Ten Eventful Years

Ten Eventful Years is an album released by singer-songwriter Donnie Mortimer in September 2010. Donnie graciously hired me to play on the record and design the CD packaging for a dream recording project he embarked upon in 2010. The project required artwork for a physical release of a CD and cover art for the digital release.

Have a Listen

Music Credits · Selections from Mortimer Ten Eventful Years

Much like the recording process, this design project was highly collaborative. Donnie had a distinct communal vision for what he wanted. He hired some of his favorite musicians and a talented production team, including Gerry Leonard (known for his work with David Bowie, Duncan Sheik, and Rufus Wainwright III) and Michael Tudor (known for his work with Moby, Duncan Sheik, and Ryan Adams & the Cardinals). He also enlisted the skills of a talented photographer, Rusty Ralston, to document the recording process. Donnie knew he wanted to heavily rely on photography for the presentation of the record. All of the photos, which are prominently featured in the package design, were taken over a two-week period in January 2010 in the Catskills of upstate New York.

We used Oasis Disc Manufacturing for the CD reproduction and package manufacturing. We settled on a trifold digipak for the package design. This allowed Donnie to feature a lot of the photography and provided plenty of space for credits and thank-yous. Donnie seemed pleased with the final product. Knowing him, he was probably most thrilled to have united a tribe of his favorite people under the banner of helping him realize a lifelong dream.

Donnie is still periodically releasing music these days under the name Hawkfather with his good friend and collaborator, Kwest (Jonas Leuenberger). He's a talented musician, charismatic personality, and overall great fun to have around. I'm grateful to call him a friend, and I owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude for enriching my life.