John Scarpati

John Scarpati
John Scarpatji
Born	June 29, 1960 Great Bend, Kansas
Nationality	American
Known for	Photographer
Notable work	Fishbone Look What the Cat Dragged In Hooked Cherry Pie One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This Tight Rope Folklore and Superstition
Website	scarpati.com

John Scarpati (born June 29, 1960) is a professional photographer whose photography has appeared on hundreds of album and CD covers for bands and individual musicians.^[1][2] He is also the owner of Scarpati Studio, a photography studio that does photography and layouts for advertising campaigns, some of which have won national and regional awards. Scarpati has produced two books based on his photography: Cramp, Slash, & Burn: When Punk and Glam Were Twins^[3] and Eyes Wide Open.^[4] The first major solo art exhibit of Scarpat's work was in 1991 at Midem – Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France.^[5] The exhibit was a dye transfer print series. Scarpati's work has also appeared in publications such as the New York Times and Rolling Stone Magazine.^[6]

Because of his extensive photography work with so many bands in Hollywood the 1980s, as well as the production of his book Cramp, Slash, & Burn: When Punk and Glam Were Twins, Alarm Magazine has referred to Scarpati as The Anthropologist of the Sunset Strip.^[7]

The majority of Scarpati's photography work has been done in the music industry, having worked on hundreds of album covers and photo shoots across different genres. He got his break at a recording studio in Sherman Oaks, CA where he met Journey lead-singer Steve Perry who was recording his first solo album.^[8] Scarpati didn't immediately recognize Perry and recalled later that he was "... driving home (from the recording studio) and ‘When The Lights Go Down’ (Lights by Journey) comes on and I thought, ‘Holy shit, that’s Steve Perry I was just talking to.'" Perry made good on a promise to stop by Scarpati's studio the following day for what originally was intended to be a shot for the inside sleeve of his new album. Ultimately, Scarpati's work became the iconic cover shot for Perry's Street Talk album.^[8] Scarpati has since worked with many famous musical artists, such as Rush, Def Leppard, Warrant and Kenny Rogers.

He has also done work for the following employers: Michael Jackson // Sherman Halsey // Planet Pictures // Delicious Vinyl // Dwight Yoakam // Hugh Syme // Fresh Design

Because of his extensive work with the band Fishbone, Scarpati's photos were featured in the documentary Everyday Sunshine. In addition, one of Scarpati's photos of the band was sent to the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture, which also has a collection of artifacts from the band.^[9]

In his work through his company Scarpati Studio and other advertising firms, Scarpati has worked as a photographer or art director on a number of advertising campaigns for corporate clients. His artistic approach has won a number of awards, including one national ADDY award^[10] and two regional ADDY awards.^[11]

A partial list of Scarpati's Corporate clients include Bridgestone, Firestone, One Systems, Honda, AKG Microphones, Hunter Fans, Tequila Rose, Vantage Bowling, Fuzion, Paramount Studios, and English Eccentrics. In addition, his cover for the New York Dolls album One Day It Will Please Us To Remember Even This was used in an iPod Nano advertising campaign.^[12]

Scarpati has produced two books based on his photography work. This first, called Eyes Wide Open, is a collection of unusual and artistic images from his work. The Second is called Cramp, Slash, & Burn: When Punk and Glam Were Twins, and focuses on Scarpati's work in the Hollywood music scene in the 1980s.

The photography artwork in Eyes Wide Open began as an art show exhibit in alternative venues, such as clubs, bars, and hotels.^[13] While there may appear to be no obvious cohesive theme to the book, the concept is a collection of fine art prints on a wide array of Substrates. The collection contains a number of artistic examples of the photographer's work and showcases his creativity.^[14]

Cramp, Slash, & Burn: When Punk and Glam Were Twins is a collection of Scarpati’s photos from the Punk and Glam music industry in Hollywood during the 1980s. The photographs have been cleaned and digitized and the original film was wet drum scanned and digitally remastered to produce high quality images. The book is produced in a 12x12 format to mimic the size of traditional album covers. In addition, life size images of memorabilia from the period, including tick stubs, trinkets, and an authentic can of Aquanet from the time period. The text inside the book is written by band members and others who were a part of the scene at the time. The artwork from the book premiered at La Luz de Jesus Galley in Los Angeles^[15] and continues to be on display at various venues around the country.

The book won a Mohawk award^[16] and earned Scarpati the title "Anthropologist of the Sunset strip from Alarm Magazine, which said, “As a photographer, John Scarpati is well known for his work on album covers, each a dynamic and living piece of art. During the 1980s in Los Angeles, he was the music photographer, an anthropologist of the Sunset Strip, his lens documenting the fashion, sounds, and faces in the era of outrageous musical fashion."^[7] The Indie Reader, Culture Catch, and Felt and Wire also praised the accuracy of the book in documenting the era and scene.^[16][17]

Chronological list of John Scarpati's album cover art.

• Steve Perry – Street Talk^[1][2]
• Poison – Look What the Cat Dragged In^[1][2]
• L.A. Guns – L.A. Guns^[1][2]
• Great White – Hooked^[1]
• Warrant – Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich^[1][2]
• Warrant – Cherry Pie^[1]
• Rush – Roll The Bones^[1]
• Kix – Blow My Fuse^[1]
• Rush – Presto^[1][2]
• Brooks & Dunn – Tight Rope^[1]
• Buddy Jewell – Buddy Jewell^[1]

• 1984 – Scarpati's 1st album cover to go Platinum – Steve Perry / Street Talk: Columbia^[1][2]
• 1989 – Shot 1st music video – Tone Lōc / Wild Thing for Delicious Vinyl /camera operator DP
• 1990 – Juno Award – Best album cover – Rush / Presto – Atlantic^[18]
• 1991 – Worst album cover – Rolling Stone Magazine – Warrant Cherry Pie – Columbia
• 1992 – Juno Award – Best album cover – Rush / Roll the Bones – Atlantic^[18]
• 2005 – Honda Ad Campaign featured in Luerzer's Archive
• 2006 – iTunes podcast – interview with Scarpati by light source
• 2007 – Silver Addy "national" Design CD/DVD packaging – Mechanical Birds
• 2008 – Silver Addy – photography print Campaign "local" – De Novo Dahl – CD packaging
• 2008 – Apple iPod Nano "TV & Print" New York Dolls cover featured in advertising campaign^[12]
• 2009 – Shutterbug Magazine – feature article (March) Pro's Choice
• 2010 – Featured article PDN magazine – Scarpati Rocks the House – Legends of Photography Issue<
• 2011 – 2 full page spread – Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition – Bridgestone Tires Campaign

• Scarpati Studios Website
• Old Hollywood Light Company
• Scarpati on Etsy
• John Scarpati on LinkedIn