Building the site: The Header

I wanted to create a header for this site that draws people in and immediately lets them know what Jersey Alternative is all about. I used images that I feel convey some of the feelings that people get from music, and images that are inherently associated with music. After playing around with four or five different ideas for a potential header, I decided to use the one you see here (which is actually the first one I made!).

I used an advanced Google Image search to find photos that were “labeled for use with modification”, that way I wouldn’t be running into any legal issues with any images I used. I wanted to use a concert photo as the background. I liked the lighting of this photo as well as its symmetry. Then I experimented using images of turntables, vinyl records, CDs, and cassettes, but in the end I decided to use the boombox graphic. It uses the same black and white color scheme as the crowd photo, but at the same time it still stands out on its own.

When putting my two images together using Pixlr, I didn’t want the end product to look forced, or like I had just copied and pasted one random image on top of another. I used three layers in the image, so that I could edit each part of the final image separately without having to delete anything or start over to make changes. I first edited the size of the photos to fit into the header space. To help the images blend into each other better, I decided to use the transparency tool and made the boombox about 65% transparency. That way, the boombox graphic doesn’t completely dominate the image – the crowd and stage are still visible through it – but anyone looking at it can still tell what it is. In the end, creating the header image was actually very simple.

Introduction

Welcome to Jersey Alternative! I wanted to create a site where music fans can come together and find out about the newest and best music, right here in New Jersey. Sure, we all know about Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi and Frank Sinatra, but here you’ll find out who else is making waves. How have some of these classic artists influenced the bands coming out of our area today? How has growing up in New Jersey affected their sound and attitude?

Credit: Aaron Houston, The Star-Ledger

It can sometimes be hard to learn more about what’s going on in your local scene if you’re not already a part of it. Here, you’ll find posts on many facets of what makes local alternative special. There’ll be spotlights on artists from New Jersey, whether they’re just breaking into the scene or have been around for years. You’ll read reviews of new releases from Jersey artists, including singles, EPs, and albums. You’ll find out about upcoming shows, read reviews of recent ones, and find out about some of the best venues in the state.

Credit: Asbury Park Sun
I want to make this site as easy to navigate and user-friendly as possible. At the top of the page, you’ll find pages about the site, how to contact me, a page about me, and a page where you can actually submit your own content! You can submit anything to the New Jersey alternative music scene, whether it be concert reviews, album reviews, or artist profiles. On the sidebar, you’ll find widgets for a number of different sections: all of my recent posts; tags for when you’re looking for all of the posts on a particular topic; archives; categories; and links to other websites I’m currently reading and recommend. If you have any questions, feel free to comment below or contact me directly!