Trippy Living Room with Cisco’s Chair

This was one of the first collages I ever made. I bought a giant stack of Life magazines from a thrift store in Portland and spent the winter of 2024 cutting them up and being sad and listening to Miles Davis records, mostly Bitches Brew and Miles in the Sky. This room might be in Office Building 9 on Planet Sneth.

Nectar Cube

This is a collage that I made out of old sixties Life magazines and eighties National Geographics.

“Eely” Album Cover original painting

This is the painting I used for the cover of my solo record “Eeli” It is a trippy watercolor of an eel in squares. Eeli was my nickname until I moved to Portland and shed that title, which now I'm admitting existed, which is probably a bad idea. “You’re screwed now” said Cory.

Sweet Old Souls Original Album Artwork

This is an original pencil drawing of the sweet old souls that we used as the artwork for our album, and it was made by a really dear friend, Emma Allen. This drawing that was from a photograph that was taken of me and James when we were playing one of our early gigs as the sweet old souls.

SOS Whiskey Sipper

This is a wood-fired sake or whiskey cup—large sake, small whiskey. It has cool patterns from wood ash and stamping. James and I, sweet old souls, love antique things and collect old beach glass on our trips, so this piece is stamped with those antique shards we’ve gathered from shops and the shore.

Sweet Old Souls Play Hank and Fats

We just stopped by the studio to get some sandwiches and hang out with our buddy Cory. We had all our instruments because we were on our way home from a gig on the coast. We got offered to make a tape, so we decided to play one of our favorite songs, “The Waltz of the Wind,” which is really special to us. It’s a Hank Williams song—a really special old song that was recommended to us by Michael Hurley’s first wife, Pasta, whom we just met at his memorial a couple weeks ago—very special connection, special song, special opportunity. The B-side is called “I’m Growing Fonder,” and it’s Fats Waller, who we consider one of our patron saints. We love Fats Waller so much. I like to bring those old songs that are completely buried, like the B-sides no one’s heard before that are so special. We like to bring those back and bring them into the modern times.

Self Portrait 2025

I think it's important to do a self-portrait every so often. This is my original idea for an album cover, even more original than the coyote, but I don't know why it didn't work for the cover. Works pretty good for a painting. Mostly acrylic and gouache with some watercolor pencil. 12x12.

Coyote

This was one of the first the ideas for my album cover. There are a lot of Coyote sounds on the record. And I grew up losing cats to coyotes and hearing them around our little one room shack something something. I think it's acrylic and gouache. 12x12

Great Aunt Jean’s Quilted Afghan

This is an homage to my great aunt Jean’s quilted afghan. She had an old chair with dark wood at her house on the coast in Cloverdale. I don’t think I matched every color exactly, but I remember the black, the quilted squares, and the neon green and orange—really bright, secondary colors. My great aunt had all kinds of quirky things because she lived at the beach. The bathroom was full of shells, and her dad built the house himself after checking out books from the library, so everything was a little off—low ceilings, strange wiring, and tricky stairs. There were lots of old books, blankets, tchotchkes, and an old piano. Out of everything, the afghan was the most vivid and stood out the most.

Night Cafe demo

Corey invited me over—said you were doing a little thing this weekend and might record. The cassette-tape doodle: That’s my best drawing of a cup of coffee. We recorded a song I wrote this past week, still kinda working on it. It’s called “Night Café,” just acoustic guitar and singing. I’ve been playing a fair amount: solo shows around town and some busking. I started busking about a year ago. Seemed like a good way to get a different type of practice in—really get comfortable, learn to hold down a longer set, and maybe make some pocket change. I just treat it like practice. Since I started busking I’m writing a song or two a week. A lot end up in the trash, but the keepers pile up. Might be interesting to throw them all on a cassette—one-on-one takes—and just put them out. I’ve been thinking about how I want to do that; we’ll see.

Hand drawn Tokyo map

This is a map my friend Yoichi drew for me on the first day of our tour in Japan. We had separated and were supposed to meet back up to take the train into the city for the show. I was carrying a lot of stuff, including a guitar case crammed full of T-shirts and records. It was very heavy. I followed the map, or at least I thought I did, until I found myself walking out of town. I had missed the spot where I was supposed to turn off. It was crazy hot that day and I walked for maybe an hour and then had to turn around and walk back. When I finally got to the meeting place, Yoichi looked at me very seriously and said “Didn’t you follow the map?”

Front entry sign for Portland Punk Hous “The Ranch”

This sign hung above the door at the Ranch, a punk house in Portland from around 2000 to 2018. Many bands practiced there, and I lived there at one point. My band members also lived there. After the sign had been up for a while, someone added 'chicken fingers' to it. Bands like Divers, Drunken Boat, Coldbringer, Talk is Poison, and Creeping Meatball played there. The Ranch was in Northeast Portland, near Alberta.

Before the Sun - one and done

I brought the Omnichord today. The recorded song has live drums, synthesizers, and guitars, but this Omnichord version is something I’ve been working out for live solo shows. It’s really exciting to capture it in the studio because I never planned on that. I like the way the song sits on the Omnichord—it’s similar, but it’s super different at the same time, which is fun. I tracked some additional vocals and did a quick drum pass on the tape—just Omnichord, vocals, and drum. Cory added a little snappy piano. For the arts-and-crafts project, it started as a cleaner design, and then the green pen exploded onto it. I pivoted, embraced whatever this is, and kept adding colors. Sometimes making a song feels the same—you keep throwing stuff on to see where it goes. I can’t say it looks pretty, but I like it. There’s only one. “Before the Sun” is sort of an anti capitalist song. It’s about being sad when you have a job that makes you wake up before the sun comes up and how unnatural that feels, especially if you’re also living a double life as an artist or musician. Being a working-class musician can mean very little sleep. The song is about the pretending you have to do in that world and the feeling of being kinda trapped.

“Reassembled Passion Is Fine”

This collage, which I created many years ago, has undergone several phases. It was once destroyed and torn into pieces by someone in a fit of passion. I later reassembled it, making it a collage of a collage.

“Paper Ghosts” autographed copy of Poetry Book

This is a hand written note with a little drawing on the title page of my poetry book. The poems focus on memory, family, inherited identity, and place.

Songs 4 Athena

We recorded two songs today, an A-side and a B-side. I only came prepared with one song, which references my friend Athena. But when I found out I could do two, I remembered I had another about her, and it felt meant to be. Athena named the second song “Whiskey Courage.” The first song I call “Bazan,” but the full title would be “Put on Bazan”. Hope he doesn’t mind. Recording these songs with Cory was amazing, I’ve only ever recorded harmonies here at Scenic Burrows with Cory before.

Dewey flier collaboration

Plankton Wat - That’s my friend Dewey’s band. He had a shop called Mothership Music when I first moved to Portland eight or nine years ago. He was one of my first musical pals. I was really excited to finally play a show with him years later. He made this flyer, and I cut the bird out, colored it in, and taped a copy on top. I meant to make more of these, but, you know, it never happened.

Test print

This is a test print for our first T shirts. It's been rolling around in the back of my van for a couple years now. My friend Maliki from Small Million helped me buy a font and stretch it out in Photoshop to the shape we wanted and do little tweaks here and there, but it’s pretty stock. We thought it would be funny to use a super hard font, but it definitely also pays homage to the harder music scene in Portland,OR that initially embraced us. It's funny that we got lumped into a harder crowd right out of the gate when I never would have thought to put us there. That’s just who was asking us to play shows, and supporting us. So we leaned into the people that accepted us, and then they of course influenced us. We love the grunge side of the Grunge-Country.

Budos Band VII Setlist working draft

This is the draft set list from the first show we played in 2025, in connection with the release of our seventh album, Budos Band VII. You can see tons of notes, cross-outs and scribbles; we hammered it out in rehearsals leading up to our Yonkers, New York set at Yonkers Brewing Co. The sheet mixes brand-new songs with classic Budos cuts. We later turned this mess into the concise, cleaned-up version for use onstage, but this page is the working copy we wrote in advance of the show.

Budos Band VII Test Pressing Sigil 2

This is a test pressing of The Budos Band VII, our seventh album on Diamond West Records. Vinyl Ceremony pressed it, and we pulled a handful of test pressings to hand-draw or paint original art on the white labels. This piece, by our drummer Brian Profilio, features one of our signature sigils—you’ve probably seen these in our record covers and posters.

Budos Band VII Test Pressing Sigil 1

This is a test pressing of the Budos Band VII, our seventh album, which will be released on our own Diamond West Records. Our friends at Vinyl Ceremony pressed the record, and we grabbed a few test pressings from the run and made some hand-drawn or painted labels for a select few. This one was done by our drummer Brian Profilio and features a sigil you might recognize from the record cover and other artwork on our releases.

Polligrom

Polygrom was shredding the day he was born. Soon he'll lose his tail, get fat legs, and watch chicks from the shore.

Toadhead

The only thing Toadhead ever wanted to do was surf, but he lived in the flat dusty valley far from the ocean . Then to his astonishment Kelly Slater built a wave pool right near his back yard! Now Toadhead rides perfect waves, is stoked for days and sleeps in the shade.

The Frog Hog

The froghog comes out of nowhere just when you think you're in the clear and have a nice one to yourself in the golden glow of a late afternoon set. Seeming to drop from the air, he gives you fright with his lazy smile, then it becomes clear you're the grasshopper about to be eaten.

Laid To Rest album cover treatment

Here's my sketch for the single art of 'Laid to Rest' featuring the four horseman. Leroy From The North logo sits in the top corner. I drew a red horseman with crown and bow, one with a sword, a black horseman holding scales of justice, and a pale horseman representing death—just some easy topic. It’ll likely serve as the album cover, set against a moody landscape. The record itself feels moodier than my others—more indie, less polished. It’s finished and ready to go.

Eli’s only acoustic

Meet my Hummingbird: it's been dropped, glued, and sun-bleached, but it still rocks harder than ever. From Bozeman to the big stage, this guitar's got stories to tell!

Boss phase 1 silver screw

This kick ass phaser was used on the first Dorothy tour and was a staple on my pedal board when we first opened for Greta Van Fleet. It has its own sound that’s different than the phase 90, 45 or 100. Plus it’s like green and has the silver button, which I hear is a thing.

The Laptop Daytrotter Started From

I launched Daytrotter on this heavy white 2007 Apple laptop. For about five years every band email, 4,000 essays, and all behind-the-scenes work in Rock Island came from it. It’s now dead, but its worn keys, crumbs, and coffee stains mark a unique piece of Daytrotter history—I always run laptops until they die, and there’s only one of these.

An Empty Hennessy Bottle That Naughty By Nature Left Behind

I kept this empty Hennessy bottle from Naughty by Nature’s Daytrotter session. I’d never bought Hennessy and still don’t know its taste. I flew the legendary group in for a pre-Christmas charity show at Rock Island Brewing Company to fund winter beds and coats for in need area families. They only asked for flights and hotels and played for free, which still amazes me. They brought this bottle to the Sunday recording session—maybe it started full, maybe not. Vinny, a die-hard Giants fan, got visibly upset during the game over his Giants on the field performance and might’ve polished it off because of that. It wasn’t me. Now I’ve got the intact bottle and cap as a souvenir.

The Only Painting That Hung In The Daytrotter Control Room

This painting hung in the control room at the original Daytrotter studio for the longest time. It just kind of showed up; I can’t remember when or how we got it, though we know who gave it to us. It became one of the only things hanging in that tiny space. Anytime a band came in to hear playback and decide if that take was the take—no editing, no mixing—they had to accept it as is or start again from the top. We’d sit on our little booth bench while Mike, Pat, or Brad hit the playback button, listening with the painting staring back at us. Other than tapes and a few odds and ends, that was the whole room. This was an old radio-station control room, very small, and the painting felt like our company. The image looks like a troll goblin eating small balloons—maybe Christmas lights or flowers. There’s a flag that resembles a red taco anteater with music notes, and an albino Grover and a regular Grover holding hands, just afloat at sea. For years it watched every take.

Original Album Art collage for The No Ones “My Best Evil Friend”

This is the original artwork I made for the cover of the second No Ones record, a band that Peter Buck and I have with two friends from Norway, Frode and Arne. We put this record together during the pandemic, so it was long distance. I had a concept for the record about all the music and musicians we love and how they affected my life. There's a clock radio, just like the one I had as a kid, which I used to fall asleep to and listen to music every night. The record is called "My Best Evil Friend" because music is my best friend, but it also messed me up in many ways. The songs were written about musicians and music I loved. Many people are represented in the collage I made with paint, markers, and cut-up photographs. Musicians on the record include Debbie Peterson, me, and Peter, Ben Gibbard and Norman Blake. George Harrison isn't on the record, but I wrote a song about him. Frode and Arne are on there too. It includes obscure people and friends like Jenny Lewis and Morgan Nagler, each with a song about them. Pamela Polland had a song about her; she was a singer-songwriter in the early seventies. Nick Lowe is a constant influence. I was really proud of it and think it's cool.

“The Space Dudes” fake ad drawing

The space dudes. Oh my god. This is really funny. Better stop looking at or I will probably keep it. It says on the top, 10/31/1973, Rolling Stone, page 31. Apparently, I made this ad for a crazy new group called The Space Dudes. I think I invented the Coneheads before Saturday Night Live. They owe me for that. "Capital Records presents the debut album of a sensational new band, including their smash hit 'Armpit Love'" -- produced by Todd Rundgren and David Bowie. I think maybe I thought that Glam was kind of funny at the time, which is weird because I know I loved Todd Rundgren already at that point. I might not have been totally into David Bowie yet because I was all about Poco and country rock at the time. Well, and Yes and Genesis somehow. So who knows? That guy, Computosound, must be part-human early sampler. And a Moog and a Mellotron blended into one thing somehow. I want that. It's drawn on the back of a list of classes at West Valley Junior College where I was a student. I was probably 19 when I made this, in Saratoga, California, where I 'grew up'. There you go.

Autographed Minus 5 Show Poster

This was a poster I made for the Minus Five "The Therapy Sessions", which was a weekly residency at the Laurelthirsti n Portland in April 2018. That was five or six months after I had a stroke. We had a happy hour every Wednesday that month. The idea was to get me in front of people, trying to play again, and see if I could remember songs. I had lyric sheets because I couldn't remember any lyrics at that point. I pretty much just played The Beatles, Neil Young and my own songs because they were the most engrained in my DNA. It got my mind working and helped a lot. It was a great happening because people came out and cheered us on. It was really beautiful. We made these posters and gave them out to people at the shows. This one is signed by Peter Buck, Kurt Bloch, me, Casey Neill, and Lewi Longmire. Those must have been people who played one week.

Brian Jonestown Massacre “Artiste” Pass for La Sirine, La Rochelle, France 2.10.22

This is a lanyard from when we played this wild seaside resort in the South of France with Kurt Vile, Frankie and the Witch Fingers and a bunch of other really great bands. We wound up getting hammered and swimming in the Mediterranean after playing this show. I'm pretty sure all I was wearing was this lanyard as I swam in the sea at night. It was a big show. Really fun night.

Brian Jonestown Massacre All Access Pass Europe Tour 2023

This is my all-access pass from the Brian Jonestown Massacre tour in early 2023 when we played the UK for the first time after the pandemic, including the London Forum and the Barrel Lands in Glasgow. There were also dates in Europe, including Germany, Scandinavia, and Switzerland. It was quite the adventurous tour. Not saying drugs are on this, but drugs were around this. Definitely.

Brian Jonestown Massacre All Access Pass #004

That is the lanyard from the Brian Jonestown Massacre 2022 European tour. It's the all access backstage pass that gets you into anywhere. One of a kind 004. And it's from our tour in France and Belgium and The Netherlands and The Czech Republic and Germany, Switzerland and Spain. Now this was a really good tour. And we played a lot of really big shows. And this was the first time the band played a big European tour after COVID.

Jōhatsu, framed acrylic painting 20x17

Jōhatsu, a word in Japanese for when you just wanna leave your life and disappear, and these people come and move you in the night. And you just disappear from society because maybe you did something shameful. It’s true. It's real. It's escapism at its finest. But it's classy. You probably decide, and then you can call these people. I kind of picture them as these spirits that just come and take you out of this life, and you can go disappear from everything you are. Japanese are classy. Americans would, like, murder their wife and then do a bunch of fucked up shit.

Santa Muerte

I feel like I cheat with art. I take photos, zoom in, and make them look elaborate. It's not that great. This looks real, like how they are. That's Santa Muerte. On her shoulder, there's an owl, her bird. Queen of death. The neon colored patterns are from linoleum stamps. Someone at a show gave me a statue that I carried around for years and didn't know who she was. On my mantle I had her next to a Catholic deity, and the Catholic deity fell off the shelf and cut my leg really bad. Then my parents died, and I was really getting into accepting death. It's a huge part of what we are, just like your birthday. She was like, I'm here. On my death day, bring me a cake.

Nina Roja

That's Nina Roja. She’s an aspect of Santa Muerta for love. Watercolor and ink 9x12z Santa Marta. She's the saint of death, but one of her color aspects is Nina Roja, and she guards over love. Made in 2025.

Black Prairie Show Poster, silk-screened, signed and numbered

This is an 18X24 silk-screened poster for the second album by my band Black Prairie. “A Tear in the Eye is a Wound in the Heart” It was engineered and produced by Tucker Martine, released on Sugar Hill Records. And this is a limited edition promo poster for the album. Signed and numbered. Black Prairie was the band with Jon Neufeld, Jenny Conley, Chris Funk, John Moen, Annalisa Tornfelt and Nate Query.

Dolorean signed and numbered silk-screened Show Poster

This is a 16X24 poster from a pair of shows I played in 2012, at The Sunset Tavern in Seattle, WA, and Mississippi Studios in Portland, OR with Dolorean, The Parson Redheads, and Erin Embry. It's signed and numbered. The band Dolorean was me John Neufeld, Al James, Ben Nugent, Jay Clark, and James Adair.

“Fred The Fisher” Watercolor on Paper

Fred the Fisher. A dream where I got into an old car that had been in a flood, and then eventually, I became kind of like half fish, half human. Wow. And yeah. So I'm kind of half myself, half fish. This is just a dream. It's watercolor on paper, but it's also kind of a collage.

“The Other Of Two Right Hands” Sculpture: plaster and oil paint

“So all the crystals and shapes and things, it wasn't tribal. I remember seeing the colors and thinking they were vibrant. The patterns were intricate, almost mesmerizing. It was like stepping into another world. The atmosphere was electric, filled with energy and excitement. Everyone seemed to be in sync, moving to the rhythm” Another right hand in a 2 right hand collection. Plaster and oil paint.

“One of Two Right Hands” Sculpture: plaster and oil paint

This is a one of one “one of two right hands” I made a mold of from my hand. It's one right hand of two right hands in one sculpture based around connection. They are selling separately, but they're meant to go together. It is plaster cast covered in an Indigo paint.

“Lady With Baby”

Pride Comes Before the Fall. It's about making your way in the world. I'm not a great storyteller. It was made in 2023. Acrylics. I was experimenting with using two primary colors and black and white, focusing on mixing colors and seeing what combinations come with that. It was post-COVID, so you know? Or well, kind of still in COVID, so who really knows?

“LADY FACES” signed 4 color silkscreen print

This is a four-color screen print titled 'Lady Faces.' I just like to draw ladies, I guess.

“Not An Animal” EP Tape Cassette, silkscreened and signed

This is a tape cassette of my first EP recorded with my band, Sally Ford and the Sound Outside. It features a hand screen-printed design, and the packaging is all paper. It was re-released in 2018, but originally recorded in 2008. My band, The Sound Outside, included Tyler Tornfelt, Ford Tennis, and Jeff Munger.

Hand drawn tour poster from 2017

This is a hand-drawn tour poster from the winter of 2017, when I went on tour with Buddy Weeks, Paul Hasenburg, and Kris Doty. After Portland we went to Spain, then France, and then we played a New Year's Eve show when we got back at the Sunset Tavern in Seattle. These drawings were done by me with gel pens of little ladies dancing and a guitar.

Test Pressing for Fernando “Widows”

This is the test pressing of my album Widows, originally released in 1997. The record was initially released only as a CD. For the twentieth anniversary in 2017 we released it on vinyl for the very first time.

One Trick Pony handwritten lyrics from studio session

That piece of paper contains the first lyrics written for 'One Trick Pony,' a song on the 'Enter to Exit' my release from February 2006 on Music We Trust records. It also contains some recording notes. Written in the studio, just prior to recording the song.

Signed Show Poster for Luther Russell residency at Al’s Den

This is a show poster from a Luther Russell residency at the Al's Den at the Crystal Hotel that happened on October 26 2013. Richmond Fontaine participated in this evening as well as Mike Coykendall, Natron, Martin Lepper from the Minders, and members of Blitzen and Trapper. It was a week-long residency with Luther. The back of the poster is signed by many of the artists who participated in this residency. The front of the poster is signed by myself.

Connie sheet music

Connie by El Ten Eleven is a unique piece of sheet music, handwritten by Kristian. This one-of-a-kind creation captures the essence of the band's distinctive sound. Each note is carefully crafted, offering a glimpse into the creative process. This sheet music is a testament to the band's innovative approach to music. One page on nice card stock.

Meta Metta sheet music

Meta Meta one page of sheet music, handwritten by Kristian on nice card stock. Signed by the band. One of one.

Marriage Is the New Going Steady sheet music

Marriage is the New Going Steady one page of sheet music hand written by Kristian on nice card stock. One of one. Signed by the band.

Signed Promo Poster The Delines Mr. Luck & Ms. Doom

This is a promotional poster from The Delines record, 'Mr. Luck and Ms. Doom,' autographed by the entire band. This was a promotional item for Rough Trade Records.

Signed Show Poster: The Delines at The Triple Door in Seattle 2016

We played at the Triple Door in Seattle with Ian Moore and Scott McCoy. Scott performed solo on a giant black grand piano, playing really cool songs. This is my memory from February 2015.

The Damnations handwritten setlist circa 1999

I remember this set list because I recognize the songs on it. It was at the Hole in the Wall, and we played with the Orange Mothers. The lineup was incredible, including the guy from Fastball. We had a Mike Nikolai song and a Ted Hawkins song. I'm thinking about 1999 for this one. The Damnation and Black Widow were fairly new songs at that point. It was a one-of-a-kind set list.

Sunbathe Self-Titled Test Pressing

This is the test pressing of self-titled Sunbathe album, the first released record. Released May 19, 2017 Guitars | Vocals | Keys: Maggie May Morris, Bass: Jenny Logan, Drums: Pieter Hilton, Violin: Shannon Rose Steele, Tambourine: Devin Gallagher. Recorded by Victor Nash @ Destination Universe, Mastered by Adam Gonsalves @ Telegraph Mastering

Hand drawn flyer for Machar Farms Fest

This is a flyer I created for the Machar Farms Fest on July 21, 2018, in Dexter, Oregon. The festival featured Fronjentress (Portland, OR), Kyle Morton of Typhoon (Portland,OR), and Surfs Drugs (Eugene, OR). It was held at the Dexter Lake Club, a location where scenes from the film Animal House were shot.

Handwritten Lyrics used for insert on 2nd Sunbathe album “Somewhere In Between”

This is a collection of handwritten lyrics for the second Sunbathe record, featuring songs like "Can't Be Sure," "Just Another One," "Jonathan," "Somewhere in Between," and "Mooch."