Wendy Hayes kicks off the Blues Project!

A special thanks to Wendy Hayes for helping me officially kick off this Chicago Blues portrait project! Wendy is an amazing Bass player and singer and it was a great working with her. I think we got some great photos, here's a quick look at a few of the shots. Expect more soon. Guitarist Dan Carelli will be stopping in this afternoon as well for a quick portrait session. Along with Rob that makes 3. If I can keep this pace I may just be able to hit my goal! Also this weekend is the second annual (my first) Farm Fest 450. Headlining this year is Backyard Tire Fire, along with Chicago Farmer, Jaik Willis, Miles Nelsen, Ernie Henrickson, Bubba Fats,and the Herbert Wiser Band. Looking forward to documenting this amazing little fest!

Ah New Dawn!

Yesterday I got to spend some time with my good friends in Natives of the New Dawn. They were passing through Chicago on a national tour promoting their new album "The Show", which sounds unbelievable. They have such diverse styles it seems to appeal to everyone. Make sure you see them live, they are absolutely amazing showmen. The shoot went great, they guys were full of energy and did just about every stupid thing I asked of them. A special thanks to Jason Richardson and Peggy Piscott for helping out. Here are a few shots feel free to check out more on flickr.

Blues Project 2010-2011

Yesterday I had an idea. I love Blues Music, and I live in Chicago. The Blues capitol of the world. All of the Blues clubs I walk into have pictures of the great old players, the guys who founded the Blues and made it what it is today. Rarely do I see pictures of the guys who are keeping the sound alive. Living, breathing and playing the Blues every night around town. Starting now, I am going to begin a portrait project documenting the players here in the city. Simple Black and White portraits showcasing the many talented musicians this city has to offer, young and old. This project is stemming from a portrait shoot I recently did with Rob Blaine. We shot a number of things for his new album. Of all the shots some of my favorites were the simple portraits we did.


The ultimate goal of this project is not only to showcase the musicians, but to gather them in a space where they can further collaborate and create. I'm hoping to find a gallery space that will allow for the photos to be displayed and set up a full bands worth of instruments where the attendees can get together taking turns jamming with one and other.

The Project starts today, I would like it to be done by next years Blues Fest. If all goes as planned I should be posting much more frequently.

Rebirth Brass Band

The Rebirth Brass Band brought a whole lot of New Orleans Funk to Evanstons hottest venue Space. The octet, was in full second line form playing everything from jazz standards to Michael Jackson. This was my first experience with the group and I have to say the energy was amazing. The crowd clapped and chanted along with Rebirth through both of their two sets. The band, which has recently been featured on the new HBO series Treme filled Space with all the great sights and sounds New Orleans has to offer. The only thing missing was the food. Check out this video from Treme

and more pics from the show here

30d

Oh yeah, and here's a video:

30 db from Chris Monaghan on Vimeo.

30db

I recently had the chance to see the 30db, Brendan Bayliss and Jeff Austins latest collaboration. The duo has previously been preforming alone but for their current tour supporting their new album "One Man Show", they brought along an incredibly talented band comprised of Cody Dickinson (North Mississippi Allstars, Hill Country Revue), Eric Thorin and Nick Forster. This was the groups first tour together and its safe to say they seemed to be having a good time. The show took place at the very young venue The Lincoln Hall, which has quickly become one of my favorite places to see live music in Chicago. The old Movie Theater turned classy venue has great sound and cheap drinks. Can't ask for much more than that. The band continues their tour on May 19th on the west coast.

Check out more pics here.

Future Rock

Future Rock returned home to Chicago's Park West for a solid night of electro/dance/funk that had every person in the room gettin' down. The trio is just finished a tour supporting their latest live release "Live in Wicker Park", out next week, 5/18/10. These guys are all over the festivals this summer, So check them out.
Check out more pics here