Happy Belated New Year!

Hey blog people! Sorry for all the silence, I have been all over the place in the last month. I don't plan on making my posts this infrequent for the rest of 2011, I promise. Let see, what have I been up to... Prior to the new year I was in Mexico, where I gladly did nothing. Literally. But eat sleep and be merry. The day after I got back, I caught my boys The Macpodz in my home town Detroit. They killed it to a full house as they always do.


Following the holidays, I made my way south again for the music festival all you festival goers should strive to attend. Jamcruise. I was lucky enough to be brought on as staff down there for Jamcruise 9, where I was one of 4 phtographers working for JCTV. There, I had the pleasure of working with Phish's touring photographer and all around good guy Dave Vann. The Baddest music photographer in Nashville Brad Hodge, and the fan favorite party photographer Chris Baldwin.



Also on the boat were two other amazing photographers, Chad Smith and Michael Weintrob. All in all, I was in good company. I won't go into detail about the festival, or our stops in Honduras and Mexico, simply because there's too much to say. For more go to jambase for an incredibly well written review with photos by Dave, Chad and myself.



Following the cruise I made my way back to Chicago to continue my Blues series with Dave Herrero and Fabrizio Rodio. Also, thanks to my good friend and brilliant writer Pietro Truba, I had the pleasure of shooting with the young and talented Alex Winston. A special thanks to Ryan Davis for art direction, Sharvin Pouladdej for styling, and Maris Fujiura for hair and makeup. That should bring you up to date...as always check my flickr for a full look at all the nonsense I have been getting into. Thanks and see you soon. I mean it this time.

Back to Basics

Both Rob Blaine and I got back to basics this week with the Acoustic video of "Must be Nice" off his Album Rob Blaine Big Ottis Blues. Rob Stripped the electric rig and changed it in for a beautiful Steel National. An amazing guitar, maybe not the best for playing outdoors on a cold December night, but it sure sounds good. When I started college it was for video. Something I loved, but a very restricting art form that required lots of money, and an east or west coast move. During my college years I fell in love with photo. It was very similar, only more controlled and I could stay in the great city of Chicago doing it. I could take my time and light a shot perfectly without worrying about the subject moving freely through the space. In the last couple years Digital SLR's have made incredible advancements in the HD video department. With the high quality lenses I use for photo I can also now shoot video. I have been working on getting back to my roots of video, while I still love photo, I'm looking forward to blending the two more often in intimate performances like this. Enjoy.

Guy King

I met Guy King just over a month ago, I saw him play with his Little Big Band up at Andys downtown. I was talking with him during his intermission and I told him about my Blues project. He seemed interested, we exchanged information and he went back on. This weekend Guy and I caught up at the studio for his portrait. We had a blast. When I first met Guy I noticed he had an accent. I couldn't pin point it though. A little New Orleans a little South Side, turns out hes from Israel. He was born and raised there and moved over to the states to play the Blues. He started down in Mississippi, moved to New Orleans, then ultimately up to Chicago. His accent, like his playing comes from all three places. Check out Guy all over town playing both Jazz and Blues.

Marques Carroll Chicago Blues Project

On Wednesday night I added Marques Carroll to the growing list of artists I'm featuring in my Chicago Blues Portrait project. Marques is an amazing trumpeter, composer, teacher and community organizer. After spending some time with him I realized not only did he truly love music, but he wants to help the community with it as well. Marques heads up an after school program in Chicago as well as teaching on the city's east side. It seems he was strongly influenced by his father and grandfather. His father an graphic designer and artist and his grandfather a trumpet player. He told me a great story about his grandfather starting a brass program for kids in St. Louis in the 50's. During that time racial tensions were high, gangs were a part of life and he lived in St. Louis, the gateway to the south. The after school program, like many today, helped get kids off the street, out of gangs and focused on something positive. When his grandfather passed away many of the kids from his program attended the funeral and credited him for saving their lives. I loved that story. It moved me and obviously Marquess too. You can check out Marques with Guy King the BMC (Booty Movement Coalition) and about 20 other bands around the city. Check out all the photos here.

The Projects Gets Down to Business

Last night I was invited into the practice space of Chicago Band, The Projects. For as much as I love music, and have seen it live, I have never been to an "Official Practice." It was really interesting to see the creative process that goes into each song. Whether its tightening up an original or twisting around tempos and verses making classic soul or jazz tune their own The Projects did it all with a sense of pride and professionalism. The creative juice was flowing "Beer", and the guys were all psyched about their debut EP which is in its final stages of production. The five song disk is due out next month and is sure to be a hit with four different singers bringing different elements to each of the records songs. Stay tuned and I will provide links to the disk as soon as they are made available. In the meantime enjoy a few photos from the evening, and look forward to photos from the Macpodz and Ali Babas Tahini which I will be taking tomorrow night.

Da Weekend 9/10,11&12

This past weekend was productive. An amazing shoot with Pete Carey of dmTNT with a little help from Peggy Pliscott and Samantha of Ford Models, Xavier Rudd at the Vic Theater (which was amazing, unfortunately no photos to show) the Bears game (a wins a win), and a roof top party with non other than the great Erwin Helfer, and Kathrine Davis.


The weekend started proptley with the Pete Carey/Samantha shoot. My good friend and talented hair and makeup artist Peggy Pliscott did her magic making this an amazing shoot. Here are a few images, the rest can be found on facebook.


The next night i got to see one of my consistently favorite acts Xavier Rudd, at the Vic Theater. Rudd is Australian native and is currently touring with an aboriginal rhythm section who also have some of the best backup vocals I have seen live. Sunday morning was spent with Bloody Marys and the Bears Lions game. The two worst teams in football. This time the Lions made more mistakes....kind of.......and the Bears won. Following the game we went over to a rooftop party, hosted by our friend Henry honering the great blues pianist Erwin Helfer.



There was great food, great friends, and great music, preformed by Erwin Helfer, and Katrine Davis. Here are a few shots from the night. I forgot my flash so I jacked up the iso and made the best of it. Stay tuned for my next post about The Project, their upcoming CD and a peek into their practice space.

North Coast Music Festival

This weekend I got a full dose of amazing live music with the North Coast Music Festival in Union Park. It was a three day fest showcasing music of multiple genres, from Electronic, Hip Hop, and Rock, to New Orleans Jazz. There was no shortage of variety over the long holiday weekend.


Day one featured Paul VanDyke, Pretty Lights, and Chemical Brothers. It was my first time seeing the Chemical Brothers and I have to say they fucking ruled. It was both audibly and visually one of the most stimulating shows I have ever seen. I took a short video, which I should post in a day or so.

Day two was long. We started early with Chicago Band Strange Arrangement. These guys can really play, and do, all over Chicago, so catch them if you can. One of the weekend highlights was Grace Potter and The Nocturnals. Every time I see these guys it blows me away how much energy they have, and how much fun it looks like their having on stage.

It then went onto back to back Electro-Rock with The New Deal and Future Rock. Two three piece groups that know how to make a LOT of sound and work the crowd. Way too much fun.


The night wrapped up with performances by Jay Elecronica, and Umphreys McGee. Both of which were amazing. Umphreys brought the heat as they usually do, to a packed Union Park audience.


Following the Festival I headed over to Kingston Mines for just a little more music, by a little I was there until about 4 watching some of Chicagos best, including Joanna Connor tear up the Blues.


Sunday was rough. This was my first "real" Festival in my home city and I always thought how nice it would be to sleep in my own bed and shower. It just makes it harder though. After a crazy night when your camping you really have no choice but to say fuck it, lets do it again. It's a lot harder to get up out of a comfortable bed take public transportation and do it. So kudos to all of you who made it all three days!


My Sunday was spent hanging back in lawn chairs and re-hydrating when I wasn't shooting more photos for www.livemusicblog.com. We started our Sunday shows with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band from New Orleans. They turned out one of my favorite shows of the weekend. I then caught Benny Benassi who had the entire crowd at his fingertips. I had never seen him or really heard him, but was really impressed by the energy he brought to the show.


Next was Mayer Hawthorne...I'm not gonna lie I was a little skeptical going into his show. A white kid from Ann Arbor singing old soul music, but he did it. And he did it really good too! Vocal harmonies were right on, band was tight. I was impressed and will be sure to catch him next time he comes through.


The night closed with two amazing Hip Hop acts, Lupe Fiasco, and Nas and Damien Marley. Lupe's set was insane! He had a killer band backing him and probably lost 10 pounds running back and forth on the stage.


Nas and Damien Marley closed out the weekend with an awesome set and lots of people. The had an official Jamaican flag waver. How do I get that job? All in all great weekend. Check my flickr for all the photos. I will be uploading in the next day or so.