GUIDED BY VOICES DAY

HONORING A LEGENDARY BAND - ONE CITY AT A TIME

Though slightly dated (as evidenced by the lack of any social web tools), this project stands as a perfect blend of my personal and professional interests. Ohio rock band, Guided by Voices, built a loyal following over their 25+ year career. Their live shows are the stuff of legend — 3 hour sets, several cases of beer and their charismatic frontman (and ex-grade school teacher) Bob Pollard doing scissor kicks throughout it all.

When they announced their break-up, and final tour, an idea was born — Somehow get cities throughout the tour to proclaim Guided by Voices day. To accomplish this lofty goal, we proposed an online contest that rewarded points for people who helped spread the message to all their friends. Several thousand people joined the series of petitions that went to actual city halls across the nation. By joining the contest, and 'signing' the petition, people were proclaiming their support of GBV days in the U.S.

The silhouetted, ironic-Americana graphics I created for the online campaign became the official tour merchandise - on everything from T-shirts to the band's drumheads. Every major American city along the tour route proclaimed GBV day in their cities - complete with official documents as proof.