Cowboy Mouth

merchandise & album art design | ongoing since 2020

Designing for a band has always been a dream gig for me. Back in my teen years, I basically lived at ska and punk shows, playing pseudo-roadie for my friends’ bands any chance I got. So when I (unknowingly—more on that in a sec) landed the chance to design a graphic tee for a New Orleans-based band, I didn’t hesitate. That first tee took off, and before I knew it, Cowboy Mouth was back for two more shirts, then a Christmas LP cover, then multiple single covers… and eventually, a full album design!

A black t-shirt hanging on a black hanger with the word "Fredtastic" written in gold hand-lettered font across the chest.
Collection of cowboy mouth merchandise, including shirts and stickers with designs referencing New Orleans, Cowboy Mouth, and Mardi Gras.
Gray T-shirt with Mardi Gras themed design featuring a jester hat and beads in purple, green, and gold, and the text 'Mardi Gras' and 'State of Mind'.
Computer screen displaying a music streaming application with album covers, playlist titles, and playback controls.
A wall decorated with four small posters, each featuring album cover designs for Cowboy Mouth band, including a stylized face with sunglasses, a clock face, a jigsaw puzzle, and a heart with the band's logo inside.
Three smartphones displaying music streaming apps, showing album covers and song titles for Cowboy Mouth's tracks, one titled "Love Song" with a cowboy hat logo, the other titled "Mardi Gras State Of Mind" with colorful Mardi Gras mask graphics
Four smartphones displaying different music apps and album art, with song titles and playback controls visible.

The story…

How did I unknowingly land Cowboy Mouth?

The simple answer: the drummer/lead singer’s wife. The longer answer? I had just wrapped up a logo project for her, and she was so impressed that she asked me to design a graphic tee based on one of her husband’s favorite shirts. I had no idea who he was—until I did a little post-project Facebook stalking and realized I’d just designed for the lead singer of Cowboy Mouth. Y’all, I nearly fell out of my chair. It was the biggest shock of my life! Thankfully, the band loved the design, and that tee turned into more merch projects, single covers, and even more collabs down the line - that’s lasted 5 years!

Outline sketch of the word "Fredtastic" written in decorative, cursive style with ornamental flourishes.
Black and white line art of the words "Fredtastic" in a stylized script.
Gray T-shirt with the word 'Fredtastic' written in gold cursive font, hanging on a black hanger against a white background.
Close-up photograph of a black fabric with a gold metallic script logo reading 'Fredtastic'.

Album Covers (Singles)

distorted cowboy mouth logo in teal and red with the phrase 'ALTERNATE REALITY' in white at the bottom right corner.
Illustration of a person's face made with minimal lines, wearing round glasses with the text "COWBOY MOUTH" and the initials "CM" reflected in the lenses, and the date "12-8" written below.

alternate reality | 2024

12-8 | 2023

Like a love song (cold beer & country music) | 2023

The Breakup Song | 2023

A Better Time | 2023

disconnected | 2023

A broken red heart with a circular logo in the center that says 'C.M.' and 'COWBOY MOUTH'. Below the heart, the text reads 'THE BREAKUP SONG'.
A cowboy hat, a beer mug with foam, a small beer bottle, and a circular logo with the initials 'CM' and text surrounding it. The background features country music and cold beer theme text.
A partially assembled jigsaw puzzle of the Cowboy Mouth logo with the word 'Disconnected' below it in a handwritten font, on a textured gray surface.
Decorative wall clock with Roman numerals with the Cowboy Mouth logo. The clock has a distressed, vintage style and is mounted on a textured, light green wall. Below the clock, there is a phrase that reads 'A Better Time' in worn-out letters.

Yeah, I made these! All six covers were designed by yours truly for Cowboy Mouth’s digital single releases, using a mix of Photoshop, Illustrator, and Procreate. The process usually starts with Fred—or someone from the band—sending over a rough idea or a sneak peek of the track. From there, I create artwork that captures the vibe and story of the song.

Cover Yo’ Azz | Vinyl Cover & Insert

A vinyl record and album cover featuring a cartoon donkey on the right with the text 'Cowboy Mouth' and 'Cover Y'o Azz!' and the back of the album jacket on the left with the track list and band members
A vinyl record titled 'Cover Yo' Azz!' by Cowboy Mouth, with both sides of the album's liner notes displayed

Cover Yo' Azz is a full-length, 2-sided vinyl LP of cover songs that have inspired Cowboy Mouth's sound and songwriting for the past 35 years — and designing the whole package was an absolute dream. I tackled the back cover, liner notes insert, and vinyl labels, pulling inspiration from Aaron Draplin's bold album design work and the stack of vintage records my dad has just living on the shelf at home. Fred had a clear vision - keep it clean and simple, centered around live concert photography - so the layout leaned into that storytelling through the lens of people who were actually there. The real puzzle was getting every word of those liner notes to fit on a single side without it looking like a ransom note. Spoiler: we pulled it off!

Illustration of two speech bubbles on a purple background, indicating conversation or communication.

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