Here's a blast from the past, some images from the late '90s industrial band that I did work for: Six Sins Left.
A little back story for those not in the know: The band that would ultimately come to be known as Six Sins Left started out as a heavy metal cover band named Requiem, the brain child of guitarist Ian Heath - who would remain the only constant member of the band's various name and lineup changes - and drummer Rich Schweitzer. Kris Becke eventually secured the lead guitarist slot for Requiem and provided the band's rehearsal space in his father's basement, Cara Stafford played guitar in a number of other bands (one of which included Rich on drums, but the group's name escapes me right now), Paul LaBonte was the final, longest lasting and best remembered vocalist for Requiem before the band decided on a name change (having discovered another band using the name Requiem). Thus was born Grindog (pronounced Grind-dog), which despite the ever-continuing lineup changes did enjoy some moderate local success (I remember everyone being excited about the news of outselling Malhavoc at the Burlington nightclub "Manhattan Rocks"). When Grindog finally imploded, State Of Grace rose from those ashes, shedding the heavy metal influence and focusing on the industrial elements that Grindog had incorporated into the group's sound. Ian switched to bass when Cara was recruited as guitarist and Kris tackled vocals. Drums were programmed at first, but when it was clear the live act needed a drummer, Paul was tapped to keep the beat during shows. State of Grace had a reasonable level of success as well; reaching the top spot for indie sales at HMV 333 Yonge St. with the 1996 CD release Some, but once again, the band was faced with a necessary name change. From this, Six Sins Left was finally born. SSL played shows in and around the Greater Toronto Area for several years, struck up a professional friendship with members of the Jim Rose Circus, The Misfits and Powerman 5000, but shortly after the close of the '90s, Six Sins Left seemed to quickly unravel as everyone began to pursue other interests. Cara would go on to enjoy further success as guitarist for the all-female cover band Rocket-tits, and eventually both her and Ian (now married to one another) would switch gears and become involved in music management and representation.
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This group shot was taken by me, but I have nearly no memory of the shoot at all, the banner in the background was part of the stage set, but I'm pretty sure the photo was taken in the place where most things Six Sins Left-y happened: Kris' basement.
. . . as for the Ouija circle sticker, I distinctly remember going with Ian to the print house to set these up, but other than that my input on the design might have included a discussion as to how to place the type. One thing's for sure, I stuck those things on anything I could reach out and plaster; including one drunken night at Bovine Sex Club when I stuck one to a broken mirror and drew back a bloody hand for my efforts!
The logo image was designed by Ian and later modified by him and I for the website - first a Geocities page I cobbled together and later one with an actual registered domain name - The reason for the blue mod as I recall was to try and match it to images for the seven deadly sins that I'd swiped from the official SE7EN movie website (tsk, tsk, tsk . . . such a naughty little net pirate I was.)
I'd put quite a few images (flyers, photos, original artwork, etc.) up on those sites and kept the originals packed up, but now - like so many things - it's all been misplaced somewhere. If/when I ever uncover the lost Six Sins Left artwork, I'll be sure to update!-DE
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