Sometimes I feel like I should post some of the “personal” stuff I shoot but then I think I like keeping my mainstream clients so I don’t but maybe one day I will do an art show or something. Thoughts?
I went to see my buddies The Nuclears play at Fontana’s the other day and they were opening for this band The Threads. Someone mentioned that the singer Mick was the singer of the L.E.S. Stitches back in the day so I took this photo just so I could tell this story.
I went to college at Penn State for two years in 1999. I was this punk kid in a town of 40,000 preppy bro motherfuckers. I couldn’t find any punk scene at all but I did find this hardcore radio show. I wasn’t really a hardcore kid but at least they were kinda into punk. They threw some shows on campus and I would go cause otherwise all we got was headlining type punk bands who would come through town.
So when the LES Stitches played one of these hardcore radio shows I was pretty psyched. I didn’t really listen to them but I think I had one record of theirs and I was just happy to see a proper punk band. When they started playing all the hard core kids just sort of stood there with their arms crossed waiting for whatever tough guy hardcore band was playing next. I was up front actually enjoying the show but I couldn’t exactly start a pit by myself.
At some point the singer (who I assume was Mick) started getting real sarcastic and told the audience that they would play a slow song so we could catch our breath from all the moshing we were doing. I decided to double down on their sarcasm and I just sat down Indian style on the ground in front of the stage.
Mick got down off stage and sat directly in front of me and played the entire song inches away from my face.
I always thought that was great. Every band is gonna play some shitty shows and it’s how bands play when those awful shows happen that sets apart good performers from great performers and it’s a lesson I have tried to remember both when managing bands and playing in them.
Oh, and immediately after playing they got kicked of their own show for drinking on campus which I guess wasn’t allowed or something. Now that’s punk rock.
Five years ago I went to the Kentucky Derby. I really wanna go back but clearly it didn’t happen this year. This guy got arrested for running across a bunch of port-a-potties which is apparently a thing drunk people do at the Derby.
My dad wanted a photo I took of him for his Facebook page but I had to look through a ton of photos before I found it. But because my dad is one of my favorite humans you get to look at all the photos I found…
I should have waited for Father’s Day for this but whatever…