Beatrixkiddo79's Journals

Kill Hannah backstage in Dekalb preview

Last month I'd shot Kill Hannah at Pop's in St. Louis opening for Jet and later I'd arranged to drive up to Dekalb, IL for their show the following week where I had the privelege of meeting the band before the show. If there's something to be said of Kill Hannah themselves, they share a close connections to their fans and appreciate them greatly, so these are sure to be a treat for you. I love their music and so it was fun interacting with them offstage just before the show to capture their routine and what they do before putting on an excellent show for the crowd. After speaking with frontman Mat Devine about what he wanted, I took these series of photos on continuous shoot and used a post production method of cross processing and filters to create the look associated with 35mm film cameras of 70's/early 80's. I also used this method for their concert photos from that night that I'll be posting to my blog next.

Visit my blog post on my site to see all 36 photos of KH backstage.

These photos are exclusive to my site and are property of myself and Kill Hannah, so reproduction and redistribution are completely prohibited. © 2009 Artist Jane Bush . Enjoy! Special thanks to the guys in Kill Hannah. You guys are great! A short preview of what you'll find there:

Taking Back Sunday live @ Pop's

There are some bands who are good live, and then there are some who are amazing live, engaging the audience with their high energy and dynamic stage presence. Long Islanders Taking Back Sunday are exactly the latter of the two. Despite being on crutches due to a torn ligament in his leg, frontman Adam Lazzara took the stage with the rest of the band and took the packed house by storm opening with Set Phasers To Stun. Following with You Know How I Do and the first single from New Again, Sink Into Me, Lazzara and company didn't stop for a full 2 hours and never lacked a moment of their usual aggressive stamina. Between bassist Matt Rubano's stage antics, perfectly matched backup vocals of Matt Fazzi, and the arrival of their talent newest member Isaac Bolivar, the band had enough energy as a whole to keep an amazing performance going despite Lazzara claiming "I feel ridiculous up here [in crutches]."

For the live performances, Taking Back Sunday have a gift for perfectly balancing both new and old material. Throughout the night they touched base with the audience and thanked the crowd for their continued devotion throughout the years before blowing us away with "Cute Without The E" and some of the other wonderful tracks from Tell All Your Friends such as "Great Romances Of The 20th Century" and of course "You're So Last Summer". The setlist was covered with other winners like "Capital M-E", the title track to New Again, "Liar (It Takes One To Know One)", the visceral "Lonely, Lonely", and an encore that consisted of Where You Want To Be's "A Decade Under The Influence" and "Make Damn Sure".
Pop's colorful lighting of the night with their blue, magenta, and yellow main lights and red back lighting can prove to be a challenge at times. However, the 50mm f/1.8 and 25-75mm f/2.8 was able to give me the versatility I needed to capture both intimate close ups of the guys in Taking Back Sunday and more wide angled shots. For crowd surfers and the rest of the crowd singing along in harmony, the entire night was a treat for both first time goers and veterans of their audience. This is the third time I've seen TBS live, and the second time I've photographed them live. I have to say that of all the bands I've shot, they are by far some of my select favorites. Their occasional storytelling between songs gives way to their down to earth offstage personalities and defies their monstrous performances. Between each unique member, it is always a thrill to witness their talent live and capture it with a camera. I hope for it to be far from the last time I will be there to photograph them, and I guarantee you it will be a blast! Special thanks to Lisa Bregant and notesfromthepit.com. You can view the entire gallery of photos from the show here.
Here's a preview of some of the moments captured that evening:

Kill Hannah take the stage at Pop's

I know it's been a while since I've blogged, and since there are plenty of shows coming up, I promise to keep better tabs on updating events and topics. With that being said, Chicago natives Kill Hannah brought their dynamic stage presence and lasers to the stage at Pop's just outside of downtown St. Louis last night as they. Opening for Australian rockers Jet, they came out blazing with their single,"Kennedy", and closing with the well known "Lips Like Morphine", with plenty of energy in between with both new material and old. They even treated the audience to their cover of Billy Idol's Rebel Yell, which is quite awesome to witness live as the audience sang along! Lead singer Mat Devine expressed his affections for St. Louis, stating "This venue is legendary," and that he'd saved his energy for post show fun specifically for the city at the expense of his native city the night before

During their performance, the band sported plenty of visual eye candy with lasers and strobes. Thankfully, from a photographer's point of view, they were able to display plenty of colorful lighting after a few songs, as strobe lighting can be quite a challenge for a concert photographer to work with. I packed up both my 50mm f/1.8 prime and 25-74mm f/2.8 mid range to versatility sake, and while I do favor the 50mm for crisp close ups, it's the mid range 25-74mm that offered great wide angle shots of the lights and the action of their set. It is also becoming apparently clear to me I need to invest in a 30mm f/1.4 for specific low lighting situations, which can occur during the first few songs of a performance with certain bands. I also want to note a special thanks to the band and the security for letting me photograph their entire set, which is a rare circumstance given that there's usually a standard 3-song policy. I truly appreciate that opportunity, Kill Hannah, and I look forward to photographing your show again in the future! All 37 photos of their set from last night can be found exclusively at my buzznet gallery. Here are a few of the highlights of the show captured below. As always, absolutely no reproduction or reposting is allowed and will result in legal action.

Music Vs. Mother Nature: The Academy Is...photos rocking the county fair in Chicago before storm

Chicago natives The Academy Is...are by far one of my favorites bands to photograph, as well as a band I feel they deserve more credit than they're given. If you've seen them live, you know why with their high energy performances that are far beyond infectious to the audience past the young fangirls. While I had photographed them before on their Snakes & Suits acoustic tour, I was ready to capture that energy from a different aesthetic at the Dupage County Fair in the Chicago suburb of Wheaton, IL.

Seeing as this was not a typical concert venue, I was a bit confused as to where to pick up my photo pass. After talking to 4 different people at 3 ticket/event stands and will call, I was directed towards a security guard who informed me that they didn't have my pass for whatever reason but to stay put. He returned a few moments later stating that he'd "spoken to the lead of The Academy Is" and told them who I was and said he claimed I was "cool to come back and photograph the show as much as I want." WOW. So this positive turn of events led me to the band trailer where I thanked William for the gesture of kindness. To my surprise as I thanked him he said he remembered meeting me the first time when I shot the March 8th show, as well as did Adam "Sisky" Siska. Maybe it had something to do with the Bob Dylan shirt I wore to both concerts, I dunno. But either way, it was by far the coolest thing to happen that evening so far. Like I said, they're some of the nicest guys I've met in a great band.

While I was able to spend a few more minutes talking to Adam about Dylan, I was also able to capture William and The Butcher in their usual strike-a-pose good natured humor! They're golden what can I say?

After shooting their opening act, The Cab, the crowd started to chant "TAI!" after the announcement from the event coordinator about safety rules and possible rain coming in, I geared up my 50mm and 24-70mm for fast switching. The best thing I've found with the 2 shows I have shot for TAI is that they haven't put any song limits on their photographers. I don't know if this is typical, but it's thrilling nonetheless because it's very rare for a band and/or a venue to allow that. After the band started to play, it was no surprise that the Chicago natives had a very enthusiastic crowd and the energy of the show was tremendous. The band was having a blast as well as the audience and myself!

However, the saddest part of the evening was the abrupt ending of the show after only 4 songs due to an electrical storm was predicted and mother nature started to interfere. While I wished I'd captured the very moment a bolt of lightning was in the background of shot of William, it was quite a huge bummer when the event coordinator came back onstage to announce the band couldn't perform any longer due to the storm and fans were prompted to leave the premises. You can imagine the booing at the guy for this, and even the band stuck around on stage for a few moments following (I suppose to negotiate or ask if it were really necessary as the storm hadn't really come in full force yet). In the end, mother nature won and the show was canceled. Everyone was bummed, but if it weren't a liability on the venue's shoulders, I can tell you that they probably would've played in 10 inches of snow if it were solely up to the band. Despite the shortened set, I was still able to capture the raw energy of the 4 songs of this show and was still happy to have been there. Maybe next time we'll have better luck as I hope to photograph them again in the future!

Adam T."Sisky" Siska was calling upon the gods to stop the storm shortly before the cancellation with his superpowers...

Taking Back Sunday photos in Orland Park, IL

It's that time of year again: Warm weather, BBQ's, and time for your favorite bands to go on festival tours again. Kicking off this summer's ring of larger festival tours was the smaller, more exclusive Journey's Backyard BBQ. Headlining that outdoor fiasco of music and skateboarding was Taking Back Sunday, one of my favorite bands not only in the studio but in performance as well.
Opening with the awesome first track from their debut Tell All Your Friends, You Know How I Do (which I must say I was super pumped that they played!), frontman Adam Lazarra and company ripped through their set inducing crowd pleasing sing alongs and frequent crowd surfing on the sunny but breezy Saturday evening in the Chicago suburbs. It was incredible fun to hear them perform everything from the newer material from New Again that comes out June 2nd as well as the old school classics like Cute Without The (E), A Decade Under The Influence, and a rare live performance of What It Feels Like To Be A Ghost. Not only was it great to see them again live on stage, it was great talking to them before and after the show. Very personable and funny! My only complaint with the Journey's Backyard BBQ? None that I can think of at all, other than there was no actual BBQ. I was hoping for some gigantic pits fueled with charcoaled flames of good food. Oh well...there's plenty of summer ahead of us to do that on my own time!

Taking Back Sunday - New Music - More Music Videos

Of course, last but not least, special thanks to Karen @ Buzznet and Taking Back Sunday. I'm hoping to shoot these guys again this weekend. I'm crossing my fingers. Until then, watch their new video for Sink Into Me off of the upcoming New Again coming June 2nd. Seriously, You need to. It's good for the soul...
and it's a damn good video.

Trent Reznor Encourages Other Artists To Leave Labels, Relaxes Camera Policy For Concerts.

It's no secret that Mr. Reznor, the brains behind NIN among others projects over the last 2 decades, has been at odds with labels and music industry giants of the past. It's also no secret that he does not keep quiet about his disdain with policies, and maybe that's why we have to give him some respect. He's got the guts to speak up and do something about it, not just complain when something is wrong with the ever changing world of music business.

According to an article featured earlier this month on contactmusic.com, he tells us the moment that put his actions to leave his former label, Interscope, into motion.

"One of the biggest wake-up calls of my career was when I saw a record contract. I said, 'Wait - you sell it for $18.98 and I make 80 cents? And I have to pay you back the money you lent me to make it and then you own it? Who the f**k made that rule? Oh! The record labels made it because artists are dumb and they'll sign anything' - like I did. When we found out we'd been released (from their recording contract) it was like, 'Thank God!'. But 20 minutes later it was, 'Uh-oh, now what are we going to do?' It was incredibly liberating, and it was terrifying."

Sometimes the most terrifying experiences can be the most liberating, especially for artists in the music industry. So technically speaking, differences between label and artist couldn't be worked out, and the label was silly enough to let an incredible artist go. WHY? Because it's about all about money to these big wigs. According to Trent, he also claims that big music labels are out of touch with reality and the social environment of consumers and fans.

Reznor says, "Anyone who's an executive at a record label does not understand what the internet is, how it works, how people use it, how fans and consumers interact - no idea. I'm surprised they know how to use email. They have built a business around selling plastic discs, and nobody wants plastic discs any more. They're in such a state of denial it's impossible for them to understand what's happening. "

You have to hand it to Trent, making his music available for fans in a much different way at a lower cost. 2007's Ghosts I-IV were released independently in 4 different formats, starting at a low cost of $5 (or a free partial download). Additionally, 2008's The Slip was released independently as he encourages other artists to leave their label and start finding other ways to sell their music rather than relying on labels. "As an artist, you are now the marketer." he says.

In addition to being in touch with what fans want and interacting with them via his Twitter, Trent worked out a deal with venues for the NIN/Jane's Addiction tour to relax the camera policy during shows on certain dates. As posted on NIN.com, he states the following:

"For dates May 7,2009-June 12, 2009. To be clear: this applies only to the North American NIN/JA tour.

Examples:

I have a nice SLR camera and lens and I want to shoot photos. YES.
I have a high-quality camcorder and want to record video / audio. YES.
I have a shoulder-mounted broadcast-quality video camera and want to shoot the show. NO.
I have a flash-based audio recorder with a stereo hand-held mic and want to record the show. YES.
I have a full Pro-Tools rig running off a generator and want to record the show. NO.
I don't have any recording devices but I'd kind of like to make out with Ilan. NO (probably)*"

*(see, he has a sense of humor! I've been telling you!)

So for those of us who are protogs of concerts and those who just want to take a decent camera to the show, there you go. Pretty nice of the guy, eh? Full details must be read if you plan on taking advantage of this opportunity.

So what are your thoughts on Mr. Reznor making such bold moves to protect his work? Do you think artists should ditch their labels and come up with their own creative methods of marketing and selling, or would this change effect you as a consumer not being able to pick up your favorite band's new cd on iTunes or Best Buy?Do you think it'd be a mistake or a step in a progressive direction for artists? Maybe this would eliminate the term "selling out" if all artists followed in Trent's direction? Speak up!

As for SOME things, well...some things can't be undone....

Nice silk shirt! ^_^ We'll let it slide though, Trent, it was 1990 after all....

Chris Cornell live @ Pop's

Chris Cornell made quite an epic entrance as he took the stage on April 21st in St.Louis, and was more than well received as longtime loyal fans packed the house to the brim @ Pop's nightclub, making it quite an intense and intimate show! From the moment he walked up the platform following the rest of his band to the first notes he sung opening with Part Of Me, it was very clear that Chris Cornell had not lost his fervor in his live performances after all these years and doesn't plan on stepping down anytime soon.

Chris belted out everything from new material off of his latest release, Scream, to his cover of Billie Jean, to the earlier Soundgarden classics such as Spoonman, Outshined and encored with BlackHole Sun. He even broke out Temple Of The Dog's Hunger Strike and asked the audience for participation to fill in for a missing Eddie Vedder's vocals. As you can imagine, the crowd went crazy with nostalgic bliss and responded with nothing short of enthusiasm! His intense presence onstage has less to do with theatrics as it does his interaction with the crowd and vocal range. Performing a total of 26 songs spanning over a career of nearly 2 decades proves that not only is his live performance an intense trip down rock memory lane but a validation that no matter what he does, Chris Cornell can pull it off and still be one of rock's most versatile vocalists. Witnessing it and capturing it all was quite a thrill. Special thanks to Kron & buzznet for making it all possible.

King Thief live @ Pop's (photos & quick review)

St. Louis' own King Thief brought their intense presence and punk-pop cabaret to the stages of Pop's on March 6th. Their devout following responded to the quintet with equal energy as the band as they ripped through familiar tracks from their new album The Inferno. I took my 50 mm and took advantage of having full access to the sides of the stage as well as the front. Pop's lighting can be quite colorful and with King Thief's theatrical neon lighting set up, it wasn't a challenge to get some great shots. Check out all the shots of King Thief here on buzznet.

Seattle's Best: Jimi Hendrix Memorial Site

While I frequent Seattle several times a year, this was the first time I was able to stop by the gravesite of the late, great rock legend Jimi Hendrix. It is something that even my photographs don't have words for. It's amazing to say the least as lyrics and carefully crafted artwork of Jimi adorn the 3 tiered gazebo-like structure. At any time of the year you can see the flowers, incense, and guitar picks among other items that fans have left there. Devoted to his work, female fans of past and present show their adoration by leaving kisses on the marble faces of Hendrix at this site. Thankfully it was a sunny and pleasant day when I took these photos (and they say it always rains in Seattle! pffft!) The entire flickr photo gallery is here. I'm looking to go back and run through the rest of my photos of the memorial site, watermark them, and upload them here so you can see them in greater detail. A quick preview:

If you look closely, you can see the remains of lipstick from fans who've visited. I promise to email everyone back that I need to over the next few days, and I apologize for the wait-I've been super busy. I hope everyone's having a blast at Coachella! one day you will see me there with camera in tow! More concert photos and catching up to do....I'll be posting soon!

Bob Dylan

At the wake of The Watchmen movie opening this weekend, I found it necessary to write a daily music dose about the one and only Bob Dylan (If you haven't read this amazing graphic novel, READ IT! For those of you who aren't familiar, Dylan's lyrics come up at key moments closing chapters). I've been a longtime fan since I first discovered his work by working in music retail in the late '90's, I've been able to rediscover his work over the past decade multiple times due to his vast catalogue of music and lately for the recent MCR cover of "Desolation Row" for the Watchmen movie. For those of you who aren't familiar with the genius of Dylan, listen up and take notes. Even if Dylan is not for everyone, I still think he should be. All you have to do is listen.

You may even be surprised to find you already know a Dylan song or two; many artists have covered Dylan over the decades. Everyone from Jimi Hendrix to PJ Harvey to Muse to now even My Chemical Romance.

While some of you may be familiar with his early work in the '60's as becoming a figure of writing songs such as "The Times They Are-A Changin'" and Blowin' In The Wind; songs that became anthems for civil rights movements and anti-war, it's one of these particular songs I'd like to point out that seems even still to this day timeless. That song is "Masters Of War", from his 1963 album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan: paints a picture of those responsible for war that can be used even today's societies:

"You that never done nothin'/But build to destroy/You play with my world/Like it's your little toy/You put a gun in my hand/And you hide from my eyes/And you turn and run farther/When the fast bullets fly"

While it's an understatement to even say Bob Dylan is simply a genius, it should be given credit where credit is do for this: he is a singer, songwriter, author, poet, painter, and a thinker. At the heart of his genius is not just a multi-talented musician, it his lyrics that spark the interests of millions and generations and are a subject of poignant interest. While his earlier work in the '60's was a herald of truth to the tension of the times, his more personal work in the '70's also paints a truthful picture for humanity: honesty in his emotional songwriting. So honest, in fact, that it's safe to say I think Bob Dylan has written over the years a song for everyone in every type of relationship. Storytelling in its most poetic musical form: lyrics. Albums such as 1975's Blood On The Tracks is a long time favorite, possibly because it's full of emotion and storytelling, as exampled here in "You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go":

"Situations have ended sad/Relationships have all been bad./Mine've been like Verlaine's and Rimbaud./But there's no way I can compare/All those scenes to this affair/Yer gonna make me lonesome when you go."

Even his work in the late '60's when he made the jump from acoustic to electric performances, much to his earlier fans' demise, is just as important as his anti-war songs. Albums like Bringing It All Back Home and Highway 61 Revisited are just as crucial to knowing Dylan as to knowing his early work. He didn't want to repeat himself, didn't want to explain himself and didn't have to. Much like the person he is, he says what he says and he doesn't prefer to be boxed in a corner when it comes to his craft. He despised being called "a folk singer" by press, and he wasn't afraid to challenge the likes of journalists when questioned why he made the change to take his music in a different direction. While fans of this time called his work "an abortion"; imagine how wrong they really were. Songs like Subterranian Homesick Blues and Maggie's Farm became legendary and set a foundation for other artists to branch out their style. Even so, it's his little gems I'll suggest you listen to.

I could probably write an encyclopedia on Dylan, talk about him for hours, but I think the point of this entry is to go out and discover his work for yourself. Once you've appreciated him, you'll never quite look at songwriting or the world the same way. I was lucky enough to see him several times live, and he never dissapoints. The first time was at the Illinois State Fair in 2000, 50 ft from the stage and probably the first and only time I've ever been starstruck. His songs will make you think, they'll make you cry, they'll make you laugh. His lyrics will touch you. He is equally an open book and a mystery.

And finally, yes, shameless self promotion, as I've done some artwork of Dylan in tribute to the man himself

A Few Dylan Classics:

"The Times They Are-A Changin'" * "Blowin' In The Wind" * "Like A Rolling Stone" * "It Aint Me, Babe" * "Mr. Tamborine Man"

A Few Personal Dylan Favorites: (and this is condensed)

"She Belongs To Me" * "Tangled Up In Blue" * "Series Of Dreams" * "Tombstone Blues" * "Things Have Changed" * "Desolation Row" * "Highway 61 Revisited" * "You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go" * "Buckets Of Tears" * "Leopard Skin Pill-Box Hat" * "Dirt Road Blues" * "It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train to Cry" * "I Want You" * "Most Likely You'll Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine" * "Don't Think Twice (It's Alright" *

Dylan Video Fun

"Subterranean Homesick Blues"

"Series Of Dreams" (an incredible song) View the awesome video here: I couldn't embed it, sorry...youtube's fault.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-gamWTze6g

"Don't Think Twice, It's Alright" (awesome song, awesome video)

If you get a chance to watch the Martin Scorcese documentary about Bob Dylan entitled "No Direction Home", I highly highly HIGHLY recommend it! Have a great weekend everyone! Hope you find a place in your heart for Bob Dylan!