By Jeff Kollath
It has been a little while since the Poster Tube has graced the pages of MoB, but I think it was worth the wait. Episode Four finds us traveling just across the Ohio River to Camp Springs, KY to pay a visit to Keith Neltner of Neltner Creative. Like the others before him, Keith does some straight graphic design as well, but show posters and album artwork for artists like Hank III are his passion. Keith’s work is both beautiful and disturbing, bright and dark, and peaceful and terrifying, dealing with themes of loss, death, and poverty, but also hope, promise, and the value of family. As you well know by now, all of the posters we’ve looked at tell a story, and Keith’s are no different. So, sit back, relax, read away, and we’ll see you at the bottom.
1. The first poster of yours I came across was the Avett Brothers “Pawn Shop” piece you did for last October’s Madison show. You have done a number of posters for the band, but tell me about the inspiration for this one in particular, not only the images, but the ink colors as well.
I was in a pawn shop 4-5 years ago and I saw a statue of Jesus sitting amongst all these objects and it had a hand written tag on it. It struck me and I took a picture of it. Amongst all of these things that I’m sure had their own stories to tell there was a representation of a higher power sitting on a shelf. My Mom had the same statues on her dresser when I was a kid. I used to stare at them and follow the shapes and colors of each. I’ve done a number of prints for the Avetts and their music has always been lyrically so relevant to my life. I’ve had this image in my head of this poster and I was just waiting for the right musicians to create it for. To note this was a collaboration with Tommy Sheehan, a good friend of mine that has worked with me on the Avetts. I have to credit him for introducing me to their music in ’05. The other print we did for the Avetts that also has a deeper meaning is the horse drawn hearse (titled: Is it Life or is it Death?). My Dad passed away in ’03 suddenly and he had just bought two draft horses a few months before that time. When he passed we took him to his resting place on a wagon behind those horses. So the pedals that float from the funeral spray to the heavens to spell the band’s name represent death and rebirth.
2. The Avett piece is like many of your posters, using images from the past to represent and promote something present, new, and shiny. You have also reached back into your family’s past, using your grandmother’s blood sausage recipe for a Joe Buck poster. How did you make the connection between the two, and how did your grandmother’s sausage actually taste?
Growing up on a farm and for many years being a farmer through college and even still today working there part time it’s a sharp contrast to being an artist. My family’s history is very dear to me and I’ve been able to weave my rural upbringing into my work. A lot of the bands I’ve worked with have that vibe running through their music. Joe’s music is really aggressive and I wanted to bring that back woods, gun toting butcher his on stage presence portrays into the print. He happens to be a down to earth dude. I think things like butchering livestock seem grotesque and a little “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” to many people but growing up around that it was just a way of life. As a society we’re so disconnected from where we came from and the hardships and way of life our ancestors endured. As a kid I had blood sausage, head cheese, and liver sausage, traditional german food, good stuff, probably not my heart’s favorite.
3. After I bought the Avett piece, I did a bit of research and discovered you are the one behind Hank III’s album artwork and apparel. How did you get hooked up with Hank III? What’s it like to work with an artist with two distinct indentities – one hillbilly country, and the other death metal (Assjack)?
In 1999 I went to a Hank III show. I had been a fan of JR growing up as a kid and to hear there was a III really interested me. The show was a 2.5 hour jam, Hank talking on stage about rehab and spouting curse words in between songs ending the show by throwing his guitar on the drum kit, it reminded me of Kurt Cobain with a twang. I did some research and found out he had this punk background and the obvious lineage he comes from. So I did a poster, my first, (Bloodline Gone Bad) and a chance meeting after a show in 2000 (I owe to my little brother who was 14 at the time trying to pass for 21) I gave him the print, he called me a couple weeks later and we started working together. I have a huge body of work from that ten year relationship, unfortunately it recently came to a close over licensing my imagery, lawyers, managers, and not being able to come to an agreement. The work has always been part labor of love and just relevant to how I grew up and my background. I’ve always been around the rural aspect but have been into heavier bands like Tool, Metallica, Alice in Chains so the “Jekyl & Hyde” was always a contrast I could visualize. I built a brand and a look over those ten years, always trying to reinvent the idea of the clash of personas. Whether that came to light as Punk/Country skulls, fused twins in a mason jar, Hank committing suicide with a shotgun, a mule being executed, or a hooded executioner flanked by western and metal skulls the work always had a flavor of country with a sinister under tone.
4. So, I just have to ask – what’s up with all the devils, goat skulls, and the like on Hank III’s stuff? Talk a little about your use of the Confederate flag in Hank’s art and merch. You use it in a stylized way, but don’t glorify it, drawing it with holes in it and dirt on it occasionally. What does that flag and its legacy represent to you and to Hank III?
A lot of those themes came from the music that influenced them, songs like “Straight to Hell”, “Devil is my Friend”, etc. I’m into comics like The Crow, Oink, Spawn and the horror movie genre so the element of the devil or a darker force creates tension. I also lost a lot of people that were close to me in a very short time so some of that angst came out in the work and I’ve always wanted to grab people by the throat and effect them, impact them on a deeper level. You can’t go half way with Assjack or Superjoint Ritual, it’s a commitment and the work had to live up to the intensity. The rebel flag is a reference to a southern lifestyle, it has nothing to do with hate, it also happens to be an interesting visual element. I’ve always inverted the stars and a lot of times used pieces of the flag to reference the III and used black and red vs the traditional colors.
5. Aside from your poster and other graphic design work, you are doing a lot of pieces for the REINSTATE HANK campaign. How did that get started and what is it’s progress so far? Some the images and the slogans are pretty harsh – has the Opry responded to any of it?
I started work on the campaign in 2006 doing a small run of posters (Apparently, Hank Williams isn’t dead enough. The Opry wants to kill his legacy too.) Hank III wanted a shirt to sell at shows and get the word out. I started to research more and more how the Opry has walked away from their history and the legends that have built that institution. You’ve heard the reference “A church is not the physical building rather the people who come to worship” well that is what the Opry has walked away from, the people who built its history. In 2007 Blake Judd was discussing with Hank III a documentary on his career, the subject came up of a section being Reinstate Hank related and Judd proposed doing an entire film on the Reinstatement of Hank Williams. The idea took off and he hired me to help co-direct the project. Blake and I started developing the concept of a physical petition book that would travel the country and gather signatures from the common man to legends like Charlie Louvin. We shot an opening scene that had Hank III drawing his own blood and writing a letter to the Opry. We planned multiple rallies in Nashville and compiled interviews with David Allen Coe, Henry Rollins, Holly Williams and many others. I’ve created multiple posters for the campaign and the tone has been bold and direct. As many things, you have to get the point across quickly and the propaganda materials helped create that awareness. Fans and supporters all over the world send me pages they’ve gotten signed to be included in the book. There are more than 40,000 signatures on line and it continues to grow. We simply want an honorary reinstatement for Hank and many others who have come before. The Opry has become a venue where rock, pop country and others play rather than staying true to the roots of it’s history. Its a machine and has exploited their association with Hank while most are not aware he was fired. Blake and I have some things in the works to share the more than two years of material we’ve captured for the cause and preserving a music legacy.
Print Giveaway: As a special added bonus, Keith is providing MoB with a print commemorating the redesign of the Neltner Creative website. It drops on April 1, so please check it out! This 3-color, 19 x 25″ print is one of 33 and as you can see above, is one great piece. Leave a comment telling us which show poster in your collection is your favorite and why and this beauty could be yours. Get your comments in by Sunday, April 4 at 4pm – we’ll contact the winner on Monday morning. Thanks again for reading!
