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The Trooper
A 30-Day Music Memory Series
As I’ve worked through the days and songs for this music memories project, it’s been emotional to recall how many memories connect to my big brother. Music was the soul of our sibling relationship. My brother is the #1 reason I have, and will always have, such a soft spot for metal music. And, well, metal music is awesome.
When I was seven or eight, one of my favorite things was watching my brother make covers for his school textbooks out of brown paper bags. In its basic form, it was a school requirement to cover the books, but my brother was next level about customizing said covers.
“The Trooper” by Iron Maiden drops me right back in his room. I’d watch him by peering over his shoulder as he sketched and erased and worked and reworked under direct task lighting. He was 12 years old and a few sizes too large for his child-sized desk. It didn’t matter–this was his workspace.
His book covers featured hand-drawn logos of his favorite metal bands, painstakingly executed over hours of illustration work, fueled by Music from the bands he was illustrating. And Dr. Pepper.
My brother’s love for drawing is likely one of the deeper roots of my design career. I learned so much from him about care and detail, and self-expression. My brother was rad.
