From the second William called to discuss the artwork for Baker Hotel, we all knew that the artwork had to draw from the classic who-done-it Hardy Boys & Nancy Drew books. Maybe a even little Scooby Do. Hell, Will may have said that from the get-go. It was just before the pandemic (or right at the beginning) and we were hunkered down losing our minds and creatively bleeding over the artwork for Reckless Kelly’s American Jackpot/American Girls (2022 Grammy Nominee for Best Recording Package). If you’re not familiar, check it out here. Much the same as the Brauns, Will’s enthusiasm matches our passion for the artwork. Baker Hotel, I believe, is our sixth album to work on together, beginning with Rose Queen in 2013.
But I digress.
The title track of the album, “Baker Hotel,” is a bit of a taunting chant, egging on the listener,
I double-dog dare ya, show us what you got
You ain’t nothin’ but a chicken till you make it to the top
Of The Baker Hotel, out there in Mineral Wells
Teens prank-calling their crush and papering her house on a Friday night – you can smell the Bubble Yum and hear the muffled giggles as he asks “is your refrigerator running?” It’s a classic coming-of-age tale. Boy wants to impress girl. Boy climbs 14 stories through dilapidated hallways and collapsing stairwells to the top of a long-ago abandoned haunted hotel in his hometown.
The music video perfectly recreates this tale. Watch it here.
This is no fictional hotel, mind you. The Baker Hotel is a well-known landmark in Texas, and a renowned abandoned space worldwide. She’s been celebrated for her crumbling beauty, while infamous for her haunted hallways. You see, tragedy often befell the staff and guests of The Baker, and rumors of their apparitions are whispered of far and wide. To make your way through these passages, all the way to the ballroom at the top? Oof. That’s a feat only for the bravest (or craziest) of us.
There’s more about The Baker Hotel in the album’s liner notes, included below. Now, to the artwork.
We wanted to craft artwork that just oozed the classic teen coming-of-age haunted hotel book. It’s Hardy Boys. It’s Nancy Drew. It’s kids with flashlights and ghosts and screams and cobwebs. It HAD to have the feel of a classic teen mystery hardbound book with a boardgame, to boot.
As we often (always) do, there are also easter eggs from previous Green albums to be found throughout the artwork.
We’re quite proud of what we created for this album and honored to have been nominated for a Grammy for our efforts. As always, we’re ever-grateful to the Recording Academy for recognizing packaging design as an integral part of the music industry. Thank you.
Follow along on Instagram @backstageds, for easter egg reveals and more as we approach the 67th Grammy Awards on February 2nd in Los Angeles.
*** DISCLAIMER: Y’all, don’t. The hotel is currently in the hands of new ownership and under intense renovations. Please DO NOT trespass and attempt to climb to the top.
Check out the full promo teaser below, and get your copy at WilliamClarkGreen.com
Album Liner Notes by Shauna Dodds
In a small Texas town an hour west of Fort Worth, stands The Baker Hotel, a grand fourteen-story remnant of a bygone era. Opening her doors in 1929, the hotel hosted patrons from far and wide eager to benefit from the healing mineral water that bubbled up from the Mineral Wells bedrock. In her heyday, with her luxurious amenities and decadent glamour, The Baker lured stars of the silver screen – among them, Clark Gable, Roy Rogers, Glenn Miller, Judy Garland and the infamous Bonnie and Clyde.
But when the lure of the water’s healing powers had lost its luster, and the crowds of visitors dwindled in number, her doors were shuttered – her luxuries abandoned and forgotten… But she remained – looming tall over Mineral Wells.
Towering there, boarded and deserted, both beautiful and broken, The Baker Hotel did what abandoned structures do in small towns: she grew a life and lore all her own. For close to fifty years, the grand ballroom sat waiting with its faded murals and crumbling gilded arches – quietly holding it’s breath for the band to strike an opening note, and for glimpses of figures to spin the floor… Yes, stars of the silver screen may have stayed at The Baker, but it’s the guests who have wandered these halls since the doors were closed that have taunted the residents of this quiet Texas town. Just ask a local, and they’ll tell you: guests checked in, but never checked out…
Such specters are best left to their own, old-timers warn, but for generations of locals, the midnight climb through dark hallways and crumbling stairwells to the fourteenth floor became a hushed right-of-passage. Whispered crowds gather to bear witness as teens become local legends by fearlessly making their way all the way up and shining their flashlight from the vestibule fourteen stories atop The Baker Hotel.
But, if you really want a story to tell
You have to make it through the 14 stories of hell
I double dog dare ya, show us what you go
You ain’t nothing but a chicken ‘til you make it to the top
Of The Baker Hotel out there in Mineral Wells
Today, rennovations are underway to restore The Baker Hotel to its former glory. New paint may cover the old, fresh plaster may mask the past… but to prove yourself in Mineral Wells, you’ll still have to make it through 14 stories of hell.
*** DISCLAIMER: Really, y’all, do not try this at home. The hotel is in the hands of new ownership and under intense renovations. DO NOT attempt to climb to the top without an invitation.