No, this is not music photography, per se. But it is related…

Ludo, one of my favorite bands, wrote a “rock opera” several years ago entitled Broken Bride. It’s a fantastic CD, both musically and plot-wise. (more…)

Earlier this evening, I tweeted that I had shot zombies three times this week. Tomorrow, I will post photos from the other zombie photoshoots, but I thought I’d give everyone a quick little glimpse into a typical Sunday night for me (said with only a little bit of sarcasm)… (more…)

Long time, no posts.

Well, a lot has been going on. Aside from doing a lot of non-concert work, I also was contacted by Spin about doing a reoccurring column for them about the Chicago music scene. With that, I get to shoot a bunch of stuff that I might not otherwise shoot and also get to inject some of my comments about the shots. As most everyone knows, I love Chicago music and adore the venues in the area (well, most of them), and so this is a great opportunity for me. I’m really excited about it, and my first post is HERE!

I had to wait a bit to publish some stuff, until Spin had an opportunity to publish it first, so I can start going back to my regularly scheduled posts!

Killswitch Engage was my favorite band of the night. That might be a racy thing to say when they were up against legends Slayer, but I just had fun shooting Killswitch. Of all the bands at Mayhem, they seemed to interact with the audience the most, and seemed to be enjoying themselves the most. Vocalist Howard Jones even grabbed a photographer’s camera and tried to take pictures of the crowd – right in the middle of a song. Mix that in with the crazy matching tux t-shirts, and the running around from side to side of the stage, and it was a blast. They were the only band that totally kept me guessing. (more…)

I generally hate festivals – no Warped or Lolla for me – but for some reason, I really like Mayhem Fest. Odd. I don’t even like metal music.

Bullet For My Valentine opened the main stage. I didn’t know much about them going in, and was surprised to find that they were English (from Wales, actually).  The band claims that their influences include Metallica, Slayer, Megadeath, and Judas Priest (amongst others), and it’s definitely noticeable in their riffage and heavy guitars.  Overall, they were entertaining, but paled next to Killswitch Engage, who followed their set. (more…)