The REMaking of the Ben Sherman Guitar Website

The new and improved Ben Sherman Guitar website just went live!  
It has been in the works for over a year.  I started my page designs in January, and then in March my health once again took a nose dive.  I did not have the energy to work on this huge project until this October.  So lately every moment we have had to sit side by side late into the wee vampire hours of our day, my hubby and I were cranking out each page and working out the bugs.  

As an artist I have to admit the inspiration for the makeover of the BSG website is due to two talented men.  The first is my loving husband, and my artistic Muse, Ben Sherman. Playing classical guitar, acoustic guitar, electric classic rock, jazz fusion, teaching and writing a book, his talent is awesome. I never tire of all the various ways I can showcase my Ben with my own artistic vision, whether it is by taking photographs at gigs, videoing him in a band, designing promo and merchandise, or creating artwork featuring the Shermanator!  So of course he deserved my very best effort when creating a website to promote his outstanding musical endeavors.  Unfortunately he had to wait out my health issues for most of the year.  Actually the delay made me revisit some of my early designs and make some revisions.  Artists are never satisfied.

I wanted to create for Ben a platform that expresses his commitment to excellence with a richly textured website full of images that would be a visual treat to the viewer.  So the second man who inspired the overall look of the website is Jerry Jones of Shadowhouse Creations, someone I have never met.  Jerry's texture collection constantly wows me, and I was thrilled to have the opportunity to showcase what can be done with his textures.  Additionally Jerry's personal digital art gallery is stunning, and even Jerry's personal artwork certainly influenced two of the digital art pieces I added to Ben's new photo gallery.  You can see one I created at the top of this post. I truly hope you visit the Shadowhouse Creations gallery so you can enjoy Jerry's intriguing artistic world.  

Some of my website background designs for BSG were created using various Shadowhouse textures and then using Photoshop blend modes multiple times.  Other textures were used just as Jerry created them, as I felt they were totally captivating just as they were made.  Amazingly Jerry is a generous soul who gives you the use of his textures freely, as long as you use them in your artwork, do not sell them, or claim them as your own. Those of us who follow and respect Jerry are very protective of him ...so don't mess with his rules.  

When Ben and I created his former BSG website in 2008 I was just struggling to learn digital design on the little Paint Shop Pro that came with the computer.  I have learned so much since then about using Photoshop that I was very excited to dig into this website makeover.  Ben actually does all the coding for the BSG website so 
he is the one who makes the magic happen that I have in my head!  
We truly are partners together and that is so cool.  I guess you can tell Ben is my soul mate, and I am his number one fan.  Although 
Ben has some other long time music fans that would dispute that 
fact with me!  hah!

We added a beautiful new photo gallery and video gallery to the new website. In addition to gig photos, there are retro photos from Ben's musical past, (you know...the ones with the funny hair like below) as well as digital artwork I created for fun. (see the artwork at the bottom of this post) There are also newly released videos of Ben, including one I requested myself as I really wanted him to release the song called 'Cliffs Of Dover.' The Video was taken with Hectic Red during the 20th anniversary show.  This is the same song he was playing on stage the night we re-met and I had said to myself, 
"Oh yes he will be mine!" I just felt the connection to him immediately through his music.  It is the stuff of dreams.

 
The reason I have not been posting very much is we have been working our butts off on the new BSG website...  so I hope you will take the time to check it out! Let me know what you think!

Hectic Red Classic Rock Website Updates

We've added a gorgeous new video player on the 'Hectic Red' website video page! You can pick your own 'Hectic Red' video selection, or just start with the top video and the rest of the current 'Hectic Red' videos will play in automatic succession. If you would like to listen while you work on the computer this is a nice option. To celebrate, we added two new videos from the vast 'Hectic Red' library! 'Bodhisattva' and 'Angry Young Man,' which are both fan favorites! 

Go enjoy the best classic rock musicians in the Mid Atlantic area! Nobody does it better! Next year 'Hectic Red' will be celebrating 25 years together with same four guys! No other classic rock band in the area can make that claim. These guys are tight!

We shortened the audio visual page by adding a different smaller music player. The sound control is now placed inside the amp under the robot. The photos in the slide-show on this page are really fun. I had an awesome time rocking out cool photo-shop effects while listening to the Hectic Red audio. I hope you take the time to watch the slide-show I put together. 

The audio clips are from a live show in Frederick Maryland at Baker Park and the sound is taken directly from the soundboard. I love this soundtrack so much I have my own CD of the concert. You can really hear the quality of Hectic Red's four-part harmonies! Right now I am listening to Hectic Red's clip of 'Don't Fear The Reaper!' Soooo good! You can also let this page play behind your online workspace.

Since discovering this tiny music player, we have also decided to add the music player to the Hectic Red Fan page, and the Hectic Red Retro page. I love how the new tiny audio player fits right into the graphics of each page. With this player you have the option to jump to the next or previous song, as well as muting the sound.

I love designing promo and taking photographs for the bands and projects that Ben Sherman is involved with, as I feel like I have married the perfect muse! You cannot go wrong when you are designing for the best of the best!

New Hectic Red Website Launch

The new Hectic Red web site designed by Crystal Visions Art is up and running! Now fans and newbie's can enter the Hectic Red Universe and understand why The Big Red Machine still keeps rocking after 23 years! They're the best Classic Rock Band in the Mid-Atlantic area! Never been to a HR Concert? You need to experienced Hectic Red Live! Get the schedule info on the new HR web site!

Hectic Red has always been grateful for the longevity of the band and their fan base! This website project was a labor of love for them! Every page is a handcrafted piece of art that represents the fun atmosphere of the band and the coolness of their music. Representing the 60's.70's n' 80's, the look of the artwork is funky retro fun. Plus you can follow the famous Hectic Red High Tops as they travel across the web site. There is a special page for the long time fans, and a retro page filled with photos of the band in the eighties for the true believers! Plus sound clips, live video and photos.

Ben and I are a team with a mission to do things to the best of our current abilities. So we are very excited to share our completed creation and get some feedback. Thankfully Ben is the wizard of code figuring out how to get the web site working in all browsers. Internet Explorer is the one that wreaked the most havoc on Ben as we uploaded each new page. I recommend people use Mozilla Foxfire which is a browser who is compliant with code. Yuk to IE for causing so much trouble with the easiest of tasks. All nasty little glitches were caught and conquered!

I was in Photoshop glory making the images for the web pages and the "Hectic Red Lounge" Audio Visual Theater Room. Every new thing I learn explodes with valuable knowledge for the next project. Yea Deke! Since I am the band photographer I have a ton of photos to play with in Photoshop and try out the new techniques. Learning new stuff is awesome! I hope everyone enjoys their trip into the Hectic Red Universe! Enjoy The Big Red Machine Live!