Interview with Michael Byzewski of Aesthetic Apparatus by Kendrick Kidd

Question #1

Kidd - 1.According to your website, CAKE has been a long time client…how did you first hook up with the band?

Michael - We started working with Cake while Aesthetic Apparatus was still a side project when we were in Madison. John McCrae from Cake contacted us outta nowhere to do the identity for a package tour he was putting together called “Unlimited Sunshine.” It was the biggest project that we had been approached to do and probably was one of the projects that gave us a bit of confidence that perhaps we could do Aesthetic Apparatus as our full time job.

Question #2

Kidd - 2. Can you tell us about the concept behind the artwork of B-SIDES AND RARITIES? How much input were you given before you started?

Michael - John McCrae is a politically active person but it seems he doesn’t like to hit people over the head with those thoughts. A lot of work we’ve done for Cake, including the B-sides and rarities project touches on the band’s political leanings but in a fairly vague way. So, in a sense, people who know the band may “get” the thinking behind an upside down car with flowers coming out of it and others may just find it to be a compelling image (or not). Oh, we were not really given much input from the band…they just let us do our thing based on what we knew about the band and their fans.

Question #3

Kidd - If Betty Crocker & Little Debbie got in a fist-fight – in your professional opinion – who would win?Break it down for us.

Michael - Ha. Trick question! Everyone knows that the both died in a tragic, mammoth sloth attack.

Question #4

Kidd - Was it hard finding a place to produce a scratch-&-sniff booklets? Who came up with the idea?

Michael - The scratch and sniff booklet was the band’s idea and it didn’t seem like they had too much trouble finding someone to produce it. I think some of the scents they wanted, however, might’ve taken a bit more work.

Question #5

Kidd - Talk to us about how you produce such fine-smelling paper…was it a fancy printer with sweet-smelling inks…or maybe moonlighting Keebler elves with a paper mill business on the side?

Michael - We soak all of our paper in “new puppy smell.” We typically have 43 to 128 brand new puppies in the studio at any given time.

Question #6

Kidd - Did anyone from your crew or the band lick the cover once it was printed? Be honest now…I’ve already licked it twice.

Michael - We’re more likely to huff objects such as this. We’ve actually started a crew called “The Twin Cities Huffers.” You better watch your step. We’ll huff the shit outta your face.

Question #7

Kidd - In the end, did you have to sacrafice any other clever treatments because of design differences/budget/timeline…if so, what were they?

Michael - Honestly…no. It was a smooth project.

Question #8

Kidd - Got a favorite CAKE song?

Michael - The one with drums!

Question #9

Kidd - We (Aesthetic Apparatus) go after music-related projects for:

a. the chicks

b. the money

c. the fame

d. shits & grins

e. the simple reason that not every client will let you do work this fricking kick-ass without jacking some shit up with bad photos & big logos.

Michael - Music related projects, unfortunately, are often just as big of a pain in the ass as any other project. It makes it easier when you really enjoy the band and when the band trusts your ideas. In our experience there isn’t any money in music related projects and fame has yet to come knocking on our door.

Question #10

Kidd - Who is a designer or shop you respect that’s currently flying low on the radar?

Michael - We hung out with the Morning Breath fellows while we were all in Tijuana for a design conference. They’re pretty great. Although I guess they probably don’t count as “low on the radar” since they’re well known.

Question #11

Kidd - Freestyle.

Michael - “If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the mighty one. Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds”

To view more work by Michael Byzewski and the rest of the crew at Aesthetic Apparatus, Take a look at www.aestheticapparatus.com | Aesthetic Apparatus @ Gigposters.com