Kansas-born UK-based indie pop artist Piney Gir crowdsourced the cover of ‘Mr. Hyde’s Wild Ride’ (Greyday Records / February 19) asking friends and fans alike to take a mug shot of themselves, giving life to the title ‘Mr. Hyde’s Wild Ride.’ Written during a hard year that saw her displaced by gentrification, loss of a job, and the death of a friend but with things looking upon its recording, she meditated on drastic changes of the past years. “The mug shots symbolized the way I felt 'jailed' by this set of circumstances and the photo on the inside shows me wearing black and white like an old-fashioned prisoner, escaped and running through a tunnel with a light at the end of it. That photo symbolizes my freedom.”
The result is like a Sgt. Pepper cover for the digital age. She says, “I did an appeal to friends, family and fans to send in their mug shots for the cover and I am so pleased with the results - it looks like a big army of loved ones to me - like an extended family portrait! From my mom, grandparents, cousins and their kids, to Ian Damaged and his wife Alison Wonderland [he runs Damaged Goods, she's a rock photographer]. There is also Mark Radcliffe [a BBC radio DJ and music personality], Tom White from the band Electric Soft Parade, of course the Piney band are all on there, and a few dogs. Friends, kids and fans too.” MC Lars and the Real Tuesday Weld round out the members of the musical community who participated. (Oh and a certain publicist as well!) An album that began with a rollercoaster, Jekyll-and-Hyde cycle ended with the whole world of Piney Gir joining her, each featured in mug shots, on the cover. Piney reflects, “"if an album is the sum of its parts, this part is fan-generated and that is a beautiful, creative interaction to have with people." Here’s the list of participants and their “crimes”: http://www.pineygir.com/mr-
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