A couple of Octobers ago, I was fortunate enough to be asked by a good friend to design the poster for Jay Reatard's highly anticipated, highly memorable performance at Fort Wayne's Brass Rail. It was a great night—as RMike (the friend in question, who booked the show) later remarked, "This whole concept of 'if you want to see someone, just invite them to your town' is frankly beyond my wildest dreams." Since that night, here in Fort Wayne, we've kinda come to expect those wildest dreams, or at least not be surprised by them, and that's a little sad to me tonight, on a pretty sad day. The Reatard show was when the tide started turning in our favor. But there's just somethin' about being the underdog. 

While I have poster designs that I like better and that generate a greater emotional punch to my gut (both Tim Rogers posters, the B-Sharps album release, some old Trainhopper shit), I think when it comes down to it, the Reatard poster is probably pound-for-pound the best graphic design I ever did, and I always thought there'd be a chance for an encore.

Reatard died today at 29. 

If you don't know, he played a Flying V. And, damn, did he play it.