Happy Halloween!...

In recognition of the holiday, I've posted this shot I took on Halloween of 2006. ALO performed at SOhO here in SB and Jack Johnson made a surprise appearance as Zoro.

I did it...

For just over 18 years I've been eligible to vote in this great country of ours, and for just over 18 years I've chosen to slip under the radar and remain a non-participating member of society in the whole political scheme of things. With that in mind, I've had to do my best to bite my lip whenever I've had complaints about the way things are going around here and there's been a few slips that I never had the right to let happen.

Well... all that has changed my friends. With the current state of "the way things are going around here" and the constant barrage of loving harassment from my dearest friends and fellow Americans, I've officially stepped into the ring. A couple of weeks ago I sent in my voter registration card and received my absentee ballot several days later. I did my research where I could, listened to my friends (whom I trust the most,) filled in the bubbles and made myself count!

Another reason I was moved to vote was the overwhelming push, to do so, in the Art and Music communities. With many of my friends being artists and musicians and the fact that I am a concert photographer, put me in places where I was constantly exposed to the need to vote in this election. I can't tell you how many great paintings and silk screens of Obama's face I've seen in recent months. Also, with folks like Head Count and Rock the Vote at concerts and on music websites I check out, I finally came to the realization that it was time to do my part AND... except the fact that, yes... I just may get called for jury duty! Maybe I'll still try to weasel my way outta that one?

Obama art I've come across, made by people creating-for-change...

by Munk One

by Wes Winship of Burlesque Desing of North America

by Justin Bua

Hot Buttered Rum...

Here are a few pics from Hot Buttered Rum's gig on 10.25 at SOhO here in SB. The Slip's, Brad Barr joined them for a couple of numbers during their first set.

Here's a couple with Brad Barr

The 3rd Annual Joshua Tree Roots Music Festival...

Last weekend I headed on down to Joshua Tree with my wife, Amy, to experience the 3rd Annual "Roots" Music Festival. We had a BLAST!, as expected, and both of us took a good-sized handful of pictures while we were there. I contacted JamBase.com to let them know I was going and to ask if they were interested in running some of the pics. They were, and you can view them right here.

Below are a couple pics I sent with the ones posted online that somehow didn't make the cut.

Jeff Brown – The Bellville Outfit

Trampled by Turtles

Thanks to all of the folks at The Joshua Tree Music Festival who make this great event happen!

R.I.P. Merl Saunders...

Merl Saunders
2.14.34 - 10.24.08

I'll never forget when I saw him at the Haight Street Fair in SF (when I made this image) and a guy was climbing a tree near the stage to get a better view. The cops came and busted him and Merl got on the mic and hollered, "Leave him alone, he's just trying to get high!" Talent and wit... Thanks for the great music Merl.

I found it!...

If you read my last looooooong post, you may remember me talking about my first rock photo. The one that was my first experience with stage lighting, where I boldly turned off the flash. The one from the roll of film that actually had some exposure to it. The one that inspired a twelve year quest that is still going strong. Once I thought about it during my last post, I had to dig it up and... here it is...

Back to the ROXY...

The ROXY in Los Angeles is the venue where I lost my concert photography virginity. I had been cutting my teeth with local bands in Isla Vista, CA and befriended some guys in a band called Hybrid Soul. They hooked up a gig at the ROXY and chartered a bus to take them and some friends to the show. They reserved a seat for me and asked me to bring my camera along. I was so green back then... excited about real concert lights! I wasn't even thinking when I got there (that's my problem now... I think too much!) and just snapped away. One photo I took that night grabbed a hold of me, I thought it was the greatest shot ever. The light and the way the bass player's (Mikey Brenner) hair moved in the picture reminded me of an old Zeppelin photo. From that day on... I was hooked!

I look at that photo now (or at least when I come across it... wonder where it is?) and technically it is terrible, with poor composition, but I can still sense that feeling I had of how exciting it was. That was 1996 and, last Thursday, for the first time in twelve years, I went back to the ROXY to shoot again. BLVD, The Region of Darkness and Lotus were playing and I wanted to check it out, I've also been having the itch to get out and shoot at a less familiar venue, so this was the perfect opportunity. I particularly wanted to see Region of Darkness who's members come from such bands as: Particle, Tea Leaf Green, ALO and Janes Addiction. All of the bands that played that night were great but, I gotta say... I wasn't feeling the photo love like I was the first time. I've become spoiled shooting at the SB Bowl with my big fancy photo pit to run back and forth in. Having to push my way through people at the ROXY made me gun shy and I parked myself in one place for most of the night. The lighting looked good to the eye but, to the camera meter, it was pooh. Lots of backlighting made it particularly challenging to shoot as well. Good lighting? Camera meters? What are they? Back in the day I just pulled the trigger. Why am I paying so much attention to this stuff?

Whew!... this is turning into a long post. To make a long story a bit shorter... Back in the day I was shooting more from the heart, focusing on the music more than the performer. I wasn't using technical skill because I didn't have any, I was just reacting and having fun. Now I have the technical know-how and I've learned to pay way too much attention to numbers and settings. I'm more worried about getting the shot and forgetting to listen to the music and let it tell me when it is time to pull the trigger. I've decided that it's time for me to be thinking more but not about how I'm going to get the next great shot, rather how to get myself back into the mind-frame of my earlier days.

More on this later... for now, here are a few images I made at my ROXY reunion.

Region of Darkness

Lotus

BLVD

Thanks to Ben at Wagatail for hooking me up with a photo pass.

SB Bowl 2008 season at a glance...

The concert season at the SB Bowl came and went so quick, they always do. I was out of town for the Sheryl Crow, Los Lonely Boys and Ben Harper concerts. Avril Levigne and The Black Crows were both canceled. And well, Bob Dylan just straight-up didn't want any photographers there. But... I did manage to shoot most of the 30 something shows that happened, below I have posted a few of my favorites images... Thanks for the inspiration Tim Bramlette!

Liars

Jermaine Paul

Stone Temple Pilots

Your Vegas

Alicia Keys

Duran Duran

Everlast

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

Radiohead

Jack White - Raconteurs

Raconteurs

311

The Cure

With the bad, comes the good...

Last night I had to walk away from shooting the Santana concert at the SB Bowl due to music industry politics (see previous post). But today I received an email from Barnett, the host of the Joshua Tree Roots Music Festival confirming that I will be shooting his "3rd Annual" event on October 18th & 19th.

This was welcome news. I photographed it last year for JamBase.com and had a blast. (check out the pics here) The music was stellar and all the people who attended were laid back and courteous to one another with no presence of authority that I can remember. I am looking forward to another great shooting experience without the hassle of big-industry antics, photo waivers disguised as bogus contracts and the ever-frustrating... 3 songs rule, to get your shot.

Last year I went alone, but this year my wife, Amy and I are going together, it will be fun to share the experience with her. There's nothin' like sleeping in the back of the truck and living off of bologna with cheese sandwiches!

Click banner below to visit the JTMF website and see the line-up for this year's Roots Festival...

Last show of the season at the SB Bowl a bust...

Why, Santana, why? Yours was the last show of the SB Bowl season, why you gotta make me go out like that? Why'd you have your people hand me that bogus contract to sign? Why you tryin' to steal my art? I thought you were an artist too? Now I just think you are a thief. What happened to the light, joy, love and understanding? Why'd you make me have to choose to walk away from the last show of the season? From now on, whenever your music reaches my ears... it will leave a bad taste in my mouth.

Starting from scratch...

I've completely changed the appearance of my website and updated all of the photos. I've decided to do the same with my BLOG and now I have to re-teach myself how to edit the HTML on this thing. There isn't going to be much to look at here for a few days so, in the mean time, go to myconcertphotography.com and check out the new and improved site! (or go back to it if you came here from there!!)