As we gear up for summer here in Greenpoint, the longer days of sunlight are already bearing dividends, with tons of new items in the shop and a slew of great events to share with you.

The latest installment of the Musician as Designer series comes from the legendary Sonny Kay. In his already illustrious career, Sonny founded and ran the record label Gold Standard Laboratories (GSL) for over 14 years, all the while performing in iconic bands such as Angel Hair, The VSS and Year Future. The t-shirts feature an original digital collage, screen printed with 3 colors using water-based inks on organic black garments from Alternative Apparel. Only 60 shirts in edition, move fast risk missing out.

Speaking of selling out- the previous Musician as Designer T, by non other than LCD Soundsystem’s Nancy Whang have been selling quite fast. We are completely out of sizes medium and large, so if you are a XS, S, or XL, we recommend picking up your shirt now.

We’ve got great new items from our friends over at Chunklet Magazine.

The Indie Cred Test is “everything you need to know about knowing everything you need to know.” Yes, it is actually a test. And yes, it will educate you and prove to your friends how smart you really are.

Also from Chunklet, another genius piece of cultural insight (in t-shirt form). We’re strongly in support of this statement here at SSD HQ, quite simply: Vinyl is Killing the MP3 Industry.

Former collection bands Gang Gang Dance, Battles and Fucked Up are all releasing new albums this month. Gang Gang Dance dropped their new album Eye Contact on 5/10 on 4AD, Battles will release their newest album Gloss Drop on Warp Records in June, and Fucked Up’s album David Comes to Life (Matator Records) will also be released in June as well. The entire 2009 Collection on final closeout sale, with 70% off all remaining items.

For those of you in NYC, be sure to buy tickets to Joshua Light Show: Fulldome June 3rd-June 5th. In conjunction with Brain: The Inside Story, Josh White, one of the contributors to our Artist Music Journal series, will be putting on one of his amazing light shows in the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History. Tickets are $40 and can be bought here. Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity.

Cheers to a great summer!

We’ve been hard at work here in frosty, snow covered Greenpoint on an abundance of new products, collaborations and projects that we’re excited to share with you. Make sure to sign up for our monthly newsletter to stay updated on all our new endeavors, as well as the occasional exclusive sales just for our subscribers.

Record Messenger Bag

We’re super psyched to introduce our Record Messenger Bag. Practical and spacious, the bag not only stands up to the demands of the most intense rider, but also safely protects up to 10 LPs in a fortified interior. No more ruining the corners and jackets of your records when attempting to bike home from your local shop. But why stop there? To boot, each bag has a unique recycled vinyl lining sourced from highway billboard advertisements and reflective outer printing to keep you safe at night.

With only 150 produced in our first run, get yours today from our shop.

Artist Music Journal 12: Yamantaka Eye (of Boredoms)

Yamantaka Eye’s Artist Music Journal is available now and is not to be missed. Eye’s is the twelfth and final edition of Volume 1, and we could not think of a more fitting artist to close out the series. Eye used his journal as an opportunity to design for dozens of imaginary bands, including original album art and vinyl details. One of our very favorite releases in the series, AMJ 12 is available now, and as always, limited to 1000 copies.

Vinyl is Forever Edition 05 Still in Stock

We’ve just discovered a few “lost boxes” in our warehouse, which contained desperately needed stock on all styles and sizes for the Vinyl is Forever Edition 05. In case you haven’t heard, VIF ED 05 was designed by Chicago-based design collective The Post Family. This will be the final collection for the Vinyl is Forever line, so make sure to grab one before they’re gone. This collection will not be reprinted.

Musician as Designer
Justin Pearson’s (Three One G Records, The Locust, All Leather, Swing Kids, Retox, and about 1,000 other amazing bands) Musician as Designer t-shirts are still available online.

They will be followed up shortly by an installment from San Francisco’s Tim Cohen (Fresh and Onlys), who’s newest solo record can be purchased here, and whose online portfolio can be viewed here.

We’ll have other upcoming Musician as Designer t-shirts in the works from artists such as Richard McGuire of Liquid Liquid, Sonny Kay, and many more exciting artists. Installments range in size from 60 – 84 shirts, we recommend not dilly dallying.

Winter Sales
A few big sales happening on our site for a limited time:
- 2009 Collection Clearance - 70% off the entire 2009 Collection. Yes, 70%.
- Musician as Designer Clearance - 30% off select Musician as Designer tees by Jeremy Earl, Eddie Argos, John Wiese and Shawn Reed
- Tote Bag Sale - 50% off all 2010 Tote Bags (Animal Collective, Atlas Sound, Band of Horses, Chairlift, HEALTH, Pantha du Prince, TV on the Radio and Yeah Yeah Yeahs)

Upcoming Events
Soundscreen Design Presents: Seriously Ecstatic: Joshua White at the Fillmore East, 1968–70.
Issue Project Room
February 17th @ 8:00 pm

Please join us to help celebrate the release of our eleventh Artist Music Journal with Dan Nadel (Picturebox) and Joshua White (Joshua Light Show). Dan Nadel will conduct a Q&A with Joshua White preceding the live performance, featuring a musical collaboration with Gary Panter, Ross Goldstein and Devin Flynn.

Soundscreen Design @ Giant Robot
March 1-31
GR2

This pop-up will feature a wide range of products, including pop-up exclusives, our messenger bag with fortified vinyl LP pocket and the last installment of the Vinyl is Forever apparel line. Come and check us out!

In The Future
While we’re are hard at work with new artists and musicians for our 2011 Collection, we’ll also be curating the Fall ’11 Collection for LA-based fashion brand Blood is the New Black, whose t’s we wear almost everyday. We’ll have more information soon, but in the meantime you can check out their amazing collection of artists and apparel here.

Stay warm friends and thanks for your continued support!

Rock Paper Show Event - Chicago Release Party

The latest in the Rock Paper Show release events across the country is this week at Chicago’s Renegade Handmade. Come join us to celebrate, get your own copy and have it signed by a multitude of the talented artists and designers in town for Flatstock 26 (at Pitchfork).

Event Details:
July 15th
Renegade Handmade
1924 W Division Street, Chicago, IL
7:00 PM – 9:00 PM

SSD at Pitchfork

While in Chiacgo we’ll be attending Pitchfork Music Festival, where we’ll be on site selling merchandise July 16th-18th . We’ll have our own booth there, stocked with deluxe editions of Rock Paper Show, ReFRAMEs for all the posters you buy at Flatstock, and a selection of our favorite SSD apparel, as well as a few surprises, all with special weekend discounts.

Pitchfork Music Festival Details:
July 16th-18th
Union Park 1501 W Randolph St, Chicago, IL

New Musician as Designer T-Shirt - Nick Zinner

If you haven’t yet, make sure to check out the latest installment in our Musician as Designer series. The new t-shirt, printed on organic Alternative Apparel garments, features Nick Zinner as designer. Zinner, who lives in New York City, is a founding member of Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Head Wound City, as well as an accomplished photographer. There are only 84 pieces in this (very) limited edition, so be sure to get one before they’re out.

Stay Tuned for these Upcoming Projects at SSD:

The 10th edition of our Artist Music Journals series is arriving shortly, featuring designer Brian Roettinger. Founder of the design studio/record label Hand Held Heart, Roettinger has received the highest praises for his album art and design for No Age and Liars. Speaking of No Age, Brian’s installment in the ongoing series is extra-special - the book comes with a one-sided 10″ record, featuring 3 exclusive tracks from No Age and Brian, who collaborated to present the musical accompaniment to Brian’s visual journal. Pre-orders will be available within the next 3 weeks.

We’re also really excited to start production this week on Touchable Sound: A Collection of 7-inch Records from the USA. The upcoming book features over 300 records from the past 25 years, essays from figures as talented and diverse as Justin Pearson (Three One G / Locust), Sam McPheeters (Vermiform / Born Against), Tom Hazelmyer (Amphetamine Reptile), Kristin Thompson (Simple Machines), and more, as well an introduction by Henry H. Owings (Chunklet Magazine). Each record was photographed, researched, and documented in this homage to labor intensive, artistically driven, exceptionally packaged 7’s, which continue to influence and define modern record packaging design.

Last but not least, stay on the look out for our 2010 Collection. It will feature five talented designers and ten amazing bands. The first release will feature Animal Collective and Atlas Sound, as designed by the talented Rob Carmichael/Seen Studio, as well as Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Pantha du Prince, as designed by the incredible Hisham Bharoocha. More info and pre-orders coming soon. In the meantime, stock up on the remaining designs from the 2009 Collection, all at 40% off.

Our office is getting a bit crowded, meaning it’s time to do a little winter cleaning and make room for all the new projects hitting the shelves this Spring. So, we figured a deep discount on our 2009 apparel Collection was a good place to start. The Collection features premium, organic, custom tailored apparel for Battles, Deerhoof, Gang Gang Dance, Fucked Up, Handsome Furs, Liars, The National, No Age, and Pelican.

All markdowns are reflected in the pricing.  Happy shopping.

As it gets cooler, we are faced with the need for a hoodie that isn’t too heavy for the daytimes, but warm enough for the cooler evenings. For that very reason we are offering 10% off each zip front hoodie from our 2009 Collection. These lightweight, 100% organic garments are perfect for the in-between days of Fall.

Most designs are also available in crew neck t’s, v-neck t’s and tote bags.  Click here for all designs and styles.

A reminder to head over to our shop for 10% off all Summer Collection apparel. The sale will cease at midnight on August 31st.

For more information on the Summer Collection, click here.

For the month of August, all Summer 2009 Collection apparel will be 10% off, so you can refresh your summer wardrobe for the dog days ahead.

While some items are already out of print, please visit our shop to purchase.

Further, we are thrilled to announce that the 2nd installment of our ongoing quarterly series, Vinyl is Forever, is available now.

• 100% Organic Cotton
• Custom Tailored Garments
• Limited Edition - Never to be Reprinted

On the heels of the successful first edition (designed by Human Empire), the second installment features the design of renowned Swedish designer and illustrator Andreas Samuelsson. Known for working with cut paper collage mixed with watercolor and computer graphics, his ideas tend to turn into geometric forms, stylistic symbols and handwritten letters.

Different from the first edition, the second edition features crew neck t’s, v-neck t’s, and pullover hooded sweatshirts. Sadly, the tote bags are already sold out. Please visit our shop to purchase today, these will not last forever.

Fucked Up was named to the prestigious Polaris Short List today.  Please read the full article here.

As Steve Jordan, Founder and Executive Director of the Polaris Music Prize, said today, ““If there’s a common thread to these records, it’s that each artist built on previous successes by pushing themselves into even riskier artistic dimensions. Listeners will find the jury picked quite an ambitious crop this year. This is exactly the kind of artistry that Polaris aims to support.”

Get your Seripop designed Fucked Up apparel from the Summer 2009 Collection before they all sell out, visit our shop now.

We are keeping our fingers crossed for our Canadian friends.

Soundscreen Design is thrilled for our Canadian friends Fucked Up and Handsome Furs, both of whom were nominated for the prestigious Polaris Prize, a music award given annually to the best full-length Canadian album based not on genre, sales or label affiliations but pure, unadulterated artistic merit. Modeled after the UK Mercury Music Prize, the Polaris Prize was established in 2006. Previous winners include Caribou, Patrick Watson and Final Fantasy. The 2009 winner will be announced September 21st, and we wish both bands the best of luck.

If you live in the New York City area make sure you pick up a copy of the latest Showpaper, featuring a cover image by Seripop. This bi-monthly print only publication includes a comprehensive listing of a wide variety of all-age entertainment, music and performances. They’re also widely available in the tri-state area and a great resource for independent venue and show information.

Seripop are one of the 3 designers featured in our Summer 2009 Collection, who coincidentally created exclusive designs for Fucked Up and Handsome Furs, which can be purchased in our shop.

Congratulations once again to Handsome Furs, Fucked Up and Seripop on their continuing success!

We couldn’t be happier to announce the arrival of our summer collection, now available for immediate shipment. The entirely organic collection features vibrant colors, super soft fabric, environmentally responsible printing and original designs from three amazing graphic designers. There’s something for every music lover here, so head over to our webstore to order yours now.

If you live in New York, make sure you save the date for our official collection release party on June 4th. We’ll be presenting the entire collection at Glasslands in Brooklyn complete with giveaways, free beer, and DJ sets from members of The National and Gang Gang Dance. The party starts at 8pm and there’s no RSVP required. Click the image below for a full sized flyer with all the details. See you there!