Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King Album Art
On March 28th, we knew something would be special about the Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King album art. Dave Matthews via his Twitter page revealed that he was “scribbling album art.”
The Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King album art was fully revealed on April 13th. In the days prior, sections of the album art showed up on the bands official site and Facebook with no explanation.
Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King album art was divided into nine pieces. One piece was revealed a day for the first several days, and then several pieces the last two days before April 13th.
The final reveal was done by playing the album art puzzle, which required rearranging the eight pieces correctly to reveal the ninth (center) piece and thus the full Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King album art.
Dave discusses why he drew the cover:
Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King Album Art
The following is the Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King album art drawn by Dave Matthews:
Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King Disc Art
Little Red Bird Bonus CD Album Art
Little Red Bird Bonus CD Disc Art
Official Web Site’s Explanation On the Album Art
While in New Orleans completing the recording of Big Whiskey, DMB contemplated many ideas for the next studio album cover. Producer Rob Cavallo suggested that the band have someone create a drawing. Dave conveyed out loud that maybe he’d draw something and was urged along. What you have is his most ambitious artwork to date. It’s fitting that DMB decided on a special album cover to complement the unique album title. More on that later. For now, Dave’s words:
"I like to draw, but I haven’t done anything that ambitious. I’m more of a scribbler on the tablecloth. I had hopes that I might spend my life doing it, at one point. I probably would have practiced a little more if I was doing it as my life focus. But it’s got some playful references to the album. And I like the idea that there’s always parades during Mardi Gras, and we were down there during that. There’s Bacchus and Rex and Zulu, and each has a king. So I liked the idea of making GrooGrux a parade, and that I was the king of a parade. And have the donkeys pulling a wagon like they used to; they don’t do that anymore. I thought, that’s a good space—the festival of Mardi Gras seemed like a good place to get a crowd.
"And I’m so happy—it’s so much fun. When I was a teenager, all I wanted to do was make an album cover. I used to make ‘em, fancy ones—okay, they were pretty shitty—and then I forgot about it. What an idiot! Then I remembered: Hey, I always wanted to make an album cover!"
Credit: Dave Matthews Band Official Web Site
Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King Album Art Released By Day
April 8, 2009
April 9, 2009
April 10, 2009
April 11, 2009
April 12, 2009
April 13, 2009
The center image of LeRoi was never released by itself, instead the official site released the complete album art by solving the album art puzzle.
