By Shaleen DeStefano
I stopped into one of my favorite Denver boutiques to shop and see my friend Natalie, owner of Relevant Goods. Among the beautiful clothing and jewelry I stumbled upon a print that I had to have. It was reminiscent of a photo I had taken of my daugther and I just loved the femininity of it all. It was a silhouette of a woman with a white feather (featured on our cover). Later that day I found myself face to face with another print at a different location with a similar vibe. I would quickly find out that the artist of both pieces was John Vogl of Bungaloo. The illustration I fell in love with was a Maiden screen print that he designed for a gallery show celebrating the 200th Anniversary of the Grimm Brothers.
Let us introduce you to John. He is a local illustrator-designer-artist of sorts working in Denver. The Bungaloo is a nonsense studio name he works under, because he thought his real name was boring, but, The Bungaloo is just a one man operation. He draws most of his work by hand, in pen and ink, and it seems to feature an overabundance of birds, leaves, and trees. His dog, Loki, is not a very useful studio assistant, but, still very sweet and cute.
He has worked with a number of great people on projects, but, some of them include: Target, Purina, Mondo, HP, Gregory, Mountain Dew, New Belgium Brewing, Breckenridge Brewery and Never Summer. In fact, the Moose illustration featured in our center spread was created for a Baere Brewing label. We were lucky enough to connect with John and learn more about his work.
How did you get started illustrating concert posters?
I started collecting posters when I was in college and they appealed to me more than anything I was doing in class. They were a marriage of illustration and design that I hadn’t seen before. After I graduated, I started doing them in my spare time for friends’ bands and local venues basically for free beer and high fives. It very, very slowly built from there. I’ve been drawing since I was a kid, but concert posters were my foot in the door for everything I’m doing now. The best piece of advice on working on that sort of art was that it was basically like a large business card that someone wanted to hang on their wall—people would see my work and ask what other mediums I worked on, and I’ve been fortunate in being able to grow from there. Those were a labor of love.
What inspired the name Bungaloo?
I’m not entirely sure, it popped into my head one day when I was running – it doesn’t mean anything, I just liked the way it sounded. I wanted to work under a studio name, I’m John Jr. and I was tired of being confused for my Dad. I sometimes wish I just worked under my actual name now, but, at the end of the day I don’t think it really matters much.
Do the bands you create for get to see your work? Any favorite responses?
They do; while I don’t work directly with bands (it’s usually a management or promotion’s group) the bands almost always sign off on the direction and final artwork. Every now and then a band will sign a copy and send one back to me, which is a really nice gesture; especially if they write a note or something on the poster. If I’ve done a poster for a band in town, sometimes they’ll send an invite to come backstage and say, hey. Sharon Van Etten gave me a mason jar she was drinking wine out of. It’s a fun souvenir.
Are you on the guest list for every show in Denver?
Ha, not even close. I could probably weasel my way into a free show here or there if I tried, but it’s pretty rare these days.
If you could choose any band to make a poster for, who would it be?
That’s a hard one, sometimes it’s easier making posters for bands you’re less attached to, sometimes not. I guess Radiohead, because they never make posters.
What are you listening to when you illustrate? Do you have a process for creating concert posters? How do you capture the tone of the band, do they offer you guidelines or give you the freedom?
It definitely varies project to project. These days it’s a lot of podcasts, there’s too many good ones to keep up with. I definitely listen to the band I’m working for when coming up with initial concepts. I also try to research the band’s history and anything they may have said about their current album, as well as doing some research on where the show is happening. Bands are usually pretty hands off, which makes it way easier. The most common direction you’ll get is specific things to avoid, because they’re tired of seeing it on too many posters.
Do you ever get commissioned to create for non-band related work?
I’m a freelance illustrator, the majority of my work these days actually isn’t in the music industry. The band stuff is an extremely fun way to push my illustration work, but the money is embarrassingly low; it’s impossible to make a living on just band projects. I do a lot of illustration for everything from magazines, packaging, beer labels, t shirts, murals, book covers, etc. I’m usually pretty open to trying new projects if the timing works out. There’s a lot in the works—and like anything else, you’re always hoping that your best projects are around the corner.
Thank you, John, for taking the time to let us inside your head for a day. Meeting innovative artists like you gives the rest of us inspiration. We look forward to seeing your work around town. To take a closer look at John’s work or purchase his posters, clothing and home goods be sure to visit his website at www.thebungaloo.com.