“These sketches are based on everything I’ve been exposed to, every person I’ve ever met, every note I’ve ever played.”
— Raven a.k.a. Seaton Hancock, sax player in Murphy’s Law
What could be cooler than hanging out at Manitoba’s (East Village, NYC) and spotting a hardcore punk legend like Raven from Murphy’s Law sitting with a beer and drawing in his sketchbook, drawing from his years of touring, playing shows, and meeting his own punk rock heroes along the way?
We were lucky enough to get to see his sketches and have him tell us a bit about them, here you’ll get to have a look yourself!
Raven: This is one of my favorites because people don’t think that punks can be tender. Some of them are falling in love and having kids. This is the next generation, people! I myself have kids. One is 21, one is 26 they’re both in college. I’m going to be 60 soon and Daddy still rocks!
Raven: I’m really proud of this one. I was walking down the street past the Black & Blue Tour [the 1980 Black Sabbath and Blue Öyster Cult co-headlining tour] at Madison Square Garden. I saw the kids coming out of that show and I was scared of them, I crossed to the other side of the street. Little did I know that a year later I would become the exact type of individual that I was afraid of. As much as it had scared the shit out of me, I was fascinated. I saw the Stooges first album and it scared me, decades later I got to meet Iggy.
Raven: As I was drawing this I was thinking to myself, what should she have in her hands? A joint? A martini? Why not a baseball bat?! That’s punk rock!
Raven: What got me into music in the first place was that I liked the way it looked. Finally it occurred to me, I should learn how to play something. The last thing I want to be is a poser.
Raven: “Amanda” is a real person…
My personal favorites are the punk rockers. Voodoo Tattoo Magazine is all about the relationship between music and art (usually in tattoo form) and the chance to see these personal sketches from a true NY hardcore punk veteran was an honor! Many thanks to Raven for taking the time to show us his sketchbooks. More pics below!
— Miss Psychobilly Bass
