Amy Winehouse - Image from Island Records, UK

This weekend I learned of the passing of British soul singer Amy Winehouse (1983-2011). Though I have never had the opportunity to photograph her, I always wished I’d had the chance.

While the media coverage of her death has been ubiquitous to say the least, what I have yet to see (other than Russell Brand’s poignant blog post in memory of his dear friend – well done, Mr. Brand), is anything that takes a sympathetic look at the singer’s life rather than capitalizing on or chiding her about her various performance and personal life disasters. What I feel needs to be stressed is the bottom line that Amy is someone’s daughter, sister, niece, friend, lover, and ex-wife, and no matter the circumstances, a person that is deeply loved is no longer here with us. I’m positively appalled at the lack of sympathy and understanding shown her in the media, even after her unfortunate and untimely demise.

I’ve heard and read the gamut of negative comments, from the sickening abuse and inappropriate repurposing of her hit single Rehab lyrics, all the way to awful comments about her addiction, appearance, and tumultuous personal life.

Despite my best efforts to turn away from the media coverage, I’ve been sucked in completely and am admittedly guilty of pouring over the articles that are appearing with increasing frequency today with unconfirmed leads and “insider” stories about how her last hours were spent and speculations about what caused her untimely death. Something in her story has grabbed a hold of me and I cannot ignore it, and thought I’d better put pen to paper to work through it for my own sake.

My chosen career path keeps me busy working with musicians. Unfortunately, modern music’s history is littered with those who were taken from us far too soon, simply because their addictions to chemical substances seemingly outweighed or completely obscured and derailed their desires and attempts to fulfill their career aspirations and live long, healthy and fruitful lives. Unfortunately many of us that are the most creative also have our vices. My time with musicians is quite often spent in bars – which, to someone struggling with an addiction problem, is a dangerous road to tread. For musicians with moderate success, they still struggle with their vices and are asked to be creative on-demand (when, for anyone who understands how inspired art works, that’s simply just not possible), and suddenly contractual obligations and the almighty dollar become more important than said creative individual’s well-being. It’s a sad pattern that I hope will find some change in the future.

Amy Winehouse’s story is indeed a sad one, and her life was cut short because of her struggle with addiction. Russell Brand’s blog posting regarding addiction comes from the viewpoint of a person who was precisely where Amy was and managed to recover. His experience alone outweighs the importance of my simple opinion, and for a particularly thoughtful and moving bit of reading, I would recommend reading the post from his blog.

When you think about her, for a moment, I’d like you to completely disregard the fact that Amy Winehouse was a famous singer, and regard her just as a regular, everyday woman. The hateful comments that I’ve seen that echo the feeling of “why are we paying attention to the death of a junkie… good riddance,” completely frustrate me. While I’m conflicted about how much publicity is too much publicity, the double-edged sword of publicity in this case might just HELP someone out there who is battling their own demons. And in that case, I hope that just ONE person out there is reached by the story and makes a decision TODAY to change their life for the better.

From what I have read, Amy’s personal life was full of struggle. I cannot quantify what is true and what is tabloid fodder, but from what I understand her relationship with ex-husband Blake Fielder-Civil was anything but humdrum. Rumors (that I cannot confirm nor deny) abound about infidelity regarding both parties, drug use, and fights that came to physical blows. Any normal person would have difficulty trying to find themselves living a life with so much constant drama. As if being in your twenties isn’t enough of a roller-coaster in and of itself, sadly Amy never lived to see the perspective that age 30 brings.

Let’s now remember that Amy had fame and factor back in the demands of her career, as well as endless paparazzi coverage. How would you deal with the fight you had with your spouse in the middle of the night plastered all over the news pages the next morning, surrounded by hearsay and sensational headlines? How would you manage when your private life was considered public property? How would you cope? Would you be able to handle it? Over time, I would imagine it would become increasingly more difficult to maintain your sanity.

What really attracted me to Amy’s music was her honesty. She never tried to purport herself as anything or anyone else. She had an unconventional singing style, wore what she wanted to wear, and wrote songs in a style that pleased her. She had the guts to chase her dreams and pursue her passion, and for that, in an increasingly homogenous music business, I applaud her. She said what was on her mind. However – this is what I feel we constantly forget with figures in the media – she was still a regular person, just a person with success in the music business. She was vulnerable, and that’s why so many fans (including myself) got into her music. She was a regular person who had a heart, and it was broken. You can FEEL her pain when you listen to the tracks on Back to Black. You’re suddenly there with her, witnessing her deal with her sadness, sobbing on her kitchen floor. We’ve all been there in our own way and I’m blown away by her ability to open herself up like that and let the world in. That was her gift, but it came at a price.

So many are now pointing the finger at her ex Blake Fielder-Civil and blaming him for her addiction. It’s true, he may have introduced her to the wrong circle of friends and a variety of substances, however it was ultimately Amy’s choice to continue using drugs. With any addict, it is truly only up to the addict themselves to continue or get sober. We cannot “blame” Fielder-Civil for Amy’s death.

Amy’s mother’s accounts of Amy as a child were that she “wasn’t an easy child…” and was hard to control, and so Amy would do what she wanted to do – no matter what anyone else said. As a grown adult dealing with career demands, relationship and legal troubles, grief, loneliness, addiction, various medical issues and problems only Amy knew about – she was going to handle them her way and there was no two ways about it. Up until now, her way had been the successful path, and she probably didn’t think much of everyone telling her otherwise. Would you?

I have to admit that when I’d heard the news about her death, I was deeply saddened by it. Despite her recent troubles I had hoped that somehow it would get through to her that living in a constant drug-addled fog was no way to live and she would finally be ready to get well for good. Moreso than any other pop “tart” in the music business today (LiLo, Britney and all the rest), above all I felt that Amy had a supreme vocal and songwriting gift that separated her from the pack. Her throwback sound and influence from the roots of music history were an encouraging sign that modern music’s future is still bright despite a lot of disposable garbage on the airwaves.

It’s no secret that Amy liked to party and drink and experiment with drugs, and unfortunately it became part of her public persona. Everyone likes a glass of wine or a beer or two to unwind now and again, but it cannot become a way of life without serious consequences. I had hoped that in the quiet year that passed without any new music from her, she had turned her focus to finally getting well. Perhaps the new record and tour were announced and planned too soon. Clearly, someone was after the $$$ that a successful new Winehouse record would bring, and Amy just wasn’t ready yet. Just like J. Bruce Ismay, the man who ordered the last four boilers lit on the Titanic when Captain Smith advised against it, disaster inevitably follows unchecked greed.

It takes strength beyond description to recover from a relationship that involves infidelity, (rumored) physical violence, and abuse by someone you believe to be your soulmate. When a promising, strong relationship sours, many of us are too afraid, weak, or deny ourselves the realization that this perfect relationship is not at all what we initially hoped and believed it to be. Because I did not know Amy personally I cannot speak for her, but I do know what it’s like to be on the wrong end of a relationship and to feel ultimately betrayed, violated and completely alone. I can completely sympathize with her hurt feelings. And sometimes, a few beers with good friends helped me along. But there was a limit to it all.

Though there has been a history of addiction in my family, I consider myself very blessed to not to have turned to excessive drink and drugs to self-medicate when at my lowest points. I am lucky enough to have some kind of inner mechanism or spiritual guide that prevents me from going too far. Not all of us are so lucky. Just like so many others, I’ve lost friends to drugs and addiction, and these are losses that are filled with regrets, “what if’s” and are wounds that never quite heal.

Amy’s Grammy-winning album Back to Black (Island Records) is not a fictitious work. The beautiful thing about Amy was that she wore her heart on her sleeve. That album was all about her painful breakup with her ex-husband, and in interviews she has said that record was her way of turning a big negative into a positive. If you listen to her words and her delivery, you get a momentary glimpse inside her heart and bear witness to her pain. I don’t know about you but when I hear Love is a Losing Game, it makes me tear up every time. It appears that her music was a way for her to try and sort things out.

Sadly, without her painful personal experiences, it’s possible that we may never have had this incredible record. She had to experience these things in order to be inspired to write these songs. Now, fast forward to her most recent concert in Belgrade – where she was booed off stage for appearing intoxicated and incoherent, forgetting her lyrics and barely singing at all. In the vastly-reblogged/reposted concert footage, you see her face wince in pain at multiple instances. See this article for a photo from the show that made me stop in my tracks. It is clear that Amy is at her very worst here.

I believe that it’s possible that in her sad state of mind, performing these songs may have brought back some painful things that she hadn’t quite dealt with completely. Rumors now circulate that her current boyfriend had recently ended their relationship because of her partying ways. Sometimes a little distance from sadness can bring a world of healing, and I don’t believe that Amy had the chance to properly grieve or heal.

At that last concert in Belgrade, it looks like there are tears in her eyes. To me, it appears as if she were forced on stage – which may or may not be the case. I don’t know if we’ll ever know the answer to that question. In any event it is a sad legacy to leave behind with such an amazing God-given talent. The point is – whatever the internal demons, Amy was deeply troubled, and she felt so alone that she turned to substances rather than the people in her life to bring her relief. Whatever was making her sad was fueling her over-indulgences in drink and drugs as well as her desire to be completely anesthetized to feeling anything at all.

No matter your feelings on Ms. Winehouse, what it comes down to is that she was a lost soul – searching for a happiness that constantly eluded her, yet she brought so much joy to the world with her music. It is an extremely cruel irony.

If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, try to get them to seek help. Remember, though, that they may not immediately listen to you, and you have to understand that as hard as it is to let go, the choice of recovery is ultimately up to the addicted person. Show them they are loved, and do what you can to help them see that there is more to life than the feelingless fog brought on by chemical substances. I believe that if Amy could see how much her family and the world mourns her loss, she might reconsider her position. Unfortunately, for her it’s too late, but it’s not too late for millions of others.

Rest in Peace, Amy. Your beautiful voice will forever testify to your immense talent. We only wish you could have stuck around a bit longer.

Here are some helpful links about addiction and treatment. Check them out if you are struggling, or forward them on to someone you think might benefit from the help they can offer.

It’s never too late to ask for help.

• http://www.addicted.com/
• http://www.spiritualriver.com/addiction-help/
• http://24houraddictionhelp.org/
• http://www.addictionhelpservices.com/

THE MYSTIC KNIGHTS OF THE COBRA!

Petaluma, CA.

I’d never heard of it before this trip. It’s about an hour or so north of the Bay Area, a part of CA I’d never explored before. So I hopped in the rental car, and drove through the scary torrential rain to the rolling hills and open wide space of Petaluma. Holy crap this place is beautiful. I managed to outrun the rain heading northward, so I had a few semi-dry hours while in CA at least. California is so unbelievably beautiful… even when it’s rainy. Sometimes I have a hard time containing this west coast heartache, especially when we’re buried in snow and ice.

About 3/4 of the way there I pulled off the highway to get a coffee and some breakfast, and of all places, I pulled into the Hamilton Marketplace. I swear, Hamilton is EVERYWHERE. (Hamilton’s a town in NJ that I lived in for a long time in case you don’t know). I grabbed a really expensive coffee at Peet’s, ate a pop tart and continued on my way to the matinee show. I was super excited to see my friends the Mystic Knights of the Cobra play this show, as it’d been just about a year since I’d seen that crazy bunch of folks. I was surprised that they were awake that early but so very glad to get the chance to hang out a bit and see them rock the Phoenix theater. Car bombs in the morning? Yes.

I was particularly excited about this theater, as it was HUGE. It reminded me very much of the older venues in Asbury Park. You could tell at one point this place held some of the most fancy upscale events, but was just a shell of its former existence. Beautiful trim and engravings were all over the place, now covered with graffiti and art and show posters, it was a fascinating place to explore. Not to mention – the sound in that room was EPIC. Completely worth the drive to me!

I met quite a few fans who had flown in from around the world to see this show. There were several folks from Australia, and another chap from London. Serious stuff.

Of course Bobby Joe Ebola and the Children MacNuggits were at it again… with many more silly costumes and comedy. I frigging love these guys!!

Bobby Joe Ebola and the Children MacNuggits… evil bunny!!

This show featured a band I’d heard of but not yet heard – the Star Fucking Hipsters from NYC. To be honest, the name turned me off at first. Well, I’m an idiot. They were freaking amazing. Cross gutter punk with ska and scathing hot metal… ohmigod. Great stuff.

STAR FUCKING HIPSTERS

THE BILLYBONES

All in all the sets were really solid from each band. After the show ended I ended up being rolled up in the Cobras’ chaos and we went to a party nearby before making our way back to Toot’s in Crockett. There I got to hang with so many good friends, it made me pretty depressed to know I had to fly home in the morning. But, I’m holding out hope that I’ll be following another band west later this year. Fingers crossed on that. We’ll have to wait and see!

The night ended with me heading to my good friend Rachel and Stef’s house, where I proceeded to witness Stef set his steak pie on fire. Good times. After that, it was off to SFO to fly back east. So long, California… until we meet again.

Here are the pics from the Phoenix! Thanks to all the fans and bands for being so gracious and letting me shoot. Love you guys!

 

THE FRUSTRATORS!!

I love New Jersey. I do, really. I love a lot of things about where I live. But sometimes, California calls my name. And once she starts calling, it’s only a matter of time before I eventually break down, give in and go for a visit.

So that’s what I did.

Oh, and did I mention that while I was answering the call of one of my favorite places, THE FRUSTRATORS just “happened” to be playing a mini-tour in the Bay Area – for the first time in nine years. Oh, well that’d be a key detail.

The Frustrators, a punk band made up of Jason Chandler, Terry Linehan, Art Tedeschi, and Mike Dirnt (of Green Day), were playing their first live shows in a whopping 9 years. Since Green Day rarely has any real time “off” it seems, I thought it’d be a really cool thing to see Dirnt in a different ensemble. Plus, it was an excuse to go to California and use my “soon-to-expire” thank you points for airfare. Score.

The mini tour had four stops (Berkeley, Petaluma, San Francisco and Oakland), but unfortunately I could only make 2 of those – Berkeley at 924 Gilman and Petaluma at the Phoenix Theater. I was glad to be there for at least two of the shows and get to hear these songs LIVE. I hate it when a band I like breaks up or stops touring before I’ve had the chance to see them live. Hearing songs live is a real experience and it stinks when you’re cheated out of it.

It was rainy and really cold in the Bay, unfortunately, so it was pretty similar to the weather that I was leaving behind in NJ. The one thing that really made me smile was driving away from SFO in my rental car, I looked ahead and saw these beautiful homes stacked on the hills near the outskirts of the city, just peering out of the fog. As I got closer and the fog faded a bit, a giant BEATLES ON ITUNES billboard peeked out of the cloud of fog. I’m a total Beatles geek so had I not been driving I definitely would have taken a photo.

Well anyway, the lineup for the tour was awesome, featuring our new friends Bobby Joe Ebola and the Children MacNuggits as MC’s. Those guys came to NJ a few months back and spent some quality time with me and the Honah Lee guys. I was excited to see that they were on the bill for the whole tour. Bobby Joe Ebola is unique and original, something I don’t see much of these days. Taking cues from Weird Al, these guys do it right. Check out their Facebook page for more info, and go see ‘em if they come round your way. You’ll have a great time, I promise.

This show’s lineup featured Disabled Intent (who did a bitchin cover of Cee Lo Green’s hit “F**k You”), followed by Emily’s Army, a local Bay Area band made up of four of the most talented fifteen or sixteen year olds I’ve seen in a very long time. They’ve got that signature Bay sound – and if they continue on this current upswing I think they could get some real notoriety in the Bay and well beyond.

Their bassist Max had trouble with his guitar strap throughout the set. The part that held his bass up had completely ripped about 30 seconds into their set and still the kid managed to play, sing, and jump all while attempting to tie his strap back on with one hand. Eventually he got some help and all was fixed but I had to say that the kid impressed me. They have a record coming out soon on Adeline Records, and I’m definitely getting myself a copy. I can’t wait to hear where these kids go with this.

Emily’s Army

The BillyBones followed Emily’s Army, and I don’t know if the young crowd had any idea that they were witnessing a punk rock elder statesman in the flesh. Billy Bones was in the LA punk band the Skulls, who started playing together in 1977 and were one of the first Los Angeles punk bands. Though Bones was quite a bit older than everyone in attendance, you really wouldn’t know it by his vibrating, gyrating and high-energy performance. He was a joy to photograph – one of those rare gems you don’t find often.

The BillyBones

Finally after the BillyBones, The Frustrators took the stage. I can’t tell you how awesome it was to hear them live. All the flying with sick people coughing everywhere, little Vickram who straight up yelled all the way from Newark to San Francisco, and all the hurrying to get there on time was completely worth it. They played a number of songs from all of their records -  both the Bored in the USA EP and their debut LP Achtung Jackass (both Adeline Records), and managed to work in a few new tunes from their newest EP Griller.

The crowd was excited and young, and when the Frustrators took the stage we were all mashed painfully forward… but in a good way. My last experience at Gilman was incredible – I couldn’t believe so many bodies could press so tightly together in such a small space. I went where the crowd did and had absolutely no control. My feet were suspended for most of that show and I was only put fully on the ground when it was over. This show was a full house, but everyone got the opportunity to breathe now and again, which was nice. I like breathing.

The band talked to the crowd, who were all too happy to oblige basically ANYTHING the band asked for, and it was clear that these four guys hadn’t lost too much ground in the nine years that had passed since they’d played together anywhere. I was especially thrilled to be at the first show of the tour for that reason. It was written all over their faces – this is FUN. Poor Chandler was nursing a sore throat and kept drinking water and tea throughout the set but it didn’t slow him down one bit.

“Hey! Who wants to wear a pair of giant underwear??”

Overall, it was a kickass night that I was glad to be a part of.

Here’s the Frustrators’ setlist from Gilman:

1. I Slept With Terry
2. Trout
3. Stigma
4. Then She Walked Away
5. .25
6. My Best Friend’s Girl (Cars cover)
7. Hide and Seek
8. East Bay of Urden Bay
9. Stupid
10. Pirate Song
11. AAA
12. Living in the Real World (Blondie cover)
13. The Great Australian Midget Toss
14. Encore: West of Texas
15. I Slept with Stanley

Okay okay, less yappin and more snappin. I couldn’t agree more.

Check out some more of my favorites from the show at 924 Gilman:

 

Beth and Alex on the grand staircase of the Tuscany Inn

Beth and Alex got married on a positively spectacular day back in May. I couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day (or bride, for that matter!). Beth was radiant and literally glowed once she put her gown on. The couple selected the lovely Renault Winery in Egg Harbor, NJ as their wedding location and I couldn’t be more excited to shoot there again. The place is just plain gorgeous. And don’t get me started on the food… EXCELLENT!! All in all, this day went off without a hitch and we had so much fun playing with all of the lovely scenery that the Renault has to offer. I was able to bring along the talented and lovely Heather Hibbert as my second shooter to help capture all the fun.

Check out the pics!

 

I’m writing this blog post for a few reasons. First I need to be more diligently updating this thing, because I have SO much to post. I’ve been a crazy insane-o person this year, working more than I ever have in my life and doing fun rocknroll things that prevent me from posting as much as I would like. Because while a photoblog is mostly photos, I still have the need to explain the set and fill in the blanks with my commentary.

Anyway, while I’m still in the throws of editing SO many weddings, I have also done a lot of music work as of late. Those take a lot less time to edit and sort (whereas a wedding may be upwards of 2,000+ images to review and edit) and keep the blog rolling. They also keep my heart beating a little faster, because if you are reading this, you know that music is a major part of my life. Without it, I don’t know if I’d be able to breathe.

This post was inspired by the incredibly maddening news of another historic building in Asbury Park, NJ being flattened because of negligence. One of my favorite venues in Asbury, Asbury Lanes, stands on 4th Avenue, right next to the old Baronet theater. The Baronet, which was once a vaudeville theater that hosted among others The Three Stooges, endured a stint as a porn theater, and underwent a makeover and a bit of a renaissance in the early 2000’s. During its later years, it was known for hosting $2.00 movies and music shows, but in recent years (2007-on…) it had been quiet.

I noticed on Facebook that a friend posted a photo of some rubble and I was heartbroken to find out that that pile of rubble is all that remains of the 97-year-old Baronet theater. It was torn down, quickly and quietly, really, without much notice or fanfare. The story in the Asbury Park Press here claims that the roof had collapsed inward sometime over the winter, rendering the building as a loss and not worthy of repair. However I’ve been to the Lanes several times since the winter and I find that rather hard to believe. Some folks speculate it was quietly torn down as a ploy to make way for proposed condos, but I can’t say either way what the truth is since I don’t live in the town. I’m sure Asbury residents have the scoop on this.

Here’s a shot of the Honah Lee boys vintage-style outside the Baronet.

Leaving my beliefs on the politics surrounding Asbury Park OUT of this posting… well, not totally out… (because I fear I’d make more enemies than friends with what I have to say), it seems rather suspect that a landmark would undergo such a tragic event and nobody would notice or care to speak up about potentially saving and restoring one of Asbury’s few remaining original historic structures. There are only a tiny handful that remain, and they need to be preserved if Asbury wishes to retain the old world charm that they are now using to market themselves. The destruction of the Palace in 2004 is the perfect example of this “heads-up-their-asses” thinking of the developers in charge of “revitalizing” (HA!) Asbury Park. If you don’t know what the Palace is, check out this website. It will piss you off, as it did me. The fact that the “icon” of the city is the painting of the grinning face, named “Tillie” that lived on the side of the Palace walls since its construction in the late 1800’s is further frustrating. So, that’s the symbol of Asbury, yet you decided it’s not worth keeping. Hello? Is this thing on? Recently I discovered that an organization named “Save Tillie” whose purpose was to rescue artifacts from the Palace was even kept out of the loop when a sizable portion of those artifacts were destroyed by city officials without the organization’s knowledge. It’s just disgusting.

The Lanes and the Paramount theater building (Convention Hall) are the most well-known historic venues there and if they become threatened, I think I’ll completely lose hope for Asbury.

If I had known about the Baronet, I definitely would have helped in any way I could. I am sure that if the Lanes was aware they would most likely have organized a show or benefit to save the Baronet. Not only was the theater a landmark, but it also was host to a beautiful building-wide mural done by a local Asbury artist. So down with the theater also went this amazing mural – part of what is helping to SAVE the struggling town now – the influx of the artist community – again, HELLO!?!?!? I now massively regret not photographing said mural I was there in April for my birthday festivities, because we were in a hurry and I thought “ah, I’ll get it next time.” Next time you see something remarkable, snap the damn photo, don’t wait. It may be gone the next time you return. I could kick myself.

As this writer says in her article in the Asbury Park Press, “Funny, if it weren’t so sad: When landmarks are destroyed by terrorists, it’s called an act of war, but when we destroy them ourselves, it’s called progress.” I couldn’t agree more.

Old Asbury is rapidly slipping away because of various political and business agendas, and for those of us who believe in repurposing and restoring rather than razing, this was quite a blow. My heart hurt to see something so beautiful just be flattened without a thought. A friend saw my ranting on Facebook and suggested this organization to me: Preservation New Jersey. I’m joining. You should consider doing so, too, if you love our state and the rapidly dwindling collection of historic buildings and sites that define who we are, who we were, and things we should remember about our history.

While I was all fired up about the theater’s destruction, I thought back to November of 2009, when Honah Lee had just brought on Dim, their guitar player. It must have been his second or third show with the band and we decided to do a photo shoot on the fly at Asbury Lanes and in the area outside, including the Baronet. I just knew I had a few shots of the boys standing underneath the old-fashioned marquee. Sure enough, I did. With my stupidly busy schedule I never had the chance to finish or post these, but while some wedding photos are having actions run on them in photoshop (an automated process), I knew I’d have a few minutes to post these.

Hope you enjoy them. I was just glad to know in my small way I’ve preserved a tiny bit of the Baronet and the Lanes. Asbury Park holds a soft spot in my heart, always has, always will. If you’ve ever been there you know what I’m talking about. The Boss knows, too, and when hasn’t the Boss hit the nail on the head? I mean, seriously.

Enjoy the pics. Rest in Peace, Baronet, we will miss you. <3

 

Joe's still the man.

This Sunday I had a whirlwind day up in New York City. I took a quick break from the “editing cave” (holy cow I have a lot of editing in the queue) and headed up on the train in the wee hours of the morning to do some portraits of a client of mine for a book she’s writing. She was coming in from Los Angeles to attend a Q&A/Lecture at the 92nd Street Y, and we figured this would be the best time to shoot since we live so far from one another.

Here are some of my favorites from our shoot!

 

The whole panel on stage at the St. James Theater.

The post-play discussion was really interesting, and it was great to hear about the work ethic of the actors involved (John Gallagher, Jr, Stark Sands, and Tony Vincent sat in on the panel), and also to hear about how Mayer and Armstrong continue to collaborate (even now after the show’s been running for months) to help the show evolve with each performance. Multimedia/video artist Darrel Maloney sat in on the panel as well to talk about the video that he’d created to run on the multiple TV screens on stage throughout the play. While most of the fans in the audience were there to simply swoon over everything Armstrong said, I found Maloney’s presence to be particularly interesting, because his contribution to the play is vital yet quite often under-appreciated, and I was glad he was able to speak about his craft, even if only for a few minutes. Photo and video nerds unite.

While photography was prohibited during the play, I did manage to snap some shots of the Idiot University panel from my seat after the show. I’m including some of my favorites here.

 

Love the hat, John!

Here are my faves from John’s gig. Hope you enjoy them!

 

Recently our great friend Amanda held an art show up in Jersey City, and since she’s going away to art school, she decided to hold a nice show closing event and featured Honah Lee to wrap things up.

The space was small, hot and sweaty, but it was an awesome show. Just as the song “Californiabation” ended (“West coast medical weed knocks me out… East Coast medical weed’s just not allowed…”), the cops busted in and broke up the show. Immediately I hid my beer behind my back and then realized that I’ve been of legal drinking age for quite some time. Helloooooo…

Jenny (Tim’s wife) videotaped the show and recently Anthony posted his edit up on youtube. Check it out here: A Taste of Honah Lee

Here are some stills from the same show. It was great to see so many of our new north Jersey/NYC friends come out to support the boys.

 

You may or may not have heard of Prima Donna, hailing from Los Angeles. If you haven’t heard their particular brand of sixties-ish Sonics era garage inspired rocknroll, do yourself a favor and change that. Like, right now. It’s okay, go. I’ll wait.

Maybe pop open a new window and listen while you read.

Ready now?

The band is currently touring the US and had a quick stop in Philly at the Khyber bar on a Wednesday night at the end of July. Me and the Honah Lee boys headed down to support. I’d been warned by friends who saw them in NYC a few days before that the party would probably go well into Thursday morning, and I don’t know why I didn’t pay closer attention to that. I didn’t make it through much of the afterparty at all, and I was up till close to 4am. Let’s just say work on Thursday was ROUGH.

Prima Donna’s stage presence is a force to be reckoned with. Honestly. I was so unbelievably giddy at how these boys completely rocked my lens off my face. They were an absolute dream to photograph, killing it on stage and delivering a live show that needs to be seen. Not many bands give me what I want while on stage. So many times my ears and eyes make a compromise. Tonight was NOT one of those nights. I can only hope that my live shots can hint at a fraction of how impressive they are on stage. True showmen, I don’t think their singer/guitarist Kevin Preston ever touched the stage with both feet for more than a few seconds all night long. The guy can catch some serious air and can kick higher than any dude I know.

After the set ended and the band loaded out, we milled around outside on the street, trying to figure out what to do next. I think my favorite quote for the night was from Kevin, who looked me square in the eyes with a very serious expression and said “So, are you people ready to drink or WHAT?”

He found the right crew of people tonight. Honah Lee is always ready to party. Come on now.

Plans were made for the band to crash with the Honah Lees at Tim’s house, and off they went in search of Paddy’s Pub from “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.” I told the Prima Donnas that it didn’t exist. They swore that it did, in fact, exist, and that they were going to find it. We sent Tim with the band to help them navigate their way back to our area, while the rest of us headed back home. And that’s when the real fun started. Or so I’m told…

Here is a very large set of images from their set at the Khyber. I can’t freaking wait until they come around again. Next time, I’ll take the day off work.

 

After a wicked week of craziness, sadly our west coast friends had to make their way back to California. After a brutal hangover morning at home, Jim and Tanya and I shook off our hangovers temporarily to go and say goodbye to the Cobras before they headed back to the city and then back home.

With barely a voice to speak of and Jim turning various shades of green, our visit to the hotel was brief, but hugs and goodbyes were exchanged.

Somewhere along the way, a “party squirrel” was acquired by the Cobras. Turns out you can’t take a squirrel on an airplane… so Sketch, wherever you are, buddy… Happy trails. My favorite image from the goodbye-ing is of Dirty Nasty, with his new employee badge and tour sunglasses.

Though this tour was over, there are many more tours to be had. That I’m sure of. Plans for Party! Party! Party! Part 2! were already in the works as their van pulled away. You just wait.

 

"EYYYY SPAGHETTI HEAD! I'M ROCKIN' HERE!!!" WILD times with these Cobras!

With my foggy memories from this whirlwind tour, I forgot to mention that Lori, Tim, and Jim and I kidnapped Trell (the Cobras’ keyboardist) and took him home to Trenton with us after Don Hill’s. Muahahaha!!!

Once we got back to Tim and Jen’s house, poor exhausted Lori headed home, and we proceeded to light up the party shed and keep it going – at some ridiculous hour like 4am (or something) while everyone else went to bed. Boo, hiss. We, officially, were the champions. The sun was coming up but still we sang, danced, drank, and laughed together. Turns out aside from killing it on the keys, Trell is an accomplished songwriter in his own right. This night solidified it, we officially want to adopt Trell.

Shortly after we got there, Jenny finally got home from closing the bar and joined in the fun. We filled her in on the night’s details – still beaming and ridiculously excited from all that went down. It was getting brighter outside and the birds were chirping, and I think sometime around 8am we decided to lay down for a few minutes. After all, there was much more rocking to do tonight.

A few hours later the Cobras‘ bus rolled up to Tim’s house and everyone was in a mad dash to get ready for the show at the Mill Hill. So let’s see: Cobras + entourage + Honah Lees + entourage = a shit ton of people squooshed into Tim and Jen’s house. It was like a meth-inspired game of twister getting all these folks ready.

This night was to be the final show of the tour, and already I was starting to get sentimental. We were all pretty frikking haggard, dirty and exhausted, and I was running on negative sleep, with hardly a voice at all from all of the “YEAAAHHHHHH!-ing” I did at each show. I think I probably blew my voice from screaming like a banshee at the Foxboro show for three hours and then continuing to sing at Tim’s. Oh well.

Since it was my birthday week, I was surprised to have a BBQ birthday party during the afternoon at Tim’s. So all 8,000 of us did a little grillin and chillin, and I was treated to a surprise birthday cake in the shape of a Polaroid land camera. My boyfriend is so wonderful – I had no idea. Our friend Mrs. Holman made the cake – and not only was it precise in detail, it was positively DELICIOUS!! Yums.

The Honah Lee boys had a mini dance party beneath our new disco ball (at the expense of Brian’s fingers, whoops) and we started to begin the pregaming. As IF we needed more beer in our systems. But we did it anyway. Rocknroll is not for everyone.

After that it was time to head out to the Mill and get this last show on the road already.

The Mill was packed and I was excited to show our hometown crowd what we’d been talking about forever and a day and let them experience the Cobras for themselves. I particularly loved this show because the bands could get very personal with the crowd.

Tim mentioned stepping up his game after the Foxboro show – and I think he did a great job this night, running into the crowd, and generally being over the top. The photo of Tim singing directly into Jenny’s face was recently used in a book for their wedding. I found it extremely appropriate. He also made sure I documented his “Jesus of Subeerbia” move, feeding beer to Jim and Dim, but screwing Tony out of a drink. By the time Tony said “EYYYY, Where’s my beer?,” he only ended up getting one spilled on him. This is what happens when there’s a bottle of something completely drank by Tim alone. You’ll see.

Anyhow, between cables hanging from the basement ceiling and a bunch of deliriously tired and drunk rockers we had an excellent night. And in true Mill Hill fashion, at closing time we all spilled out into the street for a late night photo shoot, including a giant F YOU picture for a band that is too shitty to mention by name. Yeah, that’s right. I said it.

The night ended with Ozzy, I mean Tim, barfing down the side of the band van. His lei lay there in the street, covered in puke. It was the perfect, most appropriate ending I could think of.

There was drunk talk of an afterparty that never materialized, but Tanya came back with us to Tim’s to crash, in hopes of us having a Sunday Funday.

This show was a blast and I’m extremely proud of these rock shots. You Cobras are crazy, and I love you all. I only wish we could tour more often. Listen to me talk… like I play an instrument. Ha.

So I’m going to shut up now and let the pictures do the talking. I really did try to edit these down but some of them were too funny NOT to post.

 

NEXT UP: Saying goodbye to our newfound friends.