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.

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.

Hulaween with Cheese in Hampton VA

Last weekend I drove 15 hours out East from Chicago to catch one of my favorite bands The String Cheese Incident preform a two night run at the historic "Mothership" the Hampton Coliseum. Cheese is notorious for their Halloween shows and VA being their closest show I had this year I figured might as well pack up the car fill up the tank and head east. The drive wasn't bad, aside from about $50 each way in tolls and two of the most boring states ever, sorry Indiana and Ohio. I picked up a friend in Indiana and as we traveled a bit south the trees began regaining life, and color and fall was back. We pulled into Hampton around 1:00, took a quick nap and made our way over to the lot to grab a bite to eat, a few beers and enjoy all the madness that comes along with Cheese.


Its amazing to see the amount of different license plates that fill the hotels and lot. It's a true testament to the community and music this band is a part of. People who don't understand it have never been in it. Its an experience that makes you travel across the country, sometimes across the world, just to spend time surrounded by wonderful people and music that simply put makes you happy. The first night was amazing. Solid set, solid playing. The guys all seem to be back on the same wavelength and as I heard it put the next day, they were "DEAD ON." The set list went a little something like this...

Set 1: Best Feeling > Texas > Daryl, Walls of Time, Yo Se, Got What He Wanted > Black Clouds, Miss Brown's Teahouse > L'il Liza Jane > Miss Brown's Teahouse
Set 2: Song In My Head, Just One Story, Joyful Sound > EOTO > Rollin' In My Sweet Baby's Arms, Way That It Goes, Sirens, It Is What It Is > On The Road
Encore: Jellyfish > Jump



Another good friend of mine flew in from Vegas for the shows and the next morning we bit the dog that bit us with a couple cold ones at The Pub. Shortly afterword we suited up. Me as Joaquin Phoenix and him as a hillbilly trucker and headed over to the venue for an amazing night of music.


Cheese always practices a handful of covers for Halloween and we were all anxiously awaiting what kind of different songs and surprises the band had in store for us. What should have been obvious became apparent in the second set. "The Mothership" landed, and the band brought it down with a set full of funk, confetti and surprises guests Keller Williams and Liza Oxnard. The show went as follows.

Set 1: Come As You Are, Restless Wind, Rain, Pack it Up, Turn This Around > Breathe > Turn This Around, Rivertrance, Las Vegas
Set 2: It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)¹ > Fly Like An Eagle, Born On The Wrong Planet, Motheship Connection², Space Cowboy¹, Groove Is In The Heart², 21st Century Schizoid Man, Major Tom (Coming Home)¹, Planet Claire¹ > Major Tom (Coming Home) > It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
Set 3: Piece Of Mine, Bumpin' Reel, Shine, Drifting > MLT > Drums > Desert Dawn
Encore: Search, Howard
¹With Liza Oxnard²With Liza and Keller



All in all great weekend. I hear they are throwing a festival on the old Rothbury grounds in MI. "A Rothbury Incident" Its a lot closer to me and even if it wasn't I will be there. Check out the rest of the photos from the weekend HERE.

A.A. Bondy at Schubas

A.A. Bondys When the Devils Loose is probably one of the highest played albums on my ipod. Prior to last night I had only seen about half of an opening act he did for Elvis Perkins just under a year ago. I was so impressed I bought his album and have been a fan since. I had high expectations for the sold out show at Schubas. Bondy hooked me with about 20 minutes a year back, I couldn't wait to see what he did with a full set. The small Schubas room was full and silent. Bondys music demands a certain level of respect, and to enjoy it you really have to listen closely, and everyone in attendance seemed to get it. His voice isn't particularly loud, or good for that mater. But he sings with conviction and confidence.


Now that I described who he is as an artist, let me dive into the actual show. As Bondy himself said, "This is the weirdest show of the tour." Why did he say that you ask? Because everything was going wrong. At first Bondy thought it was his guitar shorting out during "Slow Parade" After violently shaking it to no avail he smashed it over the ground in true rockstar/folkstar form. Plugging in his second guitar he promptly realized it was not the issue... He then systematically went through each cord and pedal throughout the set trying to find the problem. He threw his harmonica, gave out his tuning pedal before he "fucking breaks it" and came extremely close to "Putting his boot through his amp". Did I mention the crowd loved every minute of it. In the moment of working equipment there were flashes of genius in songs such as "Rapture" and "Vampyre." All in all an amazing show full of ups, downs, and everything in between. Check out more photos here. Also a little preview of whats to come...Im shooting a portrait with Bondys label Fat Possem Records buddy Lissie this Sunday. Its gonna be awesome so check back soon.

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.

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.

Girl Talk brings in 2010

So I went to Girl Talk last night at the Congress theater in Chicago. It didn't start out very good. The place was packed with 17 year old kids that all never learned how to stand in line. Apparently cutting, pushing and squeezing your way to the front is the preferred method to moving forward these days. Anyways with that being said once we made it in, grabbed a beer and found a spot the rest of the night was a blast. I know people have mixed feelings about Girl Talk, and all his crazy ADD samples but trust me, if you go to one of his shows you'll get it. Its a huge party and its just about impossible to have a bad time.
Check out more pics from the night here on flickr

Here's a little clip of the nonsense that went on last night at the Aragon, enjoy! I will post more when I get around to it. Also, first video I shot with my new Rhode Stereo Video mic. I was right up against the speakers so the bass is still a little overwhelming on some other videos I will post later I was posted up by the soundboard. It sounds great! so hang tight.