I recently finished my mural tribute to @badbrainsofficial on Bleecker Street & Bowery across from the former CBGB’s which replaced my tribute to @blondieofficial that was up at the same spot since 2017. My friend @glenefriedman shot many great photos of Bad Brains at CBGB’s in ’81 and ‘82 and a few of those shots were spliced together as the reference for this mural. Bad Brains are one of my favorite punk/hardcore groups of all time and they are pioneers of the hardcore sound and unique as an all-Black band in an almost exclusively white genre. They play reggae as well as hardcore which helped promote the mind-opening crossover between the genres.

I’ve been a Bad Brains fan for 35-plus years and have been lucky to work with them on a few projects, including prints, a clothing collection, and the cover of their album “Into the Future.” I have done a lot of street art on the Lower East Side and my first solo art show in NYC was at the CBGB’s gallery in 1998, so I have a fond history with the neighborhood. While painting the mural, a lot of great people stopped by including @johnjosephdiscipline of the Cro-Mags, @michaelanthonyalago who signed Metallica and worked with the Misfits, photographer @janettephoto, @BuffMonster, @WKInteract, @LoganHicksNY, @billions, and @ocularge and @damschatz from Zoo York! Everyone seemed to have a story relating to Bad Brains.

I try to live the Bad Brains Mantra of P.M.A. (Positive Mental Attitude) and it’s an incredible honor to create art for a band that has provided so much inspiration, energy, and sheer pleasure for me over the years.

Thanks to Glen E. Friedman, as well as Rob Zagula and extra help from @praxis_vgz and @osk_osk. Special thanks to Wayne and Rey from @lisaprojectnyc for facilitating this mural. They’ve been great partners for several of my mural installations in NYC. They are supported by fundraising, so if you like the Blondie mural I did, you can get a fine art print of the mural with all proceeds supporting future murals through @lisaprojectnyc. Photos by @zagnutz and @elleresqphoto.
–Shepard

#OBEY #OBEYGIANT #BADBRAINS #CBGBs #GLENEFRIEDMAN #SHEPARDFAIREY #LISAPROJECTNYC #BLONDIE #NYC