interview: TONY MOSTROM

comic book artist about both drawing and talking to mr. E

If you are an EELS fan, you must be at least a little bit familiar with the work of comic artist extraordinaire Tony Mostrom. While other artists contributed drawings and short comic stories to the Electro-Shock Blues album in 1998, Mostrom was responsible for almost all of the promotional artwork. If you bought a t-shirt during the Electro-Shock Blues shows, his work is on it. Same goes for posters and stickers. Also he is the artist responsible for the illustrations of the Electro-Shock Blues story that was used as a bio for the press, as well as on the EELS' official 1998 website and the E-Works release Electro-Shock Blues Show. In October 2007, Mostrom looks back at his work for E and the EELS for eels.nl.

eels.nl: You are well known s a comic book artist, yet you also are also known as a music journalist. How do you combine the two? What's your 'main job'?
Tony Mostrom: "Well, I actually stopped being a 'music writer' a few years ago. I got tired of it. Too many worshipful adjectives about musicians started to make me feel a definite kind of mental nausea, though I think I avoided that trap pretty well. I do still like some of the articles I wrote, particularly about, e.g. free improvisation and drone musicians like The Hafler Trio. I am still an artist, drawing comics and illustrations. Also, a couple years ago I created some giant window displays for the (giant) Amoeba record shop here in Hollywood."

eels.nl: What do you think of the EELS' music and in particular Electro-Shock Blues?
Tony Mostrom: "Well, I'm not a pop/rock listener much, so it was kind of out of my orbit, you might say. My taste in rock runs more toward groups like My Bloody Valentine, Broadcast and The Soft Machine; that kind of thing. That said, though, I really liked Electro-Shock Blues! I listened to it over and over at the time I was drawing the promo art for it. As an album, it's an incredibly 'private' listening experience, I thought; that's what probably made it so infectious to mine ears. A very 'inner' experience. Catchy tunes, too."

eels.nl: For the artwork of the album E asked his favourite comic book artists to illustrate some of his songs. Did you have to do a pitch for that or did he approach you?
Tony Mostrom: "I actually was not one of those artists. My gig - a more fun and interesting one - came only after that particular item was finished."

eels.nl: Your artwork is indeed not in the cd-booklet, but was used for almost all the promotional items from that era. Plus you designed the record labels for the Electro-Shock Blues vinyl. Quite a big job, as opposed to the artists that did 'only' one cartoon or illustration. How did you get the job?
Tony Mostrom: "Well E, to my delight, asked me to, and as I say that was after all of the other artists had done their booklet contributions. So if I was an afterthought, it was in a very good way. All that full-color goodness."

eels.nl: Who came up with the idea to make that bio the way it is?
Tony Mostrom: "It was E's idea, totally. He probably shoved it down their throat, and I'm glad!"

eels.nl: Did you write the story and do the drawing? Or just the drawing?
Tony Mostrom: "The aforementioned gentleman done wrote the script, and I done drawed it."

eels.nl: That bio was sent to the press in black and white, was used in full colour as an animation on the (then) official EELS website and later showed up inside the artwork for the Electro-Shock Blues Show cd. Were you consulted every time it was used in a different form?
Tony Mostrom: "Er, let's see... no. I was only told about the 'first usage,' as they call such a contract, you know."

eels.nl: The band portrait you designed has been a fan favourite for almost a decade now. Did it take long to design? Or did it come out right immediately?
Tony Mostrom: "The latter. I drew that little bugger - all three square inches of it - in about 3 hours, start to finish. And thanks for the kind words!"

eels.nl: That portrait is a small part of a greater design called Graveyard Blues, as can be seen on the Comic Art Collective website. Why wasn't that whole design used? It's amazing!
Tony Mostrom: "Well, thank you again... Actually, the portrait was done first, then tacked on to that sketch, which no one seemed to like except you and me."

eels.nl: Were you free to draw whatever you liked?
Tony Mostrom: "I barely remember, actually..."

eels.nl: I mean, did you get specific orders how the illustrations had to look?
Tony Mostrom: "No, I just started brainstorming and sketching for the various items they told me were going to be made. Quite a gig, as you say."

eels.nl: In 2002 as a music journalist you interviewed E for L.A. Weekly. Did you get the job because of your previous work for EELS?
Tony Mostrom: "No, I just pitched it to the paper. I'd been writing music pieces for them for several years, so they knew the quality of my stuff. I just really liked the album at that time and I was on kind of an EELS kick, as a fan as well as a collaborator."

eels.nl: Are you aware E used the title of that article (Licence To Eel) for a demo collection little over a year after the publication?
Tony Mostrom: "Why, no! Guess he owes me millions of dollars now. Just kidding! Hey, wait..."

eels.nl: Is the portrait of E you made for that article the last EELS drawing you made?
Tony Mostrom: "I believe it is. And funny enough, it's my favorite. Well, wait; no, actually it's a tie between that and the 'screaming blues face' I drew for the (rare, hard-to-find collectors' item) Electro-Shock Blues poster."

eels.nl: What are you up to these days? Mostly writing or drawing?
Tony Mostrom: "I'm actually working on some true-crime comic strips that will be in search of a publisher pretty soon. I'm big on our precious american criminal heritage, you might say."

eels.nl: Would you like to do some EELS artwork again in the future?
Tony Mostrom: "I'd love to, though I haven't heard from my near-neighbor for a few years now (naturally, we live only a couple of miles apart, here in the hills of Los Angeles). Maybe if I move to San Francisco he'll call me up immediately..."

Thank you very much Tony Mostrom for your time. Fans interested in Tony's work can buy original works of art on the Comic Art Collective website. Some of the nicest EELS drawings are already sold, but still proudly displayed there. And some nice little drawings are still available. Among them an original Electro-Shock Blues album label and a never used flyer. Check it out!

More info:
Tony Mostrom @ Comic Art Collective