PORT JEFFERSON, N.Y. (Moyssi) - Lighting director and rock and roll illustrator Moyssi launched a website today to commemorate the 35th Anniversary of John Scher's Capitol Theatre, the legendary Passaic, NJ venue which Billboard hailed as "the Number One concert hall in the nation under 6,000 seats."
The 635-page website, https://www.moyssi.com, presents for the first time a complete collection of Moyssi's original cover illustrations of more than 300 concert programs for the Capitol Theatre, Giants Stadium, On The Boardwalk at Asbury Park, Byrne Meadowlands Arena and a dozen other venues in New York and New Jersey from 1975 through 1984. "Moyssi's creations have probably been seen by more rock music fans than any other modern artist," said Aquarian Arts Weekly at the time.
Concert-goers during those years will remember the unique artwork gracing the program covers: the delicate Rapidograph lines melding into fun fantasies which depicted a song, tour or album title, or some other tidbit about each band. The website revolves around the program covers or, in one case, the back cover. According to Moyssi, "When The Rolling Stones required us to use their tour artwork on the front cover, I illustrated the back cover-backwards- alluding to 25 of their album titles in one drawing."
The concert programs are presented chronologically with catalog links to each program by artist, date and venue. The website also showcases related illustrations and dozens of other items including backstage passes, parking permits, buttons, door markers, meal tickets, bumper stickers and other concert memorabilia. "The site will grow as we continue to add anecdotes by the artists and roadies," said Moyssi, "making it an invaluable resource for writers, editors and researchers who wish to explore the East Coast music scene that began in the 1960s and ended in the 1980s." Also a boon for archivists and collectors of concert ephemera and original rock, jazz and blues concert art: all the original Rapidograph illustrations are now available for purchase for the first time.
