It is with pleasure that I introduce the artist so well known he only needs one name: Ioannis. This talented man has been a friend to Classic Rock Revisited since our earliest days back in the 1990's; suffice it to say we have been friends since last century!

Ioannis has come a long since being born in the Zografou section of Athens, Greece. The man decided at a young age that music was his calling and that he would put his stamp on it with his other God given talent, art. From 1985 through 1990 he worked for Lieber and Krebs, designing logos and tour posters for their huge roster of "A" list clients. In 1994, he moved on and opened Vivid Images Design with his brother, George. While Momma Ioannis may have dreamed of her two boys opening a famous Greek restaurant, she would have to settle for them being a world class artist and a savvy businessman.

Ioannis' clients have included the Allman Brothers, Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, Styx, Blue Oyster Cult, Dream Theater, King Crimson, Yngwie Malmsteen, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Quiet Riot, Dokken, Johnny Winter, Extreme, UFO, The Tubes, Eddie Money, Van Zant and Saga among others. In all, he has designed over 165 album covers. He also designed the cover for my book, Stadium Rock. In 2005, Ioannis started Dangerous Age Graphics and now offers fans limited edition, signed prints. He has many prints signed by both the band and himself. He has exhibited his work in galleries across the country.

In the interview that follows, Ioannis discusses his latest works with Uriah Heep, as well as many of his past dealings in the music business. Be sure to read the end of the interview as well and learn about an awesome giveaway Ioannis is offering the readers of Classic Rock Revisited.

Jeb: It is a pleasure to do another interview with my good friend, Ioannis. I know you have been doing a ton of work for Uriah Heep. Before we even get into that tell me what you have been up to lately?

Ioannis: Hello to you, Jeb and all the great fans of CRR; its indeed a pleasure and honor to talk to you and be a part of your great organization. It’s been an amazing thing to see it grow and become, in my humble opinion, the definitive Classic Rock Destination.

A lot has been going on, as you know I run two firms, one is the design firm Vivid Images Creative, which almost 99% of our clients are in the entertainment industry. We are currently working on branding a new media company based in the NY area and also closely working with a startup firm from Chicago designing, what they hope to be, the next big thing on IPAD interaction and entertainment.

Of more interest to the fans is what I am doing with Dangerous Age my art firm company and the artistic projects under that banner. I am working on a series of prints and deluxe portfolios for later in the year, of Uriah Heep, King Crimson and Fates Warning as well as new merchandise for the store plus a calendar of images for 2012.

I am also finishing a book on record cover artwork with my good friend of Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles fame, Martin Popoff, who is an author on hard rock books, as you know. It is a cool book with a great twist. I am completing a website on a band from Japan called Animetal. I came late into the project, so I did not do the cover art, perhaps the next one. The band features Mike Vescera (Yngwie Malmsteen, Loudness) Rudy Sarzo (Whitesnake. BOC, Quiet Riot, Ozzy) Scott Travis (Judas Priest, Racer X) and Chris Impellitteri (Impellitteri). I am also scheduled to go up to Jim’s Matheos studio next month to start going over the creative on the new Fates Warning due next year, and I am working on possibly touring with Uriah Heep on their UK tour, although that is a bit iffy right now. I wish there were more hours in the day!

Ioannis: Mick in an amazing guy, every much what you thought he would be, the one hard thing about working with people you grew up, and are a fan of, is you don’t know how they really are in person, and not mention anyone, but you can be bitterly disappointed, not Mick, he is the real deal. I am very fortunate and appreciative you introduced us after that Record Collector article, and how this whole thing got going.

I had no idea or even imagined the involvement with Uriah Heep that I would have, my other longest relationship was with Deep Purple. As you know it started with Wake The Sleeper and it steamrolled from there, two management companies, four years three record labels, and eight official releases later, we are still going at it.

When I was approached about Into the Wild, it was shortly after the holidays, and I was trying to complete the Live in Kawasaki Japan official bootleg, which is one of my favorite recent illustrations that I have done. At first there was talk they were possibly considering Roger Dean, so I was not prepared for it. It was a very hard and difficult assignment because of the time restraints and the different configurations required.

We went through about four to five finished cover concepts, when we finally had one we all liked we submitted it to the record label only to have it rejected, it was done in a style very different from Wake the Sleeper, sort of had a Rush feel to it. Frontiers, their label was familiar with my work, as I had done several covers for them and was puzzled why had I not done a cover in the style they were used to. More pressure working until 2:00 am on a Sunday night completely exhausted, but we got it in on time. I was so close to it I had lost all objectivity, I know the label, band and management liked it but until the emails started to come in from the fans, those close to the band, and reviews, I wasn’t sure how it was going to be received. I guess its ok, and it has grown on me.

Ioannis: You don’t have any? Well we can’t have that, lets take care of that right away.

The German label EDEL who incidentally have also Deep Purple on the roster, is handling the series and I had worked with before. The project is being directed by Daniel Earnshaw from QUEDG, a good friend and very creative individual.

The first was Live in Sweden and I thought at first was just a one off, it must have done well currently there will be six in the series for now, the latest was number 4 which was Live in Brisbain Austrailia, they are all live performances and usually double CD sets. We are trying to do the best packaging we can, and we have several on running themes that tie the whole series together, like the flag motif on the CD labels.

The various treatments of the new Uriah heep logo that I developed on the Wake the Sleeper album, that the band has now adopted, fantasy hypereal cover art always somehow referring to the location of the country. If you go to my website, to the gallery section, I have now devoted a whole area to Uriah Heep and my work for them.

I go into very detailed stories about everything and you can view the art in all its glory, if you are on Explorer and use the piclens feature, you can see it all in high resolution. The fans are really into it especially the image that is starting to form on the spine, To my delight the Uriah Heep art collectors have purchased three of the original pieces. So it’s becoming a big part of Uriah Heep lore.

Ioannis: It was suppose to happen during the 2010 summer tour, and then I had a foot operation, although I did manage to make it out to Sellersville PA. It was a wonderful

Place and I met many fans. This time around I did five dates, mostly the tri-state area

of New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts; it was amazing and humbling. I met so many fans and I was selling the prints and signing merchandise. Some people showed up bringing loads of stuff that I had not seen in over fifteen years to sign, shooting photos for their Facebook page; it was amazing. I have started a blog on my website after putting it off for so long, where I go into my experiences in a lot of detail with photos, it’s the July edition. Those hardcore fans that want more can get into that; its fun reading.

Ioannis: I work and collaborate very closely with my very good friend Chip Rugierri of Chipster PR Services. We go back close to twenty-five years and we have a lot of respect for each other’s talents and trade clients a lot. He brought me the project in late February.

At the time they all were playing for the Dallas Cowboys, I think they now are in Miami.

I worked closely with Marc Colombo, who is a great guy and extremely talented. If

Metallica and Alice in Chains is your cup of tea, you will love these guys. It’s a very good album and I was very happy with the artwork, which was the complete opposite of the Uriah Heep cover I was doing at the same time. I wish them the best of luck and hope we can do it again in the future, as they are really good in my opinion.

Ioannis: Those guys are amazing! For those of you who love Led Zeppelin check them out. It’s the whole ‘70’s vibe with a 2011 twist. You’ve got to check these guys out. I think they are going to be huge, if they can keep it together. Like Animetal, I came in late so the cover art was not mine, however I redesigned their logo and created a strong website for them, hopefully we can take care of the cover next outing. As I was doing this interview I just received word from Paul, their guitarist that they are coming to the US in late October, November and are doing dates. Please don’t miss these guys or someday you will be saying “ I could have seen them when…”

Ioannis: Yes, actually I am hard at work and close to completing the artwork for Get the Led Out by Denny Somach, with a foreword by Carol Miller based on their hugely successful radio show. It’s the definitive Led Zeppelin book. I am contracted to do over 15 illustrations, plus the cover art. I hope to give you a sneak peek when I am allowed to.

Ioannis: It’s a long tale. Michael Goldstein actually interviewed me on this for Vintage Guitar a few years back for an Allman Brothers band issue they did. He is a great guy and runs the www.rockpopgallery.com, a very detailed version is on my website for more in-depth reading. However, for those who want the condensed version, it was the spring of 1994 and the band was doing a proper studio album after being away for some time.

They were also getting ready to tour. I went to see their manager, Bert Holman, at his house in Massachusetts to show him ideas for T-shirt designs. At the last minute, I decided to bring one of my finished paintings along so he can see how my art looked finished. When I showed him the artwork, after looking at it for a long time Bert said “ Forget the shirts, we are pressed for time and need an album cover.” He went out of the room and came back with a piece of paper that had a pencil sketch on it, “This is from Dickie. What can you do with this?” It was bunch of naked girls dancing around a mushroom. I told him I was not crazy about the girls but liked the mushroom. He told me I had a week to come up with something. I went back home and decided that I was not going to fool around with pencil sketches, since time was short I did a miniature painting of the cover complete with a acetate overlay of the logo so they fully understood the concept.

I drove back up to Massachusetts and showed it to Bert, “ Boy, this is great,” he said.

“Let me show it to Dickie.” He called the next day an said, “He loved it, so can you send it to the label?” “Yeah, as soon as I finish painting the cover,” I said. “I thought that was the cover,” Bert said, referring to the very tight comp I showed him. We still laugh over that today.

A week later, I finished the art, packed it in my car and drove back up to Boston where the band was rehearsing for their tour. Bert propped it up against a wall and had everyone walk in and check it out; everyone was pleased. Dickie walked in and looked at it and said, “This, to me, says ‘Where It All Begins,” thus the title. Bert leaned over and said to me “ I am happy everyone likes it and it’s great art. However, it does not look anything like your comp you showed me.” He was right, as I did the artwork, I never bothered to look at my comp, so the final never looked anything like the comp that Dickie approved. Years later, I gave Bert the original mini as a gift, I went on to design, merchandise and even animated films for backdrops for the band; it was a great experience. Most recently I did the artwork for www.moogis.com which is Butch Trucks online company.

Ioannis: I would probably say my art for the Allman Brothers, Quiet Riot, Bon Jovi tour art, but its hard to tell at times, as you don’t know how special it is, or if it means something to someone. I sold the cover art to Fates Warning a few years back for a good price because the art meant something to that person. Although I regret it now as it was a great piece and I should have held on to it. All my prints have gone up in value, especially those that are also signed by the artists themselves. Uriah Heep’s Wake the Sleeper original is now my latest edition that has increased in value.

Ioannis: Tough call, that would be California Guitar Trio “Echoes” a very talented group of musicians who are well known in the music circles but have not achieved huge fame as of yet. People should check them out.

Ioannis: I need to hear the music to get a feel and proper mood for the artist. If not recent tracks then I need to at least hear the previous album.

Ioannis: It’s definitely thriving and growing, its not just a genre anymore but its now ingrained in the social fabric. Let me explain, the most downloaded and played song is “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey. Old ladies who don’t know its them hum it. Sporting events, commercials, radio shows, television, major motion pictures, video games, Classic rock is the soundtrack of our lives. The artists those who still own their publishing are doing very well. In the concert arena it’s still the backbone of the business, even moderate shows are doing great business. Look at the Journey, Foreigner and Night Ranger, and six or seven years ago this was a club tour, now they are doing six thousand seaters or better at a $150.00 a pop, its unbelievable. On the music sales side, EMI just released yet another new version of the Pink Floyd catalogue, The Immersion Series, a super deluxe version of box sets for every album, its unbelievable.

Ioannis: Now that is a dying situation, with the exception of a few good independent stations, that whole industry is going away, and they have no one to blame but themselves. They neutered the jocks; some stations don’t even have them, forgot their audience, and the acts, killed their play lists to the same fifty songs and have made themselves irrelevant in today’s times. The word is that most of them will become sports, news, or all talk stations, that is where FM is headed. XM/SIRIUS, Ipad, Smart Phones, that is where it is now headed for music.

Ioannis: I loved music as much as art, after seeing Roger Dean’s book as a young man back in 1975, I realized that the album cover was the best way for me to marry the two in my life, the rest is history. Here I am many years later, almost two hundred projects behind me, and some wonderful experiences, travels and relationships with some great creative people.

Ioannis: Yes that was a great meet, and thanks again. There are not a lot, really. I mean for bands that are well known, I guess it would be great to work with Black Sabbath, if they ever re- united. Rush would be great, however they have an amazing designer in Hugh Syme,

who I have loved since the 70’s. I would love a crack at Journey and Judas Priest and perhaps Kansas. The thrill is to work with really talented musicians, young bands are as much fun as the classics.

Ioannis: There is quiet a few. Ok, here is one that really sticks out for me as that moment of total surrealism. The summer of 2005 was already a very crazy period for me and when the call from Deep Purple’s manager Bruce Payne came about the artwork it was about to get crazier.

Although I knew for sometime the album was well underway and Bruce had given me some briefs as early as that spring to start fooling around with ideas, everyone was so involved with the album that I could not get any traction or feedback. I very well knew the turnaround times needed to produce the designs, and also that the German label, including the US and Japanese territories, were going to need various configurations like a digipak, vinyl or CD, so I was getting really nervous that when that realized we had to get it done we would be almost out of time and it was going to be one of those marathon sessions, which I hated not for only the stress level but the fact that you could not have time to devote to detail and thus really do the best job you could.

Of course that is what happened, after a very stressful period where me and Roger Glover, over a period of six days, submitted several cover ideas based on a cartoon that Roger had seen, we eventually just went with that cartoon drawing. However, now we had to design everything else. At the time Roger lived about an hour away from me in Greenwich Connecticut. Bruce called me and told me to put everything else to the side as Roger was on his way to my studio so we can work together, side by side, and get this thing done, whatever it took. For the next six days Roger would drive in with a bunch of Star Bucks coffee every morning, set up his stuff on the desk next to me, light up a smoke and we would go to it until early evening with a brake only for lunch, he liked an English pub a little ways down from me that had great beer and bangers and mash.

One day we were really behind schedule and I told him that taking our usual lunch break would not be such a hot idea and we should just grab something quick to just keep us going. Roger had a craving for fish and chips; a filet of fish from the McDonald’s down the street he figured would do the trick. I asked what else he liked and got ready to get my very famous client some lunch, “No, no,” said Roger, “This one is on me. I will be right back with your stuff.” The minute the door closed behind him, my brother, and partner in my firm, George, came around the corner with a grin on his face, “You realized what just happened here,” he said, laughing as all through high school Deep Purple was one of our biggest favorite bands, “We just had Roger Glover, one of the guys who wrote ‘Smoke on the Water’ go out to get us Mickey Dees! I think we have arrived!” We both sat there dumbfounded at the pure surrealism of the moment.

On that note, I want to thank you for this great interview and for giving me an audience in your great online magazine. I would like to do a bit of shameless promotion if its ok about things that are being offered on my website, I am offering signed limited edition signed prints by me and Uriah Heep, Deep Purple, Bob Weir, the Allman Brother Band, plus collectible prints of Styx, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Yngwie Malmsteen, Fates Warning and many more.

Please check out the store on my website, as I always dig up stuff from my own private vault and put them on the special offers section. If there is something you are looking for, or desire and are interested in, combined offers, or want to drop my a line please do at info@dangerousage.com