What’s Your Destiny?

Here are some photographs of the finished CD packaging for David Shapireau & West of Next. It is a great album and I am glad I was a part of it. I designed the outside, inside and disc image with a strong western influence to match the name of the band, but don’t let the look fool you. The album has “American and Celtic roots influences with twin guitars and arrangements with a different spin due to Shapireau’s background as a jazz composer and arranger. Humor and history are emphasized in the songs and presentation. Boundaries are pushed while the past is honored.” The band on this recording includes:

  • Drums – Tony Dey of Van Morrison, Mike Bloomfield, Linda Ronstadt.
  • Telecaster – Steve Randall of Richard March, Antoine Barbeaux, Kate Gaffney. Awarded best guitarist in Sacramento according to the 2007 Sacramento News & Review fan voting poll.
  • Bass – Gabe Nelson of Cake (After this recording and a short tour Nelson disembarked to continued his work with Cake. They now have a new bassist, Paul Knutsen).
  • Composer, Stratocaster, mandolin, acoustic guitar – David Shapireau of Taj Mahal, Maria Muldaur, Dan Hicks, Tower of Power, Don Reno, Tony Rice, Byron Berline, Jerry Garcia, David Grisman, Bela Fleck, Norton Buffalo, Steve Miller, Peter Rowan and more.

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(I photographed them on a cow hide with my dad’s old Bowie knife to reflect the cover illustration)