Screens ‘n’ Suds, Sam Verrill and Brown Distributing present: A Week-Long Celebration of the Arts of Craft Beer and Screenprinting to benefit MS Society and National Parkinson Foundation

Screens ‘n’ Suds began in 2009 as a collaboration between Brian Gearing, Sam Verrill and Ric Hersh. After being turned down by two different venues in town, Brian’s idea for a small, start-up poster convention was given new life when a friend suggested the Capital Ale House Music Hall in downtown Richmond. It only made sense to tie beer into the event, and with Sam’s blessing, Screens ‘n’ Suds was born. Since the inaugural event, S’n’S has raised over $15,000 for MS Society and other charities, and its list of partnering breweries and artists has grown from 15 to over 35, coming from all over the country, from Berkeley, CA to Omaha, NE, to just across the river on Manchester Island. Partnering with Jacob Brunow and Stephen Tuzeneu, the craft beer managers at Brown Distributing, has allowed Screens ‘n’ Suds to grow into a multi-event beer and art juggernaut in Richmond, and they hope to expand into other cities in 2012.

This years locations and dates:

Friday, October 7 | Bell’s Beer Dinner | TJ’s Restaurant at The Jefferson Hotel | 101 W Franklin St | Richmond, VA

Thursday, November 3 | S’n’S Print Series Debut | Mekong Restaurant | 6004 W Broad St | Richmond, VA

Friday, November 4 | S’n’S Original Print Show Opening | Gallery 5 | 200 W Marshall St | Richmond, VA

Saturday, November 5 | The Big Event | Capital Ale House Downtown | 623 E Main St | Richmond, VA

Sunday, November 6 | Sunday Shockoe Sippage | Shockoe Bottom | Richmond, VA

Tuesday, November 8 | Local Beer Steal the Glass | Capital Ale House Downtown | 623 E Main St | Richmond, VA

Having multiplied its first-year fundraising ten-fold since its inception in 2009, Screens ‘n’ Suds presents:

The Big Screens ‘n’ Suds Event at Capital Ale House | Saturday 5 November | 4-9pm

 FREE ADMISSION ($5 suggested donation)

 DJ sets by DJ Lightning’s Girl, DJ Kenny and more

 Beer Tastings and Special Releases by Beach Brewing, Bull & Bones, Devil’s Backbone, Hardywood Park, Legend, O’Connor, Roanoke Railhouse, Starr Hill, Wolf Hills and more

 Concert posters, art prints, t-shirts and more from acclaimed poster artists from around the country

From 10pm – last call, there will be a Rock show by NoBS Brass Band and The New Belgians | Tickets are available at www.CapitalAleHouse.com

This year, the big event will feature more breweries than ever, welcoming the best from all corners of Virginia, all of whom will be offering tastings and specials throughout the afternoon. Meanwhile, artists from around the country will set up booths packed with concert posters, art prints, t-shirts and more, all available for purchase directly from the artists. To tie it all together, Screens ‘n’ Suds once again debuts its annual beer-inspired art print series, the sales of which benefit the Central Virginia Chapter of MS Society and the National Parkinson Foundation. A raffle and silent auction featuring posters, framed art, music, tickets, and loads of gift certificates and beer and music schwag will also benefit this year’s charities, and sales of Screens ‘n’ Suds merchandise and donations at the door will go directly to MS Society.

Artists displaying at the Screens ‘n’ Suds event include Crazy Redbeard, Itty Bitty Press, Plastic Flame Press, Ryan Kerrigan, Team 8 Press, Tripp Shealy, and more to be announced. For the first time, bike lovers can join in the fun, as Screens ‘n’ Spokes, the Suds’ older sister organization, will be showing for the first time in Richmond. Artists in this year’s Screens ‘n’ Suds series are The Bungaloo, Scott Campbell, Doe-Eyed Design, DWITT, Brian Ewing, Justin Helton (Status Serigraph), Fred Hosman (Hosco Press), Alan Hynes, Iron Canvas Studio, Itty Bitty Press, Erick Montes, Mike Munter, Plastic Flame Press, Brandon Otto, Ashley Phipps, Tim Ripley, Tripp, Jason Taylor, Team 8 Press, Steve Tenebrini (Squad 19), and Clint Wilson.

The Screens ‘n’ Suds 2011 Series continues Sam Verrill’s mission to marry beautiful art to great causes. Five years ago, he launched Screens ‘N’ Spokes, an art show and bike team, to benefit the Greater Delaware Valley chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. To-date, over 100 prints have been produced between the Spokes and Suds series, and including events, the team has raised over $230,000 for the MS Society. In 2008 and 2009, he worked with the Independents Coffee Cooperative of Philadelphia to curate the Beans ‘N’ Screens show to benefit the fair trade  Cooperative of San Fernando.

Brian Gearing launched The Gig Gallery in 2007 as an online concert poster retailer, and expanded into publishing and at-your-leisure blogging before deciding to wind it down in late 2011. He still continues his obsession with posters through Screens ‘n’ Suds and an impressive personal poster collection. A long-time music fan and part-time critic, Brian’s love for the printed riff began in 2004, and he’s been leveraging his passion for music and giving since 2003, when he and guitarist David Marshall began The Cure Collective, raising money for cancer treatment and research through music and art events. The Gig Gallery still has posters for display and sale at Plan 9 Music in Richmond, and www.thegiggallery.com will be live through the end of 2011. www.ScreensNSuds.com will be updated with artist bios, interviews and samples as the event date approaches. Brian Gearing is manager at Frame Warehouse

Ric Hersh fell in love with craft beer and art early on in life and hasn’t looked back. With a stacked beer cellar,  overflowing art portfolios, and an insatiable appetite for live music, it makes perfect sense that he and Brian have paired up to throw several successful Screens ‘n’ Suds events through the years, and Ric’s frequent travels make him a perfect ambassador. Ric Hersh daylights in the Regulatory Affairs department at Altria Group Inc. and is an event planner for www.richmondbeerlovers.com

Like the ever-growing market of small batch brews, the concert poster micro-economy is booming. As music sales  plunge off a high cliff, fans and collectors have turned their wallets to limited edition, screenprinted concert posters. After Xerox and the cut-and-paste punk flyer movement killed “high rock art” in the late 70s, most of the great rock-inspired art was relegated to album covers, then shrunken to a quarter of their previous size on CD covers, and finally dumped onto web pages opening for a download link. Since the death of the physical recording, posters have come along to reclaim their throne as the ultimate expression of the visual possibilities of rock and roll, and an entire new crop of artists armed only with silkscreens, a squeegee and some ink have come to reclaim the crown. Produced often by hand and in extremely limited quantities, “gigposters” are more rare than even the smallest vinyl pressings or large-edition promo posters, they are created specifically for single shows and tours, and depending on the band and artist, some sell out literally in seconds, often for hundreds of dollars. Many poster artists are quietly climbing to the same heights of notoriety as the bands they make posters for, which include heavyweights like Deftones, Arcade Fire, Ween, The Dead Weather, Phish, Social Distortion, My Morning Jacket, and Pearl Jam.

For more info: www.screensnsuds.com | twitter.com/screensnsuds