John Scarpati (born June 29, 1960) is a professional photographer whose photography has appeared on hundreds of album and CD covers for bands and individual musicians. He is also the owner of Scarpati Studio, a photography studio that does photography and layouts for advertising campaigns, some of which have won national and regional awards. Scarpati has produced two books based on his photography: Cramp, Slash, & Burn: When Punk and Glam Were Twins and Eyes Wide Open. The first major solo art exhibit of Scarpat's work was in 1991 at Midem – Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France. The exhibit was a dye transfer print series. Scarpati's work has also appeared in publications such as the New York Times and Rolling Stone Magazine.
Because of his extensive photography work with so many bands in Hollywood the 1980s, as well as the production of his book Cramp, Slash, & Burn: When Punk and Glam Were Twins, Alarm Magazine has referred to Scarpati as The Anthropologist of the Sunset Strip.
Career
Music Industry
The majority of Scarpati's photography work has been done in the music industry, having worked on hundreds of album covers and photo shoots across different genres. He got his break at a recording studio in Sherman Oaks, CA where he met Journey lead-singer Steve Perry who was recording his first solo album. Scarpati didn't immediately recognize Perry and recalled later that he was "... driving home (from the recording studio) and ‘When The Lights Go Down’ (Lights by Journey) comes on and I thought, ‘Holy shit, that’s Steve Perry I was just talking to.'" Perry made good on a promise to stop by Scarpati's studio the following day for what originally was intended to be a shot for the inside sleeve of his new album. Ultimately, Scarpati's work became the iconic cover shot for Perry's Street Talk album. Scarpati has since worked with many famous musical artists, such as Rush, Def Leppard, Warrant and Kenny Rogers.
He has also worked for Michael Jackson, Sherman Halsey, Delicious Vinyl, Dwight Yoakam, and Hugh Syme.
Because of his extensive work with the band Fishbone, Scarpati's photos were featured in the documentary Everyday Sunshine. In addition, one of Scarpati's photos of the band was sent to the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture, which also has a collection of artifacts from the band.
Advertising In his work through his company Scarpati Studio and other advertising firms, Scarpati has worked as a photographer or art director on a number of advertising campaigns for corporate clients. His artistic approach has won a number of awards, including one national ADDY award and two regional ADDY awards.
A partial list of Scarpati's Corporate clients include Bridgestone, Firestone, One Systems, Honda, AKG Microphones, Hunter Fans, Tequila Rose, Vantage Bowling, Fuzion, Paramount Studios, and English Eccentrics. In addition, his cover for the New York Dolls album One Day It Will Please Us To Remember Even This was used in an iPod Nano advertising campaign.
Books
Scarpati has produced two books based on his photography work. This first, called Eyes Wide Open, is a collection of unusual and artistic images from his work. The Second is called Cramp, Slash, & Burn: When Punk and Glam Were Twins, and focuses on Scarpati's work in the Hollywood music scene in the 1980s.
Eyes Wide Open The photography artwork in Eyes Wide Open began as an art show exhibit in alternative venues, such as clubs, bars, and hotels. While there may appear to be no obvious cohesive theme to the book, the concept is a collection of fine art prints on a wide array of Substrates. The collection contains a number of artistic examples of the photographer's work and showcases his creativity.
Cramp, Slash, and Burn: When Punk and Glam Were Twins Cramp, Slash, & Burn: When Punk and Glam Were Twins is a collection of Scarpati’s photos from the Punk and Glam music industry in Hollywood during the 1980s. The photographs have been cleaned and digitized and the original film was wet drum scanned and digitally remastered to produce high quality images. The book is produced in a 12x12 format to mimic the size of traditional album covers. In addition, life size images of memorabilia from the period, including tick stubs, trinkets, and an authentic can of Aquanet from the time period. The text inside the book is written by band members and others who were a part of the scene at the time. The artwork from the book premiered at La Luz de Jesus Galley in Los Angeles and continues to be on display at various venues around the country.
The book won a Mohawk award and earned Scarpati the title "Anthropologist of the Sunset strip from Alarm Magazine, which said, “As a photographer, John Scarpati is well known for his work on album covers, each a dynamic and living piece of art. During the 1980s in Los Angeles, he was the music photographer, an anthropologist of the Sunset Strip, his lens documenting the fashion, sounds, and faces in the era of outrageous musical fashion." The Indie Reader, Culture Catch, and Felt and Wire also praised the accuracy of the book in documenting the era and scene.
Album cover art Chronological list of John Scarpati's album cover art. Year Artist Album Role 1984 Steve Perry Street Talk Photography 1985 Fishbone Fishbone Photography 1985 Tex & The Horseheads Life's So Cool Photography 1985 Various The Enigma Variations Photography 1985 Stryper Soldiers Under Command Photography 1985 Stryper Reason for the Season Photography 1986 T.S.O.L Revenge Photography 1986 Fishbone In Your Face Photography 1986 Poison Look What the Cat Dragged In Photography 1986 Eyes Eyes Photography 1986 The Unforgiven The Unforgiven Photography 1987 Bitch (band) The Bitch is Back (album) Photography 1987 Redd Kross Neurotica Photography 1987 Dramarama Box Office Bomb Photography 1988 L.A. Guns L.A. Guns Photography 1988 Kix Blow My Fuse Photography 1988 Social Distortion Prison Bound Album Design 1988 Oingo Boingo Boingo Alive Photography 1988 Various Artists A Town South of Bakersfield, Vol 1 Photography 1989 Warrant Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich Photography 1989 Kingdom Come (German band) In Your Face Photography 1989 Michael Monroe Not Fakin' It Photography 1989 Dramarama Stuck in Wonderamaland Photography 1989 Rush Presto Photography 1989 Babylon A. D. Babylon A. D. Photography 1989 Bonfire (band) Point Blank Photography 1989 Fates Warning Perfect Symmetry Photography 1990 Magnum Goodnight L.A. Photography 1990 Rush Chronicles Photography 1990 Warrant Cherry Pie Photography 1990 Hurricane Slave to the Thrill Photography 1990 The Northern Pikes Snow in June Photography 1990 Alias Alias Photography 1990 Blowfly Twisted World of Blowfly Photography 1990 Electric Angels Electric Angels Photography 1990 Social Distortion Social Distortion Photography 1991 Rush Roll the Bones Photography 1991 Great White Hooked Photography 1991 Fates Warning Parallels Photography 1991 Kix Hot Wire Photography 1991 Bad English Backlash Photography 1991 The Storm The Storm Photography 1991 Armored Saint Symbol of Salvation Photography 1991 Aldo Nova Blood on the Bricks Photography 1991 Me Phi Me One Photography 1991 Dramarama Vinyl Photography 1991 The Scream Let It Scream Photography 1992 Warrant Dog Eat Dog Photography 1992 21 Guns Salute Photography 1993 Dramarama Hi-Fi Sci-Fi Photography 1994 Steve Perry For the Love of Strange Medicine Photography 1995 Bill Miller Raven in the Snow Photography 1995 Marshall Chapman It's About Time Photography 1995 Philip Claypool A Circus Leaving Town Photography 1996 Diamond Rio IV Photography 1996 Dramarama The Best of Dramarama: 18 Big Ones Photography 1996 Warrant The Best of Warrant Photography 1996 Al Anderson Pay Before You Pump Photography 1996 Jason and the Scorchers Clear Impetuous Morning Photography 1997 Eddie Rabbitt Beatin’ the Odds Photography 1997 Scorpions Deadly Sting: The Mercury Years Photography 1997 Rick Altizer Blue Plate Special Photography 1998 Steve Perry Greatest Hits + Five Unreleased Photography 1998 The Thompson Brothers Band Blame It on the Dog Photography 1998 Pam Tillis Every Time Photography 1998 Eddie Rabbitt Songs from Rabbittland Photography 1998 The Insyderz Fight of My Life Photography 1999 Brooks & Dunn Tight Rope Photography 1999 Jetboy Lost and Found Photography 2000 The Kentucky Headhunters Songs from the Grass String Ranch Photography 2000 Ray Price Prisoner of Love Photography 2000 The Sky Kings From Out of the Blue Photography 2001 Rush Chronicles/ Moving Pictures Photography 2001 Danni Leigh Divide and Conquer Photography 2002 Oingo Boingo 20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection Photography 2003 Social Distortion Greatest Hits Photography 2003 Buddy Jewell Buddy Jewell Photography 2003 Jamie Lee Thurston I Just Wanna Do My Thing Photography 2003 Janis Ian Working Without a Net Photography 2004 Brad Cotter Patient Man Photography 2004 Restless Heart Still Restless Photography 2004 Lane Turner Wanting More Photography 2005 Jo Dee Messina Delicious Surprise Photography 2005 Hank Williams, Jr. That's How They Do It in Dixie Photography 2006 New York Dolls One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This Photography 2006 Mechanical Birds The Possibility of Flight Photography 2007 Social Distortion Greatest Hits Photography 2007 Hydrogyn Deadly Passions Photography 2007 Randy Kohrs Old Photograph Photography 2007 Clay Walker Fall Photography 2008 De Novo Dahl Move Every Muscle, Make Every Sound Photography 2008 Black Stone Cherry Folklore and Superstition Photography 2009 Steadlür Steadlür Photography 2009 Doyle and Debbie Performing all their top hits to the very best of their ability Photography 2009 Korby Lenker Lovers and Fools Photography 2010 Randy Kohrs Quicksand Photography 2012 Craig Morrison Craig Morrison Photography 2012 Deborah Allen Hear Me Now Photography 2012 Fishbone Every Day Sunshine Photography 2012 Redd Kross Researching The Blues Photo editing 2012 Korby Lenker Korby Lenker Photography 2014 Lee Ann Womack The Way I’m Livin’ Photography
Awards and notable achievements
Gold and Platinum records Steve Perry – Street Talk Poison – Look What the Cat Dragged In L.A. Guns – L.A. Guns Great White – Hooked Warrant – Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich Warrant – Cherry Pie Rush – Roll The Bones Kix – Blow My Fuse Rush – Presto Brooks & Dunn – Tight Rope Buddy Jewell – Buddy Jewell
Achievements and recognition 1984 – Scarpati's 1st album cover to go Platinum – Steve Perry / Street Talk: Columbia 1989 – Shot 1st music video – Tone Lōc / Wild Thing for Delicious Vinyl /camera operator DP 1990 – Juno Award – Best album cover – Rush / Presto – Atlantic 1991 – Worst album cover – Rolling Stone Magazine – Warrant Cherry Pie – Columbia 1992 – Juno Award – Best album cover – Rush / Roll the Bones – Atlantic 2005 – Honda Ad Campaign featured in Luerzer's Archive 2006 – iTunes podcast – interview with Scarpati by light source 2007 – Silver Addy "national" Design CD/DVD packaging – Mechanical Birds 2008 – Silver Addy – photography print Campaign "local" – De Novo Dahl – CD packaging 2008 – Apple iPod Nano "TV & Print" New York Dolls cover featured in advertising campaign 2009 – Shutterbug Magazine – feature article (March) Pro's Choice 2010 – Featured article PDN magazine – Scarpati Rocks the House – Legends of Photography Issue< 2011 – 2 full page spread – Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition – Bridgestone Tires Campaign
References
External links Scarpati Studios Website Old Hollywood Light Company Scarpati on Etsy