The first EP of Dr. Pants‘ current project, The Trip, is coming out June 7th (Go download the first single for free.), and I was lucky enough to be hired to do the album art. The job came with the most excellent perk of getting to listen to super-secret sneak previews of the album. It is really great stuff.

David Broyles (guitarist, vocalist, composer) explained the concept of The Trip, gave me some demos, and pretty much let me run wild. I took a long walk through the park listening to the demos, and I immediately connected with the music. The lyrics have a depth and honesty while still staying true to the nerd rock genre with plenty of sci-fi references. There were a few themes that stood out to me in the music that I wanted to communicate with my illustration. The first is the overarching theme of the project, which is “The Trip”. David had mentioned to me that the project is meant to be composed of honest slices chronicling the trip through life. As the first EP of the project, this serves as the beginning of the trip. Having recently moved from one state to another, I am familiar with the bittersweet aspect of the beginning of a journey. The image that I chose to communicate these things is the moment just before leaving, when you look back one last time at what you are leaving behind. Or perhaps he is looking back, at you, asking “Are you coming?”. Next,there is the dichotomy between the mundane, real life issues in the songs and the fantastic, amazing aspects. These are clearly represented in this image. What isn’t clear, however, is the character of the astronaut. Is he really an astronaut? Or is he just a guy in an astronaut suit with an old, beat up car? Is this trip he is on really going to lead to amazing things, or has he just turned to escapism to avoid reality? You’ll have to stay tuned to the project to find out, but I choose to believe that amazing things await our explorer.