ART BLANCHE: Aaron Draplin
Aaron Draplin doesn’t do it for the money. Rather -- as cliché as it might sound -- designing records is something he does for the love of music, plain and simple.
“Here I am, I’m in Northern Michigan and I’m digging through my [parents’] basement and I just found a box of my tapes from high school and I just can’t get rid of them,” Aaron explained. “…I’m looking at these things here and that’s what started me on graphic design -- seeing the liner notes on tapes.”
All Tiny Creatures – Harbors (Courtesy of Aaron Draplin)
And he really does mean tapes. Back in the day, vinyl was just too bulky for his taste, so cassettes were his preference. But as times have changed, so have Aaron’s purchasing habits: cassettes made way for CDs, which, in turn, made way for vinyl. Having now worked on designing records, Aaron has grown an appreciation for the bulk that vinyl brings, so much so that he’s often found himself trying to convince clients to make sure they at least press a limited amount of records.
“A lot of the bands 4 or 5 years ago, they knew they were going to sell 10x more CDs because they were easier to cart around or easier to sell at shows,” Aaron said. “So of course we’re going to make that CD… but I’ve just done this little pep talk so many times where you say: ‘Guys, how many records are you going to make in your life? It’s only going to be about 8 or 9 let’s hope, or even just a couple. But you guys, why don’t you do this? Make it on vinyl, give it a download code, and sell those.”
A prolific designer, Aaron got his start in graphic design working in the snowboard industry. Since then, his company, Draplin Design Co., has built an impressive clientele list featuring everything from Target to Bernie Sanders. Still, record design has been a newer venture in Aaron’s career, albeit one that he took a liking to almost instantly.
Danava – Hemisphere of Shadows (Courtesy of Aaron Draplin)
“My favorite thing to make is making a record, designing a record for someone,” he said. “There’s only been 10, 11, or 12, but every one has been fun.”
“I like nerding out on how to make the labels, and edges, and bleeds and just all the little things that are probably a pain in the ass,” he said. “The first couple records I learned was [that] you can’t really start at the CD size, you have to start at the record size and work your way down. Just the files even, because you’re making your art big and as you work your way down to those smaller sizes then you scale everything down.”
Much of Aaron’s approach to working on a record cover comes from the music fan within him. As someone who can play guitar “a little bit,” he’s fascinated by the grueling process of recording an album – something he’s never done, but one day hopes to do – and wants to make sure that his visuals mirror the passion and effort that the band put into recording.
Old 97’s – Most Messed Up (Courtesy of Aaron Draplin)
“If you’re going to go through the pain and the strife of building this thing, recording this thing, making this object, making this art, make sure it’s got a nice cover.”
It’s that mindset that makes Aaron lament any time he sees a band skimp on the visuals for the record. It doesn’t matter the reason, it’s against his nature, and his goal is to stop it every time he can.
“I’m doing a record for these folks in Portland right now called Diesto, [they’re] a heavy metal band,” he said. “I’ve known this guy for eight or nine years and he comes to me and says, ‘Man, I don’t have any money but will you do our record? I know you’ll care about it.’ And I said, ‘Well, let’s do it!’”
“That’s such a weird thing, it’s like I’m not really concerned about it,” Aaron added. “He’ll give me a stack of them and I’ll give them to buddies and then on top of that, there’s just something about making these things and not wanting it to be… I don’t want it to get worked over because he can’t find someone who will give it the love that it deserves, you know? What a bummer [if] that’s why it didn’t turn out as good as it could turn out, because you couldn’t find somebody.”
Again, it’s the music fan within him that takes over when approached like this – he wants to make sure that the band makes the best record that they can, visuals included.
Casey Neill - All You Pretty Vandals (Courtesy of Aaron Draplin)
“That’s an interesting thing because I think everybody else their first reaction is like, ‘Well I’m not going to do it if there’s no money to pay the graphic designer,’ but that’s never really my first reaction,” he said. “…So, I offer myself a lot to that stuff and just I’m really open to just saying ‘This isn’t about the cash -- not even close. This is simply [that] I just want to make cool shit that people are going to enjoy.’”
In some cases, Aaron knows he can use his skills as a designer to not only help fledgling bands, but also as an opportunity to give back to some of the musicians that have meant the most to him.
“There’s a band called Son Volt… and I just want to reach out to Jay [Farrar] and say, ‘Hey, I’ll be your instrument. If you need anything, I can help you -- I won’t charge one penny. But if you need a poster or something done or something designed, I’ll just do it,” he explained. “Because the enjoyment I’ve gotten from their records -- it’s infinite. That’s one of my favorite bands.’”
“It’s a weird angle, like I’m certainly not trying to make a living making records. …I’m totally cool with that, too. Which maybe makes me nuts, I don’t know.”
-Dylan Singleton
