A Whole lotta something..

Well, I've been really busy in the last month, unfortunately I haven't had much time to blog. Time to play a little catch up... The Blues project seems to be in full swing lately, shooting about two portraits a week. At this rate I may be able to complete the project in time for Blues Fest 2011, lets keep this snowball rolling! Here's a look at some of the recent shots.





As far as live music has been going I caught Sexfist and Greensky Bluegrass together at the beginning of the month. The show came one night after the biggest snow storm/blizzard/thunder snow storm I have ever been through. The packed crowd at the Double Door put on their gloves, boots, and hats and trudged through about 4 feet of snow to get to the venue. Once we arrived the two amazing bluegrass bands picked there way through the cold and kept us dancing all night long. Go check them out if you can.



Another big win for Chicago Blues was Big Otis Blues representing Chicago in the International Blues Competition. The boys picked up a third place prize in the band competition and my boy Rob picked up the Albert King Award for best Guitarist. Damn! Way to go Rob! When the boys came back they were in need of some fresh press shots to appease their many new fans, so they stopped by the studio for a quick group shot.


The last bit of news I have is I was booked by wicked cool productions to shoot the Rock n' Roll Resort this April. I must say I love a good music festival, and when I can retire to a warm dry bed and shower in the morning its even better. Not to mention the Royal family will be representing hard along with Deep Banana Blackout, Max Creek and many more. I can't wait to be a part of this incredible young festival.

One final note/rant, to anyone who ever said I wasn't going to make this into my career, I am doing it. Your negative attitudes only make me work harder. To my currant and former places of employment, by keeping me in a position where I am not promoted or valued, thank you, it only makes me work harder, it make me focus on my goals. I document music for a very simple reason. I love it. I have had so many special moments in my life thanks to music. There are times when I hear a note or a word from a song and am instantly transported to a different time and place where that song played a part in my life. Throughout my life I've shared these moments with very special friends and family and its helped shape who I am. I take photos to give back to the music community, even if its only a sliver of what I get out of it. As I say in my mission statement, "I love documenting music. Each live show or portrait should tell a story, spark a memory, or inspire a fellow artist. I hope my photos do that for you" If they don't I'm going to work my ass of until they do. Thanks.

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.

Busy day, Busy week, Busy month.

I don't know about you all, but I have been crazy busy this month. Not only is it the Holidays, which I enjoy, but my "work work" at the studio had me involved in some more time consuming creative projects, and in between them, I squeezed in some final portraits for the year. I leave for sunny Mexico tomorrow then off to Detroit next week. There's going to be a bit of radio silence around here. When I come back rest assure there will be some music to talk about. After all, New Years in Chicago is a hell of a place to be for music. I will leave you with a couple shots from the weekend with Amazing Blues-man Pete Galinis aka "The Grim Reaper", and the young and talented singer, Ario Kimball, styled by my good friend, the best Asian stylist I know Aimee Joson :) Enjoy. Have a Great Holiday. Be good to each other. See you soon.

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.

The best $7 show I've ever seen: Black Milk

This past Tuesday I jumped on Jambase to check out if anything was coming to Chicago. To my surprise, I saw that Detroit rapper Black Milk was going to be at Reggies Rock Club premoting his new CD, Album of the Year. Being a former Detroiter, I have a soft spot for Motor City musicians. Especially when it's one of the hottest young Hip-Hop acts on the scene. Black Milk, one of J Dillas proteges, is a producer rapper who happens to turn out some of the smoothest beats around. Milks beats bring in that Motown sound that made Detroit famous, while driving them forward with fast paced hard hitting drums. In Chicago on this cold Tuesday night, Milk brought along some friends to back him in a live band consisting of Drums, Bass, and some incredibly soulful keys. I love Hip-Hop, but even more, I love Hip-Hop with a live band. During the show Milk gave a toast to his friend and mentor J Dilla. The crowd raised their glasses and cheered, and Milk went back to owning the mic. The show wasn't very long, but it was full of energy , it was full of talented musicians, and it was $7. Don't miss this guy while he's in small clubs. Check out the rest of the pics here, and enjoy this video.

Black Milk, Live in Chicago from Chris Monaghan on Vimeo.

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.

Macpodz/Tahini/Blues

Last Thursday I had the chance to catch up with some good ol' Michigan boys The Macpodz at Martyrs in Chicago. They were stopping through on a two night run opening for India band Ali Babas Tahini which features Jake Cinninger of Umphreys Mcgee. I first met the Macpodz guys about a year ago shooting their promo photos. They are one of the few bands I actively sought out to shoot. Before we ever met I felt their music style was something uniquely different from everything else out their and I wanted to be a part of it in some way. Since I am pretty terrible at every instrument I have ever tried playing I did it with photos. It was great seeing the guys put on a killer show setting up the night.


Ali Babas Tahini followed with a solid set showing that even though they haven't played together live in 7 years!! they still hadn't lost their groove as a live band. As all good nights should end we rolled over to Kingston Mines for a night cap, some hot wings and a bit of the Blues. Tonight I will be heading back to the Mines to check out the legendary Jimmy Burns and set up a proper portrait session with him. God I love Chicago.

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.

Gogol Bordello and Devotchka

Gogol Bordello and DeVotchKa passed through Chicago Last night on their "Trans-Continental Hustle" Tour and I had the opportunity to participate in all the madness that is Gypsy Punk! DeVotchKa opened the show with a sound that's a little Eastern-European, a little rock, and a little punk, which makes it a lot of good. The exceptional vocals of Nick Urata filled the high domed ceilings of The Congress Theater while the band played an exceptionally tight set full of tuba, accordion, cello, violin and of course, the theremin. After a short break the nonsense continued as Gogol Bordello and his band of Gypsy Punks took the stage. Bordellos Energy was plentiful and infectious. It only took a few strums of his beat up old guitar to have the whole crowd jumping in unison, screaming every word along with him. It was my first time seeing Bordello, but I have listened to his music for a while and always wanted to photograph him. By the end of the show Bordello and his band looked emaciated, and exhausted. It was a treat to see such a passionate group of musicians give it their all and put on one hell of a show.

Gogol Bordello from Chris Monaghan on Vimeo.

Janelle Monae

Tonight was hands down, one of the most energetic, artistic, musical performances I have seen in years. The show was Janelle Monae and the venue was the very intimate Schubas Tavern in Chicago. The multi-media show began with Monae and her band entering the stage in black hooded cloaks as a futuristic video was projected onto the wall of the sold out venue. As soon as the video stopped the music started, and didn't stop for about a solid hour. Monae is a performer to the likes of James Brown or Prince, she controls the crowd with her infectious dance moves and amazing voice. I haven't been this impressed by a new artist in a long time, so catch this chick in an intimate venue before its too late. That means you my Detroit people she's at St Andrews Hall Friday night.