The first time I met Dave Kloc, I had no idea he was an artist. We just started chatting about his obsession with the 1998 Gwyneth Paltrow rom-com Sliding Doors, which I had heard of for years, but never really considered watching. His excitement over the film had me intrigued. He was convincing. So much so, that I made it a point to watch it a few days later and was pleasantly surprised at how good it was. I had no idea the film was about how one seemingly insignificant action can completely change the course of someone’s life, and the possibilities of parallel universes if that action never came to be. Probably one of the reasons I was one of the only people in the world who liked the Ashton Kutcher movie The Butterfly Effect. The next time I ran into him, I still had no idea he was an artist, but we picked up our conversation again about the movie and went from there.
Probably about 90% of our conversations are spent bantering about ridiculous things. Dave is incredibly funny, and as I learned later, incredibly talented. I forget how I initially found out, but I think maybe I saw him tagged in an Instagram post and then went to his page and discovered a whole treasure trove of insanely detailed concert and comedy posters. I was floored.
Turns out, Dave has quite the body of work under his belt. He’s made a living off of his art since 2011, having done official concert posters for some of the biggest names out there…Metallica, Primus, Foo Fighters, Phish, Melvins, Dead & Co, My Morning Jacket…the list is long. He’s known for his comedy posters too. He got his foot in the door of the comedy scene years ago after doing some posters for Jonah Ray and Kumail Nanjiani’s Meltdown comedy shows. He’s since done posters for John Mulaney, Jim Gaffigan, and recently did a Meltdown reunion show featuring Jonah & Kumail, as well as Ayo Edebiri (The Bear, Bottoms), Reggie Watts and Joel Kim Booster.
Dave is one of those people who is just a solid human being, and the fact that he’s an incredible artist is just icing on the cake.
Since his love of music can’t be denied, I had to have him answer some questions for this series.
First album you bought?
I actually know this one – I was hanging out with a very odd group of older kids in my school, and they all LOVED The Prodigy. We always listened to their album The Experience, and I wanted my own copy so I went to Record Exchange in Ferndale, MI, and asked for one. They said “It’s import only, kid” so I said “That’s fine – let’s do it.” knowing NOT what of they spoke. The album showed up several weeks later and cost me like $40 – which was everything I had. It was a few years before I bought another record…
Last album you bought?
Wow. I actually have no idea. I’m always a “buys a shirt at the show” guy – because I have no way to play physical media at my house. No CD player / no turntable. So it’s been long enough, that I just DON’T know. Embarrassing.
First concert?
My FIRST show was a Weird Al show when I was 11, with my friend and his dad who owned a music store in town, and was one of those guys with local commercials where he’d wear turkey costumes at Thanksgiving and knock himself out with a guitar and such. His name was Crazy Clarence. We got to meet Al because of Clarence.
Last concert?
I saw YOB and Pallbearer at the Teragram Ballroom a few months back and shortly after I saw The Beths at the Lodge room. I know that’s two answers but they feel different enough – and they were both spectacular, so I don’t feel like I broke the rules.
Was there one album that made a significant impression on you?
Modest Mouse – Lonesome Crowded West.
To this day – the best start-to-finish record I’ve ever heard. It has everything. A song for any mood and lyrics for any phase of your life. It’s as introspective as it is pissed and somehow fun. I feel like it caught me at a perfect moment – my friends and I would smoke weed in the back of a van that was parked in a field near my friend’s house, and we would listen to a tape he had made from someone else’s CD. One side just had Doin the Cockroach / Cowboy Dan / Trailer Trash on it – and I’ve never encountered better 3-consecutive songs on a record.
Who is your musical hero?
I don’t really have one. I’ve had like 5 that I always found out were ass-hats or violent drunks, so it doesn’t really last. I like the music – rarely the musician. There are some musicians that are also incredible artists, and that’s always fascinating to me, but those guys are artistic heroes rather than musical ones. Guys like Jay Ryan, John Baizley, both of the guys from Charles Bronson (Mike Sutfin and Mark McCoy).
How important is music to your creative process?
Quite important. It opens up mental avenues that I can’t get to simply by focusing. If I’m trying to draw something that feels like a certain mood that a band/song/album elicits – I can’t just sit down and draw that way – I have to put on that music to get there.
BONUS: What is your favorite album cover of all time (and why)?
I always used to stare at The Poacher Diaries by Converge – which is a Derek Hess illustration. Basically – I used to just stare at anything Derek Hess drew. But that album specifically always got me.
BONUS #2: Any visual artist(s) you’d like to see answer these questions?
Dan Black (of LandLand), Jay Ryan (The Bird Machine), and Dan McCarthy.
Mouth Of The Architect – Nobody Wished To Settle Here
Liquid Mike – K2
Godspeed You Black Emperor – Moya
Drug Church – Funs Over
Orville Peck – Daytona Sand
The Weakerthans – Plea From A Cat Named Virtue
John K Samson – When I Write My Master’s Thesis
Small Brown Bike – Trains All Talk
Steely Dan – Hey Nineteen
Modest Mouse – Cowboy Dan
Tomb Mold – Planetary Clairvoyance
Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit – Cast Iron Skillet
Burst – Where The Wave Broke
Botch – Frequency Ass Bandit
Andrew Bird – Fake Palindromes
Check out Dave’s playlist below on Spotify. Be sure to like Background Noise on Facebook for updates on future episodes. You can browse ALL the Background Noise episodes right here.
