Keeping himself busy with a full-time gig at surf company Quicksilver, the East Coast native has spent the past six years building and establishing his lovechild, Screenin 4 A Change, which opened its first solo show on August 14, 2010 in North Hollywood. Screenin 4 A Change caters to the DIY punk and hardcore communities with designs featuring Modern Life is War, Fucked Up, and Paint it Black.

“All the bands I work with are really down to earth and awesome,” D’Elia says. “Even better, they are creating music that speaks to me and inspires me, so for the most part, my job is easy if I can connect with the music.”

Uncomfortable with the "graphic designer" label, D'Elia uses a hands-on, organic process with his prints before digitizing them for screen-print separation. “I really love collage work and hand-done typography, so I try to incorporate those elements wherever I can,” he says. Meshing together torsos, televisions, and anacondas to create cohesive — and somewhat disturbing — images is D’Elia’s trademark.

As a musician who has been in a string of bands, D’Elia knows the familiar feeling of flattery, and that’s exactly what he’d like to accomplish with his work. “I can remember being on tour in one of my old bands and rolling into some town I had never heard of to find that some kid made us posters 'cause he was pumped that we were playing," he says. "I want to give that feeling back to the next generation of kids going to shows and playing in bands.”

More of D’Elia’s work can be found on FocusOnTheNegative.Tumblr.com.

Poster Art is a biweekly column about today’s independent poster art and the artists who create it.

Photo By: Bryan Sheffield

Chicago turns into a punk rock haven this weekend for the 4th year in a row with the return of Riot Fest. 40+ bands will be playing throughout the weekend at the Double Door, House of Blues, the Cobra Lounge, and an all ages show Sunday at The Congress Theater. The line-up is filled with a diverse mix including the reuniting of ALL. Also on the list are Jay Reatard, Horrorpops, Paint it Black, and Reagan Youth among others.

ALARM's Picks:

Horrorpops (Sunday @ Congress Theater): Danish pyschobilly three-piece hits the main stage Sunday as part of their supporting their recent release Kiss Kiss Kill Kill (Hell Cat). Featuring Patricia Day's sultry vocals and Kim Nekroman's "coffin bass," their Chicago stop on their "All Hallows Eve Tour" will undoubtedly put concertgoers in the mood for Halloween.

Lawrence Arms (Friday @ HOB): Outspoken Chicago pop-punk trio headlines House of Blues on opening night, launching the festival with their rowdy

D.O.A.: (Sat. @ Double Door, Sun. @ Congress): With 30 years behind them and no signs of slowing down, the legendary Vancouver hardcore trio, led by Joey "Shithead" Keithley, are one of the most anticipated acts of the weekend.

Paint it Black (Sunday @ Congress): Fronted by Dan Yemin of Lifetime/Kid Dynamite fame, the Philly-based hardcore quintet hits the Congress Theater in time to help close out the festival.

Municipal Waste (Sunday @ Congress): If you haven't been to one of Municipal Waste's shows, you might not know that this trash band is Out. Of. Control. Bring a diaper and be ready to take a ride on the "wall of death."

Riot Fest: www.riotfest.org/

Chicago's Riot Fest has just gotten even more riotous! The annual punk festival has recently added  Philadelphia hardcore quartet Paint it Black and a rare appearance from influential pop-punk group Big Drill Car to the 2008 edition of their annual festival taking place October 10-12.

Paint it Black, whose recent release, New Lexicon (Jade Tree) hit shelves earlier this summer, were recently featured in the June issue of ALARM.

After a string of successful reunion dates in California over the summer, Big Drill Car will make their first Chicago club appearance in over a decade when they headline Riot Fest's Friday night showcase at The Double Door.  Both group are slated to help close out the festival with performances at Sunday's all day, all ages show at The Congress Theater with the likes of DOA, Municipal Waste, The Horrorpops, and Jay Reatard.

For the full lineup of Riot Fest 2008 click HERE

Riot Fest: www.riotfest.org
Paint It Black: www.paintitblack.org
Big Drill Car: www.bigdrillcar.com

Big Drill Car- "Take Away" and "16 Lines"

Paint it Black’s latest album, New Lexicon (Jade Tree), is a mature and dark balance of hardcore riffs and crisp sounds that forego the overly standard lo-fi effect. Paint It Black keep the songs short and to the point, yet interlude the brutality with ambient noise and experimental vibes.

Lead vocalist Dan Yemin, along with bassist Andy Nelson, guitarist Josh Agran and drummer Jared Shavelson decided another album was necessary. “Nothing in the band is a given,” says Nelson at home in Philadelphia. “It’s all for a reason, a new creative mountain to climb.”

Nelson started Paint It Black with Yemin in 2002. They signed with Jade Tree and released their first full length, CVA. It was a collection of forty-second bursts of violence and action with Yemin behind the mic for the first time. The second full length, Paradise, expanded the songs to be more than energy. It was recorded with indie rock producer J. Robbins, a type of pairing which was unheard of then. The band became known for risk taking and expressiveness.

For over two years the band toured the world in short stints and increasingly were confronted by what it means to be a hardcore band. “We wished there was a different word for what we did, besides punk or hardcore,” says Nelson. “You have to look at what you do and question it.” Those questions aroused due to a growing disgust for the diminishing standards the term punk held.

“Actions and sounds can be lexicons too,” says Nelson. “It’s not just the words. The terms have been stripped. It just depends on how you listen.” The experience of language is very individualistic. The album is a statement meant for each individual to hear and feel.

“The hardest thing as a band today is just to get your record in someone’s stereo,” says Nelson. In the disposable climate that music exists in today, a song is downloaded in five seconds and listened to on laptop speakers before another distraction takes place. “The instant access to music has a direct effect on the lack of impact that music makes today,” says Nelson. “To work on an album for a year and have some intern leak it. We would rather the kids who love us hear it from us first.”

With that in mind, the band planned hard to keep the album DIY and handed copies out free, a month before its official release, at shows in their hometown. There was also a gig only 7” free at one performance, any copies left over were destroyed. The band wanted to give the fans a true album release experience. “It was great passing out the album at the door and later kids would tell us how excited they were. It’s a lot of fun,” says Nelson. Paint It Black just made hardcore personal again.

New Lexicon comes nearly three years after Paradise. The band shows more maturity and willingness to explore than ever before. Hip hop producer Oktopus mixed and dubbed the album, which sheds light on their new way of thinking. “What he gave us after four days sounded like the inside of a mental patient’s head. He’s so insane,“ says Nelson.

The album pushes definitions of hardcore on their head. It is crisp without being slick and the low end pummels behind sharp guitar tones. Yemin is as rough on his chords as ever. The subject matter befits the angst and turmoil of everyday life in Middle America. Paint It Black utilizes ambient undertones and noise as interludes, yet the songs still display every classic hardcore ingredient.

The intersection of classic hardcore ideals with progressive thoughts on music making make New Lexicon an album that could shift the genre into new ground. A year from now, things could be very different, yet for now Paint It Black still have work to do bringing hardcore back to the people. There is still that sense of purpose and importance in every show and on the faces of the kids who need it most.