Foo Fighters Poster Milwaukee 2018

Foo Fighters Poster Milwaukee 2018

Atari, aliens, and the beginning of something big.

This Foo Fighters poster Milwaukee was my first time creating artwork for the band — a career milestone that would eventually grow into a series of collaborations I’m still incredibly proud of. Looking back, this project not only kicked off my relationship with the Foo Fighters, but also let me finally bring a long-simmering visual idea to life: blending the bold, kinetic energy of live rock with the colorful optimism of vintage arcade art.

Catching Up to the Foos

I’ll admit it — I was late to the Foo Fighters party. Like many, I was a massive Nirvana fan and loved the Foo Fighters’ 1995 debut, but as time went on my listening habits wandered. My friend Chris “Wolo” Woloshansky, however, was a lifelong devotee — flying to shows, chasing secret sets, basically evangelizing for the band.
He lent me the Blu-ray of their documentary Back and Forth, which I promptly put in a “to-watch” pile for months. I eventually caught it by chance in a hotel room, waiting for my girlfriend (now wife) to get ready, and it floored me. Later that year, I saw them live at Outside Lands in San Francisco, and that was it. The band’s intensity, humor, and humility hit me square in the chest.
So when I sat down to create this poster, I wanted that same raw energy — that explosive, anthemic power — to come across in the art.

A Blast of Inspiration: The Art of Atari

Conceptually, this Foo Fighters poster Milwaukee owes a huge debt to Tim Lapetino’s book The Art of Atari, which my wife gifted me a few Christmases back. It’s an incredible chronicle of how Atari’s artists turned pixelated, lo-fi games into full-blown epics through their cabinet and box art.
Those illustrations had to do all the heavy lifting — transforming blocky, minimalist sprites into sweeping space battles and neon adventures. That idea stuck with me: art that makes you believe something tiny is actually huge. For two years, I carried the notion of making a rock poster in that same spirit — all arcade heroics and cosmic scale — but I didn’t have the right project to anchor it.
That’s where Foo Fighters came in.

Landing the Gig

In fall 2017, Wolo and I went to the inaugural Cal Jam in San Bernardino. Browsing the merch tables, I thought, “I do this kind of stuff — why am I not doing this for them?”
The next June, I cold-emailed the Cal Jam team asking for a merch contact. I figured nothing would come of it — but in mid-August, I got an unexpected reply: one open date remained if I wanted it. Milwaukee.
Of course I said yes.

Designing the Battle for Milwaukee

Finally, I had a place to unleash that vintage Atari energy. The thick racing stripes, the wild perspectives, the explosions — all of it. The concept: Foo Fighters defending Milwaukee from an alien invasion, armed with the power of rock.

It’s a mashup of Space Invaders and Breakout, with tongue-in-cheek twists like devil-headed invaders shooting flaming pixelated skulls. The band members appear mid-battle — Dave Grohl leading the charge, Taylor Hawkins pounding away on a rocket-powered drum riser, and Pat Smear soaring through the air on a jetpack. Each member rides or wields something that feels futuristic yet unmistakably rock ‘n’ roll.

Easter Eggs and Hidden Details

There are countless small details for fans to find. The reimagined Atari-era Foo Fighters logo. The devil horn salute from Rami Jaffee behind his retro-futuristic keyboard bank. Milwaukee’s City Hall getting zapped. Even inside jokes, like everyone wearing boots except Pat — because, well, Pat can do whatever Pat wants.

If you love your city, part of you always wants to see it spectacularly destroyed — and that tongue-in-cheek destruction made it into the design too.

Color and Finish

The color scheme was inspired by an unused Atari 10th anniversary logo design, while the lighting treatment nods to the inside gatefold of Wings Over America by Wings — where stage lights blow out faces and instruments into glowing posterized shapes.
I wanted the Foos to look the same way: lit up and half-obliterated by chaos, caught mid-flash as they save the city from certain doom.

A Poster About Power

Printed as a limited-edition screen print, this Foo Fighters poster Milwaukee embodies what I love most about concert poster design — channeling music’s energy into a visual that feels alive. It’s loud, weird, colorful, and a little ridiculous. Just like a great live show.