The Nap

"The Nap," by Holly Hall.

During our days in Raleigh and then in Washington, Bob was well known for throwing himself into design projects and literally working around the clock to finish them. Only then would he allow himself to rest, a rare departure from his complete, almost child-like ability to lose himself in his work. It was after one such project that I wrote this poem about him while he slept. It was published in Windhover, N.C. State's annual literary magazine, in 1981. - Holly Hall

Business Card, 1982

After Bob moved to Washington, he opened a small studio with another artist/designer, Bruce Gibson, in nearby Arlington, Va. Here is his business card from those days. The two-story building that housed Bob's studio is largely unchanged, even though this part of Arlington has now been completely redeveloped with high rises and large retail outlets.

th' Cigaretz

Bob designed and printed dozens of flyers for th' Cigaretz, Raleigh's original punk sensation, in the late 1970s. He also did the silk screen for their one and only LP, "Crawl Right Outta My Skin." Each LP sleeve was completely unique because he changed the ink mixture between each pressing.

another shot of Bob at 12th St.

You could reach the roof of our 12th St. flat (Washington, DC) by this set of stairs. The building was formerly home to some kind of manufacturing, although we never knew for what. I think that's what we liked about the place. "Industrial" was kind of a popular concept back in those days, both in arts and music, and this place fit right in.

Punk rock flyers - Washington, DC 1982

These are some of the flyers that Bob designed for the Wilson Center hardcore punk shows that I promoted in Washington, D.C. in the early 1980s. These posters were 11" x 17" and were printed old-school style -- ink, plates, paper and a printing press-- by our printer buddy Danny McHenry. We would stay up all night at Danny's print shop in Arlington, Va. having a print party. Danny and Bob were like mad scientists on the printer, and the whole night was great fun. Then came Bob's favorite part -- we would go around D.C. in the wee hours and plaster the posters all over the city. It was kinda illegal but that was all the more reason to do it. (Bob was a bit of a miscreant and a total scoundrel, as we all were in those days!)

The Misfits poster shown here actually became something of a collector's item and is featured in several books on punk history. Many thanks to Danny for being a big part of this chunk of D.C. punk rock history.

Velvet Monkeys "Everything is Right" cassette cover, 1981

Raiter designed this cassette "j card" for the Velvet Monkeys , a Washington, DC punk/alternative band. You can see the classic Bob style in this design. The name of his design business was "Crop Mark Studios," which you can barely see if you look closely at the picture.

Bob in his studio

I remember Bob more as a designer than a chef. He was constantly drawing, creating, and tossing around ideas ... I have no doubt that he later transferred that same talent to his cooking!

Climbing to the roof of the 12th St. Flat

This building we lived in on 12th St NW in Washington, DC had a roof that you could access by way of this old ladder. The roof was great; it ran the length of the building, and we would use it for cookouts or just hang out up there when there was nothing to do.