Yes, I am. Yes, I have. Collaborative freedom of expression! No, I like working with people who are better than me at things, so I can get better at things. I'm behind from years of corporate drudgery, so I'm catching up. It's a very selfish pursuit. BUT REALLY, ALSO, I like being the yin to a yang and working with someone to make something great come into being. Collabs are hard, but always more rewarding in my experience.

What was your inspiration for the cover of the Oh Radio! EP? It has such a great feeling of innocent illustration and a bit of the macabre.
I listened to Oh Radio! 77 times, made 4 other bad drawings, then made the one you see on the cover today. My inspiration came from Serial Mom.

I would say I lean towards incorporating a macabre twist in all that I do. Like many others before me, I appreciate the juxtaposition of sunny and stormy -- kind of like some of Codaphonic's songs! An aside: I would really like to make artwork and music videos for most, if not all sub genres of metal at some point in my career. If you have a metal band (death, black, dark, doom, etc) and need artwork, please contact me - squibbin@gmail.com

What's next on your plate and where can people keep up with you?
Currently, I'm working all the time at Isle of Printing (with the formidable teddy bear, Bryce Mc). We are doing LOTS of big projects this year, including but not limited to: our public art project - Our Town, several new art instillations at local businesses and outside Tennessee's borders, MOVING and creating a bonafide shop/visit experience for people who "want more" when they make the big decision to leave their house. Beyond that, I like to pick up some freelance things and make my own "art": paintings, prints, drawings of naked men. I think I'll have an art show this year called "Sad Eyes, Hard Dicks", but need to finish a few more things to make that a full body of work. Hold me to that, internet!

I have an image blog thing and Instagram, too.
Image/Blog/Thing: www.ibother.me
Instagramz: @squibbin

Viva la Codaphonic!

You're from Memphis and ended up in Nashville doing a lot of graphic design for musicians, is that because of Nashville or because of a common mindset with creative types?
Well, I moved to Nashville when I was 18 and just have remained here through college and work- first with the music magazine, and now mainly working within local businesses and the music industry. I feel pretty connected with the creative community here, it's a thriving music town and there is always room for design (and better design) in every corner. I've worked with bands across the spectrum, from garage rock to mainstream country, and that's what I love about Nashville. There's so many tangents here to explore and it helps me as an artist to not feel one-trick pony-ish and actually keeps me doing different takes for different clients. That being said, Memphis is a historically and culturally rich city filled with some of the most genuine art and people I have ever come across. I think preconceptions of Memphis are so distorted, that people don't pay attention to what incredible stuff is going on there. There is a lot of growth and renaissance happening, especially in the arts and city planning, and it's great to see. There's a refreshing organization called the Memphis Music Foundation that partners up with musicians in town, helping them with their business and in turn, nurturing the music climate of the city. I have worked with them on some projects and I like the feeling of staying connected to my hometown in doing so. In the growth, so many things are popping up around Memphis. I'm working with a fantastic brewery there that just opened last fall called Wiseacre Brewing Co. which is located in the Broad Ave. arts district of town. I'm illustrating all of their brews, designing cans and bottles and other branding bits, and it's tons of fun.

What was your inspiration for the cover of the Mindwrecker EP? It feels like an authentic long lost Coney Island poster or 1950s circus attraction.
Totally nailed it with the Coney Island cue. I revisited the boardwalk last year in the winter, and the only thing that was alive it seemed was a window display with a hypnotic spinning wheel, harkening back to creepy sideshow bygone days. The song Mindwrecker is so catchy and welldone, and it made me reflect that it could easily be the themesong of a vintage thrill seeking ride. Besides that, I love old movie cue cards from the 20s - 30s, and a lot of the films of the time were so elaborately handmade looking- like the sequences or props in a Bugsy Berkeley work - so I took a little bit of inspiration from those things as well.

What's next on your plate and where can people keep up with you?
I have a fairly steady stream of album art and posters for some great bands coming up in the next few months. Also, I'll be continuing with some new designs for Wiseacre. I have a grand, secret personal illustration project I've been working on for over a year, so I hope I can bring it to completion by summertime. To follow along, most of my work can be seen on my website at rachelbriggs.com - but I do a lot of sneak peeks and progress work on art that can't be seen on my website via my instagram (@wiresandfires)