Tower Records Welcomes Legendary Rock Poster Artist John Van Hamersveld on a 'Crossing-America' Autograph Tour

Tower Records Welcomes Legendary Rock Poster Artist John Van Hamersveld on a 'Crossing-America' Autograph Tour

Artist Will Sign His Posters of the Cream 2005 Live at Albert Hall Reunion and the Famed Jimi Hendrix 1968 'Pinnacle' Concert

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Oct. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Tower Records, America's leading independent music and movie retailer, today announced that it welcomes legendary Rock Poster Artist John Van Hamersveld on an exclusive cross-country Autograph Tour at select Tower Records stores nationwide.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20051004/SFTU127 )

WHO: Famed Poster Artist John Van Hamersveld, who began his rise to fame in the 60s & 70s. John has designed over 300 rock album covers for groups like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Jefferson Airplane and many others, and for such well-known records as: Exile on Main Street and Magical Mystery Tour.

WHAT: In a first-of-its-kind tour, John Van Hamersveld will appear at select Tower Records locations nationwide to sign Limited Artist's Editions of the Cream '2005 Live at Albert Hall Reunion' concert poster (for which he also designed the CD/DVD art at the request of Eric Clapton), as well as his famed Jimi Hendrix 'Pinnacle' poster, which commemorated Jimi Hendrix's February 10, 1968 concert at LA's Shrine Auditorium, widely considered to be one of the greatest rock posters ever made. The Cream poster is John's first rock poster in 21 years.

"My mind is just blown by the attention this signing tour at Tower Records is getting," said John Van Hamersveld. "It's re-igniting in me a whole new way of looking at the rock art and entertainment scene. Back in the day, Disney bought the art school where I was studying and turned it into an arts and performance school, which led to the Pinnacle concert posters I did and so much more. I feel like this tour is an extension of that ... in the new millennium."

"Through the years, rock fans around the world have demonstrated their affection for their favorite band or recording artist by displaying concert posters that immortalize an evening that they never want to forget ... " stated Russ Eisenman, SVP Marketing, Tower Records. "Tower Records is therefore thrilled to host a cross-country signing tour with legendary artist John Van Hamersveld who has single-handedly defined the epitome of the rock concert poster."

WHEN & WHERE: Select Tower Records stores nationwide:

-- Los Angeles/Sunset - Tuesday, Oct. 4 @ 6 PM (Photos available upon request.) -- San Francisco/Columbus & Bay - Friday, Oct. 7 @ 6 PM -- Las Vegas - Tuesday, Oct. 11 @ 6 PM -- Denver - Friday, Oct. 14 @ 6 PM -- Dallas - Monday, Oct. 17 @ 6 PM -- Nashville - Wednesday, Oct. 19 @ 6 PM -- Atlanta - Thursday, Oct. 20 @ 6 PM -- Philadelphia/Ave. Arts - Sunday, Oct. 23 @ 4 PM -- New York/Village - Monday, Oct. 24 @ 6 PM -- Chicago/Clark St. - Tuesday, Nov. 1 @ 6 PM -- Seattle/5th Ave. - Wednesday, Nov. 9 @ 6 PM -- Sacramento/Watt Ave. - Saturday, Nov. 12 @ 2 PM -- La Jolla - (Date and time TBD, likely mid-Nov.) -- Laguna Hills - (Date and time TBD, likely mid-Nov.)

Exact addresses of each of the Tower Records stores listed above may be found at: http://www.towerrecords.com/stores

MORE: John Van Hamersveld was born in 1941 in Baltimore, MD. He attended and taught at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena and the California Institute of the Arts. His early background includes rock concert promotion, Surfer Magazine and art director at Capitol Records. John's experience encompasses album cover, poster, packaging, industrial, magazine and book design.

His 360 degrees mural at the Los Angeles Coliseum, executed for the 1984 Olympic Games won him national recognition by the American Institute of Architects. He is also well known for his poster design for the movie, The Endless Summer, which is one of the most popular and recognizable poster images of all time.

HOW: Fans are able to secure their place in line to meet Van Hamersveld by purchasing the Cream '2005 Live at Albert Hall Reunion' or the Hendrix 'Pinnacle' concert poster.

Official Websites: www.tower.com, www.vanhamersveldmuseumofart.com, www.bluecheer.info/johnvanhamersveld.htm

About Tower Records

Since 1960, Tower Records has been recognized and respected throughout the world for its unique brand of retailing. Founded in Sacramento, California, with the singular vision to have a music store with unparalleled selection and fair prices, Tower forges ahead with the development of exciting shopping environments, espousing diverse product ranges, artist performances, and technological advances in merchandising. Tower maintains its commitment to providing the deepest selection of entertainment merchandise in stores that celebrate the unique interests and needs of the local community.

Tower owns and operates 89 stores in the U.S. with a further 144 stores run by licensees in nine different countries. The company opened one of the first Internet music stores on America Online in June 1995 and followed a year later with the launch of Tower.com.

NOTE: Tower, Tower Records, Tower Records Videos Books, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of MTS, Incorporated in the United States and other countries.

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20051004/SFTU127 AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/ PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com Source: Tower Records

CONTACT: Lisa Amore, +1-206-322-4658, or lisa@amorepr.com, for Tower Records

Web site: http://www.towerrecords.com/

------- Profile: Ent