BARBARIANS OF CALIFORNIA

Designing And Now I’m Just Gnashing My Teeth by The Barbarians of California was a full-circle kind of project for me. I got connected to the band through singer Aaron Bruno after working together on AWOLNATION’s The Phantom Five, and it was a pleasure to carry that creative relationship into this new chapter. Adding to the personal significance, guitarist and producer Eric Stenman has been a familiar face since my teenage years—he produced my old band Training For Utopia back in the '90s, so collaborating again decades later felt both nostalgic and energizing. For the artwork, we leaned into a playful, illustrated 1980s surf aesthetic that complements the band’s loose, tongue-in-cheek musical approach. It’s always refreshing to work on a project that doesn’t take itself too seriously—and this one was a blast from start to finish.