E-Mail This Article to a Friend DEPT. OF ALBUM ART Is the Zakim Bridge cool? BY CAMILLE DODERO

CAVE IN

The Zakim Bridge played a starring role in Antenna (RCA), this prog-rock/art-rock/hard-rock band’s first major-label release, inspiring both the cover design and the backdrop for band photos.

When: Fall 2002

Why: "I liked the idea of a semi-new band from Boston being shown with a newly constructed city monument," frontman Stephen Brodsky writes in an e-mail. "And there’s certainly something really modern and cosmic about it."

Where: "We were down by the water, and it was sort of tricky to get a decent shot with enough of the bridge being pictured in the background — the surrounding area is heavily fenced-off to ward away trespassing curious rockers like us."

What happened: "There were a few shots being taken of us standing beside a giant cement support post, and within moments we went for an unsaid tribute to the Who’s Who’s Next album as I peed down the side of it," admits Brodsky. "There was a giant-size print of that picture displayed in the entrance hall at the New York City RCA/BMG office, but I don’t know if it’d still be hanging up or not."

Why the Zakim is cooler than other Boston landmarks: "It looks like a Pink Floyd laser-light show in the Planetarium at night. "

SULLEE

This 19-year-old Irish hip-hop kid from Hingham went up to the Zakim Bridge to shoot promotional photos before the overpass opened.

When: February 2003

Why: "Sullee’s new, he’s a fresh face," says Sullee’s manager and father, Robert Sullivan. "If you look at his Web site, it’s a plasma TV. What’s the newest thing out? A plasma TV. At that time, they were just getting ready to open up the Zakim Bridge, so that was the newest thing. There was no other reason."

Where: On the bridge, posing beside the blue nightlights; in front of the FleetCenter; and beneath the Tobin Bridge road sign.

What happened: "I had a friend in Boston and he got some union guys to take me up there," says the senior Sullivan. "And he forgot to tell the FBI; he only told the state police, so we had a big problem up there. The cops came from everywhere, with shotguns and everything! Oh my God, they scared us to death.... But the guy that let us up there was with us, so he said, ‘I talked to such and such.’ And they said, ‘Well, they forgot to call us. People were calling in the FBI and saying, ‘There’s people up there with black bags!’

"It was just a miscommunication. They were good about it. They said, ‘Okay, guys, we’ll give you another 15 minutes and then wrap it up because we’re getting too many calls.’ "

Why the Zakim is cooler than other Boston landmarks: "It’s just absolutely beautiful. And it’s cool. How much cooler you gonna get than hanging out at the Zakim?"

MATTERS & DUNAWAY

This Boston-based laptop-rock duo posed as after-sunset silhouettes tied together by the Zakim’s cables for the cover of their third album, Hightech (2004), and for promos that have appeared on Pitchforkmedia.com.

When: May 2004

Why: "We are from Boston and we practice in Charlestown; we walk by the Zakim Bridge at least six times a week, so it is sort of a motif for us," explains André Obin, one half of Matters & Dunaway.

Where: The Gridley Locks facing the Zakim Bridge

What happened: They shot the photo.

Why the Zakim is cooler than other Boston landmarks: "The lighting around the bridge is very ethereal and surreal, and Tom [Gallagher, the other M&D member] and I are both fans of architecture and cityscape in general," adds Obin. "We also spent four years watching that area get torn apart and rebuilt, which had a deep impact on the way we structured our new record.... We’ll keep the State House in mind for our next album cover."