It's been way too long since No Echo has run an Art Spotlight, but that changes today. For this new installment, Robert from Life.Lair.Regret.Records spoke with fellow Aussie, Mick Lambrou.
Agnostic Front, Sheer Terror, and 100 Demons are just a few of the bands Mick has worked with in recent years.
Enjoy!
(Carlos Ramirez, No Echo)
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G’day Mick thanks for your time today, how’s life treating you?
Thanks Robert, going ok at the moment. Life is very busy…. the hustle don’t stop!
Alright, let’s kick into this. You are a world renowned artist who’s worked with many incredible hardcore bands on cover art, shirts and flyers. Let’s start with your first love. What came first, the music or the art?
Firstly, thank you for the kind words, it’s very much appreciated! Art/drawing was definitely my first love. Ever since I could hold a pencil, I’ve been drawing and it’s been a constant part of my life ever since. All I ever wanted to be when i ‘grew up’ was to be a cartoonist.
I’d love to know more about what it was like growing up for you, being a fan of classic rock was it getting played a lot at home?
I don’t come from a hugely musical family. My dad has never had any interest in music, but mum loves '50s rock 'n' roll, classic rock, and the blues. So Elvis, Bill Haley, CCR and the The Blues Brothers soundtrack was on a lot at home. Like almost everything I like, once I’ve decided I like something, I go on a deep dive to learn as much as I can about it, so I suppose this was my first experience with music.
Somewhere along the line hardcore enters your life, tell us about what that was like, what drew you to it and finding the local scene in Melbourne.
The period in my teens where I discovered punk and hardcore is probably the part of my life that I look back on the most fondly. Punk entered my life mid way through high school. Initially, It was the typical mid-'90s Epitaph and Fat Wreck stuff. That music and scene drew me in because (insert cliché quote), I never felt like I quite fit in anywhere, even amongst friends I’d known my entire life.
Again, once I decided this was for me, I deep dived into punk as much as I could. There was only 2 other mates at school that liked it too, so the fact it was an underground and unknown thing at school also made it attractive to me.
After a while, though, I wanted something more. Something tougher, harder, more aggressive, and that’s when things really changed for me that continues to this day. I bought Scratch the surface and demonstrating my style and that was it, I found what I was looking for. I’ve never looked back since that moment!
We’d always go into the city on the weekend and go to Missing Link and Au Go Go and buy whatever hardcore records we could afford. We started going to as any all ages shows as we could (we were all underage) and it became something we’d do at every opportunity. We never missed a show, regardless of where it was.
There were a lot of all-ages shows back then, big and small. I recall going to the Hi-Fi in 1996 to see Fugazi the night before a year 10 English and maths exam..the olds were not happy [laughs].
Back then if you wanted to be part of the scene, you had to go out and search to find it and I loved this about the scene back then!….none of this streaming or social media shit.
Let’s switch gears a bit, we touched earlier on art. The '90s were a boom period for comics and I’ve seen you post about them before. When did you get into comics and who are some of your favourite artists?
I think I got into comics around 9-10years old. I also had an older family member who was a collector, so that drew me into comics also. In the '90s, Image Comics was all the rage, so I liked all that stuff. I also loved more mainstream stuff like Batman, Spider-Man, and The Punisher.
My favourite artists are mainly from the silver and Bronze Age, so guys like John Buscema, Jack Kirby, John Romita, Neil Adams, Bernie Wrightson, and Jim Aparo.
Combining art and hardcore, you’ve worked with some incredible acts like Agnostic Front, Murphy’s Law, and Sheer Terror. just to name a few. Looking back, who was the first band you did art for? Then fast forward to now, what’s it been like working with these bands and being fortunate enough to get to hang out with some of them?
I actually can’t remember who the first was, to be honest, maybe a flyer for a local punk show? I refer back to when I did the cover for Slapshot’s Make America Hate Again record as the moment things really changed.
Working with all my musical heroes has been a dream come true, and in a lot of instances these guys have become friends. Being back in New York in 2023 was amazing, I was recognised and approached more by people saying hi there than I am in Melbourne, so I wasn’t prepared for that! It was a very humbling experience and the Black and Blue guys really looked after me!
Hanging out with the who’s who of NYHC was nuts, I loved every minute of it. I also have a lot of friends in the Arizona hardcore scene, which also has a strong connection to NY.
It’s crazy to think that guys like Roger Miret and Paul Bearer hit me up asking for my help…blows my mind every time and something I don’t take for granted!
When you work with a band or a label what do you look for? Peeling back the curtain a bit, tell us what makes the difference between a good pitch and a project that screams nightmare
I think a good pitch is someone that knows what they want, knowing that it is something that fits with my style. A strong brief is extremely helpful! I generally push back requests that include no info …I can’t read people’s minds and I’m not a miracle worker.
Micro managers also suck, but sometimes you won’t know this will happen until you start working with someone [laughs].
As well as working for bands, you’ve also written multiple books now with Danny Marianino from North Side Kings. Tell us a bit about it. One of the things I enjoy most about it is the way it injects Italian culture into the work, is that something that’s important to you in terms of your own life?
Both Danny and I always wanted to do a kids book. Once we finished the first two it blows my mind books, we shifted gears to the Night of the Gabaghoul kids book.
The kids book idea was conceived by Danny mostly, I just interpret it my way and bring it to life. Given Danny is Italian, and his love of all things Italian, it was a natural path the book took. I’m not Italian, so I learned a thing or two myself working on the book [laughs]. There is a glossary in the back of the book, that was my idea, because I had no idea what some of then Italian slang words meant!
Doing a kids book (with more on the way) is important to me as I have 2 young sons. It’s also a nice change from the usual blood and guts stuff I normally work on!
How do you find juggling work, being a husband and father with your art? It’s not an easy tightrope to walk
It ain’t easy! I certainly know what the term ‘time poor’ means. I wake up at 4.30am every day and cram in as much as I can into every day, it’s exhausting!
Finally, anything we should be keeping our eyes out for? I know your web series, Street Justice, has hinted at a physical version. Any thank you’s or bands/artists people should check out?
Yep, I have some physical copies of my Street Justice comic available now through my Big Cartel. It’s a fun project I love doing, short violent revenge fantasy stories! I may keep doing them, I try to fit it in between projects, but I’m so busy at the moment, it’s hard to commit more time to it.
I also have some big record covers and another book on the way!Thanks to anyone and everyone that has supported what I do! Support independent artists of every kind, support your friends, be proud of your accomplishments and your friends achievements!! Listen to Seven Hells, Pleasers AD, and go see Chains of Fools when they play (no demo yet).
And thanks to you Robert!
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The Street Justice comic is available for order at this link.
Mick Lambrou on social media: Instagram
Tagged: art spotlight
