Today we’d like to introduce you to Cabrón James.
So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Late last year, I attended a music themed art exhibit that honored the band Queen. I remember every single art piece that was showcased was in Freddie Mercury’s likeness. That’s not at all a bad thing, but all the art looked like they were repeats of each other. I remember thinking to myself at the show, “Yo, wouldn’t it be wild if someone made a Queen art piece that was influenced by the band but had nothing to do with the band? That would be interesting!” And that was when and how the seed was planted. I kept that idea on ice for the longest time until the right opportunity came around for me to use it. The first thing I ever cooked up was a Rage Against the Machine “Bulls on Parade” poster with lyrics from the song in comic bubbles. I designed it in a way where it felt like a vintage, seasoned, authentic comic book cover from the 70’s and 80’s. I ended up displaying that piece at a campus wide art show at my school and I remember getting DM’s up the yin yang asking if I had copies of that piece or if I had prints to sell. Then it just took off from there.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The whole experience thus far has been smooth sailing for the most part. I try to cater to everyone’s taste in music because, as much as I hate this answer, I grew up listening to just about everything. I feel like I have something for everyone. The only heat I’ve caught was for my handle “Cabrón James.” The real meaning for “Cabrón” in Spanish is “he-goat” and in sports terms “goat” is an acronym for “Greatest Of All Time” therefore LeBron James=Cabrón James. We also flipped Minor Threat’s logo and put LeBron’s face on it so it’s no longer a black sheep, but a GOAT. The name “Cabrón James” embodies my brand. I like to look at what’s trendy and what everyone else is doing and I like to do the opposite.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I’m very much interested in the traditional pen and paper methodologies. I love creating narratives and character building everything from the humorous to the gruesome. I do get a lot of comparisons to artists like Billy the Butcher (who’s art is unreal BTW), but I’d like to think that a lot of my work is deeper than just being a comic book cover based on a band. I try to explore a lot of dark themes and issues in my work while only using music and comics as a vehicle to get my viewers attention. I did a spot on Toto’s “Africa” that has to do with gentrification, my Smashing Pumpkins “1979” deals with some of the difficulties faced by interracial couples, and the Talking Heads “Psycho Killer” poster was based on the concerns surrounding mental health to name a few.
I pride myself in my “quick strike” mentality of limiting every cover I release to only 25 pieces being produced. I have so much material to use and I still have so many genres to uncover, I don’t want to be that one-hit-wonder artist who’s only known for just that single piece of art. This is how I figured out how to keep things fresh, new, interesting, and challenging for myself. I love the anthology style of shows like “American Horror Story” and “True Detective” and I wanted to do that with music (using the same band name but different narratives in every cover).
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Some of my favorite moments have been from the reactions of people who view my work. I remember this kid in middle school bought a New Order print from me and said, “dude! My dad and I love New Order! He is going to flip when he sees this!” I also once had a lady tell me that every time she listens to Hall & Oates, she is always reminded by my comic. Definitely, some of my favorite moments have been the connections I’ve made with people over our favorite tunes.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://instagram.com/cabron.james
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/cabron.james
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