The Pimps — F**k This Sh*t, We’re Outta Here

“Fuck This Shit, We’re Outta Here” is the last recording released by midwestern punk vets, The Pimps. Ironically, it’s also the first album they decided to release on vinyl. Vinyl and CD versions have different artwork. I did the film photography for the vinyl release of the man eating a sandwich with a Lomo A++ 35mm camera and color flash.

The band was afraid to use the photo at first because it’s a friend of theirs who didn’t know I took the photo. I managed to remind this veteran punk band—that was once signed to Universal Records in the late 1990s, but was cut after a merger with Disney due to wanting to release a record that had too many lyrical drug use references that Disney refused to partake in—that they are a punk band and who gives a sh*t about what the man with a sandwich in his mouth thinks! The band had a buy-out clause in their original contract (that was adopted by the merger) which allowed them to maintain artistic rights over their recordings and set sail on an independent career path. Reminding them of their punk roots, I convinced them to release separate cover art versions of the album—the vinyl release sold out instantly as I had anticipated.

Much of the interior photos for each package design were produced by the band members with Brian Milo, professional photographer. Brian also shot the internet-only cover photo for the “Dames at the Soiree” pre-album single release, shown below.

Stu Johnson (singer, songwriter, band captain) provided a photo for the alternate CD version that we ended up repressing with the Lomo 35mm film photo I produced for the vinyl version. This was one of those fun projects where I got to exercise some songwriting chops as well. “I.M. Merica”, one song of many I’ve written over the last two decades, appears on this record, rerecorded by the band. Listen below and turn it up, it rules.

It’s always a blast working with Stu because anything goes—and I wanted the vibrant color palette to reflect such an experience like working with The Pimps a handful of times since the early 2000s—considering, at the time, and still now in 2020, this was to be their swan song album in 2011. We’ll see. I hear otherwise. : )