"I guess, theoretically, the concept for this piece started on Christmas day 1984. That year, my brother and I were both gifted portable stereos and one cassette each. I received Twisted Sister’s Stay Hungry and my brother received the historical Van Halen album, 1984. Since my grandparents’ house was only 700 sq./ft and in a small rural Alberta town, there wasn’t a ton to do over the holidays, so for the following few days we played those two albums until we could recite every song word for word. From the very beginning, before I knew the importance and lore of Eddie’s Frankenstrat, I always remembered that red, black and white striped guitar. The mere image of it almost symbolizes an entire era and genre of music in the 80’s.
When I started showing in galleries I almost immediately started getting request for a Van Halen piece. No matter what angle I looked at it, I just couldn’t get a concept to click. It went up in the queue and there it has stayed for years.
When I started the Rogue series last year, the intention was to do some music inspired pieces that wouldn’t necessarily focus on an actual portrait. It was here that my mind wandered back to the image of arguably one of the most famous guitars in rock n’ roll (a copy is even housed in the National Museum of American History). Once I delved into the details of this iconic Fender Stratocaster, I realized the Jekyll and Hyde properties (right up my alley).
From afar, the paint scheme looks exactly what a guitar in the 80’s would look like, but up close, it was another animal entirely and grittier than any guitar I’ve seen. To achieve a certain sound, Eddie literally pieced this guitar together from various parts (notably Gibson), not unlike Dr. Frankenstein’s monster – hence the iconic moniker, Frankenstrat." -Stickman
