here is “blew it on hookers and drugs”)

I won’t get specific, but if I’m doing mural design, original art on a large scale, it’s an artform way more popular in the USA. A mural on a large scale 10 feet X 50 for example, would bill in the tens of thousands. I sell some originals from my website, from about $600 US and up.

Looking at some of your work, I see a lot of unique architecture. I’m curious, did you study to be an architect at some point or did you just develop that style over the years? Have you ever seen or visited any of Frank Lloyd Wright’s buildings and/or considered doing anything in design like he did?

I’m no architect, but I do like architecture, and I have been thinking of visiting some Loyd Wright buildings. There are a few in New York State just down from Toronto, so having gone via there on a number of occasions, I have considered stopping by. I was just in NYC and I love the old art deco stuff there, and I like to see the layers of history in buildings, things like old signs or hand painted fading billboards – that kind of thing, and a little bit of seedy urban decay.

Is bootlegging a problem for your prints like it is with music, movies and shit like that?

Not as far as I’m aware. I don’t think there’s any money in it for someone to take the effort in, especially when they will be able to buy an archival signed art print from my website.

Speaking of computers (yes, again), with the current situation and popularity of online music services (legal and illegal), .mp3s, Ipods, and shit like that, it seems most labels/bands don’t take their cover artwork as seriously as in the past. Do you see a time when the physical album is obsolete and music is exclusively purchased and downloaded to computer?

Well it happens now, but it will never be exclusive, because it’s like a book. You could download all the pages onto a portable book, or go to the library, but the fact is people like to have objects and pictures and art in their lives, so if you remove the personal touch, the visual content from everything, it just becomes a shallow void. People need to connect visually to all things. It will simply be another option.

Explain this “Temple” project, is this still ongoing? I’ve heard there is a film that may be in the works. Care to shed some light on the current situation and future plans for those who have no idea what I’m talking about?

Temple is an ongoing project. I have one new artwork called “Pre Disposal Unit” which was exhibited at the Fuse Gallery. That piece is a continuing visual link to the Temple idea, there is no storyline that I can elude to at this point, but there is a story there which I am working on; and yes, it is taking years to do! But at least you can buy the posters in the shops, and that makes it worthwhile so far.

I noticed your name in the credits of a “Lord of the Rings” documentary, how did that come about and what was it that you did on this? Has your work appeared in other TV or film sets?

The Temple posters have found their way on to a few US drama shows, as set pieces in someone’s bedroom or something, so that is great to me. It’s like a slow infection to be able to point something like that out – the shows “Still Standing” and “Everwood”, and also “Weird Sister” in the UK. The “Lord Of the Rings” doc is something I did in Toronto for Buck Productions; it’s a low budget thing, so I wouldn’t rush out and get a copy.

How much would we have to pay you for a neat cover for our coming album with God Among Insects? We are piss-poor by the way. Money-wise that is. Music-wise we fucken dominate.

You illustrate the problem quite clearly, but my bills still pile up on a regular basis. Therefore I must be mindfull of such propositions and deal with them according to what I feel is the most wise and illusive manner necessary to avoid disapointment all round.

Have you met up with any of the bands you did covers for, and which of the albums you did covers for are your favourites?

I met Dismember recently in London, a nice bunch. To be honest I haven’t listened to those CDs for ages, so I wouldn’t be able to judge.

Have we covered the covering of covers just yet? Anything else you want us to cover? Run for cover.

Not a thing.

I think we just managed to conduct one excellent interview with you Mr. Seagrave and we thank you for yer time and effort put into this. We naturally have to ask this for closure… Who was the best hockey player again?

We have a team called the Black Panthers in Nottingham, it is made up of about 80% Canadians, this is the level of hockey in the UK.

Ok, one last question… Is it still fun to paint?

It is much better than sitting at a computer, and it’s easy to forget that. I like the idea that I will have some things to leave behind, some physical evidence that I did something. Art is one of the best things to have as a legacy, as it does tend to find a home and be appreciated in times to come, and generally doesn’t devalue. But I would say I’m still at a very early stage as an artist.

www.danseagrave.com

Interviews