Poster Design | Al & the Transamericans

The titular Al of Al & the Transamericans is Al Schnier, the frontman of the well-known jam band moe., while his Transamericans also play in acts such as Strangefolk and the Gordon Stone Trio.

Around the same time that the teenage Bercume was catching dozens of Jim shows, Ron also saw a handful of moe. performances and became a fan of the band, so to be asked to work with Schnier to design promotional material for his show in Saranac Lake was an early highlight of Ron’s career.

“The people in those bands are also from small towns in upstate New York, too,” Ron comments.

“That’s why they would go out of their way to set up a gig in a little town like Saranac Lake.”

Bercume found Schnier pleasant to work with, but the singer did have his requests. “He wanted me to really highlight the fact that his wife’s band was also on the bill. He wanted equal billing for both the Transamericans and Before Cowboys.”

These side projects are not well known bands, but moe. and Strangefolk are known to millions.

Consequently, Ron’s design emphasizes the artists’ famous projects.

In addition to his poster design work for the Olympic Regional Development Authority, the Robert Louis Stevenson Society, the International Colored Gemstone Association (who used his work in a number of different countries), and a variety of other clients, Ron has carved out a considerable niche within the music industry, doing print design work for rock and blues icons such as Derek Trucks, Taj Mahal, Leon Russell, and Johnny Winter. He has also designed posters to promote indie and metal acts and, of course Jim.

Leave a comment

Written by

Tim serves as Ron’s consulting writer and editor for special projects. Tim’s writing has appeared in Express, the Onion, the Georgetown Voice, the Adirondack Daily Enterprise, the Lake Placid News, and in numerous other print publications, as well as on washingtonpost.com. More posts by:
Tags: ,