by Marlo Bennett

Given how interwoven the musicians in Austin's famed scene are (one band gives birth to two side projects, which in turn give birth to a couple more...and it never ends), it seems inevitable that they'll spill over into other artistic forms as well.

"Pretty Eye Candy," a visual art exhibit at the Electric Lounge, showcases the perfect example of the collision of musicians with paint, canvas, wood, magic markers, metal, and a host of others media (in a music venue, no less). The works cover almost all of the club's wall space, from the high-up wall at the front of the club that can be seen through the front windows from the parking lot, to the Elbow Room, even to the men's restroom.

Sincola vocalist Rebecca Cannon, curator and organizer of the exhibit, got the idea for it when she realized how many musicians she knew that did art that no one ever saw.

"Playing music is their main thing, so they don't concentrate much on getting their art shown," she said. "I just started calling people who I knew did art, or who I thought might, and soon we had enough for a show."

Some of the show's art is directly related to music. Sincola's Terri Lord displayed her concert poster art (mostly for Sincola shows), and Lyman Hardy from Ed Hall exhibited posters from last month's George Clinton and Cibo Matto concerts. Richard Whymark of the Right Bleeding Bastards and Miss Xanna are both displaying collections of their photographs of various musicians, and Michelle Solberg and Kathy McCarty each displayed the original paintings that later became album covers for them.

And some of the works have no relation to music other than the occupation of their creator. Stretford's Bill Jeffrey contributed a surrealistic painting that looks like skyscrapers floating on clouds in a rainbow-ish sky and a collection of "Back Page" illustrations that the Austin Chronicle rejected; electronic musician Monte McCarter displayed a black and white image of the Mona Lisa behind bars with the caption "Open 24 hours"; Pork's Edith exhibited a crayon and magic marker drawing of Mr. Potato Head; and Jason of Starfish contributed a poster of what looks like a man's jeans ad with the caption "Our culture has an obsession with sexual imagery." Rogelio Yanez, a 17-year-old who is the only non-musician in the show, spray-painted an image on the stall doors of the men's restroom. Sean Lennon doodled a moon and sun on a closet door during February's Cibo Matto show.

Swine King's Randy "Biscuit" Turner, who helped organize the hanging of the pieces, exhibited a number of 3-D pieces that range from a hat made of dozens of stuffed socks to "Haunting Specter of the Terrible Sawmill Accident Twins," which can't really be described but should definitely be seen. Turner said that this exhibit is a sort of extension of his front yard art, in which he hung five strings from a tree and constantly changes the items that hang from them.

"There are joggers in my neighborhood who always tell me that they can't wait to see what I put up next," he said.

Some works were done specially for this show. Cannon said that bassist Andy Maguire, who has two paint-on-canvas pieces exhibited, had never painted before, and Hunter Darby of the Wannabees started his painting of John Lennon with a BB gun when she asked him to be in the show.

"Pretty Eye Candy" opened at the Electric Lounge on March 7. The pieces will stay up for six to eight weeks.