I’m truly gratified by the public response to “The Harder They Strum.” I’m hot on social media (at least Facebook, the platform I understand best) and I’m getting airplay and sales. (See here for ordering details.) A big part of the appeal of the project is the CD cover. Super designer Brett Collins of Counterspace is one of my guitar students, and so it was natural to turn to him when I needed someone to translate the ideas in my head into something that Disc Makers could manufacture. I used to design CD and DVD covers myself in a previous life, though I didn’t think I was good enough at it to do my own. I needed a master, not a second-level journeyman.

Everyone tells you that packaging is important. But when you see the effect it has on people, you realize just how important it is. Part of the self-promotion and self-marketing process is, of course, selling your album at gigs. Another part is trying to get people to play it on the radio. Over and over again, I’ll mention to people that I have a record out. They go, “Oh, cool.” I show them the cover…and they dig out their wallets! I’ve had the same reaction with DJs. They are noncommittal until they actually see the cover. Then their eyes light up, they rip it open, and and they play it. DJ Roy of Irie-Jam FM did this on the air the other day, much to my astonishment and joy. I’ve had people actually tell me they’d buy it for the cover alone.

A lot of the visual appeal of “The Harder They Strum” is due to former Marvel Comic artist Earthman Maxwell’s wonderful drawing. (Earth doesn’t have a website, though you can find him on Facebook if you look.) But the rest of the design decisions were Brett’s. For our edification and amusement, he’s posted a description of the process on his website, which you can read here. I