6,000+ concert posters, created for some of the most iconic musical artists of all time. One man behind them all. Meet Mike King, the most prolific poster artist of the era.

Mike King began his career in the Pacific Northwest music scene as a drummer for various bands in the early 1980s. At the time, Seattle, Washington was the epicenter for the birth of the grunge music aesthetic. Bands like The Melvins, Green River, and Soundgarden were helping the town shed the influence of the hippie days of the ’70s in favor of a darker, dirtier, hard rock sound. 

King was an artist in addition to being a drummer. He used his natural talent to create posters for his band to advertise their shows.  King added an element of storytelling through concert posters, and his pieces quickly drew attention. He had fun with his work. Often, he'd take the name of a band and relate it to something in pop culture to create an eye-grabbing piece.

“... I never went to art school or anything like that. Maybe that would have been overcome by some actual training, but I was a “free-range” kid just doing whatever I wanted to do. I wasn’t ever really given any limitations of what I could do, but at the same time I was never given any framework to actually get anything done. I’m a self-taught artist, which is kind of weird, but people do it.”

At the time, bands performing in the area would either commission someone inexpensive to create their posters or make them up themselves. As a drummer in bands (Hellcows, Jungle Nausea, and many more,) King’s connections in the music industry hooked him up with groups in search of poster creation. In exchange for free admission to the shows, Mike King would create their poster. He began charging a small amount for his services once the number of posters asked of him outnumbered the shows he wanted to see. Demand for his work would only increase. One might even call him the default artist of choice for bands playing the Pacific Northwest during this era.

What Effect did King have on the Concert Poster Industry?

Telephone poles were the primary advertising method of bands performing in the Pacific Northwest during the 1980s. Mike King charged a small amount, $100 per poster, and he kept that price for years.  It had been common practice for bands to save money by creating one poster advertising multiple shows. King’s inexpensive rate allowed bands with little money to create posters for each venue individually. For example, touring bands would often perform in both Portland and Seattle. Working with Mike King allowed them to have individual posters for each location instead of one advertising for both.

This heartily increased the number of posters being tacked around town. It wasn't long before streets and poles became littered with band flyers. It got so bad that Seattle even passed a law making it illegal to attach a handbill, sign, or poster to any traffic or utility pole. Naturally, this only made the bands more enthusiastic about spreading their telephone pole-posted advertisements. 

The situation brought news cameras to the site for coverage, unwittingly giving several bands exposure to a much broader audience than they would have easily achieved otherwise. By the early 90s, grunge had broken through to the mainstream listeners.

The King

King found himself the go-to person to make posters for that era of grunge/punk bands. By all accounts, King produced at least 40% of all the work done for these cities during this era. He even had contracts to do 100% of some of the bands’ material. Mike King’s posters, combined with the guitar-heavy punk-infused/grunge style of music, had reshaped the music world.  He held onto that go-to status in Portland through the mid-1990s. At this point, he had become very heavily mimicked by other creators. 

Since his start, King has gone on to design over 6,000 posters, as well as album covers, T-shirts, and advertisements.

"I might be best known for my album covers for Ben Harper, Jack Johnson, Elliot Smith, and Pink Martini, but I have also done projects with The Decemberists, Broken Social Scene, Poison Idea, The Wipers, Sun Ra, Iggy Pop, and many artists you have heard of (and even more you haven't)" -Mike King.

He still makes at least 100 concert posters a year, most of the telephone pole variety, as well as a number of limited edition screenprinted posters.

One has to have some fairly esoteric knowledge to even approach this image. What we're looking at is literally a map, denoted in the Hebrew that is essential to it: it is the bodily diagram of the kabbalistic "tree of life," a potent spiritual symbol whose origins are nearly three thousand years old, dating back to the Assyrians. What's amazing is that, if one knows Jane's Addiction, who carries a mystic edge to their music, the image fits. 

It's a heavy image, suggesting by the red arrow and kabbala both the idea of human ascension. But then consider this long out-of-print poster for Widespread Panic, whose characters are not so esoteric.

What is Maximum Plunder?

Spanning three decades of music, Maximum Plunder gathers together Mike’s work into a comprehensive retrospective. A five-year project, the book presents nearly 1,100 of his remarkable posters from every period in nearly every musical genre, from country to death metal, jazz to punk. You’ll see striking examples of Mike’s work for both internationally famous bands to barely-known local artists.

Jeff Meyer, Founder of GoCollect, received an education on Mike King and his impact on concert posters whilst purchasing the Ultrasounds Collection, a massive, curated collection of concert posters and flyers, primarily encompassing bands that played the Pacific Northwest from the late 70s all the way through to the early 10s.  Shortly after, he was put into contact with Paul Herring, King's co-author of MxP. He then received the story behind the creation of a book called Maximum Plunder: The Poster Art of Mike King.

"From simple, Xeroxed punk rock flyers for unknown local acts, to deluxe screen-printed concert posters for international rock stars, Mike King has created more concert posters than any American artist.

 

Maximum Plunder is both an art and history book. It showcases more than 1000 of King's works, and tells the story of an accidental career in art and marketing that spans nearly four decades, as well as showing the landscape of live music in the Pacific Northwest and beyond."

  • 280 pages of posters in glorious color and crappy black and white 
  • Forward by noted graphic designer, writer, and former Kinko’s employee Sean Tejaratchi 
  • Introduction by Mike King using actual words 
  • Nine chapters of various lengths and content 
  • Extensive, frequently interesting commentary 
  • Fully alphabetical Index 

Mike King crowdfunded the publication of 500 initial copies of Maximum Plunder. Within these pages were posters most had never known existed. Most Pacific Northwest concert posters were created in quantities of under 300, as the venues were small. The majority of the posters were tacked up on poles and handed out at local record stores and venues. Seeing surviving pieces from this era in the Ultrasounds collection has been eye-opening for many collectors who are familiar with the music scene of the Pacific northwest during this era.

Herring explained that they had presold 400 of their first print run.  The remaining copies were immediately snapped up upon availability.  It is nearly impossible to purchase a copy of this labor of love today; the first printing of this book has become a collectible item itself.

Maximum Plunder: Second Edition

After asking Herring if they were ever going to produce more copies of the book, Jeff Meyer was put into contact with Mike King himself.  The two had a long discussion, mulling over the normal questions. 'How do we get this out to the masses?' 'How large of a print run should we have?' 'Will they sell?'

By the end of that conversation, Meyer had made the decision to purchase the rights to the book and distribute it himself, in service of bringing awareness to Mike’s work and also broadening the awareness of concert poster collecting to the greater collectibles world. Meyer is passionate about opening collectors' eyes to the potential in the concert poster market.

On July 1st, the second edition of Maximum Plunder became available for purchase. This time around, it's being released in both regular and limited editions. The Limited Edition Book includes one of eight randomly chosen prints of some of Mike King’s more desirable posters, each selected and created by Mike King himself. Each print is signed and numbered, and there are only 40 of each poster available.

  • 280 pages of posters in glorious color and crappy black and white 
  • Forward by noted graphic designer, writer, and former Kinko’s employee Sean Tejaratchi 
  • Introduction by Mike King using actual words 
  • Nine chapters of various lengths and content 
  • Extensive, frequently interesting commentary 
  • Fully alphabetical Index 

? For those with low expectations, this book contains everything you need to know

This stunning book can only be purchased online. Don't miss out on another chance at owning Mike King's beautifully corralled work! Get your own copy of Maximum Plunder's 2nd Edition before they disappear again.

MEET “THE KING” 

Meet the amazing graphic artist & poster designer behind your favorite album covers & concert posters at Portland’s FanExpo on February 17-19 at the Oregon Convention Center.