Here at the Scene — as at most newspapers, magazines and periodicals — the art director is the person responsible for all the visual aspects of the paper. Layout, photos, illustrations, design — if you’re looking at it, the art director put it there.
For our 30th anniversary, we talked to four former Scene art directors (as well as our current one) about their favorite and most memorable Scene covers throughout the years: Lee Weidhaas (1989-1997), Danny Proctor (1998-2004), Rob Williams (2005-2009), Heather Lose (2016) and Elizabeth Jones (2009-present).
History: I got married April 22, 1989, in Richmond, Va., moved to Nashville on the 26th, and was art director at the Scene by May. A thin crappy “shopper” paper was tossed in our driveway. Bruce Dobie’s editor’s note mentioned a new direction and dropped names like Vanity Fair, Village Voice and Seven Days. I sent a note and a copy of the weekly I designed for in Richmond. —LW
Favorite: Oct. 26, 1995
“Out of This World: UFO Flybys in Middle Tennessee”
Photographer Susan Adcock got friends to wing pie pans in a cow field. —LW
Favorite: May 23, 1996
“Summer Guide 1996”
Staff photographer Eric England took a great B&W shot of his girlfriend scooping up wildflowers. We were learning about digital colorizing, and weird fonts were becoming available. Very garish. This 112-page issue is one I’m most proud of. —LW
Controversial: Jan. 16 & 23, 1997
“A Good Thing Gone Bad”
Usually I was free to create or select cover photos on my own, but this one involved serious involvement with the editors, and I was overruled. Two choices. Susan Adcock had taken photographs of Perry March (who at the time was suspected of killing his wife Janet March, and many years later was convicted) in his office and his home. The one in the office, which I wanted, had March standing beside a painting his wife did. The composition was perfect, and his face disturbing. That was moved to the second week.
We were in possession of very personal candids, and I don’t know how we got them. The editors chose to go with an intimate B&W closeup of the couple nuzzling. The cover angered and hurt many of her friends and family, but it fueled the bombshell issue. —LW
Memorable: Sept. 13, 2001
9/11 cover
I’ll never forget the cover for the 9/11 issue. It happened on a Tuesday, deadline day, and the issue was pretty much done when we had to hold for news of the tragic event. I was scrambling for a stock photo to use while then-publisher Albie Del Favero was in the air over NYC and filed a report by phone. We somehow pulled it off and hit the stands the next day. —DP
History: I don’t have a particular favorite cover. But I’m happy that the Scene logo I designed is still in use. A New York designer was hired to come up with a new logo, and no one was satisfied. Fellow designer Jeff Stamper and I both cranked out some new options, and the one I designed was voted the winner by the staff and is still there ... for now. —DP
Controversial: April 5, 2007
“The Bitch Ho Problem”
I think the “Bitch Ho Problem” cover — from a story exploring the sexual politics of hip-hop — resulted in the Scene being removed from the Y. I didn’t pick the stories, just did my best to create a concept that would pique interest and communicate. —RW
Favorite: June 28, 2007
“Thirsty for Company”
One of staff reporter P.J. Tobia’s stories about a bar on Nolensville where Hispanic guys dance with white gals was illustrated with a Corona and a PBR doing the lambada. —RW
Controversial: June 18, 2009
“Washed in the Blood”
Eric England and I photographed a Bible with a knife in it. The story was about a local preacher who had been convicted of a crime in his forgotten past. A Scene staffer told me that they did not like the blasphemous act. —RW
Memorable: May 6, 2010 & April 28, 2011
Nashville Flood covers
The Monday after the historic 2010 flood, we arrived at the office we had just moved into the week before. I had my dog with me, and because of floodwater I couldn’t get home to drop her off. We spent hours scouring social media for the best flood photos to put in our issue, which was going to press the next day. We landed on this one by Warne Riker, which shows how traffic was stopped in its tracks by the water. For our cover on the one-year anniversary of the flood, we decided to view Nashville through a fishbowl. We kept the fish and named him Sawyer. —EJ
Controversial: Aug. 22, 2013
“Taking the Cake”
The story was about people fighting Tennessee’s same-sex marriage ban. I bought a Styrofoam cake form and tried my best to use fondant for the first time — it’s very difficult to get smooth! We placed small plastic army men climbing up the cake and shot it in my dining room. —EJ
Oops! Jan. 8, 2015
“2014 Nashvillians of the Year”
So many people were involved in saving the historic RCA Studio A from demolition that I decided to go with this show-poster-style lineup cover. Well, something got messed up at the printer, and the issues printed without a photo of Ben Folds, who played an essential part in saving the studio. Of course we were devastated, but we turned it into a social media contest in which people submitted their own drawings of Ben Folds to fill in the blank space on the cover. —EJ
Controversial: Dec. 8, 2016
“2016 Boner Awards”
The illustration that Jeremy Lancaster from L2L Creative created is soooooo lurid. I didn’t have to direct Jeremy much beyond telling him to “go further,” and I knew he’d nailed it when *ding!* he placed that final candy cane. When I walked the cover into then-editor Steve Cavendish’s office for the first time, he literally put his hands to his face and squealed. That’s the reaction you want from your editor. —HL
Favorite: Aug. 3, 2017
“The Bachelorettes”
This was easily one of the most-read stories we’ve run in the past couple years. Photographer Daniel Meigs accompanied writer Steven Hale downtown to investigate the explosive bachelorette-party phenomenon. Daniel came back with a treasure trove of perfect shots to illustrate the bachelorette takeover. —EJ
Memorable: Dec. 14, 2017
“Year in Music 2017”
Local rapper Mike Floss wanted to light a guitar on fire for his shoot. We were game. After the fire was put out by the extinguisher, it created this incredible fog that gave our cover shot some great atmosphere. —EJ
