Band Spotlight On: Mordecai
Category: Art and Photography

At long last the blog some of you have been waiting for! OK, maybe 4 or 5 of you anyway. I've shot this band Mordecai for a while now and I've decided it's finally time to show them some blog love. It took me a few of their shows to get some shots I was really, really happy with.

For one thing, it's really hard to get a good shot of Tony the singer because the guy moves around so damn much.  Great for a show, but hard for me. Keep doing what you do man, it's all good.

Tony, on Vocals:

I think this one captues his energy and movement fairly well.
And this next one, his intensity.

Dennis, on Bass:

Blake, on Guitar:

James, on Guitar:

Stephen, on Drums:

Currently reading : The Mammoth Book of Extreme Science Fiction: New Generation Far-Future SF (Mammoth Book of)

11:54 PM - 3 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

Fracture Point CD Release Show
Category: Art and Photography

The release of "Inherit The Downfall" by Fracture Point took place on June 14th, 2008 at The Cell Block. Here are some photos from the show.

Matt Hobart, Guitar:

Matt Bond, Bass:

Ben Rosputni, Vocals:

Dan Ammon, Drums:

Currently listening : ...And Justice for All By Metallica Release date: 1990-10-25

4:50 PM - 2 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

My Fracture Point CD Photo!
Current mood: accomplished
Category: Art and Photography

Here it is, the Fracture Point CD - "Inherit the Downfall" inside which my second published work can be seen!

First, is the CD cover done by Seth Siro Anton. Seth is a Greek artist who has done many CD covers by metal bands including Paradise Lost, Soilwork, Vader, Decapitated and the latest by Exodus - "The Atrocity Exhibition."

Here is the inside tray artwork done by Lana Ansay.

Finally, here is my photo. I have to give credit where credit is due - I took the photo, but Matt from the band did the photo manipulation. I had no idea what he had done to the photo until I got the CD at the CD release show. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw it.

This is an incredible sounding CD by an amazing band and I'm honoured to be included on their first album alongside two talented artists.

Currently listening : From Mars to Sirius By Gojira Release date: 2006-08-22

5:22 PM - 6 Comments - 6 Kudos - Add Comment

Koama CD Release Show
Current mood: rockin
Category: Art and Photography

Here are some photos taken at the CD release show for "Wicked Plague" (for which I took the photos for, but you knew that already if you've read my previous entry ) at the Koama Kompound on May 16th, 2008.

Currently listening : River Runs Red By Life of Agony Release date: 2008-04-29

6:43 AM - 4 Comments - 6 Kudos - Add Comment

I’m Published!
Category: Art and Photography

I mentioned in a previous blog that my photos of Koama were going to appear in their upcoming CD. Well, the CD was released in May and here are some pictures of it.

The cover art was done by Logan, the bass player of the band. (The line on the right is a crack in the CD case.)

The photos were cropped from the original images. They were printed a little darker than I would have liked, but I had no control over that.

Here are the original images:

Well, here it is, my first published work! Although I'm not completely thrilled with how the pictures were printed I'm still very proud to be in this CD booklet and to be associated with this band.

There's even more to come! A month later another of my photos appeared in the CD booklet for the first release from Fracture Point! Keep a look out for a future blog. Thanks for reading.

Currently listening : Alice in Hell/Never, Neverland By Annihilator Release date: 2003-09-09

5:50 AM - 14 Comments - 12 Kudos - Add Comment

10,000? We could almost buy our own ship for that!
Category: MySpace

Despite the title, this blog has nothing to do with Star Wars. What it concerns is this: my profile has recently passed 10,000 page views! I'm currently at 10,020. Considering I've only been a member for 2 years and 2 months and I'm not a band, I think it's quite an achievement. I would like to thank everyone who has ever looked at my page. Very special thanks goes out to all of my friends and most especially the bands I've photographed. Without all of you my profile wouldn't be the success it is. So, again, Thank You All! Here's to another 10,000.

11:46 AM - 4 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

Before and After: Vivicide
Current mood: anxious
Category: Art and Photography

As I mentioned in my previous blog, I had to fix the photo of Vivicide on the rocks in Photoshop. I've actually got Photoshop Elements 4.0 and not the full program but this pretty much has all I need right now. I'm no expert at photo manipulation and I guess these are relatively easy fixes, but I'm proud of what I can accomplish so far. I've still got a lot to learn! I think the photos speak for themselves, so I'll just post the Before and After without commentary. This picture is not actually the same one, but a different one from the same session.

Before:

After:

Now I'm on my way to see Vivicide practice and to pick up the new Koama CD. I'm excited, yet anxious to see the final product. After I emailed the photo files to the company that was printing the CD booklet, it was pretty much out of my hands. Tom told me that they had to crop the photos so I'm not sure how they're going to look. In my next blog I will post the original photos and a picture of the inside of the CD.

3:52 PM - 2 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Behind the Photos: Vivicide Promo Shots
Current mood: restless
Category: Art and Photography

A few weekends ago, Dylan asked me if I could take more promo shots of Vivicide. Of course, I said yes! So, I get to the Kompound and I find out that not only am I going to take pics of Vivicide and Koama, but that my Koama photos are going to be on their upcoming CD. I had no idea before I got there! For all I know whoever is printing the CD booklet might reject the photos for whatever reason, so I will wait to post those pics until I can see the finished product. (I'm sure they're fine. This is just me being paranoid.) For now, here are a few of the promos I shot for Vivicide:

The next photo was taken on the rocks by the Kompounds swimming pool. Credit goes to Pat for the idea, which I think turned out rather well. I had to clean this up in Photoshop. In my next blog I will show you the before and after pictures.

I had to lie on my side in the gravel and hold a plant out of the camera lens to get the best angle. Here's a photo of the guys laughing at me trying to get the shot:

3:14 PM - 2 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Behind the Photos: Vivicide
Category: Art and Photography

Been a while since I've posted a blog, so here we go:

The band Dither broke up and from its ashes has arisen Vivicide. Before they broke up, Dither auditioned for a second guitarist and Pat won the role. Shortly after, the band broke up. Dylan, the drummer from Dither and Pat then formed their own band called Vivicide. Vivicide is the annihilation of any and all forms of life on a planet in simultaneous genocide of every species. The name fits the music! Here are pics from their very first show:

Pat on guitar and Tommy on bass and vocals:

The photos were done at the band's practice space which doubles as a venue for shows. It's basically a building on Tommy's family property known as the Koama Kompound. Tommy's father used to own BulldogZ, which is the club that I mentioned in a previous blog.

Kevin, guitar:

This is Kevin's first band and his very first show ever. Kevin is also in the bands Rebirth and Koama along with Dylan and Tommy.

Pat, Guitar:

This was also Pat's first show. He did play a few songs with Dither, but this is his first official show. This photo was cropped from a horizontal image.

Dylan, Drums:

This one was also cropped from a horizontal image. I just think it works better this way as a portrait.

Tommy and Kevin again, with a clearer shot of Tommy:

Finally, a shot of the crowd from the very last moments of their set:

11:07 AM - 3 Comments - 6 Kudos - Add Comment

The Walnuts
Category: Art and Photography

Going back again to 2006, here is the band The Walnuts taken at Jugheads on November 11th. Unfortunately, this band is no longer together. Which is a shame because they really stood out among all the cookie-cutter metal bands in the local music scene.

Joe aka Smoe can currently be found playing bass in F.Y.I. which he left to play in The Walnuts.

3:02 PM - 2 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment