There were a lot of things that made The Cynics one of the greatest garage-rock bands of all time, starting with the one-two punch of singer Michael Kastelic and guitarist Gregg Kostelich and the crushing rhythm section.

But adding immensely to the Cynics’ brand was the artwork of Paul Bucciarelli, who designed the band’s striking monster logo and many of its fliers and posters in the early years.

The Canonsburg native died Jan. 3 at 63 of after a battle with kidney disease.

Kostelich and Bucciarelli both graduated from Canon McMillan High School in Canonsburg. The tall, handsome artist went on to study at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh while building his comics collection shopping at Eide’s Entertainment.

“I was without a job and he knew my vast knowledge of music so he mentioned it to Greg Eide [the late owner of Eide’s],” Kostelich says. “Greg hired me and that’s what got me where I’m at now. The passion for music was always there but it was Paul that kicked things in.”

Kostelich went on to great success with both The Cynics and its garage-rock label and distributor Get Hip Recordings. The guitarist worked at Eide’s with Bucciarelli, who later worked at the Record Recycler, the basement shop in Squirrel Hill, with another original member of The Cynics, Mark Keresman.

Bucciarelli created artwork for punk club The Electric Banana and for numerous bands, including The Cheats, led by Todd Porter, another former Eide’s employee. Bucciarelli’s work graced the cover of the second album from The Cheats, “Life’s Short,” depicting a grotesque caricature of a punk rocker seated at a table with the Grim Reaper.

“His artwork for the music scene was always a sign that you made it. He drew with so many cultural and artistic references,” said his close friend Deb White, who met him while she was working for Capitol Records. “He was always the coolest, hippest guy in the room.”

“I knew Paul since 1978 from ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’ over at the Kings Court Theater,” said music scene veteran Mike Ursiny, aka Mike Psyche. “He'd do some artworks promoting the theater. He was always a very creative person. He could be very intense about subjects near to him. That could push him away from people.”

Another longtime friend was Ted Williams, a Pittsburgh actor, stuntman and former bassist for the bands Dream Death and Eviction.

“I knew Paul since Dream Death because he did a poster for us for the first Megadeth show in Pittsburgh,” Williams said. “We opened for them on Halloween at Mancini’s [in 1986]. We were comic nerds and movie nerds and music nerds and hung out at the Electric Banana, so over the years we just gradually got closer and closer until, I mean, my daughters called him Uncle Buuch.”

In the early ‘90s, Bucciarelli went on to work in the local film industry, mostly as a scenic artist, and set dresser on such productions as “The Mothman Prophecies,” “The Mysteries of Pittsburgh,” “The Dark Knight Rises,” “Jack Reacher” and, most recently, the television show “A League of Their Own.”

Williams crossed paths with him in that realm working together on “The Outsiders” and “Ma Rainey's Black Bottom,” among others.

“This has really hit us hard,” Williams said. “Everybody on the movie sets just loved him.”

During his illness, Bucciarelli, who would sometimes retreat from his friends, took down his social media, became reclusive and was selling off his collection of comics and memorabilia.

“He was very sentimental and wore his heart on his sleeve when it came to nostalgia for old TV shows and movies,” White said. “Every ornament on his Christmas tree this year was from old Christmas TV specials and movies.”

During his final days, White was one of the few people with whom Bucciarelli was still in touch.

“I talked to Paul every day of this past year, we were very close,” she said. “We always said ‘goodnight’ to each other wherever we were. He said ‘goodnight’ on the night of the second, and not ‘good morning’ the next day.”

Per his wishes, there was no funeral or memorial.

First Published: January 20, 2024, 12:10 a.m.
Updated: January 20, 2024, 3:03 a.m.