Today we’d like to introduce you to John Lathrop.
Can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today? You can include as little or as much detail as you’d like.
My name is John Lathrop, and I’m a fourth. As in IV, as in John Rownello Lathrop IV, a.k.a. the fourth in a long line … OK, maybe not THAT long, but I’m the last one; we named our sons Miguel and Mateo. I think four John Rownello Lathrops are plenty enough.
Anywho, this all started eons ago when I was a little kid and truly absorbing all the visual and audial art I could take in. I’ve talked about the beginnings of my creative adventures as a musician and visual artist in past interviews, so I’ll try to keep it brief (but I will likely fail miserably, so, you know – fair warning), but we’ll start with the music.
My dad was a drummer in various rock and psychedelic bands in the ’70s and ’80s, bands with crazy names like Wizard and Touch and Black Jack Davy and Callie Storch (don’t ask me how to actually spell that or what it means). Him being a musician (which he still is to this day) was significant for two reasons: one, because he and my mom were both SUPER into music of all kinds and had an epic genre-boundless record collection; and two, because there were always lots of musical instruments around. My parents played music all the time, so I was surrounded by it, and was very much into trying to understand how all the components of a song were created. I sang a lot, and was constantly playing around on any instruments I could find … my German great grandfather gave me his old air-powered organ that sounded similar to an accordion; we also had a mandolin, for some reason; and my grandparents had a huge upright organ with all these wacky knobs and levers and switches, and I would spend hours at gatherings trying to play tunes on it. But the biggest thing for me was to have a drum kit in the house. I taught myself to play the drums on my dad’s kit at about 13 or 14; every day I would sit at that kit for hours upon hours and try to figure out what The Master (John Bonham, of course) was doing as I played along to Led Zeppelin records until my hands were blistered and I was nearly melting, pouring down sweat in the Florida heat in that air conditioned-less garage where the drum kit naturally resided. There’s so much more to the musical part of my story, but that’s where it all started.
In the interest of time and (hopefully) keeping your readers from suffering a narcoleptic episode, let’s just cut to 30-plus years later … I’ve been releasing music as The Stan Laurels since 2007; I’m one of those “one-man band” guys who sings all the vocals and plays all the instruments – not because I’m particularly super talented, but because I’m also one of those “control freak” guys. I kid, to a point, but it’s also kinda’ true, which I noticed when watching Peter Jackson’s GET BACK documentary about The Beatles, as many thought Paul was sort of a jerk, but I actually related very much to him. (Which was odd since I’ve always been pretty much a John/George guy.) But, I mean, SOMEONE’S gotta’ keep everyone in line and make sure the work gets done! I’ve recorded four albums as The Stan Laurels (look ’em up!), two of which are soundtracks to independent films – BILLIE & THEODORE (2013) and MAYBE SHOWER (2018) – for which I composed the scores and wrote original songs. Those were both very different, but equally awesome experiences, and I would love to work on another movie in the future! I won’t go into accolades or anything here, but I will say that having joined the roster of Big Stir Records before releasing my last album, THERE IS NO LIGHT WITHOUT THE DARK, was huge for exposure, and also because the label really is like a big family. Next up: I’m working on my 5th album, but don’t hold your breath, because it’s unfortunately slower-going than molasses right now. Just know it IS coming!
Shifting gears to the whole visual art thing … let’s rewind all the way back to me being a kid and being addicted to reading comic strips in the newspaper and in book form (especially Calvin & Hobbes, the absolute G.O.A.T.), but I won’t go too much into it other than to say the first occupation I ever truly wanted was to be a comic strip artist, and that was as early as about four or five years old. Later, I developed my own cartoon drawing style, which I used to draw my teachers, and sometimes even classmates in caricature form, which helped me get big laughs all throughout middle and high school. I started getting pretty serious and focusing heavily on art in high school, honing my realism techniques fairly well, and won a pretty big national art competition that included a trip to Washington D.C., as the art was displayed at the Capitol Building for a year, and the keynote speaker for our ceremony was none other than – get this – Tom Cruise, who I met at the event. So that was both cool and weird. I was then starting to score a few paid commission jobs for posters and murals and T-shirts, so I was technically a “professional” artist by about age 16. At one time, I had aspirations to be a Disney animator, but I quickly learned I’m not big into tediously drawing the same thing over and over with minimal changes, which is necessary for animation, so I moved on to other pursuits. That very loosely covers the beginning, so let’s once again fast-forward 30 or so years …
For over a decade, I’ve had an art and design studio named Plaid Design. In addition to doing commissioned art and design work (logos, posters, brochures, etc.), I’ve been creating what I call Mod Pop Art, a combination of digitally hand-painted art with graphic design techniques that is mostly inspired by the pop culture I grew up with – movies, TV, music, books, video games – all that good stuff is my biggest source of reference material. I use a lot of humor in my work, and visually, it’s very colorful, clean-line stuff that is hard to describe in words, but something like Warhol meets Shag in a Coen Brothers movie with a Bowie soundtrack. I think people sometimes take art too seriously, and there’s no reason not to have fun with it. It is also, for many of us, a huge part of our childhood, so I feel it’s a very sincere subject matter for Gen X folk like myself (though definitely not limited to my generation). And to be clear, I also think things like album covers and film posters truly ARE a valid artform, and these are some of my favorite types of art to create. I sell my work in limited edition signed archival prints (paper and canvas) through my website (www.PlaidDesign.co) and many other venues. Just this year, I started submitting my art to galleries and such – for the first time, despite having been doing this type of art for the last ten years. It’s been nice to find that this has been a success in terms of having been accepted to most of the places I’ve submitted to. And it’s also been cool to branch out to the next logical step in the journey by showing my art in physical form – something that for many years, only the people who bought my art online have been able to see, and only after having first viewed it on a screen. Look for lots more artwork coming out this year and beyond, as I am literally ALWAYS working on the next piece(s), and now you’ll be able to see a lot more of it in person!
That only scratches the surface, but for the purposes of this interview, let’s say that about covers “how I started.” And, though I pretty much summed up “where I am today,” funnily enough, I didn’t go much into the “how.” Sorry about that. Maybe that part will be in the book. As promised, I completely blew it in terms of keeping it “brief.” Oh, well. At least I’m self-aware … not to mention consistent!
Has it been a smooth road? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
As a straight white man, I can’t pretend I’ve had to overcome any of the obstacles that women and people in underrepresented groups have had to deal with. But it wasn’t the smoothest road either. Growing up, my family certainly did not have a lot of money, and I had the kind of parents that all my friends thought were cool because they let me do pretty much whatever I wanted. At the time, I thought that was great, but it turned out to be a bit of a setback, as I had some friends who were not the best influence on me, and without much quality guidance, I did end up falling behind and having to play catch-up in terms of evolving into a fully-fleshed out, responsible adult human being. But that’s a deeper discussion, and more importantly, I feel like I have since gotten past those initial challenges.
In terms of practicality and logistics, the biggest struggle I face is the one so many artists have to deal with, which is a lack of time to focus on my craft, due to having to always keep a full-time day-job. But I have also made some very conscious choices to put my family first. When I could have gone out on the road to tour, I chose not to. When I could have quit various jobs to focus solely on my art business, I chose not to. Hell, the fact that I have a family at all is a conscious decision. I’ve been married to my wife for 22 years and I’ve made a conscious choice to always put her first, well before my creative endeavors. And together we’ve chosen to have two children, which is something that these days so many others in creative fields do not do, as they are hyper-focused on their ambitions and passions. And let me be clear that I’m not saying one choice is better than the other; I want whatever everyone wants for themselves. Perhaps one result of these choices is that those people will get more done creatively than me, or will go farther in their fields. I’m OK with this. I also put a lot of time, work, and effort into everything I do, so although I refer to it as my “day-job,” it actually is a full-blown career for most in the same position. And some might think that if I’m really so passionate about the creative stuff, every second that I’m not at work, I should be creating art. But I choose to spend a lot of time with my wife and kids when I’m not day-jobbing. Besides, I’ve been able to develop sneaky – er, creative – ways to dedicate time to work on my art and music, so I’ve clearly been figuring it out, otherwise I wouldn’t have the catalogue of work that I do. Sure, in an ideal situation, I would easily spend 30+ more hours per week on creating art and music than I currently do … but as much as I wish I had more time for my creative endeavors, I am the one making the choices, and when it comes down to it, my family – not art or music – is actually my biggest passion.
We’d love to learn more about your work. What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. What are you most proud of? What sets you apart from others?
I think the best way for people to understand what I do is to listen to my music and view my artwork. So, finish reading this interview, of course, but then go look up The Stan Laurels anywhere you can buy or stream music, and take the time to listen to as much of my music as you can. Then look up Plaid Design to find my website and social media, and explore every nook and cranny.
If I’m sticking to the theme I’ve stumbled into here, what I’m most proud of is my family. My wife and I have the kind of relationship everyone aspires to have. She is my best friend, my confidant, my biggest cheerleader, my editor, my source of endless entertainment, and my biggest inspiration. And in our two boys, we are raising some truly stellar people. I know that’s not exactly what you wanted to hear, but it’s the truth. And don’t worry, I’ll get back to ME very soon …
In connecting this to my creative work, what I am most proud of is having put in the countless hours and work it has taken to learn how to sing and play every instrument, and learn how to write songs, and learn how to mix and master and produce music, and learn how to use software for my digital art, and learn how to be a graphic designer, and learn how to run an art and graphic design business, and develop my own unique art style, and learn how to sell my art and music to people all over the world … but most of all, I’m proud of having done all this while also having the most incredible family. This, to me, is true success. Not money, not fame, not status or power. So, although we all have aspirations and we all want more for ourselves – and I’m no different – I am truly proud to have achieved what I feel is the truest, most significant form of success. And mad props go out to every creative out there who has managed to do the same in finding real love and thriving in a beautiful family while also hitting creative milestones! That is the true definition of “having it all.”
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
Stay true to yourself and your beliefs. I have been given advice to use AI to reduce the time burden of creating my art, but I’ve never even considered it. Part of the love of what I do is in the creation of it, though it can often be very tedious and time-consuming, and sometimes not even really all that fun. But it’s the only way I know how, the only way I will ever create. Even though I work digitally, every single line and shape is created manually, organically, by hand. Just as it is when I draw and paint in the physical form. And this is the only real way to do it, in my opinion. AI “art” and digital art are two COMPLETELY separate things. One is “art” and the other is Art. To be more clear, one is shit and the other is Art.
On a grander scale, simply don’t be a sell-out. Be genuine and true to yourself with your creative work. Don’t copy others and don’t try to produce what you think people are going to like. Produce the kind of art that speaks to you, that you love, that you would buy yourself. The art you create for yourself is always going to be better and more true than art you create because you think someone else will buy it.
Pricing:
- Commissions are priced on an individual basis based on many determining factors.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.plaiddesign.co/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/plaiddesign.co/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheStanLaurels
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnlathrop/
- Twitter: https://x.com/TheStanLaurels
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/thestanlaurels
- Other: https://thestanlaurels.com/
