RYAN ADAMS
Sometimes the artists themselves commission Haglund to immortalize their guitars through art, and sometimes they simply are excited to supply him with information about their favorite instruments. Ryan Adams was one such musician in the latter camp.
I did Ryan Adams, his Buck [Owens] acoustic -- the red, white and blue Buck Owens guitar. I was able to get hold of him, and he loved it. He gave me all the information and told me the story about what that guitar meant to him, so that was really cool. I did that as a commission, so I didn't get to enjoy having that painting around; a lawyer down in Texas commissioned that one. I sell a lot of paintings to lawyers. I don't know what it is with that, but they have the means and they all love music.
See also: - Ryan Adams at the Peabody Opera House, 1/31/12: Review, Illustrations and Setlist - Why Ryan Adams Isn't Allowing Photos On His Current Tour
STEPHEN MALKMUS
Haglund pours a ton of research into his work, trying to find photographs that show the guitars' nuances and interviews where musicians speak lovingly about their instruments. Sometimes, though, even the brain thwarts even the best efforts, as Haglund found out while painting the Jazzmaster of Pavement's Stephen Malkmus.
I ended up going back to college and then doing my master's degree, and I think that really taught me a lot about research. The internet is a tangled web -- I have to double source and triple source things, and I know there are things I get wrong. I misspelled Stephen Malkmus' name. I added an extra "U" or something.
CHRIS GRABAU
Haglund is an old-fashioned artist's artist. Sure, getting money for his craft is nice, but he also barters for swag from bands and other artists. That's how the "transaction" with Chris Grabau went down earlier this year, just before Grabau's album-release show with Magnolia Summer.
I met him at the Centro-matic show a year and a half ago, and I'd already known Chris as a Gretsch player. I'd admired that Gretsch, so it was as fun to see Chris play live as it was to see the Gretsch being played live. And he made a joke, "Are you going to do a Gretsch painting?" I started thinking about it, and I did the painting. I traded it for some Magnolia Summer stuff. I'm a collector, myself, so I like to collect concert posters and vinyl and CDs. I'm fine taking a lot of cash for a painting, but I'm also fine taking some really cool art.
See also: - Magnolia Summer Returns with The Hill or the Climb - Magnolia Summer Made the Clash's Mick Jones Run Away: Feature Extras
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