Bio

Gaither was born in Louisville, KY in 1960, currently lives in Salem IN. He has been practicing his particular blend of horror and rock art for over 40 years. To quote R. Scott Bolton/Editor, Rough Edge; “Jeff Gaither’s work is an artist whose unmistakable style is a perfect complement to music for that perfect marriage of sight and sound.” I was introduced to art by my mother and aunt whom both were always drawing, painting, or somehow involved in theater". Considering the quality of Gaither's paintings and the scope of his projects, most people would be surprised to learn that he is self-taught.

Sal Canzonieri (Electric Frankenstein / Fistful of Rock & Roll) states “Jeff Gaither has the talent and skills to both create an exciting image and tell a great story within the image. Not many artists can be as dynamic as Jeff in their graphics, showing a huge range between the subtle and the grisly! Never gory for the sake of merely showing blood and guts, Jeff can show a sense of humor, and a strong connection to the cherished cultural imagery of our youth ( la Rat Fink, Famous Monsters, Punk Rock, Mad magazine) that draw you into his wild and wooly illustrations!”


Nationally you may have seen Gaither's art on CD covers and/or shirt designs on one of the hundreds of bands and personalities that he has done such as for Municipal Waste, Testament, The Misfits, The Undead, Hirax, The Accused, Agoraphobic Nosebleed, GG Allin, The Murder Junkies, Guns-N-Roses, Dawn of the Dead zombies and many more. Locally, you may have seen his art on the cover of The Leo Weekly, Velocity, Louisville Music News, Wired and annual posters for The Forecastle Festival, The Kentucky Psychological Association’s “Heads-Up” exhibit, the St. James Art Show poster, and Gallopalooza Event and more.

Gaither even worked under the legendary Ed ”Big Daddy” Roth” creating shirts and comics for him back in the ’80s. Gaither has created art for an estimated 300+ music CD/LP/7" covers, 2000+ fanzines/magazine covers, and his art appears worldwide on posters, prints, skateboards, glassware, stickers, magazines, book covers . . . the list goes on.

What People Are Saying...

"Not since Dr. Frankenstein has someone so masterfully stitched rotting human flesh.”

- Jerry Only / Bassist for The Misfits



“Gaither is the master of zombie flesh, he has an amazing imagination that continuously pours out wild and crazy images. My favorite is the skeleton music notes. If you like monster art oh, you've come to the right place”

- Sal Canzonieri / Guitarist for Electric Frankenstein, Author



"Disgusting. Scary. Horrifying. The stuff of nightmares. Yes I love Jeff Gaither art. Like

 the Disneyland of horror art. The Demented Walt Disney. Jeff Gaither, is THE (inhu)MAN!"

- Bloody F. Mess / Bloody Mess & The Skabs



"I've worked with Jeff for more than 20 years and have loved it. When I need sick and twisted art, he's the obvious choice. His talent, professional approach, and knowledge of commercial printing means the end result is 666% perfection!"

- Pete Altieri / Guitarist, Vocalist for Low Twelve, Author, Murder Metal Mayhem podcast



"I am a big fan! But don't let Gaither get under your skin. He will eat you out from the inside. Be afraid! Be very afraid!"

- Sondra London / True Crime Author



“When I was a young lad, the band from my hometown of Oak Harbor Washington was the Accused. They released an LP called "Martha spatter-head's maddest stories ever told". The artwork caught the eyes eyes of many people that may have not discovered the Accused without that amazing cover. It was the first time I had seen the master craftsman, Jeff Gaither's work. Over the years I always wanted to work with him. His detailed vision is in a lot of the album covers I own. Finally when Potbelly did our 7th studio album, "Test of Time", my wish came true. Jeff nailed the cover in a way, that only Jeff could do. Thinking outside of the box. And he did it fast. I wasn't expecting it to be so fast. Still to this day, it's one of my favorite Potbelly record covers."

- Jason Robert Rodger / Vocalist for Potbelly



"Jeff Gaither is a sick and twisted individual. If his art wasn't so good I'd suggest he become a United States Senator."

- Paul Cafaro / Vocalist for The Dwarves



“Jeff is the ringmaster of a circus of zombi freaks and maggot swallowers. His art crawls under your skin!”

- Nico Claux / Artist, Vampire of Paris



“Dripping blood, extreme gore, and oozing pus, Gaither's images are saturated in color, creating the horrific into something beautiful through his talent.”

- John Borowski / Filmmaker, Author



“Sometimes Twisted. Skull splitting, brain oozing. Creatures as much at home on planet earth as they might be on some distant planet. Oh so reminiscent of pre-code comix of the EC era.”

- Blaine Cook / Vocalist for The Accused



"Jeff Gaither lives and breathes horror. There are parts of his drawings that are like that slimy goop that oozes out of a 150 year old coffin; that really gross stuff you just don’t want to get on your hands. A true one of a kind American horror classic!"

- Michael Dowers / Editor, Publisher, Writer



"To be as accessible as he is for commission work, you should immortalize your vision by let his twisted mind and fingers run rampant. Incredible work and super easy to work with. Get off your ass and be apart of history"

- Kenny Youngar / Drummer for Messer


“We’ve been working with Jeff since the inception of our band. His twisted imagery has always gone hand in hand with our music. His past work speaks for itself and it’s an honor to work with someone whom we consider a legend in their craft.”

- Tony Foresta / Vocalist for Municipal Waste



"I'm a fan!!"

- John Dugan / Actor (Grandpa in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre)



"I've been a fan of Jeff Gaither's incredibly insane artwork since the late 80's...his gooey, gory, slimy, splattery, pointy, jagged, crusty, creepy, demented, grimy, slime covered, twisted, unbelievably psychotic images adorn some of my favorite album covers, t-shirts, and show flyers from my favorite punk/metal bands spanning over 3 decades...his unique vision and talent are trademark to his extensive collection of amazing work...truly one of the most prolific artists in the splatterpunk/horror genre to this day."

- Mike Teal / Vocalist for The Misfortunes of Mr. Tea, Bleeding Fire, Supersonic Explosionizer



“Gaither’s grotesqueries are immediately identifiable despite their roots in everything from Wm. Gaines and the crew over at Tales From The Crypt, (Basil Wolverton, anyone?), right up to the first wave of the comic underground with the likes of the late S. Clay Wilson (RIP) and the Zap Comix crew at its prow, and with an extra added dollop of the overripe visual fruit otherwise known as Ed Big Daddy Roth and those that made all that kulture custom car stuff thrum like a pair of popping eyeballs a la the Tex Avery wolf (though I admit I’m rather partial to Droopy). Jeff's line work is clean yet rococo with detail—the eyes reel. Nothing stale here. Monster, monsters, monsters…. The kid came charging out of the XEX Grafix mini-comics crew in the early 80s and has been chugging hard ever since. If you haven’t peeped him yet you need to get on that, stat, jack!"

- Peter Davis / Your Flesh Fanzine

 


“As a Louisvillian/punk ass kid, I grew up surrounded by Jeff’s art. So it was a treat to get to photograph the man himself. I barely escaped with my life... I can’t wait to do it again.”

- Steve Squall / Photographer



“Gaither’s gruesome art is like creepy candy for your rotting eyeballs!

- Lyle Blackburn  / Vocalist for Ghoultown, Actor, Author 



“Gather your senses Gaither! The best Rock Horror Art on the Planet! “ 

- Lloyd Kaufman / President Troma Entertainment and Creator of the Toxic Avenger 



"Jeff makes nightmares come alive on page."

- J.a. Yates / True Crime Author  



"When I first met Jeff about 20 years ago at a show, he suggested I get into tees, in addition to my autographed photos. He worked up a design for me which in many ways has come to define my image. "Now I love it when I see fans wearing the tees, hoodies, tanks or sweatshirts with that iconic image! "It's great work and he's done the same for several of my "Dawn of the Dead" zombie buddies!"

- Jim Krut / Actor, Helicopter zombie from Dawn of the Dead 



"Jeff Gaither is one of the founders and creators of what we now recognize as the underground aesthetic. From the 80's he has been an inspiration. I've always been a fan and will always admire his unique style."

- Drew Elliott / Artist 



"When I want it to hurt, to get under your skin and fester... I want a dark master like Jeff Gaither."

- Hart D. Fisher / Horror Crime Author, Bone Yard Press



"I've been a fan of Jeff's art since the 90s when I first saw his work in Art Alternatives Magazine (pre-Juxtapoz). He is THE O. G. punk and metal lowbrow illustrator. His legendary images and logos are enthroned side by side next to nasty underground artists like S Clay Wilson and Pushead. Hail Gaither!"

- Andy Howl / Tattooer, Publisher, CoS Priest



"I’ve been an admirer of Jeff Gaither’s art for a long time. It’s so punk, hyper detailed and scary, if not a bit disturbing- all pluses in my book!"

- Pat Moriarity / Artist, Animator



"Jeff Gaither has been churning out Rock & Roll Monster Art since the 80's. He's done work for every band: the Misfits, Mortiis, GG Allin, Guns 'N Roses, Testament, Municipal Waste, Van Halen, Hirax & everyone else. I first came across Gaither's work on the cover of Uncle Fester's Magazine, and Home Workshop Explosives published by Loompanics & then on the cover of Your Flesh Magazine & then pretty much everywhere as I got into WEIRDO ART style. Gaither's work is very NECRO, with an emphasis on gore and disgust. His work predates the Hellraiser aesthetic but resonates with that demonically mutated meat feeling," 

- Sean Aaberg / Pork Magazine



"Jeff is a rockstar in my eyes. He has created album covers for different music releases I’ve been associated with over the years…T-Shirts for our tours… promo poster designs and now he does my mask biz t-shirt designs. When I was young he welcomed my band into his home to hang out…and he did all of this because he wanted to. We didn’t have a lot of $ in the early days but that didn’t stop him from creating some of the most professional looking designs. My hat is off to you brother. Much respect and here’s to more dealings with Gaither artwork associated with my releases."

- Rick Fisher / Bassist for Ripped, SikRik Masks



"Rude, raw, and in your face. Like an '80's splatter flick all hopped up on goof balls, Jeff Gaither's artwork wreaks of pure hallucinagenic violence."

- Boo Gruesome / The Horrifics



"No one renders an image like Gaither, his art is unmistakable and has a huge body of work...dead bodies that is...your not a true horror art fan unless you know this mans stuff."

- Shlax / Hardcore Wrestler, Vocalist for Call The Paramedics



"Jeff is a horror Junkie and propells you head first into his bizarre imagination through nightmarish illustrations, paintings and graphic designs. Jeff personally designed the Machete Zombie image for the T shirts I wear and sell at cons."

- Leonard A. Lies / Machete zombie from Dawn of the Dead, Film Maker, Writer



"There's a dream state from the deep under brain, a miasma of horror and unconscious primal fear, a creeping insectoid nightmare usually hidden away, submerged, veiled, but with Gaither's art a portal opens and the crawling doom briefly escapes and shows its beautiful hideous self, the eye cannot look away, the subconscious recognizes the malignancy that's been hiding in plain sight, the eye knew it was there hiding behind a rock or a corner, and now here it is in candy detail- the conscious mind says to look away before one is dragged under the surface into that world of wild organic fever dreams forever, but it is too late..."

- Roy Tompkins / Artist, Trailer Trash



"Jeff Gaither's work is THE BEST! Inventive, scary and absolutely beautiful!"

- David Crawford / Dr. Foster from Dawn of the Dead, Actor



"All I can say is you are a truly awesome artist and I hope you know that you are an undersung hero in the arts due to you standing your ground and not bowing down to the idiocy of the current political climate I'm thankful to have creative minds like yours still creating and not soft censoring yourself"

- Josh Prentice



"Jeff's extraordinary style is in a class of its own. It's an honor to have worked with him. There are few artists who can be easily identified just by their work without looking for a signature (Dali, Warhol, Max) I'd put Jeff in that class. "

- Bobby Steele / Guitarist for The Misfits 79-81, Guitarist & Vocalist for The Undead


"You have been and are a massive influence on me! The exhaustive surreal Gaither style is a unapologetic Tyson knockout punch!!! Any self respecting artist has some Gaither in her or him"

- Matthew Hayes Holesapple / Artist