hanson/hellogoodbye/steel train/ sherwood @ northern lights
oct 16th, 2009, clifton park, ny

hoodwink

tonight was special. although it was raining and sort of annoying and a pain in the ass to get to, hoodwink was worth it. not in terms of what or who i saw, but just the feeling it gave me. like there are still bands out there that actually believe in what they're doing or playing. these were current bands playing songs by other recent and relevant current bands. new found glory playing green day, we the kings playing jimmy eat world (which i regrettably heard only a few notes of from across the way), mercy mercedes playing midtown, etc.

all the acts really showed their roots tonight - they have sort of restored my faith if you will. destroyed some of the jadedness that builds with having a life or your career function so close to the business side of things. i don't think most people get into the music industry to make money or at least they certainly don't intend to destroy all the beauty from music, but it is easier than you think it is to let happen. you fall asleep at 16. you wake up after college nd you're nearly 22 and faced with the sudden necessity that you have to "network".

what i did, i think, was latch on to some of the only facets of my adolescent life that made me feel not completely worthless - that was my interest in going shows or photography. with shows i had the community i never had anywhere else in my life. when you're 16, it's okay to feel totally compelled by certain things and obsess over them. at 22, with music, it's called being a stalker. so in order to "network" i must quell that which tells me "OMG THIS SONG ACTUALLY SAVED MY LIFE THAT ONE TIME."

and in turn, i am then to turn into one of the industry folks who make it totally uncool to get excited about anything.

trajectory of the record label employment scale:
intern: "oh man! paul mccartney came into the office last week."
CEO: "oh yeah, Paul McCartney is in CEO2's office? Well, I'm busy answering emails but I'll try and make it over before his meeting ends."

well i'm not having it. i'm a photographer. it is my "job" to be compelled, and fascinated, and outraged, and enthused, a million times over by my subjects.

shoots w/ versaemerge, halestorm

i haven't posted many images this week, apologies. we had an InklingsTV shoot with the kids in VersaEmerge last night. if you don't know them, check them out. i think what they are doing musically is definitely different than a lot of what's out there. so many times I see interviews with bands who have been interviewed a billion times by a billion people, and it starts to sound flat. we always try and make bands feel like we're working for them and not the other way around. i'd say we did a good job with Versa, every question was definitely met with a genuine appreciation and interest. it's so rad when we have a shoot with a band who are still eager to answer questions in interviews. they are just starting to go places as a band (early this morning they left for their first stint in the UK - good luck guys) and each time i see them they are doing something they have never done before. the one thing they'll always do - make Anchorman references. good thing i have that movie memorized line for line. the behind the scenes photos I took for Atlantic on the set of "Past Praying For" will eventually be featured on Buzznet, so if you haven't got an account, get one (free) and friend VersaEmerge for all their updates. i'll let you guys know when they are planning on posting these.

at some point in the last week, i also shot for Atlantic on the set of the new Halestorm video, "I Get Off". without revealing anything (it's in post right now and not out yet) it's going to be an amazing video. pretty intense. the whole band were super sweet, and it seems like they have a really loyal & bad ass road crew family. i overheard that they are selling CDs like bottled water on the Shinedown tour. good for them!

so, that's all for now. i'm going to be editing photos all afternoon so maybe something will catch my eye and i'll post. later.

gallatin review rejects.

these two images, along with the one a few posts down of the antique store in fort ann, new york, got REJECTED from my school's "review". think what you want:

from a double-exposure project i did freshman year. 2006


raver kids in welland, ontario. 2007

we all fall like snowflakes in the sky, tonight

geoff rickly of thursday @ the taste of chaos tour, nyc. 2009

the rest of the pictures from the show, including sets from Thursday, Four Year Strong & Bring Me The Horizon can be found under the PHOTOS section of InklingsTV.

alone on the sea.

funny jack antonoff (of steel train). bowery ballroom, nyc. 2008