Akard Drearstone copyright 2017 by Michael D. Smith Akard Drearstone. Digital experiment with 1976 watercolor, 2017

Lead guitarist and lyric writer for the Akard Drearstone Group

 Harley Krishna copyright 2017 by Michael D. Smith Harley Krishna. Digital experiment with 1976 watercolor, 2017

Keyboardist for the Akard Drearstone Group

 Jim Piston copyright 2017 by Michael D. Smith Jim Piston. Digital experiment with 1976 watercolor, 2017

Narcissistic, paranoid bass guitarist for the Akard Drearstone Group

 Pete Sponge copyright 2017 by Michael D. Smith Pete Sponge. Digital experiment with 1976 watercolor, 2017

Drummer for the Akard Drearstone Group

 Harray Andreall copyright 2017 by Michael D. Smith Harray Andreall. Digital experiment with 1976 watercolor, 2017

Akard Drearstone Group manager for Freeway Accident Records

 Mavory Deltrang copyright 2017 by Michael D. Smith Mavory Deltrang. Minor digital edit of 1976 watercolor, 2017

Beer distributor and co-owner of Freeway Accident Records

 Ted Pace copyright 2017 by Michael D. Smith Ted Pace. Digital experiment with 1976 watercolor, 2017

Architect and president of Freeway Accident Records

Akard/Gaspar copyright 1993 by Michael D. Smith Akard/Gaspar, or, The Gaspar Room of the Dreams: A Photograph of “Katy Regan Journa,” “Akard Drearstone,” “Jim Piston,” and “Pete Sponge,” Taken by “Harley Krishna.”  Acrylic on canvas, 1993.  62” x 74”

Painted during the 1993-1994 overhaul of the novel

Kevin Stukia copyright 2017 by Michael D. Smith Kevin Stukia. Pencil on paper, 2017. 11″ x 8.5″

Bombastic Ungodly Procreative New Jersey Suburbs Music Magazine reporter

Akard Drearstone - The Album Cover by Jan Pace copyright 2017 by Michael D. Smith Akard Drearstone – The Album Cover by Jan Pace. Digital image, 2017

Twelve-year-old Jan Pace, one of the novel’s central characters if not the central character, painted the cover of the album Akard Drearstone, released October 1975 in the novel. This image is an edited scan of the cover of the 1974 200-Page Wiess Crack.

Early Akard Drearstone Cover copyright 2012 by Michael D. Smith Early Akard Drearstone Cover. 2012

Cover for the 2012 draft, which at the time I assumed was the final manuscript

Akard Drearstone Draft Cover copyright 2017 by Michael D. Smith Akard Drearstone Draft Cover. 2017

But I never seriously considered this series of draft covers, based on a 1983 photograph.

The Akard Drearstone Tarot Card copyright 2015 by Michael D. Smith The Akard Drearstone Tarot Card. 2015

I also used this as the cover for an EPUB of the novel’s infamous 1976-1978 rough draft.

All words and images copyright by Michael D. Smith