Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Fillmore Auditorium, Jan. 1997
Artwork and commentary by Jim Phillips

“Tom Petty broke his hand and I broke my pelvis, sort of in that order. I had just finished the first Petty poster when Arlene called to say that Tom broke his hand and the show was cancelled. Just something a poster artist takes in stride. Meanwhile life goes on, and trees grow and need to be trimmed. I must have been in a hurry to get back to my drawing table and lamp, because the ladder slipped on a wet deck and gravity had its ugly little way. The good news was that I landed on my side so my arm cushioned my head, and I remained alive. The bad news was that my pelvis was quite broken and I was headed for two weeks in the hospital. This is when you realize how wonderful walking is. So I was a day or so out of surgery, with 12 metal pins, a plate, a broken-off drill bit, and a hundred staples down my side. And then the phone rings; it’s Arlene. ‘Tom’s hand is better. Can you change the date and send up the poster?’ I told her I was flat on my back… she said ‘I need it tomorrow, can you do it?’ I said yes.

“I called my wife Dolly and explained the situation. The type was a font, but it was distorted in several ways; it was embedded and a very tight fit. I talked her through it like they talk a plane down when the pilot is incapacitated. If you examine the dates on the poster you can see there was definitely some precision work done by her, while following my blind instructions. Also she was able to email the file to Arlene, at a time when emailing large files on a dial-up modem could be an ordeal.

”I spent a few more days in the hospital, and Bill Dawson gave me a ride home on a mattress in his camper shell. He set up some plywood in the living room so I could continue lying flat. Almost as soon as I got settled, Arlene called, ‘We’re ready for the next Tom Petty poster! Can you do it?’ I said yes. Up until this point I hadn’t even thought of the possibility of sitting up, let alone sitting in a chair for 60 hours. But I didn’t want to let the Petty set go. I had five days and usually could do a poster in four, working day and night. I usually hold the extra day for the end in case it is needed for delays. I decided to use the “cush” day first, and allow myself a day to get stronger. Meanwhile, I sketched a few mermaids flat on my back and had Dolly fax them. I had originally given Arlene a list of 25 subjects to choose from, and her second choice was ‘mermaid.’ By the next day I had the green light from Arlene, and I looked at the chair I had to work in. One of the broken parts of my pelvis was the left loop at the pelvis’ bottom, which is the part you sit on. So I had plenty of doubts and a trusty granny walker, which got me to the chair. And found I could sit, which was amazing. I had gone without pain medication, which had disagreed with me from day one, so I was trying to maintain through a sometimes not-so-dull pain. However, I noticed immediately that as soon as I was absorbed into my work, the pain was forgotten. I guess if you can forget about pain, it goes away. I was able to put a full effort into the poster and the work helped me overcome and heal. Maybe this story can help someone in pain. Unfortunately my walking and travel limitations prevented us from attending the Petty shows, but I was able to fully recover and was soon back on my surfboard and bopping at the Fillmore.”

See more artwork by Jim Phillips