Seth Petterson...

My buddy, Tim Bramlette, punk rock photographer, recently took another step through the music industry door. After gaining experience on the road with the Street Dogs for a couple of tours, Tim has decided to take a stab at band management.

Actually, it's more like musician management. Under the name, Rose Park Management, Tim will help bring the likes of, Seth Petterson, to the good people of the world. It's no wonder why either, after spending an evening with him recently, I found myself growing fond of his personable demeanor and soulful music.

I met up with Seth, also the front man of the band Franklin for Short, at club Velvet Jones here in SB. I took a few snaps of the sound check for his solo performance (plus drummer, Trevor). From there we moved on to a nearby alley way and then a corner liquor store for a quick promo/"thank you" shoot. Seth recently picked up sponsorship from the Innes clothing company and Tim wanted to send thank you shots to them. From there it was back to the Velvet where Seth and I tossed back a couple of cold ones and got to know each other a little better, he's a truly genuine guy. His set was nothing short of amazing to me, and I highly recommend anyone reading this (all 3 of you) to check him out...

R.I.P. Jim Marshall...

You were a HUGE inspiration to me.

Feb. 3rd, 1936 - Mar. 24th, 2010

Photo by: Tim Mantoani

Living Room Session...

I recently shot a little bit of live music, for the first time in a while. My friend, Rey Villalobos, who seems to be a resident of both Portland and Santa Barbara these days, was in town rehearsing for a gig at the Mercury Lounge .

It turns out, he needed a fill-in drummer for the show and I came to learn that my other buddy, Chris, who owns the Presidio Motel had talent in that department. Though he doesn't typically play for audiences in public, Chris still agreed to sit in. So... they got together and the rehearsal took place in Chris's living room at the motel. It just so happens that I now live at the Presidio Motel too, where my wife and I are the night managers. It was only natural that I grab my camera and walk down stairs to witness and document Chris prepping for his big gig.

I opted to shoot large jpg (instead of RAW) and do it all in on the monochrome setting, a.k.a. black & white. It seemed fitting for the vibe of the music and location. Plus... I get tired of all the post processing, I just wanted to keep it simple...

And so it begins...

The SB Bowl has already begun to announce shows for the 2010 season. It looks like it's going to be an early one, with the first show being Alicia Keys on April 7th. I am a bit late making this post as some of these shows were announced a week or two ago.

But... the SB Bowl's big announcement today, Thom Yorke with his new band, Atoms for Peace on April 17th, got me in gear to start posting my upcoming dates again.Can't wait to see how my 10th year shooting for the venue shapes up!

The Sun Came Out at the SBIFF...

Tonight was only my second time, after living in SB for 16 years, that I made it out to see a movie at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. The first time was only a few years back when I went to see the Metallica documentary, "Some Kind of Monster."

This time I went and saw "The Sun Came Out," which is a documentary about the making of the album bearing the same name, which was released by Neil Finn for the benefit of Oxfam. The list of musicians who contributed to this album is nothing short of stellar, to learn more... click the image below.