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This weekend the 25th annual Warren
Haynes Christmas Jam takes place at the U.S.Cellular Center in Asheville, NC boasting
a stacked lineup that includes reunions of The Phil Lesh Quintet, Sco-Mule and the
Aquarium Rescue Unit as well as performances from the likes of Gov't Mule,
Widespread Panic, Gregg Allman and more. Today, we're pleased to show off the extremely
cool, pinball-themed poster for the event created by John Warner.
Warner had been thinking about the artwork since last year as the Christmas Jam has
expanded over the years to taking over the entire city of Asheville. After hitting so many
different locations within the city last year for the day shows, the art show, the after
parties and the main event, Warner got the vibe that he was in a pinball machine hitting all
these spots around town. "I was just running around all over the place and I felt like a pinball,"
Warner told us which gave him the idea for this year's artwork. The artist always wanted
to design a pinball machine and putting together these posters let him live out his dream.
As you can see the artwork spans two posters that when connected together create one piece
of art. At the middle of the posters is a huge snowflake, which is part of a shirt design
for the event as well. Warner not only designed the poster, but the artwork for the event
merchandise as well. As with the event itself, all proceeds from the poster will be
donated to the Asheville Area Habitat For Humanity.
The posters are silk-screened, with Warner working closely with the printer to implement
his vision. "Designing something digitally is one thing, but actually translating it to a
print to make sure it looks right is another thing," Warner told us. There's lots of half-tone layering and metallic inks involved giving the poster a 3D feel. 250 sets of the
posters (18" x 24") will be sold along with 50 uncut sheets (24" x 36"). In addition, AJ
Masthay has created a poster for the event.
You'll note ARU is listed as "Aquarium Mystery Unit" on the poster. There was a period of
time when it appeared ARU bassist Oteil Burbridge would not be available to perform at the
event. Just as with any member of the core group, ARU is not ARU without Oteil so the idea was
that the core members would perform with guests as "Aquarium Mystery Unit." Thankfully
Burbridge has told Warren he would indeed be able to make it to Asheville and will perform
with ARU. Organizers tell us we'll get the best of both worlds, the original lineup along
with a bunch of great guests. However, the deadline for printing the poster passed so
"Aquarium Mystery Unit" is listed on them.
Another Christmas Jam tradition returning this weekend will be the event's art show.
Asheville's Satellite Gallery, in conjunction with the Golden Gate Gallery, will host the
show, with proceeds from art sales donated to the Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity. A
wide range of artists and photographers have contributed artwork and photos to be shown
and sold at the gallery including Warner, Jay Blakesberg, Stewart O'Shields, Justin
Helton, Dino Perrucci, Richard Biffle, David Oppenheimer, Gary Houston, Jeff Wood, Allison
Murphy, Steve Johannsen, Joshua Marc Levy, Mike Dubois, AJ Masthay, Robbi Cohn and Stuart
Engel.
The gallery opens at 3 p.m. this Thursday, with the opening reception set to take place on
Friday, with complimentary beer from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. The gallery will be open during the
day on Saturday, with Pennsylvania bluegrass act Cabinet set to perform a special set at 1 p.m. Admission to the the
Satellite Gallery is free.
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